California Pizza Kitchen Case Study Essay

California Pizza Kitchen was first created in 1985 in Beverly Hills, California. By 2007 there were 213 locations throughout 28 states and 6 countries. Although 41% of the stores were based in California, keeping with the restaurants theme, the dining model flourished throughout the United States. For the second quarter of 2007, although they were faced with industry challenges such as raised commodity, labor and energy costs, they were still expected to break quarterly records with over $6 million in profits. Although they experienced good performance, the share price had declined 10% to a current value of $22.10. Susan Collyns, CFO, and her team were faced with the decision of a share repurchase program. They had little money in excess cash though, so a repurchase agreement would mean debt financing. A share repurchase would send a positive signal to the market, with future values expected to be high. The financial team also needs to decide on the appropriate capital structure. Because of the low interest rates, CPK can issue the debt needed for a repurchase agreement at a low cost. Also because they have no previous debt, this would not be a large risk and it will in fact increase the value of CPK due to decreased taxes, which comes from the tax shield. The leverage from exhibit 9 has different effects for return on equity and cost of capital. For return on equity, as you increase leverage, the ROE increases as well. At 10% debt/capital, ROE is 9.52%, 20% debt/capital, ROE is 10.19%, and 30% debt/capital, ROE is 11.05%. Using the beta equation to find the effect on cost of equity, you can see that it increases as well when the leverage increases. For 10% debt/capital, the beta of equity is .87 and cost of equity is 14.34%, 20% debt/capital, beta equity is .89 and cost of equity is 14.56%, lastly 30% debt/capital, beta equity is .915 and cost of equity is 14.84%. These increases also mean an increase in risk of the company because of the additional debt taken on. When taking into consideration the WACC equation, there will be an overall decrease in cost of equity to the firm because of the low cost of debt and the additional tax shield. When finding share prices, it is evident they will increase with each debt/capital percent. At 10% debt/capital, the price of stock will go up to $22.35, which is a 1.13% increase in price, and allows the buy back of 1.01 million shares. At 20% debt/capital structure, the price will move up to $22.60, a 2.26% increase  and can buy back 1.99 million shares. Lastly, a 30% debt/capital, the price will move to $22.86, a 2.99% increase and allow the buy back of 2.97 million shares. Again, the added value to the firm can be attributed to the present value of the tax shield that debt allows them to capture. So this allows for the buy back of shares at the new price. In my opinion, I think Susan Collyns should choose the 20% debt/capital structure. Under this structure, they should partake in a share repurchase program and buy back around 1.99 million shares. This will allow for an increase in share price that would please shareholders. There is not a huge level of risk involved in the 20% structure, it leaves room for future expansion but moderates how much debt taken on.

