Stealing by Carol Ann Duffy Essays

Stealing by Carol Ann Duffy Essays Stealing by Carol Ann Duffy Essay Stealing by Carol Ann Duffy Essay the speaker is addressing to the reader and requesting them to respond and be involved. Sometimes, we can even hear the real-life voice of the speaker through the use of onomatopoeia. For instance, I sigh like this-Aah, which appeals to the readers sense of hearing, making the sigh more impressive and forms9 a strong impression in the mind of the reader. The application of pauses, further demonstrates that the speaker is interacting with the reader, as in a speech, we will not be able to complete our speech in one breath, there must be pauses. Furthermore, although the poem is written in five equal stanzas, there is no regularity in the lines. Sometimes, the end of one line runs into the next line or the line may stop in the middle of the sentence. This special arrangement not only indicates the casual tone of the speaker but also points out that the behavior of the speaker was very strange and irregular. The speaker in the poem is pessimistic and regards himself as a failure, as he assumes he might learn how to play a guitar after he stole one. We can sense that the speaker longs for a glamorous life, as he desires to be able to play a guitar and be as genius as Shakespeare. Though the speaker has the motivation to life an upright life, he lacks the determination and courage to turn his thoughts into action. Instead he ruins his life by committing theft, which reflects his negative view towards life. He even stole things that were of no use to him to idle his time away. For the snowman, he didnt look the same and is left with its lumps of snow at the end, this is a metaphor to reveal the uselessness of his action to steal the snowman. Furthermore, the speaker is also a loner and yearns for companionship. He claims I wanted, him, a mate with a mind as cold as the slice of ice within my own brain. No matter how miserable the children will be because of his inconsiderate action, he doesnt care, for he is in need of a mate. Moreover, the poem is mysterious and contains many factors of unknown. The identity of the thief is not exposed. His or her age, appearance, position in society are never mentioned in details. Mysteriousness is further built-up through the setting. The venue of the occurrence of the theft was left unknown, the readers only know that the atmosphere was creepy as it was midnight with the winter moon. Special literacy techniques are used throughout the poem. Metaphor is used in line 13, Im a mucky ghost, as in the eyes of the children, the victims, the speaker is a mucky ghost which is even worse than human beings and is disliked by others. Repetition of the word again, emphasizes that the speaker is kicking the snowman repeatedly and is trying hard to destroy it, neglecting the feelings of the children. The use of full stops also helps the reader to picture him getting his breath back between each kick. As for the camera, there is a symbolic meaning behind. He pinched it because all his memories are recorded in it. As we learn from the poem, his life is a piece of boredom so there are no events worth remembering. Therefore, he wanted to pinch a camera. Lastly, in the last two stanzas, run-on-lines were used to state that the thiefs life drags on and on and seems endless, monotonous and purposeless.

Job Spotlight Physical Therapist Assistant (VIDEO)

Job Spotlight Physical Therapist Assistant (VIDEO) Specialized health careers are a fast growing field in this country- the medical school rat race isn’t for everyone, so plenty of individuals with a passion for health care and an interest in medicine are pursuing assistants degrees to pharmacy technicians, doctors, dentists, and more. This week’s Job Spotlight is on Physical Therapist Assistants. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, PTAs will experience at 41% growth through 2020, largely due to an aging Baby Boomer population and extended lifespans. See if this vital role is the right one for you!What do Physical Therapist Assistants Do?First and foremost, PTAs assist physical therapists. This may mean carrying out patient care, supervising patient therapies, providing feedback, performing routine tasks, documenting treatment, consulting with therapy staff, administering specific exercises or therapy tasks, or completing patient evaluations.PTAs may use therapy equipment (from prosthetics to specialty care acc essories) as on-the-job tools, and need to be well-versed in technology from accounting to patient management software. A background in therapy or counseling and exceptional customer service and communication skills are also huge advantages.So, are you patient, good with people, and compassionate by nature? PTA may be the right field to maximize your talents and work with people who need your help to improve their lives.How to Become OneCoursework for the profession usually includes physiology, medical terminology, procedures for rehabilitation, algebra, English and psychology, hands-on clinical work in physical therapy treatment centers, and first aid training and certification in CPR.  Most professional physical therapists require their assistants to have vocational school training, related on-the-job experience, or an Associate’s Degree. Your school should provide opportunities like internships or entry-level jobs that acclimate you to a clinic or hospital environment.Yo u also need to maintain physical fitness levels that allow you sufficient mobility to support patients, which may involve bending, crouching, and lifting. .You’ll also need to pass a board certification exam. The requirements vary, but generally you must graduate from an accredited program and pass the National Physical Therapy Examination at the physical therapy assistant level. The test has 200 questions covering such topics as clinical applications, devices, equipment, and safety. Some states also require their own examinations, and many require continuing education units for license renewal. Check with your state licensing board for up-to-date information.Physical therapy assistants differ from physical therapy aids in that aides are most often trained on the job and straight out of high school- PTAs are less limited in the services they can provide and do not need as much supervision by a physician or physical therapist.SalaryThe wages for a PTA can range from $32K to $8 0K annually- the median is around $61K. The best opportunities will be found in skilled nursing centers, acute care hospitals, and facilities that treat or house the elderly.Hiring LandscapeThe climate for aspiring PTAs is pretty good- there are an average of 9 candidates for every available position (that doesn’t sound great,   but if you were applying for a job with an English PhD there would be hundreds!)Top employers include:Genesis HealthCareKindred HealthCareGenesis RehabilitationRehabCareGolden LivingTop cities for PTA jobs are generally found in the Midwest and East Coast:Syracuse, NYToledo, OHSpringfield, ILLancaster, PAPROs of being a PTAFlexible hoursYou get to wear scrubs!Hands-on patient careConstant learning†¦ and CONsPhysically demanding jobDependent on outside circumstances for stability, benefits, professional developmentA Typical Job PostingPhysical Therapy Assistant,  REHAB ASSOCIATES, MIStart Date: ImmediateFacility Type: SNFFacility Specialty: Or thopedic Pulmonary RehabSchedule: Full Time Monday – FridayHours: 8:00 – 2:00Lunch: 30mFounded in 1995, Rehab Associates provides healthcare staffing and management solutions for skilled nursing facilities, outpatient rehab centers, home care clients and public schools. We specialize in staffing for Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech-Language Pathology and Special Education.We retain outstanding clinical service professionals by enabling those seeking long term personal and professional growth. Through team-building rather than just making one time placements, we pay careful attention to the experience and background of our clinicians, carefully matching them with the right facility’s rehab team. We have over 300 clinicians on active assignment and are continually expanding throughout the Northeast.Essential FunctionsTreat patients and provide a plan of carePrepare documentation, progress notes and reports and discharge summariesProfessional Qualifi cationsSNF and Acute Care experienceExperience with Rehab OptimaPersonal QualificationsCompassionateResourcefulProfessionalRequired ExperiencePhysical Therapy Assistant : 1 yearRequired License or CertificationValid Michigan PTA License CredentialsRequired EducationAssociate Degree

