Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Airplane accidents- Who is responsible Should families of victims be Research Paper

Airplane accidents- Who is responsible Should families of victims be entitled to compensation - Research Paper Example No matter the case, families of the victims stand a chance of compensation depending on the occurrence of the accident and the contractual obligations of the airline company. The airplane manufacturers are the most responsible for the airplane accidents. This is because most of the airplane accidents are due to engine mechanical failures, which come as a result of poor engine design and manufacturing. As explained by one of the passengers in the Asiana Flight 214 â€Å"Then I heard the noise of the pilot trying to send more power to the engine to push the plane back-up† (Irving 52). This illustrates that due to poor design of the airplane engines, which cannot function normally throughout the journey is one of the causes of the airplane accidents. It is the manufacturers’ responsibility to ensure that all their airplane engines are of good quality to avoid causing accidents midway through the journey. The other manufacturing default is the use of poor fuselage skin used in manufacturing the airplanes (Norris 22). When the fuselage skin used in the manufacturing of the airplanes is very weak then there are high chances of occurrence of the airplane accident. This is because the fuselage skin cannot stand the high outside pressure compared to the pressure inside. This forces the air into the plane hence causing the pressure imbalance which cannot be controlled by the pilot resulting into accident. Manufacturing companies’ negligence is another factor that makes them responsible for the airplane accidents. The article Irving continues to state that W. James the chief engineer of Boeing asserted that the problem that resulted into the Southwest airlines Flight 812 accident was due to the poor manufacturing of the airplane and not a broader design (54). This indicates that most of the manufacturers are negligent on their part to ensure that they manufacture quality planes which do not have such serious defaults. But even when such manufacturing problems occur

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Co-supervision Model of Placement

Co-supervision Model of Placement Discussion The aim of the study wasto explore clinicians perspectives as students of their experience of co-supervision practice education placements.   This was done by exploring the challenges and benefits of the co-supervision model as experienced as a student across locations and/or with two therapists.   The emerging themes were generally synonymous with previous research in the area.   The discussion will provide an overview of the key themes identified, and their significance to both advance practice in clinically based education, and to enhance students experiences and learning. Clear Communication Due to the co-supervision models multitude of diverse communication channels between co-supervisors, the student, the agency, and the university, open and clear communication is key to the models effective working (Coulton and Krimmer 2004).   The findings show thatcommunication is essential in enabling the co-supervision model to work well.   The evidence demonstrates that practicing the co-supervision model of placement improves and encourages students communication skills (NHS 2007).Agreeing on clear communication lines between the student and the educator is essential in the success of practice placements (Barr et al. 2006).   The current results show that communication between the student and the Educators, both formally, in supervision, and informally, was crucial in the development of the students learning.   The research shows that a vital component of successful communication was an open and unthreatening environment.   This is in-line with Henderson (2006), who su ggests that a supportive positive working environment created by the practice educator plays an important role in the transfer of learning to the student in a clinical context. An open environment offers the student an opportunity to make mistakes and learn from these mistakes without the fear of being reprimanded (Richardson et al. 1997).   Communication between the educator and the student is not only essential in carrying out a split model of placement, but it is also crucial in managing the safety of the client group (Clouder and Daly 2002).   Open communication has been shown to nurture learning among students on clinical educational placements (Bates, Bates and Bates, 2007; Richards, Sweet and Billett, 2013 cited in Grace and O Neill 2014). Preparation The results demonstrate that the preparation of both the educators and the students play an important role in the 2:1 model of placement.   When educators failed to prepare for the arrival of their student, it resulted in the students negative experience on placement.   Whereas, when educators were fully prepared for their students, students reported an overall positive experience on placement by the student.   The results indicate that clinical supervisors must allow themselves sufficient preparation time to put supports in place to ensure the optimum learning of the student (Grace and O Neill 2014).   Preparation for the student on placement means to allow the student the time and resources to gather information on their client group and setting, envision any obstacles they may face, and develop strategies and coping skills to manage these difficulties (Tuenissen and Westerman 2011).   Evidence in the area highlights that organisational and preparation skills learned prio r to placement plays an important role in the utilisation of the 2:1 model (Sevenhuysen 2014).   In the absence of adequate preparation, the student is entering a placement with an increased risk of anxiety and stress (Kaneo and Keoske 2010). Poor fieldwork preparation by students results in the negative emotions of anxiety and strain which lead to poorer performance overall on placement (Gelman 2004). Increased Workload Students preferred the learning opportunities of the co-supervision model at a later stage of placement.   This is in line with Cahill et al. (2012) who shows that the timing of the clinical education model is an important factor while on placement.   The results stated that the co-supervision model of placement was not suitable for a students initial placement, as the student had to manage a variety of factors, which included learning styles, varied populations and locations.   The co-supervision model of placement is more suitable at a later stage of placement, when the student has accumulated the skills to manage a fast pace environment (O Connor et al., 2012).   The findings suggest that working across two sectors on a split placement had both its strengths and weaknesses.   A strength of the co-supervision model across two sectors was that it allowed for the student to maximise their learning experience of different client groups and settings. The advantages of an incr eased workload provide the student with broader fieldwork experiences (Occupational Therapy Outreach 2004).   However, the results show that a challenge of this was that the student experienced a less a structured placement, which led to a challenging feeling of switching mindsets between client groups and locations.   This is in line with Gaiptman and Forma (1991), who highlight that switching between two practice areas can cause the student frustration and make it difficult for the student to follow through on client care plans.   Further challenges identified that the co-supervision model of placement was not suitable for a short placement as it did not allow the student sufficient time to become familiar with the setting, the client group, and/or the educators. Influence of Learning Styles An unexpected theme of the importance of the influence of learning styles on the student and educator relationship and learning, emerged from the research.   The facilitation and identification of the students different learning styles and needs allows for a professional relationship and interaction with clinical educators (Murphy et al. 2012; Kelly 2007).   This was also apparent in the current study, which emphasized that differing student and educator learning styles, in some cases, proved beneficial as it made for more dynamic supervision.   In agreement with these results, previous research indicates that for the student and educator to work well together they must negotiate roles and workings styles (Coulton and Krimmer 2005).   However, the results also showed that negotiating different learning styles can also be difficult.   Evidence demonstrates that in other cases students found it difficult to learn if their learning styles were not compatible with that of their clinical instructor (Secomb 2008).   The relationship between student and educator is a critical factor that impacts learning while on placement (Andrew and Roberts 2003).   Thus, the relationship and the negotiation of learning styles of the student and educator is crucial to the success of the placement. Enhanced Learning In line with the current research, the results show that experiencing a co-supervision model of placement may improve clinical ability in the workplace (DeClute and Ladyshewsky 1993), as it offers the student a real-life experience of managing fast working environments and different working styles.   In addition to this learning, the student experiences problem solving and treatment styles, which increases their learning opportunities (NHS 2007).   The co-supervision model offers the student potential to enhance learning, and can be used throughout diverse clinical settings (Baldry, Currens and Bithell 2003).   Participants stated that the co-supervision model can add value to placement when having two educators as it can provide the student with double the support and increased confidence.   Practice educators acknowledged that it is of benefit to the student to learn from other Occupational Therapists and team members while on placement (Rodger 2011).   Turner (2001) adds to this acknowledgement by stating that more than one assessors can also be beneficial for the staff and for the student as if offers more attentive and productive educators when they are not overburden and over-worked. Future Recommendations for implementation of the model The results of the study show that more formal training of the use of the co-supervision model of placement could benefit both the supervisor and the student.   This result is reflected in other research, which purports that less than half health care professionals are conà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ dent in their supervisory skills and would have more confidence in facilitating supervision if more resources were put into formal training (McMahon 2014).   On-going training and support for practice educators is essential for ensuring higher standards of supervision for health care students (Plenty and Gower 2013). Participants stated that acknowledging the experience of other students who went on placement before them may be helpful as it may provide them with a knowledge base of what to expect before going on placement.   Previous research highlights that preceding students in health care disciplines represent a positive role model for the students in clinical training (Dale et al. 2013).   Hearing other students experiences of their clinical practice provide greater understanding for the prospective student going out on placement (Shariff 2005). Conclusion The findings from this descriptive qualitative study are generally consistent with previous work in co-supervision models.   The results of the current study informed best practice; this was carried out by focusing on three recommendations from the results.   Best practice of the co-supervision model of placement can include a welcoming environment for the student to work in.   Preparation on the part of the educator and the student is essential in creating a working environment that is free from anxiety.   Communication is a key component is facilitating the co-supervision model of practice placement.   Formal training of educators is important for establishing higher standards of supervision for students. The result show challenging factors of co-supervision to be the students difficulty with adapting to different learning styles, multiple practice educators, settings and client groups.   Whereas, the benefits of a co-supervision placement highlight the preparation for real-life situations, managing fast paced work environments and increased learning opportunities. Limitations The findings of this study are limited because the respondents were self-identifiedand not randomly selected. Snowball sampling does not allow for random selection. Implications for Occupational Therapy Education This data provides valuable information for the Occupational Therapy profession, notably clinical education placements, regarding needs and resources to adopt collaborative relationships between the student and the educator in fieldwork education.

