Thursday, October 31, 2019

Beslan Barricade Incident Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Beslan Barricade Incident - Case Study Example When Gorbachev dissolved the communist party and formed the Common Wealth of Independent States (CIS) this gave most of the Soviet Socialists states their independence but the economical relationship still existed. Russia's economy was in a state of total disarray in the mid 90's and the economy almost collapsed in the 1997 when the Russian government had to stop the trading of the rubble on the international market, when the September 11 attacks took place, the United States of America retaliated with attacking Afghanistan and this caused major changes in the world, the oil rich countries received a shock and as if Afghanistan wasn't enough the USA followed it up by attacking Iraq and hence the oil prices rocketed sky high and this is what helped Russia the most because its economy started recuperating on the back of rising oiling prices. This was a major point because Russia is now able to repay debts before time and has since been able to throw around its weight on the political s cenario that is quickly developing and evolving into a multi polar stage rather than being just uni-polar with Britain and Russia being the countries that have been able to voice their concerns and also do something to follow up with those voices. In 1994 the first Chechen war was fought and due to a lack of planning from the Russian military they had to face a lot of casualties and were demoralized very early into the war, it last 2 years and after that a peace treaty was signed. This treaty was not able to guarantee any peace and the second Chechen war started in 1999 with Russia showing its might and bombarding the area using its air force, followed up by a ground attack and hence they were successful this time around in capturing Chechnya. In February of 2000 the Russians were finally able to capture Groznyy but the fighters of different militant groups vowed to keep up the resistance till death or freedom and this is the reason that this issue needs to be resolved and resolved quickly because this could turn into a breeding ground for terrorist organizations and once that happens it would be very difficult to have a secure Russia, that could effect the economy and the bubble might burst on the investments front if this situation is not resolved properly. The capture of Groznyy in 2000 was a political as well as a military victory for a newly appointed president, Vladimir Putin and his stance in this issue was definitive to him being selected as the president of Russia till March of 2008. Russian Point of View: The Russian point of view on this issue is one that can be called rational and irrational both at the same time. Russia fears that if Chechnya is granted freedom then other states would also want a free state and this could refuel rebel movements that have died down in other states because then they would know that if they pursue the course that the chechnyan rebel leaders and people took then they too can have independence. This fear of being disintegrated is a very rational one because Russia is one of the most diversified countries in the world, diversified in language, culture and ethnicity and these are very strong lines along which one can press for freedom because entire countries have been granted freedom before on the basis of religion and language. The other

Monday, October 28, 2019

The European Community Institutional Framework Essay Example for Free

The European Community Institutional Framework Essay The European community which has its history back in the 1950s when the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was formed to cater for the interests of expanding coal and steel market among member states which stood at six during its formation. In 1957 the European Economic Community was formed together with the European Atomic Energy Community, the Merger Treaty [Merging of the executives, 2007] saw the three bodies merge afterwards to give birth of the now twenty seven member-European Community (EC). The creation of this super body is based on a number of treaties that govern its operations, these treaties that were drafted and mutually agreed up on and accented to provide for the formation of various institutions tat oversee the day to day running of the community’s affairs. The formation of the European community was chiefly to iron out physical boundaries between member states and also to hasten the rate of economic development among other reasons. Due to the diverse interests of the populations of the member states, the community adopted various laws that provide the legal foundation for the representation of these interests. One of the main functions of the legal framework is to give the base for the creation of institutions which cater for the diverse interests of the members. The community’s institutional framework is considered to be unique chiefly because of its separation of power between the three arms that are the basis of it operation, i.e. the judiciary, legislature, and the executive, and partly due to its attempts to secure equal representation of diverse interests while keeping a proper balance between them. The community has got various institutions that are divided in to two categories i.e. politically based institutions ad the non-politically based ones. The political institutions include; the parliament, the commission, and the council, the non-political ones include; court of justice and the court of auditors.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Recruitment And Selection At Tesco

Recruitment And Selection At Tesco As a member of the HR department I need to research and make a report in order to check the quality of new staff being hired. The aim of this report is to explore what are the best means of testing and hiring new employees. It will also look into some benefits and drawbacks of recruitment process in two successful companies which are Tesco and McDonalds. Consequently, I will outline some suggestion which I think is the best for our company. 2.0 Procedures The information is collected from internet and using secondary research to gather data for my report. 3.0 Findings 3.1 Recruitment and selection at Tesco Tesco is the largest private sector employer and operating over 13 countries outside the UK. There is increasing all the time in the number of both store-based and non-store. In addition, in order to achieve business objectives, Tesco needs to make sure that they have the right number of workers in the right jobs at the right time. In order to do this, Tesco has a step by step process of recruitment and selection to appeal applicants for both operational and managerial roles. As the company is growing, it is important for Tesco to have workforce planning which is future needs for people in term of locations, numbers and skills. As regards of recruitment, it can be defined as the process of identifying which the organisation needs for a new employee. Tesco advertises vacancies in different methods. The process of recruiting depends on the job available. Firstly, Tesco looks at internal Talent Plan to fill posts. The lists of current employees who looking for a move or on promotion will be consider. If nobody is suitable in this talent plan, Tesco use internal advertising to post in intranet. However, external recruitment, the vacancies are posted in the Tesco websites or external vacancies board. When making applicant online for managerial position, the chosen applicants must have an interview. Consequently, people who are selected will attendance at an assessment centre for selecting process. Having the CV or register at Jobcentre Plus, candidates who interested in stored based jobs can apply stores in Tesco. The store prepares a waiting list of application which is not selected and calls them if vacancies become available. Furthermore, for the jobs with more specialists such as pharmacist, baker the external recruitment method will be used for example radio, magazine, television. As far as the selection are concerned, it involve in selecting a suitable candidates from applicants by using the job specification and job description. The important part of the selection process is screening candidates. This is ensure that people are selected have matched with the job requirements. Initially, each applicants CV which summarises the candidates education and job experience will be looked cautiously by the Human Resources in Tesco. The firm also provides a job type match on careers web page. Hence they can see where they fit or not. A person who passes screening attend assessment centre will be invited to second interview. If they are successful, they will receive an offer letter and contract. The assessment centre is take place in store and is run by managers. It will give to candidate several tasks which include problem solving, team working. These exercises can help candidate to deal with real problems at work. 3.2 Advantage of recruitment and selection method in Tesco With respect to recruitment process, Tesco will try to find the most cost-effective way of attracting people. Although it is not cheap to advertise on television and magazines, this is essential to get the right type of people for the vacancies. It is easy for applicants to seek about available jobs and also has a simple application process throughout the Tesco website. First of all, by using internal recruitment in Tesco lead to cut the cost of recruiting workers from outside. This is due to less training and orientation required In addition, the HR department know more about the candidates ability. This will increase productivity of current employee and stronger commitment to the company. There are a number of benefits by using external recruitment method. Because of new people, they will bring in Tesco new perspectives and ideas. Furthermore, Tesco have more choice to choose candidates; they have a wider range of experience. 3.3 Disadvantage of recruitment and selection method in Tesco As regards to internal recruitment, the number of applicants can be limited. Owing to already known about strength and weakness of candidate, Tesco could not have new ideas from outside. In addition, another vacancy will be creating which need to be filled. On the other hand, in external recruitment, it has more expensive because of advertising and longer process. The selection process might not be effective enough to find the best applicant. 3.4 Introduction to recruitment and selection methods in McDonalds McDonalds is a one of the largest scale employer. Most workers are paid by the hour and those people called as crew members. Their jobs are to prepare the food and serve customers in order to make the restaurants run more efficiency. With respect to recruiting hourly-paid workers McDonalds have created a two-step application process for potential crew members. Firstly, all candidates must do the psychometric test and then they need to go online and fill the application. Once successful, the candidate will be invited to a restaurant for an on job experience (oje) and interview. The purposes of OJE give a good opportunity to evaluate the candidates customer service skills, how they get on with other member in McDonald and allows candidate to see whether or not suits with working environment. After that, the candidate will work in customer facing areas about 2 day assessment and will be given full instruction on what to do. Consequently, they have a final interview with manager who will give the decision about the applicant. When crew member have been hired, they have to attend a welcome meeting to demonstrate their skills and behaviours. This meeting will show an overview of the company and then candidate must do h ealth safety and food safety test online. 3.5 Advantage and disadvantage of recruitment and selection methods As we can see, the way McDonalds recruitment people it appeal more people to apply because they offer employee with many rewards and bonus. This also increases competition between employees to get prizes. They also provide good working condition which help workers more flexible at work. The other thing here is that people are easily to find out and apply quickly which save a lot of time. On the other hand, there are some drawbacks of these methods. Firstly, owing to more reward, this lead to increasing cost for company. 4.0 Conclusion From my point of view, both companies have good recruitment and selection policy depends on what they are doing. McDonald believes that employees are a vital role in the company to achieve the success of the restaurants. Their aim is to recruit the best people and keep them by offering on-going training related to their position, therefore promoting them when they are ready. The recruitment policies to fulfil its aim. However, Tesco believes that workforce planning is vital for business. They got strong organisational structures. It provides user-friendly ways of applying for jobs and a consistent approach to recruitment and selection. 5.0 Recommendation Having finished research and analyses the recruitment process in both company, I would like to recommend some suggestion for our company which are application online, advertise on TV, using job specification and job description. First of all, application online help people easily to apply and attracting more people is due to developing of technology nowadays. Secondly, advertising is good way to grab attention of people. The reason is that most people like watching TV in leisure times. Although advertising is expensive in the short run, we will have more result in the long run. This is because we have right employee who will contribute to our company for a long time. Finally, when we have many applicants, using job specification and description are the good ways to choose the right person. These documents help us get the overview of candidates; what the qualification they have and their experience.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Stamp Act :: American History, Tax

The Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament on March 22, 1765. The new tax was imposed on All-American colonists and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. Ship's papers, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, other publications, and even playing cards were taxed. The money collected by the Stamp Act was to be used to help pay the costs of defending and protecting the American frontier near the Appalachian Mountains (10,000 troops were to be stationed on the American frontier for this purpose).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The actual cost of the Stamp Act was relatively small. What made the law so offensive to the colonists was not so much its immediate cost but the standard it seemed to set. In the past, taxes and duties on colonial trade had always been viewed as measures to regulate commerce, not to raise money. The Stamp Act, however, was viewed as a direct attempt by England to raise money in the colonies without the approval of the colonial legislatures. If this new tax were allowed to pass without resistance, the colonists reasoned, the door would be open for far more troublesome taxation in the future.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Few colonists believed that they could do anything more than grumble and buy the stamps until the Virginia House of Burgesses adopted Patrick Henry's Stamp Act resolves. These resolves declared that Americans possessed the same rights as the English, especially the right to be taxed only by their own representatives; that Virginians should pay no taxes except those voted by the Virginia House of Burgesses; and that anyone supporting the right of Parliament to tax Virginians should be considered an enemy of the colony.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Haymarket Riot

As result of the Industrial Revolution, people in America earned more money, most of which they used to open new businesses and factories. There were now many different types of machines to do the work that people had to do themselves in the past. Thus, machines rapidly replaced people. Now with less people working and getting paid, there were people that could afford what these factories were making. Most of the people working in the United States at this time were immigrants, so they were forced to work for very low wages. A working adult would be considered lucky to bring home a daily income of only $2. 00. Kids on the other hand, only made about 70 cents a day for spending their entire childhood sorting through coal or performing other strenuous jobs. Most people worked between ten and fourteen hours each day with peanuts for income. As result, Chicago Illinois, as well as many other cities in the United States, fell into poverty. However, not all employees at this time were cruel and blackhearted. Most at the time though just wanted to get the most out of their employees for the least amount of pay. Soon the Labor Union movement started. People in this union wanted to ban child labor, increase pay, and to create shorter workdays. Conflict after conflict broke out spawning from the Labor Union; many of which the police were brought in to settle. By 1886, the major concern of the Labor Union was to establish an eight-hour workday. By now there were several unions, all of which could not agree with one another on how to fight for this rightfully deserved demand. Finally, the Knights of Labor, who originated in Chicago, organized a nation wide strike. However, the newspapers, business leaders, and politicians didn t agree with these actions. They said, the new eight-hour workday would promote loafing, gambling, rioting, debauchery and drunkenness (Simon). Knowing that they would be fired, workers still stood up for what they believed in and followed through with the strike. On May1, 1886, the strike stared. More than 300,000 workers went on strike in nine different cities across the vast nation. One of these cities was Boston. However, only a few employers nation wide granted their employees the shorter workday. As result, the next two months were filled with the police, the strikers, and the scabs. Scabs were people who refused to go on strike with the rest of their coworkers. They acquired this name from the angry strikers. On May 3, 1886, more than 500 strikers met up with some scabs as they were leaving a plant in Chicago. The agitated mob blasted the scabs with sticks, rocks, and just about anything they could possible get their hands on. This continued until police arrived and eventually broke up the fight. August Spies then proceeded to organize a protest meeting in Haymarket Square. The strikers were told to be armed in case the police resorted to violence on them. The following day when Spies came to the meeting he spoke in front of about 1,200 people. Albert Parsons, along with Spies and other speakers, spoke of the McCormick riot, and the rights and the responsibilities of the American worker. Then as it began to rain, people slowly began to leave and head home. One of the many to leave was the mayor of the city, Charter H. Harrison. On the way home he stopped off at the police station to tell the officers on stand-by that they could go home because the protest was peaceful. About ten minutes later, two undercover agents came to the police station and said that there were some offensive things being said at the protest, and that the officers should go break it up. When the police arrived at Haymarket Square, some words as well as actions were shared between the strikers and the police. Before long, a bomb was anonymously thrown into the crowd of police. This was the first time a bomb like this was used in the United States. Quickly responding to the bomb, the police officers began to fire into the crowd of strikers and all hell broke loose. As result of the bomb, one police officer was killed instantly, and six others died within the next two weeks because of serious wounds. The following day the newspapers were loaded with headlines which accused Spies, Parsons, and Fielden of releasing this deadly bomb into the crowd. Some newspapers even said that the Haymarket riot, anarchists, and socialists were the reason for other disturbances around the country. They said that punishments should be dealt to Spies, Parsons and Fielden, because people of the United States were accusing them of murder. However, one newspaper reported that if the police hadn t raided the protest, there wouldn t have been a bomb thrown, because there wouldn t have been anything to spark the argument. Another newspaper, the Labor Enquirer, wrote in one of it s articles, twice as many honest men were murdered in coal mines as have been killed in Chicago, and there isn t any noise at all about it (americanhistory. com). Still other papers wrote that is working and living conditions were better, then none of this probably would have happened. Captain Michael J. Shaak was so outraged by the Haymarket riot that he arrested hundreds of people who attended the protest that day, or even the people who were suspected of being there. While making all these arrests, the captain discovered secret societies and bombs, on top of many other conspiracies. Without warrants, he continued his investigation by breaking into houses. Then he proceeded to beat and bribe people into saying that they were witnesses to what went on in the Haymarket Square. However, out of all these hundreds of people who were arrested, only eight people were brought to an actual trial. These eight people were August Spies, Albert Parsons, Samuel Fielden, Adolph Fisher, Michael Schwabb, Louis Lingg, Oscar Neebee, and George Engel. Horribly enough, only three out of these eight men were actually at Haymarket square when the riot broke out. On June 21, 1886, the trial for these eight men began. The defendants were said to be the underdogs because the jury was hand-picked by Judge Joseph E. Gary, who desperately wanted these men to be convicted of murder. Many people considered the defendants guilty, and these people wanted the men to face the same punishment as the people who lost their lives in the riot. In other words, they were wanted dead. Before the trial started, Judge Joseph E. Gary was quoted saying, those fellows are going to be hanged as certain as death (Encarta 99). The main attack by the defense during the trial was that the jury was prejudice. However, the judge simply overruled all these attempts made by the defense, and the unfair trial proceeded. During the trial, the state s attorney was allowed to ask whatever he wanted to. Also, the defense was not allowed to cross-examine the witnesses, who were mostly police men or false witnesses, in order to convict the men of the crime. As the trial proceeded, the police repedily showed bombs and referred to the men as anarchists. Even though there was no evidence to prove that the defendants knew anything about the bomb or who threw it, they were eventually convicted of murder. On the morning of August 20, the jury entered the courtroom with their verdict. Seven out of the eight men on trial were sentenced to death. Oscar Neebee was the only one who was sentenced to jail time. He received a whopping fifteen years in jail for a crime he did not even commit. However, he was the only one out of the eight men who was allowed to live. Some newspapers reported that these men were on trial only because of their political views. However, most people did not care to agree with these statements and controversy continues to brew. When the verdict was announced that dreadful morning, people outside the courtroom lit up with excitement and joy. Some were so happy that they were willing to award the jury with a cash bonus just for convicting the defendants. The only people that were sad over the verdict were the families of the defense, the lawyers, and of course the defendants themselves. The press then went on to say that the only bad thing about the whole trial was that the defendants were not able to appeal seeing as how they were sentenced to death. Appeal to the verdict was exactly what the defendants lawyers did. On March 13, 1887, six judges from the Illinois Supreme Court met in Ottawa to listen to the appeal. When the judges were done reviewing the case they admitted that it was a very unfair trial. However, they failed to do anything about it. The defense attorney, Mr. Black, then tried for an appeal at U. S. court headquarters, but they refused to even look at the case. Finally the defense went to their last resort, the governor of Illinois, to ask for a pardon. It was great timing by the defense because the public was beginning to feel sorry for the seven doomed men. Some people wrote to the governor stating that the only thing these men were guilty of was their opinion. Finally the governor decided to hold a hearing for these men. That day was filled with a lot of appeals and arguments. On November 11, 1887, the governor announced that there would be no pardon. However, now only four out of the eight men would be executed. It would have been five but Louis Lingg was found earlier that morning with half his head blown off. It was ruled a suicide. Michael Shwab and Samuel Fielden got their death sentences lessened to life in prison. So now Parsons, Spies, Fisher, and Engel would be put to death. Amazingly they accepted this sentence without any outrage or resistance. That same day, the four remaining men walked to their deathsite. As they were being prepared to be hanged, Spies bellowed out his last words which were, There will come a time when our silence will be more powerful than the voices you strangle today! Immediately after Parsons let out his final words, Will I be allowed to speak for men of America? Let the voice of the people be heard! But before they could all finish they were hanged. Their funeral was held at Waldheim Cemetery, and was attended by more than fifteen thousand people. Eventually what these courageous men fought for was granted. The eight men hour workday was established, and these eight men became known as heroes. After these men were killed, the governor of Illinois, John P. Altged, reviewed the case and issued a pardon for all eight men that were tried. He discovered that the jurors were unfair, what the judge did was illegal, and ultimately that all eight men were innocent. As result, the three men in jail, Feilden, Schwab, and Neebee, were all released from jail and acquitted of all charges. Still to this day, it is unknown who threw the bomb in Haymarket Square, and killed the policemen. We will probably never know who the actual bomber really was. However, there is now an international workers holiday on May 1, dedicated to what went down that day in Haymarket Square, which has now became known as the Haymarket Riot.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

