Food Inc. Essay

1. Incorporation (Inc. ) means to form a legal association of individuals, created by law or under the authority of law, with a continuous existence independent of the existences of its members, and with powers and liabilities distinct from those of its members. Therefore, Food Inc. implies that food system of the modern day has become more of a combination of monopolized businesses, whom only care about their profits, rather than the farmers from the obsolete agricultural system. 2. Walking through a supermarket many food items are plastered with images of farms and pastures creating a facade to the true factory farming that’s occurring in today’s society. These images are creating a pastoral fantasy of the agrarian America of the 1930’s. 3. Using Monsanto’s soy beans for this timeline all seeds begin in a lab. Seeds are genetically altered (GMOs). They are then sold to farmers who have a contract with the Monsanto Company. Then they harvested in large amounts and shipped out to be processed, but some of the beans are used a feed for cattle and other livestock. At the factory they are packaged, and are shipped out to local supermarkets for national consumption. 4. The McDonald brothers revolutionized the fast food industry. They â€Å"brought the factory system to the kitchen. † Increasing profit, while decreasing costs, and with this came an increase in the unhealthiness of food by focusing on the three things humans’ desire most: sugar, fat, and salt. 5. Factory farming is the precise systematic farming of livestock in a factory setting an example being chickens. Today, chickens are often raised in huge metal buildings with no access to light or fresh air, confined together with thousands of birds in one building, and made to grow so quickly that often their bones cannot keep up and they can lose their ability to walk. 6. In Food Inc. the phrase â€Å"growing chickens† creates a negative connotation. It would seem that the process that’s usually referred to as raising chickens has become so systematic that there is no longer a personal connection between the farmer, and his chickens. They become property, which are only used for financial profit. 7. With all the diversity found in the supermarket, one would think there are hundreds of different companies that provide the different foods. Truthfully, about eighty percent of all products in the supermarket are produced, and distributed by four major companies. This creates an illusion of diversity which, unfortunately, most consumers are unaware of. 8. Monsanto Company, Tyson Foods, Smithfield Foods, and Perdue Farms were all asked to be interviewed for Food Inc. and all declined the opportunity. Declining the opportunity to explain their motives give many a reason for doubt. Showing they have secrets or motives that would not be explainable without legal confrontations. 9. Environmental contamination is a major result of the newly developed farming system. Manure mixed with run-off water can contaminate surrounding vegetable farms causing Salmonella and E. coli contamination in plants such as spinach and lettuce. In South America, a major beef producer, deforestation has become a huge problem which is created by companies trying to make space for factory farms. This deforestation causes the displacement of animals and ecosystems. Smoke produced by factories can lead to smog, and air pollution in concentrated amounts. 10. Not only does the modern food system have a negative effect on the environment it harms humans as well. With animal feed being treated with antibiotics any bacteria present has a chance to become immune. This bacteria can then be acquired by consumption of raw meat, and with it being immune to some antibiotics, it will cause an increase the difficulty of treatment, and may result in death. With the food system being based so highly on the consumption of fat, salt, and sugar, a major concern for humans is heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. Type two diabetes, acquired diabetes, used to only be contracted in adulthood, but now its arising as early as age seven. 11. There is a direct relationship between food and health. The major goal of the new industrial agricultural system is to grow everything faster, fatter, and bigger. We’ve grown right along with the companies who own these farms. Michael Pollan evaluates the problem by comparing it to the past: â€Å"Over the course of human history, we were struggling to make sure we had enough food and enough calories for a sizable percentage of the human race. Now the problem is too many calories. † 12. GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism. Companies such as Tyson may use GMOs to produce more efficient and more profitable livestock. GMOs should be clearly labeled when present in food. Although not all GMOs are harmful, a customer should be privileged to know what their food contains. Labeling the presence of a GMO may also prevent a lawsuit against the major corporations if anything was to happen. 13. The documentary Food Inc. , being very factual, used many different sources to acquire all the information needed. Sources such as first-hand accounts on what occur, hidden cameras, accredited websites, other documentaries, classical farmers, award winning authors familiar with the topic, and many well educated informants. 14. Food Inc. is sectioned into chapters. Each chapter pulls the veil away from the consumers eyes on somewhat different, but connected topics: fast food, food contents, food safety, right to healthy food, meat industry, chicken industry, major companies, lives lost, and what consumers can do to change the system. 15. Being a documentary the main purpose of Food Inc.is to educate people on the problems of food production, and to persuade consumers to make healthier food choices. It may also be trying to inspire change in the everyday persons eating habits. 16. Food Inc. is directed towards middle class citizens who shop at the supermarket without really knowing what they are eating. 17. The strategies used throughout Food Inc. covered a wide range of tactics. Rhetorical questions, hidden camera footage, creditable statistics, personal anecdotes, music, religion, and the most heart wrenching strategy used was on location filming of the factory farms. 18. Food Inc. had a very informative, and cautious tone. There were many facts, and just as many warnings. 19. An interesting revelation made in the duration of Food Inc. is how naive people can ben to their surroundings. Maria Gonzalez believed that â€Å"everything was healthy† which justified her family visiting Burger King for almost every meal. It would be understandable to know that she couldn’t afford anything healthier, but to not know that the food she was consuming was unhealthy, it just shows how manipulative large corporations can be.

Political leaders Essay

Must acknowledge the excessive and racially disproportionate incarceration of nonviolent drug offenders and grapple forthrightly with ways to eliminate it. The first step is to reevaluate the current strategies for fighting drugs. Policy makers in each state, as well as in the federal government, should reassess existing public policy approaches to drug use and sales to identify more equitable but still effective options. In particular, they should examine the costs and benefits of relying heavily on penal sanctions to addressdrug use and drug trafficking and should look closely at law enforcement strategies to identify ways to make them more racially equitable. We believe each state as well as the federal government should subject current and proposed drug policies to strict scrutiny and modify those that cause significant, unwarranted racial disparities. In addition, we believe the state and federal governments should: * Eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing laws that require prison sentences based on the quantity of the drug sold and the existence of a prior record. Offenders who differ in terms of conduct, danger to the community, culpability, and other ways relevant to the purposes of sentencing should not be treated identically. Judges should be able to exercise their informed judgment in crafting effective and proportionate sentences in each case. * Increase the availability and use of alternative sanctions for nonviolent drug offenders. Drug defendants convicted of nonviolent offenses should ordinarily not be given prison sentences, even if they are repeat offenders, unless they have caused or threatened specific, serious harm — for example, when drug sales are made to children — or if they have upper level roles in drug distribution organizations. * Increase the use of special drug courts in which addicted offenders are given the opportunity to complete court supervised substance abuse treatment instead of being sentenced to prison. * Increase the availability of substance abuse treatment and prevention outreach in the community as well as in jails and prisons. * Redirect law enforcement and prosecution resources to emphasize the arrest, prosecution, and incarceration of importers, manufacturers, and major distributors, e. g. , drug king pins, rather than low level offenders and street level retail dealers. * Eliminate different sentencing structures for powder cocaine and crack cocaine, drugs that are pharmacologically identical but marketed in a different form. Since more blacks are prosecuted for crack cocaine offenses and thus subjected to the higher penalties for crack offenses that exist in federal and some state laws, the crack-powder sentencing differential aggravates without adequate justification the racial disparities in imprisonment for drug offenses. * Eliminate racial profiling and require police to keep and make public statistics on the reason for all stops and searches and the race of the persons targeted. * Require police to keep and make public statistics on the race of arrested drug offenders and the location of the arrests. To facilitate more inter-state criminal justice analyses, the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U. S. Department of Justice should annually compile and publish state-by-state statistics on the racial impact of the criminal justice system as it applies to drug offenders, including statistics on arrests, convictions, sentences, admissions to prison, and prison populations. II. THE EXTENT OF U. S. INCARCERATION In the year 2001, the total number of people in U. S. prisons and jails will surpass two million. 12 The state and federal prison population has quadrupled since 1980 and the rate of incarceration relative to the nation’s population has risen from 139 per 100,000 residents to 468. 13 If these incarceration rates persist, an estimated one in twenty of America’s children today will serve time in a state or federal prison during his or her lifetime. 14 There is a considerable range in prison incarceration rates among U. S. states (Table 1). Minnesota has the lowest rate, 121 prisoners per 100,000 residents, and Louisiana the highest, with a rate of 763. Seven of the ten states with the highest incarceration rates are in the South. 15 Almost every state has a prison incarceration rate that greatly exceeds those of other western democracies, in which between 35 and 145 residents per 100,000 are behind bars on an average day. 16 The District of Columbia, an entirely urban jurisdiction, has a rate of 1,600. 1 See Human Rights Watch, Cruel and Usual: Disproportionate Sentences for New York Drug Offenders (New York: Human Rights Watch, 1997). Thirty two states have mandatory minimum sentencing laws for drug offenses. Bureau of Justice Assistance, â€Å"National Assessment of Structured Sentencing† U. S. Department of Justice (February 1996). Mandatory sentences are not responsible for all excessive drug sentences. In Oklahoma, for example, a jury in 1997 gave a sentence of 93 years to Will Forster, an employed father of three with no prior criminal record who grew marijuana plants in his basement. 2 Michael Tonry, Malign Neglect: Race, Crime, and Punishment in America (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995); David Cole, No Equal Justice (New York:The New Press, 1999); David Musto, The American Disease: Origins of Narcotic Control (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1973). 3 See, e. g. , Craig Reinarman and Harry G. Levine, â€Å"The Crack Attack, Politics and Media in the Crack Scare,† in Craig Reinarman and Harry G. Levine, Crack in America (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997) .4 Barry R. McCaffrey â€Å"Race and Drugs: Perception and Reality, New Rules for Crack Versus Powder Cocaine,† Washington Times, October 5, 1997 citing results of a survey published in 1995: Burston, Jones, and Robert-Saunders, â€Å"Drug Use and African Americans: Myth Versus Reality† in the Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education. Ninety-five percent of respondents pictured a black drug user while only 5 percent imagined other racial groups. 5 According to the United States Sentencing Commission, 88. 3 percent of federal crack cocaine defendants were black. United States Sentencing Commission, Special Report to the Congress: Cocaine and Federal Sentencing Policy, 1995, Washington, D. C. , 1995, p. 156. The sentencing laws of at least ten states also treat crack cocaine offenses more harshly than powder. 6 See Human Rights Watch and The Sentencing Project â€Å"Losing the Vote: The Impact of Felony Disenfranchisement Law in the United States,† (New York: Washington, D. C. , 1998) 7 The requirement of proof of intent has been a formidable barrier for victims of discrimination in the criminal justice system seeking judicial relief. See, e. g. , â€Å"Developments in the Law: Race and the Criminal Process,† 101 Harvard Law Review 1520 (1988). 8 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Par. I, Article 1,3. In the Centre for Human Rights, Human Rights: A Compilation of International Instruments, Vol. , ST/HR/1/REV. 5 (New York: United Nations, 1994), p. 66. Also available at http://www. un. org/Depts/Treaty/. 9 See CERD, General Recommendation XIV(42) on article 1, paragraph 1, of the Convention, U. N. GAOR, 48th Sess. , Supp. No. 18, at 176, U. N. Doc. A/48/18(1993). See also, Theodor Meron, â€Å"The Meaning and Reach of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,† 79 The American Journal of International Law 283, 287-88 (1985). 10 Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, General Recommendation on Par. I, Article 1 of CERD. 11 See Todd R. Clear, â€Å"The Unintended Consequences of Incarceration,† (paper presented to the NIJ Workshop on Corrections Research, February 14-15, 1996). 12 Allen J. Beck, â€Å"Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 1999,† Bureau of Justice Statistics, U. S. Department of Justice (April 2000). 13 Ibid. ; Kathleen Maguire and Ann L. Pastore, eds. , 1998 Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U. S. Department of Justice (1999), Table 6. 36. 14 Thomas P. Bonczar and Allen J. Beck, â€Å"Lifetime Likelihood of Going to State or Federal Prison,† Bureau of Justice Statistics, U. S. Department of Justice (March 1997). 15 In each of the twenty years since 1978 for which data is available, the South has had significantly higher incarceration rates than any other region. See BJS, 1998 Sourcebook, Table 6. 37 . 16 The number of prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants varies worldwide from about 20 in Indonesia to about 685 in Russia. In Western Europe, the rate ranges between 35 in Cyprus and 145 in Portugal. Andre Kuhn, â€Å"Incarceration Rates Across the World,† Overcrowded Times, April 1999, p. 1. International rates of incarceration include prisoners awaiting sentences as well as all sentenced prisoners, whereas state prisons in the U. S. only confine convicted prisoners with sentences of more than one year. Therefore, the actual difference between foreign rates of incarceration and U. S. prison incarceration rates is even greater than suggested. http://www. hrw. org/reports/2000/usa/Rcedrg00-03. htm#P222_42059.

