Diabetes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 2

Diabetes - Essay Example However, the International Diabetes Federation indicates that seven of the ten countries with the highest number of diabetics are in the developing world rather than where the medicines and treatments might be readily available. Increased risks of stroke and heart disease are associated with diabetes no matter where it strikes. â€Å"These life-threatening consequences strike people with diabetes more than twice as often as they do others† (American Diabetes Association, 2006). Further complications associated with diabetes include kidney disease, blindness, and the threat of amputations. â€Å"In some countries in the Caribbean and the Middle East, the percentage of the diabetic population ranges from 12 to 20 percent† (Dorfman, 2007). These numbers increase every year along with the rising costs associated with health care provisions. This discussion examines what diabetes is, the lifestyle and genetic risk factors of the disease and its potential health consequences. It will also discuss preventative measures as well as proper diet and care for those afflicted with the disease. A primary factor in diabetes is the level of insulin present in the body. Insulin is a chemical the body produces naturally to mange the induction of glucose into the system. When the body produces too little amounts of insulin, greater amounts of glucose are allowed to enter the bloodstream thereby causing the symptoms of the disease called diabetes. Glucose, a simple sugar, enters the body by way of ingested food and into every red blood cell via the bloodstream; the cells then break down the glucose which acts to supply energy throughout the body. Brain cells, as well as other organs, are fueled by glucose alone. In diabetics, the body does not keep a stable amount of glucose in the cells. This means the body has more than the necessary glucose levels immediately after a meal but too

How Does the Iranian Nuclear Program Affect the GCC Countries National Research Paper - 1

How Does the Iranian Nuclear Program Affect the GCC Countries National Security - Research Paper Example the United States and the United Kingdom proved that Iran had the economic strength to support its nuclear program and so the worry arose on the consequences of such an expedition on the security of the world and that of the GCC countries (Hagel & Loeb, 2014). The resistance that the whole project has faced has been as a result of the concerns that such a serious and delicate process can cause to the whole world. While the GCC countries feel that it is their right to take care of the world by controlling such a process involving nuclear power, the Iranians feel that the concerns being raised are pre-textual and malicious and aimed at preventing it from getting the nuclear power that it needs urgently (BBC News, 2014). According to Hagel & Loeb, 2014 the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has expressed its concerns over the Iranian nuclear program. The GCC countries include the Kingdom of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and The United Arab Emirates. These countries possess a significant economic interdependence both in economic, politics, culture and also in religion. Since Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are major Oil exporting hubs, they have a significant economic dependence and setting of policies that govern the oil trade. On the other, Qatar is well known for producing natural gas and since this lies in line with the oil production it serves as a uniting factor among the countries. Almost all citizens in the GCC countries are Muslims which serves as a uniting and common factor to help unite them further. The political status of the countries in the GCC umbrella is based on the Islamic religion as it is the dominant one in the region. Though Iran is not a member of the GCC, the nuclear program has been viewed as a direct threat to the GCC countries and so they have resisted it in one accord. The national security of any country involves maintaining the survival of the state through the use of its economic power and setting of foreign