How To Set Deadlines To Make Your Team More Efficient

How To Set Deadlines To Make Your Team More Efficient Youre blogging for obvious reasons: Your  blog is a really powerful tool. On one hand, it acts as an SEO tool to bring your business website more traffic, while on the other, it provides useful information that helps establish your brand and build trust. And that helps turn your readers into paying customers. But blog posts are comprised of multiple components, so they require multiple people- or for one person to wear many hats- in order for the right keywords, ideas, text, images, and marketing to come together and work  as a cohesive unit. So how to set deadlines and work as a collaborative team to create awesome content is a challenge. But heres exactly how you can rock a content creation process that works for your team- from how to set deadlines and assign  roles to actually creating  the collaborative blog post. How To Set Deadlines To Make You (And Your Team) More Efficient via @titanwebagency1. Establish Blogging Goals And Guidelines Before you start blogging, you need to establish goals for your blogging team so they have some guiding principles that will inform their work. What do you hope to accomplish with your blog? Some examples of good goals for a blog are: Increase organic traffic to website as part of a comprehensive content marketing campaign. Build your organization’s reputation as a trusted source of information in your industry. Connect with potential customers in your target audience. Create original material to publish to social media outlets. In addition to establishing some broad goals, such as getting more Web traffic, you should also have some specific blogging guidelines for your team. Some examples of these might include: How many words each post should have. How many links/images/keyword uses/etc. each post should have. How often blog posts need to be published (editorial calendar). Where to find appropriate images for the blog. Writing tone/grammar/style guidelines. Information about the target audience you are writing for. By establishing goals and guidelines for your blog, you create a foundation that will help shape your blog and ensure that all team members are on the same page. If everyone on the team understands what you hope to accomplish with your blog and how you want them to do it, this will eliminate the need for extensive rewriting, editing, and other issues down the road. Start #blogging by turning your goals into #blog posts. #contentmarketing2. Make Sure Everyone Knows Their Role When you imagine how a blog post is created, you might think of a single person, typing away in solitude- the blogger. However, effective business blog posts often require several people to work together in a collaborative environment. Usually, it’s most effective for the roles to be split between two or three people, though sometimes one (very busy!) person may fulfill all roles. Here are some of typical roles that go into blog post creation: Project manager: This person assigns all tasks and sets deadlines. Topic and keyword generator: This person is responsible for finding blog topics and doing research to determine the best keywords and title to use. This person may also be the project manager. Content writer: This person is responsible for writing the content, which should incorporate the ideas, keywords, title, etc., as given to them by the project manager or topic/keyword generator. Content editor: This person checks and fixes the content’s grammar before the post is published. Image-finder and blog publisher: The accompanying images (and image tags) are essential for a good blog post. Someone must be responsible for finding these images and securing the necessary copyrights. This same person is often also in charge of actually posting the blog (typically using a content management system  like  WordPress) and making sure everything looks as it should. Promoter: A blog post is not worth much if no one ever reads it. Someone needs to promote your blog on social media, posting links to it across different sites and social media platforms. These marketing team roles may differ somewhat from one team to the next, but the point is that everyone involved is responsible for a particular task so that nothing gets left by the wayside. Make sure everyone involved in #blogging is responsible for a particular task so nothing is missed.It’s also good to have team members that can fulfill multiple roles if needed. For example, if your main writer is out of town one week, the editor should be able to step in and fulfill her role. 3. Set Deadlines Your Team Can- And Will- Actually Meet Everything youve done so far- setting goals, guidelines, and roles- has led up to how to set deadlines that are realistic and achievable for your team. Once everyone knows their role in creating a blog post, you need to set deadlines to make sure each team member actually completes their assigned task, and that they do so in a timely matter. After all, you should be publishing a new blog post every one to two weeks, so timeliness is key. In today’s mostly virtual workplace, the best way to set deadlines and make sure everyone is on task is by using  a project management tool like . With , you can manage all communications regarding the blog in one place, and ensure all tasks and subtasks are completed on time. helps teams collaborate together on content marketing projects like blogging, social media, and events. The tool allows teams to assign different tasks to multiple people working on a given project, while minimizing the use of email. You can use to assign tasks and deadlines to your entire team.  This is an actual example of the workflow we use at ! Based on role, you can customize your workflow, set deadlines for each team members unique tasks, and comment back and forth to the team right in . What Does A Successful Collaborative Blog Post Look Like? So, you’ve put together a team and they’ve started to publish blogs. But how do you know if these blogs are any good? Well first, you’ve got to make sure they have specific instructions. All of our writers know exactly what is expected with each blog post, including, but not limited to: Word count Tone of article Number of inbound and outbound links Types of images to use And more†¦. Think of the things youd have to include in a perfect Write For Us page. Let’s dive into it a bit deeper. Okay, so, what qualities do effective blog posts have? Good blog posts have multiple visuals. Custom images, illustrative screenshots, and photographs of real people are best (as opposed to stock photos). The guidelines for our writers specify how many images, and the types of images that are appropriate for the blog post. Good blog posts are easy to read. Content should be broken down into multiple sections with multiple headers and sub-headers. Bullet points and numbered lists are much easier to read than a big wall-o-text. Good blog posts are optimized for SEO. Posts will integrate keyword research in a natural, organic way. Good blog posts have links. Make sure your blog post links to other resources for further reading, including previous blog posts you’ve published. Where possible, you should also link to studies and statistics that reinforce the points you make in your blog. Good blog posts are original and engaging. This means that they shouldn’t have any re-hashed content from other blogs. They need to have original ideas and be written in a fresh, engaging manner. Good blog posts have proper grammar. If you want your blog to be successful, a blog post with bad grammar is simply unacceptable. Make sure all writers and editors are up to par and don’t have sloppy writing habits. Good blog posts have great titles. Having a catchy title is crucial if you want your blog to do well on search engines. If you need help you can use a headline analyzer or a blog topic generator. Don’t Forget About Guest Blogging While not every blog post will require a guest blogger, this is another important role that makes your blog a group effort. As a guest blogger- someone who writes a post for a website other than their own- I am able to gain exposure and Web traffic for my business through new outlets, and allow new audiences to get to know me. Another great thing about guest blogging is that it is a two-way street, meaning that I often receive a guest blog post from the site I’m writing one for. This helps me meet my own content needs and also get some fresh and interesting perspectives for my blog. This is a great way to divvy up the work for your team, which puts a little less strain on some of your deadlines. Remember: Your Blog Is A Work In Progress Having one good blog post is certainly an accomplishment, but in order for your blog make a lasting impact that furthers your organization’s goals, you need to publish great blog posts on a regular basis. That means knowing how to set deadlines each team member meets.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Definition and Examples of False Friends in Language

Definition and Examples of False Friends in Language In  linguistics, the informal term  false friends refers to  pairs of words in two languages (or in two dialects of the same language) that look and/or sound the same but have different meanings. Also known as false (or deceptive) cognates. The term false friends (in French, faux amis) was coined by Maxime Koessler and Jules Derocquigny in Les faux amis, ou, les trahisons du vocabulaire anglais (False Friends, or, the Treacheries of English Vocabulary), 1928. Examples and Observations Youd think you can figure out the meanings if you come across the words embarazada, tasten, and stanza in Spanish, German, and Italian respectively. But watch out! They actually mean pregnant, to touch or feel, and room in the respective languages.(Anu Garg, Another Word a Day. Wiley, 2005)At the simplest level there can be trivial confusion between everyday words such as French carte (card, menu, etc.) and English cart or German aktuell (at present) and English actual. But more problematic conflicts of meaning arise with trade names. Americas General Motors had to find a new name for their Vauxhall Nova car in Spain when it was discovered that no va in Spanish means doesnt go.(Ned Halley, Dictionary of Modern English Grammar. Wordsworth, 2005)An example of a  false cognate  is the English  jubilation  and the Spanish  jubilacià ³n. The English word means happiness, while the Spanish one means retirement, pension (money).(Christine A. Hult and Thomas N. Huckin,  The New Century Handbook. Allyn and Bacon, 1999) Interference: Four Types of False Friends Interference is the phenomenon that we experience when linguistic structures that we have already learnt interfere with our learning new structures. Interference exists in all areas- for example, in pronunciation and spelling. Incidentally, interference exists not only between two languages, but also within one language. In semantics, one therefore refers to intralingual and interlingual false friends. Since a word may change its meaning in the course of time, this problem cannot be viewed only in the light of the current (i.e., synchronic) situation. Because the historical (i.e., diachronic) development must also be taken into consideration, there are altogether four types of false friends.(Christoph Gutknecht, Translation. The Handbook of Linguistics, ed. by Mark Aronoff and Janie Rees-Miller. Blackwell, 2003) French, English, and Spanish:  Faux Amis [I]n order to illustrate how deceitful false friends may become, the best we can do is to resort to the term false friends itself . . . As I have just pointed out,  false friends is a calque from the French term faux amis, although this translation is at least unsuitable, despite being lexicalised now. And the reason is that treacherous, disloyal or unfaithful friends are not usually called false friends and falsos amigos, but bad friends and malos amigos in English and Spanish, respectively.Yet, the term false friends is the most widely spread in the literature on this linguistic phenomenon . . .(Pedro J. Chamizo-Domà ­nguez, Semantics and Pragmatics of False Friends. Routledge, 2008) Old English and Modern English The vocabulary of Old English presents a mixed picture, to those encountering it for the first time. . . Particular care must be taken with words which look familiar, but whose meaning is different in Modern English. An Anglo-Saxon wif was any woman, married or not. A ​fugol fowl was any bird, not just a farmyard one. Sona (soon) meant immediately, not in a little while; won (wan) meant dark, not pale; and faest (fast) meant firm, fixed, not rapidly. These are false friends, when translating out of Old English.(David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press, 2003)

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Gandhis Concept of Satyagraha Essays

