Managing Diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managing Diversity - Essay Example has emerged within the past 20 years and spawned from the equal opportunity act which was promulgated in the workforce by the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. This law extended voting rights and outlawed racial segregation in the schools, housing or hiring practices. With the passage of this act, American organizations began to hire new employees from different races, ethnic backgrounds and religions into sectors they were once excluded from. There is an undeniable difference between diversity and equal opportunity. Equal opportunity employment has deep historical roots. The law was enacted after years of unfair practices in different sectors denied equal opportunities simply based upon a person’s race, gender or national origin. The passing of this law developed a definition for minorities and now prohibits discrimination based upon a person’s age, gender, religion, sex, race, color or national origin. Diversity promotes accepting individual differences. The business ideals of diversity states that inclusion of a diverse workforce better equip a company to thrive in a marketplace. Exclusion of a diverse approach isolates demographics and limits perspectives. An example of such an implementation of diversity is the inspirational movie Glory Road. The 1966 college basketball team base on the Texas Westerns won the NCAA championship while promoting diversity. Don Haskins, the first year coach of the team, pioneered diversity by recruiting players deemed best for the positions and sidestepping traditional hiring practices. The hiring of the new folks in nontraditional roles is an exemplary example of the advantages of diversity. The team put racial differences aside and worked collectively to attain the coveted championship prize. Peter F. Drucker, author of â€Å"The Theory of the Business† (1995: 100) reveals that a valid theory of business suggests that the assumptions about environment, mission and core competencies must fit reality.. Over

Case study 2-2 Essay Example for Free

Case study 2-2 Essay Case Project 2-2 I would determine whether an investigation is required for this type of situation. I would make am initial assessment about the case that I will be investigating. Meanwhile, determining the type a design of approach for this particular case. I would then estimate the time of each step, when the check was issued and as the amount. I would ask Jonathan to interview the other individual who has access to the company’s accounting program. I would review the company computer as well as the accounting program and see if there are any significant documents; which would including the company checkbook and ledger, as well as contact the bank for the most current bank statement. Any type of information pertaining or related to that particular check, which was issued during that time. However, if cleared, then further investigation has to be done. I would examine that employee’s email for anything suspicious as well as surveillance cameras within that office. I would also study the suspects work habits as well. I would ask Jonathan to locate and itemized any details of the subcontractor’s job amounting to $10,750 and the facts of the check for the amount $12,750. I would try to find the facts of the $2,000 difference, if available by comparing bank statements, and the accounting program. I will inform him to be very watchful of any relevant information that may eventually be evidence in this type of criminal case, which could be employee theft or embezzlement. If this other person beside Jonathan is involved in this crime and not being an  accounting error, has taken place, I would recommend Jonathan to allow me to further my investigation with this company.

Birth Control: Past and Present :: Contraceptives, Birth Control Essays

Contraceptive techniques have been traced back to Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. The modern movement of birth control began in Great Britain where the writings of Thomas Robert Malthus stirred interest in the problem of overpopulation. The first birth control was founded in 1878 in Amsterdam by a woman called Aletta Jacobs. Aletta and Margaret Sanger were advocates of birth control so they were trying to develop clinics and promote birth control. In 1914, Margaret Sanger was arrested for publishing information about birth control in her magazine Women Rebel. She became America’s most influential advocate of birth control in the 1910’s. In 1921, another birth control advocate named Marie Stopes, along with the Malthusian League, established a birth control in London. In the United States, the first birth control clinic was opened in 1916 by Margaret Sanger in New York. The clinic was soon closed, but the police and Margaret received a thirty-day jail sentenc e. Soon after, in 1917 she helped organize the National Birth Control League, but in 1921 it became known as the American Birth Control League. Later, in 1942 it became the notorious Planned Parenthood Federation of America and in 1961 the Planned Parenthood World Population. Throughout the 1940’s and 1950’s birth control advocates were engaged in numerous legal suits. In 1965, Connecticut was one of the only states that prohibited the use of contraceptives. It wasn’t until 1967, when the federal government became being more active in the birth control movement. Six percent of the funds of the Child Health Act were set aside for family planning. In 1970, the family planning services and Population Act provided separate funds to support birth control. The first country to provide government assistance for birth control was Sweden. In Japan, the birth control programs helped reduce dramatically the birthrates. Birth control and sex education in schools continue to be emotional issues in the United States, where teen pregnancy and sexual activity rates are high. The Roman Catholic Church has provided the main opposition to the birth control movement. The practice of contraception is to limit reproduction.

Projected Total Sales of Sundance Direct Sales Essay

Introduction Billboards, signage and eye-catching advertisement paraphernalia of different direct selling companies are sprouting everywhere, either local or international. Many companies established names and compete to prolong their standing in the business world. Defined in businessdictionary.com, direct selling is a face to face presentation, demonstration, and sale of products or services, usually at the home or office of a prospect by the independent direct sales representatives. Direct Selling contributes greatly on the economic development of the country; it manifests the Filipino spirit of enterprise and self-reliance. This industry gains greater popularity today than its early years. One of the popular direct selling companies in the Philippines is Sundance Direct Sales (Footworks Marketing Corporation). It was established on August 1999. Before they came with the business’ name, they first thought of fancy Italian names but they had decided on an original and easily remembered name- SUNDANCE. It was originated from the Hollywood movie, Butch Casedy and the Sundance Kid. Mr. Peter Yu is the managing director of Sundance Direct Sales. It is a fashion clothing and shoe retailing company with wide expertise in manufacturing industry. This company is engaged in selling of clothes, shoes, bags, cosmetics, accessories and infant and children lines. Currently, it is partnered with Maybelline New York, Afficionado and I2I eyewear. In its 12 successful years of existence, it has approximately 500,000 dealers and continuously increasing. It produced 16 branches and 400 local outlets nationwide. The mission of Sundance Direct Sales in helping fellowmen is to bring standard of excellence to all parts of the world. In lieu of their mission, they have reached and served international countries such as HongKong,  Dubai, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Abu Dhabi, Singapore. Sundance Direct Sales is an industry that continuously progressing, competing and creating new styles of fashion, awarding them as the Best Direct Selling brand of Apparel. Methodology Many business organizations used tools or techniques, like quantitative forecasting, that helped them determine the possible result of the business operation in the future. Quantitative forecasting technique bases its forecast from past data. This tool helps the manager or the decision maker to accomplish their organizational goals. Specifically, if a company has the record of its past 30-year sales, then it can project the sales for the next year and this may help him to determine the inventory levels, scheduling of production and the like. However either quantitatively or qualitatively, forecasting is not 100% certain; it has uncertainties so we need to measure the accuracy of the forecast. Forecast accuracy can be measure by MAD (mean absolute deviation) MSE (mean square error) and MAPE (mean absolute percentage error); the best model depends on the measure. The goal of this study is to project the total sales for one of the Sundance branches –Calamba -2011 so that the branch manager can have preparations in their inventory levels. In order to get the projected total sales of Sundance Direct Sales Calamba branch in 2011, time-series regression and smoothing linear trends were used. Time-series regression is the process of estimating the relationship between two variables- in our case time and sales per month. Smoothing linear trends is just the same with simple smoothing however the intercept and the slope of the trend line are continually adjusted in each period. Two methods were used for comparative purposes. The data were also tested for occurrence of seasonality. MAD was used to evaluate the forecast accuracy since most of the errors were too large. It weighted the errors equally. MSE is not advisable for this kind of problem because it will result to a very large number. The data collected was a 3-year monthly sales of the Sundance Direct Sales Calamba branch for the years: 2008, 2009 and 2010. The sales representative allowed the author to have the data with proper and legal consent. A hard copy of the data is handed down to the author (Appendix A). To analyze the data for occurrence of seasonality, the data were graphed first. In figure 1 is an illustration of the comparison of the sales in the three years of operation of Sundance Direct Sales –CALAMBA. Figure 1.Monthly Sales of Sundance Direct Sales – Calamba in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Seasonal time series repeats over a specific period such as day, monthly, quarterly or yearly. According to Levin, to determine seasonality two questions must be satisfied. First, are the peaks and troughs consistent? Looking back to Figure 1, there are peaks and troughs in year 2009 and year 2010 that are consistent but if you look at year 2008 it did not follow those peak and troughs. Second, there is an explanation for the seasonal pattern? Since there is no consistency in the trends of the data points, then we will not answer this question anymore. Both questions were not satisfied so we can say that the data didn’t exhibit seasonality. We can now proceed in forecasting the sales using the two methods mentioned earlier. Forecasting models are evaluated by dividing the samples into two parts: warm-up samples and forecast samples. Warm-up samples are used to fit the forecasting model while forecast samples are for testing the model. In a long time series, data are divided into half. Using time-series regression, warm-up samples – periods 1-18 –was used to get the equation the best-fitting trend line. Using the data in Appendix B, it was determined that the equation for the best-fitted line is  Ft = 2340883.46 + 3800.51(t) .

Homework Essay

Chapter 18 p534 1.What is the key assumption of the basic Keynesian model? Explain why this assumption is needed if one is to accept the view that aggregate spending is a driving force behind short-term economic fluctuations. The Keynesian model shows how fluctuations in planned aggregate expenditure can cause actual output to differ from potential output. This method is necessary because if it were not used companies would have to change prices every time there was a possible change in demand or quantity shift in inventory. With this method short term economic flux can happen when the a company does shift their price to meet demand. 3. Define planned aggregate expenditure and list its components. Why does planned spending change when output changes relatively infrequently. What accounts for the difference? This is a total planned spending on goods and services including; consumption, investment, government purchases and net ports. If spending change happens infrequently then added goods go into inventory causing company to spend capital on invested inventory. Consumption function accounts for the difference between changes in expenditure. Chapter 19 1. Why does the real interest rate affect planned aggregate expenditure? Give examples. Because the raising or lowering affects the cost of borrowing, which affects consumption and planned investment (which all is a part of aggregate expenditure). If the Fed raises rates the housing market will slow down buying. If the Fed lowers rates more people are likely to buy homes and refinance. 2. The Fed faces a recessionary gap. How would you expect it to respond? Explain step by step how its policy change is likely to affect the economy. The Fed’s position is to eliminate output gaps and maintain low inflation. To eliminate a recessionary output gap, the Fed will raise the real interest rate.

Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) is the vi Essays

Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) is the vi Essays Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) is the vision of Dr. Albert Ellis. Dr. Ellis, 1913 - 2007, received his masters and doctorate from Columbia University in psychology . Dr. Ellis is no stranger to mental illness nor the effects that mental illness on the family unit. Dr. Ellis's described his mother as "self-absorbed with bi-polar disorder" and his father as "emotionless and distant" . Dr. Ellis parent's inattention positioned him in the role of primary caregiver for his younger brother and sister despite his fragility. Dr. Ellis reported being hospitalized eight times between the ages of five and seven . Despite his shortage of parental support, Ellis did not permit his adversities to alter his disposition. Like most psychologists, Dr. Ellis's early training originated with psychoanalytic perspective. The techniques and focus of psychoanalytic theory left many unanswered questions for Ellis on efficacy and scientific premise on psychoanalytic therapy . Dr. Ellis believed that therapy should have scientific foundation to increase the validity of psychotherapy (Ellis, 1999). During his early career, Ellis critiqued the validity and reliability of personality tests concluding that the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory was the only valid instrument based on research . During the early portion of his career, Ellis utilized psychoanalytic techniques with his clients despite the lingering questions he possessed on efficacy and scientific premise. He sought a more effective interactive alternative means aid his clients. This initiated his pursuit for new methods and techniques focused on efficacy. Ellis noticed that most of his clients labeled as neurotic shared irrational thinking . Ellis observed most individuals are aware of their irrational thoughts but continue to maintain the irrational thoughts even though they are unreasonable . Focusing on irrational thinking, Ellis combined psychoanalytic and behavioral methodologies to form rational therapy . Rational thinking is subjective. What one person considers rational, another may consider irrational. Ellis defines rational as effective cognition. The problem with RT was RT implied rational thinking as logical cognition so Ellis elected to change the name to rational emotive therapy with aspirations of encompassing cognitive and emotive processes. Dr. Ellis changed rational therapy to rational emotive therapy in 1961 . Ellis believed a problem remained even after the name change, rational emotive therapy did not clearly indicate the relationship Ellis imagined. Ellis, again, changed the name in 1995 to rational emotive behavior therapy stressing the reciprocal collaboration between cognition, emotion, and behavior . The premise of REBT is it's not the unfortunate or traumatic event/action that causes increase emotion in individual's but it's the individuals beliefs that increases emotions . Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) which stresses individuals have the capacity to become completely rational, which is innate due to biologically factors, implying most persons have the ability to construct rational wishes and preferences but free-will permits individuals to transfer their wishes and preferences into rigid doctrines . Ellis examined individual's environment, personality, and concluded that learned behaviors, the need to assimilate, and traumatic or unfortunate events help foster irrational thinking in individual's . We develop learned behaviors across our lifespan, which anchor our values, beliefs, morals, and goals. Some learned beliefs convert into "shoulds, oughts, and musts or SOM's" . When we convert our SOM's into needs, we create irrational dogmas. Ellis defined individuals presenting complaint(s) as irrational belief(s) about self, others, and the world (SOW) as the three musts' . Ellis categories the three musts' into three board must categories: "I must achieve outstandingly well in one or more important respects ; Other people must treat me fairly and well or they are bad people!"; "Conditions must be favorable or else my life is rotten and I can't stand it" . When any or all of the musts' statements apply, emotional and/or behavioral disturbances occur. REBT teaches individual's that SOM's are demands not needs and if SOM's are not received or acquired, the world will not end. For example, "If I can't play professional football, I will become an accountant" versus "If I can't play professional football, my life will be over." REBT emphasizes the separation of behavior from the person. For example, "I did a bad thing" rather than "I am a bad

Night Mare essays

Night Mare essays This book is called Night Mare. It is written by Piers Anthony. In this book, the nextwave of barbarian warriors invade a place called Xanth ravaging and destroying as they advanced. But a Mare named Imbrium has her own problems. She has started to mishandle her job of delivering bad dreams. Now the Night Stallion dismissed her, Piers Anthony is the pen name of Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob. He was born on August 6th, 1934 in Oxford England. He has written over 100 novels in the genres of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and martial arts. Some of his other books include, Split In Xanth, deserving people receive nightmares. They are delivered by Night Mares from the gourd. The gourd resembles a Mundane squash with a hole on the surface. If one peeps into the hole, they become entranced into the gourd. Their body stays outside, but their soul goes into the land of the gourd. The only way to be released, is if someone blocks the victims view of the peephole. Inside the gourd there are several sections, the graveyard, the city of Brassies and all kinds of spooky stuff. When you go into the gourd and then leave, when you look at the peephole again it takes you right back to the place you left. Inside the gourd is where nightmares are made. Nightmares are each constructed for each individual who is to receive it. People must have nightmares. If they didnt, they wouldnt have any consciences. Nightmares make you a better person. The Night Stallion is in charge of the gourd. He assigns the nightmares to the Night Mares who deliver the bad dreams all over Xanth and sometimes Mundania. Night Mares are solid black and are immortal. They phase out in the darkness and travel all night delivering nightmares. You ...

The Governments Role in the Economy

The Government's Role in the Economy In the narrowest sense, the governments involvement in the economy is to help correct market failures or situations in which private markets cannot maximize the value that they could create for society.  This includes providing public goods, internalizing externalities (consequences of economic activities on unrelated third parties), and enforcing competition.  That being said, many societies have accepted a broader involvement of government in a capitalist economy. While consumers and producers make most of the decisions that mold the economy, government activities have a powerful effect on the U.S. economy in several areas. Promoting Stabilization and Growth Perhaps most important, the federal government guides the overall pace of economic activity, attempting to maintain steady growth, high levels of employment, and price stability. By adjusting spending and tax rates (known as fiscal policy) or managing the money supply and controlling the use of credit (known as monetary policy), it can slow down or speed up the economys rate of growth and, in the process, affect the level of prices and employment. For many years following the Great Depression of the 1930s, recessions- periods of slow economic growth and high unemployment often defined as two consecutive quarters of decline in the gross domestic product, or GDP- were viewed as the greatest of economic threats. When the danger of recession appeared most serious, the government sought to strengthen the economy by spending heavily itself or by cutting taxes so that consumers would spend more, and by fostering rapid growth in the money supply, which also encouraged more spending. In the 1970s, major price increases, particularly for energy, created a strong fear of inflation, which is an increase in the overall level of prices. As a result, government leaders came to concentrate more on controlling inflation than on combating recession by limiting spending, resisting tax cuts, and reining in growth in the money supply. A New Plan for Stabilizing the Economy Ideas about the best tools for stabilizing the economy changed substantially between the 1960s and the 1990s. In the 1960s, the government had great faith in fiscal policy, or the manipulation of government revenues to influence the economy. Since spending and taxes are controlled by the president and the Congress, these elected officials played a leading role in directing the economy. A period of high inflation, high unemployment, and huge government deficits weakened confidence in fiscal policy as a tool for regulating the overall pace of economic activity. Instead, monetary policy- controlling the nations money supply through such devices as interest rates- assumed a growing involvement. Monetary policy is directed by the nations central bank, known as the Federal Reserve Board, which has considerable independence from the president and the Congress. The Fed was created in 1913 in the belief that centralized, regulated control of the nation’s monetary system would help alleviate or prevent financial crises such as the  Panic of 1907, which started with a failed attempt to corner the market on the stock of the United Copper Co. and triggered a run on bank withdrawals and the bankruptcy of financial institutions nationwide. Source Conte, Christopher and Albert Karr.  Outline of the U.S. Economy. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of State.

The Challenges of Managing Behaviour Effectively Essay

The Challenges of Managing Behaviour Effectively - Essay Example According to the report managing student behaviour in a classroom is a major issue for high school teachers in the UK. Effective classroom management skills are vital issues in the teaching and learning environment. Teachers who can manage students’ behaviour help students to perform better than teachers who may not do the same. All teachers have a role to play to ensure that there is a positive classroom environment for learning.As the research highlights managing the behaviour of students effectively require knowing what to do at a particular time, when to and how to do it to bring desired results.   Teachers must understand the mechanisms that will lead to positive impacts on the behaviour of students. Although some teachers may do this instinctively without training, others will require extensive training to master these skills. Such teachers communicate high expectations, are calm in challenging situations, and motivate even the unruly students. On the other hand, admin istrators need to ensure that teachers know the mechanisms of managing behaviour in schools to direct students in the right way.  Students’ behaviour may range from those that are somewhat normal to those that are problematic. Some of the negative behaviours among students may involve failing to follow school rules and talking back to teachers and fellow students. Some of the more serious negative behaviours involve aggression, physical violence and getting involved in risky actions that include the use of alcohol or banned substances.

'There is no ... way of distinguishing the 'popular' from the 'high' Assignment

'There is no ... way of distinguishing the 'popular' from the 'high'. ... Nor is making such a distinction of importance' (Watso - Assignment Example This change in the social hierarchy of literature has led to the categorical division of literature on the basis of the thematic concerns of a literary piece i.e. poplar literature and high literature. 1.1. High Literature High or elite literature is a term used for the classic pieces of literature that followed the trends and customs of eighteenth century literary style and pattern. Johnson categorizes the works of Jane Eyre, lyric poetry and Puig’s works as high literature (9). 1.2. Popular Literature Newcomb states, ‘popular literature is by definition a product of literate practices, no matter how socially diverse, remote from elite norms or collective they may be’ (12). Hence popular literature is an anti thesis of high or elite literature. However popular literature is derived from high literature i.e. high literature formed the foundation that led to the production of popular literature. As a result it is impossible to distinguish one from the other and hen ce in every piece of popular literature there are strains of high or elite literature. ... 2.1. First Person Narration The novel is depicted in first person narration which provides the readers with a first hand account of all the action taking place in the novel. The narration technique used in this novel is similar to Jane Austen’s depiction of Pride and prejudice. Yet at the same time the author of Rebecca does not divulge the identity of her narrator which is an idea explored in popular literature. 2.2. Marriage Marriage is another idea that the two novels Pride and Prejudice and Rebecca explore. In the former the narrator Elizabeth as well the Jane Austen are observed to be stressing on importance of marriage and security in a woman’s life. On the other hand in Rebecca marriage is not symbolic of security and a necessity for women in fact du Maurier projects women as free and liberated as also observed from the narrator’s reaction to the marriage proposal where she says, ‘Oh but you don't understand! It's just that I, well I’m, not th e person men marry’ (32). 2.3. Liberated Woman The manners in which the characters of Rebecca and the narrator are portrayed are in itself a reflection of high and popular culture. Rebecca’s character is portrayed as a woman who is not only married in money but is also sexually liberated as stated in the novel, ‘Giles went out sailing with Rebecca†¦she had started on him as she had done on Frank†¦she might get hold of one of the workmen on the estate, someone from Kerrith, anyone†¦ she used to have this fellow Favell down to the cottage†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (174-175). this again is an idea that was explored in popular literature i.e. women having the freedom to do anything they want to. This also illustrates and supports feminism. Yet on the other hand the narrator’s shyness and

