Final project - brief therapy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Final project - brief therapy - Essay Example PsycINFO: PsycINFO , from the American Psychological Association (APA), contains nearly 2.4 million citations and summaries of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations, all in psychology and related disciplines, dating as far back as the 1800s. 98 percent of the covered material is peer-reviewed. Journal coverage, which spans 1887 to present, includes international material selected from more than 2,200 periodicals in more than 27 languages. PsycARTICLES : PsycARTICLES, from the American Psychological Association (APA), is a definitive source of full-text, peer-reviewed scholarly and scientific articles in psychology. The database contains more than 100,000 articles from 59 journals - 48 published by the American Psychological Association (APA) and 11 from allied organizations. It includes all journal articles, letters to the editor and errata from each journal. Coverage spans 1894 to present. The researcher searched for full text materials on Brief Therapy and 536 matches came out. The first three matches that came out spoke of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT). On reading the first article, the researcher got interested in this area of Brief therapy and decided to limit research to SFBT. Using the keywords Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, 92 matches came out. The researcher selected articles on the general application of SFBT to younger clients of therapy, and that meant children and youth. Upon reading the above-mentioned articles, the researcher got to understand the philosophy and concepts behind Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, and its promising contributions to the field of Brief Therapy. The authors claim that literature on SFBT is growing, as more and more counselors are vouching for its effectiveness as a short-term therapy program. Such claims and the foundations from which it spring forth shall be discussed in further detail in Part 2 of this

Weight lifting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Weight lifting - Essay Example Most gyms do have at least the very basic strength training tools to enable their subscribers engage in a well balanced fitness schedule. As per medical and fitness experts, people who include strength training in their fitness schedule do reap a variety of health benefits. It is a reality that as people age, they start losing muscle mass with time. This compensates their overall stamina and energy levels. Strength training is one sure way to gain muscle mass even during mature years and to maintain a youthful posture and body tone (Komaroff, 2014). It is known to positively aid body mechanics. Besides, optimal levels of muscle mass and strength helps people remain energetic and it improves their capacity for work and sports (Komaroff, 2014). Aged people who practice strength training are more likely to retain physical balance and stability even during mature years (Komaroff, 2014). Besides, strength training also improves pumping capacity of heart and helps people maintain healthy blood pressure (Anderson, 2005). It is also known that improvements in muscle mass and strength facilitated by strength training exercises does quicken body’s metabolic rate and help people maintain a healthy body weight by burning more calories (Anderson, 2005). Above all, strength training has especially been found to be of immense relevance to women, who are more vulnerable to osteoporosis as compared to men. Inactivity is known to dilute bone density, thereby leading to heightened risk of osteoporosis. Consequently, engaging in regular strength training is known to improve bone density and reduce chances of osteoporosis and brittle bones (Anderson, 2005). The benefits of strength training do not stop here. Moreover, strength training has also been found to improve immunity and body’s ability to fight against diseases. It also decreases

The Problem of Grade Inflation

The Problem of Grade Inflation Grade Inflation: Is A the new C? Quinn, my 9-year-old stepson played on a little league baseball team. He attended most of the practices and played in all the games. I asked one day who won the game today? He looked to his father for the answer. I asked, doesnt he know if his team won? It seems that this little league bent the rules of baseball. Well, they didnt just bend the rules they made up their own rules making sure all the players played, no one struck out, five runs and the other team was up you get my drift. Then to top it off they held a party at the end of the season where everyone received a trophy. I was frankly appalled. Being rewarded just for participation. The prevalence of grade inflation is effecting students, professors and institutions. Students are receiving higher grades than earned. A has become the new C. If our educational system is failing to grade appropriately for attainment of knowledge that students supposedly are there to gain, then what does it all mean? It would seem suitable to compare it to giving every person on a sport team a trophy just for participating. It is a deceptive practice and ethically wrong to give a grade when it truly is not achieved no matter what the reason. The purpose of this argument on grade inflation is to convince students, professors, parents and institutions that the practice of grade inflation must stop. Everyone is affected by the strength or weakness and by the fairness or unjust attributes of our educational system. Grade Inflation has many repercussions. Students receiving higher grades make it difficult to discern the average student from the above average student from the exceptional student. Problem Analysis In my research, I have found educators agreeing that grade inflation is a problem. Over the past decades claims of grade inflation in American higher education have been ubiquitous, with ample evidence documenting its prevalence and severity (Arnold 2004; Summary Weber 2012; Carter Lara, 2016, p. 346). As stated by Rojstaczer 2003, The data indicate that not only is C an endangered species but that B, once the most popular grade at universities and colleges, has been supplanted by the former symbol of perfection, the A (p. A21) It is important to note the causes of grade inflation in the first place. As stated by Rojstaczer and Healy (2010), Faculty attitudes about teaching and grading underwent a profound shift that coincided with the Vietnam War (see graph below). Many professors, certainly not all or even a majority, became convinced that grades were not a useful tool for motivation, were not a valid means of evaluation and created a harmful authoritarian environment for learning. Added to this shift was a real-life exigency. In the 1960s, full-time male college students were exempt from the military draft. If a male college student flunked out, chances were that he would end up as a soldier in the Vietnam War, a highly unpopular conflict on a deadly battlefield. Partly in response to changing attitudes about the nature of teaching and partly to ensure that male students maintained their full-time status, grades rose rapidly. Then there seemed to be a lull in grade inflation until the 1980s when grades b egan to rise again. A new ethos had developed among college leaders. Students were no longer thought of as acolytes searching for knowledge. Instead they were customers (Rojstaczer Healy, 2010). Â   Note. Reprinted from Grade Inflation at American Colleges Universities, by Rojstaczer, S. Two of the more frequently cited sources of grade inflation are faculty status and faculty evaluations Hall (2011 p.146). Professors at some institutions are dependent on good evaluations from students. If the evaluations are not favorable and grades are low, then the teacher becomes suspect. Simply stated, the higher the course grade, the happier the student, and the higher the ratings on the faculty evaluations completed by those students Hall (2011). Motivating the student becomes an issue when the common grade is A. I found support that it becomes extremely difficult for professors to grade honestly because it can be viewed as a sign of poor quality education by the professor, his ratings go down and consequently enrollment in the institutions in future years will suffer. In an article by Stroebe (2016), he discusses grading leniency encouraged by universities. Evidence is presented that the positive association between student grades and their evaluation of teaching reflects a bias rather than teaching effectiveness (p. 800). This cyclic process has only resulted in more problems. Poor student performance in subsequent courses tend to become apparent. Stroebe, a professor in the department of social and organizational psychology, University of Groningen, the Netherlands deliberates the notion that grading leniency or grade inflation is likely to demotivate students. He presents that students overestimate the amount they learn based on the grade they receive. Institutions are at fault here as well and may be the one of the biggest proponents to perpetuating the vicious circle. As Hall (2012) explains in her article, institutional interests also tend to have a significant impact on the prevalence of grade inflation in higher education. With more and more cuts to educational funding, many colleges and universities find themselves struggling to balance their budgets. Students who are happy with their grades are students who are much more likely to remain enrolled thereby filling classroom seats and paying tuition fees (p. 147). An issue that has revealed itself in my research is academic entitlement. The attitude of many of the students today is that they have the right since they are the procurers. (Hall, 2012 p.148). Thought provoking questions are asked by researchers as to the reasons of academic entitlement. As Greenberger, Lessard, Chen Farruggia (2008) ask, What are the circumstances that foster the behavior and attitudes of academic self-entitlement: i.e., expectations of high rewards for modest effort, expectations of special consideration and accommodation by teachers when it comes to grades, and impatience and anger when their expectations and perceived needs are not met? (p. 1194). Rebuttal against grade inflation Then there are those with opposing viewpoints that grade inflation is nonexistent. As Kohn (2002) states, Even where grades are higher now as compared with then, that does not constitute proof that they are inflated. The burden rests with critics to demonstrate that those higher grades are undeserved, and one can cite any number of alternative explanations. Maybe students are turning in better assignments. Maybe instructors used to be too stingy with their marks and have become more reasonable. Maybe the concept of assessment itself has evolved, so that today it is more a means for allowing students to demonstrate what they know rather than for sorting them or catching them out (p. B8) My rebuttal is that over the years attitudes have changed not only of the students, the professors and the institutions. Institutions are not just interested in being the best in providing education, they are not interested in the education business, they are interested in the business of education. Simply put how to make the most money. Professors are interested in keeping their jobs by keeping institutions happy with them. If they give poor grades institutions will think that their teaching ability is poor and students, since they are paying for their education, feel entitled to get good grades or they may give their instructor an unfavorable evaluation. My interview was with a young physician who went to undergraduate school in 2001 then on to medical school, a residency program and an internship. She is currently a practicing physician in a large group practice. One of my reasons for the choice of interviewee is that in the line graph illustrated previously she falls in the time when A is the most popular grade given nationwide. I formulated my line of questions only to be side railed by the very first question; When you were in college, were you aware of grade inflation practices? Her answer was no. Well, I continued, there are quite a few articles written about grade inflation and how prevalent it has become. It has been steadily increasing over the last twenty years. Have you notice that your grades were inflated? She indignantly said, absolutely not! I worked my butt off for every grade I got! the conversation continued as I strove to gain some glimmer of grade inflation recognition. Have you noticed any fellow students getting As that did not put in an A effort? The answer was no all the students I was with were hard working and deserved the grades they received. After the unexpected denial or unawareness of grade inflation could my interviewee fit into the category of entitlement? I decided that it was a case of a hard-working student with drive, motivation and determination to receive the grades that she deserved. She grew up in a time of entitlement, and yes, she does exhibit some of those qualities but she works hard to this day. She may have grown up in the age of entitlement but she is a child of achievement. I would know since she is my daughter. Solution Hall (2012), Argues that in the fight against grade inflation what is lacking are the basic principles of instructional design. There is no framework in place in institutions for measures to prevent grade inflating propensities and actions. Anyone who investigates the sources of grade inflation will ultimately find themselves pointed in the direction of the students themselves. The attitude of many of the students today is that they have the right since they are the procurers. (Hall, 2012 p.148) My experience with attending Chamberlain College for Nursing is that the courses are set up to allow the professors to grade honestly. The grading rubric is beneficial to the student who now knows exactly what is expected of him or her. It makes it a more objective approach to grading. As Kelly (2017) describes, Here are three reasons why I find rubrics truly effective. First, rubrics save time because I can simply look at your rubric and mark off points. Second, rubrics keep me honest, even when Ive had a horrible day . I feel much more objective as I sit before my mountain of papers. More important than these two reasons, however, is that when I have created a rubric beforehand and shown it to my students I get better quality work. They know what I want. They can also see right away where they lost points (p. 1) Benefits I agree with Hall in her analysis of grade inflation. I can see that there are many facets that are all contributing to the problem. Solving one issue will not resolve the problem. Grade Inflating practices are fundamentally wrong. It involves a faculty member to award a grade that is higher than earned. Although it is recognized as being an issue, the inappropriate conduct continues. Hall not only describes the various causes and the rationale why grade inflation continues, but she offers a framework that consists of a different approach to combating the problem with specific objectives, instruction and assessment. It sounds very much like the grading rubric. According to Stevens and Levi (2005), At its most basic, a rubric is a scoring tool that lays out the specific expectations for an assignment. Rubrics divide an assignment into its component parts and provide a detailed description of what constitutes acceptable or unacceptable levels of performance for each of those parts (p.3 ) Conclusion In conclusion, with instructors lowering their grading standards, A has become the most ordinary grade on college campuses. Its like buying a dozen eggs with medium, large, extra-large and jumbo all mixed in one carton. With no true evaluation of students performance, you dont know what youre getting. Students have a sense of entitlement that parents and the environment we live in have fostered over time. Students expect an A with minimal effort. This can be demotivating and discouraging for students who truly give it their all. When there are no guidelines or enforced regulation of grades, the grades given in higher education will have less and less meaning. Its time to stop giving trophies just for participation. References Ad Hoc Committee on Grade Inflation. Final Report of the Ad Hoc Committee Task Force on Grade Inflation. American University, Washington, DC. (October, 10th, 2016).http://www.american.edu/facultysenate/upload/Senate-report-on-Grade-Inflation-Final-10-20-16.pdf. Arnold, R. A. (2004). Way That Grades are Set is a Mark Against Professors. Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Carter, M. J., Lara, P. Y. (2016). Grade Inflation in Higher Education: Is the End in Sight? Academic Questions, 29(3), 346-353. Doi:10.1007/s12129-016-9569-5 Caruth, D., Caruth, G. (2013, January). Grade Inflation: an issue for higher education. Turkish Journal of Distance Education. v.14, n. 1, p. 102-110. ISSN: ISSN-1302-6488. Fauer, J., Lopez, L. (2009, October). Grade Inflation: too much talk too little action. American Journal of Business Education. v.2, n.7. Greenberger, E., Lessard, J., Chen, C., Farruggia, S. (2008). Self-Entitled college students: contributions of personality, parenting, and motivational factors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. (April 4th, 2008), 37:1193-1204. DOI 10.1007/s10964-008-9284-9. Hall, R. A. (2012). A neglected reply to grade inflation in higher education. Global Education Journal, 2012(3), 144-165. Kelly, M. (2017). Creating and Using Rubrics: Make Your Life Easier with Rubrics. About Education. (Updated February 03, 2017). http://712educators.about.com/cs/rubrics/a/rubrics.htm Kohn, A. (2002). The dangerous myth of grade inflation. The Chronicle of Higher Education. November 8th, 2002. 49(11). Rojstaczer S., Healy C. (2016). Where A is ordinary: The evolution of American college and university grading. 1940-2009. Teachers College Record, ID Number: 15928. http://www.tcrecord.org Rojstaczer, S. (2016). Grade Inflation at American Colleges and Universities. www.GradeInflation.com. (March 29, 2016). Rojstaczer, S. (2003). Where all Grades are Above Average. The Washington Post. January 28, 2003. A21. Stevens, D., Levi, A. (2005). Introduction to Rubrics: An Assessment Tool to Save Grading Time, Convey Effective Feedback and Promote Student Learning. Stylus Publishing, LLC. Sterling, Virginia. Stroebe, W. (2016). Why Good Teaching Evaluations May Reward Bad Teaching. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 11(6), p. 800-816. DOI:10.1177/1745691616650284 Summary, R., Weber, W. (2012). Grade Inflation or Productivity Growth? An Analysis of Changing Grade Distributions at a Regional University. Journal of Productivity Analysis 38.95-107.