Friday, October 25, 2019

The Importance of Nature in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn :: Essays Papers

The Importance of Nature in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn In his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses nature not only as ally, but as a deterrent in Huck Finn's search for independence and Jim's search for freedom. The most prominent force of nature in the novel was the Mississippi River. The river was not only their escape route, but perhaps it became their biggest enemy because it was always unpredictable. Nature is the strongest factor in the novel because in a completely different geographical setting the story would have had not only a different outcome, but Huck and Jim might never have found friendship and freedom. Twain changes his tone when describing the Mississippi River from wry and sarcastic to flowing and daydreaming. This change in tone illustrates his own appreciation for the beauty and significance that nature holds for him. Twain uses personification to show the beauty of nature in contrast to the immaturity and obnoxious mentality of society. Huck would sometimes wake up to "see a steamboat coughing along upstream" that "now and then would belch a whole world of sparks up out of her chimbleys" which acts like a child without manners. (Twain, 81) In almost every chapter Twain uses colorful descriptions of nature to help the reader to imagine the setting of the scene. Twain would not have used so many examples and vivid descriptions of nature if he didn't want nature to be a huge part of the novel. In the novel, Huck's main goal is to get away from a terrible, abusive drunk of a father. Without the access of the Mississippi, Huck might not have ever escaped his father, and his father could have easily killed Huck. For Jim, who's goal was not only freedom, but to see his family again, the river was a free way to reach the free states. With Huck's fortune he could have bought a train ticket or paid another way to get to Cairo, but it was important for him to make his journey with Jim. In that time a black runaway slave could not have ridden on a train or even walked on land in the light of day without being caught in a matter of minutes.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Management Changes Affects Employee Morale

Management Changes Affects Employee Morale As the world changes, many organization may create changes to their company structure in order to remain successful and look good amongst shareholders. These organizational changes may be beneficial for the company overall. However, it may affect the remaining employee’s morale. Some organizations changes such as layoffs, reduce work hours, a stagnate in benefits increases and rewards may result in management trying to figure out a way to motivate and gain employees trust and loyalty.Layoffs When an organization experiences a downturn in the economy, they may be force to perform employee layoffs. Organizations such as the Boeing Company  announced in September 2001, that they will be cutting 10,000 jobs which is caused by the U. S. airlines to decrease operational capacity by about 20% due to traffic reductions. Airlines are expected to park older aircraft and defer deliveries of newly built transports as they trim their operational fleets (Smith B. (2001)).The Boeing Company  is an American  multinational  aerospace  and defense corporation that was founded in 1916 and is the largest exporter by value in the United States (Smith B. (2001)). This layoffs will created a shortage of aerospace jobs and has created a tough hiring environment for unemployed workers. Brockner, J. (1992) stated that â€Å"if the layoffs are mismanaged, thereby hampering survivors' productivity and morale, then the organization stands to lose a sizeable portion of the savings it hoped to achieve by introducing layoffs. Even though employee layoffs may allow organizations to cut jobs and safeguard relationships with the existing employee this can be create a challenge to the remaining employees in that, they may experience excessive stress of increase workload, lack of motivation and they may consider searching for a new place of employment to reduce redundancy. Heathfield, S, M (2010) stated that â€Å"employees experience a n increased level of stress relating to both the increased workload and your distrust of management. Depending on how respectfully the layoffs were handled with their organization, this distrust may run deep. This may cause distrust with the employee and the organization. Employees may be less motivated to complete assigned work when coworkers depart from an organization due to layoffs. According to Adler, N. (2008) â€Å"motivation is a passion to work for reasons that go beyond money or status a a propensity to pursue goals with energy and persistence. † One would suggest that to motivate these individuals could consist of bringing in bake goods to work or have a potluck with existing coworkers. This could motivate the remaining employees to work towards a successful work performance and accomplishing team goals.Searching for a new place of employment to reduce redundancy is common in organizations when layoff occurs. According to Heathfield, S, M (2010) â€Å"Research ind icates that many employees polish up their resumes and begin a job search which can help the downsizing survivor feel more in control of their situation. † Employees could be fearful to be unemployed due the many responsibility of life such as child care expenses and bill payments. Child care expenses could include child support payment, food and clothes while bill payments could include mortgage, rent and utilities. Child care expenses and bill payments is essential to one’s life.A decline or shortage in salary for childcare expenses and bill payments and could result in one child or children being uncared for and one could become homeless. Reduce work hours Management changes can include reduction in work hours for employee, early-retirement and furloughs. Pierce, J. L. ; Dunham, R. B. (1992) conduct a research on police officer responses to changes to their work schedule from a rotating eight hour shift to a compacted 12 hour shift which includes personal activities, work schedule attitudes, stress and fatigue and concluded that â€Å"employees was not satisfied with the result†.One would suggest that the organization give the employee ample time to prepare for the individual wages to be reduced in that the employee can be proactive and make changes that can affect them in their personal life. Some of these proactive measures could include speaking with loan officers to refinance personal loan, cut back on dinning expenses or discontinue insurance plans or retirement matching plans. Even though furloughs may temporarily aid organization on reducing pay cuts in staying in business employee may choose not to return to work after being furlough or the employee may consider to ind another place of employment. Organization may offer senior employees early retirement as another method for to reduce operation cost during an economy downturn. Senior management and those who have been working for an organization the longest usually make the highe st salaries and have the best benefits package Bradley J, B. ; Demand M. (2011). Early retirement of senior employees may result in can result lost of unspoken knowledge over a long run. One would suggest that the organization. Some organizations perform furloughs in economy recession. A furlough is mandatory time off for an employee.For non-exempt employees, the employer doesn’t pay the employee when the employee is not at work. However, exempt employees are required to take a mandatory full workweek off without pay (marylandnonprofit. org). Salary reduction of any kind can also be hardened on the employee where as the individuals may also have to limit expenses in order to afford to pay for regular expenses. Benefits and rewards Benefits reductions and canceling educing reward are other ways for organization to cut back on operation expenses. Benefit reductions are yet another way to cut back on expenses.An employer may have to discontinue some insurance plans, reduce or el iminate retirement plan matches or contributions, or require employees to pay higher co-pays and deductibles on health and/or dental insurance (marylandnonprofit. org). Organizations changes such as layoffs, reduce work hours and a stagnate in benefits increase and rewards affects employee morale in that, employees consider a new place of employment or retire earlier than expected. Employees may also be less motivated to accomplish goal or become stress from work overload as a result from their past co-workers who have left the organization.Mossholder, K. W. , Richardson, H. A. , ; Settoon, R. P. (2011) stated that â€Å"employees are encourages perceiving that developing and maintaining relationships creates a tacit social resource from which to draw when pursuing more complex or ambiguous goals. Relationships among employees will be more lasting than in market pricing climates, for they serve as an asset that has value for both extrinsic and intrinsic reasons. † References Adler, N. (2008). International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior. (5th ed. ). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Brockner, J. (1992). Managing the effects of layoffs on survivors.California Management Review, 34(2), 9-28. Retrieved from http://web. ebscohost. com. ezproxy. umuc. edu/ Smith B. (2001). Boeing  cuts delivery estimates, prepares for major  layoffs. Aviation Week and Space Technology, 155(13), 29-p+, 2p. Retrieved from http://ehis. ebscohost. com. ezproxy. umuc. edu/ Chatterjee, N. (2009). A study on organizational culture and its effect on employee retention. Journal of Management, 2(2), 147. Retrieved from http://proquest. umi. com. ezproxy. umuc. edu/ Pierce, J. L. ; Dunham, R. B. (1992). The 12-hour work day: A 48-hour, eight-day week.Academy of Management Journal, 35(5), 1086-1098. doi: 10. 2307/256542 Michel, A. , Stegmaier, R. , ; Sonntag, K. (2010). I scratch your back – you scratch mine. Do procedural justice and organizational identification matter fo r employees’ cooperation during change?. Journal of Change management, 10(1), 41-59. doi: 10. 1080/14697010903549432 Mossholder, K. W. , Richardson, H. A. , ; Settoon, R. P. (2011). Human Resources systems and helping in organizations: A relational perspective. Academy of Management Review, 36(1), 33-52. doi:10. 5465/AMR. 2011. 55662500 Heathfield, S, M (2010).How to Cope When Coworkers Lose Their  Jobs. Retrieve from http://humanresources. about. com/od/layoffsdownsizing/a/survivors_cope. htm Bradley J, B. ; Demand M. (2011). What Are the Reasons Why Organizations Offer Early Retirement Plans. Retrieve from http://smallbusiness. chron. com/reasons-organizations- offer-early-retirement-plans-110. html Maryland Nonprofit. Retrieve October 25, 2011 from http://www. marylandnonprofits. org/ html/support/documents/Lay-offsinaToughEconomy. pdf Hennigan W. J. (2011). Boeing cutting 900 jobs at Long Beach C-17 plant. Retrieve from

