Nursing questions Essay

The nurse is performing her admission assessment of a patient. When grading arterial pulses, a 1+ pulse indicates: Above normal perfusion. Absent perfusion. Normal perfusion. Diminished perfusion. Murmurs that indicate heart disease are often accompanied by other symptoms such as: Dyspnea on exertion. Subcutaneous emphysema. Thoracic petechiae. Periorbital edema. Which pregnancy-related physiologic change would place the patient with a history of cardiac disease at the greatest risk of developing severe cardiac problems? Decrease heart rate Decreased cardiac output Increased plasma volume Increased blood pressure The priority nursing diagnosis for the patient with cardiomyopathy is: Anxiety related to risk of declining health status. Ineffective individual coping related to fear of debilitating illness Fluid volume excess related to altered compensatory mechanisms. Decreased cardiac output related to reduced myocardial contractility. A patient with thrombophlebitis reached her expected outcomes of care. Her affected leg appears pink and warm. Her pedal pulse is palpable and there is no edema present. Which step in the nursing process is described above? Planning  Implementation Analysis Evaluation An elderly patient may have sustained a basilar skull fracture after slipping and falling on an icy sidewalk. The nurse knows that basilar skull factures: Are the least significant type of skull fracture. May have cause cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks from the nose or ears. Have no characteristic findings.  Are always surgically repaired.  Which of the following types of drugs might be given to control increased intracranial pressure (ICP)? Barbiturates Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors Anticholinergics Histamine receptor blockers The nurse is teaching family members of a patient with a concussion about the early signs of increased intracranial pressure (ICP). Which of the following would she cite as an early sign of increased ICP? Decreased systolic blood pressure Headache and vomiting Inability to wake the patient with noxious stimuli Dilated pupils that don’t react to light Jessie James is diagnosed with retinal detachment. Which intervention is the most important for this patient? Admitting him to the hospital on strict bed rest Patching both of his eyes Referring him to an ophthalmologist Preparing him for surgery Dr. Bruce Owen, a chemist, sustained a chemical burn to one eye. Which intervention takes priority for a patient with a chemical burn of the eye? Patch the affected eye and call the ophthalmologist. Administer a cycloplegic agent to reduce ciliary spasm. Immediately instill a tropical anesthetic, then irrigate the eye with saline solution. Administer antibiotics to reduce the risk of infection The nurse is assessing a patient and notes a Brudzinski’s sign and Kernig’s sign. These are two classic signs of which of the following disorders? Cerebrovascular accident (CVA) Meningitis Seizure disorder Parkinson’s disease A patient is admitted to the hospital for a brain biopsy. The nurse knows that the most common type of primary brain tumor is: Meningioma. Angioma. Hemangioblastoma. Glioma. The nurse should instruct the patient with Parkinson’s disease to avoid which of the following? Walking in an indoor shopping mall Sitting on the deck on a cool summer evening Walking to the car on a cold winter day Sitting on the beach in the sun on a summer day Gary Jordan suffered a cerebrovascular accident that left her unable to comprehend speech and unable to speak. This type of aphasia is known as: Receptive aphasia Expressive aphasia Global aphasia Conduction aphasia Kelly Smith complains that her headaches are occurring more frequently despite medications. Patients with a history of headaches should be taught to avoid: Freshly prepared meats. Citrus fruits. Skim milk Chocolate Immediately following cerebral aneurysm rupture, the patient usually complains of: Photophobia Explosive headache Seizures Hemiparesis Which of the following is a cause of embolic brain injury? Persistent hypertension Subarachnoid hemorrhage Atrial fibrillation Skull fracture Although Ms. Priestly has a spinal cord injury, she can still have sexual intercourse. Discharge teaching should make her aware that: She must remove indwelling urinary catheter prior to intercourse. She can no longer achieve orgasm. Positioning may be awkward. She can still get pregnant. Ivy Hopkins, age 25, suffered a cervical fracture requiring immobilization with halo traction. When caring for the patient in halo traction, the nurse must: Keep a wrench taped to the halo vest for quick removal if cardiopulmonary resuscitation is necessary. Remove the brace once a day to allow the patient to rest. Encourage the patient to use a pillow under the ring. Remove the brace so that the patient can shower. The nurse asks a patient’s husband if he understands why his wife is receiving nimodipine (Nimotop), since she suffered a cerebral aneurysm rupture. Which response by the husband indicates that he understands the drug’s use? â€Å"Nimodipine replaces calcium.† â€Å"Nimodipine promotes growth of blood vessels in the brain.† â€Å"Nimodipine reduces the brain’s demand for oxygen.† â€Å"Nimodipine reduces vasospasm in the brain.† Many men who suffer spinal injuries continue to be sexually active. The teaching plan for a man with a spinal cord injury should include sexually concerns. Which of the following injuries would most likely prevent erection and ejaculation? C5 C7 T4 S4 Cathy Bates, age 36, is a homemaker who frequently forgets to take her carbamazepine (Tegretol). As a result, she has been experiencing seizures. How can the nurse best help the patient remember to take her medication? Tell her take her medication at bedtime. Instruct her to take her medication after one of her favorite television shows. Explain that she should take her medication with breakfast. Tell her to buy an alarm watch to remind her. Richard Barnes was diagnosed with pneumococcal meningitis. What response by the patient indicates that he understands the precautions necessary with this diagnosis? â€Å"I’m so depressed because I can’t have any visitors for a week.† â€Å"Thank goodness, I’ll only be in isolation for 24 hours.† â€Å"The nurse told me that my urine and stool are also sources of meningitis bacteria.† â€Å"The doctor is a good friend of mine and won’t keep me in isolation.† An early symptom associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) includes: Fatigue while talking Change in mental status Numbness of the hands and feet Spontaneous fractures When caring for a patient with esophageal varices, the nurse knows that bleeding in this disorder usually stems from: Esophageal perforation Pulmonary hypertension Portal hypertension Peptic ulcers Tiffany Black is diagnosed with type A hepatitis. What special precautions should the nurse take when caring for this patient? Put on a mask and gown before entering the patient’s room. Wear gloves and a gown when removing the patient’s bedpan. Prevent the droplet spread of the organism. Use caution when bringing food to the patient. Discharge instructions for a patient who has been operated on for colorectal cancer include irrigating the colostomy. The nurse knows her teaching is effective when the patient states he’ll contact the doctor if: He experiences abdominal cramping while the irrigant is infusing He has difficulty inserting the irrigation tube into the stoma He expels flatus while the return is running out.  He’s unable to complete the procedure in 1 hour.  The nurse explains to the patient who has an abdominal perineal resection that an indwelling urinary catheter must be kept in place for several days afterward because: It prevents urinary tract infection following surgery.  It prevents urine retention and resulting pressure on the perineal wound It minimizes the risk of wound contamination by the urine.  It determines whether the surgery caused bladder trauma .The first day after, surgery the nurse finds no measurable fecal drainage from a patient’s colostomy stoma. What is the most appropriate nursing intervention? Call the doctor immediately. Obtain an order to irrigate the stoma. Place the patient on bed rest and call the doctor. Continue the current plan of care. If a patient’s GI tract is functioning but he’s unable to take foods by mouth, the preferred method of feeding is: Total parenteral nutrition Peripheral parenteral nutrition Enteral nutrition Oral liquid supplements Which type of solution causes water to shift from the cells into the plasma? Hypertonic Hypotonic Isotonic Alkaline Particles move from an area of greater osmelarity to one of lesser osmolarity through: Active transport Osmosis Diffusion Filtration Which assessment finding indicates dehydration? Tenting of chest skin when pinched Rapid filling of hand veins A pulse that isn’t easily obliterated Neck vein distention Which nursing intervention would most likely lead to a hypo-osmolar state? Performing nasogastric tube irrigation with normal saline solution Weighing the patient daily Administering tap water enema until the return is clear Encouraging the patient with excessive perspiration to dink broth Which assessment finding would indicate an extracellular fluid volume deficit? Bradycardia A central venous pressure of 6 mm Hg Pitting edema An orthostatic blood pressure change A patient with metabolic acidosis has a preexisting problem with the kidneys. Which other organ helps regulate blood pH? Liver Pancreas Lungs heart The nurse considers the patient anuric if the patient; Voids during the nighttime hours Has a urine output of less than 100 ml in 24 hours Has a urine output of at least 100 ml in 2 hours Has pain and burning on urination Which nursing action is appropriate to prevent infection when obtaining a sterile urine specimen from an indwelling urinary catheter? Aspirate urine from the tubing port using a sterile syringe and needle Disconnect the catheter from the tubing and obtain urine Open the drainage bag and pour out some urine Wear sterile gloves when obtaining urine After undergoing a transurethral resection of the prostate to treat benign prostatic hypertrophy, a patient is retuned to the room with continuous bladder irrigation in place. One day later, the patient reports bladder pain. What should the nurse do first? Increase the I.V. flow rate Notify the doctor immediately Assess the irrigation catheter for patency and drainage Administer meperidine (Demerol) as prescribed A patient comes to the hospital complaining of sudden onset of sharp, severe pain originating in the lumbar region and radiating around the side and toward the bladder. The patient also reports nausea and vomiting and appears pale, diaphoretic, and anxious. The doctor tentatively diagnoses renal calculi and orders flat-plate abdominal X-rays. Renal calculi can form anywhere in the urinary tract. What is their most common formation site? Kidney Ureter Bladder Urethra A patient comes to the hospital complaining of severe pain in the right flank, nausea, and vomiting. The doctor tentatively diagnoses right ureter-olithiasis (renal calculi). When planning this patient’s care, the nurse should assign highest priority to which nursing diagnosis? Pain Risk of infection Altered urinary elimination Altered nutrition: less than body requirements The nurse is reviewing the report of a patient’s routine urinalysis. Which of the following values should the nurse consider abnormal? Specific gravity of 1.002 Urine pH of 3 Absence of protein Absence of glucose A patient with suspected renal insufficiency is scheduled for a comprehensive diagnostic work-up. After the nurse explains the diagnostic tests, the patient asks which part of the kidney â€Å"does the work.† Which answer is correct? The glomerulus Bowman’s capsule The nephron The tubular system During a shock state, the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system exerts which of the following effects on renal function? Decreased urine output, increased reabsorption of sodium and water Decreased urine output, decreased reabsorption of sodium and water Increased urine output, increased reabsorption of sodium and water Increased urine output, decreased reabsorption of sodium and water While assessing a patient who complained of lower abdominal pressure, the nurse notes a firm mass extending above the symphysis pubis. The nurse suspects: A urinary tract infection Renal calculi An enlarged kidney A distended bladder Gregg Lohan, age 75, is admitted to the medical-surgical floor with weakness and left-sided chest pain. The symptoms have been present for several weeks after a viral illness. Which assessment finding is most symptomatic of pericarditis? Pericardial friction rub Bilateral crackles auscultated at the lung bases Pain unrelieved by a change in position Third heart sound (S3) James King is admitted to the hospital with right-side-heart failure. When assessing him for jugular vein distention, the nurse should position him: Lying on his side with the head of the bed flat. Sitting upright. Flat on his back. Lying on his back with the head of the bed elevated 30 to 45 degrees. The nurse is interviewing a slightly overweight 43-year-old man with mild emphysema and borderline hypertension. He admits to smoking a pack of cigarettes per day. When developing a teaching plan, which of the following should receive highest priority to help decrease respiratory complications? Weight reduction Decreasing salt intake Smoking cessation Decreasing caffeine intake What is the ratio of chest compressions to ventilations when one rescuer performs cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on an adult? 15:1 15:2 12:1 12:2 When assessing a patient for fluid and electrolyte balance, the nurse is aware that the organs most important in maintaining this balance are the: Pituitary gland and pancreas Liver and gallbladder. Brain stem and heart. Lungs and kidneys.