Discussion Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 35

Discussion - Coursework Example According to statistics that were produced by International Air Transport Association, the demand for global travel decreased with a percentage of 3.5 in 2009. This according to the department was the largest decrease since World War II (Transtats.bts.gov, 2015). Due to decrease in demand, an imbalance developed between demand for air travel and capacity. Capacity could not be reduced as fast as demand declined. Capacity for the domestic travel increased at the start of the recession since new planes that were ordered months before the recession were coming into service despite the deepening in recession. The reduction in demand lowered the prices of domestic air travel. During the first six months of 2008, there was a change in monthly available seats. Available seat miles increased at an average of 6.7% while load factor decreased at an average of 1.5% (Transtats.bts.gov, 2015). This was an indication that there was growth in the number of seats but the demand for the seats had reduced. Reduction in seats lowered the prices of domestic air travel. Price recovery in domestic airline travel began in late 2009. In addition to the imbalances to demand and capacity, there was an increase in jet fuel prices during economic recovery resulting to increased air passenger

Consider how one(or many)of the characters in Harper Lee's To Kill a Essay

Consider how one(or many)of the characters in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird are constructing their Identity. Analysis How - Essay Example It could be studied with equal felicity under the feminist, psychoanalytic or formalistic critical frameworks. To this extent, the novel can be said to be ‘polysemic’. Polysemy is the state of having more than one meaning. Though first coined to describe a linguistic phenomenon, the term has now gained a broader meaning so that it is also applied in discussing authorial intent in literary works. Also implied in the term ‘polysemy’ is the notion that perceptions vary depending on the particular identity of the reader, and â€Å"that words are multi-ordinal; these characteristics can lead to or permit conscious or unconscious confusion. The existence of diverging perceptions and language are explained through general semantics. Two significant ideas of general semantics are non-identity and infinity of values. Each of these ideas is manifest in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.† (Kasper, 2006, p.273) With the help of insights offered by Mar xist school of literary criticism, this essay will argue that social class is a major divisive factor in the novel. A central theme of the novel is its characters’ tendency to strongly identify with their race. Just as race separates, the human will is shown to overcome this difference. The decision by Atticus Finch to defend the black Tom Robinson is the most luminous example. Atticus’ defense of the innocent Robinson proves a daunting task. Despite convincing evidence to acquit Robinson from his guilt, the exclusively white jury convicts him all the same. Even the prison officials concoct a fake encounter and shoot Robinson while he was allegedly trying to escape. What is so shocking is that even within the confines of institutions of law and law enforcement, racial identity plays a dominant and destructive role. Clearly, racial prejudice overwhelms notions of fairness and justice espoused by law. (Singley, 2002, p.47) Applying Marxist critical thought to the novel w e see how race is strongly correlated with class. This means that all the blacks in the novel are inevitably also poor. This relationship between race and class makes the study of Atticus Finch all that more interesting and important. Atticus Finch is an exception to the typical characterization of white men – those seen in the novel as well as they actually existed in early twentieth century America. It order to deconstruct the formative ingredients behind Atticus Finch’s identity, we have to consider his upbringing, his influences, etc. From the references available in the text, we learn that Atticus Finch was a pious man. He is someone who looked up to the words of the scriptures in both letter and spirit. He brings the same attitude and mindset to his work as a lawyer. For Atticus, the spirit is more important than the literal interpretations of law – a concept he assimilated from his personal realizations of God. The manner in which Atticus brings up his ow n children is another indication of how his character is constructed. It is fair to assume that cherished values and virtues are inculcated by parents in their children. Just as Atticus’ children Scout and Jem are raised without prejudice or hatred, he in turn must have been raised the same way. So, it is fair to claim that Atticus’ identity development falls outside Marxist literary critique, for there is no trace of identity with class that is central to Marxism. On the other hand, religion and culture play

Introduction and conclusion section for report Essay

Introduction and conclusion section for report - Essay Example Simple to launch its products successfully in the South African market. The primary goal or objectives of the company are to increase its revenue generation through opening up of different retail garment stores in various feasible locations of South Africa. Various market entry modes that can be employed in case of entering the South African market and how it can be beneficial for the company have been discussed in this study. Identification of the target market in South Africa is also important and has been included in this study. The marketing mix strategy involving the appropriate products, places, prices and promotional strategies to be employed by the company has also been discussed in this study. The primary competitors of Mr. Simple Company have also been identified and the corresponding competitor analysis has been performed in this study. Mr. Simple Company has been successfully running its business in Australia, New Zealand and Vietnam. Its decision to expand its business in the South African market does not promise to be a good prospect for the company to help it increase its international presence and enhance its profitability in a significant manner. The primary objectives of the company are to increase brand awareness amongst the South Africans, increase its revenue and open up three retail garment stores in different parts of South Africa. The target customers have been identified to be males in the age group of 15 to 35 years. Fashionable and casual garment products would be offered to the targeted customers in South Africa. The market trend analysis performed in this study indicates that the youths in South Africa are attracted towards various clothing brands and with proper brand awareness the company can be successful in increasing its brand loyalty amongst the youth generation of the country. Various strat egies that are needed

The Restoration of Michelangelos Sistine Chapel Essay

The Restoration of Michelangelos Sistine Chapel - Essay Example Although there had been numerous problems in determining just how to decorate the ceiling of this structure as well as problems in stabilizing this same ceiling, the primary question for many was in whether or not to trust Michelangelo, a sculptor, with something at once so important and so degrading. For while Michelangelo is widely celebrated today for his work on the chapel, ceiling work such as what he was requested to perform was typically the work of lesser artists. Once the details had been ironed out and egos soothed, Michelangelo went to work demonstrating his artistic genius. Original descriptions of the chapel indicated that the paintings were alive with brilliant color, stunning imagery and mastery of technique, but visitors to the chapel in the centuries since have felt the images must have lost some of this vigor. As the previous century discovered, this has indeed been the case as almost 500 years of soot, smoke and pollution have accumulated over the faces of the imag es while the underlying structure has been assaulted by the ravages of decay and erosion. While some hailed this move as a much-needed preservation effort, others argued any attempts at restoration would necessarily destroy the artistry and originality of its creator. The purpose of this document is to explore some of the controversy surrounding the Sistine Chapel, beginning with the problems of its original creation and then jumping forward to the issues involved in attempting to restore such an irreplaceable international treasure, finishing with an analysis of the outcome of the restoration efforts.

Introduction and conclusion section for report Essay

Introduction and conclusion section for report - Essay Example Simple to launch its products successfully in the South African market. The primary goal or objectives of the company are to increase its revenue generation through opening up of different retail garment stores in various feasible locations of South Africa. Various market entry modes that can be employed in case of entering the South African market and how it can be beneficial for the company have been discussed in this study. Identification of the target market in South Africa is also important and has been included in this study. The marketing mix strategy involving the appropriate products, places, prices and promotional strategies to be employed by the company has also been discussed in this study. The primary competitors of Mr. Simple Company have also been identified and the corresponding competitor analysis has been performed in this study. Mr. Simple Company has been successfully running its business in Australia, New Zealand and Vietnam. Its decision to expand its business in the South African market does not promise to be a good prospect for the company to help it increase its international presence and enhance its profitability in a significant manner. The primary objectives of the company are to increase brand awareness amongst the South Africans, increase its revenue and open up three retail garment stores in different parts of South Africa. The target customers have been identified to be males in the age group of 15 to 35 years. Fashionable and casual garment products would be offered to the targeted customers in South Africa. The market trend analysis performed in this study indicates that the youths in South Africa are attracted towards various clothing brands and with proper brand awareness the company can be successful in increasing its brand loyalty amongst the youth generation of the country. Various strat egies that are needed

Philosophical issus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Philosophical issus - Essay Example s is mainly because one belongs in, a family may have high standards of behavior code where the members are trained to act and behave in a certain manner which may be very different from others. Additionally, community based behavioral system where they have established rules and regulation on behavior, for example, in some African communities it is wrong foe a young person to salute the elders with their hands instead the young person beds and the elder touched the forehead of the young person as a sign of respect (James and Stuart 100-187). Kantian ethics auger well with the conception of morality ethical this is because it mainly deals with moral realism, which claims that moral propositions refer to objective facts, which are independent of human opinion. Moreover, ethical subject reflects a close relationship between morality and people’s feelings and opinions of some issues creates disagreement of people on correct direct issues that real dispute is not about objective truth but about their own preference(Richard, pp 56-89). According to the social contract theory, in the absence of rules, law, and political order human life would be solitary, poor, short and nasty the element. Personal moral however guides a person on doing what is wrong without being followed by anybody around and prevent them from engaging in immoral activities. (James and Stuart

Charachter Analysis Atticus Finch Essay Example for Free

Charachter Analysis Atticus Finch Essay In â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird† by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch is a man who fights for what he believes in. He is very strong willed and always the one who will stand up for what is right, not what the most popular thing is to do. He also is often reffered to as the wisest man in his town. Atticus believes in equality among people. In his mind all people are equal and deserve equal treatment no matter what race they are. Atticus tells Jem and Scout, his two children, not to judge people until you walk in their shoes. Atticus is also a defense lawyer for his county of Maycomb. Durring his case with Tom Robinson, the black that was accused of raping a white girl, Atticus tries to change the injustices and racism in his small hometown. Atticus is a older male, about 50 years old, with a darker hair color that is turning gray as he ages. He wears glasses because his left eye is nearly blind. He said â€Å"Left eyes are the tribal curse of the Finches. He is also rather tall. His two children were once ashamed of him, because he didn’t fish or hunt, like the other childrens fathers, due to his age. But as they grew, they began appreciating him not for the activities he did on the weekend, but his morals and beliefs. Atticus is one of the most loyal, humane, and consistent with his views and beliefs than any other character in the novel. Miss Maudie states, Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets. His intelligence, calm wisdom, courage, humility, lack of prejudice, and strong sense of justice, causes him to be respected by everyone, including the very poor and black people. Although he is looked down on and mocked by many characters in the novel for his kindness towards the â€Å"Negros†, the people of Maycomb still respect him and keep re-electing him to be their representative in the State Legislator. Durring the trial with Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch defendes him to the best of his ability despite significant difficulties from the community. Since it was back in the time of civil unrest and racial segregation. This had a huge impact on the community, as Atticus Finch was a highly respected attorney in the white community, who ended up drawing the most adoration and respect from the entire black community for his efforts to stand up for the truth regardless of race. Atticus is a strong willed man who stands for what he belives in. His thoughts do not change because of a persons skin color. He is kind and understanding and helpful to his children as well as anyone else who may seek for help. He is a well respected man in Maycomb, because he stands for what he believes, not the popular beliefs.