Essay --

"Your father will be undergoing a triple bypass surgery. There a few minutes left before the procedure takes place and he is sent to the operating room." I could hear the doctor’s footsteps walking away rapidly. Was this real? I pinched myself to make sure of it. How could I be around the people I loved most yet feel so broken and alone? At that moment the strong scent of my father’s favorite Oscar De La Renta cologne was the only thing I could smell while holding his hand. Laying so lifeless, weak and in pain, my father looked at me while tears trickled down onto his soft cheeks. All night, the aroma followed me as a shadow everywhere I went. Starting to take in the smell, I slowly began enjoying it and the comfort it brought me. As I waited anxiously, I was preparing myself for the worse. Hours passed and nothing, just a silent hospital and a closed door with no sign of anyone. Yet, the only thing there in the air surrounding me was the scent of the cologne and it wou ld be for the next few hours, days and weeks of the emotional journey ahead of me. Being a first generation Amer...

Luther Burbank

Luther Burbank 7 March 1849 – 11 April 1926 Mercedes Moshier 3rd Hour Luther Burbank a man said to be the Edison of the garden. Born on March 7, 1849 in the small town of Lancaster, Massachusetts. Burbank grew up on a farm, always treating the plants just like humans. The garden his mother built was a haven for Luther, spending all his time there Burbank had little friends and usually kept to himself, even though he was the 13th child of 15 brothers and sisters. Luther received only a elementary education before he dropped out at age 15.He also visited the vocational college Atlantic Union during the wintertime for four years. Almost all of his knowledge came from the science books at his local library that he hovered over for hours on end. The book The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication by Charles Darwin sparked his curiosity and pushed him to learn more about evolution and botany. At the ripe age of 21 his father died leaving him a little inheritance. With t his money Luther bought a 17 acre of land near Lunenburg, Massachusetts. In 1870 Burbank picked up the lifestyle of market gardening.Where people were very competitive so he had to learn the secrets of the garden. The use of cold frames, hotbeds, fertilizers and the professionalism lead Burbank to making his first ‘creation’ the Burbank Potato. Which is now called the Russet Burbank Potato because of its color, and is known and used world wide and highly popular. Scrabbling for money after his discovery, Burbank sold the rights the the Russet Burbank Potato for 150$ in 1872 to a man named Gregory J. Using his well earned money, Burbank moved to Santa Rosa, California, where three of his brother were living at the time.In Santa Rosa Burbank purchased a 4 acre plot of land, where he built a nursery, greenhouse and a experimental fields. With these fields he tested crossbreeding many types of plants and trees. He soon named this plot of land the Luther Burbank Home and Gar dens, which is now a National Historic Landmark as of 1964. Not only did he become famous for his Burbank Potato, but Burbank also came up with thousands of other crossbreeds and plants and discoveries! Some of his most famous would be the Shasta daisy which he cross breeded with four different daisies.The Oxeye daisy, English field daisy, Portuguese field daisy and the most important one was the Japanese field daisy. The result was a bright white petite flower instead of the wild tall dull white flower. Creating 117 new varieties of prunes and plums which most are used in juices we drink everyday. Also making 169 new types of nuts and berries , Luther Burbank earned himself the key to California. For he also increased quality and growing rate and wealth of crops, added defenses to environmental pressures to 46 trees and plants, which helped them withstand extreme temperatures, drought and other things.Luther also helped create plants and concoctions that were resistant to viruses, fungi and bacterias. His added defense also helped with insects that would normally destroy the plant, and the tolerance to herbicides helped with production and distributing for it was almost always perfect. With a garden filled with all the colors of the rainbow, all of which Burbank had discovered and/or cross pollinated himself, Luther needed more space. So with the grants he received from the Carnegie Institution, which was a grant for 10,000 a year for a span of ten years.In 1885 Luther bought an 18 acre plot of land in Sebastopol, CA, which he named Luther Burbank’s Gold Ridge Experimental Farms. Which was the main place that was promoted in Luther’s newly issued catalog â€Å"New Creations† which was released in 1893. Which newspapers said that this, at that time, was what made Luther Burbank famous. This catalog included many type of seeds, trees, flowers, fruits and vegetables that Luther was willing to sell and make profit from. A lot of the thing wer e highly expensive, but he claimed ‘Perfection and its riches was not cheap. Shortly after the catalog was released, Burbank was now making a recurring profit for all of hard work he has been doing. Claiming that he has just made the best of all Japan plums, the ‘Perfection Plum’ he named it. Burbank sold it for 2,500, and people wanted a bite of this perfect fruit. Although Burbank was highly known for his creation of the Shasta daisy, he also made many other flowers and seedlings. Also known for his blue Shirley poppy, Fire poppy, the fragrant Calla and the state flower of California.Since Luther lived in the vast land of California, there were many cattle there, and also droughts and bone-dry deserts. Plus there were so many types of cacti, most of them had edible juices, but the spikes were always a problem. And some farmers and cattle and cow raisers didn’t have the tools or wits to be able to cut into a spiky cactus without stabbing themselves. Luther , being the wizard he was claimed to be, came up with the spineless cactus. Making it billions of times easier for animals and people to eat and drink cactus without hurting themselves in the process.Some of his other achievements would have to be his involvement in many honorary clubs of leading scientific societies all over the world. Including one of the invitation only American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the Royal Horticultural Society. Which Burbank took great pride in, for many people took interest in his work and congratulated him. He also shared his work with other scientists and people of that nature. Such as Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. He also was the heroine of the song, ‘All Hail to Luther Burbank’ which is quoted in all of his schools, communities, businesses, and corporations.Luther Burbank’s name has been used for titles in 36 plants, schools, buildings, towns, streets, banks and corporations. Including the school he had at tended as a child in Lancaster, Mass. With all these dedications before and after his death, people started this ‘Fanclub’ called The Burbankens. California even got on the bandwagon of the Burbankens, and had parades dedicated and representing Luther Burbank. There are still Burbankens to this day that try to do what Luther did, learned and experimented for over 50 years.Two weeks after Luther’s 77th birthday, he suffered a severe heart attack from gastrointestinal complications and was immediately transmitted to a hospital. On April 10, 1926. Around 6:00 pm, Burbank slipped into a coma. 15 minutes after midnight, Luther’s heart stopped. Luther Burbank died on April 11, 1926. Cites: The Garden of Invention by Jane S. Smith ffrf. org/legacy/fttoday/back/burbank. php bookrags. com/biography/luther-burbank/ A Gardener Touched with Genius, the Life of Luther Burbank by Peter Dreyer people. famouswhy. com/luther-burbank/