Night World : Spellbinder Chapter 12

Fhea settled on the box springs, not the most comfortable seat. â€Å"Now, this all happened back in the days when there was still magic, okay? And Helle-wise could do magic, and so could most of the people in her tribe. She was the daughter of Hecate Witch-Queen-â€Å" â€Å"She was a witch?† Roz sounded intrigued. â€Å"Well-they didn't call it that then. They called her a Hearth-Woman. And she didn't look like a Halloween witch. She was beautiful: tall, with long yellow hair-â€Å" â€Å"Like you.† â€Å"Huh? Oh.† Thea grinned. â€Å"Thanks, but, no. Helle-wise was really beautiful-and she was smart and strong, too. And when Hecate died, Hellewise became co-leader of the tribe. The other leader was her sister, Maya.† Rosamund's whole head was above the mattress now. She was listening with fierce, if skeptical, interest. â€Å"Now, Maya.† Thea chewed her lip. â€Å"Well, Maya was beautiful, too: tall, but with long black hair.† â€Å"Like that girl who came to the vet's after you.† Thea was briefly startled. She'd forgotten Rosamund had seen Blaise. â€Å"Well-uh, maybe a little. Anyway, Maya was smart and strong, too-but she didn't like having to share the leadership with Hellewise. She wanted to rule alone, and she wanted something else. To live forever.† â€Å"Sounds like a good idea to me,† Rosamund growled. â€Å"Well-yeah, there's nothing wrong with being immortal, I agree. Except, see, that it all depends on how much you're willing to pay to be it. Okay? Following me?† â€Å"Nope.† â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Thea floundered. Any Night Person would know immediately what she was talking about, even if by some outrageous chance they hadn't already heard the story. But of course humans were different. â€Å"Well, you see, it was a matter of what she had to do. No ordinary spell would make her immortal. She tried all sorts of things, and Hellewise even helped her. And finally they figured out what kind of spell would do it-but then Hellewise refused.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Because it was too awful. No, don't ask me,† Thea added as Rosamund's interest level immediately shot up. â€Å"I'm not going to tell you. It's not a subject for kids.' â€Å"What, what? If you don't tell me, I'm just going to imagine even worse things.† Thea sighed. â€Å"It had to do with babies, okay? And blood. But that's not the point of this story-† â€Å"They killed babies?† â€Å"Not Hellewise. Maya did. And Hellewise tried to stop her, but-† â€Å"I bet she drank the blood.† Thea stopped and looked hard at Rosamund. Human kids were ignorant, but not dumb. â€Å"Okay, yes, she drank the blood. Satisfied?† Roz grinned, nodded, and sat back, listening avidly. â€Å"Okay, so then Maya became immortal. But the thing was, she didn't know until afterward the price she'd have to pay. She would live forever-but only if she drank the blood of a mortal creature every day. Otherwise, she'd die.† â€Å"Like a vampire,† Rosamund said with relish. Thea was shocked for an instant, then she laughed at herself. Of course humans knew about vampires- the same way they knew about witches. Silly legends filled with misinformation. But that meant Thea could tell her own story without fear of being believed. â€Å"Just like a vampire, actually,' she said impressively, holding Rosamund's eyes. â€Å"Maya was the first vampire of all. And all her children were cursed to be vampires, too.† Roz snorted. â€Å"Vampires can't have children.† She looked doubtful. â€Å"Can they?† â€Å"The ones descended from Maya can,† Thea said. She wasn't going to say the word â€Å"lamia† to a human. â€Å"It's only the kind who get made into vampires by being bitten that can't. Maya had a vampire son called Red Fern and she bit people. That's the story, you see-Maya wanted to make everybody like her. So she started biting people in the tribe. And eventually Hellewise decided she had to stop it.† â€Å"How?† â€Å"Well, that was the problem. Hellewise's tribe wanted to fight with Maya and the other vampires. But Hellewise knew if they did that, they'd probably all get killed. Both sides. So Hellewise challenged Maya alone to a duel. Single combat.† Rosamund pushed the mattress over with a thump. â€Å"I'd fight a duel with Mr. Hendries-he's the boys' trekleader.† She jumped on the mattress and attacked a pillow with hands and feet-and teeth. â€Å"I'd win, too. He's out of shape.† â€Å"Well, Hellewise didn't want to fight, but she had to. She was scared, because as a vampire Maya was a lot stronger now.† For a moment, Thea thought about it, visualizing the old story the way she had as a child. Seeing Hellewise in her white leather shift, standing in the dark forest and waiting for Maya to come. And knowing that even if she won the fight, she'd probably die-and being brave enough to keep standing there. Being willing to give up everything for the people she loved, and for peace. I don't think I could ever be that brave. I mean, I'd certainly hope I would be, but I have a terrible feeling that I wouldn't. And then a strange thing happened. At that instant, she seemed to hear a voice, not her usual mind-voice, but one that was urgent and almost accusatory. Asking a question as if Thea hadn't just decided on the answer. Would you give up everything? Thea shifted. She didn't usually hear voices. I suppose that's what Hellewise must have been thinking, she told herself uneasily. â€Å"So what happened? Hey! Thea! What happened?† Rosamund was war-dancing on the mattress. â€Å"Oh. Well, it was a terrible fight, but Hellewise won. She drove Maya away. And the tribe was left in peace, and they all lived happily ever after†¦ um, except Hellewise. She died of her wounds.† Rosamund stopped dancing and stared in disbelief. â€Å"And you're telling me this to make me feel better? I never heard such a lousy story.† Her chin began to tremble. Thea forgot she was dealing with a human child. She held out her arms the way she had to Bud the puppy, the way she would have to any creature in pain-and Rosamund threw herself into them. â€Å"No, no,† Thea said, anxiously cuddling. â€Å"You see, the point is that Hellewise's people lived on, and they were free. And that may seem like a little thing, because they were just a little tribe, but that little tribe got bigger and bigger, and they stayed free. And all the witches in the world are descended from them, and they all remember Hellewise and honor her. It's a story every mother tells her daughters.† Rosamund breathed irregularly for a moment. â€Å"What about her sons?† â€Å"Well, her sons, too. When I say ‘daughters' I mean ‘sons and daughters.' It's just shorter.† One green eye looked up from a mop of shaggy hair. â€Å"like ‘he' and ‘him' are supposed to mean ‘she' and ‘her,' too?† â€Å"Yeah.† Thea thought. â€Å"I guess maybe neither is the best system.† She shrugged. â€Å"The important thing is that one woman's courage kept us-them- all free.† â€Å"Look.† Rosamund straightened up, staring through the hair. â€Å"Are you just jerking my chain or is that a true story? Because frankly you seem like a witch to me.† â€Å"That's what I was going to say,† an amused voice behind Thea said. Thea's head snapped around. The door was open a few inches and a woman was standing there. She was tall and lanky, with little glasses and long silky brown hair. Her expression reminded Thea of a look Eric got sometimes, a look of very sweet puzzlement, as if he'd suddenly been struck by one of life's overwhelming mysteries. But that didn't matter. What mattered was that she was a stranger. An Outsider. A human. Thea had been blurting out the secrets of the Night World, the history of the witches, and a human adult had been listening. Suddenly her hands and feet went numb. The golden haze disappeared, leaving her in a cold, gray reality. â€Å"I'm sorry,† the human was saying, but to Thea the voice seemed to come from a distance. â€Å"I didn't mean to startle you. I was just kidding. I really was enjoying the story-sort of a modern legend for kids, right?† Thea's eyes focused on another human behind the adult. Eric. He'd been listening, too. â€Å"Mom's such a kidder,† he said nervously. His green eyes were apologetic-and intense. As if he were trying to make a connection with Thea. But Thea didn't want to be connected. Couldn't be, to these people. She was surrounded by humans, trapped in one of their houses. She felt like the rattlesnake in a circle of big creatures with sticks. Sheer, raw panic overtook her. â€Å"You should be a writer, you know?† the human woman was saying. â€Å"All that creativity†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She took a step inside the room. Thea stood up, dumping Rosamund on the floor. They were coming at her-by now, the very walls seemed to be closing in. They were alien, cruel, sadistic, terrorizing, evil, not-her-kind. They were Cotton Mather and the Inquisition and they knew about her. They were going to point at her in the street and cry â€Å"Witch!† Thea ran. She slipped between Eric and his mother like a frightened cat, not touching either of them. She ran down the hall, through the living room, out the door. Outside, the sky was clouded over and it was getting dark. Thea only stopped long enough to get her bearings, then headed west, walking as fast as she could. Her heart was pounding and telling her to go faster. Get away, get away. Go to earth. Find home. She turned corners and zigzagged, like a fox being chased by the hounds. She was ten minutes from the house when she heard an engine pacing her. She looked. It was Eric's jeep. Eric was driving and his mother and Rosamund were passengers. â€Å"Thea, stop. Please wait.† Eric stopped the jeep and jumped out. He was on the sidewalk in front of her. Thea froze. â€Å"Listen to me,† he said in a low voice, turning away from the jeep. â€Å"I'm sorry they came, too-I couldn't stop them. Mom feels awful. She's crying, Roz is crying†¦ please, won't you come back?