Evolution of supply chain management Assignment

Evolution of supply chain management - Assignment Example b) Integration era – the integration era marked the use of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) systems and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. This era stressed on value added and cost reduction supply chain management through integration. c) Globalization era – the globalization era was characterized by the emergence of global system of vendors and suppliers and the expansion of supply chain over national and international boundaries. In this era, organizations aimed to attain competitive advantage by creating value added services and products. At the same time, it aimed to reduce costs through global sourcing. d) Specialization era (Phase I – Outsourced manufacturing and distribution) – this era saw the creation and development of the specialization model which composed of numerous individual supply chains specifically for products, suppliers and customers who worked together to manufacture, design, market, distribute, sell and service a particular product. e) Specialization era (Phase I – Supply chain management as a service) – the commencement of warehouse management, transport brokers and freight carriers has matured into the aspects of collaboration, supply planning, performance management and execution. All this was possible due to the breakthroughs achieved in technology. f) Supply Chain Management 2.0 – this terminology was coined to explain the changes within the supply chain industry and the evolution of methods, tools and processes used to manage resources now. It is very important for an organization to develop supply chain strategy as it creates value for the organization. The first step is to develop a supply chain strategy. For this the first step is to understand the business strategy. If the business strategy is to reduce costs, then the supply chain strategy must be developed to support the same. It is important to find out supply chain competencies and leverage them for the benefit of th e organization. The next step is to access the extended supply chain. This is attained by conducting a realistic, detailed monitoring of capabilities existing within the firm and the extended supply chain. Once the assessment is complete it is very necessary to prioritize and review the recommendations, define the risks, validate the opportunities and the requirements for implementing the supply chain strategy. 2. Explore strategies used by organizations to develop and maintain effective supplier relationships: ? determine suitable strategies with regard to the development of relationships with suppliers, using appropriate web-based technologies ? evaluate the effectiveness of strategies used by an organization ? devise effective systems for relationship maintenance The breakthroughs achieved in web-based technology have made us realize the importance of information exchange that can play a vital part in the competitive strategies adopted by different organizations. It is possible t o maintain good business to business and business to consumer supplier relationships by means of web based techniques. Extensive telecommunication networks are used to develop and maintain effective supplier relationships. Electronic trading is one such method which has effectively helped to maintain vendor relationships (Croom 2000). Another web based technique used to maintain effective supplier relationship is that of electronic warehouse management. It is now possible to inform a client well in

Critical Analysis - Article will be provided Lab Report

Critical Analysis - Article will be provided - Lab Report Example While space has been discussed in mainstream media outlets in programs like â€Å"Star Trek†, it can most definitely be said that the only real way to understand space in its true form would be to experience it for one’s self by experiencing the wonder of traveling to it. As Dr. Klein writes, â€Å"In 1998, at the 44th Annual Meeting of the Florida Philosophical Association, Dr. Roy Weatherford gave his Presidential Address, on the moral imperative of space travel. Weatherford argued that human lives are intrinsically valuable,† (Klein p.8). Dr. Weatherford himself goes on to make claims that most would call very controversial, even for his day. While some have argued for the need of population control through means of birth control and such, Dr. Weatherford on the other hand made claims to the extent that not only is it wrong in his view to champion birth control, but that the human race should strive for maximum reproduction. This sort of statement resembles the mindset of human dominance even above all else. One could argue that each found their stance to be valid and held their own individual ideas in high regard. It is very believable that space exploration would be of such great importance as it came to the advancement of the learning of mankind. As for Dr. Weatherford’s argument against the use of birth control, while this is something that has been argued before, in the end appears to have more of a religious undertone to it rather than the potential scientific discoveries and benefits of the initial argu ment made. Further examination of his argument in this case leads to the conclusion that not only is Dr. Weatherford arguing for the mass production of the human race, but that there is encouragement on his part for the idea of mass producing the human race not only as much as possible, but in as many places as possible. Dr. Klein would have to of thought this when he reviewed Dr. Weatherford’s statements for his own article. Rather than