Relationship between the society and technology

Relationship between the society and technology Technology is very important aspect of human condition as it provides cloths, shelters, foods, transportations etc. Technological determinism is the theory that technology is an autonomous force that changes society and it is also the key force to our society. This provides explanations for many changes that can be observed in society, and it has a very simple cause/effect form. However, this theory is false, if you think you have an instance, it means you are looking at just one part of a much more complex situation, and ignoring the complex social network that supports the technology. However, technology is a major and really the main cause of social change as a lot of changes in the society is largely caused by technology but within human control. The computer and email technology has reduced the period it takes to transmit messages between two parties or more as emails sent electronically can be received immediately, thereby saving lots of man hours, and consequently even reducing human and vehicular traffic as people dont need to sometimes travel to send and receive documents. The computerization of the banking is not necessarily to reduce wage bills and increase profit as new technologies and this computerization brings new employment opportunities for a lot of IT professionals who will manage this technology. The new innovation in banking is to guarantee efficiency and productivity the same applies in the containerization of cargo. Like earlier specified these technologies were not only technologically determined, it did have its economic, social, cultural and political reasons. These technologies did give room for employment as more people gets employed to manage these technologies, the more income and more revenue for government and ultimately growth in economy, thereby causing political stability which has it cultural advantages as a peaceful society is a viable society. A society is an organized group of person associated together for purposes such as social, political and religious, while technology on the other hand is an application or even sometime seen as object. This report will help us to determine which of the above mention attempt that is best in relating both technology and society, their strength and weakness, merits and demerits and possible whether they have been able to really answer to the obvious question of whether the society is inflecting technology or its technology that is influencing the society. 2. TECHNOLOGICAL DETERMINISM Technological determinism is one of the three attempts that this report intends to use in determining the relationship between technology and the society. Before I analyze this attitude or theory, it is important to understand what I mean by technology and society. Technology determinism does explain the relationship between technology and the society, but it does not adequately explain the relationship technology and society. A lot of social changes are also independent as technology does not have any influence. Technology cannot be said to be autonomous as not all social changes and activities are dependent on technology examples are the computer and email technology where informations, messages and documents are sent electronically, not needing people to take mail from one location to another, but this technology is still largely not dependent as the computer cannot send mails on its own, which means its not out of mans control as people still get employment to receive, read and possibly reply mails, so does not cause any redundancy or unemployment. 2.1 Technological Determinism explains relationship between technology and society which asserts that. Technological Determinism is also a popular view about the relationship between technology and society. It is the same Technology Determinism that says new technologies develop the change in society. And the theory presumes that a societys technology drives the development of its social structure and cultural values. Therefore the term technological determinism is an idea, a belief, a theory that human, individual and societal change are caused primarily by technology, that technology is the main agent of social change. However, there is still the debate whether technological determinism is a theory or an attitude. This refers to the belief that technology is the agent of social change. It is both popular attitude, reflected in such expressions as you cant stop progresses and a theoretical position. Looking at the relationship between technological determinism as a theory and as an attitude, determinism is a popular attitude to technology, but it cannot be used as a theory or basis for explaining the relationship between society and technology. 2.2 I believe that quotes B and D are examples of Technology determinism. 2.3 The reasons why I believe quotes B and D are examples of a Technology Determinism approach to technology and society. 3. SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM Social Constructionism is an artefact in a social invention or construction by an individual in a particular society. Also theory that in addition to express the socially designed ways of our social life which can also be in connect with knowledge achieved and develop within society context, as opposed to realism. (Nilsen) Social Constructionism is a term used theories that express the socially originated way of our social life. (Marshall, 1994). Main feature of Social construction theory is viewing knowledge as socially distributed. Through origin relationship between knowledge and its social base knowledge becomes a social product and a factor in social change. Social distribution of knowledge has implications for social construction of identity, depending on which identity is appropriate or desired at a specific point in time. As a result, whatever the experts do, the pluralistic situation changes not only the social position of the traditional definitions of reality, but also the way in which these are held in the consciousness of individuals ( Berger Luckmann, p. 115). 3.1 The main features of this theory areà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ 3.2 The quotes which I think best illustrate SCism are W and Y. 3.3 The reasons why I think W and Y are written from a SCist perspective areà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ 4. SOCIAL SHAPING Social shaping is theory that addressed the outcomes or impacts of technological change, the design patterns and implementation of technology. In recent years, social shaping has increased and also gained its recognition. It thus goes beyond traditional approaches, concerned merely to assess the `social impacts of technology, to examine what shapes the technology which is having these impacts, and the way in which these impacts are achieved (MacKenzie and Wajcman 1985). Technological change is often seen as something that takes its own way. 4.1 This theory about the relationship between tech. and society can be explained as followsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ 4.2 identify quotes 4.3 state why you have chosen these quotes. 5. CONCLUSION 6. BIBLIOGRAPHY Alphabetical list of all books, websites, articles etc used in preparing report. FORMAT: Author/editors last name then initial, (date of publication), title in italics, place of publication: place of publication. Forester, T. (1987) High-Tech Society, Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

Loneliness and Friendship in Steinbecks Of Mice and Men :: essays research papers

The novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck describes the life of a man and his best friend who has the mentality of a child. Their friendship is very strong and this is unusual due to the other characters in the book being very lonely. Every time George and Lennie manage to stick a job out, Lennie makes a mistake and they are forced to leave. But they hope after all of their intense work that they can finally have their dream and get a place they can call their own. Through many difficulties and hardships they manage to deal with the arguments and lack of companionship at their workplace. Between the two key themes of friendship and loneliness Steinbeck makes the novel Of Mice and Men a real success. One of the ways Steinbeck establishes the theme of loneliness is through setting itself. Section one of the book is set at a pleasant and peaceful river a few miles south of Soledad. The first four letters sole meaning only. Also Soledad means lonely place in Spanish. The river seems very secluded and isolated. There’s nothing but nature. It’s a very harmonious and tranquil place. A clearing so quiet you could hear a pin drop. It’s also the place George tells Lennie to meet him if he gets into any sort of trouble. This is a complete contrast to where the rest of the book is mainly set. A ranch where George and Lennie the two main characters manage to find work. The ranch displays isolation mainly through the actions characters take and the events that happen. Characters in the novel also contribute to the understanding of the theme of loneliness. George Milton and Lennie Small are the two main characters in the novel. They are like two halves. â€Å"The first man was small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp strong features.† George is the smaller of the two men but has taken care of Lennie for a while, since Lennie’s Aunt Clara died and this highlights the theme of friendship. He is the more knowledgeable one of the two. â€Å"You crazy son-of-a-bitch. You keep me in hot water all the time.† George gets a little irritated with Lennie at times but looks after him no matter what. Their friendship is solid has to watch over him at all times, as Lennie is incapable of looking after himself and is one of the many characters who doesn’t change at all through the novel.

Cultures in Motion Discussion

From the introduction up to chapter 7 in the reading of â€Å"Cultures in Motion† by author Peter N. Stearns, does a profound job in doing what was expressed would be done within the first few pages of his book. The basis of focusing on many different cultures and the encompassing contact was very focused and cut down to a short straight to the point style but was given a wide range of a big picture of most of the cultures and their history.The way Peter splits chapters one through seven into two parts, the first being about early classical civilization explaining the cultures being born in Egypt and the Middle-East, the explanation of Buddhism, Jewish, and Christianity. The second being of postclassical cultural contacts; in which provides a view of a clear explanation of how everything was most likely formed and what became or has become of it. Within Chapters 1-5, Stearns provides vital information starting off with the Middle East and Egypt.He expresses how the Greeks had borrowed Egypt and the Middle East culture and civilization, and even though it was fine it came to the point of where they just wanted some acknowledgement but the Greeks never wanted to admit their borrowing so that then led to the complication of being able to figure out the contacts. Following was the Hellenistic-Indian period, dealing with the â€Å"great and powerful† Alexander. This chapter made me see how insane Alexander was. He would start wars and win them, want more and get it. Until, his death bed reached him with his empire going down as fast as he got it.From there, it went to the history of Buddhism, and the way Stearns explains all that went down for this religion such as human suffering and sacrifice; made me realize how extreme these religions can get. Although, it is nice to see how much respect and will one can have for something that doesn’t seem so important to others, but is too many. Adding to that, a big part of all these cultures is of course the spread of them. Learning how and where these civilizations would be spread is very difficult to keep up with.In example, you have Buddhism in which many believe started in Asia but in reality started in classical India then spread to the north and east from trading and traveling, then followed into Southeast Asia continuing to migrate over in Hawaii and the Americas. Aside from that, the Jewish and Christianity spreading occurred. Having many killed and looked down on, those who were true believers stuck to their faith and helped continued to spread it. Finally, you reach the postclassical period describing how Islam and Christianity spread.The spread of Islam began in Arabia and the Middle East, fleeing out to Africa, Asia, and Europe creating the works of actually more people learning about it through trade and missionary activities. As for Christianity, Europe was the one to spread it into the Americas not only bringing this important cultural contact but also new animals, d iseases, and rulers. Once the culture was introduced it went on into North America where the religious heritage of Europe was being brought upon. Therefore, Peter N. Stearns provides history on how and where the many cultures came about in example from Egypt to the Middle East, to India and Asia, etc.Where trading was being done and wars were being fought with hundreds of thousands of people from different cultures themselves. These cultures had many contacts in which many we will never know. Although, you come to the conclusion of realizing that cultures and civilization have a great amount of information, facts, and stories to be said to be able to learn and understand how a culture was created and what was happening during that moment; that is where Peter N. Stearns does a well job in explaining the â€Å"Cultures in Motion. †

