A Neighbourhood study of Broughty ferry in Dundee,Scotland Essay

A Neighbourhood study of Broughty ferry in Dundee,Scotland - Essay Example This is done by utilising locally obtained information and national evidence from government statistics and reports. Basic description of the neighbourhood Broughty Ferry is situated on the eastern part of the City of Dundee, which is found on the shores of Firth of Tay in Scotland. Attaran and Sachs (2001) and Barnett and Whiteside (2000, p. 231), note that â€Å"Broughty Ferry is found in the eastern Scotland and has a population of approximately 13, 155 according to the latest population and housing census of Scotland.† The neighbourhood of Broughty Ferry is one that can best be described as a traditional setting with a lot of respect and prestige to customized cultural living. For example the people have their unique forms of music, dressing, dish and educational system (Barnett, 2006 and Bell et al, 2003). The suburb for example has three primary schools that almost every citizen of the suburb attends before going to high school. In their writings, Hummers-Pradier et al ( 2008) and Isaacs (2010) noted that â€Å"these schools are Barnhill Primary School, Forthill Primary School and Eastern Primary School.† Interestingly, all these primary schools feed the Grove Academy, which is a high school with candidates. The neighbourhood of Broughty Ferry is more of a village than a district. ... There also are highly welcoming sites just around Broughty Ferry for golfers and skiers in the St. Andrews and Cairngorms respectively. Perhaps knowing of the kind of welcoming destination their village poses to people all around Dundee and for that matter Scotland, the people present themselves as highly hospitable and welcoming folks. Archer (2003) and Arndt and Lewis (2000, p. 321), has it that â€Å"the rates of visits to the village has made the people one of the fastest learners in Scotland because they are always adapting to the new ways of living that suit their visitors.† Detailed description of key aspect and characteristic of the neighbourhood Employment The employment situation in Broughty Ferry can simply be described as impressive. This is in relation to the average employment rates of Dundee City and Great Britain in general. According to labour supply data from NOMIS for 2001, while the economically active population in Broughty Ferry made up 77.4% of the total population, the same number of economically active population for Dundee City was 68.2% whiles that of Great Britain was 74.0% (NOMIS, 2012). Of the percentages, those in employment in Broughty Ferry were 73.6% when the population of those in employment in Dundee city was 61.2% and those for Great Britain was 69.8% (Mayer et al, 2005and Nugent and Abolafia, 2006). Statistically, it can be said that a lot more of the economically active people in Broughty Ferry are gainfully employed and so have their own sources of income. It has been posited by Ogilvie (2011) and Ploeg et al, (2010 p. 134) â€Å"that the reason for this trend has largely been attributed to the varying economic and employment opportunities that exist in the village†. It is for instance known that of the total number of people