Design and Construction of the Museum of Acropolis

Since the 1970s, the Museum of Acropolis could non get by satisfactorily with the big crowds of visitants. The insufficiency of infinite caused jobs and downgraded the sense that it was achieved by the exposure of chef-d'oeuvres from the Acropolis Rock. Apart from the fact that the bing museum was deemed deficient to house and expose the celebrated findings of the Acropolis, it could non expose all the sculptures that were needfully moved from their place for the care work. For all these grounds, two architectural competitions took topographic point in 1976 and 1979, but without success. On March 12Thursday, 1989, Melina Mercouri initiated an international design competition that as Minister of Culture inextricably identified her policy with the demand for the return of the Elgin Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum. This competition was canceled after the disclosure of a big residential country at Makriyianni site, dating from Prehistoric to Byzantine times. The digging should be included in the New Museum. Bernard Tschumi faced a immense challenge, when he won the competition for the Acropolis Museum in Athens and he was called to plan a new landmark for the metropolis. Greece had been fighting to go portion of Europe in all possible ways ( politically, culturally, etc. ) since the ‘70s, and that museum would be the chief ally to back up this end. Grecian political system had since the really get downing focused its attempts on puting up a state that expresses the ideals of a European cultural heritage. The efforts to suit in the western society had started since the terminal of nineteenth century, after the declaration of independency from the Ottoman Empire, and during the period that followed there was a changeless attempt discard all the residues of East civilization. The purpose was to repossess the ancient yesteryear alternatively, and define national individuality and civilisation on that portion of history. Therefore, the remains of the Grecian antiquity became really of import in the defining of the province and society. The Museum of Acropolis is a political statement of Greece and an instrument for Grecian authorities to send on to western society a new national individuality. This is an individuality that promotes Grecian ancient heritage and preserves it in a high tech twenty-first century shell. Those elements combined, organize a clear position of how Grecian society wants to be perceived today. The purpose is to organize an substructure of equal value with Western Europe, of rich cultural civilisation and high engineering resources which are demonstrated on Tschumi ‘s museum. At this phase the writer would wish to clear up that this is an attempt to interpret and analyse the new Museum of Acropolis, non aesthetically and even more non from a personal point of position, but as a political and cultural statement of what Greek society is seeking to reflect and advance of Greece in the twenty-first century, to western Europe and globally. Significant location The site of New Acropolis Museum is the edifice block surrounded by Dionysius Areopagite, Makriyannis, Chatzichristou and Mitseon roads. As a consequence, visitants while researching the archeological sites of the environing countries are of course guided towards the museum, and unconsciously experience a connexion between the antediluvian and modern-day Greece. The land of the site has a smooth incline, about 8 % downward to the South, and portion of its surface is covered by public edifices, which due to its historical, architectural and morphological involvement have identified as monumental by the Ministry of Culture. Three architectural parametric quantities reverse the restrictions of the site, in a challenge to make a simple and precise museum uncovering the mathematical and limpid lucidity of ancient Greece the Light, the Movement and the Structure of the edifice. More than any other type of museums, the information of the new Archaeological Museum of Acropolis are based around the visible radiation. It is chiefly a museum of natural visible radiation with the cardinal intent of â€Å"the presence of sculpture† . The three chief stuffs of the museum isglass,which is used largely for frontages and some floors,concretefor the nucleus and columns andmarblefor some floors. The columns of the E and West facade and the Parthenon Gallery have been constructed from steel. There is a harmoniousness of proportion between the graduated table of the infinite that leads to the edifice and the graduated table of the edifice itself. Equivalent graduated tables of â€Å" emptiness † and of â€Å" non-emptiness † are developed in two axes, one horizontal and one vertical. If the edifice was losing the journey to the entryway, the whole feeling of the museum and particularly the first reaction to it, would be diametrically opposite. Now the visitant is prepared easy and phased into a whole experience which starts before come ining the museum. Monumental graduated table There is a relationship of volume between the New Museum of Acropolis and the Parthenon which is really noticeable when reading the site program, every bit good as when populating the part. In an country where the graduated table of environing edifices is much smaller, as the site is located in a domestic zone, those are the lone two elements that stand out, which both are of monumental graduated table. The ocular relationship to the Parthenon and the landscape On the degree between the Roman period exhibition and the Parthenon ‘s Gallery there is a communal infinite which includes a bookstore and a dining country. Right in forepart of the eating house a canopy unfolds, which is supported by â€Å" powerful columns † that define the chief entryway placed right below. The canopy extends from the edifice towards the antediluvian Rock of Acropolis. The position from the eating house ‘s balcony to the Parthenon is partially blocked because of two neoclassical edifices that stand in forepart of the museum. Tchumi ‘s planning includes the destruction of those which has caused a great field of argument for designers and critics in Greece. Some argue that the canopy is â€Å" absolutely positioned as if to pound into the demolition-endangered abodes and so onto the stone of the Acropolis itself † as Dr Alexandra Stara says in the Architectural Review, no. 1348, June 2009. Any solution to this quandary will be harmful merely to architectural creative activity. If the two preserved neoclassical edifices in Aeropagitou Street are demolished, Athens will lose two great pieces of its architectural heritage. If they are non, Tschumi ‘s coveted contradictions will non take topographic point and his architecture will non be completed. The portion of the museum that contains the most obvious political and cultural statement is the Parthenon gallery. It was a vision by Melina Merkouri, Greek actress and politician ( chief female Minister for Culture of Greece ) , who was the first individual to claim back the Parthenon marbles from the British authorities. Her dream was that the most impressive room of the new museum of Acropolis should remain empty until the marbles go back to Greece. The creative activity of this gallery opens once more the conversation between United Kingdom and Greece for the return of the marbles. The Parthenon Gallery is a representation of the temple including a big rectangular infinite where the carved marble panels that decorated the original are exposed. The marbles face the issue of heterotopia ( malposition or supplanting of a bodily organ ) , and the Parthenon gallery is designed by the designer with an evident purpose to make similar fortunes between the topographic point of displaced marbles and the existent location where they used to be displayed one time. Cost The building of the undertaking started at a cost of ˆ130 million in November 2004, and it was completed within the period of three old ages. The Ministry of Culture continued its most of import work ; the exposure of valuable and invaluable exhibits. The transportation of major exhibits to the museum began in the fall of 2008 and it was completed in May 2009. On June 20th, 2009 the Museum opened its Gatess to the citizens of the universe. Within one twelvemonth from the bright gap twenty-four hours, the new Acropolis Museum has made great feeling, with the figure of visitants making two million. However, it has outstanding issues such as non secured a fiscal independency, legislative acts and assortment of merchandises in the museum store. Harmonizing to Mr. D. Pantermalis, Director of the Construction of the New Acropolis Museum and subsequently Director of the Museum itself, The Acropolis Museum as a self-funded organisation is confronting fiscal jobs which struggles to be solves. With about 5.5 million income, the museum needs to cover the wages of 90 – 95 % of the staff and functional costs such as electricity, gas etc. which is about 1 Euros. As the Director of the Museum provinces, the economic crisis requires flexibleness and thoughtful version to enable the Museum to travel in front. Due to the economic crisis and the debt â€Å"haircut† the assets of the Museum have been reduced by 3 million Euros and among other things, this caused a long hold to the digging at the base of the Museum, something that it’s pending for the hereafter. Decisions The whole museum is a statement, a changeless statement of the coexistence of antediluvian with modern-day Greece. Tshcumi ‘s design makes the visitant experience a portion of a monumental piece of architecture, of import and alone, about as the Parthenon. This edifice offers Greece a new national individuality. It demonstrates and promotes what Greece is most proud of, the ancient Grecian civilisation. And all this is placed in one of the most of import technological accomplishments of our times. But the inquiry that remains is if the museum still expresses the same significances under the current economic crisis that Greece is traveling through. Mentionshypertext transfer protocol: //www.theacropolismuseum.gr/hypertext transfer protocol: //www.greekarchitects.gr/en/architectural-review/the-new-acropolis-museum-a-triumph-of-sophistry-id2431hypertext transfer protocol: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acropolis_Museumhypertext transfer protocol: //tschumi.com/projects/2/hypertext transfer protocol: //www.archdaily.com/61898/new-acropolis-museum-bernard-tschumi-architects/hypertext transfer protocol: //www.arcspace.com/features/bernard-tschumi-architects/new-acropolis-museum/hypertext transfer protocol: //www.melinamercourifoundation.org.gr/index.php? option=com_content & A ; view=article & A ; id=62 & A ; Itemid=114 & A ; lang=enhypertext transfer protocol: //www.theparliament.com/latest-news/article/newsarticle/eu-funding-for-new-acropolis-museum-branded-inappropriate/ # .UxzcK_l_uRYhypertext transfer protocol: //www.youtube.com/watch? v=B6Ca21dCmhIImages

