Part Seven Chapter 3

The coffins lay side by side on biers at the front of the church. A bronze chrysanthemum oar lay on Krystal's, and a white chrysanthemum teddy bear on Robbie's. Kay Bawden remembered Robbie's bedroom, with its few grimy plastic toys, and her fingers trembled on the order of service. Naturally, there was to be an inquiry at work, because the local paper was clamouring for one, and had written a front-page piece suggesting that the small boy had been left in the care of a pair of junkies and that his death could have been avoided, if only he had been removed to safety by negligent social workers. Mattie had been signed off with stress again, and Kay's handling of the case review was being assessed. Kay wondered what effect it would have on her chances of getting another job in London, when every local authority was cutting numbers of social workers, and how Gaia would react if they had to stay in Pagford †¦ she had not dared discuss it with her yet. Andrew glanced sideways at Gaia and they exchanged small smiles. Up in Hilltop House, Ruth was already sorting things for the move. Andrew could tell that his mother hoped, in her perennially optimistic way, that by sacrificing their house and the beauty of the hills, they would be rewarded with a rebirth. Wedded for ever to an idea of Simon that took no account of his rages or his crookedness, she was hoping that these would be left behind, like boxes forgotten in the move †¦ But at least, Andrew thought, he would be one step nearer London when they went, and he had Gaia's assurance that she had been too drunk to know what she was doing with Fats, and perhaps she might invite him and Sukhvinder back to her house for coffee after the funeral was over †¦ Gaia, who had never been inside St Michael's before, was half listening to the vicar's sing-song delivery, letting her eyes travel over the high starry ceiling and the jewel-coloured windows. There was a prettiness about Pagford that, now she knew that she was leaving, she thought she might quite miss †¦ Tessa Wall had chosen to sit behind everyone else, on her own. This brought her directly under the calm gaze of St Michael, whose foot rested eternally on that writhing devil with its horns and tail. Tessa had been in tears ever since her first glimpse of the two glossy coffins and, as much as she tried to stifle them, her soft gurglings were still audible to those near her. She had half expected somebody on the Weedon side of the church to recognize her as Fats' mother and attack her, but nothing had happened. (Her family life had turned inside out. Colin was furious with her. ‘You told him what?' ‘He wanted a taste of real life,' she had sobbed, ‘he wanted to see the seamy underside – don't you understand what all that slumming it was about?' ‘So you told him that he might be the result of incest, and that I tried to kill myself because he came into the family?' Years of trying to reconcile them, and it had taken a dead child, and Colin's profound understanding of guilt, to do it. She had heard the two of them talking in Fats' attic room the previous evening, and paused to eavesdrop at the foot of the stairs. ‘†¦ you can put that – that thing that Mum suggested out of your head completely,' Colin was saying gruffly. ‘You've got no physical or mental abnormalities, have you? Well then †¦ don't worry about it any more. But your counsellor will help you with all of this †¦') Tessa gurgled and snorted into her sodden tissue, and thought how little she had done for Krystal, dead on the bathroom floor †¦ it would have been a relief if St Michael had stepped down from his glowing window and enacted judgement on them all, decreeing exactly how much fault was hers, for the deaths, for the broken lives, for the mess †¦ A fidgeting young Tully boy on the other side of the aisle hopped out of his pew, and a tattooed woman reached out a powerful arm, grabbed him and pulled him back. Tessa's sobs were punctuated by a little gasp of surprise. She was sure that she had recognized her own lost watch on the thick wrist. Sukhvinder, who was listening to Tessa's sobs, felt sorry for her, but did not dare turn around. Parminder was furious with Tessa. There had been no way for Sukhvinder to explain the scars on her arms without mentioning Fats Wall. She had begged her mother not to call the Walls, but then Tessa had telephoned Parminder to tell them that Fats had taken full responsibility for The_Ghost_of_ Barry_Fairbrother's posts on the council website, and Parminder had been so vitriolic on the telephone that they had not spoken since. It had been such a strange thing for Fats to do, to take the blame for her post too; Sukhvinder thought of it almost as an apology. He had always seemed to read her mind: did he know that she had attacked her own mother? Sukhvinder wondered whether she would be able to confess the truth to this new counsellor in whom her parents seemed to place so much faith, and whether she would ever be able to tell the newly kind and contrite Parminder †¦ She was trying to follow the service, but it was not helping her in the way that she had hoped. She was glad about the chrysanthemum oar and the teddy bear, which Lauren's mum had made; she was glad that Gaia and Andy had come, and the girls from the rowing team, but she wished that the Fairbrother twins had not refused. (‘It'd upset Mum,' Siobhan had told Sukhvinder. ‘See, she thinks Dad spent too much time on Krystal.' ‘Oh,' said Sukhvinder, taken aback. ‘And,' said Niamh, ‘Mum doesn't like the idea that she'll have to see Krystal's grave every time we visit Dad's. They'll probably be really near each other.' Sukhvinder thought these objections small and mean, but it seemed sacrilegious to apply such terms to Mrs Fairbrother. The twins walked away, wrapped up in each other as they always were these days, and treating Sukhvinder with coolness for her defection to the outsider, Gaia Bawden.) Sukhvinder kept waiting for somebody to stand up and talk about who Krystal really was, and what she had done in her life, the way that Niamh and Siobhan's uncle had done for Mr Fairbrother, but apart from the vicar's brief reference to ‘tragically short lives' and ‘local family with deep roots in Pagford', he seemed determined to skirt the facts. So Sukhvinder focused her thoughts on the day that their crew had competed in the regional finals. Mr Fairbrother had driven them in the minibus to face the girls from St Anne's. The canal ran right through the private school's grounds, and it had been decided that they were to change in the St Anne's sports hall, and start the race there. ‘Unsporting, course it is,' Mr Fairbrother had told them on the way. ‘Home-ground advantage. I tried to get it changed, but they wouldn't. Just don't be intimidated, all right?' ‘I ain' fuck – ‘ ‘Krys – ‘ ‘I ain' scared.' But when they turned into the grounds, Sukhvinder was scared. Long stretches of soft green lawn, and a big symmetrical golden-stoned building with spires and a hundred windows: she had never seen anything like it, except on picture postcards. ‘It's like Buckingham Palace!' Lauren shrieked from the back, and Krystal's mouth had formed a round O; she had been as unaffected as a child sometimes. All of their parents, and Krystal's great-grandmother, were waiting at the finishing line, wherever that was. Sukhvinder was sure that she was not the only one who felt small, scared and inferior as they approached the entrance of the beautiful building. A woman in academic dress came swooping out to greet Mr Fairbrother, in his tracksuit. ‘You must be Winterdown!' ‘Course ‘e's not, does ‘e look like a fuckin' buildin'?' said Krystal loudly. They were sure that the teacher from St Anne's had heard, and Mr Fairbrother turned and tried to scowl at Krystal, but they could tell that he thought it was funny, really. The whole team started to giggle, and they were still snorting and cackling when Mr Fairbrother saw them off at the entrance to the changing rooms. ‘Stretch!' he shouted after them. The team from St Anne's was inside with their own coach. The two sets of girls eyed each other across the benches. Sukhvinder was struck by the other team's hair. All of them wore it long, natural and shiny: they could have starred in shampoo adverts. On their own team, Siobhan and Niamh had bobs, Lauren's hair was short; Krystal always wore hers in a tight, high pony tail, and Sukhvinder's was rough, thick and unruly as a horse's mane. She thought she saw two of the St Anne's girls exchange whispers and smirks, and was sure of it when Krystal suddenly stood tall, glaring at them, and said, ‘S'pose your shit smells of roses, does it?' ‘I beg your pardon?' said their coach. ‘Jus' askin',' said Krystal sweetly, turning her back to pull off her tracksuit bottoms. The urge to giggle had been too powerful to resist; the Winterdown team snorted with laughter as they changed. Krystal clowned away, and as the St Anne's crew filed out she mooned them. ‘Charming,' said the last girl to leave. ‘Thanks a lot,' Krystal called after her. ‘I'll let yer ‘ave another look later, if yeh want. I know yeh're all lezzers,' she yelled, ‘stuck in ‘ere together with no boys!' Holly had laughed so much that she had doubled over and banged her head on the locker door. ‘Fuckin' watch it, Hol,' Krystal had said, delighted with the effect she was having on them all. ‘Yeh'll need yer ‘ead.' As they had trooped down to the canal, Sukhvinder could see why Mr Fairbrother had wanted the venue changed. There was nobody but him here to support them at the start, whereas the St Anne's crew had lots of friends shrieking and applauding and jumping up and down on the spot, all with the same kind of glossy long hair. ‘Look!' shouted Krystal, pointing into this group as they passed. ‘It's Lexie Mollison! Remember when I knocked yer teeth out, Lex?' Sukhvinder had a pain from laughing. She was glad and proud to be walking along behind Krystal, and she could tell that the others were too. Something about how Krystal faced the world was protecting them from the effect of the staring eyes and the fluttering bunting, and the building like a palace in the background. But she could tell that even Krystal was feeling the pressure as they climbed into their boat. Krystal turned to Sukhvinder, who always sat behind her. She was holding something in her hand. ‘Good-luck charm,' she said, showing her. It was a red plastic heart on a key-ring, with a picture of her little brother in it. ‘I've told ‘im I'm gonna bring ‘im back a medal,' said Krystal. ‘Yeah,' said Sukhvinder, with a rush of faith and fear. ‘We will.' ‘Yeah,' said Krystal, facing front again, and tucking the key-ring back inside her bra. ‘No competition, this lot,' she said loudly, so the whole crew could hear. ‘Bunch o' muff munchers. Le's do 'em!' Sukhvinder remembered the starting gun and the crowd's cheers and her muscles screaming. She remembered her elation at their perfect rhythm, and the pleasure of their deadly seriousness after laughter. Krystal had won it for them. Krystal had taken away the home-ground advantage. Sukhvinder wished that she could be like Krystal: funny and tough; impossible to intimidate; always coming out fighting. She had asked Terri Weedon for two things, and they had been granted, because Terri agreed with everyone, always. The medal that Krystal had won that day was around her neck for her burial. The other request came, at the very end of the service, and this time, as he announced it, the vicar sounded resigned. Good girl gone bad – Take three – Action. No clouds in my storms †¦ Let it rain, I hydroplane into fame Comin' down with the Dow Jones †¦ Her family half carried Terri Weedon back down the royal-blue carpet, and the congregation averted its eyes.

