Children with disabilities using sign language Research Paper

Children with disabilities using sign language - Research Paper Example This way, such children will exhibit a delay in speech or receptive ability. Considering that, sign language uses manual communication and body language to convey a message, such visual and gestural characteristics serves to support the receptive and expressive language for children with disabilities (Simpson & Lynch, 2007). Additionally, the incorporation of visual and auditory aspects of sign language serves to make language more tangible for children with disabilities, thus enhancing their language and communication skills. Considering that speech, language, and communication activities are supported by the left hemisphere of the brain, then, the application of sign language serves to spur the growth of the brain in children, while increasing the level of activity in the left hemisphere. This adds the kinetic sense to the visual and the oral aspects of language acquisition, enhancing the communication and language base for children (Kelly, 2008). The application of sign language is also important for teaching children with disabilities, in that, the incorporation of movement and signs enhance the ability of such children to remember what they heard and saw, increasing their receptive and expressive abilities (Simpson & Lynch, 2007). Most paramount of the application of sign language to teach children with disabilities is that, it allows a teacher to demonstrate using signs and symbols, while the learners keep imitating this. Eventually, the teacher allows the learners to imitate the signs and the symbols using their own words, an aspect that serves to enhance their language development (Simpson & Lynch, 2007). This case was observed at Grenloch School, where teachers adopted sign language for teaching children in all subjects. This application was observed to create enthusiasm in children, as they enjoyed learning through

Everyday Use Essay Example for Free

Everyday Use Essay Everyday Use is tale of two siblings who are the exact opposite of each other and how they view the world around them. Dee and Maggie are on the opposite ends of the spectrum, as Dee is more of an outgoing woman who fervently pursued education to get away from her humble beginnings. She wanted to be successful as her mother recalls â€Å"Dee (Wanergo) wanted nice things†, while Maggie always embraced the conventional role of woman (Walker 273). Dee is not quite feminine like her sister as she says â€Å"I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man† (273). However, Maggie is an introvert who prefers being at home and doing household chores. Maggie, ever since her accident is not so confident, as her mom recalls â€Å"she will stand hopeless in corners, homely and ashamed† (272). Dee is also very selfish and inconsiderate about her family’s feelings, as she views her family quilt as a mere cultural artifacts and tries to take away it away from them with no remorse. On the contrary, Maggie never tries to deny her sister any of her, although it may at the cost of her own happiness. Her mom says that Maggie â€Å"thinks her sister has held life always in the palm of one hand† (272). However, she is very saddened by her wanting to take away the quilt that she and her grandmother made with their own hands. However, Dee says â€Å"Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts†, failing to see the sentimental value of the quilt to her sister (278). Conclusion Dee is more pretentious as she tries to put up an African persona to sound more cultured and cosmopolitan. She changes her name and her appearance to suit her new found African heritage and justifies it by saying â€Å"I couldn’t bear it any longer being named after the people who oppress me† (276). Maggie, on the other hand, is content with her life and comfortable with her African-American descent. Works Cited Page Walker, A. (1973). †Everyday Use†. In Love and Trouble, 272-276.

Clemencia Novela En Espanol :: Spanish Essays

Una de las principales caracteristicas del movimiento literario romanticista es el predominio de la emocion. En la obra de Ignacio M. Altamirano, Clemencia, se encuentra este tipo de predominio y es posible demostrar que en esta novela la emocion es mas importante que la razon. Primero, por medio de los sentimientos expresados por el narrador al relatar la historia. Segundo, a traves de los personajes pricipales y sus sentimientos, especialmente los de Clemencia, quien parece ser la persona por la cual fue titulada esta novela. Y por ultimo, el tema mismo, el cual comparte una historia de amor, sufrimiento y sentimientos patrioticos.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Al comienzo de la novela el narrador indica, no solo a sus amigos reunidos en su casa, sino al lector mismo, que el nos va contar una historia de mucha emocion, â€Å"una historia de amor y de desgracia†(4). Y comienza a relatar una historia que acontecio a fines del ano 1863, â€Å"ano desgraciado en que...ocupo el ejercito frances a Mexico†(4). Al llamarlo un â€Å"ano desgraciado†, es evidente que el siente una emocion negativa sobre ese conflicto y a la vez crea en la novela un sentimiento pesimista hacia los invasores extranjeros y lo que estos hicieron en Mexico en esa epoca. El narrador exalta un gran sentimiento de carino hacia Mexico por medio de su decripcion de ciudades Mexicanas, su gente, su geografia, su flora; â€Å"Guadalajara, que justo titulo puede llamarse la reina de Occidente... semejante a una mujer dotada de hermosura regia...†(11). Y continua describiendo otros aspectos de Mexico los cuales crean sentimientos de nostalgia y orgullo por lo que el llama â€Å"las bellezas de la patria†(13). Es obvio que esos sentimientos nacionalistas y regionalistas hacen resaltar la emocion que el siete sobre su patria. Son tambien muy evidentes sus emociones personales al hablar sobre de la perdida del amor puro y el movimiento hacia el amor por lo material, â€Å"saber amar bien y cumplidamente, con ternura, con lealtad, sin interes, sin miras bastardas, sino con virtud de un sentimiento tan exaltado como puro†(14). Y va creando asi una atmosfera emotiva, talvez preparandonos para poder entender mejor a los personajes y a los acontecimientos que estos viven en la novela.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  El narrador nos introduce a los personajes por medio de una gran descripcion fisica. Pero tambien incluye una gran cantidad de caracteristicas emotivas sobre estos personajes. A Enrique Flores lo presenta como â€Å"idolatrado por sus soldados, muy querido de sus companeros y el favorito del jefe...†(6). No importa que alto su rango, todos lo querian y lo halagaban.

Developing Countries Essay -- International Political Economy, Debt

Developing countries are closely linked to debt. This is because developing countries needs to allocate more funds to resolve debt crises. Debt can create a negative effect to the host country’s economy and the social condition of a country. This issue of indebtedness is usually solved using domestic capital. Since developing countries have low income, therefore they have low level of savings. The savings are insufficient to repay debt. Thus the government resolves the issue by imposing higher tax. But this will lead to inflationary tax, which is a burden to the further generation. Therefore, the government resorts to foreign borrowings. Domestic borrowings and foreign borrowings have further increased the total debt accumulated by the nation leading them to poverty. To resolve the debt issue, foreign direct investment plays an important role as a source of fund and also in acquiring skills and knowledge. But the inflows of foreign direct investment depend on location advantage. There are various channels that determine the location advantage such as human capital development channel, financial development channel and environmental condition channel. According to Wilhelms and Stanley (1998), foreign direct investment movements are derived from the both financial transaction and non-financial transaction such as changes in price, foreign exchange and others. Figure 12 shows the foreign direct investment theory and its determinants in emerging economics. According to the foreign direct investment theory, socio culture is the oldest institution, complex and most diffused factor that influence the inflow of foreign direct investment. It is most difficult and time consuming to change. The degree to which a society is recepti... ...ivariate regression models were used to further probe the nature of the relationships between income, talent, and other factors. The adjusted R-squared values for these models are (0.57) and (0.65) respectively, suggesting a reasonably positive and robust relationship. These findings support the human capital growth by Lucas (1988), Simon (1998) and Geetha (2002). This was also supported by Eaton and Eckstein (1997) and Black and Henderson (1999) that workers are more productive when they locate around others with high levels of human capital. In addition, Romer (1990) also claims the importance of knowledge and human capital in generating economic growth through economic geography. Romer (1990) stressed that what is important for growth is integration not into an economy with a large number of people but rather into one with a large amount of human capital.

Psychology and Motivation

This essay examines the topic on ‘psychology and motivation’, where money has long been considered the most effective motivator of staff. Therefore, three specific management theories would be used in this paper to evaluate the use of monetary incentives in employee motivation. Motivation is purely a simple active process of leadership behavior. It creates conditions which drives an individual to do things right. Motivation is a built-in response in an individual and it appears within an individual instead of establishing from the outside (Baldoni, 2005). Motivation is the key to performance improvement. Unfortunately, in today’s working society, the traditional approach of monetary incentives tempts individuals only to a certain extent. Though monetary incentives are able to fulfill the basic needs (hunger, thirst and daily necessities) of an individual, it cannot ‘buy happiness’ like work satisfaction or help people attain power. Money makes people feel self-sufficient. Human beings are thus more likely to put forth effort to attain personal goals (Buchanan, 2009). Instead of using the traditional approach, employers can consider adopting another method of motivating their staff – Maslow’s theory of motivation – Hierarchy of needs. Maslow’s motivation theory shows that individuals are being motivated by unfulfilled needs (Clifford & Thorpe, 2007). According to Maslow, there are five types of needs. These needs are illustrated in the figure below. Maslow Theory of Motivation – Hierarchy of Needs (tutor2u) Maslow identified these five needs which are considered the â€Å"deficiency needs. † When one is motivated to satisfy these needs, one will work hard to achieve it. Therefore, these needs must be satisfied in order for work productivity to be improved. When these needs are satisfied, naturally, employees would want to remain in the company. Thus, employers can motivate individuals by satisfying these five types of needs mentioned by Maslow differently. For physiological motivation, employers can provide sufficient meal breaks for employees. This is done in the hope that employees can not only have sufficient time to eat a proper meal, but also time for them to rest and to be re-energized. This time can also be used for the employees to run their errands, since most shops are often closed for the day when these employees knock off. To meet the employees’ safety needs, employers can provide a safe working environment that is generally free of threats to the employees. In this way, employees would feel at ease during work as their safety is being well taken care off. If the employees have job security, it also enhances their satisfaction. For social needs, employers have to ensure that employees do feel a sense of belonging with the company. In order to do so, employers can maintain traditions and working characteristics to create a sense of belonging and of shared values and objectives. By using all means of communications, employers can create a relaxed and collaborative mood between all workers, and also to encourage a team game and a sense of responsibility in the employees. However, this would also mean transferring some of the control from the employers to the employees. For esteem motivators, employers can recognize employees’ achievements by appreciating their work in forms of incentive pay systems. Other than monetary forms, employers can also recognize their efforts in the company’s annual dinners by showing their appreciation with medals or trophies that enhance the rewarded employee’s status, allowing them to feel valued and appreciated for their hard work. Lastly, for self-actualization, employers can offer more challenging and meaningful work assignments which would require employees to be creative and innovate, so that they can progress with accordance to their long-term goals. However, not every individual is motivated by the exact same needs. Employers have to recognize such needs that each employee is pursuing and try to fulfill these needs with reasonable solutions that would benefit both parties. Thus, with employers trying their best to satisfy these five needs as mentioned by Maslow constantly, employees would be more motivated to continue working with the company as they feel valued and appreciated by employers. Thus, this shows that not only monetary incentives are able to motivate employees, the basic needs of an individual are equally essential for employees to fulfill as well. According to Frederick Herzberg’s two factory motivation theory, individuals are affected by two factors; motivation factors which include personal satisfaction and psychological growth and hygiene factors like dissatisfaction. Some typical hygiene factors that Herzberg discovered during his investigation in the U. S. A. would be working conditions, feelings of security, job, interpersonal relation and status (Management. net, 2009). Therefore, if these hygiene factors are not sufficient to the employees, they can be turned into the sources of dissatisfaction with work. For employees’ personal growth, motivation factors like recognition for achievement, responsibility of tasks and advancement to higher level tasks are needed as they are able to create job satisfaction. These factors can help to motivate an individual to perform and achieve above-average performance and effort. However, all hygiene factors must be met first in order for motivation factors to be fulfilling. The different combination of hygiene factors and motivation factors results in four scenarios. A high hygiene but low motivation factor results in an environment where employees have few complaints but are not highly motivated because they merely work for a living. If employees are motivated and yet still have complaints, this shows that the job is full of excitement and challenging, but the wages and working conditions does not meet the minimal individual requirements. The worst situation is the combination of low hygiene and low motivation where unmotivated employees have lots of complaints. Of course, the perfect situation is the combination of high hygiene and high motivation where employees are highly motivated and have fewer complaints (Tutor2u. net, 2010). Herzberg suggested that employers should focus on the people-oriented approach which emphasizes on job satisfaction through job rotation, an arrangement where employees are able to engage in a variety of jobs in the same organization to increase interest and motivation, and also to discover which is the most suitable job for them. In addition, job enrichment is yet another method where employers can enhance individual jobs, allocating more responsibilities to individuals with the aim of rewarding and inspiring the staff. A combination of the previous two methods is likely to result in the best result (Fisher, Schoenfeldt, & Shaw, 2003). In today’s work and other contexts, motivation does not necessary mean using the traditional approach of monetary incentives. Other incentives, for instance, free travel packages, movie tickets or other impromptu recognition rewards are also able to motivate employees to high performance work levels, often without the usage of large monetary incentives (Tan CH, D Torrington, 2004). In â€Å"The Human Side of Enterprise†, Douglas McGregor examined theories of individual behaviors at work, thus formulating two theories which can be categorized as Theory X and Theory Y (Accel-Team, 2010). According to McGregor, Theory X assumes workers work mainly for money and security, and dislike work and would avoid it if possible. Thus, in order for Theory X workers to achieve organizational objectives, various kinds of rewards offered by employees would be the most popular and appropriate motivator to such employees. However, on the other hand, Theory Y assumes there are workers who enjoy challenges in their work and would want more from their jobs than just mere monetary incentives. Therefore, for Theory Y workers, employers have to create a creative working environment or culture in order for employees to show and develop their creativity (Tutor2u. net, 2010). Under Theory X, employers must be careful to maintain a delicate balance between the two extremes – hard and soft approach towards employees. The hard approach refers to management using coercion, micromanagement, and reining a tight control over the employees, while a soft approach relies on taking a permissive and harmonious approach towards them, in the hope that they will cooperate when required. However, McGregor asserts that using such approaches are not the most efficient because it might result in hostility from employees if the former approach is used, or cause repeated requests for various benefits when a soft approach is used to entice the employees. On the other hand, under the Theory Y, employees’ personal goals can be aligned with organizational goals by using the employee’s own quest for fulfillment as the motivator (NetMBA. com, 2007). McGregor stressed that the soft management approach does not apply to Theory Y management and it is also recognized that some individuals may not be able to reached the level of maturity assumed by Theory Y and therefore, tighter controls can be gradually reduced as employees develops their independence. The discussion thus far leads to the conclusion that people with more money tend to be happier than those with less – but only up to a certain extent. Money’s impact on happiness suffers from diminishing returns: once an individual have sufficient food and shelter, more cash does not bring much extra joy (Buchanan, 2009). Researchers believe that extra capital leave people less worried about their financial health, and are thus less stressed. However, ‘experimental experiences’ such as trips to the theatre or travel trips sponsored by employers brings more happiness and joy to employees rather than just monetary incentives. Though monetary incentive seems more appealing, a good experience is still able to wield its power to bring pleasure to employees.

Bulimia Cognitive Treatment essays

Bulimia Cognitive Treatment essays Bulimia is a very common eating disorder typically characterized by a person eating large quantities of food then purging usually by vomiting, but also by the use of laxatives diuretics and excessive exercising. The use of cognitive treatment in the treatment of Bulimia is very common and actually very effective. There are several views that I have reviewed in my quest for information on cognitive treatments for Bulimia. People diagnosed with an eating disorder are said to have developed a schematic obsession with body size and eating. The person in question is obsessed with body shape and fatness. They eat a forbidden food and feel bad about doing so. They feel the only way to correct this is to purge the food from their body to rid themselves of the negative feelings. This happens until the person is always feeling this way when they eat and always purging. This occurs as part of the Schema and gives no concern to the physical harm being caused to the person. Everything the person sees and does is a direct link to fatness and their body looking bad until it becomes an all out obsession. Since Bulimia is a learned behavior, using cognition is a great way to correct the behavior. Healthy eating is promoted. Using stimulus control procedures, antecedents of the original abnormal eating patterns are limited. Williamson, Donald A Muller, Stephanie L Reas, Deborah L Thaw, Jean M " Cognitive bias in eating disorders " Behavior Modification 23, no. 4 (Oct 1999). Some things that are used are making the person eat only while sitting at a table no standing while eating Exposure Response Prevention (TERP). ERP is based on the theory that purging produces a reduction of eating-related anxiety; therefore, patients are allowed to eat, but compensatory behaviors are prevented. Anti-depressant medication is recommended along with cognitive treatment or else the outcome may not be ...

Free Essays on Lonnie David Eubanks

HISTORY: Lonnie David Eubank (air-name: Lonn David) was born and raised in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. From the very start, he was a music addict. He used to dig through his brothers? and sister?s record collections and make compilation tapes to give them to friends. Every part of his life revolved around the love of music, and the need to share that love will people. EDUCATION: Lonn was attending a local community college and preparing to transfer to Arizona State University, when he realized that what he was going to school for ? Sales, Marketing, Business, Accounting, etc. ? was not something he wanted to do the rest of his life. He was choosing a field that would allow him to make a very healthy salary, but he wouldn?t have been happy. Lonn took an about-face and decided that since he loved music so much, radio broadcasting would be something he would enjoy. He was well aware that radio pays horribly, but at least he?d be happy. Lonn then enrolled in a ?microwave college? (that?s what he calls trade schools? because you get the same result in a much shorter amount of time) called The Academy of Radio and Television Broadcasting in Phoenix. It taught him every (almost every) aspect of the radio industry, and the basic skills to get him going in any position at a radio station. That was 1994. JOB HISTORY: His wife, Wendy Eubank, whom he met while attending the Academy, found a job in radio in Lexington, Kentucky. He followed her there after graduation, and landed a job at a Light Classic Rock station ? The ARROW 102.5. Lonn was hired as a board operator ? the only on-air DJs were the morning and afternoon drive DJs. Lonn began taking on light commercial production responsibilities, and within a few months realized that this was his strength. It became his job to write and produce all station liners, promos and IDs. At this point, he also began to realize that a love of music WILL COMPLETELY ... Free Essays on Lonnie David Eubanks Free Essays on Lonnie David Eubanks HISTORY: Lonnie David Eubank (air-name: Lonn David) was born and raised in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. From the very start, he was a music addict. He used to dig through his brothers? and sister?s record collections and make compilation tapes to give them to friends. Every part of his life revolved around the love of music, and the need to share that love will people. EDUCATION: Lonn was attending a local community college and preparing to transfer to Arizona State University, when he realized that what he was going to school for ? Sales, Marketing, Business, Accounting, etc. ? was not something he wanted to do the rest of his life. He was choosing a field that would allow him to make a very healthy salary, but he wouldn?t have been happy. Lonn took an about-face and decided that since he loved music so much, radio broadcasting would be something he would enjoy. He was well aware that radio pays horribly, but at least he?d be happy. Lonn then enrolled in a ?microwave college? (that?s what he calls trade schools? because you get the same result in a much shorter amount of time) called The Academy of Radio and Television Broadcasting in Phoenix. It taught him every (almost every) aspect of the radio industry, and the basic skills to get him going in any position at a radio station. That was 1994. JOB HISTORY: His wife, Wendy Eubank, whom he met while attending the Academy, found a job in radio in Lexington, Kentucky. He followed her there after graduation, and landed a job at a Light Classic Rock station ? The ARROW 102.5. Lonn was hired as a board operator ? the only on-air DJs were the morning and afternoon drive DJs. Lonn began taking on light commercial production responsibilities, and within a few months realized that this was his strength. It became his job to write and produce all station liners, promos and IDs. At this point, he also began to realize that a love of music WILL COMPLETELY ...

