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Monday, September 30, 2019

Awareness of an Organic Food Essay

I. Introduction A. What is awareness of an organic food? 1. How curious are consumers toward buying an organic food? 2. Are organic foods providing more than health benefits for consumer and environment? 3. What are the reasons for choosing an organic food throughout our daily life? B. Understanding the awareness of consuming an organic food. II. What is an organic food? A. Organic foods are considered to be more nutrient dense than their counterparts produced via modern farming practices. B. The word an organic is a labeling term that denotes products produced under the authority of the Organic Foods Production Act. C. The definition shades the meaning most people associate with the term, such as the use of non-chemical fertilizers and pesticides as the food is being grown. III. How curious are consumers toward buying an organic food? A. The fastest growing segment of U. S. agriculture. B. A physician and researcher; Dr. David Thomas, studied and compared the United States government guidelines and tables for the nutritional content of various foods. C. Data shows that the decision to shop an organic food. D. What you eat builds and maintains your body. IV. Are organic foods providing more than health benefits for consumer and environment? A. Eating an organic food will provide vital foundations for health. B. How they are farmed. 1. Levels of certain nutrients in relation to the commercially available counterparts produced via modern farming practices. C. Conventional agricultural methods can cause water contamination. V. What are the reasons for choosing an organic food throughout our daily life? A. Effect on health. 1. You are what you eat a. Eat an apple, and you eat life: vitamins, minerals, water, and more. Eat pesticide residue, and you fill your body with poisons 2. Food is your best medicine a. Choose foods that are known to bring us health, energy, and peace of mind 3. Pay now or pay later a. Pay now for delicious, healing food or pay later for medical bills, illness, and suffering 4. We prefer life over death a. Choose which will bring us greatest energy, happiness, and health b. Not choose which will bring us fatigue, depression or anxiety, ailments, illnesses, diseases, or death. 5. Earth needs your help a. Every choice we make has an impact on environment b. Your choices make a difference 6. Healthy plants mean healthier soil, water, birds, worms, animals, plants, air, and you a. The natural path honors nature and works in harmony with earth as we achieve harmonious health VI. Conclusions A. Not cost effective considering the damage to health. B. There are choices in our own hand whether to choose an organic food or a conventional food as we consuming and taste it by ourselves. REFERENCES Havey, H. (February 16, 2009). Top Six Reasons To Eat Only Organic Fruits And Vegetables. Retrieved September 21, 2010 from http://www. naturalnews. com/025643_food_organic_health. html Minton, B. L. (February 10, 2009). Buying Organic Is Well Worth The Cost Even When Times Are Tough. Retrieved September 21, 2010 from http://www. naturalnews. com/025570_food_organic_health. html Walters, S. (May 15, 2009). Organic Foods Provide More Than Health Benefits. Retrieved September 21, 2010 from http://www. naturalnews. com/026266_food_organic_health. html.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