UK Identity Cards and Civil Liberties

UK Identity Cards and Civil Liberties â€Å"The introduction of identity cards in the UK infringes upon our human rights and civil liberties whilst actually doing very little to counter crime and terrorism† Discuss Contents Abstract Introduction Chapter One – Surveillance as a means of crime prevention counter terrorism 1.1 Is surveillance needed for crime prevention? 1.2 Is surveillance needed for counter terrorism? Chapter Two – Increased surveillance – the viability of data retention 2.1 Data retention and identity cards 2.2 Is data retention a positive thing? 2.3 The scope of data retention laws Chapter Three – Has the introduction of the identity cards scheme served to breach individual human rights and civil liberties regarding privacy in the same way as other forms of surveillance? 3.1 The right to personal privacy 3.2 Are human rights and civil liberties effectively recognised domestically? 3.3 How far is the right to personal privacy recognised in law? 3.4 How does the ICA 2006 fit into understanding human rights and civil liberties? Conclusion Bibliography The aim of this study is to consider whether the introduction of identity cards in the UK would indeed infringe upon our human rights and civil liberties, whilst also looking to determine whether it would actually be an effective way of combating crime and terrorism. Therefore, this paper will look to consider the enactment of the Identity Cards Act (‘ICA’) 2006 and the problems that are likely to arise from the introduction of the proposed scheme. Then, it will also be necessary to consider the background to the enactment of the ICA 2006 by putting this development into context with a consideration of Closed Circuit Television (‘CCTV’) and the development of data retention surveillance techniques used to gather information about people with the aim to prevent crime and counter terrorism. However, this paper will also look to recognise the legal reasoning used to justify this kind of surveillance and information gathering that, although contrary to the recognition of the human rights and civil liberties of individuals, is considered necessary to guard the interest of society as a whole against the threat of terrorism and serious crime. But, at the same time, this paper will also recognise this kind of surveillance may actually be doing very little to counter terrorism and serious crime and is not only breaching people’s recognised human rights and civil liberties, but also criminalizing the population and breaking the law in the process. Then, finally, in summation it will be necessary to look to conclude with a balanced and logical overview of this discussion effectively derived from an understanding of the issues covered to present a reasoned view regarding this issue. At the end of 2006, legislation was passed domestically in this country in relation to the introduction of identity cards throughout the UK in the form of the ICA 2006 as a means of crime prevention and counter terrorism. But, interestingly, in spite of its apparently noble intentions, the ICA 2006 is seen by many as only ‘enabling legislation’ that merely provides the legal framework around which the scheme of identity cards is to be developed and it does not purport to provide details of every aspect of the schemes overall operation[1]. This is because the Act itself proposed the use of biometric identity cards[2] to establish and maintain a database of information called the National Identity Register (‘NIR’) on all individuals currently residing within the UK in support of ongoing efforts to help prevent terrorism or serious crimes from occurring[3] by allowing for an easy means to ascertain and prove an individual’s identity[4]. Therefore, the en actment of this legislation meant both private and personal companies could access this register to confirm an individual’s identity or simply check the accuracy of their information. However, this policy is not without its problems. This is because whilst sections 19 and 23 of the ICA 2006 only permit access to records without consent if it is in the interests of national security or for purposes connected with the prevention or detection of crime, the legislation allows for information to be added without the individuals’ knowledge with the aim of eventually having fifty pieces of an individual’s personal information on their card that would then be stored on the aforementioned database with the NIR[5]. But despite the fact many critics argue the NIR will allow the government to monitor and record almost every aspect of a person’s life, almost all of the information listed in Schedule 1 of the ICA 2006 as being required that includes signature, photograph from a passport, name and address (both current and previous), date of birth and national insurance number for this purpose is already in the government’s possession and everyone has the right to see what information is held about them. Nevertheless, there is a fear that ‘hackers’ are bound to attempt to gain access to the NIR database in the same way as in the US, in April 2005, when it was reported Reed Elsevier may have accidentally released the personal information of 310,000 US citizens during 59 separate criminal incidents[6]. It is perhaps little wonder then that the scheme to be developed under the ICA 2006 has led to a great deal of criticism from various organisations. Economists, in particular, have argued that such a scheme would be excessively expensive for what they believe to be somewhat limited results in view of the fact that whilst government estimates have put the cost of the scheme’s introduction alone at around  £6 billion pounds[7], a group of analysts at the London School of Economics consider the figure to be closer to  £18 billion that must ultimately come out of the public’s pocket through taxation[8]. Therefore, whilst the use of identity cards brought about by the enactment of the ICA 2006 could be considered the latest advancement of surveillance technology with the legitimate aim of preventing crime and counter terrorism, question marks remain over whether this kind of policy is an acceptable tool in view of the need to recognise individual human rights and civil liberties[9]. But this is not the first time that the legitimacy of surveillance has been called into question, despite its aims to prevent crime and counter terrorism, so it is necessary to look to consider whether the use of this kind of surveillance technology has achieved anything in this regard. â€Å"Every man should know that his conversations, his correspondence, and his personal life, are indeed private.† Lyndon B Johnson 1908-1973 – President of the United States of America In spite of Lyndon B. Johnson’s view ostensibly in support of Mill[10], the use of surveillance techniques has become increasingly widespread with the passing of time because technology in this area has advanced at such a pace that even the public at large is becoming ever more aware that surveillance no longer simply refers to the work of spies in Ian Fleming novels. The word itself in French literally means ‘watching over’[11] and, in this context, refers to all forms of observation or monitoring of another for public or private purposes. Now, however, most people are aware such techniques are used by law enforcement agencies, business and even private individual so as to gain useful information in relation to the activities of suspected criminals and terrorists where a threat is perceived leading to an eventual arrest where it is warranted[12]. In particular they are usually most commonly aware of the use of CCTV cameras on buildings and in shops. But the use o f identity cards is just another means of surveillance as its production and use will effectively act like a form of tracking whereby the authorities and private and public organisations will gain yet another insight into the private lives of individuals by creating a verifiable ‘document trail’ that the authorities can follow. 1.1 Is surveillance needed for crime prevention? The UK leads the world in the concentration of public surveillance devices to people[13]. This is because, about ten years ago, the UK government used  £150 million each year to develop a Closed-Circuit Television (‘CCTV’) network around the country[14] so that the industry grew exponentially throughout the 1990’s so, by 2003, at least two and a half million cameras could be found in this country[15] that continues to increase at around 20% per year[16]. The ‘net effect’ is substantial. It is widely believed everyone in London is caught on camera at least three hundred times each day[17] and very often these cameras do not just watch and record us, but also use facial recognition software to scan subjects against a criminal database[18]. Although statistical evidence is somewhat limited in relation to the effectiveness of surveillance technology in view of the fact there is usually much more to crime prevention and counter terrorism[19], the authorities downplay this negative element and emphasise the positive where a security issue of national significance is resolved. Such a view is effectively illustrated by the fact whilst the police review of CCTV tapes played a significant role in identifying a suspected terrorist handler involved in the bombing of King’s Cross in July 2005[20], there remains a prevailing view that, if anything, crime levels have stayed the same or even increased despite the widespread installation of CCTV cameras. National statistics have shown that, whilst around three quarters of the Home Office Crime Prevention budget has generally spent on CCTV, a comprehensive review has revealed the overall reduction in crime was only around 5% by 2002[21] and has continued to make small incremental reductions nationally ever since[22]. But as a stark mark of the success of CCTV in preventing crime, a parallel systematic review found that street lighting saw a reduction in crime of 20%, whilst CCTV cameras usefulness is then further marked against because it is understood that only around 3% of all street robberies in London are solved using CCTV footage[23]. Interestingly, however, in Portsmouth the City Council released crime statistics for the first three months of 2008 that showed that of 1384 recorded incidents this led to 346 arrests that were recorded by the network of 172 CCTV cameras in Portsmouth and marked this out as mark of their usefulness as crime solving tool[24], whilst, in Newham, police claimed an 11% drop in assaults, a 49% drop in burglary, and a 44% drop in criminal damage[25] where cameras were installed[26]. However, as well as possibly being merely an aberration in our understanding of the overall usefulness of CCTV cameras and surveillance technology as a whole, the source of the statistics is a branch of government. Therefore, unfortunately, this may mean the results have been embellished to present CCTV as being a good use of public money and, even where this is not the case, the police may have made the same number of arrests anyway so that it is somewhat surprising that the cameras have such support to enforc e the law[27]. 1.2 Is surveillance needed for counter terrorism? However, since the tragic events of 9/11 in the US, such action is also justified because it is arguable this led to the establishment of a renewed approach to surveillance in the interests of national and international security across the world. Therefore, 9/11 effectively served to reveal terrorist groups had organised themselves ‘transnationally’ making it harder to trace them using traditional surveillance techniques[28]. As a result, whereas in the past, terrorist groups could be readily categorised by reference to territory, this is no longer the case because, organised on a global scale, these loosely affiliated ‘cells’ can operate simultaneously in various States. This is because they are not unified by a single vertical command but horizontally[29] by using modern communication and transportation technology, whilst the integration of financial markets also facilitates their mobility and range of targets without claiming a particular territory as â €˜home’[30]. On this basis, globally, countries realised they had a shared interest in enhancing international co-operation to fight terrorism because of the fear groups may be in possession of non-conventional weapons such as biological, chemical and nuclear[31]. Therefore, the international community must work together because such a threat cannot be vanquished by single States alone[32], as the UN recognises certain States being unable or unwilling to prevent or stop the traffic of such weapons means â€Å"the ability of non-State actors to traffic in nuclear material and technology is aided by ineffective State control of borders and transit through weak States†[33]. Clearly, the international community must hold together to find effective solutions because, although 9/11 undoubtedly showed the world that even the leading democracy was not safe from terrorist attacks. Whereas in the past a series of diplomatic, economic and financial measures nationally to fight terrorist structures[34], to multiply the effect of such measures, States agreed to co-operate internationally by using treaty law with around a dozen multilateral conventions on anti- and counter-terrorism[35]. Therefore, in theory, no terrorist activity would go unpunished[36]. But the UN has struggled since its inception to formulate an effective response. On the one hand, it has provided a solid international legal framework for combating terrorism via the adoption of terrorism-related treaties by the General Assembly and UN agencies. But, on the other hand, the UN has been unable to reach agreement on a definition of terrorism that outlaws all indiscriminate attacks against civilians and circumvents the need to recognise the human rights and civil liberties of the public at large, so more than twenty