JOURNAL # 5 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

JOURNAL # 5 - Research Paper Example Public transportation changed when the automobile became part of every family. Television shows replaced dinner conversations. We saw man walk on the moon and the horrors of war in our living rooms† (Bray par. 4). Various cultures have responded differently to technological advancements depending on their resources and capabilities to apply, adapt and create innovations based on these breakthroughs. For instance, as emphasized by Farahani, â€Å"culturally speaking, technology is neither evil nor disastrous; rather it is a means that, if used properly, could bring up the welfare of human beings. By deploying the laser technology we may help cure the eye of a child in a village. However, laser could be used to guide a bomb. We can use satellites for education and intellectual and cultural progress of human beings or we can use them as a means to spread the destructive cultural and ideological patterns† (1). Therefore, culture has learned to use technology to their advantage; with some isolated instances, some technological breakthroughs were used to serve selfish interests leading to destruction; not only of men, but of the environment. Culture during technological growth paralleled its rising pattern by exhibiting significant increases in population, to wit: â€Å"technology not only increased humans’ life span but how we live, how long we live, and how many there are of us† (Bray par. 2). With more technological breakthroughs, cultures have expanded knowledge, skills, and abilities that enabled the multiplicity of growths in all facets of life. One discovery paved the way for one too many and provided improved transportation and communication. No longer were cultures separate from each other, but technological discoveries and innovations have revolutionized closing the distance between time and space. Through the discovery of the internet, for example, people from diverse cultures have learned to

Apply The Prescribed Ethical Decimation Making Model (P.30 ) Using The Essay - 1

Apply The Prescribed Ethical Decimation Making Model (P.30 ) Using The case the Torture in Iraq - Essay Example However, the issue of torture has in recent times, enthused debate surrounding the interrogation methods used by the United States. In 2003, the entire world was shocked by numerous snapshots of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The photos were taken by U.S. soldiers using cell phones and digital cameras, and showed detainees subjected to harsh and humiliating treatment by the U.S. troops. For instance, one photo portrayed a handcuffed, horrified prisoner accosted by a snarling military dog straining to break loose from its leash. Other photos showed nude prisoners forced to lie on top of each other in a stack or to act out sexual deeds. Numerous pictures displayed nude, hooded inmates manacled in painful conditions to beds and cell bars. In other photos, some inmates had bleeding wounds; others seemed to have wires attached to their bodies However, what was more shocking or disturbing is that, some of the photos displayed soldiers (both males and females) posing next to the maltreated prisoners, smiling, seeming to sadistically enjoy the abuse. In their response to the public outcry generated by the pictures, soldiers clarified that they had been given orders to â€Å"soften up† the detainees for more methodical interrogation there can be little doubt that the prisoner abuses at Abu Ghraib and some of the interrogation techniques used by the United States qualify as torture by the standards of international law. As it has been outlined above, torture is unethical and governments and it personnel refrain from. In order to clearly understand the ethics behind it this paper is going to focus on a case study, The Torture in Iraq, moreover, this paper is going to dwell on the prescribed ethical decimation making model as proposed by terry Cooper in his book, the Responsible Administrator: An Approach to Ethics for the

The Jacobean and Victorian age of literature

The Jacobean and Victorian age of literature Chapter -1 INTRODUCTION The first thing we should know that why we study about literature and its history. We study literature because it has two features, one of simple pleasure and cherishing, the other of analysis and accurate explanation. In literature, for a short time, at least, we find a new world, a world that it seems a place of fantasy and magic. Literature is the utterance of life in words of sincerity and attractiveness. The first theme of this course is an introduction to the Jacobean Age and Victorian Age. Jacobean Age (1603-1625) After the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603, James 1 ascended the throne of England. The period of his reign is called the Jacobean Age. This age was also known as the Age of Transition. The Jacobean era succeeds the  Elizabethan era  and precedes the Caroline era, and specifically denotes a style of architecture, visual arts, decorative arts, and literature that is predominant of that period. During this period,  painting and  sculpture fall behind architecture in achievement because there was no fine expert of either. The chief of the early Jacobean painters was the marvelous miniaturist Isaac Oliver. Most of the Jacobean portraitists, like the sculptors, were foreign-born or foreign-influenced—for example, Marcus Gheerhaerts the Younger, Paul van Somer, Cornelius Johnson, and Daniel Mytens. Their efforts were later excel by those of the Flemish painters Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony Van Dyck, who worked in England during the reign of  Charles I. Elizabeth was famous and understanding, whereas, James was not at all famous. He was ignorant and could not communicate with the people. His court was wasteful and dishonorable. The critical nature can be seen in the literature of the age. Key Themes: Economy and Society: At the beginning of the 17th century, England and Wales had more than four million people. The population had doubled above the preceding century, and it proceeded to grow for next 50 years. Increase in population led to social and economic problems, like long term price inflation. Government and Society: Seventeenth century was completely bound together with the social hierarchy that controlled local communities. Rank, status, and reputation were the basis that allows members of the local elect to serve the crown either in the counties or at court. Political theory strained hierarchy, patriarchy, and deference in narrating the natural order of English society. The most common illustration of this political community was the metaphor of the body politics. Religious Policy: The Millenary Petition (1603) began a debate on the religious formation that James intended to defend. The king called many major bishops to hold the formal discussion with the reformers. The Hampton Court Conference (1604) saw the king waking personal role in the discussion. Finance and Politics: The annual budget in Scotland was hardly 50,000. James I inherited serious financial problems. Queen Elizabeth had left a debt of more than 400,000. James’s good chance that the latter grew after the judges ruled in Bate’s case (1606). Jacobean Drama Jacobean literature begins with the drama, including some of Shakespeares famous and tragic plays. The dominant literary figure of Jamess reign was Ben  Jonson, whose varied and dramatic works followed classical models and were enriched by his worldly, peculiarly English wit. His satiric dramas, notably the great Volpone (1606), all take a cynical view of human nature. One of the reasons for the immorality in Jacobean drama was it that it lost all the communication with the common people. In the age of Elizabeth, the dramatists and the audiences had been satisfied whereas, in the age of James, dramatists borrowed the themes and overstated the attitude of Spanish drama, and came across of interest and crime in Italy and Italian subjects. They refreshed the drama of tragedy into the drama of horror. Jacobean dramatist, however, showed a special skill in development of their themes and plots. Jacobean drama was patronized mostly by the classes which were known as Morality without character. Themes of death, time and instability committed the focus of most writers. Shakespearean tragedy does give rise to the sentiments of sorrow and worry, but it does not form depression. There are death and destruction. The cheer feeling is absent from Jacobean tragedy. The doubt, obscurity and despair of this age are reflected by its tragedy also. The Jacobean Age also brought a new kind of fashion, realistic and satire comedy. Victorian Age (1830-1901) The Victorian Period revolves about the political career of Queen Victoria. She was crowned in 1837 and died in 1901. A great deal of change took place during this periodbrought about because of the Industrial Revolution; so its not surprising that the literatureof the period is often concerned with social reform. The 19th century was one of fast development and restyle, far rapidly than in previous centuries. In this period England changed from a rural, agricultural country to an urban, industrialised one. This involved huge disruption and thoroughly adjusted the attributes of society. It took many years for both government and people to accommodate to the new conditions. Key Themes: Population growth and migration: Between 1801 and 1871 alone the population of the UK increased. Migration started in both directions. Many people left their home town in search of a better life. Most people who were poor migrated in large numbers, especially, Irish poor to England, Scotland, as well as abroad. Therefore, population of UK rises, where people came to find work. Migrants from across the world also settled in Britain, notably Jews from Europe and Russia. The Industrial Revolution: New inventions started taking place that force to a large development of production, through the factory system. There were vast social costs: the mechanized of work, child labour, pollution, and the growth of cities where poverty, pollution and illness bloomed. Also farm work affects long hours, very little salary and exposure to all weathers. The rise of the middle classes: Society was hierarchical, but there was much social and geographical flexibility. Self-made entrepreneurs used their new wealth to grow in society, building huge houses, educating their children and employing domestic servants. It was noted later that by the 1880s 1.25 million people were employed in domestic service. The growth of democracy: The franchise was gently stretched out to the working classes, till by the end of the period there were legal rights for men. The fight for votes for women was in full swing, but it was not until 1930 that women achieved the same voting rights as men. Expansion of Empire: Britain lost her American Empire, before the starting of 19th century. They were acquiring another in India. Britain’s accession of additional territory over the world continued strongly. By the end of Victorias reign imperialists could boast that the sun never set upon the British Empire. Victorian Drama In Victorian drama, farces, musical burlesques, extravaganzas and comic operas competed with Shakespeare productions and serious drama by the likes of James Planchà © and Thomas William Robertson. Victorian drama sees changes with excess on the London stage of  farces,  comic operas, and many more that competed with  Shakespeare  productions and serious drama by the likes of  James Planche  and  Thomas William Robertson. The 19th century saw the drama become the greatest form of literature in English. The works by pre-Victorian writers such as  Jane Austen and Walter Scott  had elaborate two things-social satire and adventure stories. Victorian novels aim to be glorifying images of difficult lives in which hard work, diligence, love and luck. They leaned to be of a developing nature with a moral lesson and mixed with a heavy dose of sentiment. While this formula was the basis for much of earlier Victorian fiction, the situation became more complex as the century pr ogressed. The Victorians dramatists also started writing novels on children, putting a purpose to stop child labour and the introduction of necessary education. Children began to read and so, literature for young people became a growth industry. Therefore, writers started producing works for children. Writers like  Lewis Carroll,R. M. Ballantyne  and Anna Sewell wrote mainly for children, even though they had an adult following.