Critically Discuss And Evaluate The Labour Government

Labour Government came to power in 1997, conveying a immense investing to the early old ages attention and instruction of kids. Announcing in the Childrens Plan, how it aims to do this state the best topographic point for kids to turn up. ( Winter, 2008 ) The National Childcare Strategy aimed to advance the wellbeing of kids, whilst back uping parents to accomplish a balance between work and household life by supplying high quality child care ( Potter, 2007 ) . Previously Governments had left childcare chiefly to household and private services, nevertheless the Labour Party are at the head of advancing the benefits of holding a high quality instruction. The National Curriculum topics of 1988 provide the anchor of the course of study and there was considerable mismatch between the new purposes and the specifications for the assorted topics. ( Ward, 2009 ) Since 2003 efforts in the UK to back up an aims-based course of study – that is to state, a course of study in which purpose s, one time selected, are to be realised by the most appropriate curricular agencies, instead than one in which purposes and course of study remain separate. Both Holmes and Nunn argued, in different ways, for a developmentalist history of acquisition, and this in bend left hint in both the Hadow and the Plowden Reports. ( Alexander, 2009 ) However, in the late sixtiess Robert Dearden produced a powerful review of the ‘child-centred ‘ place represented in these studies. Richard Peters emphasised the acquisition of cognition and apprehension for its ain interest and several outstanding theoreticians have followed him in this. More popular histories over the last 40 old ages of what instruction should be for hold tended to polarize this position and the position that kids should be allowed to develop of course, normally to the disadvantage of the latter. ( Alexander, 2009 ) Robert Dearden ‘s ain history, in footings of fiting scholars for a life of personal liberty within a moral model, has been developed farther by later authors. In recent decennaries the inclination of philosophical Hagiographas has been towards puting specific purposes like Dearden ‘s within larger scenes, so that their principle becomes more limpid. ( Alexander, 2009 ) There has therefore been much work on the publicity of personal wellbeing as a cardinal purpose, this being seen as a more inclusive construct than personal liberty. These philosophical geographic expeditions are now going progressively relevant to policy-making, given that well-being underpins the 2004 Children ‘s Act, the five Every Child Matters results and the 2007 Children ‘s Plan. The relationship between personal wellbeing and morality has besides been explored. The importance of instruction for continued development and planetary consciousness has become particularly outstanding in rece nt old ages. ( Parton, 2006 ) Many of these thoughts have impacted on authorities policies on purposes over the last 40 old ages, and have proved influential in course of study deliberations. Pressure for authoritiess to bring forth non merely lists of purposes but besides defendable principles for how they fit together continues, the progressively holistic histories of the theoreticians could good be of service. ( White, 2008 ) The involvement in the early old ages has besides been spurred by new research and scholarship in Fieldss such as neuroscience, developmental psychological science, and economic sciences. The release of the National Academy of Sciences study From Neurons to Neighborhoods ( Shonkoff and Phillips, 2000 ) brought new attending to research on early encephalon development and the importance of experiences in the early old ages for kid wellness and developmental results. At the same clip, economic expert James Heckman was stressing the importance of the early old ages for human capital formation, reasoning that investings made in the early old ages would put the foundation for larning in those old ages and in the hereafter ( Heckman and Lochner, 1999 ) . Heckman has besides joined with developmental psychologists in stressing that both cognitive and non-cognitive facets of development are eventful for ulterior life opportunities ( Heckman, 2003 ) . Further thrust for the turning involvement in early old ages policy is the handiness of strict grounds that high-quality intercessions can better kid development in the early old ages. Surveies of plans such as Nurse-Family Partnerships have found that high-quality early old ages plans can better kid wellness and development for deprived kids, in both cognitive and non-cognitive spheres ( Springate, 2008 ) . These consequences provide evidences for optimism that well-crafted policies could play a function in contracting spreads in school preparedness. At the same clip, nevertheless, there are clearly some bounds to what early old ages plans can carry through ( White, 2008 ) . Some part of the differences that emerge in the early old ages will be due to factors that are non readily altered by policy. A farther challenge is that non all early old ages plans are every bit effectual, high-quality plans are non cheap, and even the most promising theoretical account plans may non work ever y bit good when delivered on a large-scale. ( Springate, 2008 ) There are besides thorny issues to be grappled with sing the extent to which such plans are best delivered universally or targeted to disfavor groups. However, the historical bequest found in the re-emergence of the developmental attack in the Early Years Foundation Stage ( EYFS ) for kids aged 0-5, overlapping the primary stage of Early Learning Goals are specified for each of the six EYFS Areas of Learning and Development are in England the continuity of traditional topic, ( Kwon, 2002 ) but the topics had to be antiphonal to a new set of national purposes, interdisciplinary work encouraged, and scenes freer to invent their ain course of study within statutory restraints. The overall national purposes are treble: to enable all immature people to go successful scholars, confident persons, and responsible citizens. ( Pugh, 2005 ) The course of study is one that integrates attention, instruction and teaching method and this is apparent in the course of study papers which emphasises how kids should larn instead than what kids should larn. The EYFS comprises legal demands associating to larning, development and public assistance. It brings together the acquisition, development and public assistance demands and ends the differentiation between attention and acquisition and between the birth to three and three to five proviso. ( Kenny, 2006 ) Multi-agency partnership is indispensable to the bringing of the EYFS purposes. Percy-Smith ( 2006 ) provides a reappraisal of the grounds related to the development, bringing and effectivity of strategic partnerships. She argues that local strategic partnerships supervising and commissioning kids ‘s services have an of import portion to play in presenting the Government ‘s Every Child Matters ( ECM ) docket. Change for Children docket, the Children Act 2004, counsel on Lead Professionals, undertakings such as the execution of the Newborn Hearing Screening Programme, and the enlargement of Certain Start. ( Perry-Smith, 2006 ) The national rating of Early Support ( ES ) , the cardinal authorities programme designed to better multi-professional service proviso. ( Young, 2006 ) Equally good as research and rating of plans showing a strong instance for extremely qualified staff in early childhood scenes there is besides the inquiry of what type of staff will be needed in the hereafter. As we move towards more incorporate service bringing staffing becomes an issue ( Cameron, Mooney & A ; Moss, 2002 ) . In New Zealand considerable authorities outgo has been directed towards accomplishing a to the full qualified instructor work force by 2012 ( New Zealand Education Review Office, 2004 ) . A extremely trained and skilled work force is indispensable to supplying high quality child care. Presently the sector as a whole invest little in staff preparation and development, rewards are besides inveterate low. ( Broadhead, 2007 ) If the EYFS is to be delivered efficaciously preparation and support is indispensable non merely for new entrants to the work force but besides for bing staff. It is likely that authorities financess will necessitate to be invested to guaranti ng that all scenes are able to present the course of study. The presence of extremely qualified and experient staff has been systematically linked to high quality interactions between kids and grownups, and this is an of import factor in the societal, linguistic communication and cognitive development of kids in group scenes. Research indicates that specialised early childhood staff engage in well more developmentally appropriate interactions with kids of all ages ( Phillips, 1987 ) . The links between higher degrees of qualified staff and positive results for kids have been established ( Phillips, Mekos, Scarr, McCartney & A ; Abbott-Shim 2001 ) . hypertext transfer protocol: //www.cypnow.co.uk/Archive/929092/Early-Years-Foundation-Stage — -difference-year-made/

