Origins of Nursing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Origins of Nursing - Research Paper Example When the same person is not in a position to carry out these activities owing to illness, and there comes someone who can assist this person in performing the activities which aid in the person’s recovery or a peaceful death, then that is nursing. The International Council of Nurses defines nursing as â€Å"to assist an individual, sick or well, in the performance of those activities contributing to health or to its recovery (or to peaceful death) that he would perform unaided if he had the necessary strength, will or knowledge, and to do this in such a way as to help in gaining independence as rapidly as possible† (Baly 51). Nursing has been a profession to many old and young people across generations and nations. In addition, it is viewed to be among the oldest humanitarian services (Baly 177). Scientifically, nursing is a body on its own, and not only is it a science but also an art, providing skillful health care to patients in a way that enhances the general relati onships between the patient, family and the nurses (Pavey 59). From a direct point of view, nursing deals with illness prevention and ensuring of quality health standards. From a wider point of view, nursing does not just concern itself with care of the sick and ageing, but it is also concerned with the conservation of good health practices and prevention of medical disorders. The artistry of nursing is likened to the care mothers gave to their families in ancient homes. It is believed that this art has been modeled over time into modern nursing that is skilled and a science that is well-organized. It is evident that nursing has undergone numerous changes across centuries and continents. A study conducted on nursing will highlight the problems faced in the past, the solution to those problems and how nursing has evolved despite the various obstacles. Traditionally, when a mother took tender care of her sick young one, it was a sign of nursing. Along with these natural abilities that include mercy, love and kindness (humanitarianism), special training combined with suitable experience and self-sacrifice, a nursing profession has been created. Archaic Nursing. Many myths have been created, many tunes have been composed, and a handful of findings have been made about pre-historic human’s care for the sick. In the ancient African setting, it was believed that illness was as a result of evil spirits (Nutting and Dock 44). To get rid of the evil spirit, traditional medicines were administered, drums beaten and magic rites performed so as to frighten away the spirits. The treatment done to the body was aimed at getting rid of these evil spirits. Other forms of traditional treatment include massage, bone setting as well as hot and warm/hot births etc. In this case, the doctor or the nurse was the medicine man, the witch doctor or the priest physician. Nursing in Ancient Egypt. Egypt has been known to be one of the key contributors of ancient discoveries. Accord ing to Nutting and Dock (24), nursing is one of them, and its origin has been associated with the Egyptians who viewed medicine to have its origin in divinity. Egypt holds home to one of the oldest records of medicine dating way back to 1600 B.C. (Pavey 86). Numerous medical sources, illustration of diseases and their associated treatments, surgery and medicine used are found in Hieroglyphic writings on papyrus which are in the temples of pre-historic Egypt and from the Pyramids.

Nature vs. Nurture Essay Example for Free

Nature vs. Nurture Essay It is a matter of concern whether human behaviors and characteristics are determined by nature or nurture. If a person’s behavior is inherited directly from the genes of his/her parents or other biological factors, then it is the nature that determines his character. But if the environment that a person grew up in, affects his behavior, then it is the nurture that determines his/her character. It became a great matter of controversy among scientists, psychologists and sociologists. Previously, many people believed that human behavior was instinctive. It can neither be taught nor learned. But later some psychologists came to the conclusion that human behavior is learned throughout the lifetime which is not instinctive. I believe that it is the combination of both nature and nurture that determine one’s characteristics. Nature only or nurture only cannot be the determining factors for one’s behavior and characteristic. A person’s behavior is determined by the equal blend of nature and nurture. Brent Staples in his essay â€Å"Black Men and Pubic Space† proves that one’s character cannot always be determined by their race which is a biological factor or one’s upbringing and society. But both the nature and the nurture affect the way one behaves, â€Å"I grew up one of the good boys, had perhaps a half dozen fistfights. In retrospect, my shyness of combat has clear sources† (Staples 315). Although the society he lived in was not good, he became a good person. It might be because of his behavior inherited from his parents and the good manner he was taught by his parents. So both nature and nurture by his parents work here and the environment of bad people didn’t affect his behavior. However, he once says that â€Å"Women are particularly vulnerable to street violence, and young black males are drastically overrepresented among the perpetrators of that violence† (Staples315). This makes the reader little confuse whether he himself is b eing racist, but he is actually trying to explain that particularly African American males commit crimes more than others because of the environment they grew up in and the choice they made. This may not be because of particularly being a black man, but because of the culture he has adopted since his childhood. Here he somehow takes the side of nurture. Many black people are assumed to be criminals. People judge them just by their appearance and the impression black people have made in today’s world. But this does not always mean that every black people are criminals and it’s  their biological factor that makes them do crimes. We can take the example of Brent Staple. Even though he was an educated and good person, many people and especially white women fear of him. But he was neither an uneducated person nor a criminal. He was brought up in a good family and properly nurtured by his parents. Therefore, nurturing became the factor for his behavior. Similarly, there are examples given by another author Amy Cunningham in her essay, â€Å"Why Women Smile†. Although she focuses primarily on a smile, she tends to explain the actual cause of one’s behavior. She explains that a smile or particularly a women’s smile comes from both natural happiness as well as the hope of people living around them,  "The behavior seems to be an equal blend of nature and nurture† (Cunningham 190). She further explains that both a normal baby and a blind baby smiles, although it may take a little longer for the blind one. It means that the smiles are natural and should not be taught in all cases. However, there are situations where people and especially women are social pressurized to smile and show a good behavior even if they don’t want to, â€Å"Evidently, a woman’s happy, willing deference is something the world wants visibly demonstrated† (Cunningham 191). It is both natural as well as nurtured along with the situations. For example: It is more likely for a child to be a doctor in the future if his dad is a doctor too. Nature plays an important role here because the intelligence of the child is inherited from his father. But if the child is not given proper care of his education or if the parents encourage him to be something rather than doctor, he may choose other professions too. If the child is given proper care and if he is psychologically prepared that he should be a doctor in the future, nature and nurture plays equal role. There are many debates still going on whether human behavior is affected by nature or nurture. Many psychologists and scientists are still researching on whether it is one’s genes or the environment that affects one’s behavior. Yes, one’s genes affect their characteristics but the environment they are cultured in also affects the way they take actions. Since childhood, people are taught moral education at school and home. They learn how to talk, behave, act and respond. These all are nurture. If they are given good lessons, they will be able to be good in the future. But if one does not get proper guidance, he will turn out to be a morally bad person. These are the examples of human behavior affected by  nurture. When we think about nature, different personality of people develops according to the genetics tendencies. For example it is likely for a person to have the habit of being aggressive if his father or his mother or any of his biological family has the same habit. Also there are many styles of talking, eating or walking that are inherited by oneâ €™s parents or biological family. Paul Theroux somehow agrees the equality of nature and nurture. In his essay â€Å"Being a Man†, he explains how nature and nurture has affected a man to be like a man. According to him a girl since her childhood is encouraged to behave in a cute way but a boy is instructed to behave roughly or so called manly, â€Å"It begins with mother encouraging little girls to say (to other adults? â€Å"Do you like my new dress?† In a sense, little girls are traditionally urged to please adults with a kind of coquettishness, while boys are enjoined to behave like monkeys toward each other.† (Theroux177). This shows how a girl and a boy are nurtured differently which determines their characteristics. Healso takes the side of nature where some different behavior between men and women comes naturally, â€Å"Femininity- being lady-like-implies needing a man as witness and seducer: but masculinity celebrates the exclusive company of men† (Theroux177). We can know from th is that not only a nature of a girl or a boy separates each other from their behavior but also their parents or the environment or the nurturer encourage them to behave separately. Therefore, the behavior is determined by both nature and nurture. In conclusion, it can be stated that human behavior are both the result of nature and nurture. One can neither neglect the effect of biological factors one have on them nor disprove the behaviors that are affected by the environment one is living in. It is important for a person to have a good environment even if his biological parents are good in nature. Also, some characters are inherited from genes of one’s parents that might last forever although he is far from his parents. Therefore, both the nature as well as nurture has equal effect on determining human behavior. Work Cited Staples, Brent. Black Men and Public Space. The Norton Reader: An Anthology of Nonfiction. New York: W.W. Norton Company, 2012. Print Cunningham, Amy. Why Women Smile. The Norton Reader: An Anthology of Nonfiction. New York: W.W. Norton Company, 2012. Print Theroux, Paul. Being a Man. The Norton Reader: An Anthology of Nonfiction. New York: W.W. Norton Company, 2012. Print

Titus Andronicus - Appearance Versus Reality Essay -- Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus - Appearance Versus Reality As appearances play an important role in society, so they also play an important role in William Shakespeare's play Titus Andronicus. From the first scene to the last, Shakespeare elaborates on the theme of appearance versus reality through plot and character. The play’s plot is full of incidents and events that are not what they appear to be: from Titus' â€Å"mental breakdown† and Tamora's extended deceitfulness, to Aaron's declared deeds. Each case presents a contrast between what the senses perceive and what reality presents. Some characters are defined better by their actions than their speech.    Tamora is a veritable mold for the perfect Machiavellian character. She lusts not for power as her marrying the emperor would at first suggest, but for revenge. However, she is fatally flawed since she cannot perceive the obvious signs that Titus is at some level aware of the reality around him. She is too wrapped up in her own plans, and thus denies the signs of his lucidness. Her extensive cunning and plotting are one-sided. She acknowledges but does not fully comprehend Titus' state of mind: TAMORA Act 5, Scene 2 (Lines 1-8) Thus, in this strange and sad habiliment, I will encounter with Andronicus, And say I am Revenge, sent from below To join with him and right his heinous wrongs. Knock at his study, where, they say, he keeps, To ruminate strange plots of dire revenge; Tell him Revenge is come to join with him, And work confusion on his enemies. In line 6 she explicitly states that she is aware of Titus' plotting revenge against her, yet she does not believe that he will carry his plans out as evidenced by the word "strange." Her reas... ... reality of their state of affairs and characters. The play is swathed in deceit on diploid levels, both the plot and the underlying personalities and motivations bear disparities between appearance and reality. Works Cited and Consulted Bate, Jonathan. "Introduction." Titus Andronicus. The Arden Shakespeare. London: Routledge, 1995. 1-121. Carducci, Jane. "Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus: An Experiment in Expression." Cahiers Elisabethains 31 (1987): 1-9. Danson, Lawrence N. "The Device of Wonder: Titus Andronicus and Revenge Tragedies." Texas Studies in Literature and Language 16 (1974): 27-43. Hulse, S. Clarke. "Wresting the Alphabet: Oratory and Action in 'Titus Andronicus."' Criticism 21(1979): 106-18. Shakespeare, William. "Titus Andronicus" The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stanley Wells & Gary Taylor. New York/London, W.W. Norton Company, 1997.