Electronic Bill Payment in Canada

1-Introduction: In today’s evolutionary world, where technology keeps on revolutionizing our everyday tasks, electronic bill presentment and payment offer a whole new billing process by offering online and real time presentment of bills and payment choices. It offers great advantages and significantly improves customer care and customer relationship management. We will cover the information found in an electronic bill, followed by the process of a bill presentment. We will briefly compare traditional paper-based bills and electronic bills.And then, we will expose the different parties involved in an electronic bill presentment and payment, followed by the different evolution phases. The advantages and the risks associated with the adopting the EBPP or not. Finally we will see the different users of EBPP in Canada. Electronic transactions will gradually become the principal method for both consumers and companies to pay their bills. The main business driver is the important cos t reduction for billers from reducing manual work and paper, but it must also present an advantage to customers in order to be successful.For now, customers who have become accustomed to internet banking are the prime candidates for EBPP. On July 8, 2004, EPO Inc (Canada Post’s epost) acquired Webdox, the only other bill delivery service in Canada. Together they will provide Canadians with a single EBPP service that will be one of the most advanced of its kind in the world. Figure: Billing Process Stages 2-Definitions: Instead of the hassle of having to make physical payments, electronic payments are payments made online. They are made through the financial institution’s website.Electronic Billing is the electronic delivery and presentation of bills, invoices, and related information sent by a company to its customers. Instead of receiving paper bills through the mail, and then writing out and sending a check, bills can be received by e-mail, or accessed through the bi ller’s website. It is also known as Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment, or EBPP, which is a model based on business-to-consumer. Electronic Invoice Presentment and Payment, or EIPP, is the equivalent for a business-to-business payment, however, we won’t be overing it in this paper. The Electronic Bill Presentment & Payment (EBPP) model enables customers of banks and billing companies to use the internet or the phone to conveniently remit payments as well as access their billing information. It was created in the United-States by the Council for Electronic Billing and Payment (CEBP) of the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) The biggest and most obvious difference between EBPP systems and the traditional method of bill payment, is that of technology.Rather than receiving a bill through the mail, writing out and sending a check, consumers receive their bills in an email, or are prompted to visit a website to view and pay their bills 3-Content Creat ion and Bill Design: There are several types of information in an electronic bill, most of which are the same you would find in a traditional paper bill. First, it identifies the customer, or their authorized agent, in order to link this particular bill to the biller’s account receivable processes.It includes the name and address, the account number with the Biller (or any other information that the biller has determined to identify its customers like an ID number, username, or phone number), and the time period for the bill ( a week, or a month, or a year). Second, it states the amount due from the customer, as well as any details explaining new charges over the billing period if there are any; for example, long distance phone bills contain details of each call and other specific charges included in the amount due. Third, it specifies the date when the total amount is due.Fourth, it includes a period-to-period reconciliation of activity since the last bill or statement was p roduced, so that the customer is able to compare the differences. Fifth, it specifies the disclosure information from Biller to Customer, so that the Customer is advised of the disclosure policy of the biller. Sixth, the customer can view his previous bills and account activity history from prior billing cycles. The electronic bill is also an opportunity for advertising (which the biller controls) that help in cross selling and marketing the biller’s product and services.Finally, customer care contact information is available in case a customer needs help or guidance. The term Bill Summary is generally used to encompass the essential items : Name, Amount due and due date. The term Bill Detail is used to include any of the remaining items, which a Biller may elect to send to its customers 4-Presentment of the Bill – Process: Transitioning from Paper-Based to Electronic Formats There are five different methods of porting the printed documents and their information conten t to an online form that can be utilized by EBPP: 1. Conversion to PDF format . Rasterization to GIF, JPG or PNG formats 3. Recomposition into HTML or XML 4. Conversion to normal HTML or XML 5. Translation to highly formatted HTML or XML Each of these methods has advantages and disadvantages. Depending on the application, the organization will decide which method to use. i)Content Creation and Deployment: In the bill-presentment stage, the primary steps of content authoring and deployment are essential. The steps include creation of the content, content reviews, approving the content, modification of the content and lastly, the deployment of the content.Exhibit 1, illustrates the process involved in the content creation and deployment phase. The policies and procedures involved in the content creation and deployment require responsibilities to be designated to certain individuals to further ensure that all aspects of the web page are well maintained. Developing an internal style gui de would serve to provide the page layout, design elements and maintain consistency in terms of the look and feel of the web pages. The style guide would also facilitate the system by providing information on how to link one page to other pages. The creation of the web page (presentment) is rather straightforward.The true challenges arise when facing a number of issues, namely the maintenance of the web page in terms of the content of information and errors/breakdowns and up to date modifications (could be daily), as well as the configuration of the access network on which the web page is based. ii)Notification Notification about the invoice can be delivered to the customer (bill payer) in a variety of ways. The most common method used is notification through e-mails. The customer receives an e-mail notifying them of the account balance or amount due. However, this method is limited in terms of its graphical presentation and potential.A more effective method of notifying the consume r of their invoice is to send the URL (link of the website) that contains the invoice in order to overcome the limitations of e-mailing the invoice. The latest trend however in the notification aspect of a bill is via mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Instead of e-mailing the customer, the biller may establish a database for the client’s phone numbers and send them text messages stating the amount due, the due date of the bill as well as any additional information the biller finds necessary to provide.In the traditional case of paper-based bills, notification is done through mailing the actual invoice to the customer/client. iii)Bill Presentment: Under EBPP, bill presentment is the stage where the biller/consolidator delivers a copy of the actual bill to the customer/client in an electronically generated format. The bill may be presented with complete details of the invoice or as a summary of the details, depending on the extent and intensity of the detail s involved. Through bill presentment, the biller is able to communicate more effectively with the clients being billed.The reason why interaction between the biller and the clients is enhanced is due to the ability of the biller to guide the customers to the areas of interest as well as study or better understand the client’s preferences and trends. Electronic bill presentment may also assist the biller by improving brand loyalty by providing the clients with a well developed a compelling experience. Aspects concerning marketing and advertising can also be addressed by monitoring and controlling the space of the web page surrounding the area of the invoice.Additional aspects may be provided by making information about pending orders, past payments as well as pending payments available. iv)Electronic Payment and Posting: This presents the last stage involved in EBPP. The Billers as well as the consolidators are required to provide the customers with various forms of payments i n order to provide the customer with flexibility. Payments may be set to be made automatically or at the discretion of the customer. The types of payments may include: †¢Direct debit from accounts †¢One-time payments †¢Check payments Online payments/ Electronic funds transfers †¢Bank cards/ Credit card payments. Customers are also provided with the choice of making multiple payments to a single provider or one combined payment for multiple services to the consolidator (such as epost). The concept of â€Å"Posting† highlights the documentation of the information on when the bill was paid, how the payment was made and the amount of the payment made for the services. Such information is then updated to the biller’s accounts-receivables systems. 5-Comparison of Paper-Based and Electronic SolutionsExhibits 2 and 3 show the comparison between the paper based billing cycle and the electronic billing cycle. In both billing cycles (electronic and paper based ), the creation of the bill goes through the same stages: Data collection, Mediation, Rating and Content creation and bill design. In the stage of bill design and creation however, the bill is only formatted when it’s a paper based one, and printed when it’s an electronic bill. The main difference between the two cycles is at the stage of the Presentment of the bill.In the case of a paper based payment, after the bill is formatted, there is notification by regular mail and then the bill is presented. In the case of the electronic billing cycle, there is notification by internet and then there’s an extra stage where the bill is converted onto a Web-friendly format, this is referred to as the Transition to Electronic stage. Finally, the bill is presented either by Web or printed and the check is sent to the biller if it’s a paper based bill, or the payment could be executed immediately and electronically in the case of an electronic bill. – Parties I nvolved: Billers, bankers, aggregators and consolidators implementing EBPP can play various roles in the overall EBPP process. Once roles are defined, it is easier to identify which model (aggregator, biller-direct or e-mail based) is most appropriate for the client's EBPP strategy. Billers may also implement more than one model in order to best serve their clients. Because the industry is continuously changing and redefining, the options and opportunities for EBPP will continue to expand.There are several parties involved in the EBPP process: The biller payment provider, or BPP, is the biller’s bank that receive payment and provides account receivable information. It is an agent of the biller that accepts remittance informatio on behalf of the biller. The bill service provider, or BSP, provides EBPP services to the biller like posting bill details, consolidating bills and delivering them to the customer service provider, or providing bill summary ditribution. The customer se rvice provider, or CSP, as it names implies, provides the customer with an interface for bill presentment.It enrolls them, enables presentment and provides customer care and support. They are contacted directly by the customer to help with a payment or receive general assistance and answer questions. The Consolidator is a biller service provider that aggregates all the customer’s bills from multiple billers in one central website. An example of a consolidator is Canada’s epost where the customer securely accesses the website to both view and pay his/her bills. It is advantageous in that the customers can view and pay all their bills at once. 7- Evolution Phases:The fast paced development of the Internet (World Wide Web) has enabled the establishment of an environment where companies and customers have direct and immediate forms of communication. This made way to more effective and efficient methods to undertake transactions between two or more parties. Services such as Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment (EBPP) were bound to take place. The end result was replacing paper mail bills with electronic documents that served the same purpose, only in a more efficient light. In 1999, Canada post implemented the world’s first electronic post office, epost.This put Canada in the forefront of the Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment market. By providing a free and universally available service, epost dominated the e-billing market and provided solutions to many Canadians. By 2002, the e-billing market was split between epost and Webdoxs, epost’s main competitor at the time. In July 2004, epost increased its market share through its acquisition of webdoxs. This made epost Canada’s main EBPP service provider and by the end of 2004, epost secured 1. 6 million registered users. However, despite the growth of the e-billing sector, the profits generated were not significant.The combined revenue of e-billing service providers, namely, epost, Innovapost and Canada post International Ltd. was $192 million in 2004, $18 million less than the previous year. Despite the substantial drop in the revenues generated by e-billing service providers the prospects for the e-billing sector remained optimistic due to the high growth potential of the e-billing sector. Canada post was aware of the fact that the average bill paying customer needed time to adapt to the new techniques provided by e-billings sector. Visa Canada's national purchasing study, â€Å"How Business Buys,† released May 2001, shows that e-commerce based billing and ordering processes will more than quadruple by 2005. Currently, e-billing accounts for only two percent of corporate billing. Benefits include reduced internal costs and reduced time consumption. † Visa Study published by Allbusiness in 2001 (http://www. allbusiness. com/public-administration/1169884-1. html) In 2005, epost approached Canada’s major financial institutions in orde r to implement the e-billing component through the financial institutions’ online banking element.Such a step would allow the banks’ clients to gain access to the same epost features (receiving, viewing, paying and storing bills online) directly from the financial institutions’ website. This in turn would enable epost to reach a larger market base of customers through the financial institutions. â€Å"Research that focused on people who bank online shows they are increasingly valuable, long-term bank customers who are more likely to invest more money and purchase additional services. These are the same customers that would be attracted to and benefit from EBPP.It’s our goal to have every Canadian banking online, receive all their critical mail online through epost. † As stated by Roger Couldrey, president and CEO of epost. By the end of 2005, epost had been integrated into many of Canada’s major financial institutions, namely Bank of Montrea l (BMO – Canada’s first bank), CIBC, Laurentian Bank, Desjardins, Royal Bank of Canada Financial Group, National Bank of Canada, Scotia Bank and Toronto Dominion Trust. By targeting Canada’s online banking customers, epost was able to effectively increase interest and use of the e-billing sector.According to statistics gathered by ComScore Media Metrics in 2004, 11 million Canadians browsed their financial institution’s website in order to access their financial information. Additionally, in 2003 Forrester Research found Canadians to be early adopters of Web-based financial services when compared to Americans. A large number of Canadians, 55 percent, used the web for banking/financial services while only 37 percent of Americans used the internet for banking services. Such statistics set the market base for epost and established the key basis for its inevitable expansion as Canada’s leading EBPP service provider.Today EBPP is one of the most utilize d concepts in North America, with a market of approximately 330 million regular users. Interest among Canadian businesses is growing at an overwhelming pace; many are discovering that it is the most cost effective method to undertake the billing aspect of conducting business. Moreover, due to the ever increasing importance of preserving the environment, the implementation of the e-billing component would contribute to the cause of saving the environment by using less paper and producing less waste. 8- Advantages of EBPP )Benefits to the corporations/implementers: The implementation of EBPP has brought about many advantages for both the companies billing and the customers getting billed. The 100+ Canadian companies, now using epost’s e-billing services, have experienced a number of advantages starting with delivering bills to their customers instantly. This saves a substantial amount of time for the billers, since the mailing and processing floats will be significantly reduced , leading to quicker payments of bills, as well as reduced Days Sales Outstanding (DSO).This means that bills will be collected faster by firms, enabling them to pay their suppliers earlier, hence enhancing the way in which business is conducted between a corporation and it’s paying clients by reducing the cash conversion period. Payments made by customers will be automatically linked to the corporation’s Accounts Receivables, providing the company with better control over its pending payments and overall cash position. Beyond the aspect of speed, the corporation’s costs of presentment will be significantly reduced, up to 80%.It would also abolish the costs of paper, printing and postage fees. With the lowest possible costs of payment processing, distribution and collection of bills, firms will be reducing their costs effectively while increasing their profits. Additionally, the costs of implementing the e-billing component are relatively little, taking into acc ount the vast cost reductions of implementing the system. Furthermore, EBPP will enable a corporation to observe its customer’s behavior, since customer needs will be apparent through the usage of the features provided.The corporation will be able to achieve customer satisfaction by placing emphasis on and enhancing the features its customers appear to be utilizing the most. The corporation will also be able to reach its customers through the â€Å"interactive† statement messages system, which can be used as a tool for marketing and advertising new features, products and/or services. Furthermore, such a system can be used to get clients registered for recurring automated payments each month/period as well as providing the option of non-recurring payments, such as a one-time bill.Taking into consideration the overall advantages provided by the implementers of EBPP, it would be safe to say that the growth potential for the e-billing sector is enormous. Up until now, ther e are approximately 100 Canadian companies implementing the system. This number is expected to grow in time due to the vast number of advantages provided by EBPP. ii)Benefits to the customer: Although most systems are designed to further benefit the company implementing them, EBPP is a tool for both the company and its clients.EBPP enables the customer to immediately self-activate (open) their account in order for them to make recurring periodic (monthly) payments. It ultimately saves the customer the time taken to physically mail or make the payment at their financial institution, and practically eliminates the mail float by allowing the customer to make payments immediately after viewing the bill online. EBPP is also flexible in the sense that it can be implemented in many different forms providing the customer with a vast number of ways to utilize its many features.EBPP gives the customer an array of drafting options, from customer-initiated payments to automatic drafts or even s afety drafts if necessary. Customers can make the payments either through a consolidator such as epost, the corporation itself such as Rogers Telecom or through their bank such as Bank of Montreal. By giving the customer a wide range of choices, he/she can choose what they are most comfortable with in terms of security and quality of service.The number of errors made by the bill payers and the billers are also substantially reduced due to the ability of the platform to allow pre-filled customer interactive information to ensure all content collected/distributed is correct. Additionally, epost provides its registered users with the option to store their bills for up to 7 years. This allows for maximum efficiency, the customer will no longer have to pile up his/her paper bills for future reference rather, they will have their bills stored online and accessible at all times. Security wise, EBPP is rather comprehensive.In order to gain access to an account, the account number and its ma tching password are required. Furthermore, it encrypts the information transmitted from a computer to the designated server through Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology. This reduces the chances of confidential information falling into the wrong hands. Overall, EBPP systems are usually designed to maximize security and confidentiality in order to encourage users to share their personal financial information to streamline the activities involved in making payments for desired products/services. ii)Benefits to the Environment: Although the benefits to the environment are clearly visible, translating the benefits in terms of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission reductions would illustrate the concept in a more effective light. If Canadians were to replace 40% of their paper bills with electronic bills and only print 20% of the electronic bills, GHG emissions would be substantially reduced by 10,500 tonnes per year. Replacing 80% of the paper bills and printing only 5% of the electronic ones w ould lead to 22,000 tons of reduced GHG emissions.Such goals would serve to better preserve the environment and would reduce the amount of waste produced by a significant portion. Canadian businesses would end up saving approximately $1. 1 billion dollars in total. Doubling the implementations would lead to a $2. 2 billion reduction in expenditure by businesses increasing their overall profits while ensuring that their operations are in line with the environmental constraints of reducing waste/GHG emissions. 9-Risk Affiliated with the Adoption and Non-Adoption of EBPPBillers must take into consideration every type of billing presentment and payment the market offers today since it is their main ingredient to be successful. Therefore, billers have to offer the optimal billing presentment and payment that will bring customer satisfaction and be convenient for the biller at the same time. After the introduction of Electronic Bill Presentment and Payments (EBBP) many billers are facing a dilemma of risk due to the adoption or non-adoption of EBPP.For instance, if the biller decides to adopt EBPP, there will be potential of non-acceptance from the biller’s customers after the implementation of EBPP and that will lead to a decrease in the profit margins because of lost customers. The biller might also encounter fraud attempts especially because the bill will be electronically paid. Moreover, there might be a defect in the operational process of electronic presentment and payments such as a system freeze which will incur more costs on the behalf of the biller.Then again, if the biller decides not to implement the EBPP, the biller might be going against the market’s new trend hence this will put the company in a competitive disadvantage. Therefore, the biller will start losing market share and this will reflect negatively as a decrease in the biller’s profit margins due to lost customers. 10- Users of EBPP in Canada (Business Sectors): Most busine sses that implement EBPP provide their customers with services that require recurring payments, rather than a one-time payment (non-recurring).This implies that EBPP would be more convenient for service geared businesses that provide the customer with an ongoing service, which would require the customer to make repeated payments. Businesses operating in the following service providing sectors would greatly benefit from the implementation of EBPP, since all forms of viewing/paying the bill would be streamlined and undertaken from one location. i)Telecommunications Service Providers ii)Utilities Service Providers iii)Visa/Master Procurement cards iv)Banks and financial institutions v)Insurance providers vi)Postal Industries 11-Conclusion:Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment offers a streamlined method of payment, which is very advantageous for both the billers and their clients and notably the environment. Moreover, it considerably reduces costs and the amount of time to make a pay ment. Despite the drawbacks or risks of implementing EBPP, the benefits clearly outweigh the disadvantages. We believe that by 2015 paper bills will probably be inexistent in Canada, due to the expectations of recessions, companies will realize that they will save a lot of money by implementing the e-billing component, despite its high implementation costs.EBPP is the next trend for all businesses, and is expected to become the standard form of bill presentment and payment. 12-References: http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2004_July_8? pnum=3&opg=n6098705&tag=artBody;col1 http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2004_July_8/ai_n6098705 http://cebp. nacha. org/documents/ebpp-buspractices-2-1. pdf www. cdnpay. ca www. wikipedia. ca http://www. bce. ca/data/documents/responsibility/innovating_toward_a_low_carbon_canada. pdf Margaret Tan (2005). E-payment: The digital Exchange. NUS Press Kornel Teplan (2003). Electronic Bill Presentment an