How Company Structure Affects the Costs of the Luxury Division Essays

How Company Structure Affects the Costs of the Luxury Division Essays How Company Structure Affects the Costs of the Luxury Division Essay How Company Structure Affects the Costs of the Luxury Division Essay How Company Structure Affects the Costs of the Luxury Division Name: Institution: Instructor: Course: Date: How Company Structure Affects the Costs of the Luxury Division Companies should continually adapt their structures to match changing strategies. Superior Living Company is looking to expand and go public, changes that will be better navigated with a relevant structure. Moving from unrelated to related diversification increases the bureaucratic costs associated with managing a multi-business model (Hill Gareth, 2010). The ideal organizational structure for Superior Living should consider the streamlining of processes, resources available, the coordination of personnel and the overall costs implications. The current divisional structure is relevant in terms of the level of product specialization required in each product. This means operational costs of the luxury division are high, and the firm misses the advantages of manufacturing economies of scale due to differentiation. This can, however, not be altered without compromising the quality because product differentiation offers a larger range of opportunities for competitive advantage (Miltenburg, 2005). On the other hand, the structuring of different marketing and sales department unnecessarily decreases the level of horizontal integration. This increases the costs of Luxury (and other) division by replicating effort. The way the decision-making authority is structured is also increasing the operational costs unnecessary. Independent Human resource and IT divisions mean personnel decisions with cost implications on the Luxury division can be made without consulting the division head. This may result in redundant employees. The role of strategic decision-making in the current structure also has negative implications on the firm’s future. The locus of decision-making control is up to the division level. This has the different divisions operating as separate units and forgetting that they work for the same company. This compromises the interdepartmental communication resulting in costly bureaucracy. Changes Giving Incentive to Department Heads To Manage Costs The finance VP needs to improve the communication between the division heads of the Luxury, Human Resource and IT departments. He can do this by implementing acceptable changes such as having the heads team up to come up with interdepartmental communication and cost management policies. He should have the CEO back him up to increase his credibility with them. Improved communication would prevent the costs of replicated effort. All the division heads should be taught to view the company as one and not just think in terms of their divisions. The finance VP could use their desire to head any new divisions resulting from a merger with new acquisitions as a motivation. The opportunity to move up the ranks in should be made dependent on their cooperation. He should also engage the CEO in the creation of knowledge sharing policies facilitated by the IT department that has access to the whole company’s information. This would manage costs by having those with good cost management practices teach others. The divisions with the best cost management practices could also be rewarded financially or otherwise. Auditing professionals could also be consulted due to their independent outlook. Historically, professional independence of auditors has been set by reputable supervisory bodies (Morris, McKay Oates, 2009). An auditor would thus be able to analyze the situation impartially earning the trust of all concerned. They would also be unaware of internal politics hence the ability to present facts without fear of repercussions. The Finance VP can also communicate the importance and relevance of cost management on their future. This extra accountability will help the entire company effectively transform in to a publicly held company. Public companies are usually under more critical scrutiny than private ones. The increased accountability may also prevent any future inefficiency that could damage their public image thus harming future employment prospects. References Hill, C. Jones, G. (2010). Strategic Management Theory: An Intergrated Approach. Mason, OH: Southwestern Cengage Learning. Miltenburg, J. (2005). Manufacturing strategy: How to formulate and implement a winning plan. Newyork, NY: Productivity Press. Morris, G., McKay, S. Oates, A. (2009). Finance director’s handbook. Amsterdam; Boston; London: CIMA.

Alexander Bain and the First Fax

Alexander Bain and the First Fax Faxing is by definition a method of encoding data, transmitting it over a ​telephone line or radio broadcast, and receiving a hard copy of the text, line drawings, or photographs at a remote location. The technology for fax machines was invented a long time. However, fax machines did not become popular with consumers until the 1980s. Alexander Bain The first fax machine was invented by Scottish mechanic and inventor Alexander Bain. In 1843, Alexander Bain received a British patent for â€Å"improvements in producing and regulating electric currents and improvements in timepieces and in electric printing and signal telegraphs†, in laymens terms a fax machine. Several years earlier, Samuel Morse had invented the first successful telegraph machine and the fax machine closely evolved from the technology of the telegraph. The earlier telegraph machine sent Morse code (dots and dashes) over telegraph wires that was decoded into a text message at a remote location. More About Alexander Bain Bain was a  Scottish  philosopher and  educationalist  in the  British school of empiricism  and a prominent and innovative figure in the fields of  psychology,  linguistics,  logic,  moral philosophy  and  education reform. He founded  Mind, the first ever journal of psychology and analytical philosophy, and was the leading figure in  establishing  and applying the  scientific method  to  psychology. Bain was the inaugural  Regius Chair  in Logic and  Professor of Logic  at the  University of Aberdeen, where he also held Professorships in  Moral Philosophy  and  English Literature  and was twice elected  Lord Rector. How Did Alexander Bains Machine Work? Alexander Bains fax machine transmitter scanned a flat metal surface using a stylus mounted on a pendulum. The stylus picked up images from the metal surface. An amateur clockmaker, Alexander Bain combined parts from clock mechanisms together with telegraph machines to invent his fax machine. Fax Machine History Many inventors after Alexander Bain, worked hard on inventing and improving fax machine type devices. Here is a brief timeline: In 1850, a London inventor named F. C. Blakewell received a patent what he called a copying telegraph.In 1860, a fax machine called the Pantelegraph sent the first fax between Paris and Lyon. The Pantelegraph was invented ​by Giovanni Caselli.In 1895, Ernest Hummel a watchmaker from St. Paul, Minnesota invented his competing device called the Telediagraph.In 1902, Dr. Arthur Korn invented an improved and practical fax, the photoelectric system.In 1914, Edouard Belin established the concept of the remote fax for photo and news reporting.In 1924, the telephotography machine (a type of fax machine) was used to send political convention photos long distance for newspaper publication. It was developed by the American Telephone Telegraph Company (ATT) worked to improve telephone fax technology.By 1926, RCA invented the Radiophoto that faxed by using radio broadcasting technology.In 1947, Alexander Muirhead invented a successful fax machine.On March 4, 1955, the first radio fax tran smission was sent across the continent.

American Revolution vs. French Revolution

American Revolution vs. French Revolution From studying and learning about both revolutions, I guess you could say they had their similarities; they both had good intentions did they not? Both the Americans and the French people hungered for a new way of life, change is what they wanted. Change is indeed what they received. The American Revolution, to me, seemed more organized and well handled than the French Revolution. The Americans were tired of being under the British’s control, especially when the British tried forcing the American colonies to pay for the British army’s expenses in defending the colonists during the Seven Year War.The attempt to raise new taxes by the Stamp Act in 1765 led to riots and the law’s rapid appeal. The colonist disagreed with the British beliefs, that a single empire with Parliament as the supreme authority. The colonists were more comfortable with neither the king or Parliament interfering with their internal affairs and that no tax could be levied wit hout the consent of the people or their chosen representatives. The American colonists felt in 1776 that it was time to separate themselves from the Britain’s control.On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress released a declaration written by Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration of Independence, a page of parchment, had started the war for American Independence. The Second Continental Congress then authorized the formation of the Continental Army under George Washington’s command. Washington was the best choice for the job because he had political experience and military experience in the French and Indian War. The French were eager to gain revenge for earlier defeats from the British, so they supplied weapons and money to the American colonies at the beginning of the war.Some French officers even fought along the Americans side against the British. I think at the time, this was the best alternative for the 13 American colonies. They achieved their independence as the United States of America; put together the United States Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. It seemed to have worked out for them at the time. The main cause of the French Revolution was the differences between the three social classes that existed in France at that time. There was a severe amount of injustice in the tax system.The third estate paid the highest taxes, while the first estate was exempted from paying the French chiefs taxes (taille). The second estate was excused from paying any and all taxes. The rent for the Third Estate was raised. Consumer prices rose faster than wages, enabling peoples economic ability to pay. Although the third estate made up most of the population of France, it owned less land than the first and second estate. An immediate cause of the French revolution was the near collapse of the government finances.French governmental expenditures continued to grow due to costly wars and royal extravagances. On the verge of complete financial collapse, the government called a meeting of the Estates-General. The Estates disagreed with how the Third Estate wanted to vote, therefore, the Third Estate voted to constitute itself a national assembly and decided to draw up a constitution. The results to this was finding themselves locked out of the usual meeting place, so they made the Tennis Court Oath that they would continue to meet until they produced a French constitution.These actions by the third estate were said to be the first step into the French Revolution. The king sided with the first and second estate but the common people came together with many uprisings in the summer of 1789, one in particular was the Fall of Bastille, an attack on a royal armory, which had also been a state prison. The National Assembly voted to abolish seigniorial rights as well as the fiscal privileges of nobles, clergy, towns, and provinces.On August 26, 1789, the assembly provided the ideological foundation for its actions and an educational device for the nation by adopting the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. The king refused the decrees on abolition of feudalism and the Declaration of Rights, but after some Parisian women threatened the royal family, King Lou is XVI changed his mind. By 1791, the National Assembly completed a new constitution that established a limited constitutional monarchy. There was still a monarch: king of the French, but he enjoyed few powers not subject to review by the new Legislature Assembly.The Legislature Assembly would sit for two years; consist of 745 representatives chosen by an indirect system of election. The king attempted to flee, but was captured and brought back to Paris. Surrounding countries feared that the French behavior and rebellion would spread to their land, so those leaders planned to force the reestablishment of the monarchy authority in France. This just brought on more fire to the French. The political groups in Paris rose against the king and the Legislature Assembly.They organized a mob attack on the royal palace, took the king captive, and forced the assembly to suspend the monarchy and call for a national convention to decide on the future form of government. The first step the Convention took was to abolish the monarch and establish republic. They also passed a decree condemning Louis XVI to death. A nation in arms was put together, very quickly. It was a â€Å"people’s† war, the entire nation was involved in the war. I’m not even sure where or when the French Revolution ends, its ever-lasting it seems.