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Counseling Strategies Paper

Research indicates that the majority of individuals drinks less frequently and consume less alcohol when they do drink following alcoholism counseling, although short-term outcomes (e. g. 3 months) are more favorable than those from studies with at least a year follow-up. Positive outcomes yield benefits for alcoholics and their families, as well as leading to savings to society in terms of decreased costs for medical, social and criminal justice services.Reviews of counseling outcome for alcohol problems have developed from early efforts to summarize findings, to reports which derived outcome statistics, to more recent publications examining efficacy in controlled studies with data on cost effectiveness. Clearly, the literature suggests that a variety of approaches can be effective, some more than others because of the nature of the counseling and treatment and the intensity of the approach.The community reinforcement approach (CRA) attempts to increase clients’ access to pos itive activities and makes involvement in these activities contingent on abstinence. This approach combines many of the components of other behavioral approaches, including monitored disulfiram, behavior contracting, behavioral marital therapy, social skills training, motivational counseling and mood management. Some of the largest counseling effects in the literature have been associated with the community reinforcement approach (Miller et al. , 1995).Compared to more traditional treatment approaches, the CRA has been shown to be more successful in helping inpatient or outpatient alcoholics remain sober and employed. Although community reinforcement is a more intense treatment approach, it is consistent with the basic philosophy of several other effective approaches. The ability to establish rewarding relationships, to focus on changing the social environment so that positive reinforcement is available, and to reduce reinforcement for drinking are emphasized with the community rein forcement and other approaches.The key appears to be helping the client to find and become involved in activities that are more rewarding than drinking. To the degree that stress causes unpleasant physical sensations and associated dysphoric moods, it is a high-risk situation for excessive alcohol use. An important coping skill for clients to learn is how to use the physical and emotional signs of stress as cues to â€Å"stop, look and listen† and to try something to cope besides heavy drinking. Relaxation training is a fundamental coping skill in the repertoire of a person trying to avoid excessive drinking.It can help clients to reduce their anxiety and tension when facing stressful situations and minimize their typical levels of motor and psychological tension. Relaxation training can also assist a person to remain calm and to think clearly in circumstances that require effective problem solving and fast action. Many individuals believe in the tension-reducing properties o f alcohol, whether or not they are true, and, without an alternative means to relax, excessive drinking may be a person's only means of coping with painful sensations and unpleasant emotions.Relaxation training fosters general stress-reduction and can be taught to clients using various techniques that either reduce muscle tension, develop deep breathing skills or focus on the use of pleasant imagery (Monti et al. , 1989). In addition to relaxation training, both meditation and exercise have been shown to have similar stress reducing properties. Contingency management procedures assist clients to re-structure their environment to decrease the rewards associated with alcohol use and increase the costs of excessive drinking.The principles of contingency management are based on operant or instrumental learning approaches to human behavior. Contingency management techniques include providing incentives for compliance with alcohol treatment and positive reinforcement from spouses or frien ds for sobriety. This approach is combined with punishment, in the form of withdrawal of attention and approval contingent on the resumption of excessive drinking, and provisions for social support, recreational activities and vocational counseling.In recent years there has been a growing recognition of the importance of providing treatment for alcoholism that is tailored to patients' level of insight and motivation to work on their substance misuse. Rather than emphasizing direct confrontation of patients who deny problems related to their substance misuse, social pressure to acknowledge the evils of alcohol abuse and immediate endorsement of abstinence as a treatment priority, motivational approaches initially focus on relationship formation and harm reduction.While motivational strategies have gained some ascendance in the treatment of primary substance misuse, their importance has been even more rapidly accepted in work with individuals with comorbid disorders, whose psychiatric disorders are often inextricably tied to their use of alcohol and drugs. A useful overarching heuristic in work with all comorbid disorders is provided by the concept of stage wise counseling.The stages of counseling are based on the observation that people with an alcohol misuse problem who change their behavior over the course of treatment typically progress through a series of stages, and that each stage is characterized by different attitudes, behaviors and goals. By understanding a patient's current stage of counseling, counselor can optimize treatment so that it matches his/her current level of motivation, and avoid driving the person away from treatment by attempting interventions that are mismatched to his/her motivation.Four stages of counseling have been identified: engagement, persuasion, active treatment and relapse prevention (Mueser et al. , 2003). Efforts to change another person's behavior are doomed to failure if a therapeutic alliance has not first been establishe d. Therefore, at the engagement stage the primary goal of counseling is to establish a working alliance (or therapeutic relationship) between the patient and counselor. A working alliance can be operationally defined as regular contact (e. g. weekly) between the patient and counselor (McHugo et al. , 1995).Until this relationship is established, no efforts are directed at changing the substance misuse. A wide range of strategies exist for engaging the patient in treatment, including assertive outreach, resolving a crisis, attending to basic needs (e. g. medical, housing), and legal constraints (e. g. outpatient commitment). At the persuasion stage, the counselor has a working alliance with the patient, but the focus of the relationship is not on addressing the patient's substance misuse. Therefore, at this stage the patient is still actively misusing substances, or has only recently begun to cut down on substance use.The goal of this stage is to convince the patient that his/her sub stance misuse is an important problem, and to marshal motivation to begin working on that problem. Motivational interviewing (Miller & Rollnick, 2002) is one useful strategy for helping patients understand the negative impact of their substance use on their own personal goals. Persuasion groups (Mueser et al. , 2003), in which patients are provided with an opportunity to share their experiences with substance use with a minimum of direct confrontation or social censure, can help patients develop motivation to address their substance misuse.Commitment to work on substance misuse can be operationally defined as an actual reduction in substance misuse (McHugo et al. , 1995), or another change in behavior that is associated with a reduction in risk (e. g. ceasing intravenous administration of a drug). In many cases, the duration of these attempts may at first be inhibited by the self-control skills the patient can marshal: in these instances, re-engagement occurs in close conjunction wi th training in skills to deal with situations in which previous lapses occurred.Miller & Rollnick (2002) emphasize that commitment to change is a function of both motivation and self-efficacy or confidence in being able to change. As previously researchers like Bandura noted, past achievements are much more powerful influences on self-efficacy than verbal persuasion that is unrelated to past performance. The attention of patients is drawn to successful aspects of past control attempts, rather than to their ultimate failure to deal with the substance-related problems up to now.While a sense of self-efficacy tends to have limited generalization across performance domains, commitment to change may sometimes be aided by success in another domain, such as work-related skills that open up options for a viable substance-free life-style. Once the patient has begun to reduce his/her substance use, the motivation to work on substance misuse is harnessed, and the goal of treatment shifts to fu rther reduction of substance use or the maintenance of abstinence. Many of the strategies developed for people with a primary substance use disorder can be used with dually diagnosed patients once they reach the active treatment stage.Examples of interventions at this stage of counseling include cognitive-behavioral counseling to address â€Å"high-risk† situations, self-help groups, and social skills training to address substance use situations. Structured activities, such as work preparation or leisure pursuits that decrease opportunities for using substances and divert attention from substance use, can assist in development of substance control. In relapse prevention, the patient has achieved substance control for a substantial period (e. g. at least 6 months).The goals are to both guard against a relapse of substance misuse and to extend the gains made to other areas of functioning, such as social relationships, work and housing. Awareness of vulnerability to relapse can be achieved through continued participation in self-help groups, or individual or group work with substance misuse as a focus. The focus in the relapse prevention stage on other areas of functioning, such as relationships, leisure activities and work, reflects the belief that the better a patient's life is, the less vulnerable he/she will be to a relapse of substance misuse.References Miller, W. R. , Brown, J. M. , Simpson, T. L. , Handmaker, N. S. , Bien, T. H. , Luckie, L. F. , Montgomery, H. A. , Hester, R. K. & Tonigan, J. S. (1995). What works? A methodological analysis of the alcohol treatment outcome literature. In R. K. Hester & W. R. Miller (Eds), Handbook of Alcoholism Treatment Approaches: Effective Alternatives, 2nd edn (pp. 12–44). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Monti, P. M. , Abrams, D. B. , Kadden, R. M. & Conney, N. L. (1989). Treating Alcohol Dependence. New York: Guilford.Mueser, K. T. , Noordsy, D. L. , Drake, R. E. & Fox, L. (2003). Integrated Treat ment for Dual Disorders: A Guide to Effective Practice. New York: Guilford Publications Miller, W. & Rollnick, S. (2002). Motivational Interviewing: Preparing People to Change Addictive Behavior, 2nd Edition. New York: Guilford. McHugo, G. J. , Drake, R. E. , Burton, H. L. & Ackerson, T. H. (1995). A scale for assessing the stage of substance abuse treatment in persons with severe mental illness. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 183 (12), 762–767.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Evolution2 essays

Evolution2 essays Evolution, a process of change through time, is what links together the enormous diversity of the living world. A lot of evidence is present that indicates that the earth has had a very long history and that all living things arose in the course of that history from earlier, more simpler forms. In other words, all species have descended from other species and all living things share common ancestors in the past. Basically, organisms are what they are because of their history. Today there are many theories and possibilities related to evolution which contribute to our understanding of the process. Our planet was born 4.6 billion years ago as a great cloud of dust and gas condensed into a sphere. As gravity pulled this great cloud tightly together, heat from great pressure and radioactivity melted the planets interior and most of its mass. For millions of years after this, strong volcanic activity all over the planet shook the earths crust. At the same time, the earth was showered by a very strong meteor shower. From studying volcanoes, it is known that eruptions pour out carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and other gases. It is also known that meteorites carry water, in the form of ice, and many carbon containing compounds. That might suggest that the combination of volcanic activity and a constant shower of meteorites released the gases that created the Earths atmosphere. Geologists believe that the earths early atmosphere contained water vapor, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and nitrogen. It also may have contained ammonia and methane. It did not contain oxygen, which is the main reason why the Earth could not have supported life. As for oceans, they couldnt have existed at first because the Earths surface was extremely hot. But about 3.8 billion years ago, the Earths surface cooled enough for water to remain a liquid on the ground. Thunderstorms wet the planet for many years and ...