† He looked close to crying himself. Thea just felt numb. â€Å"It's okay. I'm fine,† she said at random. â€Å"I didn't mean to upset anybody.† Please let me go away. â€Å"Look, we shouldn't have eavesdropped. I know that. It was just†¦ you're so good with Rosamund. I never saw anybody she liked so much. And†¦ and†¦ I know you're sensitive about your grandma. That's why you're upset, isn't it? That story is something she told you, isn't it?† Dimly, somewhere in the pit of Thea's mind, a light shone. At least he thought it was a story. â€Å"We have family stories too,† Eric was saying, an edge of desperation in his voice. â€Å"My grandpa used to tell us he was a Martian-I swear to God this is true. And then he went to my kindergarten Back to School and I'd told all the kids he was a Martian, and they made these beep-beep noises at him and laughed, and I felt so bad. He was really embarrassed†¦.† He was babbling. Thea's numbness had receded enough that she felt sorry for him. But then a shape loomed up and she tensed again. It was his mother, silky hair flying. â€Å"Look, Thea,† Eric's mother said. Her expression was wretched and earnest. â€Å"Everybody knows your grandma, knows how old she is, how she's a little†¦ quirky. But if she's scaring you-if she's telling you any kind of weird stuff-† â€Å"Mom!† Eric shouted through his teeth. She waved a hand at him. Her little glasses were steamed up. â€Å"You don't need to deal with that, okay? No kid needs to deal with that. If you want a place to stay; if you need anything-if we need to call social services-â€Å" â€Å"Mom, please, I'm begging you. Shut up.† Social services, Thea was thinking. Dear Isis, there'll be some sort of investigation. The Harmans in court. Gran accused of being senile-or being part of some cult. And then the Night World coming in to enforce the law†¦. Her terror peaked and left her deadly calm. â€Å"It's okay,† she said, turning her gaze toward Eric. Not looking at him, but going through the motions exactly. â€Å"Your mom's just trying to be helpful. But really†-she turned the same face toward his mother-â€Å"everything's okay. Gran isn't strange or anything. She does tell stories-but she doesn't scare anybody.† Is that good enough? Close enough to whatever you believe? Will it make you leave me alone? Apparently so. â€Å"I just don't want to be responsible for you and Eric-well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Eric's mom exhaled nervously, almost a laugh. â€Å"Breaking up?† Thea made a sound that was also almost a laugh. â€Å"Don't worry. I'd never want that.† She turned a smile on Eric, looking down because she couldn't meet his eyes. â€Å"I'm sorry if I got- touchy. I was just-embarrassed, I guess. Like you said about your grandpa.† â€Å"Will you come back with us? Or let us take you home?† Eric's voice was soft. He wanted her to go back to his house. â€Å"Just home, if you don't mind. I've got homework.† She lifted her eyes, making herself smile again. Eric nodded. He didn't look happy, but he wasn't as upset as he had been. In the backseat of the jeep, Rosamund pushed up against Thea and squeezed her hand. â€Å"Don't be mad,† she hissed, fierce as ever. â€Å"Are you mad? I'm sorry. Want me to kill somebody for you?† â€Å"I'm not mad,† Thea whispered, looking over the top of Rosamund's shaggy head. â€Å"Don't worry about it.† She had reverted to the strategy of any trapped animal. Wait and watch for your chance. Don't fight until you see a real opportunity to get away. â€Å"See you tomorrow,† Eric said as she got out of the jeep. His voice was almost a plea. â€Å"See you tomorrow,† Thea said. It wasn't time to get away yet. She waved until the jeep was gone. Then it was time. She dashed inside, up the stairs, and straight to Blaise. â€Å"Wait a minute,† Blaise said. â€Å"Go back. So you're saying they didn't believe any of it.† â€Å"Right. At worst Eric's mom thinks Gran's bonkers. But it was a close call. For a while there I thought she might want to get Gran declared unfit or something.† The two of them were sitting on the floor by Blaise's bed where Thea had collapsed. Blaise was eating candy corn with one hand and scribbling on a yellow legal pad with the other, all the while listening attentively. Because that was the thing about Blaise. She might be vain and self-centered, quarrelsome, hot-tempered, lazy, unkind to humans, and generally hard to live with, but she came through for family. She was a witch. I'm sorry I said you might be a little like Maya, Thea thought. â€Å"It's my fault,† she said out loud. â€Å"Yes, it is,† Blaise said, scribbling. â€Å"I should have just found some way to keep him at a distance in the beginning.† But of course, it was because of Blaise that she hadn't. She'd thought Eric was safer with her than he would have been with Blaise. She'd thought that somehow†¦ somehow†¦ Things would work out. That was it. There had always been some secret underlying hope that there could be a future with Eric. Some little hiding place where she'd kept the hope that things could be all right. But now she had to face reality. There was no future. The only thing she could give Eric was death. And that was all he could give her. She'd realized that, all in one terrible explosion of insight when she'd seen Eric's mother in the room. There was no way for them to be together without being discovered. Even if they ran away, someday, somewhere, the Night People would find them. They'd be brought before the joint Night World Council, the vampire and witch elders. And then the law would be fulfilled†¦. Thea had never seen an execution, but she'd heard of them. And if the Harmans tried to stop the Council from killing her, it would start a war. Witches against vampires. Maybe even witches against witches. It could mean the end of everything. â€Å"So it doesn't look like we have to kill the mother,† Blaise said, frowning at her scribbles. â€Å"On the other hand, if we kill the kids, the mother's bound to be unhappy, and might make a connection. So to be safe-â€Å" â€Å"We can't kill any of them,† Thea said. Her voice was muted but final. â€Å"I don't mean ourselves. I'm going to call one of our friendly vampire cousins. Ash-he's supposed to be out on the West Coast somewhere, isn't he? Or Quinn, he likes that kind of thing. One quick bite, let the blood run out-â€Å" â€Å"Blaise, I am not going to let vampires kill Eric. Or anybody,† she added as Blaise opened her mouth. â€Å"It's not necessary. Nobody needs to die.† â€Å"So you have a better idea?† Thea looked at a statue of Isis, the Queen of Egyptian Goddesses, on the desk. â€Å"I†¦ don't know. I thought of the Cup of Lethe. Make them forget everything about me. But it might look suspicious-this entire family with a gap in their memory. And kids at school would wonder why Eric doesn't remember my name anymore.† â€Å"True.† Thea stared at the moon held between Isis's golden horns. Her brain, which had been working so coldly and logically, helping her to survive, was stalling now. There had to be a way to save Eric and his family-or what was the point of living herself? Then she saw it. â€Å"What I really think would be best,† she said slowly, because it hurt like a physical pain, â€Å"would be for Eric to stop caring about me. To fall in love with someone else.† Blaise sat back. She stirred the candy corn with long, elegant nails. She ate a piece. â€Å"I admire you,† she said. â€Å"Very sensible.† â€Å"Not yon,† Thea said through clenched teeth. â€Å"You understand that, right? A human. If he falls in love with another girl he'll forget about me without any Lethe. Nobody will disappear or have amnesia; nobody will get suspicious.† â€Å"Okay. Although I would've liked to try him. He's got a strong will-I think he'd have held out for a while. Been a challenge.† Thea ignored this. â€Å"I still have some of his blood. The question is, do you have something you've been holding back, some love spell that will completely blow him out of the water?† Blaise ate another piece of candy corn. â€Å"Of course I do.† She narrowed her gray eyes. â€Å"Also, of course, it's a forbidden spell.† â€Å"I figured. Blaise, I'm now the princess of forbidden spells. One more doesn't matter. But I'll do the actual working, I don't want you to get in trouble.† â€Å"You won't like it. It involves the bezoar stone from the stomach of an ibex-which I just happened to pick up while we were living with Aunt Gerdeth.† Ibex were an endangered species. But this one was already dead. â€Å"I'll do the working,† Thea said stubbornly. â€Å"You really care about him, don't you?† â€Å"Yes,† Thea whispered. â€Å"I still think we're soul-mates. But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Would you give up everything? â€Å"I don't want to be the reason he dies. Or the reason a war starts between the Harmans and the rest of the Night World. And if I have to give him up, I'd rather do it myself, make sure he's safe with somebody else who loves him.† â€Å"Have you got somebody picked out?† â€Å"Her name is Pilar.† Thea looked at her cousin suddenly. â€Å"Blaise? When Luke asked you what you wanted, and you said nothing you could have†¦ what did you mean?† Blaise tilted her head back and examined the ceiling. Then she looked down. â€Å"Does anybody ever want anything they can have? Really?† â€Å"I†¦ don't know.† Blaise clasped her knees and rested her chin on them. â€Å"If we can have things, we don't really want them anymore. So there's always something out there that we're wanting and not able to get†¦ and maybe that's good.† It didn't sound good to Thea. It sounded like one of those terrible lessons in Life 101 that were supposed to make you more mature. â€Å"Let's do the spell,† she said.