Care of the child during the perioperative phase The WritePass Journal

Care of the child during the perioperative phase Introduction Care of the child during the perioperative phase IntroductionReferencesRelated Introduction This assignment will focus on the care of a two year old child throughout his time in the perioperative environment. It will begin with the preoperative assessment and provide any background information and history about this patient. This paper will then go through the theatre experience and what care this child received and why, such as the type of anaesthesia used, their surgery and the recovery of this patient up until they were discharged back to their ward. This assignment will underpin how a child’s anatomy is different to the adult anatomy and why this affects what care is given to children. This assignment will focus on the role of the operating department practitioner (ODP) and how they assist in providing care for this individual throughout their time in the operating theatre. It will touch on how the parents/guardians can be involved in some stages of this child’s care too. Various pieces of research from current debates, testimonies/policies, journal articl es, books and internet sources will be included. Furthermore, references to these sources of research will provide evidence of the decision making process in providing the necessary care for this particular patient. There are many differences between the anatomy of paediatrics and adults such as differences in size, anatomy, physiology, pharmacology and psychology Pescod (2005): Infants have larger heads that need to be stabilised during intubation. Their tongues are larger and their necks shorter, therefore their airways are more prone to obstruction than in adults. Infants and babies mainly breathe through their noses and therefore their nostrils are very small and easily obstructed too. A child’s larynx is located further forward and at a higher level relative to the cervical vertebrae compared to an adult. A child’s epiglottis is longer and U shaped compared the adult’s and also their trachea is quite short. When intubating children it is advised that both lungs be listened to using a stethoscope, this will ensure that the endotracheal tube is not only in one lung (Macfarlane 2006). In pre-pubescent children, the narrowest section of the airway is the cricoid ring and after puberty the narrowest part is then at the same level of the vocal cords. A complication caused by pressure from the endotracheal tube can be the production of a mucosal oedema and post extubation stridor. It is advised that pre-pubescent children should have an un-cuffed endotracheal tube and that the correct sized endotracheal tube is selected (Black 2008). Brown (2000) cited in Clarke (2010) states that infants have a higher metabolic rate and an increased oxygen consumption level compared to adults. De Melo (2001) cited in Clarke (2010) explains that this is why induction and emergence from anaesthesia in children is much quicker. Higher oxygen consumption means that infants will rapidly consume their oxygen reserves and become cyanotic if they are apnoeic. Higher oxygen consumption leads to a higher carbon dioxide production, which requires increased ventilation to remove it (Pescod 2005). Respiratory rates in children are faster due to paediatric lung immaturity and smaller lung volume reserves therefore paediatric breathing equipment is essential. Blood pressure is lower in children than adults because of low peripheral resistance (Krost et al 2006). Children have a relatively small blood volume, for example a 5kg infant will have a blood volume of only 400 ml (Macfarlane 2006). The World Health Organisation (WHO) (2005) states that infants are at a greater risk of cooling when exposed to a cold environment because the ratio of body surface area to body weight is much more than in older patients. Skin and subcutaneous fat is thinner, providing less insulation and greater heat loss. Temperature regulation is immature and infants must be kept warm. The operating theatre should be heated and the infant kept covered and intravenous fluids should be warmed. The differences in physiology of the infant will alter the effect of some drugs. Decreased renal and liver function results in certain drugs being excreted more slowly. The dosing interval should be increased to avoid toxicity (Pescod 2005). The minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) of inhalational agents is greater in the young and decreases with increasing age. There is a smaller margin of safety between adequate anaesthesia and cardiovascular and respiratory depression in infants compared with adults. Both induction and recovery from inhalation agents is more rapid in children than adults (Pescod 2005). Preparation for surgery is paramount and evidence proves that it reduces associated stress and can even promote recovery. As a result of this evidence, many hospitals have a pre-admission preparation programme for patients including children who are due to undergo emergency or elective surgery (Chambers and Jones 2007). Preoperative assessment takes place in an outpatient clinic following with a nurse or a consultant no more than one month before admission to hospital. For emergency cases, the preoperative assessment is carried out shortly before the surgery takes place. In an evaluation on the effectiveness of a pre-assessment clinic for children undergoing day surgery at Oxford Radcliffe children’s hospital, Higson and Finlay (2010) concluded that pre-assessment clinics prove to be very effective. Pre-assessment clinics support surgical planning and aid everybody in preparation for the surgery from medical staff to the child and their family. These clinics also provide paren ts with information about the surgery, gives them a chance to present any fears or questions about the surgery and the well being of their children throughout the whole perioperative experience. It also helps them and their children prepare for admission. The National Health Service (NHS) (no date) state in a patient information leaflet that during a pre-assessment appointment, depending on the patient’s age, medical history and the nature of the operation, various routine investigations are performed. These may include blood tests, electrocardiogram’s (ECG’s), blood pressure and pulse monitoring and weight measurements. During the appointment the patient’s medical history and details of any medication being taken is recorded. The patient/family members will then have the opportunity to ask the nurses any questions about their operation and their stay in hospital. In another patient booklet the NHS (2004) state that the main aim of pre-assessment clinics are to assess the patient and ensure that they are fit for surgery. It also gains the patient’s consent for the operation and to confirm that the admission date is acceptable for them. Pre-operative assessment clinics also provide an opportunity to o rganise anaesthetic assessment if required. The child chosen to be studied for this assignment received scalds across his chest from a hot drink which he had accidentally pulled from a shelf at home. This child only received partial thickness burns and suffered pink and red, blistering burns. He received more than 10% burns and therefore was admitted as an in-patient. There was no evidence of respiratory distress. During the pre-operative assessment the parents were told what to expect so that they could prepare themselves and their child for the procedure. Patient history was gathered from the parents; however the child had no previous medical history. Their consent was also given for the child to receive surgery. The reason for the procedure was explained and the anticipated outcome, potential risks and benefits were also explained. It was also ensured that the child was medically fit for the operation. It is widely accepted that the child’s parents/carers be involved in all decisions affecting the treatment and care of the child and in the physical and psychological support of the child too (Chambers and Jones 2007). The surgical care of infants and children can present difficult ethical dilemmas. The nurse’s/ODP’s role involves acting as the child’s advocate and in supporting decision making together with the child and family. Basic ethical principles beneficence, nonmaleficence and justice should be applied. All actions should be of benefit to the child and family and ultimately do the child no harm. All individuals should be treated equally and with fairness and ethical decisions should be made with the involvement of the child and the family (Chambers and Jones 2007). During the pre-operative assessment appointment there was an opportunity for the child to become accustomed to to the environment, play with and become familiar to theatre equipment such as monitoring, stethoscopes and masks. It was checked that the child was in the best nutritional state possible as good nutrition will aid in healing wounds (Pescod 2005). According to WHO (2005) surgery may cause blood loss and the anaesthetic may affect oxygen transport in the blood. This child’s haemoglobin was checked to see if it was normal for the age of the child, it was ensured that the child’s blood was cross matched and that reserve blood transfusions were available in case of situations where anaemia must be corrected quickly. On the day of surgery during the preparation of paediatric airway equipment, it was ensured that the ODP assisting the anaesthetist had appropriate endotracheal tube sizes available, particularly one size smaller and larger than the tube intended for use. Because paediatric patients can deteriorate rapidly, an emergency intubation trolley was available providing a range of different sized paediatric equipment. This included small cannulae, guedel airways, nasal and oropharyngeal airways, bougies and stylets and Magill forceps. There were other various pieces of equipment available from the trolley too such as different sized endotracheal tubes and fibre optic laryngoscopes. It was ensured that all necessary equipment and monitoring were checked and available. Also drugs including emergency drugs were immediately available such as suxamethonium and atropine. Children have much smaller diameter airways than adults and it makes them susceptible to airway obstruction (Clarke 2010). This child was intubated as it helps to protect an airway during surgical procedures. It is recommended to have tubes one size bigger and smaller available. Prior to anaesthetic children may become very distressed and so having a parent or carer in the room is an advantage as it lessens the child’s level of anxiety. On this occasion, the child’s mother came into the anaesthetic room along with a member of staff from the children’s ward. The anaesthetist had already met the child and his mother and had developed a relationship. Communication is also essential between the anaesthetic assistant (or ODP) and the child and his parents to build up a relationship and rapport (Amin et al 2010). The parents were very concerned about the safety of their child so therefore any questions were answered honestly and truthfully with support and reassurance. Once the child had arrived in the anaesthetic room his details were checked and the consent was clarified with his parents. It was also confirmed that the child had an empty stomach prior to receiving a general anaesthetic and all allergies were noted (Pirotte and Veyckemans 2004). All of the pre-op checks were recorded on a theatre care plan which was devised to enable the correct recording and documentation of the care received by the child whist in theatre. It was compatible with the care plans used on the children’s ward so that continuity of care could be maintained (Pirie S 2011). Care plans are also a useful tool in recovery for use at handover to ensure that everything is communicated to the ward staff (Chambers and Jones 2007). Routine monitoring was attached and this gave an opportunity to play games with the child to ease tension whilst he became familiar with his surroundings. ECG was attached and a pulse oximetre placed on the child’s foot. The blood pressure was attached once the child was asleep. While the child remained seated on his mother’s lap and continued to play games he was anaesthetised by inhaling sevoflurane, a volatile anaesthetic agent together with nitrous oxide and oxygen through a mask which was held nearby to his face. Inhalational induction is an excellent technique for young children and/or children who fear needles (Macfarlane 2006). Once the child had lost consciousness, the parents returned back to the ward with the ward nurse. The ODP or anaesthetic assistant assisted in airway maintenance and ventilation whilst the anaesthetic cannulated the child. Once cannulation was achieved the child was given propofol intravenously and the child was intubated. Because children have an increased metabolic rate compared to adults, it was paramount that there was plenty of intravenous fluid available. Due to an interruption of normal fluid intake, replacement fluids were determined hourly, based on the child’s weight to provide maintenance fluid and to cover ongoing losses. Hartmann’s compound sodium lactate solution was selected instead of saline. It was ensured that too much intravenous fluid was not given through the use of a burette. Fluids were also heated through a warming device to a body temperature. Children lose heat more rapidly than adults because they have a greater relative surface area and are poorly insulated. This is important as hypothermia can affect drug metabolism, anaesthesia, and blood coagulation. Hypothermia was prevented ensuring that the air conditioning was switched off and the room was at the correct temperature of more than 28 ºC particularly for a child with burns. It was also important that there were not many or no exposed parts of the child. A heating blanket was used to cover the lower body of the patient and the child’s temperature was monitored throughout the operation via a nasal temperature probe. Throughout the surgery the child was continually examined and reviewed. His responses to pain medication, boluses of IV fluids, oxygen, and IV transfusions, where appropriate were monitored. A catheter was not inserted on this occasion due to the length of the operation. IV fluids given intravenously were closely monitored because of the risk of f luid overload leading to heart failure or cerebral oedema. Prior to the child entering the theatre it was paramount that the operating theatre was correctly prepared. Children are susceptible to pressure ulcers and prevention is essential. Chambers and Jones (2007) have clearly states that infants should be lying with their limbs in a neutral position so that nerves are not damaged during surgery. All monitoring leads and intravenous lines were not underneath or on top of the patient where they could cause damage, instead they were positioned alongside him and the breathing circuit was secured by a tube holder A team meeting was carried out where the anaesthetic team shared information about the patient such as his allergies and what the operation was about to entail. Prior to the commencement of surgery, the scrub nurse/ODP checked the consent form against the child’s name band with a circulating nurse. It was the scrub nurse’s/ODP’s duty to ensure that the child was not at any risk of harm from the weight of the drapes or surgical instrumentation being applied incorrectly or placed on top of the patient. It was also their duty to make sure all equipment such as instrument sets and dressings were available for this operation. The burnt skin was carefully cleaned; debrided and the blisters were pricked and dead skin removed. A thin layer of biobrane film was also applied and held in place with skin glue. Biobrane is a biosynthetic wound dressing constructed of a silicone film with a nylon fabric partially imbedded into the film (Smith and Nephew no date). It is a temporary skin covering which is used to aid the healing of superficial/partial thickness burn or scald injuries (Latenser and Kowal-Vern 2002). Biobrane acts as a temporary dressing that remains in place for up to two weeks or until the wound underneath has healed.  Biobrane helps to reduce levels of pain and discomfort for the patient, the need for painful dressing changes and may also lead to a reduction in scarring for the patient (NHS 2010) (Mandal 2007). In a randomised controlled trial by Kumar et al (2004) it was concluded that biobrane significantly reduces the time taken for partial thickness burns to heal. After the biobrane had been applied, a dressing was placed over the top to protect the biobrane and to help prevent any infections. Once the surgical operation had been completed, the child was transported to recovery. Children are generally recovered in a child friendly environment preferably away from adult patients. The recovery used for this child in the burns unit only contained one recovery bay and so there were no adult patients close by. Also the recovery staff trained in recovering paediatrics had notification of the child’s arrival and therefore all the specific paediatric equipment was prepared. This included paediatric breathing systems, non-invasive blood pressure cuffs, small face masks and airways. There was clear communication with the ward staff and family about the outcome of the operation, problems encountered during the procedure, and the expected postoperative course. The parents were notified of their child’s progress and encouraged to be with their child in recovery. This helps minimise any emotional trauma as soon as they are fully awake and suitably recovered. All vital sign s were monitored, the respiratory rate, pulse and a one off blood pressure was taken too, ensuring there were no abnormal readings (Fisher 2011). The Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) (2005) cited in Baulch I (2010) explain that indicators of infants in pain can be observed in their behaviour and may include crying, and altered facial expressions and body movement. Infants may also display individual reactions such as withdrawal or fighting to alleviate their pain. Physiological changes may also be observed, with increases in blood pressure, heart and respiratory rate, and sweating. This child arrived into recovery having already received a lot of analgesic and so did not show any signs that he was experiencing pain. Once he had fully recovered from the anaesthesia the child was discharged back to the children’s ward with his parents. The ODP acts as an integral part of the team in the operating department working with surgeons, anaesthetists and theatre nurses to help ensure every operation is as safe and effective as possible. ODPs provide high standards of patient care and skilled support alongside medical and nursing colleagues during perioperative care. The care of children with burns requires a multidisciplinary team approach (Williams 2011). The best possible care of a child in the operating theatre requires psychological preparation, planning for each individual’s specific needs, and good communication between the child, family, the ward staff and the theatre nurses, with all the potential risks to the child being safely managed. Effective collaboration between families and the multidisciplinary team is imperative to the long term success of any surgery. The child and parent should always be kept well informed of the care plan and treatment at each stage. Families should be given a clear forecast of the outcome of the surgery, ensuring that expectations are realistic (Chambers and Jones 2007). References Amin A, Oragui E, Khan W and Puri A (2010) Psychosocial considerations of perioperative care in children, with a focus on effective management strategies. Journal of Perioperative Practice. 20 (6), pages 198 – 202 Baulch I (2010) Assessment and management of pain in the paediatric patient. Nursing Standard. 25 (10), pages 35 – 40 Black A (2008) Laryngospasm in paediatric practice. Paediatric Anaesthesia. 18 (4), pages 279 280 Chambers M and Jones S (2007) Surgical Nursing of Children. London: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann. Clarke S (2010) The differences of anaesthetic care in paediatrics compared to adults. Journal of Perioperative Practice. 20 (9), pages 334-338 Fisher S (2000) Postoperative pain management in paediatrics. British Journal of Perioperative Nursing. 10 (2), pages 80 – 84 Higson J and Finlay T (2010) Pre-assessment for children scheduled for day surgery. Nurse management. 17 (8), pages 32 38 Krost W, Mistovich J and Limmer D (2011) Beyond the basics: paediatric assessment. Available at: emsworld.com/print/EMS-World/Beyond-the-BasicsPediatric-Assessment/1$3346 Accessed on 23/04/11 Kumar R, Kimble R, Boots R and Pegg S (2004) Treatment of partial-thickness burns: A prospective, randomised trial using Transcyte. Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) Journal of Surgery. 74, pages 622 – 626 Latenser B and Kowal-Vern A (2002) Paediatric burn rehabilitation. Paediatric rehabilitation. 5 (1), pages 3 – 10 Macfarlane F (2006) Paediatric anatomy and physiology and the basics of paediatric anaesthesia. Available at: anaesthesiauk.com/documents/paedsphysiol.pdf Accessed on 21/04/11 Mandal A (2007) Paediatric partial-thickness scald burns – is Biobrane the best treatment available? International Wound Journal. 4 (1), pages 15 19 North Bristol NHS Trust (2010) Your child’s biobrane. Bristol: North Bristol NHS Trust Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust (no date) About Surgical Pre-assessment Clinic. Devon: Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Trust (2004) Welcome to the Pre-Assessment Unit: Department of Surgery. Northern Lincolnshire: Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Trust Pescod D (2005) Paediatric anatomy and physiology and pharmacology. Available at: developinganaesthesia.org/index2.php?option=com_contentdo_pdf=1id=48 Accessed on 21/04/11 Pirie S (2011) Documentation and record keeping. Journal of Perioperative Practice. 21 (1), pages 22 – 27 Pirotte T and Veyckemans F (2004) Preparation of the paediatric patient. Acta anaesthesiologica Belgica. 55, pages 1 – 6 Smith and Nephew (no date) Biobrane: Biosynthetic wound dressing. Available at: http://wound.smith-nephew.com/uk/node.asp?NodeId=3562 Accessed on 18/04/11 Williams C (2011) Assessment and management of paediatric burn injuries. Nursing Standard. 25 (25), pages 60 68 World Health Organisation (2005) Pocket book of Hospital care for children: Guidelines for the management of common illnesses with limited resources (1st edition). WHO Press: Hong Kong

Operations & Process Mgt Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Operations & Process Mgt - Assignment Example Expected inventory level is the stock held by a business more than its obligation for the lead-time. Firms hold Expected inventory level to guard against â€Å"stock-out† (Shah, 2005:227). Average inventory is utilized to approximate the quantity of inventory that a company naturally has on hand more than a longer time period than just the last period. Since the balance of inventory is computed at then end of the last dealing day of a month, it can vary significantly from the average quantity over a longer period of time, depending upon whether there was an unexpected decline of stock or possibly a big supplier delivery at the ending of the month. â€Å"Average inventory† (702) is also helpful for assessment to revenues. While revenues are naturally accessible in the statement of profits and loss not only for the most recent month, but also for the â€Å"year-to-date† (Bragg, 2011:151), it is helpful to also compute the average stock for the â€Å"year-to-date† (151), and then match the inventory average balance to the revenues of year-to-date in order to see how much stock investment was required to support a specified sales level. The company considers the average costs connected with â€Å"placing, processing and receiving† (Sabri, Gupta & Beitler, 2007:34) a replacement order for any part amounting to  £40. It also estimates the standard cost of holding a particular unit of every component in inventory for an entire year at 6% of the unit cost of the item. An â€Å"alternative inventory policy† (Fu, 2014:46) that denotes the quantity of units of inventories, which should be held to decrease costs is proposed. We can reduce the total annual stockholding costs by recognizing average inventory and decreasing â€Å"safety stock† (Minner, 2000:35). By reducing overall lead time and lead time variability, estimating investment cost and having a clear awareness of real possible investments

WITHHOLDING INFORMATION CASE Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

WITHHOLDING INFORMATION CASE - Research Paper Example Negotiation process entails three primary ethical systems that provide the guidance for the parties participating; for instance, the ethics of purposes, ethics of principles or the ethics of the consequences. Ethics of purposes takes in principles in relation to the Aristotles views concerning the ethics. Aristotle argued that human beings are just naturally good and, as a result, will have no obligation to work with the objectivity of realizing the positive fruits at the end of the work session (Falvo, 2011). However, the same human beings must use the positive ways and means of getting to the conclusion of the matter before them. As result, such negotiations that tend to ignore the ethics presented in this view may not, in this case, reach the positive end of the matter. In the case of the ethics of principle, the principle presents its arguments in relation to the deontological ethics of Emmanuel Kant. Kant argued that human beings are always irrational and, as a result, will strive towards doing that particular activity that is right as the society expects that from them always. In addition, the human beings under this form of ethics will only adopt the use of the rational ways of doing activities and intern realizing what they intend to achieve their objective plans. Negotiators who go for the option of this principle apply the methodologies considered to be of rational and appropriate so as to find the solution to the problem (Cohn, 2007). The case of the ethics of the consequences takes care of the analysis of the possible outcomes of the present actions. As a result, this form of ethics finds it way of use among people in the evaluation of the actions from the positive outcomes of the most concerned parties in the negotiation process (Falvo, 2011). Consequential ethics, on the other hand, does not consider the importance of the means used to reach the goals.