The Financial Crisis’ Lack of Impact on IB Programs

The past year everyone in Greece is complaining about the financial crisis that hit the country during the autumn of 2009. Although in the beginning most people believed that the country would be able to go through it without major problems, they were soon proven wrong. Not only Greece wasn’t able to manage the crisis but almost faced bankruptcy and had to go under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in order to survive. The financial measures enforced by the IMF affected the financial situation of all citizens of Greece. Although the richest families even started facing financial problems, the number of students graduating from private schools not only did not have a decrease, but in contrast had a small increase. In Greece, in order to be sure one will study abroad, it would be best the student would follow the International Baccalaureate program, mostly referred to as IB. Since the first year the IB program came to Greece by Moraitis School (1984) the number of students deciding to follow it and go study abroad has been increasing steadily. But not only has the number of students graduating from private high schools increased, during a very severe financial crisis, but the percentage of students going to study abroad through the IB program has remained stable. Despite the fact that the tuition fees for the International Baccalaureate are more than those for the regular Greek high school program offered by private schools. During the academic years prior to the economic crisis, the IB program had a steady increase of 10% when it came to its students. More specifically the academic year 2006/07 the percentage of students attending the program was 50 % and a year later it had come to a total of 60%. A year later, the academic year 2008/09, the percentage of students rose to a 70% and as it was the year before the financial crisis hit the country, it was the last year there was an increase in the number of students applying for the IB program. Since last year, the academic year 2009/10, the percentage of IB students has remained stable at a 60% despite the fact that the economy of the country is in a worse state during the past 6 months. Moraitis School statistics). Mrs. Zalma, a mother of three, out of which the two are graduates and the youngest one will go to university next fall said â€Å"Despite the economic crisis, I agreed with my son to follow the IB program, as I saw that my daughter who graduated from a foreign university has more work opportunities than my older son who finished a Greek university. † The fact that there are more opportunities for a career in foreign countries due to the economic crisis is a major reason why many students decide to go study abroad. Not only because certain specialities are different from country to country (such as law), but also because parents and students do not trust the Greek universities to provide them a high standard certificate, when it comes to universities other from architecture, medicine law and economics. As Mrs. Papadopoulou said, â€Å"I don’t mind paying higher tuition fees for our son’s education in the middle of an economic crisis, as I know he will have a better future than staying to study in Greece, due to the higher standards of the certificates of foreign universities. This is the way most parents sending their children study abroad think, having in mind not what speciality their children are going to choose but if the university they decide to attend to has a good reputation and therefore credibility or not. But this is not only the way of thought of parents that are worried about the future of their children. As mentioned above, it is also the students that nowadays do not trust the power of a certificate from a Greek institution. During the past decade that I have been working for Moraitis School, I have seen more and more students wanting to study abroad, as they do not trust the Greek educational system. They feel more confident having a bachelor degree from foreign universities, especially from the States, United Kingdom and France. † said Mr. Edippidis, maths teacher in Moraitis School. This shows that even students have the same angst as their parents concerning their future and want to go out to the workplace equipped with a strong degree, especially now in the midst of this financial crisis. In order to achieve this and feel confident they choose a more expensive but more promising program to make sure they will have a place in the universities of their choice. This way, as the trust of students towards the Greek universities is fading and the workplace in Greece does not offer the same opportunities as other countries, students and parents turn towards the educational institutes of those countries. And as they feel they will a have a better chance of entering those universities through the IB program, families do not care giving a little more to education, despite the difficult financial situation in Greece.

Clinical Nursing Essay

Introduction Nurses utilize multiple theories daily to care for patients and their families, though these theories range from grand, to situation-specific, to mid-range the nurse tends to focuses on which theory will provide the best care to his/her patient. Perhaps in my opinion mid-range theories with their growing frequency of use are best suited for nursing in the 21st century. Mid-range theories are said to be middle rather than ordinary but they are specific enough to evaluate observed situations (McCurry, Revell, &Roy, 2009). There are multiple reasons why mid-range theories offer some of the most up to date information when it comes to the care of our patients and families, but let’s just break it down to three; interpersonal relations, family, and health promotion. The middle range theories of these three examples will provide a set of assumptions and/or predictions from specific situations confirmed by research (Nolan & Grant, 1991). Interpersonal relations First, Hildegard Peplau’s Theory of Interpersonal Relations has influenced patient care in the 21st century worldwide. What is so crucial and probably most significant with this mid-range theory is its focus on human issues and its value of future generations (Barker, 1998). Nurses utilize this theory to treat each patient as an individual realizing that each person and their situation are unique. By applying this knowledge to each patient the nurse is able to develop a therapeutic relationship, which will promote the planning and implementation of nursing care. For nursing care to be successful they must view the nurse/patient relationship as a partnership being aware both are working together for a common goal (Barker, 1998). Also, interpersonal relations are used in all areas of nursing, which is why it is so important for the future of nursing, because without these relationships we would not be effective in our profession. These relationships are needed to expand our know ledge of each patient and their situation. By establishing trust the patients are encouraged to express themselves openly and honestly. Therefore the relationship built bridges barriers that may have hindered the patient outcome. Family Second, Hildegard Peplau’s mid-range theory of family systems has revolutionized the nursing approach in which families are incorporated into decision makers. Currently, families are viewed as the most influenecial person when it comes to the care of their loved one, meaning not only are nurses to build a therapeutic relationship and trust with the patient but with their family as well (Forchuck & Dorsay, 1995). This theory molds nurses into advocates for the family unit, which in turn influences the patient’s quality of life. These relationships with families are crucial when it comes to care, for example, if a patient was unable to provide the nurse with health history or tell them when they are in pain the family is able to be the eyes, ears and speech of their loved one. This action improves the care for the patient and nurses need the families as much as the patient needs the nurse. This is one of the reason’s why this theory works in the 21st century even w ith all the technology in the world, we as nurses still need the human interaction to open our eyes to the patient/family dynamic. Family system nursing is both the individual and the family simultaneously instead of just merely family nursing where the nurse takes care of the patient within the context of the family (Forchuck & Dorsay, 1995). This practice focuses on the interactions and relationships made between the nurse, individual and family. In order for this theory to be successful the nurse must be aware of the range of choices and downfalls associated with family system nursing. Also it is necessary to build on these relationships to provide creative personal choice and consistent flow of care for the patient to enhanced achievable goals. This engagement of nursing with family systems opens the door for problem solving of patient situations, which implements structure in the nurse/individual/family relationship (Forchuck & Dorsay, 1995). Health promotion Third, is the promotion and maintenance of health by utilizing Nola Pender’s Health Promotion Model. Health promoting behavior is enhanced through nursing practice, which enhances the patient’s overall well being. This mid-range theory is important today because it guides a supportive and educative system in health promotion in a patient who needs teaching and  demonstration in performing self-care. By applying this method the nurse is able to identify patient’s health promoting behavior’s such as, health importance, self-efficacy, perceived control of health and perceived health status to find any gaps and/or barriers to their health promoting behavior (Simmons, 1990). By promoting health the nurse seeks to care for the individual by developing these behaviors of healthy living, which sets the stage for the individuals to gain knowledge to care for themselves. This applies to all nurses who actively promote healthy living by becoming an active influence in developing healthy living behaviors through education and guidance. Conclusion These middle range theories set the groundwork for research. Each are utilized daily in clinical practice to provide the best patient care. The rationale for considering the middle range theories is an important factor when considering a care plan, which requires the use of the nursing process. These theories follow the nursing process and help guide our responses to promote, educate, integrate and build relationships with these individuals and their families with the same common goal of promoting health. These authors point out how the nursing profession is influential in the care of other and how their actions influence health beliefs. These middle range theories build on other theories, which is why they are so important in nursing practice today. These theories can be used in different areas of nursing as well as using multiple theories in one area of nursing such as mental health. Also, middle range theories have identified multiple interventions for health related issues throug h simple research (McCurry et al., 2009). Nurses like myself have adopted these theories and incorporate them into daily practice to increase my own understanding of my patient and their situations and this is why I chose middle range theories. References Barker, P. (1998). The future of the Theory of Interpersonal Relations? A personal reflection on Peplau’s legacy. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 5, 213-220. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2850.1998.00128.x Forchuk, C. & Dorsay, J. (1995). Hildegard Peplau meets family systems nursing: innovation in theory-based practice. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 21, 110-115. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2648.1995.21010110.x McCurry, M. & Roy, C. (2009). Knowledge for the good of the individual and society: linking philosophy, disciplinary goals, theory, and practice. Nursing Philosophy, 11, 42-52. doi:10.1111/j.1466769X.2009.00423.x Nolan, M. & Grant, G. (1992). Mid-range theory building and the nursing theory-practice gap: a respite care case study. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 17, 217-223. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.1992.tb01876.x Simmons, S. (1990). The Health-Promoting Self-Care System Model: directions for nursing research and practice. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 15, 1162-1166. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2646.1990.tb01708.x

Sickle Cell Anemia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sickle Cell Anemia - Essay Example Each cell of a human body consists of a nucleus. All the genetic material required for the physical characteristics of a human being are present in the 23 chromosomes located inside the nucleus. A single unit of a DNA is called a gene. A gene provides us with the directions required for synthesizing a protein and these proteins are responsible for our traits. Each gene consists of a specific order of nucleotides and these nucleotides dictate the order of amino acids which in turn form chains and links to form proteins. These sequences of amino acids are very important because they are responsible for the shape, structure and characteristics of a protein. Any change in this sequence is called a mutation and the effects could be dreadful. Change in this sequence could cause the characteristics of a protein to change completely. Mutation is basically the spontaneous change in the structure of a gene or chromosome. There are many types of mutations and they could either be beneficial or harmful. This type of mutation is an example of a point mutation or a missense mutation, and is obviously extremely harmful, if the gene occurs in a homozygotic form. It occurs in the beta globin gene (HBB) which is present in the 11th chromosome. The HBB gene is responsible for normal blood production. The point mutation causes the beta hemoglobin molecule to convert the GAG codon into a GUG codon by transcription i.e. it encodes the amino acid valine rather than the seventh amino acid, glutamic acid. Valine is hydrophobic (water hating) causing the hemoglobin molecule to bend inwards, causing it to become sickle shaped. There are no other changes in the structure. The synthesis of any protein is a two-step process. Firstly the instructions in the gene, present in the DNA, are copied onto a messenger RNA (mRNA) with the help of RNA polymerase. The synthesis of the mRNA is a complex process. This stage is known as transcription. In this stage, the RNA polymerase breaks the bonds of the double helical molecule of DNA and with the help of base pairing, different RNA nucleotides are added one at a time. To understand the concept of base pairing, one needs to understand the structure of RNA first. Each RNA molecule consists of a nitrogenous base, sugar and a phosphate molecule. But unlike DNA, RNA is single stranded. During transcription, each DNA nucleotide is paired with a complimentary RNA nucleotide. The complimentary base pairs are as follows: Guanine with Cytosine Thymine(DNA) pairs with Adenine (RNA) Adenine (DNA) pairs with Uracil(RNA) One of the basic differences between DNA and RNA is of the nitrogenous bases. In place of Thymine, RNA contains Uracil. This method of base pairing ensures that the correct sequence of nucleotides, present in the DNA, is copied onto the mRNA chain. (Gary H. Perdew) These instructions consist of the sequence in which the amino acids should be linked together to form the protein. In this case, the new mRNA formed at the 11th c hromosome is encoded with the mutant code. Then the information on the mRNA bases is translated by the ribosomes so that they can place amino acids in the given order to form the protein that was coded for by the gene in this case, the beta s globin. Three nucleotides in an mRNA molecule are the code for one amino acid. This set of nucleotides is known as a codon. This sequence of codons is actually the code for the sequence of amino acids in a protein. Because of the point mutation the HBB gene