Gandhis Concept of Satyagraha Essays Gandhis Concept of Satyagraha Essay Gandhis Concept of Satyagraha Essay Gandhis non-violent individual can be described using the two concepts that are most important in his philosophy: ahimsa and satyagraha. Ahimsa, of course is the principle of non-violence. Mahatma Ghandi believes that the love of God or the Supreme Being must necessarily manifest in all of our actions. This means that we should practice non-violence. In Ghandis spiritual point of view, we have struggles that we need to fight internally. These are desires, fear, worry, and anxieties. But these fights should only occur inside; we should never involve ourselves with other beings. Thus, Ghandis non-violent individual must never cause harm to others. This person must not kill any living thing or harm it in any way. If we do harm other living things, we will reap the negative karma that comes with it. But this principle of non-violence does no stay in the realm of religion. Gandhi also argued that this principle can be applied to politics as well through non-violent satyagrahas. Satyagraha is a practice that Ghandi developed in order for us to apply the principle of non-violence even in resistance. This principle is useful in politics and society especially when we are being oppressed or mistreated. We cannot just let ourselves be hurt and oppressed because of the principle of non-violence. If we do, people will definitely take advantage of us. Ghandis Satyagraha has influenced a lot of people in history such as Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King in their fight for freedom, equality and social justice. Satyagraha is the eagerness to follow the truth principles and following non-violence at the same time. Some people seek the truth through Satyagraha by fasting for days until the truth is revealed. : Workers go on strike in the name of Satyagraha when they have complaints with the management. But this is already deviating to the real meaning of Stayagraha spiritually – which is finding the truth through the will of God or the Supreme Being. The general concept of Satyagraha for Ghandi is inflicting suffering on ones self, and not to your opponents (Gandhi, 1914). If we feel that there is something wrong with the society, we should not apply passive resistance or even active resistance with violence. Rather, we should seek the truth and practice patience and love. In patience, we will find suffering. But for those who suffer, the truth will eventually be revealed. Satyagraha is important in the concept of Swaraj or self-governance. This originated from Ghandis plight to make India free from foreign colonizers. In Swaraj, governance does not come in the form of hierarchy but in community and individual development. Politics is decentralized so that the people can improve themselves by practicing Stayagraha. They will inevitably be patient with one another and contribute to the truth in self-governance. But they will not be silent about wring and unequal things. In fact, they must be vocal about this such as the social movements that this had inspired in India. Thus, the non-violent person inspired by Satyagarha will be useful in the Swaraj. He must be obedient to the rules in the community by practicing patience and self control. He must seek to improve himself through obedience. Yet, when there is something that needs to be publicly expressed as wrong, the attention of the civil government must be called so that proper action can be taken (Gandhi, 1961). For example, if a person sees that women’s’ rights is not being given properly, then this non-violent person must let his plight be known. Especially in India, this is a contemporary human rights issue. In a modern world where women are already treated as equal to men, the Indian society still think of women a subordinate. And this is the source of their various practices that are really oppressive to their women. Most Indians believe that women have no decision making capability nor do they have power over money and the household. Because they observe this within the society for so many years, very few have resisted. Women have been patient and enduring suffering through non-violence. But the true non-violent person according to Ghandi must make this problem known in order for it to be solved. He will fast about it or even hold a strike, but there must be no-violence or retribution is involved. The decision will still be in the hands of the civil government. But he himself will not be oppressive to women, as part of the virtue of non-violence. If we look at the same issue and see what a person with Kants enlightenment would do, I can say that he will be courageous and will step up to say what it wrong. Kant believes that people are not using their intellect and the capability to discern the violations of human rights because they lack courage (Kant, 1784). That is why this person will use his own decisions and intellect in order for the human rights violations against women to be corrected. Most likely, he will seek to tell women to have courage so they could use their own intellect in getting the rights that they deserve as human beings. If a person follows Mills concepts in On Liberty, he will be very vocal about womens rights ecause a person must be sovereign above himself (Mill, 1869). We are not subordinates to other people. So the oppression of women will not be justified according to this person. He will not let women be oppressed and he will most likely teach women on how to speak up for the rights that they deserve and not let other people rule over their lives. References: Gandhi, Mahatma. â€Å"The Theory and Practice of Satyagraha† Indian Opinion, 1914. Gandhi, Mahatma. â€Å"Non-violent Resistance (Satyagraha)† 1961. Kant, Immanuel. â€Å"What is Enlightenment? † 1784. Mill, John Stuart. â€Å"On Liberty. † 1869.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

A brief report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A brief report - Essay Example wn by many researchers and this was evident from the literature review (Part B) that the stress management is something which needs to be managed by the individual itself. Although there are various factors that result in the creation of stress but they need to be tackled so that the side-effects of it can be avoided in future (Haider and Supriya, 2007). In order to cope with the stress, the third part of the paper will shed light on the practical implications of stress management. There are two folds in the implications; one is related to my personal implication, how I acquired this skill and the second is related to its implication in the broader world which comprises mainly of the work environment. Before starting the discussion on how I have managed to cope up with my stress problem, it is important that I briefly outline the misconception that I had in my mind. The common mistake that is found by many people is that they use depression and stress interchangeably (Ballesteros and Whitlock, n.d.) but in reality both are totally different type of mental illnesses (Gall et al., 2003). Depression is an extreme case in which the person suffering from it needs medical treatment whereas stress is something that can occur in anyone’s life in daily routine such as reaching school on time, attending the meeting, preparing for the exams, dealing with the boss and many more (Gall et al., 2003). Therefore, in order to overcome my stress level in my daily routine, I followed the tips highlighted by Dr. Jenni (2007) and Osseck et al. (2004) which helped me to develop effective techniques that I can apply whenever I feel stressed. The foremost thing is managing the stress is to identify the problem and I was aware of the fact that I used to get nervous and panic a lot in stressful situation. When I reflected on my behaviour, I realized that I had two problems i.e. lack of self-confidence which hindered my communication and presentation skills and ineffective management

Friday, October 18, 2019

Market rate of return Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Market rate of return - Assignment Example If it is observed that the returns are consistently below the SML line, it will mean that the stock is expected to rise, while if the returns are seen to be consistently above the line, then it will mean that the stock is due for a drop. Graphing the SML for a particular stock requires a stock with a beta that is higher than 1 and this usually outperforms the market, while a beta that is less than 1 implies that it underperforms the market (Shanken, 56). The y-intercept of the SML is equal to risk-free rate. The SML slope is equal to market risk premium and it usually reflects the return trade of a given time. Beta is termed as non-diversifiable or systematic risk. Basing on the generated regression line the equation created is=8.375x-0.166 Going by beta values, the security market line indicates that the relationship between return and risk is linear for the individual securities. For instance, increased return= increased risk. Essentially it indicates what return someone needs to e arn on an investment for it to be worth taking, and this is seen to increase with the investment riskiness. The Security Market Line formula is as below: Required Return = Risk Free Rate + (Beta x [Market Return - Risk Free Rate]) Calculate 95% confidence intervals for the slope and y-intercept. SUMMARY OUTPUT Regression Statistics Multiple R 0.997314 R Square 0.994636 Adjusted R Square 0.992848 Standard Error 0.005276 Observations 5 ANOVA Â   df SS MS F Significance F Regression 1 0.015486 0.015486 556.2975 0.000167 Residual 3 8.35E-05 2.78E-05 Total 4 0.01557 Â   Â   Â   Â   Coefficients Standard Error t Stat P-value Lower 95% Upper 95% Lower 95.0% Upper 95.0% Intercept 0.020428 0.004799 4.256403 0.023776 0.005154 0.035702 0.005154 0.035702 X Variable 1 0.118761 0.005035 23.58596 0.000167 0.102737 0.134786 0.102737 0.134786 RESIDUAL OUTPUT Observation Predicted Y Residuals 1 0.04418 0.00582 2 0.079809 -0.00481 3 0.109499 -0.0045 4 0.162942 0.002058 5 0.19857 0.00143 Look up t he current return on one-year Treasury bills/notes as your risk-free rate. Two good sources. In your report, please state your source and the date used. http://fxtrade.oanda.com/analysis/economic-indicators/united-states/rates/yield-curve Date used; November 29, 2013 My risk free rate is 0.05 Given the current risk-free rate, is the regression estimate of your risk-free rate match the actual current risk-free rate? Use confidence intervals to help answer this question. Basing on the confidence interval calculation above, the regression estimate of my risk free rate does not match the actual current risk-free rate because it falls outside the interval or range of 0.10273 and 0.13478 What is the current expected market rate of return (based on your regression)? Basing on my regression, the current expected market rate of return is as below; Using the equation generated from the regression; Y=8.375x-0.166 The current expected market rate of return is equal to X Therefore X=(y+0.166)/8. 375 But we are given Y which is 0.05. The X will now be (0.05+0.166)/8.375=0.02579 Therefore, the current expected market rate of return is 0.02579 Works Cited Shanken, J.On the Estimation of Beta-Pricing Models,"Review of Financial Studies, 5(1), 1{33,1992. Print Shanken, J.,and G.

Human Resource Career Development Activities Essay - 1

Human Resource Career Development Activities - Essay Example Free trade agreements have increased activities around the world. We have encountered the need to interface, travel, and live in many parts of the world. Yet, often our employees do not have a cultural familiarity with the people that they contact in meetings, e-mail, or by telephone. Baugh (2005) has pointed out the importance of mentoring in career development (p. 523). It is time to extend our mentoring program outside our borders and view the world as our office, learn about the host country we are dealing with, their work role, office culture, and prepare people for international assignments. We also have a need for our internal employees to understand diversity in the workplace. Currently, we place a high value on our recruiting efforts in this area. However, the positive effects of creating a diverse workforce will be entirely dependent on how they are perceived by the men and women in our organization. (Burke 2005 p. 191). If the existing employees are not open to such policies, it will create new problems rather than solve existing ones (Burke 2005 p. 191). Improper and inadequate diversity training hold everyone back, even the beneficiaries of affirmative programs. We also have a need to offer our employees a program of lifelong learning. Education for everyone is an activity whose value has been proven. Education should include job related technical training as well as personal growth. Where this program has been implemented it has been a success. McGoldrick (2001) reports that the "investment in lifelong learning for employees has paid off in positive career experiences and positive psychological contracts". Workers feel like they are a valuable part of the organization and are worth investing in. Employees benefit from the training and also form a better psychological relationship with the company. The three activities of international mentoring, diversity training, and lifelong learning can add tangible and

The dumbest generation by Mark Bauerlein Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The dumbest generation by Mark Bauerlein - Essay Example Throughout his book, Bauerlein concentrates on how the digital era has displaced the common and normal human life, impacting young Americans. The author compares his time period to the current generation (under thirty years of age) in terms of education and their mode of communication. After discovering the many transformations that have taken place, the author refutes technological advancements claiming that they have done more harm than good to the young generation. In chapter one, knowledge deficits, the author embarks on statistical data generated from surveys to explain how the youth are performing poorly in all aspects of life. After comparing the 2005 and 1995 test scores, the author claims that the American youth performed poorly in 2005 because of their over reliance on information technology instead of concentrating on books (Bauerlein 10). The author, however, does not recognize the role of parents, teachers and the community in education because they too contribute to aca demic performance. He does not appreciate the fact that young people are getting more information from the internet as opposed to what teachers and books can offer. In chapter two, the new bibliophobes, Bauerlein disagrees with idea of the youth retrieving information from the internet instead of reading books. He believes that it only books, which have relevant and reliable information for the young people. He considers their over reliance on media gadgets as waste of time. This is not true because the internet helps young people to learn more.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Exploring The Dark Side. Review of hacker sites Essay

