Hillcrest Case 7 Operative

OPERATIVE REPORT Patient: T. J. Moreno Patient ID: 110497DOB: 02/15Age: 44Sex: M Date of Admission: 10/09/2013 Date of Procedure: 10/09/2013 Admitting Physician: Patrick Keathley, MD Endocrinology Surgeon : Dr. Max Hirsch, MD Orthopedics Assistant: Markus Leroy Johnson PAC (Surgical assistant was used for soft tissue protection and retraction and also for maintaining reduction during temporary and permanent fixation use of surgical assistant was medically necessary, and to prove the safety and efficacy of the procedure. Preoperative Diagnosis: Left hindfoot osteoarthritis. Postoperative Diagnosis: Left hindfoot osteoarthritis. Operative Procedure: 1) Triple arthrodesis . 2) Popliteal sciatic block placed by surgeon explicitly for postoperative pain management. Anesthesia: General by Chuck Delaney, MD. Condition during anesthesia, stable. Specimen Removed: Nine. IV Fluids: See nurse’s notes. Estimated Blood Loss: See nurse’s notes. Urine output: See nurse’s notes. Complications: None. Postoperative condition: Stable (Continued) OPERATIVE REPORT Patient: T. J. MorenoPatient ID: 110497DOB: 02/15Age: 44Sex: M Page: 2 INDICATION: A 44 year old male with hindfoot osteoarthritis pain, who has failed conservative management after reviewing risks, benefits and alternatives, he has agreed to proceed with surgical management. Risks of delayed healing, non-healing and infection, nerve vessel tendon injury, ongoing pain and discomfort, procedure failure, need for revision surgery, and/or hardware removal noted. The fact that he will have a stiffed hindfoot noted. Patient’s questions were answered, and he was consented for the planned procedure.PROCEDURE IN DETAIL: The patient was taken to the operating room where general anesthesia was induced. Time out was taken indicating the appropriated site, procedure, and patient. Operative site was initialed, one gram of Ancef given IV. Popliteal block was placed medial to lateral hamstring, 3 fingerbreadt hs proximal flexion crease to the knee. Intraneural injection of avoided by reducing the amperage to below 1 milliamp, seeing an obliteration of motor response. The extremity was prepped and draped in the usual fashion. Extremity exsanguinated, tunicate inflated.No equinus was present. Metier incision made from the tip of the fibula to the base of the fourth metatarsal. Extensor digitorum brevis and fat pad were elevated off the inferior peroneal retinaculum. Calcaneocuboid and subtalar joints were carefully exposed, denuded of cartilage, and prepared with a 4mm osteotome for arthrodesis. The calcaneocuboid joint was exceptionally osteoarthritic. The talonevicular joint linear incision was made in line with the posterior tibial course, sharp dissection carried down through skin with blunt dissection of subcutaneous tissues.Saphenous vein was retracted in a dorsal postion, linear incision made in the periosteum. The calcaneo and the talonavicular joint were carefully exposed. Cartill age, or what was remaining of cartilage was removed. There were extreme osteoarthritic thoughout. Essentially 5%-10% of cartilage remained. The osteophytes were carefully excised with osteotome, the joint was prepared with microfracture using an osteotome on both sides of the joint. (Continued) OPERATIVE REPORT Patient: T. J. Moreno Patient ID: 110497DOB: 02/15Age: 44Sex: M Page: 3Shortly the incision made off the weight bearing surface of the posterior heel. Guide wire from the 70 cannulated set was advanced across the posterior heel across the subtalar joint into the talor neck body junction. This was done while the heel was held in a slight valgus position. After verifying position and measuring, the wire was advanced to the anterior ankle, held with a hemostat. This was followed by sequential reaming with 4. 0 and then 7. 0 cannulated reamers. Next, after tapping, a fully threaded 100 mm screw was placed over a washer. Care was taken to avoid soft tissue impingement posteriorly. Excellent compression, fixation, subtalar joint were obtained without impingement of the ankle. Next the talonavicular joint was reduced to a foot plantar grade position, held with two 4. 0 cannulated screws starting at the naviculocuneiform joint. Next the calcaneocuboid joint again was adjusted to allow for plantar grade foot position. The joint was held with 4 staples from the 3M 15X16mm stabilizer. All wounds were irrigated with normal saline, excellent compression was present in each position, the medial periosteal was repaired with 3. 0 vicral suture.Subcutaneus tissues closed with 3. 0 vicral and skin closed with skin clips. On the lateral side, extensor digitorum brevis was repaied to the inferior peroneal retinaculum as was the fat pad. Subcutaneous tissue was closed with 3. 0 vicral. Skin closed with 4. 0 nylon. The posterior heel was irrigated and closed with 4. 0 nylon suture. A sterile dressing was applied plus telfa dressing, sponge, Webril, cotton roll, and plaster sp lint. The foot was at a final plantar grade position. Image intensification showed well placed hardware, extra articular to the ankle.Patient was taken to the recovery room in stable condition with no known complications. POST-OPERATIVE PLAN: The patient will be observed overnight with pain control maintained. Once he is surgically stable, patient will be transferred to endocrinology for evaluation and care of his newly diagnosed diabetes and hypertension. He is to follow up in my office in one week for wound check. _______________________________________________________________ Max L. Hirsch, MD Orthopedic Surgery mh/xx D: 10/15/20 T: 10/15/20

Athenian View of Human Nature Essay

The course of history has shown that during times of confusion or disaster, people’s true human nature emerges. Unlike the view of Gandhi, in these moments humans behave violently and are concerned with self-interest, supporting the Athenian’s view of human motivation. In the History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides gives ample support of this view of human nature. Generally regarded as one of the first true historians, he wanted to view the world as it really was and firmly insisted on sticking to the facts. Thucydides subjected human nature to an extremely cold and reductive analysis, which could be regarded as pessimism, but he considered to be realism. Generally people want to maintain a positive self-concept of themselves which causes them to agree with the overly idealistic views of human nature, such as that presented by Gandhi. The Athenians held the belief that the three motives for human nature are security, honor, and self-interest, and these cause people to be inherently violent. When there is a breakdown of law and order, a state of unprecedented lawlessness occurs and during the confusion, people’s values revert to a barbaric state. Gandhi, on the other hand, believed that humans act violently as a result of a war or disaster, but that their true human nature compels them to be peaceful. In other words, humans only act violently when provoked and when it is necessary for survival. Yet, the Athenians show that people become wild and violent during times of confusion, because their true human nature is allowed to emerge. â€Å"Then, with the ordinary conventions of civilized life thrown into confusion, human nature, always ready to offend even where laws exist, showed itself proudly in its true colors, as something incapable of controlling passion, insubordinate to the idea of justice, the enemy to anything superior to itself? † (p. 245) During the Peloponnesian War, Athens was struck by the plague, which caused widespread chaos and confusion. The Athenians became indifferent to the rules of religion and law, and began openly performing acts of self-indulgence. â€Å"It was generally agreed that what was both honorable and valuable was the pleasure of the moment and everything that might conceivably contribute to that pleasure. No fear of god or law of man had a restraining influence. † (p. 155) The same kind of lawlessness occurred during the civil war in Corcyra where extreme violence took place during a period of uncertainty. Fighting and aggression were considered courageous and anyone who held violent opinions could always be trusted, while anyone who objected them became a suspect. The Athenians developed a democratic system of government that was necessary to keep order and peace among the people. The people felt that their participation in government was important in order to prevent themselves from being uncivilized and therefore barbaric. Gandhi argued that mankind shouldn’t punish each other due to the belief that no one has power over anyone else but themselves, yet it is clear that laws and punishments are elementary in containing violent human nature. Strong governments prevent people from destroying each other out of self-interest. There becomes an orderly balance provided by the strong ruling the weak. A major aspect in the Athenian view of human motivation is the notion that those in power are the stronger and naturally rule or dominate over the weak. During the debate at Sparta, the Athenians admit to exploiting their empire for their advantage and ground their actions firmly in a natural law tied to an eternal human nature. They hold the belief that it is human nature to rule what one can and they are merely acting in accordance with the existing law. â€Å"It has always been a rule that the weak should be subject to the strong; and besides, we consider that we are worthy of our power. † (p. 80) Violence and survival are the laws of nature and although humans have found a way to manipulate their surroundings those basic instincts exist in all humans on a fundamental level. It makes the most sense to live peacefully in society, which is why people generally obey laws, but that does not mean that humans are inherently good. In the end, people are naturally disposed to do wrong and no amount of laws of punishments will prevent it. â€Å"In a word it is impossible? for human nature, when once seriously set upon a certain course, to be prevented from following that course by the force of law or by any other means of intimidation. † (p. 221).