A Written Assessment for work in the nursing profession Essay

Question 1: Explain the ‘health’ and ‘wellness’. Health is the ability of an individual to function well physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually to be able to demonstrate the full range of one’s â€Å"unique potentialities within the environment in which one is living† (Farlex, 2013). Our Health can be affected by the way we deal with our social, physical and psychological issues in life. Shelter, food, education, social security, health and social services, income and employment are one of the factors that leads to the condition of our health. Wellness is â€Å"a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity† (WHO, 1974). Wellness goes beyond the absence of symptoms and works toward achieving maximum potential and prevention of health problems. We tend to think that a person who shows no sign of illness is healthy. Positive thinking helps gives us answers, control and the way out of illness and problems whereas if we think negative it strips us of power and control. To achieve a good health we must involve ourselves to exercise, proper nutritional food, good sleep and healthy lifestyle. Question 2: Health Models can provide nurses with a framework to help guide the focus of their nursing care. Describe two of these models and how they can influence a person’s health. One of the health models is the Holistic Health Model. Holistic health is defined as a â€Å"wellness approach that addresses the body, mind and spirit or the physical, emotional/mental and spiritual aspects of an individual† (Perkins, 2007). By spiritual means the essence of who you are. Holistic health is how our physical state, mental state and experience in life responds to the status of our health. Nurses can help and encourage patients to engage in the healing process and practice a variety of self-care strategies to better their health and wellness. Another one of the health models is The Illness-wellness continuum, which is a guide to help understand the degree of illness and wellness of an individual in terms of their health. â€Å"Illness is characterised by  responsibility and purposeful actions to maintain high levels of health† (Central Institute of Technology, (n.d.), p. 64). This model will help guide the nurses in identifying the client’s level of illness and what methods of help and care they can give to the client to improve their health and wellness. Question 3: There are a number of factors, which have an influence on our health. Please identify four factors and explain how they can influence a person’s health. Some factors that influence our health are as follows: Employment/Income – Gives people the opportunity to earn money and enjoy it by spending for their needs and what they want. Our income will help us provide for our families proper nutrition, and safe shelter. Having a job will help pay our bills, medication, health insurance and other necessities. Physical Environment – Having to have clean air, water and surroundings will have a lesser impact to our health. Exposure to heavy metals, chemicals, and other environmental toxins and pathogens can affect our health as these can be harmful to our body. Having a healthy and safe working environment helps to reduce any injury or harm. Aside from these, having a safe house, communities and surroundings will help us achieve good health Nutrition – Proper nutrition, healthy food to eat has a big impact on our health. If we eat unhealthy, fatty foods it will not only make us over weight but can be a cause of serious illness in our body. By eating plenty of fresh, green vegetables and having a balanced diet gives our body the nutrients we need to have a healthy life. Lifestyle – Lifestyle defines how we live. Being involved in sports, exercise regularly, eating healthy, having the right weight are all part of healthy lifestyle but if we involve ourselves to bad habits like smoking, alcohol and drugs then we wouldn’t achieve that good health that our body need. Question 4: People from other countries will face heath and illness issues than those we face in Australia. Choose a country other than Australia and identify two unique or different health/illness issues they face. Philippines faces a lot of health issues and one of them is tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is a â€Å"potentially contagious disease that can affect almost any part of the body but is mainly an infection of the lungsâ⠂¬  (Tuberculosis, 2014) It is a communicable disease which can be transferred from one person to another via air when they sneeze, cough or spit. Symptoms include coughing for more than two weeks, weight loss, cough with blood, chest pain and fever. About 10-15 people anually are infected with this disease by a tuberculosis patient. Normally, this disease infect adults but it can also be acquired by children. It is curable and preventable as well. There was an estimated 260,000 people infected with tuberculosis in 2011 according to the WHO in the Philippines and 28,000 of them die per year. The prevalence rate is high with elders, urban porr, smokers, people with HIV, and those who suffer from malnutrition. Another health issues that the Philippines faces is Malaria. According to the World Health Organization, over 12 million people in that country are at risk of death caused by malaria. Most of the cases occur in mountainous and forested areas that are infested with Plasmodium and other species. The virus can be transferred by the species by puncturing the human skin where the virus flow on the blood stream, spreading in the whole body. In an hour, malaria can kill a person if they are not aware that they have been bitten. The World Health Organization together with Department of Health came up with different programs which talked about treatments and awareness about malaria. Question 5:  a) What are some of the different health issues facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people here in Australia? Please describe at least 3 and include in your answer some of their health beliefs and practices that may have an influence on their health. One of the most common health issues faced by Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders is ear disease/hearing loss, one in eight persons have a case of ear disease or hearing problems. Heart and circulatory disease is also one of them. The indigenous people had  the higher rate of heart and circulatory disease compared to non-indigenous people who live in Australia. The last most common health issues faced by Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander is Asthma. One in every six persons have asthma according to the survey done by Australian Bureau of Statistics. There was as much cases of indigenous people who live in non-remote area who has asthma. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people greatly believe in traditional medicine and this highly influences their health. One aboriginal elder and medicine woman, Anna Warren, said that the core of the traditional aboriginal medicine is the â€Å"spirit†. She said that if the body is well, then the spirit will be well too. She added that it requires deep listening to be able to connect with the spirit. For these indigenous people, they feel that western medicine is alienating and makes them uncomfortable to the point where they would avoid seeking treatment. Aside from this, many indigenous people do not trust the health care system due to their negative previous experiences (i.e. racism and mistreatment) while they were given services. b) How should this influence how health care is delivered to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Based on the website made by Creative Spirits, in order to make great improvements possible and to make the indigenous people feel more comfortable and for the health care system to regain the indigenous people’s trust, the following should be considered: Employ indigenous staff – more indigenous patients will be at ease seeking help or treatment when they know that more indigenous staff work in the health sector. Create an aboriginal-friendly feel – hospitals, clinics and other health care related pplaces should incorporate indigenous art works because this help them feel relaxed and connected with the place. The indigenous people will have the sense of belongingness and pride when they see their artwork  displayed. Verify informed consent – this is a process which should be stricty followed if an indigenous patient will undergo any medical procedure which involves the right person within the network of kinship and community relationships. Help Aboriginal patients understand their disease – providing visuals, using clear and simple language, much better if native language is used will help the indigenous people understand what causes their condition. Have culturally aware staff – Aboriginal culture training should be taught to the staff in order to give them better understanding and for them to offer respect to the indigenous people. Offer low price treatments – medical treatments should be made affordable for the indigenous people as most of them have little or no income at all. Question 6: Nursing as a profession has had many changes over the time. Compare nursing as a profession in 2014 to 1960 in the areas of education and professional appearance. During 1960 when it comes to professional appearance nurses use to wear white dresses, stockings and starched caps. It was during this decade that uniform also take a turn in the direction of more fashionable than in the past. Today’s nursing uniform was designed more for functions than form but are considered much more comfortable than those worn throughout the history. In 1985 – 1997 a two year training to become a general nurse was introduced and over the time hospital based training was also introduced and continued until 1980’s. The tertiary sector then took over all the RN education and degree level in 1990’s. The Enrolled Nursing education in WA was located in TAFE colleges, Mt Lawley in 1989. The development of post graduate nursing studies in Australia is still ongoing. As a profession today Nurses role has taking on more technologically challenging roles than at any other point of history. Some nurses are taking over roles that were once reserve for physician. Nurses are becoming more specialized than in days past, there are specialties like OR (operating Room), Medical Surgical Nurse, Pediatric Nurses, Labor and Delivery nurse  and even Psychiatric nurse. Continuing education and clinical experience go along way today to ensure that nurses are on top of their games. Question 7: There are occupational health and safety issues that nurses should take into consideration when carrying out their nursing practice. Please explain what is meant by a) Infection Control – it means following procedures, standard and additional precautions to prevent the risk of infections from spreading. Nurses play a vital role in controlling the risk of potential spread of infection in their workplace and must always remember that patients and the health care providers alike are vulnerable to easily acquire any disease. Nurses must always think and apply the following practises: -hand hygiene -using personal protective equipment -safe handling and disposal of sharps -decontaminating equipment -achieving and maintaining clean clinical environment b) Manual Handling – is a procedure that involves physical movement of our body by way of lifting, pulling, pushing, carrying, holding or restraining of a person or individual. It involves repetitive actions and sometimes use of equipment can be involved. Nurses should follow the standards of manual handling to prevent injury, illness, pain and suffering of individuals in the workplace and to have a safe workplace. Question 8: What are some of the professional development strategies you can use to maintain your skills and knowledge when you are qualified nurse? Performance review appraisal – which can be done by your manager’s review of your performance or you review the performance of your peers. Self-assessment – this will help you find out how you can further improve or develop your skills, attitudes and capabilities. Continuing education – by learning new skills, learning how to use new equipment or simply updating your knowledge and skills will help in gaining more knowledge and skills. Question 9: Please explain the role of the Nursing and Midwifery Board; Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency and Industrial Organisations in nursing profession. Nursing and Midwifery Board Australia has a broad function and one of them is registering suitably qualified and competent person as nurses, midwives and students. They are the ones that develop and approve the standards codes and guidelines for nursing and midwifery professions. They also are the ones that assess the knowledge and skills of overseas applicants for registration and determining suitability for registration in Australia. Nurses and midwives must be registered in Nurses and Midwifery Board of Australia and meet the boards registration standards to be able to practice in Australia. AHPRA’S role is to protect the public’s safety. They publishes national registers of practitioner so important information about the registration of individual health practitioner is available. They are the ones that manage the registration and renewal processes for health practitioners and students around Australia. They also provide advice to the Ministerial Council about the administration of the National Registration and accreditation scheme. The development of registration standards, guidelines and codes are maintained and supported by them. The ANF (Australian Nursing Federation) is one of the largest industrial organisations and the national union for nurses in Australia. They help with the progress and development of policy relating to: â€Å"Nursing and midwifery practice, professionalism, regulation, education, training, workforce, and socio- economic welfare, health and aged care, community services, veteran’s affairs, occupational health and safety, industrial relations, social justice, human rights, immigration, foreign affairs and law reform† (ANF, 2011, p. 2). The Autralian Nursing Federation’s function is the industrial and professional representation of nurses through activities of a national office and branches in every state and territories. Question 10: How does the Scope of Practice Decision Making Framework influence your nursing practice. This will help us to determine and understand if we are capable enough to perform a given task. If the nurse have been given a task and is not confident or unsure of how to achieve it, the chart will help guide you as to what step you should take instead. We  must understand carefully each steps to provide the best appropriate care for our patient and to help us achieve a safe proficient nursing care. Question 11: There are three levels of care provided in different health care environments in the Australian health care system. Please explain what those three levels are and where we can expect to find each level of care. Primary Health Care – is the first point of health care and is part of Australian health system used most. Given to people living in their own community outside of hospitals. Its major task is the early detection and prevention of disease and the maintenance of health. Secondary Health Care – looks at the general services provided by a hospital. A hospital stay for a brief but serious illness and mostly concerned with the provision of specific technical, therapeutic or diagnostic health care services. They usually focus on a specific health problem and can provide services by medical specialists e.g. cardiologist. Tertiary Health Care – Highly specialised and technical care provided in hospital to diagnose and treat disease. Individuals who has complex health problems, and require treatment from doctors and nurses with advance level skills. Entry into the health care system at this level is gained by referral from either the primary or secondary level. Question 12: a) What is the philosophy for Primary Health Care? Primary Health Care’s main goal is to give provide better health for people. â€Å"The philosophy behind primary health care is based upon†: (Gallagher, 2014, p. 8) A holistic understanding of health as wellbeing rather than absence of disease (Gallagher, 2014, p. 8) Recognition of the multiple determinants of health including gender, housing, education, transport, planning, communication, social and other services (Gallagher, 2014, p. 8). Community input into health services which will be reflected by involvement of communities and individuals at all levels of planning and provision of services (Gallagher, 2014, p. 8). Equity in health care and prioritisation  of services to the most needy (Gallagher, 2014, p. 8). Accessible, acceptable and affordable services and technology (Gallagher, 2014, p. 8). Eliminating causes of ill health through health promotion and disease prevention (Gallagher, 2014, p. 8). Recognition that primary health care must be based upon social, biomedical and health services research in order to provide effective health care (Gallagher, 2014, p. 8). b) Explain the difference between health promotion and illness prevention Health promotion means encouraging and supporting the person or yourself to improve your health and wellbeing. Illness prevention is the way to promote good health and reduce the risk of illness to individuals and their family members through knowledge, education and healthy lifestyle. c) Describe some of the factors you would consider if you were to design a health promotion campaign. In designing a promotion campaign I would think of the design of the campaign, presentation of it, which audience to present it to, contents of the message and how to advertise it. I would also include these following in promoting my health campaign: – promote the involvement of every individuals in physical activities and sports – provide education towards healthy lifestyle and harmful effects of drug and alcohol – to encourage everyone of eating healthy nutritious food – promote the importance of having 8 hours of sleep Health care promotion can help improve a healthy living and helps a person to build up strengths that will keep up and develop his or her good health and boost their quality of life. d) What is your role as a nurse in the area of health promotion? Nurses are expected to be aware and acknowledge the health issues and factors that affects health condition. Nurses contributes to the promotion of their clients health and social wellbeing by; Promoting health and self-care, participating in providing health promotion interventions, being aware of the key health and social factors to be considered when carrying out an assessment of individual needs, being aware of the contributions of other professionals to assessment and intervention. Question 13: How has the focus of the provision of health care changed over the last 20 years. There had been a lot of changes for the past 20 years in the health care here in Australia. Since 1984, there had been major changes in medicare which provides access to affordable high quality care and it is available to all Australian citizens and permanent residents. Medicare is also seen as â€Å"providing universal access to a set rebate, being well suited ti episodic careof ill-health; and enabling patient choice of health provider† (Department of Health and Ageing, 2009). -In 1999-2000 The EPC (Enhance Primary Care) MBS was introduced to provide quality health care for elderly Australians, patients with chronic conditions and with multi-disciplinary care needs. -â€Å"In 2004 MBS items were introduced for a limited range of services provided by practice nurses when acting for, and on behalf of, a GP† (Australian Government, 2009). -In 2004 bulk billing incentive items were introduced to concession card holders and children aged under 16 -Chronic disease management was introduced in 2005. Changes in general practise funding for indigenous people were also introduced. Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) provides an important role to the delivery of primary health care to the Indigenous people. â€Å"In addition, the 2009-10 Budget announced that, from January 2010, a new Rural Primary Health Services Program (RPHS) would be established to consolidate a range of existing programs and introduce greater flexibility into primary health care service provision in rural and remote communities† (Australian Government, 2009). Through the years the government have developed the National Age care programs which includes residential health care and community care services for elderly that funded by the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments. Community age care support is available through; ‘Home and community care’ which address low care needs, ‘community aged care packages’ available for mid-level care needs, and ‘extended aged care at home’ and ‘dementia specific’ supported with high care needs. In 2002 the Department of Health and Aging was established. The Government put up programs to help multicultural Australians to provide help when accessing the health care and they did it in the form of pamphlets with different languages, telephone interpreter service and culture specific health services. â€Å"Australian government  implemented some innovative solutions to health issues arising out of Australia’s unique history needs† (Cent ral Institute of Technology, 2014, p. 23). Australians â€Å"have access to heavily subsidised medicines, pharmaceuticals and technologies prescribed by medical officers† (Koutoukidis, Stainton & Hughson, 2010, p.67). Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) provides timely, reliable and affordable access to necessary medicines for Australians. The PBS is part of the Australian Government’s broader National Medicines Policy. The rates of hospital utilisation have increased because of the impact of the new technology and hospital organisation in reducing length of stay. Our government has increased their funding to expand the provision of sub-acute services. Our present and our future primary health care system is more accessible, clinically and culturally appropriate now. It’s more focus on preventive care including support of healthy lifestyle more safe, high quality care which is continually improving through relevant researched innovation and rise of health care promotion.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Low Molecular Weight Heparin

Low Molecular Weight Heparin Paper Low molecular weight heparin is typically used for patients who need to be treated for deep vein thrombosis. Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a blood clot (thrombus) in a deep vein usually in the legs. These clots are dangerous because they can break loose, travel through the bloodstream to the lungs, and block blood flow in the lungs (pulmonary embolism). There are many reasons why clots form in a patient.Mainly when a patient is inactive or bedridden for long periods of time, surgery can damage a blood vessel so a clot can form, or even cancer can cause DVT to form. Treatments for DVT are drugs called anticoagulants that can prevent the blood from clotting thus preventing the adverse effects from a clot. Low molecular weight heparin works by binding to a substance called antithrombin III (which is the major inhibitor of thrombin in the blood). The overall effect of heparin is that it turns off the coagulation pathway and prevents clots from forming.I t can be used as a subcutaneous injection which can be given in an outpatient setting with no increased risk of recurrent thromboembolism or bleeding complications. Since most patients with DVT require one or more diagnostic tests, treatment with intravenous heparin and a three to seven day hospital stay thus making low molecular weight heparin a better alternative. (aafp. org1999) However, with low molecular weight heparin, being a subcutaneous injection makes the process easier for the patient since they do not have to spend all that extra time in the hospital.The ultimate consequence of a blood clot can be stroke or heart attack so prevention of these events is the consequence of this drug. Unfortunately, just like many other drugs there are some serious side effects to taking LMWHs. They are contraindicated with patients with an indwelling epidural catheter; they can be given two hours after the epidural is removed. If it is given before the epidural is taken out then they have found it to be associated with epidural hematoma. Bleeding is the main concern when taking anticoagulation therapy.Some of the other common adverse effects to heparin are hematoma, nausea, anemia, thrombocytopenia, fever, and edema. There is a low chance for side effects with monitoring and patient awareness. When evaluating a patient on anticoagulants the nurse needs to ensure patients know the side effects to be aware of and arrange follow up care. Cranberry juice should be avoided since it can affect the INR results. Patients should seek emergency medical care for injuries, particularly a head injury, due to the hemorrhage risk.As a nurse you need to monitor your patient while on these drugs because of the bleeding factor. (nursingtimes. net2012) References Gee, Emma. (2011) How to look after a patient on anticoagulant therapy. January 22, 2011 Retreived from www. nursingnet. net on July 2012 Lilley, Rainforth Collins, Harrington, Snyder. (2011) Pharmacology and the Nursing Proce ss Copyright 2011 Mosby Inc. Rydberg, J Eric MD. (1999) Low Molecular Weight Heparin in Prevention and Treating DVT Retrieved from www. aafp. org

Friday, September 27, 2019

Case problem Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Problem - Case Study Example In addition, the management needs to emphasize that information sharing enhances learning, creativity, and performance. (Hatala & Lutta, 2009). As well, the company should pursue the establishment of a common tool that consolidates information and stores it for future reference. This can take place in the form of a database used by employees who have clearance and access to the database. The company should also adopt an organizational structure that brings the management and the employees together. This facilitates an eased flow of information and swift decision execution within the organization. (Hatala & Lutta, 2009). The accounts presented by the executives are quite relevant and valid, for they indicate the challenges that threaten information sharing within an organization. For example, Gary’s argument holds ground, for employees often move from one company, and implement their ideas in rival company. This shows that information sharing is a viable tool for corporate espionage. Anne’s argument can only hold ground if the management exercises stringent rules that fail to consider the hindrances presented by an organization’s management. However, some of the arguments focus on a single dimension rather than the multidimensional perspective that information sharing support. For instance, Sharon fails to consider the element of learning new ideas when sharing information. The company needs to alter its organizational culture and the traditional culture where employees viewed information sharing process as a barrier rather than a tool towards success. The organizational culture should formulate an elaborate information-sharing model that stipulates the modus operandi of information sharing in the

Thursday, September 26, 2019

BP petroleum company Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

BP petroleum company - Case Study Example ude corporate branding and position, ethics and social responsibility, engagement of stakeholders, corporate affairs, strategic thrust and sustainability (Achenbach, 107). The main strength that the company had was that of changing the name from British Petroleum to BP and then tried to rebrand the name to Beyond Petroleum. The rebranding was a signal to stakeholders that it was focused on sustainability and the need to move beyond nonrenewable sources (Andrews, 89). The rebranding that was given to the petroleum company made it focus on sustainability and the need to move beyond nonrenewable energy sources. The company also presented itself as being committed to invest in renewable energy. This has gained a great deal of popularity among consumers and other members of society concerned about the future of the planet. There are problems that the company has faced in its history such as bankrupting the founder due to lack of well implemented strategies that the company had. BP has also experienced controversies regarding business practices hazard to workers, damages of the environment and greenhouses gases (Andrews, 108). These factors made the company to have an image that was not good to the consumers. BP Petroleum Company tried to position its products that support the sustainability and other social responsibility and the concern of other social responsibility. The claim that they have made is that of maintaining a product that is authentic and trustworthy (Benoit, 35). This has been put to improve the image of the company to attract more consumers. There have been many threats that the company has experienced such as explosion that occurred in Texas injuring many people which made it guilty for violating the safety of citizens. The threat has also continues as there are other accidents that the company has involved in with the main outcome being pollution of the environment (Gurney and Company, 78). The company has also been charged with violating Clean

Leading change in Haworth Asia Pacific case study Assignment

Leading change in Haworth Asia Pacific case study - Assignment Example Finally the paper presents a guideline for Haworth Asia to manage the change journey in the near future. The guidelines present some standard tools and checklists that may help Frank Rexach in mapping an action plan for the future. 2. Case Summary and Key Issues 2.1 Introduction Haworth Asia is the second largest designer and manufacturer for contract office furniture and has recently started its second round of global expansion. The company wants to move towards a business model which works in a more integrative way. This will be a change from their present model in which sourcing and product development happens largely in isolation in different parts of the world. Thus the case was about a company which was a global organization and has to manage issues that are relevant to international marketing or international finance. The company also has to manage cross cultural management. 2.2 Office Furniture Industry Haworth is one of the four global leaders in the contract office furnitur e industry along with Steelcase, Herman Miller and Teknion. Haworth has been the most aggressive when it comes to global expansion, with presence in Europe, Australia and China. There are different strategies for global expansion and Haworth has been inclined towards acquisitions and others have been more inclined towards joint ventures. In joint ventures or agency relationships, these companies have to bear with agents or partners who try to push their own cheaper products to customers. Any corporation can adopt different methods to expand internationally. As was mentioned in the case Haworth has been able to choose its preferred mode expansion, partly because it was a private corporation. Normally a company starts with joint ventures or agency relations as it expands internationally. The tactics of Haworth, to expand with direct acquisitions, will be considered aggressive by most standards.   2.3  Ã‚   Haworth Asia Pacific Haworth is a private company which has worked to their advantage when it comes to global expansion. Their large competitors have to meet the near term expectations of financial markets, which can be a disadvantage during times of financial crisis (even though the crisis may be due to factors completely external to the furniture business, as in this case it was the dot com bubble burst). Haworth is a global organization since the product design and development takes place largely in USA and Europe, while the sourcing happens largely in Asia, and most of the clients are large multinationals. Haworth Asia pacific differs from Haworth operations in the USA, since Haworth Asia manages both manufacturing and client interaction. In USA, dealers manage the client interface. Haworth Asia was also considering targeting medium-priced segments since they have access to cheap labour and raw material. So when Haworth Asia Pacific decides to shift its head office from Hong Kong to Shanghai, they will be confronted with a unique challenge. For the fir st time in the history and culture of Haworth, the functions of manufacturing and marketing will be reporting to the same leaders. The conflicts and frictions that are usually between manufacturing and marketing in most industry can occur in Haworth Asia Pacific as well. They merit thorough consideration and analysis. 2.4  Ã‚   Market Analysis Haworth Asia was number two or three in all the markets, but in all the markets there

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Look at the pictures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Look at the pictures - Essay Example Compared to the past, there are now simpler modes of communication, there are phones and computers which can utilize the vast internet system and enable people interact and communicate through messages, emails and even by web cameras where they can see each other. Technology has revolutionized the world not only positively but negative aspects that under values writing. Concern regarding writing skills has been raised every now and then; this has been mostly noted on the 21st century generation, the writing skills of most students and the general public has gone down compared to the skills of people that existed in the 18th and 19th century. This undermining of the writing skills can be attributed to the communication advancement whose roots have dug and spread deep in the modes of writing. Social media impacts on writing skills Social media is advancement during these times where different people across all continents has the need to interact and share activities in their lives, soc ial media such as Facebook and Twitter are some of the most popular social media in the world (Young, 146). These sites are known for interactions of friends who mostly use informal language and shortened words to pass their messages across. Statistics shows that social media is addictive to the youth of the current generation who have been known to spend most of their time in social media ‘chatting’. This chatting habit reciprocates to transfer of using of the chatting language to school settings which is inappropriate to the setting of formal language and writing. The negative side of social media is on how it affects the writing skills of the users, since this communication mode is cheap and available to everyone this affects growing children who engages in it at a very young age. This then becomes the way of life for these young people who don’t realize there are other ways like reading books by which people can spend their time. By reading books written by f amous people in the likes of William Shakespeare the young minds could have attained very special writing styles in form of stylistic devices and vocabulary. By use of social media, the means of communication is texting, this is by typing the words by pressing on buttons of the mobile phones and computer keyboards, this impacts negatively to the social media users as it does not allow them time to be able to improve on hand writing skills . The witting by way of pens is an activity that was very popular especially in the beginning of 18th century; this even led to the innovation and development of creative writing as the calligraphy a talent that had to be improved by constant practice by pen and paper. How education is affected by technology Positive As much as there are a lot of negative impacts of technology on writing, technology has some positive impacts on student writing. These impacts are positive in the fact that they enhance the educational value of all students who uses t he new technology (Ferris, 23). Through being able to go back and revise through the work, this is facilitated by software designed to check grammatical errors. Students find this easier compared to writing on paper which they have to go through word by word and in most cases ends up missing some mistakes (Ferris, 34). For many high and middle school students there has been a rise of the number of students who text update blogs and are constantly using the social