Exploring The Dark Side. Review of hacker sites - Essay Example Indeed, as Gold (2001) argues, there is an overriding tendency to perceive of all hackers as intent on the accessing otherwise private information for the purpose of criminal use and profit. Certainly, a not insignificant percentage of hacks into corporate databases is motivated by precisely such an intent but an equally significant percentage is motivated by the intent to expose security flaws. The intent to expose, as Gold (2001) contends, is not accompanied by an underlying criminal or financial motivation but simply by the determination to prove that the security systems which companies have invested large amounts of money in are, indeed, flawed and easily penetrated by professional hackers. Interestingly, the four sites mentioned appear to evidence Gold's (2001) argument. The technical information provided in these sites can be interpreted as hacking guidance information but, more significantly, it directs attention to existent security flaws and data vulnerability. In its announcement of a four-day hacker conference, the Cult of the Dead cow effectively evidences that hackers have a constructive role to play in the securitization of information. For example, the mentioned conference announcement is accompanied by a call for papers on network penetration, malware generation and, importantly, network security. The implication here is that hackers are actively involved in the study of network security flaws, aspects of network vulnerability and information warfare strategies, as based on existent flawed security and suggest strategies for the resolution of these weaknesses and vulnerabilities. As may have been deduced from the preceding paragraph, Cult of the Dead Cow may be perceived of as a positive contribution to information assurance and the fact that this statement may be extended to embrace professional hacker communities per se, is established through a review of I Hack Stuff. The latter site is extremely informative because it establishes the extent to which data and networks are vulnerable by illustrating how supposedly sensitive and extremely secure information, such as administrator login information, customer lists and websites' member databases, including passwords, may all be accessed through a google search. I Hack Stuff provides a long list of the google search terms that one needs to enter in order to access this information and upon experimenting with it, I discovered that the information is valid. Certainly, the information which I Hack Stuff provides may be interpreted as an immediate and intolerable ethical violation insofar as it directs novices, or experimenters, towards the location of information which allows for the successful hacking of supposedly secure websites. Taken from another perspective, however, such information may be interpreted as a constructive contribution to data and information assurance. It exposes security flaws and

Kinship, ritual , gender FINAL ANTHROPHOLOGY ESSAY

Kinship, ritual , gender FINAL ANTHROPHOLOGY - Essay Example seen the extent of shrinking (if any) of the specific, and why not crucial, role that they have played in forming and supporting the stability of those communities, and societies in question, in the context of the global social change. The paper argues that due to the more and more accelerating process of global culture change, driven by the steadily increasing contact between cultures and societies worldwide (whose first timid steps could be sought at some point in the distant Middle Ages), more or less, all existing societies have been heavily influenced in the sense of altering social dynamics and promoting new cultural models. This paper argues as well, that the phenomenon of cultural diffusion, first conceptualized by the influential American anthropologist Alfred L. Kroeber and fueled by the patterns of change for the world in the last several decades, is drifting the contemporary civilization toward creation of a global multicultural society with its own universal cultural form and content, including a new set of appropriate rituals, but also containing the traditional cultural patterns of its constituent communities. Given the aforesaid, the paper advocates the idea that the traditional tribal or religion- born rituals, in particular those with initiation meaning and function, though inevitably affected by the social shifts, will keep on playing an important role not just as an indicator of affiliation to a particular community, but also as a structurally bracing part of any community’s organism. Since the very dawn of the simplest human societies, even before the earliest civilizations to emerge, the rituals had taken up an immense room within the core and foundation of each of those societies. This is especially true for a particular class of rituals, which pervasively attend throughout the whole life cycle of an individual - male or female; named, analyzed and characterized for the first time by Arnold van Gennep as ‘rites of passage’- in his

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

The dumbest generation by Mark Bauerlein Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The dumbest generation by Mark Bauerlein - Essay Example Throughout his book, Bauerlein concentrates on how the digital era has displaced the common and normal human life, impacting young Americans. The author compares his time period to the current generation (under thirty years of age) in terms of education and their mode of communication. After discovering the many transformations that have taken place, the author refutes technological advancements claiming that they have done more harm than good to the young generation. In chapter one, knowledge deficits, the author embarks on statistical data generated from surveys to explain how the youth are performing poorly in all aspects of life. After comparing the 2005 and 1995 test scores, the author claims that the American youth performed poorly in 2005 because of their over reliance on information technology instead of concentrating on books (Bauerlein 10). The author, however, does not recognize the role of parents, teachers and the community in education because they too contribute to aca demic performance. He does not appreciate the fact that young people are getting more information from the internet as opposed to what teachers and books can offer. In chapter two, the new bibliophobes, Bauerlein disagrees with idea of the youth retrieving information from the internet instead of reading books. He believes that it only books, which have relevant and reliable information for the young people. He considers their over reliance on media gadgets as waste of time. This is not true because the internet helps young people to learn more.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Kinship, ritual , gender FINAL ANTHROPHOLOGY ESSAY

Kinship, ritual , gender FINAL ANTHROPHOLOGY - Essay Example seen the extent of shrinking (if any) of the specific, and why not crucial, role that they have played in forming and supporting the stability of those communities, and societies in question, in the context of the global social change. The paper argues that due to the more and more accelerating process of global culture change, driven by the steadily increasing contact between cultures and societies worldwide (whose first timid steps could be sought at some point in the distant Middle Ages), more or less, all existing societies have been heavily influenced in the sense of altering social dynamics and promoting new cultural models. This paper argues as well, that the phenomenon of cultural diffusion, first conceptualized by the influential American anthropologist Alfred L. Kroeber and fueled by the patterns of change for the world in the last several decades, is drifting the contemporary civilization toward creation of a global multicultural society with its own universal cultural form and content, including a new set of appropriate rituals, but also containing the traditional cultural patterns of its constituent communities. Given the aforesaid, the paper advocates the idea that the traditional tribal or religion- born rituals, in particular those with initiation meaning and function, though inevitably affected by the social shifts, will keep on playing an important role not just as an indicator of affiliation to a particular community, but also as a structurally bracing part of any community’s organism. Since the very dawn of the simplest human societies, even before the earliest civilizations to emerge, the rituals had taken up an immense room within the core and foundation of each of those societies. This is especially true for a particular class of rituals, which pervasively attend throughout the whole life cycle of an individual - male or female; named, analyzed and characterized for the first time by Arnold van Gennep as ‘rites of passage’- in his

How To Buy A Brand New Car Essay Example for Free

How To Buy A Brand New Car Essay Buying a brand new car is one of the most important financial decisions a person can make in his life. Due to all the car models and makes available these days, buying a car is almost like buying candy from a store. There is always something that will fit your whims and fancies. Unfortunately, a car costs much more than candy and therefore, extra precautions are necessary when deciding upon what kind of car to buy.   This is why it is important for a person to draw up a personal selection process for buying a car that will cater to his specific needs and capabilities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   First of all, a person on the market for a car should start by feeding his eyes. Look around you and observe what other people are driving. Do a search car models that catch your eye on the internet and see what the car reviews have to say about it. Print out your top 5 choices for narrowing down the list.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Second, check your finances and put a spending cap on your purchasing power. A mid priced brand new vehicle will function just as well, if not better than a high priced model. After all, the way a car functions all depends upon the way the owner maintains the car and not how much the owner spent to purchase the car.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Third, go showroom shopping. I would advise that you go only to the manufacturer’s outlet in your city rather than going to Honest Sam’s Car dealer. This is so that you can avail of various discounts and a full range of after sales services that only the manufacturer can offer you. With all the car scams out there, it is best to err on the side of caution. After all, you will be plunking down thousands of dollars on something that should last at least twenty years in service to you.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Fourth, make sure to bring a passenger along for the test drive. The person can be a friend or even an independent car mechanic. The job of this person will be to help you look over the finer details of the car during the test drive. Remember, the comfort of the passenger matters too. The mechanic will be there to help you spot potential problems in car maintenance in the future and help you decide upon whether or not the car maintenance will be something your finances can deal with in the future.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Fifth, don’t let the showroom sales pitches get to you. These people need to move their cars. They work on a commission basis. The more cars they sell, the better for their pockets. Keep in mind that you have to be comfortable with the purchase decision you will be making. Having any emotional connection with the highly friendly sales staff should not influence your decision. After test driving your short list of cars, sleep on the decision. Consult people whom you know drive the cars you are considering to buy. What problems have they had so far? How much is maintenance costing them monthly and yearly?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lastly, make the final decision based upon all the technical and practical data you have gathered. Go purchase the car and start enjoying the freedom that owning a brand new car has to offer.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Misuse Of Computers At The Workplace