Norman Morrison and The Things They Carried

War has such a violent nature that it has affected many individuals in many different ways. The most obvious of these is through the lives of the soldiers who experience it first-hand. However, even those who simply follow its progress and who have empathy for those in the wake of such mass slaughter are affected by the event. Because of the savageness in war and the resulting psychological and emotional effects of this experience on such war-ravaged men, many writers have tried to tackle the subject. Norman Morrison and The Things They Carried are two literary pieces that have reflected the gravity of warfare and its impact on men who have struggled with its violence. Tim O’Brien and Adrian Mitchell wrote pieces that resounded with their views on war. Both employed the use of the lives of their characters to get a point across to their readers. War is terrible. Its effects echo on in an individual’s life and the images of the terror of war is eternally implanted in the lives of those who survive it. â€Å"He was a slim, dead, almost dainty young man of about twenty. He lay with one leg bent beneath him, his jaw in his throat, his face neither expressive nor inexpressive. One eye was shut. The other was a star-shaped hole.† (O’Brien, 1998) The drive of both pieces is to show the effect of the deaths of those considered to be the â€Å"enemy† on those involved in the war. War is not indiscriminate hate but indiscriminate killing and both writers condemn these violent acts through their words. O’Brien (1998) shows this clearly through The Man I Killed while Mitchell (1997) does so through the life of a man, Norman Morrison, who fought the war every day in his heart, at home. The two works are very comprehensive in sharing with the reader the experience of the war and the experience of life after the war. Although the actions of these individual’s are clearly a result of psychological disorders, Tim O’Brien and Adrian Mitchell give their audience a look into the mindsets of those who are actually experiencing these events. It is not a trip into the mind of disturbed individuals who have lost control of themselves but rather it is a clear view into the life of someone who has experienced darkness and terror and who cannot, for the life of him, resolve it with the comforts and peace that he once knew. â€Å"All that peace, man, it felt so good it hurt. I want to hurt it back.† (O’Brien, 1998) Norman Morrison was a completely new aspect of the war that no one was prepared to see. Although the war’s effects on the soldiers were already clear, its effects on those left â€Å"at home† was not. Yes, there were those actively voicing out their concerns about the events, denouncing the war and demanding a stop to the violence, but how far did it go? How far did their empathy for those involved in the war go? Mitchell (1997) answers this for us, â€Å"He simply burned away his clothes, his passport, his pink-tinted skin, put on a new skin of flame and became Vietnamese.† Thus war became not only about those on foreign shores, not only about those holding the guns and the ammunitions. It became something more palpable. It became about everyone who was part of the countries at war. It became about the victims in the country where the war was happening and about those from the opposite country who felt not only for their own soldiers but also for the â€Å"innocent† victims. In conclusion, it can be said that both literary pieces spoke of war. Both presented it through the lives of individuals who were involved in the war. This involvement was broad and included all of those who empathized with the events involved in war and those whose lives were directly affected by the violence. The tragic deaths of those in the path of the savage war were the tipping point that drove many individuals to the brink. References O’Brien, T. (1998). The things they carried. New York: Broadway Books Mitchell, A. (1997) Norman Morrison. In Out Loud. London: W.H. Allen Publishers

Cost Scenario Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cost Scenario - Case Study Example Balance 30,000 may be outsourced to the OEM at US$14. Here again, the variable cost has to be reduced to US$5. Lisa Morgan will forfeit the larger part of her bonus, but she will receive some bonus for running the factory at capacity. ClearHear appears to be losing out due to underutilization of capacity. ClearHear must work on costing based on volumes so that they have clear prices to offer on voluminous orders like the present order. There is maximum risk potential when the order is outsourced. The OEM has good track record on delivery and has won several quality awards for its manufacturing processes. However, once the order is outsourced to this OEM, the risk potential exists until the goods are delivered. Internally too, there is risk potential due to decrease in the amount of variable cost. Nevertheless, due to the volume of the order, there is the possibility of reducing the variable cost without compromising quality. In my opinion, Option 2 is the best alternative solution. This is the only option for ClearHear to get the job done through a reliable OEM at a cost it cannot manufacture the cell phones. The problem of acting against the company's statement of values exists in this option. ... It would be better if the variable cost can be reduced further to US$4. In option 2, the order is outsourced to an OEM. The OEM is reliable and has its own manufacturing facilities. The OEM is as good as ClearHear, or even better, where production is concerned. Risk Analysis There is maximum risk potential when the order is outsourced. The OEM has good track record on delivery and has won several quality awards for its manufacturing processes. However, once the order is outsourced to this OEM, the risk potential exists until the goods are delivered. Internally too, there is risk potential due to decrease in the amount of variable cost. Nevertheless, due to the volume of the order, there is the possibility of reducing the variable cost without compromising quality. Risk factor can happen through any unforeseen event, acts of God, contingencies, etc. Recommendation of the best alternative solution In my opinion, Option 2 is the best alternative solution. This is the only option for ClearHear to get the job done through a reliable OEM at a cost it cannot manufacture the cell phones. The problem of acting against the company's statement of values exists in this option. However, this has to be balanced against cutting down on variable costs and increasing risk of encountering loss in the event the variable cost cannot be brought down to US$5 (Opportunity Cost). Outsourcing is valuable and valid and this option must be exercised when other options fail to satisfy the business needs. The business exists to make profits. It does not make sense to reject the order due to inability to hold on to company's statement of values. It is possible to keep the employees working by securing orders where the prices do not have to be slashed (Cost Concepts). Conclusion There is

How do external definitions of good and bad mothers and fathers impact Essay

How do external definitions of good and bad mothers and fathers impact on the actual experience of parenthood - Essay Example Also, good and bad have been defined by the respective culture and identity of mother and father rests in the context of their society. However, actual experience moves beyond these stereotypes. Kath Woodward (2002) in her book on Understanding Identity brings up the conflict between self identity and the society created images of the self and the ideal. Though identity is a matter of the individual, it is never free of social stigma and external definitions. She redefines ‘identity’ to encapsulate â€Å"the way of thinking about the links between the personal and the social† (2002). This psycho-social definition of identity offers another perspective of the stereotyping of mothers and fathers Vs actual experience of parenting. She discusses on the relative nature of the reality of parenting. The latter might be the identity they create for themselves, but however hard they strive, the identity cannot be free of the social context and definitions. Kath’s sociological definition of identity is not new, but could be traced back to Adam Smith’s Wealth of the Nations. The concept of individualized self is a modern invention, though. Kath, in th e modern context, reinvents the older concept. Kath also analyses the identity of motherhood with respect to the bodies and selves. She says that the first thing a woman could relate to in her role as a mother is her body. This could be symbols and evidence of patriarchal control of female body. However, the child evokes tenderness in her as against the anger toward the male body. This conflict is discussed by Rich. Any role is not subjective and is always relative to the others involved. For example, parent is relative to the child and the vice versa; the role of the teacher is relative to the role of the student. So roles are modified and moulded according to their relative positions and the feedback from the related roles. In addition, it is dependent on the expectations

Sociology- Pres candidates compaigning about family concerns Essay

Sociology- Pres candidates compaigning about family concerns - Essay Example They all, regardless of the era, have had a main focus on public policy issues, especially those that affect minorities and the poorer classes, and those that affect the middle and upper classes. Intricate issues, such as the country’s economic status, outline the democratic and the republican campaign. Accordingly, the crisis that America faces today is comparable, as many have noted, to the Great Depression. With depression there comes a sense of urgency and panic by the American people, causing voters to study the opposing candidates, to find out which candidate best represents the American public. In the 2008 presidential race, not only has economics played a huge role, but the moral fiber of both candidates has been repeatedly exploited, revealing John McCain and Barack Obama’s position on the family. There are four lucid issues that directly affect the family: the increase of federal taxes, outsourcing of jobs, the importance of setting a timetable for the withdra wal of troops from Iraq, and parental consent for minors to have abortions. Seemingly, John McCain’s definition of the family is more conventional, nothing outside the box, very strict orderliness. McCain, as is standard of the Republican Party, values the wealth of the family. Thus, his views reflect those of the upper class. On the four aforementioned issues that affect the family, McCain will not raise federal taxes, which, in essence, insinuates that those who make the less will pay the most. McCain also is for the outsourcing of jobs. Since the world is becoming more globalized, it is up to the American people to adjust. It is similar to Darwin’s survival of the fittest theory--only the strongest (richest) will be able to fully thrive in a globalized world. Furthermore, McCain is against setting a timetable for troop withdrawal. This is interesting because war in general severs the family.

Employee Ownership and Effect on Attitude Essay

Employee Ownership and Effect on Attitude - Essay Example Majority believe that employees sharing ownership tend to be hard workers who subsequently pay more attention to the quality of the work that they deliver compared to their non-owner counterparts. Moreover, Keef (1998) further asserts that employ owners are also highly inclined to vote their shares for the interest of an organization. Klein (1987) also recognizes certain sociological effects of employee share ownership within an organization. He posits that allowing employees to some ownership of a company is a form of wealth distribution among workers and consequently enhance the wide and equitable distribution of the products of economic success. Consequently, this also serves to reduce possible management or labour-related conflicts. Some proponents of the employee ownership have also approached the issue from a political stance and have viewed the strategy as a symbol of economic democracy within an organization. Nevertheless, there have been a number of concerns that have been r aised by the opponents of employee ownership. Most have argued that by allowing employees to own a stake in an organization, they are likely to be exposed to unwarranted risks. In addition, there will also be a likelihood of an increase of management and labour-related conflicts. ... companies. Employee ownership can take place in a number of ways. The process is usually multidimensional in its approach. When talking about employee ownership, there are four major aspects that normally come in mind. To begin with, the first dimension of employee ownership is the determination of the percentage of workers who will actively participate in ownership of the firm. Another aspect to be taken into account when making decision pertaining to employee ownership is the percentage of ownership to be held by employees within an organization. Similarly, prior to allowing employees to have the legal ownership of a company’s shares, the rights and privileges employees will have as result of owning a stake in the company will also be determined. The rights and privileges held by the employees are usually determined by the manner in which the employees own the company’s shares (Trewhitt, 2000). Employees can assume either direct or indirect ownership of a company. In indirect ownership of a company, the employees own the company’s stocks through a workers trust, whereas for direct ownership, employees can willingly purchase or sale a company’s stocks. Kruse (2002) affirms that nearly 7.7% percent of all workers in the private sector in the U.S. own shares in their companies either directly or indirectly, a figure that translates to nearly 20 million workers. According to Vuaghan (1995) employee ownership may have a positive effect on behaviour and attitude of employees on the condition that such employees regard the value of their ownership as a means for greater income and job security. On the contrary, it may pose very little or no effect on their attitude and behaviour or even have a negative influence on the same if the