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Write Experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Write Experience - Essay Example They deliver on time and follow our quality procedures, which our contract stipulated. Unfortunately, they have had lapses in their quality assurance procedures, due to a labor strike that affected their workforce. Because of this, the remaining workers were pressed to do more, which obviously, they could not achieve. Several employees admitted being too tired for the quality check procedures we had asked them to perform. On June 2, 2012, only one employee was present for quality checks, instead of three, and he worked double shifts. This affected his judgment and he missed checking several packages, which the CCTV also showed. Because of this, some of the ingredients that the supplier delivered had been contaminated and still delivered to us. At present, we are working with the supplier regarding this problem. They admitted their quality lapses and are willing to pay for the hospitalization and medical expenses of those who are affected. We also suspended our contract with them, until they could hire enough people for their quality management system. At present, we already contracted a new supplier, who agreed to our renewed meticulous quality standard system. In addition, we also assigned one of our staff to conduct additional quality checks. She is Mrs. Linda Ashcroft, a nutritionist and food technologist. She will be in charge of designing, assessing, and implementing food quality standards. She presently evaluated our delivery, storage, cooking, and service systems and provided recommendations that we will immediately implement. We also invited the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct a monthly review of our food and service quality. They are willing to send representatives to perform regular inspections. We hope that through these efforts, we can regain your confidence in our restaurant. We will do better from this time forward and we will be become more critical of our quality standards and procedures, and subject our suppliers to the

Monday, September 23, 2019

Point of view Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Point of view - Essay Example As the stewardess pushed the food cart along the narrow center-aisle, the plane’s rickety engineering made creaking noises and lead one to consider that it would be worth going without food to avoid the challenge that became distributing food among the passengers. When the food reached the passengers it was stale and hardly edible; it tasted like it had been stored for months and only recently brought out. Many passengers became sick and made their way towards the restroom. This created a commotion in the aircraft that left a pervasive feeling of unease and further annoyance among the passengers. A further cramped feeling occurred as the passengers had to push against the other passengers aside to make their way towards the restroom. This terrible plane ride continued before finally landing in the United Kingdom airport. Wonderful Airplane Ride Across the Atlantic Ocean When the passengers took their seats and reached towards the magazines in front of them they settled into wh at would become a wonderful airplane ride across the Atlantic Ocean. While the airplane wasn’t as large as traditional airliners it had a number of charming elements that made it more enjoyable than other flight methods. The plane had an intimate setting so that conversations carried throughout the flight.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Issues in Scottish Curriculum Design Essay Example for Free

Issues in Scottish Curriculum Design Essay The way that any curricula is broken up into is two main ways; one being the curriculum in action, where the aims, content and experiences of the curriculum on paper are implemented in practice. The other is the curriculum on paper which is the ideology of what should be implemented in education across the board. The ideology in curriculum can be split up into four main categories. Most papers on this topic, agree to an extent what the four ideologies constitute of, but Schiro’s (2008) ideologies are the most commonly known. The ‘Scholar Academic’, the ‘Social Efficiency’, the ‘Learner Centred’ and the ‘Social Reconstruction’ ideologies are the four main categories explained in the Curriculum Theory that will be discussed in this paper in relation to The Curriculum for Excellence, the current curriculum in Scotland. The oldest of the four ideologies is the Scholar Academic ideology which focuses on the accumulation of knowledge and understanding. The aim of this ideology is to pass on the knowledge of certain disciplines (subject areas), to allow there to be future scholars in that particular area and therefore, further develop understanding. The academic disciplines are the result of the culture’s compiled knowledge and understanding of each area, and with this in mind, the purpose of education is to assist pupils to learn this knowledge. The next ideology is Social Efficiency. This is pretty dominant in our curriculum today and means to prepare the learner for becoming an efficient and contributing member in society. The learner’s objective is to learn certain skills that will in turn achieve certain objectives that benefit society (Lorrie A. 2000). The individual will learn a mixture of knowledge and skills that can be put together, therefore making the skills more efficient and more beneficial to society. The learner centred ideology focuses more on the needs and interests of the individual rather than the c ontent they are to learn. The idea behind this theory is that learning will take place due to the interactions between the individual and their environment, therefore being more down to the experiences rather than the content. The newest of these ideologies is Social Reconstruction. This is where the social reconstructionists are aware of the problems in society and see the job of the educator to correct these problems in the classroom, hoping that it will reconstruct their society as it is (Groenke, S. 2009). The focus of the curriculum would not be based on knowledge but more of values and opinions that would benefit the society and make it attain the greatest satisfaction of its members. In ‘Building the Curriculum 3: A framework for learning and teaching’ it has examples of all four of the classifications of the curriculum ideology provided by Schiro (2008). It has examples of Academic ideology as it discusses the importance of knowledge and the ability and opportunity to increase the depth of knowledge already acquired as it states â€Å"Throughout a young person’s learning there will be increasing specialisation and greater depth, which will lead to subjects increasingly being the principal means of structuring learning and delivering outcomes.† (page 20, Building the Curriculum 3). From this quote we can relate the academic ideology through the concentration on developing knowledge further to specialisation in certain subjects, therefore being able to pass on the knowledge and allow it to grow from there. There are many examples of ‘The Social Efficiency Ideology’ in the paper as it focuses on health and wellbeing experiences and outcomes where the individual’s get the opportunity to gain skills that benefit the individual in life and work, but also the community around them. This is to help them become effective contributors in society: †¦support all children and young people in developing skills which they will use throughout their life and in their work, including the development of pre-vocational, enterprise and employability skills, personal skills, high levels of cognitive skills and the opportunity to put learning into a practical context. (page 15, Building the Curriculum 3) This example shows that the curriculum is aiming to encourage the learning of certain skills that will improve chances of employability and life skills that will help the young people settle into society and be able to play their part within it. The Curriculum for Excellence sees itself as being centred on the learner, and their individual needs. There are plenty examples throughout the paper of this ideology where the child is involved in what they are learning and setting themselves goals to achieve and having choice in what they learn within the curriculum, â€Å"All children and young people should experience personalisation and choice within their curriculum, including identifying and planning for opportunities for personal achievement in a range of different contexts† (page 17, Building the Curriculum 3). This quote shows that the idea of the curriculum is to give young people freedom to make their own decisions in what they are learning and at their own level. There are four capacities that make up the purpose of the curriculum that are described in this paper. ‘Successful learners’, ‘confident individuals’, ‘responsible citizens’ and ‘effective contributors’, are the capacities that the curriculum aims to enable young people to become. ‘Responsible citizens’ is a good example of The Social Reconstructive ideology as it explains how they will learn respect and about different cultures and how to behave responsibly within the community in all aspects (political, cultural or otherwise). As Building the curriculum states: †¦able to develop knowledge and understanding of the world and Scotland’s place in it, understand different beliefs and cultures make informed choices and decisions evaluate environmental, scientific and technological issues develop informed, ethical views of complex. (page 22, Building the Curriculum 3) Here in this example, it shows that the curriculum wants to provide young people with varied knowledge so that the decisions they make in the future will help to create a better society. The idea is to teach them about values and respect so that they may make better informed decisions as to what is best for the society around them. Building the Curriculum 3 contains examples of all four of the ideology categories, but there are two that are most prevalent, ‘Learner Centred’ and ‘Social Efficiency’. Upon examining the evidence in more depth it seems that the ‘Social Efficiency’ ideology is the most dominant within this paper. Its main focus is on preparing and equipping individuals for future endeavours. For instance, the skills needed for future work prospects upon which Kridel’s (ed.2010) summary, of David Sneddon’s idea of social efficiency, explains the curriculum as a way to make individuals efficient for work. As discussed by Arnoldy (online), social efficiency in education is more for the benefit of the social economy than for the individual, but contradicting that theory in this paper, are the examples of learner centred ideology that is dotted throughout. Though, combining these two theories, Valades’ (online) talks about the idea that to help out society, educating young people to learn and improve their skills and capabilities to help the community in the future, is the way forward. From Building the Curriculum 3 and having summarised that the main ideology behind it is focusing on preparing the individuals to become more efficient and productive for contributing to our society, we can see that there will be some implication for teachers. Teachers who have been teaching for years under the same curriculum will struggle to accept the new curriculum, if it is as completely different way to how they have been teaching before. Although the main focus of the curriculum in Scotland has been focused on preparing individuals for the future, it has not been focused on the more individual level. This may cause implication for teachers as they only have specific allocated times to be with classes and it will be hard to offer each individual, the time and attention they need to develop specific skills to the point of being efficient. The teacher will have to focus more on the experiences and outcomes the learners are objected to, to develop the skills needed for the real world. This causes some problems as it depends highly on what the school can afford to give in ways of experiences, as most of these will probably be met outside of school. So, teachers need to find a way of achieving the outcome of making the individual a more effective contributor to society by combining what they learn in and outside of the classroom. This would be a task for teachers, as the environment each individual they teach will be different and this therefore means that the teacher will have to find a way to combine these different environments or find a similarity and focus on that. Building the Curriculum 3 has some implication for teachers, but the focus being on social efficiency means that in some ways there are not so many changes from the past as at least for the last hundred years the school curriculum has been focused on making learners that will have skills that will help them achieve objectives that will make the society a more efficient place. A Comparative Overview of the Curriculum Ideologies Chapter 6 http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/47671_ch_6.pdf (visited 29th dec 2012) Critical Pedagogy and Teacher Education in the Neoliberal Era: Small Openings pp 3 Springer Netherlands, 2009 volume 6 Susan L. Groenke http://www.geocities.ws/rf_valades/index2.htm Social Efficiency Theory SAVE SOMETHING TODAY Rodrigo Valades visited 29th dec 2012 The Role of Assessment in a Learning Culture Lorrie A. Shepard Vol. 29, No. 7 (Oct., 2000), pp. 4 American Educational Research Association http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/47671_ch_6.pdf Chapter 6 A Comparative Overview of the Curriculum Ideologies visited 29th dec 2012 Encyclopedia of Curriculum Studies edited by Craig Kridel SAGE Publications Inc 2010 Pg 4-7 Curriculum Theory: Conflicting Visions and Enduring Concerns, Schiro, M. (2008a) SAGE Publications, Inc Pg 199-245 Curriculum Theory: Conflicting Visions and Enduring Concerns Second Edition, Schiro, M. (2012b) SAGE Publications, Inc Building the Curriculum 3: A framework for learning and teaching, The Scottish Government, 2008