International law and organisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

International law and organisation - Essay Example Since there is no common governing power that supervises all countries, despite the existence of international organizations such as United Nations, states find themselves unable to trust each other. Thus, they usually treat each other as possible opponent that could grab them anytime. On the other hand, the modified structural realists believe that since there is anarchy in international relations, the weaker states have to look for means in order to protect its security and interest, as opposed to the powerful states, which tend to resist regulation or control of their movements. Similar to the modified structural realists, neo-liberal institutionalists believe that adherence to international legal principles would help promote transparency in international dealings, reduce transaction costs in international trade, intensify strict monitoring and enforcement of contractual obligations, and eases imposition of penalties for violation thereof. Voluntary observance of the international legal principles would encourage more cooperation in the international arena that would somehow grant long-term benefits, especially in the financial aspects. The hegemonic stability theor... e theories point to only one thing: the creation and observance of international legal principles are supported by the quest for protection of self-interest by the international stakeholders. Clearly, an independent state would not want to impose upon itself a rule that would ultimately restrict its freedom, if it will not reap any benefit from it. It cannot be denied that this voluntary adhesion to certain legal principles is no longer governed or motivated by the spirit of altruism. States need to protect themselves. Nobody can do it better than themselves. In the humanitarian aspect for example, every state must choose to create a standard that would protect its people against unwarranted human rights violations. This is especially true in terms of physical violence where no specific ideology or religion could divert or amend the standards for all human beings because of the basic knowledge that all humans are equal in feelings. If a state for example would think of exempting itself from the international standards of human rights, common sense dictates that it should prepare itself for possible retaliation in the most inhumane way since the state itself does not observe any standards for physical violation of its citizens. A classic example on this one is the law on war. The killing of a war prisoner is generally prohibited. If the United States for example would kill an Iraqi soldier who was left by his troops during a fight and who was captivated by the American soldiers would be killed, Iraq would then have every reason to kill an American war prisoner because the United States in this case was the first one to violate the rights of such war prisoner. To create and obey this particular international legal principle is then more of a reciprocal benefit

Insurance law Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Insurance law - Research Paper Example The insured party is not compensated by the insurer. This type of policy is commonly taken by those owning automobile. 2. Third-party, theft and fire. This type of cover is an extension of the third-party cover by including risks associated with theft and fire. The risks covers the policyholder only not the third party. 3. Comprehensive cover: this type of covers insures the insured plus the other party who incurred loss caused by the inured party. Comprehensive cover is more advantageous than third party insurance. One is returned back to the level he/she was before the predetermined risk occurred Insurance just like any field has to have its principles to ensure a fair playing field among the involved parties. These principles are regarded as the pillars of insurance and ingredients for transformation. This principle gives the policyholder who has been insured against a predetermined the right to be compensated. The compensation should restore the policyholder back to where he/she was before the risk occurs. Therefore, one should not expect to be paid much than what he/she suffered as a result of the risk. Insurance is a contract and thus, requires information from both parties to be bias free. It is from the information that premium is calculated and therefore, information inconsistency and inaccuracy may lead to wrong premium calculation and interfere with compensation. Health insurance is most affected with this principle since any omission in the health satus of the insured might compel the insurer not to compensate the insured in case a risk occurred and the insurer had no information regarding certain element of the health status of the insured. This principle covers the issue surrounding premium. An insured party is expected to pay a predetermined amount of cash referred to as premium for him/her to be compensated when a risk occurs. Failure to pay the agreed amount might result for one not being compensated in case a risk

Distribution and Retailing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Distribution and Retailing - Essay Example Brief Overview of the Scenario The paper describes about the managerial issues faced by Katie Collins, the managing director of Fashion Wholesalers in relation to its distribution and retailing functions. Fashion Wholesalers is a clothing manufacturing company which principally targets women operating as the agents of UK with the networking comprising around 30 manufacturing Scandinavian and German clothing producers. It also supplies for approximately 120 small sized retailers. The products that are distributed through Fashion Wholesalers target primarily the housewives within the UK. The distribution activity of the company, i.e. Fashion Wholesalers, can be described on the following grounds. It has been observed that the buyers of Fashion Wholesalers, belonging to the age group of 30 to 60 years usually perform 4 trips for collecting the produced materials from the suppliers in the market. The process of ordering for the company is carried out in every season based on the scheduli ng of delivery of products by the buyers on a monthly basis. The produced products are then distributed to the warehouse located at Peterborough. The process of delivery in Fashion Wholesalers includes showrooms from where the buyers can directly make their purchases in person. Notably, the clothing products are manufactured all-round the year and the samples are distributed in all the seasons, along with the continuation of warehousing and dispatching activities. Contextually, it can be observed that the demands for the products are quite high attracting most of the targeted customers in the niche markets of retailing. It is worth mentioning in this context that most of the targeted customers depend on Fashion Wholesalers for supplying quality products at cheaper rates which has further accelerated the growth rate in the organisation. 1.2. Rise of Conflict in Fashion Wholesalers Channel conflict usually occurs if there are clashes of methods and goals between the members belonging to a channel of distribution. Notably, because the distribution channel of Fashion Wholesale is performed on the basis of multiple dimensions involving multiple layers such as the suppliers, the producers and the end users, which further continues throughout the year, there are high chances for Fashion Wholesalers to witness similar disruptions in their distribution process. Theoretically, distribution channel conflicts can be categorized into horizontal and vertical categories. Where horizontal channel conflicts signify gaps and limited cooperation among members belonging to similar level, the vertical channel conflict indicates dismissal among members belonging to different levels in the channel distribution (Jicheng, n.d). In the currently practiced distribution channel of Fashion Wholesalers, probability of both these conflicts to arise can be observed apparently. Additionally, resource scarcity can be determined as another significant aspect to cause conflicts in the channel of distribution. In the context of Fashion Wholesalers, it can be stated that owing to the complexity of the distribution channel framework, conflicts might occur among the members due to insufficiency of resources for manufacturing clothing products and/or due to their inefficiency to allocate the available resources efficiently so as to serve the retailers all around its target market in a time-efficient and cost-effective way. Moreover, if Fashion Wholesalers attempt to sell a proportion of the produced products by themselves directly

Insurance law Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Insurance law - Research Paper Example The insured party is not compensated by the insurer. This type of policy is commonly taken by those owning automobile. 2. Third-party, theft and fire. This type of cover is an extension of the third-party cover by including risks associated with theft and fire. The risks covers the policyholder only not the third party. 3. Comprehensive cover: this type of covers insures the insured plus the other party who incurred loss caused by the inured party. Comprehensive cover is more advantageous than third party insurance. One is returned back to the level he/she was before the predetermined risk occurred Insurance just like any field has to have its principles to ensure a fair playing field among the involved parties. These principles are regarded as the pillars of insurance and ingredients for transformation. This principle gives the policyholder who has been insured against a predetermined the right to be compensated. The compensation should restore the policyholder back to where he/she was before the risk occurs. Therefore, one should not expect to be paid much than what he/she suffered as a result of the risk. Insurance is a contract and thus, requires information from both parties to be bias free. It is from the information that premium is calculated and therefore, information inconsistency and inaccuracy may lead to wrong premium calculation and interfere with compensation. Health insurance is most affected with this principle since any omission in the health satus of the insured might compel the insurer not to compensate the insured in case a risk occurred and the insurer had no information regarding certain element of the health status of the insured. This principle covers the issue surrounding premium. An insured party is expected to pay a predetermined amount of cash referred to as premium for him/her to be compensated when a risk occurs. Failure to pay the agreed amount might result for one not being compensated in case a risk

British colonial policies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

British colonial policies - Essay Example The Kashmir dispute, that has clouded the region with dispute and wars is a gift of British policies, they left this question open-ended and resulted in rivalries development between the two incumbent nations. Two wars have been fought afterward one right after the independence being granted to the respective states and one in 1965. The main point of contention in both the issues was Kashmir. While Pakistan considers it its integral part, the Indians consider it as their backbone and none would let go of it.The Red Cliffe commission that was put in place in the last days of colonial control over the region, the purpose was to devise a strategy that ensures the smooth transition and the transfer of land to the rightful owners of the place. While there were two major blocks, one of Hindus and second of Muslims, by the rule the Hindu majority areas would be awarded to the newly formed Indian State while the Muslim dominant states would be awarded to Pakistan. Improper division, and allo tting of the areas like Junagarh, Gurdaspur to India, resulted in the imbalance creation between the two nations and even today the relations are relatively sour between the two.Besides the land allocation, the resources allocation policies suffered from imbalances as well. The British Empire did not take into consideration the repercussion of the possible miss calculated allotment of resources. Pakistan and India have been on the brink of war for nearly two decades due to the Indus Basin Treaty.

Research objectives Essay Example for Free

Research objectives Essay Because of the success of balance scorecard, there are enormous volumes of information on the practice of BSC, but this study will examine the phenomenon of balance scorecard with Saudi Pepsi as the reference agency. The study will review the book (Translating strategy into action) by Kaplan and Norton as well as many relevant literature on the subject. It is the position of this study that BSC is a genuine business elevator, so this project will make the necessary efforts to present authentic evidence in support of that position. research objectives: The objectives of this study are to outline and analyze the fundamental principles of the Balanced Scorecard system. The paper will trace the formulation of the system and review some of the available data on its effectiveness. Also the paper will make an objective judgement on the advantages and disadvantages of its application. Since this is designed to ascertain the adaptability of BSC to Pepsi of Saudi Arabia, the paper will conclude with a critical insight on how Pepsi could benefit from BSC, based largely on data from  the performance review of other corporations that have implemented the BSC management system. QUESTIONS EXPECTED TO BE ADDRESSED BY THIS STUDY: Though questions abound on this study, but this discourse will focus greatly on the matters that address the application, and the structure of Balance Scorecard. The major perspectives as advanced by Kaplan and Norton will be presented and analyzed in depth . It must be emphasized that the system is an objective, responsive system. It could be followed with appropriate data analysis, and adjustments could be made when  desirable. The paper will provide the necessary steps that could be followed in order to attain a desired result. Because this dialogue has taken sides in favor of the BSC, it will clearly present the known benefits of implementing the system. But it must be emphasized that there are some drawbacks in the BSC system. Those drawbacks would equally be outlined. All the important steps in the implementation of the BSC will be discussed, and the different roles that different levels of a corporate entity would need to play will be enumerated as well. All of the team members must not only make a commitment, they must participate in the process. Every department must know its participating role in the implementation of BSC, and this work will detail what those roles ought to be, and how to ensure that they are diligently executed. It should also be recognized that it is not enough to design and construct a BSC, the question is would it be used? No benefits would accrue if the built BSC is not used. Of course the most important question is that of the applicability of the system by Pepsi Saudi, that question  will be adequately addressed in this process. CHAPTER TWO: BOOK AND LITERATURE ANALYSIS. PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT: Before the advent of BSC, a questionnaire by the national association of accountants indicated that about 60% of accountants were â€Å"not satisfied by their performance measurement system†, primarily because of its reliance on purely financial metrics. But since the implementation of BSC that dire view is turning around. (Nevin 2003). Performance measurement technique is used to compile data on many subjects, high  school academicians use performance measurement to keep record of behaviors of students whose behaviors required to improvement. The significant point here is that the actual behavior improvement could be measured empirically, scientifically and with discerning accuracy. So it is not surprising that corporations would also adopt performance management system. Corporations use performance measurement to keep record of its effectiveness, and its efficiency. It is used to tabulate quality and productivity. It is also used to keep records of timeliness and safety. (Nevin, Paul 2003). With an effective performance measurement system, companies can a develop a sustainable structure for its strategic planning, and its goals. It helps companies assemble a clear mission, with appropriate resources, on long term intervals. With it companies can maintain accountability for its performance or lack of performance. By using performance measurement companies are better able to analyze and validate its results. It can also use it to acquire timely feedbacks, which could be used to change the direction of a given project or to move a project forward. So in total, performance measurement could help and organization to make informed decisions, to appraise its performance and to initiate an improvement as needed. (Nevin, Paul 2003). I suppose we can say that performance measurement is a close â€Å"cousin† of BSC. However a performance measurement system could limit its benefits if it loses sight of key performance drivers. And it could be quite expensive to set-up a performance measuring unit, but most companies seem to agree that the cost is worth it at the long run. (Kaplan Norton 1996).