Advantages And Disadvantages Of The Prototype Model Information Technology Essay

Advantages And Disadvantages Of The Prototype Model Information Technology Essay This is a better system for consumers, because consumers have a natural tendency to change their mind in determining the requirements and methods of systems development to support user preferences. Because the methodology of the work system model is provided, consumers get a better understanding of the system being developed.   Offences can be detected early as well as system side mode.   ready to respond more quickly to the user a better solution. The job even more quickly and efficiently if the expander will collaborate further on the status of specific functions and develop the necessary adjustments in time for integration Prototype Model  Disadvantages Directing the implementation and how to build and improve systems. In practice, this methodology can improve the complexity system as the system can be expanded beyond the scope of original articles. The integration can be very difficult. STEPS: There are several steps in the Prototyping Model: The new system requirements de fined in sedentarily possible.  This usually involves interviewing number of users representing all departments and aspects of the systems. An original design made for the new system. A first prototype of a new system built from the original design.  This is usually a scale-down system, and an estimate of the final product characteristics. The overall consumer evaluate the first prototype, registered the strengths and weaknesses, what to add, and what do you off.  Expanders collect and analyze comments from users. The first prototype was modified based on comments provided by the user, and the prototype of both the new system was built. The second prototype is evaluated in the same way as the first prototype.   Previous steps of iteration are needed, until the user is satisfied that the prototype of the desired end product. Final system is built based on the final prototype.   Final system is actually measured and tested.  Conservation of the routine is done continuously to prevent large scale failures and to minimize downtime. Prototyping consists of the following steps: †¢ Requirements Definition / Collection.  Similar to the phase conceptualization Waterfall Model, but not exhaustive.  The information collected is usually limited to a subset of the complete system requirements. †¢ Design.  After the initial layer of requirements information is collected, or new information is collected, it quickly developed into a new or an existing design to be folded into a prototype. †¢ Prototype Manufacturing / Modify.  Information from design to prototype quickly wound up.  This may mean loss / alteration of information sheets, coding, or modification of any coding. †¢ Evaluation.  The prototype presented to the customer for review.  Comments and suggestions collected from customers. †¢ Refinement of prototype.  The information collected from customers digested and refined prototype.  The flourish of the revised pr ototype to make it more effective and efficient. †¢ Implementation of the System.  In most cases, this system is rewritten once the need to understand. Types: Prototype Models Types There are four types of Prototype Models based on their  development  planning: the Patch-Up Prototype, Nonoperational Prototype, First-of-a-Series Prototype Selected Features Prototype. Patch Up Prototype Types of prototype models to encourage cooperation of different developers.  Each expander will work on specific parts of the program.  After everyone has done their part, the program will integrated each other until the new program.  Patch Up The prototype is a model of rapid development.  Type model of software development requires a strong project manager who can oversee the development of this program.  Manager will control the beam of work and ensure that no crutch overlapping different functions of the developers.

LATIN AMERICAN JEWISH LITERATURE AND CINEMA Research Paper

LATIN AMERICAN JEWISH LITERATURE AND CINEMA - Research Paper Example The fathers played an important role in making their sons’ Jewish education and traditions. Gerchunoff (1998) says â€Å"Most of the Jewish men if not all were urban dwellers whose knowledge of gaucho was confined to the sporadic stays on the pampa.They glorified the gaucho as quintessential national idol, a courageous peasant always carrying his guitar, his poncho and his vengeful spirit which stands in contrast. His gauchos’ judios are not loners but family oriented bread winners. They are neither malicious nor rancorous but loyal to their biblical code of ethics† (p.5) The life of a Jewish boy involves some important life cycle events which include, birth, circumcision, Pidyod ha-Ben, bar mitzah and marriage. Birth According to Jewish law human life begins at birth and a child is born sinless. When a woman gives birth to a boy, she is sexually separated from the husband for seven days as the woman is considered impure for a period of 33 days and the father is given an honor of reading the Torah in the synagogue. The naming of a boy occurs during brit milah (the ritual of circumcision Circumcision From the Jewish point of view circumcision is a command from God. A boy child is circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. The eight day is counted from the day the child is born, for example, if a child is born on Tuesday he will be circumcised the following week on Tuesday. It involves surgical removal of the foreskin and is performed a Jewish elder known as a mohel, who is educated in Jewish law and circumcision. After the boy is circumcised he is held by a Sandek (godfather), who is normally the family rabbi or the boys grandparent .Here they recite various blessings and then the boy is given an official Jewish name. In Jewish laws brit milah - the ritual of circumcision is universally observed. Circumcision is perceived to be an outward sign of the inner agreement between the Jewish people and God. It is binding upon the father, and hi s son and the father is obligated to have his son circumcised. If the father does not take him to be circumcised, the boy must have himself circumcised when he grows up. A Person, who is not circumcised, has no value in the society and will suffer a penalty of Kareit meaning spiritual excision. After the circumcision ritual, a feast of meals and refreshments follows. Redemption of the Firstborn son: Pidyod ha-Ben A Jewish firstborn belongs to God. Originally, first born sons would serve as priests or other Temple functions in Israel. A first born son is redeemed at the age of 31 days. The ritual of Pidyod ha-Ben is done on the 31st day but if it falls on the Shabbat it will be done the following day as it involves an exchange of money. During this ritual a small amount of money, five silver shekels equal to five silver dollars is paid to a kohein (a Jewish elder who performs the ritual). Bar Mitzah Bar mitzah means son of the commandment. Boys are recognized as full members of the c ommunity at 13 when they celebrate bar mitzvah. At this age, a boy is obligated to observe the commandments. Bar mitzah ceremony is held and the boy assumes the right to take part in religious services. He is considered a man and must meet the requirements of ritual and civil law. During a normal Sabbath service, the boy child is called upon to read from the Torah for the first time. In modern day society,

Production Notes Project - For a Theatre Class Essay - 1

Production Notes Project - For a Theatre Class - Essay Example eyes; Shakespeare being one of the greatest playwrights in history, it would be tough to play with the theme of the play however, I would like to set the entire backdrop during the colonial period and portray the kind of capitalism and conquest that the rich bourgeoisie did during the time. The play is about a feud going on between two families, the Capulets and the Montagues. The reason for the brawl between the families is only because of a matter of differences that the two sides are subject to, however the reasons for that are not provided. Shakespeare wrote that whoever breaches the peace between the two families would be subject to death. Thus, through my eyes, I would like to depict the feud between the families as a result of wealth and conquests accumulated during the colonial period in British England. I would thus like to begin the play with a short prologue depicting how the Montagues and the Capulets had both established themselves as the wealthy families in Britain and England but had a shortcoming which can be depicted through the capitalist market economies and societies of the time. The families fought with each other in order to establish their supremacy over the other and boom with respect to their personal production. The ball that the Capulets hold is to celebrate their good harvests for the year and growth and development in the agricultural sector. It is a moment of celebration and victory over any other primary sector competitor that they have in the market, including the Montagues. The peace treaty decided between the two was on the basis of how they would not intrude upon each other’s lands or indulge in any form of unhealthy competition. Thus through this entire backdrop, one can easily see the plight of the wealthy farming sector in old England at the time, and how they were fighting to survive among each other even though these two main families held supremacy over the market. The Capulets want to marry their daughter off to

Synopsis of War against the Weak Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Synopsis of War against the Weak - Essay Example He is able to trace the history of the Eugenics Philosophy to its utility in the early 20th Century, best exemplified by American scientists, livestock breeders, and politicians in their effort at creating a superior Nordic race. These results in a compulsory sterilization campaigned on over 60,000 men and women, most of them were of color and poor. This, unfortunately, was to later inform on Hitler’s cleansing campaign, which he maximized to the fullest in the resultant concentration camps.Thus, racist American pseudoscience based on the field (ideological inclination) of eugenics, as practiced in the first 3 decades of America’s 20th Century history, provided the foundation for Hitler’s quest towards the creation of a Master Race (Aryan) in Germany and then the rest of Europe. This is furthered by the great influence that American Eugenicists had on their German counterparts further solidifying Hitler’s destructive course. What is appalling is the fact t hat American eugenicists were to contribute greatly to Hitler’s Nazi racial hygiene (eradication) policy. Through utility of gas chambers, x-ray machinery for human sterilization and euthanasia, Nazi Germany was able to implement the eradication of millions of populations, these methods/ avenues having been at one time or another been proposed by American eugenicists as necessary and effective means of cleansing. Such cleansing was proposed for America’s unfit social strata based on racial discrimination.

Transferable Learning Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Transferable Learning - Assignment Example This paper intends to examine into details the external and internal factors that promote or demote the continuity of the company. The analysis is intended to be done by use of PESTEL analysis. Moreover, the Porters Diamond Concept is intended to be applied in examining the strategic planning; the five forces of an industry set up and value chain because of differentiation advantage particularly in creating and sustaining the market niche (POWER ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL, 2009). Centrica’s market niche is complex because it occupies both local and global market spaces. Numerous factors of sustaining the market nice will be discussed. Furthermore, the paper intends to explore diverse competition mechanisms used by the company’s management in sustaining the competition level with other players in the same industry. It is imperative to note that, the dynamic nature of the global market the overall company development ion diverse sectors requires specific skills to full realize the whole potential of resource utilization (HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL DIGEST, 2009). The said skills should be embraced by the managers who are required to possess exemplary abilities to detect the company’s trends and act in tandem with the market demands within the same industry (POWER ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL, 2009). The managers should not only rely on the internal resources but also the attributed environmental considerations, which affect the operations and trends of the company. Some of these factors include fundamental market features, whic h can affect and dictate the strategic business implementation and sound decision making from available options. The forecast of subsequent political, social, economic and technology implications in tandem with the company’s vision and ambition will ensure successful and purposeful development of the

Hepatitis B virus and liver cancer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hepatitis B virus and liver cancer - Essay Example Analysis of the geographic prevalence of liver cancer and HBV show that there are similarities and it is this link that has proved to be the first step in the understanding of etiological relationship of HBV with liver cancer. (4). Liver cancer is spread throughout the world. However, there are variances in the presence of the disease in different regions of the world. Looking at the world from the perspective of the developed and developing divide, the incidence of liver cancer is more in the developing world, rather than in the developed world. However, there is a trend of reducing prevalence of liver cancer in the developing world, while there is a rising prevalence of liver cancer in the developed world. The more effective HBV preventive programs coupled better food and nutrition in the developing world are believed to be the reasons for the lower growth rates of liver cancer in the developing world, while migration of people from the developing world to the developed world coupled with rising incidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the developed believed are assumed as the causes for the increased growth rates of liver cancer in the developed world. (5). Incidence statistics of liver cancer for the period 1993-1997, provided by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), show that continent of Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands have the highest incidence of liver cancer. For example in Qidong County, China the crude rate for liver cancer is 107.4 and in Nagasaki City of Japan the crude rate for liver cancer is 67.1. (6). Europe lower rates of incidence are found in almost all the regions as can be seen from the LC AAIRs of 4.7 to 8.9 among men in Southern, Eastern and Western Europe. It is even lower in Northern Europe, which has an LC AAIRs of 2.7 to 3.2 (7). In the United States of America there is a geographical variance in the incidence of liver cancer in the white populations with the northern

Spoken and Written Language, the Dual Route Model Case Study

Spoken and Written Language, the Dual Route Model - Case Study Example 1197). Thus, Coltheart and Rastle attempt to offer evidence to the utility of dual-route theory in analyzing the reading performance of young normal readers as well as children with reading impairment. Another significant article on the applicability of dual-route theory, Rapcsak, et al. offer establish with evidences that dual-route equation as well as a related multiple regression model can â€Å"accurately predict both reading and spelling performance in adult neurological patients with acquired alexia and agraphia. These findings provide empirical support for dual-route theories of written language processing.† (Rapcsak, Henry, Teague, Carnahan, and Beeson, 2007, p. 2519). Therefore, both the articles deal with the effectiveness of dual-route models to analyze the reading performance of people with reading impairment, although the strategy as well as the focus of these articles differs. It is essential to realize that both the articles deal with scientific studies about th e usefulness of dual-route models and they offer detailed information about the participants of the study, including the age, speech and language abilities, cognitive status of the participants, etc. In short, the articles deal with a common topic, i.e.

Portable water purification systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Portable water purification systems - Essay Example With a fast growing world population, demand for water has massively been on the rise. The need for not only safe but also clean water ideal for human consumption has been a great challenge to the developing world. This has been further compounded on by contamination of the scarce water resources in those areas by various contaminators such as animal waste, human disposal waste, landfills, leaching and other industrial wastes. In addition, these countries might not have adequate infrastructure to enhance clean water supply. This report therefore outlines a marketing plan for the supply of water in one of the developing countries in Africa that has faced the problem of purified water supply- Sudan. It will outline how the provision of reverse osmosis units and portable purifiers for households in the country who have been worst hit by the problem of obtaining safe water for domestic use. Marketing of products for the improvement of living standards is an essential component for the se nsitization of populations that may be helpless and even ill informed on the modern and simple methods of purifying and conserving water for domestic use. A good example of a similar project in the area that has been a success because of appropriate marketing is the provision of mosquito nets in the area to reduce spread of malaria. Portable Water Purifier, Its Features, and Benefits This plan has considered various factors before it identified the most appropriate water-purifying product for promotion in the proposed area. The major factors taken into account before arriving at the best product included type and amount of water contaminants in the area, cost of equipment purchase, operation and maintenance costs, usability and the space needed for operation or storage. Portable water purifiers are simple household gadgets made out of locally available materials to enable as many households or communities as possible to have access to clean water. The product is designed to enable f iltration and purification of water through layers of pebbles that can be replaced with clean sand and then the filtered water is taken through a purification chamber where chlorination takes place. All of these are in a ten litres container that makes it possible to obtain safe and pure drinking water from the highly sedimented and contaminated water from the rivers and boreholes in the region. The portable water purifier is therefore a simple and manageable product that is easily adoptable by the population because of its straightforward use and the relatively lower costs of purchase and maintenance. It has three main components in terms of the sections that make its purification, filtration and storage functions possible. First is the filtration segment or compartment that is at the top most section of the container. This has been placed next to the opening where the water to be purified is poured in through. It originally comes with clean pebbles for sedimentation of foreign par ticles mostly found in water harvested from rivers and other water sources in the region. The flow of water into the filtration chamber is regulated by a narrowly designed opening so that the filtration process is gradual and hence all particles are eliminated at this stage. The adjacent chamber is that of chlorination or purification through sterilization. There are granules in this chamber that aid in this method. To ensure that this is cost effective, the

Cultural Practices that Influence Academic Performance Essay Example for Free

Cultural Practices that Influence Academic Performance Essay It is a basic or general rule and knowledge that the learning process and patterns differ for every student or learner. The concept of individual differences supports this idea as it builds on the theory that the structure or dimensions of the various faculties of individuals differ for each child, such as the physical, emotional, psychological, and cognitive faculties. From this point of view, we draw out the conclusion that individual differences must also mean that the pedagogical process should be designed to address them in order to facilitate learning in different kinds of situations. In other cases, not only are the various faculties considered, but also environmental factors such as social faculties, and more importantly, the cultural background from which an individual belongs to. With this in mind, the remainder of this text will look into the comparison and contrast of cultural factors that influence academic performance, particularly on a specific learning group – the Limited English Proficient or LEP students and the Fluent English Speakers or FES population. The primary difference between LEP and FES learners is the rate of standard of English language proficiency, either in listening, reading, writing and speaking. The implication of this particular inconsistency of English language proficiency when we talk about the learning situation is that learning becomes imbalanced or varied due to the different learning needs and demands of the aforementioned learning groups. Moreover, this also means that the teaching-learning process will cease to become effective if it lends itself to the traditional means of learning. For instance, since LEP learners lack the knowledge, skills, and competencies of displaying their proficiency on the English language, the curriculum as well as other learning aspects or situations are modified in order to make them less difficult and easier for the learners to understand at their own pace. On the other hand, the FES population has advanced and more developed proficiency in the English language. Therefore, the learning situation should be made challenging in order to increase or further learning and take it to the next level. The Interaction Model presented by Dr. Fred Tempes and Lilia Stapleton in their case study about bilingual education suggest that the academic performance of students when it comes to English language proficiency is dependent on the community background, the knowledge, skills, and competencies by the learner, the instructional method or techniques implemented, and the educational background. The condition of a learner’s community background constitutes the socio-economic status of families within the community and the academic performance of schools or academic institutions that provide learning opportunities for LEP students. These factors have something to do with the chance or capability of families to pay for bilingual educational programs for their children and the academic institution to provide effective and comprehensive bilingual educational programs. Another factor includes the primary language that families use at home and the kind of culture that exists within it. For instance, families that use Spanish as their primary language at home will expect their children to have difficulties in learning the English language in school. Moreover, a family that readily accepts the necessity to learn the English language would be more open to being involved, contributive, and supportive to the English learning process. (Tempes Stapleton, 1986) The student input factors that influence academic performance of LEP students include the obtained rate in English language proficiency, the academic performance rated and quantified for the English courses, and student mobility. In addition, the educational background that affects student academic performance for LEP students has something to do with the design, structure, learning objectives, and quality of educational programs implemented by academic institutions covering the institutional learning goals and objectives, the educational philosophies, the curriculum, the syllabus, instructional methods, strategies, techniques, and materials, and such. (Tempes Stapleton, 1986) On the other hand, the cultural factors that influence academic performance of the FES population differ from that of the LEP students. Culture, particularly language, is less likely to influence academic performance of the FES population since learning becomes easier and less challenging due to their increased proficiency of the English language which is the primary medium of instruction in academic institutions. For instance, instructions or directions are clearly understood leaving enough time for them to accomplish learning goals and objectives for English courses. However, academic institutions need to focus on the educational background or the ability of the academic institution to provide the highest standard of education for the FES population in order to increase the input of the students in terms of their academic performance and development of their English language skills and competencies. This particular difference is the primary reason why teachers express their difficulty in adjusting to the varying needs and demands of LEP students and the FES population. On the contrary, this particular situation is the reason why the government and academic institutions are continually raising the quality of education and educational programs since there is a pressing need to develop and implement bilingual education to address diverse needs of the student population. (Howard Loeb, 1998) The cultural factors that influence the academic performance of LEP students and the FES population has impacted how the government and academic institutions regard and acknowledge the importance of multicultural educational programs or curricula. Aside from the obvious need of LEP students to obtain an efficient, appropriate, and comprehensive language education, the rate of academic performance of the FES population when compared to that of the LEP students helped in establishing multicultural educational programs and curricula to address specific learning needs for both population. One example would be the No Child Left Behind or NCLB Act implemented by the U. S. government in 2001. Taking the context of the NCLB and applying it to the educational situation of American Indians in the country (Beaulieu, Sparks Alonzo, 2005), various discussions were conducted in order to reconcile the need to implement NCLB but at the same time preserve the culture of American Indians through culturally-sensitive educational programs (Campbell, 2000). While effective programs for FES students rely on the continuity of traditional education programs that does not incorporate special courses or directives for the learning of English as a second language, educational programs for LEP or ESL students incorporate the accomplishment of educational standards and guidelines for the learning of the English language while at the same time implementing the traditional programs for FES students which not only focuses on English courses but other subjects, courses, or programs as well. Therefore, the educational programs and curricula for LEP or ESL students are more specialized and particular to the learning of the English language in traditional educational settings, including the need to become integrated to society through the learning process and learn traditional concepts inclusive of regular educational programs, making it more challenging and difficult as compared to those provided for the FES population. (Thomas Collier, 1997) Aside from the implementation of multicultural curriculum as means to develop and improve education for LEP and ESL students, the knowledge, skills, and competencies of teachers in teaching the English language to second language learners should also be evaluated and assessed. TESOL discussed the need not only to improve multicultural curricula, but also to develop teaching capabilities and competencies through teacher education. This will be done by raising standards and guidelines in accrediting teacher education programs. (TESOL Task Force ESL Program Review Specialist, 2008) Considering teacher competencies is one way of addressing the needs of LEP and ESL students and acknowledging the fact that academic performance is not the concern of the students, their parents, and the community alone. One of the main contributors to the academic performance of LEP and ESL students also include the â€Å"teacher factor. † TESOL’s contribution to raising the standards of teacher education to improve the quality of multicultural educational programs has paved way to the rising quality of multicultural educational programs for the benefit of the LEP and ESL students. References Beaulieu, D. , Sparks, L. Alonzo, M. (2005). No Child Left Behind in Indian Country. NIEA Preliminary Report: National Indian Education Association. Campbell. (2000). Amending the Native American Languages Act to Provide for the Support of Native American Language Survival Schools, and for Other Purposes. The Committee on Indian Affairs, 106th Congress: The United States Senate. Howard, E. R. Loeb, M. I. (1998). In Their Own Words: Two-Way Immersion Teachers Talk About Their Professional Experiences. Center For Applied Linguistics: ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics. TESOL Task Force ESL Program Review Specialist. (2008). Standards for the Accreditation of Initial Programs in P-12 ESL Teacher Education. TESOL. Tempes, F. Stapleton, L. (1986). Case Studies in Bilingual Education. Federal Grant #G008303723 Thomas, W. P. Collier, V. (1997). School Effectiveness for Language Minority Students. Center for the Study of Language and Education. Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education.

