The And Substance Abuse Treatment - 1779 Words

Based on researching treatment modalities in Grand Rapids, MI, it was found that very few organization (The YWCA) has programs that are specifically designed for adult survivors of CSA with dual-diagnosis of PTSD associated with CSA. The YWCA of West Central Michigan offers services and online programs for women and girls who are survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and childhood sexual abuse. They also offer 24-hour confidential crisis lines for domestic violence and sexual assault (YWCA, 2016). There are no programs in the Grand Rapids area that offers services for men with histories of CSA, although Pine Rest does offer some treatment for trauma and substance abuse, they do not offer both types of treatment at the same time or in the same building. The YWCA does not provide services for substance abuse issues and substance abuse treatment centers are not very well equipt to handle underlying issues such as PTSD and trauma associated with CSA, although research demonstrates a connection between CSA and substance abuse. I have listed all trauma based counseling centers and residential SA treatment facilities in the Kent County in the introduction. This study is being conducted in order to educate therapists and psychiatrists employed in substance abuse treatment in Kent County facilities on new treatment modalities that can be incorporated into existing programs in order to help individuals with both SA disorders as well as trauma associated withShow MoreRelatedTreatment Of Substance Abuse Treatment Fa cilities1654 Words   |  7 PagesHistorically, substance abuse issues were thought of as a male problem (Bride 2011). Treatment center programs, methods and models are constructed around the male psychological needs rather than mix-gender needs. Literature shows that 12-step programs, therapy, individual counseling, group therapy and many other models provide to the increase in success stories however there is a lack in research focusing on the needs of the gender individual (Marsh, Cao, Shin 2009). Substance abuse treatment facilitiesRead MoreSubstance Abuse Treatment For Adolescents Essay832 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction Including families in the treatment of substance use in adolescents has been a debate for several years in the addictions world. Some claim that involving families may hinder the client’s ability to improve due to not being honest, fear, and the lack of relationship one may have with their family members, specifically parental figures. Adolescents may not be honest with themselves or family members due to fear of disappointing or fear of punishment. Many providers and policy-makersRead MoreSubstance Abuse and Treatment for Adolescents2174 Words   |  9 Pages†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦ 4 Treatment †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4-7 Conclusion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 References †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...†¦.. 8-10 Substance Abuse and Treatment for Adolescents Introduction Substance abuse among adolescents is becoming an increasing concern. There are the obvious health issues associated with substance abuse, but many people do not consider the long term affects of drug and alcohol use. In this paper I will discuss substance abuse among teens, causesRead MoreA Report On Substance Abuse Treatment Essay893 Words   |  4 Pagesexplains substance abuse treatment which our company SAFE Foundation OP Detoxification and Substance Abuse Treatment Centre treat and educate individuals daily. The Brownsville community is associated with our facility which includes specialized treatment for our patients. Our effective treatment programs focuses on adult and youth, include several different types of interventions simultaneously, and provide intensive treatment. This proposal concludes with comments on improving substance abuse patientsRead MorePharmacological Treatment For Substance Abuse1761 Words   |  8 PagesPharmacological Treatment for Substance Abuse In understanding the use of medications in treating substance abuse, is to first have an understanding of how the body reacts to the medication, and the effectiveness of medication in the body. The pharmacological treatment of substance abuse is found to be effective based on scientific research. Those who admit that they have an addiction problem, and then making the decision to get clean from alcohol or drug abuse is significant, but can be a difficultRead MoreA Substance Abuse Treatment Facility1606 Words   |  7 PagesNon-Discrimination As a substance abuse treatment facility we are required to protect the fundamental human, civil, constitutional and statutory rights of each client receiving services with us. In accordance with Federal Law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, or disability. Bannock Youth Foundation supports and welcomes opportunities to define the special, uniqueRead MoreThe Importance Of A Substance Abuse Treatment Group Essay1441 Words   |  6 PagesThe purpose of proposing a substance abuse treatment group was to break the barriers that mother-child relationships may face in result to maternal addiction and substance-abuse. Treatment that is geared for maternal addicted mothers can help them recover quickly and protect their infant children from the dangers of drugs and health consequences. The program will be gender specific, distinctively for substance-depende nt women who are mothers. The group will conduct its work by following through aRead MoreMotivational Interviewing as a Treatment for Substance Abuse1668 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿Motivational Interviewing as a Treatment for Substance Abuse Introduction Motivational interviewing is an evidenced-based counseling approach that health care providers can use to help patients adhere to treatment recommendations. It emphasizes using a directive, patient-centered style of interaction to promote behavioral change by helping patients explore and resolve ambivalence (Levensky et al., 2007). Motivational interviewing is a highly individualized therapeutic approach that isRead MoreRelapse in Substance Abuse Treatment Essay1165 Words   |  5 PagesRelapse Prevention in Substance Abuse Treatment In relation to drug abuse, relapse is resuming the use of a chemical substance or drug after a period of abstinence. The term can be said to be a landmark feature of a combination of substance abuse and substance independence. The propensity for dependency, repeated use, and tendencies that take the form of the substance being used, are some of the issues that drug users’ experience. Substances that enhance most severe tendencies in users and pose highRead MoreSubstance Abuse Treatment Center Of The World798 Words   |  4 Pagesfoundation of the issue. Here in Florida there many substance abuse treatment facilities, in fact there are so many that Southern Florida is not considered the substance abuse treatment center of the world. This is the description of Southern Florida that was talked about in classrooms, at an undergraduate program at Indian River State College (IRSC) in Fort Pierce Florida. Many time a professor would talk about Southern Florida being the treatment capital of the world, and there was silence in the

The Effects Of Divorce And Single Parenthood - 1919 Words

V - Our presentation is about the effects of divorce and single parenthood, as demonstrated through Tatiana de Rosnay’s Sarah’s Key. Divorce comes from the Latin word ‘Divortium’, which literally means ‘separation’. Previously, divorce went hand in hand with shame, because there is a feeling of failure associated with divorce. Nowadays, divorce is much more common as a result of active ownership in relationships. Another factor in the popularity of divorce is the media, since it seems like there is a celebrity couple getting divorced every other day. God intended marriage to be permanent, and for man and woman to spend their lives together in harmony. However, love is often confused with infatuation, which ultimately leads to a failure in marriage. A - Now, we have a question for you: just by raising your hands, how many of you would like to get married sometime in the future? Now, let’s get these two groups to put their hands down. Look around you. The number of people with their hands down is the divorce rate in Canada. We’ll save you the math. 40.7% of all marriages in Canada end in divorce. Think about that. But what could cause a breakdown of love? R - High conflicts between a couple can cause financial issues, stress and possibly most harmful, verbal and physical abuse. Obviously these are extreme circumstances, which is the result of a couple’s feelings bottling up over time. Job changes can cause conflict to arise about in a couple of different ways, like forShow MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Parental Absence On Academic Achievement Of Adolescents1174 Words   |  5 Pages1. Jeynes, William H. (2002). Examining the Effects of Parental Absence on the Academic Achievement of Adolescents: The Challenge of Controlling for Family Income. Journal of Family and Economic Issues 23.2, 189-210. A. The article targets the issue that how parent’s absence has a negative effect on the academic achievements of adolescents. It also discusses how it can be difficult for single-parents to manage family income. B. The article tells that when children lose a custodial parent, they goRead MoreRecent Trends On The Inheritance Of Poverty And Family Structure By Kelly Musick And Robert D. Mare1629 Words   |  7 Pagesmajor stress factor within marriages. Many couple’s divorce issues are traced back to arguments over financial issues. The dynamics of poverty and family are intimately interwoven: poor economic prospects reduce the chances of marriage and increase those of divorce. Vice versa, family structure also affects economic status. Children who are born into non marital relationships   and divorce are more likely to experience poverty within the home. Single-parent families have higher poverty rates than two-parentRead MoreThe Evolution of the Modern Family927 Words   |  4 PagesToday the number of single parents has dramatically risen, there’s no other choice but to accept the rising trend. Becoming a single parent today is more of a choice or an inevitable result of t ragedy, rather than an effect of unplanned promiscuity as it is misconceived by many. The modern single parent may choose to parent solo because it has become evident that divorce is better option rather than keeping a child in an unhappy and unstable family living situation. Today’s society has created manyRead MoreExpository Essay on Parenting1582 Words   |  7 Pagesparental disconnection has accounted for a wide range of adverse effects on children’s welfare, both as an immediate effect of development and in the form of more permanent effects that continue into adulthood. Past research suggests that children who experience multiple transitions in family structure may face worse developmental outcomes than children who live in stable two-parent families and perhaps even children raised in stable, single-parent families. However, consistent change and negative childRead MoreThe Problems of Single Parenthood Essay1285 Words   |  6 Pages In the trajectory of h umanity, single parenting has become a concept internationally accepted by most modern cultures. What exactly causes single parenthood? Well there are many factors in which could result in a single parent household. Death of a partner, divorce, and unintended pregnancy are just some of the causes of single parenthood. Based on this worldwide acknowledgement and understanding, single parenthood is usually aided by monetary help from the government or unions. Although financialRead MoreDivorce Argument Essay888 Words   |  4 PagesDivorce has progressively become a common procedure worldwide, affecting not only parents and their offspring, but also the communities that surround the family unit, and consequently presenting a terrifying threat for the affected child. Nonetheless, regardless of the conventionality of divorce, it persists to affect various aspects of childrens daily lives and rituals. Children and adolescents are consequently deprived of a customary and stable family up bringing and thus suffer the disadvantagesRead MoreEssay on Family Formations2167 Words   |  9 Pagesmany formations of the family. This involves the forever changing affects on society which bring us back to the family. This essay will discuss the social changes occur within the family paying particular attention to lone parenthood. It will look at changes to marriage, divorce, births outside marriage and poverty and look at to what extent these changes have had on British society since 1990, and also what these changes have meant to the family within. In Western Society, over the past two decadesRead MoreDivorce Is A Poor Attitude Toward Marriage Essay1458 Words   |  6 PagesDivorce is in two folds; some people agree with divorce while others disagree with divorce. It’s reasonable for one to concur with divorce because nowadays people always make mistakes within their lives. The couple will at some point move on to an agreement of divorcing because at some point in the relationship they realized they are not compatible due to situations arising that may threaten life. On the contrary, people oppose the issue of divorce, because those who are couples should know whatRead MoreFamily Stability within the Hispanic Culture Janiece Cantu Our Lady of the Lake1000 Words   |  4 Pagestwo adults and their children, a single-parent household, extended relatives, and a structure of more than two parents. Despite how the family structure may look like within a household, it plays a major role in life, either directly or indirectly. Family stability is a term that is defined in various ways, but has been found to have a vital role in society. Global stability within a family refers to the occurrence of changes in family structure, such as divorce, remarriage, or parental death,Read MoreEssay on Why Marriage Matters1549 Words   |  7 Pageselse’s marriage are your children watching day in and day out growing up? It is no surprise that a child, whose parents stay married, will generally have better relationships themselves. Marriage has a huge effect on daughters. A problem facing many young women today is premarital sex and parenthood. CIVITAS agrees: For daughters, growing up in a married family seems to help them avoid engaging in early sexual activity. This is important because early sexual activity tends to lead to teenage

A Letter From Saudi Arabia Essay Example For Students

A Letter From Saudi Arabia Essay Dear Mr. LMN,Hope you are doing well. How are things at the Academy? I am doing just fine here in Al Arabiyah as Saudiyah1, ever heard that name before? It is just the local short name for Saudi Arabia. It is already a year since I left US and now I am almost half way through the two years that I am spending here. Theres a lot that I want to tell you about my experience so far. I always wanted to leave Westford for good, but had never imagined that I would someday be doing a job in Saudi Arabia! It all started when I got this new job with the Saudi Arabian Specifications and Standard Organization (SASSO)2. My Uncle has a close friend in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. So one night my uncle asked me if I would like to live for two years in Saudi Arabia, and then he told me about this job opportunity for which they required a qualified engineer in structural architecture. It wasnt exactly something that I had planned in life, but I always wanted to experience life in a different atmosphere, and this was the perfect opportunity for me to do so so here I am! I work in a Water conservation-desalination1 plant in a town called Khumrah which is 30 miles south from Jeddah3. It is a small town with a population a little less than Westford3. Where I live is very close to my work, barely a 5-minute walk from the plant. Since there arent many trees around the place I live, it is usually very hot in that area. The average temperature here in Summer is really killing!! Sometimes it gets as high as 94 degrees Fahrenheit in summer, its an extreme climate here4! It certainly is a big change from Westford! It makes me sweat a lot, but I have gotten used to that. Even now I still calculate the temperature in Fahrenheit, whereas this country follows the metric system, which is sometimes confusing, but thats just part of the experience. But I am really thankful to my uncle, he did give me a lot of tips about staying here. For instance the kind of clothes that I should pack, what vaccinations I should take before leaving other than those required by the Saudi consulate such as the ones for cholera5. So I guess, I was pretty much packed up when I left America. I live in a small 2 story building, in a 2-bedroom apartment- building6 with Umar, the son of my Uncles friend. The apartment building has no parking lot, there is no reason to have one because not many people in this town own cars for themselves. At first, that really surprised me! I and Umar have become really close friends now. He too works in the same plant with me. He can speak some English, although he can understand everything I say in English, which is something that I am really thankful for- Its one of the best things to happen to me. You will not find many English-speaking people here. In only 60% of the population of people 15 years and older can read and write1. Anways.. so we live on the 2nd floor and there is an Arab family that lives downstairs. The first day, when I arrived at the Jeddah airport, I was amazed by the way the airport is designed, it looks more like the ancient Islamic architecture that I had seen much of in the travel brochures on the flight. It took a while to clear the customs, especially since the import laws here are very strict7. After clearing the customs as soon as I was at the arrival terminal Umar was there to receive me. He recognized me with the h elp of a photograph that my uncle had mailed to him. Since I am a Muslim, I had some knowledge of Arabic, from what Iittle I had learnt in Islamic school, but that was twenty years ago!! Anyway, so I greeted Umar, in what I though was an ancient Arabic greeting- As salaam O Alaiqum8, he replied by saying Wa Alaiqum As Salaam. But later, I discovered that there was nothing ancient about it! Its the formal way of saying hello to someone, technically speaking, in English it translates to peace be upon you and its part of my Arabic vocabulary now. There are several forms of greeting in Saudi Arabia. The most common one is a handshake, called the salaam with the right hand and the phrase As salaam O Alaiqum Frequently, males follow the greeting by extending the left hand to each others right shoulder and kissing the others right and left cheeks. The form of greeting changes depending upon the person being addressed. When accompanied by a woman wearing a veil, a man would not normally int roduce her, and one does not expect to shake hands with her. The term for Good morning is Sabah al-khair, and for Good evening it is Masah al-khair. A casual hello is Marhaba.3 Its always a good thing to know these phrases, if sometime you get in trouble, they act somewhat similar to the phrase I come in peace in English!!!Anyways.. so once Umar found me he jokingly told me that he would have recognized me even without the photo, because of the peculiar dress that I had worn, although I laughed that off, but that was the first time that I felt weird being in a T-shirt and jeans. Most people I had seen were dressed in long clothes that covered them fully. Males dress in a white robe with a flat turban for the head, while women wear veils which cover them fully from head to toe, except the face4.But it isnt like that in every part of Jeddah, or for that matter even the whole country. Many men prefer wearing western outfits such as shirts and trousers, while some women in cities also w ear skirts which are about knee-length. 6For probably the first time I felt as if I was the odd man out! Anyways.. very soon I and Umar were on our way to Khumrah on a hired taxi. It was a bumpy 2 hour drive, mostly because of the bad road conditions, not all roads in Saudi Arabia are like that though1. The hot weather made it even worse for us. We reached the house, and no sooner had we started unloading the baggage than a gentleman came up and lend us to helping hand. After we were done with the unloading, I thanked him and then Umar introduced us to each other, his name is Khaled Bin Ahmad. He is the tenant of the apartment on the first floor and lives with his wife Asma, a son Ashfaque and a daughter Fatima. Most people have more than 2 children, usually the number of children in each family is 3-41. We are pretty good friends now, his family usually invites me to dinner at their home with Umar. I love the food here. Saudi dishes are composed mainly of rice with lamb or chicken and are mildly spicy. Kabsah, which is rice and lamb, is a favorite dish throughout the country. Rice is also often served with vegetables and a green salad. Fruit is frequently eaten for dessert, accompanied by Saudi coffee, which is brewed with cardamom. Seafood is popular on the coast, and there are many varieties of fish. Coffee or tea is served before all meals. Buttermilk is also a popular beverage. In general, food is eaten with the fingers of the right hand only. Bread may be torn with the left hand but is eaten with the right.3 I really had to get used to this habit, at first I was very clumsy breaking the bread, and eating the rice, but now I think I have pretty much learnt the proper way of eating. Down Syndrome EssayBread-earning reminds me, that tomorrow I dont have to go to work, because it is Thursday. Did you know that the working week is from Saturday through Wednesday7. Not only that, we have breaks between work, for Namaaz (prayers) when people go to the nearby mosques for their prayers4. Friday (Jumma) and Thursday (Jumme-raat) night are considered as important days of the week for prayers, everybody goes to the mosque on this day for their prayers. Religion is a very prominent characteristic of the Saudi society4. It is one of their first priorities. It is quite obvious because of the large concentration of the Muslim population, a 99% majority1! It is also to a certain extent because of Al-Kaaaba, which is the center of pilgrimage for Muslims all around the world. It is considered the holiest place on earth. I remember talking to you about this in Global Insights class, when we were studying Islam. It is the Kaaaba that attracts the major tourist population to this country4. It is amazing the way, the government handles the enormous tourist population every year, despite the problems that it has to deal with. One of the major problems here is the scarcity of water. Which is also one reason I chose to take this job. A large amount of the total land area is covered by desert. Desert storms lead to desertification of vast areas of land. This poses a threat to agriculture. Agriculture engages about 15% of the total labor force. The government is coming up with projects for development of more and more desalination facilities, through which they can then use the sea water to their benefit, for irrigation in agriculture and also for industry. So water is one of the very important resource here. In Khumrah, the water facilities arent as well-developed as they are in the cities1. Sometimes I have to skip shower for the day, because at times when the water supply is short, the tanks are not filled. But I dont mind that, as long as it doesnt last for d ays together. When I first came, I was too conscious about my health, so the only water I used to drink was mineral water, which cost me about half a dollar for each bottle11. By the way the currency used here is the Riyal, which is then divided into 100 halalah1, just like dollars and cents. An American dollar is approximately worth 3.75riyals1. So whenever I used to buy something, I converted it into dollars, and it seemed so cheap to me, but later I realized that sometimes I was paying a lot more than the actual price, just because in American terms it was cheaper! In fact I gave up the mineral water, within a month. That however wasnt the best of ideas. I suffered a mild viral fever for 2 days because of that. But Khaled Aqha and his wife took good care of me, for both the days, Umar got me my medicine, Khaled Aqha took care of me. Now whenever I go to the market, I get some grocery for Khaled aqha, at first he never accepted anything from me, saying that I was like his guest, b ut now we no more have a guest-host relationship, its more of friendship, I feel. I was fortunate that I did not need any hospital care, it saved me some money. Usually hospitals demand cash payment, usually before treatment!Anyways, so did you make finally make that trip to India that you always planned on? There are some Indians1 at the plant where I work, actually there are people from many different foreign nationalities where I work. The main ones being people afro-Asian backgrounds1. I wish I could write more about my life here. But its something that you really need to have a first-hand experience to know what I am talking about. Hopefully I will see you in Westford next May. If there is any souvenir or anything that I can get for you from here, please feel free to let me know. Khuda Hafiz (goodbye)8XYZBibliography:1. The World Fact Book http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/country-frame.html2. Water Online- http://news.wateronline.com/industry-news/19980123-930.htm l3. Microsoft Encarta Reference Suite 99- Virtual Globe4. Microsoft Encarta Reference Suite 99- Encarta Encyclopedia5. Arabic News. Com- http://www.arabicnews.com6. National Geographic- October 19877. Saudi Arabia Consular Information Sheet- http://travel.state.gov/saudi.html8. Speak Arabic- the easy way (Nadeem Publications)9. Excite Travel- http://www.city.net10. Culture website www.cultures.com11. Retail price of Mineral water in SA- http://www.excelholdings.com/saudicost.html

John Malpede Essay Example For Students

John Malpede Essay Los Angeless Skid Row is a 20-square-block area near downtown where hundreds of homeless people sleep outside on the sidewalk every night, and at least a few dont wake up in the morning. Food is scarce; beds are scarcer, it is impossible to buy a newspaper because there are no stores, and stray animals generally have a better chance of surviving than people. Civilization ends here; hell begins just around the corner. Eight years ago, John Malpede, disenchanted with the increasingly commercial direction of New Yorks performance art scene, began organizing talent shows at missions and soup kitchens on Skid Row in Los Angeles as a way of encouraging homeless people to tell their stories and get more involved in their own lives. No rules applied. People could get up on stage and do whatever they wanted. Some sang. Some read poetry. Some ranted about God. Some just rambled on unintelligibly, or didnt speak at all. Out of this unlikely assembly of talent, Malpede eventually formed the Los Angeles Poverty Department (or LAPD for ironic short), a ragtag band of theatre anarchists who have proven themselves over time to be one of the most adventurous and iconoclastic performance troupes in the country. For a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that many of their performers are clinically insane, LAPD shows tend to be bizarre, unpredictable, emotionally supercharged affairs that walk a fine line between stark raving madness and frightening clarity. Homelessness is a precarious existence. People on the streets hallucinate, lie, cheat, steal, scream and kill but they are also capable of telling the most brutal, honest kinds of truth, and LAPD performances reflect this paradox. Indeed, LAPDs performance style, which is uniquely tolerant of pandemonium, has evolved in large part as a way of encompassing problems endemic to homelessness. We have to improvise because lots of homeless people cant concentrate long enough to memorize anything, explains Malpede. Street life is chaotic. Life and death are a lot closer together, so all the emotion sadness, pathos, even laughter, are much closer to the surface not just rage. In LAPD, weve found ways to filter that chaotic street energy through improvisational performance techniques that actually have roots in other, more experimental kinds of theatre. LAPD has expanded its influence by working with homeless populations in San Diego, Chicago, Minneapolis, London, Amsterdam and other cities in a series of month-long residencies over the past few years. Wherever LAPD goes, it immediately beads for that citys equivalent of Skid Row, arranges talent shows, recruits new people, guides them through workshops, and develops an entirely new show based on the material gathered in those few weeks. But in addition to improvising like crazy, LAPD has also had to find different ways to tell stories, since clear rational narratives are sometimes hard to come by on Skid Row, and time constraints often prevent them from developing pieces as fully as they might like. Much of our style grew out of the limitations of doing these residencies, says Malpede. For a while we were doing shows that had a single narrative line running through them. But when we started doing residencies in different cities, it would become frustrating because we would end up with all of these small scenes stacked up like pancakes that didnt hold together in any conventional sense. So we began looking for ways to allow for different kinds of structuring. One of the methods LAPD hit upon is a way of layering images into dense, suggestive, almost dreamlike metaphors to bind formerly disjointed story fragments. LAPD pieces usually include some autobiographical references, but the anchor in reality is often tenuous, making for a disconcerting mix of the brutally real and the totally fictional. .u089c483c259f09e8b20c4ab0811c278f , .u089c483c259f09e8b20c4ab0811c278f .postImageUrl , .u089c483c259f09e8b20c4ab0811c278f .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u089c483c259f09e8b20c4ab0811c278f , .u089c483c259f09e8b20c4ab0811c278f:hover , .u089c483c259f09e8b20c4ab0811c278f:visited , .u089c483c259f09e8b20c4ab0811c278f:active { border:0!important; } .u089c483c259f09e8b20c4ab0811c278f .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u089c483c259f09e8b20c4ab0811c278f { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u089c483c259f09e8b20c4ab0811c278f:active , .u089c483c259f09e8b20c4ab0811c278f:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u089c483c259f09e8b20c4ab0811c278f .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u089c483c259f09e8b20c4ab0811c278f .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u089c483c259f09e8b20c4ab0811c278f .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u089c483c259f09e8b20c4ab0811c278f .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u089c483c259f09e8b20c4ab0811c278f:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u089c483c259f09e8b20c4ab0811c278f .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u089c483c259f09e8b20c4ab0811c278f .u089c483c259f09e8b20c4ab0811c278f-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u089c483c259f09e8b20c4ab0811c278f:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The play is a success EssayThe idea for one show, entitled Call Home, started from the premise that people on the streets were disconnected from their families. To gather material, LAPD put a phone on the street and told people they could call anyone, anywhere in the world, for free. At about the same time, Michael Lee, a member of the troupe, had witnessed a murder in his hotel and was testifying for the State of California in a trial. Not long before that, a member of LAPD, Lyn Tars, had been found murdered in her apartment. All these real-life experiences were used to develop story threads in the show. LAPD devised a courtroom scene in which Michael Lee was testifying on the stand, while the body of a woman lay still on the courtroom floor as he talked. The body could have been the woman Lee saw murdered in his hotel room. She could have been Lyn Tars, or any number of other people. But as the piece unfolded, the woman turned out to be Michael Lees mother asleep, ignoring him as a child. I look for those kinds of resonances, says Malpede. Its more like real life, where things come at you from all different angles. The funny thing is, people just assume that all the stuff we do is autobiographical. But were not interested in reducing people down to the tragedy of their lives, or giving street people a soapbox to stand on. Were interested in finding out who these people really are and what makes them special. The work comes out of that discovery process. Malpede bristles whenever it is suggested that LAPDs raison detre has more to do with social service than art, mainly because he feels that LAPD is always fighting a no-win battle against the popular notion that, as he says, Community art is a code-word for bad art. People think were wonderful because were helping the homeless, but they dont always want to take our work seriously, laments Malpede. What they dont understand is that homeless people need more than beans and blankets. They also need a reason to get out of bed in the morning. The environment on Skid Row is incredibly alienating. We offer a place where people can at least meet each other, make some friends and tap into something about themselves thats worthwhile. Those things are as important in life as anything else, and the work makes it happen in ways that are sometimes very mysterious and remarkable. Besides, he says matter-of-factly, I never would have gotten into this, and I wouldnt keep doing it, if homeless people didnt have anything to say.

Bonnie and Clyde Essay Example

Bonnie and Clyde Paper At first glance Bonnie and Clyde is a story of crime involving two equal parts, but after some examination it is clear that the film is very much a story exclusively about the character of Bonnie. Clyde and other characters act as foils for Bonnie and never fully develop in the same way that she does. Bonnie evolves as the story progresses, and although she is very masculinized, her initial immaturity dissipates with her characters confusion of gender identity. The film opens with an extreme close up of Bonnie putting lipstick on her lips, a very deliberate idea of femininity. However, she is bored and aimlessly wanders around her room naked; she peers outside and sees Clyde attempting to steal her mothers car. She confronts him and ultimately she is convinced to go with him to lead a life of freedom and excitement. Her role as the woman perpetuates her fascination with Clydes reckless masculine quality but the role becomes unnecessary and extraneous after he admits that he is impotent, or not much of a lover boy. She eventually accepts her role as equal companion to Clyde in his endeavors and becomes very satisfied with such. We will write a custom essay sample on Bonnie and Clyde specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Bonnie and Clyde specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Bonnie and Clyde specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer For instance, when trouble starts to brew Clyde warns Bonnie that she aint going to have a minutes peace, to which she simply responds, You promise? Later, in her foreshadowing poem that she reads to Clyde, shes admits to her self that death is the only means by which she will be relieved of the burdens of the life of crime she has chosen. Clyde in turn becomes excited by the poem realizing how their story would become legendary with its printing; his sexual ineptness is evidently cured and all of a sudden he wants to marry Bonny in the next scene. This is the most telling scene of Bonnies transformation back to a character that wants a civilized life; she asks Clyde if he would do anything differently if they could have it all back. Bonnie is noticeably disappointed when he responds superficially and without any regard to a different lifestyle which Bonnie now longs for. Bonnie is also significantly foiled against the films other female character, Bucks wife Blanche. Bonnie is very assertive and lively whereas Blanche is reserved and polite in the scene when they meet each other. Bonnie is quick to grab Clydes gun and pose in front of the car in a very masculine way for the camera. Blanche doesnt want her picture taken at all, and when its done anyway, it is just of her and Buck with their arms around each other. By this point in the film Bonnie is at her peak of masculine quality, she is surprised and disgusted at how reserved and manner-aware Blanche seems to be. When the gang is in the cabin and the police confront them, Bonnie responds as quickly as the three men do fend themselves off from the police officers. Blanche proceeds to only scream and run away from the loud guns and, as they escape, Blanche is practically left behind until she frantically runs after the vehicle; Bonnie is clearly one of the guys, a true part of the gang and Blanche is only an afterthought even to her husband Buck. Additionally, Bonnies character is the only one in the film that is shown as having a family who she wants to be with, with the exception of Buck and Clyde. C. W. Moss foils Bonnie in the sense that his father plays a significant role in the film, but he doesnt go to him until he needs help, and it is in the best interest of the whole gang. Bonnie longs to see her mother, an indication that she may miss her old life; it may have been boring but it was also meaningful and safe. She slowly become dissatisfied with the life she hastily chose when she met Clyde. She does go home to her mother with everyone but only after trying to run away from the gang in order to do so; she has become so dissatisfied with the life that she doesnt even bother to warn Clyde of her departure, not wanting to bring the gang into her family atmosphere. Both C.W. Moss father and Bonnies mother are disapproving of their behavior, but whereas Mrs. Parker reaffirms Bonnies need for something more, old man Moss feelings of Bonnie and Clyde and their way of life only causes C. W. Moss anger and a lack of understanding. Bonnie Parker is slowly transformed from restless female to a gun shooting, money loving, masculinized character. By the end of the film it is too late for her to transform back despite wanting nothing more; she realizes that any life with Clyde would be a nomadic life of crime and must accept her fate as a gangster as she wrote about it in her own poem. Ironically, Bonnie is the only character who both wants out of the life, but also realizes that such an opportunity is an impossibility.

Beauty When the Other Dancer is the Self

Beauty When the Other Dancer is the Self Context of the Essay This essay focuses on an essay that was written by Alice Walker. The essay focuses on the early part of her life as a child, a teenager and a young adult. During this time, she comes across a lot of challenges that affect her self-esteem, behaviour and relationship with herself and other members of the society.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As a result, her life changes drastically with the changes in her self-consciousness and the manner in which she deals with these encounters. The main aim of this essay therefore is to critically analyze the essay with the help of supporting evidences and apply the lessons learned on real life situation. Presentation With the help of her essay, Walker is able to write her own autobiography of her early years of life. She begins the essay by presenting her early years of life. The year is 1947 and she is two and a half years old. Her mother is busy preparing them for the county fair that her father only wants to take three of his eight children. This is because the car that he will use to take the children to the fair only has room for three. Therefore, the one who look best or impress their father will get the chance. It is therefore the work of Alices mother to prepare all the eight children for her husband to pick the three. As they line up, Alice says, â€Å"Take me DaddyI am the prettiest† (Walker 442). Being the last-born and the prettiest girl, Alice is chosen together with two other children. As she continues with her essay, Alice also states that she was a bright child in both academic and performing arts. In 1950, she is picked again to give the Easter speech. Unlike the other children who stammer or forget their lines, Alice is fluent and eloquent. She also dresses magnificently and looks beautiful. People therefore cannot help but comment that, â€Å"That girl is a little mess† (Walker 442). As she grows older, she gets to be a tomboy and dress on a cowboy outfit just like her brothers. The go to watch western films together and play cowboy games with his brothers. Here, they pretend as if they are cowboys who are hunting down Indian cattle rustlers. However, things took a different turn when Alice reached 8 years of age. First, her father buys his brothers BB guns. Since she is a girl, her father cannot buy a gun for her. She therefore had to stick with the bow and arrow. This reduces her ranks in their playing games from a cowboy to an Indian.Advertising Looking for essay on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Her brothers now shoot at her since she is an outlaw. From the tone of her voice, it is evident that she is not happy with her new character in the games (Walker 443). This is as a result of gender equality where females h ave always been viewed as a weaker sex in the society. Alices fate then becomes worse when one of his brothers shoot him with his BB gun. She is shot on the eye and develops a serious injury. Her brothers come up with a lie to cover up the story of the real incident. However, her parents soon find out the truth and by the time that she is taken to the doctor (almost a week later), it is too late to save her eye. She had developed a glob of white scar tissue on the spot where she was shot by her brothers BB gun. In addition, the eye cannot see at all. She becomes even more terrified when she hears the doctor saying, â€Å"If one is blind, the other will likely become blind too† (Walker 443). The white globe and being blind on one eye seems to affect the character and self-esteem of Alice. All through her life, Alice had used her beauty to gain her happiness. It is due to the fact that she was pretty that she was chosen by her father to go to the fair. It is also due to her bea uty that she was the best student in class and recited the Easter Sunday speech at ease. Now that she only has one eye and a white globe, she cannot stare at people. She separates herself from her other siblings and children. This is because, whenever she wants to interact with them, they normally comment on her eye. This really hurts her feelings. To make the matters worse, they have to move into a new county. The school that she goes to was once a prison and had an electric chair; this affects her thoughts and gives her nightmares. She is however forced to go back to her old church school where other children still make fun of her. One of them calls her, â€Å"the one eyed bitch† (Walker 443). At school, she begins to perform poorly. It is only one teacher who understands her and treats her with respect. During this time, her mother becomes very ill and she is afraid that she might die. In addition, her cousin comes to visit but since she has a low self-esteem, she hides. D uring all this time, Alice keeps on asking her family members if she had changed. They always tell her that she has not changed (Walker 443).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, when she is 14 years old, the white globe is removed from her eye. She is therefore able to stare at people again. She becomes a bright student in class and manages to get the love of his dreams. Towards the end of her essay, it is evident that she is a successful woman in life. She is even able to see the beauty of the desert before she completely goes blind. Her main fear is that her daughter, Rebecca will recent her for her disability but to her surprise, she stares at her on night and tell her, â€Å"Mommy, there is a world in your eye† (Walker 443). At this point, she realises that she has been resenting herself for all the wrong reasons. She is howev er glad that her daughter is not embarrassed by her physical disability. Analysis and significance of the Essay This essay presents how a small factor occurrence can change the life of an individual. There are many people who have been living normal lives but as a result of an injury, sickness or accidents, their lives have changed and their dreams have been shattered. This comes about as a result of a change in their lifestyles, character, self-esteem and relationship with other individuals. Alices life changed once she got an injury on her eye. Her beauty, which was her advantage in life, was shattered. When she used to pray at night, she did not pray for sight but for beauty (Walker 443). This therefore shows how much she valued her beauty. The same theory applies to individuals who value a specific part of their life and lose it. A good example is Magic Johnson of the LA Lakers. He was diagnosed with the HIV virus at the peak of his career. As a result, he had a difficult time a ccepting this fact. This made him retire from professional basketball. However, when he accepted his status and publicly announced it, he gained public support. He came back to the game and was chosen as an All Star player in 1996. It is therefore essential to believe in yourself no matter what. Work Cited Walker, Alice. In Search of Our Mothers Gardens: Womanist Prose. Michigan: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1983. Print

The economics of broadway Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The economics of broadway - Essay Example The purpose of this paper is to agree with this statement "the economics of broadway are harsh and unforgiving because it is virtually impossible to raise substantially the productivity of performance.yet a long run,especially a musical,can minimize the potential for financial problem". High Prices of tickets:The price of tickets in at broadway theatre in recent times is known to be on the high side.And due to the high cost of tickets,people now decide to go to the theatre fewer times compared to before.They are only prepared to pay for the high cost of tickets when there is a hit performance.And visiting the theatre has now become an event rather than a habit.This tantamounts to the drop in productivity of performance. Price Discrimination:One point supporting this notion is that economics of Broadway is harsh is the issue of price discrimination in the theatre.These involve the non- uniformity in prices of tickets.Different seats qualities do have different prices to them.Also discount prices which are targetted at customers with low willingness to pay,result in prices that differ from the uniform set price. Selling of tickets at half-prices on the day of performance at a discount booth is seen as a damaged good that further discriminates among self-selecting customers.