Comparing Villains and Victims from The Speckled Band, Twisted Lip and

Comparing Villains and Victims from The Speckled Band, Twisted Lip and The Cardboard Box The three villains which I am going to compare / contrast are Dr Roylott from The Speckled Band, Mr Neville St Claire from The Man With The Twisted Lip and Sarah Cushing from The Cardboard Box. The three victims I am going to compare / contrast are Helen Stoner from The Speckled Band, Mrs St Claire from The Man With The Twisted Lip and Susan Cushing from The Cardboard box. Dr Roylott is a stereotype villain. He is feared by his neighbours and is very violent and threatening. He is described as being "a man of immense strength, and absolutely uncontrollable anger". I can say this because "he beat his native butler to death." He even abuses Helen physically "and covered over her injured wrist." This is when Holmes observes her. Helen finally falls in love with Percy Armitage who asks for her hand in marriage but Dr Roylott "offers no position to the match." This shows his selfish personality, he only cares for himself and not his stepdaughter's happiness. He hangs about with criminal gypsies but he is in fact worse than the gypsies. "He has a baboon and cheetah which wonder freely over his grounds" This shows his weird, strange hard character. He is also quite a bully because Helen says, "for a long time we did all the work of the house" They had to do this because all the servants were afraid of being employed by him "No servants would stay with us". He is such an evil character because he even kills his stepdaughter Julia just so he gets to keep her money and he also intended on killing his other stepdaughter Helen. The villain from The Man With The Twisted Lip, Mr Neville St Claire is a different type of... ...y are victims; they have most characteristics in common for example Helen is made to be a lonely person and so is Susan Cushing because Susan looses her sister who was described as being "an angel" and is left with the sister who she does not get along with, Sarah "a devil". Mrs Neville St Claire is also made to appear as if she is lonely because her husband goes and does not come back for a whole week "What a week she must have spent" this also shows that she could have been suffering. Helen and Mrs Neville St Claire end up having everything work out the best because Helen goes and gets married and claims the will her mother left her and Mrs Neville St Claire gets her husband back but Susan is just stuck as being a retired old lady with an evil sister, She does not have anything better going for her. This makes me feel moderately sympathetic towards her.

Leadership Interview Essay

Could you speak a bit about your background and the role you have today? I first started school for engineering, and then after two years I found my passion was in nursing. So I started over at school, taking different types of classes as I pursued nursing, and three years later graduated with a nursing degree. Several different paths where traveled in nursing for me, meaning I tried many different departments and assignments. Then by accident I ended up as an RN case manager for mentally ill clients. Psych was never my intended path, but I loved it from the first day. I am now a Manager of a group of outpatient clinics for mentally ill clients and love it. I cannot see myself doing anything else now. How would you describe a leader? A good leader is only as good as the group you are leading is what I was always told. That does help, but there is a lot more that goes into it. I believe a quality leader should also be a good teacher. A leader needs to have the knowledge to pass on to those they lead. A good leader has to be able to listen as well. While those under me may look to me for answers, I have to realize that I may not always have that answer. I may have to take input from my staff, my superiors, and even clients in making proper decisions. Another attribute that is important is a critical thinker. A leader has to think on the go, and know that the answers are not always text book answers. Thinking outside the box sometimes is needed. I also need to earn trust and respect from my staff and those I oversee to be effective. What are important qualities or characteristics of leaders? It is important to have an open door policy, and listen to each staff member’s concerns. You need to be open to changes and be empathic for those who do not deal well with change. A leader needs to be forceful and fair to everybody. Confidence and inner strength will show through, making the staff or those you oversee more confident in your abilities. A diploma on the wall may get you a position in the leadership. But only demonstrating advanced social and professional skills will allow your team to trust you, which in turn, will make for a more productive team. What is your personal philosophy? Personally, my philosophy revolves around the construction of clear and workable vision of what needs to be accomplished. I try to envision the future, and make goals that will benefit the clients, as well as the facility and staff. Building a quality team is not as easy as hiring qualified individuals. Leading means are getting individuals to work as one coherent team. To do this, I need to be able to discipline, listen, and even moderate discussion. My personal ego cannot be larger than any staff member, or the team as a whole. I need to take criticism, and be able to see others’ points of views. I want my entire team to feel as if they are important cogs in the machine. I believe a leader accepts responsibility, and in doing so never places themselves above the team. What learning experiences have had the most influence on your own personal development as a leader? Experiences that shaped my growth began in childhood with the support of my family. I was always told I could do or be anything if I worked hard enough. I took that to heart, and excelled in school and sports. When I started college I had no real answer for what I wanted to be, but the drive that was inside me drove me down this path. Professionally, I once had a manager that loved her job and showed it with every meeting. Her passion reminded me of my parents and what they had taught me. She was a true role model in my professional life. I was also blessed to have quality teachers throughout my years of schooling. Coaches played a key role in my development as a leader too. Unfortunately, I also dealt with my fair share of poor supervisors too. Seeing the impact poor leadership can have in a work environment can be just as enlightening for someone looking to move into a leadership pos ition. Luckily, I do not use them as role models. At least I tried not to. How do you see leadership evolving in nursing today? Leadership in nursing is headed into many different fields today. Nursing roles are evolving with new technologies, new specialties, and higher levels of nursing. Because of the need for healthcare increasing, nurses are being tasked with more responsibility too. Nurses are now asked to step up and become leaders on the floor, in schools, in management, and many other aspects of healthcare. Nurses are becoming leaders in the development of strategies in developing and delivering the product to the consumer. Nurses were viewed as employees who followed doctors’ orders in the past. Today nurses have the ability to grow beyond that, and in doing so, nurses can take the lead in providing care. Leader can positively impact the health care system within which they operate. Nurses will be leading more clinics and other facilities in an effort to care for the increase in those seeking healthcare. Healthcare is a business, and nurses are trained in that business. So it is only common sense that these highly trained people should play a leading role in the changes we will see. What are the most challenging issues in your current position? The biggest challenge is trying to get more funding for the mentally ill. It can be hard to deal with all the meetings that we have to get money for medication, treatment, food and housing and to stay upbeat as a leader. But I love this job, and my clients, so that makes it worth dong. It is also very difficult to find enough staffing for mental health. It can be a very taxing job, and it takes a special person to be able to handle the position in mental health, especially in the long term. Finding professionals with the patience needed in dealing with our clients is always a huge challenge. As a leader (or manager) in your career have you had a mentor? If so, how did this influence your leadership style? I had a supervisor that taught me to leave the business at the door and never bring it home. Working in m ental health can be emotionally draining, so this tiny bit of advice is important for me to keep in my mind. If I took my work home, I would need help soon. What advice would you give someone who is aspiring to a leadership position? My advice would be to learn as much as you can for the position. Use the knowledge you have gained through seeing others in leadership positions to your advantage too. Remember the qualities of leaders who brought out the best in you, and try to bring those qualities to the position. Also, be  humble. Becoming a leader will not end your education. It is just the next step in your evolution. In conclusion, a leader is somebody who accepts responsibility. A leader is a person who can see the big picture. A person, who is adaptable and able to bring out the best in others, is a leader. A person who cares enough to make the team stronger for the benefit of all involved is a leader. A leader is a person who can moderate, discipline, coordinate, listen and teach in a way that demands respect and confidence from those they lead. References Sullivan, E., & Decker, P. (2009). Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. References Sullivan, E., & Decker, P. (2009). Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Pride of Baghdad

Saddam Hussein: The Power is down Pride of Baghdad, drawn by Brian K. Vaughan and Niko Henrichon, tells a story of group of lions escaping from the zoo after the U. S. army starts invading Baghdad. In order to show how cruel consequences that the war brings, the authors try to portray humans by drawing the lions, the bear, and other animals. Due to its gorgeous drawing style and its concise dialogues, the novel only has 100 pages but contains various meanings.In 2003, the Iraq war was triggered because of Hussein's violent suppression on the people, who have their own political views, but also his possession of the large amount of illegal weapons. The novel not only presents the consequence of dictatorship, but also satirizes the interference of U. S. army because the public opinion says that the reason of U. S. involving the war is impure since no evidence has been found to prove that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. The main purpose of U. S. army invading is the oil resources in Iraq; however, by coincidence, Hussein is on the reign, which causes the U.S. ’s excuse to invade. In this book, the authors stand at Bagdad’s civilians’ point of view to tell the story until they get shot by the U. S. army. More specifically, a fighting scene between the lions and the bear is not interpreted as the surface meaning but is created because the authors want to embody that even though the civilians overthrown the power of Hussein, the U. S. army is the one who eventually takes over their government power and causes the war. The lions and the bear both represent the civilians and Saddam Hussein.Towards almost the end of the story, referring to a specific page, a bear who shows up trying to block the lions’ way to freedom says â€Å"Don’t get up†(where the page’s background is the huge bear standing up with Noor and Safa looking up). The authors purposely creates a giant black bear when the story almost reaches the end t o show the power that Hussein holds during the his presidency. By looking at the expression on the bear’s face, readers can clearly see the anger through its bloody eyes and sharp teeth with opening mouth.The shrewdest part of this graphic novel is its drawing style, using animals to portray humans. Throughout the idea of visual images, when readers first look at the bear, a sense of fear is emitted from its giant black body; however, the lions, comparing the size with the bear, are much weaker. The authors apply not only the visualized details, but also the literal ones in every single character. For instance, the names of the bear and the lions who is prisoned, Fajer and Rashid are both originated from Arabic language, which is also the official language in Iraq.Fajer means wicked and Rashid means rightly guided, which are opposite to each other; however, the justice can’t beat down the evil since Fajer already kills Rashid. According to the previous page, the author s purposely use special-effects lettering, a method of drawing attention to text of highlighting the words, on some of the words while the bear is speaking, â€Å"PET†, â€Å"HIS†, â€Å"FAJER†, and â€Å"MAN†(the page where the bear first shows up with only its eyes and mouth).The â€Å"PET† represents the weakness of the justice under Hussein’s dictatorship, and oppositely, the â€Å"MAN of the house† implies the formidable power that Hussein holds. In addition, in order to describe the difference between good and evil, the authors use graphic weight to focus on the drawing of colors between the bear and lions, which are black and white.Even thought this particular page only contains one panel, it really embodies the representations between the civilians who are under suppressed and Saddam Hussein. Nonetheless, as the story reaches the end, the lions successfully kill the bear, but the U. S. army shot all of the lions. The authors a re trying to indicate the idea of how the civilians play the most important role during the war. Millions of lives are lost because of the war, and most of them are innocent civilians.

Short summary of and thoughts about Samuel P. Huntingtons The Erosion of American national interests - 1998

Short summary of and thoughts about Samuel P. Huntingtons The Erosion of American national interests - 1998 Diasporas and what is behind thembased on"The erosion of American national interests"by Samuel P. HuntingtonRecently, a new phenomenon has risen in the United States: based on the Huntington article, it appears that most American people has ceased to support the policy of their government, and they are not willing to devote support and effort to purposes, which are not clearly defined or generally accepted.Huntington says that with the loss of the common "enemy", all institutions and capabilities of foreign policy either need to find a new enemy in order to justify their own existence, or they will inevitably become "suborned and redirected to serve even non national purposes." Huntington.English: The National Committee on American Foreig...The basic contradiction in American foreign policy is that it should serve commercial goals - rather than being served by them. The above mentioned non national interests are referred to as ethnic interests, and these ethnic groups prove to be use ful for other countries, people or nations than the United States. Add to that the consequent flows of immigration, the need of tolerance towards minority groups and their increasing financial stability and travelling opportunities which make it possible to keep in touch with their home countries - what emerges from it is a group of foreign people who do not identify themselves with the (more and more shallowing) interests of their host-country but start strongly representing the real or conceptional interests of their real home countries, and, doing so, they can even endanger the host country. This is the phenomenon in connection with the minority groups Huntington calls diasporas.The greater extent a country is exposed to immigration, the greater the danger is to the self-formulation of diasporas. The clout of these diasporas to the foreign policy is far from being trifling, and shows an increasing tendency.