Misuse Of Computers At The Workplace In general, the use of computers for illegal activities is an increasingly problem as virtually every commercial transaction occurs in the digital world. In addition, people spend a significant part of their lives at the workplace so that chances are high that any sort of misuse will occur. Internal and external threats to an organization are becoming prevalent. In order to manage the collection and handling of digital evidence, allowing it to be admissible in court, an organization needs to concentrate efforts in constituting mechanisms to effectively handle potential evidence for criminal investigations. In order to address that issue, I initially discuss how computers can be misused at the workplace, identify trends in the security incidents arena, and provide a quick view on the field of digital forensics science and cyber forensics. Later, I move to the context of the problem addressing issues of forensic readiness, admissibility of digital evidence, discovery, and practices for incident response. Finally, I convey a proposal aiming at proactively addressing issues of collection and admissibility of digital evidence. The background Misuse of computers at the workplace Computers can be misused at the workplace in a variety of different ways. From accessing inappropriate Internet sites to copying copyrighted material, such as music, video or software, employees can make offenses against the employer corporate policies. In addition, non-work related Internet activity, such as visiting sport sites, bidding online, trading stocks, shopping online, and collecting and sending jokes to co-workers may also infringe Information Security or Information Technology (IT) resources policies. It is known that one of the most common ways of computer misuse in the workplace is the utilization of corporate e-mail and the Internet for private use. Most companies use Internet as a powerful business tool, but sometimes the misuse of that asset could turn out to be very expensive as it consumes IT resources and affects negatively employee productivity, in addition to compromise security. Some businesses accept the personal use of IT resources at the workplace, but there is a faulty line that divides what is right and wrong in terms of personal use. Other more serious offenses may include access to unauthorized or confidential material, cyberstalking, identify and information theft, hacking, embezzlement, child pornography etc. Internal computers can also be used to commit fraud against the employer or its customers or suppliers. In some cases involving an employee accessing certain types of illegal websites, a company may be subject to criminal investigation.  [1]  Computer related evidence can also be used to investigate cases of bribes.  [2]   Companies from different sizes have some sort of security policy in place that helps shaping the adequate use of information technology (IT) assets or identifying misbehaviour. Those security policies may have been implemented in line with security standards, such as ISO/IEC 27001:2005  [3]  , ISO/IEC 27002:2005  [4]  and the Internet Security Forum (ISF)  [5]  , but initiatives in this area are normally linked to two important and quite different streams. First, financial obligations impose IT systems to have tight checks, such as access control and authorization procedures, segregation of duties, contingency plans etc. Second, IT departments establish security mechanisms to protect internal computers from external threats, such as viruses, network attacks, and phishing among others cyber threats. Such tasks are mostly performed by distinct teams, with different skills in the IT and business areas. Failures to protect the internal network can put companies in situations where information systems can be compromised, private or confidential information leaked, or even computers being used by criminal networks via botnets  [6]  . In cases like this, companies may find its computer systems confiscated for inspection as part of criminal investigation, in addition to being subject to damages in reputation. A recent survey from Ernst Young  [7]  shows an increase in the perception of internal threats related to information security. About 75% of respondents revealed that they are concerned with possible reprisal from employees recently separated from their organization. That may have had some impact originated from the recent global financial crisis, but it is also due to the increasing level of automation and value of digital assets present in almost all organizations. Another interesting finding of this survey is that the primary challenge to effectively delivering information security was the lack of appropriate resources.  [8]   The computer misuse act (UK) As a first important UK legislation designed to address computer crime, the Computer Misuse Act (CMA)  [9]  became law in 1990. It turned, for example, hacking and viruses dissemination criminal offenses. The Act identifies three computer misuse offences: Section 1 Unauthorised access to computer material (a program or data). Section 2 Unauthorised access to a computer system with intent to commit or facilitate the commission of a serious crime. Section 3 Unauthorised modification of computer material. A person is guilty of an offence under section 1 if: He causes a computer to perform any function with intent to secure access to any program or data held in any computer The access he intends to secure is unauthorised; and He knows at the time when he causes the computer to perform the function. The Section 2 deals with unauthorised access to computer systems with the specific intention of committing, or facilitating the commission, of a serious crime. A person is guilty of an offence under this section if he commits an offence under Section 1 with intent to commit or facilitate the commission of a further, sufficiently serious, offence. The Section 3 covers unauthorized modification of computerised information, and thus includes viruses and trojans  [10]  . A person is guilty of an offence under this section if: He does any act which causes an unauthorised modification of the contents of any computer; and At the time when he does the act he has the requisite intent and the requisite knowledge. The requisite intent is an aim to cause a modification of the contents of the computer and by so doing impair its operation or hinder access to it, or any data stored on it. The requisite knowledge is the awareness that any modification one intends to cause is unauthorised. The CMA is responsible for a variety of convictions, from nanny agencies (R v Susan Holmes 2008) to ex-employees (R v Ross Pearlstone one of the first).  [11]  One recent arrest under the CMA involved two suspected computer hackers that have been caught in Manchester in a major inquiry into a global internet fraud designed to steal personal details. The investigation focused on ZBot trojan, a malicious software or malware  [12]  that records online bank account details, passwords and credit card numbers to ultimately steal cash with that information. It also steals password of social network sites.  [13]   Trends in security incidents Large organizations are the ones more likely to have adequate Information Security Policies in place. The utilization of Information Security practices in general requires the availability of skilled and well-trained people, risk assessment procedures and well managed incident response procedures. To some extent, the implementation of such practices is available in most businesses. However, the last PWC Global Economic Crime Survey  [14]  shows that large organizations are the ones to report more frauds. The survey confirms that the larger the organization the bigger the relative number of reported incidents. It also showed an interesting trend in detections methods, which is pertinent to our analysis. For example, internal audit went down to 17% of cases in 2009 against 26% in 2005. In addition, fraud risk management rose to 14% in 2009 from 3% in 2005. Newly risk management approaches try to be more proactive as opposed to traditional audit procedures. That trend may also demon strate that manual procedures (mostly audits) are being replaced by more automation (fraud management systems). Digital forensics science and cyber forensics Digital forensic science can be defined as: The use of scientifically derived and proven methods toward the preservation, collection, interpretation, documentation and presentation of digital evidence derived from digital sources for the purpose of facilitating or furthering the reconstruction of events found to be criminal, or helping to anticipate unauthorized actions shown to be disruptive to planned operations.  [15]   Carrier and Spafford (2003)  [16]  argue that digital evidence concerns with data in digital format that establishes a crime has been committed, thus it provides a link between a crime and its victim or perpetrator. A digital crime scene is therefore the electronic environment where digital evidence potentially exists. Evidences, which are made of bits and bytes, are part of the digital forensic science (DFS) realm, which also includes visual and audio evidences. As a subset of the DFS, the cyber forensics field focus on the investigation of evidences via scientific examination and analysis of digital data so that it can be used as admissible and verifiable evidence in a court law. Evidences in this field includes log files, equipment primary and volatile memory, storage media, software (code) and virtually any document in digital format, such as email, sms messages etc. Evidence in general must be admissible, authentic, complete, reliable and believable, therefore requirements for digital evidence are not different in essence. Fundamentally, the process of managing the lifecycle of digital evidence is the same as the physical evidence. It includes the following phases: preparation, response, collection, analysis, presentation, incident closure.  [17]  However, digital evidence is highly volatile and once it has been contaminated, it cannot come back to its original state.  [18]  The chain of custody is an essential condition for digital evidence admissibility and preservation. The context Threats to evidence collection Evidence may exist in logs, computer memory, hard disks, backup tapes, software and so on. IT organizations are normally the ones supporting the usage of IT assets that generates most of the digital evidence as a result of doing business. However, IT organizations provide services to their companies mostly using multivendor strategies. In addition, users are mobile and spread along several geographic areas; workstation and servers are hardly standardized; and vendors use different methods for proving services and are bound to complex service level agreements (SLAs) that penalize them when services are not available or running with poor performance. The focus is always on running services to the lowest possible cost with adequate performance and availability. Whenever a problem may exist damaging the availability of a system, analysts will try to recover the full capacity of that service. It may imply that systems will be, in a rush, restarted or have its logs and other files deleted to improve processing capacity. In addition, although storing costs have fallen considerably during the last years, mainly on the end user side, data-center storage has been still expensive. Therefore, the pressures coming from costs reduction programs can, as a result, compromise running an adequate storage strategy. Moreover, this have implications that will hinder storing data longer, and reduce backup/restore procedures. Forensic readiness In the context of enterprise security, forensic readiness may be defined as the ability of an organization to maximize its potential to use digital evidence whilst minimising the costs of an investigation.  [19]  An adequate management of digital evidence lifecycle may help an organization to mitigate the risk of doing business. It can support a legal dispute or a claim of intellectual property rights. It can also support internal disciplinary actions or even just show that due care has taken place in a particular process.  [20]   An initiative, which aims at supporting a forensic readiness program, would include:  [21]   Maximising an environments ability to collect credible digital evidence; Minimising the cost of forensics during an incident response. In a general perspective, the utilization of enterprise information security policies will facilitate forensic readiness initiatives. However, in any security incident there will be mostly focus on containment and recovery due to the short-term business critical issues.  [22]   In order to help organizations implement a practical forensics readiness initiative, Rowlingson (2004) suggests a 10-step approach, as follow:  [23]   Define the business scenarios that require digital evidence. Identify available sources of different types of potential evidence. Determine the evidence collection requirement. Establish a capacity for securely gathering legally admissible evidence to the requirement. Establish a policy for secure storage handling and potential evidence. Ensure monitoring is target to detect and deter major incidents. Specify circumstances when escalation to a full formal investigation should be launched. Train staff in incident awareness, so that all those involved understand their role in the digital evidence process and the legal sensitivities of evidence Document an evidence-based case describing the incident and its impact Ensure legal review to facilitate action in response to the incident. Rowlingson also highlights two types of evidences: background evidence and foreground evidence. While the first is collected and stored via normal business reasons, the second is gathered to detect crime, and more frequently done via monitoring. However, monitoring typically raises privacy issues consequently requiring alignment to local laws. The monitoring process may help identifying data correlation between different events, thus increasing the potential of digital evidence based investigations. Admissibility of digital evidence Digital evidence can be defined as any data stored or transmitted using a computer that support or refute a theory of how an offense occurred or that address critical elements of the offense such as intent or alibi  [24]  . Digital evidence is useful not only to address cyber crimes, but also in an extensive range of criminal investigations, such as homicides, child abuse, sex offenses, drug dealing, harassment, and so on. Dicarlo (2001) argues that the basic questions about admissibility of evidences are relevance, materiality, and competence. When evidence is considered relevant, material, and competent, and is not blocked by an exclusionary rule, hearsay for example, it is admissible. Evidence is relevant when it has any tendency to make the fact that it is offered to prove or disprove within certain probability. Evidence is material if it is offered to prove a fact that is at issue in the case. Evidence is then competent if the proof that is being offered meets certain traditional requirements of reliability.  [25]   Daubert  [26]  has posed a threshold test to validate an evidence competency as a class of evidence.  [27]  Digital forensic evidence proposed for admission in courts must meet two basic conditions; it must be relevant, and derived by scientifically sound method. The digital forensics field is highly technical and grounded on science, which in turn bring some challenges to forensics professionals. Initially, it requires specific skills to deal with as it can be challenging to handle. For example, pieces of bytes can be put together to recover a deleted email that would provide key information to a case. Nevertheless, it would require an exhausting work to collect, handle and find the significant data. A similar situation occurs when decoding information carried by wire or wireless networks. Additionally, the knowledge of the digital evidence environment and how it can be produced is essential for any investigation. In Loraine  [28]  , Judge Grimm (2007) remarkably considered the Federal Rules of Evidence regarding its admissibility and authentication. He confirmed that the way evidence is gathered, processed and produced have a significant impact on its admissibility. According to the court, evidence must be: Relevant; Authentic; If hearsay, allowable under the hearsay exceptions; Original, duplicate or supported by admissible secondary evidence; The probative value of such evidence cannot be outweighed by any unfair prejudice or other factors. Another important issue is that digital evidence, to some extent, is easily manipulated. It can purposely suffer modification from offenders or be accidently altered during the collection phase without obvious signs of distortion.  [29]  However, differently from physical evidences, it offers some particular features:  [30]   It can be duplicated. In fact, this is a common practice in investigations and aims at diminishing the risk of damages to the original. It is traceable. Appropriate tools can be used to determine if digital evidence has been modified or tampered when compared to the original copy. It is difficult to destroy. For example, deleted data can be recovered even if hard disk is damaged. It may contain metadata (data about data). For example, a deleted file can show when it was deleted and last modified. Electronic data discovery Electronic Data Discovery  [31]  is any process in which electronic data is sought, located, secured, and searched with the intent of using it as evidence in a civil or criminal legal case.  [32]   The 2006 amendments in the US Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP)  [33]  were driven by the increasingly use of the electronic form as evidence in litigation. The FRCP refers to electronic data discoverable as Electronic Stored Information (ESI). It constituted a milestone in the field, which is requiring organizations to be better prepared to store and manage business records. In addition, it established the legal hold, which means that organizations are under the duty to preserve information if they reasonable anticipate that a lawsuit may commence.  [34]   Normally, following a court order, an electronic discovery procedure can be carried out offline or online, on a particular computer or in a network, for the purpose of obtaining critical evidence. Electronic data is clearly easier to be searched when compared to paper documents. In addition, data can be perpetuated if properly stored, or even recovered if once deleted. If an entity becomes involved in a lawsuit, it will probably be requested to provide information that is in digital form. It is essential to be able to identify where and how the information can be retrieved. In preparation for electronic discovery, an enterprise will likely have to face the following issues:  [35]   Changes in business process to identify, collect and manage business records and knowledge assets; Implementation of new systems, technology or consulting to manage the lifecycle of the electronic discovery; Need to instruct and inform employees about their responsibilities regarding the need to preserve information and make it discoverable. In a event that an organization cannot locate or retrieve discoverable information, it may be subject to penalties or even have the case turning to the opposite side.  [36]   Discoverable electronic information must be produced regardless of the device it is stored, its format, its location or type.  [37]  If the burden or cost to produce is not reasonable, then it does not need to be produced. However, courts are entitled to order the discovery in situations where a good cause would exist.  [38]   Chain of custody is a fundamental requirement of ESI. Electronic discover processes should demonstrated the integrity of documents from storage to retrieval. Without historical records, evidence can be held inadmissible. Metadata per se is contestable as digital evidence; however, it can support the integrity and traceability of evidences. The FRCP also provide that one side may be required to grant the other access to a specific computer system as part of a discovery request, including technical support for that.  [39]  The whole aspect of maintaining an appropriate environment to locate, secure, and search discoverable information, increase the need to maintain IT tools that better support ESI processes. Although IT departments within organizations are the ones on duty to guarantee the technical means to preserve and recover ESI, electronic discovery as such is an evolving field that requires more than technology. Moreover, it may rise legal, jurisdictional, security and personal privacy issues, which still need to better assessed. Practices for incident response Every incident is unique and can incorporate many different areas of the affected organization. A right response to incidents requires an appropriate level of planning and coordination. In spite of being a critical element of any information security policy, incident response is one of the least practiced, most stressful, highly scrutinized task as it requires that incident analysts be well prepared in advance, be quick and calm, and act considering a wide range of possibilities.  [40]   Common cases of information security incidents may include economic espionage, intellectual property theft, unauthorized access to data, stolen passwords, unauthorized or inappropriate use of email and web, malicious code, such as worms with backdoors or trojans, and insider threats. In dealing with breaches, organizations face the following common challenges:  [41]   Misunderstanding of risks; Limited understanding of where sensitive data are collected, used, stored, shared and destroyed; Insufficient emphasis on secure coding practices and security quality assurance; Permissive access; No information classification; Flat architecture; Duties not segregated; Third-party connectivity/access; No access controls and limited physical controls; End-use computing vulnerabilities; Limited role and activity based training and guidance. The ISO/IEC 27002:2005 is a Code of Practice for Information Security Management. It is a well-known guide for the subject and widely used within private organizations as a reference for the information security management. The Section 13 Information Security Incident Management deals with information security events, incidents and weaknesses. It intends to provide a framework and a starting point for developing a cyber threat response and reporting capability. It says incidents should be promptly reported and properly managed. An incident reporting or alarm procedure is required, plus the associated response and escalation procedures. There should be a central point of contact, and all employees, contractors etc should be informed of their incident reporting responsibilities.  [42]   In addition, responsibilities and procedures are required to manage incidents consistently and effectively, to implement continuous improvement (learning the lessons), and to collect forensic evidence. An organization must respond in some way to a computer security breach whether it is an intrusion/hack, the implantation of malicious code such as a virus or worm, or a denial of service attack. The better prepared the organization is to respond quickly and effectively, the better the chance it will have to minimize the damage.  [43]   The ISACA ´s Cybercrime: Incident Response and Digital Forensics  [44]  internal control checklist recognize the following steps for reacting efficiently and quickly to information security-related incidents: Pre-incident; Immediate action; Secondary action; Evidence collection; Corrective measures; Evaluation. Systems administrators duties Statistics in general indicate that companies are more and more subject to internal and external attacks. The digital economy is pervasive and more and more documents now appear to exist only in electronic means. Even social engineering techniques, which many times target non-authorized physical access, will leave electronic traces in some way. Thus, system and network administrators are many times the first ones to get to know that security incidents or breaches are taking place. The appropriate procedure to collect evidence is vital to the success of any certain case. It is fundamental to understand how to collect evidence, how it may be interpreted and what data will be available to trace criminal actions.  [45]   The AAA  [46]  architecture, defined by the RFC 2903  [47]  , is a familiar concept for system and network professionals, and useful when considering forensics. The model is based on key information security concepts: authentication, authorization and accounting. Authentication is concerned with the process of positively identifying a user, process or service and ensuring that they have sufficient credentials to enter and use systems and resources. Each usually requires information (account user names and passwords being a good example) that differentiates them uniquely and hopefully undisguisably. Authorization is concerned with ensuring that resource requests will be granted or denied according to the permission level of the requester. Accounting is concerned with the monitoring and tracking system activities. From a network security perspective, accounting is often called auditing. Auditing is the process of logging communications links, networks, systems and related resources to ensure that they may be analysed at a later date. Accurate and detaile