Ethics Choice in the Workplace Essay

Ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) becomes one of key point to evaluation business value. â€Å"In today’s highly interconnected, global, and transparent world, corporations are finding that social responsibility is essential to fundamental business strategy† (Trevino & Nelson, 2010, page 332). The main purpose of this paper is to offer readers an overview and concept about the role of ethics and social responsibility in food industry. Besides that, some ethical problems of organizations, stakeholder perspective on the firm and some recommendations are listed. Ethics Choice in the Workplace Regarding to corporate ethics and CSR are exposed, both consumers and governments are focusing their attention on corporate social responsibility practices (Maloni & Brown, 2006). Ferrell, Geoffrey & Ferrell (2011, p.38) stated, â€Å"business ethics as the principles and standards that determine acceptable conduct in business organizations†. The behavior of acceptability is confirmed by many stakeholders of organizations such as customers, suppliers, employees, government regulators, owners as well as community. Ethics and social responsibilities are influent to business strategy and setting in recently. White (2012) claimed social responsibilities manage on decision making from top level to bottom line of firms. Ethics and Social Responsibilities are being evaluated as a key successful factor to measure organization outcomes. Ethics Issues in Business In order to identify certain situations that affected by various environmental and individual factors as ethical or unethical decision (Bommer, Gravander & Tuttle,1987). The identification is impacted by bias, principles, concepts and definitions of social group or community. These standards are different from geographies, races, languages, time, etc. According to Ferell et all, 2011, ethics is related to organizations’ culture, financial status and business objective. Plenty of ethical issues in business can be classified into their relative behavior as abusive and intimidating behavior, conflicts of interest, fairness and honesty, communications, and business associations. Abusive and Intimidating Behavior Actions in working environment caused other people physical threats, being annoying, harshness, or even though bypassing some individual opinions. Abusive can be considered as a distraction or disruption of the workplace (Ferell et all, 2011). Intensity of voice, situation of speaking and used words are factors to be determined to abusive or un-abusive. Conflicts of interest This kind of conflicts occurs quite frequently in reality. For instance, managers could make decisions either to reinforce their power or enhance benefit to shareholders. A CEO will keep confidential a bad financial status to board of director sometimes. The conflict is often among employees because they use the same resources. Un-transparency of gifts may effect to outcome decisions to be an illegal or un-ethical behavior. Fairness and Honesty Fairness and honesty is the most important of business ethics and create general values of decision makers (Ferell et all, 2011). For instance, some newspapers claimed there are some exceed ingredients in power milk caused harmfulness to children health 2 years ago. In addition, Microsoft window software is still being cracked very popularly in China and Vietnam in particular even though people knew these products are protected by copyright law. Communications Communication is one of effective tools to bring product ideas and images to consumers. However, some organizations transferred to community incorrect information about their products. Under-weight or over-weight harmful of ingredients, food safety and hygiene are the most of improper announcement in advertising and labels. Furthermore, there is lack of information to compare differences or similarities between products (Ferell et all, 2011). For example, many people does not know how differentiated among Uniliver’s detergents: OMO, Viso, and Suff. Business Relations This ethical behavior is relevant to business relations to customers, suppliers, bosses vs. their staff and others in their workplace that create to ethical concerns. Managers take advantages on legitimate and authority roles to supervise their staff. Sometime they play Lording games to reinforce their power (Mintzberg, 1985). In reality, commission and gifts are used very popularly on Sales and Marketing. In Vietnam, gifts are considered as traditional requirement on national holidays. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Corporate Social Responsibility â€Å"means that organizations should take responsibility for their impact on society and the environment† (Castka & Balzarova, 2007, p.297). Every organization should build and adopt their owned CSR plans. There are four dimensions or four faces of social responsibility: economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic (which sometimes call voluntary, altruistic or humanitarian) (Ferell et all, 2011) and (Geoffrey, 2001). Economic Responsibilities. Business organizations are groups to conduct goods or service to satisfy consumers as well as create jobs for community (Geoffrey, 2001). Firms should pay fair to workers, look for new resources, technical innovation and celebrate a friendly and fairly working environment. Therefore, economic responsibility â€Å"is to be profitable for principles by delivering a good quality product at a fair price is due to customers† (Geoffrey, 2001, p. 3). Novak (1996, p. 139-145) defined seven economic responsibilities. There are to (1) satisfy customers with goods and services of real value, (2) make a reasonable return on the funds entrusted to the business corporation by its investors, (3) create new wealth which reduce poorness as their wages rises, (4) create new jobs to enhance worker incomes, (5) defeat envy by generating people values and creations that can improve their conditions, (6) promote ingenuity and invention, (7) diversify the interest s of the republic. Legal responsibi lities. Legal behavior is obeying the law by playing rules and policies of the game. The business laws are passed by the society and community. The laws tell organizations what should or should not be done. However, the laws often provide a minimum level or a floor of moral that â€Å"might be followed involuntarily out of fear of punishment rather than voluntarily out of internal moral conviction† (Geoffrey, 2001, p. 4). Ethical responsibilities. Ethical duties overcome limitations of legal responsibilities. They include moral, doing what is right, just, fair and avoiding harm to society and community even if preventing harm caused by others (Smith & Quelch, 1993). This behavior shows how wealth the organization affects non-economic aspects of society, such as benefit to employees, how closely working environment is, as well as natural environment. Altruistic responsibilities This kind of responsibilities display in the forms of voluntary service, association and giving, offer over of legal of society floor principles. Over the half of century, business increasingly has been judged not only by its economic and its ethical performance, but also by its social contributions (Geoffrey, 2001). Conclusion By understanding deeply Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility, businesses can adopt not only get higher profit or outcomes but also be interested to society, community and natural environment. For the time being, we can expect to hear more about social responsibility and much of what of our companies do to give a hand to build our society around us.