Flood control in river basins has become more important in recent Essay

Flood control in river basins has become more important in recent years. Discuss various techniques used for flood control and t - Essay Example The flood defenses were strong barriers that prevented water from flooding into the plain land (Woods & Woods 2007, p.5). Floods occur when flowing surface water spills over the confining banks into the dry land. Floods are a natural phenomenon, which occur in almost all river systems. Areas prone to flooding include those located downstream of dams and the low lying regions. Flooding causes immense losses, which include loss of human and animal life, soil erosion, damage on properties, destruction of vegetation and many environmental damages. In addition, areas affected by floods are highly susceptible to famines and prolonged droughts. This further causes loss of human and animal life due to starvation. Floodwaters are usually contaminated with harmful microorganisms derived from raw sewage. This puts people affected by the floods at greater risks of getting infectious diseases (Proverbs, et al., 2011, p. 221). Floods may contribute to some positive impacts on the ecosystem. One of the benefits of flooding includes offering fresh water for domestic use and irrigation. The other benefit includes massive deposition of minerals and nutrients into the affected areas. Apart from these benefits, floods also help in improving the condition of aquatic ecosystems. However, they can be regarded as the most damaging compared to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Therefore, stringent measures must be undertaken to prevent the massive losses incurred during floods. This paper discusses various techniques used in controlling floods and their environmental impacts (Gruntfest & Handmer, 2001, p.12). Methods used to control floods Techniques applied in controlling floods entail the modification of the river environment and areas located close to the river. Flood control techniques can be applied on the river channel, floodway or on the floodplain (Ghosh, 1997, p.55). Techniques applied in floodplains Floodplains are those regions that lie below the flood elevation and exclus ively on the floodway and river channel. Majority of techniques applied on the floodplains lie far from the river, but are designed to reduce damage from floods. Levee around structures This technique entails the construction of a levee/floodwall around structures located in floodplains. Levees can either be permanent or temporally. Construction of the levee requires the use of strong, natural or artificial material that can withstand pressure from the floods (Hyndman & Hyndman, 2010, p.356). The essence of using levees and other barriers is to raise the height in structures located in floodplains which floodwater must rise to in order cause flooding. These structures offer protection to structures but put other structures into a high risk of flooding due to increased water retention in the floodplains. In addition, serious damage to protected structures can arise when the levees are unable to hold back the floods. This is because the pressure at which the floods hit the structure i s extremely high compared to when there is no barrier (Green, 2004, p.36). The use of levees, floodwalls, and dykes has a negative impact on natural river processes (Harmancioglu, 1994, p.42). Ideally, water spills emerging from a river should form a natural channel which provides a way for the floods to flow. Therefore, levees reduce the ability of the floodplains to process floodwaters. In addition, the

Public school education vs. Private school education Essay - 1

Public school education vs. Private school education - Essay Example Moreover, political instability, polarization of labor market, increased competition due to admission of minority and underprivileged students has decreased popularity of public schools (Pedro, 392- 395). This paper presents an overall view of the conflict between public schools and private schools in US, along with advantages and shortcomings of each. The paper also attempts to peek into the future course of this conflict. Public schools possess the reputation of not practicing discrimination among students regarding fees and other formalities (Porter, 2). These schools consider education as a social right and ensure proper functioning of democracy by imparting proper educations. This goes in line with government policies of development and mass higher education (Pedro, 394). As government has refused to fund public schools like previous times, the schools have undertaken the course of eliminating educational programs. Courses and supportive programs like music, foreign languages, a thletics, library facilities, medical and healthcare facilities, psychologists are curtailed (Pedro, 239). Thus, students from these schools are less likely to success in a competitive environment. On top of this, public schools are â€Å"fraught with politics, tangled in bureaucracy and fragmented† (Simon). Private schools believe in the system of constant evaluation and control. Tests held on a regular basis do not allow the students to get defocused. Intensified discipline and schoolwork make students a better citizen of tomorrow. Private schools constantly inspire their students for better performance by means of â€Å"grade promotion, graduation and scholarship† programs. Due to a wide variety of curriculums, students excel in other skills also apart from formal education. Thus, it becomes easier for them to perform during their professional lives (Testing, Privatization, and the Future of Public Schooling).

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Paper - Research Proposal Example Emanating from Charles family once being a property it leaves a mark on the existence of specific person and their achievements. Being followed by ownership, ownership of anything claims person superiority over the properly. Music keeps records of historical events and personal records. The piano being a metaphor in the play line music is widely utilized to keep record of historical happening. The piano takes several meaning in the play and its lifetime. As a gift bought via slave exchange it signifies persons worth and interchangeability during slavery era and white kingship network over blacks. Under Boy Willie the piano signifies a symbolic attempt to keep the family together and history. The carving on it wooden parts are a narrative of the present and past historical events of the slaves and family story line. The piano being passed from one generation to another helps keep the past family historical memorials within the family. Ghost in the play were used to associate the play with the African American culture a trait the inherited from their African ancestors. Since the slave’s culture dissolved into white folks Christianity the writer used ghost to remind African American on their origin and reserve their spiritual beliefs. Therefore the ghost reserves historical events of the African American folks (Wilson

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Traning in business - Essay Example Most of the youths who joins an organization as a fresher, may not have much ideas about the organizational environments. Whatever they learned from the institutions might be the theoretical part and the practical part begins when they start their career in an organization. Training is the only option for the employers to make the fresh candidate suitable for their organization. The do’s and don’ts of the organization, organizational behavior, culture, objectives etc can be provided to the employees only through training. No knowledge can be perfect if the learner fail to update it. New knowledge is bursting from all the corners virtually in every second and without updating; the knowledge of an employee might not be enough to meet the current challenges. It is difficult for an employee to go to institutions for acquiring further knowledge because of his professional commitments. So it is necessary for the employers to train their employees properly to prepare them capable of meeting the ever changing challenges in the business world. The following diagram represents the flowchart of training in an organization. Training helps an employee to understand the business environment of the organization he is working for. Business environments can be different in different organizations. For example, business environments of Pepsi and Coke might be entirely different even thought they operate in the same soft drink manufacturing industry. In order to make the employee custom made, training is essential for each and every organization. Changes and challenges faced by different organizations might be entirely different. For example, as mentioned in the above example, the challenges faced by Pepsi might not be the same for Coke because of the different geographical locations they were operating. Even in same countries they may face different challenges. For example, Coke is accused of exploiting underwater resources more than the

Education Is the Most Important Thing Essay Example for Free

Education Is the Most Important Thing Essay Education is the most important thing we can offer to our children and the generations to come, yet it is one of the topics that we struggle with the most. With the choices between local, state and federal authorities, who should have control over education? It is my belief that the control should lie with the federal authorities because they are able to maintain a complete situational picture over all the states. Many of our founding fathers of the United States feared that leaving education in the hands of private families, churches, local communities or philanthropic societies would not guarantee the survival of a democracy. (Pulliam Van Patten, 2007, p. 122). In this paper I am going to defend my opinion of why the federal authorities should have control of education. How programs they have developed have flourished, and even how some of their programs could be run better. I currently serve as an instructor for the Navy teaching junior Sailors how to do their job better thus protecting the ship for harm, however; I am not the only one who teaches these classes, so to ensure that all Sailors are taught the same information all of our learning sites fall under one controlling entity. The education of our youth should be run the same, and if education was to be allowed to be completely run by local or even state entities, then the education opportunities may not be the same throughout the cities and even states. One of the best programs I have seen is the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2002. NCBL is a United States Act of Congress that was originally proposed by the administration of President George W. Bush immediately after taking office. The House of Representatives passed the bill on May 23, 2001, and United States Senate passed it on June 14, 2001. President Bush signed it into law on January 8, 2002. NCLB is the latest federal legislation that enacts the theories of standards-based education reform, which is based on the belief that setting high standards and establishing measurable goals can improve individual outcomes in education. The Act requires states to develop assessments in basic skills to be given to all students in certain grades, if those sta tes are to receive federal funding for schools. The Act does not assert a national achievement standard; standards are set by each individual state.(â€Å"No Child Left Behind Act of 2001â€Å", 2006) Not only does the NCLB Act standardize learning for the students it also is used for standardization of teacher qualifications. For decades, local policymakers and school officials turned a blind eye to a set  of vexing problems in public education. In practice, there was a situational definition of teacher quality. No one thought anything about, as one principal said, scheduling a physical education teacher to fill in for one class of history. It was a common practice for middle school principals to employ elementary certified teachers because it provided the principals maximum flexibility in assigning teachers to classes, whether or not the teachers were qualified to teach those classes. (Hayes , 2003) As stated earlier, I believe that all children should not only have the same opportunity to get an education, but should also be entitled to the same education as every other child. If control of our educational system was given to the local or even state authorities this would probably not be the case as each state would want to do it â€Å"their way†. The No Child Left Behind Act ensures that all children no matter race, religion, or financial status is given the same opportunities for education, and educated children are our future. References: Hayes , M. (2003). NCLB: Conspiracy, Compliance, or Creativity?. Retrieved from http://www.middleweb.com/HMnclb.html No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. (2006). Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2006/02/02062006.html Pulliam, J. D., Van Patten, J. J. (2007). History of Education in American (9th Edition). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Columbus, Ohio.