Imagine you are a business owner; discuss debt financing, types of Assignment

Imagine you are a business owner; discuss debt financing, types of risk, beta, and investments - Assignment Example This would give you a better idea to stock only as much as you would need. For a small business the ratios can do wonders as it utilizes current cash flows to determine how much cash would be flowing in the future. Most importantly for a small business like mine the financial ratios help to identify the weaknesses and the strengths of the business. This way the retailer can have a better understanding on how to play his cards in order to make his business flourish. A few ratios that tend to be important to a small business would be income ratios, liquidity ratios, and profitability ratios. Though what seems important for a small business enterprise will not be as important for a larger business enterprise. Thus larger business corporations have to consider retailers and wholesalers, for them it’s the ratio is of total assets and total liabilities. They have manufactures and a number of other liabilities and ratios that need to be accounted for while the workings of a small business are fairly simple. Another important factor in managing small businesses that is debt financing. Most small businesses do not require large investments and so they use debt financing. Debt financing is all about taking a loan from the bank to finance the newly found business practice. Debt financing surely has its upsides and downsides. We shall discuss the upside first; debt financing allows you to have full control over your business practices unlike having a partner. Another one would be the tax benefits involved (Bragg, 2011). Another important factor would be that the amount due is fixed and so can be managed over the months’ time because it is easier to generate the amount with a target in mind. Last but not least no amount of profit generated is up for sharing. Where theres an upside theyre bound to be a downside as well. The debt financing brings along with the

Genome-wide screen for Salmonella genes required for long-term Essay

Genome-wide screen for Salmonella genes required for long-term systemic infection of the mouse - Essay Example In this respect animal models of the disease process being caused by Salmonella have proved to be quite useful. The process by which Salmonella invades and then onwards maintains itself in the host species is not only a complicated but indeed and intriguing process. It is also an example of adaptive evolution and selective preservation of a genotype. Given its prevalence across a range of warm blooded hosts it has been possible to study the infection and virulence factors in several species. For instance while, murine infection with Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium has been used largely to replicate human typhoid (caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi), bovine infection caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Dublin or S. enterica serovar Typhimurium has been the extensively used to model intestinal disease. The ability of Salmonella to exist within its host for months following the initial invasion requires it to resist any innate immunity or more likely evolve/adapt to resist the host resistance. Since these bacteria are well able to establish long term system infection in their hosts, the genetic factors responsible for such ability need to be well established to counteract any pathogeneicity. While, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi is a strictly human pathogen, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium is a murine pathogen that is increasingly been used to model human typhoid (caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi). ... In the mouse model, S. Typhimurium invades epithelial cells and can survive and proliferate in macrophage before entering the blood stream and causing a systemic infection. The macrophages are ideal places for the bacteria as they are able to elude the host's immune response in this. Indeed it has been evidenced that the longest duration of stay for slamonella within the host occurs in the macrophages. However for the most part understanding of the murine salmonella species has been limited to the Nramp1 susceptible (Nramp1s) mouse strains i.e. the BALB/c and C57Bl/6. Macrophages from Nramp1s mice permit a much higher rate of serovar Typhimurium replication in vitro as well as in vivo as compared to Nramp1r (Nramp1 is functional) macrophages. While this has upuntil date allowed for observation of the diseased condition, the hosts (mice) invariably are most severly affected by the bacteteria considerabily limiting the scope of study. The paper here however focuses on the novel Salmonella persistence model based on the mouse strain 129X1/SvJ (Nramp1r), which are typically resistant to the replication of the bacteria not succumbing easily to the virulence. Consequently the bacteria can be obtained from systemic sites even up to an year post infection which would help to increase the time spectrum of study if need be. Clearly as intricate an adaptive mechanism as seen in the samlonella species would require the contribution of several genes and virulence factors.The invasion-associated genes are required for intestinal secretory and inflammatory disease, that intracellular survival in both the intestinal epithelium and macrophages is essential for

Microscopy, Cardiac muscle, Cornea, Eye Essay Example for Free

Microscopy, Cardiac muscle, Cornea, Eye Essay Abstract: Short {250 words max) overview of the experience that will summarize the objectives, methods, data collection and conclusion for the reader. This is a snapshot (advertisement) of your paper to entice the reader! Introduction: {WHY} you did this lab. For observation and dissection lab reports you simply want to inform the reader of your prior research/ readings on the subject and point out that before you did the experiment you had gaps in your knowledge and understanding of the topic. In other words this is the objectives section! Materials and methods- list the materials needed to repeat this lab and describe your methods {dissection procedure), how to use the microscope. Results/Observation Table Specimen Image/ Name/ magnification| Structures | Examples and functions| (Image)| Cell types, structures present, identification specific characteristics.| Describe where it is found in the body, its function as a unit or within a system.| | | | | | | | | | | | | Explanation of results: describe what you have observed as a narrative of the observation table in detail to a reader as if they were not there. Discussion- The â€Å"so what† portion of the lab report! Discuss findings and the significance of your data. You can use strong first person statements like I conclude that the samples of cardiac muscle were significantly different from skeletal muscles in that cardiac muscle tissue shows obvious intercalated disks and lacks the multinucleate presence of the skeletal muscle. Include a sentence or two on How to improve the experiment in the future or what the next step could be†¦ References: APA format is common and most acceptable. Sample discussion: The student performed the sheep eye dissection by following the standard procedure outlined in the Carolina guide. This dissection required proper safety equipment and attention to detail when making the initial incision through the sclera in order to maintain the choroid and retinal areas within the eye. The student used dissection scissors to remove the outer muscles and expose the location of the optic nerve within the adipose protective tissue associated with the posterior and lateral eye. Scissors were used to further open the sclera since the pressure from the scalpel would detach internal structures. Delicate and precise incisions were required to maintain the lens and attachment to the cilliary bodies or ligaments that suspend the lens within the aqueous humor behind the cornea. Aqueous humor and vitreous humor were observed in situ as the cornea and sclera were separated using scissors and pins to stabilize the specimen. The student made note of the unique structure called the tapetum which allows the sheep to have acute nocturnal vision. The tapetum is located deep to the retina and serves as a reflector and enhancer of the light wavelengths available at night. Having completed the dissection the student decided to further the experience in a future lab by comparing eye structures of other mammals or non-mammal animals in order to determine if there are structural similarities to the mammal eye.