different parts of the UN system deal with terrorism in one form or another[37]. However, in Europe it was not until the 2004 train bombings in Madrid that the EU looked to take significant action to counter terrorism and prevent serious crime. This is because those investigating the attacks in Madrid discovered telecommunications played a significant role in planning of the attacks because they were co-ordinated by mobile phone and via the Internet. Unfortunately, however, at the time of the attacks the Spanish authorities had only limited access to help to telecommunications networks in order to further their investigations when more traditional methods of surveillance associated with the aforementioned use of CCTV were somewhat lacking[38]. This is because with the advancement of technology in this area, traditional surveillance has been made somewhat redundant by the use of Internet so that, in order to be able to effectively prevent serious crime and counter terrorism in the modern age, there is a need to utilise data retention technology. Chapter Two – Increased surveillance – the viability of data retention 2.1 Data retention and identity cards On this basis, the original justification for the ICA 2006 identity cards scheme was the supposed need to combat the serious problems of illegal working and identity fraud. This is because the government estimated identity fraud amounted to a  £1.3 billion annual loss to the UK economy[39], and the government’s first consultation paper in this area specifically eschewed many of the claims for identity cards that some other advocates suggest they would bring – such as combating terrorism, benefit fraud and crime more generally[40]. However, the draft legislation clearly presented the identity card as a device with which to combat terrorism, whilst the 2003 government’s white paper[41] emphasised the use of identity cards as an effective tool. According to Privacy International, government ministers in the UK have argued in broadcast interviews that, although the 2001 New York and 2004 Madrid[42] atrocities had been committed by people with valid US documents and Spanish identity cards respectively, many other terrorists use false identities and they also claimed the quality of the database underpinning the British scheme would be much higher than the Spanish. 2.2 Is data retention a positive thing? Nevertheless, aside from the more secure nature of the identity cards scheme proposed in the UK under the ICA 2006, this kind of data retention has previously proved to be a very positive thing that has served to enhance the lives of those living within our society. As most people are aware, such technology is already being used in the form of services that text details of the closest restaurant based on a mobile phone location when your hungry, or help to pick an exit at the next roundabout when you are lost can be very useful. But any retention of collected data is also very negative because the advantages of technology come at a price, since one person’s ‘enhanced information’ can invade another’s privacy[43]. This is because an individual’s right privacy is becoming increasingly susceptible to the advancement of technology with the introduction of ‘wiretaps’, biometrics, and video surveillance cameras all each having the potential to erode privacy[44] in the same way as identification cards, whilst digital interactive television technology may even soon tell advertisers exactly which programs people view in their homes[45]. Therefore, such advancements are clearly both beneficial and frightening[46]. This is because it is commonly understood that no modern technology derived from the development of telecommunications poses a greater threat to privacy than the Internet[47] by allowing researchers to collect data much more cheaply and efficiently[48] because what once took a great many days hard labour can now be accomplished with a keystroke[49]. But it is also important to appreciate that the remit of the Data Retention Directive[50] effectively allows EU Member States to synchronise their laws so all telephony companies and ISP companies within each and every EU Member State are obliged to retain details on all electronic communications for up to two years for the purpose of investigating, detecting and prosecuting serious crimes[51]. 2.3 The scope of data retention laws The main categories of data ‘generated and processed’ to be retained under the Data Retention Directive regarding communications are the retention of data to (a) trace and identify its source (e.g. caller); b) identify its destination (e.g. number dialled); (c) identify its date, time and duration; (d) identify its type (i.e. network or service used); (e) identify equipment (i.e. means); (f) identify that equipments location; and (g) regarding unsuccessful calls[52]. But this is somewhat controversial because ‘unsuccessful calls’ occur where a telephone call has successfully connected, but has not been answered[53]. However, whilst no data regarding the content of the communications is to be retained[54], EU Member States should also ensure data’s security is respected as a reflection of equivalent provisions for the protection of personal data in the Data Protection Directive[55]. This is because, through measures to protect data against accidental or unlawful destruction, accidental loss or alteration, or unauthorised or unlawful storage, processing, access or disclosure[56] of data is accessible by authorised personnel[57]. As part of this process, EU Member States must also have measures in place to ensure any criminal access to or transfer of data retained under the Data Retention Directive is punishable by effective penalties[58]. Therefore, the Data Retention Directive provides only data retained should be provided to the ‘competent national authorities in ‘specific cases’[59], but fails to recognise which authorities are likely to be competent and the reasons why such data may be accessed. This effectively means this could lead to uneven access to data across the EU because there is no definition of ‘specifically authorised personnel’ or ‘law enforcement authorities’, but Article 9 recognises each Member State must designate one or more public authorities to be responsible for monitoring the application of the Directive regarding security of stored data. Therefore, in the UK, the Home Office has looked to publish a set of draft Regulations in the form of the Data Retention (EC Directive) Regulations (‘Regulations’)[60] to effectively implement the Data Retention Directive’s nature and scope[61]. But the Regulations only looked to address the retention of certain call data by telephony companies because EU Member States can delay the Data Retention Directive’s implementation regarding traffic data for an additional 18 months until March of 2009[62]. Nevertheless, even before they have been implemented, the UK Regulations also nothing to allay the fears raised by human rights’ advocates regarding the EU’s Data Retention Directive because the Regulations remain as unspecific and unrestrictive as the Directive. However, domestically, the authorities have â€Å"a great deal of experience with the retention of traditional communications data† because they â€Å"have been working with the ind ustry to ensure the retention of this data since 2003, when Parliament first approved the code of practice for the voluntary retention of communications data under Part 11 of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001†[63]. Nevertheless, whilst the retention of data was voluntary under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act (‘ATCSA’) 2001, because it was made in response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, its voluntary code has served as the foundation for establishing a practical framework for the enforced retention of communications data so the draft regulations provide the next step towards a mandatory framework[64]. Such a view was supported by the fact that the EU set a high global standard in data privacy protection when it forged its Data Protection Directive[65], which became effective in October 1998[66], and created such a rigorous legislative approach to privacy[67]. But the ATCSA 2001 was then amended so that the purpose of such retention became â€Å"(a) for the purpose of safeguarding national security; or (b) for the purposes of prevention or detection of crime or the prosecution of offenders which may relate directly or indirectly to national security†[68] so the a ccess would then be just for limited purposes. Therefore, it is important to recognise that the UK’s Regulations have established provisions to continue with the policy of reimbursing public communications providers their expenditure from adjusting their business practices to comply with the Government’s requirements for the retention of communications data. But the interception of communications and the obtaining and disclosure of data relating to them is currently regulated by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (‘RIPA’) 2000 because section 21 recognises communications data does not include the contents of the communications, but that, in the interests of national security, they may still obtain it. Consequently, the Data Retention Directive will effectively serve to augment RIPA 2000 that does not currently require the specific retention of data in advance, but the police are able to serve ‘section 22’ (‘S22’) telecommunication companies within the industry for acces s to the data that they retain. Accordingly, whilst the RIPA 2000 will only permit the interception of communications in the UK by defined bodies in specified circumstances to protect individuals’ privacy, the longer the data retention period, the greater the period of access that will provided to the authorities in the interests of security[69]. Nevertheless, ostensibly, it is to be appreciated that the RIPA 2000 is designed â€Å"to ensure that the relevant investigatory powers are used in accordance with human rights†, since it extends the legal regulation of interceptions to cover private networks that are â€Å"attached, directly or indirectly to a public telecommunications system†, and includes â€Å"anything comprising speech, music, sounds, visual images or data of any description†. Therefore, a criminal offence is not committed in the UK if the controller of a private network intercepts a communication in the course of its transmission, but section 1(3) provides that intercepti ons â€Å"without lawful authority† are still actionable under the remit provided for by the HRA 1998 that is discussed below[70]. On the basis of this understanding of data retention laws discussed in the previous chapter, it is also important to look to consider whether the scheme for identity cards proposed under the ICA 2006 based on personal data retention as a means of identification will serve to violate the recognition of individual human rights and civil liberties. This is because whilst it would clearly be hard to argue using surveillance technology to gain solid evidence for the purposes of preventing serious crime and encouraging counter terrorism is a bad thing, there is an all too prevalent need within the current climate for the striking of a balance between maintaining national security and unnecessarily invading an individual’s privacy. In spite of their legitimate aims, the introduction of identity cards in the UK could be considered to be just the latest step in the government’s efforts to encourage crime prevention and counter terrorism at the expense of the individual rights and freedoms. This is because, in the same way as other advancements in surveillance technology, identity cards are also not without their problems. There is a prevailing feeling the use of identity cards across the nation will serve to breach individual human rights and civil liberties in the same way as many other forms of surveillance. In particular, it has been argued the use of identity cards will serve to breach individual rights to privacy because of the nature of the personal data that will be stored and retained within them and on the NIR database[71]. Therefore, although there is little doubt the use of such technology for information gathering is very advantageous to help the government, the police, and even everyday people, question marks have arisen in relation to just how far surveillance technology should be used to monitor the public. Consequently, there is an argument those who use surveillance for the purposes of information gathering should take on certain responsibilities they must then uphold in view of the implementation of the ECHR into the UK via the HRA 1998. But in some ways technological advances have arguably hindered the recognition of human rights and civil liberties as much as they have helped crime prevention and counter terrorism by allowing the authorities an unprecedented look into people’s lives. 3.1 The right to personal privacy The right to personal privacy is an important right, however, it is all too easily taken for granted because, like freedom, no one really appreciates its value until it is threatened, as in this case with the enactment of the ICA[72], so that in the wake of technological advancement privacy has all too easily become an afterthought in social advancement[73]. This is a significant failing. The right to privacy should not merely be limited to the idea an individual may live their personal life how they choose. It is also meant to include the right to establish and develop relationships with other people for the development and fulfilment of one’s own personality[74], whilst sexual relations are the most intimate aspect of the right to a private life[75]. However, the right to a private life also covers an individual’s physical and moral integrity[76], encompassing protection against compulsory physical interventions and treatments[77]. Moreover, in spite of the

