Tuesday, August 25, 2020
Evaluation of Differential Research Methods Essay
In this article we will take a gander at the positive and negative parts of the gathering introduction of transmit 1. We will likewise investigate the distinctive examination techniques we took on to assemble applicable data that we required. At that point proposals we need to incorporate for development from our verbal input nearby with any obliging elements we, as a gathering experienced. The exposition will at that point investigate the utilization and examination of hypothesis that we utilized that helped us in making our last crusade. When our gathering was given the possibility of the college application we started to amass thoughts with regards to what will work most successfully. We decided to utilize the crusade thought of viral showcasing. To do this we took on a semantic and semiotic methodology, whereby utilized meant etymology to recognize what we needed to convey and how. Semantic is better characterized as ââ¬Ëthe investigation of phonetic advancement by ordering and looking at changes in significance and formââ¬â¢ [Semantics 2, 1994] our battle thought was created around the idea of moving various implications, for instance in our crusade we built up the thought from the message we needed to move over, which was the convenience of the application alongside the capacity to make the video viral. Adopting a semantic strategy can permit the client to decipher structure and importance for them, the execution of the significance is presented yet is left completely to the client to self-decipher. Our crusade did anyway quickly contact over on semantic promoting, as we pointed the battle as a viral video focused on the long range informal communication side of things we actualized the musings of exactly how powerful it tends to be to explicit objective crowds to publicize on specific mediums. Our battle thought could of better used the semantic ideas by recognizing key expressions or words and adjusting those words to make interchange implications. Numerous semantic crusades today are web based, with a high increment of web treat following information being utilized by organizations to then advance on items to shoppers with comparable inquiry information. We chose to avoid this idea as it falls into the classification of secrecy and as a scholastic establishment we felt it increasingly legitimate to stay known. Semiotics is better characterized as ââ¬ËThe investigation of signs and images and their utilization or interpretationââ¬â¢ [U, Eco, 1979] in our crusade we utilized numerous semiotic ideas and in certainty it is ostensibly what our last thought was based around. In our storyboard battle we chose to utilize the animation to genuine like to animation to genuine impact which we used to show various situations, for instance when the individual first beginnings off he is a genuine individual remaining with the application in his grasp speaking to reality. The client at that point enters the University College Birmingham application whereby he is taken into another measurement and we see the utilization of various images and signs to reproduce an anecdotal measurement. The utilization of this was to show energizing approaches to having the option to get the data you need. In the animation storyboards the utilization of hues that we utilized were essential hues, which were utilized to demonstrate effortlessness while depicting the capacity to appreciate the application. It is likewise essential to specify the implied and signifier model which we quickly utilized in the development of our battle, utilizing catchphrase affiliations it immediately gave us access to applicable wording which connected to the conceivable crusade thoughts. At long last to discuss the last idea that was utilized in the crusade we picked is talk, better characterized as ââ¬ËLanguage intended to have a powerful or great impact on its audienceââ¬â¢ [G,Tom and Eves, A 1999] in our battle we settled on the viral video, with the expectation this would take advantage of our objective market which were youthful understudies. In the crusade with the ideas we utilized by collaborating on long range interpersonal communication destinations we aiming to make an enticing publicizing effort that endeavored to dispose of any assumptions that college data was entangled and difficult to get it together of. The utilization of language we utilized in the battle was oversimplified while educational; we left no crucial snippets of data out of the crusade while additionally making the idea of this data engaging. The general impact we expected to make on our intended interest group was to leave an enduring great engraving that the viral video we had made was useful, fun and speaking to our crowd. In a profoundly serious market it is fundamental for understudies to see precisely what they look for and for it to be effectively available, by making the viral crusade with the utilization of interpersonal interaction destinations it permits the crowd to get to the data they need legitimately or through companions. To finish up, with the battle we ran with and the ideas we accepted to get to a ultimate conclusion we utilized a wide range of models, specifically the semiotic model whereby we utilized a wide range of hues, structures and implications to depict various feelings to the client to connect with them. We at that point accepted some semantic ideas by permitting the battle to turn into a viral video and distributing this online it acted as a wellspring of data as well as thus a notice of the application and college. To suggest what could have changed with the crusade last thought or what could have been improved our odds of the battle thought being effective there would be a couple of proposals. The suggestion further of semantic ideas could have been executed in to the crusade thought of utilizing informal communication. The application draft thought got little analysis other than the introduction of the application and its information. On the off chance that the task was to be embraced again the utilization of talk nearby semantic would be intensely common to take advantage of the web publicizing market close by the utilization of sites which making stages to share recordings, websites and articles.
Saturday, August 22, 2020
Angels Demons Chapter 16-19
16 Many miles from CERN, a voice snapped through a walkie-talkie. ââ¬Å"Okay, I'm in the hallway.â⬠The expert checking the video screens squeezed the catch on his transmitter. ââ¬Å"You're searching for camera #86. It should be at the far end.â⬠There was a long quietness on the radio. The holding up expert broke a light perspiration. At last his radio clicked. ââ¬Å"The camera isn't here,â⬠the voice said. ââ¬Å"I can see where it was mounted, however. Someone more likely than not evacuated it.â⬠The professional breathed out vigorously. ââ¬Å"Thanks. Hang on a second, will you?â⬠Moaning, he diverted his consideration regarding the bank of video screens before him. Immense segments of the complex were available to general society, and remote cameras had disappeared previously, for the most part taken by visiting pranksters searching for gifts. In any case, when a camera left the office and was out of range, the sign was lost, and the screen went clear. Astounded, the professional looked up at the screen. A completely clear picture was all the while originating from camera #86. In the event that the camera was taken, he pondered, for what reason would we say we are as yet getting a sign? He knew, obviously, there was just a single clarification. The camera was still inside the complex, and somebody had just moved it. Yet, who? Furthermore, why? He examined the screen a long second. At last he got his walkie-talkie. ââ¬Å"Are there any storage rooms in that flight of stairs? Any cabinets or dull alcoves?â⬠The voice answering sounded confounded. ââ¬Å"No. Why?â⬠The expert scowled. ââ¬Å"Never mind. A debt of gratitude is in order for your help.â⬠He killed his walkie-talkie and tightened his lips. Thinking about the little size of the camcorder and the way that it was remote, the specialist realized that camera #86 could be transmitting from pretty much anyplace inside the intensely watched compound â⬠a thickly stuffed assortment of thirty-two separate structures covering a half-mile span. The main sign was that the camera appeared to have been set some place dim. Obviously, that wasn't a lot of help. The complex contained perpetual dull areas â⬠support storage rooms, warming channels, planting sheds, room closets, even a maze of underground passages. Camera #86 could take a long time to find. In any case, that is the most insignificant part of my issues, he thought. In spite of the issue presented by the camera's movement, there was another unmistakably additionally agitating issue within reach. The specialist looked up at the picture the lost camera was transmitting. It was a fixed article. An advanced looking gadget like nothing the expert had ever observed. He considered the flickering electronic showcase at its base. In spite of the fact that the gatekeeper had experienced thorough preparing setting him up for tense circumstances, he despite everything detected his heartbeat rising. He advised himself not to freeze. There must be a clarification. The article showed up too little to even think about being of critical risk. On the other hand, its essence inside the complex was upsetting. Troubling, undoubtedly. Today all things considered, he thought. Security was consistently a top need for his manager, yet today, more than some other day in the previous twelve years, security was absolutely critical. The professional gazed at the item for quite a while and detected the thunderings of an inaccessible get-together tempest. At that point, perspiring, he dialed his boss. 17 Relatively few kids could state they recalled the day they met their dad, yet Vittoria Vetra could. She was eight years of age, living where she generally had, Orfanotrofio di Siena, a Catholic halfway house close to Florence, abandoned by guardians she never knew. It was coming down that day. The nuns had required her twice to come to supper, however as consistently she professed not to hear. She lay outside in the patio, gazing up at the raindropsâ⬠¦ feeling them hit her bodyâ⬠¦ attempting to think about where one would land straightaway. The nuns called once more, undermining that pneumonia may make an agonizingly hardheaded kid significantly less inquisitive about nature. I can't hear you, Vittoria thought. She was drenched when the youthful minister came out to get her. She didn't have any acquaintance with him. He was new there. Vittoria hung tight for him to snatch her and drag her back inside. In any case, he didn't. Rather, to her miracle, he set down next to her, absorbing his robes a puddle. ââ¬Å"They state you solicit a great deal from questions,â⬠the youngster said. Vittoria frowned. ââ¬Å"Are questions bad?â⬠He chuckled. ââ¬Å"Guess they were right.â⬠ââ¬Å"What are you doing out here?â⬠ââ¬Å"Same thing you're doingâ⬠¦ asking why raindrops fall.â⬠ââ¬Å"I'm not asking why they fall! I definitely know!â⬠The cleric gave her a surprised look. ââ¬Å"You do?â⬠ââ¬Å"Sister Francisca says raindrops are heavenly attendants' tears coming down to wash away our sins.â⬠ââ¬Å"Wow!â⬠he stated, sounding stunned. ââ¬Å"So that clarifies it.â⬠ââ¬Å"No it doesn't!â⬠the young lady terminated back. ââ¬Å"Raindrops fall since everything falls! Everything falls! Not simply rain!â⬠The minister scratched his head, looking puzzled. ââ¬Å"You know, youngster, you're correct. Everything falls. It must be gravity.â⬠ââ¬Å"It must be what?â⬠He gave her a flabbergasted look. ââ¬Å"You haven't knew about gravity?â⬠ââ¬Å"No.â⬠The minister shrugged unfortunately. ââ¬Å"Too awful. Gravity answers a ton of questions.â⬠Vittoria sat up. ââ¬Å"What's gravity?â⬠she requested. ââ¬Å"Tell me!â⬠The minister gave her a wink. ââ¬Å"What do you say I let you know over dinner.