Negotiation in Management Decision Making Essay Example for Free

Negotiation in Management Decision Making Essay Having been approached by The Director of the Cowley Council Council (CCC) regarding an industrial dispute with their refuse collectors, a report has been prepared to give insight into the field of negotiation and aid the council in their talks with the refuse collectors. The dispute is primarily concerned with CCC’s plans to change working practices but there are also a number of other issues regarding pay, shift patterns and recent cuts in the training budget and expenses. The refuse collectors are threatening to go on strike if their demands are not met, an action that the council would undoubtedly like to avoid. According to Rubin and Brown (1975), negotiation refers to a process in which individuals work together to formulate agreements regarding an issue or issues in dispute. An agreement will only occur if the offers made are accepted by both of the parties (Neale Northcraft 1991) and should lead to order and stability, foster social harmony, increase feelings of self-efficacy, reduce the probability of future conflict, and stimulate economic prosperity (Rubin et al 1994). Getting the negotiation game right is ever important for managers â€Å"as the global economy expands, as the service sector grows, as corporate restructuring continues and as employees continue to be concerned with managing their own careers† (Neale and Bazerman 1992: 3). The initial stages of the report will cover theory and research on the decision-analytic approach to negotiation and discuss its relevance and potential use for CCC regarding its dispute with the Cowley refuse collectors. I will then identify potential biases and pitfalls that can act as barriers to effective negotiation that CCC should try to avoid. Finally I will conclude and outline suggested proposals for CCC to consider with the aim of assisting and improving their negotiations with the refuse collectors. The decision-analytic approach to decision making is a more pragmatic alternative to the dominant psychological and economic perspectives, which contain a number of limitations. The individual-attribute literature fails to measure dispositions adequately, the situational literature does not consider the importance of the negotiator’s perceptions in interpreting situational characteristics (Neale and Bazerman 1991: 20) and the game theory unrealistically assumes â€Å"impeccably rational, supersmart people† (Raiffa 1982, 2001). What differentiates the decision-analytic approach is its focus on â€Å"how erring folks like you and me actually behave† rather than on how we would behave if we were â€Å"smarter, thought harder, were more consistent, were all knowing† (Raiffa, 1982: 21). Previous psychological and economic approaches have focused on describing how people make decisions or prescribing how to improve decision making. However, â€Å"very little interaction has occurred between the descriptive and prescriptive camps† (Neale and Bazerman 1991: 20), and it is Raiffa’s (1982) avocation of an â€Å"asymmetrical† prescriptive/descriptive relationship that makes the decision-analytic approach stand out, â€Å"creating a prescriptive need to descriptively understand how negotiators actually make decisions† (Bazerman et al 2001). Many scholars hold the view that the prescriptions gained from this model are more valuable than those offered by more traditional approaches (Lax and Sebenius 1986). Raiffa’s framework for approaching effective negotiations distinguishes three sets of information, a combination of which determines the structure of the negotiation game: each parties alternative to a negotiated agreement, each parties set of interests, and the relative importance of each parties interests. â€Å"To develop agreement, people need to get a good understanding of their own preferences and priorities, to communicate those to their counterpart, and to integrate information about other’s preferences and priorities into their own understanding of the problem at hand† (De Dreu et al 2000). Before CCC enter into any negotiations with the refuse collectors, it is imperative to determine a Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA), â€Å"the standard against which any proposed agreement should be  measured† (Fisher, and Ury 1981). Negotiations can be greatly improved by identifying a BATNA and â€Å"carefully evaluating the negotiated agreement against that alternative† (Ertel 1999). This helps negotiators fix a reservation point, a lower bound, which is crucial to monitor throughout the negotiation. Agreements that provide more value than the BATNA are preferred over impasse; likewise any agreements that provide less than the BATNA should be rejected. A potential BATNA for CCC would be to look into other refuse collection companies opening up the possibility of privatisation. The privatisation of refuse collection is a serious consideration in many areas of the UK and a â€Å"major debating point for the city council† (Birmingham Mail 2013) in Birmingham. Waste Concern, a private refuse collection company, claims that 17% of council tax goes towards refuse collection and that privatisation would lead to a cheaper, more frequent collection service, and a more efficient recycling system (edieWaste 2010). If CCC values the current refuse collectors, despite the current dispute, and they are reluctant to consider such an ultimatum, they could consider a more strategic change by introducing the proposed changes incrementally, or by altering the amount of changes being made. It is crucial for negotiators to understand each party’s key interests and how they align (Reardon 2005 : 28). Fisher and Ury (1981) emphasize the importance of the distinction between a parties’ position, and their interests, with a position being the stated requirement that a party demands from the other side, whist an interest is the underlying desire of the negotiator and the motives for their position. It can however be difficult to understand ones interests and those of the other party. CCC’s primary interests are increasing productivity and decreasing costs, whilst the refuse collectors’ interests are concerned with their financial rewards. It is however important to try and understand all of the parties’ interests. The Personnel Director may be under pressure to cut costs in order to stick to a budget so her personal interests may have more focus on performing her job in order to maintain it. The interests of the refuse collectors also concern HR aspects such as, work life balance and training and development. These interests are motives behind the position of their threat of strike, and further scrutiny may offer CCC potential areas to focus on during negotiation. Focussing on deeper interests can provide a more reasonable bargaining platform and a creative and practical solution to a negotiation. Once the interests of each party have been established, it is important for negotiators to try and value the relative importance of each party’s interests. This then allows the parties to effectively trade-off less important issues to gain more important issues. If CCC can establish that, for example, the refuse collectors desire a better work life balance as well as sufficient financial benefits, there may be potential for a medium ground to be reached offering a certain amount of each. The importance of interests often comes down to economic factors, thus job security is frequent consideration. In this instance the job security of the refuse collectors is at risk as there is a chance of redundancies if they do not cooperate. This information provides â€Å"the building blocks for thinking analytically about a negotiation† (Bazerman and Moore 2009:154) and prepares the parties for the two primary tasks of negotiation: creating and claiming value (Lax and Sebenius 1986). It is crucial for negotiators to establish the reservation points of both parties. That is the worst possible outcome they will accept before a negotiation is impasse. With both reservation points established, a positive bargaining zone is created, which allows negotiators to â€Å"aim for a resolution that is barely acceptable to the other party† (Bazerman and Moore 2009: 156) by getting as close to their reservation point as possible. It is however, also vital for both parties to try and cooperate in creating value in the negotiation, as there is often â€Å"opportunity to considerably enlarge the pie before cutting it into shares for each side to enjoy† (Raiffa 2002: 91). Lax and Sebenius (1986) stress that differences must be seen as opportunities, as opposed to barriers, that can be explored to find the most efficient solution rather than just ‘satisficing’ (Simon 1956). According to Schmidt and Tannenbaum (1960) â€Å"differences can help to increase the range and variety of alternatives suggested† and even potentially â€Å"enrich ones own goals, ideas, and methods. † So CCC must capitalise on the differences in the party preferences (Pruitt 1983) by evaluating the  position of the refuse collectors, and looking into finer detail at the interests behind these positions, before attempting to develop â€Å"novel alternatives† through â€Å"creative problem solving† (Neale and Bazerman 1991: 24). Negotiation then depends fundamentally on parties’ ability to trade issues against each other (Froman Cohen 1970) and â€Å"place demands and formulate concessions to foster agreements that meet their own goals, while avoiding that the counterpart leaves the situation† (De Dreu et al 2000). CCC could for example offer certain alternative benefits to the refuse collectors if the changes are implemented. Perhaps an investment in more efficient equipment and machinery would be appealing. There are certain tools that negotiators can use in order to aid their efforts in collecting information and subsequently increase the probability of creating value. It is certainly the case that deception is often used in negotiation (Schweitzer 1997) and can be an effective strategy for increasing one’s own outcomes (O’Connor and Carnevale 1997). However in this instance, both parties must also note that building trust and initiating a â€Å"free flow of information is critical to finding and integrative agreement† (Johns and Saks 2011)). In heated negotiations this is far easier said than done, as neither side wants to give away too much information on their stance on particular issues. However, CCC is in the position to try and create a trustworthy relationship in order to improve their informational position. The director could inform the refuse collectors of the councils’ pressures and financial limitations that are the driving factor behind the need to change the working practices and make cuts. If no suitable solution is agreed upon, then there may have to be redundancies, as the council cannot overspend. Another tactic could be to strategically disclose some information. As behaviours in negotiation are often reciprocated (Lewicki and Litterer 1985), this may prompt the refuse collectors to open up and start revealing information which may facilitate the negotiation process. CCC must also ask a lot of questions to increase the chances of ascertaining critical information. According to Bazerman and Moore (2009: 162) â€Å"asking questions and listening actively are the keys to collecting important new information from the other side† but it also important for negotiators to remember that information can be gained from what is not said, as well as  what is said. An alternative to trading issues would be for CCC to arrange some kind of contingency contract to verify weather their plans to change working practices is fair or weather it is being rightly disputed by the refuse collectors. CCC could assess a weeks worth of collection rounds and together with the refuse collectors, formulate weekly targets in terms of time and productivity. A weeks trial on this type of contingency contract could easily establish weather CCC’s planned changes are justifiable or not. There are a number of ways in which contingent contracts can benefit the outcomes to negotiations as outlined by Bazerman and Gillespie (1999). Firstly organising the implementation of a contingency contract can identify bluffs by insincere parties. This will aid CCC initially with regard to their uncertainties over issues such as the number of staff needed on each collection round, shift patterns and pay. Contingency contracts are also a useful tool in incentivising performance. It may provide more motivation for the refuse collectors to start working at or above the levels specified in the contract.