Urinalysis of Four Urine Samples

Urinalysis of Four Urine Samples Urinalysis Practical Background: As you have learned, the urinary system performs many vital functions in the body including: Regulating blood volume and pressure by regulating water excretion, Regulating plasma ion/solute concentrations by adjusting urine composition, Assisting blood pH stabilisation, Removing nitrogenous waste, Conserving water and important nutrients and Assisting the liver in detoxifying poisons. Therefore, analysing a sample of urine from a person can provide important information on the health of that person. Urinalysis can reveal diseases such as diabetes mellitus, urinary tract infections and renal (kidney) infections such as glomeronephritis and kidney stones (renal calculi). A medical professional may perform a urinalysis for several reasons: As a general health check-up, Diagnosing metabolic or systemic diseases that affect renal function (heart failure will lead to decreased blood flow to the kidneys, pre-eclampsia during pregnancy will lead to increased protein in the urine), Diagnosis of endocrine disorders e.g. infertility (low levels of FSH and/or LH), Diagnosis of urinary system disease, Monitoring of glucose levels in patients with diabetes, Testing for pregnancy (hCG levels secreted by the embryo), Screening for drug use. Urinalysis is a technique involving physical, chemical and microscopic analyses of a sample of urine. Physical parameters: Normal urine is a clear yellow colour due to the presence of uribilin. Abnormal urine may be dark orange, red or brown and cloudy in appearance. This can be due to the presence of red and/or white blood cells or pigments and may indicate a urinary tract or renal infection or disease, liver or gall bladder disease. Normal urine has a specific gravity of between 1.002 – 1.028 (this is a measure of the number of particles/solutes in the urine, its concentration). A urine sample that has an elevated specific gravity can indicate dehydration, diarrhea/vomiting, glucosuria, inappropriate ADH secretion. A diminished specific gravity may indicate such diseases as renal failure or pyelonephritis. Chemical parameters: The chemical analysis of urine is routinely performed using an inexpensive and relatively accurate dipstick test (Uristix from Bayer or other brands). The test uses a reagent-coated plastic stick that is placed or dipped into the urine sample. The reagent areas change colour according to the presence of glucose and/or protein. (a) Figure 1. Colour chart (a) for determination of glucose and/or protein.   Ã‚   The glucose test on the dipstick is based on a double sequential enzyme reaction. One enzyme, glucose oxidase, catalyses the formation of gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide from the oxidation of glucose (if present in the urine). A second enzyme, peroxidase, catalyses the reaction of hydrogen peroxide with a potassium iodide chromogen to oxidise the chromogen to colours ranging from green to brown. Normal urine has less than 0.1% glucose concentration. The protein test on the dipstick is based on the protein-error-of-indicators principle. At a constant pH, the development of any green colour is due to the presence of protein. Colours range from yellow for ‘negative’ through yellow-green and green to green-blue for ‘positive’ reactions. Normal urine has a protein concentration of less than 100  µg/ml. Although the dipstick test is semi-quantitative, significantly more accurate levels of glucose and protein can be determined by other means. In this practical you will use a BCA Assay (discussed later) to quantify the amount of protein present in a sample of urine. Urinalysis may also include assaying for levels of ketones (an indicator of diabetic ketosis, fasting or starvation), blood cells (indicating infection or kidney stones), bilirubin (liver or gall bladder disease), drugs and many other substances. Microscopic parameters: The urine sample can also be analysed by a microscope, often after staining to reveal any pathogens such as bacteria, urine crystals, cells and/or mucous. The presence of any of these may indicate infection or disease and further medical investigation will provide a thorough diagnosis. Aim: The aim of this practical is to perform glucose and protein urinalysis techniques on five samples of ‘urine’ provided by five ‘patients’ and use this information to provide an initial diagnosis for each patient. Part One: Using Dipsticks To Provide A Qualitative Measure of Protein And/Or Glucose. Materials: 5 samples of urine labelled A – E (these will be required for Parts One and Two), 5 Uristix dipsticks. Method: Perform a basic physical analysis of the urine samples noting the colour and cloudiness of each sample: Urine A Urine B Urine C Urine D Urine E Colour Cloudiness Immerse a dipstick into each of the samples, wait 60 seconds and record your results using the colour chart in Figure 1 to determine if the sample contains glucose and/or protein or neither substance: Urine A Urine B Urine C Urine D Urine E Glucose Protein Ketones Negative Negative Negative Negative Strongly positive Blood Negative Negative Trace Negative Negative Part Two: Using A Commercial BCA Assay To Provide A Quantitative Measure of Protein. Background: The BCA Protein Assay exploits the chemical reduction of Cu2+ to Cu1+ by protein in an alkaline medium with the selective colorimetric detection of the cuprous cation (Cu1+) by bicinchoninic acid (BCA). The first step is the chelation of copper with protein in an alkaline environment to form a blue coloured complex. In this reaction, known as the biuret reaction, peptides containing three or more amino acid residues form a coloured chelate complex with cupric ions in an alkaline environment containing sodium potassium tartrate. Single amino acids and dipeptides do not give the biuret reaction, but tripeptides and larger polypeptides or proteins will react to produce the light blue to violet complex that absorbs light at 540 nm. In the second step of the colour development reaction, BCA, a highly sensitive and selective colorimetric detection reagent reacts with the Cu1+ that was formed in step 1. The purple-coloured reaction product is formed by the chelation of two molecules of BCA with one Cu1+. The BCA/Cu complex is water-soluble and exhibits a strong linear absorbance at 562 nm with increasing protein concentrations. The rate of BCA colour formation is dependent on the incubation temperature, the types of protein present in the sample and the relative amounts of reactive amino acids contained in the proteins. Figure 2. Reaction diagram for the bicinchoninic acid (BCA) protein assay. Materials: The 2 samples of urine from Part One that were positive for protein, Protein stock standard (BSA, bovine serum albumin) at 1mg/ml, 0.9% Saline (diluent) BCA (bicinchoninic acid) Working Reagent (labelled BCA WR), 6 Tubes for dilutions for the standard curve, 96 Well microtitre plate, P100, P200 P1000 pipettes tips, Marker pen, 37ËÅ ¡C Incubator, Microtitre plate reader set to read at a wavelength of 562 nm. Method: Set up the dilutions for your standard curve, Label your tubes as 1,2,3,4,5 6, Prepare your standards according to the table below: Dilution tube # Volume of diluent ( µl) Volume of BSA or from tube # ( µl) Final BSA (protein) concentration ( µg/ml) 1 0  µl 300  µl BSA 1000 2 250  µl 250  µl bsa 500 3 250  µl 250  µl Tube 2 250 4 250  µl 250  µl Tube 3 125 5 800  µl 200  µl Tube 4 25 6 Blank 250  µl 0 0 Label your microtitre plate so that you know which wells hold your standards and which contain your samples (perform in triplicate), Pipette 25  µl of each standard (in triplicate) and sample (in triplicate) to each well, Add 200  µl of the Working Reagent to each standard or sample and shake for 30 seconds, Cover the plate and incubate at 37ËÅ ¡C for 30 minutes, Cool the plate to room temperature, Measure the absorbances at 562 nm on a microtitre plate reader, insert the average values in the table below: Dilution tube # Average absorbance at 562 nm (add 3 values divide by 3) Subtract blank (Tube 6) from value in previous column Final BSA (protein) concentration ( µg/ml) 1 1000 2 500 3 250 4 125 5 25 6 Blank 0 Sample 1 Sample 2 Prepare your standard curve: use the corrected absorbance readings for standards 1 – 6 (in column 3 in the previous table) and plot them against the amount of BSA in each tube, Once you have plotted your standard curve, you can determine the protein concentration in your samples, enter this value into the table above.   The patient scenarios are outlined below. You now need to match the urine samples with their corresponding patient scenarios and include justification for your decisions in your practical report: Patient Scenarios: Kidney Stones: Nida is a 17 year old student. She arrives at her GP feeling nauseous, feverish with acute pain in her lower back. She is also passing large amounts of blood in her urine. Glucose Drink: Thomas has just started a new job but is feeling quite stressed has lost weight. He arrives to see his GP but has had to skip lunch so drinks a litre of cola to maintain his energy levels. Diabetic: Jenny is studying for her A levels. Recently she has been losing weight although she is eating much more than usual is always hungry. Athlete: Dave is a professional athlete requires a blood urine test before competing in his next event. His test results are negative for drugs but are positive for another substance. Nephrotic syndrome: Keely is a 20 year old student. She has been feeling very unwell for some time with general fatigue, listlessness, weight loss puffiness around her eyes ankles. Her urine is very sparse very dark in colour

Java vs C :: Essays Papers

Java vs C1 Java or C++ – Which is Better for Businesses? Today, the world is changing fast in many ways, and the most rapid change that is seen within our society is technology. It is imperative that businesses stay on top of what is new and how they can better their company’s outlook by presenting their information in the fastest and most reliable ways. With the two major computer programming languages of today, C++ and Java, which is better for businesses to be able to acquire such speed and consistency? For years, C++ (C Plus Plus) has dominated the business market place for many different companies and has allowed many computer programmers to obtain vast amounts of knowledge and experience since 1972 when it was first developed by Dennis Ritchie of AT&T Bell Laboratories (Lambert / Nance Page 16). It has been in use for almost thirty years – not to mention the years before when it’s precursor C was developed and commonly used also – and has made a great impact on the development of software for business’ across the world. It has become a second nature programming language to those that use it and have been forced to stay with C++. The programming language C++ can be used in many ways. It has exploded into the gaming community allowing PC game programmers to have access to a stabile, yet powerful, programming language, utilizing as little code as possible. It has also been used in other commercial software, such as word processors, audio players, screen savers, and other computer desktop tools. Recently C++ has made its way into the Internet community. For over ten years, business’ have used C++ for their Internet needs, for example, sending and receiving important data pertaining to their business across the Internet and allowing it to quickly and safely reach the other end of communication and all in one piece. With the high demands of today’s Internet users, whether it be an online shopper or one that desires to seek information on a certain topic, it is essential that the information can be sent from the user, to the server, and then back again as swiftly as possible and with utmost dependability†¦ all, of course, without the loss of security. It has been this reason that C++ has stayed on top of the business world, allowing for speed, stability, security, and ease of use all for one computer programming language.