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Traffic Light Controller System Design

Traffic Light Controller System Design library IEEE; use IEEE.STD_LOGIC_1164.ALL; use ieee.std_logic_unsigned.all; Uncomment the following library declaration if using arithmetic functions with Signed or Unsigned values use IEEE.NUMERIC_STD.ALL; Uncomment the following library declaration if instantiating any Xilinx primitives in this code. library UNISIM; use UNISIM.VComponents.all; entity tlc is   Ã‚  Ã‚   Port ( sensor : in   STD_LOGIC_VECTOR (3 downto 0);    hr : out   STD_LOGIC_VECTOR (0 downto 0) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   hg : out   STD_LOGIC_VECTOR (0 downto 0) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   hy : out   STD_LOGIC_VECTOR (0 downto 0) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   fr : out   STD_LOGIC_VECTOR (0 downto 0) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   fg : out   STD_LOGIC_VECTOR (0 downto 0) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   fy : out   STD_LOGIC_VECTOR (0 downto 0) ); end tlc; architecture Behavioral of tlc is signal ts : std_logic_vector(3 downto 0); signal tm : std_logic_vector(3 downto 0); signal tl : std_logic_vector(3 downto 0); type state_type is (s0,s1,s2); signal state : state_type; begin process (sensor) begin if sensor

Friday, September 20, 2019

Relationship between Gender, Identity and Civil Disobedience

Relationship between Gender, Identity and Civil Disobedience Hannah Rates Gender, Identity and Civil disobedience: Are they the solution to their own problem? Social political concepts are arguably becoming the most important and highly discussed governmental topics. Gender, identity and civil disobedience are highly relevant in modern society and effect everyones day to day lives. As society is changing and modernizing the roles and meanings of these three concepts are also adapting. I look to explain their similarities and differences as well as how they have affected the global population throughout history and continue to do so. Identity politics is a name given to political positions who share the same interests and views of social minority groups in which people identify, often the individuals have shared experiences of injustice, (Heyes, 2016a) this leads to the challenge of other oppressive groups with the goal usually being equality. Identity political groups aim to secure political freedom of a specific constituency marginalized within its larger context. (Heyes, 2016b) Identity politics is a term that has only been used in recent history originating from around the 1960s. There are hundreds if not thousands of cases of minority groups who are oppressed all over the world including but not limited to gay individuals, women, ethnic minority groups, Muslims as well as well as many other less recognized groups. Collective Identity politics has many positive effects on individuals, a feeling of solidarity with others through constructed collective identity provides an immutable and all-encompassing group t hat supply an escape from the society that oppresses them. One of the biggest collective identity movements in recent history is feminism, their goal was to remove the opposed biological determinist views that men are stronger and smarter than women to gain equal rights which included: the right to vote, reproductive and domestic rights along with many more. Women identifying with each other to challenge the oppression they faced created a way for individual womens voices to be heard, although women grouped together they campaigned for equal rights which benefited each individual in that group. Identity however is a contested concept, where collective identity is accentuated individualism diminishes and where solidarity with a persons minority is gained it is then restricted to one group. A person may have a single identity, but it will be made up of many levels of loyalty and identification. Identities change, because they are based on perceptions, which themselves change over time and environment; as it is possible to identify ones self with more than one thing at a time such as class and gender, or religion and age. Therefore, there are various elements of ones identity and which operate at different levels and these various elements in an identity may well be contradictory. (Concept of collective identity, 2015) Identity politics can be destructive as it can encourage people to fixate or excaudate their sense of persecution, it can also focus the stigmatization which then instigates the effect further. Inside a minority group differences are also overlooked which in turn divides the group internally; in feminist history, ethnic and gay feminists see themselves as having nothing in common with white straight feminists they then end up competing over their relative degree of victimization. (Todd, 2013) Judith Butlers argued using queer theory that the feminist movement only emphasised the differences between men and women by grouping women as individuals wit h the same interests and characteristics. She explained feminism as an unwitting regulation and reification of gender relations reinforcing a binary view of gender relations in which human beings are divided into two clear-cut groups, women and men. Rather than opening up possibilities for a person to form and choose their own individual identity. (David, no date) Judith Butlers use of queer theory in her book gender trouble has also been one of the main driving forces behind the contesting of gender. Gender is defined as either the male or female division of a species, especially as differentiated by social and cultural roles and behaviour. (Dictionary, 1300) As society progresses gender is becoming a multifaced concept that is constantly being challenged, the idea that sex is biological and gender is socially constructed has become a constant discussion point in the world of politics. Society is progressing with the help of technology and social media giving minority genders a voice, resulting in the world becoming more accepting of contested identitys. Transgender and genderqueer individuals identifying as a group has had positive outcomes and helped to empower people. This therefore gives evidence of contested genders becoming more widely accepted. To to be able to identify with their particular gender group however, individuals are required to succumb to specific gender labels which can then often cause them to be treated differently and negatively by peers, loved ones and so ciety. Throughout history many feminists have disagreed and have endorsed the sex gender distinction. Provisionally: sex denotes human females and males depending on biological features (chromosomes, sex organs, hormones, and other physical features); gender denotes women and men depending on social factors (social role, position, behaviour or identity). (Mikkola, 2016) Masculine and feminine behaviour has been learnt through nurture and gender socialisation and has created many inequalitys over time. One of the main objective of feminists, mainly in the second wave movement, was to reverse the gender roles created by society. The idea that women are created to raise children and stay at home doing the cleaning and cooking with a male dominated family has been a view challenged by feminists through many mass protests. Second wave feminism also known as the womens liberation movement set to overhaul gender inequality in private after first wave feminism had achieved public equality, aiming to remove the idea of the public man and the private woman. During second wave feminism the personal is the political became a rallying phrase to dispute the nuclear family and family values which resulted with gender becoming political. Challenging authority through civil disobedience became a very effective tactic for second wave feminists used to gain gender equality. Civil disobedience is the refusal to obey governmental demands or commands especially as a nonviolent and usually collective means of forcing concessions from the government. (Brownlee, 2013a) The term originated from Henry David Thoreau in 1848 when he refused to pay the poll tax as he did not want to contribute to the funding of war and slavery. In Thoreaus essay, he justifies his actions by saying that government is best which governs least, men will someday be able to have a government that does not govern at all. As it is, government rarely proves useful or efficient. It is often abused and perverted so that it no longer represents the will of the people. (LLC, 2016) Throughout history civil disobedience has been used to change societys moral parameters; Gandhis salt march, civil rights movement and suffragettes are all prime examples of instances where civil disobedience proved to be an important mechanism for social change. (Brownlee, 2013b) John Rawls states that a civil diso bedience movement must be: public, non-violent, a conscientious yet political act, contrary to the law and it must aim to bring change to policies and the law. John Rawls suggest that the main point of the movement is that it must be conscientious, this highlights the seriousness and sincerity in which the civil disobedient break the law; through their disobedience, they draw attention to draw attention to laws or policies that they believe require reassessment or rejection. (Brownlee, 2013c) Henry David Thoreau emphasised the importance of human conscience in his 1848 essay stating we should be men first, and subjects afterwards. (Henry David Thoreau, 2017) The non-violence aspect of civil disobedience is also an important factor of the movement as it is not only moral but strategic and more effective, an uprising is 50% more likely to fail (Fisher, 2013a) if violence is used. If a protest does become violent then that legitimizes the states use of violence in response (Fisher, 201 3b) and is also less likely to have support from the public often polarizing them in support of the government. The argument that we all have the right to civil disobedience as part of our democratic rights, alongside our human right to freedom of speech are two factors believed toto encourage oppressed minority groups to speak out about their injustices, this is reflected by civil disobedience protests being known to gain more attention than any other forms of protest. Acts of Civil disobedience by minority groups including gender minority have been carried out throughout history, one of the largest being the feminist movement. The politics of gender roles and inequality have been at the heart of all womens liberation movements especially during second wave feminism. In more recent history Polish women carried out civil disobedience in October 2016 to protest against the governments proposed ban on all abortions with women facing imprisonment if the law was broken. Tens of thousand s of women missed work and school wearing all black to peacefully protest outside parliament against the Law and Justices party proposed ban. The mass protests caused parliament to reconsider and then reject the proposed ban. Poland already have the most restrictive laws on abortion in Europe with women only being able to have one in certain circumstances, however many activists see parliaments choice to over throw the ban as a chance to gain liberation in the near future. Identity politics is a concept that runs parallel with all acts of civil disobedience, individuals identify with each other and all share the same goal which is often equality and social justice. Every civil disobedience movement emphasizes a collective notion of the good. They suggest that when we identify ourselves with something larger than our own identity, we are compelled to take action. We are driven to bring about social reform because we value the importance of helping others. (Enotes, 2016a) In his essay , Thoreau emphasises the importance of coming together as a collective identity as the only way to achieve social reform, he also believes that all individuals should ignore their individual differences and work together towards a collective goal. Thoreau sees a persons power increasing when they unify with others in the cause for social reform. (Enotes, 2016b) The second wave feminist movement and the 2016 Polish protests were both collective actions trying to gain social reform for both identity and gender through civil disobedience. Social political concepts are continuing to shape modern day society, and the majority of these groups are co-dependant. The argument that collective identity diminishes individuality in that group is ongoing. Whist individualism is conceivably reduced, many civil disobedience movements contain individuals that have different standing views on what theyre protesting against. In the case of feminism there are radical and liberal groups inside the larger feminist group. Some radical groups focus on trying to overthrow patriarchy rather than liberal feminists who try to change society to make it equal. This shows that the strive for identity within civil disobedience exceeds the concept of just gender. Although both radical and liberal feminist groups have the same common goal it highlights the flaws of collective identity as the group works against the larger movement cohesion due to their opposed views on aspects of the feminist ideology. Many radical feminists will not accept men to be part of their movement due to their feelings of oppression caused by a patriarchal society throughout history, this excludes men and reinforces the dichotomic view of gender relations highlighting gender differences through identity. Queer theory can be used to understand the contradicting views of both identity and gender; queer theory supports the idea that gender is free flowing and an expression. It contradicts collective identitys as identity consists of so many aspects, to group identities collectively based on one variable e.g. gender is wrong. A difference perspective on collective identities with regards to gender however is that it can empower many people, as more people in modern society are identifying as gay or transgender the glamorization of identity through gender has increased this holds true for many gender labels. Whilst people seek confidence by identifying with these gender labels the end result can be that individuals have restricted themselves to the stereo typical behaviour of that gender identity. Many civil disobedience movements aim to compact the stereotypical view of gender roles and behaviours showing how the three concepts not only intertwine but often provoke each other. It is clear that collective identities are sought out by individuals in order to find solidarity in a certain group, they are used to construct community and feelings of cohesion and holism, a concept to give the impression that all individuals are equal in the imagined community. Gamson argues that fixed identity categories are both the basis for oppression and the basis for political power, again further outlining that civil disobedience is not only comprised by collective identitys, but that they are also a catalyst for many civil disobedience movements. Connotations associated with gender often form these collective identitys that in turn form civil disobedience. Without collective identity, civil disobedience movements would be ineffective; movements are only taken seriously if its a large identity group working towards the same goals. In the example of the feminist movement and the polish protests women identified with their gender to campaign for equality however identifying in this group women have highlighted their oppression and focused the stigmatization. Although quite obviously linked identity does not only exist through the marinization of oppressive groups, if society was completely equal both identity and gender would still exist and where there is democracy there is inevitably civil disobedience. As theories and concepts identity, gender and civil disobedience all share a common quality, in that they are often co dependant in order to be effective as well as being a seemingly paradoxical solution to themselves. Whilst all three concepts seek equality; identity is formed through segregation, gender is defined by its separation and civil disobedience can only exist with minority protesting the majority. In addition to this incongruence, comprised with all acts of politics in accordance to these concepts, ego and prejudice will always effect the individual, creating bias within these social groups, making the topics insolvably disputed for the future. References Heyes, C. (2016) Identity politics. Available at: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/identity-politics/ (Accessed: 19 January 2017). Concept of collective identity (2015) Available at: https://www.ukessays.com/essays/politics/concept-of-collective-identity.php (Accessed: 19 January 2017). Todd, D. (2013) Douglas Todd: The pros and cons of identity politics. Available at: http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Douglas+Todd+pros+cons+identity+politics/8235119/story.html (Accessed: 19 January 2017). David (no date) Www.Theory.Org.Uk resources: Judith Butler. Available at: http://www.theory.org.uk/ctr-butl.htm (Accessed: 19 January 2017). Dictionary (1300) The definition of gender, in Available at: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/gender (Accessed: 19 January 2017). Mikkola, M. (2016) Feminist perspectives on sex and gender. Available at: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-gender/#GenSocCon (Accessed: 19 January 2017). Brownlee, K. (2013) Civil disobedience. Available at: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/civil-disobedience/ (Accessed: 20 January 2017). LLC, S. (2016) Civil disobedience. Available at: http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/civildisobedience/section1.rhtml (Accessed: 20 January 2017). Henry David Thoreau (2017) Available at: http://izquotes.com/quote/394572 (Accessed: 20 January 2017). Fisher, M.F.M. (2013) Peaceful protest is much more effective than violence for toppling dictators. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/11/05/peaceful-protest-is-much-more-effective-than-violence-in-toppling-dictators/?utm_term=.85c428fbbc16 (Accessed: 20 January 2017). Help, H. (2016) In civil disobedience by Thoreau, on the eve of historic Dandi march by Gandhi, and long walk to freedom by Nelson Mandela, how is the.. Available at: https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/civil-disobedience-eve-historic-dandi-walk-freedom-748335 (Accessed: 20 January 2017).