College Admissions Essay: Learning is What I Do Best :: College Admissions Essays

Learning is What I Do Best I could tell you a heartfelt, sentimental, poignant story about first seeing a Harvard refrigerator magnet and feeling my first deep emotions stirring somewhere inside my spleen. Or I could meticulously paraphrase the numerous brochures and articles about Harvard that I have perused. Yet another option would be to rent a small airplane and skywrite, "I want to go to Harvard," in colorful pollutants. And I probably would resort to one of these strategies, had I not some real incentives to attend Harvard. They are based on what I have learned from research, general knowledge, conversations I have overheard, and other miscellaneous tidbits of information sent to me by friends and relatives. First of all, I must express my admiration to the people who have decided that education is, after all, the purpose and responsibility of a college and established the precedence of academics over sports at Harvard. I'd like to attend a school where I, a debater, will not be viewed as a second-class citizen by football players. Secondly, the notoriety of great educational standards has reached me all the way in Vancouver (OK, so it is only across the river) and enticed, attracted, and urged me to apply to Harvard. Rumors of the "side effects" of avalanches of homework and sleepless nights have crept here, too, but I'm up to the challenge. After two years of juggling high school, college, and extracurricular activities, receiving assignments only at one place just might be paradise. Lastly, Harvard's geographical location is just like pretty wrapping paper and a big red bow on a present that's already great ( forgive the allusions to the Haagen-Dasz commercials). Living in Portland, I would be simultaneously away from my family in Vancouver--and as close as I might need to be! Not only would I have the opportunity to become better acquainted with Portland, but also to judge at debate tournaments for my old high school! The possibilities are mouthwatering.

Music for the Mind Analysis and Response

Music for the Mind The purpose of this essay was to inform and explain to individuals all of the several ways for people to enjoy music as well as to explicate that the readers should strive for a more active type of listening. It showed the impact music can have on the lives of people. Aaron Copland said that even â€Å"One note is enough to change the atmosphere of the room† (599). This essay was written for just about everybody, with hearing of course, because most everyone listens to music. Even for the few that do not listen to music often, this could perhaps persuade them to listen to music .This was presented in a creative essay type format. The different types of music and conclusion of this essay are examples of evidence to support the purpose. Copland mentioned â€Å"We all listen to music on three separate planes†¦ (1) the sensuous plane, (2) the expressive plane, (3) the sheerly musical plane† (599). Copland also says that the reader should strive for a more active kind of listening regardless of what type of music you listen to (603). However, the author also mentioned that many people who would normally consider themselves qualified music lovers abuse the first plane when listening.This author effectively uses these appeals very effectively with logic. This author used a more objective type of language in his essay. The evidence in this essay supports the claims through practices people experience while listening, writing, or performing music. The evidence covers the perspectives associated with the 3 planes, but nothing else. I felt this article was very well written. I enjoyed the essay, as I was engaged during it. Anyone who listens or performs music can very easily relate to this essay and become engaged into it. The organization of this essay also helps people to be absorbed by this essay.The language throughout this article is not too formal, but not terribly informal. It was the perfect median in which you could read thro ugh and easily relate to the essay. Copland was very descriptive throughout this essay. I agree with this essay. This essay very much allows you to think and appreciate music in a way that you may have never thought about before. Personally, as a musician, I occasionally tend to listen to music in the third, musicality plane. I enjoy listening to the small details in songs and pieces of music. Without the small details in songs, they would not sound as aptivating as they are. However, I did not realize I was listening to music in this third plane until I read this article. I agree with the author when he claims that some people abuse the sensuality plane of listening by going to concerts in order to lose themselves. These individuals use music as a consolation of an escape. They enter a world where one does not have to think about reality. Of course, these individuals are not even thinking about the music. Instead, they dream because of and incidentally of the music yet never quite listening to it (599).I can relate to the author when he begins to talk about the second plane, the expressive plane. All music does have expressive power. Of course, some music will have much more than others, behind all of the notes, lyrics, is what the music is all about. Copland states that there is a meaning to music, however he cannot state that meaning. I agree because all music is going to have different meanings. A lack in appreciation of music sometimes disables one’s ability to connect with the music. The third plane, the sheerly musical plane, also relates to me.While taking music theory I and II in high school, we were told to compose our own songs, which allowed me to understand how the sheerly music plane works much better. Many listeners are not aware of this third plane when they are enjoying their music. Sometimes, I will stop and think about how the notes are put together, and try to guess the intervals between notes. Aside from the physical notes, other pa rts of the sheer musicality are rhythm, dynamics, scales, and much more. It is important to become more alive to music on its musical plane.This essay was the most enjoyable to read because of how well I was able to connect to it with a past comprised so much of music. Before reading this article, I did not quite think about all of the different planes of listening to music and how they all correlate to each other. I found myself, after reading this article, able to connect with each and every plane of music that Copland mentioned. I, of course, will often listen to music and enjoy it in the sensuous plane. I also can look at music from a composer’s point of because I have written and recorded my own song.However, along with this, I agree with the author in which many performers do not get into the music entirely because they are too worried about the notes and rhythms, they seem to forget what the song is all about. Finally, I can also relate to the third plane because I hav e a past with music and I can pick out certain notes, rhythms, and details in songs that add so much detail to the song. Overall, I believe Copland did an outstanding job in the writing of this essay. Works Cited Copland, Aaron. The Norton Reader. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012. Print.

Adam and Eve: an Epic Poem Essay

What makes Adam different from Eve and vice versa? Is it because Adam happens to be a man, and Eve is a woman? Even though this happens to be a true fact, there is a deeper meaning to contrasting Adam and Eve. John Milton’s epic poem, Paradise Lost, gives key differences when contrasting Adam and Eve. Paradise Lost can be summed up as being about the creation of the world, which is known as â€Å"the paradise† and the events before and after that surrounded the creation. Along with the creation of the world came the creation of the first two human beings known to mankind, better known as Adam and Eve. Although Adam and Eve were created equally by GOD, these characters shared different thoughts and performed different actions that distinguished them from one another, which lead to them having contrasting strengths and weaknesses. When GOD was in the process of creating the first two human beings, one would predict that they would be very similar. From the physical outlook, differences between Adam and Eve could be seen easily, simply because of the physical characteristics that differentiate man and woman. But if the human eye were to somehow dig deeper beneath the skin of Adam and Eve, one could see how the two were fairly different. One way of distinguishing one from the other and contrasting the two would be the strengths that each of them possessed. With the strengths, Milton not only showed the differences through the personality, but through the actions as well. The stronger of the two or the character that possessed the most strength was Adam. Even though this choice is very much debatable, Milton backs this up with examples within Paradise Lost. Both Adam and Eve possessed thoughts, and performed actions that one would consider strength. But there are certain strengths that stick out to one’s mind, and that had an effect surrounding the story. Eve’s greatest strength was her capacity for love, emotion, and forbearance. In contrast to Adam, Eve possessed a large amount of love in her heart, which leads her to curiosity and being able to think â€Å"outside the box†. Adam did have a great capacity of love foe Eve, but it is nothing compared to the capacity that Eve held. â€Å"She as a veil down to the slender waist Her unadorned golden tresses wore Disheveled but in wanton ringlets waved As the vine curls her tendrils, which implied Subjection, but required with gentle sway And by her yielded, by him best received Yielded with coy submission, modest pride, And sweet reluctant amorous delay† (IV, 304-311). This quote lists characteristics of Adam and Eve, but what separates the two qualities is Adam ’s â€Å"reluctant amorous delay†. These quoted words describe Adam’s struggling for position in with love, which proves the point that he had a smaller capacity for love than Eve. Adam on the other hand possessed more strengths than Eve. This is believable because Adam was naturally built by GOD to lead Eve, as Milton proclaimed in the epic. For one, Adam was strong, intelligent, and rational. Milton also claimed Adam as being â€Å"the most perfect as any human being would ever be.† But the strength that set him apart from Eve and that contrasts his strength from hers, was his capacity for reason. He could understand the most sophisticated ideas instantly. Eve did not possess this; therefore she was easily influenced and deceived. Proof of her being easily fooled, would be how she was the first to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. Adam tended to take his approach on problems by thinking critically and asking help from GOD. So although Adam and Eve were created equally by GOD, each of them possessed different strengths that distinguished them from one another. Along with the strengths of Adam and Eve, there also came weaknesses. Between Adam and Eve, Eve possessed more weaknesses than Adam. Again this is a debatable opinion, but in the case of Paradise Lost, Milton portrayed this. Eve was created to be led by Adam, but did not do so because of her lack of learning. Milton portrayed Eve as being slightly inferior to Adam. Even though she was in love with him, she resented him because she fell in love with her own natural beauty. One case of this is a part in the epic poem when Eve began gazing at her reflection in the water. It was then that she became somewhat conceited, and one of her greatest weaknesses became her assets and vanity. Another form of Eve’s weakness was her lack of intelligence. She did not approach situations that called for reason, correctly. An example of this is the way she was easily seduced by Satan. â€Å"The varieties of hatred and revenge exhibited by the demons during their infernal council are rooted in fallen human experience† (Ryken 103). This quote connects to the point that Milton portrayed the fall of Eve and mankind, through her experience with Satan. She had a weaker mindset than Adam because Satan seduced her into eating from the Tree of knowledge. From reading Paradise Lost one could possibly blame Eve for the downfall of Adam. But what makes Adam’s weakness different from Eve is the person that he had loved for. Eve fell in love with her own assets and vanity. In contrast, Adam did not fall in love with himself, but instead fell in love with Eve. â€Å"Adam’s desire for Eve in Paradise Lost is nothing if not honorable, and, indeed, it does induce in him the gravest perturbations. He yields to his desire and suffers calamity as a result† (McMahon 51). That happened to be Adams greatest weakness and his downfall; his great love for Eve. As a result for his strong infatuation for Eve, she could easily persuade him, as Satan persuaded her. Adam did not want to lose and upset Eve, so Eve’s love lured Adam into eating from the Tree of Knowledge. Another weakness that Adam possessed was his thirst for knowledge. This also contributed to his downfall because he was always willing and wanting to know more. An ironic comparison is how Adam’s â€Å"thirst for knowledge† led him to the â€Å"Tree of Knowledge.† So in summation Adam’s weaknesses led him to disobey GOD for Eve. Although Adam and Eve were created equally by GOD, their different thoughts and actions led to a contrast in each other’s weaknesses. In the final analysis, one can see how similar characters from birth, grew to be different characters with time. Although Adam and Eve were created equally by GOD, these characters shared different thoughts and performed different actions that distinguished them from one another, which lead to them having contrasting strengths and weaknesses. Neither of the characters were heroes nor satanic figures, even though they contributed to the downfall of man. â€Å"Paradise Lost is a Christian epic and Christ is the hero. Milton has laid the classic epic under tribute for details that adorn a new and in most respect modern type† (Woodhull 256). This quote shows how others see the detail that Milton put in to describing Adam and Eve, and making it more understandable in today’s world. In closing, the synopsis of Paradise Lost is very debatable when comparing or contrasting Adam and Eve. They were the two first human beings known to mankind, and set the stage for the rest of the world. Milton portrays each Adam and Eve to the fullest that gives readers a chance to have their own clear views about each. Work Cited McMahon, Robert. The Two Poets of Paradise Lost. Louisiana: Louisiana Tate University Press, 1998. Milton, John. Edited by Teskey, Gordon. Paradise Lost. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc, 2005. Ryken, Leland. The Apocalyptic Vision in Paradise Lost. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1970. Woodhull, Marianna. The Epic of Paradise Lost Twelve Essays. New York: The Knickerbocker Press, 1907.

Autumn When Autumn Came Essays

Autumn When Autumn Came Essays Autumn When Autumn Came Essay Autumn When Autumn Came Essay In both poems people reflect on autumn. Write about both poems and their effect on you. You may wish to include some or all of these points: The content what they are about The themes -? ideas the poet wanted the reader to consider The atmosphere and mood of the poem Structure how the poem is organized How they are written -? words and phrase you find interesting Your personal response When Autumn Came This is the way that autumn came to the trees: it stripped them down to the skin, left their ebony bodies naked. It shook out their hearts, the yellow leaves, catered them over the ground. Anyone could trample them out of shape undisturbed by a single moan of protest. The birds that herald dreams were exiled from their song, each voice torn out of its throat. They dropped into the dust even before the hunter strung his bow. Naomi Lizard Autumn Autumn arrives Like an experienced robber Grabbing the green stuff Then cunningly covering his tracks With a deep multitude Of colorful distractions. And the wind, The wind is his accomplice Putting an air of chaos Into the careful diversions So branches shake And dead leaves are suddenly brown In the faces of inquisitive strangers. The theft chills the world Changes the temper of the earth Till the normally placid sky Glows red with a quiet rage. Alan Bold Unseen Poetry similarities differences Content: Who? Where? When? What? Why do you think the poet wrote this poem? What is the mood or atmosphere of the poem? Does it change at any point? Why? How has the poet used language cleverly? Similes, metaphors, onomatopoeia, alliteration etc. Think why each technique has been chosen. Give your opinion of the poem (three sentences) Which poem did you prefer and why?