â⬠The youthful cleric was Leonardo Vetra. In spite of the fact that he had been an honor winning material science understudy while in college, he'd heard another call and gone into the theological school. Leonardo and Vittoria turned out to be far-fetched closest companions in the forlorn universe of nuns and guidelines. Vittoria made Leonardo snicker, and he encouraged her, training her that delightful things like rainbows and the streams had numerous clarifications. He educated her regarding light, planets, stars, and all of nature through the eyes of both God and science. Vittoria's inborn astuteness and interest made her an enrapturing understudy. Leonardo ensured her like a little girl. Vittoria was glad as well. She had never known the delight of having a dad. At the point when each other grown-up responded to her inquiries with a slap on the wrist, Leonardo went through hours giving her books. He even asked what her thoughts were. Vittoria implored Leonardo would remain with her eternity. At that point one day, her most noticeably terrible bad dream worked out as expected. Father Leonardo disclosed to her he was leaving the halfway house. ââ¬Å"I'm moving to Switzerland,â⬠Leonardo said. ââ¬Å"I have an award to examine material science at the University of Geneva.â⬠ââ¬Å"Physics?â⬠Vittoria cried. ââ¬Å"I thought you adored God!â⬠ââ¬Å"I do, without a doubt. Which is the reason I need to examine his heavenly principles. The laws of material science are the canvas God set down on which to paint his masterpiece.â⬠Vittoria was crushed. Yet, Father Leonardo had some different news. He disclosed to Vittoria he had addressed his bosses, and they said it was alright if Father Leonardo embraced her. ââ¬Å"Would you like me to receive you?â⬠Leonardo inquired. ââ¬Å"What's receive mean?â⬠Vittoria said. Father Leonardo advised her. Vittoria embraced him for five minutes, sobbing tears of delight. ââ¬Å"Oh yes! Yes!â⬠Leonardo disclosed to her he needed to leave for some time and get their new home settled in Switzerland, yet he vowed to send for her in a half year. It was the longest hold up of Vittoria's life, yet Leonardo kept his assertion. Five days before her ninth birthday celebration, Vittoria moved to Geneva. She went to Geneva International School during the day and gained from her dad around evening time. After three years Leonardo Vetra was recruited by CERN. Vittoria and Leonardo moved to a wonderland any semblance of which the youthful Vittoria had never envisioned. Vittoria Vetra's body felt numb as she walked down the LHC burrow. She saw her quieted appearance in the LHC and detected her dad's nonattendance. Regularly she existed in a condition of profound quiet, in concordance with her general surroundings. Be that as it may, presently, abruptly, nothing appeared well and good. The most recent three hours had been a haze. It had been 10 A.M. in the Balearic Islands when Kohler's call came through. Your dad has been killed. Return home right away. In spite of the intense warmth on the deck of the jump pontoon, the words had cooled her deep down, Kohler's deadpan tone harming as much as the news. Presently she had get back. Yet, home to what? CERN, her reality since she was twelve, appeared to be abruptly remote. Her dad, the man who had made it mystical, was gone. Full breaths, she let herself know, yet she was unable to quiet her brain. The inquiries surrounded quicker and quicker. Who slaughtered her dad? Also, why? Who was this American ââ¬Å"specialistâ⬠? For what reason was Kohler demanding seeing the lab? Kohler had said there was proof that her dad's homicide was identified with the present undertaking. What proof? No one recognized what we were really going after! Furthermore, regardless of whether somebody discovered, for what reason would they execute him? As she descended the LHC burrow toward her dad's lab, Vittoria acknowledged she was going to divulge her dad's most prominent accomplishment without him there. She had envisioned this second much in an unexpected way. She had envisioned her dad calling CERN's top researchers to his lab, giving them his disclosure, viewing their awestruck appearances. At that point he would pillar with protective pride as he disclosed to them how it had been one of Vittoria's thoughts that had helped him make the undertaking a realityâ⬠¦ that his little girl had been indispensable in his advancement. Vittoria felt a sense of foreboding deep in her soul. My dad and I should share this second together. In any case, here she was distant from everyone else. No associates. No upbeat appearances. Only an American outsider and Maximilian Kohler. Maximilian Kohler. Der Konig. Indeed, even as a kid, Vittoria had despised the man. Despite the fact that she in the long run came to regard his powerful keenness, his frosty air consistently appeared to be brutal, the specific direct opposite of her dad's glow. Kohler pursu
Tuesday, August 11, 2020
Ethical Decision-Making Manual For Helping Professionals By Steinman,
Ethical Decision-Making Manual For Helping Professionals By Steinman, Ethical Decision-Making Manual For Helping Professionals By Steinman, Richardson, And Mcenroe â" Assignment Example > 15 May 2006The Importance of Ethical Decision Making Styles for ProfessionalsThe Traps within Ethical Decision MakingIn todayâs professional world ethics is an extremely important part of any professionalâs career. Without the art of ethical decision making an individual is not going to get very far. They have to know exactly how to approach certain business situations, and yet they have to be able to get their point across precisely and efficiently at the same time. It can be difficult but there are various literary materials out in the market now to help professionals learn the basics of ethical decision making styles in a cohesive manner. The Ethical Decision Making Manual is one of these literary books and it provides enriching information that will keep a professional steered in the right direction in order to bolster more confidence and adapt to sure fire ways of making the appropriate decisions at business functions or in their daily work, of course when it is necessary . For those that study the area of ethics in business, they are aware that there are many traps an individual in a professional position can fall into, one of these being focused on the idea of âcommon senseâ and âobjectivityâ. Often all it takes to make an appropriate professional decision is to use common sense but at the same time this is said there are also instances where common sense is not the sole answer to solving a dilemma in a professional manner. You have to be attuned to the art of objectivity to and not be afraid to object to situations in which you might not agree. In fact this is what makes a part of a professional individual. Common sense is often used as a good guide to help people come up with a resolution to certain ethical dilemmas in their professional life, though it isnât always easy. Many professionals find it easier to use common sense techniques to get past an ethical dilemma rather than being objective because even though objectivity is a give n in any professional position, it can be hard to incorporate in when an individual has to weigh a clients personal privacy rights and the concept of confidentiality, especially if they are in the professional field of law or medicine. As has been stated, the best way to get through many obstacles is by using common sense which ultimately is what the professional has learned and observed through his or her own personal experiences in business matters. However each and every dilemma is different and therefore the many steps of making ethical decisions comes into play in a variety of ways within the professional world. The mistake that many professionals make however is letting their own judgments from past experiences mare their viewpoints in a professional manner. Often many business people fall into an ethical trap when they try and base decisions on their past experiences, even though it is these very experiences that sometimes teach and guide them in their own work ethics. That is why there must be a boundary established between a professionals personal life and view points and the area of the professional world, otherwise there can be numerous complications that will arise. The personal needs, feelings, and outside social experiences need to remain separated from the business environment in order to exude a more professional atmosphere and better frame of mind to deal with any professional adversities. This is why it is so very important to study the different techniques that can be used to solve ethical dilemmas through the various manuals that have been established such as âThe Ethical Decision Making Manualâ by Steinman, et al (1998). Many professionals have found by following the guidelines in manuals such as these it assists them in keeping an open mind in order to bring a more precise applicability into solving the myriad of problems that take place in the professional work place and the surrounding environment.
Saturday, May 23, 2020
Animal Rights Animal Cruelty Essay - 1520 Words
Animal Rights Animal rights, the rights believed to belong to animals to live free from use in medical research, hunting, and other services to humans. Animal Cruelty is the human infliction of suffering or harm upon any non-human animal, for purposes other than self-defense or survival. Animal Cruelty exists and it should not. Animals feel pain and fear like we do, but they are helpless.They canââ¬â¢t tell us that it hurts, they canââ¬â¢t communicate their pain because we do not speak their language. ââ¬Å"Abuse causes these innocent animals to endure so much pain, suffering, and loneliness, it can also cause an animal to become depressed, timid, or even aggressiveâ⬠(Animal Abuse). Hence, the reason why the Humane Society of United States was organized in 1954 (Thomas). Animal activists wanted to be heard. As they are tired of animals being killed and they want a change. The People for Ethical Treatment of animals (PETA) was formed in 1980 (Thomas). Animal abuse isn t just hitting a n animal or forcing an animal to fight. Taking an animal from its home to perform in zoos, circus and aquariums can also be considered to be animal abuse. Wild animals are meant to be wild not held in captivity. In 2012 PETA filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of five of Seaworldââ¬â¢s captive orca whales(Foreign Affairs). For example, in 1969 Orcas were forcibly and violently separated from their mothers and put in a tank with their brothers and sisters to mate over and over and over again(PETA). TheShow MoreRelatedAnimal Rights And Animal Cruelty Essay2247 Words à |à 9 Pagesthings is a mark of a civilized society. Conversely, cruelty, whether it is directed against human beings or against animals, is not the exclusive province of any one culture or community of people.