Pearl Harbor - The United States Should Have Anticipated the Attack :: World War II History

Pearl Harbor - The United States Should Have Anticipated the Attack Many have compared the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 to the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. They argue that both attacks were just as astonishing, unwarranted and unpredictable. The World Trade Center buildings in New York City still lie in ruin, an icy reminder of the terrorist attack. Both the U.S.S. Arizona and the U.S.S Utah remain on the floor of Pearl Harbor, each a ghostly, decaying tomb reminding all of the thousands that gave their life on that fateful day, also, they are both reminders of seemingly how easily the attack was carried out and of how America, the world's big brother and perhaps the most powerful nation in the history of the world, was caught with 'its guard down.' The attacks are also similar in that, generally, those who lived through them divide time: time before the attack and time after. After Pearl Harbor, the United States declared war on Japan, and thus Germany and Italy with the signing of the Anti-Cominter n Pact and latter the Tripartite Pact, and after was slingshot into the Cold War, and after the September 11 attack, concepts that may have been unthinkable before the attack are being considered such as torturing detainees and racial profiling and, arguably, security has been further fortified in airports and other public places. Both attacks were turning points in American history; they had and will have profound effects on life after them. The details of the September 11 attack are still buried in distant lands while the on Pearl Harbor happened over 60 years ago; therefore most of the documents and information concerning the attack have been released. When analyzing the documents and accounts of the Pearl Harbor attack, historians are not able to avoid the fact that many warning signs of the approaching attack existed. The neglect of these signs can, in most cases, be attributed to some sort of human error in dealing with those signs. Although human error played a large part in the reason that those in power did not take further advantage of those signs, it was not the only reason. Most of the signs were neither tangible nor very specific of the location, date or degree of ferocity at which Japanese would attack. Another reason is that for years before the attack, a feeling of isolation and thoughts that the United States need not interfere in European matters presided over the minds of many Americans.