Soft Systems Thinking Essay Essays

Soft Systems Thinking Essay Essays Soft Systems Thinking Essay Paper Soft Systems Thinking Essay Paper Soft System Methodology ( SSM ) was developed as methodological analysis by Peter Checkland and his co-workers working at Lancaster University and Open University in the seventiess. The thought of the SSM is to understand. place and work out the existent universe jobs. This paper will get down with the history of SSM and its definition. Then it describes the SSM methodological analysis with a practical instance survey from the existent universe. The writer will look into the chief characteristics and benefits SSM. Afterwards the writer will show the relationship between the soft systems believing. cognition direction. rational capital and societal capital. Soft Systems Methodology ( SSM ) is now taught and used around the universe. â€Å"SSM as an attack to undertaking the multi-faceted jobs which directors face ; in making this. it besides established the now well-recognized differentiation between ‘ hard’ and ‘ soft’ systems thinking† ( Winter. 2000 ) . Soft Systems Methodology is based on systems believing. It views the job sphere in a holistic instead than reductionist manner. recognizing that the constituent parts are interconnected. so that a alteration to one portion will impact the other parts. â€Å"Systems believing is a model for seeing interrelatednesss instead than things. for seeing forms of alteration instead than inactive snapshots† ( Frank. 2002 ) . Systems believing propose flexible linguistic communication which can spread out. form and alter the human being normal manner of believing in respect to complex affairs. Wang and Ahmed ( 2003 ) argue that soft systems enclose a broad scope of soft constituents including historical. personal. cultural and institutional factors which lays the bases of organizational acquisition. Taking a holistic attack requires the ability to distance oneself from daily operational jobs and to see how jobs and issues are connected to the overall form that underlies peculiar inside informations and events. Senge ( 1990. cited Bonn. 2001 ) calls this attack as â€Å"systems thinking† . He argues that: â€Å"We must look beyond personalities and events. We must look into the underlying constructions which shape single actions and make the conditions where types of events become likely† . SSM is called human activity systems ( Brocklesby. 1995 ) . SSM methodological analysis composes of seven phases and those are: 1. The job state of affairs unstructured. 2. The job state of affairs structured. 3. Root definitions of relevant systems. 4. Conceptual theoretical accounts. 5. Comparison of phase 4 and phase 2. 6. Identify executable and desirable alterations A ; 7. Action to better the job state of affairs. These phases are shown below in Figure 1. Figure 1. Traditional SSM Seven Stages Phases 1. 2. 5. 6. and 7 are existent universe activities that involves existent people in the job state of affairs or the existent job that needs to be improved. These activities speak every twenty-four hours linguistic communication of the peculiar state of affairs. While phases 3 and 4 are system believing activities which may or may non affect those in the job state of affairs depending on the fortunes. It describes what complexness of the system and what and how the system ought to look like. These activities speak the linguistic communication of the system. Another manner to believe of these activities are to believe of activities 1 and 2 as the stage of happening out about the job state of affairs. stages 3. 4. and 5 contribute to do up the stage of system thought. and eventually stages 6 and 7 are the stage of taking action. These seven phases do non stand for a individual procedure which can be followed from start to the terminal in a consecutive order and after which a right determination or an reply will be obvious. These phases are phases in a procedure and this procedure may hold to be repeated many times before a sensible adjustment or understanding may be reached. Planing and direction is progressively debatable in the real-world environment of gyrating alteration and uncertainness. Knowledge is uncomplete. values are in difference and the determinations of others are frequently unpredictable. Problem structuring methods ( PSMs ) are now a cardinal direction accomplishment. It is the procedure of recovering information from long-run memory and external memory and utilizing it to build the job infinite. i. e. to stipulate ends. operators and rating maps etc. The methods which have come. jointly. to be known as PSMs were developed independently from the mid 1960s onwards. What each PSM offers is a manner of stand foring the state of affairs ( that is. a theoretical account or theoretical accounts ) that will enable participants to clear up their quandary. converge on a potentially actionable common job or issue within it. and agree committednesss that will at least partly decide it. There are many types of PSMs and the more standard signifiers of the chief methods may be briefly summarized as follows: -Strategic options development and analysis ( SODA ) : This is a general job designation method that uses cognitive function as a modeling device for arousing and entering individuals’ positions of a job state of affairs. -Soft systems methodological analysis ( SSM ) : This is a general method fro system redesign. Participants build ideal-type conceptual theoretical accounts ( CMs ) . one for each relevant universe position. -Strategic pick attack ( SCA ) : This is a planning attack centred on pull offing uncertainness in strategic state of affairss. -Robustness analysis: This is an attack that focuses on keeping utile flexibleness under uncertainness. -Drama theory: This draws on the two attacks. metagames and hypergames. It is an synergistic method of analyzing co-operation and struggle among multiple histrions. Sometimes non merely one attack is used but several. When developing an IT scheme for a big UK supermarket concatenation ( Sainsbury ) . they deployed and adapted a broad scope of PSMs in combination. Cognitive maps ( from the SODA attack ) were drawn. The following stage was to analyze each possible new IT systems in more item. for which the undertaking force members learned to utilize SSM. The rating of these possible systems was conducted utilizing the ‘comparing’ manner of the SCA. The concluding phase involved change overing the precedence portfolio of systems into a smaller figure of larger undertakings. New systems were developed and introduced over a five twelvemonth period. and were found to ensue in significant. measured benefits. SSM has advantages and those are: the ability to work out soft jobs where hard techniques fails ; takes societal. political. and power distribution issues into consideration through the application of cultural watercourse analysis ; Support different point of views through rich images ; can be used for larning in add-on to work outing jobs ; can be used in system where there is ill-situation but there is no specific ends and aims ; allows for new and inventive solutions to be discovered ; really utile in the beginning of work outing a job to happen out about the job state of affairs and understands demands. SSM has disadvantages and those are used to work out some ill-parts of the system but it doesn’t construct a whole system ; it does non state you how to construct the system ; the power managing portion seems fancy where the directors ever have the upper manus ; direction are non so happy about the nature of unfastened ended SSM ; heavy weight and clip devouring procedure ; limited in the design of a new system. Executives in successful administrations systematically search for ways to better the public presentation of their administrations. This motivates direction of such administrations. to obtain new apprehensions of some of the implicit in but complex mechanisms. e. g. Knowledge. that govern the endeavor effectivity. Increasingly. the cognition being captured and used by administrations is seen as the footing for the firm’s competitory advantage. Offsey ( 1997 ) asserts â€Å"As the gait of planetary competition quickens. executives realize that their border lies in more expeditiously reassigning cognition across their organisations† . On the other manus Inkpen ( 1996 ) argues that ‘Increasingly. the creative activity of new organizational cognition is going a managerial priority†¦ . . A failure to make cognition and pull off it as a critical organizational plus may account for the worsening public presentation of many well-established firms† . Such considerations from administrations led to the outgrowth of a new motion known as Knowledge Management ( KM ) . Knowledge direction is a cyclic acquisition procedure where SSM adds value in motive on uninterrupted and effectual acquisition ( Gao. Li and Nakamori. 2002 ) . Many research workers view the construct of KM as about people and non engineering. Quinn ( 1992. cited Soliman and Spooner. 2000 ) believes that the economic and bring forthing power of a modern corporation lies in its rational and service capablenesss alternatively of its difficult assets. Sarvary ( 1999. cited Alvesson and Karreman. 2001 ) goes ‘There is much more to knowledge direction than engineering entirely. Knowledge direction in a concern process† . Davenport and Prusak ( 1998 ) define cognition as â€Å"a unstable mix of framed experience. values. contextual information. and adept penetration that provides a model for measuring and integrating new experiences and information. It originates and is applied in the heads of apprehenders. In administrations. it frequently becomes embedded non merely in paperss or depositories but besides in organizational modus operandis. procedures. patterns and norms† . Nonaka ( 1991 ) suggests that there are two types of cognition: tacit. which is embedded in the human encephalon and can non be expressed easy ; and explicit cognition. which can be easy codified. Researchers argue about the importance of the above two types of cognition. While some focal points on pull offing expressed cognition. others argue that more accent is to be given to pull offing the tacit cognition. Mintzberg ( 1989. cited Soliman and Spooner. 2000 ) argues â€Å"The strategic informations bank of the administration is non in the memory of its computing machines but in the heads of its managers† . In order to transform the above two types of cognition within the house into a valuable plus. cognition. experience. and expertness must undergo some KM Procedures that may include formalisation. distribution. sharing. and application of cognition. Von Krogh et Al. ( 2000a. B ) identified a six measure KM procedure that starts with creative activity and progresses to knowledge gaining control and storage. knowledge polish. cognition distribution. cognition usage. and monitoring of the full procedure. Theories such as: Theory Y ( McGregor. 1960 ) . Management by Objectives ( Drucker. 1965 ) . strategic planning by Mintzberg and Porter ( 1970s ) . Entire Quality Management by figure of quality gurus such as ( Deming. 1986 ; Juran and Gryna. 1993 ; Crosby. 1979 ; Feigenbaum. 1991 ) . and Learning Organization ( Senge. 1990 ) . are all stand foring the development in the tools and patterns in the direction field during the 20th and twenty-first century. As a consequence of the uninterrupted attempt of seeking the competitory advantage. new construct of direction has emerged. underscoring on the importance of pull offing consistently and explicitly the organisational rational plus. â€Å"As a consequence the direction community has come to recognize that what an organisation and its employees know is at the bosom of how the organisation functions† ( Davenport. Prusak. 2000 ) . Drucker ( cited in DeTienne A ; Jackson. 2001 ) supports the same position and mentioned that â€Å"We know that the beginning of wealth is something human: cognition. If we apply knowledge to tasks we already cognize how to make. we call it productiveness. If we apply knowledge to tasks that are new and different. we call it invention. Merely cognition allows us to accomplish these two goals† . The value of the organisation’s cognition should be recognised. so that cognition is managed as an plus ( Rowley. 1999 ) . Kannan and Aulbur ( 2004 ) argue that rational capital. knowledge direction and intangible assets are of import factors in finding the value of an organisation. as reflected in the growing of the cognition direction industry. Intangible assets such as good will. patents. hallmarks. rational capital and client lists are going cardinal assets in many of today’s corporations. particularly in the engineering industry. With the turning influence of intang ible assets. their appraisal is going more of import and the standards for their appraisal should besides go on to develop to assist extinguish any abnormalities that may originate. This is indispensable in protecting the credibleness of comptrollers and the stockholders of corporations. â€Å"Intellectual capital can be defined as rational resources that have been â€Å"formalized. captured and leveraged† to make assets of higher value† ( Prusak. 1998 cited Kannan and Aulbur. 2004 ) . Rastogi ( 2002 ) defines IC as â€Å"A firm’s holistic art and potency for making value† . IC refers to rational stuff such as rational belongings. cognition. information and experience that can be used to make wealth. Intangible assets are innately hard to mensurate and include a big figure of organisational and single variable ( Kannan and Aulbur. 2004 ) . Intellectual capital may be both the terminal consequence of a cognition transmutation procedure or the cognition itself that is transformed into rational assets of the house ( Dzinkowski. 2000 ) . Three extra signifiers of capital have became popular constructs in the new economic system of the past mark old ages: market capital. rational capital. and knowledge capital ( Tymon and Stumpf. 2003 ) . Management is of import in organizing. fosterage and heightening rational capital to do it productive. There is some incompatibility and confusion between the footings KM and IC. There is an copiousness of literature on both. each covering with the same issue that the value of cognition as an organisational plus ( Egbu. 2004 ) . Intellectual Capital consist of Social Capital: Relationships within and outside the administration ; Human Capital: The people within the administration ; Structural Capital: The procedure and operations of the administration ; Customer Capital: Value of external relationships. Organization such as Skandia describes rational capital through measuring of new indexs. A balance scorecard for mensurating public presentation on fiscal capital and assorted rational capital dimensions is presented to Skandia direction ( Bucklew. 1999 ) . Bucklew ( 1999 ) argues that rational capital additions company value and makes concern operations more efficient. Beside that he arguers that the sharing of competences requires direction of information which indicates that both information direction and rational capital are related. The Intangible Asset Monitor was developed by Karl Erik Sveiby as a presentation format that displays indexs for internal direction information intents ( Sveiby. 1997 ) . Success in the 21st century will be more societal and relational than it has been since kins were the prevailing societal construction of society. Tymon and Stumpf ( 2003 ) argue that societal capital is the stock of accrued resources that one can entree based on the relationships that can help or be leveraged in carry throughing an terminal or fostering a chase. The stock of accrued resources that can be accessed via these relationships is what we define as societal capital. â€Å"These resources include information. thoughts. leads. concern chances. fiscal capital. power. emotional support. good will. trust. and cooperation† ( Baker. 2000 ) . Social capital can be defined as the existent and possible resources embedded within. available through. and derived from the web of relationships possessed by an person or societal unit. In this definition. societal capital comprises both the web and the assets. which may be mobilized through that web. Since rational capital is by and large created through a procedure of uniting the cognition and experience of different parties. it is dependent upon exchange between these parties. ( Nahpiet. 1997 ) . The worker is farther alienated from other people. since capitalist economy transforms societal dealingss into market dealingss. and people are judged by their place in the market instead than by their human qualities. Peoples come to see each other as hypostatizations – as worker or as capitals – instead than as persons. In the writer sentiment. the societal dealingss of capital that arise are between those who own the agency of production. and those who must work. This entails a relation non merely of belongings. but besides of power. The dealingss are characterized in category battles which leads to development. by pull outing excess labor. and therefore to disaffection of the worker. It is the potency of societal capital to take to new penetrations ( rational capital ) through the interactions among a diverse group of sure others in covering with an issue. Knowledge workers skilled in the usage of societal capital acknowledge this interactive potency. Much of the grounds of the relationship between societal capital and rational capital high spots the significance of the relational dimension of societal capital. In peculiar. research identifies many ways in which aspects of relationships influence the motive of parties to prosecute in cognition creative activity through exchange and combination. â€Å"It is both normative and descriptive in nature in an effort to see the full cognition rhythm. The model is normative in that is prescribes specific KM processs ( or undertakings ) . and it is descriptive in that it identifies properties of KM that influence its success or failure organisational civilization. acquisition. scheme. cognition classifications† ( Rubenstein – Montano. Liebowitz. Buchwalter. McCaw. Newman and Rebeck. 2001 ) Harmonizing to several research workers. societal capital can act upon professional success ; aid workers in the occupation hunt procedure and make a better portfolio of employees for the organisation ; ease the exchange of resources between units ; estimulate invention. rational capital creative activity and the efficiency of multidisciplinary squads ; cut down the rotary motion of employees and back up the creative activity of start-ups ; and beef up dealingss with providers. regional web production and inter-organizational acquisition. There is one of import and critical facet. which contributes to the effectivity of the transportation of cognition within any house. which is the civilization of the administration. Goh ( 2002 ) argues that â€Å"one cultural dimension critical to knowledge transportation is co-operation and collaboration†¦The existing of a strong co-operative and collaborative civilization is an of import requirement for cognition transportation between persons and groups† . Developing a civilization that encourages sharing and reassigning of cognition is a really of import function of the direction of any administration. A civilization that should be built on trust and transparence between all persons within the administration. a civilization that will honor persons who portions their cognition and reassign it to their equals within the administration. a civilization that encourages acquisition of different competencies required by the house. and a civilization that encourage horizontal communicating flows through the set uping cross-functional squads within the administration. should be encouraged. Such civilizations would be achieved through the leading committedness of the administration. and through paying attending. as suggested by Devanport and Prusak ( 1998 ) . to the amateur cognition workers who perform the different cognition work. and besides by the creative activity of a Chief Learning officer place within the company. In decision. the SSM plays of import function in measuring the design a system to carry on cognition direction which is the rational capital of the house. Firm’s civilization and administration construction from the leading point of the position are the cardinal factors for interchanging and sharing the cognition which is the rational capital and treated as an assets. REFERANCES Alvesson. M. and Karreman. D. ( 2001 ) Odd Couple: Making Sense Of The Curious Concept Of Knowledge Management. Journal Of Management. Studies. 38:7. November 2001. pp. 0022-2380. Bonn. I. ( 2001 ) Developing Strategic Thinking as a Core Competency. Management Decision. Vol. 39 No. 1. pp 63-70. Brocklesby. J. ( 1995 ) Using Soft Systems Methodology to Identify Competence Requirements in HRM. International Journal of Manpower. Vol. 16 No. 5/6. pp. 70-84. Davenport. T. and Prusak. L. ( 1998 ) Working Knowledge. Cambridge. Ma: Harvard Business School Press. Egbu. C. O ( 2004 ) Pull offing Knowledge and Intellectual Capital for Improved Organizational Innovations in the Construction Industry. An Examination of Critical Success Factors. Engineering. Construction and Architectural Management. Volume 11. No. 5. pp. 301-315 Frank. M. ( 2002 ) What is â€Å"engineering systems thinking† ? Kybernetes. Vol. 31 No. 9/10. 2002. pp. 1350-1360. Gao. F. . Li. M. and Nakamori. Y. ( 2002 ) Systems Thinking on Knowledge and Its Management: Systems Methodology for Knowledge Management. Journal of Management. 6 ( 1 ) pp. 7-17. Goh. S. G. ( 2002 ) Pull offing Effective Knowledge Transfer: An Integrative Model and some Practice Implications. Journal Of Management. Vol. 6. No. 1. pp. 23-30. Nonaka. I. ( 1991 ) â€Å"The Knowledge Creation Company† . Harvard Business Review. November/December. pp. 96-104. Inkpen. A. C. ( 1996 ) Making Knowledge Through Collaboration. California Management Review. Vol. 39. No. 2. Fall 1996. Kannan. G. and Aulbur. W. G. ( 2004 ) Intellectual Capital Measurement Effectiveness. Journal of Intellectual Capital. Vol. 5 No. 3. pp. 389-413 Nonaka. I. ( 1991 ) The Knowledge Creation Company. Harvard Business Review. November/December. pp. 96-104. Offsey. S. ( 1997 ) Knowledge Management: Associating Peoples to Knowledge for Bottom Line Results. Journal Of Knowledge Management. Vol. 1. No. 2. December 1997. Soliman. F. and Spooner. K. ( 2000 ) Strategies for Implementing Knowledge Management: function of human resource direction. Journal Of Knowledge Management. Vol. 4. No. 4. 2000. pp. 337-345. Tymon. W. G. and Stumpf. S. A. ( 2003 ) Social Capital in the Success of Knowledge Workers. Career Development International. 8/1. pp. 2-20 Von Krogh. G. Khijo. K. . and Nonaka. I. ( 2000a ) Enabling Knowledge Creation. How to Unlock the Mystery of Tacit Knowledge and Release the Power of Innovation. Oxford University Press. New York. NY. Von Krogh. G. . Nonaka. I. . Nishiguchi. T. ( Eds ) ( 2000b ) Knowledge Creation. A Source Of Value. Macmillan. New York. NY. Wang. C. L. and Ahmed. P. K. ( 2003 ) Emotion: The Missing Part of Systems Methodologies. Kybernetes. Vol. 32 No. 9/10. pp. 1283-1296 Winter. M. ( 2000 ) The Relevance of Soft Systems Thinking. Human Resource Development International. Vol. 3 No. 3. pp 377-383