Analyze the Effect of Education on the Development

Analyze the Effect of Education on the Development of Countries Education can teach us how to be a real man, how to get along with others in the society and also can make talents to let countries’ power stronger. Education can have significant effects on the development of a country. It is mainly reflected in three aspects. The first is the economic growth, the second is the population and employment in society and the third is stability and fair in politic. In addition, this essay will also show education of different levels has impacts on different aspects of different countries. Universal education has a significant effect on developing economy growth of countries. Developed educational system is better than undeveloped educational system to economic increase. An example of successful developed educational system can be found in China and India. More than 30 percent population of the world lives in China and India totally, and most of them are still stay in poverty. Facing such a large problem, Chinese government enacted Nine-Year Compulsory Education Policy to improve the quality of primary education, and Indian government provides more educated chances for girls and women. With more and more people being educated, the economy of two countries increases dramatically. One of the reasons is that educated farmers who can read the agriculture instructions get more skills to farm well, which results in a growth in agricultural productivity (Brown, 2008). These educated farmers know how to water, apply fertilizer more efficiently, and finally they harvest more crops which results in a higher income. Dollar and Gatti’s research (1999) illustrates that increase one percentage point chances for women with secondary education results in a 0. percentage points for a country’s annual per capita increase. To sum up, it would appear that economic growth and developed education system cannot be separated. The more investment in education system, the more positive influences be reflected in the economy increase. Compared with developed education system, undeveloped educational system has an opposite consequence that is economy decline. Firstly, children who are not educated as well as their children will stay at low class, which is the reason why the gap between poverty and wealth becomes wider. Naturally, if a country has a large amount of destitute people, the economy is decreasing (Brown, 2008). Next, it is unreasonable for government to pay less attention to education, because there is a close connection between less education, poverty and instability. Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya said (2008):†Illiteracy and innumeracy are a greater threat to humanity than terrorism. † That means no education is a source of instability. It is possible that most violence and conflicts are caused by the poor, because they are lacking of food, clothes, fresh water and their homeland. They do not have enough knowledge to protect themselves and they do not know where they can get justice. Finally they will have to take such violent means to seek their own interests, and it leads to serious consequence, such as the war. The two different countries that conduct different education systems have opposite results in higher education. Mauritius is a small island which is connected with Tanzania surrounded by the Indian Ocean. Numerous nature resources can be made use of by Tanzania, such as gold, gas, diamonds, tin, and coal while Mauritius does not have (Bloom et al. 006). With these disadvantages, Mauritius government intensifies their efforts to increase the chances for children being educated and the quality of higher education. The UIS cited in Higher Education (2005) suggests that half of the populace in Mauritius are tertiary students, and the number is increasing from 1 per cent in 1985 to 15 per cent now (TFHE cited in Higher Education, 2000). The system also lays a foundation for the primary and secondary education, and the subjects of university are added to meet the needs of students (2005). In contrast, the government of Tanzania does not pay attention to higher education, and the gap between female students and male students is wider, more male students. The subjects connected with science are not performed well by students. Finally, Mauritius has a high per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of $12,800 and it is still growing dramatically. In contrast, the GDP in Tanzania is lower, no more than $700. Today Mauritius has become a middle-income nation since 1960 while Tanzania is still one of the poorest countries in the world (Bloom, 2005). It appears that education can help dispose of poverty. If a country has an appetite to be stronger, the government must invest more time and energy in education system. As well as affecting the economy, education also affect on the society. Women’s education, which affects the population growth rate, has strong impact on fertility. Women who have a good education will consider their own targets and will spend more time in achieving the target, which could lead to them having fewer children, and the fertility will be lower. Ethiopia is a dramatic example of this. Besides Population Reference Bureau (2007) shows that Ethiopian women without education have an average of 6. 1 children. In contrast, women with at least a secondary education have an average of 2. 0 children. Moreover, woman who receives high level education will think over the family’s expenses and social burden. So well educated women know how much will they undertake for a child as a parent. Cleland and Kaufmann (1993) argue that attempting to explain the relationship between education and fertility should pay more attention to distinguishing the determinants of reproductive decision making. To sum up, women’s education is the emphasis for fertility. Education, which can increase the children’s health and decrease the number of disease, is one of the most important factors for mortality. The population growth rate is fertility plus mortality. Hence both fertility and mortality should be low. Firstly, hungry and malnutrition is important to the health of children. If students are hungry and malnutrition, they will get ill and will result in giving up education in that they have no power and money to study, which will cause negative affects for the society. Sachs (2008) states that most ill children give up going to school forever because of healthy problem. Furthermore girls who have not been educated appear to have no consciousness about serious diseases, such as HIV and AIDS. Countries such as Brazil and Bangladesh are implementing policies to overcome this problem; such supporting scholarships for girls or stipends to their parents where needed. Girls are inspired spending more time in school and marrying in older age, paying more attention to health care. Finally, both fertility and mortality will be apparently lower; the social problem of population may be alleviated. The effect of education on employment, which is one of the most important factors in the society, has been becoming stronger and stronger. Employment is associated with individual income, the families’ life quality and the social development. In addition, unemployment can cause hunger, poverty and social problems, such as crime . In China, because of the serious employment situation, there are numerous graduates who are unemployed every year. It seems that if someone has low level education, the opportunity to be employed is quite small. In contrast, those who achieved high level education will have more chance to be successful and have high salary. Evidence suggests that literate abilities have large economic impacts on individual income and on development of countries (Hanushek and Woessmann, 2007) and that workers’ efficiency are decided by both the time and content of education (Heckman, Layne-Farrar, and Todd 1995; Murnane, Willett, and Levy 1995). However, because most people in European or North American countries focus on high level education, the supply and demand for high-tech skilled workers is imbalanced now. Williams (2009) states that the demand for skilled workers is greater than the supply. Therefore high-tech education seems to be an opportunity for someone who is illiterate and it may relieve the severe employment situation. Finally, it will have a positive impact on social development. In addition, since politic is based on economy and society, education of different grades could also be thought as one of the main causes which affects politic well. Firstly, universal primary and secondary education can stabilize the society and country, which is the base of the development of a country, especially in African countries. Basic education offers uneducated child and adult knowledge that can instruct them to contribute to their society and country instead of committing crimes to make a living. According to Brown (2008), the implementation of a school lunch programme in some African countries have kept students staying at school longer, studying to gain a proper knowledge of behaving well but not follow terrorism that does serious harm to countries. Basic education of individuals also keeps people’s life over a good level. Furthermore, education is an efficient way to narrow the gap between the rich and poor that could lead to the conflict between different classes. Such situation could result in the revolution and leads to the turbulence of the country, which is considered as a serious threaten to societies and countries as well as the terrorism (Sen cited by Brown 2008). Furthermore, education also improves the political environment of countries. Primary and secondary education that can be conducted widely in countries promotes the national quality of countries, which make people have more knowledge and participate in political activities such as elections. Moreover, women benefit politically from education. Women political status is greatly increased by the different grade of education received. In all ages, in male dominated and traditional communities, girls’ education is considered as unnecessary luxury in that men fear that woman independence would threaten their main position in the political area (Plan 2008). Education on girls and women can ameliorate this unfair situation. The ignorance of educating women has done great harm to some African countries. World Bank (2008) issued that Human Development Network that the damage of failing to educate girls as boys in 65 â€Å"low and middle income and transitional countries† is about 92 billion dollars per year (cited in Plan 2008). Such a shocking number shows that creating a fair political environment will bring countries great good and the vital impacts of education on politics. Not only the universal education but also the tertiary one contributes to the development of politic of countries. Government of both developing and developed countries invests great quantity of expenses in tertiary education. The research of Yao, John, Shunming and Xiliang (2008) shows that the policy of education of China pays more attention to improving tertiary education. Such policy results in the situation that more and more talented politicians trained and elected from the country. One of other countries which focus on higher education is United States. Statistics shows that 8 out of 10 best universities in the world such as Harvard University and Massachusetts Inst Tech (MIT) come from United States, which means tertiary education of America greatly contributes to cultivating talents who is important to the development of American politics. Such great effort on improving tertiary education leads to a better consequence than China. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, one of the grandest president of United States, was sent to Groton School where is famous for training political talents. Then he majored politic science in Harvard University, which is the base of his success in political field. More than 10 of the America presidents come from these top universities, which shows the significant contributions tertiary do to the politics of United States. So, different grades of education can greatly promote politic of countries which also pushes the procedure of spreading education. The more education affects politic the more it promotes education. Universal education has great impacts on the development of countries in three main aspects. Firstly, it promotes the economy of countries worldwide, changing the life of people in poverty and improving the national strength. Secondly, education also contributes to the balance of the population of the world, including fertility and health care of different people, and the employment of countries which are important factors that influences countries’ procedure of development of society. Finally, different grades of education improve the politic development of countries. It stabilizes countries in poverty through primary and secondary education and improves the political environment through the tertiary one. Therefore, education counts in the development of countries, so improving the education of different levels in order to benefit countries in different aspects is an important issue for people to consider.

Management Concepts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Management Concepts - Essay Example There are several reasons for such a feeble sales growth, which are discussed in the next paragraph. Major issues faced by Hogsmeadow Glass center Inventory: Hogsmeadow offers a diverse variety of products to its customers both seasonal and year round ones. The owner finds it extremely difficult to precisely estimate the amount of products, specially the perishable and seasonal ones, and thus ultimately ends up suffering loss due to either selling the off season products on huge discounts or throwing off the spoiled products. Estimating the precise amount of the stock is a crucial financing decision as significant costs are associated with the wrong choice. Estimating too low of the product leads to stock out cost, thus waving the customers away. Keeping a stock also results in cost of maintaining the inventory. Thus it is necessary to calculate the amount at which the overall cost of inventory is minimal. There is no appropriate procedure for the calculation of the stock which resul ts in a mere guess as to the amount to be stocked. This dearly cost them. Honeydukes Restaurant: Honeydukes restaurant is the only eatable spot in the surrounding area and thus often experience a gigantic load of customers to enjoy its eatable products and services. Due to the increase in the load, the resulting large queue often enrages the customers and they turn back without enjoying their meals. Three reasons may account for the resulting long queue. 1. The misallocation of work among the available staff: As evident from the case study, from among the 12 staff members, seven are deployed for kitchen work and one each for remaining errands. This allocation of work among the staff members seem inappropriate which results in people standing for long in queue for their turn in peak time. 2. Small area over which the restaurant spreads: Though the area occupied by restaurant has not been stated, yet it is clear from the case study that restaurant does not have enough seating for peak times when people reserve their places by placing their belongings. This shows that some of the visitors may not find a place to sit in and enjoy. One other reason pointed out in the case study for the seating problem is that people, after enjoying their meals or other orders, just sit there for long without any reason thus further causing the acute shortage of chairs. 3. The part of the self-service procedure: The restaurant has a policy of partly self-service and partly assisted service for its customers. The self service results in long queues, having people to wait for long thus resulting in frustration among them. Division of service between self and assisted may be a suitable option for restaurants having organized systems with efficient and multi tasking personnel and a sufficiently larger area to accommodate for such a system. Though self service essentially reduces cost of staff scheduling but for this to work out, staff should be properly trained to work at their maximum speed so that the customers are catered to instantly. In case of Honeydukes staff members, it seems that the kitchen personnel are not trained to deal with many orders simultaneously as evident from the case study. It takes more then the usual time in peak hours to prepare children lunch boxes. Staffing issues: Hogsmeadow Garden Center also has staffing issues. As stated by Don Dursley, finding the right person for the