Sports Laws and Anti-Doping Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Sports Laws and Anti-Doping - Essay Example The paper gives detailed information about individuals who find difficult to adjust to the set rules hence apply dubious methods to achieve success. Some, however, have gone against the set policies in their attempts to curb certain impairments that may have been experienced during their career to lead them down career failures. A country may, however, possess a power to intervene into some decisions that these institutions make especially if they affect the welfare of decisions made in the sport or go against specific sport law provisions. Doping in sport is an entity that various countries have made attempts to eradicate and anti-doping organization have been formed where sports men/women are controlled to inhibit the heinous practice. Doping has been witnessed in various instances where an athlete uses various ability enhancing substances to achieve their success. The specific body that controls the sport normally passes judgment on the implication of doping. However, there may be provisions that may involve the government to interfere with certain decision in their attempts to protect their citizens. The independent bodies may be internationally formed, for example, FIFA, which oversee the football affairs across the globe. Inside FIFA, there are certain provisions that limit the actions of the country’s government to interfere with their affairs. Though independent there have been attempts to limit the restrictions of the independent tribunals, especially evident rulings on doping cases. Sports Laws and Anti-Doping Sporting activities have grown famous among individuals over the past few decades and has seen many individuals growing into becoming perfectionist in their specific talented area. Many venture into sport for fun and articulate it as being a leisure activity. However, recent statistics has shown that the sport industry is increasingly becoming commercialized with many individuals not only entering the event for fame but for the financial packages that the modern sports entail (Aketch, 2008). The athletes have applied their talent to gain the favor to apply the sporting activities as a source of livelihood and the majorities have grown up without accessing any form of education to substitute their trade. The financial entity of the sport industry has driven the majority of sport personnel to cheat and apply doping techniques to advance in their career. The rule in any sporting activity is to be the best among competitor and therefore through applying various skill advancing methods, many have gained favor to advance before their rivals. However, there have been massive anti-doping measures that have rooted out the course of this action singling individuals with drug addiction problems and still participate in the sport. These actions have led to a lack in interest from most fans with the majority losing favor towards their once known excelling competitors. This eventually leads to a lack in interest and favor towards the sport. There has since emerged various sport organizations to promote the eradication of doping and unfair play. Examples are FIFA and IOC that oversee the actions in football and Olympics respectively. These organizations share no relation or any form of direct influence from national law and have set their own independent rules that members must follow to gain merit in participating

Should regulations for home schools be changed Essay

Should regulations for home schools be changed - Essay Example Homeschooling should be a permissible option, but it should be strictly regulated, not based on academic curriculum but based on some basic skills acquired by a child for normal living. For example, occasional tests can ensure a child is exposed to alternative ideas in religion and culture. Conducting personal interviews with a child to examine its language, general knowledge and math skills are up to the mark will also help. Regulations need not target when, where and how a child should be educated as the whole point of home schooling is to teach outside the classroom. Biological facts can be learned anywhere from farms and kitchen to garden while language classes can extend to theatres and libraries. Some parents can choose to educate their children based on their interest instead of making them spend time in all regular subjects. So the curriculum and the way of teaching should be left to the parent’s choice. But, care should be taken to ensure every kid is progressing constantly in their selected field. Background of Homeschooling Before getting into the debate whether the regulations for home schooling should be changed let us see the origin of homeschooling the US. People have been training children in their homes for centuries. Modern schools started to appear widely only in the beginning of this century. However many people started to doubt the reliability of the education provided in the modern public and private schools by 1960's. Modern homeschooling movements especially religion based ones started to appear opposing the governments stand to send every child to school. Conservatives felt public and private schools have sold themselves to secularism and their children should not be forced to attend them. By early 1990 home schooling movements have won the right to educate their children in all the states. Though each country has different laws regarding home schooling, all of them permit both religion based as well as non-religious home schooling. Homeschooling is quite popular among conservative familie s in the Great Britain and a few selected groups in Germany. But only a few thousands are home schooled in Great Britain while nearly 200 children are homeschooled in Germany (Rhodes, 2012). The number is very high in the US only compared to any other country in the world. Though it might seem like only celebrity kids like Jaden Smith and Cheyenne Kimball are being homeschooled, the reality is much different. Students from all economic background are being homeschooled. Some are homeschooled for special needs because they are slow learners or have physical disabilities. Others are homeschooled because their parents have practical issues in commuting or ethical issues with the way the public and the private schools operate (Klicka, 2004). With security concerns in many public schools being an issue and student massacres like in Connecticut becoming very common many parents feel it safe to educate their children on their own. Differing State Laws Homeschooling parents do not have a st andard regulation all through the nation. Certain states like Pennsylvania and New York have appointed various agencies to oversee the homeschooling parents. The parents have to submit everything from the academic curriculum they are choosing to the personal qualification of the tutor to the state recognition. The students should take up private