Hybrid Health Record

A hybrid health record is a record that contains patient health information and is made up of physical paper documentation as well as electronic documentation. The patient information/documentation can vary within the record as a whole and access to particular information requires different paths. Manual and electronic processes are utilized to input and maintain patient health information in a hybrid health record. Hybrid health records are utilized in the transitioning process to go from paper to fully electronic. These hybrid records can present a number of concerns for the health care professionals.The upkeep and accurateness of data input into the records can be a big issue if paper and electronic versions are not consistently updated to reflect one another. Quality of patient care then becomes an issue which could result in health care professionals delivering care with incorrect patient information. With the aim to go completely paperless the electronic version of the record s hould contain the most up to date information. Healthcare professionals and staff need to work diligently to maintain a hybrid health records’ integrity.Another concern is security because patient information is located in more than one place and has multiple access platforms. Security for hybrid health records involves more than just physical security all the digital information must be protected and any access given limited. Patient access to their health record in its entirety could present issues if record tracking and upkeep isn’t maintained on both electronic and manual platforms. As well as forms in which patients will be given access to their record. Patient could receive all information electronically, paper, or a combination of both. †¦ information available to the patient electronically may be a subset of the patient’s designated record set. In such cases, the EHR should indicate where the primary or complete information resides and how it can be accessed† (â€Å"Managing the transition, 2012†). With the transition from paper to electronic and in-between hybrid process access to patient health information has complicated a bit but for the better. New policies to stop unauthorized release of information must be put into place because with changing environments old procedures must be modified and adapt to the way of doing things.First implement mandatory procedure training to ensure staff understands what information can be access and how it can be used. Also implement tracking for physical records as well as procedures within electronic systems to monitor who has access and accesses patient information. Next printing should be limited and any and all electronic platforms are to be utilized as the staff’s main access point for patient information. References Managing the transition from paper to ehrs. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://library. ahima. org/xpedio/groups/public/documents/ahima/bok1_048418. hcsp ? dDocName=bok1_048418

Does the Current Electoral Process Result in the best Candidate for President?

History informs us about the first method the parties developed in order to pick their presidential candidates. This method was the congressional caucus. The framer’s method in 1787 was that each elector would cast two electoral votes, each for a different person for president. The person who received the majority of the electoral votes would win the presidential election and the person who received the second most amount of electoral votes won the vice presidential election. However, the rise of political parties and the election of 1800 made a great change to the system.During this time the electors cast their two votes for two different persons. The 12th Amendment established the separation of the presidential and vice presidential election. With the election of Thomas Jefferson, each of the 73 Democratic- Republican Party voted for Thomas Jefferosn and Aaron Burr which caused a tie. To resolve this there was 36 separate votes in the House of Representatives to select the P resident and Vice President. In 1832, both major parties turned to the national convention as their presidential nomination device and still continues to serve them.Whether the current electoral process results in the best candidates for president is debatable. We must further look into the steps taken in order to become a president. Electing a president consists of five steps. These steps include primaries/caucuses, nomination at national convention, campaigning, election, and electoral college. Presidential primaries help to ensure that a party gets strong candidates for president. They do this by democratizing the delegate selection process and force would-be nominees to test their candidacies in actual political combat.This is how most states select the Democratic Republican candidate who will run against each other. A caucus is a nominating device where a group of people with similar views meet to select delegates to the national convention. Not just anyone is nominated. To be nominate one must be more than just an older white male. Though, it is usually male. One must have experience and have served in elective offices. They sometimes are protestant or incumbent with a pleasant appearance and developed speakings skills.Once all the primaries and  caucuses have been held and delegates are selected, the two major parties hold their nation conventions. The three main goals of the national convention are promoting party unity, adopting the party’s platform, and naming the party’s candidates. During this time each Presidential candidate chooses a running-mate for Vice-President. Once a candidate has won their party's nomination, he or she begins mapping campaign strategy . Campaigning is very important in order to win the votes of the American people. Through campaigning the cadidate states his or her position on various current issues.He or she steps up efforts to raise money and recruit volunteer workers. Fans of the candidates most likely w ill begin holding up signs encouraging to vote for their choice of candidate. Swing voters are important to campaigns since these are the 1/3 of the electorate who has not made up their minds at the start of the campaign. They are more open to persuasion for either campaigns. They also focus on battle-ground states since either candidate could win in those states. Finally on the first tuesday of November, the people vote for one candidate. This happens every four years.When a person casts a vote in the general election, they are not voting directly for an individual Presidential candidate. Instead, voters in each state actually cast their vote for a group of people, known as electors. These electors are part of the Electoral College and are supposed to vote for their state’s preferred candidate. In the Electoral College system, each state gets a certain number of electors, based on each state's total number of representation in Congress. Each elector gets one electoral vote. For example, a large state like California gets 54 electoral votes, while Rhode Island gets only four.All together, there are 538 Electoral votes. In December after the election, the electors cast their votes. When the votes are counted on January 6th, the Presidential candidate that gets more than half, 270, wins the election. The President-elect and Vice President-elect then take the oath of office and are inaugurated two weeks later, on January 20th. Returning to the main question, I don’t believe the electoral process results in the best candidates for President. I believe the choice should not be left for the electoral college but for each person’s vote to count.One alternative is the popular vote where everyone’s vote would count for one vote. I don't think it is fair to try to convince people that they have a voice and encourage them to vote, when the Electoral College has the final say. The Electoral College leads to things like there being massive amoun ts of campaigning being down in â€Å"battleground states† like Ohio and Florida while people in solidly â€Å"red† or solidly â€Å"blue† states have their issues basically ignored because it's almost certain which way the state is going to go.History informs us about the first method the parties developed in order to pick their presidential candidates. This method was the congressional caucus. The framer’s method in 1787 was that each elector would cast two electoral votes, each for a different person for president. The person who received the majority of the electoral votes would win the presidential election and the person who received the second most amount of electoral votes won the vice presidential election. However, the rise of political parties and the election of 1800 made a great change to the system.During this time the electors cast their two votes for two different persons. The 12th Amendment established the separation of the presidential a nd vice presidential election. With the election of Thomas Jefferson, each of the 73 Democratic- Republican Party voted for Thomas Jefferosn and Aaron Burr which caused a tie. To resolve this there was 36 separate votes in the House of Representatives to select the President and Vice President. In 1832, both major parties turned to the national convention as their presidential nomination device and still continues to serve them.Whether the current electoral process results in the best candidates for president is debatable. We must further look into the steps taken in order to become a president. Electing a president consists of five steps. These steps include primaries/caucuses, nomination at national convention, campaigning, election, and electoral college. Presidential primaries help to ensure that a party gets strong candidates for president. They do this by democratizing the delegate selection process and force would-be nominees to test their candidacies in actual political comb at.This is how most states select the Democratic Republican candidate who will run against each other. A caucus is a nominating device where a group of people with similar views meet to select delegates to the national convention. Not just anyone is nominated. To be nominate one must be more than just an older white male. Though, it is usually male. One must have experience and have served in elective offices. They sometimes are protestant or incumbent with a pleasant appearance and developed speakings skills.Once all the primaries and caucuses have been held and delegates are selected, the two major parties hold their nation conventions. The three main goals of the national convention are promoting party unity, adopting the party’s platform, and naming the party’s candidates. During this time each Presidential candidate chooses a running-mate for Vice-President. Once a candidate has won their party's nomination, he or she begins mapping campaign strategy . Campaigning is very important in order to win the votes of the American people. Through campaigning the cadidate states his or her position on various current issues.He or she steps up efforts to raise money and recruit volunteer workers. Fans of the candidates most likely will begin holding up signs encouraging to vote for their choice of candidate. Swing voters are important to campaigns since these are the 1/3 of the electorate who has not made up their minds at the start of the campaign. They are more open to persuasion for either campaigns. They also focus on battle-ground states since either candidate could win in those states. Finally on the first tuesday of November, the people vote for one candidate. This happens every four years.When a person casts a vote in the general election, they are not voting directly for an individual Presidential candidate. Instead, voters in each state actually cast their vote for a group of people, known as electors. These electors are part of the Electora l College and are supposed to vote for their state’s preferred candidate. In the Electoral College system, each state gets a certain number of electors, based on each state's total number of representation in Congress. Each elector gets one electoral vote. For example, a large state like California gets 54 electoral votes, while Rhode Island gets only four.All together, there are 538 Electoral votes. In December after the election, the electors cast their votes. When the votes are counted on January 6th, the Presidential candidate that gets more than half, 270, wins the election. The President-elect and Vice President-elect then take the oath of office and are inaugurated two weeks later, on January 20th. Returning to the main question, I don’t believe the electoral process results in the best candidates for President. I believe the choice should not be left for the electoral college but for each person’s vote to count.One alternative is the popular vote where e veryone’s vote would count for one vote. I don't think it is fair to try to convince people that they have a voice and encourage them to vote, when the Electoral College has the final say. The Electoral College leads to things like there being massive amounts of campaigning being down in â€Å"battleground states† like Ohio and Florida while people in solidly â€Å"red† or solidly â€Å"blue† states have their issues basically ignored because it's almost certain which way the state is going to go.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation - Essay Example For every minute he waits by the side for a medical team, his chances for survival becomes slim and his chances of leading a normal life, if he recovers, fade away (American Health Association, 2007). The proposal directly responds to the call by VHA Health Foundation projects related to hospital preparedness. It calls for an emergency procedure that doctors want performed on patients to allow CVD victims to reach hospitals still alive and breathing. It follows the normal flow of proposals, starting with introduction and procedure to budget preparations and conclusion (Hale, Phale D., 1999). The budget details the project cost of the entire project, estimating expenses from the time the concept began to the time it is completed. There maybe other incidental expenses that may just happen in the course of the project, but these unexpected expenses should be considered more or less in the project itself (Volunteering Queensland, 2007). The conclusion summarizes what the proposal wants to project, highlighting its crucial components to convince donors to provide funding. I think the proposal stands a good chance of being funded, but like most other proposals it is entirely possible that it is also rejected. When that case happens, I need to study my proposal some more and det