Circadian Rhythm Essays

Circadian Rhythm Essays Circadian Rhythm Paper Circadian Rhythm Paper Circadian Rhythm As Wikipedia defined it, circadian rhythm is a 24-hour cycle which is involved in physiological processes of living beings such as plants, animals, fungi and cyanobacteria. Circadian literally means about a day; the words originated from the the latin terms â€Å"circa† (around) and â€Å"dies† (day).   From Howard Hughes Lecture (HHL) 0 in circadian time tells the beginning of a subjective day, and 12 is the beginning of a subjective night. From the report of Harvard Feature Science (HFS) jet lag is a common experience for people travelling by airplane, aside from sleepiness other symptoms are also exhibited due to change. Another, people having night shift at work when forced to wake up early might experience nausea or muscle fatigue due to change in their circadian rhythm. The circadian clock of mammals is consist of   10,000 clock cells in the hypothalamus called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, or SCN In recent studies conducted by Physiological Genomics (PG), it showed that clock cells also reside in other tissues of the body as well. A time indicator such as morning light strikes retina, the photic input is passed on to SCN and carried on to other clock cells in the body. If external time signals change (i.e. time zones), the clock cells of SCN and the other clock cells in the body must conform with the change and resynchronize to the rest of the body. Day and night cycles are most studied by our scientists since almost all species exhibit daily changes in their behavior and/or physiology. These daily rhythms are not simple responses to the changes occurring within the day simply a response to the 24-hour changes. Organisms can do in advance and get ready for the changes within the physical environment ensuring that organisms will do the right thing because of their biological clock or timekeeping system. The biological clock ensures synchronization among internal temporal components of the body.The synchronization of the external and internal environments is vital for an organism’s survival. If synchronization is not attained between external and internal environments, it can result to the   individual’s immediate demise (Vitaterna and Takahashi 85). Biological clocks are very important for all living creatures particularly humans but still the processes involved   in biological timekeeping systems and the potential consequences of its failure needs to be settled. Chronobiology is a field focusing on biological timing, including high frequency cycles (e.g., hormone secretion occurring in distinct pulses throughout the day), daily cycles (e.g., activity and rest cycles), and monthly and daily cycles (Aschoff 11) .The study about biological clocks started 5 decades ago. The area of sleep research, which is also under the field of chronobiology, evolved independently upon the identification of various sleep stages (Dement 25). Due to these stages, it branched out and resulted to further important studies like the system controlling the patterns of sleep – circadian rhythm (timekeeping system of humans) Free-running circadian rhythms are those that can de expressed even in the absence of a 24-hour signal from the external environment; it is not synchronized by any cyclic change in the physical environment. A diurnal rhythm cannot be called circadian until it has been shown to carry on under constant environmental conditions and can be set apart from other rhythms which are just responses from the 24-hour environmental changes. A rhythm which continuously works in the absence of a dark-light cycle or other exogenous time signal (i.e., a Zeitgeber) indicates the existence of internal biological clock. The persistence of rhythmicity does not necessarily rule out the presence of other uncontrolled cycles generated by the Earths revolution on its axis might be driving the rhythm (Aschoff 49). Circadian rhythms are produced at the cellular level, because the rhythms of unicellular organisms are the same as rhythms of highly complex mammals which suggests that cycle of expression is controlled by genes responsible for the timekeeping mechanism of the clock. Circadian cycles works for almost 24 hours but not exactly 24 hours. A 24-hour cycle deviation allows the internal timekeeping system to be synchronized with the light-dark environments. The deviation increases the precision of the cycle in controlling time. Circadian rhythms can be synchronized, or entrained, by external time cues, such as the light-dark cycle. It also has the ability to work properly even in the absence of external time cues (meaning that they are not driven by the environment). If a change has occurred within the external cues, rhythms will automatically align with the new cues (Pittendrigh 170). The process of automatic aligning of the system with the changes in its cues is still studied if this automatic aligning is attained by lengthening or shortening the cycle until it is aligned to the new cues and revert to the original length or aligning with the new cues can be achieved by discrete resetting events. Various experiments are done to come up with a good deal of answers and it was discovered that the organisms have different response to light depending on the phase of their cycle if it’s unchanged, delayed or advanced In addition to the timing of the light exposure, the intensity of light can alter cycling periods if organisms are exposed in constant light; longer contact of an organism to brighter light intensities can lengthen the period in some species and shorten it in other species, it depends (Stokkan and Yamazaki   492). Other factorssuch as social interactions, activity or exercise, and even temperaturealso can modulate a cycles phase. Temperature’s influence on circadian rhythms is also important since change in temperature can affect the cycle’s phase without directly affecting the pace of cycling; the cycle can begin at an earlier or later-than-normal time ending up on its usual length. Also, this ability of the internal clocks pacemaker to make up for changes in temperature is critical to its ability to predict and adapt to environmental changes, because a clock speeding up and slowing down as a response to temperature change is not useful at all (Aschoff 1427). The circadian pacemakers in higher organisms are situated in cells of specific structures of the organism. These structures include certain regions of the brain (i.e., the optic and cerebral lobes) in insects; the eyes in certain invertebrates and vertebrates; and the pineal gland, which is located within the brain, in nonmammalian vertebrates. In mammals, the circadian clock resides in two dusters of nerve cells called the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), which are located in a region at the base of the brain called the anterior hypothalamus (Mistlberger and Bergmann 15). The task of the SCN is very crucial for the proper functioning of the system with regards to different organisms because damaging (i.e., lesioning) the SCN can lead to disruption and abolition of endocrine and behavioral circadian rhythms. SCNs as the major controller of pacemaker managing other rhythmic systems was confirmed by studying organisms such as rat and hamsters. SCN is confirmed as the primary site of regulation with regards to circadian rhythmicity in mammals and thus to further understand the 24-hour cycle, one must study SCN (Ralph   976). Lesions on the SCN have numerous effects on the rhythms but their effects on sleep are less clear. SCN lesions interrupt the consolidation and pattern of sleep in rats but nominal effects on the amount of sleep of other organism thus it was postulated that circadian clock adjusts an organism’s sleeping hours   and the existence of homeostatic control which is responsible for waking (sleep debt) (Mistlberger and Bergmann 17). IMPORTANCE OF THE CIRCADIAN CLOCK FOR HUMAN HEALTH AND WELL-BEING Almost all physiological and behavioral functions in humans are on a rhythmic basis often resulting to dramatic diurnal rhythms in human that can be a result of involuntary or voluntary circumstances disturbing the circadian rhythmicity. There are many adverse effects of disrupted circadian rhythmicity correlated with the upset sleep-wake cycle. Some rhythmic processes are more affected by the circadian dock than by the sleep-wake state, whereas other rhythms are more dependent on the sleep-wake state (Vitaterna and Turek 85). Humans are capable of overriding the biological clocks and their rhythmic outputs. If sleep-wake cycle is not in synchronized with the rhythms controlled by the circadian clock (e.g., during shift work or rapid travel across time zones), adverse effects may occur. Sleep disturbances are linked with jet lag or shift work and other unknown reasons which can be indicative of a mental and psychological disorder that can tap other form of illnesses. Often, other circadian rhythm abnormalities are associated with various disease states, although again the importance of these rhythm abnormalities in the development (i.e., etiology) of the disease remains unknown (Brunello 110). A circadian pattern among similar diseases or patient groups are tried to be plotted; for example, a circadian pattern showing that men are prone to death in the morning and if this rhythm is studied, patterns can be obtain which is very useful for man and his health (Proschan and Follman 717) Death and myocardial infarctions happen randomly throughout the 24-hour day but   often, it tend to cluster at   and these phenomena are known as circadian rhythms (Peters and Zoble 1000). The role of circadian abnormalities in various disease are still unknown; insufficient knowledge on how circadian signals from the SCN are relayed to target tissues. A better understanding of the nature of circadian signal output from the SCN to its target systems must be carefully studied. The two major causes of death namely heart attacks and strokesshow time-of-day variation in their occurrence is a case in point. The mechanisms responsible for the rhythmicity of these disorders must be identified and furthermore look for therapeutic ways to influence the rhythmicity of this events (Proschan and Follman 720). The time distribution of heart attacks is really undetermined but if the patterns of these attacks are known, it can be great aid for man. 31 patients who had a cardiac arrest were studied and the times of their attack were track down with the help of their family members who specified the time of their attacks, the attacks started at interval midnight-1 A.M (Maron and Kogan 250). The daily variation in body rhythms would not be enough in creating a drug treatment but sufficient knowledge of the effect of circadian rhythms can help doctors devise more effective ways of administering therapies (Willis 18). A sound sleep can be an effective treatment in fight against cancer. Psychosocial factors can affect behavior patterns like exercise, food and drink intake and the sleep-wake cycle can take effect in balancing the hormones inside body. The sleep/wake cycle, called the circadian rhythm is linked with persons social network to his or her cancer prognosis. The two ways in which the cir cadian rhythm can influence cancer progression is through a hormone called melatonin, which the brain churns out during sleep. Melatonin is an antioxidant that cleans up damaging free-radical compounds; if the circadian system is disrupted, it produces less melatonin making the body prone to cancer-causing mutations (Yapp 19). The interaction between drugs, including alcohol, and circadian rhythm is apparent in the temporal, or time-related, restraints on experimentation. Alcohol has profound effects on the circadian rhythms of mammals. Alcohol hang-over had been related to jet-lag-like circadian disruption (i.e., phase shifts) of the bodys normal rhythm (Gauvin and Baird 820).Alcohol consumption is directly related with internal jet lag resulting to phase shifts in the internal clock of the body. Alcohol consumption can cause disruption of circadian rhythm (Holloway and Miller 520). The bodys temperature rhythm in people is affected by their alcohol consumption. The body temperature reaches its peak during late afternoon and reaches its lowest point during early morning. Body temperature, alcohol and mammalian circadian rhythm are interrelated with each other and a change in one of these components will affect the other components. Alcohol and circadian rhythm can work together with temperature at both the cellular and behavioral levels. Alcohol-induced circadian rhythm disruption can eventually decrease the maximum ability performance of an individual. Circadian effects can cause dangers to both the affected person and other people. Circadian system and alcohol consumption must be further studied to provide foundation for pharmacological and behavioral advances in the treatment of alcohol abuse and addiction as well as assist in solving problems related to public safety (Gallaher and Egner 35). Alcohol exerts its effects both on body and brain. Alcohol-induced thermoregulation is responsible for the processing of incoming sensory signals (i.e., the anterior hypothalamic preoptic area, or AH/POA).   If not all, almost all nerve-cell-communication chemicals take part in alcohol-induced hypothermia (Crawshaw and Wallace 153). The shifts observed in an organisms normal circadian rhythm have been found to induce alcohol consumption. These shifts involve phase delays which occur at the peak of body rhythm temperature. Shifts in the amount of light and dark period during a 2-month period time have and adverse effects on alcohol intake; the photoperiod shifts acted as stressors resulting to disruption of the internal rhythm in the body (Gauvin and Baird 823). The brain does not directly respond to individual homeostatic fluctuations of, it acts as an overall regulator making sure that individuals can adapt to the changes that occurred in the environmental cycle. There is the indirect modulation, by way of alcohols disruptive effects on the hormonal and chemical communication networks which is involved in maintaining the temperature balance in the body (Holloway 94). The level of an individual’s arousal has a major effect on his or her performance in a number of areas, decline in arousal related with shift work has been found to impair performance on a variety of cognitive tasks (Chiles, Alluisi, Adams 145). Low arousal levels due to extended work shifts and sleep deprivation also decrease the maximum output of an individual (Caldwell, 200). In researches, energetic arousal reaches its peak around 11:30 am., whereas Thayer and Takahashi (17) found that this type of arousal reaches its peak at 1:19 p.m. Clements, Hafer, and Vermillion (388)   found the possibility that there are two peaks for energetic arousal, one around noon and the other in the early afternoon. Adan and Guardia (233) found circadian rhythms for both tense and energetic arousal are very different. The precise effects of low or high levels of arousal on performance have advantageous benefits in different areas. Redesigning of tasks and environment can be done to attain maximum performance. The fluctuations in arousal over the course of the workday are correlated with fluctuations in performance on a variety of task; performances are better in morning (Blake 345). Hormones are highly active in the morning; concentration and short-term memory are in their peak of performance and body temperature helps in maximizes muscle performance.   Better understanding of these circadian rhythms of arousal and their impact on task performance can help in achieving the optimum productivity (Yapp 19). Arousal increases readiness to respond to internal and external stimuli. Researches suggest the two distinct forms of arousal labeled as tense and energetic. Tense arousal is a continuum ranging from calmness to anxiety, and energetic arousal is a continuum ranging from tiredness to energy (Matthews, Jones, Chamberlain 40). There is an important evidence for the usefulness of dealing with arousal as multidimensional in nature. Energetic arousal is associated with better performance on tasks such as vigilance, visual search, and serial reaction time, whereas tense arousal does not seem to affect performance on these tasks (Matthews, Jones and Chamberlain 37). Tense arousal is common among college students from typical days to exam days than energetic arousal. The present studies want to know if breaking down energetic arousal into the dimensions of wakefulness and vigor can help in resolving issue about arousal and performance (Thayer 65). The body in rhythm is important in overall health. Human being takes their cues from the light and the dark but that biological clocks tick a bit longer than the standard, 24-hour day. The 24-hour cycle is used. When the light triggered the retina, the circadian clock is reset. Odd-shift workers have difficulty sleeping when their day is done even if physically exhausted since in this condition, the normal cycle is squeezed into an abnormal environment; getting out of ones circadian rhythm can result in slower reaction times and other symptoms common to sleep deprivation (Toto 1). References Adan, A., Guardia, J. (1993). Circadian variations of self-reported activation: A multidimensional approach. Chronobiologia, 20, 233-244. Aschoff, J. (1960). Exogenous and endogenous components in circadian rhythms. Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology, 25. Biological Clocks. New York: Cold Spring Harbor Press, 1960. Aschoff, J. (1962). Circadian rhythms in man. Science. 148, 1427-1432. Blake, M. J. F. (1967). Time of day effects on performance in a range of tasks. Psychonomic Science, 9, 345-350. Brunello, N., Armitage, R., Feinberg, L. et al. (2000). Depression and sleep disorders: Clinical relevance, economic burden and pharmacological treatment. Neuropsychobiology. 42, 107-119. Caldwell, J. (1995). Assessing the impact of stressors on performance: Observations on levels of analyses. Biological Psychology, 40, 197-208. Chiles, W. D., Alluisi, E. A., Adams, O. S. (1968). Work schedules and performance during confinement. Human Factors, 10, 143-196. Circadian Rhythm. Retrieved on December 1, 2006 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circadian_rhythm Clements, P. R., Hafer, M. D., Vermillion, M.E. (1976). Psychometric, diurnal, and electrophysiological correlates of activation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 33, 387-394. Crawshaw, L., Wallace, H. Crabbe, J. (1998). Ethanol, body temperature and thermoregulation. Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology. 25, 150-154 Dement, W.C. (2000). History of sleep physiology and medicine. In Kryer, M.H., Roth, T., Dement, W.C. (eds.). Principles and practice of sleep medicine (3rd edn.) Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders. Dickman, S.(2002). Human factors.   Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 44(3), 429-433. Follman, D. Proschan, M. (1997). A restricted test of circadian rhythm. Journal of the American Statistical Association. 92 (438), 717 – 725. Gallaher, E., Egner, D. (1987). Rebound hyperthermia follows ethanol-induced hypothermia in rats. Psychopharmacology (Berlin), 91, 34-39. Gauvin, D., Baird, T.,Vanacek, S. et al. (1997a). Effects of time-of-day and photoperiod phase shifts on voluntary ethanol consumption in rats. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 21, 817-825. Holloway, F., Miller, J., King, D., Bedingfield, J. (1993). Delayed ethanol effects on physiological and behavioral indices in the rat. Alcohol. 10, 511-519. Maron, B. J., Kogan, J., Proschan, M. A., Hecht, G. M., and Roberts, W. C. (1994). Circadian variability in the occurrence of sudden cardiac death in patients with hypertrophic   cardiomyopathy. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 77, 251-261. Matthews, G., Jones, D. M., Chamberlain, A. G. (1990). Refining the measurement of mood: The UWIST Mood Adjective Checklist†. British Journal of Psychology, 81, 17-42. Mistlberger, R.E., Bergmann, B.M. Rechtschaffen, A. (1987). Relationships among wake episode lengths, contiguous sleep episode lengths, and electroencephalographic delta waves in rats with suprachiasmatic nuclei lesions. Sleep 10.1 (1987):12-24. Muller, J. E., Ludmer, P. L., Willich, S. N., Tofler, G. H., Aylmer, G., Klangos, I., and Stone, P. H. (1987). Circadian variation in the frequency of sudden cardiac death. Circulation. 270, 2598-2601. Peters, R. W., Zoble, R. G., Liebson, P. R., Pawitan, Y., Brooks, M. M., Proschan, M. (1993). Identification of a secondary peak in myocardial infarction onset 11 to 12 hours after awakening: The cardiac arrhythmia suppression trial (CAST) experience. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 22, 998-1003. Pittendrigh, C.S. (1960). Circadian rhythms and the circadian organization of living systems. Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology, 25. Biological Clocks. New York: Cold Spring Harbor Press. Ralph, M.R., Foster, R.G., Davis, F.C., Menaker, M. (1990). Transplanted suprachiasmatic nucleus determines circadian period. Science, 247, 975-978. Stokkan, K.A., Yamazaki, S., Te, H., Sakaki, Y. Menaker, M. (2001). Entrainment of the circadian clock in the liver by feeding. Science, 291, 490-493. Takahashi, J. Turek, F., and   Vitaterna, M. (2001). Overview of circadian rhythm. Alcohol Research Health, 25.2, 85 Thayer, R. E. Measurement of activation through self-report. Psychological Reports. 20 (1967): 663-678. Thayer, R. E., Takahashi, P. J., Pauli, J. A. (1988). Multidimensional arousal states, diurnal rhythm, cognitive and social processes, and extroversion. Personality and Individual Differences, 9, 15-24. Willis, J. (1990). Keeping time to circadian rhythms. FDA Consumer, 24(6), 18.