Microbial Contamination on Toothbrush Storage

Microbial Contamination on Toothbrush Storage The study of microbial contamination on storing a toothbrush in a bathroom with a toilet Abstract Aims: To examine the microbial contamination of storing a toothbrush in the bathroom with a toilet among the Colony Forming Unit (CFU) of microbial groups. Methods and Results: The results are analyzed by the counting of CFU of agar plates Conclusion: The toothbrush storing in a bathroom with a toilet or without toilet is being contaminated and it is a bad place for storage Introduction Escherichia coli (E.coli) is recognized as a coliform bacterium which is gram negative, anaerobically developed and shaped like a rod. It is generally found in the intestine of warm-blooded animals such as humans. In addition, E.coli is able to discharge into the environment with fecal substance under airborne condition especially by the flushing of toilet and the bacteria can grow numerously in fresh fecal substances aerobically for short periods of time. The bacterial aerosols by the flushing can move as far as six to eight feet away from the toilet. A humid, warm surface permit more bacteria to grow and the bristles of the toothbrush would increase the surface area for microbial adhesion, hence, the fecal-oral transmission can be used as a major route via which pathogenic strain of bacteria to bring into oral diseases. Apparently, the occurrence of fecal coliforms in water is not straightforwardly harmful and does not essentially express the presence of feces (Doyle, M. P., and M. C. Erickson. 2006). Five types of plates were used with the microbial groups in this experiment. Chocolate blood agar, CBA, is an unselective and a medium with enriched development used for fastidious bacterial isolation.[1][2][3] It is a alternative of the blood agar plate which contains red blood cells lysed by moderate heating to 80  °C. Reasoners 2A agar, R2A, is used for the isolation of heterotrophic bacteria from treated drinkable water (Sandle, T, 2004). These bacteria is likely to grow slowly and would rapidly be restrained by speedy-growing species on a rich medium. Diagnostics Pseudomonas Isolation Agar, PYO, is used for the isolation and differentiation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa selectively by raising the pyocyanin production. Pyocyanin production is indicated as a bluish-green, water-soluble pigment that gives a greenish color into the media (Bodey, G.D., et al., 1989). Malt Extract Agar, ME, is used for the cultivation and isolation of yeasts and molds by suitable nutrient supply (7). The pH is modified to nearly 5.5 for upgrading the fungi growth and to lightly hinder bacterial growth which usually determined as environmental contaminants.(6) Lauryl Sulfate Broth, LTA, is used for the isolation of coliforms in water and foods. The coliform groups involves aerobic and facultative anaerobic, gram-negative and the bacilli without spores which is able to progress the fermentation of lactose and generate acid and gas at 35 °C. Additionally the LTA44 °C makes faecal coliforms to be enumerated and the Sodium Lauryl Sulfate demonstrates excelle nt inhibition of organisms except the coliforms. The technique of spreading plates is used for the isolation and enumeration of microorganisms in a mixed culture by even allocation. This method can measure the bacteria easier by using a sterilized spreader and applying a small quantity of bacteria suspension on the surface of plate. The plate is required to be dry before incubation so the bacteria can be absorbed into the agar rapidly. The plate counting approximate the amount of cells depend on the capability to produce colonies under particular states of nutrient medium, temperature and time. The counting of CFU believes that every colonies is aggregate and observed by a single viable cell.[1] Moreover, CFU/mL of the original suspension is figured out mathematically and then factored in the quantity plated and the dilution factor. This study aims to examine the microbiological contamination of toothbrush to prove whether a bathroom with a toilet is a good place to store a toothbrush or not. Material and methods Sample collections and suspensions preparation of samples Group 1, Stored normally at the sink in a bathroom which contained a toilet situated 0.5 2 m away from the sink. Group 2, not stored near a toilet. Brush either stored in bedroom or in bathroom devoid of toilet. The samples of plaque, toothbrush, sink and tap water were collected by respective sterile method. The plaque sample was put into a 2.5ml Ringers solution and sonicated for 10 minutes. Then the weight of plaque sample is determined by weighing the bijou bottle and the toothpick is removed by aseptic techniques. The toothbrush sample is put into the 10ml Ringers solution into a Universal bottle and the toothbrush head is cut and removed aseptically. The swab originated from 2 x 2 cm square of the sink sample is put into 2.5 Ringers solution of the bijou bottle and is vortexed for approximately 3 minutes. Then the swab is taken out by sterile techniques and the suspension is ensured to squeeze out of the swab. The sample of tap water is put into the 15ml of sterile tube. 10-fold dilutions and plates spreading Each of the samples were processed with orders of plaque, toothbrush, sink and tap water. Different dilutions of samples are prepared by the 10-fold dilutions expect the tap water samples. 0.5ml of undiluted original suspension (100) is removed and inoculated into 4.5 ml of another Ringers solution aseptically and mixed well to be a 10-1 dilution. All the samples are prepared down to 10-5dilution. Four plates of CBA, R2A, ME and two plates of PYO, LTA37 and LTA44 of each samples were collected and labelled. For the plaque sample, 2 PYO, 2 LTA37 and 2 LTA44 plates with 100, 2ME plates with 10-1, 2ME plates with 10-2, 2 CBA and 2 R2A plates with 10-4, 2 CBA and 2 R2A plates with 10-5 were inoculated. For the toothbrush sample, 2 PYO, 2 ME, 2 LTA37 and 2 LTA44 with 100, 2 ME plates with 10-1, 2 R2A with 10-2, 2 CBA and 2 R2A plates with 10-3, 2 CBA plates with 10-4 were inoculated. For the sink sample, 2 PYO, 2 LTA37 and 2 LTA44 plates with 100, 2 ME plates with 10-1, 2 ME and 2 R2A plates with 10-2, 2 CBA and 2 R2A plates with 10-3, 2 CBA plates with 10-4 were inoculated. For the tap water sample, all 18 plates were inoculated with 100 undilutedsuspension. 0.2ml of relative dilutions were spread across the surface of the agar plates with aseptic methods. All the plates were allowed to dry before inoculation. 2 LTA44 plates were put in the incubator with 44„ƒ, 2 PYO pla tes, 2 LTA37 and 4 CBA plates were put in the incubator with 37„ƒ, 4 R2A and 4 ME plates were put in the incubator with 25„ƒ (United States Pharmacopeia, 2015). Data collection The inoculated plates were collected and colonies were counted to determine the Colony Forming Units (CFU) by multiplying the average number of colonies by 5 to convert from 0.2ml to 1ml and is multiplied by the dilution factor. The best number of colonies (30-60 colonies) were counted for the plates which have two dilutions plated onto them. The CFU was calculated as the CFU ml-1 100 suspension and needed subsequent conversions except for the tap water sample. For the plaque, CFU ml-1 100 suspension was multiplied by 2.5 and divided by the weight of plaque to determine the CFU g-1 in 2.5ml bijou bottle. For the toothbrush, CFU ml-1 100 suspension was multiplied by 10 to determine the CFU head-1 in the 10ml Universal bottle. For the sink surface, CFU ml-1 100 suspension was multiplied by 2.5 and divided by 4 to determine the CFU cm-2 in the 2.5ml bijou bottle from a 4cm2 square. Results Mean CFUs per unit with SD : a measure that is used to quantify the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of data values.[1] A low standard deviation indicates that the data points tend to be close to the mean (also called the expected value) of the set, while a high standard deviation indicates that the data points are spread out over a wider range of values. Average with SD (Plaque CFUs per gram) Group 1 (with toilet) Group 2 (without toilet) CBA 4.16+ 12 x 108 4.71 + 16 x 108 R2A 1.2 + 3.41 x 108 1.96 + 3.55 x 108 PYO 8.34+ 23.5 x 102 7.41 + 38.5 x 107 LTA37 4.7 + 23.4 x 102 8.49 + 4.33 x 103 LTA44 0 2.55 + 13.2 x 102 ME(yeasts) 3.35 + 8.78 x 104 9.51 + 49.2 x 105 ME (fil fungi) 1.72 + 6.2 x 104 2.95 + 5.71 x 103 Average with SD (toothbrush CFUs per head) Group 1 (with toilet) Group 2 (without toilet) CBA 1.92 +3.52 x 106 1.51 +5.76 x 107 R2A 2.35 +5.71 x 106 1.12 +4.60 x 107 PYO 1.27 +4.07 x104 2.78 +14.4 x 108 LTA37 1.84 +5.94 x104 2.54 +12.9 x 106 LTA44 1.18 +5.88 x 104 4.85 +24 x 104 ME(yeasts) 2.10 +9.78 x 104 3 +13.6 x 105 ME (fil fungi) 2.59 +11.8 x 104 1.34 +2.26 x 102 Average with SD (sink per square cm) Group 1 (with toilet) Group 2 (without toilet) CBA 8.91 +22.7 x 104 6.33 +24.7 x105 R2A 2.56 +11.5 x 105 7.82 +36.7 x105 PYO 1.22 +2.98 x 102 4.65 +16 x103 LTA37 4.55 +12.4 x102 5.73 +16.9 x103 LTA44 4.24 +14.5 x10 1.54 +6.19 x102 ME(yeasts) 4.84 +1.57 x 102 3.13 +7.55 x103 ME (fil fungi) 1.40 +1.76 x 102 4.71 +18.5 x102 Average with SD (tap water CFU per mL) Group 1 (with toilet) Group 2 (without toilet) CBA 1.53 +2.14 x 10 1.5 +7.69 x104 R2A 9.04 +21.6 10 3.49 +14.4 x104 PYO 8.46 +30.7 10-1 1.85 +9.62 x10-1 LTA37 0 3.7 +19.2 x10-2 LTA44 1.15 +5.88 10-1 0 ME(yeasts) 7.12 +19.5 9.7 +22.1 ME (fil fungi) 5.85 +19.5 4.44 +7.85 p-value. Two-tailed independent samples t-test (Group 1 vs Group 2) 95% = P plaque toothbrush sink Tap water CBA 0.891 0.251 0.269 0.325 R2A 0.437 0.336 0.488 0.234 PYO 0.341 0.331 0.155 0.291 LTA37 0.334 0.324 0.118 0.331 LTA44 0.341 0.453 0.375 0.313 ME(yeasts) 0.356 0.300 0.086 0.654 ME (fil fungi) 0.241 0.283 0.370 0.731 From the table, the CFU in the plaque sample collected from storing the toothbrush with and without toilet are observed. For the CBA and R2A, the CFU in group 1(with toilet) is counted as 4.16+ 12 x 108 CFU g-1 and 1.2 + 3.41 x 108 respectively, and the CFU in group2 (without toilet) is marginally greater than group1 which resulted as 4.71 + 16 x 108 and 1.96 + 3.55 x 108 respectively. For the PYO, LTA37, LTA44 and ME (yeasts), The CFU of group 2 are slightly more than the group 1 except the fewer CFU (2.95 + 5.71 x 103) without toilet than in which with toilet (1.72 + 6.2 x 104) observed in ME (fil fungi). It is found that the fewest CFU is on LTA44 or even observed as 0 CFU per unit since 44„ƒis over the optimal temperature and the bacteria can be inactive. Besides, for the other microbial groups, toothbrush, sink and the tap water samples, they showed the similar results as the plaque sample that the average CFUs per unit of the without toilet sets were slightly more tha n the sets with toilet on the CBA, R2A, PYP, LTA37, LTA44 and ME (yeasts) and the CFUs per unit of the without toilet sets were slightly less than the toilets sets. However, the samples in the tap water evaluated some differences from the other groups was that the small quantity of average CFUs per ml within each samples were indicated since the presence of fecal coliforms in water might not be directly harmful and did not necessarily indicate the presence of feces. Overall, the CFU of the plaque sample collected without toilet is slightly greater than which with toilet but probably there is no obvious difference between two groups by the examination of p value. P value is used to compare the significance of the tests. Significant difference between two groups can be determined if the p value is smaller than 0.05 and the null hypothesis is not be supported. From the table of two-tailed independent sample t-test, it indicated that all p values among the different agar plates of the 4 microbial groups are greater than 0.05 which showed that the difference between 2 groups for any sample type (with toilets and without toilets) or medium types are not significant. Although the tables showed large variability within a given sample, this is common for environmental samples and hence the null hypothesis is supported. Discussion The toothbrush, the plaque and the sink samples collected with or without the toilet sets, except the tap-water, were observed to contain large quantity of coliforms and it proved the presence of pathogenic bacteria, E.coli. The toothbrushes contamination acts as a crucial role in the expansion of various diseases such as respiratory infection and oral diseases (M. B. Dayoub, D. Rusilko, and A. Gross, 1977). Toothbrushes are often stored in the toilets and disclosed to contamination as it is a microbial atmosphere with the occurrence of pathogenic bacteria which is spread by aerosols and the flushing of toilets (Taji SS, Rogers AH, 1998). Moreover, the presence of the E.coli is correlated with the uncleaned bristles or the storage of brushes with high humidity (the sink) and warm environment which are near to the bristles and this can effectively enhance the spread and growth of bacteria than those stored in aerated conditions by 70%. (R. T. Glass, 1992). However, the experimental results showed the colony forming units in the bathroom without toilets sets were greater than the sets with toilets which is apparently difference from the hypothesis. P-values of Two-tailed independent samples t-test can evaluate the situation. Although the large variability within a given sample was observed, this is common for environmental samples. Because of the large variability, there is no significant difference between the two groups for any sample type or medium type. The p values is greater than 0.05 which showed 95% level of confidence that the two parameters are not the same and there is no enough difference within the samples to conclude a difference so the null hypothesis is accepted. It is conclude that toothbrush would get contaminated regardless of storing near or far from the toilet. There are some limitations existed in this experiment. Firstly, there is manageable amount of data for the analysis which can affect the precision of the results. In this experiment, only 26 samples and 27 samples for each groups were examined which were not excessive enough to evaluate the hypothesis. More sample sizes are suggested and hence sufficient statistical power to the final results can be determined. Another error would be the dilution error since the pipetting for 10- fold dilutions could lead to a considerable departure from the expected identity and inaccurate results. It is suggested that the precise pipetting from 10-1 down to 10-5 and proper vortex with vibration of suspension within each dilutions is required. Additionally, more time allowed for the first lab practical and appropriate aseptic techniques could be suggested to ensure the accuracy of results. References M. B. Dayoub, D. Rusilko, and A. Gross, Microbial contamination of toothbrushes, Journal of Dental Research, vol. 56, no. 6, article 706, 1977. View at Google Scholar R. T. Glass, Toothbrush types and retention of microorganisms: how to choose a biologically sound toothbrush, Journal-Oklahoma Dental Association, vol. 82, no. 3, pp. 26-28, 1992. View at Google Scholar Taji SS, Rogers AH. The microbial contamination of toothbrushes. A pilot study. Aust Dent J. 1998 Apr;43(2):128-30 USP 61: Microbial Enumeration Tests (PDF). United States Pharmacopeia. Retrieved 24 March 2015. Sandle, T. (July 2004). An approach for the reporting of microbiological results from water systems. PDA J Pharm Sci Technol. 58 (4): 231-7. Doyle, M. P., and M. C. Erickson. 2006. Closing the door on the fecal coliform assay. Microbe 1:162-163. Sammons RL, Kaur D, Neal P. Bacterial survival and biofilm formation on conventional and antibacterial toothbrushes. Biofilms. 2004;1: 123-30. Bodey, G.D., et al. 1989. Infections caused by P. aeruginosa. Rev. Infect. Dis.; 5:279-313.

Free Candide Essays: Impossibility Of The Happy Life :: Candide essays

Candide: The Impossibility Of The Happy Life This paper's focus is Voltaire's view of human happiness. Specifically, it will argue that Voltaire, in Candide, says that human happiness is impossible. Voltaire believes this for three reasons. First, Voltaire presents mankind in the novel spending all its life worried about personal problems of the moment. When people in Candide have no problems, Voltaire indicates, they do not feel happy but become bored instead. Their emotional lives swing between worries and boredom with almost no periods of prolonged happiness. Secondly, Voltaire believes human happiness is impossible because the world as he presents it in Candide is full of selfish people whose actions spoil the well being of all their fellow human beings. Thirdly, Voltaire believes human happiness is impossible because governments are so violent and organized religion is so corrupt that they ruin the lives of millions through war and exploitation. These points may be amply demonstrated through an analysis of Candide itself and also through the views of important critics. To best appreciate this novel, however, some background concerning its origins and its relationship to the author's preoccupations should be mentioned. Francois Marie Arouet de Voltaire lived from 1694-1778. He was an author and a philosopher whose philosophy stressed rationality, democracy and scientific inquiry. These interests can all be seen in Candide, for example, which has a philosopher for a main character and which satirizes the philosophy of Leibnitz throughout the text. The novel Candide was written in response to the earthquake of 1759 which hit Lisbon and resulted in the instantaneous and indiscriminate deaths of thousands. Appalled by the horrible deaths of so many innocent people, Voltaire was at this time also incensed by Leibnitz who wrote that given the worlds God might have created, by choosing to endow mankind with free will, "the world we live in is the best of all possible worlds." To Voltaire, this response to the earthquake amounted to an abominable moral complacency and indifference by philosophers such as Leibnitz, who Voltaire felt seemed to accept all the other normal suffering and injustice i n the world. Hence in Candide, Voltaire relentlessly satirizes Leibnitz's formulation by shifting the stress to "this is the best of all possible worlds" and bringing up the line every time a character encounters a horrible calamity or atrocity. However, it should be added that Voltaire's hatred of injustices perpetrated by the aristocracy, the church and the state--all of which he satirizes in Candide--also grew out of his personal experiences.

Economic situation after Emancipation Essay

The Post Emancipation period resulted in most of the ex slaves leaving the estates. Many of them set themselves up as peasant (small) farmers. This resulted in a massive labour shortage which threatened to cause the sugar industry to collapse. The sugar industry was already in a poor state because of (1) shortage of labour and (2) sugar beet competition. To avoid total decline, planters tried to introduce immigration in the form of bringing in laborers from Europe, other Caribbean islands, Asia and other areas. They also tried to introduce technology in order to reduce the cost of sugar production. However, all of these efforts could not stop the changes from sugar monoculture (planting of one crop which was sugar cane) to agricultural diversification (planting of many crops). As a result of this, many crops were produced after emancipation e.g. banana, cocoa and arrowroot. Agricultural diversification also occurred because ex-slaves grew crops other than sugar cane. These peasant farmers grew not only food crops for eating but cash crops to sell. Peasant farming began by ex slaves but was boosted by the East Indians who came through immigration to work on plantations. Therefore the emancipation of slaves and their exodus or mass departure from the plantations led to (1) the development of peasant farming and (2) Immigration. Labour Problems in the Post Emancipation period Before emancipation, all territories in the British West Indies could be classified as the same because they were all plantation economies based on slave labour. After emancipation island separatedness developed as each island began to take different turns to develop. In other words islands developed at different rates. Larger islands had greater labour problems because they had more land and larger numbers of ex slaves but few of them were willing to work on plantations after emancipation. Let’s compare Trinidad and Jamaica after emancipation. Trinidad was  considered a medium sized territory with a large population of freed persons or ex slaves. Jamaica was considered a large island with an even larger population of freed persons. The difference is that Trinidad had a similar labour problem and saw immigration as the solution to this labour shortage. Jamaica had a lot more problem and therefore an even larger labour problem but the government at the time did not want to introduce immigration to solve this problem. Attitudes to estate/ plantation labour after emancipation Attitudes of the ex- slaves (1) Ex-slaves wanted to turn their backs on the plantation which they associated with slavery and cruelty. They had a desire for personal liberty and land ownership. Of the slaves who considered meaning on plantations to work, many were turned off by low wages on plantations. Those who chose to both live and work on plantations were forced to pay high rents on estate houses. (2) Ex slaves longed to acqire an education because it would free them from bondage to the soil. Parents believed that it would have been too late for them to progress through education but not for their children. (3) In general plantation life affected the slaves so much that slaves tried toown land of their own as a means of securing their own property. They felt hopeful that they could succeed if they had their own land because they were familiar with agriculture from working as slaves on the plantations and also there was land available for sale in some territories (e.g. estates which were deserted by owners and state land which was unused) Attitudes of the planters or plantation owners After emancipation, the main concern of the white planters was to ensure that they had labour for their plantations. However, some planters had abandoned their estates because they watched the exodus of ex slaves and were afraid of having to pay high wages to labourers. Most planters tried to convince ex-slaves to stay and work for pay by saying that they would provide good  working and living conditions on their plantations as well as high wages but this was far from the truth. Many planters also tried to prevent freed men from getting land so that they would not be able to make a living planting crops and so they would therefore be forced to return to plantations to work. They did this by making the land too expensive or the ex slaves to buy. What did ex slaves do to survive after emancipation? Some remained on plantations to work for wages Some became peasant farmers farmers and grew crops to sell Female ex slaves would get jobs sewing, making handicraft, peddling items and shop keeping Male ex slaves would get involved in small trading, peddling and shop keeping Ex slaves would get together and combine money to buy large plots of land that were too expensive to buy individually and split the land among them.