Evaluation Of Personality Type Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Evaluation Of Personality Type - Assignment Example With regards to my Type A/B personality assessment, my score of 132 makes me a type A+ personality type, which makes me highly ambitious, sensitive, status-conscious, organized, impatient, proactive, anxious, and time conscious. This can be deduced from my scores that show that I am never late, very competitive, fast, tend to sit on my feelings, and have few interests away from my task. On my procrastination assessment, my score of 25 shows that I am an occasional procrastinator as some situations at one point or the other trigger procrastination. Some of the reasons for occasional procrastination include occasional emotional preoccupation that may make me lose my drive and not want to take on any more physical or mental load. However, this procrastination does not last long and disappears as soon as the triggering events dissipate. Considering my Enneagram scores, I am a type 7, which makes me spontaneous, scattered, acquisitive, and versatile. This gives me the tendency to occupy m yself with exciting options and possibilities that give me anticipation and distract me from my fears. Finally, I am an afternoon person, which means that I prefer to be out and about when other people are, and I do not function optimally during late nights or early mornings.Working with OthersWhen working in a group, my Type A+ personality type makes me want my teammates to get to the point quickly, while I would also be very concerned with time management and expect my teammates to be as high-achieving as possible.

Psalms Team Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Psalms Team Analysis - Essay Example The other category is the praise and thanksgiving Psalms. As the name suggests it is normally used when people are thanking God and praising Him for the good deeds that he has done unto them. It is normally used when thanking God after a blessing or a good deed. Another category is that of the Hymn psalms. They are normally divided into Creation Hymns and Divine Kingship.. They are normally used to recognize the majestic Power of God. They were used to describe the relationship at existed etween he Israelites and God. This type of psalm is best used when praising God and acknowledging that he is Lord and the God of all Gods. His powers are above all and he should be worshipped by all. There is another category of Trust psalms. These are normally used when one is facing a certain trial or tribulation. An individual or a group asks for divine intervention from God. Royal psalms on he other hand is a category that was used or rather directed to the kings. They were used to guide and praise the kings who ruled over the people. Wisdom psalsms were designed for guiding or rather offering techings. They are mostly applicable when one wants to learn more about the word of

The case study of focused scenario#3 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The of focused scenario#3 - Case Study Example Pt enjoys gardening, volunteers at the local library for 4 hrs. each wk. and teaches a Sunday school class at her church. During the subjective history taking, the headaches experienced by the patient is to be assessed for the quality (deep or superficial, localized or radiating, aching, throbbing, sharp, shooting, burning) and intensity (subjective pain scale) Location or path is also important to ask, especially if the headache is of radiating type. Any medications taken should also be noted. As for the "funny sensation" on the patient's extremities, the onset and character should be assessed as well as any accompanying numbness on the affected areas. Physical to the head, diseases such as stroke, meningitis and encephalitis are important to ask in the Past Medical History Family History should be more thorough and note the presence of any hereditary neurologic disease, mental retardation, epilepsy or seizure disorder, weakness or gait disorders and metabolic disorders such as hypertension and diabetes mellitus (Seidel, et.al, 2006). Since the patient does gardening, it is important to ask the patien t for exposure to insecticides, organic solvents and other gardening chemicals. Use of alcohol and drugs should also be asked. patient's complaints are neurologic.

Assignment on Microeconomics 5 questions (350 words to each question) Essay

Assignment on Microeconomics 5 questions (350 words to each question) - Essay Example Cost when unoccupied $76.00, Minus dog care $8.00, Minus security firm $10.00 the balance is $58.00. We also consider depreciation that occurs in excess when someone is living in the house, the excess depreciation is $5, so we add the balance above which gives us $58 plus $5 equals $63. On the gardener's services, because the person renting the house takes care of the gardening services his cost of leaving his house unoccupied reduces by $10 therefore we get $63 minus $10 we get $53. The surgeon should reduce his tent by both the value of dog care and need for a security firm because this are taken care by the person living in the house so our value will be 53-18=35. Therefore the minimum amount the surgeon should accept to receive, as rent should be $35. Substitute goods are products that are similar in that they satisfy the same want, if one's good is not available one can substitute it with another example butter and margarine that are consumed with bread. Butter and margarine can be substitutes of one another. Perfect competitive market is a theoretical market structures in which there are many buyers and sellers with no individual power to influence market price. Prices are determined by demand and supplies in the market assumptions of a perfect competitive market are: Many buyers and sellers, Perfect mobility of factors of production, perfect knowledge, homogenous products, absence of externalities. (Hardwick, Khan & Langmead, p 91, 1997). The analysis of equilibrium price and quantity was by Alfred Marshall (1842-1924). He analyzed the demand curve and the supply curve and stated that where the two curves intersect, they give us the equilibrium price and quantity in the market. (Hardwick, Khan & Langmead, 1997). Qo is the equilibrium Quantity Po is the equilibrium price a) Equilibrium price of butter has increased and that the equilibrium quantity of bread has increased. Possible explanations are: I. Price of milk has decreased - If the price of milk decreases then we expect the price of butter to go down. This is explained by the fact that in production of butter, milk is the key input in the process. Therefore, a decrease in the price of butter cannot explain an increase in price of butter. II. Price of flour has decreased - If price of flour decreases we expect price of bread to go down because flour is the key input in production of bread. If price of bread decreases we expect an increase in the quantity demanded of bread. Therefore this explains the increase in equilibrium quantity of bread. On butter - as the bread demanded increases and having in mind that bread and butter are complementary goods. We expect the price of butter to go up also due to increased demand. Demand and Supply Curve for Bread Price Po P1 SSo 0 Quantity The decrease in price of flour causes the supply curve of bread to shift downwards from SSo to SS1 . our

Article summary The Impact of Corruption on Liquidity, Execution Risk,

Summary The Impact of Corruption on Liquidity, Execution Risk, and Foreign Equity Investments in International Capital Markets - Article Example While the article suggest that the well-functioning of a financial enterprise is only possible with the reliability of sustainable market conditions and crystal clear transparency of transactions. Many authors like Shleifer and Eleswarapu consider financial business confronts several conditions that pose dangerous threat to liquidity; most of them are centered to corruption, government involvement in the financial sector and malpractices due to poor management. This study is an improvement to various findings mentioned in the previous literature of many economists but they were initially limited macroeconomics or firm-level corporate finance studies without consideration of the impact of t the constraints as a relationship with international financial crises. The authors summarize the impact of corruption into three ways; possible reduction in foreign portfolio investment inflow, negative coefficient on the non linear for on equity investment and in some contexts, inconsistent behavior of foreign investment foreign investment in countries with different levels of corruption. The elaboration of the research element is divided by the authors in to six segments like relevant literature, hypothesis, data selection, empirical methodology, empirical results and the conclusion. Earlier literatures notify the significant reduction in market investment as a direct co-efficient to increased level of corruption. State level political corruption is identified as the deed of government of a country misallocating or selling state capital funds and property to private parties. As per the transparency index, for a complete fall in the equity, it was calculated that one-third effect of corruption was enough. Therefore, countries like Hong Kong and Singapore have set up agencies acting against corruption whereby they secured better inflow. However, corruption takes a positive note as it saves the time and

The case study of focused scenario#3 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The of focused scenario#3 - Case Study Example Pt enjoys gardening, volunteers at the local library for 4 hrs. each wk. and teaches a Sunday school class at her church. During the subjective history taking, the headaches experienced by the patient is to be assessed for the quality (deep or superficial, localized or radiating, aching, throbbing, sharp, shooting, burning) and intensity (subjective pain scale) Location or path is also important to ask, especially if the headache is of radiating type. Any medications taken should also be noted. As for the "funny sensation" on the patient's extremities, the onset and character should be assessed as well as any accompanying numbness on the affected areas. Physical to the head, diseases such as stroke, meningitis and encephalitis are important to ask in the Past Medical History Family History should be more thorough and note the presence of any hereditary neurologic disease, mental retardation, epilepsy or seizure disorder, weakness or gait disorders and metabolic disorders such as hypertension and diabetes mellitus (Seidel, et.al, 2006). Since the patient does gardening, it is important to ask the patien t for exposure to insecticides, organic solvents and other gardening chemicals. Use of alcohol and drugs should also be asked. patient's complaints are neurologic.