Macro & Micro economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Macro & Micro economics - Essay Example The report also comments on the Government of China’s policy actions that are aimed at boosting the growth rate of the country’s economy (BBC, 2013). China's economy is the second-largest economy in the world. Currently, the country’s GDP has been estimated to be $12.38 trillion (according to the 2012 estimate) (CIA, 2013). However, recently the growth rate of the economy has slowed down significantly. After noting the declining performance level of the economy for the past few months, government has adopted certain policy prescriptions to improve the health of the economy. This paper discusses the main causes that lead to this issue and the level and pattern of impact that the problem casts on Chinese economy and society. The aggregate demand as well as the supply of goods and services in the economy is affected by this change in growth rate. The government is following expansionary monetary policy to improve investment climate in the economy and has increased l evel of public spending in order to increase domestic demand in the economy. Discussion on the economic problem issue China has depicted â€Å"soft growth momentum in the first quarter† (BBC, 2013) of 2013. ... Causes of the problem The article on BBC highlights two major concerns over the declining growth rate of the Chinese economy. Firstly, the economy has been heavily dependent on the export of various commodities and the major exports markets for the country are the USA and the European countries. The major items exported by the country are transport equipments, garments, accessories, toys, plastic products, machinery, rubber, textile, metallurgical products, Chemical products, fuel materials such as crude oil and refined oil, and food items (Peopledaily, 2001). China follows an export led growth and it has remained the largest contributor to the output of the global economy and accounts for nearly 3 percent of the global output. Although according to the International Monetary Fund, Chinese contribution to the global output is set to exceed that of USA, Germany and Japan; some economists have claimed in the past that the country would not be able to sustain its growth rate on the basi s of exports for a long time. After the financial crisis of 2009 that had hit the USA and the European countries hard, economic growth in these countries slowed down. These countries faced serious financial crunch and their import demand decreased. Therefore, the Chinese economy experienced a loss of in export market. This had a major impact on the economy and its performance. Since the exports in the Chinese economy weakened, different sectors in the economy slowed down their production rates and the total output in the economy decreased that is reflected in the country’s gross domestic product. The constant sluggishness of economic performance in these advanced countries,

Watson and Cricks 1952 paper in Nature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Watson and Cricks 1952 paper in Nature - Essay Example The copying mechanism is significant in forming many copies of DNA that contain the hereditary material. Essentially, the replication of the genetic material is important in the reproduction of the cells through meiosis and mitosis. The replication ensures that there is extra DNA for the multiplying cells to facilitate the daughter cells to reproduce (2011). Thus, the copying mechanism implies that the cells can make an exact replica of genetic material, and pass it to the other generations. The copying mechanism introduced the element of complementarity that is important in the replication of the DNA and subsequent transfer of genetic information from one generation to another. Fundamentally, reproduction of the cells depends on the ability of organisms to produce the exact replica of the genetic materials (2011). It is noteworthy that the replication of the two daughter molecules can sometimes have errors. Hence, the scientists should utilize the model of base pairing to examine the partial alteration of the

HR Strategy Responding to a Union Organizing Drive Assignment

HR Strategy Responding to a Union Organizing Drive - Assignment Example My first approach in this case will be to create a communication bridge between the management and the workers by being friendlier with them. Unless and until each and every employee starts opening up, it will become difficult for me to discuss the issues with them. The employees need to realize the fact that the labour unions chosen by them were doing well in negotiations. The company on the other hand needs to be aware of all the rules of NLRA and also the fact that if the elections took place and the union was not voted then there would be an appeal. In a representation election representatives are given a decision of one or all the more bargaining agents or no illustrative whatsoever. To be confirmed as the bargaining delegate, a singular or a work association must appropriate a greater part of the substantial votes throws. My next step will be to ensure that the supervisors are taking proper care of the employees in sense that all the problems of the employees are being communic ated to the management on time. The supervisors are the representatives of the employees. It is their duty to receive the messages and deliver it to the management. In order to ensure this, I will be conducting a face to face meeting of the management, supervisors, and the employees where all the issues will be discussed. This will also maintain a transparency between everyone. In case the union is at fault, an election may be held by understanding between the head honcho and the singular or work association guaranteeing to speak to the representatives. In such an understanding the gatherings might state the time and spot coincided on, the decisions to be incorporated on the ticket, and a strategy to figure out who is qualified to vote. They might likewise sanction the NLRB Regional Director to lead the election. Collective bargaining is characterized in the Act. Segment 8(d) of NLRA, requires a business and the agent of its representatives to meet at

Paper_8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Paper_8 - Essay Example I am aware of at least one incident where a man had his medical records used without his consent and the records inadvertently revealed his identity. As a result, many people in his community discovered details of his medical history that he wished to keep private! Forcing individuals to divulge medical information without their consent also runs afoul of the Fifth Amendment's prohibition on taking private property for public use without just compensation. After all, people do have a legitimate property interest in their private information; therefore restrictions on an individual's ability to control the dissemination of their private information represents a massive regulatory taking. The takings clause is designed to prevent this type of sacrifice of individual property rights for the "greater good." To the extent these regulations sacrifice individual rights in the name of a bureaucratically-determined "common good," they are incompatible with a free

ADVOCACY LETTER TO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Essay

ADVOCACY LETTER TO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION - Essay Example Students with special needs or those who are mentally/ physically retarded, require special attention. Their care and concern should be kept at the highest priority. Expecting these children to study side by side normal children who do not require any special needs shatters their confidence. In such environments normal children often mock about the children with special needs. As stated in ‘Educational Needs’ (n.d.), the specific issues that may affect a special child’s learning are: In spite the fact the children with special needs are often far more intelligent than normal children, it is just a particular manner in which they need to be dealt with in order to prove their mettle and enable their skills to nurture and prosper. If the learning needs of these children are properly addressed, their level of literacy, self- help skills, mobility, confidence and orientation can all be polished to mature levels. This further on, enables these citizens to become contributing and productive citizens of the society. The Solution to the above mentioned grave concerns is the devising of a plan that would be in the best interest of the student in the educational process. Special education services can be formulated that suit every individual child’s particular needs. A Special Education Advocate can be assigned some like natured special children. A Special Education Advocate’s primary responsibilities are the caring of the basic rights of the children with special needs. Once kids are assigned with a Special Education Advocate it becomes easier for schools to organize the special children. A Good Special Education Advocate is well versed in the legal issues pertaining to the rights of a special child. This assists each person connected to the child to be able to realize the laws regarding the handling of the child. These advocated have the ability to search specific legal issues that may be central to a child’s particular case

ISRAEL- PALESTINE CONFLICTS Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

ISRAEL- PALESTINE CONFLICTS - Research Paper Example Apparently various researches and reports have shown that the most affected region is the Gaza strip where; lots of lives have been lost; properties as well as other social amenities have been affected (Mandell 1985). The occurrence of conflicts between the Palestine tribes has also created a major setback on the efforts of the international community that has been placed to facilitate peace negotiation between the two countries. Conflicts between the Sunnis and the Shiites have created divisions among the Palestine leaders hence diverting their attention from the peace negotiations towards resolving these internal conflicts (Migdalovitz 2010). Various social researchers as well as other concerned International Stakeholders have undertaken studies to find the causes of the Israeli and Palestine conflict. The most obvious factor that has emerged is that the conflicts were triggered by the struggle on who owns Gaza; however, bodies such as the media have failed to provide comprehensive information concerning the causes of conflict between the two nations. That is, there are cases where the media has portrayed Israel as an innocent nation that is making an attempt to save the aggressive Palestine from causing harm to its citizens. This has raised lot of concern from the various stakeholders especially among the Palestine leaders. International Organizations such as the United Nations, World Health Organizations as well as other stakeholder countries have made different efforts to ensure that peace and stability exist between the two nations. However, their efforts have not been successful owing to a number of reasons. The first reason emerges from the inter-ethnic group among the Palestine Tribes; these tribal conflicts have been propagated by the differences emerging the specific inter-ethnic affiliations. That is, certain groups such as the Shiites have experienced tremendous hatred from the Sunnis who

Behavior Management in Classroom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Behavior Management in Classroom - Essay Example Thus, new and customized model of teaching models work as a source of intellectual combination of prior theorists and current trends in human learning. Question 3 Excluding external contributing factors to misbehavior in the classroom (e.g. home environment, lack of parental support for the school, peer influence etc.) what other classroom related factors might be influencing students to misbehave in the classroom. Identify and briefly explain three major factors. Answer There are some of the classroom related factors that can provoke a student to misbehave in the classroom. These can be damaging to the learning process and affecting other subjects in the learning process. It should be noted that the teacher’s tone, voice and language can play a very major role in the behavior management of a student. For instance, if a child is not able to understand the instruction of the teacher then he is more likely to loose his concentration on the subject of matter. This will result in distraction of other’s attention from the lecture. Another factor which is likely to persuade the student to misbehave in the class would be lack of attention by the teacher. It should be noted that not all children are same. Thus, teachers need to give proper attention to all students otherwise it will result in misbehave in the class. Also, a teacher needs to be consistent with the instructions that are being given to the student. If increasing instructions on one day and lesser on the other day is noted then it will make children become agitated. These three factors can lead a child to misbehave in the class regardless of the family settings they belong. Question 4 How can teachers maintain positive relations with students whose behavior is challenging and difficult to manage? Identify... There are some of the classroom related factors that can provoke a student to misbehave in the classroom. These can be damaging to the learning process and affecting other subjects in the learning process. It should be noted that the teacher’s tone, voice and language can play a very major role in the behavior management of a student. For instance, if a child is not able to understand the instruction of the teacher then he is more likely to loose his concentration on the subject of matter. This will result in distraction of other’s attention from the lecture. Another factor which is likely to persuade the student to misbehave in the class would be lack of attention by the teacher. It should be noted that not all children are same. Thus, teachers need to give proper attention to all students otherwise it will result in misbehave in the class. Also, a teacher needs to be consistent with the instructions that are being given to the student. If increasing instructions on on e day and lesser on the other day is noted then it will make children become agitated. These three factors can lead a child to misbehave in the class regardless of the family settings they belong. Question 4-Â  How can teachers maintain positive relations with students whose behavior is challenging and difficult to manage? Identify and explain three ways. Make sure you choose significant (not trivial or highly unique and specific) strategies. Identify strategies that would apply across a wide variety of classroom events and behaviors.

Definition of Communication Essay Example for Free

Definition of Communication Essay Introduction Whenever we interact with other people, intentional or unintentional, we communicate; because of its abstract nature, the concept of communication is difficult to define. If one remembers Communication Theory as a Field (Craig 1999), we gain insight into the scientific fields of communication, on how diverse the fields of study actually are. With such diversity among theorists’ approaches to communication, it is even harder to get a single definition standing, at least within academia. The devil is in the details; however some argue that it is rather impractical to study a subject that isn’t well defined. A First Look At Communication Theory (Griffin 2012) offers a working definition. (Griffin 2012:6) states â€Å"Communication is the relational process of creating and interpreting messages that elicit a response†. But does this definition of what communication is suffice in the light of what the different theorists argue it is? This will be the main focus of my paper. I find it most reasonable to approach this question with two communication theories with different fundamental approaches to communication. In order to cover both the interpretive and objective theoretical approach, I will discuss the definition in relation to Constructivism and Semiotics. The Definition The definition consists of five parts: messages, creation of Messages, interpretation of Messages, A Relational Process, and Messages that elicits a response (Griffin 2012:6-9). â€Å"Messages are the very core of communication study.† (Griffin 2012:6). The creation of messages is the implication that messages is usually not randomly generated (constructed, invented, planned, crafted, constituted, selected, or adopted (Griffin 2012:7)). A message does not hold a meaning in and of itself; e.g. there is a differentiation between the words and the meaning. Communication is considered a process, because it functions in a contextual sense. In addition, it is a relational phenomenon because it involves two or more participants and affects their connection. And lastly, if a message fails to initiate any reactions, it would be ironic to call it communication according to Griffin. Constructivism Constructivism approaches communication from the psychological perspective, focusing on cognitive competence in interpersonal communication (Griffin 2012:98). The level of interactional competence is determined by the sophistication of the actor’s social perception skills, and their ability to analyze the social situation (the cognitive complexity of an actor (Griffin 2012:99)). The cognitive complexity is reflected in the communication process through the effectiveness of person-centered messages. â€Å"†¦ the capacity to produce highly person-centered messages has been assessed by having participants generate messages in response to standard situations and then coding these messages within hierarchical schemes for the degree of person centeredness manifested. For example, messages seeking to persuade others have been coded for the extent to which the goals and desires of the target are taken into account.† (Brant R. Burleson, Scott E. Caplan 1998:II,B) In a constructivist view, the communication process is more goal-oriented than relational. Constructing the message in a communicational context is in and of itself an intention to get an anticipated or desired reaction. â€Å"The perception and processing of others intentional efforts to convey some internal statemay be viewed as a special case of social perception† (Brant R. Burleson, Scott E. Caplan 1998:II,C). The addressed uses a received message as input in the process of structuring their response. The effectiveness of a response is directly correlated to the message’s goal related structure, and the cognitive complexity and perception skills of both addresser and addressed. Semiology Semiotics is the study of signs; it involves the production and the analysis of socially attributed meaning to an object. The semiologist Roland Barthes focused his research on signs we use in communication (Griffin 2012:332). In Mythologies (Roland Barthes 2009) we see that Barthes’ perspective on communication is broader than the interpersonal level, focusing more on abstract connotations and mythical signs in a cultural context. He argues that reality is converted into speech through human history; therefore there are no eternal meanings (Roland Barthes 2009:132). Concordantly, the meaning of a sign can shift as time progresses, an original sign could become a denotation for something else through the semiotic process. The creation of meaning of signs is then not only an individual process; it is also a conjunction and ongoing process of communication and human history. Barthes offers a semantic explanation, in his example of wrestling, to the reactions of the audience towards the wrestlers (Roland Barthes 2009:11-12). Arguing that, with French wrestling, different connotations around the mythical sign of â€Å"justice† were at interplay. So in the process of interpretation; Meaning can be implicit. Unconsciously perceived as connotative factor(s) to what is consciously noticed, and then reacted upon. Directly applying the points of discussion Extending the commonalities and differences between the two theoretical views, with Griffin’s definition, some points are very clear. Both view messages as the core instrument in communication and see it as a process. Both agree that if no reaction is elicited in any way, then the function of the message initially failed. The circumstances thereof are different in each point of view. However the aspects of messages in each theoretical view are defined in such a fashion; without a response of any kind, it would be a contradiction to refer to them as such (If we, of course, interpret messages that elicit a response to include apathetic responses). On the points of objection, it seems mostly to be a case of â€Å"weighing the words†, when viewed by either theoretical lens. As an example: on the point of a relational process, constructivists might prefer â€Å"goal-oriented† rather than relational. Or from Barthes’ perspective, adding a concept of creating mea ning as a result of communication to the definition. Conclusion The outlined approaches in this paper of constructivism and semiotics, display clear differences in the assumptions, focus-points and explanations of communication. However their general outlook does not, in any significant way, object to Griffin’s working definition. I think this outcome qualifies the definition as sufficient, as a practical tool when studying communication. The evident boundary of my paper however, is the lack of other major theoretical lenses in the subject. Further work needs to be done in order to conduct a more unified definition. References Barthes, R. (2009). Mythologies. London: Vintage Classics. 3-14 and 131-144 Craig, R.T. (1999). Communication theory as a field. Communication Theory, 9, 119-161. Griffin, E. (2011). A First Look at Communication Theory. 8th edition. New York: McGraw Hill. J. C. McCroskey, J. A. Daly, M. M. Martin (Eds.). (1998). Communication and Personality: Trait Perspectives. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton, pp. 233-286, Website: Presshttp://www.ic.arizona.edu/ic/wrightr/const/bu98b.htm#II.B.%20CC%20and%20%E2%82%ACMessage%20Production%E2%82%AC