Current Events in Public Health Leadership - Servant Leadership Assignment

Current Events in Public Health Leadership - Servant Leadership - Assignment Example A lady suffering from lung cancer attended hospital for three weeks to receive her chemotherapy. During her time in the hospital, she received attendance from a chief nurse and junior nurses who worked under her. In the course of treatment, the chief nurse would come and assist the junior nurses to perform their duties. The head nurse was kind and did not mind showing her subjects what to do, and she consistently engaged in offering her assistance to the junior nurses. She also provided them with advice and offered each of the opportunity to consult and get the right instructions. A nurse servant leader often looks at the needs of the staff members and makes inquires of them on the best ways to promote and solve their personal problems. The instance described above depicts the true qualities of a servant leader who continuously engaged in assisting the junior nurses at the hospital. The leadership techniques used in the case above were effective since it enabled the junior nurses to develop the character of servant leader (Anonson et al. 2009). Through the actions of the manager nurse, the junior nurses developed important skills that were effective in their career. Some of the leadership characteristics portrayed by the nurse manager include the ability to listen, in which case she kept listening to the needs of the junior nurses. After listening and understanding their needs, she empathizes with them and offers them their support (Ayman, Chemers, & Fiedler, 1995). They also promote awareness and healing among the junior servants by attempting to resolve their problems and use a high degree of emotional intelligence to help them find a solution to their problems. In the above instance, the servant leadership enabled the junior nurses to observe and understand what was needed to be done to enable attainment of perfect results.

Human Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Human Rights - Essay Example If a person is deprived the provisions of article 5, he or she shall have the right to ask for compensation. Saying that the article does not derail the process of fighting crime in the U.K. will be proper. The article only serves to protect the rights of an individual to security and liberty. People are entitled to be liberal and secure. The right in itself protects innocent individuals against aggression from fellow individuals hence maintaining law and order is its main priority. It allows for individual rights to liberty while at the same time guarding against commitment of a crime through its provision. Limited means that a person can be denied the rights under the provisions of article 51. It means that there are circumstances where deprivation of liberty is deemed very lawful. However, such events are also guarded within the law to ensure that they are not taken advantage of illegally to dehumanize other human beings by law enforcement agents. In the case of any deprivation to the provisions of article 5, the law stipulates that such instances should be lawful and necessary. Such a period should not run longer than expected in the case of liberty restrictions. The guidelines to these provisions are set forth in article 5 (2) to 5 (5). Any limitation to the article should follow the guidelines stated under the articles. For example, a suspected terrorism offender can be denied this freedom for longer than is necessary so that the law enforcers can guarantee security to other persons. Under the terrorism prevention and investigation strategies, article 5 imposes significant restrictions to suspects of terror crimes. The law also creates harsh restrictions to a person convicted of terror crimes hence his or her rights to liberty are very slim creating a reduction in crime level2. Another example is when it is made compulsory for a

International Investing Project Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

International Investing Project - Term Paper Example The stability of the market as a whole but that also means extremely low growth potential if ever there is any worth considering at all. The performance of Siemens AG also takes a positive trend as their USA stocks but had higher returns than other stocks under consideration due other factors than the market. This means that the stocks’ performance. The stock prices for both are also in the on the side. CHL is at least in the decent deviation of -0.252%. The stock prices alone are already telling the investor which one is a better pick. It does not mean however, that CHL is a good investment or bad because the change is negligible. This means that the stock was not influence by market changes. The main reason may because of majority of the business is also ultimately dependent on the oil industry. Which is being an affected changes being in Middle East. The implications of portfolio return and risk in connection with market points out the degree of volatility in the changes of the portfolio return. In this case, a positive portfolio return with a positive return of the market both generates positive returns. The major defect of this analysis in the first place is the computation of returns within two day only. The extreme swings of the market are simply too unpredictable to make a safe investment (Graham 2004). To start with, it is not a profitable investment already. The picture we have painted above will change drastically should we look at this situation using 5 or 10 yrs as range when computing for stock returns. Obviously, the short term investing style is not as easy or profitable as when you are investing for the long term and evaluating major trends on the stock, not just the daily fluctuations on the stock market. In terms of predictability, we will find it extremely hard to judge the profitability of the stock alone just by using beta since it is also a relative value computed within a chosen time

Management of the recruitment, selection and induction of employees Essay

Management of the recruitment, selection and induction of employees - Essay Example IBM, having one of the most professional workforces in the world, employs approximately 329,000 employees and operates business in 170 countries around the globe (IBM, 2009). They employ staff worldwide across different disciplines ranging from technical IT areas to the non-technical disciplines of Sales, Finance, HR and Legal (Monster, 2008). Being a globally integrated company, they need to keep changing their business model radically and shift its value proposition. Thus, attracting and developing individuals is critical to IBM’s success (Schmidt, 2005). There are three main steps in the recruitment process – identification of the requirements, attracting the right candidates and the selection from the applicants. The right job description and the job specifications help to attract the right candidate and eliminate unwanted work involved in the selection process. IBM has the reputation of being the resilient to market forces and strong leadership. They strongly follow the online recruitment process and it is their key recruitment strategy. Online recruitment includes their own website www.ibm.com apart from key online recruitment websites such as monster.com (Monster, 2008). Online recruitment supplements and complements other forms of recruitment. Online recruitment enables reaching a wider audience, and being in the IT industry, this reflects its nature of business. Besides, online recruitment process is cost effective and it also allows continuous improvement of the process. Online recruitment and selection process has saved time spent by as much as 25 percent (Kumar, 2003). They accept applications online as well as through emails. In addition, they adhere to the traditional forms of recruitment such as sourcing through headhunters and recruitment fairs. Thus, they outsource recruitment as well as keep it in-house their website. For graduate trainees they have a different strategy. Their inclusive work environment makes every

Managing for the future Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Managing for the future - Essay Example During the time of the eminent economist, concepts such as ethical decision making, corporate social responsibility (CSR) were at the budding stage, hence, most of the economists including Milton Friedman ignored the role of social responsibility for business. Over the last few decades, the importance of ethics has been increased among corporate world. Modern research scholars such as Jain (2009) and Tett (2009) criticised the immaturity in terms of ethical understanding among business leaders as the root cause behind the global crisis. The concepts like corporate social responsibility (CSR) is pretty much new for companies in emerging market and as a result, many of them are still struggling with implementation of a holistic CSR framework which can ensure social well being and environment sustainability. Visser (2010) and Velasquez (2000) argued that concept of corporate governance is generally misunderstood by business leaders because they believe that corporate governance is all a bout structure which is not correct. In such context, modern research scholars such as Waller and Conaway (2011) pointed out three important future challenges for organizations such as, 1-deploying CSR activities in comprehensive manner in most of its business verticals, 2-taking the strong leadership role by expanding business in cross cultural and country manner and 3- managing crisis in efficient manner in order to ensure smooth flow of operation. Issaksson and Jorgensen (2010) argued that companies need to work closely with their stakeholders in order to balance the environment sustainability activities and profit pooling activities. According to these research scholars, the profit-greedy mentality of organizations cannot help it to achieve sustainable growth because modern organization has to consider the effect of its operation in external environment. Du, Bhattacharya and Sen (2010) defined CSR as a commitment from corporate to ensure well being of social members and help the society to achieve inclusive growth. It is evident from the above mentioned definition that it is responsibility of companies to improve social life of people by using internal resources and good practices. Waddock (2008) even argued that companies can enhance their brand image by engaging in CSR activities which can help the company to fulfil ethical, social and environmental requirements. The researcher has selected Starbucks in order to understand how the above mentioned three factors such as CSR, globalization and crisis and catastrophe management can impact business environment of the company. After analyzing the business environment and its previous challenges for Starbucks, the study will predict future business path for the company. At first, the researcher will try to understand the business matrix of Starbucks. Starbucks-Business Matrix and Capabilities Starbucks Corporation was founded by Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker and Zev Siegl during the year 1971 and the company is headquartered Seattle, Washington, U.S (Starbucks, 2012). Till date, Starbucks has established more than

Journey to the West Essay Example for Free

Journey to the West Essay Growing up, we all had our favorite stories. My personal favorite was the Harry Potter series; I spent hours and hours immersed in those books. For a lot of Chinese children however, the story they grew up with was called Journey to the West, or XiYouJi. This story was written by Wu Cheng’en, an author who lived during the 16th century in the Ming dynasty. A very famous piece of literature, it is considered one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese Literature. The novel starts by telling the story of SunWuKong, who was born from a rock. He went on to learn 72 polymorphic transformations and becomes super powerful, powerful enough to challenge the Taoist Gods. The story goes on to tell about SunWuKong’s great rebellion against heaven, where he basically goes around and beats up everyone in the sky by himself. Eventually however, his arrogance leads to his downfall, and the Buddha manages to trap him under a mountain for five hundred years. The story then jumps to the introduction of Tang XuanZang, who is instructed by the Gods to go east to India on a pilgrimage and retrieve the Buddhist Sutras. After setting out on his journey, Xuan Zang bumps into SunWuKong who is still trapped under a mountain. With the help from the gods, Xuan Zang frees SunWuKong and takes him on as a disciple. He also meets a pig named ZhuBaJie and an ogre named ShaWuJing. Together, the 4 of them walk west towards their eventual goal of LeiYingSi. Along the way, they encounter nine thousand nine hundred eighty one hardships, including crossing treacherous rivers, fighting off monsters who want to eat XuanZang, and battling through a mountain of fire. The majority of the book describes their journey from the Tang Capitol, all the way to LeiYingSi. Once they arrive at their destination, they retrieve the sutras and return to China.