Concepts and Theories of Classical Conditioning

Concepts and Theories of Classical Conditioning Aimee Duncalfe Rena Borovilos Classical Conditioning and My Behaviour Behavioural psychology is a theory of learning that is founded upon the idea that all behaviours are acquired through conditioning, which occurs through environmental interaction (Cherry, What is Behaviorism?, 2014). Conditioning is a specific type of learning that has been explored by several different physiologists and psychologists throughout history, and can be broken down into two specific types of learning; classical conditioning and operant conditioning. This paper will discuss classical conditioning while exploring several different examples, including a personal behaviour that can also be identified as classical conditioning. Classical conditioning is a learning process that occurs through associating two stimuli that are repeatedly paired together, resulting in a conditioned response. (Cherry, What Is Classical Conditioning?, 2005). The process of classical conditioning consist of placing a conditioned stimulus before an unconditioned stimulus that naturally results in an unconditioned response. When paired repeatedly, the conditioned stimulus eventually causes a conditioned response, even in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus. An unconditioned stimulus (UCS) is one that naturally or automatically causes a response (Cherry, Classical Conditioning, 2005). For example, when you hear a balloon pop, you may immediately jump in shock. The sound of the balloon popping is the unconditioned stimulus. An unconditioned response (UCR) is the automatic response that occurs naturally in response to the unconditioned stimulus (Cherry, Classical Conditioning, 2005). Using the same example, jumping in response to the sound of the balloon popping is the unconditioned response. The conditioned stimulus (CS) is previously neutral stimulus that, after becoming associated with the unconditioned stimulus, eventually causes a conditioned response (Cherry, Classical Conditioning, 2005). Suppose that immediately before you heard the balloon pop, you saw a flashing red light. The flashing red light is unrelated to the sound of the balloon popping, though if the flashing red light was paired multiple times with the balloon popping, seeing the flashing red light would eventually cause the conditioned response. In this case, the conditioned stimulus is seeing the flashing red light. The conditioned response (CR) is the learned response to a previously neutral stimulus (Cherry, Classical Conditioning, 2005). In the same example, the conditioned response would be jumping to the sight of the flashing red light. This process, often used in behavioural training, was introduced by a Russian physiologist by the name of Ivan Pavlov, who won the Nobel Prize in 1904 for his work on the physiology of digestion (Nobel Media AB, 2014). Pavlovs experiment explored dogs salivating in response to the presentation of food. In his experiment, the UCS was the presentation of food, and the UCR was salivating in response to the food. Pavlov also introduced a CS, the sound of a bell, immediately before presenting the food to the dogs. By combining the sound of the bell with the presentation of food, the sound of the bell alone would eventually produce the conditioned response of salivation. (Cherry, What Is Classical Conditioning?, 2005). There are several occurrences that take place in relation to classical conditioning. The first stages of learning when a response is established is what is known as acquisition. This refers to the period of time when the conditioned response is first established and gradually strengthened (Cherry, Principles of Classical Conditioning, 2005). Going back to the first example of the popping balloon, the conditioned response has been acquired once a person begins to jump at the sight of the flashing red light. In Pavlov’s experiment, the conditioned response has been acquired as soon as the dog begins to salivate in response to the sound of the bell. Once the response has been acquired, the response can be progressively strengthened to ensure the behaviour is well learned. Factors that can influence how quickly acquisition occurs include how noticeable the CS is, as well as the timing of the CS in relation to the UCS. If the CS is too subtle, or if there is too much of a delay bet ween the CS and the UCS, the learner may not notice the CS enough to form an association between the two. The most effective method is to introduce the CS and then quickly present the UCS so that there is an overlap between the two. The more noticeable the CS, and the shorter delay between the UCS and the CS, the quicker acquisition will take (Cherry, What is Acquisition?, 2005). Another occurrence in relation to classical conditioning is extinction. Extinction happens when the frequency of a CR decreases or disappears when a CS is no longer paired with an UCS (Cherry, Principles of Classical Conditioning, 2005). Returning to the previously used example, if the popping of the balloon were no longer paired with the flashing red light, eventually the conditioned response of jumping to the flashing red light would disappear. In Pavlov’s experiment, if he no longer paired the bell with the presentation of the food, eventually the conditioned response of salivating to the sound of the bell would disappear. During his research, Pavlov discovered that when extinction occurs, it does not mean that the subject returns to their unconditioned state. Allowing several hours or even days to elapse after a response has been extinguished can result in spontaneous recovery of the CR (Cherry, What is Extinction?, 2005). Spontaneous recovery refers to the sudden reappearance of the CR after extinction or period of reduced response. If the CS and UCS are no longer associated, extinction will occur very quickly after a spontaneous recovery. Pavlov noted during his experiment that no longer pairing the sound of the bell with the presentation of food led to extinction of the salivation response. However, after a two hour rest period, the salivation response suddenly reappeared when the bell was presented (Cherry, Spontaneous Recovery, 2005). This phenomena shows that extinction is not the same as unlearning. While the CR may disappear, it may not have been forgotten or completely eliminated. Stimulus generalization, the tendency for the CS to prompt similar responses after the CR has been conditioned, is another occurrence of classical conditioning (Cherry, What Is Stimulus Generalization?, 2005). In the first example, our subject has been conditioned to jump at the sight of our CR, a flashing red light. After the subject has been conditioned, he might respond to not only a flashing red light, but all flashing lights. This response to all flashing lights exemplifies stimulus generalization. Closely related to stimulus generalization, stimulus discrimination is the ability to distinguish between a CS and other stimuli that have not been paired with a UCS (Cherry, Principles of Classical Conditioning, 2005). In Pavlov’s experiment where the sound of a bell is the CS, discrimination involves being able to tell the difference between the sound of the bell and other similar sounds, and would then only express the CR at the sound of the bell. Another form of classical conditioning is higher order conditioning. This is where a new CS is created, by pairing a second CS with a previously created CS. The second CS acts as a UCS for the first CS. If Pavlov had begun flashing a red light before he sounded the bell, the flashing red light would become the new CS, and would eventually evoke the same CR as the sound of the bell does. My own behaviour indicates that I have also been classically conditioned. Two years ago, I was involved in a car accident. I was driving on the highway in the fast lane, the lane closest to the centre guardrail, when I lost control of my car and slammed into the guardrail, spinning across all three lanes. My car came to a final rest after hitting the guardrail closest to the on and off ramps. Before my car accident, I was a very confident driver and never experienced anxiety while driving, in general or while driving in the fast lane. Since my car accident, I am unable to drive in the fast lane without becoming very anxious. Experiencing anxiety is generally a natural response when getting into a car accident, so getting into a car accident in this example is the UCS, and experiencing anxiety is the UCR. Immediately preceding the car accident, I was driving in the fast lane, which is the CS in this situation. As a result of my traumatic experience, driving in the fast lane now produces the same anxious feeling as getting into a car accident because I have associated this factor with my car accident. And so, anxiety is the CR in this example. I have included a diagram in Appendix 1 to demonstrate my behaviour and how it associates with the basic classical conditioning model. A CR was achieved very quickly during acquisition of my behaviour. Because the situation was so traumatic, the CR was immediate, and I began to experience anxiety as quickly as the next time I drove on the highway. My behaviour is a good example of generalization because I do not only become anxious while driving in the fast lane on the same highway or in the same area where I hit the guardrail, but also while driving in the fast lane on all highways. There is another possible explanation for my behaviour. By avoiding driving in the fast lane, I am decreasing the likelihood of experiencing anxiety. My personal behaviour is a great example of negative punishment, which involves removing something good or desirable away in order to reduce the probability of a specific behaviour reoccurring. While driving in the fast lane can be beneficial and often desired, by not driving in that lane, I am eliminating the CR of experiencing anxiety when driving in that lane. Be it salivating at the smell of our favourite food cooking, avoiding a specific restaurant because of a bad experience, or putting on our seatbelt to stop the car from making the obnoxious dinging sound, our everyday lives are filled with behaviours that are a result of classical or operant conditioning, whether we realize it or not. Some of these conditioning experiences may be positive ones, others may have more negative effects on our lives, and some may go unnoticed forever. While conditioning is not as prominent today as it was throughout the middle of the twentieth century, it still remains an influential force in psychology. References Cherry, K. (2005). Classical Conditioning. Retrieved from about|education: http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology/a/classcond.htm Cherry, K. (2005). Principles of Classical Conditioning. Retrieved from about|education: http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology/a/classcondbasics.htm Cherry, K. (2005). Spontaneous Recovery. Retrieved from about|education: http://psychology.about.com/od/sindex/g/spontrec.htm Cherry, K. (2005). What is Acquisition? Retrieved from about|education: http://psychology.about.com/od/glossaryfromatoz/g/Acquisition.htm Cherry, K. (2005). What Is Classical Conditioning? Retrieved from about|education: http://psychology.about.com/od/cindex/g/classcond.htm Cherry, K. (2005). What is Extinction? Retrieved from about|education: http://psychology.about.com/od/eindex/g/extinction.htm Cherry, K. (2005). What Is Stimulus Generalization? Retrieved from about|education: http://psychology.about.com/od/sindex/g/stimgen.htm Cherry, K. (2014). What is Behaviorism? Retrieved from about|education: http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology/f/behaviorism.htm Nobel Media AB. (2014). The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1904. Retrieved from Nobelprize.org: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1904/ Weiten, W., McCann, D. (2015). Custom Pub: Psych 1000 Introduction to Psychology and Study Guide. Toronto, ON: Nelson Education Ltd. Appendix 1