The Best SAT Vocabulary Lists on the Web

The Best SAT Vocabulary Lists on the Web SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Need to study vocabulary for the SAT but aren’t sure where to start? We have links to the best free lists of SAT vocab from around the web. We also have found other vocab study resources – from videos to apps to browser plug-ins – to help you study in the way that works best for you. Read on and conquer SAT vocabulary! First Things First: Don’t Overdo Vocab Before we jump into the resources, we have an important word of advice – don't overdo vocab studying for the SAT. SAT Vocabulary is based on understanding words in context, in subjects ranging from literature to social science to science. In other words, you won’t be expected to know the definition of a random word with no outside information. Instead, you have to figure out what a word means based on the information around it. So the best use of your study time is to learn high-value, medium-difficulty words, not to cram your head with lots of obscure vocabulary. Be wary of any prep programs that promise to teach you â€Å"SAT Vocabulary,† especially ones with super long word lists (500 or 1000 words). This is a waste of your time! These programs are still based on the old SAT, which tested more obscure vocabulary. That said, if you struggle with vocabulary in general, it can be good to do some separate vocabulary study to help you tackle the reading passages, some of which will be more difficult than on the old SAT. For example, take a look at this question from an SAT practice exam: Test question from SAT Practice Test 1. If you don’t have a clue what the word â€Å"ambivalent† means, it might be hard for you to tackle the sentence and figure out what ambivalent means in this context. (For the record, Merriam-Webster defines ambivalent as â€Å"having a mixture of opposing feelings.†) So how can you figure out if you need to do some dedicated vocabulary study, or if your existing vocabulary base is sufficient? Take a practice SAT, focusing on the Reading and Writing sections. When grading your Reading answers, if you missed half or more of the vocab questions (the ones that begin â€Å"as used in line __, the word ____ most nearly means†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) then you should make studying vocabulary a priority. Furthermore, when correcting the other Reading questions, try to figure out why you got them wrong. (Learn more about getting the most out of practice tests.) If you notice you’re missing questions because you misunderstood a word or phrase, either in the passage or the question, it could also be useful to get some SAT vocabulary under your belt. Finally, keep an eye out for the â€Å"precision† questions on the Writing section. These questions have you compare different word choices, for example â€Å"therefore,† â€Å"thus,† â€Å"moreover,† and however,† and pick the one that works best in the passage. Again, you need to be able to understand how a word’s meaning works within a sentence to get these right. If you take the practice test and only miss a few or none of the Reading vocab questions, and none of the Writing precision questions, and your wrong answers are due to different issues (timing, misunderstanding the passage’s larger meaning, etc) then do not spend time studying vocab! Focus on your other weak areas. (Check out our ultimate study guide for SAT Reading for ideas.) But if you do struggle on any of those questions, check out the vocabulary lists below to help you learn high-value words for the SAT. SAT Vocabulary Word Lists If you’ve decided that you need to work on SAT vocab, we recommend using these vocab lists. They focus on common, easy-to-moderate difficulty SAT words that are most likely to be tested. They also don’t overemphasize vocabulary – none of these lists is longer than 200 words. Remember that spending hours memorizing vocabulary is not an efficient use of study time for the SAT. Start by learning one word list, then take another practice test. If you're still struggling with the vocabulary questions, move on to the next list. PrepScholar's 200 SAT Words PrepScholar's 150 Top ACT Words Scholastic's SAT/ACT Top 100 Words Kaplan's 100 Most Common SAT Words* *Save this list for last, because it contains more difficult words that are less likely to be tested on the current iteration of the SAT. However, these are still good words to know because they could be used in the more difficult reading passages. You can make your own flash cards to study these words, or check out the resources below for virtual flash cards and other learning resources. Happy studying! Flashcards, Games, and Other Resources Beyond just giving you word lists, we also wanted to give you some more tools to learn vocabulary. These are a few resources that are also free and can help you learn SAT vocab. I chose a range of websites to help different kinds of learners. All of these are great resources, and you should use them if you find them helpful. In general, when you are looking for SAT vocab resources, avoid services promising to teach you more than 500 words (too much time) or any services you have to pay for (not worth it given the amount of free resources). If you have any resources that are helpful for you, feel free to share them in the comments! Quizlet This is an online flashcard website. If you make an account, you can use their website and also their mobile apps for iPhone and Android – meaning you can study your SAT vocab on the go! If you're anything like me and hate hand-writing flash cards, this app will be your best friend. Image via Quizlet. This app is handy because as you review words, you can star cards that you are struggling with, allowing you just to focus on your weak spots. You can either make your own card sets focusing on problem words or search pre-made lists. For example, here’s the Kaplan top 100 list from above! I personally used this app all the time in college for my language classes and found it very helpful. I highly recommend using it to study your SAT vocabulary. ProfessorWord This is an app for your web browser that highlights SAT/ACT vocab words from articles and web pages and defines them for you. This is really cool because if you like to read articles from publications like The New York Times, The Atlantic, or Wired, it’s likely you’re encountering SAT vocab words in your daily reading anyway. This app just goes through and points them out so you don’t miss them! This is a great way to learn words in the context of your day-to-day web browsing. Especially given the SAT's focus on understanding vocabulary in context, I highly recommend using ProfessorWord to find and study vocabulary. Professor Word can turn even your leisure reading into a study exercise. Image via Wired. For the best practice, run ProfessorWord and check out the highlighted words on the web page. Before you click on the word to see the definition, quickly jot down (either on a piece of paper or in a NotePad document) what you think the word means, based on how it's used in the article. Then, check out the official definition. Compare your guess with the official definition and see how close you got. If you do this exercise a few times a week, you will improve your ability to figure out a word's meaning based on its context, plus, you will generate a list of SAT words to study. Win win! Vocab Ahead If you like words explained out loud, check out the videos at Vocab Ahead. These videos are really helpful for students who learn best by hearing rather than reading, or by having concepts explained to them. Head to the â€Å"Study Room† tab and select â€Å"SAT 300 Common† from the drop down menu. The videos for each word last about 30 seconds, and incorporate a definition and at least one example. This is also a great resource if you have a particular word you are struggling to understand based on its dictionary definition alone. Vocab Sushi If you like online quizzes, Vocab Sushi is a website that lets you test your vocab knowledge with quizzes and teaches vocab words by using them in sentences from actual news stories. This is a great way to learn new words through real-world examples, rather than just dictionary definitions. Give this website a shot if you struggle with memorizing basic word definitions and/or if you want more practice learning vocabulary based on its context. What’s Next? Struggling with SAT Reading practice sections? Learn how to stop running out of time on SAT reading. Also, check out our ultimate SAT Reading study guide. It will teach you the content, skills, and tips you need to improve your SAT Reading score. Learn more about vocabulary on the SAT, including how it changed from the old SAT. Not sure what score to aim for on the SAT? Learn how to come up with a target score for the SAT based on the colleges you want to attend. Want to improve your SAT score by 160points?We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Fitness Center Information System Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Fitness Center Information System - Assignment Example The system would take care of all those and keep the latest details about performance and other measures such as future interests. They form a major part of the system and handle a lot of tasks relating to the members activities and alignment to several other programs and future interests. They interface with the management giving valuable information regarding members and their interests which needs to be taken care from time to time. The new methodologies and equipments need to be identified for the growth of their customer base so that they stay competitive in the business. The management of The Fitness Center needs to analyze at every moment what is to be done for furthering the interests of the members and to identify the upcoming requirements and the feedback from the members about the center and the environment. The fitness consultants also interact with the management to identify collectively the innovations which will keep the company competitive over others. The above information can be collected from the company members and the consultants in the form of interviews and questionnaires designed to fetch the required information so as to get the overall view of the system and the interaction of the various parts. PrSystem Analysis It outlines the various models which need to be developed to get an inner depth of the system and the interaction of its various processes. Process Modeling: Process modeling involves graphically representing the processes which capture, manipulate, store and distribute data between a system and its environment and between components within a system (Hoffer, 2002). The following is the Data flow diagram of the entire system and its relationships with other entities: Figure 1: Data flow Diagram of the entire system. The following are the information about the various symbols used in the above diagram: Oval - It is used to depict the Information system to be interfaced. Rectangle - It is used to denote the various entities involved in the entire system. Rectangles with one open side - It is used to show the place to store the information derived from the various entities and the Information system itself. Arrows - It shows the direction of the information flow. Labels - It gives a brief about the nature of the information or message passing. Conceptual data modeling : A detailed model that captures the overall structure of organizational data while being independent of any database management system or other implementation considerations (Hoffer and Navathe, 2002). Figure 2: Entity Relationship Diagram (Clearly showing communication between them) The following are

Researching Information for Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Researching Information for Business - Essay Example The data that is well indicated on the excel sheet shows that on given average 23 percent of this house holds was from the name items above. Inconspicuous gadgets like the routers have not been mentioned and this paper will give weight where it matters. It is believed that electricity consumptions in United Kingdom have recently grown tremendously and the need to meet this gap still remains a nightmare. Focusing on increased consumer electronics has begged for a 25 percent of domestic electricity consumption, (Mintel, 2006). Television set has traditionally become a means of entertainment and has also been used by the media world to sell their adverts. The grid to catch the eyes of the consumer has made the television companies have a smile due to the high demand of this equipment’s. They have penetrated the recreation centers and as well as the bars, pubs, and the streets, (Coleman, Wright & Firth, 2012). Big advertising companies have taken the initiative to hit the road and meet the consumer at their work place, follow them to the streets and still meet them in the comforts of their homes. There has been a great increase in sales volumes from the year 2007 to the year 2011 showing a positive increase of 7 percent in the market response. These consumer able goods have been given other items that match the suit of entertainment. The video players have been on demands perhaps to catch the latest movies and series in the market, (Mintel, 2006). Parents have always been looking for ways and means to empty the high energy levels in their growing children. The have discovered that game consoles is another way to keep their children’s mind busy. The need for game consoles has given this parent a breathing space as the kids are now occupied with games during their leisure time, (Coleman, Wright & Firth, 2012). The parent can feel

Critical Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Critical Review - Essay Example The inclusive settings may be community-based such as private preschool programmes in day care centres, or may be public school based preschool programmes. For inclusion to be successful, children with disabilities have to be provided with all the necessary supports, to facilitate their forming friendships with peers, to actively participate in all classroom activities, and to accomplish the individualised goals designed to meet his or her needs. Both the disabled children and their non-disabled peers benefit from the integrated environment (Power-deFur & Orelove, 1997). Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to write a critical review of the article by Odom (2000). First, the article will be summarised, followed by a background section giving a brief account of the reason why the article was chosen, its significance and the relevance to one’s research interest. The critical review of the article will include an investigation of the topic and key issues raised in the paper; also the author’s findings and suggestions; the arguments put forward by the article; and an evaluation of the strengths and shortcomings of the paper. In early childhood special education, it is now a primary service option to include children with disabilities with normally developing peers with typical growth patterns, in integrated classroom settings. This is a relatively new development, from the 1990s, although inclusion of preschool children was known since the early 1970s. There has been a gradual shift from special education programmes for school age children to those designed for preschool age children, to programmes in which children with disabilities are included in mainstream classrooms, with continued development in the settings offered for achieving improved outcomes (Odom, 2000). In this paper, the author Odom (2000) briefly investigates the literature available on the topic. Some research findings on