Social Work Theories Older Adults

Social Work Theories Older Adults 1. Introduction This essay concerns the application of social work theory and practice with adults within the context of a specific legislative framework. The assignment specifically takes up different aspects of social work theory and practice that concern the carers of old and disabled individuals. It makes specific use of the case study on Betty, her daughter Elizabeth, and other members of Elizabeths family. The case study is provided in the appendix to this essay. It is considered as read and is thus not described in the body of this essay. The assignment deals with the role of carers in the UK social work infrastructure and their needs and rights. It also takes up the importance of interprofessional participation and partnership between social and health care professionals and carers in delivery of social and health care, including the management of risk. 2. Identification of Issue This assignment focuses on the responsibilities, difficulties, and needs of Elizabeth, the 49 year old daughter of Betty, who is 74 and has been living with Elizabeth and her family for the last 2 years. Elizabeth, who is white, is married to Charles (48), who is black and of African-Caribbean origin. They have two children, Mathew (22) and Elisa (19), who live with them. Betty suffered from a stroke two months ago and is recovering in hospital. She has developed poor left side mobility on account of the episode and will require a wheel chair to move about. She has been medically assessed as ready to return home, where Elizabeth is expected to care for her. The situation and the caring relationship, whilst transparent and logical, has become complicated because of Charless redundancy from employment and his strained relationship with Mathew, who is yet to start earning. The domestic environment could become disturbed because of the possibility of Charles resuming his old drinking habits, the tendency of Mathew to engage in substance abuse and his stealing from his grandmother to fund his drug purchases and the possibility of Elisas moving out to live with her boyfriend. An application of Eriksons theory of human development reveals that Betty is now firmly entrenched in her late adulthood, whereas Elizabeth is in her middle adulthood. Betty, if she is properly cared for, will find it easy to accept her life stage and prepare for her final years with complacency. For Elizabeth, these are years of activity and being in charge. Taking care of Betty will add meaning to her life, reduce stagnation, and establish a caring and stable home environment. Elizabeth is obviously in a complex and difficult situation and whilst she must care for her ailing mother, she also has responsibilities towards her husband and children. Social work policies in the UK detail the ways through which social and medical care should be provided to adults in need (Oliver Decoster, 2006, p 243). Specific policies exist for providing medical and social support to elderly people with mental and physical disabilities. Such services are provided through the aegis of social work practitioners, mental health professionals, medical professionals and medical workers. These diverse professionals are expected to work in partnership for the delivery of comprehensive social and medical care to the old and disabled (Oliver Decoster, 2006, p 243). With the majority of such service users being expected to be cared for in the community, in their homes and in the midst of their near relatives, carers form an extremely important component of the social work delivery proc ess (Stalker, 2003, p 67). Elizabeth, in her role as the primary care for Betty forms the pivot for delivery of social and health care services. This assignment delves into the social work infrastructure and policies in the UK that are available for carers and makes particular use of relevant frameworks including the Single Assessment Process and National Service Framework for Older People. The essay also discusses relevant sociological and psychological theories for human development and behaviour and examines the ways in which inter-professional practice and partnership of professionals with carers can help in improvement of social work delivery. 3. Social and Medical Care for Adults and Old People The official approach for providing social and medical care for older people was revamped and improved significantly after the publication of the White Paper on Modernising Social Services in 1998 and the adoption of a national agenda for improvement of care and services (Baker, 2004, p 12). The National Service for Older People (NSF-OP), which was adopted in 2001set standards for the promotion of better services and greater integration of health and social care services for people (Baker, 2004, p 12). The NSF-OP is developed around 8 standards, namely (a) age discrimination, (b) person centred care, (c) intermediate care, (d) general hospital care, (e) stroke, (f) falls, (g) mental health and (h) health promotion. The NSF for older people very importantly introduced the concept of person centred care, which aimed to ensure that older people were treated as individuals in their own right and received care packages that satisfied their individual needs, irrespective of boundaries between health and social services (Baker, 2004, p 12). These standards aimed to ensure the integration of health care and social work services for older people and ca;;ed upon health and social care workers to participate and collaborate with each other to provide holistic and rounded services to people in need (Baker, 2004, p 12). The person centred approach for provisioning of social and health care is an important outcome of the gradual development and acceptance of the social model of disability (Moulin, 2002, p 43). The still dominant medical model of disability assumes that disabilities result from the physical or mental limitations of individual persons and are largely unrelated to their social or geographical surroundings. It places the origin of a problem with a person and states that solutions can be found by focusing on the individual, rather than on his or her surroundings (Moulin, 2002, p 43). Whilst the medical model has for centuries dominated human approaches towards disabled people, recent decades have seen the emergence and the progressive acceptance of the social model, which views disability to be the consequence of social and environmental barriers that restrict people with disabilities from participating in society (Moulin, 2002, p 47). The person centred approach is routed in the social model and aims to empower people with disabilities by allowing them to participate and agree to the medical and social care plans that are made for them (Moulin, 2002, p 47). Such empowerment provides service users with significant independence to participate in their rehabilitation and treatment process and allows care plans to focus on rehabilitation and prevention, rather than on symptomatic treatment (Moulin, 2002, p 47). The single assessment procedure was introduced in the SAF- OP, specifically to further the standard concerning person centred care (Baker, 2004, p 14). The SAP facilitates a single assessment for the medical and social needs of individuals and calls upon respective agencies to work together for provisioning of appropriate and holistic care to individuals in need (Baker, 2004, p 14). The SAF-OP is particularly relevant for Betty, because it provides a framework for providing of holistic social and medical services to individuals who have experienced strokes. 4. The Role of Carers Whilst Bettys medical condition and social needs are certainly addressed through policies like the SAP, the SAF-OP, the progressively greater use of the social model, the person centred approach, the existing social health care infrastructure, the efforts of the individual carer, in this case her daughter Elizabeth, will play a critical role in the delivery of such care. The progressive elimination of hospitalisation and institutionalisation for people with physical and mental ailments and the replacement of such approaches and methods with community centred care commenced in the 1960s and progressively increased over the years through appropriate policy modifications. It is now widely accepted that people with disabilities live far more enriched, satisfied and productive lives amongst their families, friends and communities than in specialised institutions. Betty, after her recuperation from her stroke, is expected to come back into the community, live with her close relatives and family members, and be cared for by people who care for her. Such community care, whilst extremely desirable as an alternative to institutionalisation, however calls for the services of specific carers for individuals, who cannot manage their own activities, and thus need to be looked after by other people (Office for National Statics, 2006, p 1-2). Such carers, in the overwhelming majority of cases, constitute of family members, spouses, siblings, parents or even children (Office for National Statics, 2006, p 1-2) Betty, after her stroke, has reduced left side mobility and will need a wheel chair for her personal movement. Whilst she may, in all probability, be able to look after her own needs to some extent, it is probable that she will certainly need the care of another person. Elizabeth, her daughter and the person with whom she is living at present, is expected to fulfil the role of her carer. Carers occupy a unique role in the British social care infrastructure. Practically 11% of the population, i.e. approximately 6 million people, provide unpaid care in the UK to individuals in need. Whilst practically half of these carers fall in