Become a Freelance Writer While Still in College

Become a Freelance Writer While Still in College Washing dishes. Flipping burgers. Stocking shelves. Ringing up purchases. These are some common part-time jobs for college students. Restaurants and stores offer evening and weekend hours that dont interfere with class schedules. Have you considered working from your dorm room instead? If youre good at English, you can become a freelance writer while youre still in college. All you need is your computer and an Internet connection. Here are some tips to get you started. Brush Up on Your Writing Skills Even if youre pretty good at spelling, grammar, and punctuation, theres a lot more to high-quality professional writing. Online content might need to be coded with header tags or peppered with search-engine-friendly keywords. Effective ad copywriting requires a good knowledge of marketing and psychology. If you havent had an opportunity to take writing-specific courses through your English department, you can find plenty of short online classes at a relatively low cost. Clients like to see good credentials when they review your profile, so adding a writing class or two can get you noticed. Lynda.com offers short classes in e-learning, social media marketing, and many other modern fields that require professional writers. Udemy offers a number of writing classes, from copywriting to comedy writing. About.com and similar sources offer many free articles, so you can refresh yourself on grammar or learn new skills. Obtain the Style Guides that Pertain to Your Niche Today, many clients expect freelance writers to serve as their own editors and proofreaders. Here are the resources youll need when checking your work. The Chicago Manual of Style is appropriate for literature, such as fiction and creative nonfiction. The AP Stylebook is best for journalism and most online writing, such as fixed web content and blog posts. Ask your client if he or she has a house style guide or sheet. This list of specific preferences and special terms supersedes the style manual youre using. Check Out Online Freelancing Agency Sites You may be able to find some local jobs through a Craigslist ad or word of mouth. However, so many clients hire freelance essay writers through online agencies that youd be doing yourself a disservice not to sign up with one. Take a few minutes to set up your professional profile, and then wait for job alerts to come to you. If you have time, you can spend time actively searching for opportunities. Fiverr is a great place to get started. Freelancers offer a number of services that cost $5. You could advertise, say, a product description, tagline, or short About Us webpage for that set amount. Guru is the virtual workplace of choice for more than 1.5 million members. Competition is tough, as its a global marketplace. People from other countries may bid on the same jobs at a far lower rate. Be confident and persistent, and eventually, youll win that first assignment. Bookmark These Commonly Used Tools for Writers Copyscape is software that checks your writing for plagiarism. Even if you havent knowingly copied anything, youll always want to run your work through this software before submitting it. Many clients reject content that is flagged by Copyscape- even for one sentence. The Premium version of the software is very inexpensive and worth every penny. Readability Score lets you check your content to determine the level of reading ease (or difficulty). Dont assume that everybody is as good a reader as you are. Most newspapers and online content should be easy enough for the average eighth-grader to comprehend. Freelance writing may sound like an easy or glamorous job, but its just like any other job. Sure, you might be able to work at 1 a.m. in your pajamas, but youll also have to deal with undercutting, rejection, and some difficult clients. If youre passionate about writing, though, get started in a freelance career. It will be a great experience to add to your resume when you graduate.

Portentous and Pretentious - Commonly Confused Words

Portentous and Pretentious - Commonly Confused Words The adjective portentous means ominous or momentous, referring to a sign or prediction that something important is about to happen. Portentous can also mean pompous or self-important. (This second meaning overlaps with that of pretentious.) The adjective pretentious means full of pretense, making excessive or unwarranted claims to be important or sophisticated. Notice how these two words are spelled: portentous ends in -tous; pretentious ends in -tious. Examples No one spoke. But they all knew this was a portentous moment, and that this day Mister Skye would say a thing that would affect their lives. (Richard S. Wheeler, North Star. Forge, 2009)The notepaper had been given her as a wedding present, embossed with a monogram of her new initials, by a Southampton aunt, boxes of it; Marcia had laughed, thinking it hideously pretentious, the essence of everything she had married Harold to escape, and used it so seldom, once the thank-you notes were written, that after twelve years it was not used up. (John Updike, Couples. Knopf, 1968)Elizabeth Bishops poetry is rarely portentous or grand, and never pretentious or grandiose. (Michael Ryan, A Difficult Grace: On Poets, Poetry, and Writing. University of Georgia Press, 2000)I must have parchment! Oh, but I like writing on parchment! Each time you turn a page it rumbles like thunder. My words are so portentousthats portentous, dear, not pretentious- it seems appropriate. Like Jove. (David Blixt, The Master of Verona. St. Martins Press, 2007) Usage Notes [P]ortentous can be either ominous (a portentous event) or pompous (his portentous attitude); pretentious means pretending to be important. Since a pretentious person can also be pompous/portentous, theres a risk of confusion with these words. Prefer ominous or pompous to portentous.  (Wynford Hicks, Quite Literally: Problem Words and How to Use Them. Routledge, 2004)The main distinction is that a portentous man just might be as important as he seems, but a pretentious one cannot be as important as he claims. (Kenneth G. Wilson, The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Columbia University Press, 1993)Portentous . . . used to mean portending evil; ominous and has come to mean pompous; self-important, possibly because it sounds like pretentious mixed with portly- but there is poetic justice in that, since pretentiousness can be ominous. (William Safire, On Language. The New York Times Magazine, June 7, 1981)

Social Class and Attainment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Class and Attainment - Essay Example According to the report findings  social class divisions play a great role in the educational attainment for children. Usually the higher the rank in the social ladder the high the chances that the students is likely to perform well. Good performance in school usually result to getting jobs and improving the general social class one is in. as such, working class and lower-class students tend to struggle in school due to family issues such as poverty, deprivation of medical assistance and incompetent language and elaboration techniques.This paper stresses that  one’s level can determine their performance and attainment of better academic results, due to the inequalities in society that expose the students to different scenarios. Students from high end classes can converse easily and relay technical information more reasonably and elaborately in examinations as compared to lower-class students who have been raised with the minimal exposure to good literature material.  Var ious theories are attributed to the inequalities of class and the impact on education and better social attainment. According to Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital, different social cultures in the form of classes offer individuals different circumstances that determine whether or not the person shall attain their needs and educational goals.  To be on the same level, students from lower class backgrounds ought to work harder, as they are facing greater challenges compared to the other advantaged students.

Discussion question Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 7

Discussion question - Assignment Example The model looks to the safety of patients, and their care as far as health coordination system is concerned. It also oversees the provision of self-management skills to the patients (Stellefson, Dipnarine & Stopka, 2013). The chronic care model is being used to care for diabetes patients in the United States in the basic care setting. The model is supposed to measure the indicators of the disease for example self-efficacy for disease management and clinical decision-making. It is designed address the needs of people suffering from chronic diseases. Stellefson, Dipnarine and Stopka (2013) insist that there is a need for increased skills in the management of chronic diseases. And more so in the primary care setting where there is much need for a better leadership and quality caregiving and also improved practice. Advanced Practice Nurses are well suited in this area because they have skills and can address the nature of chronic diseases that require complex

Symbol of American Culture - Uncle Sam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Symbol of American Culture - Uncle Sam - Essay Example History dates the American war with England in the north to 1812. Samuel Wilson was given the tender to inspect and supply American soldiers during the war with meat. He was a renowned meat and pork packer, inspector and distributor in New York. The United States government transported the meat bearing â€Å"U.S† on the barrels since the soldiers knew that the meat was from the government but inspected by Samuel, they started to refer to the meat as Uncle Sam’s. A year later this name was adopted by the populations as the unofficial name for the United States federal government (Swosugrad09 and Miller, pg.4-6). Several other government properties that passed through Samuel for inspection were marked â€Å"U.S†, making the people in the country assume that Uncle Sam was the government. There was a need to give Uncle Sam a figure to aid in his symbolism top the American people. Designers started to create their own images of Uncle Sam for drawings, banners and news papers. Moreover, recruitment process for the American army for the First World War, created an avenue where Uncle Sam was personified. The drawing showed a man with a stern face, clad in a blue coat, white shirt and a hat with stars on it. This was a representation of the American flag which had blue, white and red with 49 stars in it. The man was drawn with a pointed finger with large captioned words beneath it, making it ‘talk’ to people. ... In the move by congress to improve the security of the country and its people, the congress sought to use cameras and computers in the resident’s houses to monitor any security threats. Newspapers columnists who were opposed to the move wrote articles and referred to the government as Uncle Sam keeping an eye on his people. This concludes all that Uncle Sam does is a symbol not to represent the people, but the government itself. Variations in government actions have led to deviation in the representation of Uncle Sam to the people. When a positive gesture is done or achieved by the government, Uncle Sam is dressed in United States symbolic colors representing his good will for citizens. When the government makes policies that the citizens feel go against their wishes, he is represented in drawings clad in plain clothes indicating it is against wishes of the American citizens. Uncle Sam also has had greater acceptance with his symbolization of patriotism. He was made famous in two periods where the American citizens were in need of a father figure. His influence during the war in 1812 and later his presence that motivated the Americans in the First World War proved his call for patriotism. Moreover, with the current changes that have undergone in the United States, Uncle Sam figure has not lacked some criticism. First, with the increase in the minority presence in the United States population, the figure is seen not to adequately represent them. Uncle Sam evolved when American was mainly made up of the white population. Additionally, with the current changes in demography and increase in minority groups in the country’s vast population, Uncle Sam may lose some of his prominence among the people. The minority population may demand the