Police Brutality And Its Effects On Society Criminology Essay

Police Brutality And Its Effects On Society Criminology Essay 1. Introduction Police brutality has occurred all across the world and is still a major concern amongst society and police organisations. This brutality ranges from assaults, death as a result of use of force, harassment, Etc. It takes two forms (Thompson: 2004), which is physical brutality which includes assaults, and non-physical brutality which includes use of verbal language. In South Africa cases of brutality has been part of country history as it was happening during apartheid era because of protests, and at the present moment it is much worse as people have rights and most people have access to camcorders to record such incidents which at the later stage attract media attention. According to Burger (2011) public is slowly losing trust in the police because of amongst other things such as brutality itself, criminal behaviour and abuse of power. Sean & Tait (2011) explained that most brutality cases within the South African Police Service derived from members of public order policing (POP) as they normally deal with gathering and protests. Sharpville massacre is one of the example of which 69 people were killed and 180 injured as a result of police action on 21 March 1960 and recently is the killing of Andries Tatane and thirty four Marikana Lonmin striking miners by the members of South African Police Service. 2. Literature Review Considering this body of literature, researches were conducted by different authors nationally and internationally to address issue of police brutality and its effects to society. Before going further with this topic police brutality, the term police brutality is defined as follows: Thompson (2004) defines Police brutality as any instance in which a police officer using unnecessary excessive force to or while interacting with members of public while performing his or her duties. These brutalities take two forms which is physical and non-physical, physical includes actions such as killing someone, E.g. thirty four mining strikers who were killed by the police at lonmin mine, and non-physical which includes verbally abusing the public. There is literature that are relevant to the topic and some of the findings were categorised as follows: Bruce (2003) explained that the statistics from South Africa Police Service watch dog, also known as independent complaints directorate (currently known as IPID) revealed cases of brutalities against members of the service and organisation from period April 1997 to March 2001. These brutalities were categorised as from death as a result of police action (excludes death in custody), torture, assaults and attempted murder. He further said besides reporting cases of brutalities the public are also not satisfied with the service rendered by the police. Gary (2003) argued that police brutality is also part of South African history. He mentioned that during apartheid regime many people of which majority were black people had suffered brutality from the hands of the police more especially in South African townships. His statement was supported by photographic images of one of the victim known as Hector Peterson, a thirteen year old who was shot by the police in Soweto. Apart from Peterson tragedy there were also photos of white police official beating and shooting black protesters and the death of Steve Biko who was murdered in police custody for political reasons. Gary (2003:9) believes that the past police also benefited from these brutalities and they were very effective than the present police force mainly because they were feared by the public. He said crime then was too low and it was likely that people were afraid to report cases because police then were not approachable. Masuku (2004) believes that Police Managers lack of monitoring of members conduct is one of the reasons why South Africa is having high number of cases of police violence. He mentioned that procedures are incorrectly followed in the service and records are not properly kept and as a result a member commits the same offence now and then. He said Independent complaints directorate (ICD) findings for the annual report 2002-2003 revealed number of cases whereby people were shot and killed by the police and to date it does not indicate how many were illegal and how many were legitimate. He said standing order 251 which requires factual reports of all shooting incidents is not practiced correctly within the service. He said that they are other cases of police misconduct such as torture and non-lethal force were also not monitored correctly and as a fact police officers gets off easily. Studies conducted by, Minaar & mistry (2006) showed that use of unnecessary excessive force by the police is mostly related to officers wellbeing such as stress. They conducted interviews with members based at Gauteng province and the finding were that members work circumstances such as interacting with suspects is the reason for police action of violence. He also mentioned that counselling and stress management should play a vital role in member wellbeing but criticised the member code of silence. Shawn & Tait (2011) studies revealed that most brutalities in South Africa derived from violent protests by public and involves member of public order policing within the police such as tactical response team and combat crime unit. He also mentioned that cases of brutalities had increased since 2006 as a result of protests by public. He said that these members resorts to the use of excessive force as last resorts more especially when they are outnumbered by the public and often leads to death of protesters and one example of that is marikana massacre. Other studies conducted by burger (2011) states that the brutalities, criminal behaviour and other misconducts by the police has negative effect on public trust and confidence. He further said that society must trust and also have faith in police for their own safety. It seems as this is impossible for the police as the recent reports and images of police brutalities speak another thing such as marikana lonhill miners massacre which was broadcasted on television for days, video footage of ficksburg protester andries tatane who lost his life in the hands of police, video of members of tactical response team at abar in Johannesburg and a restaurant in Melville which was shown on 3rd degree on e-tv and the recent case of Mozambican taxi driver who was tied at the back of police vehicle and dragged and later died in police custody. Again, Bruce (2011) on another article, beyond Section 49, says use of force by members of South African Police Service is being misused and it is uncontrollable and that the policy needs to be amended so that the police can work effectively. He again on this article mentioned the killing of Andries Tatane as one of the victim of such abuse of power by the police. 3. Rationale/ Significance of research The study is important as it is focused on the difference between the police and the general public mainly because of police brutalities and use of unnecessary excessive force and is also aimed at benefiting both the police and the society to refrain from problem. One organisation such as South African Police Service (SAPS) has its tasks and one is to mobilize the community to act against local crime in terms of newly implemented sector policing and this seems to be unachievable because of the recent cases of brutalities by its members. The objective was to have the police and the public to work together but now because of the police brutality images such as marikana lonmin massacre that were view by the society nationwide this seems to be impossible. Police brutality affects everyone, such as the government, police, organisation and the public, and this proposed study is aimed at preventing future brutalities and improve police-society working relationship. The above categories will benefit from the study as follows: Police Officers: The study will benefit officer as these brutalities normally have consequences and might ruin the future career. Society: The society will also benefit as they depend on police for their safety and be brutalised as a result. Organisation: The organisation will also benefit as it will finally realise the seriousness of this brutalities and also to deal with culprits to set an example to other police officers and again to ensure that their members are well trained and equipped to deal with the public in a peaceful manner. Other researchers: This study will also benefit future researchers and hopefully brings new developments. 4. Research Problem Statement In a country like South Africa the citizens expect police to do their work in a professional manner and also be accountable to their actions. They expect police officers to protect them and their properties and also uphold the law of the country. These police officers have powers invested to them and are governed by certain legislation to perform their duties and the public are also have to be treated in a dignified manner in terms of the rights given by the constitution. It then becomes a problem because criminal procedure act section 49 gives police officer powers to use force to overcome any situation and such powers are the misused by certain police officers as they use them where it is not necessarily. Police officer as members of public themselves work under extreme situations, such as members of public order policing who deal with public violence and protests as they are used to violence and whenever approached they may also use the force which may result in death of citizens such as ficksburg protester Andries Tatane. Independence directorate complaints statistics (Bruce: 2003) reveals number of citizens who suffered as a result of these brutalities, although most of them were not covered by the media but it affect the community in such a way that they lose trust in the police. 5. Research Question or Hypothesis Statement The main research question of this study is: Can Police managers better reduce or prevent brutalities and unnecessary use of excessive force and how serious is this to the society? There are researchers in South Africa such as Shawn and Tait (2011) who have identified factors such situational, individual and organisational as reason that may influence other Police officers to unreasonably use excessive force and brutality against the public. The following Hypothesis statements (Akdogan, 2009:3) clearly explain the problem of police brutality: They are Job satisfaction and work related stress usually affects police official attitudes towards avoiding or put an end to brutality and unreasonable use of excessive force; Police Official post such as a member who is based at Tactical Response Team (TRT) and Combat Crime Unit (CCU), who have low attitude than those who are posted at stations because they deal with riots and are likely to apply excessive use of force. Lastly, Laws relating to police conduct towards society such as section 49 of Criminal Procedure Act and citizen Bill of Rights in terms of the Constitution. 6. Aim and objectives This study aims to provide all police officials with information on how to serve its public and also how to avoid brutalities and their consequences thereof, how it impacts the organisation, the government and the community as a whole. This study also intends to highlight areas within the police force such a development of employees that needs to be improved and assessed to avoid such brutalities in future. 7. Research Design and Methodology This proposed study will employ triangulation mixed method, De Vos (2012: 442) meaning that it will employ both qualitative and quantitative methods. In a case of quantitative research theories are tested and confirmed by means of measured numbers and statistical analysis such as those statistics revealed by independent directorate complaints (ICD). Whereas, in a case of qualitative research words are important than numbers and also involvement of people in studies plays a vital role and an example is a research done by, Minaar & mistry (2006) which involved members. 7.1. Research Design: For quantitative studied survey designs is suitable for these proposed study as the topic itself is not concerned about police brutality alone, it is also concerned about how it affect society and then a population group needs to be identified to gather data. 7.2. Unit of Analysis: This proposed study includes more than one unit analysis which is individual within the organisation such as police officers, organisation which these individual represents and the social interaction or behaviour of these individual such as police use of violence and brutality. These mention units need to be analysed to carry out the study. 7.3. Identification of Variables: For the sake of this research independent variable is identified which is section 49 of criminal procedure act which give police officers powers to use force and the dependent variable which is the bill of rights which gives citizen right to be treated in a dignified manner, In simple term is that use of force violates human rights. 7.4. Sample and sample type: For sampling purpose, other stakeholders will be included such as community, police officers or organisation, department of justice, etc. by means of simple random sampling which will give others opportunity to participate and that will be determined by using table of random numbers from the population. 7.5. Data Collection Methods: Methods of collecting data will vary based on types of people affected by police violence for the purpose of quantitative research and the most suitable method for this proposed study is survey questionnaire (welman 2005:152) as it is concerned about the background of individual and the difference will however determine whether everyone understands the seriousness of the effects and for qualitative research method that will be utilised is interviews. 7.6. Data analysis: For the purpose of this proposed study data information will be gathered from statistics and interviews and will be used to answer the research question. In a case of quantitative research information will be gathered from statistics and reports and then analysed according to categories such as the total number of fatal force used by police officers quarterly, and in a case of qualitative research (De Vos 2011:402) information will be gathered from interview recordings, visual materials, etc. 8. Ethical consideration/ constraints: Before studies commences, ethical issues needs to be identified and reviewed to ensure that potential participant are not exposed to harm. De Vos (2011: 115-126) and Welman (2005: 182) identified ethical issues that needed to be taken into consideration to ensure that all participants are protected and information gathered is legitimate. An approval from research ethics committee is also important as it will protect participants from researchers who conduct studies in an unethical manner. At the end of the study all findings and results that will be presented will be that obtained during the study. 9. Overview of the Chapter Structure This chapter started by focusing on the research main question which was directed to the managers of the organisation, that what can they do better to better the situation or problem the society is facing and also how to render effective service. The chapter was further discussed and three components (hypothesis) were highlighted that managers should look into when addressing the problem and finally the methods were identified to carry out the studies in order to reach the aims and objective of this proposal. 10. Research Time Schedule According to, De Vos et al (2011:111) a project should include a work plan. As organisation is responsible for behaviour of its members, then a time frame for this project is one year. Then an organisation can make analysis of reported cases and then used its findings to compare to the previous to determine the difference to achieve the aims of the proposal. 11. Budget This study does not require any financial planning as lack or insufficient training was seen as factor that is needed to educate and provide police officers with skills on how to handle the public and that has been done by the organisation for a period of time. 12. Preliminary List of Reference/ Bibliography BRUCE, D. 2011. Beyond Section 49: control of the use lethal force. SA Crime Quarterly, 36: 3-12 BRUCE, D. 2003. What the Independent Complaints Directorate Statistics tell us (or not): Gripes or grievances? SA Crime Quarterly, 4: 23-30 BURGER, J. 2011. To Protect and Serve: Restoring Public Confidence in the SAPS. SA Crime Quarterly, 36: 13-22 DE VOS, A. S, STRYDOM, H. FOUCHE, C. B & DELPORT, C. S. L. 2011. Research at Grass Roots: For the social sciences and human service professions. 4th ed. Pretoria: Van Schaik. KYNOCH, G. 2003. Personal Security concerns in South African Townships: Apartheid Nostalgia. SA Crime Quarterly, 5: 7-10 MASUKU, T. 2004. National Monitoring of Police Misconduct: number that counts. SA Crime Quarterly, 8: 5-10 MINAAR, A & MISTRY, D .2006. Dealing with the use of force and stress related violence by members of the police: some observation from selected case studies in Gauteng province, South Africa. Acta criminological, 19(3): 29-63 TAIT, S, & MARKS, M. 2011. You strike a Gathering, You Strike a rock- current debate in the Policing of Public Order in South Africa. SA Crime Quarterly, 38: 12-22 WELMAN, J. C, KRUGER, S. J & MITCHEL, B. 2005.Research Methodology. 3rd ed. Cape Town: Oxford.