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Wireless: from Marconis Black-box to the Audion :: Wireless: from Marconis Black-box to the Audion

Wireless: from Marconi's Black-box to the Audion Wireless is a methodical account of the early development of wireless telegraphy and the inventors who made it possible. Sungook Hong examines several early significant inventions, including Hertzian waves and optics, the galvanometer, transatlantic signaling, Marconi's secret-box, Fleming's air-blast key and double transformation system, Lodge's syntonic transmitter and receiver, the Edison effect, the thermionic valve, and the audion and continuous wave. Wireless fills the gap created by Hugh Aitken, who described at length the early development of wireless communication, but who did not attempt "to probe the substance and context of scientific and engineering practice in the early years of wireless" (p. x). Sungook Hong seeks to fill this gap by offering an exhaustive analysis of the theoretical and experimental engineering and scientific practices of the early days of wireless; by examining the borderland between science and technology; depicting the transformation of scientific effects into technological artifacts; and showing how the race for scientific and engineering accomplishment fuels the politic of the corporate institution. While the author succeeds in fulfilling these goals, the thesis, it seems, is to affirm Guglielmo Marconi's place in history as the father of wireless telegraphy. Wireless begins with a brief discussion of the 1995 centennial of the invention of radio by Marconi and a rebuttal by the British historians who oppose this claim. Using underused or previously overlooked or perhaps ignored resources the author disproves the claims against the originality and ingenuity of Marconi's 1897 patent on wireless telegraphy. While credit is given to several British scientists and engineers and their scientific discoveries and inventions, it was Marconi, a practitioner, who made the first significant breakthrough in practical wireless telegraphy when he "connected one end of the plate of the receiver, and one end of the transmitter, to the earth" (p. 20). Marconi transformed these scientific effects into wireless technologies and then exploited them for commercial purposes. The focus of British scientists and engineers on optical analogies, scientific experimentation and demonstration, and the fear of British national interests becoming monopolized (particula rly by a foreigner) are the primary reasons for the dispute surrounding Marconi's patent. (By 1897 it was clear how wireless telegraphy would impact military interests.) The author shows in great detail how British scientists and engineers, namely physicist Oliver Lodge, J. J. Thomson, Minchin, Rollo Appleyard, and Campbell Swinton, deliberately constructed false scientific and social claims to discredit the originality of Marconi's patent.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Ecommerce :: Essays Papers

Ecommerce The Internet has caught on like wild fire. No one ever intended for it to be so commercially successful. In the beginning, its main purpose was to send and receive messages; no one anticipated that one-day people could buy books and cars over a computer. Though with the advancement of certain technologies, this has happened. E-commerce is a worldwide commodity that has taken the place of trips to the supermarket and has given us the freedom to conduct business at out house in our pajamas. To fully understand what e-commerce is, you must first understand where it came from. It all started with the DOD (Department of Defense) in 1996. After the Cold War the Government wanted a reliable line of communication. If a network link became damaged by enemy attack, the information on it could be rerouted automatically to other links. This was the birth of the Internet. In order to use anything on the Internet, it is required that you learn to operate a separate program, one for the mail, one for news groups, and several different programs for accessing databases. This all changed in 1989. A researcher at CERN (a big European physics laboratory) named Tim Berners-Lee started to work on hypertext. By using hypertext he could link together all the different kinds of information available on the Internet. Berners-Lee called the software pack the World Wide Web. For the World Wide Web to work, each page has it’s own address that the web recognizes using a system called HTTP (Hypertext Transport Protocol). Each page has to be written with a special language called HTML (Hypertext Markup Language). This language tells the computer how to display a page. Now with the invention of the web, Businesses can use pictures to help sell their merchandise online, And now that the Internet is everywhere- in schools, libraries, and even cafes – anyone can order just about anything from anywhere. It is now easier than ever to have and start your own web page; anyone form a big corporation or even the average joe can build his for her own web page. Just like Jeff Bezos, Time magazine’s Person of the Year of 1999. With a loan from the bank, Jeff founded Amazon.com in his garage and helped start e-commerce, as we now know it.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