the age group between 45 and 64, many of them are very young as well as quite old. The majority of people who receive care live either in residential premises (Office for National Statics, 2006, p 1-2). Caring for an elderly person, as Elizabeth will be required to do, calls for significant amounts of sensitivity and commitment. Most people involved in care for older people look after parents or relatives who were previously used to looking after them (Weinstein, et al, 2003, p 114). Elderly people often wish to remain self reliant and make their own decisions as long as possible. Such changes in family relationships can often be complex and lead to situations of conflict if they are not handled with adequate care and thought (Weinstein, et al, 2003, p 115). Whilst caring for older people has to be handled with great sensitivity to avoid upsetting the people who are being cared for, it also calls for a great deal of hard work, effort, and self sacrifice on the part of carers (Williams Robinson, 2000, p 18). Carers often have to adjust their responsibilities towards their employers, if they are employed, and to their other family members who may need their emotional and physical support, in order to look after the individuals whose care has been entrusted to them (Williams Robinson, 2000, p 18). With carers playing critical roles in supporting and providing essential services to disabled and ailing elderly people, it is essential for them to work in close coordination and participation with responsible medical, health and social care professionals in order to facilitate the provisioning of holistic medical, social, physical and emotional support to their elderly wards (Stalker, 2003, p 81). Such partnership helps in better assessment of risks that are faced by persons in care and formulation of appropriate care and intervention plans. Social and medical care plans thus need to be carefully formulated by the concerned social workers after appropriate assessment with the use of person centred approaches and the involvement and agreement of the service user and the carer (Stalker, 2003, p 81). Elizabeth, as has been stated before is experiencing difficult domestic conditions at home because of the unemployment of her husband. Whilst her husband Charles did not previously have any objection to Bettys staying with them, his attitude might now change because of her illness as well as straitened domestic circumstances. He has a history of alcohol misuse and domestic abuse and his employment redundancy, as well as annoyance with Matthews unemployment, drug abuse and household thievery may upset him enough to relapse into his old ways. Elizabeth could in the normal course of events expect assistance from her two children in discharging her caring and household duties. This however looks improbable because of Elisas plans to shift in with her boyfriend and Matthews disturbed emotional state and surreptitious misuse of drugs. 5. Assessment of Needs of Carers Carers, like Elizabeth, perform vital and pivotal roles in the delivery of social care to individuals under their care, who are otherwise unable to manage, at home, without some form of support because of issues like disability, mental health needs, and illness or learning difficulties. Such carers have their own problems and needs that can easily be overlooked by the people around them. Elizabeths problems, as explained in the previous section, whilst not apparent are complex and real. The previous New Labour government recognised these needs, and introduced significant legislation for the protection of the rights of carers, through the enactment of the Carers and Disabled Children Act, 2000, and the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act, 2004. The Carers and Disabled Children Act provides carers with the rights for separate assessments of their needs, if they provide or intend to provide regular and substantial care to others (Department of Human Services, 2003, p 18). The person under care is usually assessed for his or her needs under the provisions of the 1990 NHS and Community Care Act (Department of Human Services, 2003, p 18). This is the best way of helping, both the carer and the person in care. The services provided to people who are in care often helps to support carers through the provisioning of some of the care that is being given by carers. The Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act aims to assure that carers can avail of opportunities that others often take for granted (Department of Human Services, 2003, p 18). Assessments of needs of carers take into account the need of carers to continue with their work, return to work and excess education as well as training or leisure activities (Department of Human Services, 2003, p 19). The provisions of UK law state that carers are entitled to assessment, when they provide, or intend to provide, regular and substantial care to individuals in need, and the person being cared for, can access services from the Community Mental Health Team or the Department of Community Services (Department of Human Services, 2003, p 19). Such rights for assessment provide carers with (a) opportunities to reflect and discuss their own needs as carers, (b) share their caring experiences, (c) obtain recognition for their roles as carers, (d) obtain information and advice, (e) identify and discuss existing and potential difficulties, and (f) create contingency plans for circumstances that may not make it possible for them to continue in their caring roles (Stalker, 2003, p 83). Assessments are made to investigate the ways in which social and health care professionals and the existing infrastructure can help people in their caring roles by maintaining their health and wellbeing (Stalker, 2003, p 85). Such assessments concern issues like different aspects of individual caring roles, availability of breaks from caring, health issues of carers, maintenance of relationships with the person being cared for and others in the family, caring for home, accommodation, finances, work, education and training, support, emergencies, alternative arrangements and the future. As is evident, existing policies aim to make the assessment of carers as holistic as possible (Stalker, 2003, p 87). Such assessments take up a whole range of issues like the time being taken for caring, understanding the condition of the person being cared for, and difficulties in providing suitable care (Stalker, 2003, p 88). Health, relationships, finances, and work, are very important components of the assessment process, and social and health care professionals aim to assess whether carers can be helped in their relationships with people important to them and in their health, their finances and their leisure activity (D epartment of Human Services, 2003, p 19). Assessments for carers lead to personal discussions with them on the help required by them and the preparation of care plans that try to accommodate the wishes and constraints of carers to the maximum extent (Department of Human Services, 2003, p 21). The Department of Community Services can, after such assessment, provide help to both the carers and to the people who are being cared for. The persons who are being cared for can be helped with direct payments in order to allow them to purchase their own care, practical or personal care at home, respite care, adaptations and home equipment, and day care services (Department of Human Services, 2003, p 21). Carers can be helped with support in the form of (a) direct payments to help them to buy the support they need, (b) substitute care in order to enable them to take breaks from caring, (c) assistance with specific tasks and equipment to help them in their caring efforts, (d) advice and support in their role as carers and (e) short brea ks (Department of Human Services, 2003, p 21). Elizabeth can ask for an assessment, discuss her various problems with the social worker and try to work out, not only the best available care plan for Betty, but the ways in which she can obtain help to perform her caring functions effectively, maintain her home, help her children, and continue a good relationship with her husband. Conclusions This essay takes up the analysis of the case study of Elizabeth, her mother Betty, and her immediate family, and uses Elizabeths particular circumstances, as a would be carer for her mother, for an examination of existing legislation, theory and practice in areas of social and health care for adults with disabilities and their carers. Social work policies, practice, and theory for carers, as well as the persons they care for have evolved significantly over the last decade. Whilst assessment policies and intervention tools for adults with ailments or disabilities have been streamlined significantly in order to account for their individual needs and to empower them with independence in choosing their care and treatment plans, the importance of carers in the delivery of social work in a community care environment has come to the forefront. Carers are acknowledged to be critically important in the delivery of care. Social and health workers are expected to work collaboratively and in partnership, with each other and with carers, for the planning and delivery of holistic care and health services that take care of the individual needs of service users. Carers are also entitled to assessment of their needs and various forms of assistance to make their caring duties more effective and less onerous. Whilst Elizabeths responsibilities towards her mother and her family members are undoubtedly onerous, the social and health care policies of the country provide significant facilities that can help in making her responsibilities easier and her life more enriching and fulfilling.