Sunday, October 13, 2019

The Woman in Black Review Essay -- Drama

The Woman in Black Review Upon the arrival in London my anticipation was high. My first impression of the Fortune Theatre was; it was a very old Victorian building, very small and slightly ragged. Upon entering it felt very cramped and made you feel claustrophobic. The atmosphere was eerie due to the old style of the building. This was particularly effective as the play was set in the Victorian period. This made you feel as if you were in the past. Also the narrow staircase and small seating area created effect. Before the play starts there is no background music played to set a scene or image in the audiences mind. The play starts without warning and lights go down and we are straight into the story. The play is set in a theatre and the audience see the actors rehearsing a manuscript to an empty crowd. At first the older actor was reading his story as if he was an appalling actor. This technique used was effective and gave some comic relief at the start of the play. He mumbled his words without emotion which was in total contrast to the younger actor. The younger actor was very articulate and pronounced his words properly, both characters spoke with posh accents. By doing this it lulled the audience in to an almost false sense of security. Fans blew into the theatre to make the ambience cold and chilling. Diagram of the Stage The audience were seated in front of the stage. This was so the whole audience would all see the play in the same way. Also this would ensure the woman in black wouldn’t be able to be spotted. The set was open and most things on the stage were shown. There was a clothes rack which was covered, a wicker basket which was closed and some metal buckets. There was a door which was shut but we did not know to where it would lead. However during the play we discovered a whole new dimension to the stage. Behind a gauze there was another part of the stage. If this had been shown some of the creative element would have been lost as we wouldn’t be surprised to see it. Also the fact the only time the audience saw the back of the stage was when the actors themselves were present there. This would link the audience to the actor and heighten the personal bond. Spotlights were used a lot in this production. It persuaded the audience to focus on one area of the stage. It also gave a creepy effect, as you c... ... something bad to happen. After the loud, unexpected sounds there were many long pauses, which added to the sinister atmosphere. In my opinion this was the most effective use of sound. By the end of the play there was still a disturbing ambience as I walked away. I had thoroughly enjoyed the play and was suitably scared. Any more and I may not have been able to sleep. I took away many aspects of acting, which could be useful in the future. The use of silence and torches in the darkness were some of my favourites. The play was enjoyable and funny but also terrorizing. One of the most amusing parts was the dog spider scene. This was hard to act as they were pretending there was a dog but it was done with the utmost ease. It was funny how the older man kicked the dog saying â€Å"it does what I say†. If I was a critic for a magazine my short caption would read; â€Å"The Woman in Black† is a play with a distressing plot, of ghastly ghostly terror. Set in the Victorian times it sends a feeling of emptiness and solitude through you, nevertheless an obvious first choice for taking the young ones to see, to appreciate and learn from the immaculate actors and use of stage crew!