From Production Line to Segmentation of Production Essay Example for Free

From Production Line to Segmentation of Production Essay 1. Introduction Competition has changed: Technical Innovations, globalisation of markets, cultural shifts within societies and new and efficient competitors put strain on the organisation of production within a firm. Many markets display a state of saturation that leads to a change in growth: Not quantitative growth is what firms are aiming at, but qualitative growth (Wildemann 1998:1). The improvement of the production is one way to establish qualitative growth its means are twofold (at least): First, it is possible to change the production in order to produce a better output with less cost. Second, it is possible to synchronise production and market as to enable the production to react quickly to changes in the market, i.e. the consumer behaviour. One way to reach both aims is to reorganise the production, i.e. to segment the production: With the establishment of product oriented production units a cheaper production is possible (Maier 1993: 25). Economics owe the focus on the segmentation of production with all its advantages to Wickham Skinner (1969, 1974 and 1986). With his book The Focused Factory he provided the ground for what is nowadays discussed under the headline: segmentation of production. Skinner did not develop a new insight in efficient ways to produce; he transferred to the American and European auditorium what has been practiced in Japan since the beginning of Industrialisation. This paper deals with change; with the change in the way cars are manufactured. A car manufacturers production unit until now divided into different production lines has to be transformed into segmented production. This is a big change; a change, which has to be dealt with in other words, it, is a case for change management. The scope of this paper is therefore not limited to displaying the advantages of a segmented production (which nevertheless will be done in chapter 2), but extends further to the management of the respective change. Chapter 4 is devoted to the change management: How should the new organisation of production be implemented? What problems may occur? What solutions to the problems can be provided? These and more questions will be put and answered in chapter 4. In chapter 3 a brief overview of change management within the (alleged) broader framework of project management will be given. Chapter 5 sums the results obtained in the previous chapters and evaluates the va lue of change management. 2. Efficient production with segmented production units Segmentation of production is according to Wildemann a holistic approach, aiming at a better market- and product orientation of the firm (Wildemann 1998: 31). Therefore, it is necessary to link production units to a specific product. By that, the relation to Skinner is establish, who discovered the focussed factory for the Western Economies: a companys competitive strategy at a given time places particular demands on its manufacturing function, and, conversely () the companys manufacturing posture and operations should be specifically designed to fulfil the task demanded by strategic plans (Skinner 1969: 138-139). A focussed factory means accordingly flexible reactions to market changes and the cost efficient realisation of strategic plans, e.g. the development and introduction of new products. The focused factory is not a big factory. It is rather a small one where the different production units are linked to a specific segment of the market a specific product: A factory that focuses on a narrow product mix for a particular market niche will outperform the conventional plant, which attempts a broader mission (). Its [the factorys with the narrow product mix] equipment, supporting systems, and procedures can concentrate on a limited task for one set of customers. () Such a plant can become a competitive weapon because its entire apparatus is focused to accomplish the particular manufacturing task demanded by the companys overall strategy and marketing objective (Skinner 1974: 114). Given the fact (provided it is a fact) that smaller firms or factories are compared to bigger firms or factories and with respect to costs and production better off, it is not surprising that there is a considerable trend to segmenting the production. Furthermore, transaction costs within a small or segmented firm are smaller compared to the bigger ones. A transaction is the delivery of a property or good via an interface that can be technically divided. One activity ends another starts (Williamson 1990:1). While crossing the interface a sample of costs is produced costs that can be at least in parts avoided: The aim of a segmentation of production is to disentangle production units and capacity. Large units should be divided in small units. Teamwork should be establish small teams giving the individual employee more responsibility. This should result in more autonomy of the individual employee, and boost his or her motivation, thereby increasing the quality of the work done by the employees. In Germany, it was Dietmar Tress who conceptualised for the first time smaller units as an organisational structure. Smaller Units, so his thesis, reduce the time that is needed to produce a product. The lesser time it takes to produce a good or a product, the better the competitiveness of a firm, the better its ability to deliver goods and the smaller the amount of capital needed to produce the respective good or product. While evolving his thesis Tress realised the reasons that stood against an effective production. The reasons mentioned by Tress are: division of labour, old patterns of reasoning and bureaucracy (Feser 1999: 19). Having carved out the problems, Tress submit his solution: He proposes that all necessary functions (for the production) and the aimed link between product and demand should be concentrated in a single hand and that the production flow should be kept within reasonable limits (Tress 1986: 184). According to Tress it is decisive that the production flow is c lear, understandable, and transparent. A single employee should be able to single out his or her contribution to the product (Tress 1986: 185). Segmenting the production further provides capacity utilisation and to reach that goal teamwork is needed: Small groups of employees should work in a self-responsible way within decentralized teams. Furthermore, those teams should take over different tasks. At this point the interrelation between the discussion on segmenting production and the discussion on human resource management becomes obvious. According to Baron and Kreps (1999: 3) Human Resources are the key to organizational success or failure. Human resource management including the concepts of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation may be seen as the countermovement to the alienation of the worker form the product of his work, as observed by Karl Marx in the 19th Century: Workers who contribute more broadly to a final product () are more apt to identify with a product and to reflect pride in its quality (Baron Kreps 1999: 317). Identification with a product raises the working morale, which means that the work satisfaction goes up. Worker or employees, who are content or satisfied with their work, work better. The determinants enabling this comfort are established by segmenting the production. And that is, where the problem starts: How can a segmented production be implemented? How can a factory divided in production lines become a focused factory divided in small working units or teams? The question at hand is a question of change management or project management. In the next part, the project of change will be unfolded. 3. Projects for managing change Change is something that happens all the time and everywhere. But change within a firm or to put it more scientifically change within economics appears to be a frightening prospect. Change cannot be left to itself; it has to be planned, controlled and coordinated. Problems, rising in the pursuit of change, have to be predicted, dangers for the project have to be identified and eliminated. All this is done by change management or within the (alleged) broader scope of project management. To put it differently, change management is the trial to direct change into the right channels. Project management is the trial to direct everything new within a firm into the right channels. It appears that there is not much difference between project and change management, one can almost say, they are different words meaning the same. A project is considered to be something unique, something that will not be repeated (Schelle 1999: 11). Project management means the totality of executive functions, the techniques, and means necessary to carry out a project. Replacing project by change, change management can be addressed as the totality of executive functions, techniques, and means that are necessary to alter something old into something new. At first it is according to most authors of the utmost importance for a change or project management to establish a structure plan, in which the implementation of whatever should be changed, is scheduled according to a time table connected with goals that have to be reached at a certain point in time. The structure plan is according to Schelle (1999: 93) a simple and useful tool. The structure plan is the meta plan. Apart from the structure plan there is the running order listing sub goals and so on. Once a project is initiated the control of the project is of crucial importance. A constant control is necessary to identify deviations from the plan or goal as soon as possible and to steer against unwanted consequences (Nà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½chter 2003: 377). Project control in this sense means to identify problems, to solve the problems, to recalibrate the project after some deviations from the plan occurred and to rescue the goal in spite of serious problems. Problems may emerge from different sources: Externalities may cause problems: Green activists may occupy the land that is designated to host the new factory, due to a seldom species of warbler. The construction of the new building itself may cause problems: A building contractor may file for bankruptcy. A delay in constructing the new factory may lead to an explosion of the costs and so on. Apart form those externalities there are sources that nurture problems within the firm: Employees may fear for privileges, for their job or for loosing power. Resistance to the change may arise from different sources all linked to the fact, that men is unwilling to change what seems to be good and worked well until now. And to convince employees of the benefits that come along with the new way of producing one thing is needed: change management. 4. From production lines to segmented production: An example Company R wants to segment its production. Being a car manufacturer organized in different product lines the company wants to become a focussed factory by establishing two production units each producing a specific type of cars. While segment A is chosen to produce the mini from start to end, segment B should produce the sport car. At the start of the change, company R is organised as follows in part 1 of the company the car body is being build, in part 2 the car body is being varnished and in part 3 the different parts of the car are being assembled. In the future company R shall be structured as follows: in line A the car body of the mini is being build, varnished and furthermore, the mini is being assembled; in line B the car body of the sport car is being build, varnished and assembled; At the moment three interfaces exist within company R: Between the car body builder, the varnish, and the assembler. Between these three parts of the company a steady flow of material has to be ensured. Furthermore, all three parts of the company depend on different suppliers. In the past a bottleneck between car body builder and the varnish has become a rule resulting in a temporarily standstill. So the new structure of the firm should guarantee a full capacity utilisation, by reducing the logistic efforts necessary to provide each of the three parts of the company with its amount of supply to avoid a standstill of machines and employees. Moreover, the link between company R and its markets should become closer. At the moment the company produces a monthly number of cars irrespective of the demand. If the demand goes up, the employees have to work overtime to satisfy the demand. If the demand goes down, the employees do their daily stint and the cars that cannot be sold were stored causing storing-costs. And this is where the project change comes into being. 4.1. Planning the change There are a lot of variables that administer a certain influence on the project deciding whether it is going to be a success or a failure. According to Eckrich (2003) two of those variables can be dubbed as structural and cultural conditions imposed by the environment within the firm or company. Structural conditions relate to the hierarchy within the company, while cultural conditions describe the way the employees within a company treat each other. Eckrich distinguishes cultural conditions into behaviour, attitudes and values, a distinction that reminds at concepts indigenous to social psychology. While social psychologists quarrel with each other on the relation between attitudes and behaviour (some of them even asking if there is any relation between both, cf. Six 1975, Bierhoff 1993: 280-288), Eckrich holds the opinion, that the behaviour of people is influenced if not determined by their attitudes, and by knowing the attitudes one can deduce the behaviour. Consequently, he recommends a questionnaire at the beginning of the change management project to discover the attitudes of the employees concerning the change of their working environment. Company R is a rather small company, employing 803 employees. It is best described as a company with flat hierarchies, stratified in management, departmental managers and masters. While the aim of this paper is to show the problems associated with the project change (or at least those that may be associated with the project change), I assume that the employees of company R take a critical stance to the change of the production, some of them even form a sort of resistance. Especially among the masters resistance is widespread. They fear they might loose responsibilities and some of them think they might even loose their job. The core of this paper is therefore concerned with what is called by Uebel and Helmke (2003: 415) escalations caused by individuals (personenbedingte Eskalationen). Escalations caused by individuals have to be distinguished from quantitative escalations and from qualitative escalations at least according to Uebel and Helmke (2003: 416). Of particular interest for this paper are escalations caused by individuals. (One might wonder if there are escalations which can be though of as being not caused by humans.) 4.2. Controlling the change Control is a matter of plan. To evaluate the progress of the project, the project manager has to look at the structure plan. He has to compare whether what has been reached is identical with what should have been reached. According to Nà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½chter (2003: 395) this is crucial, since it is the only possibility to identify deviation from the plan. To serve the purpose of early warning system the structure plan must be enriched with data, with the amount of time worked on a particular (interim) goal of the plan, with the state of the art and so forth. With respect to company R these rather general advices come to life: Important for the success of the segmentation in the company is an additional qualification of the employees. Furthermore, their work after the segmentation will be varied, i.e. they will have more different tasks to fulfil. This is in accordance with the results of the human resource management saying that employees that are not tied up in their daily routines, but kept busy with a bunch of different tasks show a higher degree of motivation and in the end do a better job than employees tied up in their daily routine. Independently from the results of the human resource management the change in company R is more than some can bear. For some employees the additional qualifications they are expected to achieve are a heavy burden and for the masters it becomes clear that the new structure of the company can only be reached by taking away the responsibilities from the masters. And in the end, Angst (fear) arises, and An gst (fear) is the widespread cause for resistance. 