Chiang Rai Thailand Health And Social Care Essay

Chiang Rai Thailand Health And Social Care Essay This is a quantitative research critique on a study conducted in 2008 in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand. The study investigates the causal relationships between age, antiretroviral treatment, social support, symptom experience, self-care strategies, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in the northern region of the said country. Four hundred twenty-two subjects were selected to participate in the research and from them data were collected with the use of four different questionnaires. The results revealed that symptom experience had a significant negative direct effect on the HRQOL as opposed to age, social support, antiretroviral treatment and self-care strategies which had significant positive effect on the HRQOL. Furthermore, it was seen that social support and antiretroviral treatment had an indirect effect on the HRQOL through self-care strategies. With these findings, it was recommended that promotion of social support and adherence to antiretroviral treatment must be achieved to enhance the quality of life of people living with HIV/ AIDS. The title is laconically stated which included a minimal number of words but still adequately describes the contents of the paper (Day Gastal, 2006). It is concise yet does not compromise its relevance and does not sound uninteresting. It is briefly put together but still is reasonably extensive to explain the research without overwhelming readers with too much information. Moreover, the title is formulated in a strong and simple manner which is very important in ensuring readers will not be distracted or confused. The title presents the subject of the research which is the health-related quality of life in people living with HIV/ AIDS in the northern region of Thailand. The researchers of this study are Thitiarpa Tangkawanich, Jintana Yunibhand, Sureeporn Thanasilp, and Kathy Magilvy. Thitiarpa Tangkawanich, RN, Msc, Jintana Yunibhand, RN, Msc, PhD, and Sureeporn Thanasilp, RN, Msc, DNS are members of the Faculty of Nursing in Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand while Kathy Magilvy, RN, PhD, FAAN is a professor of the College of Nursing of the University of Colorado, Denver, Colorado, USA. With all these academic credentials and qualifications, the researchers can be considered credible personalities in their respective fields of specialties. The research was made by respected professors and registered nurses. All of them have masters degree while Tangkawanich is the only one without a doctoral degree. The article uses an indicative or descriptive abstract to provide a brief summary of the main points of the research (Day Gastal, 2006). Since the research studies a social happening in a quantitative approach, the researchers used this kind of abstract as it describes what transpired during the entire research process. The abstract mentions the condensed form of the research aim, which is to find out the causal relationships between age, antiretroviral treatment, social support, symptom experience, self-care strategies and health-related quality of life. The methodology used in conducting the research is mentioned although some information was excluded as they were discussed in detail in the succeeding parts of the research. Four different questionnaires were used to collect data from the 422 respondents chosen for the study. Using the Likert rating scale, the data were analyzed and were then subjected to statistical treatment with SPSS and LISREL. The abstract also reports the maj or findings (Day Gastal, 2006) which show that symptom experience has a significant negative effect on the HRQOL while the other remaining variables had a significant positive effect. Additionally, social support and antiretroviral treatment were also found to have an indirect effect on HRQOL via self-care strategies. Lastly, the abstract of the study suggests a recommendation for the health-care team, together with the family and community, to promote social support and ensure antiretroviral treatment to enhance the quality of living in people living with HIV/ AIDS considering the research findings. It also illustrates the studys significance to clinical practice. The research problem is clearly presented in the introduction of the article as it explains the rationale behind the conduct of this study (Walsh Wigens, 2007). The aim in this study is to investigate the causal relationships between age, antiretroviral treatment, social support, symptom experience, self-care strategies and the HRQOL in people living with HIV/AIDS in northern Thailand. It examines whether or not relationships between these factors exist, what kind of relationships exists if there are any and how does it implicate the people with the infection and the probable interventions to be taken by health care team as well. The introduction was also able to give a situation about how people with HIV/AIDS in the involved study setting live their lives. It gave a brief discussion about HIV/AIDS which significantly provides a good jumpstart in explaining the entirety of the research. The introduction states the scarcity in research material that focus on the relationships among t he variables identified, HRQOL and PLWHA, establishing the need for the study to be conducted. Although the introduction was able to discuss the major points and variables in the study, it did not include the limitations. Additionally, the introduction also did not explain the main topic from a bigger international scope to a narrow and more specific level (Day Gastal, 2006). In sum, the introduction was able to establish a clear logic, an analysis of previous works, background information and the main purpose of the research (Walsh Wigens, 2003). The wide literature review used in the research was able to give a good background about the major points in the study. However, many other materials still could have been used to further strengthen the studys literature review. It is noteworthy that the study is supported by up to date information which makes it more timely and relevant. The literature review utilised articles from many other researchers whose research outputs have greatly provided helpful data to the study. The description of the present living conditions of the respondents (Sukati et al., 2005), the self-care strategies that they use (Panuwatsuk, 1998), the symptoms and their correlation to HRQOL (Dodd et al. 2001), the current antiretroviral treatment (Heckman 2003), all these and others, were taken from researches conducted from year 2000 through 2007. The literature is able to present in text the theoretical structure from which the study was anchored. With the amount of referenced articles presented in the lit erature, the balanced evaluation of supporting and opposing materials for the proposition is demonstrated. Since only few researches studies were made regarding the indirect effect of the many factors identified on the HRQOL in PLWHA, the necessity to develop a model that could present the direct and indirect effects of the predictors on the HRQOL in PLWHA has clearly risen as stated in the literature review. Moreover, important references were acknowledged accordingly to further reinforce the soundness of the study. Notwithstanding, it may have given an extensive overview on the study, but still it was not able to present a few significant points. Although the literature illustrated a comprehensive background on the study and the variables involved, it did not overtly cite the fundamental theoretical framework. The study is a quantitative research which tries to explain a social phenomenon. This connotes that no alteration of the environment was made and the respondents were not subjected to any form of controlled setting, thus, variables involved are limited. Since this is a quantitative research, it must have a sound hypothesis which will serve as its backbone. But it is not stated instead, an implied hypothesis was used to see whether or not relationships exist among the predictors: age, antiretroviral treatment, social support, self-care strategies and symptom experience on health -related quality of life in people living with HIV/AIDS. This is an example of a non-directional hypothesis (Wood Haber, 2006), where the hypothesis being tested is two-sided but can be tested by acquiring data and subjecting them to statistical analysis. The researchers used words that are mostly clear and understandable. They did not use too many jargons in the stud. Abbreviations like HRQOL, PLWHA and HIV/AIDS are also clearly defined to avoid confusion. Terms also have consistent and coherent definitions throughout the study, especially those operationally defined for this research (Walonick, 2005). The study uses a cross-sectional quantitative study with a non-experimental research design in identifying the respondents level of HRQOL in relation to their age, antiretroviral treatment, social support, symptom experience, and self-care strategies. It means that an observational study using a collection of data on one occasion was made with a specific group of population all at the same time (Walsh Wigens, 2003). It is the appropriate method to be used as it gives a snapshot of what happens in a chosen target group or a phenomenon at one point in time (Babbie, 2010). It is also fit for this research as it is commonly used in social and medical science. However, it also has its weakness or limitation since it only captures the data at one specific time as opposed to longitudinal studies which involve a series of measurements taken over a period of time (Babbie, 2010). Being a non-experimental research, no manipulation of the variables was done and there was no attempt made to chan ge the condition, behaviour or the environment of the variables as they are measured and analysed as they are. The respondents were just made to answer questionnaires that will reflect their own personal experience and at the same time provide data for the researchers perusal. The subjects chosen for the study are 422 people living with HIV/AIDS who visited eight chosen outpatient hospitals in the province of Chiang Rai in the northern part of Thailand. Of which, 188 are males and 234 are females, with ages ranging from 21 to 51 years old. The number of respondents may not be sufficient to completely represent the target population in the research setting but in many circumstances, a smaller sample size may be more significant and usable in investigating a situation in depth from different perspectives, while a large sample would be insignificant especially in social researches (Myers, 2000). The researchers employed the lottery method without replacement in randomly selecting eight hospitals out of the seventeen hospitals in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand. A random sampling method was then made to determine the 422 subjects who will be part of the study. They are people living with HIV/ AIDS who visited the eight chosen outpatient hospitals. The use of lottery method in conjunction with simple random sampling makes the selection of respondents more effective and valid as it ignores repeat selections of element and gives more precise estimators (Kalton, 1983). Clearly, the approach used in sample selection and the sample size are undoubtedly stated. The researchers were able to methodically discuss the procedure undertaken in data collection. They used four questionnaires to gather data from the participants: social support questionnaires, symptom experience questionnaire, self-care strategies questionnaire and health-related quality of life questionnaires. Each of these questionnaires has been carefully chosen and drafted for the study. The three questionnaires for social support, self-care strategies and health-related quality were all adapted from previous research while the questionnaire for symptom experience was drafted basing on the review of literature. The validity and reliability of the questionnaires were greatly anchored on the internal consistencies used for each questionnaire. The questionnaires are meticulously reviewed by the researcher to ensure its ability to measure what it intends to measure (Foddy, 1993). However, no mention about pilot testing was made and this may be considered one of the studys weaknesses . Creswell (2003) stated that ethical issues arise most commonly in data collection where confidentiality and anonymity are in careful scrutiny. These concerns are recognised and acted upon by the researchers by ensuring respondents were given due protection and their safety is not abridged. The researchers acquired the approval of the Ethical Review Committee for Research Involving Human Subjects and/or Use of Animals in Research, Health Science Group of Faculties, Colleges and Institutes, Chulalongkorn University, and the Ethical Review Committee for the Biomedical Group, Chiangraiprachanukroh Hospital, Thailand. With human subjects involved in the study, such approval was obtained. The purpose and methods of the study were explained to the participants through the informed consent which acknowledges the participants rights are protected (Creswell, 2003). The results of the study were presented clearly in graphical form and text. The results of the statistical treatment of the data were explained in four concise yet highly informative paragraphs while the demographics of the subjects were presented in a more visual and understandable table (Kumar, 2005). The internal consistencies of the data, using the Cronbachs alpha were also presented accurately, for social support 0.8, for symptom experience which was clustered into six symptoms, fatigue 0.88, nausea 0.92 , diarrhoea 0.93, depression 0.92, neuropathy 0.93 and anxiety 0.92; for self-care strategies 0.77 and finally for HRQOL 0.85. Given all these figures, readers are assured that the results are well calculated and analysed to ensure that high level of validity and reliability is achieved. Four different and highly-structured questionnaires (Overseas Learning Faculty 2004) were used in collecting data. The use of questionnaires is the appropriate technique in obtaining data for cross-sectional designed research or social surveys as it acquires first-hand information from the subjects without alteration or manipulation of their responses (Bryman Bell, 2003). On the other hand, SPSS and LISREL, statistical computer programs that perform higher calculations and structural equation, were used for statistical analysis. Statistical treatments done with the said statistical tool are considered highly correct (Norwegian School of Management, 2009). The results of the data analysis show that path relationships between the variables were investigated to ensure that significant differences are not attributed to variations in other relevant variables. It can also be noted that the data analysis adequately showed the complete information with the test value, degree of freedom and probability for each identified variable, thereby giving more established results. The discussion of the research findings ties together all the pieces of the study and gives a picture of the study as a whole. It relates and translates the figures to literature review thus making it more comprehensible and balanced (Russel, 2002). The researchers were able to go back to literature and discuss that most of their research findings are consistent and similar with the works previously done by other researchers on HRQOL in PLWHA. It also tackled the implications of the subjects socio-economic status, gender, age, social support, antiretroviral treatment, and symptom experience and self-care strategies to their health-related quality of life. The limitation of the study was also acknowledged where the use of cross-sectional model was perceived to be the models weakness since it only gives a snapshot of the existent observable fact at one point in time (Wood Haber, 2006). Thus, it was suggested that future studies should be conducted to further establish the causal relat ionships between the variables longitudinally over a longer period of time to acquire enduring and more reliable research results. The conclusion coheres with and is supported by the results obtained. The researchers conclude that a causal model of HRQOL in PLWHA indicate that most factors have direct and indirect effects on the HRQOL. Consequently, age, social support, antiretroviral treatment, symptom experience, and self-care strategies are considered to be significant factors in explaining and predicting the HRQOL in Thai PLWHA. Furthermore, self-care strategies link social support and antiretroviral treatment with HRQOL in Thai PLWHA. The researchers also presented the implications of the study which are very instrumental in the studys final recommendations. With the findings and conclusions at hand, the researchers strongly recommend feasible propositions to help people living with HIV/AIDS achieve a higher quality of living as they hurdle challenges of immense proportions, including HIV-stigma, lack of social support, and mental health issues such as depression (Jiraphongsa et al., 2009). The researchers gave motivation on the promotion of social support from the family and the community as it was found to be positively correlated with a better quality of life (Fogel, 1998). Observance to antiretroviral treatment, early symptom detection and prompt intervention and practice of self-care strategies must also be ensured to achieve a higher quality of living. The researchers also pointed out the need to conduct future research on this topic to overcome the limitations they met in conducting this academic work for stronger and more reliable results. (2,770 words)