A study of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Essay

1) We could firstly look at the arguments that would justify a company in putting its first loyalty and moral responsibility to its owners as a priority. One of those arguments is the shareholder theory, which states that â€Å"the primary responsibility of a firm is to maximise the wealth of its shareholders† (Friedman, 1962). As Friedman (1970 in Moore 1999) then proceeded to argue, he claimed that society would gain as a whole if businesses were left to do what they do best, create wealth. This argument could also be strengthened by considering the principle of egoism. Egoism, as defined by Baier (1990), expounds that an action is rational if and only if it maximizes one’s self-interest. In contemplating the supporting propositions for a company to owe its first loyalty and moral responsibility to its employees and local community who are affected by its operations, we first examine the corresponding view on shareholder theory which is the stakeholder theory where â€Å"the stakeholder framework places shareholders amongst the multiple stakeholder groups that managers must involve in their decision-making process† (Clarkson, 1995; Donaldson and Preston, 1995) where stakeholder groups would include internal, external and environmental constituents who can place demands on the firm (Ruf et al., 2001). A moral theory that could support this view is the ethical theory of W.D. Ross in which he dictates 7 prima facie duties that each person may bear at any one time. In this case, a company has a duty of fidelity to its owners to act in their interest as well as the duty of nonmaleficence to its employees and the local community. In deciding which duty is more important we can turn to Kantian Ethics and the ethic of care. The second reformulation of the categorical imperative says that we should â€Å"(a)ct in such a way that you treat humanity†¦always..as an end and never simply as a means† (Thomas, 2010). Following that, the duty of fidelity will lose priority to the other as the former may require the company to treat humans as a means to an end. Finally, the ethic of care asks that we care for the well-being of those who are dependent on us (Shaw, Barry, Sansbury, 2009). Therefore, a company should owe its first loyalty and moral responsibility to its employees and the local community who are affected by its operations as they are dependent on the company for their safety. 2) The first reformulation of the categorical imperative in Kantian Ethics conveys the idea of treating others how one would want to be treated by others (Thomas, 2010). By natural logic, this entails the concept of all humans being equal and by that extension the differing economic circumstances of an Indian worker should not be sufficient ground to award a lower compensation. 3) Union Carbide USA may have stated their legal rights as a moral justification to use the forum non conveniens. They may also have utilised the concept of egoism as another justification, in that having the case judged in India would be beneficial to themselves. Reference List Baier, K. (1991), A Companion to Ethics, Blackwell Reference, Oxford Clarkson, M. (1995), ‘A stakeholder framework for analyzing and evaluating corporate social performance’, Academy of Management Review, vol.20, no.1, pp.92-117 Dierksmeier, C. (2013), ‘Kant on Virtue’, Journal of Business Ethics, vol.113, no.4, pp597-609 Donaldson, T., Preston, L.E. (1995), ‘The stakeholder theory of the corporation: concepts, evidence, and implications’, Academy of Management Review, vol.20, no.1, pp.65-91 Friedman, M. (1962), Capitalism and Freedom, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL Kant, I. (1966) The Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Ethics, trans. O. Manthey-Zorn, Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York Moore, G. (1999), ‘Tinged shareholder theory: or what’s so special about stakeholders?’, Business Ethics: A European Review, vol.8, no.2, pp117-127 Ruf, B.M., Muralidhar, K., Brown, R.M., Janney, J.J., Paul, K. (2001), ‘An empirical investigation of the relationship between change in corporate social performance and financial performance: a stakeholder theory perspective’, Journal of Business Ethics, vol.32, no.2, pp.143-56 Thomas,  L.C. (2010), Lying and Deception : Theory and Practice, Oxford University Press, Oxford Shaw, W.H., Barry, V., Sansbury, G. (2009), Moral Issues In Business, Cengage Learning Australia