Comparison Of Building Vulnerability Assessment Methods Engineering Essay

Comparison Of Building Vulnerability Assessment Methods Engineering Essay A review of vulnerability assessment methods for buildings is conducted out with a view to evaluate their appropriateness for use in seismic risk assessment. A ranking scheme has been developed to score each vulnerability assessment method. The ranking considers general description of vulnerability, building response factors, variance in output, applicability and ease of use, which are the major characteristics for vulnerability assessment tools used in seismic risk assessment. A case study in the older portion of Dhaka city, Bangladesh has been conducted to investigate the efficiency of some state-of-the- art vulnerability assessment methods. The hybrid vulnerability scale, which uses a FEMA 310 and IITK GSDMA approaches score high in the ranking, whilst the other scales based on the Rapid Visual Screening FEMA 154, Euro Code 8, New Zealand Guidelines, Modified Turkish Method and NRCC perform differently in various weighting scenarios. However, it is found that none but the hybrid ( which includes the local site specific issues as well as the results from non destructive testing and experimental data) method effectively suits all the criteria essential for their use in seismic risk assessment, especially emphasis on physical vulnerability factors, applicability and variances in output. Keywords vulnerability assessments, physical vulnerable parameters, seismic risk assessment 1. Introduction Seismic risk assessment is a vital tool to manage the growing risk in the face of the ever-increasing exposure in highly seismic regions. Due to the changes in the built environment and continuously evolving seismic sciences, it is essential to refine the risk assessment modeling continuously. In particular, vulnerability of buildings to ground shaking is recognized as a key element in any seismic risk model (Spence et al. 2008). Therefore, seismic vulnerability assessment is an essential tool for governments and individuals to mitigate the consequences of earthquakes. Existing vulnerability assessment methodologies vary with various postulations proposed for the characterization and prediction of earthquake hazard and the methodology used to evaluate building regarding the hazard (FEMA 1999; Bertogg et al. 2002). The development of a region-wide seismic vulnerability assessment framework, such as FEMA 310 for the US (FEMA 1999), requires a unique vulnerability assessment tool to acc ommodate all the above mentioned issues. Within this paper, a comparison and critical review of existing vulnerability assessment methodologies for buildings is conducted out, with a view to their utilization in a region-wide seismic risk assessment. A hybrid method consisting of FEMA 310 (FEMA 1999) and IITK GSDMA (Durgesh 2005) has been set up to evaluate vulnerability, combining an analysis of building typologies with expert judgment. Background information on the most significant vulnerability assessment methods are provided in the paper together with their advantages and disadvantages for use in seismic risk assessment. Moreover, the seismic vulnerability for contemporary and historical 93 buildings in old Dhaka City, Bangladesh has been assessed as a case study to show the spatially distributed qualitative risk within the area with the help of different vulnerability assessment tools. Finally, a scoring method is proposed to qualitatively represent the relative rankings of the selected vulnerability assessment tools t o find out a suitable uniform approach to be used for seismic risk assessment. 2. Selection of suitable building classification system Vulnerability can be defined as the susceptibility of buildings to damage in presence of seismic ground motion (Hill and Rossetto 2008). The evaluation of building vulnerability is a basic part of any risk assessment methodology. An accurate, transparent and conceptually sound algorithm for assessing the seismic vulnerability of the building stock is one of the main ingredients in a seismic risk model and indeed over the past 30 years many tools and methodologies have been proposed for this purpose. This study takes an overview on some of the most noteworthy contributions in the field of vulnerability assessment and the key advantages and disadvantages of these procedures have been identified in order to distinguish the main characteristics of an ideal methodology (Calvi et al. 2006). In vulnerability studies, it is essential to differentiate various building types, since, different types of buildings tend to respond in a different way under similar ground motions (Tesfamariam and Sa atcioglu 2008). Hence, the buildings should be classified according to their similar dynamic properties, before the conducting a vulnerability assessment of an urban area. The parameters that influence the dynamic response of a structure to ground motion are well recognized, for example, in Euro code 8 (BSSC 2003; CEN 2004), and embrace the structures geometrical and material properties. A building classification system that considers a high-degree of segregation in vulnerability studies and an enhanced estimate of the financial losses, has been expressed elsewhere (Carvalho et al. 2002). This study focuses on the dominant building types of the Indian region (Alam et el. 2010), which comprises mainly of reinforced concrete buildings and masonry buildings. 3. Existing seismic vulnerability assessment methodologies: an overview Table 1 in Appendix A briefly describes each vulnerability assessment tool selected and the rationale for their selection. It is obvious that the review is not extensive; however, the tools have been selected for the predominant building classes as well as to the contemporary practices in seismic vulnerability assessment of buildings. From the literature, it is evident that, there is a lack of unified vulnerability assessment technique, which covers the entire local as well as the global parameters. To cover the location-specific physical components present in both the developed and the developing countries, a hybrid method has been formulated for the vulnerability assessment of existing structures incorporating FEMA 310 (FEMA 1998, 2003, ASCE 1998) and IITK GSDMA (Durgesh 2005) methods. Other vulnerability assessment tools are chosen from a wide range of published and peer reviewed papers in seismology, structural vulnerability, and earthquake engineering fields. Since, most of the tools have been developed for some particular circumstances, such as vulnerability assessment in the field, for structural analysis etc. they may not contain some of the uniqueness specified in the scoring structure. However, they are included in this study, as either elements of these guidelines or tools have been used in past seismic vulnerability assessment of buildings or they illustrate a distinctive characteristic, which is essential in a tool for the seismic vulnerability assessment. 4. Investigation of the suitability of different vulnerability assessment tools: a case study A case study of 93 buildings of older portion of Dhaka city-the capital of Bangladesh (Alam et al. 2010) has been selected to evaluate the suitability of various vulnerability assessment tools for seismic risk assessment. The predominant structural types, specially associated with medium to high seismicity, present in South Asian countries have been presented in the building classification system. After considering building inventories of different countries of South Asian region, it was found that South Asian building inventory is primarily composed of reinforced concrete buildings and masonry buildings. The study includes Bangladesh (CDMP 2009), Nepal (AUDMP 2007), and India (Durgesh 2005) for classifying major building classes for the area. There exist some other types, such as adobe (mud house), tin-shed housing, timber and steel structures etc, which contribute a very small proportion of the existing inventory with moderate to high seismicity. The premier resolutions of relevant building type sub-categories for the vulnerability assessment are the reinforced concrete frames with and without masonry infill as well as the unreinforced masonry buildings for the study area. The seismic vulnerability of buildings in the stock varies widely with different vulnerable factors (Hugo 2002). The principal vulnerability factors used in the categorization of buildings in the study area are structure type (the main lateral force resisting system of buildings), number of story, and code level (seismic design standard applied in the design of buildings). Moreover, architectural features which are the parameters for defining geometry of buildings such as story height, span length, presence of open first-storey etc. act as factors for the vulnerability assessment. Several structural features may be considered as the factor affecting vulnerability of buildings. These factors include soft story, heavy overhang, short column, pounding possibility between adjacent buildings, and visible ground settlement. During this study a number of vulnerable factors were identified that are comprehensively discussed here. According to Turkish method (Bommer et al. 2002, Tesfamariam a nd Saatcioglu 2010), the level of building damage during earthquakes depends on the apparent building quality which is, in turn, related to the quality of construction materials, workmanships and building maintenance. Well-trained observers can classify a buildings quality roughly as good, moderate, or poor. Many building collapses during seismic events may be ascribed to the absence of the bracing elements (e.g. available walls in the upper floors) in the ground floor, and hence develop a ground floor soft in the horizontal direction. The plastic deformations at the plastic hinge points of the columns can develop an undesirable sway mechanism with a large concentration of the plastic deformations at the column ends (Hugo 2002). Hence, the soft story buildings exhibit a less safe behavior than the similar regular structures during moderate and severe earthquake. Normally, this situation can be resulted from the building that locates along the side of the main street as the first sto ry is being used for a commercial space that has opening between the frame members for customer circulation. Figure 1 shows some of the examples of soft story (ground floors being used as shop) in Shakhari Bazar, Dhaka, Bangladesh. In addition to soft stories, another vulnerable factor, termed as heavy overhanging floors in multistory buildings lead to irregularity in stiffness and mass distributions (Hugo 2002). From the earthquake engineering view point, these irregular plan shapes are undesirable as they cause inappropriate dynamic behaviors when subjected to horizontal earthquake ground motion. Typical heavy overhangs found in the old part of Dhaka City are shown in figure 2. Moreover, the shear failure of short columns is another major cause of building collapse during a seismic event (Hugo 2002). It is also termed as squat columns, i.e. columns having relatively high thickness compared to their height, and most of the cases are fixed in strong beams or slabs. By unintentional addition of parapet infill in frame structures, slender columns can also be converted into short columns. In case of short columns with significant bending capacity, enormous moment gradient can develop a large shear force under horizontal actions of a seismic event, which generally leads to a shear failure before the plastic moment capacity is being reached (Hugo 2002). It was observed after the August 17th, 1999 earthquake in Turkey (Mw=7.4) that a large number of buildings were damaged due to the presence of short columns (Saatcioglu et al. 2001). Damage due to pounding can also be observed after almost every earthquake events. Different vibration periods and non-synchronized vibration amplitudes cause the close buildings to knock together. Buildings subjected to pounding receive heavier damage on higher stories (NZSEE 2000, 2003). Topographic amplification may also increase ground motion intensity on hilltops during earthquake; hence, this factor should be taken into account in the seismic risk assessment. In the last not the least, building shape and elevation are major factors affecting buildings during an earthquake. It was evident from the experience of different seismic events, that the buildings with irregular shape are more damaging than the buildings of regular shape (Hugo 2002). Similarly elevation of building is also another important factor responsible for structural/building damage during an earthquake. Narrow tall buildings are more vulnerable during an earthquake (Hugo 2002). Figure 3 shows vertical irregularity of an existing building in the study area. There exists a numerous numbers of vulnerability assessment techniques, that utilize various types of vulnerability factors. Table 2 summarizes different vulnerability factors, which are frequently, used in different seismic vulnerability assessment techniques utilized in the study. From this study, it can easily be identified that some of the seismic vulnerability assessment techniques are very robust, e.g. FEMA 310, FEMA 154 etc, whereas in case of some other methods, (e.g. Euro Code 8) some of the major vulnerability parameters are not clearly defined. The results from the assessment of 93 buildings in the study area are depicted in the figure 4. For risk evaluation, it is required to collect, analyze and properly match a huge quantity of data. Geographic information system (GIS) can effectively be utilized to manage and overlay the information levels and graphical output of the results (Codermatz 2003). Therefore, a geographical information system (GIS) database has been developed to represent the spatial distribution of the vulnerable buildings for different assessment techniques within the study area. Figure 5 shows the distribution of vulnerable buildings in GIS environment, resulted with the use of FEMA 154 method, which shows that most of the buildings fall under very high risk group. Whereas, the distribution of risk classes within the buildings are in a wide range in case of hybrid method, depicted in figure 6. The distribution of vulnerable buildings assessed by Euro Code 8 and NRCC are also presented in figure 7 and figur e 8 respectively, which show comparatively lower risk variances. 