Monday, October 21, 2019

law of dimihisn returns essays

law of dimihisn returns essays The Law of diminishing returns is a key one in economics. It is used to explain many of the ways the economy works and changes. It is a relatively simple idea; spending and investing more and more in a product where one of the factors of production remains the same means the enterprise will eventually run out of steam. The returns will begin to diminish in the long run. If more fertilizer and better machinery are used on an acre of farmland, the yield will increase for a while but then begin to slow and become flat. A farmer can only get so much out of the land, and the more the farmer works, the harder it gets. The economic reason for diminishing returns of capital is as follows: When the capital stock is low, there are many workers for each machine, and the benefits of increasing capital further are great; but when the capital stock is high, workers already have plenty of capital to work with, and little benefit is to be gained from expanding capital further. For example, in a secretarial pool in which there are many more secretaries than computer terminals, each terminal is constantly being utilized and secretaries must waste time waiting for a free terminal. In this situation, the benefit in terms of increased output of adding extra terminals is high. However, if there are already as many terminals as secretaries, so that terminals are often idle and there is no waiting for a terminal to become available, little additional output can be obtained by adding yet another terminal. Another application for this law is in Athletics, for runners, their investment is the time and energy put into training and the yield is hopefully improved fitness. Early in their running careers or early in the training program a couple of weeks of regular training would be rewarded with a considerable increase in fitness. Having achieved a very fit state though, two weeks of regular training will achieve ...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

How To Use Email Marketing For Lead Conversion

How To Use Email Marketing For Lead Conversion Besides social media, email marketing is the first thing that I tell anyone to do when it comes to online marketing. To succeed online, you absolutely must be using email effectively. The evidence doesnt lie. In a 2012 survey conducted by McKinsey Company, they found  that for e-commerce companies e-mail remains a significantly more effective way to acquire customers than social media- nearly 40 times that of Facebook and Twitter combined. Woah! E-mail is still a significantly more effective way to acquire customers than social media. While you may not be running an e-commerce company yourself, the implications seem to be well accepted across  the industry. Social media scientist Dan Zarrella of Hubspot came to a similar conclusion in research that he completed in 2012. Email converts well, and  is a key part of the customer acquisition process. Conversion rate scores as compiled by Hubspot. If youre not using email marketing, you could be missing out on huge potential for your company or blog. More than that, if you arent using email to convert readers into paying customers – YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG. You might be leaving sales on the table! Here at , we have nearly 20,000  email subscribers that continually bring in new customers to our service. We like to think about it as a slow and steady drip. We keep sending out great content, and our readers  keep coming to us for help with their scheduling and social media needs. Its a great fit, and one that works because our email marketing is focused on building trust with our audience. So, how can you create an email program that converts for your own brand or business? Its actually not that hard if you are focused on the right things. Here are the top 5 ways that you can embrace email and turn your email marketing program into a lead conversion machine. Heres How To  Turn Your Email Marketing Into A Lead Conversion Machine #1. Designate A Clear Call To Action On Your Blog The first  lesson about creating an effective   email marketing program is getting good at collecting email addresses. There are many ways to go about this, and several plugins that you can start using right now to jump start your lead collection process, but the point is that you need to be making a concentrated effort on collecting emails or else your marketing list will never actually materialize. Mention.com offers a great call to action when you visit their blog. It is also important to make sure that your blog is properly configured to drive visitors to the lead collection option. This means reducing you sidebar clutter, and continuously driving your reader to a lead collection form. This is about creating a simpler blog layout. Email marketing is 40 times more effective at acquiring customers than social media. For example, on the blog there are only three things you can do once visiting a page. You can read another blog post, learn about itself, or signup to recieve our email-based content. It is as simple as that. I always say that each page on your website should really be about having your readers complete one thing. At , we tend to make that one thing an email newsletter conversion. You will easily see that it is one of the  most prominent things on our page. #2. Keep Your Calls To Action Strong If youve ever worked in sales, youve heard the phrase always be closing. While it may be tacky, it certainly isnt wrong. Not only do you need to be creating opportunities for your customers to convert (by including lead collection points), but you also need to be positioning your copy in a way that specifically asks them to subscribe. While it technically does its job, its not quite a call to action. I cant tell you how many times Ive seen a bland call to action like this one above. Im sorry folks, but please join my email list just isnt going to do it for many people. Whats in it for them? Why should they? Take a look at a few examples of people doing it right. What do you see? They all identify a clear benefit that the reader will receive when they subscribe. They all offer a clear command or directive  such as subscribe now. This isnt a suggestion, it is a command. Many of them offer the reader social proof and provide good reasons for them to consider subscribing or at least taking the offer seriously. The point is that you cant  forget to be a pitch man  and downright ask for the sale on occasion. It may sound  tacky, but it certainly doesnt have to be implemented that way. #3. Send Email More Often Than You Think You Should Many marketers and bloggers like yourself instinctively shutter at the idea of sending more email, but  you  can probably send a whole lot more than you think. In a recent study, Hubspot found that there was essentially no correlation between both unsubscribes and click-through rates and the frequency of email being sent. There is almost no correlation between send frequency and click through rates. There is little correlation between the number of times you send your email and the number of unsubscribes you will receive. What they actually found was that if your email list is willing to put up with 5-10 emails per month, they are probably just as likely to put up with 15 or 20. From Hubspot: The more emails that were sent to the lists in my dataset, the fewer people unsubscribed. This is probably because if you’re sending very  infrequently, it can be easy to forget why I joined your list in the first place, but if  you’re sending regularly, I remember your newsletter.   #4. Make Your Email Something That People Actually Want To Read Never underestimate the importance of reader value. Everything that you do in marketing should offer your readers value. I like to think of it in terms of what you are trading them for their time. What you are  giving your readers in exchange for their time spent with your marketing. Social media consultant Jay Baer describes it another way as marketing so good that they would be willing to pay for it. Shoot for [Email] Marketing so good that your readers  would be willing to pay for it! #ContentNo matter how you describe it, you dont have an easy job ahead of you, your readers want it all. They want helpful content, they want it free, and they want it at a time when its convenient  for them. Who are you to let them down? One of the most common mistakes I see companies make is creating email-based content that is all about them. Wrong! What are your readers getting in exchange for their time? We always try to pack our emails with helpful information that our readers will appreciate. This is why at , we brand our email marketing around the theme of our Content Marketing Update. This weekly email includes helpful content from our blog and some of the best articles around the web. It is usually chock full of great tips and almost always worth the time and the price for admission. #5. Experiment With Your Email Template/Headline/Send Times One great way to continually improve your email marketing is to continually experiment with how and when you are sending it. At , there are a few ways that we do this. A/B  Test Your Subject Lines Honesty, this one is so easy that you should be doing it with every email that you send. Each time we send an email here at , we make sure to test our subject line using the automated A/B testing tool built into our email software (Campaign Monitor). This tool allows us to pre-send our email to a few hundred people with a couple different subject line options. Once a clear winner is found (and there almost always is one), our email tool will send the winning subject line to remaining portion of our list. After doing this for months, we were even able to pullout some key data points and define some email subject line best practices. Try  A New Design (Or None At All) Another great way to improve your email  marketing is to continually adjust your email template. Using the A/B testing tool build into Campaign Monitor and many other email marketing programs, you should be able to easily evaluate the effectiveness of one template over another. Many companies (including itself) have found that sometimes email is best sent without a design template at all. Each week we send thousands of emails using a variety of well-designed email templates and plain text versions. The results usually show us that plain-text emails (or emails that look like plain text) constantly drive higher click-through rates than those with more design. Of course, results may vary. Take this with a grain of salt, and always test your own results. Experiment With Different Send Times In his slide deck The Science of Email Marketing social media scientist Dan Zarrella  dug up a ton of fascinating data about when to send email. For example, he found that email click-through rates tended to be  almost twice as high  on Saturdays and Sundays – a slap in the face to  the traditional  idea that marketing only takes place on weekdays. Email sent on Saturday and Sunday get more clicks. He also found that emails sent  earlier in the morning tended to get more clicks as well. The results may not apply to everyone, but it is very good food for thought. 6a.m. just might be the best time to send an email if you want someone to actually read it. The point here is that you should never be satisfied with the status-quo, even if it is yours. Always be testing your marketing so that you can get the best results.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Theory and Hypothesis in Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Theory and Hypothesis in - Research Paper Example Because of a number of features of theory such as its internal consistency, its consistency with existing facts, its potential for making counter-intuitive prediction and because of its testability, the findings of the theory are not only relevant to theory’s explanations of events but they also help to corroborate the findings of other researchers. The hypothesis generally related with some theory has a greater chance of being correct than the common sense. Almost all scientific theories start as hypotheses. The more the theories are subjected to rigorous tests under a variety of conditions and assumptions and the more they hold up, the more credible they become over time. The relationship between the hypothesis and theory serves to challenge previously held views by introducing different sets of assumptions or more recent information besides expanding the boundaries of research by inferring new hypotheses from the theory using deductive logic and extrapolating them to new si tuations. I reviewed the research paper â€Å"Socioeconomic Status and Beliefs about God’s In?uence in Everyday Life" by Scott Schieman from the journal â€Å"The Sociology of Religion† to see how the author makes use of theory and hypothesis.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Midterm Business and Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Midterm Business and Philosophy - Essay Example s precept is considered to be the main basis of most business ethics in regards to the various interactions that may occur with the customers, stakeholders, members of the community, minority shareholders or the employees (Dani, 74). The label â€Å"golden† was first applied to the rule by the Chinese philosopher Confucius (551-479 B.C.). Various other similar formulations of this maxims are to be found at the centre of Taoism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and some of the rest of the world’s major religions. As the American philosopher Marcus G. Singer, correctly deduced; the Golden Rule happens to be a principle of rather great antiquity. It is seen to have played a key role in establishing moral teachings in nearly all religions and cultures and presently continues to play a significant role in our moral education. More importantly is the point that has been put forth by Augustine and some of the other philosophers that the Golden Rule is not only key in the setting of limitations for our actions, but also it help in encouraging us to promote the interests of other people above those of ourselves (Dani, 74). Although it is considerably one of the oldest and best maxims to practice, the Golden Rule in some cases might not necessarily be the best standard in the management of people in business. It has been found that what one employee might find valuable and highly appreciate, another employee might absolutely despise. According to Zimbardo and Weber, This can be attributed to the fact that preferences in life are highly individualized and learned. These variances include how individuals prefer to be treated by their supervisors. The incorrect tendency for people to assume that other persons happen to share the same behaviour, feelings and opinions as they do is referred to by social psychologists as false consensus effect. This tendency is considered to be a fundamental bias that affects how people happen to think as concerning others (McLean

