buy custom Healthcare Technologies essay

buy custom Healthcare Technologies essay Introduction The use of technologies in our day-to-day practices has made our operations simpler than even what we thought it could be. This has applied in various fields of study and the healthcare departments are not exceptions. This paper discusses the eMAR Technology innovation that is not only new but has had great impacts on the health sector where it performs high valued roles in the health communications. What Led To The Innovation Of This Technology? Many patients prefer to take their treatments while at home rather than to travel to the hospitals and lie in the wards. Most of them have jobs to do that require them to be at all the time attending meaning that they have their time to spend on the working place rather than in hospital beds. The work from home jobs are easily done at home while at the hospitals there could be restrictions on the patiences activities. This doesnt apply to jobs only. Some patients just prefer to take medication from home. Some have the reason to maintain close contacts with their families while others love the home environment. The other reason is that home medication is cheap and preferable as compared to the inpatient medication. What Is It and Its Impact on the Healthcare Systems The eMAR (Electronic Medical Administrative Record) is a point of clinical care that deploys the barcode reader technology to monitor the bedside medication processes. It uses the Wi-Fi and the Bluetooth technologies, which in turn use the Adaptive Frequency Hoping (AFH) to reduce the interference between the contending signals and prevent it from degradation. The devices are connected to the computer system for further information processing. The implementation of the web based version makes the eMAR more effective for use in the healthcare systems. It enables the physicians to arrive at a quality care more efficiently thereby improving on the quality of services and the quality of life. The access to the healthcare at any time has been enhanced by the system therefore allowing for a shared patient database, Internet based anytime access electronic medical record and a disease information database. These advancements have improved the quality of services and enhanced the medical inf ormation consultancy. The system is effective in that the textual, video andaudio messages can be sent and received through it. This capability is enhanced by the wireless scanner capability which allows for remote access to the computer and has a replaceable battery. The cable use can only be enforced by the prices. The scanner collectively works easily with the software environments and has the capability to alert on the range effects if it jeopardizes the whole situation. To top up these advantages is the lightweight of the scanner. The privacy in the case of a web enabled eMAR can be achieved through authentication services. The information entered is encrypted in both sides of communication. Another advantage of using this device is the joint forces achieved by the physicians to attend their patients. The patients can be put under medication with a maintained record that can be a guide to another physician assigned to attend. This is enhanced by the systems performance in ensuring that the medical records are well organized in the system. A nurse reporting late to work for some reasons could simply text a college to help on giving the medications to patients. Its Advantages, Impacts on Consumers and Positive Impacts on Organization The system works in several platforms making it usable in the many environments of need. It could be as well deployed in the areas of limited technological activities since it does not consume too much of the required resources. Moreover, it can be used by practicing physicians to learn since it promotes an error-free medication and has a good reporting system. The long term advantages of a cost effective medical system is realized by the organization. The system allows for a feedback mechanism to the organization through which the organization can improve the approaches to treating patients. Financial Impacts The system has reduced the costs and extraneous medical processes involved in the organization. Users of the system can easily gain access through the Internet and work with it to meet their needs. It has also advocated on the maintenance of the medical records allowing for cross-consultancy among the health field specialists. The Disadvantages on the Organization Despite all these advantages, the system has its own limitations. For this reason, the organization could have a difficult time to implement its usage. The cost of introduction and maintenance of the eMAR system is not friendly especially at the beginning. The requirements are that new computer systems, software, scanners, network and the Internet hardware is to be bought and installed, all done at a cost. The cost of doing this also requires that experts are employed to take on these processes. Another cost needed is that to train the users and the systems failure is to be witnessed. The databases used in the system are human controlled and could be subjected to errors thereby ruining the whole system. It is important to note that the whole system primarily depends on the availability and persistence of the electrical power and the Internet to some extent. On failure the system also fails. It is platform reliable and therefore the interoperability problem exists. The system also seems to be promoting laziness since some physicians will assume their roles are already solved technologically and relax. Technological Improvements There are many technological improvements that can be done on the eMAR to enhance its efficiency. The records can be extended to capture the doctors credentials as well as billing for the medical purposes through the integration of the Automated Billing System. This could help make the operations of the system better. It should as well be able to make scheduling alerts by taking in the information provided by the doctors, enhancing prescriptions for the resisting viruses by intelligently realizing when the viruses have adapted to resist drugs. Recommendations The electronic medical records system will be a benefit to the organization if properly used. Implementations to enable the realization of patients past treatments should be put into focus. The system should be made clear and simple for its Internet usage to enable the efficiency in the utilization by the users from various locations and at all time. It should reduce the health cost greatly with the diagnostic cost reduced as well. Conclusion The innovations in the technological field have enhanced the efficiency of work in various dimensions of practice. One such enhancement to improve the medication operations is the electronic medical record system. Buy custom Healthcare Technologies essay

Pentaceratops - Facts and Figures

Pentaceratops - Facts and Figures Despite its impressive name (which means five-horned face), Pentaceratops really only had three genuine horns, two big ones over its eyes and a smaller one perched on the end of its snout. The two other protuberances were technically outgrowths of this dinosaurs cheekbones, rather than genuine horns, which probably didnt make much difference to any smaller dinosaurs that happened to get in Pentaceratops way. Name: Pentaceratops (Greek for five-horned face); pronounced PENT-ah-SER-ah-topsHabitat: Plains of western North AmericaHistorical Period: Late Cretaceous (75 million years ago)Size and Weight: About 20 feet long and 2-3 tonsDiet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Enormous bony frill on its head; two large horns above eyes About Pentaceratops A classic ceratopsian (horned face) dinosaur, Pentaceratops was closely related to the more famous, and more accurately named, Triceratops, although its closest relative was the equally large Utahceratops. (Technically, all of these dinosaurs are chasmosaurine, rather than centrosaurine, ceratopsians, meaning they share more characteristics with Chasmosaurus than with Centrosaurus.) From the tip of its beak to the top of its bony frill, Pentaceratops possessed one of the largest heads of any dinosaur that ever lived- about 10 feet long, give or take a few inches (its impossible to say for sure, but this otherwise peaceful plant-eater may have been the inspiration for the huge-headed, human-munching queen in the 1986 movie Aliens.) Until the recent discovery of  the evocatively named Titanoceratops, which was diagnosed from an existing skull previously attributed to Pentaceratops, this five-horned dinosaur was the only ceratopsian known to have lived in the environs of New Mexico toward the end of the Cretaceous period, 75 million years ago. Other ceratopsians, such as Coahuilaceratops, have been discovered as far south as Mexico. Why did Pentaceratops have such a huge noggin? The most likely explanation is sexual selection: at some point in the evolution of this dinosaur, huge, ornate heads became attractive to females, giving big-headed males the edge during mating season. Pentaceratops males probably butted each other with their horns and frills for mating supremacy; particularly well-endowed males may also have been recognized as herd alphas. Its possible that the unique horns and frill of Pentaceratops aided with intra-herd recognition, so, for example, a Pentaceratops juvenile wouldnt accidentally wander off with a passing group of Chasmosaurus! Unlike some other horned, frilled dinosaurs, Pentaceratops has a fairly straightforward fossil history. The initial remains (a skull and a piece of hipbone) were discovered in 1921 by Charles H. Sternberg, who continued plying this same New Mexico location over the next couple of years until he had collected enough specimens for his fellow paleontologist Henry Fairfield Osborn to erect the genus Pentaceratops. For nearly a century after its discovery, there was only one named genus of Pentaceratops. P. sternbergii, until a second, northern-dwelling species, P. aquilonius, was named by Nicholas Longrich of Yale University.

Pentaceratops - Facts and Figures

Pentaceratops - Facts and Figures Despite its impressive name (which means five-horned face), Pentaceratops really only had three genuine horns, two big ones over its eyes and a smaller one perched on the end of its snout. The two other protuberances were technically outgrowths of this dinosaurs cheekbones, rather than genuine horns, which probably didnt make much difference to any smaller dinosaurs that happened to get in Pentaceratops way. Name: Pentaceratops (Greek for five-horned face); pronounced PENT-ah-SER-ah-topsHabitat: Plains of western North AmericaHistorical Period: Late Cretaceous (75 million years ago)Size and Weight: About 20 feet long and 2-3 tonsDiet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Enormous bony frill on its head; two large horns above eyes About Pentaceratops A classic ceratopsian (horned face) dinosaur, Pentaceratops was closely related to the more famous, and more accurately named, Triceratops, although its closest relative was the equally large Utahceratops. (Technically, all of these dinosaurs are chasmosaurine, rather than centrosaurine, ceratopsians, meaning they share more characteristics with Chasmosaurus than with Centrosaurus.) From the tip of its beak to the top of its bony frill, Pentaceratops possessed one of the largest heads of any dinosaur that ever lived- about 10 feet long, give or take a few inches (its impossible to say for sure, but this otherwise peaceful plant-eater may have been the inspiration for the huge-headed, human-munching queen in the 1986 movie Aliens.) