Is it Too Hard to Amend the Constitution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Is it Too Hard to Amend the Constitution - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that the makers of the constitution have been said to have placed the bar extremely high for a likelihood of any type of regulation in the constitution. Black argues that the constitution gave the president the authority of being the commandant of the forces, but ordinarily, the president does very little in the event that decisions touching on warfare and peace are concerned (1). This means that the constitution has very little to recommend in regard to nuclear assails. In this case, the main challenge is that the framers of the initial constitution had very little information on the important issues in the country as well as the role of politics in shaping the structure of the constitution (Black 1). Unless this transforms, it might be too time-consuming to adjust the present constitution.  The Senate and the House are required to pass a majority of 2/3 votes if the constitution has to be amended (Black 1). This case has been alien to the country for the earlier periods. Article V of the constitution, as the author terms it, - an â€Å"iron cage†- has made it extremely tasking to amend the constitution (Black 1). The Anti-flag-burning amendment is a  good case in point that failed. The amendment only had 66 votes in favor, and 34 votes opposing the same (Martin 1). This means that the amendment failed to gather the necessary 2/3 votes that would have otherwise led to the Bush government leading the Congress towards holding the power of banning contravention of the treasured American flag.

Spaghetti Western and the role of music in the revival of the western Essay

Spaghetti Western and the role of music in the revival of the western genre - Essay Example During this time, there was a division with Western genres, specifically with many who were interested in the genre because it was a part of their roots and upbringing. Others didn’t like the music as a main part of listening because of the other available alternatives that were available. This caused the genre of Western music to become specialized and to create divisions within society, specifically based on identity and what was considered as acceptable for listening. The identity was then based on those who lived in urban areas, lived with specific ideologies and which connected to different trends. This marginalization led to the country music filtering only to those who were interested in the lifestyle and which were interested in concepts such as the barn dance and country living (Tichi 1994: p. 9). The concept of country music is one which is reflective of the overall ideology of the Western genre and what it stood for before the Spaghetti Westerns. The identity which was used with the music as well as the understanding of what it meant to be a part of the Wild West and the western culture were all depictive of those living in the wild or on farms and working through the difficulties that were a part of this. It was from these characteristics that the Spaghetti Western began to gain its values and to understand the overall culture which became the Western genre used both in movies and in other forms of expression in the mainstream culture. History of Spaghetti Westerns The concept of country Western music didn’t move into a popular genre until there was revitalization in the late 1960s and 1970s. This was based on other aspects of the genre, specifically which were... This "Spaghetti Western and the role of music in the revival of the western genre" outlines the historical aspects of western music and the concept of the Spaghetti Western. The concept of country Western music didn’t move into a popular genre until there was revitalization in the late 1960s and 1970s. This was based on other aspects of the genre. The 1960s and 1970s flourished with this concept specifically with the genre of westerns in film and the use of different ideologies which were based on the Western. The context which was used included those who had built American history, settled the West and which continued to live in difficulty to make history and to create a future for those interested in the culture. The idolization of the West not only led into a reminiscence of history but also was based on other cultures looking at the Western to show the attitudes and myths that were a part of settling the West. The European reflection of this was seen in the Spaghetti Weste rn, named after the Italian directors that were interested in creating the genre of film (Frayling: 2006: p. 13). The main ideology that was created with the Spaghetti Western was to understand and explore the culture which had framed America and which continued to shape the identities of the Americans. Synchronization and dubbing for country – specific concepts were used in this. The synchronization was inclusive of changing the setting to a Western region, including the identity of cowboys and changing the voices to the Western style of speaking.

Preparedness Of Governments In Natural Disasters Environmental Sciences Essay

Preparedness Of Governments In Natural Disasters Environmental Sciences Essay Normal adjustments of the earth is hazardous to human. Internal and external process of the earth causes natural hazard that destroy human life and property. Natural hazards includes earthquakes, volcanoes, flood, drought, solar flare and asteroids impacts. Manmade emergenciess are caused due to human malpractices like bomb blasts, but the victims are always innocent people. The purpose of conducting the study is to analyses the nature of emergenciess happened in every now or then across the globe. The research objectives are documenting the effects of natural and human induced emergenciess in developed and developing countries and the preparedness by government of such countries. A methodology to produce forecasts of possible loss (of human life and property) caused by different emergenciess, in order to establish the cost-benefit of alternatives and ensure successful emergency preparedness policies and adequate economic resource allocation. McEntire et al.(2003a) had given several interrelated concern in theoretical developments in the field of emergency preparedness like definition of emergency , emergency management ,the variables that should be studied in acedemic research and the actors that should be employed in such studies along with the phases that require priority . so the theoritical aspects must retain: The findings from prior research in this field , continue to search for a acceptd definition of emergency. Seek an alternative name for the field of emergency management(like emergencies management, risk management , sustainable hazard management or emergenciesvulnerable management). Emergency management must also acknowledge all types of hazardsLike natural, technological or civil Establish a multi casual view about emergencies and complexity associated with it so that large number of variables can be studied Involvement of each and every factor associated with emergency wheather it is public, private or non profit sector Maintaining a reliance on the phase of emergencies i.e mitigation, preparedness, response or recovery Integrate research from each of the contributing discipline like haard and vulnerability analysis, land use planning, planning, training, exercising, community education, grant acquisition, budgeting and sheltering To reduce the effects of emergenciess, governments of every country incorporating various technologies that has developed now days.These technologies helps in finding places where emergencies can take place and with proper management and planning efforts are made to stop that emergencies before it happen or to reduce the vulnerability of such emergenciess.As this aspect is very closely related to people it require proper planning and effectiveness of government. For achieving the goal of making country emergencies free ;emergencies management has come in the scene. Planning for emergencies provides a mechanism for the functioning of various agencies for the management of natural and technological emergencies (Moin 2007). It provides a policy framework and outline for the action according to the type , nature and complexity of emergency . It develop a mechanism for determining roles and responsibilities of agencies at every level whether it is national, state or local(Moin 2007b). A s tandard operational procedure (SOP) is stated for all departments involves in emergency preparedness. Emergencies: Meaning, Nature and Scope Emergenciess and vulnerabilities includes various types so it is a vast topic of study .not only the whole world but also the universe is the span of area in which any type of emergencies can occur. Researchers and scientist of different fields are focusing on their particular area of study. They spread their knowledge and finding with others time to time to reduce these emergencies to happen. Their study and researches helps would-be victims on time through political and social groups. About emergenciess researchers with their own knowledge, past facts, figures, findings, experiments, surveys, discoveries create a new fact and findings and inform to different parts of world. A necessary knowledge of all emergenciess that happened in the past and their probable causes is essential to develop a theoretical framework of study and finding solutions of the problem under research. Emergencies is the group of two words dis means Bad and aster means Star. The word has roots from astrology which means that when the stars are in a bad position a bad event will happen. According to Encyclopedia Britannica emergencies means a natural and manmade hazard that negatively affects society or environment. According to IFRCRCS on an average every years the world is facing 220 calamities among which 70 are technological emergencies, and in a general survey we see each day 2 or 3 emergencies in emergency phase, 15-20 in their recovery phase almost dozen in progress. Emergencies are now very common feature of human life extreme events can happen any time. (Jeffery 1981) The definition given by Quarantille in his book (what is emergencies by Quarantille 1984) is varied and detailed and can be inferred as emergencies are social in character. Another researcher Gilbert defines it as a state of uncertainty. Fritz(1961)interpreted it as a state in which social life get disturbed become dysfunctional to a greater extent . Here the discussion on the topic arises that whether emergencies studies are art or science as sociologist define emergencies in social, economic, cultural aspects where geophysical scientist engineers give different perspectives of emergencies Classification of emergencies: 1) Potential: Emergencies which are Armed, it is a situation where the hazard is in the position to affect persons, property or environment. This type of hazard requires risk assessment at proper time. Active: hazard is certain to cause harm, as no intervention is possible before the incident occurs. 3) Mitigated: potential hazard that has been identified, but actions have been taken in order to ensure it does not become an incident. This may not be an absolute guarantee of no risk. Emergencies on land surface Earthquake: Sudden disturbances in the plates of earth surfaces is called earthquake. Lahar: It is a natural emergencies in which volcanic eruption releases vast amount of mud, rock and ash at a rapid pace that destroy entire towns in seconds. Landslide and mudflows Landslides caused by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions when heavy rainfalls causes loose soil or steep terrain to collapse and slide downwards called mudslides. It is mostly found in California. Sinkholes:A localized depression in the surface topography, usually caused by the collapse of a subterranean structure, such as cave. Large sinkholes that develop suddenly in populated areas can lead to the collapse of buildings and other structures. Hydrological Flood: Water bodies overflow due Prolonged rainfall ,rapid melting of snow that causes heavy damage to nearby areas , destructing manmade dams . 2. Liminic eruptions: It is a rare type of natural emergencies in which CO2 suddenly erupts from deep lake water, posing the threat of suffocating wildlife, livestock and humans. 3. Seiche: It is a standing wave in an enclosed or partially enclosed body of water like lakes, reservoirs, bays and seas causes heavy destruction. 4. Tsunami: A tsunami is a wave of water caused by the displacement of a body of water. The word comes from Japanese word meaning harbor and wave. Tsunami can be caused by undersea earthquakes as in the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake, or by landslides such as the one which occurred at Lituya Bay, Alaska. Metrotsunami are caused by Climatic 1. Blizzard: A severe winter storm condition characterized by low temperature, strong winds, and heavy blowing snow. 2. Drought: An abnormally dry period when there is not enough water to support agricultural, urban or environmentalwater needs. 3. Hailstorm: A hailstorm is a natural emergencies where a thunderstorm produces numerous hailstorms which damage the location in which they fall.hailstorm is devastating to farm fields , ruining crops and damaging equipmaents. 4. Heat wave: A heat wave is a emergencies characterized by heat which is considered extreme and unusual in the area in which it occurs. Heat waves are rare and require specific combinations of weather events to take place, and may include temperature, katabatic winds, or other phenomena. The worst heat wave in recent history was the European heat wave of 2003. There is also the potential for longer term events causing global warming, considered as the opposite to glacial ice age events, or through human induced climatic warming. 5. Hurricanes, Typhoons and tropical cyclones: A cyclonic storm system that forms over the oceans. it is caused evaporated water that comes off of the ocean and becomes a storm. The Coriolis Effect causes the storms to spin, and a hurricane is declared when this spinning mass of storms attains a wind speed of 100km/hr. 6. Ice Age: An ice age is a geologic period, but could also be viewed in the light of catastrophic natural emergencies, since in an ice age, the climate all over the world would change and places which were once considered habitable would then be too cold to permanently inhabit. A side effect of an ice age could possibly be a famine caused by world wide drought. 7. Tornado: A tornado are violent, rotating columns of air which can blow at speeds between 50 and 300 mph, and possibly higher. Tornadoes can occur one at a time, or can occur in large tornado outbreak in other large areas of thunderstorm development. Waterspouts are tornadoes occurring over tropical watersin light rain condition. Fire 1. Wildfire: An uncontrollable fire burning in wild land areas. Common causes include lightening and drought but wildfires may also be started by human negligence or arson. They can be a threat to those in rural areas and also wildlife. Health and diseases 1. Epidemic: An outbreak of contractible disease that spreads at a rapid rate through a human population. A pandemic is an epidemic whose spread is global. There have been many epidemics throughout history like swine flu. 2. Famine: A social and economic crisis causes widespread malnutrition, starvation, epidemic disease and increased mortality. Although some famines occur aggravated by natural factors, it can and often is a result of economic or military policy that deprives people of the food that they require to survive. Space 1. Impact event: An impact event is a natural emergencies in which an extraterrestrial piece of rock or other material collides with the Earth. The exact consequences of a direct Earth impact would vary greatly with size of the colliding object, although in cases of medium to large. 2. Solar flare: A solar flare is a phenomenon where the sun suddenly releases a great amount of solar radiation, much more than normal. It is theorized that these releases of radiation could cause a widespread failure of communications technology across the globe. The exact implications of such a failure are unknown. Other type of emergencies is unintended unplanned because of failure to recognize the emergencies on time plan to rescue. Research in the field of emergency preparedness is process rather than a outcome (Wisner et al. 2002). Dynes et al.(1978) describe it as a social pathology. The dynamics of research related to emergency preparedness exposes the reality of rehabilitation activities that started after any emergency. The concept of emergency preparedness emphasizes on creating places which are less vulnerable to natural and technological hazards and that are resilient to any risk (Mileti et al.1990). Sustainable hazards mitigation consists of 5 elements: environmental quality, quality of life , emergency resilience economic vitality and inter and intra -generational equity(Ronan et al.2006:91). For sustainable development of country; the public risk management schemes should work with communities . Risk reduction and mitigation are the core elements of emergency preparedness by governments . Emergency preparedness is a process of preparation before the occurrence of any emergency (e.g emergency evacuation, quarantine or mass removal of contaminants )(Quarantilli,1980). Emergency preparedness is aiming to develop preventive methods , management platforms and collision reduction in policies and practices . it can be separated in 4 groups namely Preparedness(prevention and recovery planning) Response(action before and during the emergency) Recovery(action taken after the hazard takes place) Mitigation(continuous action)(Godschalk,1991:142) Authorities elected for accomplishing the above task are best positioned to execute the planning process ;activities at individual, group or community level affects each others level but the one sided or the government response in emergency preparedness should be very effective as the matter is closely related to the security measures which is the prime responsibility of government. An efficient emergency preparedness relies on officials integrity that include honesty, sincerity, punctuality, justice, fairness, truthfulness along with their expertise, systematic knowledge and self control . Problem statement Preparedness for emergencies can be tested only in realistic environment where the integration, stamina and restorative powers of large scale system can be checked. The research will tackle two very important problems hampering the reduction of emergencies losses in developing countries: The lack of economically and rapidly produced inputs for risk (damage) assessment, preventing the cost-benefit implications of emergencies mitigation and prevention measures to be assessed. The lack of clarity related to the integration of risk assessments into the planning and management process. This research indirectly explores theme issues in emergency preparedness such as cultural attitude of people about constructions and development, political willingness to conduct project for peoples welfare, dangerous locations of constructions (Quarantelli et al. 1977); as it is Govt responsibility to systematically analyse risk related to the type of hazard, possible time, and a its planning to rescue people from potential emergency. Physical and social scientist have different answers of these questions sociologist find answers in the form , functions and mutation of social system ;where engineers have a rough , intuitive idea of physical forces like earthquakes ,explosions, crashes that require to cause heavy disruptions in social system. Their advice is often emphasizing on policy formulations whereas social scientist predict the consequences on human being. Although their methodologies are different to work on emergencies they work with common objectives and try to find solution to the problem and well being of people.Emergencies management like all other sociological and humanities subjects deals with people, their well being, growth. It focuses on making civil lives secure and safe. Emergency preparedness is a subject of arts as well as science: So far emergencies is defined mostly by sociologist economist. Emergencies phenomenon is multi aspect and the social economical conditions of world are changing continuously so parameters of defining emergencies are also changing. As the time changing it is now including other streams also like geophysical engineering, geography, anthropology, sociology, developmental studies, health science, social psychology. Emergency preparedness and role of governments National government is expected to take prior action for every possible emergency. There are several reasons to focus on government reactions on emergency preparedness: Government is responsible for implementing government policies (perry et al.1984) Government is most trusted body elected by people (Herman 1982) Transition of power from federal to local government (May , 1985) The comprehensive plans of emergency preparedness make it easy for all parties to co-operate with the federal , state and local governments.(Cigler , 1987) Governments has close involvement with hazards , as they control many effective tools to reduce vulnerability to hazards such as land use regulations and building codes enforcement(Prater,2000). Local government has more involvement along with armed forces on the social responsibility of state government. The governments willingness and capacity to meet new expectation is often lacking. Intergovernmental problems causes failure in implementation of plans (Cigler, 1987). Lack of investment in preparedness and response capabilities become quickly obvious at the time of an emergency (Davis, 2007). The dilemma of credibility and government commitment in deciding the best model to reconstruct infrastructure is one of the most challenging. (Davis 2007).Local government usually pays less attention to issues based on assumption that emergencies occurs rarely. Local government assumes that their responsibility in emergencies relief are limited like providing road repair or crime prevention. T he concept of preparedness planning is subsequently lost(ICMA 2003). The government should aware of the principle in any emergency that occurred on the crucial participation of affected communities ,how to provide income generation, rebuild social support networks, activities essential for maintaining cultural identities and reviving and conserving the often protective but vulnerable ecosystem(Johnston et al. 2001) The major concern is how to involve local people in preparations management of emergency situations. Each citizen should aware about public safety rights. One major inference that can be drawn from the history of emergencies that natural emergencies are happening from the day earth evolved but man made emergencies are born in 21st century. Some threats are perpetuated over time and across space creating a emergencies culture replete with unsustainable practices. Other like human induced threat like terrorism are equally complex as they are equally challenging to detect on time, warning response due to their adaptive nature means if terrorist detected they immediately change their target, location ,method of delivery or scale of attack. In such situation it is very difficult to access all the points of vulnerability even by modern technology. Research objectives Enlisting of probable natural and manmade emergenciess by analyze statistics related to emergencies. To find the root causes of emergenciess and Suggesting finding new methods, measures technologies so that root causes can be eliminated or reduced. To develop a methodology for providing timely and economically feasible inputs for assessing the emergencies that are risky to people and assets. To establish how to effectively incorporate risk assessment into the process of strategy formulation, with particular emphasis on its contribution to establishing the cost-benefit of mitigation measures. Obtaining inputs from National Emergencies Management Agency/other national /state institutes. Risk and vulnerability mapping. To evaluate the use of GIS as a tool for Data storage and integration interoperability. Identification of stakeholders convening meeting of stake holders. Exploring Technological and managerial methodologies for effective working of emergency preparedness cell to forecast emergencies rescue people in post emergencies period. Developing training information system features to increase people participation during such emergencies. Finding causes of failure of emergencies management network in some cases. Inter linkage of developmental programmes with emergency preparedness programmes. Evolving legal framework for emergencies mitigation. Coordination with civil society organization, corporates, etc. Media management plans. Emergencies are not equally distributed among all locations and social groups or we can easily infer after seeing the history of geographically distributed map of world that countries which are less developing in terms of economy are more threatened by natural emergencies in comparison to developed one. One reason may be that due to advance machinery, science, technology and fund sources natural emergencies are mitigated on proper time. Developed countries in present era are suffering from man made emergencies like terrorism, although developing countries are not away from such emergencies .but in developed countries such emergencies cause heavy to very heavy destruction to property and infrastructure that even shake the whole world in a minute where in developing countries mostly bomb blast are the common method of spreading terrorism which mainly causes loss of human life. For government, NGOs and local people some factors related to emergencies safety should be illustrated properly: Identification of risk or emergencies: every person concern should be aware about the risk associated with the area they exist whether it is residential or workplace. Then the root cause behind the risk. Why that risk can occur any time should be clear to every body associated. Decision making ability during emergencies: this can be achieved through training and simulation process. All that have threat of emergencies should know what to do when emergencies occur so minimum loss they suffer. Perception behavioural linkage: role of fear, emotions, trust, personal responsibility altruism in risk perception risk sharing emergencies response. Emergence convergence: role of emergent technologies, organizations, social groups in anticipatory planning for and response to emergencies, role of convergence in response and conditions that support adaptive behaviour during crisis. Universality replication: Through localized case studies after event analyses broader generalization of human response to environmental threats unexpected events are concluded. Thesis organisation The thesis is divided into six chapters: First Chapter describes the purpose of the study, the main problem to be addressed, the research objectives and the reasoning behind the selection of the case study. In terms of the purpose, the effects of natural and human induced emergenciess in developing and developed countries are documented. It addresses the need to produce forecasts of possible loss attributable to the different hazardous events that could take place, and their use for establishing the cost-benefit of alternatives to ensure successful urban policies and adequate economic resource allocation. Second Chapter, a general literature review is presented. The chapter begins with a review of the calls made by the various international organisations dealing with emergencies and issues on the subject of emergencies mitigation planning. The second part of this chapter presents studies conducted in this area and then the scope for improvent for better decision-making process in emergencies-prone areas should include Third Chapter explains Indian scenerio of emergency preparedness in terms of bye-lawa , policies and strategies. A set of guidelines for early warning sysrtem, mitigation, prevention and preparedness is documented. Four Chapter is devoted to reviewing current views and methodologies for population and building vulnerability and risk determination for emergenciess.A description of the methodology that will be utilized, as well as a description of the required data inputs The problems is analysed with proper datasets. Emergencies data collected and analysed across the Globe. Method of analysis is presented and approach adopted for emergencies management by government in developing and developed countries is described with risk modelling.The damage data to be used for testing the methodology in the case study will be described. Fifth Chapter presents 26th July 2005 flood in Mumbai city as a case of emergency preparedness by government of India and emergency preparedness policy is analysed and various relevant regulations are discussed. The stakeholders are identified and both their roles and responsibilities are analysed. Sixth Chapter has the results of the risk assessment and analyse the implications of these results for the formulation of planning, strategies and policies. The results of the research are presented along with recommendations for further research. Literature review Literature review Various researchers have worked on issues related to emergencies, hazards and risks etc. These issues are interdisciplinary and interdependent .In literature review chapter the objective is to know about their study and results they derived in this field. Efforts of institutions like United Nation and programmes launched in this field are also documented in this chapter. Samuel princes doctoral dissertation in 1920 , in which he invested the response to the 1917 Halifax shipping explosion , has had an enormous impact on emergency research (Scanlon, 1988;Scanlon et al. 2001). In 1942 the first theoretical research was done by Pitrim Sorokin in Man and society in calamity. Sorokin found a promising direction for resolving crisis in a calamity situation by developing integral knowledge and values culture into personal and collective action in social organistion (Ford et al. 1996) Classical notions were contributed by : Fritz in 1961 (restorative community: a collaborative effort with a mission to build the capacity and sustainability of organisations, initiatives and networks); Thompson et al. in 1962 (artificial community: accidentally come together for short time); Thompson et al. in 1962 (mass assault: a violent onset or attack on a community by physical means); Barton in 1969 (unselfish community: deliberate pursuit of the interests or welfare of others or the public interest); Taylor et al. in 1970 (the utopian community: an ideal community or society); Parr in 1970 (emergence: the act of emerging a disaster response structure); Bardo in 1978 (emergent behaviour: communities operate in an environment, forming more complex behaviours as a collective). Meaning of disaster According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Disaster is the group of two words dis means Bad and aster means Star. This means disaster caused when stars comes in bad position. Disaster means a natural and manmade hazard that negatively affects society or environment. Jeffery 1981 Disasters are now very common feature of human life extreme events can happen any time. The definition given by Quarantille in his book (what is disaster by Quarantille 1984) is varied and detailed and can be inferred as disaster are social in character. Another researcher Gilbert defines it as a state of uncertainty. Fritz (1961) interpreted it as a state in which social life get disturbed Sociologist define disaster in social, economic, cultural aspects whereas geophysical scientist engineers give different perspectives of disasters According to  Leo Buscaglia Normal adjustments of earth are hazardous to human. Internal and external process of the earth causes natural hazard that destroy human, wildlife and property. Natural hazards include earthquakes, volcanoes, flood, drought, solar flare and asteroids impacts. On These two big forces, we have very little control over external forces. What really matters is the internal force. How do we respond to them? Centre for research on the Epidemiology of Disasters defines a disaster as a situation or event, which overwhelms local capacity, need arises for national or international assistance; an unforeseen and often sudden event that causes great damage, destruction and human suffering. Studies conducted in this area The United Nations launched a study program to aware people to get prepared against emergencies. The study stated that: To increase the capacity to mitigate the emergencies of every country, with special attention being given to assisting developing countries in assessing disaster damage potential, and in establishing early warning systems and disaster-resistant structures. To apply scientific and technology for preparing strategies considering the cultural and economic diversity of the country. To encourage scientific and engineering endeavor aimed at addressing gaps in knowledge so that loss of life and assets get reduce. To spread latest and existing technical information related to measures for assessing, predicting and mitigating natural disasters. Transfer of technology, demonstration of projects, education and training, and to evaluate the effectiveness of those programmes is another important aspect of emergency preparedness. In 1994 the member countries of the United Nations launched a program for Strategy and action plan for a Safer World, which provided the guidelines for disaster prevention, preparedness and mitigation. The Yokohama strategy emphasizes the following issues: Human and institutional capacity-building for quick response during disaster Compilation and sharing of information via networking at regional, national and international level Risk assessment as well as the monitoring and communication of forecasts should be done at appropriate time Sub-regional, regional and international cooperation is essential Efficient mobilization of resources is necessary United Nations initiatives and in the context of the American continent, the Organization of American States (OAS, 1991) has made a report stating: In the integrated development process projects for emergency preparedness is one of the priorities of governments. Policies for risk reduction in evaluating investment projects Expenditure for prevention activities relating to rehabilitation, relocation and reconstruction are increased. United Nations Disaster Relief Co-coordinator (1991) stressed that, To some extent, the task of government of hazard prone countries relates to gathering, processing and presenting data to allow a series of questions to be answered so that decision-makers can formulate successful strategies. United Nations definitions (1991) to explain how risk is assessed are provided and a summary is made regarding the disciplines concerned: H Rs Rt V v E Conceptual Flowchart of Risk Assessment Natural hazard (H) determination includes the estimation of the possibility of occurrence of a potential natural hazard. The disciplines concerned are earth and atmospheric science. Vulnerability (V) determination involves the estimation of the degree of loss suffered by a set of element at risk , caused because of occurrence of a emergency of a given magnitude and expressed on a scale from 0 (no damage) to 1 (total damage). The disciplines concerned are human geography, construction engineering, etc. The Elements at risk (E) include the people, infrastructure, public services, other as

William Carlos Williams :: essays research papers

William Carlos Williams was born September 17, 1883 in Rutherford, N.J. His father had emigrated from Birmingham, England, and his mother from Puerto Rico. He was admitted in 1902 to the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania, where he met two poets, Hilda Doolittle and Ezra Pound. A long term friendship ensued between Pound and himself, such that Williams said he was able to divide his life into two distinct segments: Before Pound and After Pound.1 From 1906 to 1909 Williams did his internship in New York City, writing verse in between patients. His first book was published in 1909, just before a trip to Leipzig to study pediatrics. In the following years Williams wrote not only poems, but short stories, novels, essays, and an autobiography. In 1946 he began Paterson, an attempt to write an epic poem about the city. Williams died in 1963, while working on the sixth book of Paterson. William Carlos William Carlos Williams based his life on helping the poor and all aspects of the human world that appealed to him were in their most basic form. What appealed to Williams was not the glitzy and glamourful, but the true qualitites sometimes being old and worn out. He found that pride was more important the materialistic qualities. Many of his poems explore nature and use it to explore and explain human behavior as he sees it through his own eyes. A few of these poems that use simplistic language to paint a very descriptive and clear picture of other aspects of life are Love Song, Apology, Pastoral, and Tract; all produced by William Carlos Williams. But there were few things which were very specific and stood out in his works. All these poems use nature to explore aspects of human life. A theme which exists in all of these poems and most of Williams' literature is the simplicity of the language he uses. Many believe he did that in order to separate himself from other poets of his time. Most people believe his justification for the simplicity of his language was because he wanted to stand out, be remembered, and be praised. I agree with them, but maybe it's just the kind of language that appealed to him and he thought would appeal to others as well. The first poem entitled Apology portrays that quality of looking for the true aspects of nature and humans, not the materialistic ones.

Richard and the Battle of Bosworth Essay

On 22nd August 1485, King Richard III lost the Battle of Bosworth to Henry Tudor. One of the main reasons for him losing was due to his unpopularity with the people and his nobles. Richard was disliked by many of his nobles because he gave power to nobles from the north, which he knew, annoying the nobility in the south of England. This meant that in the battle he had little support, and some of his nobles, such as the Stanley’s fought for Henry. Richard was also disliked by the people of England. He seized the crown in 1483, and rumours spread that he killed his two nephews. This made him disliked, and few people supported him. Another reason Richard lost the Battle of Bosworth was because of the Stanley’s changing sides. The Stanley’s controlled around 6000 of Richards troops, around half of his overall army. Although the Stanley’s began the battle on the side of Richard, they changed during the battle. This meant that Richard has far fewer troops than he may have anticipated, and had the Stanley’s not changed sides, it is possible that Richard would have won. Many of Richards other nobles were also unreliable, such as Northumberland. He did not help Richard when he needed it, refusing to bring in Richards reserves, and eventually surrendering, giving Henry an advantage over Richard, helping him to win. Another reason Richard lost was because of the support Henry had from the King of France. In 1485, the King of France wanted to distract Richard from invading France, so he gave Henry an army to invade England. When Henry landed in Wales with these extra men, many people joined him on his march through Wales to Bosworth, increasing the size of his army greatly. Another factor leading to the defeat of Richard at the Battle of Bosworth was Richards’s hesitance on the battlefield. Richard did not take advantage by attacking Oxford whilst he was deploying his troops. This allowed Oxford to launch an attack on Norfolk, who was soon killed. Although Surrey takes command, Richard lost men fast. Richard was so hesitance because he was so unsure of his support. A final factor which lead to the defeat of Richard at the Battle of Bosworth was the growing mistrust for Richard. Many Yorkists became so unhappy with the situation in England that they looked elsewhere for help. Many of them turned to Henry, and supported him in training and creating an army for him to fight with. This support from people once loyal to Richard led to him losing the battle because he did not have enough people fight for him, as many people in England were behind Henry.

Classroom Assessment Essay

The primary distinction between internal and external assessment are the teachers. Teachers are expected to use classroom assessment as part of the job. There are a variety of ways teachers assess students in order to monitor progress, to grade performance and to modify instruction. But the manner in which teachers choose to assess students has a significant impact on the students’ classroom experience. In many ways, the format and content of repeated quizzes and tests defines a students’ experience of school and influences their view of the discipline. Classroom assessment is a nonstandardized, localized process idiosyncratic to teachers’ beliefs, knowledge and experience. The manner in which classroom assessment is constructed, enacted and utilized is teacher dependent. Classroom assessment requires teachers to make regular decisions and judgments about student learning on an ongoing basis. Assessment is the process of identifying, observing and interpreting cognition in order to designing and implementing classroom assessments. Teachers’ conceptions of how students learn influence not only how they interpret students’ work, but also the content and nature of feedback they provide (Delaware Professional Teaching Standard #8: Assessment). Prior to assessment design, teachers’ should gather information through interviews, observation and testing. It is also important to create an environment in which students are encourage sharing their thoughts with their peers and are willing to be sensitive to the social fabric of the classroom (Delaware Professional Teaching Standard #5: Learning Environment). External assessments also influence schools and classrooms, especially schools that serve students of poverty and other at-risk populations. School administrators and teachers should be familiar with the benefits and risks of external assessments. The practical reality is that the push for educational accountability, coupled with limited resources, will result in external assessments that cannot be replicating in classroom practices (Delaware Professional Teaching Standard #9: Professional Growth). External assessment will motivate teachers to prepare students for a successful testing rather than learning, restricting student involvement and enjoyment. The question for those interested in improving formative assessment is not whether there are effects, but to what degree can these effects be minimized or leveraged to support student learning. Collaboration with other educators is critical to expanding teachers’ assessment practices. Teacher collaboration can offer a safe environment for teachers to share and discuss their challenges and concerns and to discover solutions to assessment problems (Delaware Professional Teaching Standard #9: Professional Growth). Classroom assessment is based on the teacher’s methods of observation and judgments. Internal assessment is further influenced by local contexts and classroom environments, and occurs in classrooms on an ongoing basis. It is important to explore ways in which teachers can bring about positive changes in assessment and provide a vision for effective assessment practices, while promoting good learning and grading. Personal Reflection: I intend to use assessment as a bridge between practical experience and formal teacher training, in order to develop better teaching techniques. By assessing what students know about the realistic world around them, I will be able to develop lesson plans that help incorporate subject areas they are lacking, such as knowledge of local history or developing business plans. I will develop qualitative assessments through objective questioning and eliciting a student’s subjective interpretation of information, as well as standard techniques such as tests and quizzes.

The Era essays

The Era essays The Civil Rights Movement was everything emotional that fueled the physical. As with every movement there are leaders and with leaders come followers who share the same belief. Martin Luther King Jr. was the most prominent leader of the Civil Rights Movement. King was also a very active clergyman who landed the cover of Time magazine as Man of the Year in 1964. King was a powerful speaker, he had a tireless ambition in the fight for black freedom and won worldwide fame for his efforts. All his efforts awarded him the Nobel Peace Prize. Peace was not always what some fighting for black rights believed in, leader Malcolm X was full of hatred towards the white man. The tragic childhood he lived and the murder of his father by whites strengthened his belief that the white man was the devil. Malcolm X was a believer of Islam and started a nation-wide movement and an increase in the idea that the white man is the devil . His speeches were based solely upon the theory that all whites were evil, in 1963 Malcolm branched his belief out to 30,000 people. At the peak of his power Malcolm was the most influential voice of black Americans. Black Americans had different ideas about how freedom should come about but they all had the same objective, to be equal. President Kennedy supported the movement for desegregation of schools and public facilities. Attorney General Robert Kennedy took more than 50 cases in four states to insure black Americans the right to vote. President Johnson was committed to equal rights for all and he signed the two most outstanding legislation of the movementthe Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Television has the power to make Americans laugh, love, and hate, in the 1950s though the 1960s this was evident. From 1950 to 1965 the number of households with television climbed from 3.9 million to 52.7 million. Popular shows like...

Free Essays on Oedipus Vs Odysseus

Oedipus vs. Odysseus A true hero, and a cursed. How can one compare two people and call them hero’s without ever thinking about all the things that they have been through. Many people, time after time have argued that these men were just simple men, doing what they needed to do, to get what they wanted. I must mention that I disagree, because these men, although maybe not having any outstanding physical or supernatural characteristics, still endured, and lived through a hard and cursed time, where they were not liked, and someone was prosecuting them. Odysseus, with Poseidon, the god of the great oceans. And Oedipus, with the people of Thebes, and his own wretched destiny. Poseidon went against Odysseus, for his arrogance and his attitude towards the gods. The people of Thebes went against Oedipus, because he killed King Laà ºos (his own father), and he slept with his mother (and Laà ºos’ wife). His destiny followed him, because he was cursed from the moment he was born. The gods never gave him a chance, and when h e tried to run away from his fate, he ended up fulfilling it. Oedipus and his tragedy. Oedipus Rex was an orphan boy, who believed he was part of the Royal Family of Corinth, and he was granted the Kingship of Thebes, when he solved the mighty riddle of the Sphinx. This alone was not his main act of heroism and it could be argued that it doesn’t even get close to the tests that he had to endure in order to survive, after he faced his fate and his judgment. The god’s sadistically and childishly set Oedipus up to never have any good (long-term) chances in life. They only gave him 18 or 20 years of true peace, until he then killed his father and married his mother. Then the chaos was bottled, and held in until someday, the truth would be set free, and the outcome would hail the destruction of Oedipus. He was only a man, who was once abandoned, and mistreated by life who was raised to be a strong and perf... Free Essays on Oedipus Vs Odysseus Free Essays on Oedipus Vs Odysseus Oedipus vs. Odysseus A true hero, and a cursed. How can one compare two people and call them hero’s without ever thinking about all the things that they have been through. Many people, time after time have argued that these men were just simple men, doing what they needed to do, to get what they wanted. I must mention that I disagree, because these men, although maybe not having any outstanding physical or supernatural characteristics, still endured, and lived through a hard and cursed time, where they were not liked, and someone was prosecuting them. Odysseus, with Poseidon, the god of the great oceans. And Oedipus, with the people of Thebes, and his own wretched destiny. Poseidon went against Odysseus, for his arrogance and his attitude towards the gods. The people of Thebes went against Oedipus, because he killed King Laà ºos (his own father), and he slept with his mother (and Laà ºos’ wife). His destiny followed him, because he was cursed from the moment he was born. The gods never gave him a chance, and when h e tried to run away from his fate, he ended up fulfilling it. Oedipus and his tragedy. Oedipus Rex was an orphan boy, who believed he was part of the Royal Family of Corinth, and he was granted the Kingship of Thebes, when he solved the mighty riddle of the Sphinx. This alone was not his main act of heroism and it could be argued that it doesn’t even get close to the tests that he had to endure in order to survive, after he faced his fate and his judgment. The god’s sadistically and childishly set Oedipus up to never have any good (long-term) chances in life. They only gave him 18 or 20 years of true peace, until he then killed his father and married his mother. Then the chaos was bottled, and held in until someday, the truth would be set free, and the outcome would hail the destruction of Oedipus. He was only a man, who was once abandoned, and mistreated by life who was raised to be a strong and perf...

Qu hacer cuando la ESTA para viajar a USA es rechazada

Qu hacer cuando la ESTA para viajar a USA es rechazada Los espaà ±oles y los chilenos, entre otras nacionalidades, pueden viajar sin visa a EEUU. Si llegan por aire o mar deben solicitar previamente por internet la autorizacià ³n que se conoce como ESTA, por sus siglas en inglà ©s. Pero puede suceder que la ESTA no sea aprobada o que sea revocada. En este artà ­culo se explica quà © hacer si el viaje no es autorizado a embarcar. Quà © es la ESTA La ESTA  es una autorizacià ³n electrà ³nica que permite a los ciudadanos de ciertos paà ­ses a viajar sin visa a Estados Unidos por un mximo de 90 dà ­as no que no se pueden alargar y cuando el objeto del viaje es hacer turismo, negocios o recibir atencià ³n mà ©dica. Este es el listado completo de paà ­ses cuyos ciudadanos pueden viajar sin visa. Verificar ese enlace para informarse sobre las nuevas reglas que afectan a los ciudadanos de esos paà ­ses con doble nacionalidad con ciertos estados y tambià ©n a los que han viajado a paà ­ses considerados problemticos. Adems tener en cuenta que podrà ­an viajar con la ESTA los ciudadanos de otro paà ­s en el que viven habitualmente pero que por la razà ³n que fuera, como por ejemplo por herencia de sus padres, tienen tambià ©n el pasaporte de uno de esos paà ­ses. Resultados que se pueden obtener al llenar el formulario de  la ESTA La ESTA se rellena por internet  en la pgina official del gobierno americano. Generalmente el resultado se conoce al momento y puede ser de tres tipos: Viaje autorizado. En este caso ya se puede viajar por aire o mar. Hay que tener un billete de ida y vuelta y se recomienda imprimir la autorizacià ³n porque contiene el nà ºmero de solicitud, que puede hacer falta posteriormente. Aunque la  aerolà ­nea no lo necesita, ya que el Departamento de Estado es la que se encarga de notificarla de que una determinada persona est autorizada a embarcar hacia Estados Unidos, algunas insisten en pedirlo.Autorizacià ³n pendiente. En este caso, volver a entrar en la pgina web pasadas 72 horas y se ver el resultado definitivo.Viaje no autorizado. Esto le puede pasar incluso a las celebridades de fama internacional, cuya causa ms comà ºn para no aprobase su ESTA o su visa es el consumo de drogas. Quà © hacer si la ESTA seà ±ala que el viaje no es autorizado Llenar un formulario para iniciar el proceso para solicitar una  visa de turista que se tramitar en la embajada o consulado correspondiente. El  oficial a cargo tendr la à ºltima palabra para decidir  si la concede o rechaza la peticià ³n. En este à ºltimo caso, y dependiendo de la razà ³n, ser posible solicitar un perdà ³n o waiver para los casos de inadmisibilidad. Sin embargo, para las razones que convierten a una persona en inelegible no hay posibilidad de pedir perdà ³n. Cules son las razones por las que la ESTA no autoriza el viaje Las razones pueden ser varias, como haber estado previamente en Estados Unidos y no salir a tiempo, aunque el retraso sea de sà ³lo unas horas. Tambià ©n puede haberse dado el caso de que se hubiera impedido el ingreso en una fecha anterior, por razones varias, como por ejemplo, por estar ingresando con demasiada frecuencia.   Tambià ©n puede ser porque previamente se ha denegado una visa, esto es relativamente comà ºn en el caso de personas con doble nacionalidad, que piden un visado con un pasaporte y cuando es rechazado intentan viajar a EEUU con el pasaporte espaà ±ol y la ESTA. Otra causa puede ser la condena por determinado tipo de delitos u otras muchas causas que hacen a una persona inadmisible para entrar a USA.   Por à ºltimo la ESTA puede negarse o el ingreso a Estados Unidos cuando se viaja con dicha autorizacià ³n cuando la intencià ³n de su titular es casarse en el paà ­s con un ciudadano americano o con un residente permanente legal y quedarse mientras se arreglan los papeles mediante el denominado ajuste de estatus. Y es que la intencià ³n con la ESTA no puede ser casarse. Y si bien es cierto que actualmente se permite un camino para que puedan arreglar los papeles las personas que se casan en Estados Unidos con estatus de turista, no es menos cierto que hay muchos problemas si no se respetan ciertos plazos. A tener muy en cuenta El fin de viajar a EEUU sin visa es turismo, negocios o atencià ³n mà ©dica. Por lo tanto, las personas que la utilizan para estudiar inglà ©s a tiempo completo por unas semanas tienen que saber que se arriesgan a tener problemas migratorios, porque no estn cumpliendo con la ley. Les corresponde una visa de estudiante.Asimismo, los periodistas, artistas, actores y atletas que desean viajar a EEUU por motivos profesionales deben pedir sus visas correspondientes.  Por supuesto que si se ingresa a Estados Unidos con una ESTA no se puede trabajar. Si se hace, se est cometiendo una violacià ³n migratoria que, si se descubre o se sospecha, puede tener consecuencias graves.En realidad, tampoco se puede ingresar al paà ­s con una ESTA cuando la intencià ³n es buscar trabajo. La intencià ³n es, afectos de leyes migratorias, muy importante ya que si las autoridades creen que existà ­a esa intencià ³n puede haber problemas.Tener una ESTA no garantiza la entrada en Estados Unidos. Al llegar a las Aduanas y Fronteras el oficial de inmigracià ³n tiene la à ºltima palabra para decidir quià ©n entra. Es importante saber que en la actualidad una de las causas principales  por la que se deniega la entrada en las aduanas es que van a estudiar y para eso necesitan una visa que no tienen. Recomendacià ³n para aprender jugando Toma este test de respuestas mà ºltiples para asegurarte de que sabes lo fundamental sobre viajar sin Visa. Porque el conocimiento es la mejor forma de evitar problemas. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.

Assignment 1 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

1 - Assignment Example Financial managers aid in efficient allocation of available resources, thus boosting the procurement function. The involvement allows the various departments to participate, leading to optimal decisions that benefit the organization. This method poses a threat of death on a supplier who fails to deliver the required consignment. Given that no one would want to die, a supplier had to ensure that the goods were delivered on time. Consequently, the method led to the constant and prompt delivery of goods, thus enhancing operations in Sweden. On the other hand, the crude method caused suppliers to fear for their lives, which does not promote good relations in business. Non-performance in modern day can be handled in ways that are more sophisticated. Examples include the cancellation of supplier contracts, and awarding them to other suppliers who can manage to deliver. The skill of negotiation serves a critical role in the field of purchasing. It allows the buyer to bargain for a favorable and lower price, compared to the price being offered by the seller. Therefore, negotiation enables organizations to acquire quality products at considerable prices, which help in reducing costs. Communication also plays a critical role in procurement. It ensures that orders are placed in the right way, and in the right quantities. The skill, further, allows the company to trace the goods, thus ensuring their timely delivery. This leads to customer satisfaction as they acquire goods when and where there need them, without inconveniences. Computer proficiency promotes the ability of an organization to compete successfully in the market, through adoption of technologies that promote the efficiency of an organization. Technological advancements allow a public organization to improve the efficiency of procurement by reducing the costs associated with the process. E-procurement, for example, leads to the employment of a few employees, thus saving on expenses. More to

Budget Forecast and Cost Elemental Plan for Oakworth Offices Essay

Budget Forecast and Cost Elemental Plan for Oakworth Offices - Essay Example In the construction of a good budget forecast that can depend upon for cost analysis, all revenue and expenses must be correctly matched with, the budget estimate must make sense and proper methods such as variance analysis must be able to draft from for example in comparison with actual and expected expenditure. In defining a good construction plan, project costs must be clearly defined, to achieve far and more reaching goals in the industry (Building LLC 2014). The driving force towards establishing a good construction budgeted forecast is to is to be aware of the amount of cash the investor or shareholder is ready to spend on the project so as to avoid running of budget deficits in the long term. They will assist both the management and the project council to deduce if extra cash needs to be handed in, the project will continue for the foreseeable future purposes. The body in charge of quantity surveying must analyze critically the cost and expense required and make sure there is no wastage of resources when there are inaccurate estimations that will have future imbalances when compared to the source of money pocket. (Xiao, Xui, Xiao 2009).Project Budgeting will, therefore, include costs such as soft costs, construction costs, other owner contracted, facilities and furniture expenses. In the preparation of budget forecast for the Oaks worth, two stories building an evaluation of time provides a 10-month construction period, which would be allocated in tabular form as provided below. The time required for each project activity will be allocated based on the cost allocation methods such as the direct method and step down method that majorly bases on the amount of cash to be spent in the project process. (Schwulst 2014).

Re -submission coursework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Re -submission coursework - Essay Example The courts are always bound by this principle; however, there is a possibility and exemptions when the courts can lift the corporation veil in order to reveal the true identity and character of the company under consideration. The main reason of this approach is that the law will seek to prevent a corporate organization from being misused or even abused (Prentice and Reisberg, 2011). In circumstances when the court is aware that the corporation is abusing its form, then the courts would rip off the corporate veil, and disregard the principles established by the House of Lords in Salomon vs. Salomon. On this basis, the assertions by Lord Denning in the case Little Woods Mail order, against Inland Revenue Commissioner is correct, and the courts have applied the principles established in this case, while lifting the corporate veil of companies whose cases are before the court. This paper critically looks at the concept of incorporation of the company, and its effects. It further on analyzes this concept of separate legal personality, and the principles contained in Salomon vs. Salomon (Prentice and Reisberg, 2011). This paper also relies on the 1985 companies act in supporting some of the facts identified in it. This paper also defines the concept of lifting the corporate veil, and instances when the courts can lift the corporate veil. This paper also has an analysis and evaluation section. This section is an analysis of the various concepts introduced into the paper. In meeting these objectives, this paper will use relevant case laws and authority. The conclusion of this paper is a summary of the various points addressed in it. The concept of incorporation of a company refers to the formation of new companies, that is given a legal benefit, and it is recognized as a personality under the law. The corporation under consideration can either be a business organization, a governmental institution, a sports club, a non-profit making organization, etc. A

Critical Analysis of Puerto Picans as an Ethnic Group Research Paper

Critical Analysis of Puerto Picans as an Ethnic Group - Research Paper Example In 1511 after decades of abuse the Tainos rebelled against the Spaniards that colonized them. The revolt was a massacre as the European soldiers had superior weapons and better combat training. Thousands of Tainos died in this revolt. In the aftermath of the revolt the European settlers had a shortage of free labor. They decided to keep their oppressive ways by importing slaves from Africa. After centuries of Spain having total control over the affairs of Puerto Rico in 1818 the Spanish King gave transfer of land ownership to the settlers in the island. In 1868 the Puerto Rican people revolt against the Spanish government in a claim for independence. The historical event was called â€Å"El Grito de Lares†. Over 400 Puerto Ricans fought in this conflict led by Ramon Emeterio Betances and Segundo Ruiz Belvis. The attempt to take over the government was unsuccessful. One of the biggest abuses in the history of Puerto Rico was the existence of slavery. On September 22, 1873 the S panish courts abolished slavery in Puerto Rico. At the time there were nearly 30,000 slaves in Puerto Rico which composed 5% of the population (Int. #3, 2011). Puerto Rico was a colony of Spain for four centuries. In 1898 the American-Spaniard war occurred between the United States and Spain. The United States won the war and one of the prices of victory was gaining full control over Puerto Rico. The United States awarded U.S. ... Since both languages are used in Puerto Rico the locals sometimes referred to their mixed language as Spanglish. Puerto Rico is a very family oriented culture. Unmarried children often live with their parents until their 30’s. Most adults marry in their mid 20’s. The male is supposed to be the provider and head of the family, but in the 21st century it is customary for both partners in a relationship to work. When they get married women continue to use their surname. The normal greeting used in Puerto Rico by males is to shake hands, while females kiss themselves in the cheek. Puerto Ricans are very friendly people. When tourists come to the island people feel it is their obligation to serve and help the tourists in any way they can. Hand gestures and facial expression are often used during conversations. Puerto Ricans have a high tone of voice and proximity when talking to others is customary. In Puerto Rico visiting friends and particularly family members is considere d a social obligation. Most weekends sons and daughters visit their parents. When a person visits your home the host must offer their guests drinks and food. The use of alcoholic beverages is customary in most family and friend gatherings as well as special events. The most consumed beer in Puerto Rico is a locally produced brand called Medalla. During Christmas season children receive gifts on two occasions. On Christmas day when Santa Claus brings them gifts and on the 6th of January which is the date the Three Wiseman brought gifts to baby Jesus when he was a newborn. There are many holidays that are celebrated in Puerto Rico. During a holiday the government does not work and many businesses depending on the holiday also close down. A list of the holidays celebrated in Puerto

Discuss, quoting examples from NRM2 and CESMM4, the differences in Assignment

Discuss, quoting examples from NRM2 and CESMM4, the differences in measuring building and civil engineering work and why these differences - Assignment Example The much-anticipated CESMM4 brings inline the method with changes in the trade practices and expands its applications in other new fields. However, the CESMM4 method does not need any changes or learning to the business practices. Similarly, the version has been modified to include modern technologies and initial neutral contract, can be applicable among different contract suites such as FIDIC, ICC, and NEC. In the absence of restrictions on the National Standards and form of contract, CESMM4 is the critical and accessible edition to date, crucial for the construction and civil engineering projects across the globe (Barnes 2002). The CESMM4 standard of measurement reflect various methods in the industry, not only in the nature of work, but the estimating conventions and the degree of detail in use by both the civil engineering and construction sectors. Therefore, it reflects different ways that civil engineering and building projects are carried out and organized. In general, New Rules of Measurement (NRM2) emphasizes a lot on details, whereas CESMM4 has an inclusive stance about the process of analysis. Construction work has different areas whereas civil engineering works have massive quantities of a relatively small range of issues. For example, while using NRM2 to measure hole, it is essential to separate working space and earthwork support. Nevertheless, while using CESMM4, all items should be in a single excavation item (Lee et al. 2011). It significant to acknowledge at this level that NRM2 is not a system of classification in itself; it refers to a collection of measurement rules. Similarly, among the NRM2 objectives is to map onto several classification systems, including Uniclass and CAWS. However, the rules of measurement will be the same in all cases. For example, the measurement of concrete work will remain in cubic meters, and the brick works measurement will still be in

High Level business architecture Research Paper

High Level business architecture - Research Paper Example Precisely, high level business needs describe what should be done by a system or any other business solution. For the case of Adopt-A-Farm, it is clear that the company needs to have an online system for collecting their customer and partner views about their experiences in volunteer harvesting and as well list the stories and other help facilities for users of the system. The high level business requirements could therefore be seen as an indication of the reasons as to why a business undertakes an activity (Ross & Robertson, 2006). The requirements are documented as below; The objectives of the high level business requirements for Adopt-A-Farm are to come up with an online system which will increase user participation in the campaign on local farming and purchasing of food products as well as user participation in creation of awareness. It also focuses on having a system for direct user participation in forums and also in commenting about the advantages of local farming. The system should also reach as many people as possible around the globe for the sole reason of creating awareness across nations. The project focuses on listing the stories shared by users about their experiences with consumption of local products in the blog section. From this, users will have a wide variety of content to refer from to gain the taste and to understand the importance of consuming local products and thereafter participating in the campaign with an aim to carb the global warming menace. It also focuses on advising local farmers on the best practices and operations to carry on in their farms which reduce the chances of environmental degradation. Finally, the system will also focus on promoting volunteer harvesting through the creation of a forum for users to comment on their experiences in the exercise. This will be in a bid to encourage people to participate in such exercises whenever they could be having a chance to. Lastly, it is clear that high

Discuss, quoting examples from NRM2 and CESMM4, the differences in Assignment

Discuss, quoting examples from NRM2 and CESMM4, the differences in measuring building and civil engineering work and why these differences - Assignment Example The much-anticipated CESMM4 brings inline the method with changes in the trade practices and expands its applications in other new fields. However, the CESMM4 method does not need any changes or learning to the business practices. Similarly, the version has been modified to include modern technologies and initial neutral contract, can be applicable among different contract suites such as FIDIC, ICC, and NEC. In the absence of restrictions on the National Standards and form of contract, CESMM4 is the critical and accessible edition to date, crucial for the construction and civil engineering projects across the globe (Barnes 2002). The CESMM4 standard of measurement reflect various methods in the industry, not only in the nature of work, but the estimating conventions and the degree of detail in use by both the civil engineering and construction sectors. Therefore, it reflects different ways that civil engineering and building projects are carried out and organized. In general, New Rules of Measurement (NRM2) emphasizes a lot on details, whereas CESMM4 has an inclusive stance about the process of analysis. Construction work has different areas whereas civil engineering works have massive quantities of a relatively small range of issues. For example, while using NRM2 to measure hole, it is essential to separate working space and earthwork support. Nevertheless, while using CESMM4, all items should be in a single excavation item (Lee et al. 2011). It significant to acknowledge at this level that NRM2 is not a system of classification in itself; it refers to a collection of measurement rules. Similarly, among the NRM2 objectives is to map onto several classification systems, including Uniclass and CAWS. However, the rules of measurement will be the same in all cases. For example, the measurement of concrete work will remain in cubic meters, and the brick works measurement will still be in

Customer Value Marketing Essay Example for Free

Customer Value Marketing Essay This report based on the study of â€Å"Customer Value Marketing† starts with introduction section. We have mentioned the contents of the study in objectives of the report section. The methodology section deals with the means of preparation of this report and the processes that we have followed. Then the report describes the theoretical aspects of the study in the literature review. This section mainly consists of brief description about different important topics about customer value marketing. Finally in the last section, the report is concluded with findings, bibliography and appendix over the topic. The appendix section contains some International Journals on Customer value marketing. INTRODUCTION Today’s marketing process is highly customer focused. It is all about creating customer value and building profitable customer relationship. Customers are at the center of marketing process. The main theme of marketing is to create customer value and to capture value from customers in return. The goal of every marketer is to create more value for customers. Customers usually face a broad array of products and services that might satisfy a given need. Among these products or services, customers have to choose the products that give them optimum value and satisfaction. That is why creating customer value is considered to be the most important task to be performed by marketing today. The marketers do it through â€Å"customer value delivery system†, a system which is made up of the value chains of a company and its suppliers, distributors and ultimately its customers who work together to deliver value to customers. To deliver superior value to customers the marketers have to design a customer driven marketing strategy. The proper implementation of this strategy will give customers a perceived value, therefore, satisfaction. While buying a product or service, a customer is buying satisfaction. Highest value is derived when a customer is fully satisfied with his or her purchase. Today, value is considered to be an important constituent of relationship marketing and the ability of a company to provide superior value to its customers is regarded as one of the most successful competitive strategies for business. Hence, today’s marketing needs to be based on the concept of customer value. OBJECTIVES OF THE REPORT This report mainly discusses the following subjects: †¢Customer Value †¢Customer Value Strategy †¢Customer Value Positioning Model †¢The implementation of Customer Value Strategy †¢Hypothesis Regarding Customer value †¢Propositions on Customer Value †¢Methods of Customer Value Assessment †¢Customer Lifetime Value METHODOLOGY OF THE REPORT The report in this study is basically a descriptive one. Here, both the primary and the secondary data are been used. The primary data has been collected from lectures given on this topic in the classroom. The secondary sources of data are our textbooks, various international journals different websites. LITERATURE REVIEW Customer value strategy: Customer value strategy is doing things differently from the competitors and transferring different values to the customers. There are six principles of strategic positioning. They are: †¢Strategy should have the right objectives. †¢The value of positioning should be distinguished from the competitors. †¢Strategic thinking should be reflected from the unique value chain. †¢In order to pursue the uniqueness in certain areas, we must give up some of the other characteristics of products, services or activities. †¢Strategy should enable the effective integration of various activities. †¢Strategy should have sustained direction. Customer Value Positioning Model: A Successful business is always based on its selection of the target customers for value positioning. Customers can be roughly divided into three types, but for different customers have different types of value positioning model: †¢Customers are interested in up-to-dated, modern product. Organizations which meet the needs of these customers can orient the value on â€Å"product leadership†. For example, Microsoft, Hp. †¢Customers prefer cost-effective products and services. They prefer convenient purchase and high quality service. The organizations which aim at this target group of customers orient the value on â€Å"operational excellence†. For example, Wal-Mart, Fed-Ex. †¢Customers want to get exactly what they need, even if they have to pay a higher cost or wait a little longer. Companies which serve these types of customers are committed to improving â€Å"customer intimacy†. For example, Honda, British Airways. The implementation of Customer Value Strategy: Once the customer value strategy is established, the company must ensure the implementation of the strategy by committing everyone in the workplace to its objectives and building support system for it. For this the business must ensure the followings: 1.Strengthening management for core competency: The practice of a strong management system is a prerequisite for achieving customer value. A dynamic management system is needed so that the value strategy can be effectively implied. 2.Establishing culture of the company based on customer value: In order to achieve the strategic objectives of a company, it is necessary to develop a culture based on customer value so that the idea of customer value is deep in the heart of everyone in the workplace. 3.Establishing a highly integrated value system: A highly integrated value system means company’s self-reinforcing system of various activities. 4.Establishing an effective performance measuring system: While implementing customer value strategy, companies continuously measure the performance with goal. Therefore, company should have an effective performance measuring system so that any deviation can be analyzed carefully. 5.Establishing the network marketing system: With the help of network marketing system companies can understand customer’s needs in a better way and thus can strengthen the implementation of customer value strategy. Hypothesis: Rajagopal (2006) has established some hypothesis regarding customer value. They are as follows: †¢Higher perceived value acquired by the customer help consumers to determine their buying decision on the non-conventional products of unfamiliar brands in the market. †¢The brand value of the product is enhanced by developing the communication tools effectively by the firm which help augment the customer value by marginalizing the gap between consumer perception and product attributes. †¢The brand value, quality of the product, competitive advantage and price along with other relational variables determine the customer value. †¢The product attractiveness combined with the effective informational sharing and retailing services help augmenting by providing competitive advantage. Here are some other hypothesis by Weinstein and Abratt (2009): †¢There is a significant correlation between service received from a professional service and customer retention. †¢There is a significant correlation between quality received and customer retention. †¢There is a significant correlation between the image of a professional service and customer retention. †¢There is a significant correlation between the prices charged and customer retention. †¢There is a significant correlation between overall value received from a professional service and customer retention. Propositions: Andreassen (1997) has made some propositions on customer value. They are: †¢Perceived quality is believed to have a positive impact on value †¢Perceived quality and value are believed to have a positive impact on customer satisfaction. Methods of customer value assessment: James, Dipak Pradeep (1993), introduced some methods for assessing customer value. They are as follows: †¢Internal engineering assessment †¢Field value-in-use assessment †¢Indirect survey questions †¢Focus group value assessment. †¢Direct survey questions †¢Conjoint analysis †¢Benchmarks †¢Compositional approach †¢Importance ratings Customer Lifetime Value: According to Phillip, Mark Robert (2004), â€Å"Customer Lifetime Value is the present value of the future cash flows attributed to customer relationship.† Therefore, Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), also known as Lifetime Customer Value (LCV) or Lifetime Value (LTV) is the net present value of the cash flows recognized from the relationship with a customer. This is a parameter to determine exactly how much a customer is worth in monetary terms and therefore exactly how much a marketing department should be willing to spend to acquire each customer. According to Jason, Ashutosh and Roberto (2010), â€Å"CLV makes it possible to explicitly link long-term financial returns to marketing actions.† They think that CLV has been gaining significance for two reasons: First, many traditional marketing metrics are not sufficient to evaluate return on marketing investments. Second, customers are not equally profitable. So, it is necessary to understand customer value at individual level which can be done with the help of CVL. CLV is typically used to calculate the cost of acquisition of a customer. For example, if a new customer costs 50000 TK to acquire and his or her lifetime value is 60000 TK, then the customer is considered to be profitable. FINDINGS 1.Customer value helps to develop manage customer relationship 2.Customer expectation and customer satisfaction are closely related with customer value 3.There are some principles of strategic positioning which can be applied in doing things differently from the competitors and transferring different values to the customers 4.Success in business depends on selection of the target customers for value positioning. 5.The practice of a strong management system is needed for achieving customer value. 6.Developing a culture based on customer value is necessary to achieve the strategic objectives of a company. 7.A highly integrated value system effective performance measuring system is important for the implementation of customer value strategy. 8.Network marketing system helps to understand customer’s needs in a better way 9.Some hypotheses established by various scholars are helpful for delivering superior customer value. 10. Important methods should be followed for assessing customer value 11.Customer Lifetime Value explicitly links long-term financial returns to marketing action. It also helps to understand customer value at individual level. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1.Komulainen Hanna; Mainela Tuija; Tahtinen Jaana; Ulkuniemi Pauliina (2004) â€Å"Exploring Customer Perceived value in a Technology Intensive Service Innovation†, volume 20, page 27. 2.Ravald Annika; Gronroos Christian, (1996),†The Value Concept and Relationship Marketing†, volume 30, page 12. 3.Lia Chia Chi;(2003) â€Å"The role of Customer perceived value in Generating Customer Satisfaction: An E-business perspective† volume 5, page 15. 4.Lam Shun Yin; Shankar Venkatesh; Erramilli and Murthy; Krishna Bvsan, (2004), †Customer value, Satisfaction, Loyalty and Switching cost: An illustration from a Business to Business Service Context†, volume 32, page 20. 5.Rajagopal, (2006), â€Å"Brand value, Preferences and Customer value effect of Non-conventional utility products: An experimental analysis in Mexican market†, page 23. Weinstein Art and Abratt Russel(2009) â€Å"Marketing Intelligence Planning† Volume 27 No. 5 page 19, 2009 6. 7. Andreassen Tor Wallin (1997) â€Å"The International Journal of Service Industry Management†, volume. 8, No 4, Page 33 Anderson James C. Jain Dipak C. Chintagunta Pradeep K.(1993), â€Å"Journal of Business to Business Marketing†Volume 1(1) , Page 29 Pfeifer Phillip E., Haskins Mark E. Conroy Robert M. Journal of Managerial Issues (2004) page 25 Zhang Jason Q. , Dixit Ashutosh and Friedmann Roberto (2010), â€Å"Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice† Volume 18 no. 2, Page 13 7. 8.www.wikipidia.com

Restriction Enzyme Analysis of DNA

Restriction Enzyme Analysis of DNA Agarose gel electrophoresis is a method used in biochemistry and molecular biology. It is used to separate DNA or RNA molecules by size. Since DNA and RNA have negatively charge, when they go through an agarose matrix with an electric field, they will move from cathode to anode. The shorter molecules move faster and migrate farther than longer molecules; therefore the different sizes molecules can be separate. The most important factor which affects the migration is the length of the DNA molecules. A restriction enzyme, is an enzyme that cuts double stranded DNA following its specific recognition of short nucleotide sequences, is used to cut the DNA into small fragments. The unique recognition sequences are usually tetra- or hexanucleotide palindromes with axes of dyad symmetry. Which means the sequence on one strand reads the same in the reverse direction on the complementary strand, e.g. GTATAC and its complementary strand CATATG. Recognition sequences in DNA differ for each restriction enzyme, producing differences in the length, sequence and strand orientation of the DNA fragments. Plasmid is an extra chromosomal DNA molecule, which is capable of replicating independently of the chromosomal DNA. It is circular and double stranded. Plasmid is usually found in bacteria. The size of plasmid is between 1 to 200 kilobase pairs. In this experiment, a specific recombinant plasmid pBR325 was analyzed, and hence a restriction map would be constructed. METHOD As described in the practical manual RESULTS From the photograph, four unknown plasmid fragments migrated distance could be measured and hence the four fragments size could be found: In lane 2: migrated distance of the fragment was 36.5mm, therefore 11.00 kilobase would be the size of this fragment; In lane 3: migrated distance of the near fragment was 42.5mm, therefore 7.08 kilobase would be the size of this fragment; migrated distance of the further fragment was 66mm, therefore 3.98 kilobase would be the size of this fragment; In lane 4: migrated distance of the near fragment was 40.75mm, therefore 7.94 kilobase would be the size of this fragment; migrated distance of the further fragment was 73mm, therefore 2.82 kilobase would be the size of this fragment; In lane 5: migrated distance of the near fragment was 50mm, therefore 6.31 kilobase would be the size of this fragment; migrated distance of the further fragment was 53mm, therefore 5.62 kilobase would be the size of this fragment; The 4 unknown plasmid size and migrated distance were showed in following table: The size of the plasmid could be found, which was about 11 kilobase. Since the plasmid was only cut by EcoRI + BamHI in about 4:8 ratio of the plasmid, therefore the restriction map for EcoRI + BamHI could be construted: DISCUSSION The nucleic acids migrated from cathode to anode since it had negatively charge. The cutting ratio of three enzymes could be found by the size of fragment as result showed. The last lane, which was the uncut plasmid, was loaded, in order to compare with the EcoRI enzyme cut fragment. The migrated distance of this uncut plasmid was large than EcoRI cuts migrated distance, which could be measured from graph. EcoRI cuts fragment was like uncoiled elastic. It encounters more resistance migrating through a gel because it is spread out and will be in direct contact with more of the gel matrix. Uncut plasmid was tightly coiled, like a balled up elastic. While the molecule may be the same size, the coiling compresses it, allowing it to encounter less resistance when migrating through the gel. This indicated the minimum base pairs of the plasmid. If a hybrid recombinant plasmid was constructed from pBR325 by the insertion of a fragment of DNA at the BamHI restriction site, firstly the total size of the plasmid got bigger. To determine the size of the inserted fragment, EcoRI and PstI were used to cut the plasmid, and result was compared with original plasmids fragment to get the size of the inserted fragment. There was no additional band visible behind the main uncut plasmid band in lane 7. If there ware, they must be the chromosomal DNA bands, the absent of these in lane 2, 3, 4 and 5 was because they were too small, might not be seen, or ran off the gel. The fluorescent bands of the DNA restriction fragments in lane 2, 3, 4, and 5 were several fold brighter than the uncut plasmid band in lane 7. It was because that the DNA fragment are free at both ends and can uncoil and pick up as much EtBr as it fits, whereas the uncut plasmid could not uncoil more than a certain amount without the phosphate chain breaking: for every incorporated molecule of EtBr it had an area of local under-coiling that had to be compensated by another area of over-coiling, this area would not incorportate any EtBr. So the number of EtBr molecules it could pick up was limited because of sterical considerations. Therefore the DNA fragment had less sterical restrictions, stained more than the uncut plasmid.

The Nervous System :: Biology, Neurons, Axon

The peripheral nervous system consists of two separately functioning components: the sensory division and the motor division. The sensory division provides appropriate responses from sensory receptors to the central nervous system. Sensory neurons transmit reactive responses from the periphery to the central nervous system while the motor division conducts action potentials from effector organs such as muscles and glands. In contrast, motor neurons transmit action potentials from the central nervous system toward the periphery (Seeley et al., 2005). Neurons and their Electrical Activity The nervous system is composed of millions of nerve cells called neurons. Neurons are the parenchyma of the nervous system which performs every function of the nervous system from simple sensory functions to complex thinking and analysis. Neurons, upon receipt of stimuli, transmit responsive signals to other neurons or to effector organs. Clark (2005) observes that the anatomy of a neuron is composed of four main parts; the cell body, the dendrites, the axon, and the nerve fibers. Given the importance of each of the neuron components, it is important to discuss how each work separately and in tandem to achieve efficient and appropriate responses in the human body. Varying in diameter and containing a single nucleus, the cell body is the primary component of the neuron. The nucleus of the neuron provides information for protein synthesis and contains most of the organelles of the neuron. Seeley et al., (2005) write that the cell body contains large numbers of mitochondria because of its high metabolic function and also abundant rough endoplasmic reticulum’s which referred to as Nissl bodies. The dendrites of a neuron are cytoplasmic extensions that reach out from the cell body like arms and contain a full array of cellular organelles, such as mitochondria, chromatophilic substance, and ribosomes. The most important feature of a dendrite is its electrical activity. Dendrites receive information from other neurons and transmit them toward the cell body, then produce electrical impulses referred to as graded potentials. Graded potentials can have varying degrees of depolarization or hyperpolarization. These graded potentials arise in the dendrites or in the cell body as a result of various stimuli and are important in initiating action potentials in neurons. As the graded potential passes through a cell body, it may initiate an action potential at the base of another cytoplasmic projection which is the axon (Clark, 2005). An axon is a long cell process extending from the neuron cell body.

“Is technology tearing apart family life? Essay examples -- Technolog

â€Å"Is technology tearing apart family life? Text messaging, social networking, and online video are changing the way parents and children see the world—and each other.† There are many technologies in today’s ‘smart’ world which are now being established not just as a want, but as a necessity of life. Among many technologies that can impact family life, Smartphones and computers are the two most crucial technologies that can impact family life. The functions of computers and Smartphones are not just bounded to internet surfing, gaming and assignment tools, but its variety of other functions including social networking systems, online mailing, and online face-to-face video chatting are now arguably the most critical functions that have started to impact family lives on a visible level. These technologies have both positive and negative effects on family life; more and more families are beginning to own their own computers, as computer internet users in North America reached to about â€Å"78.3 %† (Miniwatts Marketing Group, 2011), accordingly, the effects of these technologies on family life is more easily recogni zed. This essay will come across both the benefits and negative effects of using such technologies on family life and ultimately see out whether the positives triumph over the negatives. There are the negative effects of using computer technologies: the isolation of family members, parents bringing their work home. On the other hand, the positives include: being able to associate more easily with the use of social networking systems between relatives and family members that live away from each other. Family members get more and more isolated by the use of computer technologies. For most North American families, ... ...eting Group (March 31, 2011). World Internet Usage and Population Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm 4. Small, G. (June 19, 2009). Is Technology Fracturing Your Family. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brain-bootcamp/200906/is-technology-fracturing-your-family. 5. Stevens, J.B. (June 21, 2011). Guest Post::Social Media and Divorces-Examining the Impact of Facebook and Twitter on Relationships. Retrieved from http://www.scfamilylaw.com/2011/06/articles/divorce/guest-post-social-media-and-divorces-examining-the-impact-of-facebook-and-twitter-on-relationships/ 6. Warren, L. (May 31, 2011). Video games being blamed for divorce as men ‘prefer World of Warcraft to their wives’. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1392561/World-Warcraft-video-games-blamed-divorce-men-prefer-wives.html

Patient Safety

â€Å"There is a huge missed opportunity for health care professionals to contribute to hand hygiene as they miss 1 in 2 of all hand cleaning opportunities. † –WHO, 2006 â€Å"What kills women with childbed fever is you doctors who carry deadly microbes from sick women to healthy ones! †Ã¢â‚¬â€Louis Pasteur, 1870 1 . 1. Background of the Study 1. 1. 1. Nosocomial infection burden Nosocomial infections or healthcare acquired infections can truly be a grave toll for hospital management as much as it is for end-beneficiaries, customers, and stakeholders.Mortality reaches 80,000 annually ; 3 patients die per minute ; 10-20% % incidence globally, and figures are expectedly higher in Third World settings. This is not to mention the corollary problem of emerging microorganisms resistant to overuse of prophylactic and anticipatory shotgun antibiotic therapy as empirical solution. The damage wrought is paramount, reaching a cost of one billion pounds per year in Europe a lone, resulting from these. 1 excluding priceless, needless mortalities and morbidities 1 1. 1. 2.Role of Hand Hygiene Institute of Medicine has identified nosocomial Infection to be the most common complication for hospital patients and hands are the most common mode of transmission. In 1991, Harvard Practice Study on adverse events in health care indicated that surgical site infections were the second most frequent type of adverse event for inpatients, constituting 13%. One study established an excess mortality caused by NI to as high as 44% in ICU patients. 2 In a local study at Makati Medical Center by Tupasi & Littaua, mortality rate was reported to be all NI cases documented 4. 6 % of n the intensive care unit , and authors conclude that risk factors included invasive and manipulative procedures. â€Å"Majority of deaths from NI were associated with the use of respiratory equipment and Foley catheters which were potentially preventable by strict adherence to aseptic technique s†. 3 1. 1. 3 Reality of Poor Compliance Despite it being a seemingly simple practice, and despite the acknowledged fact that proper hand hygiene is considered the most critical, the most cost-effective measure of adequate infection program, compliance behavior management has been a protracted managerial headache globally.Indeed in our age of ever increasing sophistication, those seemingly simple practices but with grave implications ironically are difficult to address. While the techniques involved in hand hygiene are simple, the complex interdependence of factors that determine hand hygiene behavior makes the study and management of hand hygiene complex. 2 1. 1. 4. Hand Hygiene Compliance : A Managerial Challenge It is now recognized that improving compliance with hand hygiene recommendations depends on altering human behavior and managing the environment.Input from behavioral and social sciences is essential when designing studies to investigate compliance. Interventions to increase compliance with hand hygiene practices must be appropriate for different cultural and social need4 Speaking for all levels of health care workers , probably the major reason this seemingly simple problem is always taken for granted is the reality that the impact of something not so visible daily to the naked eye will always be swept under the rug amidst more outright demands concerns in patient care.The rest of the justifications like forgetfulness, lack of time, inconvenience, complications, etc. are simply alibis. Given this, the greater burden falls on health care managers to do something so that compliance can be improved, and for health sector in general to come up with more evidence-based materials to convince HCW as well as policy-makers and managers about its importance. 1. 1. 5 Nosocomial Infection & Patient Safety Nosocomial infection control is a large part of patient safety, whose importance is currently being highlighted in the light of increasing adverse even ts which are at most preventable.Prior to this study, the researcher delved into assessing the patient safety culture profile of QMMC, as a general backgrounder, and as part of re-packaging a new approach to an old problem. 3 1. 2. Statement of the Problem Understanding the patient safety culture profile of Quirino Memorial Medical Center gives us the over-all conceptual perspective to the problem at hand. The researcher finds it convenient to discuss it in terms of the Donabedian theme. 1. 2. 1. The Macroenvironment’s Patient Safety Profile 1. 2. 1. 1.The QMMC Patient Safety Structure In alignment with the recent health care thrust, QMMC has revised in 2008 its mission to being â€Å" a tertiary hospital providing a safe, accessible, affordable quality specialized healthcare that is dynamically responsive to the needs of its patients. † Its unwavering commitment is towards delivering health care to all its clients regardless of socio-economic status and to continuousl y upgrade the services offered in terms of technical expertise, support service, equipment and infrastructure. Patient safety is first and foremost in its goals.Its core values include cleanliness in all aspects including the physical environ, and Its fourth priority is â€Å" to develop and sustain a hospital environment that embraces and practices a culture of safety†. The 7 core values it internalizes include the 7Cs: clean physically, mentally, spiritually, Christ-centered, compassionate, competent, culture-friendly, community-oriented, communicative. At this time, the plus factor is having a medical director who is passionate about the cause, much involved in regular meetings with Department of Health advocates on the matter. â€Å"In QMMC, Dr.Rosalinda Arandia is seen as a charismatic figure in the improvement of health and medical 4 services offered by the hospital and in making recommendations on and implementing the hospital’s quality improvement program. â⠂¬  5 QMMC is a 350-bed national government hospital that stands in a 42,000-sqm lot between Katipunan Avenue and JP Rizal St, Project 4 Quezon City, Metro Manila. It has in recent years undergone a major upgrading and expansion of its buildings and facilities. Compared to the old infrastructure, the new building and facilities, provide a more sophisticated ambience.Better equipment and architectural upgrading seem to inspire and motivate employees, and the architectural design seems to promote greater staff interaction and communication. Its occupancy rate is 120%. . QMMC is a corporatized government hospital, still waiting for complete privatization. When faced with budgetary constraints and too bureaucratic processes they generate their own resources through private solicitations, the biggest of which are donations and affiliation fees from training institutions.As to equipment & supplies due to its being a government hospital, only about 60% of its equipment and supplies are pr ovided for and is functioning at any given time. Maintenance and regular checks are being done and complied with as required. It has a total of 564 employees, 35% of whom are contractual. Among the permanent about half have worked for more than 10 years. Among the 549 employees, 159 are doctors (consultants, residents, interns) , 180 are nurses and 225 are administrative personnel. This number does not include those who are fielded from affiliate institutions for training, such as clinical clerks and allied 5 rofessions (nursing, pulmonary therapy, radiologic therapy, medical technology, dental, dietary, midwifery and caregiving). For the consultants and doctors, ratio to patient load is quite acceptable.There are 69 resident physicians and 55 interns. In the wards, roughly the ratio is 1:5 per day; however in the out-patient department, the staff ratio is much higher 1:25 . In the intensive care unit, ratio can be improved to as good as 1:2 depending on the number of rotators from affiliate hospitals , for all professional groups. Attitudes of staff are an important aspects of culture. In QMMC, initial preliminary interviews ith staff revealed that there is some awareness of the concept of patient safety, in all levels of care and even administrative strata. Incident reporting is very minimal such as it is generally perceived that underreporting is rampant. 1. 2. 1. 2 The QMMC Patient Safety Process Profile Teamwork in respective clinical areas is perceived to be good by key administrators, although with the high rate of staff turnover due to training hospital affiliations, this is affected more often than not in a negative fashion. In terms of feedback and communication, there is no systematic evaluation of staff performance .QMMC has been active in the Patient Safety Task Force of the Department of Health. Underway are devising standardized hospital forms, such as interdepartmental referral forms to enhance communication and lower risks of errors being comm itted in patient care. 6 In lieu of risk reduction, hand hygiene educational program has been recently revived by the Infectious Disease Team headed by Dr. James Tiu. Educational trainings as well as policy reinforcement are being conducted as the need arises among nursing staff. 1. 2. 1. 3. The QMMC Patient Safety Outcome ProfileAt the time of study, there were no baseline data available as indicators such as compliance rates, nosocomial infection rates, or patient satisfaction surveys. There are no performance indicators that can be used as feedbacks to improve standards of care. This is a work in progress and hopefull this study becomes a tiny contribution. 1. 2. 2. QMMC’s UncontrolledNosocomial Infection Problem Analyzing the above profile of QMMC, and amidst the track record of physical and service upgrading efforts, the main problem of the hospital regarding patient safety is still nosocomial infection control.Evidences of uncontrolled nosocomial infection are certain o ccurrences pointing to infection control problems in QMMC in the past 12 months have caused alarm, as follows: (a) Post-surgical wound dehiscence Anecdotal incidents of nosocomial infection getting out of control have been almost part of everyday work in a public hospital like QMMC. However, a situation that occurred last AugustOctober 2008 was particularly notable, wherein dehiscence occurred in a succession of ten postsurgical patients in two wards including the surgical ICU, during Day 5 to Day 11 of their hospital stay.Culture studies revealed the usual notorious nosocomial Proteus microorganisms, E. coli, and 7 Staphylococcus areus , responsive to very expensive intravenous third generation cephalosporins and aminoglycosides, with or without re-suturing of the wounds (Appendix 1) . 6 Aside from the cost of these medications, the prolonged hospital stay with all its accompanying indirect costs to both patient and hospital were staggering. (b) Perennially high incidence of ICU pn eumonias and urinary tract infectionsBased on the latest QMMC Morbidity and Mortality Audit 2008, 7 among ICU patients hooked to ventilators for protracted duration, nosocomial pneumonias are still the leading cause of death. 1. 2. 3. Need for upgrading quality of hand hygiene practice During one root cause analysis done by the management, the Infectious Disease Committee, and the department concerned with the last year’s outbreak of dehiscence, the senior management surmised that the root problem or one of the root problems could be failure for proper andwashing among health staff. The intervention consisted of culture and sensitivity tests followed by proper antibiotic coverage. Policy on handwashing was also tightened up in terms of posting reminders on doors and walls and subsequent refresher educational modules by the Infectious Disease Head were conducted among nursing staff. However, no actual monitoring or evaluation of hand hygiene practices were done .Despite educat ional training interventions, and despite the presence institutional policies posted on walls and doors, compliance to the practice among QMMC hospital staff has persisted to be unsatisfactory. 8 1. 3. Objectives of the Study GENERAL OBJECTIVE This study aimed to demonstrate the impact of a hand hygiene intervention package to QMMC MICU and SICU, using comparison of intervention.SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES In more detail, this study aimed to : (a) Characterize the current hand hygiene practices in QMMC ICU according to its using structure-process-outcome dimensions; (b) Craft and implement an intervention package addressing manipulable areas of the structure issues identified in the structure-process-outcome dimensions of hand hygiene practices; (c) Measure hand hygiene structure-process-outcome variables as a function of healthcare worker factors and work area factors , pre- and post-intervention, as a way to evaluate impact of above intervention. d) Formulate recommendations to the QMMC m anagement and its stakeholders based on the findings and lessons learned. structure-process-outcome variables pre- and post- 9 1. 4. Significance of the Study The study is valuable in the following general areas of health concern: (a) Infection Control. The study’s advocacy counts very significantly in terms of contributing towards decreasing the grave toll on preventable morbidity and mortality burden on patients and their families.As we see more systematically the outcome of our efforts towards hand hygiene as it impacts infection control, we learn to rely less on antibiotic use which also lead to emergence of resistant microorganisms that are and will be potentially harder to control eventually. This study will then be part of fulfilling what WHO advocates to be done , i. e. â€Å"for better monitoring of outcomes for hand hygiene studies, reduction of infection rates must be demonstrated, high complexity to evaluate, but high priority requirement. 8 (b) Preventive thrust . Hospitals’ mission is supposedly preventive as much as curative. However, review of literature shows that hospitals, even in the First World settings, tend to so conveniently rely on antibiotic use both prophylactically and empirically in managing and controlling nosocomial infections. Hospital care need not be a double-edged sword nor do we need to stop mitigating phenomena which are in our hands to control, if only we heed the evidence-based principles put forth.Prevention remains to be the better direction that health care must devote its resources on. (c) Cost savings. According to WHO, â€Å"direct costs of intervention and indirect costs associated with hand hygiene time & its promotion corresponds to less than 1% of costs of managing nosocomial infection. Studies on the costs of nosocomial infection caused its toll in terms of protracted hospital stay, expensive drug and antibiotic acquisition in addition to intensive care 10 nit stay, hematological, biochemical, mi crobiological and radiological tests, extra surgical procedures and working hours. (d) Healthcare management learning. WHO asserts that â€Å"measurement of the compliance of health care workers to hand hygiene measures is a recommended performance indicator of the quality of care†. (e) Compliance behavior management has been a protracted universal problem, as lack of interventional studies to convince policy makers, esp. local, both government and private, predispose health care systems prevalent to sustain awareness and implementation.With the lack of attention given to the problem’s facets and determinants, this study can be a humble contribution. Relevance of this study to the institution and its various stakeholders include the following: (a) Study institution. Often, organizations take action based on some comparison of their measures to a set of benchmark measures. Armed with specific incidents about the organization's culture, effective action plans flow logica lly and integrate into existing change processes.QMMC can better select programs and tailor-fit strategies that will be most beneficial to upgrade the attitudes and mindset of the employees, to design the working environment, and to align with its vision-mission pursuit of quality and safety , and better service to patients. It will be helped to see patient and hospital outcomes in a better light. It will eventually have a baseline which will be useful for tracking impact of certain interventions for a sense of comparison. As it uses internationally known research methods, it will provide 1 internal as well as external benchmarking, especially with national government hospitals, both international and local. (b) Leadership. Since QMMC under the present leadership is into the process of advocating patient safety as a goal, this study will help them examine alignments of their policies and systems with their vision-mission statements , goals and core values. Later on when like in inte rnational settings and patient safety will be a government regulatory requirement, this hospital can provide benchmarking. (c) Hospital staff.This study provides the staff the much-needed feedback about themselves, the colleagues they work with, and the patients they serve. Feedback is the first step to change. Studies such as this are advantageous in themselves in that it just the simple process of assessment baseline will in itself raise awareness of not only patient safety, specifically, infection control, but of the need for structure (staff attitudes) as well as process variables (teamwork, communication) relevant to safety and other hospital performance.Moreover, they themselves can be target victims of nosocomial infection, so that studies like this could help boost their safety as well. (d) Affiliate training healthcare institutions. The importance of good hand hygiene practice and its observance will be highlighted among the trainees from more than 20 various health care sc hools, a value that they will most likely carry back to their respected institutions .This is rather crucial and innovative as patient safety, specifically preventive practices to 12 nosocomial control such as hand hygiene are not yet that well-emphasized in the traditional medical and para-medical curricula. (e) Hospital management trainees. The results of this study can be a benchmarking study to compare, study and upgrade other hospitals, both local and international. The study becomes a venue to validate some of the tools that will be used for the first time locally.Results of the study can be utilized by trainees for future research on patient safety and infection control and behavior modification techniques. (f) Healthcare community. This study will help control NI, emergence of resistant organisms for similar government hospitals. It provides significant research for Department of Health which is specific on approaching infection control through Total Quality Management asses sment and strategies under their recent thrust on patient safety and quality assurance.Since QMMC could very well be a good prototype of the other government hospitals , the results of this study can largely be of help in implementing the various enabling mechanisms stated in the Philhealth Benchbook. 9 (g) Patients. Above all, since awareness, education , and practice towards patient safety, specifically infection control will be highlighted in this study, the end beneficiary would ultimately be the patients and their families and guests whom this institution is servicing, no matter how indirect and long-term this impact would be. 3 1. 5 . Scope and Limitations of the Study †¢ Being a primarily TQM research project, this study does not attempt to establish cause-and-effect relationship between hand hygiene and nosocomial infection . †¢ This study does not include cost estimates and budgetary implications of intervention if eventually adopted by study institution. †¢ Relative merits of the specific parts of the intervention is beyond the scope of the design.†¢ Time and budget constraints were real such that research design were limited in various ways and means. . 6. Definition of Terms and Acronyms TERMS: For purposes of clarity and reference in the discussions all throughout this study, the following definitions and acronyms would be used and referred to: Hand hygiene (HH)- refers to one of the areas in infection control that deals with systems of diminishing pathogenic microbe transmission through evidence-based philosophy and set of practices regarding the hands in relation to direct patient handling during the process of care. 0 14 Hand hygiene practice/practices (HHP) – refer/s to any form of action referable to disinfecting the hands prior to and after patient handling, in the most basic terms defined as â€Å"washing hands with soap/water or (rubbing with) disinfectant, for at least 15 seconds before and after patient contac t, after any contact with a source of microorganism, and after removing gloves†. ( Healthcare Infection Control Practice Advisory ).Hand hygiene event (HHE) – defined as the event involving any of the HH practices (washing, rubbing with disinfectant, donning with gloves) done before or after patient contact; (if both done before and after, they are considered independent events ; if both washing and donning with /removing gloves are done during one instance, it was counted as one event; this regardless of the correctness or adherence to other details as presently prescribed by currently available universal guidelines. 1 Hand hygiene opportunity (HH0) – defined as any event with a high-risk of microbial transmission, executed before and/or immediately after patient contact, regardless of whether gloves. They included all contact with body fluids, or involving manipulative contact with anything in the patient’s body or immediate environment .Over-all hand hy giene compliance – includes all hand hygiene-related behavior in accordance with current institutional , (in this study, QMMC’s ) policy â€Å" to wash hands before and after patient contact† regardless of its alignment with the most currently recommended international standards based on indication, technique, cleansing agent and duration ; this by strict classification based in literature definition, falls under â€Å"incomplete compliance†. 12 15Complete compliance- refers to all hand hygiene-related practices aligned with the most-updated, most current evidence-based globally recommended guidelines, as required by WHO guidelines 2006 (with QMMC, being a government hospital). Hand hygiene structure-refers to staff factors and work area factors. Staff factors include inherent demographic characteristics, such as professional group, age, sex and duration of service. It also refers to more malleable factors such as staff attitude and training.Work area fac tors refer to existing policies or specific protocol, logistic infrastructure and supplies, staff volume, patient volume, hospital type, work settings, organizational structure, etc. Hand hygiene process- refers to practice as to how it is done in terms of indication for method, duration, temporal relation to patient contact, cleansing and technique, and how it abides to the currently recommended evidence-based a guideline or protocol .Hand hygiene outcome- refers to measurable events or indicators, for both patients, employees as well as organization; like overall healthcare worker compliance rates, as well as indirect outcomes of good hand hygiene proven in literature, such as nosocomial infection rates, transmission rates, colonization rates. ACRONYMS: For purposes of brevity of certain words and identities mentioned quite repeatedly all throughout the study, the following apply: 6 HCW- Healthcare worker; refers to any staff involved with direct handling of patients in a health f acility NI- nosocomial infection; also HAI (healthcare acquired infection); refers to infection developing after 48 hours after admission or confinement in a health care facility. ABHR- alcohol-based hand rub-refers to a hand rub disinfectant with any alcohol of any concentration as the basic ingredient.