Issues of grandparents raising grandchildren Essay

Abstract This paper explores research regarding the impacts on grandparents and grandchildren when the grandparent assumes the parental role because of some type of parental fall through. The articles find that the financial aspect of raising grandchildren in your later years is quite costly as well is the negative health problems the stress of the situation can cause. This paper mainly looks at Baldock’s (2007) research on the affects of every aspect of the new situation on the grandparents and grandchildren. Baldock (2007) and the other research used for this paper all suggest that there are multiple struggles that the grandparents will endure when raising their grandchildren. Issues of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren The clichà © life of a grandparent is usually thought of as taking the grandchildren to the zoo, baking cookies, and making crafts. Grandparents are also around to share their wisdom and experiences with the younger generation, however in today’s society the amount of grandparents having to take in their grandchildren due to an issue in the biological parents’ lives has been on the increase for years (Baldock, 2007, p. 70). This change of role for the grandparents can have various affects on not only the grandparents but the grandchildren as well. There are many reasons as to why grandparents come into the situation where they need to take their grandchildren into their care such as teenage pregnancy, parental abuse, and parental drug and alcohol abuse. No matter how the grandparents come into obtaining their grandchildren each family have their own types of struggles they will have to deal with. Both the grandparents and grandchildren can go through multiple financial, health, and behavioral issues that can either bring the family out on top or hurt them, but many are choosing to overcome the difficulties and persevere through them. Literature Review There are many troubles in today’s society with drugs, alcohol, and violence, all which are just a few of the reasons that many parents become unable to properly care for their children. These and many other circumstances are which have led to â€Å"approximately 2.4 million grandparents [being] responsible for raising their grandchildren, many in households without the parents present.† (Poehlmann et al., 2008, 165) The decision to undertake the responsibility of raising your grandchildren is a big one to make, however many times there is no decision to make because the children would end up in the foster care system if it weren’t for the grandparents. In a study completed in Australia about grandparent run homes, â€Å"of the 31,000 children living with their grandparents, 28,700 children’s biological parents lived elsewhere.† (Baldock, 2007, p. 71) This can make the strain of raising your grandchild even more difficult because of the emotional and financial burdens it may cause. Health Quality of Custodial Grandparents There have been various studies in which they have found that grandparents who take care of their grandchildren have mental and physical aspects of themselves that are in a disarray (Neely-Barnes, Graft, & Washington, 2010, p. 87). The role of being a custodial grandparent is difficult not only because it is a new situation which they need to adjust to, but it can also cause physical and mental problems. The situation cause a lot of new emotions and stressors that â€Å"numerous studies have documented elevated rates of depression, parenting stress, health problem, and economic hardship among custodial grandparents.† (Poehlmann et al., 2008, p. 168) Many grandparents are well in their sixty’s and so â€Å"when the children arrive, grandparents are unlikely to be prepared for the dramatic and often sudden changes caused by unplanned parenthood.† (Baldock, 2007, p. 73) The grandparents generally see an increase in health related problems because they are put into a situation where they need to focus on the care of their grandchildren which leads to the grandparents’ health and well-being coming second and in which â€Å"custodial grandparents report worse self-assessed health than noncaregiving grandparents, particularly in the areas of physical functioning, bodily pain, role functioning, social functioning, and general health perception.† (Neely-Barn es et al., 2010, p. 88) Not only are the grandparents not being able to properly maintain their own health, but â€Å"among custodial grandparents, higher levels of depression have been found among unmarried grandparents who were not working.† (p. 88) This new parenting role that the grandparents are put into also effects their social life; â€Å"in one study, half of custodial grandparents reported that they felt isolated from friends in their age group due to their caregiving responsibilities.† (p. 88) Grandparents usually feel worn out by the amount of extra responsibilities they have come to take on which can make them feel worried when they think about having many more years of having to take care of their grandchildren. This type of constant worrying and stress can become quite a negative thing both for the grandparent and grandchild because â€Å"grandparents who are stressed are more likely to become depressed.† (Baldock, 2007, p. 73) Financials When grandparents are put into the situation of bringing their grandchildren into their care, one of the most difficult issues they have to deal with is the financial aspect of raising the children. The financial aspect of raising the grandchildren can be so hard to handle because many of the grandparents are older and even retired which means limited income. â€Å"In around one third of grandparent families (34%), one of both grandparents were employed, while 62% received a government pension, allowance or other benefit as their primary income.† (Baldock, 2007, p. 71) Children are expensive to raise because of the extra clothing, food, and home resources that are used. The grandparents are used to and comfortable with their current lifestyle and then when the unexpected young grandchildren are brought into the picture this can make the once sufficient income turn into financial instability. Grandparents going through legal proceedings can also be another reason finances are put into a bind when the need to take in your grandchildren is needed because â€Å"grandparents are commonly ineligible for legal aid and consequently face disadvantage in proceedings† (Baldock, 2007, p. 72). One way that is used to try to gain some type of extra income for the grandchildren is by â€Å"formalising their parenting role through legal proceedings [which] can be the only way grandparents are able to access financial support.† (p. 72) The cost of providing for their grandchildren and all of the court related procedures needed to be done becomes such a burden that â€Å"some grandparents have mortgaged their homes to undertake legal proceedings.† (p. 72) Impacts on the Family The result of custodial grandparents not only effects just the grandparents and grandchildren, but the whole family. The strain of raising grandchildren can be felt in the children of the grandparents â€Å"some felt resentful that their parent’s energy was going into raising their grandchildren and their own children missed out on a relationship with their grandparents.† (Baldock, 2007, p. 72) In many families the reason that the grandparents need to raise their grandchildren is due to some type of addiction from the birth parents. This drug use can cause emotional and social problems in the grandparents and grandchildren which can make the â€Å"grandparents†¦feel blamed or express a sense of responsibility for their own children’s drug use.†(p. 73) Grandparents often feel as though there was something they could have done to prevent their children’s drug abuse which in turn would have prevented the need for them to raise their grandchildren. This feeling of â€Å"blame and shame exacerbate social isolation and increase psychological anxiety experienced by grandparents and their grandchildren.† (p. 73) The effects on the grandchildren of not having their parent or parents around is difficult to for them to cope with because â€Å"children separated from their parents because of alcohol and other drugs frequently face psychological, emotional and sometimes physical problems.† (Baldock, 2007, p. 71) According to Day and Bazemore (2011: children living without their biological parents typically present with high rates of psychological problems. Yet, by comparison, adolescents living with grandparent caregivers have the lowest levels of both ‘internalizing problems’ (i.e. depressive symptoms, negative outlook, low self-esteem), and ‘externalizing problems’ (i.e. nonviolent delinquency, general violent tendencies, and substance abuse.† (p. 103) Position I have first hand experience in the struggles and issues that can arise from a grandparent having to put their lives on hold and take in their grandchildren in order to provide them a loving and stable home. My parents are currently in the process of adopting my two nephews whom they, as well as myself, have taken care of since they were born. My sister is in a rehabilitation program in Northern New Jersey for addiction to pills, cocaine, and heroin and has been in and out of trouble since her early teens. Growing up the way I did because of the situations and conditions that my sister made my family endure has shown me just how difficult and numerous the issues are when raising your grandchildren. My mother is sixty years old and my father is sixty-two, both having some health problems. Health problems associated with age can have a significant affect on how the grandparents are going to be able to act in their new role as caregivers because many grandparents are older and their health is declining. Taking care of a six and a nine year old can be mentally and physically exhausting. My nephews have many psychological issues because their mother is gone and father is hardly around, these emotional troubles of my nephews also effect me and parents too. My nephews have ADHD and are quite sensitive which makes it even more difficult to calm them down if they are feeling upset or angry because they are missing their mother. I find the emotional impact it has on the children and family to be the greatest because of my experience in knowing how difficult is to cope with the entire situation. The financial responsibility for taking grandchildren in can be quite detrimental to the grandparents because many are retired or only working part-time in order to make a little extra money. My father is retired which has made the raising of two new children quite difficult before they received any assistance from the state. While most families receive financial assistance through state and federal aid, there may be certain circumstances in which a family has to come up with the money themselves. Grandparents know how expensive children are because of their past experience in raising their own children, however times have changed and the cost of raising children has significantly increased. This financial burden put onto the grandparents is not a choice they make, but rather something they just have to endure because there is no other option for the grandchildren. Afterthoughts It is obvious that grandparents who have to bring their grandchildren into their home and raise them because of varying circumstances will inevitably face numerous amount of hardships and issues. The grandparents being older makes the task of raising their grandchildren difficult, along with the cost involved in raising them and the legal proceedings that are done in order to protect the children. While the hardships of custodial grandparents is plenty, many â€Å"who have attended support groups say that it has made a positive difference in their lives† (Baldock, 2007, p.73), which can help them to cope with the new situations they are being placed in. Even though raising grandchildren comes with multiple and varying issues that make it difficult to do, â€Å"grandparents who are raising their grandchildren consistently report that the experience adds joy and meaning to their lives and provides them with companionship and a purposeful social and familial role.† (Kropf ; Burnette, 2003, p. 363)

First Great Awakening essays

First Great Awakening essays The First Great Awakening was an immense religious revival in the English colonies. The Puritan churchgoers, especially, became bored with sermons that were too complex and dull for them to understand or care about. Worshippers began to question the churches beliefs. However, in the 1734, Jonathon Edwards began the First Great Awakening. This event was extremely important to the people and united them together for the first time, moving the colonists closer to the war for independence. In addition to the complex sermons, the Puritans also had strict membership requirements, which limited the amount of people in their church. They could not get enough people to join the church and lost many who were members. Also, Jacobus Arminius preached that there was no such thing as predestination, and he believed that a person's use of free will determined their fate. Because of these multiple pressures, many religions began to loose their beliefs and spirit. At this time the First Great Awakening swept through the colonies. It began in Northampton, Massachusetts, by Jonathon Edwards. Edwards was extraordinarily intelligent, but he also had the ability to communicate with the people in a way that made his sermons interesting. He countered Arminius by saying that good works did not save a man from damnation but that complete dependence upon God did. Four years after Edwards, Englishman George Whitefield began a new style of preaching. He had an amazing ability to deliver speeches to the point where even Edwards began to cry. During his speeches, many people converted and the "saved" groaned and cried. Many imitators began to preach like Whitefield. The colonies soon became united under the revival; they began calling themselves Americans for the first time. This was an important step toward the uniting of the colonies and the thought of revolution. However, not everyone was happy with the new style of religion. Ortho...

Free Essays on The Awakening Reaction

My Reaction to The Awakening Honestly, I felt kind of stifled throughout the whole book. I always felt as if Edna was on the verge of something great but could never quite get there. It’s as if she kept taking me two steps forward and then one step backward, starting with her first experience of being able to go out into the water and swim on her own. This was a pivotal point in the story. She realizes how it easy it is and then admonishes herself for all the time she had wasted before, â€Å"splashing about like a baby!† (Chopin,Ch X) Then when she turns around and looks toward shore, the distance she’d just traveled now seems like a great feat she might not be able to overcome on the way back. Later that night when she first defies her husband by staying out in the hammock, I thought, â€Å"Ok, she’s standing up for herself.† And she does but only to a certain extent because she tires and ends up going back to bed before her husband, who stays up finishing his cigar. I realize that Edna’s awakening is a process and that it’s not one to come all at once, but yet I still feel like Chopin, although posing a controversial subject in this book, was still holding back. Throughout the whole novel it’s like that. Edna steps forward and then backwards. She falls for Robert but doesn’t fully realize it until he leaves for Mexico. When she’s back in New Orleans she stops receiving visitors and then moves out. But yet when her father arrives she takes him to Adele’s and enjoys making sure he’s having a good time, or so it seems. When Edna tells Mademoiselle Reisz her reason for moving into the pigeon house, she says it’s because she’s tired of looking after the big house. Mademoiselle Reisz has to get Edna to admit her real reason is because she wants to be independent. Edna can’t even begin to really open herself fully, not even to Mademoiselle Reisz. It seems like Edna is trapped in this never-ending quest for fre... Free Essays on The Awakening Reaction Free Essays on The Awakening Reaction My Reaction to The Awakening Honestly, I felt kind of stifled throughout the whole book. I always felt as if Edna was on the verge of something great but could never quite get there. It’s as if she kept taking me two steps forward and then one step backward, starting with her first experience of being able to go out into the water and swim on her own. This was a pivotal point in the story. She realizes how it easy it is and then admonishes herself for all the time she had wasted before, â€Å"splashing about like a baby!† (Chopin,Ch X) Then when she turns around and looks toward shore, the distance she’d just traveled now seems like a great feat she might not be able to overcome on the way back. Later that night when she first defies her husband by staying out in the hammock, I thought, â€Å"Ok, she’s standing up for herself.† And she does but only to a certain extent because she tires and ends up going back to bed before her husband, who stays up finishing his cigar. I realize that Edna’s awakening is a process and that it’s not one to come all at once, but yet I still feel like Chopin, although posing a controversial subject in this book, was still holding back. Throughout the whole novel it’s like that. Edna steps forward and then backwards. She falls for Robert but doesn’t fully realize it until he leaves for Mexico. When she’s back in New Orleans she stops receiving visitors and then moves out. But yet when her father arrives she takes him to Adele’s and enjoys making sure he’s having a good time, or so it seems. When Edna tells Mademoiselle Reisz her reason for moving into the pigeon house, she says it’s because she’s tired of looking after the big house. Mademoiselle Reisz has to get Edna to admit her real reason is because she wants to be independent. Edna can’t even begin to really open herself fully, not even to Mademoiselle Reisz. It seems like Edna is trapped in this never-ending quest for fre...