MW Petroleum Corporation (A) finance case Study

MW Petroleum Corporation (A) finance - Case Study Example Apache on the other hand is seeking to grow. This is a good opportunity for the company to do so. This transaction would be beneficial to Apache the portion of MW Petroleum that Apache is considering is located in the same general area where the company currently operates and so consolidation will further reduce costs. This should allow for increased economies of scale in the form of reduced direct operating costs and even more so overhead costs for Apache. It is cheaper for Apache to buy an existing business as it has been doing rather than carry out exploratory drilling. This acquisition will also allow the company to diversify geographically its portfolio of assets which is important when the riskiness of the operations is considered. This diversification will somewhat help to stabilize Apache’s earnings even though both gas and oil prices are highly volatile. The acquisition of Amoco will also enhance Apache’s standing among US independents and lead to even further acquisition opportunities. The company is considering further growth opportunities in the future and this represents a stepping stone that will allow Apache some amount of bargaining power and would therefore put the company in a better position to compete with other companies. It is reasonable to expect that the MV properties are more valuable to Apache than to Amoco because Apache will benefit from synergies and rationalization of expenses. Table 2 below shows the present value of the aggregate overheads that Apache could reduce substantially if the acquisition takes place. Amoco would be better off if it had cash in hand which the company could invest in more profitable ventures. Currently, the properties are not contributing substantially if any at all to the company’s overheads. Part 1 (b) The sources of value that most plausibly account for the difference between buyer and seller are: The exclusion of fields in Michigan and the Gulf of Mexico; Expected synergies; Other opportunities mentioned; and The beta value that was used. Exclusion of Fields in Michigan and the Gulf of Mexico Apache was only interested in fields containing approximately 78% of MW’s proved developed reserves and 75% of the Proved undeveloped reserves. These account f or approximately $120 million of the difference. No details were given of the percentage of the probable and possible reserves that would be included in the fields in Michigan and the Gulf of Mexico. However, these could be substantial. Assuming that these fields are in the same proportion as the proved undeveloped reserves then the total value would be approximately $906 million. This is 294 million less then the $1.2 billion that Amoco indicated that the properties were worth. See APV Calculations in the Appendix. Table 1 Reserves Total (MMBOE) Proportion included in Purchase Value included in APV Total Value Proved Developed Reserves 155.2 78.22% 121.4 247,750,571.44 316,728,901.87                   Proved Undeveloped Reserves 25.6 75% 19.2 151,257,604.86 201,676,806.48 Sub Total          399,008,176.30 518,405,708.35                   Probable Reserves    75%    145,575,867.21 194,101,156.28                   Possible Reserves    7 5%    145,125,191.13 193,500,254.84                   Total          689,709,234.64 906,007,119.47 Synergies The synergies can be quantified as some overheads would be much reduced as well as some direct operating costs. The table below shows the present value of the projected aggregate overhead expenses. Apache is expected to save a substantial portion of this approximately $201 million. Table 2 Year Aggregate Overheads PV Factor (13%) PV Cash Flow 1 36.6 0.885 32.39 2 38.7

Today's malware is much more sinister Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Today's malware is much more sinister - Essay Example This paper shall discuss malware and their current impact on private and public affairs, including the fact that the current malware is considered more sinister. A description of malware shall first be established followed by their current impact on society. A more critical analysis of the extent of their impact in relation to their original usage will also be presented. This article is being carried out in order to clarify the purpose and impact of malware, most especially the current forms of malware which has infiltrated the computer world. Malware is generally considered a nuisance to the digital and electronic community. This software comes in the form of codes, scripts, as well as other software (Skoudis and Zeltzer, 2004). It also includes various forms of hostile or intrusive software (Skoudis and Zeltzer, 2004). It also includes computer viruses, worms, spywares, adwares, Trojan horses, as well as other dangerous and damaging programs (Skoudis and Zeltzer, 2004). Legally, they are considered as computer contaminants. They are however not within the same category as defective programs which are programs often utilized for valid purposes but which contain bugs or problems which were not resolved before the release of the software (Aquilina, et.al., 2008). This is not to say however that some forms of malware may not take on the appearance of legitimate software because it may happen that some malware may seem legitimate, however in actuality, they may actually contain tracking software which may be used to gain mar keting data (Yin and Song, 2003). Malware has also led to the increase in the use of protective software, including anti-virus, anti-malware, and firewalls (Yin and Song, 2003). These programs have mostly been applied by individual as well as corporate consumers in order to prevent the illegal access of their system

INFORMATIVE REPORT ASSIGNMENT Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

INFORMATIVE REPORT - Assignment Example From the surveys administered to the customers, the weaknesses in services include cleanliness, where customers said that the on-site centers were not clean. The food served at the on-site centers was often poor, and the services offered by the service attendants were not up to standard. The limitation of the study was that the managers did not offer any explanation into why the services delivered were not up to standard, although they reported plans of holding a staff meeting to look into the issue. From the reports, there is also the need to inquire into other problem areas, through a meeting with the employees, to review performance areas. After realizing the complaints from the company’s customers, my office carried out a survey study to gather facts on the areas of inefficiencies and poor service. Towards realizing this, surveys reached 450 customers from the different movie production company operation centers. The survey saw an 89% return rate, thereby offering a representative picture of the issue. From the information collected, the problem areas identified covered cleanliness, the food supplied, and the services offered to the clients. In the area of cleanliness, 96% of the customers gave feedback that the on-site food service centers were not administered in a clean manner. The complaint areas include that silverware were commonly found with crusted food, food debris had dried on the tables, and the floors had litter. Also, it was reported that glasses had dirt spots, and that the customer service personnel often wore dirty aprons. Other concern areas under cleanliness were that service personnel did not wear plastic gloves, and that flies were buzzing around the service counter – which showed that the area was generally dirty. In the area of food supply, 85% of the customers offered the information that the quality of the food supplied was in many cases poor. Complaints include that fried

Children Training Techniques Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Children Training Techniques - Case Study Example The students themselves are also the primary stakeholders since they are the ones undergoing the exercise. 4. The possible health professionals that can be incorporated into this program are the dieticians. These people know the correct diet that can be consumed by the people so that they can lead a healthy lifestyle. They can advise the students on the type of food they can consume. Communication- in order to communicate effectively, the trainer should use simple language and he should also be a good listener to the children. He should also use non-verbal communication such as body language to communicate with the participants. The trainer should take note of the fact that some signs used for non verbal communication differ from place to place. The trainer should be careful with regards to use of hand signals and facial expressions. The trainer should make sure that every participant is wearing the correct type of attire required for a particular activity. He must also make sure that the training area is free from obstacles that can harm the participants. As a trainer, it is appropriate to model appropriate behaviour among the participants. This will make it easier for him to control them. This can also help to create mutual understanding among the people involved. A trainer should appeal to the interests of the children by asking them to give their ideas so as to implement new suggestions. The trainer should not do all the talking but should give a platform to the children who can also air their own views and suggestions. The children can be encouraged to accept value difference by telling them that people are different but they are also capable of doing something meaningful in their lives. This can be done in a different way. The trainer can encourage the children to think further than what they are told since this will not limit their ideas in doing something. If the children are given

Management coursework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 3

Management coursework - Essay Example s conference was that too little stress has been placed on deepening the sympathetic how certain contexts such as socio-cultural and organizational ones are linked to the growth of responsible management and management (American Association of Port Authorities, 2001). This research reports on a part of the findings of a better study conduct in 1991 and early 1992 to decide the condition of private venture and the obstacles to the winning growth of the private shipping sector in Poland. The intention of this section of the research is to recognize the exact human resource challenges facing Polish shipping private enterprises, together newly formed and older, and to propose a few management approaches for resolving these difficulties (Amerman, D., 2002). The information make use of in the study was composed by means of a written questionnaire survey and individual interviews through senior shipping company executives. Furthermore, questionnaires were managed to executives of 300 confidential firms in the Gdansk, Krakow, and Lodz area of Poland. Experts stand for big Polish urban centers, as Lodz is typical of a former center of shipping business, experiencing restructuring and distress from a tall rate of joblessness. The companies chosen had established incessant business action for a period of six months, had a smallest amount of five employees, and had skilled some sales enlargement. Interviews by senior executives of ten companies in every of the three area were then behavior. These companies were chosen since of their enlargement potentials in dissimilar areas of business action. The reason of the interviews was to collect extra thorough information essential for a complete assessment of company strengths and weaknesses, as well as the apparent obstacles to company enlargement and achievement (Brooks, 2005). The industrialist originally stands alone, but then it is his or her blame to generate an organization that fits with his or her sense of business

Education - One of the Most Powerful Social Institutions Assignment

Education - One of the Most Powerful Social Institutions - Assignment Example It equips an individual with skills and experience needed for the maintenance of the society through self-enhancement and upward social mobility. Conflict perspective suggests that education creates social barriers between individuals, which sustains social inequality. Instead of looking at things in a societal level, symbolic interaction perspective zeroes in on classroom and school dynamics, which influences the individual’s outlook in life. From a functionalist perspective, education is seen as the primary agent of shared values and norms. Education is not responsible for just teaching academic knowledge but it should also develop an individual’s identity that corresponds to what is accepted by the society. Functionalism studies social events and institutions by looking at its manifest and latent functions. With education, it’s manifest or obvious function is teaching academic knowledge, as well as, developing the social skills of the individual. As an agent of development and stability, it is responsible for the transmission of culture by instilling shared values and norms corresponding to that of the larger society. And lastly, equipping an individual with knowledge, values and social skills, it creates an opportunity for upward social mobility through employment. The educational institution is primarily responsible for developing individuals as contributing members of the society. Latent or hidden funct ions of the institution are to create a safe and practical place for parents to leave their children behind as they make a living and become contributing members of the society. Education also serves to control the entry of individuals in the labour force. Lastly, it creates and establishes social networks through friendships, partnerships and relationships between individuals essential as they grow and mature. Conflict perspective views education very differently from the functional perspective.     