Value Chain Management Essay Example for Free

Value Chain Management Essay Explain how operations strategy is influenced by customer and business prospective and where in a standard value chain you would expect to see your chosen topic addressed. INTRODUCTION Every organization’s operations strategies are concerned with getting things done; ie producing merchandise for customers. However, most people believe that operations management is only concerned with short-term, day-to-day issues. In essence, all business organisations are concerned with how their business will survive and prosper in future. In contemporary terms, most business strategies are recognised with a plan as part of or a set of intentions that will set theirr long-term directions of their actions that are needed to ensure future organisational success. Thus, no matter how strong their plan is or how noble their intentions, are, any organisation’s strategy can only become a meaningful reality, in practice, if it’s operationally instigated. Every organisation’s operations are equally important because most organisational activity comprises the day-to-day activities within the operations function. It’s the process of daily actions of operations, when considered in their totality that constitute the organisation’s long-term strategic direction. The relationship between an organisation’s strategy and the operations involved is a key determinant of its ability to achieve long-term success or even survival. Organisational improvement is only likely to result if short-term operations activities are consistent with long-term strategies and hence, make a contribution to competitive advantage. The relationship between corporate operations and the other business functions is similarly important. The objective of the operations function is to produce goods and services required by customers whilst managing resources efficiently. This can then lead to conflicts within an organisation. Conflicts between operations and selling functions are likely to centre on the marketing aspect to ensure that operations concentrate on satisfying customers. Whilst this may seem enduring, marketing will usually want operations to suit customer needs under usual circumstances. Therefore, this is likely to lead to demands to produce  bigger volumes, more varieties, better quality, a faster response, and so on, all of which are likely to lead to less efficient operations. Conflicts within the operations, the accounting and finance functions, on the other hand, are likely to centre on the desire of accounting and finance to want operations to manage resources as efficiently as possible. This will pull operations in exactly the opposite direction of that desired by marketing. Conflicts within operations and the human resource management function are likely to centre on issues of recruitment, selection, training, management and the reward of those employed within operations. For example, operational managers may want to vary organisation-wide policies in order to meet local needs; a move likely to be resisted by human resource managers. The operations function lies at the heart of any organisation and interacts with all the other functions. As such, achieving agreement about what decision areas lie within the remit of operations, and what should be the basis of decision-making within operations is an essential part of ensuring the consistency of action over time necessary for a successful organisational strategy. OPERATIONS STRATEGY My introduction towards operational strategic purposes has highlighted the strategic importance of operations to organisational performance. The importance of operational strategy is essential to an organisation as this will determine the extent to which its business strategy can be implemented, but also as its operations can be a source of competitive advantage within any businesses value chain. First I will outline what exactly is meant by the term operations strategy. Slack et al, argues that an operations strategy concerns the pattern of strategic decisions and actions which set the role, objectives and activities of operations. His use of this term ‘pattern’ implies a consistency in strategic decisions and actions over time. This concept is consistent with a theorist guru, Henry Mintzberg’s view of strategy as being a ‘pattern in a stream of actions’ (Mintzberg and Waters, 1985). Henry Mintzberg, views strategy as being realised through a combination of deliberate and emergent actions. An organisation can have an intended strategy, perhaps as a set of strategic plans. However, only some  of his intended strategy may be realized through deliberate strategy. Some of the intentions may be unrealized. Strategies which take no regard of operational feasibility are more likely to have low marketing prospects, remaining merely as a set of intentions. Strategies may also emerge from actions taken within the organisations functions, which over time form a consistent pattern. Actions of this kind will, almost inevitably, arise from within the operations of the organisation. So, whether intentionally planned or otherwise, the business operations are bound to have a major impact on the formation of organisational strategy. It’s often said that strategy is an issue which is somehow separate from day-to-day organisational activities. If taken to extremes, this can result in strategies being regarded as some kind of cerebral activity performed by superior’s who need to be removed from day-to-day operational pressures. Theorists such as Mintzberg is amongst those who point out to the dangers of managers becoming detached from the basics of the enterprise. Mintzberg and Quinn (1991) call this the ‘don’t bore me with the operating details; I’m here to tackle the big issues’ syndrome. They caution that, ‘the big issues are rooted in little details’. Operational strategy, the processes and content: A. Operational strategy processes: How an organisation sets about developing appropriate operation strategies and B. Operational strategy content: What the key decision areas are and what needs to be addressed in developing any operational strategy. OPERATIONS STRATEGY PROCESS As discussed above, operational strategies have a vertical relationship in the corporate hierarchy within business and corporate strategies, and horizontally with the other functional strategies, mostly recognised within marketing strategies. Operations strategy might come about in a top-down or a bottom-up process with regard to business and corporate strategies. Similarly, an operations strategy might be developed in response to market requirements (i.e. market-led) or be based on the capabilities of its operational resources (i.e. operations-led). As this gives rise to four  perspectives on operation strategy (Slack and Lewis, 2002). Each perspective places a different emphasis on the nature of the operations strategy process. Top-down The top down perspective is the operations strategy which it comprises of, and is supportive of the organisation’s business purposes; an operations strategy that the organisation uses to realise its business strategy within any value chain. This concept follows in line with the perspective of the Hayes and Wheelwright stage 3 organisational strategy process. According to this theory, the process of developing an operations strategy would follow Skinner’s approach of identifying an operation’s ‘task’ (Skinner, 1969). The task for operations would be determined logically from the business strategy. Using Slack et al.’s, five operations performance objectives theory, as one way of articulating the operations task. For example, if the organisation’s business strategy involves the offering of low pricing, then the operation’s task should be one of achieving low costs in operations. If the business strategy is based on offering customers fast delivery, then the operations task should be one of achieving speed in operations, and so forth. In a multi-business organisation, the top-down perspective emphasises operations strategy being linked to corporate strategy via the business strategy of each business unit. This then raises the question of whether it is possible to talk of ‘corporate’ operations strategy. If corporate operations strategy means commonality, in all aspects of operations, then this would only be possible if each business unit has similar business strategies and similar operations tasks. (Johnson and Scholes, 1999) However, some theorists such as Hayes et al would argue that any corporate operational strategy does not mean that every facet of operations must be the same in each business unit. Rather, operations decisions are considered enormously at the corporate level with a view to meeting corporate strategic objectives. A failure to do this means that operations decisions are taken only at the level of the business unit, with a view to meeting needs of that business unit. The dangers of doing this have been pointed out by theories, who caution against letting the needs of the business unit dominate strategic thinking. This can lead to operational competences being confined  within individual business units, thereby restricting their future development, which includes preventing their spread to other business units and limiting opportunities for synergistic developments across the corporation. This can be particularly important in multi-site, multi-national enterprises. ( Prahlad and Hamel, 1990) Bottom-up The bottom-up perspective is one which sees the operations strategy as an element emerging through a series of actions and decisions taken over time within operations. These actions or decisions might at first seem to appear to be somewhat risky as operations managers respond to customer demands, seek to solve specific problems, copy good practices in other organizations, etc. However, they usually coincide over time to form a coherent pattern recognisable as an operations strategy. The actions then taken within this kind of strategy are likely to be characterized by a continuous series of sporadic improvements rather than the large one-off technologically led changes that require large capital investments in new plant and machinery. The bottom-up perspective is one where the organisation learns from its experiences, developing and enhancing its operational capabilities as operations managers try new things out in an almost experimental routine using their workplaces as a kind of ‘learning laboratory’ (Leonard-Barton, 1992). Easy Jet Case Study Although EasyJet only undertook its first flight in 1995, when it operated two routes (London Luton to Glasgow and Edinburgh), ten years later, the budget airline offered 212 routes to 64 European airports and transported over 29 million passengers in 2005. EasyJet now carries more passengers within Europe than British Airways. Analysts expect EasyJet and its Irish based rival Ryanair, to both overtake all traditional airlines to become the largest short-haul operators in Europe by the end of the decade. The Luton based airline is known as continuously expanding, recently announcing the purchase of a further 20 Airbus A319 planes to service the ever increasing number of routes it operates. In 2005 EasyJet carried up to 30 million  passengers, up from 25.7 million in 2004, making it a  £1.3 billion business! Despite record high fuel level costs, profits were up and around 10 per cent to  £68 million. Passenger numbers rose 21 per cent to 29.6 million and the load factor, indicating how many seats are filled, was 85.2 per cent, reflecting the airline’s popularity. The low cost lines like EasyJet have revolutionised the airline industry in Europe. Modelled on South West Airlines in the USA, these airlines have not only helped create a whole new market of cost-conscious travellers but have taken market share from established operators like British Airways and become the most profitable airlines in Europe. To be profitable, these airlines have to achieve low costs to match the low fares, which are the main attraction to their passengers. With its head office as a large tin shed adjacent to the main taxiway at unfashionable Luton Airport, all of EasyJet’s operations are aimed at minimising costs. This is done in a number of ways: Use of the Internet to reduce distribution costs. EasyJet sells around 95 per cent of all seats over the Internet. Its online booking system uses a variable pricing system to try to maximize load factors.(Prices start very low – sometimes free, and rise as seats are filled.) The fuller the aircraft the lower the unit cost of travel. (Scholes and Johnson,1999, pg12) Ticketless travel Passengers are emailed with their travel details and booking reference numbers. This helps reduce significantly the cost of issuing, distributing, processing and reconciling millions of tickets each year. Neither does EasyJet pre-assign seats on board. Passengers sit where they like. This eliminates an unnecessary complexity and speeds up passenger boarding. No free on board catering. Eliminating free catering on board reduces cost and unnecessary bureaucracy. Passengers can purchase food and refreshments on board. Efficient use of airports. EasyJet flies to the less crowded airports of smaller European cities and prefers the secondary airports in the major cities. These also have lower  landing charges and normally offer faster turnarounds as there are fewer air movements. EasyJet’s efficient ground operations enable them to achieve turnarounds of less than 30 minutes. This means EasyJet can achieve extra rotations on the high-frequency routes, maximising the utilization of aircraft. EasyJet’s ability to offer point-to point travel means that it does not have to worry about onward connections for passengers and their baggage, further simplifying its operations. Paperless operations. EasyJet have embraced the concept of their paperless office, with all its management and administration undertaken entirely on IT systems. These can be accessed through the use of servers from anywhere in the world thereby enhancing flexibility in the running of the airline. (Scholes and Johnson,1999, pg12) Many of the manufacturing practices that are now considered leading edge such as JIT, TQM, Statistical Process Control, were developed in just; such a fashion by Japanese manufacturers responding to the constraints placed upon them in the aftermath of the Second World War. One of the problems associated with this perspective is that the organization may not recognize what its operations strategy is. Mills et al. (1998) have developed a technique that aims to overcome this by enabling managers to construct a visual representation of operations strategy as realized. It does this by tapping into the organization’s collective memory, whether written or verbal, to map all of their most significant events in operations over the previous number of years. This should enable managers to recognise the patterns that now make up the existing operation’s strategy. Market-led The market-led perspective is one where the operations strategy is developed in response to the market environment in which the organisation operates. There’s a number of approaches within operations strategy that suggest how this might be done. The best known of these theorists is that of Terry Hill (1985). He suggests that an organisation’s operations strategy should be linked to its marketing strategy by considering how its products and  services win orders in the market place. He believes it’s possible to identify two types of competitive criteria in any market. Market qualifying criteria are those factors that must be satisfied before customers will consider making a purchase in the first place. Order winning criteria, on the other hand, are the factors in which customers ultimately make their purchasing decision. For example, for many airline passengers, the order winning criteria is price, with criteria such as destination city, time of flights and convenience of travel to and from airports being market qualifying criteria. For others, notably business travellers, the order winning criteria may be factors such as in-flight service or total travel time. Consequently, an operations strategy should be developed which will satisfy market qualifying criteria, but excel at order winning criteria for the market segment that the operation wishes to serve. Platts and Gregory 1990, use an approach that audits the products or groups of products that the organisation offers to its markets. The aim is to identify any gaps between market requirements for particular products and services and the performance of the organisation’s operations in delivering those products and services. First the market requirements for the product or service are analysed in terms of various competitive factors (such as cost, quality, reliability). The performance of the organization’s operations against those factors are then assessed. An operations strategy should be developed which will enable operations to match the level of performance required by customers in each of the competitive criteria. Operations-led The operations-led perspective is one in which its excellence in operations is used to drive the organisation’s strategy. This is in line with the Hayes and Wheelwright stage 4 organisation and fits with the resource-based view (RBV) of strategy that currently dominates the strategic management literature. The premise of the RBV is that superior performance comes from the way that an organization acquires, develops and deploys its resources and builds its capabilities rather than the way it positions itself in the market place (Barney, 1991; Wernerfelt, 1984). Thus, the process of strategy development should be based on a sound understanding of current operational capabilities and an analysis of how these could be developed in  the future. This can then provide the basis for decisions about which markets are likely to be the best in which to deploy current and future capabilities, which competitors are likely to be most vulnerable and how attacks from competitors might best be countered (Hayes et al., 2005). Mills et al. (2002) have developed methods through which organizations can apply these ideas in practice. This involves undertaking an analysis of the resources that have underpinned the activities of a business unit over an extended period of time (at least the previous three to five years). Six resource categories, which are not mutually exclusive, are used: tangible resources, knowledge resources skills and experience, systems and procedural resources, cultural resources and values, network resources and resources important for change. The resources are evaluated against three criteria: value, sustainability and versatility. Resources that individually or collectively score highly in these criteria are considered to be important resources. They are sources of existing or potential competitive advantage to the organization. OPERATIONS STRATEGY: CONTENT What then are the key decision areas of operations management that need to be considered when an organization is developing an operations strategy? Although there are a number of classifications in use, operations management scholars generally agree (e.g. Leong et al., 1990) that the major strategic decision areas in operations can be conveniently divided into ten categories under two broad headings: structure (the physical attributes of operations; the hardware) and infrastructure (the people and systems of operations; the software). The structural decision areas comprise: Facilities: the location, size and focus of operational resources. These decisions are concerned with where to locate production facilities, how large each facility should be, what goods or services should be produced at each location, what markets each facility should serve, etc. Capacity: the capacity of operations and their ability to respond to changes in customer demand. These decisions are concerned with the use of facilities, for example through shift patterns, working hours and staffing levels. Decisions about capacity will affect the organisation’s ability to serve particular markets from a given location.  Process technology: the technology of the equipment used in operations processes. For example, the degree of automation used, the configuration of equipment, and so on. Supply network: the extent to which operations are conducted in-house or are outsourced. Decisions about vertical integration are also concerned with the choice of suppliers, their location, the extent of dependence on particular suppliers, and how relationships with suppliers are managed. Structural decisions often involve major capital investment decisions, which once made will set the direction of operations for many years to come. They invariably impact the resources and capabilities of an organisation, determining its potential future output. It may be prohibitively expensive to change such decisions once implemented, and hence these must be considered to be truly strategic decisions for the organisation. It may be much easier to change the organisation’s marketing strategy (e.g. its target markets, or its promotional activities) than it is to change its operations strategy with respect to the structural decision areas. Infrastructure decision areas comprise: * Planning /Control: the systems used for planning and controlling operations. * Quality: the use of quality management policies and practices. * Work Organisation: Business structures, responsibilities and accountabilities in operations. * Human Resources: recruitment and selection, training and development, management style. * New Product Development: the systems and procedures used to develop and design new products and services. * Performance Measurement: financial and non-financial performance management and its linkage to recognition and reward systems. These issues are important to every organisation as this involves the use made up of the operating hardware as discussed above. It is possible to change aspects of operations infrastructure more quickly and easily than the case for operations structure. Nonetheless the difficulty of doing so should not be underestimated or neither should the impact of making inappropriate infrastructural decisions parallel. Conclusion Organisational strategy is concerned with the actions a company takes in order to survive and prosper within the environment it operates over the long-term. Strategy can exist at three levels in an organisation: which are; corporate, business and functional. Any organisation’s operations strategy includes the totality of the actions and decisions taken within the operations function. The decisions or actions taken have a direct impact on the organisation’s business and corporate strategy. An organisation’s operations can be a source of competitive advantage if they are managed strategically in pursuit of a clear goal for operations. These are five possible operations objectives; cost, quality, speed, dependability and flexibility. It is unlikely that any operation can excel at all of these simultaneously, so competitive priorities must be determined on which to base the operations strategy. The process of operations strategy concerns the way in which an organisation develops its operations strategy. This might be top-down (i.e. formed in pursuit of its business and corporate strategy), bottom-up (i.e. formed from the actions and decisions taken with operations), market-led (i.e. formed in response to market requirements) or operations-led (based on the resources and capabilities within its operations). The content of operation strategy consists of the key decision areas concerned with the structure (i.e. the physical attributes of facilities, capacity, process technology and supply network) and infrastructure (i.e. planning and control, quality, organisation, human resources, new product development and performance measurement). Through a value chain, operations strategy would be placed in line with the company supply chain strategies and perspectives where business process are involved. This concerns the pattern of strategic decisions and actions which set the role, objectives and activities of operations. (Slack et al., 2004). References Johnson, g and Scoles, k Exploring corporate strategy, 6th Edition. England: Prentice Hall Ltd Miller, R Jentz, G (2009) Fundamentals of Business , 2nd Edition. England: Cengage Learning Soulsby, S Marsh, J (2002) Business , 8th Edition. London: Nelson Thornes Ltd Rush, J Ottley, M (2006) Business for students. London: Thomson Learning www.wikipedia.org Accessed: 15.20pm: 24.1.12