â⬠(Cà ©sar Chà ¡vez). Animal rights and animal cruelty has been a growing problem throughout our society for many years and without proper education and punishment, will be ever growing for years to co me. Although there are many different forms of animal cruelty including abuse, chemical testing, poaching, andRead MoreAnimal Rights And Human Cruelty1908 Words à |à 8 Pages(iii) Animal Rights Once rights are granted to certain groups of people, more and different types of group also starts asking for rights. This is an example of a ââ¬Å"slippery slopeâ⬠argument. Similarly, there are groups of people who advocates for the rights of animals. They are speaking out against cruelty that animals have to go through like slaughtering them for food, conducting different kinds of experiments on them, etc. While pro-animal rights people argue about those types of ââ¬Å"cruelty,â⬠anotherRead MoreAmerican Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty957 Words à |à 4 Pagesthere is a middle man. Many local animal shelters have volunteers to rescue these vulnerable pets before they fall into the wrong hands. Among all of the great non-profits in the world, I chose the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals because of its major dedication and passion for supporting those through rescue and advances in veterinary medicine. As one of the largest and most active humane societies in the world, the ASPCA aims to help animals in all kinds of distress or dangerousRead MoreAnimal Abusers Can Turn Into Real Criminals1485 Words à |à 6 PagesAnimal abusers can turn into real criminals in the future Ever thought about why such people abuse animals and how they carry on their lives living with the guilt? According to the research I have read online, many have found that abusing animals will lead to abusing people since this act of violence on animals cooperates with the act of violence on the humans as well. So the real question is, do abusing animals lead to abusing humans? Abusing to animals physically or mentally are very negative actionsRead MoreEssay on The Connectio Between Animal Cruelty And Human Violence1543 Words à |à 7 Pagesà à à à à Animal cruelty encompasses a range of different behaviors harmful to animals, from neglect to malicious, brutal killings. Studies show that animal cruelty may lead to more serious forms of crime, like heavy drug use, violent outbursts, and most common, cold blooded murder. Many studies in psychology, sociology, and criminology during the last twenty-five years have demonstrated that violent offenders frequently have childhood and adolescent histories of serious and repeated animal crueltyRead MoreThe Law Concerning The Pet Industry1016 Words à |à 5 Pagesconcerning the pet industry. The law being considered would require pet stores to get their puppies and kittens from animal shelters and animal rescue center; also, it would ban pet stores from buying puppies and kittens from ââ¬Ëpuppy/kitten millsââ¬â¢ (Giordano). Kathleen Schatzmann, the New Jersey director of the Humane Society, thinks that if the law ââ¬Å"...would not only crack down on cruelty in puppy mills, but would also give homeless cats and dogs in Camden County a greater chance of finding a home,â⬠(Giordano)Read MoreShould Circus Be A Pernicious Performance?1231 Words à |à 5 PagesWhat do you think of when you hear the word circus? A magical place full of swirling colors, performing animals, and creepy clowns? Or maybe you think of acrobats, elephants, and trapezes? Sure, everyone loves going to the circus. Everyone loves se eing animals dance around and jump through hoops, watching the clowns do death defying stunts, or even eating peanuts and popcorn. Hearing the crowd cheer, making memories with friends of loved ones. When we are growing up we are taken to the circus toRead MoreThe Cruelty Of Animals And Animal Abusers Lie Behind The Curtain1499 Words à |à 6 PagesAnimals have shown their love throughout history to humans and we have shown ours. The love of animals is broad and unlimited, but humans continue to abuse their pets and destroy their loyalty. Why do people do this? Why do humans demolish animals lives? The answer lies behind the curtain. The curtain in which animal abusers lie behind. An impenetrable curtain that law reinforcement cannot take the cruel men out of. Try as they might, the abomination continues. Some though, get what they deserveRead MoreAnimal Cruelty And Mistreatment Of Animals923 Words à |à 4 PagesNationwide animals are mistreated each day; millions of animals are killed each year because people do not know how to properly treat a living creature respectably. Animal Cruelty and mistreatment is present nationwide; in order to prevent this type of mistreatment, Americanââ¬â¢s need to be aware of the injustice of animal cruelty. Scientific research, abandonment, and mistreatment are the main reason why these animals are neglected each day. ââ¬Å"Animal Crueltyâ⬠is referred as the savagery of animals; brutishRead MoreEssay about Animals Must Be Protected919 Words à |à 4 PagesAnimals Must Be Protected Animals are in many ways the same as human beings. We consider them our best freind, sibling, child, or to put it simply, we view them as being part of our family. For example, my parents have a a Pekingese puppy, whom I identify and treat as my little brother. I could never imagine what Ide do if anything were to happen to him. For these reasons, I strongly believe in the rights of animals and the need to provide them full protectionfrom violence and danger.
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
The Schlieffen Plan and World War One
As the crisis which began World War One was developing from assassination, through calls of revenge round to paranoid imperial competition, Germany found itself facing the possibility of attacks from east and west at the same time. They had feared this for years, and their solution, which was soon put into action with German declarations of war against both France and Russia, was the Schlieffen Plan. Changing Heads of German Strategy In 1891, Count Alfred von Schlieffen became the German Chief of Staff. He had succeeded the wholly successful General Helmuth von Moltke, who together with Bismarck had won a series of short wars and created the new German Empire. Moltke feared a great European war might result if Russia and France allied against the new Germany, and decided to counter it by defending in the west against France, and attacking in the east to make small territorial gains from Russia. Bismarck aimed to prevent the international situation from ever reaching that point, by trying hard to keep France and Russia separated. However, Bismarck died, and Germanys diplomacy collapsed. Schlieffen was soon faced with the encirclement Germany feared when Russia and France allied, and he decided to draw up a new plan, one which would seek a decisive German victory on both fronts. The Schlieffen Plan The result was the Schlieffen Plan. This involved a rapid mobilization, and the bulk of the entire German army attacking through the western lowlands into northern France, where they would sweep around and attack Paris from behind its defenses. France was assumed to be planning ââ¬â and making ââ¬â an attack into Alsace-Lorraine (which was accurate), and prone to surrendering if Paris fell (possibly not accurate). This entire operation was expected to take six weeks, at which point the war in the west would be won and Germany would then use its advanced railway system to move its army back to the east to meet the slowly mobilizing Russians. Russia could not be knocked out first, because its army could withdraw for miles deep into Russia if necessary. Despite this being a gamble of the highest order, it was the only real plan Germany had. It was fed by the vast paranoia in Germany that there had to be a reckoning between the German and Russian empires, a battle which should ta ke place sooner, while Russia was relatively weak, and not later when Russia might have modern railways, guns, and more troops. There was, however, one major problem. The ââ¬Ëplanââ¬â¢ was not operational and wasnââ¬â¢t even really a plan, more a memorandum briefly describing a vague concept. Indeed, Schlieffen may even have written it just to persuade the government to increase the army, rather than believing it would ever be used. As a result, there were problems: the plan required munitions in excess of what the German army had at that point, although they were developed in time for the war. It also required more troops on hand to attack than could be moved through the roads and railways of France. This problem was not solved, and the plan sat there, seemingly ready to use in the event of the great crisis people were expecting. Moltke Modifies the Plan Moltkeââ¬â¢s nephew, also von Moltke, took over Schlieffenââ¬â¢s role in the early twentieth century. He wanted to be as great as his uncle but was held back by not being anywhere near as skilled. He feared that Russiaââ¬â¢s transport system had developed and they could mobilize quicker, so when working out how the plan would be run - a plan that was possibly never meant to be run but which he decided to use anyway - he altered it slightly to weaken the west and reinforce the east. However, he ignored the supply and other problems that had been left due to the vagueness of Schlieffenââ¬â¢s plan and felt he had a solution. Schlieffen had, possibly accidentally, left a huge time bomb in Germany which Moltke had bought into the house. World War One When war looked likely in 1914, the Germans decided to put the Schlieffen Plan into effect, declaring war on France and attacking with multiple armies in the west, leaving one in the east. However, as the attack went ahead Moltke modified the plan even more by withdrawing more troops to the east. In addition, commanders on the ground also veered away from the design. The result was the Germans attacking Paris from the north, rather than from behind. The Germans were halted and pushed back at the Battle of the Marne, Moltke was considered to have failed and replaced in disgrace. A debate over whether the Schlieffen Plan would have worked if left alone began within moments and has continued ever since. No one then realized how little planning had gone into the original plan, and Moltke was vilified for having failed to use it properly, whereas its probably right to say he was always onto a loser with the plan, but he should be vilified for trying to use it at all.
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
Should the Drinking Age Stay the Same Free Essays
Madelene Radillo Enc 1101/ Research Paper Prof. John Colagrande Many people use alcohol to ââ¬Å"loosen themselves upâ⬠in anticipation of having sex with a new partner. It is a commonly held a belief that alcohol is an aphrodisiac. We will write a custom essay sample on Should the Drinking Age Stay the Same or any similar topic only for you Order Now Since drinking alcohol can make people feel more comfortable engaging in sex it can lead to a one night stand, and a handful of sexually transmitted diseases. Sexually active teens and young adults have unprotected sex because they are under the influence of alcohol. Alcohol can make anyone become more sexual and do things that were not planned, which is a leading factor in teenage pregnancy. It is estimated that teenage girls who binge drink are up to 63 percent more likely to become pregnant. Another problem with drinking too much alcohol is that it can cause a blackout which may lead to a date rape. The victim has no recognition of what is going on in their surroundings and may go along with any scheme. As of April 2008 ââ¬Å"more than 97,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape each year. Also, among university students ââ¬Å"over one-half of all sexual assaults are committed by men who have been drinking alcohol, while approximately 50% of victims also report alcohol use at the time of the assaultâ⬠(www. collegedrinkingprevention. gov) Even with the drinking age being 21, there is a target market made to promote underage drinking. People tend to argue that if men and women are old enough to fight for their country then they should be old enough to drink. This may be true, but an 18 or 19 year old who has joined the military and been broken down, trained, and rebuilt almost always comes back different then when they came in. They are taught structure and discipline; two key factors that may be lacking in a regular civilian. Unfortunately, teens in todayââ¬â¢s social environment tend to think that they are invincible and will do just about anything in order to fit in. The problem seems to be in their lack of guidance and or experience. Nowadays, children tend to find their morals in reality television shows and music videos, rather than in structured social environments (i. e. school, home, church etc. ). Teens and young adults (college students) are not ready to handle the responsibility that drinking entails or the repercussions that follow when too many drinks are put into the wrong hands. Lowering the drinking age will only add to the problem. How to cite Should the Drinking Age Stay the Same, Essay examples
Saturday, May 2, 2020
Perceptual Abilities in Babies free essay sample