Mildred Taylor Essay Example for Free

Mildred Taylor Essay Draft No. 3 TJ is an unlikable boy who has only himself to blame for the situation at the end of the novel. How far do you agree? T. J is an unlikable boy but I do not believe that he has only to himself to blame for the situation at the end of the novel. There are other sides to the story as well. TJ starts off in the novel as a happy, cheerful young boy who enjoys life, but you can already start to see the cheeky side of him. In chapter 1, TJ says: Look on the bright side, Jus think of the advantage youve got. Youll be learnin all stuff fore the rest of us like whats on them tests. This proves that TJ is a cheat. If his mother were a teacher, then he would definitely look at the tests and cheat. TJ and his brother came from one of the poorest families. For example, when he comes into school on the first day, he is wearing no shoes. Whereas the Logans have: New coats and books and shiny new packards. One of the reasons that TJ is such a troublemaker is that he had a socially deprived background and therefore I think he needs to receive the attention that his family never gave him. His families are poor sharecroppers on Granger land. Sharecroppers were black people who work on white land, and get a small percentage of the produce. They are weak and frail and cannot control TJ. A description of TJs father shows he is: A frail sickly man with a hacking cough. The fact that he had a deprived upbringing and that nobody is doing any thing about TJs getting out of hand is why he is not fully to blame for what happens at the end of the novel. Later on, TJ says to Stacey: Friends gotta trust each other, Stacey, cause aint nothing like a true friend. However, TJ betrays Stacey. Stacey is caught with TJs cheat notes and Miss Logan (his Mama) beats her son in front of the whole class. This makes TJ unlikable. We also feel sympathetic towards Stacey for being blamed for something that he did not do. Later on, TJ is mesmerised by a pearl-handed gun. His behavior becomes increasingly disturbing. TJ mocks Stacey about his magnificent new coat because he is jealous. TJ says: He looks like the fat preacher. But the truth is, T. J. is a confused, insecure youngster. He is a character who sets much of the storys violent action into motion; this makes him unlikable. He is a liar, a cheat, and a thief. He causes trouble for different members of the Logan family. Firstly, TJ humiliates Stacey, who in the end disowns his new coat. In chapter 6, Stacey says: The coat was too big for me and and TJ said it made me look like like a preacher. TJ wanted the coat very much so he could show off to his white friends. Then he initiates the dismissal of Mary Logan because he has failed the exam. In that time, if anyone fails the end of year exam, then they must redo the year, thus being with the same teacher. He tells Mr. Granger that Miss Logan erased the word nigra on the books. This causes Mr. Granger to sack Miss Logan because she does not abide to the white rules. In chapter 8, Mr. Granger says: You so smart I expect youd best just forget about teaching altogether then thataway youll have plenty of time to write your own book Later on, in chapter 12, Papa sets fire to the land and ruins many of his crops, thus making him poorer in an attempt to save TJ from being lynched. Even though he is working away from home to improve family income. In the 1930s in the South, the Depression came and the black people often had to seek work elsewhere (Papa, for example, manages to hold down insecure work on the railroad during the Depression. ) TJ has no scruples, no morals, and will do anything to avoid accepting responsibility. This makes him unlikable. He bullies his brother Claude and he will use any devious method to avoid failing at school. But when TJ is in trouble he asks Stacey for help because he is going to fail. Stacey replies angrily: TJ, dont you come talking to me bout no more cheating! When TJ fails, he is full of resentment and anger, so he engineers the dismissal of Miss Logan. He is successful, but only with the help of two other white boys, RW and Melvin. He does this because the Simms brothers are white, and they have more power over what happens to the blacks. This makes TJ unlikable and we feel sympathetic towards Mama (TJ used to hate the whites. ) Mama says: Well you told me Jeremy said they were laughing at TJ behind his back. Some folks just like to keep other folks around to laugh at them use them. TJ does not realise that his white supposed friends are backstabbing him. Stacey discovers that it is TJs fault that his mothers beloved career is ruined. TJs friendships with the white boys spell trouble because they constantly use him, and get him into trouble. This is why TJ does not only have himself to blame for the situation at the end of the novel. Mary Logan understands that TJ is insecure and has no understanding for self-respect so she does nothing to punish TJ. Mama and Papa talk about Stacey in chapter 9: Mary, I want him strong not a fool like TJ Hes got more brains and learning than that' Cassie overhears her parents talking about Stacey and TJ. TJ has gotten out of hand. They discuss his future and what will happen to TJ if things carry on. When Cassie asks her mother if TJ is dumb, she answers, TJs not dumb Cassie, he just wants attention, but hes going after it the wrong way. This shows again why he is not totally to blame. TJ mainly needs attention. Mama says: Theyd better `figure out some way of getting that boy back on the right track because hes headed for a whole lot of trouble. This quotation shows the reader that TJ will get worse if things do not change for TJ. TJ arrives with RW and Melvin (who are both a terrible influence on TJ) and he is dressed like his white friends to impress his ex-friends, the Logans. Cassie realises that the brothers are merely using TJ. She is amazed by TJs stupidity. But TJ befriending white people shows just how desperate TJ is for attention. He thinks he is getting the attention that his parents and the Logans stopped giving him, but in reality, the white Simms brothers are just using TJ. TJ says to the Logans: Everything I want they give me, cause they really like me. Im their best friend. TJ arrives later, badly hurt and crying with despair. He has been tricked into robbing the Barnett store but RW and Melvin covered their faces and wore gloves. They used TJ as their scapegoat and they could not care less what happens to him. We feel sympathetic towards TJ and this is why TJ is not totally to blame for the end. The Lynch mob then come for TJ, intending to visit the Logans next. The sense of fear and anxiety felt by the Logan children, the stories told around the hearth and the consequences for T. J dominate the novel. The Author, Mildred D. Taylor is always giving very negative portrayals of TJ, with occasional references to why he is like he is. This makes him unlikable. But we do feel sympathetic towards him. At the end of the novel Cassie cries for TJ and the land and gives them economic independence, which shows she has fully realised that blacks are the targets for racism, and her whole life will be like that, and that TJs life was wasted. Racism was spreading during the 1930s, especially in Mississippi, the Ku Klux Klan were very active there. Cassie already knows about the dreaded Night Men. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mildred Taylor section.

Is Morality Relative To Culture?

Is Morality Relative To Culture? Its has been charged that truth or justification of moral judgement is not relative to some group of persons, but absolute. After having defined both objectivism and cultural relativism views about morality well try to argue the relativity of moral by 3 different ways. First at all metaethical relativism tries to challenge the existence of objective fact, then thinks about what motivate people to act in order to see if motivations are relative or a priori and, last but not least emphasises the existence of moral disagreement s which cause an objection to objectivist theories. Cultural relativism is primarily based on empirical thesis that emphasises deep and widespread moral disagreement across different societies. This descriptive claim is not controversial but leads to metaethical thesis which can be contested. According to it, the truth-value of a claim is relative to the tradition, conviction or practice of a group (such as a society). There is no universal moral authority or normative force over (for ?) moral judgement but a relative one. Truth-values depend upon what people happen to be right or wrong within a particular ethical framework. Relativism has to face objectivism about the status of morality. The latter holds that moral judgement are truth or false in an absolute or universal sense. People are justified in accepting true moral judgement because they are based on objective facts. So moral judgement is an evidence to any reasonable and well informed person. The first issue raised between both theories is about the existence or not of objective fact. Harman disagree with the idea of objective morality which would rely on objective facts. Objective facts are indispensable in explaining what we observe, no putative moral facts are thus indispensable, therefore, there are not moral facts (Harman, 1997). If we tried to explain what we think or to judge an act as right or wrong its because we have moral thoughts. However moral thoughts are nothing else than socially inculcated view of the right and the wrong. In other words, we reflect about the worlds through our perception of it. Perception is not a neutral physical process but something determined by our upbringing (beliefs, concepts, expectation). Cultural relativists ensure that a persons culture strongly influenced her mode of perceptions. Culture shape human being. No man ever looks at the worlds with pristine eyes, he sees it edited by a definite set of custom and institution and ways of thinking (R.Benedict, 1934, pp. 2-3). Its not simply that our perception of thing is relat ive but facts themselves are relative to culture. Then polygamy is wrong may be justified in one culture but not another. Thus what is right or wrong depends on what moral standards of a culture warrant. Kantian ethic separates the agent from is social context, our perception of the world have nothing to do with cultural upbringing Indeed the world exists independently of how we know it. An agent cannot have any coherent experiences and knowledge without being aware of an objective world. We think the world in term of central concepts. Viewing the world objectively, I detached myself from my present concern, interests, goals Beliefs are not embedded in practice but framed in term of these concepts called categories, given a priori by our reason. Thoughts are regulated, not by culture but by the principle associated with these categories. The human being is a rationally free agent, independent of contingent and particular desire. Beliefs are determined by the speculative reason, and the same faculty frames what we have to do. Then, if you are not a rational agent, how could you know the right thing to do? Since morality seems to be viewed as a practical guide for action, conflicts between objectivism and cultural relativism leads us to explain what motivate people to act and in which way these motivations are relative to culture or not . Harman felt that we judge action right or wrong relative to a moral standard that we have agreed with others to accept. Moral judgement makes reference to an agreement. An agreement is reached when someone has reason to do something and this reason is shared by who Harman called the speaker and the audience. We need to look at how and why people act. If Y says that X ought to do something, that means that X has reason to do it, has motivation for doing so, and this reason is shared by Y (its what Harman called an inner judgement). Reasons have their source in desire, goals. To possess rationality is not enough, desires and goals are necessary to act. In other words, pure practical reason is not an explanation of why I intend to do something. Motivating reasons are not universals. People act to serve their ends and peoples ends differs from a person to another one. There is agreement if and only if a number of people have an intention on the assumption that others have the same intent ion (id). Then moral understanding is the result of a bargaining. People keep agreements because they provide us reasons to intend to do something: to do its own part of the agreement on the condition that others do their part. As we have seen above, culture shape human being in his way of thinking, that follows that desires, goals, needs that lead to agreement are influenced by culture. To conclude, moral agreements vary across different cultures. Thus Harman disagree with Kant for who what motivate people to act is never based on whats people desire or peoples ends. People act in order to realize the summum bonum, which is the object of our will. (summum bonum understood as the highest freedom and happiness) To promote it we need the accordance of the will with the moral law. Here also we need to look at how and why people act. People have different inclination that is to say, a feeling of various attractive ends. Among different type of inclinations one is overridden, its the a priori feeling, feeling of a respect for the moral law, based on pure reason. Inclinations must be incorporated into a maxim. We decide what to do because we have some beliefs, determine by the reason alone. Maxim provide us reason to action, I adopt an end according to these maxim and commit myself to some means for achieving that end (I will something then I do it). We can think that people would choose different maxims relative to their own culture, but actually maxims are chosen a priori through pure practical reason regardless empirical or contingents factors. Since I have deprived the will of every impulse that could arise for it from obeying some law nothing is left but conformity of action as such with universal law (kant, 1785.) Some actions are necessary and correspond to Categorical Imperatives. They are inescapable law, applicable to everyone and do not appeal to non-moral consideration. To conclude people act in accordance to CI (existing a priori in an objective world), whose 2 formulations are the universal law and the law of nature. These laws, being universal apply to everyone and are not relative. We can notice that even the word nature is often opposed to the word culture. The last issue here to face both theories concerns moral disagreement. They disagree on the possibility to rationally resolve moral disagreement. Cultural relativism often described itself as an interpretation of this disagreement. If they could be resolved, relativism would be undermined. Each society has its own conceptual schemes and they are incommensurable with one another. Cultures do not have enough in common in term of shared concepts or standard to rationally resolve their differences. Wittgenstein claims that there is an autonomy and a rationality to each culture. There is no way to understand rules except from inside the rule governed practice themselves. People are minded in a certain ways and its why they find justification to their true-value. This point is controverted by objectivism for which moral disagreement can be rationally resolved. Disagreements only reveal that people can be mistaken. People could be influenced by ideology, prejudice, interest etc. Then if people are well informed, moral difference are resolved. Following Kant some specific moral framework are rationally superior to others, such as Categorical Imperatives provide by pure practical reason. For example to say that polygamy is true relative to X, only means that polygamy has been accepted by people living in x. But people can be mistaken and the true remain undiscovered. Relativism must reply that there is no way to think that some people are much more well informed that another, this could not be a rational explanation to moral difference between societies. Furthermore the fact itself that objectivists disagree among themselves proves that there is no moral objective fact. To conclude, we agree that morality is located within the world rather than outside. If relativism can be challenged in many ways, a weaker form of relativism must be held for at least 2 reasons. To agree with relativism imply that there is no superior moral value among the diversity of culture. And in other hand there is no way to interfere with the action of a society whose moral agreement differs from ours. However we can underline that a mixt position will be better to handle relativisms problem. Indeed some rules seem to govern the entire world (ex: promoting welfare is the goal of a society, or do unto others as you would have them unto you). But there are different ways to promote welfare. Then we could accept that moral concept must have enough content to prevent from moral imperialism or moralizing view.