Compare and Contrast approaches to management

Compare and Contrast approaches to management Management over the years does not have a generally acceptable definition. The subject has received different views from authorities on management. Follet (1941) defines management as getting things done through people. Follets definition underpins the ultimate aim of all the management theories, processes, approaches and styles that have been developed over the years. That is, the achievement of goals through others. Most if not all managers are faced with the daily task of planning, making decisions, managing resources and personnel. The task is always very tall and therefore the need to achieve the set target from beginning to end with people. Some of these theories put across over the years are administrative management, human relations management and scientific management. This paper will discuss at length the praise and disgust of scientific management and the human relation management theories. Having defined what management in general is. The emphasis will be on how each school of thought gets the job done and how the work environments as well as employees are managed at the work place. The relevance of both schools of thought would be established with clear examples and at the end a conclusion and an opinion of the writers position on the two theories. The principles and theories of scientific management have been around since the 1800s but the real breakthrough came in the early 20th century. Frederick Winslow Taylor made this breakthrough during the industrial revolution when he developed the main principles of scientific management. Wren (2005) reiterates that Taylor set out to resolve industrial issues with his Time and Motion Study and the Piece Rate System. Due to the magnificent contributions made by Taylor to Scientific Management, the term Taylorism was coined. Taylor is regarded as by many management authorities and historians as the Father of Scientific Management. Wrege and Greenwood (1991) as well as Wren (2005) have all attested to the fact that this is written on Taylors epitaph. Taylors principles of scientific management influenced other school of though. Donnelly (2000) offered that the human relations management or movement as some authorities will choose to call it was founded by Elton Mayo. Donnelly (2000) further adds that Mayo, a Director of Industrial Research at Harvard University was involved in the famous Hawthorne Studies which led to an alternative style of management regarded as the Human Resource Movement. As the name suggest, the whole ideas was to fight or push for the employees right at the work place. Ritzer(à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.) defined Scientific Management as a process where technology (nonhuman) exerts more control over the employee. Huczynski and Buchanan (2001) resented that the main targets of scientific management were control, efficiency and predictability. Donnelly (2000) presented that Scientific Management generally involves the employees physical efficiency in the work place. Pugh (1996) offered that production in Tailors day was more of a disincentive for higher productivity instead of facilitating increased productivity. The old Rule of Thumb coupled with workers limitation of output known as Systematic Soldiering were observed by Taylor in his studies as the barriers to increased productivity. Donnelly (2000) observed that the main objective of management is to maximize profit for the employer as well as enabling the worker to increase their earnings. To achieve this, Tsuneo and Wren (2002) agree with Taylor that management and basic processes can be improved when seen as a science. A clear example is the introduction of hands free kits and the computer into call centers. This has helped to reduce the stress of holding the telephone with one hand whiles typing or writing with the other. Taylor equipped with the believe that there is only one ideal method of production that can generate the best results, therefore pushed forward certain principles of ma nagement with a double edged effect to help both employers and workers to achieve higher productivity and earnings respectively. Pruijt (2000) suggest that these principles are fundamental to Taylorism. Richardson (2005) offered these principles as: the dichotomy between an idea formation and completion or execution of these ideas. In other words, division of labor where managers take up the responsibility of job analysis, specification, design, knowledge and prescription of appropriate tools for the job whiles the employee on the other hand only concern themselves with the completion of the task. Braverman (1974) observed that these basic production knowledge originally possessed by the worker was reduced to guidelines, laws, procedures, formulae and rules of production by managers the use of methods scientifically proven to determine the most ideal way of production. This means that there exist an ideal way of producing something and if found to be efficient, it needs to be adopted to replace current methods. the scientific selection of suitable persons for those jobs. the training of the employee to achieve efficiency in the execution of the job. and monitoring of workers job to ensure that procedures are strictly followed and efficiency is achieved through high performance culminating in appropriate domino effect. Parker (1986) reiterates that Taylors ambition was to gain total control of the job schedule of the employee. As established in the above points. Prujt (2000) suggest that the context for these principles to be achieved would be through component homogeneity and reshuffling of logistics. The biggest supporter of scientific management was Henry Ford. He introduced the assembly line of production which meant that the employee job is timed to the speed of the production line. Clark, Chandler and Barry (1995) stated that Mayo carried out series of studies but the four that stood out are the illumination experiments, the relay assembly test room, the interview program and the bank wiring observation room experiment. Agarwal (2002) presents that the human relations movement was developed after the conclusion of the Hawthorne experiments. The experiment which brought together six persons who without force from managers or impediment from employees below them, unreservedly and of their own volition cooperated in the experiment as a team. Mayo identified in his conclusions that an organization can only achieve its goals when it recognizes the emotions of the employee and respects their pleasures of needs that are non-monetary. The key points held by the human relations movement have been enumerated by the following authorities; Donnelly (2008) maintains that employees have as their concern the satisfaction of their needs which are non-monetary in nature. Therefore, it could be said that pay and conditions are not enough motivators for a person at work. Sridhar (2008) offered that managers of organizations should as matter of priority provide their employees with psychological needs as this affects productivity levels in the long run Graham (2008) also holds the view that companies or organizations are co-operative social entities. From the above, it could be said that individual or employees are motivated by excellent and friendly relationships at the work place and should not be seen in isolation because they all belong to a group. The fulfillment of their social needs helps them to retort greatly to work-groups than controls from management. Scientific management presents that; The only motivation for the employee to execute his task was money. Taylor reiterates that employees deliberately device ways of cutting down task assign them and describes them as lazy people who could only be motivated by what he calls economic incentive. Therefore, if an organization is to achieve increase in job satisfaction and productivity, wages paid to workers should be at premium. Graham (2008) reiterated that there is only one best way and must be discovered by the manager. Donnelly (2000) argued that Labor should be divided in a way that analysis planning, design and selection should be done by managers whiles execution is carried out by workers without complains. To achieve this, Taylor introduced the differential system which had the pull and push effect on the employee, either coming down from the top or climbing up. It could be presented that if the employee would be rewarded for their achievements, so would they be punished for failures in that respect. The human relation school of thought holds that money is not the only motivation for employees as exhibited by the Hawthorne Experiments made manifest. Informal groups or social networks at work places often becomes stronger and push for group interest than individual financial benefits. Hersey (2001) argues that these groups can become commanding forces in achieving the companys goals once they see that in line with their own personal goals. As established earlier, one can deduce that the economic man depicted by Taylor as lazy and only money conscious has been replaced by the social man who likes to associate with others. In this wise, the employees output is determine by their acceptance in the group aligned with the high regard they have for the other members of the group. Moreover, if the other members of the group produce as a group norm, the employee would follow. From the above discussions it is unmistakable to note that in comparism both scientific and human relations management propounds different thoughts, views and principles for the management of the employee, his job and the workplace. On the other hand, the existence of key dissimilarities makes both schools of thought very different in practice. Hersey 2001 presents that the employee under Taylorism is seen as central to the organization with regards to output whiles under human relations management the emphasis is on correlation as the central focus of the organization. Scientific management did away with correlations and groups at the work place with the deliberate isolation of the worker as far as possible from his mates. In sharp contrast, the human relation management held that the survival of these relationships and groups would encourage coordination, correlation and communication. Job knowledge under scientific management was held by the managers who set criteria and make them obligatory for the employee whiles under the human relations management, the manager or leader is regarded as a facilitator, coordinator and provider for the employee in areas such as personal development, welfare and benefits. Donnelly (2008) refers to this manager as a communicator both within and between departments. The individuals welfare and development under scientific management received little or no attention in the growth drive of the organization. This was because their performance was externally controlled by managers. Under human relations management, dedication, facilitation and coordination were maintained with the individual in his quest for development. In doing this, the organization also achieved its growth targets. The employee under scientific management was regarded as human machine whose only motivation was money. Adair (1998) in support of the human relations movement reiterated that the employee is motivated when he or she is satisfied and therefore works effectively. This presupposes the fact that worker satisfaction is paramount under human relations management. Opponents of human relations movement believe that the sole motivator of the employee is money or monetary incentive. Therefore under Taylorism, the worker was seen as an economic man. Mayo believed that if the social needs of the individual for instance commutation and sense of belonging are met he becomes motivated to pursue the goals of the organization and therefore making him a social man. Besides the criticism of scientific management, its principles of deskilling of the worker and division of labor are still relevant in modern day organizations (Braverman, 1974). A clear example is McDonalds. The fast food giants with branches all over the world have managed to set preparation standards which are strictly adhered to. There are special appliances designed for toasting burns, spewing sauces and producing milkshakes, thereby avoiding time wasting and improving efficiency. Fries in every McDonalds are also cooked for 3 minutes at 175 degrees removed and salted. A buzzer often signifies to the employee to know when each task is completed. The uniforms worn by the staff and their managers are very different from each other. Another industry where scientific management has been introduced is aviation. In airports today, luggages are labeled with barcodes and placed on conveyor belts. The sensors on the conveyor belt scan these codes and send the luggage to the appropriate plane. Both examples above show in practice that Taylorism has been triumphantly implemented in these industries. It can be argued that without scientific management they would not have been efficient. An example of human relations management in practice is Toyota. Ohno (1998) presented that Toyotas philosophy is to achieve production efficiency, reduce waste with a clear commitment to respect for humanity. Besser (1996) offered that Toyota practices a flat hierarchy style of management where the employees engage in morning exercises, after work gatherings and wear the same uniforms. It is the companys way of building a strong culture, where indemnification to groups within the organization helps them to believe in one common destiny. Failure and success of the group is borne by all. This is transferred by both the employee and management into the organization to help achieve goals. On the production floor, the employee operates and manages more than one machine. The employee under this system is trained as a multi-functional person. In effect, these lead to job satisfaction, security, commitment and employee empowerment. This practice is arguably oppose to Taylors assertion that e mployees should be kept apart as wide as possible and the avoidance of informal group. Besides their differences, Binns (2002) asserts that both scientific management and human relations management shared assumptions. The writer believes that both Taylor and Mayo saw management as a science and cooperation between the workers and managers. They also aimed at increasing efficiency and productivity. The quantitative techniques of scientific management brought forward by Taylor are still relevant today in terms of an organizations present operational analysis and control The writer can therefore argue in conclusion that both schools of thought have some positive factors that an organization can implement to achieve success in an ever changing business environment of today considering productivity and employee welfare. Scientific Management revisited Did Taylorism fail because of a too positive image of human nature? Sigmund Wagner-Tsukamoto Journal of Management History Vol. 14 No. 4, 2008 pp. 348-372 www.emeraldinsight.com/1751-1348.htm How to manage your organization scientifically Bill Richardson The TQM Magazine Volume 7  · Number 4  · 1995  · pp. 42-56 Portrayals of F.W. Taylor across textbooks Stephanie C. Payne Satoris S. Youngcourt Kristen M. Watrous Journal of Management History Vol. 12 No. 4, 2006 pp. 385-407 www.emeraldinsight.com/1751-1348.htm Repainting, modifying, smashing Taylorism Hans Pruijt http://www.emerald-library.com Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 13 No. 5, 2000, pp. 439-451. Origins of lean management in America Excellence at Toyota Motor Manufacturing in the United States http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/management/external/els/Assignment%20Success/Essay%20Structure/Sample%20UG%20essay.doc http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0953-4814.htm