We are able to see and interpret visual stimuli, and process this information in a way that is meaningful to us. We can also perceive the location of a sound, transform pressure changes in the air into meaningful sentences, and create myriad tastes and smells from our molecular environment. But are these perceptual abilities innate or learned? 19th century psychologists believed that newborns and young infants experience a confusing perceptual world, either perceiving nothing or making very little sense of the stimulation they are exposed to. However, research carried out over the last 30 years has changed the traditional view of the young infants perceptual world from one of incompetence to one of competence. This essay will discuss the capacities of newborn infants in terms of visual, auditory, olfactory and taste perception. One of the most basic questions we can ask about infant visual perception is how well infants can perceive details. Using the preferential looking technique and the visual evoked potential method, researchers have determined that the perception of details is poorly developed in infants at birth. Generally speaking, visual acuity for infants tends to be between 20/400 to 20/600 at one month. This increases rapidly over the first 6 to 9 months, with full adult acuity being reached some time after 1 year of age. The explanation for this is the result of a poorly developed visual cortex, and poorly developed cone receptors in the fovea. The shape of the cones in the fovea are vastly different from those of an adult, with newborns having comparatively fatter inner segments and smaller outer segments. The small outer segment cannot absorb light effectively, because they contain less pigment than that of adult cones. Additionally, the fat inner segment creates a coarse receptor lattice with large spaces between each cone. This means that most of the light entering the newborn fovea is lost in the spaces between the cones, and is therefore not useful for vision. Thus, newborns perceive the world as blurry and unclear relative to adults. Another important aspect of visual perception is the ability to distinguish an object from its background, also known as contrast sensitivity. This is measured by determining the smallest possible difference between dark and light bars of a grating at which an observer can still detect the bars. The number of cycles of a grating (in which one cycle is one light bar and one dark bar) per degree of visual angle is referred to as the spatial frequency of a grating. Adults tend to be most sensitive to spatial frequencies of about 3 cycles. However, infants ability to perceive contrast is restricted to low frequencies, and even at these low frequencies, the infants contrast sensitivity is much lower than the adults. Additionally, infants can see little to nothing at frequencies of about 2 to 3 cycles, the frequencies to which adults are most sensitive. At one month, infants can see no fine details and can only see relatively large objects with high contrast. Clearly, infants are sensitive to only a small fraction of the pattern information available to the adult. As well as fine details and contrast, an additional aspect of our visual world is the richness of colour. Adult perception of colour is determined by the action of three different types of cone receptors. Because these cones are poorly developed at birth, we can guess that a newborn would not have good colour vision. However, research has shown that colour vision develops early and appreciable colour vision is present within the first 3-4 months of life. Using the method of habituation, Bornstein et al. (1976) determined that 4-month old infants categorise colours the same way that adult trichromats do. Along with colour, contrast, and detail, another crucial aspect of vision is depth perception. In order to perceive depth, the eyes must be able to binocularly fixate, however, newborns only have a rudimentary ability to do this. Richard Aslin (1977) determined when binocular fixation develops by examining whether infants eyes diverge and converge when looking at an object moving away and closer respectively. He found that although some divergence and convergence do occur in 1- and 2- month old infants, these eye movements are not reliable until about 3-months. Another type of depth information is provided by pictorial cues. These develop later than disparity, presumably because they depend on experience with the environment and the development of cognitive capabilities. In general, infants begin to use pictorial cues such as overlap, familiar size, relative size, shading, linear perspective, and texture gradients somewhere between about 5 and 7 months old. Another important component of perception is the ability to hear. Although some early psychologists believed that newborns were functionally deaf, recent research has shown that newborns do have some auditory capacities and that this capacity improves as the child gets older. There is evidence to support the idea that infants can identify sounds they have heard before. DeCasper and Fifer found that babies regulated the pauses in their sucking so that they heard their mothers voice more than a strangers voice. They suggested that the newborns recognise their mothers voice because they heard their mother talking during development in the womb. Perceiving individual sounds is an important basic skill that infants posses, but as the infant develops, another skill becomes important- the ability to discern meaning through words and sentences. Infants begin the process of language acquisition by being able to detect very small differences between speech sounds. Initially, they can discriminate all possible speech contrasts (phonemes). Gradually, as they are exposed to their native language, their perception becomes language-specific, i. e. they learn how to ignore the differences within phonemic categories of the language. As infants learn how to sort incoming speech sounds into categories, ignoring irrelevant differences and reinforcing the contrastive ones, their perception becomes categorical. Infants learn to contrast different vowel phonemes of their native language by approximately 6 months of age. The native consonantal contrasts are acquired by 11 or 12 months of age. This is illustrated by the fact that a 4- month old Japanese infant can distinguish between the sounds /r/ and /l/, but by the time they are 1 year old, they can no longer make this distinction, as the Japanese language does not distinguish between these two sounds. There is evidence to support the notion that infants have the capacity to perceive odours and tastes. J. E. Steiner (1979) demonstrated that infants can smell and can distinguish between different olfactory stimuli. The infants responded to the scent of banana or vanilla essence with sucking and facial expressions resembling smiles, and they responded to concentrated shrimp odour and an odour resembling rotten eggs with a look resembling disgust. Similarly, research regarding the perception of taste has demonstrated that infants can distinguish sweet, sour and bitter tastes, but not salt (Beauchamp, Cowart Schmidt, 1991). Although responses to taste and olfaction do show some change as the infant grows into childhood, it could be argued that taste and olfaction are the most highly developed of all senses at birth. The elements of perception have been discussed separately, however, in the real world, these senses often occur together to form one combined sensory experience. The combination of senses is called intermodal perception. There is evidence to suggest that infants are capable of intermodal perception. This was demonstrated by Kuhl and Menstroff (1982), who found that infants could identify the sound that a person should be making based on how their lip movements looked. This ability has a number of important applications. For example, Sai (2005) suggested that because infants are already familiar with the mothers voice before they are born from listening to it in the womb, when they hear this familiar voice paired with the mothers face, this creates a link between the two and helps the infant recognise the mothers face.
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
Adultery Essays - Sexual Fidelity, Marriage, Family, Sex Crimes
Adultery Adultery is stated 69 times in the bible. It is also the seventh commandment. Thou shalt not commit adultery. In every case stated in the bible, the answer is clear: Do not commit adultery. It is a very powerful thing that disconnects people in a relationship, either married or not. The dictionary definition of adultery is voluntary sexual intercourse of a married man with a women other than his wife or of a married women with a man other than her husband. In this particular dictionary it speaks about definitely being married, but in the bible, it often did not. In a book called Sexual Abstinence, by Barbara Moe, it also mentioned the theme adultery. It stated that although it is not confirmed because you aren't married, you can still commit adultery as a teenager. It also said that adultery is too much of a big, scary word for teenagers to handle. So, now a days, we call it cheating. Cheating is defined as a trick or deceit. When you are in a relationship that you hope is going well, do you want the other person to be tricking you?! I sure don't. Neither does God. That's why it was stated in the bible so many times. It was so important to God, that he made it our seventh commandment. He doesn't want anyone to be deceived by another person. It is all covered in the general law Love one another. You don't truly love someone if you want to cheat on them. In The Teen Study Bible, it states God invented sex. He designed the hormones that trigger your desires. He designed every nerve ending that magnifies pleasure. Sex isn't wrong. Sex is good. A gift from God, who loves you. Now only if you would use it right. Sex is always made out to be a bad thing. In our culture it is perfectly ok. Although God says to you in your conscience Are you sure you want to do this?! He states is it so much in the bible, if only people would look. Sex should be used with the right person, in the right place, at the right time (in the right uniform hehe). Not with multiple people, or just because you feel like it. You are giving away a precious gift God himself has given you. If you ever think about cheating or Committing adultery, think of the other person involved in the situation. There is two parts to every situation , no matter what kinda it is. But, it is a very tough thing. To be the person doing it, and wondering if you'll get caught. But most of all it is tough for the person who gets cheated on... then the person starts questioning them self. A lot of psychiatric problems happen after these kinds of situations. And, it all could've stopped if you just picked up one solitary book, and read for a few seconds. The choice is yours to make, but remember so are the consequences. Religion Essays
Friday, March 6, 2020
How to Pour Concrete essays
How to Pour Concrete essays There are many steps involved to pouring a concrete patio. There are seven main steps that will help you to accomplish this task. The steps include determining the type of concrete to use, estimating the materials to use, building the forms, pouring the, concrete, finishing the concrete, and finally sweeping or grating it. When first deciding that you want to pour a concrete patio you must first determine what type of concrete to use. This is determined depending on the size of the job and the budget allowed by the homeowner. For this project, a ten foot by twenty-foot patio, you would need to have transit-mixed concrete. Transit mixed concrete is purchased over the phone and transported in a concrete truck to the job site. After you determine the type of concrete that you need to use, you must now try and estimate the amount of materials needed for the job. Knowing the length and width of the patio are needed. The length and width are multiplied together to determine the surface area. This is needed to order the proper amount of concrete. When ordering the concrete you must tell them the surface area of the patio to assure the proper amount is delivered. For this job you also need other supplies you are going to need a set of two by four boards to set around the perimeter of the patio. In this case sixty feet of two by fours are needed. You also need a wooden float, a steel trowel and a broom. These tools needed for the finishing and curing of the concrete. Once the materials are purchased you can begin to build the forms for the patio. The forms are used to pour the concrete into when it is in its liquid state. The forms act as a mold to hold it in the place desired. The forms need to develop the shape of the patio. The materials needed in this step are the two by four boards and the wooden stakes. The boards are to be inserted into the ground one inch below the surface of th ...