Antibiotic Management of Common Respiratory Infections Essay

Antibiotic Management of Common Respiratory Infections - Essay Example It is unfortunate and alarming that overuse and misuse of antibiotics is bringing resistance to most of the common bacteria. The misuse of antibiotics stems primarily from the inherent inclination of doctors towards prescribing the latest and potent antibiotics without thorough microbiological, M, C & S examinations. To curb this antibiotic abuse the empirical antibiotic management has become the prime necessity of all hospitals (Hedrick, E). Modification in the treatment is made depending upon the patient's progress and bacterial sensitivities. Antibiotic course is started before the availability of microbiological results based on common conditions, but modifications or changes are made when microbiology results are available. As: Recommendations for initiating Antibiotic therapy: The severity of the condition, possible infecting pathogen(s) and route of administration (preferably oral) are to be considered. Constant monitor of the patient's response and changing the route of drug from IV to OD is essential within 24 hrs. Obvious advantages of OD over IV for ciprofloxacin, metronidazole and co-amoxiclav. Except for the severe disease conditions (bone infection) antibiotic therapy should be carried out maximum for 5 days. Restricted Anti-infective Agents: certain drugs are restricted due to their efficacy, toxicity and cost. Doctors need to work closely with the microbiologists and infectious disease experts to stop the misuse. Aim & Objective: Antibiotic use is associated with increased rates of antibiotic-resistant organism. The present study is carried out to empirically measure antibiotic prescription rates and identify predictors of antibiotic use for adults diagnosed for common respiratory infections as per the guidelines laid on resistance pattern at UHL. Methodology: Antibiotic prescription common respiratory infections University Hospital Lewisham Adult Formulary Summary of Antibacterial Treatment Common Respiratory Infections Date of Examination: Name of the Patient: Age: Physician: Weight: Blood Pressure: Gender: Respiratory rate: Allergies: Diabetes: X-ray Chest: Recommended/ Not recommended Present Medication: Symptoms: Microbiology report: (Microscopy, Culture & Sensitivity) Date: Treatment Prescribed: Result: Antibiotics reduce the normal flora of the body especially digestive tract. C.difficle is a spore forming bacterium which is part of the 'normal' bacteria in the gut of up to 3% of healthy adults. Patients who have been treated with broad spectrum antibiotics are at greatest risk of C.difficle associated disease especially cephalosporin amoxicillin and quinolones (Misuse of Antibiotics). Conclusion: Although antibiotics

ECG Interpretation of the Post Anaesthetic Patient Essay

ECG Interpretation of the Post Anaesthetic Patient - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that monitoring of patients who have experienced a postoperative or preoperative cardiac event is critical as it enables the nurse to respond to any abnormalities that the patient may display. In doing so, the nurse displays high standards of patient care and professional competence in a PACU setting. In the researcher’s department, the PACU uses an ECG to monitor and measure the electrical activity of the heart. 12-leads are used to provide a comprehensive view of the electrical activity of the heart. Monitoring of these values enables the nurse to respond to any abnormalities that may be revealed. These abnormal values in the electrical activity of the heart represent certain abnormalities on the heart that may require rapid intervention. For purposes of developing the researcher’s clinical practice, he got an opportunity to work at stage two PACU. At the beginning of the researcher’s clinical practice experience, his main objective was to learn how to interpret the ECG. Other objectives that he had to include developing the skills and competency required in order to recognize an abnormal ECG, and developing competency in observing and monitoring the cardiac activity of a patient during recovery. According to ACORN, a PARU nurse is expected to specialize in the clinical management and assessment of patients who are in the PARU. The PARU nurse is expected to conduct clinical monitoring and observation of the patients in PARU. The nurse must be fully aware of any clinical limitations and seek advice accordingly. The nurse must monitor, interpret and have the ability to respond to a patient’s clinical needs. It is important also that the PARU nurse optimizes the utilization of all available technologies in an effort to optimize the outcomes of the patient under their care. Among PARU patients, it is common for complications arising from coexisting diseases or anaesthesia surgery to occur. Th e PARU nurse is therefore expected to demonstrate vigilance in assessing and managing of patients while in PARU. Based on the patient’s history and or condition, it may be necessary to monitor the patient’s cardiac activity. ACORN (N6, 2011) statement 9 requires that nurses be working towards achieving knowledge on basic cardiac rhythm and arrhythmias that are life threatening. While working at PACU, I got an opportunity to gain relevant clinical practice experience with regard to the duties and responsibilities of the PACU nurse. I got an opportunity to monitor and observe one of the patients who was recovering in PACU after surgery. The patient was an 83-year-old female who had been admitted to the right cataract surgery. The patient had a medical history of AF, HTN, GORD, CCF, lung cancer and mild cognitive impairment. The patient had a permanent pacemaker inserted in her. The patient’s medication included Cardizem, Coumadin, Durogesic, Hydrea, Lasix, Movical, Nexium, Panadol Osteo and Oste Vit-D. The patient was allergic to Augmentin, Digoxin, Hiprex, Metopropl, Norspan, Oxycontin, Phenergan. The patient’s heart rate was 127 and other important values included QRDS 81, QT 338, QTcB 492, QTcF 434, and QRS 49. With regard to the patient’s observation and monitoring, I observed the patient and took the vitals. I was delighted that I w as proficient when it comes to monitoring and obtaining patient vitals. More importantly, I obtained the patient’s ECG and discussed with my facilitator the accuracy and significance of the ECG reading. The patient had given me the consent to obtain her information. On discussing with my facilitator the reading, I was delighted to be informed that my reading was accurate. Apart from obtaining the ECG reading accurately, my interpretation was also correct according to my facilitator. As a result of the reading that I had

Nutrition on a Patient with Acute and Recurrent Pancreatitis Essay

Nutrition on a Patient with Acute and Recurrent Pancreatitis - Essay Example The nurse is responsible in coordinating the orders by the health team. Evaluation should focus on the patient’s tolerance of the interventions implemented and reassessment of the overall nutritional status. Anthropometric measurement is part of every nutrition status assessment. In the patient’s case, it provides a notable impression of weight loss (approx. 20 lbs.)in the past two months based on the difference between the UBW as reported by the patient and his current weight. His present BMI is 20.7 (within the normal range). On the other hand, weight itself cannot be regarded as reliable since various factors may affect its accuracy, such as third spacing usually associated with pancreatitis (Lugli, Carli & Wykes, 2007). Thus, other tests should be considered to obtain the most accurate data on his nutritional status. Patient remained at NPO status 24 hours after admission. To maintain/ improve nutritional status, options for this patient include Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) or Enteral nutrition (EN). Both options are based on the â€Å"pancreatic rest† theory, in which the pancreas should be allowed to rest to regain functionality (Ioannidis, Lavrentieva & Botsios, 2008). TPN was considered as the gold standard of management in acute pancreatitis, but the risks of complications associated with this therapy lead to the change of intervention to the use of Enteral nutrition (McClave et al., 2006). When the patient’s condition does not improve, tube feedings might be ordered by the physician. According to Ioannidis, Lavrentieva and Botsios (2008), initial amount of nutritive solution administered should be 25 mL/h. This should gradually increase until the desired quantity (25 kcal/kg/day) is achieved in 24-48 hours. The formula for feeding should minimize the pancreatic secretion of digestive enzymes as much as possible. Thus, a fat- free elemental diet or

ECG Interpretation of the Post Anaesthetic Patient Essay

ECG Interpretation of the Post Anaesthetic Patient - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that monitoring of patients who have experienced a postoperative or preoperative cardiac event is critical as it enables the nurse to respond to any abnormalities that the patient may display. In doing so, the nurse displays high standards of patient care and professional competence in a PACU setting. In the researcher’s department, the PACU uses an ECG to monitor and measure the electrical activity of the heart. 12-leads are used to provide a comprehensive view of the electrical activity of the heart. Monitoring of these values enables the nurse to respond to any abnormalities that may be revealed. These abnormal values in the electrical activity of the heart represent certain abnormalities on the heart that may require rapid intervention. For purposes of developing the researcher’s clinical practice, he got an opportunity to work at stage two PACU. At the beginning of the researcher’s clinical practice experience, his main objective was to learn how to interpret the ECG. Other objectives that he had to include developing the skills and competency required in order to recognize an abnormal ECG, and developing competency in observing and monitoring the cardiac activity of a patient during recovery. According to ACORN, a PARU nurse is expected to specialize in the clinical management and assessment of patients who are in the PARU. The PARU nurse is expected to conduct clinical monitoring and observation of the patients in PARU. The nurse must be fully aware of any clinical limitations and seek advice accordingly. The nurse must monitor, interpret and have the ability to respond to a patient’s clinical needs. It is important also that the PARU nurse optimizes the utilization of all available technologies in an effort to optimize the outcomes of the patient under their care. Among PARU patients, it is common for complications arising from coexisting diseases or anaesthesia surgery to occur. Th e PARU nurse is therefore expected to demonstrate vigilance in assessing and managing of patients while in PARU. Based on the patient’s history and or condition, it may be necessary to monitor the patient’s cardiac activity. ACORN (N6, 2011) statement 9 requires that nurses be working towards achieving knowledge on basic cardiac rhythm and arrhythmias that are life threatening. While working at PACU, I got an opportunity to gain relevant clinical practice experience with regard to the duties and responsibilities of the PACU nurse. I got an opportunity to monitor and observe one of the patients who was recovering in PACU after surgery. The patient was an 83-year-old female who had been admitted to the right cataract surgery. The patient had a medical history of AF, HTN, GORD, CCF, lung cancer and mild cognitive impairment. The patient had a permanent pacemaker inserted in her. The patient’s medication included Cardizem, Coumadin, Durogesic, Hydrea, Lasix, Movical, Nexium, Panadol Osteo and Oste Vit-D. The patient was allergic to Augmentin, Digoxin, Hiprex, Metopropl, Norspan, Oxycontin, Phenergan. The patient’s heart rate was 127 and other important values included QRDS 81, QT 338, QTcB 492, QTcF 434, and QRS 49. With regard to the patient’s observation and monitoring, I observed the patient and took the vitals. I was delighted that I w as proficient when it comes to monitoring and obtaining patient vitals. More importantly, I obtained the patient’s ECG and discussed with my facilitator the accuracy and significance of the ECG reading. The patient had given me the consent to obtain her information. On discussing with my facilitator the reading, I was delighted to be informed that my reading was accurate. Apart from obtaining the ECG reading accurately, my interpretation was also correct according to my facilitator. As a result of the reading that I had