Stakeholder Analysis Strategy And Convergence And Divergence Management Essay

Stakeholder Analysis Strategy And Convergence And Divergence Management Essay Prior to implementing a companywide change, it is important to get stakeholders on board. Organisations take their stakeholders into confidence, just to ensure the smooth transition, since they are the one who will be affected by the change. For an organisation stakeholder can be its employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders, managers, government, local community, creditors etc. n order to achieve this goal, stakeholder analyses are carried out. Stakeholder Analysis The process of identifying those who will be affected by the actions of organisation. It also enables the managers to analyze the attitudes of stakeholders towards the change. In order to carry out these analysis, following steps are taken: Identify the stakeholders in stakeholder analysis the first step is to come up with the list of any who will be affected by the organisational actions, this can include an individual, a group or an organisation. The possible stakeholders for Gill Construction can be: new Managing Director previous MD senior managers suppliers lenders / banks customers public future recruits, environment protection groups regulatory bodies Prioritize your stakeholders For organisations the list of stakeholders can be very long, in one case of university 20,000 stakeholders were identified. This doesnt mean that everyone is very important to the organisation. Hence the next step in stakeholder analysis is to prioritize stakeholders. This can be done using Power / Interest Grid. Using this grid, Gill construction can identify their key stakeholders, which can be: new Managing Director senior managers suppliers lenders / banks customers public environment protection groups and regulatory bodies existing workforce Stakeholder analysis strategy Understand Your Key Stakeholders this is the last step in stakeholder analysis. It focuses on understanding the key stakeholders, and defines the way they will be affected. It also highlights the interests stakeholders have with the organisation. It answers the following question: What financial or emotional interest do they have in the outcome of change? Is it positive or negative? What motivates them? What information do they want? How do they want to receive information? What is the best way of communicating with them? What is their current opinion? Is it based on good information? Who influences their opinions generally? Do some of these influencers therefore become important stakeholders in their own right? If they are not likely to be positive, what will win them around to support change? How to manage their opposition How they can influence others by their opinion? Convergence and Divergence Another model adopted by management gurus to analyze the stakeholders. It enables the managers to identify the factors which are opposing the stakeholders and which are supporting it. Divergence analysis of the factors which are opposing the change for stakeholders. The first step is to identify the basic change factors which are causing the opposition, these can be beliefs, values, and goals associated with the stake holders. Managers need to answers like What are their beliefs about change and which have led them to oppose it? What are the values being transgressed by change actions? Are their stress values being triggered? How is the change affecting their career social goals? Managers also need into their perception of the change, analyzing this can give them huge edge converting their opposition. They need to answer questions like What do they think about change? What do they think will happen? How do they look at other stakeholders? Convergence elements which are supporting the change. It is much focused on those who oppose the change. Managers need to understand who they are dealing with, what they are capabable how and how they can affect them. For-example A regulatory body or HSE will have permission to shut down the work in progress if they find anything in violation of the laws. Also in case of Supply chain, they may also ruin their relationship with the supplier. Banks and Lenders will have their leverage over the organisation since a loan was taken for the purchase of new machinery. Managers need to look into the following cases: How the stakeholder will be managed? Do they need any leadership or they will just follow? What made them follow the leadership How will they support the change? How prepared are they for the change? Evaluate the systems used to involve stakeholders in the planning of change Stakeholders Circle: A tool designed to gain stakeholder commitment and involve the key stakeholders in developing a change management strategy. This cycle has six steps and also known as Six Steps Stakeholders Cycle Identify the stakeholders The first step is to identify the key stakeholders, which can influence and have interest within the organisation. Prioritize the stake holders Managers need to identify the key stakeholder using the Power-Interest Grid. For Gill Construction these key stakeholders are : MD Employees Management Customers Suppliers Regulatory Bodies Map the Profile next step is to map the profile, how will they be affected, what is in the change for them, how they can be supported, what kind of support we can get from them, what are their culture and values. All the questions will be answered at this point Engagement strategy At this point a managers need to decide how they are going to address the issues of stakeholders in order to gain their commitment and support. New MD of Gill Construction need to hold a meeting with management of the company. Clearly define what He wants to achieve and what his goals are. Since his goal is to improve the quality of the work done and also expand the business. It will be then the job of Management to directly contact their respective staff members and explain the situation to them. Ideas for improvement will be taken. Meeting and Presentations will be held with suppliers and explain your objective to them. Also Management will seek advice from regulatory bodies to assists them in improving the H S at workplace. Banks and Lenders will also be taken into confidence. A clear business plan will be presented to them. Optimise their Support next step in this cycle is to optimise the support from stakeholders. Managers need to be very clear and specific about their objective to the stakeholder and try to get most out of them. They need to keep good relationships with their lenders/ banks and suppliers. Monitor the last and final stage is to monitor the strategy. They need to keep going back to their stakeholders and ensure their support is still with them. If they have any kind of doubts they need to clear them out. Develop a change management strategy with stakeholders A strategy will be formed which will help management at Gill Construction to gain commitment from their stakeholders. A general change management strategy involves three steps: Situational awareness before a companywide change is implemented, everyone will be made aware of the change and what is going to happen in result of this change. A vision will be created Stakeholders will be informed that how this will effect. Suppliers will be notified about what will be expected of them. Employees will be taken into confidence to avoid panic. Supporting structures second step is to structure teams and sponsor coalition. They will be debriefed about who is going to do what. If they will be let go off, they will be informed at this stage. They will be informed that they need to trained to operate the new machinery. Bank or Lender will be informed about new purchases and equipment. New policy about H S will be sent to HSE and they will be informed about it. Suppliers will be contacted and new terms regarding JIT will be set, also material price will be revisited.   Strategy analysis this stage involves risk analysis to be carried out. what degree of risk is involved in this change. What will happen if this strategy fails. In case there is no progress even after this change, what will we do, what if lenders refuse to pass a load. In case of resistance from stakeholders a resistance to change strategy will be required. Management will give their best to negotiate on good terms with the suppliers and use the bargaining power. Management also need to convince the bank and lenders to pass the load and take them into confidence. Create a strategy for managing resistance to change It is in human nature that whenever they are asked to move out of their comfort zone or change, they resist it. When organisations go under change it is very obvious that stakeholders will be afraid of its outcome. Hence it is very important to manage this resistance because this resistance can raise the risk factor during the change or transition process. Passive versus Active Resistance A framework adopted from Active Passive Being critical Agreeing verbally but not following through Ridiculing failing to implement change Appealing to fear Procrastinating or  dragging one feet Using facts selectively Feigning ignorance Blaming or accusing Withholding information, suggestion, help or support Intimidating or threatening Standing by or allowing change to fail Manipulating Blocking Starting rumours Arguing Managing Resistance Before a change is implemented it is very important for managers to either eliminate resistance completely or bring it down to a very lower level such that it has a very minor effect. There can be number of ways for managing this resistance. Some of the ways adopted by Gill Construction can be: Communication everyone within the organisation should be made aware of the situation. Managers need to communicate openly with all the stakeholders and discuss the issues with them. Even if they are supporting the change management need to check with them back to back to ensure the full commitment. Management need to hold meetings, brainstorming session with the staff and communicate with them. Suggestions will be taken from the staff and their participation will be encouraged. Training staff will be provided with appropriate training to build up their skills so that they can operate the new machinery. This will help to eliminate the resistance put up by the operational workforce. Also work-shops will be held with other staff to ensure that they are not left behind. They will be provided with the information and steps involved in this transition will be explained to them. Feedback Taking feedback or suggestions from the stakeholders is always the best way to gain their commitment. This shows to them that management is still listening to them and they hold a value to them. Taking feedback about the training is also good to monitor the staff performance. Develop appropriate models for change In the current scenario, Gill Construction has newly appointed Managing Director, who is not very happy with the current operational situation of the organization .He wants to improve the internal situation of the organization as well as the product quality. In past there were a lot of incidents related to poor health and safety at work place, this was due to the fact that no one was following the policy. Also there were cases of project being delayed due to the lack of appropriate equipment and machinery. Since the management decided to go under a change they have faced a heavy resistance from Suppliers, and employees. Also there were concerns over H S policy. The appropriate change management model for Gill construction would be ADKAR model by Prosci. Awareness Management need to create awareness among all the stakeholders and communicate the vision to them clearly, this will help to get them on board. Meeting will be held with suppliers and explain to them about the Just in Time approach for the material in order to avoid storage costs and material wastage. Employees will be explained that what will be expected of them. They will be informed about the new machinery and equipment and their usage. They will also be debriefed about following H S policies or they will face fine. Desire next step is to get feedback from the stakeholders and see what they desire. Full stakeholder participation will be encouraged. They will also monitor the desire for the stakeholders to change. This will be done using meeting and brainstorming sessions Knowledge next step is to educate and train the staff. This will help to motivate the work force and gain their trust. A list will be made regarding the skills and knowledge needed to support the change. If the supplier can provide the stuff on time. Ability even if the stakeholders have the skills and knowledge to support the change but do they have the ability to support it. For-example Supplier has the complete knowledge of JIT and has skilled work force but do not have enough sources or ability to carry it out. Same is the case with employees they might have skills to operate the machinery but they might not have ability to work at a certain place Reinforcement   the last step is to reinforce the sources to retain change. Training should be provided to the staff to motivate them and make them feel empower. Also managers need to look if the current supplier cannot agree on the new terms than a new supplier might be required. Plan to implement a model for change Organizational Development A companywide effort to increase organizations effectiveness. It focuses to change the beliefs, attitudes, values, and structure of the organization, so that it can adopt the change e.g. technological or new market or competitor. OD involves process re-engineering and system re-structuring within the organization to increase the effectiveness. Business Process Re-engineering- the complete rethinking, redesigning and reengineering of the business process. The process of material delivery or supply chain will be redesigned. Supplier will be asked to adopt the JIT approach and supply the material at right time. The material will be kept in very low quantity, and if there is need of more material Mangers have to inform supplier prior to 3-days. They will demand for more stock when they have 20% of the stock left. Also Management will adopt a strict approach towards H S policies at work place. If anyone found in violation of these policies will be heavily fined. Customers will be in direct contact with the Project Manager and everything will be done through him. Project Manager will discuss the issues with senior management on weekly basis. Push-Pull Strategy In the current system, organization is following the Push Strategy, which means the stock is Supplier driven. The demand for material is sent to the supplier and it is then delivered but it is resulting in overstocking and in some cases delays which is unacceptable. Hence a new strategy is required, which will be Pull based supply chain. In this strategy the order is placed by the organization in the required quantity, and supplier has to deliver that on time. This will be a mix of Push and Pull. The demand will be given by Gill Construction when the stock reached the 20% mark, and then supplier will be required to deliver the material as demanded. Develop appropriate measures to monitor progress Once the change implementation strategy is planned, the next step is to put appropriate measures in place which will monitor the performance. This can be achieved with the use of following: Goal-based evaluation the aim of this evaluation is to monitor the performance of change and see if the desired goals have been achieved, this involves: Formulating clear goals, what we wanted to achieve. The goal was to improve the operational quality and supply chain. The next step is to align the organizational goals with the change goals. Gill Construction aim is to provide quality service to the client and gaining customer satisfaction, that will be aligned with the goals for change, the change was required to improve supply chain, and also service quality by using new equipment. Next step is to recognize if we have achieved our goals. The effectiveness of supply chain can be checked by measuring waste levels. Also work force commitment can be seen by appraisals and the percentage of accidents at work place. Process-based evaluation it is another tool which measures the effectiveness on the basis of process performance. This checks if the process redesigning has improved the service quality. It will focus on the supply chain process and see if the process has shown its effectiveness. Are the stakeholders happy with the process. The new process for customers to be in direct contact with project manager and not with head office, is it really helping customers or not. Feedback can be taken at this point, which can assists the managers in monitoring the situation.

Age of Reason Essay -- Enlightenment

An Age of Reason â€Å"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.† This brief quotation was spoken by the famous writer and philosopher Voltaire; I believe it vaguely points out that some people are full of absurd ideas, and for others to follow such nonsense is foolish. The quote is just a taste of Voltaire’s wisdom and knowledge of the world, during the Age of Reason. The Age of Reason or The Enlightenment is defined as a change in not just a way of thinking, but an establishment of values and rational actions. â€Å"Based on Immanuel Kant’s essay â€Å"What is Enlightenment?† it is the freedom to use one's own intelligence (Strathern 63). Enlightenment thinkers believed in the powers of humankind and saw themselves as part of a revolutionary development in history that would replace superstition and tired rituals and corrupt traditions with reason and productive energy. However, intelligence and freedom two words that express what I bel ieve to be the main ideas of the Enlightenment and such ideas were recognized through two significant people Voltaire and Jefferson. To begin, the first figure of the Enlightenment would be Francois Marie Arouet aka: Voltaire. He was born in Paris, and he was known as one of the greatest writers and philosophers for the French. However, the French during his time period did not wish it so, because Voltaire had a passion for philosophical rationalism and this passion was fueled after he was exiled from France and went to England. Previous the exile, he was also locked in the Bastille for insulting a French noble-man. Voltaire was a man of sharp wit and high valued opinions, because of this trait he often got into trouble. However, it was because of this trait and a p... ... was a complex movement, that is recognized in today’s world perspective as the source of our modern secular worldview; form our ideas of religious toleration, individual liberty and free speech to the practices of our representative government, and unregulated profitable development. Works Cited 1. Brians, Paul. The Enlightenment. Washington State University, 2000. Web. 2. Coates, Robert Eyler. Thomas Jefferson on Politics & Government. Jefferson Parish, LA: University of Virginia, 1995. Web. 3. Gray, John. Voltaire: The Great Philosophers. New York: Routledge, 1999. Print. 4. Strathern, Paul. Kant in 90 Minutes. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1996. Print. 5. Staloff, Darren. Hamilton, Adams, Jefferson: The politics of the Enlightenment And The American Founding. New York: Hill and Wang. 2005. Print.