Application of the Theory of Unpleasant Symptoms

Application of the Theory of Unpleasant Symptoms The Application of the Theory of Unpleasant Symptoms In Pediatric Nursing Practice Krista Kelly Introduction Every human being regardless of age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status or physical ability will experience pain or unpleasant symptoms at some point in their lives. Pain can be defined as an unpleasant, subjective sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage (International Association for the Study of Pain, Subcommittee on Taxonomy, 2008). This definition acknowledges not only the physical nature of the pain experience, but also recognizes the psychological aspect. Pain is a highly subjective experience and can only be accurately described by the person experiencing it. According to the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (2013), nurses have an ethical responsibility for assessing and alleviating pain using appropriate, evidence informed pain management. It also states that nurses are also obligated to advocate for change in the care plan when pain relief is inadequate. The theory of unpleasant symptoms (TOUS) is a middle-range theory that was developed by nurses to enhance the understanding of relationships among multiple symptoms and symptom experiences to manage unpleasant symptoms through effective interventions (Lee, Vincent Finnegan, 2017). The TOUS has three major concepts that will be discussed in further detail throughout this paper. The purpose of this paper is to describe, analyze and evaluate the TOUS and its relevance to pediatric nursing practice. This paper will identify a clinical situation on a pediatric unit and will indicate how the TOUS provides direction for guiding nursing practices. Lastly, this paper will assess the utility, strengths and weaknesses of the TOUS. Description of Theory According to Smith Parker (2010), theories help guide our actions, help us reach desired results and give evidence to what has been previously achieved. Specifically, middle-range theories are abstract, yet are concrete enough that it provides a link between nursing research and practice. The middle-range theory of unpleasant symptoms was introduced in 1995 as a means for incorporating existing information about a variety of symptoms (Lenz, Pugh, Milligan, Gift, Suppe, 1997). The TOUS incorporates three major components: the symptoms that a patient is undergoing, the factors that influence symptoms and that give rise to the nature of the symptoms, and the effects of the symptom experience. Each individual symptom is considered a multidimensional experience that can be measured together with other symptoms or measured independently (Lopes- Junior, de Omena Bomfim, Nascimento, Pereira-da-Silva, Garcia de Lima, 2015). Although symptoms differ from one another, they share four common domains including: duration, intensity, quality and distress. The duration of a symptom refers to the time that the symptom occurs at, or the frequency of the symptom. Intensity indicates the severity, strength or amount of the symptom being experienced by the individual. Whereas, the quality of pain can be used to describe what the symptom feels like to the individual. For instance, pain can be described as sharp, dull, achy or throbbing. Lastly, the distress domain of the symptom experience refers to the degree to which the patient is bothered by it (Lee et al., 2017). The same symptom may be unbearable to some individuals but could be much less severe to others. Thus, it is important to ask patients how much they are bothered by the symptom to gain a better understanding of how they are interpreting the experience and the meaning they associate with it (Lenz, et al.,1997). In the TOUS, there are three factors that influence each of the previously mentioned domains: physiologic factors, psychologic factors and situational factors (Lenz, Supp e, Gift, Pugh, Milligan, 1995). Physiologic factors include the normal functioning of the body systems, the presence of any pathology and the individuals energy levels. Psychologic factors incorporate the individuals mental state and their reaction to their illness. Lastly, situational factors pertain to aspects of the individuals physical and social environment that can affect their experience and reporting of symptoms. Examples of social environment include: lifestyle behaviours, social support, employment status, and access to health care services. On the contrary, physical environments can include but are not limited to variables such as noise, light, temperature and polluted air/water; all of which can influence symptoms (Lenz Pugh, 2014). According to Lenz Pugh (2014), the outcome concept in the TOUS is performance. Performance refers to the outcome or effect of the symptom experience and how it impacts the individuals functional status, cognitive functioning and physical performance. For example, certain symptoms may affect an individuals ability to perform the activities of daily living or may alter their memory, concentration or problem solving skills (Lee et al., 2017). Application to Clinical Practice The assessment and management of pain or unpleasant symptoms are essential skills while dealing with the pediatric population. With children, especially infants and toddlers who are unable to communicate, it can be extremely challenging to identify the presence of pain, which in turn makes it difficult to treat. Therefore, it is important to assess pain by receiving input from the child and their parents or care givers. In the case when a child is unable to communicate, their family and caregivers should be able to advocate for suitable interventions to manage pain based on what they know about their child and the current situation (RNAO, 2013). The TOUS exemplifies a perspective that not only includes the physical domain of the human experience, but also recognizes the importance influence of psychological and situational factors, as well as their interaction on the symptom experience (Lenz Pugh, 2014). The writer was able to apply this theory in the pediatric setting while caring for an eight year-old female patient who was experiencing painful urination and abdominal pain related to a urinary tract infection. Looking at the physiological factors, this patient had a history of a fever for the past month, lower abdominal pain and a decreased appetite; otherwise her diet was classified as tolerated. Regarding the psychological factors, the patient expressed she was happy, as she was being discharged that afternoon. While the writer was taking vital signs, the patient was alert, oriented, compliant and aware of why she was in the hospital. As the writer was providing care for this patient, it was evident that there was suppo rt from her father, mother and little brother, all who provided positive words of encouragement to get well soon. The updated version of the TOUS states that symptoms can occur alone or simultaneously, thus this paper will focus on multiple symptoms experienced by the patient; painful urination and abdominal pain. The patient expressed that she experienced a burning and painful sensation while urinating and that it had been occurring for the previous four days. When asked to rate her pain on a severity scale from 0-10, she rated her pain as a 4. In regards to the distress of her symptom, she mentioned it really bothered her during the night, as she was frequently waking up with the urge to urinate. In regards to the patients performance, she was unable to fulfill her social role as a grade four student, piano student and dance student as she stayed in the hospital for five days. She was also unable to assist her mother and father in playing/ taking care of her younger brother as she was experiencing abdominal pain that restricted her from doing so. The TOUS is valuable tool for nurses as it helps collect the previously mentioned data, which in turn helps nurses individualize interventions that fit the patients needs and unique pattern of symptoms (Lenz, et al.,1997). In order to manage symptoms effectively, these nursing interventions should include the evaluation of the symptoms individually and as a whole in order to comprehend their interactions (Lopes-Junior et al., 2015). Understanding symptoms of patients is important because experiencing multiple simultaneously occurring symptoms, as opposed to one symptom can have more negative effects on patient outcomes. Ultimately, understanding these multiple symptoms can help improve clinical management of an illness or disease (Lee et al., 2017). Assessment of Overall Utility There are both strengths and weaknesses in the utility of the TOUS. The TOUS can be used to improve the understanding of the symptom experience of individuals in various scenarios and provides information that is useful for nursing interventions that can decrease, prevent or manage negative symptoms and their unpleasant effects (Lenz Pugh, 2014). However, the TOUS lacks detail that may be useful in working with a specific symptom or illness in a given clinical population, such as pediatrics. Specifically, the TOUS has focused only on subjectively perceived symptoms rather than objective observable data. Neonates, infants and toddlers or children who are cognitively impaired, are incapable of verbalizing their pain. Therefore, pain or unpleasant symptom assessment should also be based on behavioural and physiological cues rather than just subjective information. For example, an infant may display pain by frowning or clenching their jaw and crying uncontrollably. They may moan, whimpe r or have a difficult time being consoled by a parent or caregiver. Being agitated, squirmy or rigid can also be indicative of pain or unpleasant feelings in infants and should be noted (Merkel, Voepel-Lewis, Shayevitz Malviya, 1997). The TOUS does an excellent job at looking at the individual in a holistic manner, such that it considers the interactions between individuals and their environment, the multidimensionality of symptom experiences of the individual and uses a biopsychosocial approach (Lee et al., 2017). While constructing an individualistic health care plan for patients, the TOUS does not include an intervention component within the model. This may indicate that the theory is more useful for observing concepts, examining their relationships, and developing tools to measure the concepts/relationships than for developing specific interventions for particular symptoms (Lenz, et al.,1997). In the future, the theory should include suggestions for interventions on specific symptoms for health care providers to use in practice. Conclusion The purpose of this paper was to describe, analyze and evaluate the TOUS in a clinical pediatric setting and its connection to nursing practice. The uses, strengths and weaknesses of the theory were also presented. The TOUS is a middle-range theory that emphasizes the importance for nurses to understand that physiological, psychological and situational factors can influence multiple symptoms, which in turn can affect the individuals performance. It is also critical to realize that the performance outcomes can loop back to impact the symptom experience itself, as well as to alter the influencing factors (Lee et al., 2017). Overall, this theory can be applied in different settings to understand symptoms of individuals, however specific nursing interventions are currently lacking in this theory. With continued research and studies, this theory can only increase in its practicality to health care professionals and caregivers. References International Association for the Study of Pain, Subcommittee on Taxonomy. (2008). Pain terms: A list of definitions and notes on usage. Pain, 6, 249. Lee, S.E., Vincent, C., Finnegan, L. (2017). An analysis and evaluation of the theory of unpleasant symptoms. Advances in Nursing Science, 40 (1), E16-E39. Lenz, E.R., Suppe, F., Gift, A.G., Pugh, L.C., Milligan, R.A. (1995). Collaborative development of middle-range nursing theories: Toward a theory of unpleasant symptoms. Advances in Nursing Science, 17 (3), 1-13. Lenz, E.R., Pugh, L.C., Milligan, R.A., Gift, A.G., Suppe, F. (1997). The middle-range theory of unpleasant symptoms: An update. Advances in Nursing Science, 19 (3), 14-27. Lenz, E.R., Pugh, L.C. (2014). The theory of unpleasant symptoms. In M. J. Smith (Ed.), Middle range theory for nursing (3rd ed.), (165-195). New York: Springer Publishing Company. Lopes- Junior, L.C., de Omena Bomfim, E., Nascimento, L.C., Pereira-da-Silva, G., Garcia de Lima, R.A. (2015). Theory of unpleasant symptoms: Support for the management of symptoms in children and adolescents with cancer. Revista gaucha Enfermagem, 36 (3), 109-112. Merkel, S.I., Voepel-Lewis, T., Shayevitz, J.R., Malviya, S. (1997). The FLACC: A behavioural scale for scoring postoperative pain in young children. Pediatric Nursing, 23 (3), 293-297. Registered Nurses Association of Ontario [RNAO]. (2013). Assessment and management of pain, third edition. Retrieved from http://rnao.ca/sites/rnao-ca/files/AssessAndManagementOfPain2014.pdf Smith, M.C., Parker, M.E. (2010). Nursing theory and the discipline or nursing. In M.E. Parker M.C. Smith (Eds.), Nursing Theories and Nursing Practice (3rd ed.), (pp.3-15). Philadelphia, PA: Davies.