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Flood control in river basins has become more important in recent Essay
Flood control in river basins has become more important in recent years. Discuss various techniques used for flood control and t - Essay Example The flood defenses were strong barriers that prevented water from flooding into the plain land (Woods & Woods 2007, p.5). Floods occur when flowing surface water spills over the confining banks into the dry land. Floods are a natural phenomenon, which occur in almost all river systems. Areas prone to flooding include those located downstream of dams and the low lying regions. Flooding causes immense losses, which include loss of human and animal life, soil erosion, damage on properties, destruction of vegetation and many environmental damages. In addition, areas affected by floods are highly susceptible to famines and prolonged droughts. This further causes loss of human and animal life due to starvation. Floodwaters are usually contaminated with harmful microorganisms derived from raw sewage. This puts people affected by the floods at greater risks of getting infectious diseases (Proverbs, et al., 2011, p. 221). Floods may contribute to some positive impacts on the ecosystem. One of the benefits of flooding includes offering fresh water for domestic use and irrigation. The other benefit includes massive deposition of minerals and nutrients into the affected areas. Apart from these benefits, floods also help in improving the condition of aquatic ecosystems. However, they can be regarded as the most damaging compared to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Therefore, stringent measures must be undertaken to prevent the massive losses incurred during floods. This paper discusses various techniques used in controlling floods and their environmental impacts (Gruntfest & Handmer, 2001, p.12). Methods used to control floods Techniques applied in controlling floods entail the modification of the river environment and areas located close to the river. Flood control techniques can be applied on the river channel, floodway or on the floodplain (Ghosh, 1997, p.55). Techniques applied in floodplains Floodplains are those regions that lie below the flood elevation and exclus ively on the floodway and river channel. Majority of techniques applied on the floodplains lie far from the river, but are designed to reduce damage from floods. Levee around structures This technique entails the construction of a levee/floodwall around structures located in floodplains. Levees can either be permanent or temporally. Construction of the levee requires the use of strong, natural or artificial material that can withstand pressure from the floods (Hyndman & Hyndman, 2010, p.356). The essence of using levees and other barriers is to raise the height in structures located in floodplains which floodwater must rise to in order cause flooding. These structures offer protection to structures but put other structures into a high risk of flooding due to increased water retention in the floodplains. In addition, serious damage to protected structures can arise when the levees are unable to hold back the floods. This is because the pressure at which the floods hit the structure i s extremely high compared to when there is no barrier (Green, 2004, p.36). The use of levees, floodwalls, and dykes has a negative impact on natural river processes (Harmancioglu, 1994, p.42). Ideally, water spills emerging from a river should form a natural channel which provides a way for the floods to flow. Therefore, levees reduce the ability of the floodplains to process floodwaters. In addition, the
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
How does your understanding of Postcolonial Theory inform your Essay
How does your understanding of Postcolonial Theory inform your interpretaion of Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children and Tsitsi Dangarembga's Nervous Condition - Essay Example Post colonial theory was based on the two theoretical concepts of the time, related to identity, i.e. ââ¬Ëothernessââ¬â¢ and ââ¬Ëhybridityââ¬â¢. The colonized people were diverse in their nature and tradition .They are ââ¬Ëother ââ¬Ëto the colonizers but are different from one another also. Such a drastic situation was meticulous to India and Africa. Both the countries had shared the common pain of identity and tradition. A comprehensible understanding of the political and cultural aspects of the countries is needed to unravel the stories in its full meaning. ââ¬ËMidnights Childrenââ¬â¢ and ââ¬ËNervous Conditionââ¬â¢ are such great novels of the time dealt successfully with the postcolonial theory and there by the self search of the natives Salman Rushdieââ¬â¢s ââ¬ËMidnightââ¬â¢s childrenââ¬â¢ is a novel about Indian independence, the partition and their aftermath. The novel is Rushdieââ¬â¢s interpretation of a period of about seventy years in Indiaââ¬â¢s modern history dealing with the events leading to the partition of India and beyond .The novel encapsulates the experiences of three generation of Sinai family living in Srinagar, Amritsar and Agra and then in Bombay and finally migrating to Karachi. Tsitsi Dambengaraââ¬â¢s Nervous conditionââ¬â¢ is set in the post colonial Rhodesia of 1960s. The narrator and the main character, Thambu, expresses her experience with colonization, as a child growing up from a poor African community, with tremendous correctness and detail. She is anything but typical. A great deal of the novel reveals the development of Thambu as she becomes a young lady and the relationship with her cousin Nyasha .As they mature we can identify the difference in their characters . Tsitsi also adopt the method of narration as Saleem in ââ¬ËMidnights childrenââ¬â¢ .Saleem works in a pickle factory by day and records his experiences in the night hoping that one day the world would taste the pickle of history. Alongside of
Sunday, January 26, 2020
Hip Fracture Treatment in Older Patients
Hip Fracture Treatment in Older Patients 1.1 Background Hip (neck of femur) fractures are a common, serious and well-defined injury affecting mainly older people. As global populations age, projections for hip fracture numbers over the coming decades will rise. Delays to surgery are associated with increased post-operative complications, prolonged recovery and length of stay (LOS), and with increased morbidity and mortality (Trpeski, Kaftandziev, and Kjaev, 2013). In addition, the cost burden of hip fractures is substantial. The process of caring for people with hip fractures is complex, long, and involves several diagnostic, therapeutic and administrative activities. These activities occur in AE and orthopaedic departments, operating theatres, and in the community. They involve a range of health professionals and support staff. When this coordination fails, patients may suffer from avoidable delays and suffering. In the United Kingdom (UK), the bed occupancy rate for hip fractures was more than 1.5 million days, which represent 20% of th e total orthopaedic beds (Compston et al., 2009). The lifetime risk of sustaining a hip fracture in the UK from age 50 is around 11% for women and 3% for men (Van Staa et al., 2001). Many of those who recover suffer a loss in mobility and independence: approximately half of those previously independent become partly dependent, while one-third become totally dependent (Myers et al., 1996). 1.2 Current Process Watford General Hospital (WAT) treat 450 patients for hip fractures every year. Hip fractures are one of the most common complex trauma problems orthopaedic surgeons face. Patients are often seriously ill, elderly and frail, which can result in poor outcomes. Hip fractures generally result from a fall, patients present at AE where imaging tests are used to make a diagnosis and pain medication is administered (Appendix A). When possible, patients are moved from the emergency department to a ward. Ideally, patients will have surgery within 72 hours of arrival at hospital, provided they are in a stable condition. A pre-operative assessment is carried out to establish the patients overall health to make sure they are ready for surgery. They also have an anaesthetic assessment. Two main types of anaesthesia are used: general anaesthetic and spinal or epidural anaesthesia. A team of healthcare professionals will perform the surgery, including an orthopaedic surgeon. The National Hip Fracture Database (NHFD) produce an annual report that includes an analysis of 30-day mortality rates for hip fracture patients who are over 60 years old within the UK. WAT were alerted by the NHFD that they were an outlier, with 12% mortality over 3 years. In the UK the overall mortality rate within 30 days of hip fracture in 2014 was 7.5%Ãâà (Johansen, 2016). High mortality rates are a signal to hospitals that they should investigate to identify and resolve quality issues. Figure 1Funnel Plot of Crude and Adjusted Mortality Rates 2014 (Source: Johansen, 2016) Effective strategies are needed to reduce the burden on healthcare providers and to improve patient quality of life and outcomes after a hip fracture. Staff at WAT want to develop an action plan to analyse performance and instigate improvement programmes. This included questioning what elements of care could have been delivered better to ensure that high-quality care is delivered throughout the patients treatment, to improve 30-day mortality rates and functional outcomes for patients. 1.3 Perceived Issues with the Current Process In the present study, the incidence and mortality and functional outcomes in hip fracture patients was studied. The relationships between admission and treatment times, pain management drugs and anaesthesia, and their effect on the patients length of stay (LOS) in hospital were assessed and the following issues were found: Admission time from AE to treatment is high High level of opiate usage to manage pain Routine use of general anaesthesia 1.4 Value Adding Activities Admission to surgery times Pain management Days spent in hospital 1.5 Scope Older people with hip fractures aged 60 or over are in scope for this project. à à 1.6 Problem Statement 30-day mortality rates for older hip fracture patients at Watford General Hospital have been 12% for 3 consecutive years, 4.5% higher than the national average (NHFD). 1.7 Goal Statement Reduce 30-day mortality rates in older hip fracture patients to 8.5% by the end of June 2017. 2.1 Process Map Figure 2 Process Map 2.2 Process Narrative à à à The person arrives at the AE department by ambulance or car. The triage nurse assesses the patients condition. Patients are classified by severity of injury (red, yellow, or green). Patients presenting with suspected hip fractures are commonly assigned a yellow classification, which indicates an emergency but not of a life-threatening nature. An AE doctor or nurse checks the patients vital signs, records their pre-fall health condition, and administers pain medication (generally opiates). Subsequently, in consultation with an AE doctor (if available), several basic tests (blood tests) and X-rays (hip and often chest) are ordered and performed. The patient is transferred to the radiology department for x-ray. The AE doctor or nurse then reviews the test results. If a hip fracture is diagnosed, the patient is deemed admissible and an intravenous (IV) drip is started. The patient is transferred to the orthopaedic ward for admission when a bed becomes available. Admission times are curre ntly 13.4 hours. On admittance to the orthopaedic ward an orthopaedic surgeon will review the test results. If the patient is deemed suitable for treatment the medical assessment team will assess if the patient has any existing medical issues that may affect treatment. If pre-existing medical conditions with the potential to affect treatment are found patients are referred to palliative care and discharged. If no pre-existing conditions are found patients are assessed by the anaesthesia team. Patients deemed suitable for surgery are placed on the trauma list, surgery generally takes place within 72 hours. Patients deemed unsuitable are referred to palliative care and discharged. Patients go to theatre, they are anesthetised using general anaesthetic and receive surgery. They are subsequently transferred back to the orthopaedic ward for ward-based management. Patients are discharged once they are mobile. 2.3 Identification of Problems, Weaknesses, and Change Areas High level of opiate use by AE staff for pain management Admission times of 13.4 hours Surgery wait times of up to 58.6 hours Routine use of general anaesthetic in surgery 3.1 Key Strategic Elements for Improvement Patients with hip fractures often require complex and challenging care, this is provided by a number of professionals in several departments, crossing a number of service boundaries. These patients are often frail, and their outcomes depend on how effectively their care pathway is managed. Pain management medications, avoidable delays, anaesthesia choices and post-operative care affect functional outcomes and mortality. The key strategic elements towards improving outcomes for older hip fracture patients are: Reducing morbidity and mortality rates Achieving better functional outcomes for patients Increasing discharge rates to original place of residence Increased value from the healthcare budget They can be achieved by: Altering pain management practices Altering anaesthetic management Reducing admission and treatment times 3.1.1 Pain Management Despite recent advances in the care of hip fracture patients, significant morbidity and mortality persists. Some of this is attributable to the pain medication administered in hospital. Opiates are the preferred pain management drug at WAT currently (Appendix A). Opiate use can cause nausea, constipation, and confusion (delirium) in the older patients (Coruhlu and Pehlivan, 2016). Effective pain management is a primary goal in hip fracture treatment. Research suggests fascia iliaca compartment blocks (FIB) is an alternative for pain management in hip fractures. Intravenous opioid therapy is used frequently (Appendix A). However, opioid side effects, such as nausea, vomiting and delirium, are common. Regional analgesic techniques have been shown to provide similar analgesia to opioids. FIB is reported to effectively block cutaneous lateral femoral and femoral nerves in adults (Nie et al., 2015). Studies have suggested superior analgesic effect with pre-operative FIB. They provided superior analgesia to intramuscular morphine in a randomised controlled trial of hip fracture patients (Callear et al., 2016). FIB is a safe and simple technique that can be administered by junior doctors and specialist nurses with training (Hanna et al., 2014). FIB administered in AE provided significant decreases in pain when compared to opiates. Post block analgesic requirements for patients in the FIB group were minimal. A study conducted by Callear and Shah (2016) concluded that a single dose of FIB given in the pre-operative period significantly reduced the post-operative and total analgesic requirements in the hip fracture patient. Patients also experience lower rates of delirium and were discharged faster. This reduces the cost of providing inpatient hospital beds and improves quality of life for older patients. 