Aint No Makin It

In this paper I will explore some concepts that I saw that were prevalent in her undercover research. Weberian Sociology The first concept that I immediately grasped was Max Weber’s theory of stratification of equality. Weber’s view of stratification differed from the one-dimensional class theory of Karl Marx. Weber theorized that there are three different factors that help shape class formation, class status, and party. All but the latter of the three were evident in the book. The first notion of Weber’s notion on class stated that people with common occupations, earning approximately similar incomes, constitute a class. Marger p. 39) In each city that she worked in the living conditions and earnings were about the same, most of her coworkers had living arrangements that involved sharing housing with someone other than their spouse, if they had one. Another trait that was displayed from here coworkers in each city was the proximity of where they lived into relat ion to where they worked. Transportation plays a key role in life chances for people. If a person is mobile they may go for that higher paying job on the other side of town. Weber’s second theory of social stratification of inequality, status, was made evident while Barbara was working in Maine. While Barbara worked in Maine as a maid she noticed how convenience store clerks, who made $. 65 less than she made an hour, look at her and her coworkers as if they were beneath them. Another example of this was when she stated that everywhere she went people looked at the uniform and instantly regarded her and her coworkers as lower class citizens. People saw there green and yellow uniforms like the white and black stripes of a convict and that their style of life isn’t as good as people in their social class. One particular instance when she bought a beer from the grocery store she could feel the cold stares that implied that the reason she had that maid job was because all her money was going to support her alcohol habit; even though Barbara has a PH. D and probably made more money than many of them all they saw was a lower class citizen. Social Mobility Another sociological concept that prevalent of the working poor that was portrayed in the book was the theory of social mobility. It will be difficult for many of Barbara’s ex-coworkers to ever move into a different class because mobility rates in the U. S. have been on a decline over the past five decades. It is said in America that everyone can lace up their boots and pull themselves out of poverty but mobility is getting harder to accomplish. One factor of mobility is marriage; statistical data has said that women that never marry are 16% to 19% more likely to fall out of the middle class. Barbara worked with three females, Gail, Annette, and Marianne, who all fell into this statistic. Two of the three women lived with boyfriends but since they were not married it will be statically harder to make their way up the class ladder . Married women usually benefit from their husbands class and prestige; â€Å"shacking up† is not conducive to women making a climb up the ladder. Gender is another factor that hinders mobility; although the workplace has gotten better the fact still remains that women are still far behind men. In this system of inequality women have to work harder and are not usually respected as much as men. In lower paying jobs, like the ones Barbara worked, most of her coworkers were woman with a man being their immediate supervisor; the only exception was Linda which was her supervisor at the nursing home she worked at in Maine. This injustice to women played a major role in her life as an undercover journalist. Immigration to United States also dictates class mobility. Barbara worked with people from Haiti and the Czech Republic. The movement of immigrants moving up the class ladder is getting harder to accomplish. The lower paying jobs that they had were jobs that many Americans do not want to do but Americans blame the immigrants for taking â€Å"good† jobs away from naturalized citizens, which in all actuality the immigrates create as many jobs as they take. (Marger p. 34) The current trend is that Americans look at unskilled foreign citizens as a burden and hindrance to the economic growth to America. Americans forget that their great great grandfathers and great – great grandmothers came to this country looking for a better opportunity for their families and that they often had to jobs and work in conditions that most people did not want to work in. The lack of generational mobility was also displayed in the book. Social mobility can also be measured from one generation to another, how well the children of the previous generation do in their lives and workplace. I mentioned earlier that one of the women who Barbara worked with was unmarried, Annette, well she has another tribulation that will hinder her movement up the social ladder; she lives with her mom. Instead of creating upward mobility for herself and her family she has gone down, Annette’s mother worked as a postal clerk. The social mobility of Annette’s family took a vertical turn downward and it’s highly unlikely that her life chances will promote upward growth. Horatio Alger Jr. The mythical days of success stories portrayed in Horatio Alger Jr. s books are long gone. Horatio Alger Jr. wrote and published stories were young men were able to change their class system and life chances by working hard to gain economic and social success. (Marger p. 98) In his stories the young man always worked hard and had good moral values to make it out of poverty. This concept inspired workers back then but the farce of the books still apply in today’s society. One far ce of his books is that one can work harder only by working hard. A person can work hard all their lives and still not vertically move up the social ladder. One question that rises to me is what the definition of hard work is; is hard work physical, mental, and/or both. In the book Barbara worked so hard that she had to ingest a heap of ibuprofen pills just to make it through the day; the deterioration of her body showed that she worked hard but the fact remained that neither Barbara or her coworkers could not move up the corporate ladder in the companies that they worked at. Alger Jr. Books also portrayed young men as heroes, excluding women, minorities, and immigrants. Times have changed since his books were published; there are women, minorities, and immigrants in the modern workforce. These groups have entered the Caucasian male driven workforce to have the same opportunities of their white counterparts. Although in modern times the inequality of the groups has closed a meniscal amount each year those groups will never be the same across the board. Social Functions of Poverty The 2nd part of poverty, the political economy of capitalism, according to structural sociologist explains that poverty results from the way the economy and government operate. America is set to be a capitalistic society; in capitalistic society corporations profit first objective. Corporations decide where to do business and structure employment and employee hours to maximize profits. The inequality of these practices was blatant in every city that Barbara worked in. Barbara first victimized to this practice while working as a waitress at the Hearthside Diner. The diner did not have a break room for employees. The employees were not allowed to have idle time, there was always something to clean, resupply, or make more visually pleasing. The objective of this was to get the employees to work continuously through their shifts without breaks. The practice of this theory could also be seen while Barbara was working in Minnesota at Wal-Mart, the store had a policy that employees were not allowed to â€Å"time steal† ; all associates were told to always look for something to complete in the store. Wal-Mart also cross-trains it associates in different departments in order to be well-rounded; this is a capitalistic practice for validating not giving the employees a decent wage, if one employee has knowledge about many areas of the store then the company can maximize profits by just hiring one person to do the job instead of hiring more that are specialized in that particular section. A dentist is a doctor but I would not want the dentist to perform open heart surgery on me because the dentist is only specialized to work on teeth. The best way to explain our capitalistic society is to quote Gail, Barbara’s coworker and training partner in Florida, said it best â€Å"They don’t cut you no slack. You give and you give, and they take. †(Nickel and Dimed p. 22); because of these practices Gail vowed never to work for a corporation again. Economic Function of Poverty The 1st point of the economic function theory is that poor perform the dirty work of society because they have little choice to do other jobs. Barbara’s coworkers were unskilled laborers so their opportunities for better employment were limited to jobs that require service instead of a skilled job. Another example of this in book was the story of Isabelle. Isabelle was a coworker of Barbara in Minnesota that previously worked as a waitress; she worked at a high class restaurant but when the restaurant closed she had to work at Wal-Mart because the available high class restaurants would not hire her because of her age. The 2nd point of the economic function of poverty is that since poor people receive little wages that subsidize the rich and middle class. Over the past thirty years manufacturing jobs have been downsized or outsourced to other countries, most of the jobs in America now are service jobs. The jobs that Barbara worked at were all jobs that catered to servicing people’s needs and wants. The jobs that are offered to lower class citizens make the lives of the rich and middle class make life more â€Å"convenient†, the mind state of the rich and poor is I don’t want to do this so I can pay someone to do it for me. The rich and middle class in today’s society rely on the underprivileged to do the work. There is not a caste system in America with serfs, but the two share similar values. Slavery in Modern Form The modern system of slavery in America has transformed from owning people to controlling people through economic exploitation. One technique of corporations to control the lives of their employees to implement the practice of a pre-job drug screen; in today’s society companies want to know want their employees do in their personal lives. Although studies have shown that pre-employment testing does not lower turnover rates or absenteeism it is still a practice. I believe that employers should probe into the personal lives of their employees, what one does in their own time and not on the companies’ clock should not matter until it affects their performance on the job. Today’s society and companies assume that all lower class people do drugs that will hinder them from performing their jobs at an optimal level. The fact is that people from every class ingest drugs into their bodies; the drug cocaine is preferred by other classes because the drug does not remain in the body for an extended period of time. Barbara had to experience this form of slavery when she applied for a job at Wal-Mart and Winn-Dixie in Minnesota. Barbara had to spend extra money on a detoxification drink that she did not really have, lower her sodium intake, and drink plenty of water to get marijuana out her system just to have employment at Wal-Mart. Another example of employers assuming that workers use drugs was in Florida; the manager of the Hearthside Diner, Stu, assumed that the George was stilling money for drug, but in fact it was him that stealing money from the cash registrar. Religion Karl Marx examined the relationship between religious values and its effects on the economy; he concluded that the two things are essentially the result of capitalism; one cannot exist without the other. Marx examined this and published a book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism which detailed the relationship between the two. Early protestant religious figures believed that working to acquire material success and wealth was an indicator that God chose that person to enter heaven and this believe is still practiced today. I believe that relationship to be true but do not believe in the philosophy behind it. Barbara visited a church tent revival in Maine and was preached on how Jesus gave up his life for the sins of his followers. I used to attend church regularly and I always wondered why the church would always ask for money to support different things within the church, tithing was pushed the most. Tithing requires that one give the church at least 10% of their income, if people work and can barely make it on the low wages they earn it astonishes me how they give money to the church every week. I also agree with Barbara’s notion that Jesus was a sociologist, Jesus worked spreading the word of God and performing miracles but he was never paid for doing them. Barbara also mentioned in the book that the churches were always the place to go when one is down on their luck or experiencing tough times; she noted that one of the first things people said was to get help at a church. Once again the church, because of people’s cultural values, is the center point focused on the poor. I believe that church reality wanted to end the poverty cycle and help people in poverty that the church would use their political power to stop poverty instead of lobbying in Congress to pass laws that hinder the poor. In conclusion Barbara Ehenreich’s book, Nickel and Dimed, had many sociological concepts within her travels from Florida, Maine, and finally Minnesota. The jobs low wage jobs she took to see how lower class people survive gave validity to many of the sociological concepts I have learned in this class. There are many other concepts that were evident in the book but the concepts of Weberian Sociology, Social Mobility, Horatio Alger Jr. , Social Functions of Poverty, Slavery in Modern Form, and Religion were instantly apparent . The book gave deeper insight on how lower class people survive from low wages and demeaning jobs to make higher class people’s lives better.