National Tv Turnoff Week :: essays research papers

Every year thousands of people across the nation turn off their television for seven days to celebrate National TV-Turnoff Week. During this week people are supposed to take time to reflect, spend time with their kids, and go outside and breathe the fresh air. Participating in this event is one of the most challenging things one can do. Most will come out failing and exhausted and the ones that do accomplish it will end up going back to their comfy couch and television sets. National TV-Turnoff week is an extremely unnecessary event that corporations use to lure people out of their homes and into a high priced world where the average person cannot survive. The main goal of this week is to make people go out and spend money. As a result it makes the economy grow. But what society doesn't understand is that not everyone can afford the luxuries the world has to offer. The geniuses behind this idea are such scammers. Are viewers supposed to go a week without television and realize how amazing the outside world is and spend more time there than in their homes? North America is made up of a society where everybody owns at least one television set. It is one of the most used appliances in the household and watching it daily has become routine for most. It would be almost impossible to stop this activity cold turkey. Taking away the television would be like taking away milk from a baby. Without the television people would be deprived of entertainment. It is too expensive to go out these days considering that movie tickets, gas prices, and restaurant meals are too costly for the average person. The number one reason why the nation watches television is because of one simple word: laziness. Nowadays nobody has time to go to art exhibits, make crochet doilies, and prepare candle lit dinners. What seems to be on everybody’s mind, are deadlines, cell phones, soccer games, the Internet, fast food, and total chaos. There are so many family situations where both parents work, children are rushed into life and having a quiet dinner is absolutely impossible. Most households consider watching the television good quality, family time. It is a time where families can catch up on each other’s lives, and still be entertained. The television also doubles as an inexpensive babysitter. Children are hooked to the television as teenagers are to their CD player.

The Use of Symbolism in Robert Frosts Wind and Window Flower Essay

The Use of Symbolism in Robert Frost's Wind and Window Flower I interpreted this poem as a very sad one. A love unrequited by the pursued. In the first two lines the poem tells you to forget about the love you share and hear a tale of this. Not to literally forget, but possibly put aside. The man is a winter breeze, cold and rough and sort of roams the land. The woman is a window flower, shut off from the outside. This sets up the separation. They can "see" each other and are kept apart by a glass wall. She has all the comforts of the outside, the warmth of the sun and even the company of a "caged yellow bird" (7) hanging above her. It is almost that the mention of this bird being caged above her is a symbol of this woman's status in the home and possibly provided by the wealth of her parents. Although she is shut off from the outside, there is this bird almost captured for her to dissuade her from having thoughts of her actual closed lifestyle. She is being furnished with creature comforts instead of with freedom. Maybe because those above her feel she cannot ha...

Reflection of the Film’s Every Child Is Special Essay

We all know that there’s a difference between special children and normal children but both have similarities. For instance, they both have talents and perspective towards life. They can play and have fun in their own. Both need attention and discipline from their parents to avoid any misconception while they are growing and guide them from learning. Special children need more attention and extra help to develop their social skills. Parents must be extra careful with their special children because they have special needs to be attended. Also, they need to be understood by their family and everyone around them to gain more confidence about themselves and can interact well. On the other hand, normal children can develop their social skills on their own and can gain friends. They can play with another child and gradually learning to share and take turns. They can join in groups and enjoy group experiences. Their needs are easily observe and directly accommodated but still need gu idance. These children are part of the society, whether they have disabilities or just normal ones and they must be respected. see more:every child is special reflection Every one of us has rights in the society we are in and that includes them. They have the right to choose whoever they want to become and whatever they want to do but with a proper given guidance and attention. The happiness and joy they brought will never be unmatchable especially to their parents. The story of the film Every Child is Special is a kid suffering from dyslexia and with the help of an understanding teacher he overcomes it against all odd. There’s a scene when the protagonist runs away from school and loiters on the road for the whole day for the fear of being punished for not having done his homework. It never happened to me and I never did a thing like that in school but I didn’t say that I’m not lazy rather than I’m not like the protagonist of the story who runs away and would not do anything. The comparison might not be warranted but this is just one of those scenes which made me realize the importance of guidance and understanding of parents. Unlike the protagonist who suffered from learning disabilities such as reading because for him the letters are dancing, his writing don’t match the right spelling of words and dealing with numbers with difficulty, I learned quite fast and I also helped myself from learning the things that must be learned while in starting years in school. In spite of his learning disabilities, there’s a person who willingly teaches him and knows best for him because of his illness. His new art teacher, also a teacher of a child school with disabilities found out the reasons why he’s not active and always down.