Best Swedish Schools to study interior design

Best Swedish Schools to study interior design Studying Interior Design in Sweden Interior design is one of the modern streams within the educational specialization variety. People are interested in living in beautiful and extraordinary apartments. More and more of young people try to fulfill their potential and creativity in developing interior design. Modern materials and settings enable designers to arrange unique and superb design, saturated with varieties of colors and forms, making the house or office a comfortable and aesthetic place for living, working or entertainment. To be an interior designer is not simply to furnish the room and allocate decorative components within the living or working space. To become mature in this sphere, one should have profound skills in drawing, color perception, taste, know interior design styles and be able to embody all this stuff in the practice. Today interior designer can hardly work without knowing corresponding computer programs for creating drafts and sketches for their customers. So as you see, studying to acquire designer degree is rather labor-consuming activity, which requires great effort. Besides your efforts, it is important to select a nice school, which can become your guide into the world of design and provide necessary qualification for your future carrier. In regard to interior design a lot of people trust their training to Swedish schools and universities. Great amount of educational institutions in Sweden with brilliant reputation can become the access for your professional carrier as a designer. Umeà ¥ Institute of Design This university provides training of the specialists in the direction of industrial design and offers five academic programs for its students. To acquire a Bachelor degree at this university one needs to pass the three-year training program. The great advantage is that education in this university is free. The education is provided only in Swedish, which can be considered as a drawback. The university also offers three international programs for obtaining Master degree. Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design This institution is one of the biggest Swedish schools, which provides training in design, arts and crafts. Almost 900 students come at the university each year to receive Bachelor and Master degrees. This school has great educational and research facilities, numerous workshops, which enable students to develop their practical skills in painting, weaving, ceramics and sculpture. HDK School of Design and Crafts HDK School of Design and Crafts provides great opportunities of training. You can undertake a short or a long term course in the school, according to your needs and circumstances. The school arranges exhibitions all the time, where students can participate. And that is a great opportunity to present your works for the potential customers and to receive first experience while studying. They offer a PhD program in design and arts. All information about start time of the courses and time when you can enroll for them is available at their website. KKH Royal Institute of Art This school has a great number of Swedish students, but it also welcomes the students from other countries. Due to well-equipped workshops, they welcome also the students with disabilities. The institute offers one-year guest program in fine arts, three-year Bachelor program, two-year Master program and PhD program for their student. This school also offers such courses as Restoration Art, Architecture Art and Architecture. The institute directs their students to development of practical skills along with the research work, which is motivated by well-arranged educational facilities. Apparently, Swedish design schools represent a great training opportunity for those, who do not want just to admire beautiful things and pieces of art, but for those, who want to create them. If you want to make your mark within the interior design sphere, do your best to take care of the appropriate education, which will spread your wings of creativity and success.

Supply Chain Innovations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Supply Chain Innovations - Essay Example IT can also be deemed to be a pull’ (demand) determined inventory system where sub-assemblies, support items, parts and materials are conveyed just when required and neither later or sooner. Its main goal is to eradicate product inventories from chain of supply. As much as an inventory system as a managerial system, JIT covers all activities needed to produce a final product beginning from engineering design onwards to the final manufacturing operation (Radhakrishnan, 2001). Materials requirement planning (MRP) on the other hand is a system of planning and control of inventory that is mostly utilized in the management of the manufacturing processes. Several MRP systems are usually soft-ware based even though MRP can also be performed by use of hand as well. The main aim of MRP system is; ensuring that materials are accessible for production and that products are accessible for transmission to customers, maintenance of lowest possible product and material level in store, planning manufacturing activities, purchasing activities and delivery schedules(Wisner,2012). Both MRP and JIT facilitate firms to make long term plans, which allow a manufacturer to make plans for facility and labor use more efficiently. Both systems assist in reduction of orders that are past-due and lead times (Rao, Krishna,

Consumer behavior of hk people towards ipad (tablets) Dissertation

Consumer behavior of hk people towards ipad (tablets) - Dissertation Example Organizations like Apple have managed to make a mark for themselves in the industry through the launch of innovative products like iPhones, pads and tablets. The market dynamics are driven by the growing consumer demand for hi-tech products that caters to their hectic schedules and supports multiple functionalities for extended usage. Consumers seek multiple functionalities and utilities in a single device that can provide them with extended connectivity and accessibility to desired applications. While market dynamics are strongly influenced by innovative products and services, the key to successful market presence lies in an in-depth understanding of consumer behaviour and attitudes that lead to the final purchase of the product. ... The research study offers an in-depth evaluation of consumer behaviour and attitudes driving the market for tablets and ipads in Hong Kong. 1. Introduction 1.1 Research context and background Marketing strategies and practices have evolved over the years to embrace new and innovative concepts in response to changes in the consumer behaviour and attitudes. Such strategic initiatives are aimed towards improved understanding of consumer behaviour and their perception of products in the market. Several research studies and academic works on consumer behaviour have established the significance of consumer attitudes and their purchase habits in stimulating demand for specific goods or services (Barnett, 2003; Patel and Schlijper, 2000; Liberman, Trope, and Wakslak, 2007). Consumer behaviour refers to the beliefs, perception and opinion of the consumer while making the purchase decision. Prior to globalization, the customer did not have much choice in terms of substitutes and alternatives a nd hence long term customer retention was not much of a problem for businesses. However, over the years, the globalised market environment has exposed the customers to a wide range of brands, substitutes and alternatives in the market. Customer purchase patterns have undergone a dramatic change in terms of brand loyalty and perception of goods and services in the market (OECD, 2011). Organizations are adapting to these changes through aggressive marketing strategies a significant part of which focuses on finding the pulse of the customer and tracing his behavioural pattern while making the purchase decision (Voinea and Filip, 2011). A recent study by Lauren Freedman (2011) on the shopping mindset of the mobile customer reveals that mobile devices

Social Stratification and Social Inequality Essay

Social Stratification and Social Inequality - Essay Example As compared to America, Japan is a much more patriarchal society which means that culturally, it would be difficult to find women as head or corporations or even on the directorial board of a company. Chieko (2001) reports that the position of women in the workforce is less than forty percent which is far lower than international standards. Women are seen to be fulfilling their duties in traditional roles rather than modern roles which are more acceptable in America. A quick examination for the American Fortune 500 list of companies shows that in 2003, women held 14% of board seats in various companies while they only had a 10% representation back in 1995. One in ten companies on the same list had 25% or more women on the boards (Lockwood, 2005). On the other hand, when it comes to Japan, the Asian Human Rights Commission (2001, Pg. 1) reports that, â€Å"The equality of men and women has not been fully achieved in practice, for the traditional concept that the woman is to stay at home is still deeply rooted†. Even when the women get to work, they face issues which are similar to the ones faced by American women workers. Of course the American women have some recourse in terms of legal action against sexual harassment at work but Japan has no law against sexual harassment. The Japanese government knows that there is a problem with sexual harassment since their own survey has shown that half of women working in Japan have faced sexual harassment. Some reports place the figure as high as 70% of women having faced sexual harassment since the majority do not report it (Asian Human Rights Commission, 2001). Perhaps the most significant problem for women in Japan comes from the way some Japanese laws may be structured to work against women. For example, if a woman reports that she was raped, she may have to prove with physical evidence that she resisted the rape. Other factors, such as the courts considering physical violence to be a natural

THE EVOLUTION OF DRUG RESISTANCE IN VIRUSES AND BACTERIA Essay

THE EVOLUTION OF DRUG RESISTANCE IN VIRUSES AND BACTERIA - Essay Example The resultant nature of upcoming bacteria and viruses leads to drug tolerance. In most cases, pathogens acquire newer forms and abilities of resistance through evolution. In a broad sense, the pathogens acquire a stronger resistance against drugs and thus, repel any upcoming drugs, making them ineffective. The development of drug resistance specifically stems from drugs that aim at eradicating specific viral and bacterial proteins. Since such drugs are mainly specific to given viruses and bacteria, any mutation in such pathogens interferes with its destructive nature, which results in drug resistance. As the drugs become more developed, the viruses and bacteria mutate to acquire protective qualities that are commensurate to the strength of the developed drugs. With this in mind, the innate capacity of bacteria and viruses to evolve to such an extent of outpacing upcoming drugs suggests that stakeholders in the medical field should work towards achieving long-term and viable anti-microbial therapies that will evolve with the pathogens’ ability to adapt t o the situation. A succinct analysis of Bryskier (2005), reveals that antibiotics are composed of natural secretions by fungi and bacteria that aim at engulfing and killing other bacteria that are pose competition over limited nutrients. The drugs used in treating diseases in the contemporary originate from such secretions. Professionals in the medical field remain alarmed by the discovery that some viruses and bacteria have developed resistance to drugs, and further evolved through mutations or DNA alterations. Based on information outlined by Fisher and Mobashery (2010), rresidential areas and health facilities act as proper breeding grounds for drug resistant qualities of bacteria and viruses. Such bacteria flourish in an environment dominated by people with ailments and whose immune systems are

Effects of Globalization on Brazil 1163 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Effects of Globalization on Brazil 1163 - Essay Example e increased imports causing job losses, rising inequality and homogenization of tastes which may impact local producers adversely (Held and McGrew, 2007). There are multiple causes of globalization like improvement in information technology, opening up of trade, creation of multiple trade regulatory bodies and growth of multinational companies to name a few (Woo, 2009). Brazil, the largest country of South America, was under a military government regime till 1985. Brazil is regarded as a rapidly growing developing country of South America. Brazilian economy is largely dependent on its strong agricultural sector and the industrial sector comprising mining and manufacturing activities (Bengoa and Sanchez-Robles, 2003). Globalization has a massive impact on the economy of Brazil as a whole. Globalization has increased the stability of the Brazilian economy. Increased stability has enhanced the flow of foreign direct investment in the country and many multinational companies have ventured into Brazil. Foreign trade in Brazil have received huge boost from the year 2000 onwards and many researchers have confirmed this to be plausible source of growth of the economy (Bengoa and Sanchez-Robles, 2003). The sudden fall in the global demand had affected Brazil adversely and the export sector had been maligned badly. There was a fall in the price of raw materials and sales of exported goods exacerbated the conditions in Brazil. Brazil has been badly bruised by the global financial crisis. The crisis has highlighted the negative aspects of over-dependence (Kaltenbrunner and Painceira, 2009). Globalization had a positive impact on the healthcare systems of Brazil by raising the commitment of government to prevent environmental degradation. The aim of the government is to reduce emission level by 40% till 2020. Protecting the agricultural sector and environment is an important concern for Brazil in the era of globalization (Alkmim, et al., 2012). Negative impacts of

THE EVOLUTION OF DRUG RESISTANCE IN VIRUSES AND BACTERIA Essay

THE EVOLUTION OF DRUG RESISTANCE IN VIRUSES AND BACTERIA - Essay Example The resultant nature of upcoming bacteria and viruses leads to drug tolerance. In most cases, pathogens acquire newer forms and abilities of resistance through evolution. In a broad sense, the pathogens acquire a stronger resistance against drugs and thus, repel any upcoming drugs, making them ineffective. The development of drug resistance specifically stems from drugs that aim at eradicating specific viral and bacterial proteins. Since such drugs are mainly specific to given viruses and bacteria, any mutation in such pathogens interferes with its destructive nature, which results in drug resistance. As the drugs become more developed, the viruses and bacteria mutate to acquire protective qualities that are commensurate to the strength of the developed drugs. With this in mind, the innate capacity of bacteria and viruses to evolve to such an extent of outpacing upcoming drugs suggests that stakeholders in the medical field should work towards achieving long-term and viable anti-microbial therapies that will evolve with the pathogens’ ability to adapt t o the situation. A succinct analysis of Bryskier (2005), reveals that antibiotics are composed of natural secretions by fungi and bacteria that aim at engulfing and killing other bacteria that are pose competition over limited nutrients. The drugs used in treating diseases in the contemporary originate from such secretions. Professionals in the medical field remain alarmed by the discovery that some viruses and bacteria have developed resistance to drugs, and further evolved through mutations or DNA alterations. Based on information outlined by Fisher and Mobashery (2010), rresidential areas and health facilities act as proper breeding grounds for drug resistant qualities of bacteria and viruses. Such bacteria flourish in an environment dominated by people with ailments and whose immune systems are

The effect of the recession on Tesco's, Sainsbury's and Morrison's Dissertation

The effect of the recession on Tesco's, Sainsbury's and Morrison's - Dissertation Example The first phase involves the identification and extensive research into the problem followed a literature review to develop strong basis for further insights. The second phase entails the sophisticated analysis on the data collected through the primary and secondary research work. It involves the use of pictorials to assist in better understanding of the research work. As a result, the analysis showed that the UK grocery sector had been adversely impacted as a whole; however, despite an economic downturn and deteriorating macro conditions, the three retail giants-Tesco, Sainsbury and Morrison have had an insignificant impact on their profitability, market share and loyalty of the customers. The research leads us to conclude that the leaders were able to combat the economic recession with an iron hand; and to revive their ways to the former glory with a year of the collapse of the economy. The analyses in the research also lead us to establish the fact that Tesco was able to maintain its dominance over the UK retail sector in terms of market share, sales, profitability and growth. Fieldwork and data collection 1. Introduction In this chapter, the methodology used is analyzed and discussed further and it importance to the three goals. The methodology is believed to be most significant part of the research. The methodology section is quite essential for the research since it gives clear direction of what is expected and proper means of attaining desired results. The clear-cut strategies and directions put in place will assist to increase the steadiness as well as put forward the job that can be done elsewhere. This chapter will provide and explain details of all the models, theories, and structures as well as tools used for data gathering and analysis. Types of questionnaire The chart flow gives the chronological approach that is to be taken during the research and gives appropriate methods applicable. The research has used a self-administered questionnaire with all three sub-procedures have been used. The questionnaire was sent to all the different places in order to have representative view of the population. However, a random sampling procedure was followed to eliminate any sort of biasness towards any population or a retail store. The response rate on the questionnaire was more accurate since questionnaires are simple and user friendly thus do not take much of the times. A precise follow-up was on the chosen sample for quick and positive replies. Similarly, the data for financial analysis was collected from the company websites as well as Reuters and Bloomberg. Likewise, a lot of newspaper clippings were collected to better analyze the market and make an unbiased opinion on the research questions. 1. Objective 1 Whether consum er’s loyalty of Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrison’s has been adversely affected by the recession? a. Methodology Survey and relevant research b. Tool Used A questionnaire has been prepared and other relevant information will be obtained from different sources like journals, newspapers and articles. c. Rationale of

Cradle to Cradle Essay Example for Free

Cradle to Cradle Essay In this book the authors and environmentalists William McDonough and Michael Braungart discuss how very un-eco friendly are the people that design our world, from our buildings to the products we use and consume. They talk about how our solutions for our environmental problems, such as recycling, are basically just a band-aid fix for broken bone. They discuss the negative effects that our daily lives have on our environment and offer some solutions of their own to help counteract the problem as much as possible, even the book Cradle to Cradle is printed on eco-friendly paper that does not use trees. In this book McDonough and Braungart urge its readers to take our environment into account and look for better solutions to our global environmental problems then the ones that we have been settling for for the last half-century. In this book McDonough and Braungart identify two major problems with the way that we live that negatively affects our environment. The first is the problem of throwing things away, because in fact when we throw things away, they do not just go away. The things that we throw out stay here on our Earth, soiling our precious and finite earth and affect its well-being. The second problem that they discuss the the harmful product that are used, which not only have negative impacts on our planet, but also on ourselves. In this book the authors urge us to learn from nature through bio-mimicry, an effort to design buildings like trees, cities like forests. They also challenge us to look at ants and the role they play in the world and their self-sustaining way of life and to learn from them. Ants are able to inhabit a diverse a range of environments, are able to hunt, scavenge, and grow their own food, build their homes, effectively handle their wastes, create powerful medicines, and produce biological and chemical weapons, all the while contributing to the health of the natural world. We live on this earth less-effectively than ants and should look to their way of living as a role model for how we as humans live on this earth. McDonough and Braungart offer some of their own suggestions for way that we can live effectively with the Earth in mind, such as rooftops covered with soil and plants that serve as natural insulation, non toxic dyes and fabrics, their current overhaul of Fords legendary River Rouge factory, and even the book itself, which is printed on a synthetic paper that does not use trees. While creating an ultimate solution to our environmental problem is a very involved and complicated ordeal, McDonough and Braungart do offer some simple solutions to help cut down on the harm we are causing our planet. One things that we can do is to cut out all chemicals and substances that are harmful and destructive both to humans as well as the environment. Also they discuss how we must abandon our current cradle to grave way of thinking and adopt a cradle to cradle way of thinking, meaning that we need to consider where the products and its packaging will end up after we are finished with it. When creating a product we need to begin to understand and think about where it will end up after the consumer is done with it. We must think about how our waste can be reused in order to cut back on unnecessary waste and contamination of our planet. McDonough and Braungart in this book urge us to start looking at our wasteful ways and see how it is harming our own selves as well as the environment and see that we must adopt a cradle to cradle way of thinking in order to save our planet and use the finite resources we have in a smart and truly eco friendly way. After reading this book I examined the wasteful way in which I live my own life, and when I think about how I live and times that by 6,973,738,433, it’s hard to fathom how much damage we must be doing to our planet. Our resource, clean air and precious earth are limited but humans are consumers and don’t consider much past our own immediate wants and needs. After reading this book I see how important it is to move away from cradle to grave thinking and truly take on a cradle to cradle way of thinking and see the long term effects of our consumerism. This book should be read by everyone because it gives a clear and simple way to see how we are living now, and then how we should be living in order to help save and protect the planet that we have been given.