Portrayal of London in the Opening of Bleak House Essay example -- ess

The first paragraph of Bleak House alone gives the reader an instant idea of how Charles Dickens saw London to be around 1842. He has portrayed the streets to be muddy and extremely polluted, "As much mud in the streets as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth." Here Dickens has used a slight amount of Hyperbole to emphasize his point. He also uses personification when referring to the snow flakes, saying that they have gone into mourning, ?smoke lowering down from the chimneypots, making a soft black drizzle, with flakes of soot in it as big as full-grown snowflakes?gone into mourning, one might imagine, for the death of the sun.? the contrast of the imagery he is using helps for the reader to imagine the scene, the contrast of the black flakes of soot and the white snow flakes, in my opinion could represent good and evil, and the idea that London is so evil and polluted that their snow flakes are no longer white, they have turned black. He also makes refere nce to the cold dark weather they are having at the time, referring to it as ?the death of the sun?. Readers may see this as Pathetic Fallacy as he refers to the foot passengers on the streets of London as having ?A general infection of ill temper? giving the impression that the cold harsh weather and surroundings make people more irritable but also reflecting the peoples ill temperedness in the weather. ?Fog everywhere. Fog up the river, where it flows among green aits and meadows, fog down the river?. Repetition is used a lot here to have impact. The fact that fog is repeated so many times gives the reader the impression that there is an overwhelming amount of fog, and to give the reader the sense that there is no way they can escape the fog, fog ... ...tected from the fog, as if he is like the eye of the storm, ?softly fenced in?. The fog and misery of London which is portrayed in the opening of Bleak House seems to centre on Lincoln?s Inn Hall and the Lord Chancellor, Dickens has given the reader the impression that the government is to blame and that they are just for show and don?t do anything to help, just put on a show for the people of London, as they are purely ceremonial, ?Running their goat-hair and horsehair warded heads against walls of words and making a pretence of equality with serious faces.? Dickens is making the statement that the Government seems to only have time for the rich and successful apposed to the poor and that they do not view society equally, but they try to pretend they do. This gives the reader the impression that London is very much based on classes according to the government.

Comparing Authority in Hope Leslie, Dinosaur in the Haystack, and A Riv

Authority in Hope Leslie, Dinosaur in the Haystack, and A River Runs Through It Authority is portrayed differently by each individual in life. Authority is portrayed by knowledge, wisdom, tone, and wording. The languages of authority are too numerable to count. In the novels Hope Leslie, Dinosaur in the Haystack, and A River Runs Through It the authors use three different techniques to portray authority while using religion and scripture to describe their arguments. Stephen Jay Gould demands authority because of the extensive studying he performs and yearns for knowledge that he possesses. Each of the essays that he presents has scientific merit and has been extensively studied. By writing about natural science and specifically evolution, Gould displays his expertise and therefore his authority. Gould being a scholar and a Jew has extensive knowledge of the Old Testament. He includes scripture in his writing to support his theories and explain the mind frame of many Americans. In "Dousling Diminutive Dennis’s Debate Gould tells of the debate on whether the millennium starts J...

Chechnya and its People Essay examples -- War Europe Essays

Chechnya and its People The ongoing civil war between the semi-autonomous republic of Chechnya and Russia has dramatically caught the attention of the world – a world that perceives the conflict primarily through the distorted lens of Russian propaganda, and the contradicting images of Chechen suffering on the independent media. If the West seems impartial or even indifferent to the Chechen conflict, it is because there is little understanding of this people, of their struggle, or of the vast complexities of the greater North Caucasian region in which the Chechens are a part. This lack of understanding extends to the hazy Western perception of the role of Islam in Chechen society. The broad generalizations that have been made by those in the media, by aid organizations, by the Russians, by Islamic groups, and by those in the American government are all politicized oversimplifications which seek to bring the core of the conflict to its lowest common denominator. Many of the claims revolve around Islam ; yet, few bother to take into account the greater character of Chechen society, or of the broader historical scope of change that Islam has followed in Chechnya. Often, Islam has changed in response to a Russian stimulus, but many of the Russian actions and reasons in this conflict are well documented. This study aims to analyze the Chechen role in the civil war – and the role of Islam in Chechnya – as opposed to the Russian role, which has been analyzed many times over. The North Caucasus It is difficult for Englishmen to take an intelligent interest in the internal affairs of Russia, owing to the vast number of problems involved, all of which depend upon varying local circumstances, and because comparatively few of us, ev... ...i International Magazine. 16 Oct. 2003 18. Menon, Rajan. â€Å"After Empire: Russia and the Southern ‘Near Abroad.’† The New Russian Foreign Policy. Ed. Micheal Mandelbaum. New York: Council on Foreign Relations, 1998. 100-167 19. Chechnya : Tombstone of Russian Power 20. Islam in Chechnya. 13 March 1998 Univ. of California, Berkeley. 15 Oct. 2003 21. Kagarlitsky, Boris. Russia Under Yeltsin and Putin. London: Pluto Press, 2002. 22. Russia Under Yeltsin and Putin 23. Russia : Islamic Countries Unlikely to Help Chechnya. 19 Nov. 1999 Radio Free Europe, 19 Oct. 2003 24. Kagarlitsky, Boris. Russia Under Yeltsin and Putin. London: Pluto Press, 2002.