Article summary The Impact of Corruption on Liquidity, Execution Risk,

Summary The Impact of Corruption on Liquidity, Execution Risk, and Foreign Equity Investments in International Capital Markets - Article Example While the article suggest that the well-functioning of a financial enterprise is only possible with the reliability of sustainable market conditions and crystal clear transparency of transactions. Many authors like Shleifer and Eleswarapu consider financial business confronts several conditions that pose dangerous threat to liquidity; most of them are centered to corruption, government involvement in the financial sector and malpractices due to poor management. This study is an improvement to various findings mentioned in the previous literature of many economists but they were initially limited macroeconomics or firm-level corporate finance studies without consideration of the impact of t the constraints as a relationship with international financial crises. The authors summarize the impact of corruption into three ways; possible reduction in foreign portfolio investment inflow, negative coefficient on the non linear for on equity investment and in some contexts, inconsistent behavior of foreign investment foreign investment in countries with different levels of corruption. The elaboration of the research element is divided by the authors in to six segments like relevant literature, hypothesis, data selection, empirical methodology, empirical results and the conclusion. Earlier literatures notify the significant reduction in market investment as a direct co-efficient to increased level of corruption. State level political corruption is identified as the deed of government of a country misallocating or selling state capital funds and property to private parties. As per the transparency index, for a complete fall in the equity, it was calculated that one-third effect of corruption was enough. Therefore, countries like Hong Kong and Singapore have set up agencies acting against corruption whereby they secured better inflow. However, corruption takes a positive note as it saves the time and

Performance and Management Essay Example for Free

Performance and Management Essay Performance and Management A. Policy For Recognizing Employee Contributions The purpose of this report is to use the compensation system we previously developed in Phases I and II to pay people, develop plans that reward performance, add benefits into the mix, and evaluate these results. First we will look at performance-based-pay as a policy for recognizing employee contributions. Performance-based-pay is a pay plan that varies with some measure of individual or organizational performance, such as merit pay, lump-sum bonus plans, skill-based pay, incentive plans, variable pay plans, risk sharing, and success sharing. It is basically a pay plan that moves away from the traditional base pay and across-the-board increases, and focuses more on factors of performance that can increase overall productivity for a company. Performance-based-pay plans can be very effective in creating a positive impact in performance of both employees and a company as a whole, but only is the plan is designed well. In order to be successful, it is crucial that the performance-pay plan be designed to support FastCat’s business strategy and compensation objectives. To design this pay-for-performance plan, we will recommend a specific policy plan that is tailored to FastCat’s goals towards success. We will compare different performance-based plans, which include individual vs. group incentives and merit vs. incentive pay, to see which combinations will help FastCat compete more effectively. a. Emphasis on Individual vs. Group Incentives Two strategies to consider with performance-based-pay plans are providing individual incentives, group incentives, or both. Individual incentive plans involve incentive compensation that is tied directly to objective measures of individual production. On the other hand, group incentive plans are incentive plans that are based on some measure of group performance rather than individual performance. Taking data on a past year as a base, group incentive plans may focus on cost savings or on profit increases as the standard for distributing a portion of the accrued funds among relevant employees. We recommend a mixture of both individual incentive and group incentive pay plans. How the individual incentive plan will work is there will be a year-end bonus pool as function of company performance. The employee’s share in the pool will be based on three factors: (1) employee’s grade, (2) employees personal performance analysis, (3) employee’s tenure at the company. This plan will go hand-in-hand with the group incentive plan we recommend, which will be a profit-sharing plan. A profit-sharing plan is a plan that focuses on profitability as the standard for group incentive. This group incentive plan will encourage employees to work hard as a team to create better company performance overall. We used the balanced scorecard approach to measure the company’s performance. A balanced scorecard approach is a way to look at what contributes value in an organization. It is a corporate-wide overall performance measure typically incorporating financial results, process improvements, customer service, and innovation. We determined that there are eight main elements that must be measured to determine good company performance. These metrics, which are weighted differently based on importance to FastCat’s business strategy, are as follows: (1) revenue growth, (2) labor costs, (3) innovation, (4) customers see FastCat representatives as responsive and knowledgeable, (5) customers value FastCat solutions, (6) employees take pride in working for FastCat, (7) employees have the tools and support to do their jobs, (8) employees understand how to make teams successful. In essence, the individual incentive plan and the group incentive plan work together to increase both individual performance and company performance. The better the company performs based on the balanced scorecard approach, the more money there is for the bonus pool in the individual incentive plan. b. Emphasis on Merit vs. Variable Pay All the pieces of this compensation system fit together Add justification on why this matches FastCat’s business and compensation objectives from problems B. Implementation a. Matching FastCat Jobs With Benchmark Survey Jobs When matching FastCat jobs with benchmark survey jobs we first had to separate the jobs at FastCat into four different job families: engineering, technical, marketing, and administration. We started off with sixteen FastCat positions of the various job families and matched them with the benchmark jobs based on the responsibilities of the job as well as the experience and competencies required to hold the position. For example, take the engineering family. For the Engineer 1 of the benchmark survey job, it is described by the following statements: â€Å"Participates in development, testing and documentation of software programs. Performs design and analysis tasks as a project team member. Typical minimum requirements are a Bachelor’s degree in a scientific field or the equivalent and up to two years of experience. † We compared that to the Usability Engineer in our own organization. Some responsibilities of the Usability Engineer are as follows: â€Å"Contributes to the development and implementation of FastCat web applications,† â€Å"work with FastCat quality assurance to ensure integrity of FastCat software; test, debug, and fix data,† and â€Å"design appropriate software testing strategies. † The position requires a B. S. egree in Computer Science or related field plus at least two years of experience. A competency required of the position is to communicate with team members, support team decisions, and work effectively as part of a team. As the numbers within the families of the benchmark jobs increase (Engineer 2, Engineer 3) the responsibilities, experience, and competencies required of the position also increase. For example, Senior Fellow, the position we assigned the most JE points in the organization to, was matched with Engineer 5, the highest position in the benchmark engineer family. . Determining Relevant Market(s) When selecting market competitors to establish our suggested pay policy line for FastCat our team tried a few different markets before deciding on the one we felt most reflected the values of the company. The first market group we chose to try was all the surveyed industries provided to us by FastCat. This line fit well with our benchmark jobs being fairly close to the line on both the high and low end. The second fit we looked into was just using the data regarding Software companies, this line seemed to fit slightly better than the previous with jobs on both the high and low end of the JE scale being fairly evenly distributed above and below the line. The final fit we tried was software companies with the exception of company 15 because we found that their compensation data created a huge outlier from the average of the other companies. We decided to go with the final fit of only software companies excluding company 15 because we felt this line best reflected our views on which jobs were most important. c. Adjusting our Data for More Desirable Regression Results Our team was rather flexible when making decisions about possible adjustments to our data during and after making our regression results. At first when our team was benchmarking the FastCat jobs against other companies, we felt that a couple FastCat jobs were very similar. We matched two of them with the same survey job titles. The first match was Software Developer and Implementation Consultant, which were both matched with â€Å"Engineer 2†. The second match was with Administrative Assistant II and the Administrative Aide, which were both matched with â€Å"Office Support 2†. When we were entering the data into the software to create a regression analysis, we realized that we would only be able to create this analysis on fourteen jobs, instead of the sixteen that was expected. We initially decided that moving some of our matches around and entering full data for all sixteen jobs would be the proper route to take. Our R? number was not where we wanted it to be after doing this; coming in at less than . 70, and this was probably because it was a bit forced and unnatural for us to change the jobs around just to get the full amount of jobs. Going back to our original benchmarking brought our R? up considerably. When we looked at the new data we saw that there was one major outlier and it was the Senior Quality Assurance Technician. Our team had marked this position at a â€Å"Technician 4† originally, but we all took a look at the FastCat information again and reached an agreement that we had made a mistake in benchmarking the position. What threw us off at first was the statement that the Senior Quality Assurance Technician was, â€Å"at the direction of the Implementation Consultant, which had a rather low amount of Job Evaluation points. We decided to move the position from a â€Å"Technician 4† to a â€Å"Technician 5†. This is the last change we made, and it gave us our final R? of . 882. d. Different Grades and Ranges Regarding grades of pay and the range of pay within those grades we chose to go with 4 grades of 100 JE points each. We found this to be a satisfactory suggestion as the jobs falling within these ranges have a relatively similar importance to the company and should be compensated in a way that demonstrates this. We used 15% as our selected range for all grades, meaning that the amount paid in each grade would range from 15% below to 15% above the midpoint of our pay policy line within that grade. With the results from the selected grades and ranges we had one difficulty; the difference in pay from grade 1 to grade 2 was nearly $10,000. To fix this discrepancy and encourage our lower level employees to stay with the company we chose to use an above market policy of 15% for this grade to close the gap. After completing these steps we had a pay policy that we felt was right to suggest to the FastCat Company for their base wage policy.