Caribbean Society Essay -- Plantations Caribbean History Essays

Caribbean Society An Essay on the Culture of Incarceration A suggestion was made, in the context of the classroom setting that an interesting assignment would be to question shoppers at a suburban mall about slavery in the Caribbean and to capture the responses on videotape. An initial thought in response to this suggestion was to wonder just how one would go about eliciting any sort of meaningful response from a likely ill-informed and possibly disinterested group of consumers in central Connecticut on this subject. Obviously, to ask questions in survey fashion regarding which Caribbean Island the respondent might prefer to vacation at during these cold weather months would produce some informed opinions. That being the case, it seems only fair, even logical, that one should have some understanding of the nature of slavery that once existed there, from which its present population has emerged. Given the desirability and popularity of such vacation destinations, it would be of paramount insensitivity to not understand its history of slavery, the foundation of its society. A Society Imposed from Europe and Africa The arrival of Columbus and the Spanish at the end of the 15th century represented an economic ‘consolation prize’ of sorts for failure to make the East India connection. The discovery of precious metals soon helped them forget the spices of the Orient, however, and the indigenous Arawak people were rapidly pressed into service in the mining of them. In subsequent decades, greater quantities of gold and especially silver were found further west, in Mexico and Peru, and the imperial attentions shifted there. Left behind were the now Spanish controlled islands of the Caribbean to function primarily as provisions... ...ation arrangement was its capacity to regimentally control the activity of the overwhelming majority of the population in the service of monocrop production for export. The implications are that the degrading and dehumanizing nature of slavery was subinfeudated into the dependency of an entire island’s population on the success of the plantation enterprise. Since nearly all suitable land was devoted to the plantation, usually sugar, importation of food was often required. This then translates into the dismal reality that, while life as a slave on the plantation was an unbearable existence that portended a short life-expectancy, life outside of it may have an even less certain survival, particularly on the smaller, plantation-saturated islands such as Barbados. It is this entrapment that defined the masses of humanity residing in the Caribbean for several centuries.

Human Resource Armor

IntroductionEdelman and Suchman points out that labor lawsuit judgment identify how a legal environment—which embodies legal, social and cultural norms—can diffuse liabilities brought upon by management instances (Biggert, 1997).   The constitution has provided several laws that state the rights of employees in any form of organization.   Private or government-owned, all companies must adhere to these laws and see to it that these rights are well exercised by any member of staff.  Ã‚   From the top executive down to the mechanical worker, every individual are entitled to these rights inasmuch as they are expected to follow the laws that comes along with their job description.   In such way, the law provides immunity both to the employer and employee in collaboration with creating a harmonious environment within the agency.Hence, apart from these laws stated in the constitution, there are also regulations crafted by the organization which is agreed upon by the bo dy as a whole and neither one shall defeat the purpose of such.   In the light, labor management suggests the importance of social justice and thereby encompasses disparity (Mezias, 2002).Interpretation of laborA legal regulation in contracts divulged to in the context of labor is a central part in any organization or firm’s policy configuration.    The scope and focal purpose of a legal regulation may or may not be detrimental to labor—either that of mass disruption approach or perspective with party control.   Such theories are analyzed in both anti-labor and pro-labor laws, thus the results came up favorable with the latter given that the policies were found inconclusive with the small sample sizes of the studies conducted.   Conceivably, the said laws are weighed and strategically investigated in consideration with several variables—economic, class, society—to come up with more feasible outputs which will later be used beneficial to the concer n of the general masses when it comes to the interpretation of labor (Biggert, 1997).Analysis on unemployment lawsAs mentioned earlier, unemployment laws hold only very few scrutiny since that there has only been a number of studies that have been conducted in aide of bringing up the best forms of ruling that will inhibit the importance of such in a state.   More specifically, the challenges that are bound in unemployment laws are rarely deliberated by administrations for the reason that most hardships in managerial activities appear during the verge of employment compared to that on pre-employment matters.Basically, the laws that appear to be most challenging are those that extend or restrict the rights of labor in and around the workplace and those regulations that abide on the level of contract involved (Mezias, 2002). Unemployment compensation is apparently the main issue in laborers that fall inside the aforementioned bracket.   In essence, it relates to wages and hours sta ndards, union rights, collective bargaining, health and safety, prevailing wages and discrimination. All these are perceivably retained to render security to these individuals and in the long run help them in building up a new foundation of their new course in life.Challenges in labor management among the unemployedOrganizational behavior emphasizes the importance of labor-ness and the principal beneficiaries of the concerned laborer.   In stereotypical analysis on unemployment laws over the past few decades, it has been sought that the so-called â€Å"basic† benefits are already considered as a part of every contract and that the other unprecedented features that other firms offer—gradually dependent to the contract—are beyond the scope of the unemployment laws which are designed by the government alone.The dilemma then flows on the application of these â€Å"extended benefits†Ã¢â‚¬â€such as the social welfare security, union passages, beneficiaries, pensions and other related pro-labor regulations provided by the management concerned.   But that does not just end there, the possibility of shifts in party or breach in contracts also come at hand.Trends that mark importance of â€Å"democracy† are also a part of this domain of â€Å"challengers,† needless to say that the result of these coalitions though union groups are still considered as polity members, however, the contract may be considered violated and therefore nullify the benefits (Mezias, 2002).Court decisions on labor-related casesLegal proceedings concerning labor lawsuit judgments are referenced in contemporary hearings.   In the case of foreign direct investments, foreign subsidiaries find face disadvantages and unparalleled liabilities among domestic firms due to information asymmetries and transaction costs.   The Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 are examples of laws that build up the foundation of these rights of laborers and somehow seem to exert strong influence on employee to employer relations (Mezias, 2002).Conclusions and further remarksHuman resource practices help organizations in achieving social justice among its participating parties and build a sturdy foundation of law-abiding citizens.   It helps in eradicating the rise of ambiguous laws and hones organizations to create a normative environment that will work in a systematic order and balance the biases of humanistic egoisms.ReferencesBiggert, R. (1997). Why Labor Wins, Why Labor Loses: A Test of Two Theories. The Sociological Quarterly, 38(1).Mezias, J. M. (2002). Identifying Liabilities of Foreignness and Strategies to Minimize Their Effects: The Case of Labor Lawsuit Judgments in the United States. Strategic Management Journal, 23(3).

Introductory Marketing Essay

Case studies are a great way to learn marketing – applying what you have learned to a business situation will help you to understand the concepts well. This term we will analyze cases in two ways – in class, and as written case assignments to be handed in. IN-CLASS CASES: Your text contains cases to be discussed in class. It is essential that you read and prepare the case at the end of each chapter, when that chapter is assigned on the course schedule. Prepare your answers to the questions asked in the case, and have some answers formulated before you come to class. Everyone will be expected to be familiar with the case on the day for which the chapter it is in is assigned, and everyone will be expected to have formulated some comments and insights. CASES TO BE HANDED IN: Here is a list of the case assignments to be handed in and marked: Case 1 – Tablet War: RIM’s Playbook Versus Apple’s iPad, p.29, questions 1-4 Case 2 – Weight Watchers Versus Jenny Craig, p.177, questions 1-4 Case 3 – Puttin’ on the Ritz, p.346, please add a 4th question: 4.) Explain the marketing research process for a project designed to measure customer satisfaction with the Ritz-Carlton. Case 4 – Dove Widens Definition of Real Women†¦.and Men, p.486, questions 1-4 Case Assignment Guidelines: †¢ Cases should be no more than one page in length – no title page. Only one page will be marked! †¢ Cases are to be handed to the instructor personally, in class, on their due date. †¢ Two out of the scheduled cases will be selected by the instructor for marks – if you hand in all 4 cases, you will receive your two best marks; if you hand in 3 of the 4 cases, you will receive your best mark for one, and zero for the other; if you hand in 2 or less cases, you will get no marks for cases †¢ Copies should be kept of all work submitted. †¢ Read the case through, read the questions, and read the case again before you start to develop your answers. Spend some time on the company website getting to know the brand and its’ business from a marketing perspective. †¢ Answer as though you were a marketing executive, not a consumer. †¢ Use marketing words and terminology, not terms like â€Å"stuff† and â€Å"things†. Make each thought and sentence count – and make each simple and to-the-point. Avoid extra words or â€Å"filler† material. †¢ In a 1-page case analysis, you do not need quotes, nor do you need to repeat facts from the case write-up, keep your language succinct. †¢ Write your cases with a business writing style – short and to the point as opposed to an academic writing style – which is more of an essay format. †¢ Communicate well – use interesting sentences, correct grammar and spelling, accurate syntax. †¢ At the end of the analysis, give your own opinion, analysis or outlook. †¢ If your case is late it will be given a mark of zero. Marking: After you have submitted your case and your instructor has reviewed it, you will mark your case, out of 100%, using the type of marking scheme indicated in the chart below.