American History Symbolism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

American History Symbolism - Essay Example Republicanism, a political philosophy which will be defined further, is, in history, a long tradition of writings which express common concerns about â€Å"the importance of civic virtue and political participation, the dangers of corruption, the benefits of a mixed constitution and the rule of law, etc† (Lovett). Combining the two concepts, a symbol of republicanism is an object which stands for or suggests the ideals of historic republicanism—values of liberty, individual rights, rule of law, and so on—by reason of relationship, association, convention, and so on. In early America, the symbolism was needed to retain loyalty to the ideals which caused the colonists to fight the tyrannical rule of the King; such a symbol would need to remind these individuals of the momentous nature of their endeavor. To do this, the symbol should draw a direct connection between this endeavor and the glorious histories of the greatest civilizations of mankind, bypassing the ages of Darkness and ushering in the Enlightenment. First of all, however, it may be instructive to explore the history of republicanism in order to define it: to contrast both classical and modern versions of the philosophy. In Ancient Rome, the Roman Republic existed from 508 B.C. to 27 B.C., when the government was structured by a complex constitution, forming a mixture of three types of government. It was only during the Enlightenment that we see the strong emphasis on civic virtue and the common good (Lovett).

Racial Discrimation in the Criminal Justice System Research Paper

Racial Discrimation in the Criminal Justice System - Research Paper Example Even though minimized to bare levels presently, America has been a class society defined by seclusion of the minorities over the centuries. While facially neutral, the criminal law in the United States is enforced in a massively and pervasively biased manner that has often left the minorities fighting for total-inclusion, and the 21 century is not any different. Surprisingly, the degree with which such discrimination permeates the criminal justice system has defied remedy and lingers on in an era of advanced civilization. No wonder, therefore, that crime and punishment formed the basis of rich and powerful manifestations of the racial divide characterized by chain-gang style penal practices and prosecutorial and judicial bigotry in the early history of the United States. While many scholars and politicians may deny a factual racial disparity statistics, the reality is in the open and only those interested would dare see the truth behind the numbers. A study by the American Bar Association (2007) – in a research - quoted one of the most concise accounts of the law enforcers attitude toward black offenders. A research participant declared: "All three of my boys smoked pot [growing up]. I knew it. But I also knew if one was caught he would never go to prison. But if any of my neighbors got caught," adding that his neighbors were black, "they would go to prison for 10, 12 years" (p.71). Although overt racial discrimination may have diminished to the bare minimum, perceptive fairness of the entire criminal justice system is still a myth in reality in the United States. Minorities remain overrepresented at all stages of the criminal justice process both as offenders and as victims. Nothing services this claim than the statistical evidence of a racially skewed justice system tilted in favor of the white population as depicted in racial

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Advertising and Guerilla Advertising Effectiveness and Comparison Literature review

Advertising and Guerilla Advertising Effectiveness and Comparison - Literature review Example In the process, there are complicated underlying theoretical constructs which play a part in the persuasive process. The message is partially dependent upon graphic design, and psychoanalytic theory is also important. Psychoanalytic theory can help explain persuasion, because it explains how the human psyche decodes and deconstructs ads. Moreover, meaning is ascribed, according to the person’s experiences and identity. Critiques of commercial art verses fine art is also relevant in this analysis, because much of advertising can really be considered to be art. However, as this paper will argue, commercial art is more relevant to society than fine art, because commercial art is more easily interpreted and decoded by society at large.Further, John Hegarty’s ideas will be fleshed out, and applied to the concepts of guerrilla marketing. The basics of advertising persuasion Advertising persuasion happens in many different ways.The use of semiotics is one persuasive devise. Se miotics consists of two parts – one is the symbol, or the signifier; the other is the connotation for the sign. So, for the Nike â€Å"swoosh† symbol, the actual â€Å"swoosh† is the signifier. The connotation is the connection that one makes when seeing the symbol, that connotation being all that Nike represents to the individual person – athleticism, celebrity spokespeople, perhaps sweatshops. Semiotics is basically a "system of signs, and can be verbal, visual, or a combination of the two. The study of semiotics would indicate that the meaning of advertisements is not found within the ad, but its meaning depends on how it operates, how signs and its ideological effect are organized internally (within the text) and externally (in relation to its production, circulation and consumption and in relation to technological, economic, legal and social relations)." (Dyer, 1982, p. 115). The audience are active participants in the decoding of the signs, bring ex perience and social background to the act of semiotic decoding. Returning to the Nike â€Å"swoosh,† how an individual interprets the sign might depend upon the background of the individual. One individual, who has Nike shoes, and love them, will decode the sign differently from somebody who has Nike shoes, and hates them. Another individual, who remembers the sweatshop scandal from years ago, might see the swoosh as a symbol of oppression. Etc. Semiotics are crucial to advertising, because this is the way that one company may differentiate itself from another company. Semiotics has not always been the vehicle for persuasion, however, as, during the 19th Century, advertising relied more upon words than semiotics. Earnest Elmos Calkins, founder of Calkins & Holden advertising agency, in New York City, changed the emphasis from words to semiotics. Calkins used modern art techniques in advertising, such as cubism and futurism, while using graphics designers and magazine illustra tors to design his ads. He was the first to understand that advertisements demand dynamic new designs, and was the first to let the designs themselves do the persuading, without the use of copy (Heller, 2001). Thus, graphic designers produce the semiotics which are used persuasively in advertising. These semiotics allow the advertisement to communicate to the audience, without using a single word. Advertising is very important to society, because of its persuasiveness, which helps goods be distributed smoothly. It is also important because it can convey messages about social issues, while persuading society about the importance of these issues (Heller, 2001). The symbol itself is just one aspect of semiotics, as

Supervising Banks Liquidity Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Supervising Banks Liquidity - Article Example The committee in charge of outlining and preparing these regulations has decided that banks should easily have enough money on hand to last them for thirty days if their outside sources dried up, allowing them to finish business and become more prepared for what should happen after the money has run out entirely. The banking industry is none too thrilled about the new liquidity rules, which would have a questionable effect on how much it would cost them to raise money. Unfortunately, this does not cover some of the more major issues, such as the amount and depth of information banks are allowed to share with their investors and the public about how they go about raising money. However, regardless of the feelings felt by the banks, the rules that have been laid out by the committee are not going anywhere, nor are they to be altered unless something comes up that suggests they should be. As a sort of compromise for those that are against the new rules, the central bankers and regulators will be spending the time prior to the rules taking effect, which is in 2015, determining and evaluating the effect of the new rules. Other rules, such as those that will make sure that banks have reliable sources of long-term financing, will not be implemented until 2018. These additional rules would prevent what almost took place with Hypo Real Estate when it was unable to refinance long-term obligations and needed an emergency bail-out from the government.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Advertising and Guerilla Advertising Effectiveness and Comparison Literature review

Advertising and Guerilla Advertising Effectiveness and Comparison - Literature review Example In the process, there are complicated underlying theoretical constructs which play a part in the persuasive process. The message is partially dependent upon graphic design, and psychoanalytic theory is also important. Psychoanalytic theory can help explain persuasion, because it explains how the human psyche decodes and deconstructs ads. Moreover, meaning is ascribed, according to the person’s experiences and identity. Critiques of commercial art verses fine art is also relevant in this analysis, because much of advertising can really be considered to be art. However, as this paper will argue, commercial art is more relevant to society than fine art, because commercial art is more easily interpreted and decoded by society at large.Further, John Hegarty’s ideas will be fleshed out, and applied to the concepts of guerrilla marketing. The basics of advertising persuasion Advertising persuasion happens in many different ways.The use of semiotics is one persuasive devise. Se miotics consists of two parts – one is the symbol, or the signifier; the other is the connotation for the sign. So, for the Nike â€Å"swoosh† symbol, the actual â€Å"swoosh† is the signifier. The connotation is the connection that one makes when seeing the symbol, that connotation being all that Nike represents to the individual person – athleticism, celebrity spokespeople, perhaps sweatshops. Semiotics is basically a "system of signs, and can be verbal, visual, or a combination of the two. The study of semiotics would indicate that the meaning of advertisements is not found within the ad, but its meaning depends on how it operates, how signs and its ideological effect are organized internally (within the text) and externally (in relation to its production, circulation and consumption and in relation to technological, economic, legal and social relations)." (Dyer, 1982, p. 115). The audience are active participants in the decoding of the signs, bring ex perience and social background to the act of semiotic decoding. Returning to the Nike â€Å"swoosh,† how an individual interprets the sign might depend upon the background of the individual. One individual, who has Nike shoes, and love them, will decode the sign differently from somebody who has Nike shoes, and hates them. Another individual, who remembers the sweatshop scandal from years ago, might see the swoosh as a symbol of oppression. Etc. Semiotics are crucial to advertising, because this is the way that one company may differentiate itself from another company. Semiotics has not always been the vehicle for persuasion, however, as, during the 19th Century, advertising relied more upon words than semiotics. Earnest Elmos Calkins, founder of Calkins & Holden advertising agency, in New York City, changed the emphasis from words to semiotics. Calkins used modern art techniques in advertising, such as cubism and futurism, while using graphics designers and magazine illustra tors to design his ads. He was the first to understand that advertisements demand dynamic new designs, and was the first to let the designs themselves do the persuading, without the use of copy (Heller, 2001). Thus, graphic designers produce the semiotics which are used persuasively in advertising. These semiotics allow the advertisement to communicate to the audience, without using a single word. Advertising is very important to society, because of its persuasiveness, which helps goods be distributed smoothly. It is also important because it can convey messages about social issues, while persuading society about the importance of these issues (Heller, 2001). The symbol itself is just one aspect of semiotics, as