Building a Data Warehouse Essay

Starbucks is a company that is specialized in offering a range of products including coffee, handcrafted beverages, merchandise, and fresh food. As an enterprise, they require a proper data management to enable them serve their customers efficiently. Data on sales, customer views, customer information, market analytics, products, and production needs a proper storage and retrieval system hence the use of data warehousing. To make informed decisions, the management at all the levels within the company requires data analysis to make those decisions. The Coffee Company has a website for buying their coffee products, as well as gifts, and explores the coffee world by learning more about its origin. The data warehouse stores are built using SQL Server 2000 that stores information about the occurrences on the website. Business Desk reports enable processing of data imported from the website. Several steps are involved in exporting these data. The first step is reporting that is provided through Business Desk. These data includes weblog data, user profile information, campaign information, catalog information and transaction data (Microsoft, 2000). Data cubes are prepared by running the report processing tasks. The Business Desk is secured and can only be accessed by Starbucks Corporate networks and allows only Secure Socket connections. Reports that resides on the data warehouse server can be accessed and viewed through from the business application. To plan the data warehouse at Starbucks, three aspects of the site must be taken into consideration. The storage, processing, and bandwidth requirements are the elements needed to deploy the data warehouse. The storage requirements consider the amount of space required for web log files. The number of servers, web log file sizes per server per day and total log file sizes must be known in advance for the data warehouse planning. After sometime, these accumulated preferably three months, archiving should be done on old data to ensure that the business users will be able to view and run historical data. Since the data is imported from the website, processing time is of great importance to the success of the warehouse. Therefore, time to import web log files and processing time of web log files into analysis cubes is necessary for planning purposes. Lastly, consideration of bandwidth requirements is done before deploying the data warehouse. For example, the data bandwidth used will be f or moving the web log files. Also considered is the bandwidth required for actual running of the reports.The process of creating a data warehouse is procedural. It begins by building a business model followed by definition of the requirements of each model. Identification of data sources is carried out after business modeling. The process of building the data warehouse is done after the selection of data warehouse tools (Vincent, 2007). Data collection through asking the question about the performance of the company will help identify data to appear on the data warehouse. Reports from time reporting system, accounting packages, and customer relationship management application are other important sources. Designers of the data warehouse have to find a way of harmonizing these data with the knowledge of how people process information within the company. In making the decisions, the data within the system are retrieved for analysis. This process is known as extraction. It is defined as the process of retrieving data from a source for use in the data warehouse environment. The extracted data can then be transformed and finally loaded into storage. The primary internal data sources for a data warehouse in Starbucks is the transaction processing application. Data extraction methods are of two types that include full logical and physical extraction method and depend on the business requirements, performance and source system. In logical extraction method, there are two subdivisions, complete extraction, and incremental extraction. Full removal is where the data is completely extracted from the system source files. No additional information is necessary on the site. The second data extraction method is the physical extraction method. Physical extraction is of two types, online and offline extraction. Online mining, extraction is directly from the source files. The process of extraction can directly connect either source tables’ or the intermediate data store. The latter, offline extraction, is where data is sourced outside the source files. Conclusion For a leading international company like Starbucks, planning, building and maintenance of a data warehouse are very critical and requires technical expertise. The building process requires cooperation from IT and business people in order to come up with a successful data warehouse. For implementation purposes, it requires coordination by all stakeholders to highlight all the requirements, needs, and tasks. Breaking down of the data collected enables incorporation of all the requirement to appear on the data warehouse. References BIBLIOGRAPHY l 1033 Microsoft. (2000). Starbucks technical deployment guide. Microsoft. Vincent. (2007). Building a Data Warehouse. Apress. Source document

Family or the Individual: Who Do We Work with?