The theme of the novel Russlander (By Sandra Birdsell) :: essays research papers

The October revolution of 1917 in Russia was a turning point that defined Russia as a nation. It was one of the most dramatic events in the history of the Russia that had completely changed the lives of the people at that time. The Russlander by Sandra Birdsell describes the live of a girl who was raised on a wealthy Mennonite estate. It seemed like her parents were ignoring all the troubles in the outside world, living a happy life together. But nothing lasts forever, and their happiness ended with the start of the revolution. At that time Katya was only 16 years old. Just like many people at that time she lost her family and friends, who were killed by the Bolsheviks. The conflict with the new leaders of the country started when her father refused to pay taxes and support his country, and ended with this horrible tragedy. Katya had lost everything that her family owned and was forced to move to another country, where she had to start a new life from scratch. Even though she had relatives living in Canada, it was not an easy task. Just like other immigrants to Canada, she had to face many difficulties, like the learning of the new language, and adapting to the new lifestyle. Many years later, she came back to her homeland to visit the places she grew up in. After more than fifty years she still remembered the tragedy that suddenly ended the happy life of her family. People should value other things, besides money and their estate. Everyone should show more love and attention to the members of their family, because nothing can be compared to the importance of the family to any person in the world. It is unfortunate that in many cases, people realize how important their family is after they lose one or more of their relatives.

How to integrate computers into the curriculum Essay

Computer technology has become an integral part of every individual’s life. The advent of computers and their explosive use in practically every field has jolted the human race into what experts call the informational revolution (Veneris, 1984). In the current era, information ahs become so important and central to a business, it has occupied its true place as a resource rather than a by product of business operations. With the current society now headed towards what Drucker (n. d.) claims to be the next information revolution, it is only imperative that we train our future generations in this field like we do in any other subject that is considered to be vital by societal standards such as language, mathematics, general science etc. Being a fairly new field of study when compared to other courses of a curriculum, IT and such are constantly changing due to the technological leaps made everyday. A thing invented today becomes obsolete a month later. Skeptics argued that the technological bubble has burst; leaving in its wake many people broke who invested in dot com companies. This might be true but only to the extent where the boom in the jobs market is not as exponential as it used to be. If we look at the new products that come on market shelves every fifteen days or so, it will be proof enough for the fact that technology has never seen a better time than this before. And this creates problems when one tries to incorporate IT in school curricula. It becomes hard for schools to keep up with the ace of technology and many schools fail to fully equip their students with the skill set needed to compete effectively in the new world. Schools usually pose some questions regarding the matter such as: ? Can computer applications help improve student performance in basic skills and other key areas? ? For what specific skill areas, grade levels, and content areas are computer applications most effective? ? Which kinds and levels of students seem to profit most from using computers to learn? ? Which kinds of computer applications are most effective for which skill and content areas? ? Can computer applications improve students’ attitudes toward school, learning, and their abilities to learn? ? Will improved attitudes translate into better performance in school? These are in fact the key points that they should address and try to achieve the answers to when designing their course strategies. Guidelines to consider are: ? Grade and intellectual level of students ? Scope of subject ? Updating with external sources ? Type of instructor (industry experience or not) These are the most important factors that an institution should consider while designing the curriculum. The appropriate software too is important to compliment the overall course structure. The software to be used should be decided upon: ? User friendliness of software ? Degree of specialization ? Subject area (programming, multimedia etc. ) ? Skill level of students The hardware should be one that can support the requirement of the software. For example an application by Adobe such as the Adobe reader requires a minimum of a Pentium 2 but windows XP requires a minimum of a Pentium 3 processor to function. Hardware requirements are usually best when taken from the software vendor. One thing to note is that students should be exposed to as man types of hardware as they would come across in the corporate environment ranging from keyboards, printers to graphics tablets. References: Abernethy K. , T. Kevin, & Piegari G. Assessing the impact of the emerging discipline of information technology on computing curricula: some experiences.Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges. Volume 22 Issue 2. Publisher: Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges. Dreher F. , Cummings M. , & Harris J. (2006). The role of IT policies in the CS/IS curricula. Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges. Volume 22 Issue 2 Publisher: Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges Drucker P. (n. d. ). The Next Information Revolution. ASAP: E-Commerce. Retrieved January 26, 2007, from http://www. versaggi. net/ecommerce/articles/drucker-inforevolt. htm Veneris, Y (1984). The Informational Revolution, Cybernetics and Urban Modeling. PhD Thesis. University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Zhu L. , & Tang C. (2006). A module-based integration of information retrieval into undergraduate curricula. Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, Volume 22 Issue 2 Publisher: Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges.