Having an Inter professional team

Having an Inter professional team This essay is meant to throw light on the importance of having an inter- professional team that would make the service delivery to patients easier. In this essay I will discuss the roles played by nurses and other professionals in the team. The essay will reflect the efficiency of such a team and their work distribution and involvement. I will highlight the ways in which a team of professionals will work together to take proper decisions during emergency situations and tackle them effectively. The essay will also critically evaluate the various concepts of inter professional team work. An inter-professional team is a group of people who have a certain common goals or objectives which drives them to work together by setting aside individual goals. Inter professional team can be defined as a dynamic process involving two or more health care professionals with complementary backgrounds and skills, sharing common health goals and exercising concerted physical and mental effort in assessing, planning, or evaluating patient care, accomplished through interdependent collaboration, open communication and shared decision-making, and generates value-added patient, organizational and staff outcomes (Xyrichis and Ream 2007). Freeth et al (2005) defined inter professional team work as when two or more professional learn with, from and about each other to improve collaboration and the quality of care. ThinkingThere are some ways to see interprofessional working. One way is to view it as one which involves thinking, feeling and taking action based upon that (Hammick et.al 2009).Thus the three important aspects of interprofessional working is illustrated below: Being Inter-professional ssssss Feeling Doing/Acting Practising The healthcare sector started showing interest in the interprofessional working during the early 1990. (Institute of Medicine, 1998;ONeil and Pew Health Professions Commission 1998) An interprofessional team is working to provide service in a properly planned and systematic manner. In the health care sector inter professional teams are meant to develop groups that works towards efficiently rendering care to the patients. These teams include nurses, doctors, and other health care professionals. For a team to be efficient role clarity to inevitable and this will help them define their own duties and responsibilities avoiding conflicts (West and Markiowicz, 2004). A team essentially will have a team leader who will lead the team and motivate them to render good service working together (Martin and Rogers 2004). A health care team will work effectively if there is stability in the team, this will make the team member in the group work with shared trust and understanding (Gair and Hartery, (2001)). Interprofessional teams are of various types, they include multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary etc. In case of multidisciplinary teams the members are from various teams. These members set their own discipline specific goals and work towards achieving it. But ultimately the result is calculated as the total of all the disciplines (Dean and Geiringer 1990). The position of team members in the team hierarchy will affect the way in which the team functions and how it will render the service (Cotts, 1998). In case of a multidisciplinary team there exist subgroups of doctors, social workers, therapists and also subgroups which had nurses and other junior staff. Her study also unveiled the idea that the different subgroups had different perceptions about the inter professional teams. According to McWilliam et al (2003), interprofessional working is a very difficult task for health care professionals. The patients didnt get the full benefit of interprofessional working due to the misunderstanding between the health care professionals regarding the policies and procedures in it. Critics like Bion (1961) say that the interprofessional teams fail to focus on the real task they should be doing. The primary tasks for which they have come together is forgotten most of the by the interprofessional teams. Whenever there is an issue the teams to fail to reach at a consensus and they do not take proper decisions on the issue (Strokes 1994). The meetings conducted in order to take decision on the matter are just a waste of time. These assumptions are based on the work group mentality theory. Critics of interprofessional team have questioned the values of the team. It is said that the teams are not well managed and they do not work properly and responsibily. Negotiation theory puts forward the perspective of negotiating the personal and professional goals. (Strauss, 1978) The negotiations by professionals in the health care field have played a critical role in molding the characteristics of an interprofessional team. Loss and change theory reiterates that the health care professionals like doctors and nurses lose their professional identity as they are working in a team, this will lead to developing an improper relationship and improper behavior in the team (Atkins, 1998). Thus it critically points to the inter professional teams in that it wouldnt serve the purpose of forming a team and the unhappiness of the team members can lead to inefficient functioning. The increase of cost in hospitals will also result if there is lack of proper communication between the professionals like doctors, nurses and staff and also if they are not coordinated well. The roles played by nurses in the interprofessional teams are fast evolving. The importance of specialist skills for nurses is now recognized and new role have come up. Nurse Practitioner is an example of such a new role and they possess skill and knowledge in conducting therapy, and prescribing medications for patients who have psychiatric disorders or substance abuse problems. They are licensed to provide emergency psychiatric services, psychosocial and physical assessment of their patients, treatment plans, and manage patient care. While working in an interprofessional team, there is an increased chance of conflict between the team members regarding the superiority in the team. The truth is everyone is equal while working in a team and nobody should themselves subordinate to anyone. But sometimes the nurses and their opinions are ignored in an interprofessional team. Such events makes them reluctant to be a part of such teams (Martin Rogers, 2004). Task shifting is a common practice among the professionals now days (Reeves et.al, 2010). This would help the traditional professionals to relieve of their heavy workload. The nursing practitioners and physician assistants are such roles (Hooker McCaig, 2001). The multiplicative effects model of interprofessional working views it more than the sum of its parts. Here the synergy obtained from such work is described (Leathard, 1994). According to this model, interprofessional working improves the contributions of individual team members and thus will help in the overall development of team. Decision making is an essential in ingradient of all teams; it measures the efficiency of the group. Decision making in case of an interprofessional team also play key role deciding its service delivery process. The usual situation that happens in such teams is the unavailability of proper team leader and also reaching at a common consensus. The decision taken in team has the idea input all the members that needs to driven well in one direction for increasing effectiveness of the work the team does. Most of the important decisions concerning the activities of the team are taken mostly by the Doctors, or the medical staff in an inter professional team in hospitals. Solving important problems and resolving conflicts are the aims of masking decisions (Neil, 1978). There are a few hindrances for nurses to be part of interprofessional teams. The health care sector has shortages or less number of nurses, and those nurses who are available have increased amount of work. As a result of which there is a limitation in case of inter professional support and collaboration (Mckay Crippen, 2008). Another barrier that can be highlighted is the disinterest on the part of other departments to participate and actively involve in the team and work together. The culture and hierarchy of the organization also plays a role in the formation of teams in the organization. According to Henneman.et.al (1995) Collaboration involves a partnership characterized by mutual goals and commitments in which participants willingly become involved in planning and decision making. Henneman.et.al (1995) also proposed that collaboration is a process by which members of various disciplines (or agencies) share their expertise. Accomplishing this requires these individuals understand and appreciate what it is that they contribute to the whole. Many authors have suggested ways to make the intercollaboration more effective. According to Fullan (1993), effective collaborations operate in the world of ideas, examining existing practices critically, seeking better alternatives and working hard together at bringing about improvements and assessing their worth. According to Garner (1995) and Hoeman (1996), it should be by means of collaborative communication rather than shared communication that the interprofessional team approach evolves. Efforts were made from the part of many authors for increasing the literature on interprofessional education for health professional students. But Cooper, Carlisle, Gibbs, and Watkins (2001) pointed out this literature to be diverse including a relatively small amount of research data and much larger amounts of evaluation literature. There were almost thirty works done on interprofessional education and all of them aimed to increase the level of co-operation and understanding between the members in interprofessional teams as well as to encourage a high quality care for the patients. In olden times, the physical space for planning, decision making or joint activities in collaboration were all the same. It is because there were no medium for communicating from long distances. This kind of format was explained by Laungani in 1999 and Molyneux in 2001. The boom in information technology resulted in new approaches in this field. The use of email, video-conferencing, internet etc. have given a new look to interprofessional collaboration. Technology has resulted in an enhanced learning process as well increased the effectiveness of intercollaboration (Leathard 2003). The recent trends in inter-professionalism have acknowledged the need for marshalling the teams so that the members can work together sharing their thoughts in decision making, a mutual exchange of knowledge through teaching and learning, communication incorporated among the professionals and a finely tuned focus on involving the family of the patients into the process. Also there is an increasing identification of the necessity for interprofesional education for potential health care professionals. Another advancement that has happened in the interprofessional working groups is application of Lewins theory. This theory emphasize on the areas related to an individuals behavior and states that any change in rules would have an effect over the individual behavior (Ephross Vassil, 2005). This way the common issue of stereotyping that occurs in interprofessional working can be lessened. The development theory that was popular until now considered individual behavior as consistent. Both these theories are essential. I will be working for the betterment of the service provided to a patient using the things I learned. Working in an interprofessional team has made me get involved with the Doctors and other professional in the field and has helped to build a strategy that elevates the level of service rendering process. As a nurse am able to act in the right way a right direction in case of any emergency and otherwise. From now I will be able to put into practise the concept I learned. I am using the Gibbs Reflective Cycle for the case analysis. Reflective learning can be defined as an intentional process, where social context and experience are acknowledged, in which clients are active individuals, wholly present, engaging with others, and open to challenge, and the outcome involves transformation as well as improvement for both individuals and their organization (Brockbank, McGill and Beech, 2002:6). In the Gibbs Reflective Cycle, there are six components that help to gain knowledge from previous experiences. Gibbs (1988) have proposed about reflective learning that To reflect is not enough, you then have to put into practice the learning and new understanding you have gained therefore allowing the reflective process to inform your practice. The six components of Gibbs Reflective Cycle are: Description of the event- In this stage, one has to write down an abridged version of event that needs to be reflected upon. Hence it is important to get the maximum details about the event and in as objective way as u can in this stage. The answers to the following questions would help you here: Where were you? Who else was there? Why were you there? What were you doing there? What were other people doing? What had actually happened? What was the end result? The above questions would help in acquiring the relevant details about the event and summarize them. Feelings- Here you try to recall and explore the issues related to the event. These issues may be either ones that caused happiness or those which created dissatisfaction or grief in the mind of individual. Hence this is mainly concerned with the feelings of the person. Some relevant questions for this stage are: What was your feeling when the event started? What were your thoughts at that time? What do you feel about other peoples reactions? How did you feel about the result of the event? Enlist your emotions during this event. Hence all these questions are related to the feelings of the individual. Evaluation- In this stage, the event is evaluated based upon a pre-determined standard. After the evaluation, the event is given some value. Hence the following questions would be useful at this stage: What was it that made the experience a good one? What was bad about the experience? Analysis- In this stage, the event is broken down into small parts thus making it easier for exploration and judgment. The questions that may be useful here are: What made the event a success? What was it that you did well? What was it that other members did well? What went wrong? What you did that was wrong? What was the contribution of other members into this failure? Conclusion- This is the stage where you make the final judgment. After the evaluation and analysis, the individual would be quite aware about his own as well as other members contribution to the outcome of event. Thus the individual gains the ability to reflect upon his work from the past experiences. And this is what is called reflective learning. Hence the individual will become aware of his strengths and weak points and also learn about the abilities of other people. Action Plan- In this stage, the individual will think about his actions in the recurrence of similar event. He will decide about what he will be doing in such a case- Will his actions change? Will it be similar to before? Conclusion Finally the study focused through the Gibbs Reflective Cycle and it stated that in any sector especially the health care there is an elementary requirement of having an inter professional team. The study discussed about the importance of the reflection in the nursing practices as well as it application in daily routine. The team all ways will help in providing superior service since the decisions are taken as a team and under common grounds. Moreover, the inter-professional practices could vary more positive attitudes towards the team as well as within the social and health care.

Lord Of The Flies :: essays research papers

Lord of the Flies written by William Golding 223 pages, published by Faber and Faber LTD Lord of the Flies is written by William Golding 1954. It has been translated to several languages and it is a popular book all over the world. The edition that I've read was first published 1958, and reprinted 1959 and every year from 1963 to 1971, so it is hard to really know when this book was printed. William Golding was born on the 19 of September in Cornwall, England, and he decided to be a writer when he was only 7 years old. From the very beginning he studied natural science, but he became wearied of that so he began to study English literature and Physics, which he also got degree in. 1935 he made his debut with a poetry collection, but he didn't like to be a poet. His real debut was in 1954 with this book "Lord of the Flies". He continued writing and after several short stories, histories, dramas and articles he was selected to receive the Nobel's Prize of literature in 1983. William has also written The Inheritors, Free Fall, the Spire, Darkness Visible and many more. Lord of the Flies is about a group of English schoolboys who are from 6 to 12 years old. They have been set on a fate island somewhere in the south Pacific after a plane crash. This could have been a dreamsituation for the boys; no teachers, no parents and no rules that tell them what to do or not do, but the dreamsituation develops in to a hard society where rules are set up and everyone has its own task. They set up a fire so that they could be found if someone flies over or went by boat near the island. They started to hunt and live a life like if they never would be rescued. After a while this big group became divided into two smaller groups with Jack and Ralph as leaders. This "competition" developed a bloody fight on life and death. The leading characters in this book are Ralph, Jack and Piggy. The other boys are mentioned often but most of it is about those three boys. Ralph and Jack are both "leaders" but in different ways, they are not so clever but it is always their ideas that the group use. That's because they are so "loud", everyone listen to them.

Physics of Music Essay example -- physics music sound

"He who understands nothing but chemistry does not truly understand chemistry either" Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742-1799) Music is not purely a form of art. There is a great deal of science that goes behind the production of beautiful musical sounds. In order to understand how music is possible, one must have an understanding of physics. Physics allows us to create musical instruments with different tone qualities and the ability to be played in a certain way to produce a specific pitch or note. Music is sound, and sound is vibrations or waves that are at the right frequency to be perceived by the human ear. Audible vibrations are waves with a frequency between 16 and 20,000 vibrations per second. So what causes sound waves? Sound waves are caused by a disturbance in an elastic medium. These can include the strings on a violin, the reed on a clarinet, and even the human vocal cords. Click on the links below to discover how science makes it possible to create a variety of musical sounds. Stringed instruments produce sound when an action such as plucking or bowing causes them to vibrate. When a string is fixed at both ends, two transverse waves will move from the left and right side of the disturbance. When the waves hit the fixed ends of the string, they bounce back and continue to vibrate until they are eventually stopped by friction and "leaks" through the fixed points. It can be proved with mathematics that standing waves are the only stable vibrations that are possible for a string with two fixed ends. Because these waves are standing waves, the only possible wavelengths are found by 2L/n, where L is the length of the string and n is the harmonic number, which is can be any integer describing the mode of the stret... ...of valves that attach to additional tubing. When the valves are pressed additional lengths of tubing are inserted into the airway of the horn to lower the pitch. Bibliography Askill, John. Physics of Musical Sounds. Litton Educational Publishing, Inc. 1979. Fletcher, Neville H. and Rossing, Thomas D. The Physics of Musical Instruments. Springer-Verlag New York Inc. 1991. Harder, Paul O. and Steinke, Greg A. Basic Materials in Music Theory. Prentice Hall. 2000. Levarie, Siegmund and Levy, Ernst. Tone: A Study in Musical Acoustics. Kent State University Press. 1968. Roederer, Juan G. The Physics and Psychophysics of Music: An Introduction. Springer-Verlag New York, Inc. 1995. Serway, Raymond A. and Beichner, Robert J. Physics for Scientists and Engineers. Thomson Learning, Inc. 2000.

Beefmasters

Good morning! I hope all of you are doing well today! My name is Ethan Saye; I’m from Pilot Point Texas which is North of Dallas, this year I will to be in 9th grade at Aubrey High School. I’m a member of the Aubrey FFA and a proud member of the JBBA. This morning I will be speaking on My Favorite of the Six Essentials that Tom Lasater insisted on being the requirements concerning the Beefmaster cattle.Although I like the Beefmaster Breed for their Fertility, Weight, Milking Ability, Conformation, and Disposition, my favorite of the six essentials is the hardiness of this breed. Allow me tell you why I like this ability: for one reason they adapt easily to just about all climates including extremely hot and cold weather, they also do well in dry and wet climates.They adapt so easily they are found in the US, Mexico, Both Central America and South America, Australia and Africa as well. There are not a lot of breeds that can be so adaptable to so many types of climates. T his means that the Beefmaster breed can be raised globally. It also means as the world climate changes due to global warming the Beefmaster will be able to adapt easily and do a good job for their purpose, whether it is for milking, for meat, breeding, showing or just enjoying a good bull ride.The Beefmaster breed will survive and strive for many years to come and any beefmaster rancher would proud to say he owns a herd. Even though beefmasters will strive this does not mean that all other life will. With saying that I hope I have convinced you that we the people need to have a part with lowering pollution. I will one day on my own herd, because of the hardiness of the beefmaster breed, so that I may be able to carry on this wonderful breed and be able to prosper as well.

Critic of Biag ni Lam-ang Essay

RYAN ADELANTE CORTEZ is the fourth among the five children of Mr. and Mrs. Esteban Cortez and Ludivina Cortez. Born on August 05, 1992, he finished his elementary education at Jaen Central School in 2005, her secondary education at San Jose High School (SJHS) in 2009. He pursued his college education at the Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College-College of Teacher Education, South Cluster Campus, Tagudin, Ilocos Sur last 2013 with the degree Bachelor of Secondary Education major in English. Last September 29, 2013, he passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers. He was hired as a classroom teacher in June 2013 at Sta. Veronica College, Inc., Bacnotan, La Union and transferred at CICOSAT COLLEGES, Lingsat, City of San Fernando, La Union wherein he is presently teaching. At CICOSAT COLLEGES, he was assigned as the school paper adviser. He attended several seminars in English and division and regional press conference and workshop in campus journalism. Aside from teaching his field of s pecialization, he also experienced teaching Filipino, Araling Panlipunan, Values education and Computer Education. ACKNOWLEDGMENT Now is the moment of truth, for the sweetest reward is at hand. For four years I have experienced laughter and sorrows, hardships and challenges along the way. Before, dreams seemed impossible to reach; obstacles were so many, as if they were meant to end. The glory is not for me alone for all I know that much of this success I owe it to the people who made significant  dimensions in my life. I am indebted to express my grateful appreciation, deepest acknowledgment and heartfelt gratitude to those who shared thier kindness, time and effort, support and cooperation, suggestions and constructive criticism for the realization of this study. To Dr. Helen C. Abella, the OIC Graduate Dean of ISPSC South Cluster, Graduate School. To Dr. Ederlina M. Sumail, the OIC Campus Director of Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College. To Sir Ernest D. Padiwan, my instructor in Methods of Research for his moral and intellectual advices and support. My special thanks. -R.A Cortez DEDICATION To the men of my life; My patient father, Esteban; and my handsome brothers; Marvin and Christopher. To the women of my life; my ever supportive mother; Ludivina, and my darling sisters; Ethel and Louiela. Above all, our Greatest and Most Intelligent Educator; The Almighty God, for He is my source of everything, love, wisdom and life. This work of mind and heart is dedicated. -TheResearcher- ABSTRACT CORTEZ, RYAN A. Master of Science in Education-English I .Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College, Graduate School, South Cluster-Tagudin Campus, Tagudin, Ilocos Sur. â€Å"INSTRUCTIONAL GUIDE IN ENGLISH VII(WRITING SKILLS) FOR CICOSAT COLLEGES-BASIC EDUCATION, SAN FERNANDO CITY, LA UNION†. Instructor: Ernest D. Padiwan, MAEd. This study focused on the formulation, construction and validation of an instructional material in teaching English (Writing Skills) so as to help ease the declining writing skills of the respondents. Specifically, it sought answers to the following sub-problems. What is the level of competence in English (writing skills) of the grade seven high school students along the writing skills? What are the common difficulties encountered by the said students along writing skills? What is the extent of the availability of Instructional materials in writing in the school? What instructional material can be proposed to enhance the writing skills of the students? What is the level of acceptability of the proposed instructional material based on the extent of evaluation done by three (3) experienced English instructors or teachers? A total enumeration of sixty grade seven high school students in CICOSAT COLLEGES-Basic Education was employed and the researcher used the self-analysis survey method in trying to gather the data. The researcher used three (3) experienced English instructors to determine the acceptability of the IM. Frequency count, percentage, ranking and weighted mean were used as statistical tools in the study. : 1.A module in English Language (Writing Skills) had been made or developed. On the bases of the above findings the following conclusions were drawn: 1. The module in English language, particularly in writing is needed to help the users enhance and improve their writing skills. 2. The proposed module in English language on the area of writing was much acceptable and ready for use by the fourth year high school students of CICOSAT COLLEGES-Basic Education and; 3. The proposed module was made to supplement the needs of the grade seven high school students of CICOSAT COLLEGES-Basic Education, Lingsat, City of San Fernando, La Union and; In order that the proposed module in English Language (writing) the grade seven high school students of CICOSAT COLLEGES-Basic Education, Lingsat, City of San Fernando, La Union to be fully functional or to serve its intended purpose, the following are  suggested/recommended: 1. There should be continuous, constant or regular use of the module in all En glish classes where relevant, to maintain the level of assistance to students. 2. Similar studies must be conducted regularly to check on the status of the effect of the module to the students. 3. Infusion of contemporary related topics/new evolving topics into the module; and 4. Construction of similar modules in English Language (writing) should also encourage enhancing totally the writing skills of the students.

Publix Supermarket History Essay

Publix Supermarkets, Inc. is the largest employee supermarket chain and fastest growing company in the United States. It was founded in 1930 by George W. Jenkins and opened the first Publix store in Winter Haven Florida is a employee- owned privately held corporation. Publix is has over more than 1,061 supermarket stores, eight grocery distribution centers, twelve brand manufacturing facilities, and 820 Publix Pharmacies. The manufacturing facilities produce its dairy, deli, bakery, and other food products. Our stores are located in Florida- 752, Alabama-51, Georgia- 180, South Carolina- 45, and Tennessee- 33. Publix built its first distribution in Lakeland, Florida and moved its headquarters there from Winter Haven in 1951. At that same time, the All American were closed and replaced with Publix Supermarkets. The donut shops in each store expanded their bakery into full- service in 1957. Each Publix store provides specific services and products in its grocery, produce, deli, floral, bakery, seafood, and meat departments; some of the stores contain sushi bars, cafà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s liquor store and pharmacy department. Publix created and introduced Greenwise Markets to increase awareness of nutrition providing organic and natural items. Publix mission statement is â€Å"Our Mission at Publix is to be the premier quality food retailer in the world. To that end we commit to be: Passionately focused on Customer Value, Intolerant of Waste, Dedicated to the Dignity, Value and Employment Security of our Associates, Devoted to the highest standards of stewardship for our Stockholders, and Involved as Responsible Citizens in our Communities. Publix’s slogan is â€Å"Where Shopping is a Pleasure†. We have more than 153,000 associates employed with Publix Supermarkets, Inc. A variety of services are offered by Publix. Services such as presto atms, gift card center, floral, special item request, online easy ordering, apron recipes and event planning, prescription refills, and Publix merchandise. They also have several fascinating clubs and programs; wine guide, baby club, preschool pals, family style magazine, Publix paws and upromise program. Publix states the nine reasons why you’ll feel great about working at Publix good, friends, benefits, ownership, stability, career growth, helping others, community spirit, diversity and planet earth. There are several services offered by the pharmacist to help manage your health. They offer a diabetes management system, free prescriptions on selected medications, flu and immunizations, health screenings, Medical I.D., prescription transfer, Flavorx, insurance plans, health center and generic drugs. The main competitors in the national grocery chain are Kroger, Whole Foods, IGA, and Supervalu; several regional grocery chains including BI-LO, Winn-Dixie, Ingles, Fresh Market, Sweetbay, Piggy Wiggly consolidated with warehouse and retail chains including Wal-mart, Costco, Kmart, Target, BJ’s Wholesale and Sam’s Club. Publix for 15th consecutive years has been named as one of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to work. It has never had any layoffs even though some stores have closed and new ones have opened. Each year, the company issues shares of its stock to eligible full- and part-time employees, and cash dividends earned on these shares are paid directly to employees. Publix is a highly established and successful supermarket with friendly service and an immense array of products. They offer â€Å"buy- one- get- one- free† deals which vary from week to week on several products within the store. Publix Supermarkets budget along with other facts are made available to the public. SEC documents contains several of Publix annual, quarterly, proxy, current and other reports where you can retrieve the specific report. Even through the terrible economic hardships we have had worldwide Publix has managed to make a good profit, offer promotions, still open new stores, and never layoff any employees. References http://www.publixstockholder.com/servlet/ProxyServlet?path=/stockholder/Document.do&seq=1&SECDocumentId=7958&curPage=1&selectedDocumentType=-99&selectedYear=-99 http://www.publix.com/careers/Home.do

Is Walmart good for America? Essay

As the largest retailer in history, it’s no surprise that Walmart is the target of both vicious attacks and effusive praise. According to its own website, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates more than 8,000 stores, employs more than 2.1 million people, and sells more than $400 billion worth of goods in every year. Though this bulk intimidates those who fear for the viability of â€Å"mom and pop† retailers, Walmart’s great strength is that it devotes its considerable power to American consumers. Its size enables it to provide services that other retailers cannot, and it has deservedly become an integral part of the modern American economy. Criticisms of Walmart’s effect on small retailers fall flat because of Americans’ role in that effect. Consumption is the only democratic component of the corporate world: small retailers fail because Americans choose Walmart. Walmart provides cheaper, better, more accessible services than its competition. While competing stores’ closings produce touching hard-luck stories, the shift to Walmart is beneficial for society, because Walmart is much more efficient at every stage of its business. The benefits of this efficiency are less personal and more broadly spread than the costs to smaller competitors, but such dissemination of value demonstrates one of the best qualities of Walmart – its egalitarianism. Walmart provides a good that is accessible to virtually all Americans. The 2006 book The Walmart Effect estimates that 97% of Americans live within twenty-five miles of a Walmart, and Walmart’s low prices assure that the store is also economically accessible. As long as consumers continue to choose Walmart (for understandable reasons), the onus is on small retailers to find better ways to compete. The second main argument against Walmart deals with its impact on suppliers. Because Walmart has such immense buying power, it carries great influence with manufacturers. Fortunately, Walmart uses its substantial bargaining power in the interests of American consumers by demanding ever-decreasing prices. Though manufacturers often complain about this pressure, it forces  constant innovation, which ultimately benefits consumers. Walmart has much to teach American businesses. Despite its size, Walmart is a paragon of corporate efficiency. It has compiled the largest sales data-set of any American retailer and analyzes this data using the second largest supercomputer in the world (trailing only the Pentagon). Aided by this number-crunching, Walmart excels at knowing what its consumers want. Walmart’s purchasing decisions thus reflect American preferences. In short, Walmart is a driving force in the American economy leading to smarter, more streamlined production, and (as always) lower prices for consumers. The benefits of Walmart’s efficiency are not only economic, as illustrated by the company’s response to Hurricane Katrina. Walmart’s response to the hurricane was lauded even by its critics: it donated more than $20 million worth of merchandise, including food for 100,000 meals, and it promised jobs for all of its displaced workers. But what I wish to extol is not Walmart’s largesse, which bore immediate public relations benefits, but rather the utility of their efficient distribution system. The first supply truck to arrive at the Superdome after the hurricane came from Walmart, not from FEMA. The administrative particulars of Walmart’s response to the hurricane, detailed in a study by Steven Horwitz, are both fascinating and inspiring. Walmart’s existing distribution chain was – and is – able to deliver needed goods faster and more efficiently than a government agency, which (besides being inept) had no existing infrastructure to respond to the disaster. The Coast Guard, another organization praised for its post-Katrina efforts, was great for rescuing people from flooded houses, but it was incapable of providing them with sufficient supplies afterwards. Without the aid of Walmart, the aftermath of the hurricane would have been even more catastrophic. Regardless of its reputation or its value to society, Walmart is here to stay. Consumption drives our daily lives and accounts for some 70% of America’s GDP. As long as Walmart continues to increase the accessibility and quality of consumption, it will remain America’s top retailer and continue to grow. Whether or not you choose to shop at Walmart, everyone should appreciate it as an outstanding American institution.