Dani Romero Dr. Mack Cherry PHIL 3311 3/1/2013 Family or the individual: Who do we work with? Just as culture and individuals, medical ethics varies around the world. In the Western world medical ethics regarding consent is almost driven by the idea of separating the patient from the family. As discussed in class and readings, Western bio-ethics, compared to other countries, goes to the extent in dehumanizing the family figure when it comes to medical ethics, unless the patient is incapable to make their own decisions on their care.This idea is applied to most cases, even to those pertaining to minors. In other countries, for example China, family is the first source a physician goes to in order to to discuss the patients care and state before talking to the patient. The main question is, which approach should be used when it comes to consent? Is it better to glorify the patients independence by getting rid of the family figure or is it better for the physician to go to the family fi rst before bombarding a patient with overwhelming information?Of course, both sides of the argument have valid ideas defending their reasoning; however, trying to approach this as unbiased standard would be useless. In addition to making an insight to both arguments I will also apply what I have experienced with regards to a family vs. individual approach in my culture. First of all, we must understand that each approach is based on a statistical analysis, meaning that it’s a summation of the most common outcomes of each individual case.We approach each case like this because it would be impossible to remember every single outcome for each individual case that is relevant. This doesn’t mean that every single family is evil and tries to exclude the patient from their own choices; however, it also doesn’t mean that every family is a depiction of the Brady Bunch where everyone is happy, understanding and embraces each others flaws and quirks. In addition, we must a lso fully understand what the term family really means.According to the Oxford Dictionary a family means â€Å" a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household†. If you approach this through a biological point of view it means â€Å"a principal taxonomic category that ranks above genus and below order† (Oxford Dictionary). In both descriptions a family is basically a group that shares similar qualities and characteristics, but unlike friends that share same interests, family members are joined by a blood line that holds together by, not only interest, but also biological need to survive (e. . Propagation of their genes to future generations) In Western culture there has been a desire to separate the patient from the family. It almost feels as if society sees the family figure as a source of unfair control or a dictatorship that silences the individuals voice. In our modern society, bio ethics is driven by working for whats the best interest of the patient and what they, as an individual, say is better fit for them.In this approach, the family plays a only a â€Å"by default† sense, meaning that the patient is incapable of acting on their own behalf and has failed to appoint another individual to serve in their behalf and make decisions in the patients best interest (Boisaubin, 2004; Cherry and Engelhardt, 2004) Through the passing of the years, we as American’s have built up a mind set that families are evil and should not be trusted since we believe that no one knows better than what the individual wants but the individual himself.The ideas behind isolating the individual from the family is to protect their â€Å"best interest†. By having the patient as the â€Å"go to figure† we are enforcing the authority the patient has over themselves thus assuring that they are the only one that have control on what should happen to them. The idea of liberty plays a great part in Western culture, thus by isolating the patient we are playing by what every American is entitled to, which in this case, is the liberty to either accept or deny treatments offered by physicians.Also, as mentioned before, the main reason why an a patient is treated as an individual is in order to protect their best interest. As it can be easily seen, the family figure plays no role in this approach. The families main role is to play a historian in order to help the physician fill any gaps left by the patient. In this case families are suppose to be trusted, unless they show signs that they are incapable of being trusted. As mentioned in Ruiping Fan’s and Julia Tao’s â€Å"Consent to Medical Treatment: The Complex Interplay of Patients, Families, and Physicians,Western ioethics began as a fight against paternalism in order for the patient to gain autonomy over themselves (Engelhardt, 2002). Bioethics was build up on the pillars of individualism and autonomy over ones own body and decisions. Kn owing this it doesn’t seem strange that Western bioethics drive a wedge between the family and the individual. Most would believe that the wedge driven between patient and family wouldn’t affect pediatrics since children aren’t seen as a someone who is responsible and aware of their actions and their repercussions.However, in Western society the same idea is being applied to pediatric care. In today’s society, under the â€Å"Convention on the Rights of Children† by the United nations â€Å"minor children ought to be treated as self-possessed moral agents, who are to undertake their own moral and life-style decision making as soon as possible and as far as feasible† (Parental Authority and Pediatric Bioethical, pg. 553). An example would be acceptance of allowing children as young as 14 years-old to get birth control and abortion with out parental consent.Even if, according to Englehardt, some isn’t considered a responsible person in the sense that they are rational and are able to understand their actions till the age of 18 (). It almost seems strange that children at such young age have the mental and moral capacity to make such drastic decisions with out parental consent. This all falls under the same idea of the individual being independent and free to make their own choice, even if the individual doesn’t have full control over their impulses.Granted that parents and guardians are suppose to act in behalf of their child’s best interest; however, how is possible for Western bioethics to try to drive a wedge between the bond of child and parent at such an early age? On the other hand when we look at other countries such as China, we see that there is there is a more family oriented approach to medical ethics. According to Yali Cong’s article â€Å"Doctor-Family-Patient Relationship: The Chinese Paradigm of Informed Consent† a â€Å"family member† can either be the patients fa mily or the representative of the patient’s entire family, usually meaning the grandfather, father or elder son (pg. 52). The individual makes part of the family, thus whatever causes harm to the individual causes harm to the family ( e. c emotionally, mentally, economically) therefore the family should be with the individual in order to support them through the process. In most cases in China, the physician discusses the patients health with the family first and then they decide how much the patient should be told or if they should be told at all.Even if this approach is family oriented, it doesn’t mean that the individuals voice is ignored and all the decisions are made by the family and don’t consider the individual. It means that if the individual isn’t able to communicate or the family decides not fully disclose all the information to the patient, family members will act in the patients behalf and follow what the patient best interest is. This bioeth ical approach revolves around one central idea: why should we separate the patient from the people they are there to support them?As explained, Chinese physicians would never directly tell the patient that they are suffering from a terminal illness. On the other hand they would approach the family and educate them about what’s going on and what could happen and then the family can decide what to do in regards of letting the patient know. Families usually tell their loved ones the diagnosis gradually in order for them to take in the news and learn to accept it little-by-little and allowing them to adjust to their state (Doctor-Family-Patient Relationship, pg. 155)Another similar approach to the family oriented consent is that of Confucian moral balance where not only is family integrity important but also pursuits a harmonious ambiance where family members can cooperate and work harmoniously with one another in order to work for the patients best interest (The Family and Harmo nious Medical Decision Making, pg. 580). In the case of Tankai and her unfortunate death due a strike to the head in an accident her parents had to become the figure of authority since Tankai couldn’t possible act in her behalf.After her death, Tankai’s father decided to donate her organs in the hope that â€Å"their daughters life could at least partially be continued in someone [else]† (HEC Forum 2008, pg. 191). In this case, the family stepped in and acted on their daughters behalf and did what they knew Tankai would have decided on if she where to be of sound and mind before her passing. As shown by this case, the families job is to act in the behalf of the individual and do what they would have considered their best interest.In addition, it is understood that when the term â€Å"best interest† is used in this context it doesn’t mean the what the family may benefit from but what a the individual of the family will ultimately benefit from. After understanding both sides of the argument, I can see that I lean more towards the family oriented approach. I was brought up in a traditional Catholic home, in addition I come from a Mexican background meaning that I come from a very conservative household.Family plays a big role in the morals that have been taught to me through both my religion and culture. As I grew older I started to deviate from some of the ideas that had been drilled into my head by my culture. However, I don’t understand the Western obsession with separating the individual from the family as if they where to ignore the individuals voice and carry out their beliefs on them. Family is seen as the core of social and economic activity and therefore the locust of moral activity.I’m not saying that individuals choices should be manipulated by the families interest but the family shouldn’t be removed from the picture since they are the source of the individuals moral and ethical reasoning. The in dividual’s reasoning usually comes from elder family members that have been passed down from one generation to another, which makes the idea of cutting off the family seem even more irrational. As I grew up, I was taught that with out family you don’t have anything. I was taught that family is the glue that holds all your life together and without it life would be hard and eventually fall apart.Of course, not all families are the same and there may be a reason why Western medical ethics have decided to remove the family figure, but for the most part family members tend to care more for the people they have a stronger connection to thus making them one of the most reliable choice rather than a â€Å"by default† choice. However, if the family doesn’t seem to be trust worthy (due to their actions, behavior, and decisions of care for the patient) or the patient has expressed that they don’t wish to have to do anything with them, I believe that the fami ly oriented approach is the better one.I trust that my parents, siblings or any other family member, can responsibly act on my behalf if I’m not able to do so. Why wouldn’t I trust the people that have been there for me through thick and thin, and have molded me to become the person I am today? It seems bizarre to think that some people can’t trust their own family members; however, I do understand that not everyone has the same luck with family members and experience. In my own personal view of the situation I would prefer for my parents to be informed first about by condition, that is if it’s a horrble diagnosis.I would prefer for my parents to have their breakdown and cry out their feelings prior to me knowing the diagnoses. I believe this because when I am informed by the physician I would have my moment and would be able to look at my parents and have them be the shoulder for me to cry on, rather than them having a meltdown and me not have anyone to look up to and reassure me â€Å"everything would be ok†. Generally, it’s the families duty to comfort the ill family member, and having them cry and have a meltdown would be more stressful rather than comforting.I also agree with the Chinese ethical belief that when it comes to medical context it should com down to three different parties: the patient, family and physician (The Family and Harmonious Medical Decision Making, pg. 580) Another thing to think about when it comes to family oriented approach is the role parental and guardian supervision take place in pediatric care. Due to my upbringing in a catholic home it’s really hard for me to stomach the idea that children as young as 14 years-old can receive abortions and birth-control without parental consent.Yes, I understand the idea that it’s better for them to be sexually active with protection rather than having them have unprotected intimate relationship. However, this comes back to the idea of m oral pluralism, that everyone is a secular individual and necessarily share the same beliefs. However, maybe it’s because it got beaten into my head that it wasn’t acceptable to be intimate till marriage, but to me it seems that we are giving children the easy way out.Technically, Western culture is enforcing children to go behind their parents back and engage in such activities that they [the child] could lead to consequences that they can easily be protected from or taken out of. My question is; when is protecting the child’s â€Å"best interest† gone too far? Western culture is attempting to take apart the family figure by allowing children to be â€Å" self-possessed moral agents† (Parental Authority†¦ pg. 553). Overall, there is a definite connection between Chinese morals with hose that I have been exposed to, making it harder for me to understand the reasoning behind Western fight for the separation of the patient from the family. Famil y oriented and individual oriented approaches to medical cases have one thing in common; that they both strive for the patients best interest; however, how you arrive at that is a long path that has been twisted and turned by modern Western society. This makes is impossible for physicians to choose a default approach to all cases.Unless you live in a family and tradition driven society like China, one can’t assume that everyone is comfortable with a family approach. However, since America is a melting-pot or cultures there really isn’t a right answer for which approach should be the default one. Most individuals, and physicians, prefer the individual approach since it’s just easier to talk to the individual with out having 10 different people screaming at you giving different opinions.Regardless of what’s easier, I believe that if the patient is to say that they prefer a family oriented approach as that the one used in China, their wishes should be respec ted and carried out since it is considered the patients best interest. As a prospective medical student I know I will have to understand and keep an open mind and do what the patients best interest is. Overall, I find that the family approach may be more relaxing to the patient; however, if the patients family doesn’t seem trustworthy or doesn’t seem interested on the patients best interest