Current government priorities Essay

How far does the budget reflect current government priorities? â€Å"Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidise it† – Ronald Reagan In my coursework I shall be discovering what the annual government budget is, what it is spent on and why, correlating this with current priorities. I shall be investigating to what extent does the governments’ expenditure reflect on these current government priorities i.e. the amount spent on defence, the education sector and social protection. I shall be mostly using secondary research, through using websites and maybe books. I will compare spending from previous budgets to the current one and find out where changes, if any, have been made. Through figuring out where the money is spent, I can discover what the main priorities are but not neglecting the fact that some sectors are larger and undoubtedly require money being spent, e.g. Healthcare and public order & safety. Government expenditure is vital for the efficient running of the economy. The need for much of the government expenditure arises from the facts that some goods will not be provided at all by a free market economy (public goods) and that others will be under-provided (merit goods). It is spending on these goods that accounts for a large proportion of government spending (health, education, police and defence, among others). Some government expenditure is aimed at providing a safety net for the less well off in society and ensuring that they are able to survive in the event that they lose their jobs or have insufficient income. The department that deals with the allocation of most of this money is the Department of Social Security. Other government expenditure is aimed at various areas that may be considered important in a developed economy – providing a transport infrastructure, supporting the work of local government and servicing any debts that may have been accumulated in th e past. Fiscal policy refers to government policy that attempts to influence the direction of the economy through changes in government spending or taxes. Fiscal policy can be contrasted with the other main type of economic policy, ‘monetary policy’ which attempts to stabilize the economy by controlling interest rates and the supply of money. The government in power needs to ensure that the budget expenditure is divided correctly and proportionately to the areas that require it most. This depends on the government priorities. The two main instruments of fiscal policy are government spending and taxation. Changes in the level and composition of taxation and government spending can impact on the following variables in the economy: On aggregate demand and the level of economic activity; the pattern of resource allocation and the distribution of income. Fiscal policy is the use of government expenditure and taxation to manage the economy. The main changes in fiscal policy happen once a year in the Budget. It is in the Budget that the Chancellor sets the levels of taxation and government expenditure for the next fiscal year. The fiscal year runs from 6th April one year until 5th April the following year. This is why the budget is usually in March. The changes in it come generally into effect in the following month. Fiscal policy is based on the theories of British economist John Maynard Keynes. Also known as Keynesian economics, this theory basically states that governments can influence macroeconomic productivity levels by increasing or decreasing tax levels and public spending. This influence, in turn, curbs inflation (generally considered to be healthy when at a level between 2-3%), increases employment and maintains a healthy value of money. Unfortunately, the effects of any fiscal policy are not the same on everyone. Depending on the political orientations and goals of the policymakers, a tax cut could affect only the middle class, which is typically the largest economic group. In times of economic decline and rising taxation, it is this same group that may have to pay more taxes than the wealthier upper class. Similarly, when a government decides to adjust it’s spending; its policy may affect only a specific group of people. A decision to build a new bridge, for example, will give work and more income to hundreds of construction workers. A decision to spend money on building a new space shuttle, on the other hand, benefits only a small, specialized pool of experts, which would not do much to increase aggregate employment levels. Graph to show inflation rates in the UK compared with the United States and Canada. Monetary Policy involves changes in the base rate of interest to influence the rate of growth of aggregate demand, the money supply and ultimately price inflation. Monetarist economists believe that monetary policy is a more powerful weapon than fiscal policy in controlling inflation. Monetary policy also involves changes in the value of the exchange rate since fluctuations in the currency also impact on macroeconomic activity (incomes, output and prices). Basically, it is the process by which the government/ bank controls the supply of money, or trading in foreign exchange markets. Monetary policy is generally referred to as either being an expansionary policy, or a contractionary policy, where an expansionary policy increases the total supply of money in the economy, and a contractionary policy decreases the total money supply. Expansionary policy is traditionally used to combat unemployment in a recession by lowering interest rates, while contractionary policy has the goal of raising interest rates to combat inflation or calming an overheated economy. The government receives its’ money from many different areas, the graph on the next page shows exactly where from and how much: As from the chart we can see that the largest proportion of governments’ income is due to income tax that at à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½157bn it is à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½63bn more than the 2nd largest. Tax comes in many forms, as shown by the chart and when totaled up it is à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½587bn, this breaks down to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½9,650 for every man, woman and child in the UK per year. What is the money used for and spent on? Well the money that the government has gathered from its’ many different forms of tax is spent entirely on the public. The pie chart below clearly represents what these different sectors are and how much money is actually spent on them. As we can see social protection is predominantly the largest sector that government spending is allocated with a à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½57bn lead on the second largest, health, at à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½104bn. From this chart it can be easy to assume that the areas with the largest spending would be those that are the largest priorities. That can be accepted to a certain extent to where you look deeper within that and take into account that some sectors are larger than others and therefore require more money to keep them running, i.e. social protection. Now I shall look at the different sectors and analyze each one, looking at the government’s main aims and objectives and comparing whether the money they are spending on each one is reflecting that; for example if in public order and safety the government wanted to initiate huge crackdown on underage drinkers and vandalism then surely the money spent in that area would be increased dramatically. I shall compare what was spent on those sectors in the year 2006 and compare that with the budget released in 2007. Taking into account inflation, which from 2006 to 2007 was 3% I can work out whether spending, has increased by a lot, remained the same or dropped. To begin with I shall look at the area of social protection, which is the largest of all spending. Social protection consists of policies and programs designed to reduce poverty and vulnerability by promoting efficient labor markets, diminishing people’s exposure to risks, enhancing their capacity to protect themselves against hazards and interruption or loss of income. In 2006 the government spent à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½151bn on social protection whereas in 2007 they spent à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½161bn, which even after taking into account inflation this is still a dramatic increase. This could by due to the fact that unemployment has risen from 2006 – 2007 and with employment and training being an area of social protection, more money is being spent to try and bring the figures down again. The next sector that I shall look at is the environment. Protecting the environment is a major concern for today’s government; well it has been for many years but even more so now. As Britain’s industry continues to expand and destroy most of our beloved countryside and pollute our skies, pressure groups and environmentalists increase the strain on the government to protect and instigate new legislation to help reduce the effects of the unstoppable industry. In attempts to keep these groups happy the government invests more money every year to meet their demands. Examples of these include the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½800m environmental transformation fund and funding for cleaner ways to produce energy such as wind farms and nuclear power. There has been an increase of expenditure for housing and environment from 2006 – 2007 of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½4bn, which concludes the fact that it is an ever-increasing issue. This research indicates that current government spending in the environment does directly reflect the fact that is a main priority. In the past 3 years it has shown that the government has increased it’s spending by around à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½4bn per annum on the environment. If compared with other sections of spending, the environment ranks lower in comparison with others, such as social protection. This could signify that the environment is not classed as such a high priority; although relating to my earlier point of stating that the some areas are larger and therefore require more money suggests that it is not less of a priority. However, it could also be due to the fact that the government believes that protection of the population and the healthcare too are more of a priority than preserving the environment. So it can be looked at in both ways. I myself believe that the government thinks the environment is less of a priority and therefore less money should be invested there. Healthcare in Britain is different to that in most other countries in the way that we have adopted a system called the National Health Service. The NHS is paid for through our taxes and so therefore offers healthcare for everyone in the UK and securing the provision of comprehensive, high quality care for all those who need it, regardless of their ability to pay or where they live or their age. The aims set out by the Department of Health are to: * Supporting activity at national level to protect, promote and improve the nation’s health; * Securing responsive social care and child protection for those who lack the support they need. The key objectives for pursuing these aims are to: * To reduce the incidence of avoidable illness, disease and injury in the population. * To treat people with illness, disease or injury quickly, effectively and on the basis of need alone. * To enable people, who are unable to perform essential activities of daily living, including those with chronic illness, disability or terminal illness, to live as full and normal lives as possible. * To maximise the social development of children within stable family settings. These aims and objectives are generic to most years of the NHS but as research and new technologies develop the spending must increase to match demands of the population. In 2002 the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that by 2008 there would be the largest ever increase in health spending at à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½40bn. This is a huge enlargement of the budget spending and obviously shows that health is a main priority if the government is willing to increase it’s spending by this much. It has been released that every year there shall be an increase of around 4% on health spending. Although the government is injecting a large section of the budget into health care it is not dramatically increasing it every year and sacrificing other sector’s money to pour more into healthcare. The government is slowly increasing the amount spent in health and all the time, every year introducing new legislations and targets to make the NHS a more efficient and improved service for everyone within the UK. â€Å"We are determined to maintain our disciplined approach, determined not to make the old British mistakes of paying ourselves too much today at the cost of higher interest rates and fewer jobs tomorrow† – Gordon Brown This quote suggests that by not putting too much money into a single sector it reduces the chances of having an economic backlash in the future. I agree with this and believe that by making smaller steps and gradually increasing expenditure it improves the economy at a much greater scale in the long run and prevents unwanted repercussions that may damage the economy. By pushing more money into the sectors it could cause the desired effect to become counter-productive and hinder more than help. Some people believe that the budget is only increasing in the health sector by such amounts because the ongoing criticisms have driven the government to improve it’s image and please the people to keep the current party in power. Fostering high standards of education is the Government’s greatest responsibility. In England this responsibility lies with the Departments for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). About 93 per cent of children are educated in state-run primary and secondary schools; the remainder go to independent schools that rely on privately-paid tuition fees. Through these central government organisations, the provision of education in the UK includes monitoring and improving standards in schools, colleges and universities; ensuring that everyone – no matter what disability or special need they may have – is included and has access to high quality education; promoting work experience for young people and vocational training for employees; and encouraging lifelong learning. Through the British Council, the Government actively promotes education in the UK to countries all over the world. Other major organisations help to guide and make welcome some 275,000 overseas students who currently enjoy the advantages of living and studying in the UK. Before June 2007 schools were the responsibility of the former Department for Education and Skills. Education is gradually becoming increasingly more important within the UK as greater than ever numbers of young graduates roam the job market relegating others without degrees into a league of themselves. To employers education is the main thing they look at on CVs, dismissing experience and background for the simple number on the piece of paper. So education is a main priority for the government to try and make Britain’s children as well qualified as they can be, pushing the economy further up the ladder and improving things for all. So education for the government has became a huge priority and this can be shown by the recent announcement to raise the school minimum leaving age to 18; offering college courses and apprenticeships and also A-Levels to every child. Implementing this new legislation would obviously require a huge increase in the budget allocated for education, which would either mean another increased tax, which has happened for the past 11 years while Gordon Brown had been Chancellor, or sacrificing other areas of spending to improve education. Making these decisions requires undoubtedly many months of thinking and consultation before arriving at a suitable judgment. In the 2007 budget report, the government announced that investment in education and skills would rise to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½90bn by 2010/2011. In a clearer spectrum, there is a à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½4bn increase from 2006 to 2007 then a à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5bn increase from 2007 to 2008 and therefore proves that the government is gradually increasing the percentage increase spent on education annually. In evaluation it can be said that although there isn’t a dramatic increase in the spending on the education sector, there are other factors that affect the efficiency of it too. For example money may not be being spent efficiently in the employment and the social protection areas, which are having a direct effect on the education, this can easily be mistaken as problems within the education spending rather than stepping back and realising that it could be issues somewhere else. Increasing the funding in education and training programs could significantly reduce unemployment levels (a major concern for the government) and increase the productivity per worker. In the UK the productivity per worker is substantially lower than other countries such as the US and Germany by as far as 30% in 2002. I believe that education is a major priority for the current government as competition from other countries towers above Britain and with the productivity per worker as low as it is, surely suggests that something within the education sector must be improved to raise our working standards. As the investment in education carries on rising at such rates it must be taken for granted it is becoming an even greater priority, especially with other countries almost mocking us with their efficiency. In 2007 we missed 24 of our 57 targets set by the government in education which raised awareness of the problem widely and brought it to the forefront of priorities. I believe in Britain we need better qualifications to lower unemployment and bring our workforce into the productivity ranges we need to compete with other countries or otherwise our place in the world’s economy will gradually being to fall. In comparison with previous years spending the 2007 budget does not seem to have any major, out of place differences with previous years and generally it appears every sector has just risen with the same annual percentage. However it is within these sectors where the money expenditure has changed. Implementing new legislations and programs, eliminating ineffective ideas and changing the dynamics of how each area is run is where the change in money being spent has taken place. This is a pie chart to represent the budget was spent in 2006: In 2007: In conclusion the amount spent on each sector does reflect the amount to which it is a priority but many other factors must be taken into account when judging that. Some areas such as social protection are such a far larger sector than that of industry, agriculture, employment and training and therefore will ultimately require more money to keep it running smoothly and keep the economic balance. Other areas may be of greater importance and priority such as education, but by spending ridiculous amounts of money on it will be counter-productive and cause many long term problems so despite the fact it is more of a priority, by spending less money on it does not reflect that. By reviewing past years budgets and comparing them with more recent ones it is possible to find where greater amounts of spending has occurred and what sectors are gradually having a greater percentage increase in their spending annually. Another reason why spending doesn’t reflect current government priorities is because although spending may not increase that much, time and effort to reorganise and implement new legislation to improve an area could equally suggest that it is a priority but money would not solve it, just improving the efficiency would. Sometimes spending money on one area will directly affect another positively anyway such as improving education will also improve employment and training. As a general rule the government’s role is to keep inflation low, keep unemployment low, balance in international trade and maintain a flourishing and prospering economy. The government has been investing large amounts of money into training schemes and other projects that have ultimately led to the unemployment rate falling to 5.2% in February 2008. The claimant count was 793,500 in February 2008, down 2,800 over the previous month and down 126,500 over the year. This is the lowest figure since June 1975. The claimant count has now fallen for 17 consecutive months. This shows that the investments into training and education has led to the fall in unemployment which proves my theory that spending in other sectors subsequently helps others. One could just quite plainly say that the government spending does not reflect current government priorities or otherwise if it did then there would be a perfect economy because the money spent would be used to it’s full potential in exactly the right places, doing exactly the right thing; lowering unemployment, improving healthcare, lowering inflation etc. I believe that the difference in the previous budget and the current one describes the extent to which the budget reflects current government priorities better than the looking at the budget itself as the current priorities will determine how much spending will increase in each sector and those with the larger increases (after taking into account inflation) show that they are more of a priority than those with little or no increase. Generally, the government invests the money into areas which is sees to be crucial for the future, so dependent on the priorities, the budget is spent taking into account these and areas of needed development; so if it isn’t spent directly reflecting government priorities, it has taken these into account and spent it most wisely considering areas that need improvement but are not always priorities. 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