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Graceland Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Graceland - Essay Example him a jail sentence twice and even landing him on the death row; it was only with the help of the intervention of his friends that he was able to escape a politically motivated execution. He migrated to the UK where he earned his Master’s in Gender and Culture from Birkbeck College in London and later an MA in English and a PhD in literature and creative writing from the University of Southern California. Abani later went on to become professor for creative writing and the University of California. Chris Abani has been called as one of the so called third generation of Nigerian authors, the ‘children of the post colony’, he is a breed of writers whose works have become integral to the publishing world of today. In this novel Abani leverages his unique perspectives of African and Western cultures in the context of multiculturalism, globalization and neocolonialism. One of the key compelling factors of this novel is its multifaceted approach that challenges and questions western and particularly American cultural, economic and colonial intervention into a globalized Africa. There is a richness in the novel which stems from Abani’s own multicultural perspectives and wealth of experiences from both within and without the power structure that offer a nuanced and complex portrait of modern day globalized Africa. In this regard Graceland shares a niche with such novels as Helen Oyeyemi’s ‘The Icarus Girl’, Sefi Atta’s ‘Everything g ood will come’, Unoma Azuah’s ‘Sky High’ all of which integrate Western and Nigerian themes in their quest to project a unique perspective of nuanced Nigerian culture in the light of the triple themes of Neocolonialism, multiculturalism and globalization. The resulting product is singularly unique in its depiction of intercultural themes, of an ethno-cultural fusion that represents the new age of integrated globalized hybridity so characteristic of the modern literary era. The novel is set in a Nigeria parallel to

Monday, October 14, 2019

An overview of New Zealand: History and culture

An overview of New Zealand: History and culture This paper is a report on the various factors that make up New Zealand. You will find discussions of the history, significant locations, government, economy, tourism, and food. History New Zealand became a recognized location in 1840 when the British made it part of their empire (History, n.d.). The Maori people were the first inhabitants of the islands in the tenth century, but they were flooded by the British culture later on. New Zealand was first discovered by European explorers in 1642; however, then encounter ended in bloodshed. The next meeting took place over one hundred years later in 1769 when both the French and British arrived without each other’s’ knowing. They began trade with the Maori people, who valued highly the arrival of weapons and began the Musket Wars among enemy tribes (The History, 2014). The British developed their plans to colonize New Zealand as they heard rumors of France’s similar ideas (The History, 2014). In 1840, many chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi with the British Crown. This established British law in New Zealand and created a large basis for what the country is known to be today (History, n.d.). However, with the large influx of British settlers, many hostilities grew and began the New Zealand Wars, or the Land Wars, for twenty years. By 1870, Britain withdrew its troops, â€Å"not wishing to invest any further in a costly overseas war which was likely to continue indefinitely† (The History, 2014). Today, â€Å"New Zealand†¦is an independent nation within the British Commonwealth† (The History, 2014). This means that although the country is under the British Monarch, New Zealand has its own active administration for government (The History, 2014). Map (NZ Map, 2014) Government â€Å"New Zealand is a democratic country in which the Members of Parliament (MPs) are chosen in free and fair elections† (NZ’s System, 2014). Parliament is made up of the House of Representatives and the Governor-General. The House of Representatives consists of 120 members, while the Governor-General is a representative of the Queen. The 120 members are elected by vote and are allowed in office for a term of three years. They hold the New Zealand government accountable for its actions and policies and pass laws over the unwritten constitution. New Zealand is defined as a constitutional monarchy, and so they have Queen Elizabeth II as the Head of State. The Queen and Governor-General â€Å"remain politically neutral and do not get involved in the political contest† (NZ’s System, 2014). New Zealand also has lower levels of government bodies, such as territorial local authorities, district health boards, and school boards of trustees (NZ’s System, 20 14). Economy With a population of around four and a half million, their current GDP is around $132 billion at a 2.5% growth (New Zealand). A third of this GDP is made up by the export of goods and services. New Zealand’s economy runs on free market principles through a mixed economy. Its three largest economic sectors are manufacturing, services, and agricultural (Overview, 2014). New Zealand’s currency is called the Kiwi dollar and was â€Å"amongst the top 25 sovereign currencies in the world† at the end of 2012 (Economic Overview, 2014). Today, the Kiwi dollar equals about $1.29 in US Dollars (Rates Table, 2014). Visiting Cities Auckland – While it is the largest city in New Zealand, home to over one and a half million people, it is not the capital. Auckland is located near the top of the North Island and is the main transport hub into the country. Its location touches into beaches and rainforests, but also volcanic areas. The region has 48 volcanic cones, which provide for great views of the city and harbor (Destinations, n.d.). Rororua – This city is south of Auckland, but is still on the North Island. â€Å"Rotorua is known for bubbling mud pools, shooting geysers and natural hot springs, as well as showcasing [their] fascinating Maori culture† (Destinations, n.d.). The bubbling mud pools are caused by the Pacific Rim of Fire: a â€Å"geothermal wonderland.† With the surrounding nature, Rotorua is a home-away-from-home for many adventure activists. It has world-class mountain bike trails, as well as horse riding, lake swimming, bungy jumping, ziplining, and more (Destinations, n.d.). Napier – This city is located within Hawke’s Bay of New Zealand. It is known mostly for its art, architecture, culture, and history of the 1930s. The reason for this is that an incredible 7.9 earthquake hit Hawke’s Bay destroying a vast majority of Napier’s buildings and killed almost 260 people. â€Å"Rebuilding began almost immediately, and much of it was completed in two years† (Destinations, n.d.). Wellington – According to Lonely Planet, Wellington is â€Å"the coolest little capital in the world.† It is located at the southern end of the North Island touching the harbor. It is known for its arts and heritage with many museums, art galleries and theatres. This city continues the adventure with more mountain bike trails and kayaking. New Zealand’s national museum, Te Papa Tongarewa, is located in Wellington too (Destinations, n.d.). Christchurch – This city is fairly large taking over a majority of the middle of the South Island. It lies along the ocean and touches the Alps. To the 340,000 residents of the city, it is known as ‘The Garden City.’ While this location continues the historic beauty and forest-filled adventure, much was destroyed in 2011 from an earthquake. A large portion of the neo-gothic architecture in the central city was ruined along with many other buildings. Despite the destruction, Christchurch still hosts much beauty and fun. A special attraction is the Orana Wildlife Park, which is an open range zoo (Destinations, n.d.)! Queenstown – This is the southern-most city to be visited on the trip in the South Island. According to New Zealand Tourism, Queenstown has become â€Å"world famous for its iconic scenery, friendly people, golf courses, wineries†¦bungy jumping, sky diving, canyon swinging, jet boating, horse trekking, and river rafting all year round† (Destinaitons, n.d.). Currently, most notably, area around Queenstown is recognized as the makings of Lord of the Rings, with locations that helped to create Middle-earth. Queenstown is clearly the most visited location in the country with a population of 19,200, but over two million visitors every year (Destinations, n.d.). NZ Tourism In 2011, New Zealand hosted over two and a half million visitors, and has expected that number to grow by over 650,000 each year (Tourism Factsheet, 2012). With tourists from around the world, there are some key differences to New Zealand (Key NZ, n.d.). The currency is a dollar, but the make-up is different from that of the US. New Zealand has coins valuing 10, 20, and 50 cents as well as $1 and $2 – then bills of $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100. Banking is generally the same and allows for exchanging currencies (Key NZ, n.d.). For driving, the lanes are swapped with drivers on the left side of the road. New Zealand also uses the metric system, where travel is measured in kilometers instead of miles. Other driving laws are the same: must wear a seat belt, no mobile phone usage, and no drinking and driving. Visitors from other countries can drive in New Zealand for up to 12 months with their home country license (Key NZ, n.d.). New Zealand entertainment is made up of three parts: food, spirits, and fun. The cuisine style is tied to mostly Eurasian countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Polynesia, and most of Europe. New Zealand is most well-known for meats like lamb, pork, and venison, as well as seafood such as salmon, crayfish, bluff oysters, mussels, and scallops. The wines of New Zealand are remarkable and are desired around the world. While people in the US must be 21 to drink alcohol, they must only be 18 in New Zealand. Also, unlike than many states in the US, New Zealand has six different casinos throughout the country (Key NZ, n.d.). Aside from all of the scenic adventures in the forests, beaches, mud pools, etc., New Zealand played host to the Lord of the Rings films. â€Å"Since 2004, an average of 47,000 international visitors each year have visited a film location† (Sector Marketing, 2013). Another small, but notable difference is the time zone. â€Å"New Zealand is one of the first places in the world to see the new day† – being 12 hours ahead of the GMT (Key NZ, n.d.). In comparison to the US, New Zealand is 18 hours ahead. A shocking factor when traveling to and from New Zealand is losing and gaining a day, which happens because of crossing the International Date Line. While this time difference is very large, a similarity is the use of daylight savings time, which a majority of the rest of the world does not use (Key NZ, n.d.). Food Delicacies In the Maori culture, a hangi feast is recommended (Destinations, n.d.). The hangi is a method of cooking, which has been used by the Maori for over 2000 years. To cook the food, it is placed in a pit oven which has heated rocks buried inside. While it is a well-known way of cooking, it has become very traditional and is only used on special occasions. The style of cooking is typically used for chicken, seafood, and vegetables, but can also be used for steamed pudding (Food Wine, n.d.). New Zealand has some of the most famous seafood in the world. Marlborough green-lipped mussels are not only delicious, but are known to have health benefits such as arthritis relief. Bluff oysters are especially desired in New Zealand and around the world – they even have their own festival in May: the Bluff Oyster and Food Festival. New Zealand also hosts a scallop festival in September called the Whitianga Scallop Festival. The forth seafood delicacy is called Whitebait. They are tiny fish caught during the springtime and are often made into fritters (Food Wine, n.d.). Works Cited Destinations. (n.d.) Retrieved December 29, 2014 from http://www.newzealand.com/us/destinations/ Economic Overview. (28 Oct, 2014). Retrieved December 29, 2014 from https://www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/investing-in-nz/opportunities-outlook/economic-overview Food Wine. (n.d.). Retrieved December 29, 2014 from http://www.newzealand.com/us/feature/favourite-new-zealand-foods/ History. (n.d.). Retrieved December 29, 2014 from http://www.newzealand.com/int/history/ Key New Zealand Facts and Information. (n.d.). Retrieved December 29, 2014 from http://www.tourism.net.nz/new-zealand/about-new-zealand/keyfacts.html New Zealand. (n.d.). Retrieved December 29, 2014 from http://www.heritage.org/index/country/newzealand New Zealand Map. (20 Nov, 2014). Retrieved December 29, 2014 from http://www.mapsofworld.com/newzealand/ New Zealand’s System of Government. (19 Dec, 2014). Retrieved December 29, 2014 from http://www.elections.org.nz/voting-system/new-zealands-system-government Overview of the New Zealand Economy. (9 Apr, 2014). Retrieved December 29, 2014 from http://www.treasury.govt.nz/economy/overview Rates Table. (29 Dec, 2014). Retrieved December 29, 2014 from http://www.x-rates.com/table/?from=USDamount=1.00 Sector Marketing: Information on key tourism and special interest sectors. (10 Apr, 2013). Retrieved December 29, 2014 from http://www.tourismnewzealand.com/sector-marketing/film-tourism/fast-facts/ The History of New Zealand: a brief overview of the pre-historic, colonial and modern periods. (29 Dec, 2014). Retrieved December 29, 2014 from http://history-nz.org/ Tourism Factsheet. (9 Aug, 2012). Retrieved December 29, 2014 from http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/general/generalinformation/media/tourism+factsheet.htm