Reseach on Leukemia

â€Å"LEUKEMIA† CANCER OF THE BLOOD INTRODUCTION â€Å"You have to realize that every well person is a miracle, it takes billions of cells to make up a person, and it will only take one cell to be bad to destroy the whole person†, this quote is from Barbara Bush from one of her past interviews about a daughter she lost with leukemia (Cunningham, 1988). This quote reminded me five years ago, when my niece was diagnosed with leukemia. She does not only have one bad cell inside her body but she has extra 330,000 counts of white blood cells that are not normal.It was summer of year 2008 when my niece who is freshmen in high school was diagnosed with leukemia or cancer of the blood. Leukemia is a cancer that starts in the tissue that forms blood and affects the bone marrow (Anonymous A, 2012). Leukemia is found in white blood cells or leukocytes which characterized by an abnormal increase in white blood cells called â€Å"blast†, they do not fully form as they should and thereby blocking production of functioning blood cells. Unlike normal blood cells, leukemia cells don’t die when they should. They may crowd out normal white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets.This makes it hard for normal blood cells to do their work (Anonymous A 2012). Experiencing this type of cancer in our family makes me realize how a healthy body is truly a blessing that everybody should appreciate and learn how to take care of. Leukemia may not be the worst cancer we have right now, but many people of all ages suffer from this disease. According to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (2012), an estimated 274,930 people in the United States are living with or are in remission from Leukemia and an estimated 44,600 new cases of leukemia are expected to be diagnosed in the United States in 2011.It is also said that leukemia is the most common type of cancer in children and adolescents and is the tenth most frequently occurring type cancer of all races or ethnici ties (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 2012). Leukemia is a cancer that has a significant effect on our society, it is a non-sexist or ageist cancer that we should be aware of and be educated more on. BODY I. HISTORY OF LEUKEMIA Leukemia was first observed in 1845 by a pathologist named Rudolf Virchow.He observed an abnormal large number of white blood cells in a blood sample from a patient and called this condition â€Å"Leukamie† in German, which he formed from the two Greek words leukos, meaning â€Å"white† and aima, meaning â€Å"blood†. Ten years after this discovery, another pathologist, Franz Ernst Christian Neumann found that a deceased leukemia patient’s bone marrow was colored â€Å"dirty green-yellow† as opposed normal red colored. This finding helped Neumann to conclude that a bone marrow problem was responsible for the abnormal blood leukemia patients.In 1947 pathologist Sydney Farber believed from past experiments that administering, a folic acid mimic, could potentially cure leukemia for children. In 1962, researchers Emil J. Freireich Jr. and Emil Frei III used combination of chemotherapy to attempt to cure leukemia, the test were successful with some patients surviving long after the tests (Patlak, 1998). II. FOUR TYPES OF LEUKEMIA Leukemia is grouped by how quickly the disease develops (acute or chronic), as well as by the type of blood cells that is affected (lymphocytes or myelocytes) (Anonymous A. 012). Acute leukemia cells increases rapidly and usually worsens quickly than chronic leukemia. There are four main types of leukemia which includes acute lymphocytic leukemia â€Å"ALL†, chronic lymphocytic leukemia â€Å"CLL†, acute myelocytic leukemia â€Å"AML†, and chronic myelocytic leukemia â€Å"CML†. * Chronic lymphocytic leukemia â€Å"CLL† is the most common type of leukemia (Bazell, 2011). It affects the lymphoid cells and usually grows slowly or gets worst slowly. I t is also sometimes referred to as chronic lymphoblast leukemia (Anonymous B, 2012).Most often, people diagnosed with this type of leukemia are over the age of 55, it almost never affects children and more common in men than women. * Chronic myelogenous leukemia â€Å"CML† it is sometimes referred to as chronic myeloid leukemia or chronic granulocytic leukemia. This type of leukemia affects the myeloid cells and usually gets worse slowly. This type of leukemia occurs frequently in adults in their 50’s and is rarely seen in children. CML is also classified into three district phases, the chronic phase, accelerated phase and the blast crisis.Knowing the CML phase plays a large part in determining the type of treatment a patient will receive (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 2012). Each phase describes the CML’s progression which determined by the number of blast cells. * Chronic Phase, this phase is made up of patients with fewer than five percent blast in their blo od and bone marrow samples (The Survivors Club Staff, 2012). During this phase, the white cells can still fight infection. Patients in this phase have a very mild symptoms or not noticeable. In most cases, long term drug therapy can control this phase. Accelerated Phase, in this phase, the patients have more than five percent but less than thirty percent blast in their blood and bone marrow samples. Most patients within the accelerated phase suffer from loss of appetite and weight loss and do not respond as well as to traditional treatments. * Blast Crisis Phase or Acute Blast Phase, in this phase the patients has more than thirty percent blast cells and the cancer has spread from the bone marrow to other organs (The Survivor’s Club Staff, 2012). Because of elevated blast in the blood, this means lower than normal number of red blood cells and platelets. Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia â€Å"ALL†, this is most common type of childhood leukemia, which accounts for about 3 out of 4 cases of leukemia in children. It usually occurs in children ages 2 through 5 years. This disease also affects adults especially those ages 65 and older. ALL is the most successful treated type of childhood leukemia (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 2012). This type of leukemia usually gets worse quickly and sometimes referred to as acute lymphocytic leukemia. * Acute Myelogenous Leukemia â€Å"AML† occurs more commonly in men than women and more with adults than children.The incidence of AML increases with age. This is a kind of leukemia that gets worse quickly and sometimes referred to as acyte myeloid leukemia, acute myelocytic leukemia and myeloblastic leukemia (Anonymous, 2012). III. SIGNS & SYMPTOMS OF LEUKEMIA Like many other cancer, leukemia usually is diagnosed when it is in the accelerated stage because people usually go to the doctor only when they feel sick, and most often than not the symptoms for leukemia manifest when there is already a large amount of b last in the blood.People with chronic leukemia may not even have symptoms until it is in the accelerated phase. Because leukemia is characterized by rapid increase in the number of immature blood cells and by the excessive buildup of relative mature, but still abnormal white blood cells. The crowding of blast in the blood makes the bone marrow unable to produce healthy blood cells which results in lack of red blood cells that carries oxygen, lack of platelets which is important in blood clotting process and lack of healthy white blood cells which are important in fighting infections.When there is lack of platelets in the body this result in easy bruising or bleeding. Lack of red blood cells leads to paleness and fatigue due to anemia. With lack of healthy white blood cells the body is susceptible to infections and this could lead to patient experiencing frequent infection ranging from infected tonsils, sores in the mouth or diarrhea to life threatening infections (Morgan, 2010). Oth er symptoms of chronic and acute leukemia may include fevers or night sweats, weight loss for no known reason, pain in the bones or joints, swelling or discomfort in the abdomen from a swollen spleen or liver.Having the symptoms mentioned above does not necessary mean that a person has leukemia. If a person is experiencing more than one of the symptoms it is best to check with their doctor or a health care provider and do some blood test, only then can the doctor tell if a person has leukemia or not. Ignoring warning signs and symptoms can make a treatable condition terminal. The sooner a person checks with their doctor the better chances they have in fighting any disease. III. CAUSE OF LEUKEMIAThe exact cause of leukemia is not known and there is no known way to prevent this disease. Many doctors seldom know why one person gets leukemia and the other doesn’t (Anonymous A, 2012). However, according to the National Cancer Institute (2011), there are researches which show that certain risk factors increase the chance that a person will get leukemia. Some of the risk factors are radiation, smoking, benzene, chemotherapy, down syndrome and certain other inherited diseases, certain other blood disorders and family history of leukemia.Exposure to a very high level of radiation will make the person much more likely to get AML, CML and ALL. Exposure to radiation can come from atomic bomb explosions, radiation therapy and diagnostics x-rays. Smoking can also increase the risk of AMC. The average smoker is exposed to about 10 times the daily intake of benzene compared to nonsmokers (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 2012). Benzene is widely used in the chemical industry and it is also found in cigarette smoke and gasoline, exposure to benzene can increase a person’s risk of getting AMC.Chemotherapy, down syndrome and other inherited disease, certain blood disorder such as myelodysplastic syndrome and family history of leukemia are all linked with increasing t he risk of leukemia. IV. TREATMENT The ability to listen to one’s body is an important first step in finding a problem, so it can be properly diagnosed and treated (Wedro, 2012). The diagnosis of leukemia starts by going to the doctor and having a blood test. If the person is tested positive for leukemia then bone marrow aspiration test might be needed to check for the blood cells that cause leukemia and what type of leukemia it is.People with leukemia have many treatment options these days. According to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (2012), chances in surviving this disease is a lot better today than they were 40 years ago. The overall five-year survival rate for leukemia has nearly quadrupled in the past 50 years. From 1960 to 1963, the five-year relative survival rate among whites with leukemia was 14 percent, then it went up to 34. 4 percent from 1975 to 1977 and from 2001 to 2007, the overall relative survival rate was at 56. 6 percent.Treatment of this disease also depends on the type of leukemia, the age of the patient and if leukemia cells were found in the cerebrospinal fluid. Treatment for leukemia can be one or combination of chemotherapy, targeted therapy, biological therapy, radiation therapy and stem cell transplant. * Chemotherapy is probably the most common type of treatment for cancer. Chemotherapy uses drugs to destroy leukemia cells. A patient may receive chemotherapy by mouth, which are pills that can be swallowed, by vein or tube inserted into the vein.Another way to receive the drug is through catheter where a tube is placed in a large vein in the upper chest and drugs will be injected into the catheter rather than directly into veins. The drugs can also be received into the cerebrospinal fluid by injecting drugs directly into the cerebrospinal fluid * Targeted therapy is another treatment for people with chronic myeloid leukemia and some with acute lymphoblast leukemia. This type of therapy use drugs such as Imatinib (Gleevec) tablets that block the growth of leukemia cells, it blocks the action of an abnormal protein that stimulates the rowth of leukemia cells (National Cancer Institute, 2011). * Biological therapy for leukemia is a treatment that improves the body’s natural defenses against the disease. This is a substance that can be injected directly into the muscle or can be given by IV infusion. * Radiation Therapy or radiotherapy is another treatment for leukemia; it uses high energy rays to kill leukemia cells. Some people receive radiation therapy from a large machine that is aimed at the spleen, the brain, or other parts of the body where leukemia cells have collected.Others may receive radiation that is directly to the whole body. Radiotherapy is a standard treatment for many types of cancer (Anonymous, 2012). * Stem Cell Transplant is the replacement of damaged bone marrow cell with healthy cells. Stem cells that are used for transplants can be taken from bone marrow, from the bloodstr eam, or from umbilical cord blood. This treatment is used to treat the disease that damage or destroy the bone marrow and to restore the bone marrow after it has been destroyed by high doses of radiation and chemotherapy.Stem cells may come from the patient, from identical twin, family member and from other donor. People with acute leukemia need treatment right away and the goal of the treatment is to destroy signs of leukemia in the body and make symptoms go away. Many people with acute leukemia can be cured. (National Cancer Institute, 2011). If a person has chronic leukemia without symptoms, they may not need a cancer treatment right away. When treatment for chronic leukemia is needed, it can often control the disease and its symptoms.Unfortunately, CLL is probably incurable by present treatments as chronic leukemia can seldom be cured with chemotherapy. However, stem cell transplants offer people with chronic leukemia the chance for cure (National Cancer Institute, 2011). With a ll the technology available to us right now and with all the research and studies being done to find a new and better ways to treat leukemia, I’m hopeful that a cure for all types of leukemia will be discovered soon. CONCLUSION Learning you have leukemia or one of your loved ones have this disease can definitely change your live and the lives of those people around you.When we learned about my niece’s condition 5 years ago, there was a dramatic change in our family on how we viewed life and the importance of having a healthy body. My niece Shayna has gone through a lot of test, procedures and treatments because of this disease, it is probably her positive outlook in life and prayer that helped her fight this disease. Although Shayna is still taking Gleevec every day to block the growth of leukemia cells, her doctors already considered her to be in remission.She had normal blood counts for over four years now. In any disease, may it be cancer, diabetes, pneumonia or any life threatening or non-life threatening disease, it is important to listen to your body and do the first step of getting checked by a health care professional. It is also important to take life’s obstacle with a positive outlook and to have faith and hope from your love ones, from your health care provider, from yourself and from God, for all these would help a person deal and survive any disease.