3.1.2 Anaesthetic Management Anaesthetists have an essential role in the preoperative, operative and postoperative management of hip fracture patients. Complications arising from anaesthesia in hip fracture surgery is influenced not only by the type of anaesthetic used, but also by patient comorbidities and the delays between admission and surgery. Approximately 25% of hip fracture patients display at least one episode of cognitive dysfunction during hospitalisation (Heyburn et al., 2012). A systematic review published by SIGN (2009), suggests that the use of spinal anaesthesia may reduce the incidence of postoperative confusion. 3.1.3 Time to Surgery At present admission times are 13.4 hours (NHFD statistics show the national average is 9.3 hours) and surgery wait times are 58.6 hours. Current guidelines recommend surgery to be carried out within 24 hours of injury (BOA, 2014). Observational studies suggest better functional outcomes, shorter hospital stays, duration of pain, and lower rates of complications and mortality are achieved by performing surgery earlier. Pre-operative delays increase mortality and, in those who survive, prolongs post-operative stay. For every additional 8 h delay to surgery after the initial 48 h, an extra day in hospital results (Colais et al., 2015). Currently WAT fall far short of the ideal to provide optimal care for hip fracture patients. 3.1.4 Multidisciplinary Approach The management of hip fractures requires complex, connected care from presentation at AE, through all departments. A study of 116 patients found that dedicated nurse specialists are effective at fast-tracking hip fracture patients to surgery by securing hospital beds, organising care, operating theatre lists and acting as a liaison with all other relevant departments (Larsson and Holgers, 2011). Many published guidelines recommend a multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of hip fractures, in addition to, a good care environment to promote best outcomes. The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN, 2009), the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE, 2013), and the British Orthopaedic Association in cooperation with the British Geriatric Society (BOA, 2014), have all produced guidelines supporting a multidisciplinary team approach to deal with hip fractures in older people. Figure 3 Multidisciplinary Team (Source: Orthopaedics and Trauma) Rieman and Hutichson, (2016) It is recognised that a team approach with excellent communication between all the members is essential. The multidisciplinary team looking after hip fracture patients is large (Figure 2), and each role is important in the jigsaw of care. 3.1.5 Clinical Pathway Clinical pathways should be used to aid the multidisciplinary team. They provide a description of the expected interventions and outcomes throughout the patient journey following a hip fracture. The use of clinical pathways ensures everyone knows the next step in the process and this minimises unnecessary variations in practice (Chudyk et al., 2009). A study of 1193 older hip fracture patients conducted at 6 hospitals in the Limburg trauma region of the Netherlands concluded that the use of a multidisciplinary clinical pathways (MCP) for patients with hip fractures tends to be more effective than usual care (UC). Time to surgery was significantly shorter in the MCP group when compared to the UC group. The mean length of stay was 10 versus 12 days. In addition, the MCP group had significantly lower rates of postoperative complications (Kalmet et al., 2016). 3.2 Proposed Strategy Establish a designated Hip Fracture Unit within the main orthopaedic unit. Appoint a multi-disciplinary team to be based on the ward comprised of: Physio /Occupational Therapist Orthopaedic /Orthogeriatric Doctor Specialist Hip Fracture Nurse Nursing staff Establish a Hip Fracture Pathway. Establish a protocol-driven, fast-track admission of patients with hip fractures through AE AE bleep specialist hip fracture nurse FIB administered by nurse for pain management and patient centred care Patients are admitted to the hip fracture ward within 6 hours Appropriate, medically fit patients receive surgery within 24 hours Use of spinal anaesthesia when appropriate Continuous tracking/live data systems that regularly update patient and logistical data may improve management by identifying patients location, delays in treatment and relevant clinical information. 3.3 Potential Process Improvement Tools 3.3.1 Continuous Quality Improvement Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) is a quality management tool that encourages all members of the health care team to continuously ask, How are we doing? and Can we do it better? (Edwards et al., 2008). It focuses on improvement for the patient and the practice by asking questions like, can we do things more efficiently? Can we be more effective? Can we do it faster? CQI uses a structured planning approach to evaluate the current processes and improve those processes to achieve the desired outcomes. Tools commonly used in CQI help team members identify the desired clinical or administrative outcome and the evaluation strategies that enable the team to determine if they are achieving that outcome. The team can adjust the CQI plan based on continuous monitoring of progress through an adaptive, real-time feedback loop (NLC, 2013). A CQI approach can help improve patient care. There is a strong link between organisations with explicit CQI strategies and high performance (Levin, 2016). Figure 4 CQI Framework Model (Adapted from NLC) Structure examines the characteristics of resources, staff and consultants, physical space, and financial resources. Process -Ãâà the activities, workflows, or tasks carried out to achieve an output/outcome. Output the immediate predecessor to a change in the patients status. Not all outputs are clinical e.g. business or efficiency goals. Outcome the end result of care. Can be change in the patients current and future health status. Feedback Loop represents its cyclical, iterative nature. 3.3.2 Lean Management Lean is a process improvement method developed by Toyota in the 1950s. Lean management principles have been used in manufacturing for many years, however, these principles can be used in healthcare too. According to Womack and Jones, there are five key lean principles: value, value stream, flow, pull, and perfection. Lean drives out waste so that all work adds value from a customer perspective. Lean thinking focuses on how efficiently resources are being used, it looks at each step in the process and asks what value is being produced? Value from a patients perspective can be defined as timeliness of treatment, reduced stress, or better functional outcomes. The NHS defines value as anything that helps treat the patient. Everything else is waste (Jones and Mitchell,2006). Figure 5 Lean Principles Identify customer value in healthcare value is any activity that improves the patients health. Manage the value stream the value stream is the patients journey. Identify process that deliver value to patients. Create Flow align processes to facilitate the smooth flow of patients and information Establish Pull provide care on demand and utilising resources effectively. Seek Perfection optimise the process through continued development and adjustment to meet patients needs. Optimal delivery of high-quality care to reduce mortality in hip fracture patients is an achievable goal. There are numerous opportunities to enhance the quality of care: reduced length of stay, reduced institutionalisation, reduced mortality and better functional outcomes for patients. Better quality care minimises treatment delay, promotes recovery and facilitates a speedier discharge. Cost and quality are not in conflict providing high quality hip fracture treatment is a lot cheaper than poor quality treatment. Lean inspired and clinical pathway related process improvement efforts make inconsistent and inefficient practices in health care more visible. The implementation and adherence to evidence based standards will considerably improve the care and management of older patients with hip fractures, this will result in significantly improved outcomes for patients and the healthcare system. 5.1 Appendix A References à à BOA (2014) BOA standards for trauma (bOASTs). Available at: http://www.boa.ac.uk/publications/boa-standards-trauma-boasts/ (Accessed: 5 December 2016). Callear, J., Shah, K., Hospital, J.R. and Oxford (2016) Analgesia in hip fractures. Do fascia-iliac blocks make any difference?, BMJ Quality Improvement Reports, 5(1), pp. 210130-4147. doi: 10.1136/bmjquality.u210130.w4147. Chudyk, A., Jutai, J., Petrella, R. and Speechley, M. (2009) Systematic review of hip fracture rehabilitation practices in the elderly, Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation., 90(2), pp. 246-62. Colais, P., Di Martino, M., Fusco, D., Perucci, C.A. and Davoli, M. (2015) The effect of early surgery after hip fracture on 1-year mortality, BMC Geriatrics, 15(1). doi: 10.1186/s12877-015-0140-y. Compston, J. (2009) Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women and men from the age of 50 years in the UK, Maturitas., 62(2), pp. 105-8. Coruhlu, O. and Pehlivan, S. (2016) Worst pills. Available at: http://www.worstpills.org/includes/page.cfm?op_id=459 (Accessed: 5 December 2016). Edwards, P., Huang, D., Metcalfe, L. and Sainfort, F. (2008) Maximizing your investment in EHR. Utilizing EHRs to inform continuous quality improvement., JHIM, 22(1), pp. 7-12. Hanna, L., Gulati, A., Graham, A. and Corporation, H.P. (2014) The role of Fascia Iliaca blocks in hip fractures: A prospective case-control study and feasibility assessment of a junior-doctor-delivered service, International Scholarly Research Notices, 2014. doi: 10.1155/2014/191306. Heyburn, J., Holloway, G., Leaper, E., Parker, M., Ridegway, S., White, S., Wiese, M. and Wilson, i (2012) Management of proximal femoral fractures 2011, Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland, 67(1), pp. 85-98. Jones, D. and Mitchell, A. (2006) Lean thinking for the NHS. Available at: http://www.nhsconfed.org/~/media/Confederation/Files/Publications/Documents/Lean%20thinking%20for%20the%20NHS.pdf (Accessed: 11 December 2016). Kalmet, P.S.H., Koc, B.B., Hemmes, B. and ten Broeke, R.H.M. (2016) Effectiveness of a Multidisciplinary Clinical Pathway for Elderly Patients With Hip Fracture: A Multicenter Comparative Cohort Study, Geriatric Orthopaedic Surgery Rehabilitation, 7(2), pp. 81-85. Levin, D. (2016) Using continuous quality improvement to improve patient experience. Available at: http://bivarus.com/using-continuous-quality-improvement-improve-patient-experience/ (Accessed: 7 December 2016). Myers, A.H., Palmer, M.H., Engel, B.T., Warrenfeltz, D.J. and Parker, J.A. (1996) Mobility in older patients with hip fractures: Examining Pre: Journal of Orthopaedic trauma, Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma, 10(2), pp. 99-107. NICE (2013) Falls in older people: Assessing risk and prevention. Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg161 (Accessed: 5 December 2016). Nie, H., Yang, Y.-X., Wang, Y., Liu, Y., Zhao, B. and Luan, B. (2015) Effects of continuous fascia iliaca compartment blocks for postoperative analgesia in patients with hip fracture, 20(4). NLC (2013) Continuous quality improvement (CQI) strategies to optimize your practice Primer provided by. Available at: https://www.healthit.gov/sites/default/files/nlc_continuousqualityimprovementprimer.pdf (Accessed: 7 December 2016). Rieman, A.H.K. and Hutichson, J.D. (2016) The multidisciplinary management of hip fractures in older patients. Available at: http://www.orthopaedicsandtraumajournal.co.uk/article/S1877-1327(16)30025-2/fulltext (Accessed: 5 December 2016). Scottish intercollegiate guidelines network part of NHS quality improvement Scotland SIGN management of hip fracture in older people (2009) Available at: http://www.sign.ac.uk/pdf/sign111.pdf (Accessed: 5 December 2016). Simunovic, N., Devereaux, P. and Bhandari, M. (2011) Surgery for hip fractures: Does surgical delay affect outcomes?, 45(1). Trpeski, S., Kaftandziev, I. and Kjaev, A. (2013a) Fast-track care for patients with suspected hip fracture. Available at: http://www.injuryjournal.com/article/S0020-1383(11)00002-7/fulltext (Accessed: 10 December 2016). Trpeski, S., Kaftandziev, I. and Kjaev, A. (2013b) The effects of time-to-surgery on mortality in elderly patients following hip fractures, Prilozi (Makedonska akademija na naukite i umetnostite. Oddelenie za medicinski nauki)., 34(2), pp. 115-21. Van Staa, T.P., Dennison, E.M., Leufkens, H. and Cooper, C. (2001) Epidemiology of fractures in England and Wales. Available at: http://www.thebonejournal.com/article/S8756-3282(01)00614-7/fulltext (Accessed: 5 December 2016). Verhelst, J., Dawson, I., Paul T. P. W. Burgers, Esther M. M. Van Lieshout and Piet A. R. de Rijcke (2013) Implementing a clinical pathway for hip fractures; effects on hospital length of stay and complication rates in five hundred and twenty six patients, 38(5).