An Attempt At Understanding Dreams Essay -- essays research papers

An Attempt At Understanding Dreams   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A few months ago I watched a movie called â€Å"The Candyman†. It was a horror movie about this psychotic woman who massacres people around her but has no idea what she's doing. An imaginary creature called â€Å"The Candyman† is appearing to her and talking to her, and she actually thinks that he's the one who is doing the murdering. Anyway, it was a scary movie and I had a bit of fun freaking out my mother that night by telling her that â€Å"The Candyman† will appear to her in her dreams (although I didn't think about the consequences if he really appeared to her and she killed all of us while we were sleeping!). Fortunately for my mother (and the rest of us), she didn't dream about him that night. A few weeks later, I did, though! However, I didn't get very scared in my dream because thanks to a certain technique that I developed a few years ago, I can somehow avoid any dangers in my dreams by knowing that I'm dreaming and that nothing bad can happen to me. This helped me in a lot of annoying dreams before because when I'm in trouble I sometimes just â€Å"fly away† in certain situations in the dream or I just ignore it and tell the bad guy that he can't hurt me because I know it's just a dream. I have no idea until today how I'm able to do that, but it really makes me wonder. I also don't know why I had that dream a few weeks after the movie and not the same night I watched it, especially that I had completely forgotten about it until the night of the dream, at least consciously. Anyway, I decided to use the chance of having to write a paper for Psychology 201 and I almost instantly knew that I was going to explore the world of dreams and the process of dreaming. Before I go any further though, I think I know from the start that no matter how much material I gather or people I interview, I will not be able to explain the process of dreaming because I believe that it is so complex and mysterious that no man can claim to really understand it. The maximum that I wish to achieve is just to admire this incredible phenomenon and to at least try to clarify some of the little details surrounding it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some questions come to my mind immediately when I think about dreams: What causes dreams? Does everybody dream? Do dreams have significant meanings in reality? Why do some dreams seem so weird and out of ... ...echnology. The main problem is the great diversity of the issue and the difficulty of conducting physical experiments and analysis on such a phenomenon. It is a phenomenon that defies the laws of physics and society, and the limits of dreams are stretched as far as the human imagination goes. The best we can do is to give limited explanations that we think might work with us, but the true secrets of dreaming will never be uncovered. We can just share our dreams and try to understand some events that happen to dreamers all around the world, which makes us appreciate dreams more and more. Works Cited Abdel Hamid, Ranya, 22 yrs., Mechanical Engineering major at State University. Aristotle, â€Å"On Dreams†, 350 B.C. Atkinson, Rita L., â€Å"Introduction To Psychology†, 1993. Dreams Interpretation Services & Resources, â€Å"http://www1.rider.edu/~ ~suler/dreams.html†, 1996. Farrag, Mariam, 20 yrs., Political Science major at State University. Ghaleb, Teymour, 23 yrs., Marketing Analyst at Daewoo Co. Hassan, Farouk, Dr., Practicing Psychiatrist. Rafik, Nadine, 17 yrs., student at State University. Shawky, Safinaz, 21 yrs., Economics major at State University.

The Progressive Movement Essay example -- American History Essays

The Progressive Movement The progressive movement of the early 20th century has proved to be an intricately confounded conundrum for American historians. Who participated in this movement? What did it accomplish, or fail to accomplish? Was it a movement at all? These are all significant questions that historians have been grappling with for the last 60 years, thus creating a historical dialogue where in their different interpretations interact with each other. The most commonly known, and consequently most watered down, version of the progressive movement argues that this era was simply an effort by the middle class to cure many of the social and political ills of American society that had developed during the rapid industrial growth in the last quarter of the 19th century. This explanation has proven to be a woefully inadequate in the face of the complexities that characterize these times. In Richard Hofstadter’s The Age of Reform, Peter Filene’s â€Å"An Obituary for the Progressive Movement,† Richard McCormick’s â€Å"The Discovery that Business Corrupts Politics,† and Paula Baker’s â€Å"The Domestication of Politics† each author asserts their own unique interpretations of the progressive movement. These distinct examinations each chart and thus manifest the fluidity of knowledge about this particular time period and how it has been shaped reshaped by new analysis. Richard Hofstadter, the leftward leaning author of Age of Reform, in his appraisal of the progressive movement makes the central argument that the progressive movement was not catalyzed by economics or moral principal but instead by psychology. Hofstadter describes the progressives as primarily â€Å"urban, middle class, and nation wide.† He makes the case that t... ... an impact on the system as a whole. An interesting comparison can be made between Hofstadter’s â€Å"status revolution† and Baker’s suffrage movement. Both can be seen as psychologically driven movements that interacted during the progressive era. Baker and Hofstadter also both cite a vast and complex struggle to improve the status of a particular social group. Baker on one hand describes women’s fight for the right to be seen as equal to men, most definitely in a political sense if not in a social sense as well, while Hofstadter makes the case that the progressives were driven to action by the need to reclaim their former status of superiority over the emerging newly rich industrialists. Although Baker does not seem to give the amount of attention to psychology that Hofstadter does an undeniable correlation can still be made between the arguments of both authors.

Dreams and Omens in The Hobbit and Julius Caesar Essay

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien is an adventure story about Bilbo Baggins, who is a mythical creature called a hobbit. Bilbo goes on an adventure with thirteen dwarves and a wizard to capture a treasure from a dragon. Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is a play about Julius Caesar, a real Roman Emperor who is assassinated by political enemies that he thinks are his friends. These stories are very different, but in both dreams and omens are very important. The dreams in The Hobbit and Julius Caesar are similar because they show what happens if you do not pay attention to what is going on around you and what happens if you do not listen to warnings in dreams. In The Hobbit, when they first get to the cave in the Misty Mountains, the dwarves, Bilbo, and Gandolf all look around to see if it is safe. Since they do not find anyone inside, they decide it is ok to sleep there. At first Biblo has a hard time falling asleep. Once he does, he has a bad dream. In his dream, â€Å"a crack in the wall at the back of the cave got bigger and bigger, and opened wider and wider. † After that, â€Å"he dreamed that the floor of the cave was giving way, and he was slipping—beginning to fall down. † When Bilbo wakes up, he sees that part of his dream is actually happening. Their ponies are being lead away through a crack in the cave wall, and soon the same thing happens to the dwarves and Bilbo (Tolkien, 59). Since Biblo had a hard time falling asleep, it seems like he knew something was wrong, but did not know what it was. In the dream though the problem became obvious. Later, Bilbo dreams about black bears dancing around when Beorn and other bears are outside the window having a meeting. Part if this is because J. R. R. Tolkien once said that he made hobbits â€Å"small in size because it reflects the generally small reach of their imaginations—not the small reach of their courage or latent power† (Carpenter, 180). Many of Bilbo’s dreams are not very imaginative. Except the one dream he has were he is looking for something in his house, he usually either dreams of something that is actually happening, like went he dreams of â€Å"a warrior, altogether insignificant in size but provided with a bitter sword and great courage† (215) or he dreams of food because he is very hungry (152). In the play Julius Caesar, Cassius and Brutus are plotting to kill Caesar, but Julius Caesar thinks they are his friends. When they are all standing together, the Soothsayer tells Caesar â€Å"Beware the ides of March† (I. ii. 18). It would be impossible for Caesar to know the day that Cassius and Brutus were going to kill him, but if Caesar were paying more attention, he might have noticed that they were not really his friends and were going to try to overthrow him. One difference in the role of omens and dreams in Julius Caesar and The Hobbit is how the characters react to them. In Julius Caesar people notice the bad omens and dream but ignore them. For example, when the Soothsayer tells Caesar to beware of the ides of March, Caesar tells everyone to ignore him. Also, when Calphurnia tells Caesar she has had a bad dream and he should not leave the house, Caesar first disagrees with her, and then tells her he will stay home. Then when Decius makes fun of him for listening to his wife’s dreams, and says â€Å"that for Caesar to withdraw would make him seem frightened in the eyes of the Roman plebeians, Caesar hurriedly agrees to go to the Senate† (Cahn, 15). When Caesar gets to the Senate, the men there kill him. In The Hobbit, the dreams are different. Either they are like the one Bilbo has in the cave and cannot be ignored, or they are about something that Bilbo and the dwarves can do nothing about, like hunger, and so they have to be ignored. The one time that they do have notice about an omen is when Elrond tells them how to enter the Lonely Mountain. When it is finally time, they do what he told them to do, and get into the secret entrance (209). Dreams and omens are very important in Julius Caesar and The Hobbit because they sometimes show the characters something that they did not realize. In Julius Caesar, the characters have enough notice about what is going to happen, but they ignore the meanings of the dreams and omens and Julius Caesar dies because he does everything they tell him not to do. In The Hobbit, the characters do not usually have enough time to do anything about the dreams because they have them about things that are already happening, but when they do have a chance, they listen to the omen from Elrond and are able to enter the Lonely Mountain. In both books, the omens and dreams are right, and the characters have to decide if they want to follow them. If they do not follow them bad things happen, but if they do, they can be successful. Bibliography Cahn, Victor, The plays of Shakespeare: A Thematic Guide, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press 2003. Carpenter, Humphrey, J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography, New York: Harcourt Press 2000. Shakespeare, William, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, New York: Penguin 2000. Tolkien, J. R. R. The Hobbit, New York: Ballantine Books 1996.