Apple Iphone Os Vs Google Android Os Computer Science Essay

Apple Iphone Os Vs Google Android Os Computer Science Essay This report is to provide the effect of smart phone operation system and also analyze which operation system will be lead in such a competitive market. Among of many operation systems in market, this report makes a comparison between Apples iPhone OS and Googles Android OS. The findings of this report are based on factors such as performance characteristics, market share growth, demands and future technology. First of all, we analyze the performance characteristics which are the most important part for consumers to consider before they buy. The performance characteristics are including resolution, voice control, battery standby time, applications, and open source platform. The second comparison is market share of each operation system. iPhone OS was leading in first quarter of 2010 than Android OS, the research show how quickly the rate has changed in second quarter of 2010. While iPhone OS leads in market in past few months, Android OS has been rising rapidly. Android devices are available on all four major carriers but the iPhone has not been willing to license its OS out to other carriers except ATT. Although iPhone has the high popularity since its launch in 2007, most people who want to buy an iPhone will not get the chance to buy one because iPhon e remains only on ATT.The third comparison taken into consideration is demands and customer satisfaction levels. The demands for the iPhone and customer satisfaction are relatively high. However, if Apple stays closed minded, it will not achieve the market share estimated. The last part is about their future perspective, both iPhone OS and Android OS will release their newest generation OS to their amazing phones in next year 2011.These four factors could give a conclusion that Googles Android OS will overtake Apples iPhone OS in very soon. Apples iPhone OS and Googles Android OS are both excellent operation systems. Based on the findings, Android OS will overtake iPhone OS in the market when considering each in terms of performance characteristics , market share growth, demand and future technology. Although iPhone has larger share in the market, more customers loyalty and higher customers satisfaction levels, we can assume that the difference between iPhone and Android will not last for much longer. This concludes that Android OS will surpass iPhone OS in the future because of the variety of devices it offers in the market and available in major wireless carriers. Based on the conclusion presented above the following actions are recommended for Apples iPhone operation system to compete in such a crowded market: Apples iPhone need to become business partner with major wireless carriers such as Verizon ,T-Mobile and Sprint and that is the exact strategy that Google has used with Android to grow so fast . Also provide the best overall experience at the lowest monthly cost, lower phone cost and carrier promotions, such as Verizons buy-one-get-one-free offer on Android OS de vices. APPLE (IPHONE) VS GOOGLE (ANDROID) CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Background As a 2009 study by Pogue, he states that new concepts for smart phone utilization nearly makes the newest smart phone obsolete on first day of issue, none the less the smart phone is not only a dont leave home without out, it is as essential as a home key. Companies all over world are building out the necessary hardware creating advanced performance capabilities which allow for smarter applications. In recalling the centuries old existing communication systems and relating this thought to smart phones can only result in the wonder of the future of todays communication systems. (Pogue) The purpose of this report is preparing market analysis of operating systems for smart phones. This communication device has nearly replaced all other types of communications. The smart phone and the smart phone operating system is an unbelievable partnership in artificial intelligence. The individual who adapts himself to learn how to master these systems should be ahead of his competitors. Statement of Purpose The purpose of this report is to provide the effect of smart phone operating system. Among of many smart phones in markets, this report makes a comparison between Iphones OS and Googles Android OS technologies through factors such as features, demand, market growth, and future perspective in the determine which smart operating system will be lead in smart market. Scope The report only discusses Iphone operating systems and Googles OS used in smart phone in all, in common without any detailed discussion of the different other device in operating system. We also took a look consumer satisfaction levels based upon the type of OS they report having on their smart phone. Limitations If there are some limitations for this project they would be, the most is the timing. We feel that we are in a rush manner to find the most useful information in only a couple weeks to completed our report. In addition, we have some difficult personal individual situations to apply to our group meeting. While the scope is already being limited to two types of operating system, there are also a range of operating systems that are provied by Symbian OS, Microsoft Windows Mobile, and Linux. We have included related information from other smart phones while elimination phone identification. Methods of Research We are going to use secondary research method to complete this report. To avoid unreliable resources we only chose the most factual information from the databases of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library at California State University, Los Angeles. We also narrow the articles from 2007 to 2010 no more than three years. The rest of information we are going to use from the google search engine. CHAPTER 2 FINDINGS The evolution of the smart phone has become an invaluable aid in our daily activities. Phones such as Iphone and Andriod have already caused life changing methods of communications and future innovations will definitely be welcomed. The finding of this report indicates the concept of the vast areas for improvement is overwhelming and difficult to identify relative to order of importance. These finding are shown through analysis of performance characteristics, demand, market growth, and future prospective. Performance Characteristics In analysis the performance characteristics between the Android and Iphone, the main difference is that the Android is built on an open source platform, so that the application developer can develop more and more applications for Android. Instead of open source, iPhone is built on a proprietary operating system, only Apple can make changes to the system, and only their engineers can develop applications for iPhone. Currently, Apple has approximately 20,000 applications to 70,000 applications more than Android. Nevertheless, as Android grows impressively in the market, as more developers develop applications for Android, the numbers will narrow down in the future. Despite iPhone having more applications at this moment, Android has free advanced GPS application over iPhone that allows you to voice control navigation. You dont have to input a specific address. You can simply say turn to the Staple center in Los Angeles and the application will find the correct route for you. The displays on both phones have big differences too. Android has big 3.7 inches screen with 854 x 480 pixels. This screen size is almost two times larger than the previous generation iPhone 3GS. Android supports multiple screen solutions from 480 x 320 to 854 x 480, which means it has flexible screen fits applications for better view. Compare to the Android big screen, iPhone has only 3.5 inches screen. Although the screen size is smaller than Android, iPhone has a huge 960 x 640 pixel resolution, that means everything displays on the screen is much more noticeable and detailed than Android. Android and iPhone are have a built in rechargeable lithium ion battery. The difference is you can remove and replace the battery from Android as needed. And for iPhone, the only way you can remove the battery is to send it back to the factory. In regarding the talk time and the idle time, iPhone has outperformed Android. iPhone has 7 hours talk time and 14 hours standby time for up to 300 hours. In comparison, Android has about 300 minutes of talk time and 146 hours standby time. Market Share Growth In Quantcasts online research report by Sarah Perez , both iPhone operation system and Android operation system are increasing their share of the US smart phone market .The iPhone OS seen to gain market share steadily .The iPhone OS market share accounted for moving large chunks of its competitors such as T-mobile , Sprint and Verizon. The iPhone OS has 58 percent of the overall OS market, which this seem small but it actually represents 75 million devices sold during the period of two and a half years. On the other hand, Googles operation system has been rising rapidly. Googles Android is an operating system available on variety of phones models made by different manufacturers, such as LG, HTC, Samsung and Motorola . Also major wireless carriers including ATT, T-mobile, Sprint and Verizon have now become business partners with Google. Meanwhile, Apples operating system is used only on iPhone. According to new data from The Nielsen Company states that Android only held 13% market share as of Q2 2010 representing significant growth from 9% as recently as Q1 2010. Maintaining second place with 28% market share, iPhone showed slight growth from Q2 2010 as shown below in Figure 1. Figure 1 Among recent smart phone subscribers , Androids Q2 2010 performance was impressive. Googles Android operating system edged out Apples iPhone operating system for the No. 2 spot in the U.S. consumer smart phone market in the first quarter. As shown in Figure 2 on next page, Android grew its market share from 17% in Q1 2010 to 27%, taking second place from iPhone, which quarterly market share slipped from 27% to 23% . Figure 2 Demands According to the data from Nielson Company by Don Kellogg, iPhone and Android different from the other smart phones is demand on operating system by users. 80% of iPhone users want their next device to be iPhone OS while 70% of Android users want another Android device. Among both users who would like to switch operating systems, the rate at which Android users would like to try iPhone is twice as high as that of iPhone users who would try Android. On next page, Figure 3 shows customer loyalty based on the operation systems. Figure 3 Customers Satisfaction Heres what we found the article written by Paul Carton and Jean Crumrine based on Change Wave Research. The Apple iPhone lead all other major cell phone manufacturers, with 74% of owners reporting theyre very satisfied with their iPhone. We also took a look at consumer satisfaction levels based upon the type of OS they report having on their smart phone as Figure 4 shown in next page. Figure 4 Future Perspective Technology is changing fast, the iPhone 4 has just released in the last summer, and the new generation iPhone 5 has already been announced that it will release in 2011. According to Hubpages news, the new iPhone5 change to 4G in the network which improvement new applications loaded such as video chat on 3G and 4G, and also include Face Recognition Security. Comprared to the iPhone 4 with 7 hours talk time and 14 hours standby time for up to 300 hours, the battery performance will be increased in iPhone 5 significantly. Standby time increased to 600 hours and talk time with 14 hours on 3G and a 7 hours on 4 G, twice times longer than iPhone 4. New iPhone5 will also support Flash, which a lot of future applications and webpage will require it. In the other side, Google will name Ice Cream for their next generation Android 4.0. According to Droidmarkets Website, the future of Android operating system, Android 3.5 Honeycomb and Android 4.0 will be released in 2011. Android 3.5 Honeycomb is following on from Android 3.0 Gingerbread platform, that improvements will focus on support for WebM video playback, improved user interface, and multimedia and support 3D gaming and resources that the way 3.1 followed 3.0. New Android will be more tablet-friendly and significantly faster. The new system will also support Flash as iPhone 5 do. One good news for Youtuber is the Ice Cream will support 1080p HDMI Output, which allowed you to connect your Ice Cream to your high destination TV. You can play BlueRay movie in HDTV with your Ice Cream standalone. CHAPTER 3 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Conclusions In conclusion, both Apples iPhone OS and Googles Android OS are excellent operation systems. Based on the findings, it is predictable that Android OS will overtake iPhone OS in the market when considering each in terms of performance characteristics, market share growth, demands and future perspective. Although iPhone has larger share in the market, more customers loyalty and higher customers satisfaction levels, we can assume that the difference between iPhone and Android will not last for much longer. This concludes that Android OS will surpass iPhone OS in the future because of the variety of devices it offers in the market and available in major wireless carriers. Recommendations Based on the conclusion presented above the following actions are recommended for Apples iPhone operation system to compete in such a crowded market: 1. Apples iPhone need to become business partner with major wireless carriers such as T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon and that is the exact strategy that Google has used with Android to grow so fast . 2. Provide the best overall experience at the lowest monthly cost, lower phone cost and carrier promotions, such as Verizons buy-one-get-one-free offer on Android OS devices.