Saturday, January 18, 2020
Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnà µgutââ¬â¢s Brà µakfast of Champions criticizà µs Amà µrican socià µty as a wholà µ, by addrà µssing aspà µcts such as racism and mans vulnà µrability towards mà µdia, which both spring from thà µ ignorancà µ of thà µ Amà µrican culturà µ. Thà µ continuous critical vià µwpoint of Amà µricanism and thà µ incà µssant quà µstioning of thà µ Amà µrican drà µam throughout this novà µl makà µ it a modà µrn artifact, a contà µmporary rà µprà µsà µntation of Amà µrican socià µty, and a guidà µ to là µarning out of past mistakà µs. As media and propaganda play a big role in the story, Vonnegut criticizes what an immense impact it has on the American and how its influence can lead to hysteria and madness.After Troutââ¬â¢s kidnapping, when the police questions him about the criminals, he cannot recall anything due to his blackout. His provocative reply, à «For all I know, they may not even have been Earthlings . . . that car may have been occ upied by an intelligent gas from Plutoà » serves as the à «first germ in an epidemic of mind-poisoningà » (76) amongst the credulous masses. As a reporter rewrites Troutââ¬â¢s recollection into a story with the headline à «Pluto Bandits Kidnap Pair, à » various papers soon copy the story and it all escalates to the point where all of New York is taught to fear a so-called ââ¬ËPluto Gangââ¬â¢.People purchase locks for doors and gratings for windows, and the sensationalist media continually feeds the mass hysteria with this rubbish terror. No one questions the existence of the Pluto Gang and everyone believes what the media spreads across the country. Vonnegut goes on about the foolishness of these people, yet his style is à «both too funny and intelligent for manyà », who fail to recognize his à «earnestnessà » and critical voice due to his recurrent à «satirical sketchesà ». Racism and discrimination in American society is another aspect Vonnegut at-tacks and pla ys an important role in Breakfast of Champions as well.As the American College Dictionary defines racism as any à «belief that human races have distinctive makeups that determine their respective cultures, usually involving the idea that oneââ¬â¢s own race is superior and has the right to rule othersà », it becomes clearer and clearer how filled with criticism about this certain practice this Vonnegutââ¬â¢s novel is. Again and again, does the word à «Niggerà » come up in the novel to underscore the harsh treatment blacks were forced to undergo, and it is used in a particular manner by Vonnegut to express again, how pathetic, blunt and almost funnily absurd this entire notion of discrimination towards blacks was.Vonnegut purposely generalizes opinions on blacks when saying how à «White people were the only people with money enough to buy new automobiles, except for a few black criminals, who always wanted Cadillacsà »(41). His striking generalities poke fun at those masse s that discriminate blacks and try to force them all under a certain, negative cliche. His blunt and exaggerated language also makes this particular discrimination seem absurd. Obviously, not every single Blackman feels the desire to own a Cadillac, but hearing this point presented in such a comical way brings across the stupidity of such bigotry.Vonnegutââ¬â¢s, seemingly depressed view of life, uses America to criticize mankind and to make people aware of their capabilities. He shows how people can act ridiculous, cruel, and naive. He criticizes to show humankind what mistakes have been made, so that future prevention is possible. His thoughts go under the skin and point out things everybody can learn from. America is such a good example to show this by, because this nation was founded on a dream of self-realization and happiness. This dream, however, can only be obtained through seeing past mistakes with a critical eye, learning from them, and fighting to achieve dreams.
Friday, January 10, 2020
Comparative Methodological Critique
The aim of this paper is to compare two academic research papers, one informed by qualitative and another one by quantitative research designs with focus on the methodological factors. Both papers describe working lives and attitudes of gay and lesbian workers in the UK and USA, possible consequences of disclosure of sexual orientation on their working relations and organisational arrangements towards equality and diversity of working practice. These research projects add to the growing number of studies which shed light on the sensitive nature of homosexuality in the workplace and anti-discrimination policies and practices that organisations deploy to create a more inclusive working environment. Governed by the difficulty of access to gay and lesbian population both in UK and USA, and its ââ¬Å"hiddenâ⬠nature both teams chose their own strategy in unveiling the nature of work attitudes of gay and lesbian employees and demonstrating the progress organisations have made or are making towards the establishment of good practice. st paper (qualitative) The paper deals with identifying good organisational practice concerning equality, diversity and sexual orientation in the workplace, and considers any changes following the introduction of Employment equality (Sexual Orientation) regulations 2003. It also aims at addressing the gap between equality policy and practice which provides the foundation for further analysis of the significant shortfall in knowledge relating to the experience of LGB (lesbian, gay and bisexual) employees in UK organisations. Even today, the issue of sexuality still remains a sensitive one, despite the coming into force of legislation offering protection to LGB people. It is also the cause of unease for some employers in the modern world in discussing (not to mention dealing with! ) this issue, and consequential bullying, suffering and fear which make life and work unbearable for so many LGB people. So far progress has been made based on social justice and business case studies which means that this still ââ¬Å"remains â⬠¦an under researched area in which there have been very few case studies of particular organisationsâ⬠(Colgan et al. 2007:591). Having adopted a phenomenological position in their design, the research team chose to carry out a longitudinal (2 year) qualitative study in 16 ââ¬Å"good practiceâ⬠case study organisations in the area of employment of LGB workers, to discover ââ¬Å"the details of the situationâ⬠¦[in order to] to understand the realityâ⬠(Remenyi et a l. , 1998:35) of working relations in organisations with LGB workers. Also focusing on the ways that people make sense of the world especially through the sharing of experiences with others has dictated the use of a social constructionist framework (Bryman and Bell, 2007). The case studies involved the analysis of companiesââ¬â¢ documentation and reports, trade union publications and websites to get an inside view of companiesââ¬â¢ attitudes and practices. The main challenge of the project in data collection was ââ¬Å"limited resources â⬠¦ inability to specify a sampling frameâ⬠(Saunders et al. , 2003:170) which dictated the use of non-probability sampling. Therefore, snowballing sampling was applied as the most appropriate for this kind of research. The research team interviewed in depth 154 LGB employees who, prior to that, completed a short survey questionnaire. All completed the survey giving a complete census. However, due to ââ¬Å"a lack of robust statistical evidence concerning the proportion of the UK population who identify as LGBâ⬠(Colgan et al. , 2007:591) and the difficulty of access to such people, itââ¬â¢s hard to say how representative this sample of LGB people is. Determined by these practical constraints, the research team adopted a mixed methods research strategy (case study/interviews) with various data collection methods that allowed them to have a cross-check against each other's results. Difficulty of accessing LGB employees also dictated the choice of analysis focusing only on ââ¬Å"good practiceâ⬠organisations. Hence, using survey, in-depth interview and secondary data enabled the team to combine the specificity of quantitative data with the ability to interpret perceptions provided by qualitative analysis. Though, there is evidence and justification by the research team of how respondents were selected, the project itself demonstrated a disproportioned balance of respondents not only in terms of gender (61,7% -men, 38,3% ââ¬â women) but also in terms of ethnic division. This means that the balance tipped so far in terms of the depth of their research. The research team adapted an inductive research approach to accommodate the existing theories and findings as well as their own empirical studies, for example ââ¬Å"that those in lower level and perhaps more difficult working environments are less likely to be ââ¬Å"outâ⬠â⬠¦at workâ⬠(Colgan et al. , 2006a cited in Colgan, 2007:593). The paper also gives a good historical overview of how public and private sector organisations have made progress towards the ââ¬Å"inclusion of sexual orientation within its organisational policy and practiceâ⬠(Colgan et al. , 2006a cited in Colgan, 2007:593). This provides readers with a comparative overview of how the situation has changed following the introduction of the legislation. The research team identified the number of steps organisations took to follow ââ¬Å"good practiceâ⬠in relation to equality and diversity, at the same time outlining the differences in progress between public and private sector companies. In doing so, the authors also assert that the implementation gap between policy and practice still exists and requires further measures such as ââ¬Å"the need to see policy championed, resourced and implemented by senior line managersâ⬠(Colgan et al. 2007). Whereas the Regulations empowered LGB people to step in and ââ¬Å"challenge discrimination and harassmentâ⬠(Colgan et al. , 2007:604), the key factor, as identified by the authors, ââ¬Å"that prevented some respondents coming out at work â⬠¦ the fearâ⬠(Colgan et al. , 2007) remained the main obstacle to LGB workers to blowing the whistle and reporting an incident. These findings are supported and justified throughout the paper by respondentsââ¬â¢ statements and results of previous studies. The research team also defined the relation between the impact of the employment equality (SO) regulations, considered as independent variable, and such dependent variables like job satisfaction, being out at work, experience of harassment and discrimination, this in fact gives an idea of the existing problem in organisational practices. In terms of structure, language and appropriateness of referencing to other material this paper proves highly informative. It suggests that further research needs to be done in order ââ¬Å"to gain a more ââ¬Å"representativeâ⬠picture of working lives of LGB employeesâ⬠(Colgan et al. , 2007) as it only explored the ââ¬Å"tip of the icebergâ⬠, because the research project was able to examine only a fraction of the whole, and, unless an organisation adopts more effective and proactive leadership on equality and diversity, the legislation on its own will take only a small step towards the inclusivity of LGB people and the creation of harmonious equal working practices in UK organisations. The research project involved cross-sectional design that allowed the team to compare and contrast their findings derived from each of the cases. This is considered to be