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Schizophrenia in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Schizophrenia in  The Yellow Wallpaper      Ã‚  Ã‚   Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s "The Yellow Wall-Paper," does more than just tell the story of a woman who suffers at the hands of 19th century quack medicine. Gilman created a protagonist with real emotions and a real psych that can be examined and analyzed in the context of modern psychology. In fact, to understand the psychology of the unnamed protagonist is to be well on the way to understanding the story itself. "The Yellow Wall-Paper," written in first-person narrative, charts the psychological state of the protagonist as she slowly deteriorates into schizophrenia (a disintegration of the personality). Schizophrenia manifests itself through a number of symptoms. One of the first symptoms that the narrator in "The Yellow Wall-Paper" exhibits is thought disorder. Thought disorder can range in severity anywhere from a vague muddiness of thinking to a total breakdown of mental processes. The first real hint that the protagonist is having trouble controlling her mental faculties is when she says, "I get unreasonably angry with John sometimes . . . I take pains to control myself — before him, at least, and that makes me very tired" (Gilman 426). Her mental state is again revealed a few pages later when she states, "It is getting to be a great effort for me to think straight" (Gilman 430). Related to thought disorder is obsession, which the protagonist displays in her relentless thoughts about the yellow wallpaper which covers her bedroom walls. The narrator begins her obsession with the yellow wallpaper from the very beginning of the story. "I never saw a worse paper in my life," she says. "It is dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irri... ...press her, she had to discard the personality that was meek and mild. It is quite possible within the realm of psychological theory that the stress of childbirth, coupled with post-partum depression and the mental strain of having to repress her emotions triggered the schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is the perfect choice because it explains why the protagonist behaves the way she does. At the same time, it shows the problems that occur when a person is oppressed for so long, and also frees the narrator from the bonds of a personality that did not allow her to express herself as a human being. Works Cited Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wall-Paper." Fiction 100: An Anthology of Short Stories. 4th ed. ed. James H. Pickering. New York: MacMillan, 1985. 426-34. Kristal, Leonard, ed. The ABC of Psychology. New York: Facts on File Publications, 1982.   

Friday, October 11, 2019

Nursing Care of a Patient Diagnosed with Pneumonia Essay

Patient Description Patient is a Caucasian 83 year old female that came into the emergency department from Wynwood assisted living facility with an increase of fatigue, worsening confusion and a 1 day history of a fever. Patient weighs approximately 90 pounds upon admission with a height of 64 inches. Patient has known COPD and is a former heavy smoker that also has a history of pneumonia, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, and dementia. Upon presentation to the emergency department patient has had increased nasal drainage and cough. Patient came into the hospital about a year and a half ago with a diagnosis of right lower lobe pneumonia. Patient was arousable, alert and pleasant, but not a good historian and appears to be quite emaciated. Patient at first had a non productive cough and was put on anti-biotics and began to have a productive cough 2 days post admission. Patient had dyspnea, increase respiration rate, difficulty talking, coarse lungs, and had decreased SpO2 with activity. Patient lived in Wynwood assisted living facility where she lived almost independently. Patient was able to get around her apartment with a front wheel walker and provided her own care of activities of daily living. With this admission, hospital staff did not recommend patient going back to assisted living as she would not be able to take care of her self until her mobility is back to her normal limits and the dyspnea is decreased. Nursing Diagnosis Ineffective airway clearance r/t bronchospasm, excessive mucous production, tenacious secretions, fatigue AMB dyspnea, increase RR (28), difficulty talking, inability to raise secretions, ineffective cough, adventitious breath sounds. Goals A. Pt will demonstrate effective coughing and clear breath sounds by end of shift 5/15/10 (3 days) and until discharge. B. Pt will continue to have cyanotic free skin by end of shift on 5/14/10 (2 days) and until discharge. C. Pt will maintain a patent airway at all times by end of shift 5/15/10 (3 days) and until discharge. D. Pt will relate methods to enhance secretion removal (drinking warm fluids) by end of shift 5/15/10 (3 days) and until discharge. E. Pt will relate the significance of changes in sputum to include color, character, amount and odor by end of shift 5/15/10 (3 days) until discharge. Interventions| Rationale| 1. RN will auscultate breath sounds Q4 hrs and PRN until discharge. 2. RN and CNA will monitor respiratory patterns, including rate, depth, and effort Q4 hr and PRN until discharge. 3. RN will monitor blood gas values as available and pulse oxygen saturation levels Q8 hr and PRN until discharge. 4. RN and CNA will position the client to optimize respiration (HOB elevated 45 degrees and repositioned every 2 hrs) and PRN until discharge. 5. RN and CNA will help the pt deep breathe and perform controlled coughing Q2hrs until discharge. 6. RN will help the pt use the forced expiratory technique, the â€Å"huff cough†. The pt does a series of coughs while saying the word huff q4hr and PRN until discharge. 7. RN or CNA will assist with clearing secretions from pharynx by offering tissues and gentle suction of the oral pharynx if necessary Q4 hr and PRN until discharge. 8. RN will observe sputum, noting color, odor and volume PRN until discharge.9. RN and CNA will encourage activity and ambulation as tolerated TID and PRN until discharge. 10. RN and CNA will encourage fluid intake of up to 2500 mL/day within cardiac or renal reserve Q2 hrs and PRN until discharge. 11. RN will administer oxygen as ordered until discharge12. RN or RT will administer medications such as bronchodilators or inhaled steroids as ordered until discharged. 13. RN and CNA will monitor the patient’s behavior and mental status for the onset of restlessness, agitation, confusion and extreme lethargy twice a shift and PRN until discharge date. 14. RN and CNA will observe for cyanosis of the skin twice a shift and PRN until discharge. 15. RN or CNA will position patient over bedside table for acute dyspnea PRN until discharge. 16. RN & CNA will help pt eat frequent small meals and  use dietary supplements PRN until discharge. 17. RN will teach pt energy conservation techniques and the importance of alternating rest periods with activity by end of shift tomorrow and PRN until discharge.| 1. â€Å"The presence of coarse crackles during late inspiration indicates fluid in the airway; wheezing indicates a narrowed airway† (Simpson, 2006, p. 487).2. â€Å"A normal respiratory rate for an adult without dyspnea is 12-16. With secretions in the airway, the respiratory rate will increase† (Simpson, 2006, p. 486). 3. â€Å"An oxygen saturation of less than 90% or a partial pressure of oxygen of less than 80 indicates significant oxygenation problems† (Sanford & Jacobs, 2008, p. 125).4. â€Å"An upright position allows for maximal lung expansion; lying flat cause abdominal organs to shift toward the chest, which crowds the lungs and makes it more difficult to breathe† (Sanford & Jacobs, 2008, p. 125).5. â€Å"This technique can help increase sputum clearance and decrease cough spasms. Controlled coughing was the diaphragmatic muscles, making the cough more forceful and effective† (Sanford & Jacobs, 2008, p. 125).6. â€Å"This technique prevents the glottis from closing during the cough and is effective in clearing secretions in the central airways† (Sanford & Jacobs, 2008, p. 126).7. â€Å"In the debilitated client, gentle suctioning of the posterior pharynx may stimulate coughing and removing secretions† (Sanford & Jacobs, 2008, p. 126).8. â€Å"Normal sputu m is clear or gray and minimal; abnormal sputum is green, yellow, or bloody; malodorous; and often copious† (Sanford & Jacobs, 2008, p. 126). 9. â€Å"Body movements helps mobilize secretions and can be a powerful means to maintain lung health† (Sanford & Jacobs, 2008, p. 126).10. â€Å"Fluids help minimize mucosal drying and maximize ciliary action to move secretions. Some pts cannot tolerate increased fluids because of underlying disease† (Sanford & Jacobs, 2008, p. 126).11. â€Å"Oxygen has been shown to correct hypoxia, which can be caused by retained respiratory secretions† (Sanford & Jacobs, 2008, p. 126).12. â€Å"Bronchodilators decrease airway resistance secondary to broncho-constriction† (Sanford & Jacobs, 2008, p. 126).13. â€Å"Changes in behavior and mental status can be early signs of impaired gas exchange. In the late stages the patient becomes lethargic and somnolent† (Sanford & Jacobs, 2008, p. 388).14. â€Å"Central cyanosis of the tongue and oral mucosa is indicative of serious hypoxia and is a medical emergency. Peripheral cyanosis in the extremities may or may not be serious†Ã‚  (Sanford & Jacobs, 2008, p. 388). 15. â€Å"Leaning forward can help decrease dyspnea, possibly because gastric pressure allows better contraction of the diaphragm. This is called the tripod position and is used during times of distress† (Sanford & Jacobs, 2008, p. 388).16. â€Å"Improved nutrition can help increase muscle aerobic capacity and exercise tolerance. Nutritional problems in clients with COPD can be visual; early identification of clients at risk is essential to maintaining BMI† (Sanford & Jacobs, 2008, p. 389).17. â€Å"Fatigue is a common symptom of COPD and needs to be assessed and managed† (Sanford & Jacobs, 2008, p. 390).| Article Summary In the Article, â€Å"Respiratory Assessment,† by Heidi Simpson, intends for the audience to be nurses already working in the field. This article gives an order of a respiratory assessment that works for any nurse, whether they are a new graduating nurse or a nurse who has been working for years. This journal article gives all the required elements in order to do a full respiratory assessment which includes the â€Å"initial assessment, history taking, inspection, palpitation, percussion, auscultation, and further investigations† (Simpson, 2006, p. 484). This article is a general information article that focuses towards all and any patient population as all of our patients need to have a respiratory assessment done. This article gives a good breakdown of a respiratory assessment in which I currently use in practice. The article can be a good reminder of how an accurate respiratory assessment should be done and how to get good results in the technique a nurse may use. References Sanford, J.T. & Jacobs, M. (2008). Impaired gas exchange. In B.J. Ackley & G.B. Ladwig (Eds.) Nursing diagnosis handbook: An evidence-based guide to planning care (8th ed., pp. 388-390). St Louis, MO: Elsevier. Sanford, J.T. & Jacobs, M. (2008). Ineffective airway clearance. In B.J. Ackley & G.B. Ladwig (Eds.) Nursing diagnosis handbook: An evidence-based guide to planning care (8th ed., pp. 124-129). St Louis, MO: Elsevier. Simpson, H. (2006). Respiratory assessment. British Journal of Nursing (BJN), 15(9), 484-488. Retrieved from CINAHL with full text database.