AirAsia-Sustaining Competitve Advantage Essay

AirAsia was established in 1993 and began operations on 18 November 1996. It was originally founded by a government-owned conglomerate, DRB-Hicom. By ‘Flying Low-Cost With High Hopes’, AirAsia started out as a Malaysian government-controlled, full-service regional airline that offered slightly lower fares than its number-one competitor, Malaysia Airlines (â€Å"MAS†). On December 2, 2001 the heavily-indebted airline was bought by former Time Warner executive Tony Fernandes’s company Tune Air Sdn Bhd . He took over the debt-ridden airline for the symbolic sum of US$0. 26.  Despite the air-travel downturn following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, Fernandes believed that the timing for entering the airline market was just right, as aircraft leasing costs had dropped sharply and experienced staff were readily available due to airline layoffs. Moreover, the acquisition was welcomed by the Malaysian government, which hoped to boost the under-used Kuala Lumpur International Airport (â€Å"KLIA†). Fernandes restructured AirAsia into the first no-frills, low-cost carrier (â€Å"LCC†) in Asia, and the new business model was a huge success. The company is a Malaysian low-cost airline headquartered in Kuala Lumpur. It is Asia’s largest, and the world’s best, low-fare, no-frills airline and a pioneer of low-cost travel in Asia. AirAsia group operates scheduled domestic and international flights to 78 destinations spanning 25 countries. Its main hub is the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). Its affiliate airlines Thai AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia, AirAsia Philippines and AirAsia Japan have hubs in Don Mueang International Airport, Soekarno–Hatta International Airport, Clark International Airport and Narita International Airport respectively. AirAsia’s registered office is in Petaling Jaya, Selangor while its head office is at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Asia’s leading airline was established with the dream of making flying possible for everyone. Since 2001, AirAsia has swiftly broken travel norms around the globe and has risen to become the world’s best. With a route network that spans through to over 20 countries, AirAsia continues to pave the way for low-cost aviation through their innovative solutions, efficient processes and a passionate approach to business. Together with their associate companies, AirAsia X, Thai AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia, Philippines’ AirAsia Inc and AirAsia Japan , AirAsia is set to take low-cost flying to an all new high with our belief, â€Å"Now Everyone Can Fly†. Focusing on the low-cost, long-haul segment – AirAsia X was established in 2007 to provide high-frequency and point-to-point networks to the long-haul business. AirAsia X’s cost efficiencies are derived from maintaining a simple aircraft fleet and a route network based on low-cost airports, without complex code-sharing and other legacy overheads that weigh down traditional airlines without compromising on safety. Guests continue to enjoy low fares, through cost savings that they pass on to their guests. AirAsia X’s efficient and reliable operations are fully licensed and monitored by Malaysian and international regulators, and adhere to full international standards. AirAsia X is committed in offering X-citing low fares, X-emplary levels of safety and care, and an X-traordinary in-flight and service experience to all our guests – spreading the amazing AirAsia experience to X-citing destinations in Australia and Greater Asia. In August 2011, AirAsia agreed to form an alliance with Malaysia Airlines by means of a share swap. The alliance was struck down by the Malaysian government, in effect voiding the agreement of both airlines. On 2 April 2012 Air Asia had their first flight from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur. By early 2013, AirAsia had seen a steep increase in its profitability. The year-on-year comparison had shown a 168% increase in profits as compared to 2012. For the quarter ending 31 December 2012, the airline’s net profit stood at 350. 65 million ringgit (US$114. 08 million). Despite a 1% rise in the average fuel price, the airline had recorded profits of 1. 88 billion ringgit for the full financial year 2012. In February 2013, AirAsia submitted an application to the Indian Foreign Investment Promotion Board, through its investment arm, AirAsia Investment Limited, to seek approval for commencing its operations in India. AirAsia wanted to take up a stake of 49% in the airline, which was the maximum allowed by the Indian government at that time. AirAsia initially invested an amount of 50 million United States dollars in the airline. The airline wished to begin operations from Chennai and expand it’s network in South India, to where AirAsia already operated flights from Malaysia and Thailand. AirAsia’s Strategy [pic] AirAsia’s success has taken flight through the continued confidence of the company’s guests who prefer a no-frills, hasslefree, low fare and convenient option in air travel. The key to delivering low fares is to consistently keep cost low. Attaining low cost requires high efficiency in every part of the business and maintaining simplicity. Therefore every system process must incorporate best industry practices. In order to make this possible, AirAsia do implementing several key strategies. First is stressing on Safety. Safety is the single most important criteria in every aspect of the operations, an area that AirAsia will never compromise on. AirAsia complies with the conditions set by regulators in all the countries where the airline operates. In addition, AirAsia partners with the world’s most renowned maintenance providers to ensure that its fleet is always in the best condition. AirAsia has committed itself to a program of reducing risks and hazards normally associated with our industry through a Safety Management System. This commitment is extended to ensure the full integration of a safety culture, safety policy and safety objectives in a proactive approach to aviation safety. In short, AirAsia’s Safety Management System is not just an add-on but a core part of its business process. It is the way the company’s do business. The critical safety functions of senior management are in the areas of strategy and leadership. Senior management will provide a vision for safety management and provide adequate resources to achieve this level of safety. Second is ensuring high aircraft utilization. AirAsia’s high frequency flights have made it more convenient for guests to travel as the airline implements a quick turnaround of 25 minutes, which is the fastest in the region. This has resulted in high aircraft utilisation, lower costs and greater airline and staff productivity. Efficient Fleet, AirAsia continues to invest in new aircraft. As of the end of 2008, the Group received a total of 56 Airbus A320 aircraft and the deployment is as follows. Malaysian operations has received 46 and is now a fully Airbus A320 aircraft feet. Thailand operations has received six and Indonesian operation, four. AirAisa’s fleet is among the youngest in Asia and they will get even younger as they take delivery of 14 Airbus A320 aircraft and retire nine older Boeing 737-300 â€Å"Classics† aircraft in 2009. These Airbus A320 are ultra modern, more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly aircraft with unparalleled levels of passenger comfort, serviceability and reliability. They have received positive feedback that that passengers love this aircraft. These aircraft have reduced operational cost significantly and helped to deliver strong profits. Third is offering low fare but no frills. AirAsia targets guests who are prepared to do away with frills such as meals, frequent flyer miles or airport lounges in exchange for fares lower than those currently offered without comprising on quality and service. Guests have the choice of buying exclusively prepared meals, snacks and drinks from their in-flight service at an affordable price. While onboard AirAsia the best thing to do, of course, is to eat and drink. They are offering a vast selection of food and drinks without punching a hole in your wallet. Fourth is ensuring streamline operations. Making the process as simple as possible is the key to AirAsia’s success. The company is working towards a single aircraft fleet, which greatly reduces duplicating manpower requirements as well as stocking of maintenance parts. There is only one class seating, which is first class, and passengers are free to sit where they choose. Fifth is ensuring lean distribution system. AirAsia offers a wide and innovative range of distribution channels to make booking and traveling easier for its guests. AirAsia’s ticketless service provides a low cost alternative to issuing printed tickets. The company have worked very hard through countless hours of research and development to ensure that their istribution system is, simple. ‘Simple’ is a relative word when you are catering to the needs of millions of people across the world. AirAsia have developed a comprehensive, yet simple distribution system. One that is capable of handling the most technologically savvy customer to the most technologically deprived. The company’s website www. airasia. com is available in seven languages and their call centre is conversant in the major spoken Asian languages. For those always on the go, they can book a flight using mobile phone at www. mobile. airasia. com. The company have recently upgraded their self check-in machines with a simpler and more powerful version. The transaction takes not more than two minutes to complete. This new machine also has an advanced security feature which effectively cuts the risk of fraud. Other than that, the company have also expanded their web check-in facility to all stations and destinations. Customer can now use the web check-in facility even if they have baggage (previously web check-in was only for passengers without baggage). Sixth is point to point network. The Low Cost Carrier model shuns the hub-and spoke system and adopts the simple point to-point network. All AirAsia flights are shorthaul (four hour flight or less). The underlying business is to get a person from point A to B. On Time Performance, nothing irks airline passengers more than a delay. Often, these delays are caused by factors beyond the company’s control. This leading low fare airline in the Asia has been expanding rapidly since 2001, to become an award winning and the largest low cost carrier in Asia. With a fleet of 72 aircrafts, AirAsia flies to over 61 domestic and international destinations with 108 routes, and operates over 400 flights daily from hubs located in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. To date, AirAsia has flown over 55 million guests across the region and continues to spread its wings to create more extensive route network through its associate companies, Thai AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia. AirAsia with the ordinary symbol but with strong brand, â€Å"now everyone can fly† nowadays has been phenomena in Airlines industry especially in Asia region. AirAsia is one of the airline companies who more focused with the strategy how to reduce inefficiency and make it low possible fare in the world. With the cost-efficiency, low complexity and profitability are always the cornerstones of building a strong business. According to Dawna and Blaise (2005), the most successful carriers came to dominate their hub markets allowing them to exert greater control over pricing and capacity. This is what AirAisa successfully done. Till date, AirAsia had received many awards and recognition form various parties. The achievement was not only given to the company itself, but also to Ybhg. Dato’ Tony Fernandez as well. In 2010, he was awarded as Masterclass Global CEO of the year. (See Appendices).