The Hot Zone Essay -- essays research papers

AUTHOR: Richard Preston PUBLISHER: Random House DATE OF PUBLICATION: 1994 Setting: The setting g takes place in two major places. Reston Maryland which is a suburb of Washington DC. and the second major area is in Kenya Africa. The story takes place in the 1980's. Main Characters: Since this story is a true story there is no one character that is a main character. The author does not create the story around any one main character so I'll just list every character I can remember from the book. 1. Charles Monet: He was the first host to the deadly ebola virus breakout in Africa. He was 56 years old and was kind of a loner according to the authors interviews with people. 2. Dr. Mosoke: He was Charles Monets doctor when Charles crashed and bled out which means when the host suddenly starts bleeding infectious blood out of every orifice in the body. 3. Nancy Jaax: She was a veterinary pathologist at a military fort in Maryland.. 4. Jerry Jaax: He was a veterinarian and husband to Nancy Jaax. 5. Peter Jahrling: He was a disease expert at Fort Detrick 6. Gene Johnson: He was in charge of the Reston operation. He also was the discoverer of Ebola Sudan. 7. Nun: The Nun's name was unknown but she had the very first recorded case of Ebola Zaire which is the most dangerous of the three strains. Summary: This is a true story. On New Year's Day 1980 a man named Charles Monet went on a trip with a girl friend of his up to Mnt. Elgon in West Kenya. They spent the night there and went to a l...

Educating Rita Essay

Discuss the Success of this Introduction to the Play’s Characters and themes. Do you think Willy Russell has successfully made his opening Dramatic and Entertaining? I think that Willy Russell has made the introduction of the play, Educating Rita, dramatic and entertaining because he uses techniques such as: Just two characters Set in just one room Humour Similarities between Rita and Frank – both read books, and smoke etc. Similarities between Rita and Willy Russell – both from Liverpool, both hairdressers and from working class backgrounds. Educating Rita is a stage comedy written by Willy Russell which premià ¨red at The Warehouse, London, in 1980. The two characters are: Frank – an unsuccessful, upper class man who is in his fifties, writes poems and is a university lecturer. He is tired and jaded and has not looked out of his large bay window or looked at his nude, religious picture for about ten years. Frank is an alchoholic who pulls out a book at the beginning of the play and behind it appears a bottle of whisky. He then pours a large slug into a mug. He only works so he can buy more drink. Rita – A young 26 year old, working-class hairdresser, who is loud, inquisitive and uses lots of slang – â€Å"I’m comin’ in, aren’t I? It’s that stupid bleedin’ handle on the door. You wanna get it fixed!† This is the first time Rita speaks and she doesn’t appear to be very formal. Rita lives with her husband Denny but when he finds out that Rita is still on the pill he rips up all her papers and books and burns them and tells Rita that she either gives up her education or she will be forced out of her home and marriage. Rita wanted to get an education first and then look at her options so then she can decide whether or not she wants a baby so, therefore, she decides to have an education. The scene is a room on the first floor of a Victorian-built university in the north of England. Frank decides he needs to earn some extra money, so he agrees to tutor an Open University student who is Rita who has just decided to get an education. Rita’s entrance to the room is not a normal one; she struggles to get into the room and then the door swings open. As soon as the play starts, we find out that Frank is an alcoholic. He has a bottle of whisky hidden behind some books which he takes a large slug of and before Rita enters he is on the phone. Whilst he is on the phone he mentions the word ‘pub’ four times. Then Frank asks Rita who she is and instantly Frank knows how much work he is going to have to put in to get Rita an education Frank: â€Å"You are?† Rita: â€Å"What am I?† Frank: â€Å"Pardon?† Rita: â€Å"What?† Frank: â€Å"Now you are?† Rita: â€Å"I’m a what?† Later on Frank asks Rita what her name is. She says it is Rita even though her real name is Susan. Frank says that on her admission paper it says Mrs S White. Then Rita tells him that her real name is Susan but she changed it after reading the book ‘Rubyfruit Jungle’ which was written by Rita Mae Brown. Rita wanders around the room a lot noticing the large bay window and the nude picture. She shows that she is inquisitive by asking lots of questions about the nude, religious picture. In this bit Willy Russell adds a bit of humour: â€Å"Y’ don’t paint pictures like that just so that people can admire the brush strokes, do y’? â€Å" A bit later on Rita shows her slang language â€Å"He gets pissed an’ stands in the street shoutin’ an’ challengin’ death to come out an’ fight. It’s dead good. This is totally different from the way Frank speaks for example he says â€Å"It’s supposed to embrace a more comprehensive studentship, yes.† Before this Rita asks if she can smoke and then when Frank asks her if she wants a drink of Scotch she says: â€Å"Y’ wanna be careful with that stuff, it kills y’ brain cells.† Like if you smoke you won’t be killing your brain cells. Rita is not very optimistic. Whilst she is looking around the room inquisitively, she picks up a book called Howard’s End which she thinks is filthy so she borrows it off Frank and says that if she decides to pack the course in she will post it back to him. â€Å"If I pack the course in I’ll post it to y’.† Frank seems shocked when she says this and starts asking her why she had decided to enrol onto the course in the first place. She thinks the book is written by E.M. Foster when it is really written by E.M. Forster. This is because she sees the brand of lager Fosters so often she assumes that’s who the book is by. Rita appears to be very lively and confident but when Frank says that she is asking lots of questions she says that she does when she gets nervous. Rita shows her drink addiction and lack of knowledge again when Frank says: Frank: â€Å"Do you know Yeats? Rita: â€Å"The wine lodge?† As soon she hears Yeats mentioned, she immediately thinks of drink again. There is a clash of cultures when Rita was trying to think of someone Frank could have been named after, she says a name that Frank had never heard of – Elliot Ness the police man who caught Al Capone but Frank would not no anything him as he is totally oblivious to the world around him. Frank assumed she meant T.S. Eliot and Rita would not know anything about poets. Rita then shows that she is a quick thinker as she says that she try’s to sell her customers a wig when she messes up people’s hair. Rita presumes that Frank is the kind of man that would watch documentaries whereas Rita watches light-hearted programs such as ITV. However of course, Frank wouldn’t watch TV. Towards the end of the scene Rita seems to be very determined to keep Frank as her tutor. This is different to earlier in the play when she was saying that she would post the books back to Frank. In conclusion, I believe Willy Russell has made Act 1 Scene 1 dramatic and entertaining by the use of humour, comparisons and the similarities between himself and Rita.

Personal Vision of Ministry

Personal Vision of Ministry Statement â€Å"Creative,  loving,  and  inspired  ministry  that  loosens  the burdens of religion, and  leads  people to a  lifetime,  obedient relationship with our  Lord  Jesus Christ. † Each word in that  vision  statement is very significant to me and describes my spiritual being to this point. Creativity  is important to me, not just because advertising or me being a bit imaginative, but because from the beginning, our God was a creative God; I don’t believe there is any room  for  becoming stagnant in Christianity.Love  is the central theme of the Bible, and it is the most important of the Great Commandment’s. It is only through daily submission that  inspiration  will come, and it is only through inspiration and testimony that I find the strength to carry out God’s work. There are  two â€Å"R† words  that are distinctive when sharing ministry:  Religion and Relatio nship. They are not the same. Religion: being the belief in and worship of a personal God or Gods Details of belief as taught or discussed.Relationship: the way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the state of being connected. Example being Jesus Christ connected as our personal Lord and Savior. So this would be my personal ministry of how I am to share Christ Jesus Love. To be able to teach, and lead others to Christ through scripture. As a church youth minister, I should be one that is connected with today’s youth. A youth minister should lead children, not only in their spiritual growth but their personal development as well.A youth minister needs to possess great leadership qualities and have plenty of experience and testimony in order to share with the children. I must be able to train and encourage others within the church. I will be discipline, self-motivated, organized, and spiritually mature. This is why I believe AME will help me furt her Gods ministry, and gain more knowledge of who God is. Scripture says Lots about knowledge throughout the bible. One of my favorite verses explaining Gods sovereign knowledge is in Proverbs.Proverbs 3:1-35:  My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness for sake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord  with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. | | | May God use me to accomplish His purposes.