5. Vulnerability assessment methodology scoring system The general description of vulnerability assessment methods which include the input variables, are very useful for the people involved in the field directly, where as the information about physical measurable parameters are necessary for the detailed analysis of a structure and the decision makers utilize the description of output for generating an effective decision (Hill and Tizina 2008). A reliability or performance scoring system has been developed to rank the vulnerability assessment methodologies according to the criteria mentioned above. The proposed scoring system consisting of 3 main sections with 17 sub-categories is depicted in Table 2 of Appendix A. The score obtained in each of the 3 sections is given equal weighting in the computation of the total reliability score for vulnerability assessment. The system tries to reduce most of the subjectivity implicated in the ranking of different vulnerability assessment methods. Since, some subjectivity has been utilized to assign the categories, the resultant scores can be utilized only as a qualitative representation of performance or reliability. To provide a clear indication of each methodologys performance or reliability, an affirmative score is given as 3 points, a moderate score is given as 2, a negative score 0 point, whereas the method partially fulfills the requirement is given 1 point. Since, experimental value provides data based on real-life experiences, it is more preferred in the scoring system. Analytical and judgment-based values are considered as second and third best respectively. For the sub-categories, the scoring is based on the Table 3 of Appendix A. This scoring for reliability or performance has been applied to the vulnerability assessment methods applicable for mainly reinforced concrete buildings as well as unreinforced masonry building types. Category A of the scoring system in Table 2 deals with the basic input description of vulnerability assessment tools, i.e. ease of measurement (Saatcioglu, et al. 2001), range of buildings types covered (FEMA 2002, ASCE 2003, UNDRO 1980), site specific factors, including local and global aspects regard (ASCE 2003, ASCE 1988, NRCC 1993, Durgesh 2005) .This is important for the people working in the field measurement. In category B mostly physical measurable vulnerability factors have been considered, which is very useful for analyzing the structural behavior. It deals with the scope of vulnerable parameters (ASCE 2003), quantity of database (ATC 2004), applicability of tools as non-structural components of the structures (NRCC 1993). Finally category C of the proposed scoring system utilizes the involvement of the output factors, which encompasses the well defined vulnerability scales (FEMA 2002) (ASCE 2003), risk variances (ASCE 2003, Durgesh 2005), impact of non-structural components as well as the adoptability (NRCC 1993). This category mainly focuses on the preferences for the decision makers. For different specific needs, risk assessment specialists may prefer different weightings on the scoring categories. The categories are weighted according to four different scenarios (I-IV) as depicted in Table 4 of Appendix A. These weightings give a maximum score of 51 points in each case which are only for illustrative indication. An example of use of the proposed scoring method is given in Table 5 of Appendix A. The final ranking for the vulnerability assessment tools considered is shown in Table 6 of Appendix A. The individual scores are given in Table 7 of Appendix A 6. Discussion on vulnerability assessment method scoring This section discusses about the performance of different vulnerability assessment tools in different scoring categories in wider aspect for all the weighting scenarios proposed. At this point it is essential to re-state that the vulnerability assessment ranking reflects how appropriate the method is for use in seismic risk assessment. To rank the techniques, several weighting scenarios have been utilized with the calculated scores. For weighting scenario I, equal weighting for each category was adopted which provides an overall view of the vulnerability assessment methods performances. The authors believe that each of the identified features is equally important and it is suggested that proposed scoring system utilizes this weighting scenario. Hybrid method, NRCC (NRCC 1993) guidelines and FEMA 154 (FEMA 2002, ATC 1998) rank the top three positions for the weighting scenario I. The Hybrid method contains detailed descriptions for different classes of buildings and has a well defined methodology for calculating physical vulnerability factors. The ASCE 31 standard (FEMA 310) is not a building code.  Ã‚  It is a method of evaluating existing buildings to determine if they meet seismic performance objectives such as Life Safety or Immediate Occupancy.   NRCC guideline follows the similar principles as the hybrid one; however, the calibration for building typology for NRC guidelines considers the Canadian construction practice. Fundamentally, the score ( seismic priority index) in NRCC is related to the seismic risk for a particular building, given the occurrence of an earthquake equivalent to that specified in the National Building Code of Canada (NRCC 1993). It is to be used as an initial assessment for deciding which building should have more detailed evaluation in order of priority. Moreover, the effect of torsional irregularities has not been taken in to account. In FEMA 154, the score was affected by the lack of sufficiently detailed analysis; rather it e ncompasses a rapid visual screening method (FEMA 2002). The use of seismicity regions, rather than site-specific seismic hazard data, for the Rapid Visual Screening (RVS) procedure substantially reduces the accuracy of results because the calculations use levels of ground motion which differ from the levels of ground motion at all sites except those where ground motions are at the median value for a seismicity region. Thus, RVS final scores are systematically shifted and overestimate the level of risk for locations with below-median ground motions and underestimate risk for locations with above median ground motions. In case of weighting scenario II, more weighting is given to general description of vulnerability to highlight the methods suited for in-field measurements. For weighting scenario II, again the same results happened, i.e. Hybrid one out ranked all other approaches. For weighting scenario III, more weighting values have been given to the physical vulnerable parameters. And in case of scenario IV, weighting has been given to the variance in output. For this purpose, a case study of 93 buildings of old Dhaka city of Bangladesh has been conducted. In this case study, different types of buildings have been assessed with various methodologies. Here, Hybrid and NRCC Guidelines ranked the 1st where as FEMA 154 (FEMA 2002, ATC 1998) and NZ Code ranked 2nd and 3rd. The variation and the results of the assessment have been depicted in Figure 5 through Figure 8. In weighting scenario V, more conscious was given to Canadian present construction practices (Cook 1999, Onur et al. 2004). Here, the Hybrid as well as the NRCC method outranked the other methods. 7. Scoring Summary with Different Multi Criteria Decision Making Tools The proposed scoring system is a wide-ranging tool to compare different vulnerability assessment methods in the context of ease of use and applicability. It cannot catch all the parameters, but qualitatively gives a better indication of the suitable seismic vulnerability assessment method for buildings. First of all, it can be remarked that, the positions of the methods in the ranking change markedly between the different weighting scenarios. Of the considered seismic vulnerability assessment methods, it is seen that the Hybrid method composed of FEMA 310 (FEMA 1998, 2003, ASCE 1998) and IITK-GSDMA outperforms other vulnerability assessment in all respects. However, NRCC (NRCC 1993) method also performs adequately, where the guideline was developed specifically with Canadian buildings in mind, though certain features are lacking within the description of detailed analysis. Nonetheless, for all the weighting scenarios, the proposed hybrid method performs well and should be considered as the preferred alternative. Moreover, the presence of FEMA 154, Euro Code 8(Milutinovic and Trendafiloski 2003, CEN 2004) and New Zealand Guidelines (NZSEE 2000, 2003) in the ranking system are notable. However, it is clear that the methods do not capture a sufficient quantity of characteristics that are required of such a guideline for the particular weighting scenarios. In this study different multi criteria decision making tools (e.g. AHP. Elctre I Is, and TOPSIS) have been utilized to find out the suitable most alternative. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) is a decision-aiding method developed by Saaty (Saaty 1980). The main goal of AHP is to quantify the relative priorities for a given set of alternatives on a ratio scale, based on the judgment of the decision-maker, and stresses the significance of the perceptive judgments of a decision- maker as well as the consistency of the comparison of alternatives in the decision-making process (Saaty 1990). Whereas ELECTRE I (Benayoun et al, 1966; Roy 1971) is an overall method of ranking alternative systems in the presence of qualitative criteria. The idea in this algorithm is to choose those nodes (i.e. alternative systems) which are preferred for most of the criteria and yet do not cause an unacceptable level of discontent for any one criterion. Moreover in case of TOPSIS (Technique for Order pre ference by Similarity to Ideal Situation) method, the selected alternative should be as close to the ideal solution as possible and as far from the negative-ideal solution as possible. The ideal solution is formed as a combination of the best performance values revealed in the decision matrix by any option for each attribute. The negative-ideal solution is the combination of the worst performance values. Propinquity to each of these performance poles is measured in the Euclidean sense (e.g., square root of the sum of the squared distances along each axis in the attribute space), with elective weighting of each attribute (Olson 2004). By utilizing Electre I Is (Hwang and Yoon 1981) and Analytical Hierarchy Process (Yang and Lee 1997); it was found that the proposed hybrid method outranks all the methods in all cases (Figure 10 and Figure 11). Finally TOPSIS method (Chu 2002) has validated the same decision about the proposed hybrid method to be the preferred one. In the context of decision making and field measurement, hybrid method consisting of FEMA 310 (FEMA 1998, 2003, ASCE 1998) and IITK-GSDMA is recommended. Whereas, if the rapid assessment of buildings is the major concern, vulnerability assessment through FEMA 154 (FEMA 2002, ATC 1998) and NRCC (NRCC 1993) guidelines should also be considered as the preferred options. 8. Conclusion This study has identified significant characteristics that should be included for an appropriate seismic vulnerability assessment method of buildings. A scoring system has been proposed for the qualitative review of various vulnerability assessment techniques and a particular attention was given to potential use in Canada. It is found that a vulnerability assessment technique termed as hybrid method i.e. combination of FEMA 310 (FEMA 1998, 2003, ASCE 1998) IITK GSDMA (Durgesh 2005) captures characteristics to a wider degree that a suitable vulnerability assessment method should posses. However, the proposed hybrid method is calibrated with the data from US and Bangladesh, which can be applied to other regions with slight modifications. In seismic risk assessment, the building vulnerability assessment depends on data from many sources, amongst which, the past earthquake damage survey data are of major concern. Existence of various vulnerability assessment approaches, raises concern over worldwide to have a simplistic effective vulnerability assessment tool, to be useful world-wide. The authors believe that the proposed hybrid method provides a robust basis for vulnerability interpretation and recommended future studies of vulnerability assessment method to combine more consistent and wider descriptions of the parameters for use in seismic risk assessment. Reference: Alam M.J., M. Abdur Rahman Bhuiyan, and M.Roqibul Islam(2006) Seismic Structural Assessment of Damaged Chittagong Public Library Building During 27 July 2003 Earthquake 4th International Conference on Earthquake Engineering Taipei, Taiwan Alam M. N., K. Mashfiq, A. Rahman, and S. M. 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