Herbal Extracts And Hormones :: essays research papers fc

Herbal Extracts and Hormones   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Herbs are found everywhere, and hormones are a natural product of everyone's body. The production of hormones increases and decreases with the age and development of the individual. Due to the nature of hormones and the ongoing research still being done, this article will investigate only two hormones that are in common use by the everyday person.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Herbs, on the other hand, can be found from California to China and as far as consumers are concerned, they are now mainstream products that can be found in supermarkets and drug stores world wide. Healing plants and herbs are used by over ninety percent of the world's people. Mowry, pgs.1-11 In the United States, with the introduction of herbal capsules and pills, people are enjoying the benefits of Earth's good medicines. The herb industry has been growing at about thirty percent per year for the past several years. Herbs are being used in homes, for more than just spicing the sauce or glazing the chicken. Herbs are being used as an alternative for medications as well. In the coming years, we may see the introduction of newer and better medicinal herbs as scientists Mowry pgs. 26-27 continue their search for the cures of all aches and pains.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In past years, herbs were used for pains and aches. These herbs are making a comeback because they have fewer side effects than regular medicine. An example is willow bark Mowry, pgs. 43-49 which is being used instead of aspirin. Aspirin was made from the active ingredient in willow bark. However, people are using willow bark instead of aspirin because it does not cause the stomach to bleed as aspirin does.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ginkgo is being sold as a leading prescription drug in Germany and most countries in Europe. Takagi, pgs. 96-101 This herb is growing in usage in this country as more people age. It has been used in Asia for countless generations. There is a growing body of evidence, as research continues, that points to the outstanding effects of the Gingko tree on many age-related disorders or sicknesses. This herb is reported to increase the ability of the blood circulation system. It is a powerful medicine for the treatment of restoring of a person's memory. Tagki, pgs. 3-10   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A tea made from the Passion Flower or Valerian Root is used to calm a person or relieve anxiety. These are thousand year old medicines used as tranquilizers. They have fewer side effects and don't damage the body as Valium or other man made tranquilizers. It is almost impossible to over dose on these types of nerve calmer.

Sony vs Connectix :: Argumentative Persuasive Software Essays

Sony vs Connectix Introduction Reverse engineering has become a controversial topic in the software industry. In 1999, Sony filed a suit against Connectix alleging copyright infringement concerning a Macintosh emulator of the Sony Playstation known as the Virtual Game Station. This emulator allows Macintosh users to play Playstation games without a Sony Playstation. A federal judge ruled in favor of Sony, and issued an order that Connectix halt its sales of the emulator. The next year Connectix appealed the ruling, and the Federal Court of Appeals reversed the original ruling. Video game business in the United States alone is a billion dollar industry and legal decisions such as this one have huge ramifications not just for the game industry, but for the entire software industry as well. In order to determine the right decision, one has to examine different ethical perspectives ranging from determining what action results in the most happiness of the stakeholders involved to what inherent rights each individual stakeholder is entitled to. Background Sony is the creator of the Sony Playstation. Video game console manufacturers generally use the console as a loss leader and hope to profit on their gaming platforms by selling licenses to produce games to software manufacturing companies. Thus, Sony created a barrier of entry in console manufacturing because other hardware manufacturers would have to be willing to lose money per hardware unit sold in order to compete with Sony. Also, such a manufacturer wouldn’t receive the software game revenues that Sony receives, which gave Sony what seemed to be a monopoly on the Playstation platform. The Sony Playstation consists of hardware components and software components. The software component is the Sony BIOS, which is resides in read-only memory. Sony holds a copyright on the BIOS.1 The Connectix Virtual Game Station emulates the functionality of the Sony Playstation. A consumer could purchase a Playstation game, load it into his Macintosh CD-drive, and play the game using the Virtual Game Station. Connectix created the emulator by purchasing a Playstation, copying the contents of the BIOS into the memory of a Macintosh, and observing the input into the BIOS and the output of the hardware.

A Christmast Surprise for Gramma Essay

A Christmas Surprise for Grandma by Gloria J. Shuttleworth Grandma lived on Sugar Creek Mountain all alone. It was a beautiful mountain, with tall cedar trees all over the mountain top. In the middle of the mountain was a crystal clear lake. The water in the lake was the prettiest blue you’ve ever seen. When the water was calm, you could see the fish swimming around in the lake. I loved sitting by the lake when I was a little girl. Grandma would pack us a lunch, and we would sit at the lake for hours on end. Hour after hour, grandma would tell me stories about her life on the mountain. I remember the day that grandpa drowned in the lake. My parents had tried to talk grandma into moving into town, but she wouldn’t hear of it. My parents knew not to argue with her, because they knew that grandma was set in her ways. â€Å"I’ve been on this mountain for so long that I’ve forgotten which is the oldest, me or the mountain,† grandma had said, with a twinkle in her eyes. I knew my parents worried about her being alone, because grandma was the only person who lived on Sugar Cliff Mountain. Today I was going to visit grandma, and the excitement grew inside me at the thought of spending time on the mountain once more. After all, it had been ten years since I had seen grandma. It’s hard to believe that my career had kept me away for so long. As I approached the top of the mountain, I could see grandma staring out the window of her little log cabin home. Grandma greeted me at the door with a big hug. â€Å"I am so happy that you could come to visit with me,† said grandma. This Christmas is going to be so wonderful! I have a special surprise for you dear. Little did grandma know that I had a very special surprise for her as well. â€Å"Well, we can’t stand around here all day,† said grandma. There’s a lot of work to get done. I have invited the people from the village to come to my Christmas party on Saturday evening. After I had freshened up a bit, we spent the day baking all sorts of cookies and candies. Grandma had a story to tell as we baked the goodies for the party. She told me about how she used to bake apple pies for grandpa. â€Å"He loved apple pies,† said grandma. Those were his favorite. She said that after the pies would cool off, that grandpa would send her into the living room, under the pretense that he would clean up the kitchen. Grandma knew what he was really up to, but she never let on that she knew. Grandma would go into the living room and sit in her rocking chair. She would sing some of the songs that she knew grandpa loved. About an hour later, grandma would wander back into the kitchen. â€Å"Why Henry! † she said kitchen, grandma retired for the evening. I made myself a cup of tea and sat down in front of the fireplace. Sitting alone in the quiet house, I pondered my childhood memories of my grandparents. They had always been such a fun loving and happy couple. Shortly after they were married, grandpa built the log cabin home for his â€Å"Little ole Emmy†, as he called her. Just before Christmas, almost twelve years ago, grandpa was outside gathering firewood, when grandma heard a horrible scream and a terrible noise. She ran outside to find that an area of the ice on the lake had fallen through. She yelled for grandpa over and over but no reply ever came. They searched the lake for over a week, but no trace of grandpa could be found. Finally, they called off the search. One of the men who had helped in the search said they’d probably never find grandpa now. Just then, as my thoughts were still racing around in my head, my grandmother brought me back to reality. â€Å"We have to be up very early in the morning dear, so off to bed now,† she said. I slowly walked to my grandmother’s room, and kissed her goodnight. Morning came early at grandma’s house. As I entered the kitchen I could smell the homemade biscuits and gravy cooking on the stove. â€Å"What’s on our list of things to do today? † I asked. â€Å"The men are coming from the village this morning to put the lights on the trees, and we have lots of presents to wrap for the children,† she said. Just then, there was a knock at the door. It was the men from the village ready to start putting up the lights. Grandma was so excited as she stepped back to watch them. â€Å"Let’s wrap those presents now Laura,† said grandma. As I watched grandma wrap the presents and tie the ribbons, I knew that so much more was being placed around them. With each piece of wrapping paper grandma was also wrapping them with love. After the last present was wrapped, we realized that we’d been wrapping presents all day! It was now getting dark outside and grandma wanted to go outside to view the lights. As we stepped out onto the porch, we gasped. The sight that met our eyes was so beautiful to behold! The snow was glittering and the reflection of the lights on the snow was beyond words! It was breathtaking! That night I went to bed with a heart full of love for my grandmother. I knew that someday I wanted to be just like her, full of love for others. Saturday evening the village people started arriving just after dark. Grandma always waited until evening to have her Christmas party, because she loved the lights. All the guests gathered around in the front yard and began to sing Christmas carols. Oh, how grandma loved that! Ole Ben was a jolly fellow who worked at the village store, and he was chosen to help Santa hand out the presents. The children shouted with glee, as they unwrapped their gifts. Grandma said, â€Å"Laura, come here dear, I have a surprise for you. As she handed me the present, I could see the love and pride in her eyes. â€Å"I love it grandma†, I said, as I bent down to kiss her cheek, â€Å"I will cherish it forever. † Grandma had made a quilt out of some of my dresses that I had worn as a little girl. â€Å"Grandma, if you could have just one special gift for Christmas, what would it be? † I asked her. Without ev en stopping to think, she replied, â€Å"I would like to see your grandfather just one more time, so I could feed him the apple pie that the horses quit snatching when he left us. † Just then grandma’s face lit up like the lights on the Christmas tree! Everyone turned to see what grandma was looking at. Walking slowly toward her, with an apple pie in his hand, was grandpa! There was two slices missing from the pie that he was holding. The village people were speechless, as they thought they were seeing a ghost. Grandpa chuckled, as he yelled out, â€Å"Emmy, those darn horses snatched the pie and got away with two pieces. Difference to me, but slowly my memory started to return. I remember now going out to gather firewood. There was a nice piece of wood on the lake. I thought the lake was frozen over so I stepped out on the lake to get the piece of wood. I remember hearing the lake crackle and that’s the last I remember about the accident. â€Å"Laura, how can I ever thank you for bringing grandpa home to me? † asked grandma. Laura replied, â€Å"Seeing the happiness and the love you have for each other is all the thanks I need. † As Laura retired to bed that night, she couldn’t help but think about the surprise that she had given to grandma for Christmas. She knew in her heart that it was the best surprise present that grandma would ever get. What a warm and wonderful feeling came over Laura as she fell asleep, thinking of her grandparents.

Causes and Effects of Earthquakes Essay

There are some programs, like the ones that are broadcast at National Geographic Channel, where professionals show us on many opportunities documentaries about earthquakes and the amount of damage that they had produced in some areas. But†¦ what is an earthquake? We can define them as the shaking of the Earth’s surface caused by the rapid movement of the Earth’s rocky outer layer. In addition, earthquakes results from two main factors and can have two harmful effects. There are two main causes of seismic tremors. One of them is fault rupture. The faults slip because of movement of the Earth’s tectonic plates. Because of the pressure within the crust increases slowly over hundreds of years and finally exceed the strength of the plates, earthquakes take place. Human activities can also be the cause of significant earthquakes. Human beings carried out many activities that increase stress in the earth’s crust which lead to earthquakes. For example, injecting fluid into deep wells for waste disposal, filling reservoirs and firing underground nuclear test blasts. Since the tectonic plates and humans activities, seismic tremors take place. Earthquakes can mainly have two dreadful effects. First, one direct effect of earthquakes is ground shaking and landslides. The earthquake’s waves make the ground move, shaking buildings and causing weaker structures to collapse. The damage of properties can lead to secondary effects such as fire, which is produced because of the rupture of natural gas mains and water lines. Second, other post-earthquake threats are tsunamis. In many cases, the slip fault is located beneath the sea which can produce tsunamis. Tidal waves wash ashore and water moves inland, causing severe flooding, the loss of lives due to drowning and damage to property. To conclude, there are two main reasons as well as consequences of earthquakes. Although we can prevent earthquakes, there are some measures we can take to reduce the damage that they caused. I think that it is important to be concerned about this topic because we never know whether we can be victims of an earthquake.

Closing Down the Oconomo Plant Essay

This plant is important to the society because it has created employment opportunities to local residents. However, the plant is in the verge of shut down. Jack Ripon , Chief Executive officer of Lamprey Inc. is concerned about higher cost of operation which has decreased profit for the company. The plan is to close down the Oconomo plant and establish a new plant in Mexico. Jack wants Jim Malesckowski, President of Wisconsin Speciality Products Division of Lamprey Inc. o find out about the operational costs of establishing a new plant in Mexico and submit the report to him. Jim thinks that the action to shut down the Oconomo plant might be wrong as long as there were chances to lower the costs. But he also thinks that Jack is right because all the avenues for decreasing costs at the plant have been closed. Besides money, there are other underlying factors that have led the management to bring some changes in the company. We will look at some of the forces that drive Oconomo plant to anticipate for change,changes that are required to be made, and the reasons why union leaders are reluctant to change. . What forces for change are evident at the Oconomo plant? The greatest force that drives the company to look for change is its high operational cost. The plant has so high operational costs that the company has been incurring losses instead of making profits. The management is anticipating changes so that the company will make profits in the future. In order for a company to run successfully, it should realize some returns from the investment made at the plant. Having invested in the company, shareholders also expect return for their investment. It is important for the company to make enough money for the satisfaction of shareholders and the existence of the company in the market. By any means, Lamprey Inc. should reduce its operational cost to withstand the fierce competition in the marketplace. For the compaby to make it in the market, it must change its working conditions so that they fit with the current market situations, (Daft & Marcic,2010). Another force that is evident for the change at the Oconomo plant is the uncooperative labor union. Workers have been consistently refusing to cooperate with the management. The company is planning to reduce the amount of pay it’s going to provide to workers. In order to decrease the labor cost, the company is proposing changes but the union leaders have turned a deaf ear to the management’s plan . It’s a great problem when workers are unwilling to listen to the management for possible solution. The situation will get even worse when the workers are not ready to accept the desired change of the company. Competition in the marketplace is also prominent force that is evident for change in this case. Lately, competitors have threatened Lamprey Inc. from the services and products that they are providing to the society. It has been a challenge for the company to manufacture the quality products and beat the competitor’s price. While the competiton is being fierce in the marketplace, Lamprey Inc. has been struggling to sustain the operations. If the same situation persists, the company would not have a way to exist in the market. 2. What is the primary type of change needed—changing â€Å"things† or changing the â€Å"people and culture? Can the Wisconsin plant be saved by changing things alone, by changing people and culture, or must both be changed? Explain your answer. Primary type of change required in this case is changing people and their culture. If people and their attitudes can be changed, work environment will be comfortable and other changes are easy to implement. The attitude of employees especially that of union leaders is not right in the given case. They are disobedient to the management. As long as employees don’t have respect for management, it is hard to bring any other changes. People’s culture is of great significance in the way the company operates because if the culture or people fit in the objectives of the company, rest of things will work accordingly. In changing anything with respect to company, people and culture should be considered at first. If the people working in the company are unhappy with the change, the objectives of change might not be fulfilled. In this particular case, employees are scared of change and in fact don’t let management bring any changes. Such culture is detrimental to the company. Culture should be established in such a way that people are ready to accept the change and welcome the efforts of the management with open heart. Although changing people and their culture is a primary thing, changing things is also important and should be considered for quality and workable plans of the company. Lamprey Inc. needs to bring some change in the products to save its position in the market. If the products are of low quality, the market share of Lamprey Inc. will be directed towards the competitors. In this case, the company has not put enough effort to upgrade the quality of the products. If the same situation persists, it will not be able to face the competition in the industry because competitors are developing quality products at affordable price. A company can’t operate on just a single type of change. It’s important to put into consideration both changes when designing any type of change in the company. In order to change the products, the entire team of the company should be ready and thus change is required in people of the company. To meet the objectives of the desired strategy, the company should take consideration on both types of changes.

Body Ritual among the Nacirema Essay

Abstract In this paper I discuss what point Horace Miner was trying to make is his paper titled â€Å"Body Ritual among the Nacirema†. Horace’s paper is about America but in the perspective that America is a tribe of third world country or such. I go through the individual topics, which mostly make fun of American’s vanity, and I describe what he is really talking about. I try to summaries Horace’s paper and put it in â€Å"American† terms. Nacirema: The American Tribe Here in America we view ourselves as one of the most, if not the most, advanced societies in the world. Most of us feel that we are just the best, but if you really look at a lot of the aspects of our society in the eyes that Horace Miner provides in his paper â€Å"Body Ritual among the Nacirema† you may begin to think otherwise. In Horace’s paper he shows the reader how the United States of America could be viewed from the perspective of a more advance, or more developed country. You could think of it as what aliens might view us. I guess you could even say a that an underdeveloped country would view us in this way too, but by the tone it seems that its meant to be a view of America by someone that views America how Americans see other cultures such as an African tribe or third world country or cultures of that sort. The main topics he covers are on the vanity of Americans, but he also covers doctors, dentist, therapists, hospitals, and a few others things. Horace starts out by discussing the Nacirema shrine. The shrine is where the Nacirema worship themselves. This is obviously a bathroom. Since this is poking fun at Americans vanity, wherever people focus their time on cleaning and grooming and pampering themselves would be their shrine. How many shrines you have, and how nice your shrine is, is determined by how much money you have. Every Nacireman at least has one though. The Nacireman’s think the body is ugly and disease and dies if they don’t take care of it so performing these â€Å"ceremonies† are important and dire to survival and acceptance. Now two parts of the shrine that are most important are this charm box or  chest that is built into the wall, and the font that is under this charm box/chest. We know these things as a medicine cabinet and the sink that is underneath. Our water supposedly comes from some magical water temple where a priest makes it pure with ceremonies, which as we know our water is provided by our local water company who cleanse and treats it to make it full of chemical or pure by American standards. Now in this charm box I mentioned before are tons of charms and potions and things, which Nacirema believe they can’t live without, and they have so many that they don’t even know what all of them are for anymore. Well since the charm box is a medicine cabinet then we can safely assume that these charms are medicines, specifically prescription medicine. We know they are prescription medicines because they get them from the medicine men. Medicine men are just simply doctors. We must pay our doctors to get medicine and their services. In the paper he describes this as giving the medicine men gifts. In real life I hear all the time that you cannot read doctors writing especially on prescriptions and its comical that Horace writes that they write in a secret language that only the pharmacist can read, well, the herbalist as he puts it. As I said before he also writes about dentist and therapist, or what he calls â€Å"the holy-mouth-men† and â€Å"the listeners†. Since oral hygiene is something that is crucial in the Nacirema the holy-mouth-men are very important. Their ceremony described sound like a scene from the movie â€Å"Saw† but in all reality it is nothing more than getting a cavity filled. When he talks about the therepist he talks about how they expel the demons from your head but in reality they help get rid of your bad thoughts. The way he puts it though it makes it seem like they just listen and that’s it, that they serve no real purpose. Horace then goes on to describe several other things that ill describe briefly. He calls hospital, â€Å"Latipso†, and he talks about how crazy it is that the Nacireman even their people there because how horrible the care is. He makes some decent points but for the most part is just more crazy tribal exaggeration. He writes again how the Nacirema just basically hate their  bodies, and if their fat then they don’t eat and eat a bunch if they are skinny. He talks about boobs how they are either too big or too small and how girls get implants. He also says that some girls with implants show them off to make a good living, a.k.a strippers. Then the last topic he talks about is sex and how were not supposed to talk about it and we try to prevent it but conception is still high (I mean that’s totally true.weve all seen teen mom). â€Å"It is hard to understand how they have managed to exist so long under the burdens which they have imposed upon themselves. But even such exotic customs as these take on real meaning when they are viewed with the insight provided by Malinowski when he wrote â€Å"Looking from far and above, from our high places of safety in the developed civilization, it is easy to see all the crudity and irrelevance of magic. But without its power and guidance early man could not have mastered his practical difficulties as he has done, nor could man have advanced to the higher stages of civilization.†Ã¢â‚¬ (Miner) This part of the paper is what the whole paper is making fun of. This piece of satire is how americans view other cultures. We often say the same, that it a surprise that they’ve made it this far. I think America has made a little too complex in some aspect and parts of our life’s are burdens. Our lives here in America are not perfect and our customs defenatly a ren’t either, so to judge another culture that is at least mildly surviving is wrong. We cannot sit back and judge cultures that use â€Å"magic† because as the quote says, it is from these cultures that Americans came from. References Miner, H. (1956, June). â€Å"Body Ritual among the Nacirema† Retrieved from https://www.msu.edu/~jdowell/miner.html#anchor876436