Bauhaus History of Design Essay Example for Free

Bauhaus History of Design Essay The Bauhaus was the first model of the modern art school. The Bauhaus curriculum combined theoretic education and practical training in the educational workshops. It drew inspiration from the ideals of the revolutionary art movements and design experiments of the early 20th century. A woodcut (shown right) depicted the idealized vision of Walter Gropius, a cathedral of design. Bauhaus 1919-33 The Bauhaus began with an utopian definition: The building of the future was to combine all the arts in ideal unity. In order to reach this goal, the founder, Walter Gropius, saw the necessity to develop new teaching methods and was convinced that the base for any art was to be found in handcraft: the school will gradually turn into a workshop. artists and craftsmen directed classes and production together at the Bauhaus in Weimar. This was intended to remove any distinction between fine arts and applied arts. Of course, the educational and social claim to a new configuration of life and its environment could not always be achieved. And the Bauhaus was not alone with this goal, but the name became a near synonym for this trend. The Bauhaus occupies a place of its own in the history of 20th century culture, architecture, design, art and new media. One of the first schools of design, it brought together a number of the most outstanding contemporary architects and artists and was not only an innovative training centre but also a place of production and a focus of international debate. At a time when industrial society was in the grip of a crisis, the Bauhaus stood almost alone in asking how the modernisation process could be mastered by means of design. Founded in Weimar in 1919, the Bauhaus rallied masters and students who sought to reverse the split between art and production by returning to the crafts as the foundation of all artistic activity and developing exemplary designs for objects and spaces that were to form part of a more human future society. Following intense internal debate, in 1923 the Bauhaus turned its ttention to industry under its founder and first director Walter Gropius (1883–1969). The major exhibition which opened in 1923, reflecting the revised principle of art and technology as a new unity, showcased the full spectrum of Bauhaus work and prototypes. The Haus Am Horn provided a glimpse of a residential building of the future. In 1924 funding for the Bauhaus was cut so drastically at the instigation of conservative forces that it had to seek a new home. The Bauhaus moved to Dessau at a time of rising economic fortunes, becoming the municipally funded School of Design. Almost all masters moved with it. Former students became junior masters in charge of the workshops. Famous works of art and architecture and influential designs were produced in Dessau in the years from 1926 to 1932. Walter Gropius resigned as director on 1st April 1928 under the pressure of constant struggles for the Bauhaus survival, He was succeeded by the Swiss architect Hannes Meyer (1889–1954) whose work sought to shape a harmonious society. Cost-cutting industrial mass production was to make products affordable for the masses. Despite his successes, Hannes Meyer’s Marxist convictions became a problem for the city council amidst the political turbulence of Germany in 1929, and the following year he was removed from his post. Under Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969) the Bauhaus developed from 1930 into a technical school of architecture with subsidiary art and workshop departments. After the Nazis became the biggest party in Dessau at the elections, the Bauhaus was forced to move in September 1932. It moved to Berlin but only lasted for a short time longer. The Bauhaus dissolved itself under pressure from the Nazis in 1933. Architecture The building is the ultimate goal of all fine art,† the Bauhaus manifesto proclaimed back in 1919. Architecture training at the Bauhaus in Weimar was initially the prerogative of Walter Gropius private architectural practice and for a short time courses were run by his partner Adolf Meyer and in association with the Baugewerkschule (building trades school) in Weimar. The Bauhaus workshops were involved in these efforts through Gropius’s office. This collaboration produced the Haus Am Horn in 1923. Some new methods based on specific types and standardisation were employed not only to produce new architecture but to anticipate a new lifestyle through this architecture. In 1927 Walter Gropius offered Hannes Meyer a position in charge of architecture classes. That year Hannes Meyer began to put together a curriculum which included all relevant subjects such as planning, design, draftsmanship, construction, town planning. Architecture for Walter Gropius and Hannes Meyer alike mainly denoted the design of life’s processes. Hannes Meyer went far beyond Gropius’s study of essentials†, which focused too much on the object for his taste, turning his teaching programme into one where the concrete conditions in society and the factors determining architecture and its use formed the starting point for all planning and design. The habits of the future residents of an estate or a house were studied in scientific detail. From 1930 to 1933 Ludwig Mies van der Rohe carried on with much of what had been started under his predecessors. At the same time Mies van der Rohe streamlined the curriculum to produce something like a system of courses which left almost no room for utopian experiments. The majority of the new student intake at the Bauhaus had already completed a course of studies, and the Bauhaus became a postgraduate school. Mies van der Rohe’s teaching focused on the design of specific buildings whose appearance owed nothing to Gropius’s study of essentials† or to the collective satisfaction of â€Å"the people’s needs†, but which were to be the spatial implementation of intellectual decisions† (Mies van der Rohe) in an aesthetically consummate fashion.