Laertes and Polonius Essay

When Ophelia tells her father of Hamlet’s â€Å"holy vows from heaven,† his harsh rebuke â€Å"springes to catch woodcocks† likens her to a game bird considered to be foolish. He later speaks of her as if she were nothing more than an animal; â€Å"I’ll loose my daughter to him† (II. ii. 160) which again indicates his lack of respect for his daughter. He and Claudius were concerned only with Hamlet and so she becomes lost in a â€Å"sea of troubles. † Ophelia highlights key themes in the play, building on the ideas of deception, corruption and patriarchy that run through it. Two central themes of the play are deception and the problem of making a distinction between appearance and reality. Few things in the play are what they seem to be; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are apparently Hamlet’s friends, but are in fact spies commissioned by Claudius. There is a play within ‘Hamlet’ itself. Spying or eavesdropping occurs and â€Å"smiling villains† referred to. The actions of Ophelia also highlight this idea in a variety of ways. Ophelia is also used to portray the theme by the use of imagery. Polonius instructs her to â€Å"read on this book, / that show of such an exercise may colour / your loneliness. We are oft to blame in this, / ’tis too much proved, that with devotion’s visage / and pious action we do sugar o’er /the devil himself† (III. i. 44-49). This shows how a holy face can be put on something to cover evil deeds. The expressions of love may appear truthful to Ophelia, who speaks of Hamlet’s ‘affection’ for her, but (if Polonius and Laertes are to be believed) in reality they may be false, concealing less honourable intentions. Polonius swears that the ‘tenders of (Hamlet’s) affections’ for her are mere ‘brokers, not of that dye which their investments show / But mere implorators of unholy suits. † They may be traps, ‘springes to catch woodcocks. ‘ Ophelia also attempts to deceive Hamlet when she partakes in her father’s attempt to discover the cause of Hamlet’s unusual behaviour. She appears to be alone and lies that her father is â€Å"at home† when in reality he is eavesdropping on their conversation. As previously discussed, Ophelia may only appear to be a naive, innocent maid and be, in reality, the very opposite. In addition, her true madness contrasts with and therefore highlights the false nature of Hamlet’s. Hamlet comments upon how â€Å"God hath given you /one face, and you make yourselves another† and Ophelia does present various ‘faces’ to different characters, according to her relationship to them- acting innocent with her father, yet far less so in dealings with Hamlet. Hamlet also refers to the masking of reality by Ophelia when he says â€Å"I have heard of your paintings-† Hamlet believes that Ophelia may be deceiving him. If the interpretation that she commits suicide is correct, then the innocent imagery is another expression of the theme of illusion: her death appears to be an accident, but in reality is not. Through the play runs the idea of necessity of revenge for the cleansing of social corruption. This corruption is portrayed in Ophelia’s demise, which also hints at the downfall of Elsinore. Imagery Hamlet adopts in his first soliloquy implies general corruption of the world and he states that â€Å"things rank and gross in nature / Possess it† (I.ii. 136-137). He therefore aims to cleanse what is rotten in Denmark, but his failure to do so allows the triumph of disease and decay. Laertes warns Ophelia that â€Å"virtue itself ‘scapes not calumnious strokes,/ the canker galls the infants of the spring. † In addition to Shakespeare employing many images of disease and decay, he also includes several expressions relating to physical deterioration such as â€Å"the fatness of these pursy times† (III. iv. 154) and â€Å"the drossy age† (V. ii. 181). Ophelia’s own deterioration accentuates the theme but while all others perish due to their weaknesses, her demise is brought about by her virtues. Ophelia dies from loving too much and for being too pure. The potential of a stronger, wiser side to her character (hinted at by her comebacks at Laertes) is never realised. The coarse nature of the songs she sings in her madness shows that the corrupt world has taken its toll on the pure Ophelia. As discussed, throughout the play she represents innocence, emphasised by imagery and language. Her drowning depicts the death of innocence itself, thus indicates Hamlet’s failure and impending disaster for the court. It has been suggested that Shakespeare’s plays â€Å"reflect and voice a masculine anxiety about the uses of patriarchal power over women, specifically about man’s control over woman’s sexuality. i † (i Coppelia Kahn 1981 Man’s Estate: Masculine Identity in Shakespeare). This could indeed be true of ‘Hamlet,’ where the political world of Elsinore is shown not to be a place where women matter much, and this leads to their destruction. They do not have a say in anything; the world is presented as one where men are dominant and, if necessary, prepared to use women (even their own family) to benefit them in terms of power. Ophelia exemplifies this, confused by what is happening around her as she strives to do what Polonius, Laertes and Hamlet want her to. Polonius does not advise Ophelia to be true to herself as he advises Laertes, but points out that Hamlet has the freedom to do as he wishes whereas she does not. She is subject to the double standard of the difference between male and female freedom of choice and action. Laertes is treated very differently by his father in comparison to the lack of regard he shows Ophelia. Ophelia’s wishes are never considered- women had little status. Gertrude, too, has limited influence. Claudius and Polonius wield the power. Both women die but Ophelia’s end bears particular significance because she is driven to it by events she cannot control. Her death indicates the corrupting effects of the male-dominated political realm of Elsinore, in which, as Polonius shows, there is little room for the consideration of love. All of the characters fail in the sinful world of Elsinore, where there is no possibility for a fulfilled life. Ophelia’s demise adds to Shakespeare’s bleak message that evil can triumph. Defeat seems inevitable, whether they accept the conditions of Elsinore and live with the deceitful principles of the political world as Polonius does, or seek out love, as Ophelia does, or attempt to find sense in things, like Hamlet. In conclusion, through Ophelia a greater appreciation of other characters is achievable. She illuminates aspects of Hamlet- his suspicion of women and indecisiveness and, by comparison and contrast with her, also his strength, nobility and sanity. She gives insight into his nature both prior to and following his father’s death, therefore allowing the audience a better understanding of (and more sympathy for) him. Also revealed are aspects of Laertes and Polonius’ characters. Shakespeare uses Ophelia to add more depth to the themes of the play, namely the dangers of patriarchy, illusion and corruption. It is through Ophelia that Shakespeare achieves a genuinely tragic response to the play ‘Hamlet’.

Report on use of information seeking skills Essay

Report on use of information seeking skills - Essay Example My first impulse was to type in the search engine (directed by the pink arrow) the keyword "Nursing Health Care Teams Journal". However, upon doing so I got listings which were very vague and very irrelevant. The first on the list was about a nursing organization with no indication of what I was looking for. Then, I thought, if I was searching the documents manually, I will go to the library. It occurred to me that there was a library icon in the interface directed by the blue arrow. Upon clicking the library icon, I entered a site where there was a category dubbed as Resource which contained the subcategory Database. I figured that since I needed data regarding a journal then this is what exactly I am looking for so I clicked the Database icon. What appeared on the screen were search categories such as Database Titles and Database Subjects. These categories were accompanied by letters A to Z indicating the first letter of the title of the database. I clicked the letter N under the database Subjects as I was searching journals regarding Nursing. I was given a list of databases which started with the letter N. I saw the subject "Nursing and Health: A SAGE Full Text Edition" as I reckoned that since I was looking for the text of a journal, this would be the most probable place to search. What appeared in the screen was a text stating the terms and condition of use of the database and decision icons on whether I was agreeing to the terms of use or not. I clicked the "I Agree" button and entered my official username and password provided by the University. What happened next was that I was directed to the CSA Illumina site where I clicked Browse Full Text besides the Health Sciences: A SAGE FULL TEXT Collection. A list of the journals appeared in the screen where I clicked Policy, Politics and Nursing Practice Volume 1-7, 2000-2006. I chose this because I was looking for information regarding nursing and team health care. Politics and policy certainly applies to teams and organizations. I browsed through the available volumes and issues and I found many articles which relates to my inquiry. Among the many articles I chose the "The effect of nurse's use of principles of learning organization and organizational effectiveness" by Jeong, et. al. (2007) provided by the Medline database and the "Learning From the Best: The Benefits of a Structured Health Policy Fellowship in Developing Nursing Health Policy Leaders"

The report on SLA Ltd Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The report on SLA Ltd - Essay Example The comparison would help in assessing the performance of the company within the two periods and would help in pin-pointing the areas which need proper attention from SBL’s management. Following the analysis of SBL’s financial performance and after addressing the problems face by SBL, a detailed plan of action would be recommended along with a formal conclusion that would augment the entire appraisal of the company’s performance The positives for SBL An independent review carried out by members of our company (Drake Management Consultants) reflected that SBL’s financial problems have improved in the recent ending year as compared to the prior year, with respect to profitability. The company improved on its profitability and this was assessed by using the profitability ratios. The main aim of profitability ratios is to analyse the efficiency of a company’s operations and the policies that the company has abided by in order to achieve the recent finan cial performance displayed within the financial statements. As per the profitability ratios, the performance of SBL has been exquisite. The profitability ratios clearly suggest that the company has improved their profit figure as compared to the year preceding the recently ended year. ... SBL has also restricted and brought down their operating expenses with their revenue increasing. The operating expenses as a percentage of sales have been 31.5% (Year before last) and 27.6% (Last year) (Tyran, 1993). SBL’s return on its investment i.e. the profit that it has been able to generate from its assets has been seeing improving results when comparing the two years. SBL’s return on equity has also improved by more than double to what it was in the year before last. Now this is something that can be used to persuade investors towards investing money within the company. The profitability improvements should also be considered something fruitful for the company’s current owners and its employees as a sign of growth and as an indication of growth for the company. The other positive aspect for SBL is it improved Interest Cover ratio. The company has improved on its ability to pay off its interest and that too can be attributed to the improved profits that the company has been able to generate in the recent years (Financial Management, 2000). Problems faced by SBL After appraising the positives for SBL, a general evaluation of the problems faced by the company was carried out. The company has been found to be lagging behind when assessing its liquidity ratios in the two prior years. This deterioration is alarming for the company since it can lead the company towards bankruptcy. Besides the liquidity issue, the financial leverage for SBL is yet another issue which is rather agonizing for the company. As per the financial leverage ratios, SBL has gotten itself a heavy load of debt finance in order to run the