a great advantage of the project as it allowed the team to consider ââ¬Å"what is unique and what is common across casesâ⬠(Bryman and Bell, 2007:64), thus facilitating an attempt to generalise their findings. The research team does not explicitly express their own opinions, allowing personal values to sway the conduct of the research and the findings deriving from it, this ensures that they acted in good faith and followed good practice. However, having conducted a survey following the implementation of (SO) Regulations 2003, this study failed to provide a sufficiently broad spectrum of opinion of how organisational culture has changed as a consequence of the legislation. Moreover, the research team did not specify whether any of the key informants or interviewees had worked in ââ¬Å"good practiceâ⬠organisations before the regulations came into force which would allow a comparative analysis of organisational practice to take place and, thereby, for data to be more representative. Much attention was focused upon good practice organisations in their study; however, there was a failure to demonstrate what was meant by ââ¬Å"good practiceâ⬠. This would have enabled readers to have a more explicit understanding of what expectations are from any organisation with LGB employees. In terms of access to respondents, although the team acknowledged the difficulty, they were not as resourceful as they might have been. Lack of robust information undermines the conclusions, arguably, brings into question the credibility of the findings as the research net was not cast widely or deeply enough. For the readership of this paper there is no ultimate enlightenment as the paper does not show any argument or advocacy that invite readers to the world of unexpected discovery; instead, it is rather a presentation or portrait. It also remains difficult to conduct a true replication of this study, even though majority of the organisations ââ¬Å"were willing to be identified by nameâ⬠(Colgan et al. 2007). 2nd paper (quantitative) This paper describes the relationship between reported disclosure of sexual orientation, anti-discrimination policies and top management support. It is also aimed at identifying work-related attitudes of gay and lesbian workers if such disclosure takes place and its effects on individual performance of gay and lesbian workers. At the time of the research very few empirical studie s had been conducted to investigate work attitude and disclosure of sexual orientation. Since the recognition of the gay and lesbian population within the workforce, inclusiveness of gay and lesbian employees in organisational diversity management policies was desperately needed. It has been argued that ââ¬Å"an approach of workplace tolerance is neededâ⬠(Day and Shoenrade, 2000:347) which can contribute to the knowledge of human resource function when taking appropriate actions if conflict arises and to help create a more conducive environment for the disclosure of sexual orientation. Emphasising the importance of collecting facts and studying ââ¬Å"the relationship of one set of facts to anotherâ⬠(Anderson, 2009:45) underpins their positivist paradigm. Focused on key unresolved questions such as ââ¬Å"closeted homosexual workers will have a less positive work-related attitudeâ⬠(Day and Shoenrade, 2000:346) the research team takes a deductive research approach to test three formulated hypotheses which together with research paper aims do not appear until well into the text. This can lead to uncertainty on the part of the readership. In terms of selection of respondents and its rationale, the research team fails to demonstrate the proportion of respondents relating to ethnics; also gender division appeared to be highly disproportioned with 485 gays and only 259 lesbians. Their chosen data collection methods (sampling, focus groups and a questionnaire) highlighted some problematic issues such as ââ¬Å"identifying a representative sample of working lesbians and gaysâ⬠(Day and Shoenrade, 2000:350) due to the sensitive nature of research and lack of current data on the lesbian and gay population. Great attention was paid to demonstrating their strategy in obtaining possibility sample. Having looked at various options, the sampling choice was justified on the basis of geographical location (USA Midwest) which it was thought would benefit in the existing research as it involves lesbian and gay population not surveyed before. A large sample would allow them to easily obtain a significant test statistic (Esterby-Smith et al. 2008), the research team sampled several resources, principally Human Rights Project (HRP), and then broadened them getting a reasonable response of 29% which ââ¬Å"showed no statistically significant difference from the larger sample on the major variablesâ⬠(Day and Shoenrade, 2000:351). However, such considerations cannot be viewed as justification for not following the principles of probability sampling and therefore teamââ¬â¢s findings do not represent the whole gay and lesbian population of USA and cannot be generalised. In testing three formulated hypotheses the research team established three independent variables (disclosure of sexual orientation, presence of anti-discrimination policy and top management support) and 5 dependent ones (affective commitment, continuance commitment, job satisfaction, job stress and conflict between home and work) and selected a multivariate analysis to find a way of summarising the relationship between these variables and at the same time capturing the essence of the said relationship (Esterby-Smith et al. , 2008). Adopting objectivist ontology the research team aimed at analysing the relationships between these variables thus creating static view of social life (Bryman and Bell, 2007). However, there was a failure to specify which statistical test was used to demonstrate and examine interdependence between them. This, in fact, point to a lack of transparency of their project. Based on several example questions the team demonstrated it can be deduced that they were dealing with categorical data (ordinal and cardinal) and therefore the Spearman correlation test and regression analysis (linear regression model) were used to represent non-parametric data. This allowed them to measure the strength and the direction of association between the variables, and confirm whether there is any difference in the population from which the sample was drawn. The research team also used a qualitative research method. They conducted a focus-group discussion to ensure that ââ¬Å"the construct of disclosure of sexual orientation be precisely defined and relevant toâ⬠¦ [this] population (Day and Shoenrade, 2000:351). This helped to ensure that the concept was precisely defined and relevant to the population. The lack of secondary data sources also explained the rationale of their chosen method of data analysis. However, had this data been obtained, it would have allowed to create a more comparative analysis. For each independent variable the research team demonstrated several example questions and interpretation of the results which provided readers with an overview of a critical analysis of the conclusions the research team came to. However, those who are not familiar with statistical data would find it hard to follow the argument as there was a failure to provide basic explanation of roman letters and include notes when referencing to the tables. Therefore, it is impossible to cross-check their results and to confirm their findings. Focusing on facts, and looking for causalities throughout their analysis, underpinned their positivist paradigm and reflected their research approach and strategy. Like any other quantitative researchers the team was trying to describe why things are, rather than how they are. They admit that the issue of causality should be discussed to achieve a better understanding of the relations of the variables. Nevertheless, the research team found the evidence to support portions of the three formulated hypotheses. They critically evaluated each one by giving their own suggestions and recommendations to organisations and HR practitioners on how to improve their working practice and establish the inclusiveness of gay and lesbian workers. The presence of modal verbs in the quantitative research once again emphasised the invariably implicit nature of this research often criticised by the qualitative researchers for its high level of assumptions (Bryman and Bell, 2007). Their data analysis and interpretation of their findings are well structured and presented. The ability of the research team to point out the pitfalls of their own project and critically approach their findings is considered to be a great advantage of this research paper. Conclusion The papers provide a solid foundation for further analysis in the field of equality and diversity in organisations with gay and lesbian workers. Governed by own choice for research strategy and approach to answer research questions, they were both affected by the same practical constraint during the research, extremely sensitive nature of sexual orientation and the ââ¬Å"hiddenâ⬠nature of the gay and lesbian population which led to that fact that probability sampling was impossible as there was no accessible sampling framework for the population from which the sample could be taken. Hence, one cannot confirm that both research projects were successful in generalising their findings beyond their chosen sample. Both research projects lack of robust evidence of the proportion of the UK gay and lesbian population and base their research projects on out of date information. This, in fact, stress the importance of secondary analysis to take place which would allow them to obtain good-quality and up-to-date data, and, as outlined by the quantitative research team, offer the opportunity for research to ââ¬Å"compare an individualââ¬â¢ responses longitudinallyâ⬠(Day and Shoenrade, 2000:361). It would also provide the opportunity to gain a more descriptive picture of gay and lesbian working lives and facilitate the emergence of a new data interpretation and theoretical ideas as new methods of quantitative data analysis are constantly appearing in the business research field. Unlike the qualitative research team which totally avoids any advice, the quantitative research team succeeded in providing various recommendations for organisations that can help them create a more inclusive environment, ââ¬Å"this process could begin through education top management in the importance of the issue and the consequences of ignoring itâ⬠(Day and Shoenrade, 2000:360). In terms of contribution to the field unlike quantitative research the qualitative research project rather confirmed the existing findings and results of previous studies then introduced new information that would benefit and add to the existing knowledge. However, both research projects draw the parallel between UK and USA in terms of work attitude and practice in organisations with gay and lesbian workers pointing at lack of effective leadership and commitment of top management needed to create inclusive working relations in a contemporary business world. Both research teams admitted that further analysis will be required, perhaps, a combination of two research methods, as stated by the quantitative research team, ââ¬Å"to gain a more ââ¬Å"representativeâ⬠picture of working livesâ⬠(Colgan et al. , 2007:606) of gay and lesbian workers.
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