Medicare Eligibility Essay Example

Medicare Eligibility Essay Example Medicare Eligibility Paper Medicare Eligibility Paper The process of finding out if one is eligible for Medicare is to visit the website of Medicare at â€Å" medicare. gov† (US Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services, 2007). Immediately after that, one ought to look for the label which states, â€Å"Search Tools† on the left side of the main page (US Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services, 2007). Pointing the cursor to the â€Å"Search Tools† will provide a selection consisting of thirteen choices, from which, one ought to pick and click â€Å"Find Out Your Medicare Eligibility† (US Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services, 2007). Required questions will then appear next and these are: 1) â€Å"Please enter your date of birth:†, wherein I answered â€Å"June 17, 1940† (US Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services, 2007). 2) â€Å"Marital Status:†, wherein I answered â€Å"Married† (US Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services, 2007). 3) â€Å"Tax Filing Status:† wherein I answered â€Å"Joint† (US Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services, 2007). 4) â€Å"Type of Medicare Coverage:† wherein I answered â€Å"Part A B† (US Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services, 2007). 5) â€Å"Do you have Medicaid? † wherein I answered â€Å"No† (US Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services, 2007). 6) â€Å"Are you living outside the U. S.? † wherein I answered â€Å"No† (US Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services, 2007). 7) â€Å"Household Income Range:† wherein I answered â€Å"$160,001 $200,000† (US Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services, 2007). 8) â€Å"Are you receiving health benefits through your current employer (or through your spouses current employer)? † wherein I answered â€Å"Yes† (US Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services, 2007). After answering all the question with such details, one will be able to confirm if he or she is eligible for Medicare especially if a statement like this will be issued in the end: â€Å"Based on your answers, the amount you will pay each month for your Medicare Part B premium is $105. 80 in 2007. This amount is based on your income† (US Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services, 2007). References US Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services. (2007). Medicare. Retrieved November 19, 2007 from medicare. gov. /MedicareEligibility/home. asp? Q%7C10022%7Chsincome%5Fmarried=%24160%2C001+%2D+%24200%2C000Q%7C5%7Crcvg%5Fbnfts=Yesversion=defaultQ%7C3%7Cmdcd=Nobrowser=Firefox%7C2%7CWinXPQ%7C4%7Clvg%5Fotsd=NoQ%7C10020%7Cmrtl%5Fstus=Marriedlanguage=EnglishQ%7C1002%7Ccvrg%5Ftype=ABQ%7C10030%7Ctaxfiling%5Fstatus=JointQ%7C1%7Cbirth%5Fmonth=06Q%7C1%7Cbirth%5Fday=17Q%7C1%7Cbirth%5Fyear=1940qid_path=1%281%7E10020%29%7C3000%2810030%29%7C3%281002%7E3%7E4%7E10022%29%7C4%285%29%7C999%28999%29dest=NAV|Home|MyEnrollment|Results|EligibilityQuestions