Components of the Criminal Justice System Essay

The criminal justice system is made up of many components but the three major components are the police, correctional agencies, and criminal courts. Within the judicial system, the police are the first step. They are the first responders to any crime scene which goes into the investigation process. The investigation process will then lead to possible arrests; the criminal is then booked and processed. They are given a court date and from that point the case is in the criminal courts domain. From that point the criminal courts then conduct a fair and impartial trial. The criminal courts are there to protect the rights of anyone facing processing by the justice system. The suspect is then found guilty or not guilty. If the defendant is found guilty they are then transferred from the county jail, where they were being held, to a state prison or correctional facility. The final step within the judicial system is the correctional agencies. However, appeals may be filed and the criminal will go through the court system again. Correctional facilities have different levels: minimum security and maximum security. The severity of the crime will determine which one of the facilities the criminal will end up in. The structure of the government relates to the criminal justice system in many ways. Like the criminal justice system, the government is also made up of different agencies that must work in harmony to serve a purpose. It also relates to the criminal justice system because the government is who makes the laws. Those laws vary from state to state in terms of penalties for misdemeanors, felonies, infractions, etc. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, â€Å"Under our form of government, each State and the Federal Government has its own criminal justice system† (BJS, 2012). After the laws are made, it is then the responsibility of the criminal justice agencies to enforce them. Although it seems that all of the mentioned entities work separate and alone, which in some cases they do, they are all working for the same purpose, reason, and results. Resource: Bureau of Justice Statistics, BJS, The Structure of the justice system Retrieved from: http://www.bjs.gov/content/justsys.cfm

Polio, Cystic Fibrosis and Hypothyroidism

Polio Poliomyelitis, commonly referred to as polio is cause by acute viral infection from its causative agent, the poliovirus. The virus belongs to the enterovirus family and consists of a naked RNA strand (Kumar, Abbas & Fausto, 2004, p. 364). The route of spread is fecal oral, similar to most other members of the enterovirus class. The initial infection occurs in the mouth and throat, resulting in the secretion of the virus from the salivary glands and its subsequent entry into the gastrointestinal tract.Virus multiplication occurs in the mucosa of the intestines and in lymph nodes, a process that causes symptoms associated with a transitory viremia. Most polio infections do not surface clinically; about 1% of infected individuals suffer the consequences of central nervous invasion by the virus (Kumar, Abbas & Fausto, 2004, p. 364). This invasion first manifests as meningeal irritation. But the most debilitating effects are seen when it proceeds to the spinal cord, infecting the mo tor neurons.This invasion causes wasting of muscles and loss of reflexes; a disability that persists for the rest of the patient’s life (Kumar, Abbas & Fausto, 2004, p. 1374). Two types of vaccines have been developed and successfully administered for the poliovirus. The Salk type is fixed in formalin and contains killed specimens of all three major strains of the poliovirus; more commonly, the oral Sabin type vaccine is used which contains live attenuated virus specimens of all three strains as well.The success of the vaccine in nearly eliminating the virus from developed countries and from most of the developing world is based on the fact that this virus, like smallpox, only infects humans. Additionally, it is shed from an infected individual for a small period of time; it does not change its antigenic molecular makeup through mutations and the vaccine confers lifetime immunity (Kumar, Abbas & Fausto, 2004, p. 364). Cystic Fibrosis Cystic fibrosis is one of the most widespr ead genetic disorders, especially in the Caucasian populations (Kumar, Abbas & Fausto, 2004, p.489).It is an autosomal recessive disease, therefore most carriers of the abnormal allele present with no symptoms. The prime underlying cause of this condition is a mutation on the chromosome 7, in a gene that has been named cystic fibrosis transconductance regulator gene. This gene codes for a protein that forms a transmembrane channel that actively regulates the crucial transfer of electrolytes across the membrane, notably the chloride ion. The rate and volume of this transport is also modulated by intra- and extra-cellular signals (Kumar, Abbas & Fausto, 2004, p.490).Once electrolyte content of the secretions is compromised, it leads to varying water content in extracellular compartments and causes a wide range of debilitating symptoms in different tracts. The most common clinical presentation is respiratory distress in newborn babies. The extremely viscid secretions in the lungs resul t in recurrent and severe respiratory infections. Moreover, the increased tissue resistance of the lungs results in an increased right-heart workload, which may cause right heart failure.These complications are the most common cause of cystic fibrosis-related deaths in USA. The pancreas is also frequently involved; the exocrine part is hit the hardest. This insufficiency results in protein and fat malabsorption which leads to other complications including insufficient absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, and edema due to decreased levels of plasma proteins (Kumar, Abbas & Fausto, 2004, p. 494-495). There have been several advances in the management of this disease.Improved control of respiratory infections and lung transplant has given encouraging results; children and young adults who have had both their lungs transplanted have a survival rate of 70%. Heart, liver, and pancreas transplants have also shown favorable results (Kumar, Abbas & Fausto, 2004, p. 495). Hypothyroidism Hypoth yroidism is defined as below normal levels of production or action of the thyroid hormone (Kumar, Abbas & Fausto, 2004, p. 1167). The thyroid hormone has widespread effects on the body in regard to regulation of the metabolic rate of all tissues.Hypothyroidism is of three types: primary, resulting innate problems of the thyroid; secondary, due to improper functioning of the pituitary gland; and tertiary, caused by a deficiency of the hypothalamus. The most common type of hypothyroidism in iodine-sufficient areas is primary, resulting from immune reaction to the thyroid gland itself, a condition known as Hashimoto thyroiditis. In this disorder, the immune system causes cell death in thyroid tissue either by direct cell toxicity or by antibody-mediated reactions (Kumar, Abbas & Fausto, 2004, p. 1167-1170).An antibody against the thyroid stimulating hormone receptor, which resides on the cell surface of thyroid tissue, is most frequently found in patients of Hashimoto thyroiditis. Clin ically, this disorder presents as a swelling of the thyroid with no symptom of pain; the swelling is commonly diffuse and equal in size and shape on both sides (Kumar, Abbas & Fausto, 2004, p. 1170). The disease progresses slowly and insidiously, manifested by lack of energy and dullness, often mistaken for depression. Cognitive functions are also impaired and obesity has been reported.Decreased sympathetic activity causes gastrointestinal problems. Since the thyroid hormone directly regulates cardiac calcium influx, a decrease in cardiac output is seen, followed by lowered stamina in the patient (Kumar, Abbas & Fausto, 2004, p. 1168). Diagnosis is made by serological investigations, TSH levels in serum being the most sensitive indicator of thyroid function; TSH levels are actually high in response to lowered thyroxine levels in primary hypothyroidism. Levothyroxine is the drug of choice for such patients (Kumar, Abbas & Fausto, 2004, p. 1169).

My Academic Experience

Week 9: My Academic Experience Fatimah M. Myers US/101 April 13, 2013 University of Phoenix Instructor – Annette Kubalanza Outline – My Academic Experience 1. The Value of Completing a Degree in Higher Education 2. Plans for My Academic and Career Future 3. Reflections of Topics in Class A. Time and Stress Management B. University Resources C. Critical Thinking THE VALUE OF COMPLETING A DEGREE IN HIGHER EDUCATION American society values higher education. College provides many opportunities for developing a variety of social networks, both formal and informal.Obtaining a college degree will be such a valuable and rewarding accomplishment for me. It opens many new opportunities for me on a professional and personal level. Upon completion, I will be only the second person in my entire family to earn a degree. One of the most important personal values of obtaining my degree is allowing my children see me work hard for a better life, and a better salary. Growing up, I rememb er my mother struggle to take care of my sister and myself; Doing her best to make ends meet.My hope is my children will learn through me that a higher education will allow for a better life; making them the third and fourth college graduates in my family. PLANS FOR MY ACADEMIC AND CAREER FUTURE The demand for postsecondary education is higher than it has ever been. Higher education aids in an economic well-being. Earning my Associate’s Degree will allow me to become eligible for promotions. It will be a short-term goal accomplishment, allowing me one step closer to the career of my choice. However, it is not where I want my education to end.Continuing my education and earning my Bachelor’s Degree is the next goal in my academic future. My Associate’s Degree is in Healthcare Administration, and my Bachelor’s will be in Business Management. Obtaining a Bachelor’s in Business Management will allow me to branch out of the Healthcare field, or start my own Medical Billing Company if I choose. Having a Bachelor’s, in addition to my years of experience, makes me eligible to be promoted to an Operations Manager, or a Director at my current job. I can also be a Billing Manager at a hospital. All of which are careers I am interested in.The final plan in my academic future is to earn my Master’s Degree in Social Work. After completion of my Master’s, I can pursue the career of my dreams, a Hospice Social Worker. REFLECTIONS OF TOPICS IN CLASS I have learned so much in this class to prepare me for a successful college experience. There were some topics that caught my attention more than others. Such as, time and stress management, University resources, and critical thinking. Time and Stress Management How I manage time is a reflection of what I value. Managing my time corresponds to how successful I will be in college and throughout life.Knowing and setting priorities to meet goals, carrying out plans, taking contro l of time, and staying focused are some events that are involved with time management. For many of us, balancing school with work and family is the greatest challenge involved with prioritizing. Good advance planning will help in meeting these challenges. Staying focused is usually difficult, especially for first-year students. Staying focused entails remembering and dedicating to the most important purpose for being in college. Sacrificing unnecessary commitments and keeping my long-term goals in mind will help me to remain focused. University ResourcesAn online learning environment can be quite challenging. I am unable to raise my hand to ask a question, and receive an immediate answer. For this and several other reasons, the University Resources is such an important tool to the success of my college experience at the University of Phoenix. The University Resources are made up of many different resources. Such as, the University Library, Center for Writing Excellence, and the Plag iarism Review. Visiting the library is somewhere I should go whenever I have research that needs to be done. The library helps with research for a class, a job, or for anything personal.The University Library has websites that other help for students, while providing invaluable services to students and faculty members. The most useful resource available in a library is a librarian. They can be contacted in several ways, and will treat inquiries with respect. The Center for Writing Excellence, or CWE, is made up of resources to help develop written communication skills. One of the most important resources is the ability to submit a paper for Grammar and Plagiarism Review. All assignments should be submitted for review to avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism is a serious offense, and can lead to expulsion from the University.Critical Thinking Critical thinking is the thoughtful consideration of the information or ideas that we encounter. It involves having the ability to think for yourself. B eing able to responsibility make a decision that affects our lives involves critical thinking. The three steps of thinking critically are to ask questions, consider multiple points of views, and to draw conclusions. Applying critical thinking to my everyday decisions will help promote my career goals, and allow me to live a life filled with morals and ethical decisions. REFERENCES WEBLINK: www. wpcarey. asu. edu WEBLINK: www. chronicle. com/article/Ameicans-Value-Higher