Person Centred Care MDT Essay

This essay will discuss the concept of person centred care, why ser-vice users are at the centre of any decisions made. The importance of this when developing a plan of care to an individual with dementia within a community care setting with limited mobility. What the structure of the mutli disciplinary is when involved in delivering a package of care and how the different roles involved contribute to the positive outcomes Principles of care as stated by the Royal College of Nursing (2013) outlines guidelines what service users should expect from the nurs-ing profession, whether you are a nurse, health care assistant, community nurse, a service user, family member. You are given the information of what to expect when you are in contact with any of the services or who actually are providing a service. Within the community sector this is important as it gives carers a guideline on how to deliver the best possible care and how they should conduct themselves when dealing with vulnerable people. The Royal College of nursing (2013) outlines 8 principles of care they consist of; that all health care assistants, nurses treat all service users with dignity, respect, show understanding of the service users needs. To be non judgemental in the care being provided, whilst showing compassion and sensitivity. Read more:  Person Centred Care Essay All nurses and health care assistants take responsibility for their actions in the care they are providing whilst also being answerable for any action and decision that they take. To manage and assess risk to ensure the safety of the service user and others. To promote the care that is being given putting the service user at the centre of that care, whilst also involving any family members. To ensure that the service user is fully informed of any treatment, to enable them to make an informed choice. All health care assistant and nurses are in the front line for communicating any changes of the service user, recording such things, communicating with other members on the care being provided, whilst maintaining confidentiality. Have up to date knowledge and skills in order to deliver the highest possible level of care to everyone. Work closely with other profes-sionals to ensure that continuity of care is followed to have the best possible outcome for the service user and the staff team . To develop themselves, to encourage and highlight to other professionals the importance of updating knowledge and skills. Many people have different definitions on what Person centred care approaches mean to each individual profession and what their  roles involve when implementing person centred care. The Health Foun-dation 2014 suggests that more person centered care is needed, so that people are supported to make informed decisions about manag-ing their own health and care. In order for this to happen changes in behavior and mindset from patients and clinicians supported by a service that has patients at the heart of it. Policies and practice guidelines need to support patients and clinicians to take on new roles and relationships. Ford 2012 wrote an article on what the value of patient care is this was described as the 6 C’s which stand for care, compassion, com-petence, communication, courage and commitment. Brooker (2007) states that by providing a supportive environment for interaction, whilst taking into account that all human life is mainly grounded by relationships. Within the community environment People suffering from dementia requires and need a fulfilling social environment which enables them to have opportunities for growth within the environment that compensa tes for their impairments. Brooker focuses on the actual diagnosis and how best to help service user to maintain a social connection within a safe environment with the help of staff who understands their condition. Whilst the article that Ford had written expands the key points on how professionals should take into consideration and act when looking after people and communicating with them also. Tuchman’s theory (1965) suggests that in order for a positive outcome to happen then 4 stages of process would need to be worked through within a group situation. These stages are forming, storming, norming and performing. Person centred care was first used in relation to people with demen-tia by a Professor called Tim Kitwood who founded the Bradford de-mentia Group in the 1980’s. His aim was to steer away from the medical diagnosis of dementia and to help those living with the ill-ness to live and be treated as an individual. To acknowledge that these people did have a voice even though in the medical eyes they were slowly losing their own mind. He wrote about the Enriched Model (1997) which detailed opportunities to maximise the well being of a person suffering from dementia whilst enha ncing their daily living of the other elements that affect the person. For example people suffering from dementia have many challenges to deal with. They have the gradual memory loss but also lose the interaction with others, communication becomes repetitive and in the past, how to eat, drink, co ordination, coping with mood changes, general daily  living skills become more difficult to complete along with depression. Buijssen 2005 suggests that depression is a main factor with dementia due to lots of feelings of helplessness and anxiety which can cause the service user to have challenging out bursts. To enable a person to remain in their home safely and independently other people will be involved. This depends on how advanced the dementia is, otherwise the service user would be placed within a residential or nursing home. Maureen Guirdham (1995) suggests that by practising empathy when communicating with a service user, seeing things from their point of view and not just by a medical point of view can build a positive professional relationship. Some professionals at times use their position to influence a service user to see things from the professional point of view; this can cause a barrier to communication because the service user feels that they are not being treated as an individual. That the professional is using a form of blanket suggestion and solution to their problem. Having a common ground of understanding of what it is to be achieved. Initially within the early stages social workers, mental health nurses, general practitioners, speech and language therapists, mobility spe-cialists, and the NHS. Within a community setting district nurses, general practitioners, and at times the emergency services such as the mobile paramedics and ambulance crew are the main sources of the multi disciplinary team that as carers we would normally work alongside with. Jefferies & Chan 2004 describes how multi disciplinary teams work â€Å"the main mechanism to ensure truly holistic care for patients and a seamless service for patie nts throughout their disease trajectory and across the boundaries of primary, secondary and tertiary care.† Carrier & Kendall 1995 also describes how inter disciplinary teams work â€Å"implying a willingness to share and indeed give up exclusive claims to specialist knowledge and authority, if the needs of the client can be met more effectively by other professional groups.† Not all of these will be involved but people with dementia require different specialists at different times of the diagnosis. Almost everyone is registered with a general practitioner. It is the job of the general practitioners to offer high standards of care to all their patients regardless of their health needs. To establish a continuing and long term relationship, with all their patients including those who are vulnerable (Pritchard 2001). More and more General Practitioners (GP’s) are working  within an extended team of professionals who they can refer to for advice and guidance. General Practitioner’s are the first people who are approached when a family member are feared to have the onset of dementia. GP’s will refer the person to the mental health team to have an assessment to see if there are any concerns to have (Mental Health Act 2005). Once the assessment has been done and the diagnosis had been confirmed then a social worker with the relevant experi ence of mental health issues will be assigned to implement further care decisions. A social worker works with people who have been socially isolated or who are experiencing crisis mentally or physically. Their role is to provide support to enable service users to help themselves. They maintain professional relationships with service users, acting as guides, advocates. Social workers work in a variety of settings within a framework of relevant legislation and procedures, supporting individuals, families and groups within the community. Settings may include the service user’s home or schools, hospitals or the premises of other public sector and voluntary organizations. This could be introducing carers from an agency to help with daily living needs, preparing food (Roper et al 1996) Day centres can be arranged for the person to be able continue interactions with others, by still being around professionals who understands their needs and condition. Dementia tears layer away at a person at each stage of its progression, (Alzheimer’s Society 2014) The World Bank 2011 describes what empowerment means â€Å"Em-powerment is the process of increasing the capacity of individuals or groups to make choices and to transform those choices into desired outcomes. Central to this process is actions which both build individ-ual and collective assets, and improves the efficiency and fairness of the organisation and institutional context which govern the use of these assets.† Mental health nurses work with people suffering from various mental health conditions, they also work alongside their family and careers to offer help and support in dealing with their condition. There work involves helping the patient to recover from their illness or to come to terms with it in order to lead a positive and full life. The nurses may specialize in working with children or older people, or in a specific area such as eating disorders. Mental health nurses often work in multidisciplinary teams, liaising with psychiatrists, psychologists, occupational therapists, GPs, social workers and other health professionals.  As a registered mental health nurse (RMN), they may work with pa-tients in a variety of settings including their own homes, community healthcare centre’s, hospital outpatients departments or specialist units, or secure residential units. Even though each professional has a specific area or expertise communication is always a key factor to delivering the best support and care to a service user and their families. District nurses have a crucial role in the primary health care team by visiting people in their own homes. District nurses also delive r care and support for patients and their families. With the differences in roles bought together as one within meetings or communication the process of care is flawless but in the real world this does not always happen. The Health Foundation (2013) states that they â€Å"See patients as equal partners in planning, developing and assessing care, to make sure it is appropriate for their needs, putting families and patients at the heart of all decisions†. Egan’s (2010) three stage model the skilled helper explains how professionals can help service users to focus their situation. To be able to ask questions and step by step understand the process. The model helps to empower the person and help them to move toward managing their problems and living more effectively. The Egan’s model enables the user to map out what the issues are that require discussion. To explore all possible solutions and what would best benefit the service user. It enables the professionals to have respect, genuineness to the subject and empathy to the service user. If good active listening skills are re-membered then the outcome will be the best that can be given to the service user. Egan’s model however all stages do not always have to be considered they are adapted to the situation that requires re solving. Another element that is considered is the SMART aspect which stands for specific, measurable, achievable, the mutli disciplinary team this is where individual roles are separated in order to fulfil their part of the plan of care for a service user. The Department of health (2011) outlines specific guidelines when treating someone with Dementia. These guidelines just like the one that the Department of health released and updated in June 2011 are guidelines and are there to help protect vulnerable people. Working within the community I found I was working alongside more people suffering from early stages of dementia and having more insight into how dementia affects the person enabled me to have a better approach to deal with the care that  was being provided. 1000 lives plus 2012 that was written by Davies stated that â€Å"Seeing the patient’s illness as a continuum between treatment and rehabilitation leads naturally to partnership between organisations. Departments across health and social services co-operate to fulfil the patient’s needs, and the relevant providers need to be working together at all stages of care to properly anticipate the next step, particularly the return home after in-patient care† . This report emphasised that even though Esther arriving at a NHS hospital was ok and the staff where very polite and caring. The sys-tem still had failures especially when Esther had to wait five and a half hours to be seen and after being in contact with thirty six people professionals and repeatedly repeating information for someone who could not breath caused a lot of distressed. By establishing some of the professionals roles within the multi dis-ciplinary team and how government legislation and guidelines impact on how care is provided. In the community for someone who has dementia and other physical needs how efficient are the multi disciplinary team? Sometimes available equipment is based on budget from local councils, so as availability of professional bodies. A person I looked after in the community had a diagnosis of dementia. Visiting them daily sometimes four times a day assessing their needs and any changes daily was important to maintain their safety within their home. Any personal care, breakfast, dinner, tea and bed time all had to follow a strict routine. There came a time when this service user was falling a lot so with the reports given by carers to their head office it was decided the social worker should make a visit they managed to get some adaptations put in place. A wheel frame that could be used to carry things on as it had a tray at the top and at the bottom, the social worker also got a waist alarm, similar to the wrist or necklace type alarm that is linked to a call centre. So if this service user fell the belt would activate automatically because the sensor knew it had to be vertical not horizontal. Within the guidelines of the company policy and given the rights of the person to choose to stay at home, every safety measure to reduce risk was taken by all parties. The service user felt at ease with everyday tasks as before they where a problem. The simple things that we take for granted are the things that need to be taken into account for others. (Human rights Act 1998). Jeremy Hughes, Chief Executive at Alzheimer’s Society said: ‘Today’s announcement  shows that by entering your postcode you enter a lottery. Depending on where you live you may be more or less likely to get a timely diagnosis of dementia and access to the support you need. This is simply unacceptable. Wherever you live, you should be entitled to care and support when you have Alz-heimer’s disease or any form of dementia. It is a National Health Service. It is time to stop treating people with dementia as second class citizens.’ (2013) By introducing the appropriate training and having diagnosis’s being given earlier then people will this diagnosis may stop feeling that they are just being a pain to society and that they still have a function within society. The NHS Wales (2010) five year plan included guidelines to em-power the professionals on the front line for example clinical and non clinical staff to lead changes and deliver the highest possible care available. All these proposals of improving the NHS and the services attached to them is a positive sign for change but as we all know changes can only happen if the funding is available which predominantly involves the tax payers. Some changes that will happen will be making primary care trusts and strategic health authorities abolished and replacing them with one organisation such as the clinical commissioning groups. Who will over sea and involve local authorities in a bigger role to handle budgets. How effective these changes will be to improve the entire system will only be seen in a report that will be released sometime in 2015 as stated in the NHS (2010) five year plan. Main reasoning for continual reviews is to establish a better link to all professions to enable the protection of the vulnerable and to have the sufficient resources to enable action to be taken so that the negative cases that are reported do not happen again.