How to Style Numbers as Physical Dimensions

How to Style Numbers as Physical Dimensions How to Style Numbers as Physical Dimensions How to Style Numbers as Physical Dimensions By Mark Nichol How to treat numbers in writing in general is a complicated issue dealt with in this DailyWritingTips post and others. The current post focuses on a subcategory of number style: numbers that refer to physical dimensions an object’s size or the proportion thereof or to nonphysical scientific measurement. Occasional, casual references to dimensions are usually best treated by spelling them out (â€Å"The footbridge is fifty-four feet long†; â€Å"The temperature dropped overnight to twenty-three degrees†). However, numbers in content (generally nonfiction) that frequently details measurements, especially in a technical context, are better displayed in numeral form (â€Å"The respective mile-per-gallon performance for the three models is 67, 84, and 53†). In such a case, earlier or subsequent references to the units in question and, ideally, all measurements should be styled consistently, even if they otherwise appear in isolation. Simple fractions (those describing less than a whole, such as one-third) and short mixed fractions (â€Å"one and three-eights,† for example) are easily read in word form, but a concentration of fractions is best styled with numerals (â€Å"The table is 34 1/2 inches high, 24 inches wide, and 42 1/4 inches long†); again, the form should be consistent throughout a particular piece of content and preferably in a recurring print or online publication. Abbreviations and symbols for units of measure are always accompanied by numerals and never appear in association with spelled-out numbers; the shorthand is often but not always separated from the numeral by a letter space (consult a style guide about the distinctions). Also, when unit terms are spelled out with numerals, a dimension used as a phrasal adjective is usually hyphenated before the noun but never after (â€Å"a 24-inch waist†; â€Å"her waist is 24 inches†), but hyphens are omitted when abbreviations or symbols appear (â€Å"a 10 km race†; â€Å"a 120 V system†). Note, too, that terms of units of measurement should be abbreviated only when associated with a numeral (â€Å"The lightbulbs differed in actual wattage,† not â€Å"The lightbulbs differed in W.†) Number ranges can be indicated by the word to or an en dash (here, as on many Web sites, represented by a hyphen). To is suitable for numerals and spelled-out numbers alike (â€Å"The temperature range is 45 to 60 degrees† or â€Å"The temperature range is forty-five to sixty degrees†), but the en dash is appropriate only with numerals (â€Å"The temperature range is 45-60 degrees†). Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How Many Tenses in English?Excited ABOUT, not "for" 35 Synonyms for Rain and Snow

Article Review of A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Alternative Device Essay

Article Review of A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Alternative Device Configurations for Aviation-Checked Baggage Security Screening - Essay Example The article is an evaluation of the technologies deployed in the explosive detection and their cost effectiveness, including possible future technologies. It considers both two-device and single-device systems and their associated annual operating costs. According to Jacobson et al (2005), the Federal Aviation Administration used the computer aided passenger prescreening system (CAPPS) in 1998 to determine which passengers to clear from being potential security risks and which not to clear. A cost model quantifying the expected yearly cost of screening various combinations of potential risks and non-risks was developed and analyzed, basing on data available before September 11, 2011. The article established that excess screening of non-risk EDS baggage increases annual costs but the security increase per dollar used on the exercise is marginal, as opposed to the significantly enhanced security when only high-risk EDS baggage is screened. In the article, the cost model is extended to integrate the effect of deterrence. The authors define deterrence as the effect screening more checked baggage has on the system’s threat level. Ideally, it is the reduction of threat levels in the system, and, depending on the apparent cost of terrorist occurrence, screening 100 percent checked baggage effectively deters terrorist activities. As described by the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA), attention directed towards high-risk and non-risk passengers are almost similar, since both ETDs and EDSs are used by the TSA to achieve 100 percent checked baggage screening. Deviating from previous work that concentrated on EDSs, a cost model is introduced by this article’s authors to measure the associated cost benefits of various configurations that involve both ETDs and EDSs. Additionally, they also introduce two alternatives; the dual energy backscatter (BACK) and XRAY machines, although they are currently not certified by the TSA. The data supporting the cost models is classified into probability, cost, time and volume parameters, which are random variables based on testing before a device is granted TSA certification. The probability of checked baggage containing a threat is evaluated by TSA personnel based on the perceived level of threat and changes according to intelligence information. TSA uses three factors in determining a security device’s effective lifetime. The device should become obsolete technically after certain years irrespective of usage and be replaced. Then it must wear out after prescribed years regardless of volumes handled, and after processing a prescribed volume, it must be replaced regardless of years of service. Technology distinguishes between a device alarm and system alarm in a multiple device system, where an alarm may be triggered by an object at any device within the system, or an alarm is triggered at every device along an objects path. The effectiveness of multiple device systems is that devic es provide a check for each other and an alarm is only given by the system if there is agreement in all devices in an object’s path. By the time of publishing the article, multiple device s