History Of The Work Breakdown Structure Information Technology Essay

History Of The Work Breakdown Structure Information Technology Essay Projects developed with available time and budget are more useful for own as well as customers satisfaction. This process is completed through the mechanisms of planning, monitoring and also re-planning. This report supports the project scheduling, planning and analysis methodologies, modeling concepts and analysis technique. The report is presented using a theoretical contribution on process simulation to assist design planning. We have highlighted the design planning using Microsoft Project Design with key challenges of project management. The Microsoft Project is a flexible and competent program designed to administrate the projects and help to plan effectively. We can organize the lists of task and set the time frame and facilitates with quick planning of projects. Large and complex projects are more significant for the project management. The consequence decisions of projects as how the project is managed and role of the managers are portrayed. When the schedule is tight more need is magnified. Technical design of projects requires different skills and for the complex projects the technical aspects are out these areas which need to be well managed. For this reason project management is more emphasized backed by the specialized resources. The management team is responsible for the development, designing and delivery of the projects. Our project is based on the case study of the Pharmaceutical industrys Software development in Switzerland. Pharmaceutical industry management needed the software development for their indigenous business and in other countries of the world. It also addresses all the critical processes and operations which are required for its performance and successful business. The management system approaches to quality management and all the successful operations of Pharmaceutical industry. In this process the decommissioning of the business is considered to achieve the mandate and objectives. Work breakdown Structure Work breakdown structure (WBS) defines the total scope of our project. The WBS subdivides the project into smaller and manageable piece of work. This concept of the WBS is used to produce the work packages scheduled, cost estimated, monitored and controlled. The development team uses the WBS from the previous projects and works as a template for new project. The WBS involves the following activities Identifying the deliverable and other related work; Organizing and structuring the WBS; The decomposing of the upper work breakdown structure into lower level detailed components; Assigning and developing the identification codes to WBS. Finally verifying the degree of decomposition which is necessary and sufficient. Schedules Projects are complex endeavors and plan is a necessary guide for the execution of the project. The progress of the project is recorded on a project and remaining work is reassessed in the light of new information. It is rare that execution of a project proceeds as initially set plans. The purpose of the scheduling is to show a road map that when and how the project will deliver the products in the limits of the scope defined by the project team. For the project management planning and analysis the scheduling is one of the basic requirements. Its main aim is to set the time for the required project. The project management sets the time to complete the project. The management team engaged with our project manages the processes as given following. Many activities are performed by the management team accomplishing the project undertaken. Activity: To produce the deliverable projects many specific schedule activities are identified. Activity sequencing: The schedule activities are dependent and activity sequencing identifies these dependencies among the schedule activities. Activity resource estimating: This type of activity defines the resources to perform these schedule activities. Activity duration estimating: It identifies the number of work periods which are entirely needed to complete the individual schedule activity. Schedule Development: The process of analyzing the activity sequences, resources requirement, durations, and other schedule constraints required to create the project schedule. Schedule Control: It controls the changes made in project schedule. For our project we use the Microsoft Project 2010 where Gantt chart gives us visual representation. It represents the tasks and products deliverable within the time specified in schedule. It also provides the roadmap to execute the product its delivery, tracking the changes and also managing the changes. Microsoft Project Management has very powerful tools in it to perform the activities very quickly as in figure 1. Fig 1: Project professional 2010 We can manage the schedule tasking manually using the Project Professional 2010. Fig 2: Improved Top to down scheduling Managing team has option to schedule the task automatically as shown in figure 2. The design and developments tasks of our project are scheduled automatically. The project professional 2010 is more useful for the business managers and productivity of project. The concept of Precedence Diagramming Method (PMD) is used to represent the activities and show the dependencies of the activities with sign of arrows. There are four types of dependencies or called as precedence relationships. Finish-to-Start: Successor activity starts which depends upon the completion of predecessor activity. Finish-to-Finish: the completion of the successor activity depends upon the completion of predecessor activity. Start-to-Start: The successor activity starts and depends upon the completion of the predecessor activity. Start-to-Finish: The completion of the successor activity depends upon the beginning of the predecessor activities. Time constraints are very important during the schedule development. Start and Finish activities can be restricted by imposing the dates which affects the completion of the activities. Many other constraints are also present in the project management software but in our case Start No earlier than and theFinish no later than constraints are specifically used. Project customer, sponsor and stakeholders dictate the major milestones and affect the certain deliverable components to a specific date. The scheduled dates become the expected dates and only can be changed through the approval. Milestones only provide the schedules interface and are not part of the project data base. Fig 3: Milestone and Tasks Project is actually a list of tasks and manager reports and keeps track of it. Our project is broken into phases by the managers and completion of these tasks is called as milestone. Milestone of our projects are documented at the end of each phase which reduces the project operating cost. Planning and Control The planning process consists of the project maturity, scope, development and project management plan and schedule of project activities occurring within project. While control techniques are used to compare the actual performance with planned performance. It also analyses the variances and trend assessment to improve the process improvements and recommending the adequate corrective actions required. Monitoring and Controlling a Project When a project is planned then it requires to be started according to plan. Formal changes in plan are permitted and customers are informed about this change. If this process is not completed then it is not possible to get the approval for the extension of time. In our case the monitoring project ensures: development of the required products is ensured The required standard and quality are being met Products are ready in time according to the budget and planned resources Business case is achieved by the project products Using the planning and scheduling software three components are measured as Time, Resources and cost Planning Time Resources Cost The analysis of the project schedule is not taken lightly. Budget and timeline are the basic measures to analyze the quality of schedule. The budget and timeline are kept on track, if it is not on track then manager takes immediate action to cure the problem. For the project schedule a baseline was established, this baseline is used as starting point and performance on the project is also measured. This technique is used during the project execution when the project is on track. Cost Performance Baseline costs compared and variances are shown between these two variances. Earned Value Management (EVM) technique is used to monitor the IT projects in some ways as other projects. For the effective performance measurement EVM has proven itself and also feedback tool to manage the projects.EVM also informs us that where the project is and its comparison with the proposed project. Value of accumulated cost is also measured by the EVM as the amount of work and amount spent on it. PERT Analysis Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) back to its history was used to control the large complex projects in USA. PERT has become now the combination of the Critical Path Method (CPM) and is thus know as the PERT/CPM. For project in discussion Pert Chart is a five step process. Identifying the all tasks for the entire project i.e. planning to execution of the product. Amount of work required to complete the each task in development of the product. Identifying the immediate predecessor tasks. Entering each task in PERT/CPM chart. Calculating the time and duration based on the resources and durations. In above tasks first two tasks are always manual and completed in brainstorming session. Last three tasks are interacted with MS Project. The best advantage of the PERT is used for the most probable effort for the tasks. We want to know the ways of estimating the effort for each task. Pessimistic, most likely and optimistic estimates are combined together into a single value which gives the expected effort for the task. A weight average simply ensures that any deviation from the optimistic or pessimistic estimates is not so much effective to take away the duration from expected duration. These estimated are more valuable when right people are involved in it. First task needed the two days and second one 1 day each with two people working. We can say that first task requires the 4 person-days of work and second task needed two. Three kinds of dependencies are found during the third task. These dependencies include the (1) project mandatory (2) external mandatory (3) discretionary. It is clear that start of the new task depends upon the success or output of previous task. External dependencies are due to non-project occurrences for example the arrival of the new hardware and interface definition of another project. Discretionary dependencies are troublesome. These dependencies are based on the flexibilities which are used to build the schedule; but also add some complexities. When all rearranging and juggling is completed and hand written information is transferred to computer based applications like MS project. Toggling between views optimistic pessimistic Calculating the Pert Entering the weight for PERT calculation Entering the durations of optimistic, pessimistic and expected in one sheet Entering the durations of optimistic, pessimistic and expected Figure 4: Pert Analysis in MS project We have found that PERT methodology has number of limitations. The first problem lies in calculating the accurate estimates of duration of tasks. When a single dominant path is selected then it yields very accurate results. In case when there are number of parallel paths then it gives overly optimistic estimation. It is recommended that classical PERT model for the quantitative for the risk analysis when you require the accurate estimation for the optimistic, pessimistic and most like durations and our project has a dominant path through the entire network. Conclusions In this report we have discussed the project scheduling, planning and analysis methodologies, modeling concepts and analysis technique using the Microsoft Project. Delivering the IT projects on time and budget is very critical to companies success and their effective management of scheduling. The concept of WBS is an essential part of this report which has determined the scope of our project. Activities and tasks with allocated time and budget are also discussed in this report. For these tasks and activities Gantt chart makes a best visual representation and used to manage and track the changes in schedule. Earned Value Management (EVM) is a best tool to measure the progress of the project. PERT analysis is also a major part of this report to represent the tasks and durations using the MS Project.

Venus Essay -- essays research papers

Venus, the second planet from the Sun, is the hottest world in the solar system. It is blanketed by a thick atmosphere that heats its surface like the inside of a greenhouse. But with a surface temperature of almost 900 degrees Fahrenheit (480 C), this place is no garden! Other than its atmosphere, Venus is so similar to Earth that it is sometimes called Earth's sister planet. Its diameter and mass are almost identical to Earth's. Why, then, is it so hot? The "greenhouse effect" on Venus is caused by its atmosphere. Energy from the Sun passes through the atmosphere to the planet's surface, where it is absorbed and reradiated at longer wavelengths (as heat). Venus' atmosphere traps these longer wavelengths so they cannot escape into space. The trapped heat builds up, so the planet grows hotter and hotter. The same thing happens in an automobile on a hot day. Sunlight comes through the windows and warms the inside of the car, but the heat is trapped. Even though Venus' orbit brings it closer to Earth than any other planet, its blanket of clouds kept much of Venus a mystery. But space probes sent by the Soviet Union and the United States, as well as studies with ground-based radar, have allowed astronomers to "see" the surface of Venus for the first time. The first exploration of Venus by radar was in 1962. It revealed that Venus spins backward on its axis. If you could stand on the surface of Venus, and if you could see the Sun through the cloud cover, i...

Kennedy Controversy :: essays research papers

The Kennedy Controversy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  November 22, 1963, is a day that will forever live in the minds of those who lived that day, and fascinate younger generations to follow. On this date in history one of America’s most prestigious, well-known and respected presidents was shot and killed by an assassin’s bullet. This single act sent shock waves that paralyzed the country and other nations. Eyes were turned to the United States as everyone held his or her collective breath wondering what was going to happen next. Ike Pappas, a reporter for WNEW in New York, remembers being sent on assignment to Dallas, Texas, to cover the assassination events as they unfolded. Pappas describes his trip: I ran downstairs, hailed a cab, gave the guy twenty dollars, and took then the most fantastic ride, one of the most fantastic taxi rides ever because if you will recall New York City was in a state of shock with the rest of the world, and the bridges were jammed. The telephones—you could not make a call—you could not get out of the city, and I just kept giving this guy twenty dollar bills saying, â€Å"Get there, man, anyway you can.† We went over backyards, through laundry, piles of laundries, rushing out to the airport (119). The government even shutdown all transportation and even closed the Mexican Border (Pappas 120). John Fitzgerald Kennedy, to many, seemed invincible because of his youth and aura of self-confidence (Ward 15). However, even the president knew how vulnerable he was. The night before that infamous day Kennedy was quoted as saying, â€Å"If anyone wants to shoot a president it is not a very difficult job. All one has to do is get on a high building and a telescope rifle and there is nothing anyone can do† (Restin 40). America’s fascination with John F. Kennedy’s sudden death has led to many theories as to who really killed John Kennedy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Soon after the chaos from the assassination settled, the nation began to demand answers. On November 29, 1963, President Lyndon Johnson, who was sworn in an hour and a half after Kennedy was pronounced dead, formed a special committee led by Chief Justice Earl Warren to make a thorough investigation into the assassination and report its’ findings. This report became known as the Warren Commission (â€Å"The Assassination—As the Plot Unfolds† 71). The Commission defined the indisputable facts of the case.