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Trauma Victim in the Emergency Room Essays -- Descriptive Essay Example

The day started like any other. Quiet, but with an underlying vibration waiting to explode. Freshly brewed coffee and the sharp smell of disinfectant mixed in the air like a foreign perfume. Uniformed staff busied themselves with paperwork while waiting for the moment we all knew would come with the lunch hour approaching. It was a typical morning in the emergency room of Presby Plano. We were all standing around, relaxed, discussing our previous weekend adventures. As the call came over the radio we swiftly took our places in expectation of what was to come. A construction worker was hit in the head with a 500-pound slab of granite swinging from a crane. The crane operator didn’t see him as he moved that solid piece of rock from one point to the next. The soft rustle of protective gear being put on over scrubs filled the room as we methodically dressed for the trauma that was about to roll through the door. We tied masks with eye shields around our heads as carts wheeled past into the room in which we would perform our heroic duties. â€Å"ETA, one minute.†, the radio crackled. We calmly looked at each other with the look of serious determination running across our faces, we shot each other glances that said, â€Å"We can make this right.† Lights swirled in the courtyard as we shuffled toward the rough sound of the ambulance’s motor. Doors swung open as patient history supplied by the EMT resonated over the sound of the truck. We parted like the waves of the Red Sea to let the gurney wheel by into the trauma room. A calmness floated in the air as if giving cognitive reasoning a resounding voice. We assembled quickly and stood in our positions. I was only a volunteer, only there to observe, yet I was thrown quickly into the ... ...e a jack hammer, catching a few of us off guard. Sterile water spewed from the spout of the irrigation device onto the skull of the hurt man. After a few minutes, the wound was clean and the bleeding controlled. Staples were clamped onto his head, closing the once gaping hole. The doctor left the trauma room, leaving us to pick the bits of tissue from the hair that remained on the man's head. The two of us remaining gathered around his head and proceeded to snag the soft gobs of pink flesh from his hair as gently as possible, so as not to disturb our newly finished work. He was taken to another room to recover as we left the scene of the previous mayhem. Staff congratulated me on a job well done, as this was my first trauma. I felt proud and alive, I knew this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I will never forget that moment realization hit home. Trauma Victim in the Emergency Room Essays -- Descriptive Essay Example The day started like any other. Quiet, but with an underlying vibration waiting to explode. Freshly brewed coffee and the sharp smell of disinfectant mixed in the air like a foreign perfume. Uniformed staff busied themselves with paperwork while waiting for the moment we all knew would come with the lunch hour approaching. It was a typical morning in the emergency room of Presby Plano. We were all standing around, relaxed, discussing our previous weekend adventures. As the call came over the radio we swiftly took our places in expectation of what was to come. A construction worker was hit in the head with a 500-pound slab of granite swinging from a crane. The crane operator didn’t see him as he moved that solid piece of rock from one point to the next. The soft rustle of protective gear being put on over scrubs filled the room as we methodically dressed for the trauma that was about to roll through the door. We tied masks with eye shields around our heads as carts wheeled past into the room in which we would perform our heroic duties. â€Å"ETA, one minute.†, the radio crackled. We calmly looked at each other with the look of serious determination running across our faces, we shot each other glances that said, â€Å"We can make this right.† Lights swirled in the courtyard as we shuffled toward the rough sound of the ambulance’s motor. Doors swung open as patient history supplied by the EMT resonated over the sound of the truck. We parted like the waves of the Red Sea to let the gurney wheel by into the trauma room. A calmness floated in the air as if giving cognitive reasoning a resounding voice. We assembled quickly and stood in our positions. I was only a volunteer, only there to observe, yet I was thrown quickly into the ... ...e a jack hammer, catching a few of us off guard. Sterile water spewed from the spout of the irrigation device onto the skull of the hurt man. After a few minutes, the wound was clean and the bleeding controlled. Staples were clamped onto his head, closing the once gaping hole. The doctor left the trauma room, leaving us to pick the bits of tissue from the hair that remained on the man's head. The two of us remaining gathered around his head and proceeded to snag the soft gobs of pink flesh from his hair as gently as possible, so as not to disturb our newly finished work. He was taken to another room to recover as we left the scene of the previous mayhem. Staff congratulated me on a job well done, as this was my first trauma. I felt proud and alive, I knew this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I will never forget that moment realization hit home.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Developmental Assessment Essay -- Child Assessment Essay