Interpretations of David Lynch's film Blue Velvet (1986) often suggest Essay

Interpretations of David Lynch's film Blue Velvet (1986) often suggest that the film either cultivates the sincere and innocent - Essay Example They do not reveal anything about the investigation but it is here that he meets Sandy (Laura Dern), the detective’s daughter, who unveils what her father has deciphered about the case- that a woman named Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) is a suspect of the case. Jeffrey then poses as a help man and as Dorothy is engaged in conversation with a man in the yellow suit (to whom Jeffrey later refers to as Yellow Man), Jeffrey takes the key to Dorothy’s apartment. Sandy and Jeffrey then attend Dorothy’s nightclub act where she sings ‘Blue Velvet’, and from thereon Jeffrey leaves early to sneak into Dorothy’s apartment to find clues. When Dorothy arrives he hides in her closet, but she sensing him finds him with a knife in her hand. Mistaking Jeffrey’s curiosity for sexual interest she forces him to undress as she threatens him with the knife. At this point Dorothy engages in orally stimulating Jeffrey. The encounter is interrupted by a knock on the door whereby Dorothy pushes Jeffrey back in the closet from where he witnesses that the visitor-Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper)- attempts to molest, abuse and rape Dorothy. Hiding in the closet Jeffrey finds that Frank Booth is a drug dealer who has kidnapped Dorothy’s husband and son so that he may use Dorothy to satisfy his sexual appetite. When Frank has left Dorothy turns to Jeffrey and attempts to make him mistreat her but he refuses and leaves even upon her insistence for him to stay. Jeffrey later relays his experience to Sandy and subsequently they go to Dorothy’s club where she performs Blue Velvet yet again. At the club Jeffrey observes Frank Booth who is fondling a piece of blue velvet which he had torn from Dorothy’s clothes the night Jeffrey has witnessed his assault and rape of Dorothy. It is then that Jeffrey decides to follow Frank. The next scenes show Jeffrey prying on Frank and his connection with the Yellow Man and another man which Jeffrey identifies as the Well Dressed Man. Jeffrey goes onto inform Sandy about his new findings and it is then that the sexual tension between the two breaks and they engage in a soft kiss. But Sandy is reluctant to go any further with Jeffrey because she has a boyfriend and Jeffrey taking this as rejection turns to Dorothy and the two have sexual intercourse. During this second intimate encounter with Dorothy, Dorothy is able to extract a frustrated reaction from Jeffrey whereby he turns and hits her. Instantly, we see that Jeffrey regrets this violent act but Dorothy enjoys it. Afterwards, Frank Booth finds Dorothy and Jeffrey coerces them to go to his partner Ben’s apartment. The scene at Ben’s residence is sadistic, here Ben sings ‘In Dreams’ and in the wake of this music Frank punches Jeffrey to unconsciousness when Jeffrey attempts to hit Frank when the later molests Dorothy. In the morning Frank wakes up in the yard where he had been beaten uncons cious and goes to Sandy’s father (the detective) to relay the entire course of events. That day Sandy accompanies Jeffrey to a dance and upon their return to Jeffrey’s residence they find a stricken, naked and traumatized Dorothy on Jeffrey’s lawn. Sandy is gone to fetch the police and her father and take them to Dorothy’

Marketing Plan Phase III Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marketing Plan Phase III - Essay Example where executives are always in a hurry catching up with their appointments and needs to have an access to technology which will keep them in track with recent economic and business developments. Thus, Boeing 007 Heli-jet will differentiate itself along these lines by being creating aircrafts and coming up with innovative features which respond to these needs. As stated above, the main factor which will differentiate Boeing 007 Heli-jet with other aircrafts is its concern on the importance of time in the current business environment. Noting that Boeing 007 Heli-jet is aimed at the corporate executives, it will emphasize its consideration of their lifestyle which requires them to attend meetings. Globalization further demands attending meetings abroad to meet with a wider spectrum of local executives. As time is very important to the market, they need airplanes which are capable of flying at faster speed in order to maximize this resource. As shorter time is spent on travelling far distances, the Boeing 007 Heli-jet enables executives to focus on and spend more time in their meetings as well as discussion of business matters. Thus, it also has the capacity to shorten the period that business executives stay in a certain country for these affairs. This will mean savings for the company in terms of accommodation and maximization of time. In the end, the newest product of Boeing Commercial Airplanes will be positioned as the aircraft which maximizes the use of time by being the fastest aircraft in the face of Earth. Boeing 007 Heli-jet will differentiate itself among other aircrafts not only by becoming the fastest plane in the world but also by maximizing time by offering features which will enable business executives to be in-touch with the business world through work station cabins which will be equipped by phone equipments and internet connection. The aircraft will offer comfort and convenience through design and furnishing of an executive office. In order to

Business concepts 2 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Business concepts 2 - Coursework Example The first role is the provision of technological supervision in the corporation, which does not only entail the supervision of the other IT specialists but also the information systems and the communications networks. The CIO also oversees the development and execution of an excellent customer service platform relative to the organization’s practices. He/she also liaises with management teams and organizational leaders on any IT-related alterations, advances or probable approaches to enhance communication. Additionally, still under communication, the CIO maintains the corporate network infrastructure for utter connectivity and remote access. Other roles of the CIO entail participation in vendor contract negotiations, assessing and anticipating technology projects, and establishing and directing strategic and tactical objectives, initiatives and practices in the IT department. Finally, the top-level management also requires the CIO to flourish in the identification of user need s and resolution of problems. The core roles of the Information Department, relative to the name, entail dealing with most, if not all, of the organization’s information. The first significant role entails planning, where members in the department work with the Chief Information Officer in developing an IT approach supporting the corporate culture and objectives (Linton, 2015). The planning role of the department helps in building a resilient advantage over the rest of the competitors, which they achieve through customization of software and computer systems significant in meeting needs of other organization’s departments. Networking is also among the roles of the department as it is the backbone of efficient communication and collaboration between departments. The IT departments operations mostly relate to the organization networks and ways of making it more efficient. As modules of the network system, the IT department, through the different teams, engages in

Organizational Theory Literature and an Analysis of the U.S. Steel Term Paper

Organizational Theory Literature and an Analysis of the U.S. Steel Corporation - Term Paper Example It is also found that, in the context of each organization, two different powers are likely to exist: one originated from the organization’s external members, such as customers and suppliers, and ‘one originated from the insiders, i.e. employees or shareholders’ (Hatch & Schultz 2007, p.356). As for the relation between image, culture and identity, the following assumption is made: the theories that have been published in regard to each one of these concepts are related, more or less (Hatch & Schultz 2007, p.364). The assumptions of Hatch & Schultz (2007) in regard to identity, culture and image in organizations, can be characterized as valuable, providing important insights in the relation of the above organizational aspects. It should also be noted that although no empirical research has been employed for this study, still its findings are quite credible as they are based on important studies that have been published in the specific field. The validity of the study is further increase due to the following fact: Hatch & Schultz (2007) have developed a graph for showing the characteristics of the relation between culture, image and identity, as derived from the research developed on this issue (Graph 1, Appendices). Cultural Diversity in Organizational Theory and Practice Mazur, B., 2010 In the study of Mazur (2010) emphasis is given on diversity, as an issue related to modern organizations. The study is based on two different research methods: a) the literature that has been published in regard to the specific subject is critically reviewed, b) the cultural characteristics of people in a particular region, the North-East of Poland, are critically discussed aiming to show the potential level of diversity in society. Furthermore, the practices followed by firms in the specific region are presented, at the level that can offer important advice on how cultural conflicts in modern organizations can be resolved. The specific study presents the various elements of culture and diversity, as these concepts interact in the workplace. It is noted that diversity cannot be avoided, thus emphasizing on the cultural characteristics of employees would be a key strategy for facing conflicts in modern organizations (Mazur 2010, p.14). It is also explained that the effective managemen t of diversity in the workplace may not be easy, but it can result to a series of benefits for the organization, such as the improvement of cooperation and communication and the increase of employee morale and employee performance (Mazur 2010, p.14). The specific study could be possibly supported with empirical evidence, where available. The use of the case study, as a tool for supporting the research needs of the study, has limited the potential gaps of the lack of empirical evidence. The Classical Theory of Organisation and it's Relevance Alajloni, M., Almashaqba, Z. & Nemer Al-Qeed, M., 2010. Alajloni, Almashaqba and Al-Qeed (2010) refer to the classical theory of organization, as a framework that it is often used for explaining organizational strategies. The above researchers focuses on three particular concepts that are incorporated in the classical the

Legal Issues and the Role of Nurse Manager Essay

Legal Issues and the Role of Nurse Manager - Essay Example Failure to use due care can be considered as negligent behavior. Failure to meet standard of care, which results in injury to the patient, can make the medical professional liable for resulting damages. The medical professional can be a doctor, a nurse, or a health care provider. Causation helps determine whether the medical professional's carelessness caused injury. It is the most difficult element of negligence to prove and so courts have sometimes resorted to the theory of res ipsa loquitor. Three conditions for the application of res ipsa loquitur are "Personal injury" cases are legal disputes that arise when one person suffers harm from an accident or injury, and someone else might be legally responsible for that harm. Injury, which occurs due to someone's negligence in the patient's treatment, forms the basis of claim and lawsuit Negligence is failure to guard against risk of harm to others and imposes liability on whoever is responsible for negligence. In order to prove that negligence has occurred, the following criterion needs to be met and proven in a court of law: In the given case harm has occurred to the patient who fractured her hand. The nurse, nurse manager and the hospital owe the duty of care to the patient and have failed in discharging their duty successfully. Who is liable and to what extent, demands an evaluation of the circumstances, which caused the injury to the patient. This idea of evaluation of circumstances is common in healthcare. It has been noted that, "although a particular action or omission may be the immediate cause of an incident, closer analysis usually reveals a series of events and departures from safe practice, each influenced by the working environment and the wider organisational context. This more complex picture is gaining acceptance in health care" (Vincent et al, 2000). The omission may or may not be purely an act of carelessness; it could be a result of how work processes are organised making the nurse manager and hospital more liable, than the nurse who may not be a direct cause of injury. The fact that in her chart the nurse has documented that "this would not have happened if I had been present to help her" establishes that the nurse made a mistake. However one also needs to consider whether this mistake is truly negligence. This calls for an evaluation of the circumstances in which the injury occurred. Two situations are discussed below: Situation 1.: Delay in response because nurse was gossiping/careless/did not see the call light or failed to stick to the