Monday, September 16, 2019

Essay on Mission, Vision and Strategy

Mission, Vision, Values & Goals David Grusenmeyer Sr. Extension Associate, PRO-DAIRY Introduction Teams and team building efforts are popular buzzwords in today’s work environment. Bringing individuals together in the workplace and getting them to work together as an effective team is a challenge. The sports team analogy is often sighted and sought after in the workplace, but seldom achieved. What is it about successful sports teams that make them function so well as teams? Several observations stand out: 1.The coaches or captains are successful at establishing the same vision in the mind of each team member; that at the end of the season they will be #1 in their league, city, state, or nation. 2. All members share a common team mission or goal; to win each and every game they play. 3. There’s an opponent, or a goal to be bested, and everyone knows clearly who or what it is. 4. Each player has a personal mission and goals that mesh with or complement those of the team; to perform their part of each play during the game to the best of their ability. 5.Each team member knows their position and how their individual efforts contribute to the team’s success. They also know their teammates depend on them. Business owners/managers will experience success in team building and success in their business to the extent they: 1. Have clearly defined organizational mission, vision, values and goals. 2. Clearly articulate the mission, vision, values and goals to everyone involved with the business. 3. Mesh the business’s mission, vision, values and goals tightly into those of each individual so that in achieving individual goals and visions, business goals and visions are also achieved.Think about your business. Is there a clearly identified vision of where the farm is headed? How will the business look or operate in one, two, five or ten years? If you don’t know where you’re going any road will take you there. And, if you can’ t clearly describe where you’re headed how can you expect your family members, employees, or agri-service professionals to help you get there? Do you have a clearly defined mission? Why is your farm in business? What do you hope to achieve? Does everyone on the farm ? family, employees, and agri-service representatives ? know what that mission is?Do they see your commitment to it everyday? Have they accepted the mission as important to them? Does each individual know how their efforts contribute to the mission? 1 Are there specific goals and objectives? Does everyone accept these goals and see how achieving farm goals will help them achieve their own personal goals? Are the goals and objectives translated into work performance standards and expectations for each employee? These are not easy questions, but as we increasingly depend on the talents and efforts of others to make our farm successful, answering them affirmatively becomes ever more important.Core Values Even though we frequently talk about mission and vision first, the basic underlying foundation for both are our core values. Core values are the principles and standards at the very center of our character, and from which we will not budge or stray. Core values are extremely stable and change only very slowly over long periods of time. Core values form the basis for our beliefs about life, ourselves and those around us, and the human potential of ourselves and others. Values and beliefs form our attitudes and guide our behavior.The behaviors we engage in are what people around us see, along with our skills and actions. Our outer or public shell of behaviors and skills can change rapidly and dramatically through our lives, influenced by our environment and guided by our more stable core values and beliefs. 2 For some people identifying and communicating personal core values can be a difficult task. Core values are so close to the center of who we are that they tend to be very protected and not s hared with others until a personal relationship has been established.The fact that these values are so central to what’s important to us individually, makes it all the more important to think about them first as a basis for establishing sound and meaningful mission, vision and goals in both our life and business. Once the values of an individual or organization are identified, it’s frequently useful to rank them from more to less important. Then when questions come up later where one value must be traded off against another the decision will be easier to make and communicate. For example, say the core values of a farm business are efficiency, family, safety and respect for others.If a question comes up about implementing a practice that will improve operational efficiency but may compromise the health and safety of employees, knowing the relative importance of efficiency versus safety will help guide the decision. If an employee’s child is hospitalized are they expected to be at the farm for their shift regardless, or with their child in the hospital? Knowing the relative importance of family versus operational efficiency will help answer that question. It won’t necessarily make these decisions easy or totally objective but it will bring some guidance and consistency to the decision making process.In the high stakes game of professional football Tom Landry coached the Dallas Cowboys for years. Win or loose he always maintained a cool, calm, stoic presence on the sideline. A reporter once asked him how he was able to maintain such a calm focus with all the pressures. Coach Landry replied it’s easy because I have my priorities straight. First is my God, second my wife, third my family and fourth is football, so if I loose on the weekend I have lots of more important things to support me through the week. Defining your core values first will help you get your priorities in order.Mission A personal mission or a farm business miss ion statement deals with questions like, â€Å"Why are we here? †, â€Å"Why do we exist? †, â€Å"Why do we get up each day and do what we do? †, â€Å"What is it that we get paid for? † â€Å"What function does the organization perform? For whom? How? † The mission is a broad statement of personal or business scope, purpose and operation that distinguishes me, or my farm, from others. A farm business cannot have values, beliefs or a mission outside of the people who makeup that business.Therefore, especially for small closely held businesses, it’s important that each principle in the business write their own personal mission statement first, then come together as a group or team to develop a mission statement for the business. 3 A farm business mission statement reflects the core values and beliefs of the individuals who lead the business. To the extent there are large differences between a farm mission and a personal mission, or between f arm business values and personal core values, there will be discord and friction for that individual within the business.Weather you’re an owner, an employee or a consultant, one way to help assure happiness and fulfillment at work is to be certain your values and mission are in alignment with those of the business. People have been known to become physically ill from the stress of working in a business where their core values were at odds with the values and ethics practiced in the business In addition to giving structure and direction to an individual or business, well-written mission statements are excellent tools to inform others about what’s important to you and how you operate your business.Example mission statement 1: â€Å"Our priorities are God, family (people), business. Our goal is to be a place where people (our most valuable asset) have the opportunity to grow spiritually, personally, intellectually, and financially. Through putting God first and people s econd, our success as individuals and as a business is guaranteed. † Example mission statement 2: â€Å"To produce large quantities of high-quality milk as economically as possible, in order to provide an adequate standard of living for both owners and employees. These two mission statements communicate very different notions about what’s important on these two farms and also give some indication that day-to-day business may be conducted differently as a result. Any mission statement that concisely represents truth and reality about the individual or the farm is a good mission statement. Likewise, any statement that doesn’t honestly and accurately represent the values and beliefs of the individual or the farm is a poor mission statement, regardless of what is says or how good it sounds.If excellence is a stated value or the pursuit of excellence a stated mission, yet average, industry standard, or legal requirement is â€Å"good enough†, then what is the real commitment to excellence? Do they really â€Å"live† their stated mission? Mission statements serve to inform employees, friends, neighbors, and agribusiness people about what’s important to you and your business. They also serve as anchors and guideposts for both strategic and operational or tactical decision making on the farm. Vision While a mission is a statement of what is, a vision is a statement of what or how you would like things to be.A picture of the future you’re working to create, what you want to be when you grow up, what you want your business to become. 4 Without a vision of where you’re going how can you develop a plan to get there and how will you know when you’ve arrived? Without a vision of where we would like to be, we can continue hiking various trails through life, climbing mountain after mountain, only to discover each time that we’ve arrived somewhere we really don’t want to be. Nothing was ever created w ithout a vision. It guides us, gives us direction and purpose, and can serve as a powerful motivator for those around us and ourselves.In order to truly guide and motivate a vision must: 1. Be aligned with the core values of both the individuals and the farm business. and 2. Be effectively communicated to and accepted by everyone involved in the farm. The more precise and detailed you can be in writing a description of your vision of the future, the easier it will be to communicate it to others and gain their commitment to it, and the more likely you will be to achieve it. Being able to articulate a clear vision of the future is essential if you expect employees and agri-service consultants to help you get there.Success comes through bringing aboard people ? as partners, employees or consultants ? with core values that fit well with the business, and who understand and accept the business mission and vision as matching closely with their own. Developing visions and missions that are truly shared takes time, effort, energy and commitment. You can’t expect that just because you develop mission and vision statements, read them at a staff meeting and even hand them out in printed form, that everyone will immediately accept and work toward achieving them.You need to walk the talk and be totally committed to them yourself first, and then discuss them with your employees and consultants at least eight or ten times before they will believe you’re really serious and begin to internalize these statements. Goals & Objectives Mission and vision, although frequently short statements, are broad, encompassing and far-reaching. They can often seem overwhelming and perhaps even impossible to achieve. The metaphors, â€Å"How do you eat an elephant? – One bite at a time† and â€Å"A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step†, fit well in regard to achieving a mission and vision.Goals and objectives create the bite size pieces, the road map and manageable stepping stones to achieve the mission, make the vision a reality, and navigate the course we have set for our business, or for ourselves. 5 Reading the business literature is confusing as to what’s a goal and what’s an objective, they’re used interchangeably from one business author to another. The education literature however is consistent and specific. Goals are the bigger fuzzy things and objectives are the small: – S pecific – M easurable – A ttainable – R ewarding – T imed steps through which we achieve our goals.It doesn’t really matter what we call them as long as we keep in mind the principle of, â€Å"start small and break it down to minuscule† in terms of identifying the steps that will move us in the direction we want to go. While it’s possible to get bogged down in minutiae, the reality is, few people error on the side of too much detail when it comes to writing goals a nd objectives. More often than not employees are confused and frustrated by a lack of detail. To be effective goals and objectives must be written. If they aren’t in writing they’re merely ideas with no real power or conviction behind them.Written goals and objectives provide motivation to achieve them and can then be used as a reminder to you and others. Clearly and specifically written, they also eliminate confusion and misunderstanding. Among all the attributes of a well-written objective, the most important are measurable results and a timeframe for completion. Being able to quantify results and evaluate the timeliness of accomplishing goals allows owners or managers to assess the performance and progress of the overall business as well as individuals and teams within the business.Having well developed goals and objectives also helps: Maintain focus and perspective Establish priorities Lead to greater job satisfaction Improve employee performance. Researchers study ing the effects of goals as part of a company’s overall performance management process found that the level of performance is highest when: Goals are clearly stated and contain specific objectives Goals are challenging but not unreasonable Employees accept their goals with a true sense of ownership Employees participate in setting and reviewing their goals.As time goes on and goals are achieved, or conditions and situations change, it’s important to reevaluate and establish new goals and objectives. Failure to periodically 6 set new or more challenging goals can lead to stagnation in the business and boredom among employees. Finally, as goals are achieved or milestones along the way are reached, providing positive feedback and rewards for yourself and employees is critical to maintaining enthusiasm and continued progress. What’s Your Goal Setting Quotient? Yes 1. I work from a comprehensive business plan or a formal long-range strategic plan.My business (team) h as an operational plan that is revised annually. Each of my family members and employees has an individual plan that covers his/her goals for the year. I meet with my family members or employees regularly to review progress toward their goals. I meet with my team regularly to check on progress toward goals. When a goal is set I make sure it’s monitored and doesn’t fall through the cracks. I build my relationships with family members and employees around tasks we mutually identify and pursue. I feel good when I relinquish control and pass responsibility on to others.Business goals are set by all the key people, not just by me. No 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. I praise my family members and employees freely and publicly when they accomplish their goals. A yes to all 10 puts you at the top in management proficiency with regard to goal setting. 7 Summary The following analogy of a group of people carpooling together may help to pull things together. It would be very difficul t for everyone in a carpool to make a decision on whether to turn right, left or go straight at the next intersection if each was headed for a different destination.If they’re all going to the same place, they may have different ideas on which way to turn and exactly how to get to where they’re going. One may like the scenic route, another knows about road construction that should be avoided, a third may want to take a shortcut and arrive early, a fourth may need to run an errand along the way. Since their destination is the same, even though there is diversity in their ideas, they should be able to reach a consensus decision on the route to take based on information provided by each.Likewise in a business it’s difficult or impossible to agree on strategic or even tactical decisions if everyone in the business ? owners, managers, family members, employees ? are not all headed in the same direction, toward the same mission and vision. If a family, a business, or a team doesn’t have a common direction ? mission, vision and core values ? arguments will occur surrounding nearly every decision and agreements may be impossible. Developing shared mission, vision and values is the first step in laying a foundation for making strategic and tactical decisions that will move the business forward.Having them in place won’t eliminate arguments and disagreements, but at least the disagreement will be about how to best get to the same endpoint as opposed to heading in opposite directions. Getting Started Discovering and developing a business’s mission, vision and values is not an easy task. For small and closely held businesses the business mission, vision and values stem from those of the individuals involved, it makes sense that each individual should first identify their personal mission, vision, values and goals and then come together to develop them for the business.The following worksheets are designed to help you work through the process of identifying your personal core values and developing a personal mission statement. Some of them may also be useful in developing your business mission and vision statements. I recommend using all of the worksheet exercises in the sequence in which they appear here. However, these are simply tools to help you through the process so feel free to use any or all of them in whatever sequence you believe will be helpful.The objective is to get you thinking from several different perspectives about what is important to you and what you stand for. 8 Characteristics Survey Below is a list of 20 personal characteristics arranged in alphabetical order. Rank each item according to the importance of that characteristic for YOU. Study the list carefully. Then place a 1 next to the characteristic that is most important for you; place a 2 next to the second most important characteristic, etc. The characteristic that is least important to you, relative to the others, should be ranked 20. Work slowly and think carefully.If you change your mind, feel free to change the ranking. The end results should show how you truly feel. Add characteristics that are important to you but missing from the list. _____Ambitious (hard working, aspiring) _____Broadminded (open-minded, tolerant, accepting) _____Capable (competent, effective) _____Cheerful (lighthearted, joyful, happy) _____Courageous (brave, standing up for your beliefs) _____Dependable (reliable, trustworthy, responsible) _____Forgiving (willing to pardon others) _____Friendly (pleasant, warm, outgoing, good-natured) _____Helpful working for the welfare of others) _____Honest (sincere, truthful) _____Imaginative (daring, creative, original) _____Independent (self-reliant, self-sufficient) _____Intellectual (intelligent, reflective, knowledgeable) _____Logical (consistent, rational, realistic) _____Loving (affectionate, tender) _____Obedient (dutiful, respectful) _____Organized (clean, neat, tidy) _____Polite (courte ous, well-mannered, respectful) _____Self-confident (self-assured, poised, self-aware) _____Self-controlled (restrained, self-disciplined) _____ ____________________________________ 9 Values SurveyBelow is a list of 20 values arranged in alphabetical order. Rank them in order of their importance to YOU as guiding principals in YOUR life. Study the list carefully. Then place a 1 next to the value that is most important for you; place a 2 next to the value that is second most important to you, etc. The value that is least important, relative to the others, should be ranked 20. Work slowly and think carefully. If you change your mind, feel free to change your numbers. The end results should show how you truly feel. Add values that are important to you but missing from the list. ____Achievement (attaining personal and professional goals, accomplishment) _____A comfortable life (a prosperous life, adequate finances) _____Equality (brotherhood, equal opportunity for all, fairness) _____An exciting life (a stimulating, active life) _____Family security (caring for loved ones, being cared for) _____Freedom (independence, free choice, autonomy) _____Happiness (contentedness, fulfillment) _____Inner Harmony (freedom from inner conflict, accord, balance) _____Leaving a legacy (something that endures after you are gone) _____Mature love (sexual and spiritual intimacy) _____National security (protection from attack) _____Pleasure (an enjoyable, leisurely life) _____Salvation (deliverance from sin, eternal life) _____Self-respect (self-esteem, pride, self-worth) _____A sense of accomplishment (making a lasting contribution) _____Social recognition (respect, admiration, appreciation) _____True friendship (close companionship, love) _____Wisdom (a mature understanding of life, insight, knowledge) _____A world at peace (freedom from war and conflict) _____A world of beauty (beauty of nature and the arts) _____ ______________________________________ 10 What’s Important ? Look back at your ranking of values and personal characteristics. Are there values or personal characteristics that are important to you and are not listed? If so, add them to your list. Now list below, in rank order of importance, your top eight most important values and top eight most important personal characteristics. These are your core values and characteristics that you would not compromise on or stray from regardless of the situation. Values Characteristics 11 My Roles In Life Identify all the roles you play in your life (e. g. aughter, son, student, employee, parent, grandparent, husband, wife, church member, school board member, local charity committee member, etc. ). Then describe the purpose you serve in that role. Why you do it? What’s important about it? Who depends on you? Who benefits? Role Your Purpose In That Role 12 Interacting With People To a great extent getting along in this world means getting along with and interacting with people. List ways that you successfully interact with people. Examples: Advise Teach Encourage Stimulate Help Sell Enthuse Entertain Lead Educate Motivate Study Provide Serve Reassure Manage Love Inspire Plan Excite Support 13 If I Won an Award If I won an award, what would the award be for?What would I want the presenter to say about me? What would my parents, grandparents, spouse, children, siblings be proud to hear about me? 14 What Do I Want In Life ? What do I want people to say about me in 10 years. . . , 20 years. . . , when I die? What do I want to accomplish in my life? What do I want to do (experience) in my life? What do I want to have (posses) in my life? 15 A Perfect World Visualize your perfect world. How does it look? What are people doing? What are people saying? How does it feel? Write a description of this perfect world. Example: My perfect world is a place where people know their destinations and enjoy their life journeys.My perfect world is a world at peace where people are helpful, frien dly and truly care about everyone. My perfect world is a world where I am in close contact with my God, my family, my friends and my environment. My perfect world . . . 16 Personal Mission Statement Combine words and concepts from your values list, characteristics list, roles in your life, interacting with people list, and things you want in life, along with your description of a perfect world, to create your personal mission statement. Example: My life purpose is to use my energy and my people skills to teach and motivate people to know their destination and enjoy their life journey. My life purpose is . . . 17