How UPS Delivers Objective Performance Appraisals Essay

Executive Summary: In the analysis below you will read about UPS and how they deliver objective performance appraisals. You will gain an understanding of how the implementation of PDAs has standardized their evaluation process. It will further explain why UPS is not a people-centered company, how they incorporate the critical incidents appraisal technique, the legally defensibility of their evaluation program, how they don’t cross the thin line between supervision and â€Å"snoopervision† and what they can do to improve their driver evaluation program. Background: For the United Parcel Service (UPS) determining if objectivity is accurately being used during a review is a difficult process but an important one. The implementation of personal digital assistants (PDAs) has helped ensure the use of objectivity by standardizing the evaluation process through software. During reviews supervisors conduct ride-alongs with their employees to ensure procedures and policies are being followed. Before the introduction of companywide checklists through the PDAs there was no way of knowing if every employee was receiving the same evaluation and being evaluated on the same scale. PDAs have given supervisors the ability to stay contacted to things such as e-mail while quickly identifying training needs and allowing access to training resources. UPS has seen the advantages of PDAs and will continue to put more in the field as they ensure objectivity and provide a solid structure for employee evaluations. Analysis: According to (Kreitner & Cassidy, 2008) on page 273 Jeffrey Pfeffer found a connection between people-centered practices, higher profits, and lower employee turnover. He also identified seven people-centered practices three of which directly relate to this case. The first practice is employee empowerment through decentralization and self-managed teams. Decentralization according to (Kreitner & Cassidy, 2008)on page 254 is â€Å"management’s sharing of decision-making authority with lower-level employees.† In this case UPS has decided that supervisors instead of upper  management such as human resources would conduct ride-alongs to evaluate how well their employees are performing and following procedures. The second practice is sharing of key information. With the implementation of PDAs supervisors are always connected to e-mail and other important resources. The PDAs have made the evaluation process more uniform throughout the company and give supervisors the ability to quickly transfer information when they get back to the office. The third practice is comprehensive training. Supervisors can use the PDAs in the field to walk employees through applied methods and identify training needs. Although three of the seven people-centered practices relate to this case according to Pfeffer the seven practices are an integrated package that should not be implemented piecemeal and for this reason he would not call UPS a people-centered company. According to (Kreitner & Cassidy, 2008) on page 280 performance appraisal is â€Å"evaluating job performance as a basis for personnel decisions.† Based on the information in the case UPS is using the critical incidents technique. The critical incidents technique mentioned in (Kreitner & Cassidy, 2008) on page 281 states, â€Å"Specific instances of inferior and superior performance are documented by the supervisor when they occur.† By conducting ride-alongs with the employees supervisors are in a perfect situation to fulfill the requirements of this technique. The PDAs with the checklists which are the same and used by everyone throughout the company ensure employees are being evaluated on the same procedures and policies and that supervisors are using the same evaluation scale when determining job performance. To avoid legal action when evaluating an employee’s performance according to (Kreitner & Cassidy, 2008) on page 280 employers need to base their appraisal systems on the following four criteria, job analysis, behavior oriented, specific written instructions, and reviewed results. UPS with the implementation of PDAs has clearly satisfied these requirements. Preloaded software has turned th e evaluation process into a standard procedure while identifying and outlining the specific tasks and skills required for an employee to be successful. A series of checklists describing in detail the employee’s duties give supervisors the ability to objectively rate individual performance no matter who is giving the evaluation or where it is taking place. During an evaluation if an employee is not following procedures supervisors have the ability to show them in the  field the proper way it needs to be done. After the evaluation the supervisor has everything needed to give direct feedback and suggestions to the employee so they have a clear understanding of how they are doing and how performance can be improved. Snoopervision is a management style involving spying and intrusive practices. With this definition in mind UPS does not cross the thin line between supervision and snoopervision. Ride-alongs by supervisors are common practice and the best indicator of an employee’s performance. The implementation of PDAs have simply given the employee a fair chance at receiving an honest evaluation based solely on how they preform by standardizing the evaluation process companywide. For most employees in the U.S. a growing concern of their employer looking over their shoulder and violating their right to privacy is becoming more and m ore evident as technology evolves. In the case of UPS this shouldn’t be a concern because the implementation of technology is not being used to spy or to implement intrusive practices but to properly train and keep employees safe while preforming their job. After reading the case I think the implementation of the PDAs have greatly improved the driver evaluation program. PDAs offer a companywide standardized evaluation process with easy access to information required to properly evaluate, train, and give feedback to employees. Moving forward a concentrated effort by upper management needs to be placed on making sure the employees are retaining and transferring information provided to them during the evaluation process to the job. They should also get feedback from their employees on how they viewed the evaluation program, if they gained the knowledge and skills intended, and if any improvements are being made. Implementing post-evaluation surveys and quizzes would serve as quick and easy indicators for superviso rs if employees are actually learning and understanding the information they are receiving through the evaluation program. Insights / Recommendations: Researching this case has given me a better understanding of how important the seven people-centered practices are to an organization and why only 12 percent of organizations are currently considered people-centered. It has opened my eyes to the performance appraisal process and how important it is for employers to ensure legal defensibility of their appraisals. Acquiring  knowledge and information from employees is the key to properly gaining an understanding of how well an evaluation process is working and if any changes need to be made. Moving forward UPS simply needs to continue implementing procedures and policies that ensure the use of objectivity during employee evaluations. Supervisors need to fully understand these procedures and policies and make sure they continue to evaluate based on the guidelines listed in the checklists. Assuring proper retention and transfer of knowledge to the job will be an ongoing process and should be evaluated by ride-alongs with the use of pos t training surveys and quizzes. For success to continue in the organization communication along with up-to-date resources are key and it will be the responsibility of upper management to make sure both have a strong presence within the organization. .

Leg Ulcers

Chapter One *A Brief Overview of a Venous Leg Ulcer *and the Assessment Process The nurse must have the skills and knowledge to identify a venous leg ulcer. Dowsett (2005) believes that it is important that nurses and other health care professionals look for the underlying cause of an ulcer. Whereas, the Royal College of Nursing (1998) has different views, and argues that, professionals who are fully trained in leg ulcer management should only be able to identify an underlying cause as it is easily mistaken that diagnosis of an arterial leg ulcer is made rather than venous which could cause serious treatment complications for the wound as well as the patient. There are major problems associated with a venous leg ulcer such as, pain, loss of mobility, financial implications and much more which will be discussed in chapter 3. Leg ulcers appear as shallow holes or craters in which the tissue underneath is exposed. They can vary in size, discolouration and depth (National Health Service Direct 2008) (NHS). The clinical factors of a venous leg ulcer are, lipodermatosclerosis (champagne bottle shaped leg) ,which is cellulites affecting the dermis and subcutaneous tissue (Finlay & Chowdhery, 2007), hyperpigmentation, derived red blood cells extravagated from dilated, leaky capillaries which produces areas of brown discolouration (Brown & Burns, 2007). Atrophic Blanche, where interspersed by visible engorged capillaries seen as tiny red dots just below the surface of the skin (Moffat et al, 2007). However before looking at the patients wound it is the nurses role to look at the patient holistically and find out past medical and family history as well as personal factor that could contribute to the condition (Moffat et al, 2007). There are essential details that the patient can tell the nurse about their ulcer and the factors that may contribute to this. Such factors are their full medical history these details should include varicose veins, diabetes, Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), previous leg surgery and any family history of leg ulceration (Dougherty and Lister 2004). The importance of this is that if a leg ulcer is diagnosed incorrectly, such as a venous ulcer being mistakenly diagnosed as an arterial one can have serious complications for the patient and causing further delays in the healing of the wound. Also the nurse must undertake baseline observations this includes, the patient’s weight, height, blood pressure (BP), oxygen saturations levels, temperature nd respiratory rate, and also the patient’s nutritional intake, urine samples and routine blood tests such as glucose and haemoglobin levels must be gained, as diabetes is present in approximately 5% of patients with leg ulcer (SIGN 1998). Murray (2004) also agrees with Dougherty & Lister (2004) & Bolton et al (2004) stating that that hyperglycaemia can have an e ffect in the wound healing process, as this can be linked with infection and decreased oxygen levels in the haemoglobin will slow down the healing process and go onto starve tissue. These factors are important to know as it plays a big part in the wound healing process. In clinical practice thesebasic observations are a vital part of information gained to ensure safer patient care and early recognition of deterioration. The key factor in order to gain a thorough assessment it is essential that the nurse must have is communication and listening skills not only for this purpose but also for a nurse patient relationship. Dealey, (1994) believes that fear is one of the most common experiences a human can feel and a patients illness release many fears, in which health care professionals are unable to identify when not allowing the patient to express their needs freely. If the patient has a full understanding of their condition they are more likely to comply with treatment regimes and have a more productive relationship with healthcare professional’s (Anderson 2006). The RCN (2008) states, that the nurse-patient relationship is founded on trust. The nurse patient relationship allows the conversation to flow easy in order to gain a holistic approach to the patients care. The Code (2008) also agrees that as nurses ‘we must listen to people in our care and respond to their concerns and preferences’. Much research has taken place regarding nurse patient relationships, McCabe (2002) carried out a study which aimed to explore and produce statements relating to the patients experiences of how nurses communicate. A qualitative phenomenological approach was used. This focuses on individual’s interpretations of experiences and ways in which they express them (Parahoo 1997), followed by unstructured questionnaires which were tape recorded and lasted for approximately thirty minutes. The results found that four themes emerged, these were, lack of communication, ‘attending’, empathy and friendly nurses. Therefore the conclusions were that in contrast to the literature, nurses are not good at communicating with patients, however nurses can communicate well if the task undertaken was a patient centred approach. Although research has taken place the limitations were that only eight patients participated, therefore this could reduce the validity and reliability of the study. Also with such a small sample the study could be used as a pilot study which could be replicated in the UK as this study was undertook in Ireland.