Development of SMEs in Malaysia

Development of SMEs in Malaysia The Global Enterprise Introduction Malaysia is a developing nation with a population of 30 million and currently classified in the upper middle income category. It is situated in the South East Asia Region and is part of the Association of South East Asian Nation; which also comprises of countries such as Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, as well as Thailand and Vietnam (ASEAN, 2014). Malaysia is a unique country as it is made up of a variety of races such as Malay, Chinese and Indian as well as indigenous races, making it an ethnically heterogeneous nation. This thus sets a very diverse and vibrant cultural backdrop in Malaysia. Important Benchmark in the Malaysian Economic Policy In their study of strengthening entrepreneurship in Malaysia, Ariff et al (2000) describes that during the British colonial rule of Malaya (pre-1957), the British implemented the practice of separating economic activity along racial boundaries. Malaya’s main economic drivers at the time were tin mining and production of rubber. In order to streamline operations of the industry, Indian and Chinese migrant workers were imported to work on the rubber plantations and in the tin mines respectively. The Chinese were allowed to run certain businesses; becoming shopkeepers, peddlers and petty traders in the towns. The Malays were mainly concentrated in the agricultural sector and were the only ethnic-group that was allowed into the bureaucracy. However, only members of the royal or upper-class families of the different states of Malaya were usually allowed into the administration, whereas the majority of Malays were limited to the low-income agricultural sector. This resulted in a ver y multi-layered society, segregated economically and racially with the majority of Malays (Bumiputras) at the bottom rung. To rectify the economic disparity that existed within the country, the representatives of the three major ethnic groups (Malay, Indian and Chinese) agreed that upon independence from colonial rule, the Malays would be given certain â€Å"special rights† in the fields of religion, economics and politics. The main reason for this â€Å"positive discrimination† was to elevate the status of the economically marginalized Malays, and therefore create a more equitable and balanced society. Under the New Economic Policy (NEP) established in 1970, these special rights received more comprehensive enunciation. This was a reaction to the growing discontent about the economic inequalities between the Malays and the other races who were still gaining economic ascendancy. The main objectives of the NEP were to reduce and eventually eradicate poverty, and to accelerate the process of restructuring Malaysian society to correct economic imbalance, so as to reduce and eventually eliminate the identification of race with economic function (Kuala Lumpur: Government Press, 1972) The NEP emphasised on increasing effective Bumiputra ownership and participation in the corporate sector, improving Bumiputra participation in high-income occupations, as well as narrowing income inequality and eradicating poverty. Within these larger policies, the subject of constructing a Bumiputra Commercial and Industrial Community (BCIC), which involves fostering Bumiputra entrepreneurs, professionals and creating a Bumiputra middle-class (Economic Planning Unit, 2001) is deeply prevalent. This has become the backbone of Malaysia’s strategy for strengthening national entrepreneurship, and all related policies and strategies have to take this into consideration. However non-Bumiputra entrepreneurs have not been completely neglected. The State of the Malaysian Economy (2013-2014) Malaysia has a medium-sized but rapidly growing economy. It is self-sufficient in important natural resources, including gas and oil, and has a conducive environment and climate for the production of various crops (oil palm being one of those). Her especially strategic location provides further advantages for the development of its international trade. As of 14 August 2014, Malaysia has posted a Gross Domestic product (GDP) of 6.4%, amounting to RM262.8 billion. This is a very encouraging sign for the national economy. This is a slightly marked improvement from the first quarter of 2014 which was 6.2%. In the fourth quarter of 2013, the nation posted a GDP of 5.1% (Department of Statistics, Malaysia, 2014). This can be seen in Chart 1. The construction sector was the main contributor to the GDP at 9.9%, followed by manufacturing (7.3%), agriculture (7.1%), private consumption (6.5%) and petroleum and mining (2.1%) according to The Star (2014) An additional point to note; the twin tragic disasters that befell Malaysia especially Malaysia Airlines this year (flights MH370 and MH17 respectively) have not significantly affected Malaysia’s bullish economic performance. However, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) have been experiencing heavy losses in the 2nd and 3rd quarters of the year (Malaysia Airlines, 2014) As an oil and gas exporter, Malaysia has profited from higher world energy prices, although the rising cost of domestic gasoline and diesel fuel, has forced the government to begin to address fiscal shortfalls, through initial reductions in energy and sugar subsidies and the announcement of the 2015 implementation of a 6% goods and services tax. The government is also trying to lessen its reliance on state oil producer PETRONAS. The oil and gas sector supplies about 32% of government revenue in 2013. Bank Negara Malaysia (central bank) maintains healthy foreign exchange reserves, and a well-developed regulatory regime has limited Malaysias exposure to riskier financial instruments and the global financial crisis. Nevertheless, Malaysia could be vulnerable to a fall in commodity prices or a general slowdown in global economic activity because exports are a major component of GDP. In order to attract increased investment, the Prime Minister of Malaysia Dato’ Sri Najib Razak earlier raised possible revisions to the special economic and social preferences accorded to ethnic Malays under the New Economic Policy of 1970, but retreated in 2013 after he encountered significant opposition from Malay nationalists and other assigned interests. In September 2013 Najib launched the new Bumiputra Economic Empowerment Program (BEEP), policies that favor and advance the economic condition of ethnic Malays, further strengthening the economic stature and power of the Bumiputras in the nation. Malaysia has a diversified and rapidly expanding manufacturing sector. Malaysia was able to join the worlds leaders in some fields although in many areas of manufacturing, it relies on imported technologies and foreign investments. In the 1990s, it became the worlds third-largest producer of integrated circuits and one of the leading producers of domestic appliances. Agriculture is still an important export earner. Malaysia is the worlds second largest producer of palm oil behind Indonesia, amounting to 39% of the world’s palm oil production (Malaysian Palm Oil Council, 2014). Malaysia has always been very open to foreign investment (FDI), especially for export-oriented manufactures, with relatively few restrictions and easy return of profits. This has prompted some of the worlds largest corporations, such as Dell and Microsoft of the United States, NEC and Mitsubishi of Japan, and others, to set up production branches in Malaysia. Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia Normah Mohd Aris (2007) says that: â€Å"The Malaysian economy is driven and influenced by many factors. Some of these factors include Small and medium enterprises (commonly referred to as SMEs) have been the backbone of economic growth of an economy in driving industrial development. Due to their sheer numbers, size and nature of operations, the role of SMEs in promoting domestic sources of growth and strengthening the infrastructure for accelerated economic expansion and development in Malaysia has been recognised. The interdependence of SMEs and large enterprises in collaborating with each other has led to the further expansion of SMEs.† According to the Malaysian SME Corp website, SMEs are defined by the following features: Manufacturing sector, sales turnover not exceeding RM50 million OR full-time employees not exceeding 200 workers Services and other sectors, sales turnover not exceeding RM20 million OR full-time employees not exceeding 75 workers SMEs are further divided into three different categories as shown in Table 1. SMEs in Malaysia are generally focused in the textile and apparel, food and beverages, metals and metals products and wood and wood products sectors. The majority of manufacturing companies are located in the central parts of Malaysia and around the country’s major industrial regions. Challenges Faced by SMEs in Malaysia According to Muhammad et al., (2010) many previous studies conducted by Saleh and Ndubisi (2006); Samad (2007); Abu Bakar et al. (2006); Aris (2006); Harvie (2004); Wang (2003); Wafa et al. (2005); Ritchie Brindley (2000); Decker et al. (2006) and Foon (2006) various challenges faced SMEs in a globalized environment. The SMEs should mainly concentrate in overcoming the challenges, which include recession, barrier from global sourcing, low productivity, lack of managerial capabilities, and lack of financing, difficulty in accessing management, technology and heavy regulatory burden. In the same way, Teoh and Chong (2008) reasoned that the major hurdles to entrepreneurship development are lack of access to credit, formal business and social networks. Muhammad et al. (2010) identified that the main problems faced by SMEs in Malaysia are the lack of knowledge regarding marketing techniques, branding, customer loyalty and also lack of good contacts with others local and international ent erprises. How the Government is Helping SMEs in Malaysia The Malaysian Government’s commitment to and involvement for the development of SMEs has been palpable since the early 1970s. The ‘New Economic Policy’, which mainly aimed to improve people’s welfare and restructure ethnic economic imbalances, was introduced in 1971. The government’s commitment to the development of SMEs is also evident in the second Industrial Master Plan (IMP2), which is then followed by the Third Industrial Master Plan (IMP3) 2006–2020; to coincide with the country’s vision for 2020.The Malaysian Government has implemented various policies and strategies under these plans. (Saleh et al, 2006) Further understanding the role of SMEs, the government’s commitment towards the development of SMEs was emphasized when the National SME Development Council (NSDC), was established in 2004. This Council embodies the highest-level policy making body to chart the direction and strategies for the development of SMEs. Some of the initiatives announced include the formulation of targeted strategies for the development of SMEs across all sectors; the establishment of a comprehensive National SME database and the expansion of development support programmes and facilities to enhance access to financing and accessibility of markets for export (Bank Negara Malaysia, 2006). The Small and Medium Industries Development Corporation (SMIDEC) was also set up, with the goal of developing capable and resilient Malaysian SMEs to be competitive in the global market. In 2007, the NSDC decided to appoint a single dedicated agency to formulate overall policies. SMIDEC was chosen to tackle this role and was transformed into the Small and Medium Enterprise Corporation Malaysia (SME Corp. Malaysia). SME Corp. Malaysia is now the central point of reference for information and advisory services for all SMEs in Malaysia. (Small and Medium Enterprise Corporation Malaysia, 2014) Saleh et al (2006) have also identified other key areas in which the Malaysian government have been helping SMEs. These areas include: 1. Developing Access to Markets The Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) facilitates the participation of SMEs at trade fairs and trade exhibitions by financing their participation costs. This gives the SMEs a platform to market and showcase their companies. 2. Upgrading Technology Technology provides SMEs with the opportunity to increase their efficiency and productivity with tools to better manage their business amidst the growing demands of the current market. 3. Promoting the Application of ICT ICT allows effective and speedy communications and can ensure timely responses to market requirements. 4. Research Development (R D) and Innovation A total of RM280million was allocated to the Industry Research and Development Grant Scheme (IGS) and Commercialization of Research and Development Findings (CRDF) schemes under the 8th Malaysian Plan. 5. Productivity and Quality Assistance programs are aimed at encouraging SMEs to acquire quality standards (health, safety, environment and labour) that will assist them to leverage their strengths. 6. Awards and Recognition The government introduced various award programs to acknowledge companies that have attained excellence. Such programs include: The Prime Minister’s Industry Excellence Award Productivity and Quality management Award (PQMA) Enterprise 50 Award (E50) 7. Access to Financing and Grants The government has allocated substantial funds for borrowing by SMEs. 8. Supply of Skilled Labour In regard to SMEs, SME Corp. Malaysia collaborates with around 20 skill centres to provide training to local SMEs in technical and managerial proficiencies. The Electrical and Electronics, automotive, machinery and engineering services are some of sectors receiving priority in terms of training. References Ariff, M. and Abubakar, S.Y. (2004) Strengthening Entrepreneurship in Malaysia, pp. 2-12 Aris, N. M. (2006) SMEs: building blocks for economic growth. http://www.statistics.gov.my/conference/download.php?cat=1id_file=22. accessed 20/10/2014 ASEAN (2014) ASEAN Member States. http://www.asean.org/asean/asean-member-states accessed 15/10/2014 BNM – Bank Negara Malaysia (2004), â€Å"National SME Council Meeting†, Press Release, Bank Negara Malaysia. Foon, L. S. Eu-Gene, S. (2006) The Changing of Education in the Globalized World. Proceedings of Persidangan Kebangsaan IKS 2006, Kuala Lumpur: Universiti Utara Malaysia. Decker, M., Schiefer, G. Bulander, R. (2006). Specific challenges for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in M-business: a SME-suitable framework for mobile services. Proceedings of the International Conference on E-Business (ICE-B 2006), Setà ºbal, Portugal: INSTICC. Department of Statistics, Malaysia (2014) Press Release Gross Domestic Product, 2nd Quarter of 2014. http://www.statistics.gov.my/portal/images/stories/files/LatestReleases/gdp/2014/GDP_PRESS_RELEASE_Q2_2014.pdf accessed 20/10/2014 Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister’s Department. Eighth Malaysia Plan, 2001-2005. Kuala Lumpur: Government Printers, 2001 Harvie, C. (2004) East Asian SME capacity building, competitiveness and market opportunities in a global economy, pp 2-10 Index Mundi (2014), Malaysia Economy Profile 2014. http://www.indexmundi.com/malaysia/economy_profile.html accessed 25/10/2014 Malaysia Airlines (2014) IMPACT OF MH370 TRAGEDY DENTS MALAYSIA AIRLINES Q2 2014 RESULTS http://www.malaysiaairlines.com/my/en/corporate-info/press-room/latest/mas_q2_2014_result.html accessed 5/11/2014 Malaysian Palm Oil Council (2014) Malaysian Palm Oil Industry. http://www.mpoc.org.my/Malaysian_Palm_Oil_Industry.aspx accessed 5/11/2014 Ministry of International Trade and Industry, ‘MITI’ (1996) â€Å"Second Industrial Master Plan, 1996–2005 — Executive Summary†, MITI, Malaysia, pp. 10–13. Ministry of International Trade and industry, ‘MITI’ (2005), â€Å"The Third Industrial Master Plan (IMP3)† http://www.miti.gov.my/miti-imp3.html accessed 25/10/2014 Yusoff, M.B., Hasan, F.A., Jalil, S.A., (2000) Globalisation, Economic Policy, and Equity: The Case of Malaysia, pp. 6-15 http://www.oecd.org/countries/malaysia/2682426.pdf accessed 20/10/2014 Muhammad, Mohd Zulkifli, Char, Abdul Kamal , Yasoa, Mohd Rushdan bin and Hassan Zakiah, 2010. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Competing in the Global Business Environment: A Case of Malaysia. International Business Research, Vol.3, No1, pp. 66-72 Saleh, A.S. and Ndubisi, N.O. (2006) SME development in Malaysia: domestic and global challenges, pp. 12-25 Samad, N. A. (2007) Positioning Malaysian SMEs in the global. Proceedings of Persidangan Kebangsaan IKS 2007,Kota Kinabalu: Universiti Utara Malaysia. Second Malaysia Plan 1971-1975 (Kuala Lumpur: Government Press, 1971), p. 1. 2 SME Corp Malaysia (2014) About SME Corporation Malaysia. http://www.smecorp.gov.my/vn2/node/40 accesssed 27/10/2014 Teoh, W. M. Y. Chong, S. C. (2008) Improving Women Entrepreneurs in Small and Medium Enterprises in Malaysia: Policy Recommendations. Communication of the IBIMA, 2, pp. 31-38. The Star (2014), Malaysia’s services sector to contribute more to economy. http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Business-News/2014/08/18/Malaysias-services-sector-to-contribute-more-to-economy/?style=biz – accessed 25/10/2014 Ritchie, B. Brindley, C. (2000). Disintermediation, disintegration and risk in the SME global supply chain. Management Decision, 38(8), 575-583. Wafa, S. A., Noordin, R. Kim-Man, M. (2005). Strategy and performance of small and medium-size enterprises in Malaysia. Proceedings of the International Conference in Economics and Finance (ICEF), Labuan: Universiti Malaysia Sabah. Wang, S. D. (2003). The implications of e-financing: implications for SMEs. Bulletin on Asia-Pacific Perspective 2003/2004. New York: United Nations. Chart 1: GDP and Annual Percentage Change