Psychology Dyslexic People Essay

Psychology Dyslexic People Essay Psychology: Dyslexic People Essay Assignment #7, Part 1 Lisa Downs 1. The Diagnostic criteria for the diagnosis of dyslexia are: Reading achievement substantially below that expected for the person's age, measured intelligence and age-appropriate education. The disturbance in reading ability interferes with academic achievement or activities of daily living that require reading skills. If a sensory deficit is present, the reading difficulties are in excess of those usually associated with the specific sensory deficit. The diagnostic assessment of dyslexia consists of a series of standardized reading and spelling tests and an evaluation of the child’s psychological state, including additional information obtained from parents and teachers. 2. Three national websites for information on dyslexia: * www.interdys.org * www.pridedyslexiaprogram.com/Dyslexia * ldonline.org/ 3. Three local support groups for dyslexia: * LDA of Kenucky,2210 Goldsmith Lane, #110,Louisville, KY, 40218,502-473-1256 * Kentucky Special Parent Involvement Network (KY-SPIN) ,Paulette Logsdon ,10301 B Deering Road ,Louisville, KY 40272 ,502-937-6894 ,502-937-6464 FAX ,1-800-525-7746 ,E-mail: spininc@aol.com ,Web Site: www.kyspin.com * Louisville-Scottish Rite Childhood Language Disorders Center,p;33 East Broadway, Louisville, KY, 40202,502) 584-9781 4. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) gives civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities that are like those provided to individuals on the basis of race, sex, national origin, and religion. It guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in employment, public accommodations, transportation, State and local government services, and telecommunications. As a student the ADA protects you by providing you with reasonable accommodations. Implementing your request within a reasonable amount. Treating you and give you the same opportunities as other classmates. Your rights at work section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (PL 93-112) prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities. It guarantees that people with disabilities have equal access to programs and services that receive federal funds. This applies to employers receiving federal funds. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 protects people with disabilities from discriminati on in employment, public, and privately operated settings. The law applies to state and local governments and to private employers with 15 or more employees.( dyslexiacoachnj.com/Rights.html) 5. Dyslexic people are highly creative thinkers who often solve problems through visual imagery. On this page we explore some of the positive characteristics of dyslexia. (dyslexia.com/qagift) There are many successful dyslexic people in the kinds of professions, which are often considered to be inappropriate, or 'too difficult' if you are dyslexic. Writing, acting, politics, science, law, teaching and business are examples of professions in which

Love Leads To Death Essays - Midwifery, Sexual Health, Free Essays

Love Leads To Death Essays - Midwifery, Sexual Health, Free Essays Love Leads To Death Love = Death What happens when two people fall in love? We may think of love as a sweet heart throbbing fairy tail situation, but in reality, unexpected dreadful circumstances often occur. As a couple falls helplessly in love, they become sexually active. Because of this intimate, uncontrollable love, a couple, with extremely high endodorphine levels may make a poor choice about contraceptives. This poor choice may result in a STD or even the life-concluding virus, HIV/AIDS. In this situation the couple develops mixed emotions which may cause a painful breakup leading to depression, which is the number one cause of suicide. Being in love is a sense of excitement, of heightened emotion, heightened senses, of being in the unknown, of abduction, of not being in control of yourselfits like an excuse, 'I don't now what I'm doing. I'm in love'(Gochros and Ricketts 27). Every day, people all over the world experience this intense description of love. Dr. JM Morris explains this in profound detail. The first step to falling in love is imprinting. Imprinting is finding a specific physical trait that attracts you to a certain person. Then there is a subliminal attraction, which is a personal quality, such as a person's laugh. Next is the hypotaemic stage. When experiencing this stage, a person becomes nervous and develops sweaty 2 palms when their object of affection is close to them. Then chemical anvetamines in the brain such as dopamine, norepine, and phenye ethyeamine react, causing a natural drug rush. Now that the couple has fallen in love, certain addictions and attachments occur. Dr. Morris continues, The brain chemical, oxytocin, otherwise known as the 'cuddle chemical' promotes a realxed satisfying attraction and strong bonds due to endodorphine levels urging the couple to make love. Through this addiction, the couples brains actually begin to grow together. So now the endodrophine level is at its peak and it is the perfect time and place for the couple to have sex, but there is only one problem, they have no form of contraceptives. The couple, so in love and naturally drugged on endodorphine, cannot resist their feelings and proceed by engaging in unprotected sex. The use of contraceptives have become vital when considering that unprotected intercourse is likely to result in pregnancy and more importantly, it carries a high risk of acquiring a sexually transmitted disease (Contraception: choosing). There are presently many forms of contraceptives available to fit persons cost, comfort and preference. When making this crucial choice, it is important to consider all your options. There are types of contraceptives, which are excellent for preventing pregnancy, but have absolutely no effectiveness against STD's. The Combined pill, mini-pill, Depo-Provera, Norplant, IUD, and morning after pill are all in this category (Roland 6). Contraceptives, which prevent pregnancy and STD's, include the male and female condom, spermicides and diaphragms. The male condom is the most common use of contraception for 3 males. It is a protective covering made of latex and polyurethane that fits over the penis. The condom keeps the semen from entering to vagina (Kronenfeld, Whicker 43). The female condom which is not commonly used, not only has a high cost, but is bulky and difficult for the female to insert. It is a polyurethane sheath that lines the entire vagina and partially covers the external genitals (Birth Control 2). Spermicides are another over the counter contraceptive. These products are a type of spermicidle jelly or foam in the form of a capsule, which are inserted into the vagina before intercourse. There are no serious side effects but it may be messy. The woman can also use a diaphragm or cervical cap, which is a flexible rubber barrier used with spermicidal cream or jelly. It is inserted before intercourse to block and kill sperm moving toward the uterus (Emergency Contraceptives 2). All of these contraceptives are effective in stopping pregnancy and STD's but the only thing that ca n completely prevent sexual mistakes is abstinence. If a couple decides not to use any of these methods of contraception they are at a high risk for sexually transmitted diseases and even HIV/AIDS. Present day, more than fifty organisms and syndromes are now recognized as sexually transmitted. These

The Roman Relationship Between Patron and Client

The Roman Relationship Between Patron and Client The people of ancient Rome were divided into two classes: wealthy, aristocratic patricians and poorer commoners called plebians. Patricians, or upper-class Romans, were patrons to plebian clients. The patrons provided many types of support to their clients who, in turn, rendered services and loyalty to their patrons. The number of clients and sometimes the status of clients conferred prestige on the patron. The client owed his vote to the patron. The patron protected the client and his family, gave legal advice, and helped the clients financially or in other ways. This system was, according to the historian Livy, created by Romes (possibly mythical) founder, Romulus. Rules of Patronage Patronage was not just a matter of picking out an individual and giving him money to support himself. Instead, there were formal rules pertaining to patronage. While the rules did change over the years, the following examples provide an idea of how the system worked: A patron could have a patron of his own; therefore, a client, could have his own clients, but when two high-status Romans had a relationship of mutual benefit, they were likely to choose the label amicus (friend) to describe the relationship since amicus did not imply stratification.Some clients were members of the plebian class but had never been slaves. Others were freed slaves. While freeborn plebes could choose or change their patron, freed slaves called liberti or freedmen automatically became clients of their former owners and were obligated to work for them in some capacity.Each morning at dawn, clients were required to greet their patrons with a greeting called the salutatio. This greeting could also be accompanied by requests for help or favors. As a result, clients were sometimes called salutatores.Clients were expected to support their patrons in all matters, personal and political. As a result, it was possible for a wealthier patron to count on the votes of his many clien ts. Meanwhile, however, patrons were expected to provide a range of goods and services including food (which was often traded for cash) and legal counsel. There was also patronage in the arts where a patron provided the wherewithal to allow the artist to create in comfort. The work of art or book would be dedicated to the patron. Outcomes of the Patronage System The idea of client/patron relationships had significant implications for the later Roman Empire and even medieval society. As Rome expanded throughout the Republic and Empire, it took over smaller states which had its own customs and rules of law. Rather than attempting to remove the states leaders and governments and replace them with Roman rulers, Rome created client states. Leaders of these states were less powerful than Roman leaders and were required to turn to Rome as their patron state. The concept of clients and patrons lived on in the Middle Ages. Rulers of small city/states acted as patrons to poorer serfs. The serfs claimed protection and support from the upper classes who, in turn, required their serfs to produce food, provide services, and act as loyal supporters.

Global economics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Global economics - Research Paper Example Company obtains specialized services at low cost, which gives a competitive edge, and sufficient time to focus on the core business. If the money supply is greater than money demand, interest rate will decline and cause the increase in borrowing and spending by corporate and consumers. In this case demand will rise above the GDP rate and cause inflation. Increase in exports and decline in imports will result in boosting the value of GDP. Low value of currency together with lower interest rates will enhance consumer spending and thus lead to economic growth (Jacob, 2013). The depreciation of yen relative to the US currency has led to make the goods more affordable for US. With the low value of yen, Japan has produced goods and services at cost effective prices. Low prices have grasped the attention of most of the buyers in US, which results in increased production, in Japan. As a result, Japan has increased its exports and thus employment opportunities in the country. For instance, a low valued yen drives to decline the prices for Nissan car, hence attracting more American buyers than GM cars. Consequently, more Nissan cars are being produced, thus increasing the employment level in Japan and lowering employment in US (Ito, 1996). Valuation of the currency leads to lower the prices of import goods resulting in boosting the imports of the country. However, the products manufactured in US will become costly for foreign buyers, hence the exports will decrease. This trade deficit will cause to decrease the net exports of the country and contract the GDP (McConnell et al., 2010). The strong valuation of the currency will result in increasing the interest rates, and hence domestic as well as international investors will be more willing to investment in businesses. Businesses in the country will tend to grow more, leading to additional production activities and; therefore, increase income levels. Due

Analyzing an Ad Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analyzing an Ad - Essay Example In the life of a human being in today’s world the advertisements implant different ideas in our minds from childhood to adulthood with some having devastating results. These ideas influence our perceptions towards life with a majority of the ideas resulting in fuzzy perceptions. Some advertising works of today portray ideas that stimulate the imagination of the audience to capture their attention and drive the message home. This essay seeks to show how the people behind the adverts incorporate this technique to sway the market consumers into purchasing their products. The Oreo advert manipulates the audience into thinking that their products improve family bonding by portraying scenes involving good family relations because of the use of the product. This idea is the basis of many ideas in various prints and TV ads like the Oreo Bedtime advert  ("Oreo: Bedtime | Ads of the Worldâ„ ¢"). Advert description The advert tells the story of a small girl and the feeling she gets from eating an Oreo cookie, which the advert describes as â€Å"wonderfilled†. It uses images and text to spread its message of a young girl who would like to spend time with her father over an Oreo cookie so that they can bond and maybe talk to her grandma  ("Oreo: Bedtime | Ads of the Worldâ„ ¢"). ... reo cookie as a tasty product fit for the kids that improve family ties and bonding while stimulating the creativity of the children  ("Oreo: Bedtime | Ads of the Worldâ„ ¢"). Implied messages Family Other than the cookie itself, the advert tries to sell other messages to the audiences, which support the marketing of the cookie. The first message that the advert implies is family. The advert starts with the girl asking â€Å"what if she had shared an Oreo cookie with her father, would he have sent her to bed?† she concludes they would still be up â€Å"telling jokes and watching monster movies†   ("Oreo: Bedtime | Ads of the Worldâ„ ¢"). They would sing and play while eating more cookies. This tries to bring out the importance of family in every setting. Although the little girl has gone to bed, she still feels the need to stay up with her father and do fun things. This shows that Oreo cookies promote bonding among family members and keeps the fun going beyond the bedtime hours. This gains further support as the girl continues to say they would play and call â€Å"grandma† after eating the cookies. This portrays the importance of keeping in touch with all family members and not just those who live around you. It also shows that Oreo encourages good relations with family as the little girl remembers to call her grandma after sharing cookies with her dad  ("Oreo: Bedtime | Ads of the Worldâ„ ¢"). Importance of play In the advert, one of the key arguments portrayed is play. In the larger portion of the advert, the little girl is playing various games. She starts by jumping on the bed, before playing with dolls and drawing before she finally goes to sleep  ("Oreo: Bedtime | Ads of the Worldâ„ ¢"). All this comes after she â€Å"twists, dunks† and eats the Oreo cookie. This shows

Sensors Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Sensors - Assignment Example The most common used standards are J, K, T and E. B, S, R and K are used in steel and iron industries. Thermocouples are suitable for measuring high temperature range applications including kilns, gas turbine exhaust, diesel engines and other industrial applications (Pollock, 1991, p. 215) K thermocouples are appropriate for testing temperatures in processing plants such as petroleum refineries and chemical production plants. They are also appropriate for the tests of heating appliance safety. J thermocouples are appropriate for monitoring temperatures in inert materials and vacuum operations. They get oxidized when used for low temperature applications and thus are suitable for high temperature monitoring processes such as manufacture of resins and plastics N thermocouples offer a wide range of temperature and are stable resisting oxidation making suitable for use in high temperature applications. They are used in furnaces, ovens and kilns. They are also used to monitor temperature in engine exhausts and gas turbines. It is the smallest thermocouple consisting of two pieces of dissimilar wires that are held together through a welded bead. The welded bead is easily corroded or oxidized when used with liquids. It relies on a direct connection to an electrical circuit to accurately measure the temperature. They are small with fast response time making them a suitable choice for measuring gas temperature. Has a wire that is housed inside a metallic tube. The metallic tube serves as a sheath and is made up of materials such as stainless steel and Inconel. Inconel supports a higher temperature range while stainless steel is suitable for a wider range of chemical compositions. The tip of the probe may be grounded, ungrounded or exposed. The grounded tip keeps contact with the sheath to provide quick response time. A layer of

Article Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Review - Article Example Luke (2012) discusses the extent to which organizations can support entrepreneurial behavior and innovation by suggesting the importance of paying attention to the concept. Besides, the paper critiques some of the barriers the author identifies as constraints to ensuring entrepreneurship and innovation. In addition, this paper critiques the proposed components of an organizations innovative behavior as well as crucial factors for the creatiion of corporate entrepreneurship. Finally, it is imperative to review some of the recommendations that the author proposes as fostering innovation and entrepreneurship behavior. The main objective of this article is to bring to light some of the factors and elements that foster corporate entrepreneurship and innovation in an organization. On the other hand, the article explains how modern businesses can manage the competition in the global economy by focusing on flexibility, adaptability, risk-taking, competitive aggressiveness, and innovativeness. All of the above are elements of entrepreneurship thus the article rather presents some of the conditions that favor corporate entrepreneurship and innovation. Nonetheless, the article illustrates the nature of corporate entrepreneurship and innovativeness in the modern economic environment where issues like imitation and theft to intellectual property can hinder efforts to stay competitiveness. Moreover, the article offers advice to small and large businesses in the need to create organizational culture that foster proper management of small ideas since they are the basis of corporate entrepreneurship and innova tion. Finally, Luke summarizes by stating some distinct recommendations on how organizations can create and nurture innovative behaviors among its employees. Luke begins by defining corporate entrepreneurship as a process of that gathers resources for the purpose of implementing various innovative activities result in the production of new

Body Fat and Eating Disorders Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Body Fat and Eating Disorders Paper - Essay Example t disease, high blood pressure, stroke, high cholesterol, diabetes, back pain, respiratory problems, kidney disorders, gallbladder problems, osteoarthritis, excess fatigue, sleep apnea, metabolic syndromes and urinary incontinence. There are various factors that could lead to obesity or an accumulation of body fat which occurs due to an imbalance in the calories consumed and burnt by the body. Other contributing factors include a lack of physical activity, increased consumption of fat, sugar, alcohol intake, overeating, chronic use of corticosteroids, hormonal imbalances and other related metabolic problems (Body composition and Health, 2002). Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating have serious effects on the physical and mental health of individuals and in extreme cases can also lead to life-threatening problems. This is mainly because such disorders do not exist for a particular period of time; rather they have the potential to become lifelong disorders in cases where they are not treated. In such cases they could affect the mental, emotional and physical well-being of individuals and also put tremendous strain on their relationships with other people. In the case of anorexia nervosa, in which individuals starve themselves the body becomes severely depleted of vital nutrients and hence there is a slowdown of metabolic process in order to conserve energy. As a result a number of medical problems arise some of which warrant immediate medical attention. The health consequences of anorexia nervosa includes an abnormal decrease in heart rate and blood pressure which increases the risk of heart failure, bone density reduction, loss and weakening of muscles, severe body dehydration increasing the risk of kidney failure, increased fatigue and general body weakness, dryness of skin and hair with hair loss and growth of lanugo all the body in an effort to maintain body temperature (Health Consequences of Eating Disorders, n.d; Eating

My life as a water molecule in human body Term Paper

My life as a water molecule in human body - Term Paper Example In the subsequent sections I will briefly discuss some of the important functions of mine in human body. Regulation of human body temperature is very essential as rate of biochemical reaction is very sensitive to the temperature and if the temperature is not regulated properly it is fatal to human life. Fortunately, I have high specific heat (~ 1 cal / gm) and latent heat of vaporization (~ 536 cal/gm) and this helps me in regulating human body temperature by sweating out in case the external temperature is very high. However, sweating leads to my loss (dehydration) and this may be fatal to an individual; therefore, one must ensure that he / she is maintaining sufficient intake of mine. When you are facing heat, just take me inside. There are many biochemical reactions required to sustain life in any living organism including human body. I act as a medium for almost all of these reactions. I play a very important role in all these reactions due to my ability to dissolve the ions and molecules relevant to biochemical reactions. Some important reactions are digestion of food, storage of energy in the form of ADP and ATP molecules etc. and all these reactions cannot be accomplished without myself acting as the medium of the reaction. In human body communication between a body parts to the brain is through electrical signals involving Na and K ions and these ions are dissolved in water. If I am not there these ions cannot exist and therefore, no signaling will be possible. Thus, it is me which facilitates communication system of human body. In the course of biochemical reactions inside human body, many harmful chemicals like urea etc. are produced. These chemicals need to be removed for the safety of life. I dissolve these harmful chemicals and brings them out through urine or sweat and thus I helps in cleansing of human body as well. Based on the

Body Fat and Eating Disorders Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Body Fat and Eating Disorders Paper - Essay Example t disease, high blood pressure, stroke, high cholesterol, diabetes, back pain, respiratory problems, kidney disorders, gallbladder problems, osteoarthritis, excess fatigue, sleep apnea, metabolic syndromes and urinary incontinence. There are various factors that could lead to obesity or an accumulation of body fat which occurs due to an imbalance in the calories consumed and burnt by the body. Other contributing factors include a lack of physical activity, increased consumption of fat, sugar, alcohol intake, overeating, chronic use of corticosteroids, hormonal imbalances and other related metabolic problems (Body composition and Health, 2002). Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating have serious effects on the physical and mental health of individuals and in extreme cases can also lead to life-threatening problems. This is mainly because such disorders do not exist for a particular period of time; rather they have the potential to become lifelong disorders in cases where they are not treated. In such cases they could affect the mental, emotional and physical well-being of individuals and also put tremendous strain on their relationships with other people. In the case of anorexia nervosa, in which individuals starve themselves the body becomes severely depleted of vital nutrients and hence there is a slowdown of metabolic process in order to conserve energy. As a result a number of medical problems arise some of which warrant immediate medical attention. The health consequences of anorexia nervosa includes an abnormal decrease in heart rate and blood pressure which increases the risk of heart failure, bone density reduction, loss and weakening of muscles, severe body dehydration increasing the risk of kidney failure, increased fatigue and general body weakness, dryness of skin and hair with hair loss and growth of lanugo all the body in an effort to maintain body temperature (Health Consequences of Eating Disorders, n.d; Eating

Journal Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Journal - Research Paper Example The first one, â€Å"Boys and Girls†, lets the reader know that Nenny is still too young to be a friend to her sister and yet, the unnamed older sister is already looking forward to the time when Nenny will be old enough to be her friend and enjoy each others company. The sense of sibling love is quite strong in this story because she feels protective of her younger sister and looks out for her because not all the kids in their neighborhood are nice children and she does not want her sister exposed to any bad influences. The end of the story makes one wonder what might have become of the sisters after some years had passed. That is why it was nice to see the relationship progression in the second story â€Å"Our Good Day†. In â€Å"Our Good Day†, the readers learn that Nenny is no longer a little child. She is already old enough to be the friend of her sister and that the relationship between them is one filled with trust and care. It also shows that the older sister keeps her younger sibling in mind and is very happy to be able to share any good fortune that she might come into in life with her. However, the story that shows us the greatest development in the relationship of the sisters can be seen in the story â€Å"Laughter†. Look at that house, I said, it looks like Mexico. Rachel and Lucy look at me like I am crazy, but before they can let out a laugh, Nenny says yes: Yes, thats Mexico all right. Thats what I was thinking exactly. This shows that the sisters have reached a point in their sibling-ship where they know each other so well that they trust that the other will know what the one is trying to say. Even more impressive, is that the sisters already think alike. Which is a sign that the siblings are quite in-tune with one another and share more than just a superficial relationship. I guess that is why I enjoyed reading about these stories so much. The short stories give a sense of character development and

Cirque Du Soleil Essay Example for Free

Cirque Du Soleil Essay Cirque du Soleil began in Quebec with two street performers (Guy Lalibert and Daniel Gauthier) back in 1982 and called their small group of young street performers ‘The High Heels club’ and decided to put on a small festival for the audience. By 1984 Cirque du Soleil was born, the name meaning ‘Circus of the sun’ in French. The main philosophy or aim of Cirque du Soleil is creativity and innovation of the circus to redefine the entertainment landscape, and thrill audiences around the world. Since its inception, Cirque du Soleil has created a lot of shows with incredibly different themes and issues. The most popular of these shows are: Saltimbanco- explores the urban experience in all its myriad forms, Alegria-explores power and the handing down of power over time, the evolution from ancient monarchies to modern democracies, old age, youth. Quidam-it could be anyone, anybody. Someone coming, going, living in our anonymous society. A member of the crowd, one of the silent majority. Dralion- Dralion derives much of its inspiration from Eastern philosophy with its perpetual quest for harmony between humankind and nature. Varekai- production pays tribute to the nomadic soul, to the spirit and art of the circus tradition, and to the infinite passion of those whose quest takes them along the path that leads to Varekai. Cirque du Soleil captures many dramatic forms including acts from contortionists, jugglers, feats of strength, clowning, dance, mime, light climates, puppeteers, stage maneuvers, comedy, interaction with public, acrobats and trapeze artists. An example of your typical act, is a man in a mouse wheel, being spun around in 360Â ° circles, doing tricks that amaze the audience because of the manipulation of gravity. Also, Cirque du Soleil does not make use of any such animals. Traditionally, Cirque du Soleil shows do not use pre-recorded music, with exceptions; all music is played live and in many circumstances sung live by singers with magnificent voices. The costumes used in the show are always very elaborate, or if flexibility is needed the costumes can be plain but are usually colourful and creative, matching the theme of the show. The sets for the shows are typically amazing again always matching the culture being performed on stage. Cirque Du Soleil has a vast range of characters in the huge number of performances and the company itself has over 4000 employees and 1000 artists. Characters in the performance are always bright, colourful and extremely skillful and always are doing amazing tricks that depict the theme of the show or that can lighten and entertain the audience. As the performance goes on most of the time you enter the life of some of the characters as they tell their life story (normally the host) and interact more and more with the audience.

Feature extraction using crossing number (cn) and ridge tracking technique

Feature extraction using crossing number (cn) and ridge tracking technique PROPOSED ALGORITHM: FEATURE EXTRACTION USING CROSSING NUMBER (CN) AND RIDGE TRACKING TECHNIQUE The various steps involved in feature extraction are as given below: 3.2.1 ADAPTIVE BINARIZATION The enhanced greyscale image is converted to a binary image using adaptive binarization [1]. Global thresholding is not used for binarization because of possibilities of non-uniform illumination on the surface of scanner. Thus using adaptive binarization with a window size of 91 x 91 (This size was finalised after a number of trial and errors). The algorithm can be outlined as follows: Algorithm: Adaptive binarization Input: Enhanced greyscale image e(x,y). Output: Binarized image bin(x,y). For each pixel (i) of e(x,y) Compute local mean (ml) in the 91 x 91 neighborhood of the pixel. If ml > e(xi,yi) then, bin(xi,yi) = white. Else bin(xi,yi)= black. End For. - 3.2.2. THINNING The binarised image is skeletonised using medial axis transformation (MAT)[1] to obtain a single pixel thin ridge structure. The thinning algorithm can be outlined as follows: Assumptions: Region points are assumed to have value 1(white) and background points to have value 0(black). Notations: 1. The 8 neighbour notation of a centre pixel p1 is as shown. p9 p2 p3 p8 p1 p4 p7 p6 p5 2. n (p1) is the number of non zero neighbours of p1. I.e. n (p1) = p2 + p3 + †¦. + p9. 3. t (p1) is the number of 0-1 transitions in the ordered sequence p2, p3,†¦p9,p2. Algorithm : Thinning Input: Binarized image bin(x,y). Output: One pixel thinned image th(x,y). Steps: 1. W.r.t the neighborhood notation a pixel p1 in bin(x,y). is flagged for deletion if the following conditions are satisfied; 2 ≠¤ n(p1) ≠¤ 6 . t(p1)=1. p2 V p4 V p6 = 0 p4 V p6 V p8 = 0 2. Delete all the flagged pixels from bin(x,y). 3. W.r.t the neighborhood notation a pixel p1 in bin(x,y) is flagged for deletion if the following conditions are satisfied; 2 ≠¤ n(p1) ≠¤ 6 . t(p1)=1. p2 V p4 V p8 = 0 p2 V p6 V p8 = 0 4. Delete all the flagged pixel from bin(x,y). 5. Go to step 1 if bin(x, y) is not same as the previous bin(x, y) (indicating that single pixel thickness is yet not obtained) 6. Assign the image bin(x, y) obtained from step 4. to th(x, y). Thus one iteration of the thinning algorithm consists of applying step 1 to flag border points for deletion deleting the flagged points; applying step 3 to flag the remaining border points for deletion; and deleting the flagged points. The basic procedure is applied iteratively until no further points are deleted, at which time the algorithm terminates, yielding the skeleton of the region. 3.2.3 ESTIMATING SPATIAL CO-ORDINATES DIRECTION OF MINUTIAE POINTS. Minutiae representation is by far, the most widely used method of fingerprint representation. Minutia or small details mark the regions of local discontinuity within a fingerprint image. These are locations where the the ridge comes to an end(type: ridge ending) or branches into two (type: bifurcation). Other forms of the minutiae includes a very short ridge (type: ridge dot), or a closed loop (type: enclosure). The different types of minutiae are illustrated Figure 1. There are more than 18 different types of minutiae [2] among which ridge bifurcations and endings are the most widely used. Other minutiae type may simply be expressed as multiple ridge endings of bifurcations. For instance, a ridge dot may be represented by two opposing ridge endings placed at either extremities. Even this simplification is redundant since many matching algorithms do not even distinguish between ridge ending and bifurcations since their types can get flipped. The template simply consists of a list of minutiae location and their orientations. The feature extractor takes as input a gray scale image I(x,y) and produces a unordered set of tuples- M = {m1,m2,m3mN}. Each tuple mi corresponds to a single minutia and represents its properties. The properties extracted by most algorithms include its position and orientation. Thus, each tuple mi is usually represented as a triplet {xi, yi, ÃŽ ¸i}. The crossing number (CN) method is used to perform extraction of the spatial coordinates of the minutiae points. This method extracts the bifurcations from the skeleton image by examining the local neighborhood of each ridge pixel using a 33 window. The CN of a ridge pixel ‘p is given as follows CN=0.5 { i=18pi-pi+1 } p(9) =p(1) . For a pixel ‘p if CN= 3 it is a bifurcation point. For each extracted minutia along with its x and y coordinates the orientation of the associated ridge segment is also recorded. The minutia direction is found out using a ridge tracking technique. With reference to figure 3.3 once the x and y coordinates of the bifurcation point are known, we can track the three directions from that point. Each direction is tracked upto 10 pixel length. Once tracked we construct a triangle from these three points. The midpoint of the smallest side of the triangle is then connected to the bifurcation point and the angle of the resulting line segment is found which is the minutia direction. Assumptions: Ridges are assumed to have value 0 (black) and background points to have value 1(white). Notations: The 8 neighbor notation of a center pixel p1 is as previously shown. The algorithm for extracting the minutiae using the crossing number technique can be outlined as follows: Algorithm: Crossing number Input: Thinned image th(x,y). Output: Image with (x,y) coordinates and orientation thita of each minutia. Steps: 1. For every pixel p in th(x,y) compute the crossing number (CN) ; CN=0.5 { i=18pi-pi+1 } p(9) =p(1) . 2. If CN= 3, the pixel p is declared as a bifurcation point and its x and y coordinates, i.e. p.x and p.y are recorded. 3. The orientation at the bifurcation points p.ÃŽ ¸ is calculated using tracking algorithm. Fingerprint matching Process:- Each minutiae may be described by a number of attributes such as its position (x,y), its orientation ÃŽ ¸, its quality etc. However, most algorithms consider only its position and orientation information. Given a pair of fingerprints and their corresponding minutiae features to be matched, features may be represented as an unordered set given by I1 = {m1,m2.mM} where mi = (xi, yi, ÃŽ ¸i) I2 = {m1,m2.mN} where mi = (xi, yi , ÃŽ ¸i ) Here the objective is to find a point mj in I2 that exclusively corresponds to each point mi in I1. Usually points in I2 is related to points in I1 through a geometric transformation T( ). Therefore, the technique used by most minutiae matching algorithms is to recover the transformation function T( ) that maps the two point sets . The resulting point set I2 is given by: I2 = T(I1) = {m†1,m† 2,m† 3.m†M} m†1 = T(m1) m† N = T(mN) The minutiae pair mi and m†j are considered to be a match only if (xi-xj)2+(yi-yj)2≠¤r0 min( |ÃŽ ¸i − ÃŽ ¸Ã¢â‚¬  j | , 360 − |ÃŽ ¸i − ÃŽ ¸Ã¢â‚¬ j | ) Here r0 and ÃŽ ¸0 denote the tolerance window. The matcher can make on of the following assumptions on the nature of the transformation T Rigid Transformation: Here it is assumed that one point set is rotated and shifted version of the other. Affine Transformation: Affine transformations are generalization of Euclidean transform. Shape and angle are not preserved during transformation. Non-linear Transformation: Here the transformation may be due to any arbitrary and complex transformation function T(x,y). The problem of matching minutiae can be treated as an instance of generalized point pattern matching problem. In its most general form, point pattern matching consists of matching two unordered set of points of possibly different cardinalities and each point. It is assumed that the two pointsets are related by some geometrical relationship. In most situations, some of the point correspondences are already known (e.g. control points in an image registration problem [5,4,6,7])andthe problem reduces to finding the most optimal geometrical transformation that relates these two sets. However, in fingerprints, the point correspondences themselves are unknown and therefore the points have to be matched with no prior assumption making it a very challenging combinatorial problem. There have been several prior approaches where general point pattern techniques havebeen applied. Some of these have been discussed here. Ranade and Rosenfield [8] proposed an iterative approach for obtaining point correspondences. In this approach, for each point pair mi, mj they assign pij , the likelihood of the point correspondence and c(i, j, h, k), a cost function that captures the correspondence of other pairs(mh,m_k) as a result of matching mi with mj. In each iteration pij is incremented if it increases the compatibility of other points and is decremented if it does not. At the point of convergence, each point mi is assigned to the point argmaxk(pik). While this is a fairly accurate approach and is robust to non-linearities, the iterative nature of the algorithm makes it unsuitable for most applications. The hough transform [9] approach or the transformation clustering approach reduces the problemof point pattern matching to detecting the most probable transformation in a transformation search space. Ratha et al [10] proposed a fingerprint matching algorithm based on this approach. In this technique, the search space consists of all the possible parameter under the assumed distortionmodel. For instance, if we assume a rigid transformation, then the search space consists of all possible combinations of all translations (Δx,Δy) , scales s and rotations and ÃŽ ¸. However, to avoid computation complexity the search space is usually discretized into small cells. Therefore the possible transformations form a finite set with Δx ÃŽ µ {Δ1x,Δ2x . . .ΔIx} Δy ÃŽ µ {Δ1y,Δ2y . . .ΔJy} ÃŽ ¸ ÃŽ µ {ÃŽ ¸1, ÃŽ ¸2 . . . ÃŽ ¸K} s ÃŽ µ {s1, s2 . . . sL} A four dimensional accumulator of size (I Ãâ€"J Ãâ€"K Ãâ€"L) is maintained. Each cell A(i, j, k, l) indicatesthe likelihood of the transformation parameters (Δix,Δjy, ÃŽ ¸k, sl). To determine the optimal transformation, every possible transformation is tried on each pair of points. The algorithm used is summarized below for each point mi in fingerprint T . for each point m_j in fingerprint I for each ÃŽ ¸k ÃŽ µ {ÃŽ ¸1, ÃŽ ¸2 . . . ÃŽ ¸K} for each sl ÃŽ µ {s1, s2 . . . sL} compute the translations Δx,Δy Explicit alignment: An illustration of the relative alignment using ridges associated with minutiae mi and mj ∆x∆y=∆xi∆yi-s1cosÃŽ ¸k -sinÃŽ ¸ksinÃŽ ¸k cosÃŽ ¸kxjyj †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦(1) d Let (Δix,Δjy) be the quantized versions of (Δx,Δy) respectively. e If T{mi} matches with m_j increase the evidence for the cell A[Δix,Δjy, ÃŽ ¸k, sl] A[Δix,Δjy, ÃŽ ¸k, sl] = A[Δix,Δjy, ÃŽ ¸k, sl]+1 3.The optimal transformation parameters are obtained using (Δ*x,Δ*y, ÃŽ ¸*, s*) = argmax(i,j,k,l) A[Δix,Δjy, ÃŽ ¸k, sl] References: Gonzalez, Woods, and Eddins. Digital Image Processing using matlab. Prentice Hall, 2004. D. Maltoni, D. Maio, A.K. Jain, S. Prabhakar, Handbook of Fingerprint Recognition, Springer, 2003, ISBN 0-387-95431-7. R.Thai, Fingerprint image enhancement and feature extraction. Australia. Anil Jain, Salil Prabhakar, Lin Hong, and Sharath Pankanti. Filterbank-based fingerprint matching. In Transactions on Image Processing, volume 9, pages 846-859, May 2000. Anil Jain, Arun Ross, and Salil Prabhakar. Fingerprint matching using minutiae texture features.In International Conference on Image Processing, pages 282-285, october 2001. L. Hong, Y. Wang, and A. K. Jain. Fingerprint image enhancement: Algorithm and performanceevaluation. Transactions on PAMI, 21(4):777-789, August 1998. L. Brown. A survey of image registration techniques. ACM Computing Surveys, 1992. A. Ranade and A. Rosenfeld. Point pattern matching by relaxation. Pattern Recognition, 12(2):269-275, 1993. R. O. Duda and P. E. Hart. Use of the hough transformation to detect lines and curves in pictures. Communications of the ACM, 15(1), 1972. N. K. Ratha, K. Karu, S. Chen, and A. K. Jain. A real-time matching system for large fingerprint databases. Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 18(8):799-813, 1996.

Effectiveness of the Citroen C4 Robot and Ice Television Advertisements

Citroà «n spend millions on their advertising campaigns, like any other company. The demographic and psychographic for Citroà «n has changed over recent years. They were first designed to appeal to older drivers and now they are appealing to an entirely new and different audience. Using music, colour and special effects they are trying to attract a younger market. Though both of the advertisements are appealing to slightly different audiences, they both have a fun feel and look about them. The music used in the C4 ?Robot? advert plays as soon as the advert starts. It is very funky, modern, and up-to-date to attract and appeal to younger drivers looking to buy their fist, maybe second, car. The music also fits in well with the modern futuristic background of the advertisement and design of the car. Most young people want the latest technology, as we are a technology era, and so I would say that the music reflects about the car quite well. The music is non-digetic, as you cannot see the source (where it is coming from). The director plays this. The ?Robot? dances to the music with 90?s style moves, and the people who would appreciate them are in their 20?s. The dancing also relates to a night club. This again is targeting the generation of younger car drivers. The music that is used in the ?Ice? advert is slightly different to that used in the ?Robot? advert. It is still quite up-beat but not as much as the music used in the ?Robot? advert, as the advert is aimed at a slightly older audience, people maybe with families and more responsibility as the emphasis is on safety. As in the ?Robot? advertisement, the music is again non-digetic. Instead of dancing to the music, the robot skates on ice and the music isn?t the... ...s down at us, the viewers, as it finishes ice skating. He looks menacing suggesting that the car is in control and when you are driving the car you feel powerful and dominate, feline like a jaguar is an aggressive animal. After reviewing the two advertisements, and analysing the effects on the targeted audiences, I think the ?Robot? advert is the most effective in appealing to its target audience, first time car buyers, because all of the devices and techniques used attract the audience very well. The advertisement showed the car to be something that most first time car buyers are looking for, a sleek, nifty, small but spacious, funky and modern and also technological car. The most effective devices used were sound and special effects. This is because the sound catches the attention of the viewers but the special effects make the viewers watch and want the car.

The Act of Valor

The Act of Valor Today’s society consists of a diverse human race that shares a common goal, to live life to its fullest potential. In the film, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings, the main character, Frodo, is set out on a quest to destroy the ring that has long acquired the presence of evil. On his quest to destroy the ring, he encounters many challenges. His challenges consists of keeping the ring safe from the evil ones who want it back, making sure the ring gets to the destination, and keeping his life safe from harm.Along his journey, he is joined by a couple of his friends, all of which he must learn to trust, in order to destroy the rings that possesses evil. They are faced with the challenges to keep safe from Saruman and his orcs, the black riders, and Sauron’s soul. Throughout his journey, his qualities of a hero show. He owns the qualities of resilience, determination, courage, trust, and heroism. Without the qualities he possesses, it would have been an impossible task to complete. Frodo faces many challenges as he tries to destroy the ring.Those who seek to retrieve the ring are out to murder him. Without the help of his friends and those who care for him, he would not have stayed alive. Through his courage and determination, he shows that he can be trusted to be the one that destroys the ring. He is equipped with many qualities that help him complete the task. His optimism brought the strength he needed to succeed. As individuals in today’s society, we face many challenges in our lives. Yes, challenges can bring us down, but it also makes us stronger.Some of us are faced with challenges such as being able to survive, fighting cancer, being the first to go to college, being able to pay for bills, etc. Nevertheless, each of us encounters challenges that help shape and develop our lives. Challenges are not meant to kill anyone, but instead they are meant for people to reach their full potential in being able to f ind the answers and strength to be able to overcome the challenges we face. Each of us is born for a reason. It is impossible to tell what out fate is, but as time goes by, we start to find out just what our mission on Earth is.Frodo possesses the qualities of a Hero Archetype. Being a determined, resilient, trustworthy, and courageous individual, he is one that pleases everybody. Frodo never quit with being able to destroy the ring. Although he faced many challenges along the way, he managed to stay strong. He witnessed Gandalf’s death, he was nearly dead, and he had to leave his home to complete the task, but despite all that he encountered along the way, he managed to be determined. There were many negative effects on Frodo, but he maintained his composure and stayed optimistic until the end.Each of us has been knocked down multiple times by school, work, or simply the stress that we all face. Being knocked down is for us to realize what we need to do to get back up. Deter mination is the key to withstanding any negative effects on life. If we have a positive outlook on life and how our future will be, we can start to be heroes of our own lives. Frodo’s goal was to destroy the ring. Facing the challenges that follows as he is on his journey may impact him. By being determined, his goal to protecting the ring from the evil is reached.In our lives, we have many goals in life that we want to reach. We make mistakes here and there, but we learn from them and grow stronger. By being determined and positive, we can make sure our goals are reached. During Frodo’s journey, his friends and individuals who help protect him from those that want to retrieve the ring from him accompany him. They guide him in his journey to find his way safely. They are there to protect him from the evil that surrounds him. During our lives, we befriend many individuals who help us with our future.These friends of ours, are people we trust, turn to when they are in ne ed, or simply to have a sense of security. Just like Fordo being accompanied by his friends, we have friends we turn to when we need them. Frodo’s task is to protect the ring from the evil black riders that want it back. As he is on his journey, he makes many decisions that help him and his friends stay alive. The critical decision making that he makes throughout the film are vital in order to keep the ring in his possession, as well as stay alive.We are faced with making decisions that are crucial to our future. Without making the best decision, we cannot be successful in our lives. Frodo’s decision making made it possible for him to succeed. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings, is not just a film, but it also shows its comparison to today’s society. Frodo faces many challenges while he is set out on his quest to destroy the ring. Each of us, face challenges in our life that make it difficult for us to succeed, but by working extra hard, we can m anage to overcome any challenge.Also, Frodo makes vital decisions that help with the safety and survival of Frodo and the group of followers. We face many points in our lives that consist of valuable decision-making. Those who want to protect him, as well as his friends accompany Frodo. During our lifetime, we befriend many people who become treasures to our hearts. Being able to have people we can turn to and trust is truly amazing. The film shows many relations between reality and how the movie is portrayed. As Frodo is on his journey to destroying the ring, he shows great heroism that is noticed by many.

End of Life Care Essay

When a loved one is dying, conversations about the end of life can be uncomfortable and difficult. Still, discussing end-of-life care is important. Depending on the circumstances, you might be able to help your loved one make important end-of-life decisions — such as whether to remain at home, move to a nursing home or other facility, or seek hospice care. Also, you can work with your loved one’s health care team to make sure your loved one remains comfortable at the end of life. Pain, anxiety and other end-of-life symptoms can often be treated. Even at the end of life, you can continue to support and nurture your relationship with your loved one. Simply being there can be an important source of strength and comfort for everyone. Grief When a loved one dies, grief can feel like a dagger in your heart. Often, grief triggers raw, intense emotions. You might wonder how you’ll ever pick up the pieces and heal your wounds — yet not feel as if you’re betraying your loved one’s memory. There are no quick fixes for the grief and anguish that follow a loved one’s death. As you face your grief, acknowledge the pain and know that it’s part of the healing process. Take good care of yourself, and seek support from friends and loved ones. Although your life will never be quite the same, the searing pain of grief will eventually become less intense. Accepting your new â€Å"normal† can help you reconcile your losses and move on with your life. Hospice Care Also called: End-of-life care Hospice care is end-of-life care provided by health professionals and volunteers. They give medical, psychological and spiritual support. The goal of the care is to help people who are dying have peace, comfort and dignity. The caregivers try to control pain and other symptoms so a person can remain as alert and comfortable as possible. Hospice programs also provide services to support a patient’s family. Usually, a hospice patient is expected to live 6 months or less. Hospice care can take place * At home * At a hospice center * In a hospital * In a skilled nursing facility ————————————————- What is the role of the family? Family members often make sacrifices to care for relatives. Families provide care, pain management, and protect the patient. Although they may lack knowledge, caregivers gain satisfaction and pride from providing care, but are also at risk for depression and health problems related to caregiver stress (Haley & Bailey, 1999: Haley et al., 2001; Weitzner, Haley, & Chen, 2000). Some cultures may believe caring is the community’s duty and obligation. Caregivers benefit from social support, maintaining social activities and roles, and psychological interventions that teach coping skills. Most people want their family to be given choices about treatment and few wanted the physician to decide alone (Bradley, 1998). End of life: Caring for a dying loved one Whether you bring a dying loved one home or keep vigil at the hospital, you can take measures to provide comfort and relief at the end of life. Caring for a dying loved one isn’t easy. Even when you know the end of life is approaching, you might not feel prepared. Understanding what to expect — and what you can do to increase your loved one’s comfort — can help. * Choosing where to die Your loved one may have various choices for end-of-life care. Options may include: * Home care. Many people choose to die at home or in the home of a family member. You can assume the role of caregiver or hire home care services for support. Hospice care — services that help ensure the highest quality of life for whatever time remains — can be provided at home as well. * Inpatient care. Some people may prefer round-the-clock care at a nursing home, hospital or dedicated inpatient hospice facility. Hospice and palliative care — a holistic treatment approach intended to ease symptoms, relieve pain, and address spiritual and psychological concerns — can be provided in any of these environments. When you discuss the options with your loved one, consider his or her preferences as well as special physical, emotional and psychosocial needs. Evaluate how much support can be provided by family members and friends. For help determining the best option, talk with your loved one’s health care team or a social worker. You might ask for a referral to palliative or hospice care specialists — health care providers trained in specific care for people nearing the end of life. * Spirituality at the end of life As your loved one approaches the end of life, he or she may talk about spirituality or the meaning of life. Don’t force the subject — but if it comes up, encourage your loved one to explore and address his or her feelings. You might ask your loved one open-ended questions about his or her beliefs and experiences or most meaningful moments. You may want to invite a spiritual leader to visit your loved one as well. * Saying goodbye You can help your loved one communicate his or her final wishes for family and friends. Encourage your loved one to share his or her feelings, including thanks or forgiveness, and give others a chance to say goodbye. This may stimulate discussion about important, unsaid thoughts, which can be meaningful for everyone. Your loved one might also find it comforting to leave a legacy — such as creating a recording about his or her life or writing letters to loved ones, especially concerning important future events. * Recognizing when death is near It’s difficult to predict exactly when someone will die. As death approaches, however, your loved one may show various signs and symptoms indicating that the end of life is near. Look for: * Restlessness and agitation. Your loved one may frequently change positions. * Withdrawal. Your loved one may no longer want to participate in social events or other favorite activities. * Drowsiness. Your loved one may spend most of his or her time asleep. * Loss of appetite. Your loved one may eat and drink less than usual. * Pauses or other changes in breathing. This may happen when your loved one is asleep or awake. Providing comfort The active phase of dying usually begins several days before death. Although you can’t change what’s happening to your loved one, you can help him or her feel as comfortable as possible — ideally with the support of palliative or hospice care specialists. Your loved one also may experience a brief, final surge of energy. Though it can be confusing to see your loved one with renewed vitality, remember that this is a normal part of dying. If it happens, take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy your loved one and say your final goodbyes. * Keeping vigil For many families, keeping vigil near a dying loved one’s bed is a way to show support and love. If you decide to keep vigil, continue talking to your loved one. If you think your loved one would want to share this time with others, invite family members or close friends to show their support as well. Express your love, but also let your loved one know that it’s all right to let go. What is working? Mental health providers with palliative expertise can improve communication and resources. Mental health experts help providers understand the patient’s concerns and culture. They explain confusing medical terms and clarify CPR, pain management, and other treatments and encourage collaboration. Mental health providers also help relieve the common emotional distress and grief resulting from a terminal illness or care giving. COPING WITH BEREAVEMENT â€Å"IN OUR HEARTS, WE ALL KNOW THAT DEATH IS A PART OF LIFE. IN FACT, DEATH GIVES MEANING TO OUR EXISTENCE BECAUSE IT REMINDS US HOW PRECIOUS LIFE IS.† * Coping With Loss The loss of a loved one is life’s most stressful event and can cause a major emotional crisis. After the death of someone you love, you experience bereavement, which literally means â€Å"to be deprived by death.† Remember — It takes time to fully absorb the impact of a major loss. You never stop missing your loved one, but the pain eases after time and allows you to go on with your life. * Knowing What to Expect When a death takes place, you may experience a wide range of emotions, even when the death is expected. Many people report feeling an initial stage of numbness after first learning of a death, but there is no real order to the grieving process. Some emotions you may experience include: * Denial * Disbelief * Confusion * Shock * Sadness * Yearning * Anger * Humiliation * Despair * Guilt These feelings are normal and common reactions to loss. You may not be prepared for the intensity and duration of your emotions or how swiftly your moods may change. You may even begin to doubt the stability of your mental health. But be assured that these feelings are healthy and appropriate and will help you come to terms with your loss. * Mourning A Loved One It is not easy to cope after a loved one dies. You will mourn and grieve. Mourning is the natural process you go through to accept a major loss. Mourning may include religious traditions honoring the dead or gathering with friends and family to share your loss. Mourning is personal and may last months or years. Grieving is the outward expression of your loss. Your grief is likely to be expressed physically, emotionally, and psychologically. For instance, crying is a physical expression, while depression is a psychological expression. It is very important to allow yourself to express these feelings. Often, death is a subject that is avoided, ignored or denied. At first it may seem helpful to separate yourself from the pain, but you cannot avoid grieving forever. Someday those feelings will need to be resolved or they may cause physical or emotional illness. Many people report physical symptoms that accompany grief. Stomach pain, loss of appetite, intestinal upsets, sleep disturbances and loss of energy are all common symptoms of acute grief. Of all life’s stresses, mourning can seriously test your natural defense systems. Existing illnesses may worsen or new conditions may develop. Profound emotional reactions may occur. These reactions include anxiety attacks, chronic fatigue, depression and thoughts of suicide. An obsession with the deceased is also a common reaction to death. * Dealing with a Major Loss The death of a loved one is always difficult. Your reactions are influenced by the circumstances of a death, particularly when it is sudden or accidental. Your reactions are also influenced by your relationship with the person who died. A child’s death arouses an overwhelming sense of injustice — for lost potential, unfulfilled dreams and senseless suffering. Parents may feel responsible for the child’s death, no matter how irrational that may seem. Parents may also feel that they have lost a vital part of their own identity. A spouse’s death is very traumatic. In addition to the severe emotional shock, the death may cause a potential financial crisis if the spouse was the family’s main income source. The death may necessitate major social adjustments requiring the surviving spouse to parent alone, adjust to single life and maybe even return to work. Elderly people may be especially vulnerable when they lose a spouse because it means losing a lifetime of shared experiences. At this time, feelings of loneliness may be compounded by the death of close friends. A loss due to suicide can be among the most difficult losses to bear. They may leave the survivors with a tremendous burden of guilt, anger and shame. Survivors may even feel responsible for the death. Seeking counseling during the first weeks after the suicide is particularly beneficial and advisable. Living with Grief Coping with death is vital to your mental health. It is only natural to experience grief when a loved one dies. The best thing you can do is allow yourself to grieve. There are many ways to cope effectively with your pain. * Seek out caring people. Find relatives and friends who can understand your feelings of loss. Join support groups with others who are experiencing similar losses. * Express your feelings. Tell others how you are feeling; it will help you to work through the grieving process. * Take care of your health. Maintain regular contact with your family physician and be sure to eat well and get plenty of rest. Be aware of the danger of developing a dependence on medication or alcohol to deal with your grief. * Accept that life is for the living. It takes effort to begin to live again in the present and not dwell on the past. * Postpone major life changes. Try to hold off on making any major changes, such as moving, remarrying, changing jobs or having another child. You should give yourself time to adjust to your loss. * Be patient. It can take months or even years to absorb a major loss and accept your changed life. * Seek outside help when necessary. If your grief seems like it is too much to bear, seek professional assistance to help work through your grief. It’s a sign of strength, not weakness, to seek help.