The child I chose to write about for this assignment is two year old Danjuma from Wayne, Ohio. He is the youngest of three children and attends an Early Head Start Program two days a week. The child’s parents have jobs; when the mother is working her sister takes care of Danjuma. The family has financial problems but don’t qualify for any type of public assistance. Danjuma is twenty-four inches tall and twenty-eight pounds. He walks well and has good coordination; he can be seen running, jumping, creeping, crawling, and rolling. He can kick a small ball forward as well as catch a ball using is full body; he can also throw a ball overhand. At home he can turn doorknobs, get himself undressed, and can feed himself using eating utensils. At the Early Head Start Program Danjuma enjoys completing simple puzzles, scribbling, shaking rhythm instruments, manipulating clay, and different finger play activities. He loves washing his hands on his own but requires help at home due to the fact that he can’t yet reach the sink. Like any child, Danjuma loves using his senses and motor skills to explore his world; he can be seen looking intently at his toys and food as if curious about them; he also still puts objects in his mouth to further explore what they are. When taken to a new place, Danjuma shows curiosity; his mother recently took him to the library for the first time. The child ran immediately to the children’s section, touching and looking at everything with enthusiasm. Danjuma did all of this again the next time he went to the library as if he was remembering about what he did the last time he was there. This child recently got a shape sorter toy; he has been seen struggling to get the correct shapes in each hole. Wh... ...nts and teachers. The socioculture theory talks about how â€Å"†¦parents, caregivers, peers and the culture at large are responsible for the development of higher order functions.† Basically, the child in question is influenced by what goes on around him. He is read to a lot at home, so he has started trying to read familiar books on his own. He sees new opportunities every day to do something new that his friends are trying, so of course he has to try it too. He has also learned that the way he talks with his family is okay because they ‘translate’ everything he says to others that don’t understand him. Works Cited http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentecourse/f/sociocultural-theory.htm http://www.sparknotes.com/psychology/psych101/personality/section3.rhtml http://www.education.com/reference/article/arnold-gesell-child-learning-development-theory/ Developmental Assessment Essay -- Child Assessment Essay The child I chose to write about for this assignment is two year old Danjuma from Wayne, Ohio. He is the youngest of three children and attends an Early Head Start Program two days a week. The child’s parents have jobs; when the mother is working her sister takes care of Danjuma. The family has financial problems but don’t qualify for any type of public assistance. Danjuma is twenty-four inches tall and twenty-eight pounds. He walks well and has good coordination; he can be seen running, jumping, creeping, crawling, and rolling. He can kick a small ball forward as well as catch a ball using is full body; he can also throw a ball overhand. At home he can turn doorknobs, get himself undressed, and can feed himself using eating utensils. At the Early Head Start Program Danjuma enjoys completing simple puzzles, scribbling, shaking rhythm instruments, manipulating clay, and different finger play activities. He loves washing his hands on his own but requires help at home due to the fact that he can’t yet reach the sink. Like any child, Danjuma loves using his senses and motor skills to explore his world; he can be seen looking intently at his toys and food as if curious about them; he also still puts objects in his mouth to further explore what they are. When taken to a new place, Danjuma shows curiosity; his mother recently took him to the library for the first time. The child ran immediately to the children’s section, touching and looking at everything with enthusiasm. Danjuma did all of this again the next time he went to the library as if he was remembering about what he did the last time he was there. This child recently got a shape sorter toy; he has been seen struggling to get the correct shapes in each hole. Wh... ...nts and teachers. The socioculture theory talks about how â€Å"†¦parents, caregivers, peers and the culture at large are responsible for the development of higher order functions.† Basically, the child in question is influenced by what goes on around him. He is read to a lot at home, so he has started trying to read familiar books on his own. He sees new opportunities every day to do something new that his friends are trying, so of course he has to try it too. He has also learned that the way he talks with his family is okay because they ‘translate’ everything he says to others that don’t understand him. Works Cited http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentecourse/f/sociocultural-theory.htm http://www.sparknotes.com/psychology/psych101/personality/section3.rhtml http://www.education.com/reference/article/arnold-gesell-child-learning-development-theory/

Friday, October 11, 2019

Reflective Paper Organisational Dialogue

Huhtamaki – Reflective Paper During the interview, the Chief Executive Officer (Brad) and plant manager (Simon) devoted a considerable amount of time to our communication analysis of their plant. I hadn’t expected two executives to become so involved with a University case study, and to discuss their credo, mission statements, strategies, and—of critical importance to me—internal communication strategy, in so much detail. Gerard & Ellinor (2001) stress that authentic leaders need to practise and execute dialogue, and to me, this was what Brad and Simon were doing: showing their authentic leadership through dialogue.I thought this may have been purely for our benefit, but after four hours, beginning with introductory meetings and followed by interviews and a shop floor tour, it became apparent that management was striving to develop a learning culture. I began to understand that management is about creating an environment to communicate through different me diums: verbal and visual in varying forums; formal meetings, face-to-face meetings, and graphical representations of key messages on the shop floor and around the offices.This essay will reflect my case study experience of the role of dialogue as a tool within Huhtamaki for fostering dialogic communication and developing a learning culture within the organisation. Furthermore, I will highlight the limitations associated with dialogue and with resistive employees who refuse to engage. I had a preconceived idea that management would have a top-down hierarchal structure, with a ‘closed door’ communication policy based on research from Swink & Way (1995), Downs & Adrian (2004) and Clarke (2006).On the contrary, I found management offered an ‘open door’ policy. For example, Brad and Simon understand that organisational effectiveness is dependent upon communication across subcultural boundaries. Therefore, they offer an open door policy, where any employee could approach them to discuss any issues without consequences. Given the traditional hierarchal structure of a typical manufacturing plant with leading hands, supervisors and union delegates, I thought allowing shop floor employees to communicate directly with management an unconventional approach.Schein (1993) states that dialogue begins with creating a sense of equality, and this is what Brad and Simon are striving to achieve within their organisation. According to my understanding, they are creating an environment where employees feel comfortable in communicating, and moving away from the erstwhile problems associated with communication via union delegates, which has often caused industrial disputes and created subcultural differences between management and shop floor employees. Amy (2008) states in her research study that management needs to adopt an informal and approachable communication style.I found it interesting that this is the strategy that Brad and Simon have adopted to aid in changing the organisational culture. In order to move away from a ‘them and us’ attitude, they focused on creating an open, trusting environment which fosters learning. Simon in particular encourages employees to be upfront, and to discuss problems or issues. However, he does not merely provide solutions: he fosters dialogic communication by engaging the employees with questions until they come to realise the answers themselves. I thought this might create awkward situations if the employees could not find answers.But my concern was dismissed; Simon coaches and mentors employees to think about issues or mistakes, and ensures they develop a solution for themselves, thus creating a learning environment. Management’s ‘open door’ policy was not the only means for communication. Management scheduled a daily team meeting, weekly production meetings, and monthly ‘tool box’ meetings, where organisational issues were discussed in more detail. My first impression was that there were too many meetings. When would employees have time to get any work done, if they were continually involved in meetings with colleagues from different departments?I soon learned that this was a necessary step, as not all employees have access to email. Management has to rely on face-to-face verbal communication to ensure that messages are communicated, received, and most importantly, understood. Furthermore, to communicate with employees with no access to email, management used the hallway between the cafeteria and shop floor as a ‘communication corridor,’ posting organisational information alongside safety, quality, production efficacy and operational information.I recall seeing very detailed graphs, charts and statistics, and wondered whether the average shop floor employee would be able to interpret and analyse this data. Simon stated that it was necessary to communicate the same messages continuously in order to engage employees , both verbally in meetings and visually around the work place. I discovered that during most meetings, unless an employee was directly involved in the conversation, he or she would not engage in dialogue. This concerned me; as Schein (1993) states, leaders need to motivate to engage, as employees may not volunteer to engage in dialogue.I now struggled to understand why was it so difficult to engage the employees in dialogue. They would not engage in dialogue during formal meetings and relied on informal face-to-face meetings, where quite often, they needed to be coached to engage in a two-way conversation to find solutions. I felt that management was providing every possible opportunity for employees to be able to communicate with employees, but nonetheless, a communication culture had not successfully been created.Gerard & Ellinor (2001) state that dialogue is not something that can be forced upon employees; they need to participate willingly, and if dialogue is introduced into a hostile environment, it can fail. I could see that management was creating a safe environment in which to communicate, but soon realised that other parts of the workplace provided a different type of ambience. Part of our communication analysis was a tour around the shop floor, and one of the first things I noticed was the difference in body language between various employees.It was very evident as we walked past their workstations that some employees were open and approached management, while others ignored our presence, creating a feeling of tension. It was obvious that although management was trying to dilute the ‘them and us’ attitude, some employees were still bitter from past experiences of management. I now started to fully comprehend the views put forward by Gerard & Ellinor (2001): that dialogue is a tool that requires time and knowledge of the working process. It needs to grow within the organisation.Although Brad and Simon have created a safe environment, the y now need to focus on educating their employees in the process of dialogue and the benefits of dialogue in order to create a learning culture. Furthermore, I support the recommendations of Dixon (1998) for management to engage employees and involve them in the decision-making process. I would expect the employees to thereby see their input as valid and valued; consequently, they would have a personal interest in creating a greater understanding of issues and solutions.In consideration of the fact that Simon has had some success with the ‘open door’ policy, and that Brown & Isaacs (1997) propose that learning is not happening during scheduled meetings or organised forums, but in less formal places, I still recommend developing dialogue during formal scheduled meetings. Management needs to focus on encouraging honest dialogue and transparency within formal meetings, as per Mazutis & Slawski (2009). I feel this is a valid point, as face-to-face meetings are limited to cer tain employees with whom management has good rapport.Employees who are resistive to change and still foster a ‘them and us’ attitude will simply not approach management. I came to believe that Brad and Simon are authentic leaders, and have the capabilities to shape the culture of their organisation through dialogic communication. Reference List Amy H. Amy, 2008, ‘Leaders as facilitators of individual and organizational learning', Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 212? 234. Brown, J. & Isaacs, D. 1997, ‘Conversation as a core business process', The Systems Thinker, vol. , no. 10, pp. 1? 6. Clarke, S. 2006, ‘Safety climate in an automobile manufacturing plant: the effects of work environment, job communication and safety attitudes on accidents and unsafe behaviour’, Personnel Review, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 413? 430. Dixon, N. M. 1998, Dialogue at Work. Making Talk Developmental for People and Organizations, Center for Creative Leadership, London. Downs, C. W. & Adrian, A. D. 2004, Assessing organizational communication audits, Guilford Press, New York. Gerard, G. & Ellinor, L. 001, Dialogue at Work: Skills for Leveraging Collective Understanding, Pegasus Communications, Waltham, MA. Mazutis, D. & Slawinski, N. 2008, ‘Leading organisational learning through authentic dialogue', Management Learning, vol. 39, no. 4, pp. 437? 456. Schein, E. 1993, ‘On Dialogue, Culture and organizational learning', Organizational Dynamics, vol. 22, pp. 40? 51. Swink, M. & Way, W. 1995, ‘Manufacturing strategy: propositions, current research, renewed directions’, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 15, no. 7, pp. 4? 26.