4.3. The problems of change Angst (fear) has been identified as the main reason of those showing resistance to the project of change. Following Uebel and Helmke (2003: 424), Angst (fear) can be subdivided into fear for power and fear for subject. While those with fear for power oppose the project due to their expectation that they will loose power, which means in the first place influence within the company, those with fear for subject oppose the project due to their expectation that they will loose responsibilities. The distinction is not a sharp, but rather arbitrary one. It is not obvious that the loss of responsibilities is not accompanied by a loss of power. However, those with fear for subject are anxious that they might loose reputation, end up with a smaller budget and so on. It has to be mentioned that Angst is a rather peculiar word for what is meant by Uebel and Helmke. They describe the common place that change has its pros and its cons. While change brings some advantages, some advantages of the old times will be lost. In other words, change may become a trade-off or worse, change might mean redundancy. Therefore, it is obvious from the very beginning that change management has to deal with problems. Problems are not something that arises as a matter of bad circumstances. Problems are the natural companion of change. In company R there are problems. The change of the production modus has been scheduled for spring and that was a mistake. In spring the demand for sport cars is high and a high demand and a different work environment is too much. The employees faced with frequent delays and the necessity to work overtime is dissatisfied. Resistance rises to protest. It starts with unofficial meetings held be employees and ends up in strike. The production stands still and so does the project. Change, it seems, has stopped. Uebel and Helmke write a lot about Angst (fear) and the different shapes it may use, and the risks Angst holds for the success of the project. But, as is the fact in company R, what can one do, if the problems are that massive that the project can be doomed to failure? Uebel and Helmke provide no answer. Instead they pronounce the value of plans for the crisis. One has to formulate worst-case scenarios within those plans (Uebel Helmke 2003: 428). Worst-case scenarios may be back or forward oriented. Backward orientation means that the problems can be solved and the goal of the project can be reached. Forward orientation means the contrary. The project is a failure and the plan has to include the plan X the withdrawal with as less causalities as possible. This provides no solution for company R. Is the change from line production to segmented production a failure? Is there a possibility to carry on? Hansel and Lomnitz (2003: 131-134) mention that there are no possibilities to reduce resistance with respect to specific goals of projects: An employee who will lose his job will not act in favour of the proposed change. To expect that, is out-of-touch. Furthermore, there are employees for whom it is dubious whether they will win or loose in the course of the project. So: resistance is natural and the only way to deal with resistance is communication and information. Transparency is the golden rule. The employees should know what change would bring, why change is necessary (Hansel Lomnitz 2003: 134-135). Maybe information can lead to a good end for company R. Rumours are the cause for concern in company R. Rumours about the real aim of the project being a job killer. Other rumours concern plans to reduce salary suspecting the hidden intention behind the plan to segment production is to cut down salaries. Those rumours may be dealt with in an agency theoretical framework: The relationship of agency is one of the oldest and commonest codified modes of social interaction. We will say that an agency relationship has arisen between two (or more) parties when one, designated as the agent, acts for the other, designated the principal, in a particular domain of decision problems (Ross 1973: 134). Starting from here it has to be considered that both sides face some information shortcuts, with the employees having no distinct knowledge of the goals pursuit by the management and the management having no accurate assessment of the behaviour of the employees during the course of the project and thereafter: In the course of the action some problems may arise due to the fact that information is not fully spread. The problems are labelled within the Agency theory as averse selection, meaning that one cannot be sure, if what the principal or the agent claims to provide is in fact what he can provide, moral hazard, which means that an agent or an principal can defect after the contract is established and hidden intention, speaking for itself (Krapp 2000). This excursion trip into the fields of agency theory results in the knowledge that Hansel and Lomnitz are right: The solutions to the problems the agency theory analysis is usually a form of information included in a contract. (Leaving the monitoring of the agent by the principal and the bonding of both to given promises aside.) So information, i.e. the spread of information may be a possible escape from the deadlock for the project change of company R. First, as a signal of confidence the project manager has been dismissed. He has proven to be unable to manage conflict. Under his rule rumour mill flourished and the actual state of the (project) art is much behind the expected state. The new project managers first act was to hold a meeting with all employees and to tell every single employee what he has to expect. In the end he succeeds in cranking the project. 4.4. The change or the end of the project In the course of the project experiences and knowledge should be collected for further or future change management, so as to learn from the errors made. The end of the project is marked by stocktaking. What has been reached is confronted with what should have been reached. Company R is nowadays a car manufacturer with a segmented production and therefore able to adapt its production in short time to the demand of the market. The segmented production started some weeks later than it has been scheduled, which is owed to the problems reported above. But the policy adapted by the new project manager has proven to function. He has succeeded in creating a common spirit and calming down the moods. The fact that work will be much more varied after the change has increased the motivation of most employees, the success of the project has become the intrinsic motivation for those employees: According to this survey, a large percentage of employees seem motivated at work by something other than the compensation received. () 72% responded that theyd continue to work even if they were already financially comfortable for the rest of their lives. Half the survey respondents agreed with an item stating that what I do at work is more important to me than the money I earn' (Baron Kreps 1999: 101). There is a specific quality inherent to work, a quality that is different from the motive to make a living. Intrinsic motivation stands for the fact that some or many or most of the workers want to do a work that is interesting, sophisticated, and provides a certain amount of reputation. Some of the employees of company R realised that a segmented production goes along with new job opportunities, with more responsibilities, with a flexible work scheme and so forth. Those employees made the change to their own project, a project they wanted to support and did support. 5. About change and its management The aim of this paper is twofold: on the one hand the subject is change management. But change management is a general concept, which one can describe in general terms as did Uebel and Helmke (2003). The problem is, that general terms despite sounding good have nothing to say about the management of change. Therefore, an example have been chosen to elucidate what change management really is. Change of a car manufacturers production from production lines to a segmented production, has been chosen as an example. The segmentation of the production is expected to be a project of change management that can often be found in reality. This is due to the advantages a segmented production provides its users with: a more flexible reaction to the demands of the market and a less costly production. Having established the example used to exemplify the change management it was necessary to describe what is known as project management. Thereby, it could be shown that the topics of project management and change management are not different as they both deal with new things that should replace old things. So it has been decided to treat them as equal. Then company R has been introduced. Company R is a medium sized company with flat hierarchies and massive problems occurring during the course of the change from production line to segmented production. The problems or escalations as some dub them are related to individuals, individuals or employees who resist for different reasons the proposed change. To deal with resistance and to provide the ground for the new organisation of the production is the task of change management. And, it appeared, that the best way to manage change is by adapting an open communication policy. This is what Hansel and Lomnitz propose and what has been derived from a brief look at the agency theory: Both sides trying to establish a deal have an information deficit on their side. Both do not know, if their counterpart is opportunistic in the sense of Williamson (1990), i.e., that he is trying to cheat. This is what the rumour mills in company R produced: the segmented production is a fake used by the management to cut down salaries, sack employees and rationalize the company. In the end, the project manager had been sacked and the segmented production had been established. The key to the solution was information and intrinsic motivation. Information had been provided by the new project manager, telling the employees that no one will be sacked and that salaries go if anywhere than up. Furthermore, the hint that a new organisation of the production provides new opportunities for qualification and new responsibilities raised the intrinsic motivation of many employees. They made the change to their project and supported it. And at the end of the paper a rule for change management can be derived: For a successful management of change it is necessary to involve the employees and to improve intrinsic motivation. 6. Literature Baron, James N. Kreps, David M., 1999: Strategic Human Resources. Frameworks for General Managers. New York a.o.: John Wiley. Beer, M., Eisenstat, R.A. and Spector, B., 1990: The Critical Path to Corporate Renewal. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press Bierhoff, Hans-Werner, 1993: Sozialpsychologie ein Lehrbuch. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. Burghardt, Manfred, 2002: Projektmanagement. Leitfaden fà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½r die Planung und Steuerung von Entwicklungsprojekten. Erlangen: Publicis Corporate Publishing. 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Harvard Business Review 64, 55-59. Skinner, Wickham, 1974: The Focused Factory. Harvard Business Review 52, 113-121. Skinner, Wickham, 1969: Manufacturing Missing Link in Corporate Strategy. Harvard Business Review 47, 136-145. Six, Bernhard, 1975: Die Relation von Einstellung und Verhalten. Zeitschrift fà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½r Sozialpsychologie 6, 270-296. Tress, Dietmar W., 1986: Kleine Einheiten in der Produktion: Wer wachsen will, muss kleiner werden. Fà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½hrung und Organisation 55, 181-186. Uebel, Matthias F. Helmke, Stefan, 2003: Eskalationsmanagement in Projekten. S. 413-429 in: Bernecker, Michael Eckrich, Klaus (Hrsg.): Handbuch Projektmanagement. Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½nchen, Wien: R. Oldenbourg. Wildemann, Horst, 1998: Die modulare Fabrik. Kundennahe Produktion durch Fertigungssegmentierung. Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½nchen: TCW-Transfer-Centrum GmbH. Appendix 1 Theoretical Framework Phase Models of Organizational Change Any change process can be thought of as going through distinct phases or stages. The purpose of this section is to provide theoretical background information of phase models of change. Linear Models Linear models see the change process as linear, progressing from a present state, through a transition state to a future state. The implicit assumption is that the future state is more desirable than the present state. Lewin provided one of the early fundamental linear models of the change process. He observed that any living system is always in a state of change, but will tend toward a quasistationary equilibrium. (Lewin 1947: 15-16). The level of behaviour of the system at any moment is the result of two sets of forces: those striving to maintain the status quo and those pushing for change. When both sets of forces are equal, current levels of behaviour are maintained. In order to change the equilibrium, one can either increase those forces pushing for change or decrease those forces maintaining the current state. Lewin viewed the change process as consisting of three phases or stages (Lewin 1947: 34-35): 1. Unfreezing. This step involves the forces maintaining the systems behaviour at the current level. Unfreezing is accomplished by introducing information that shows discrepancies between behaviours desired by group members and those behaviours they currently exhibit. 2. Moving. This step shifts the system to a higher level of group performance. It involves developing new behaviours and attitudes through changes in structures and processes. 3. (Re-)Freezing. This step stabilizes the system at a new state of quasi-stationary equilibrium. It is accomplished through the use of supporting mechanisms that reinforce the new state, such as systems, structures and policies. The new equilibrium can thus be made relatively secure against change (Lewin 1947: 35). Circular Models While the linear models follow the European science, East Asian and Confucian traditions offer a very different theory of change. The model of change underlying Confucian philosophies was summarized by Marshak (1993). As shown in Figure 1, there is continual cyclical movement among the five elements that make up the universe. Movement is a natural process and occurs in a specific sequence. When it is out of balance or out of order, unfortunate consequences result. Thus in this model everything and everyone is interconnected and part of continuous cycles of change. Figure 1: Five agents cyclical change according to East Asian philosophy (source: Marshak 1993:399) Appendix 2 Theoretical Framework Overview of the Three Forces for Change In the literature of organizational change, there is a widespread disagreement whether change should be implemented top-down or bottom-up. Top-Down Direction Setting Top-down change is seen to have the advantage of a clear direction towards an end state, to provide the integrated perspective that only top management can provide and to promise rapid change. However, top-down change can often lead to resistance and lack of commitment from middle managers and employees who might feel that top management does not really understand the problem. With regard to the RM Division, it becomes clear that management follows a top-down approach. RM`s general managers take major decisions on new technology an workers are not included in the decision-making process. The result is a lack of commitment and machine operators use any means they could to beat the system. Bottom-Up Performance Improvement The other line of argument favours a bottom-up approach to change, as this seems to address many of the shortcomings of top-down change by actively involving employees in the change process. But also a pure bottom-up approach has its problems. It often lacks direction and a link to corporate strategy, it can lead to costly duplication of effort, it often leads to little transfer of learnings and it can be slow to get results (Beer et al. 1990: 68). The RM Division did not follow a bottom-up approach for implementing the change. It is worth mentioning at this point that the RM management missed, as a result of not actively involving the employees into the change process, to address the disadvantages of a top-down approach. In addition, the above-mentioned advantages of a bottom-up approach were not realized during the change process. Horizontal Process Redesign Recognizing the limits of the pure top-down or bottom-up approaches to change, some authors have therefore argued that the solution is to combine the two approaches (Beer et al.1990). A combination of the two approaches holds the promise of obtaining their respective benefits while minimizing their disadvantages. However, it is argued, that fundamental change requires not only top-down direction and bottom-up performance improvement, but also a third force for change: horizontal process redesign. Horizontal process redesign views organizations as made up of key processes that produce a result for the customer. It attempts to bring the benefits of process thinking to the whole organization and emphasizes the importance of redesigning a small number of core business processes that cross the traditional functional boundaries. Likewise, it can occur at three levels: across organizations, across functions and within functions (see Figure 2). Horizontal process redesign sees reengineering as a key activity at all levels of the organization. However, in order to avoid sub-optimisations, one should start at the top management by mapping out the high-level processes first. In this way, once the subprocesses are considered, their role within the higher level processes are clear. This was not being realized at the RM Division: Instead of defining and explaining the new processes to the workforce, only immediately prior to the introduction of the new technology management had explained to the workforce the basic principles behind automation, disregarding the need for understanding the new processes. Particularly a proper introduction of the new core processes across functions was neglected. These mainly included the fact that previously, operators were involved in setting and adjusting machinery and now were simply operating their machines. At the same time, the process control department was to take greater responsibilities, and to be expanded. Would management have explained the new processes properly, operators would have been clearer about their role in regard to the process control department. Instead they found themselves in a favourable position, performing wider functions than management expected of them. In addition, they could use non-optimum methods to achieve the best possible piecework rates for subsequent production and only reluctantly gave up any rights to use the controls. This all can be seen as a result of a missing explanation of the redesigned core processes to the workforce. The second major problem was that of re-establishing piecework rates on the new machinery, because operators were enjoying average earnings and resisted this move. At this point it would have been helpful to establish a detailed timeframe in which the phases of the change process are listed, in connection with the procedure of handling the piecework rates during and after each phase. The basic agreement, which was being made, did not serve this purpose.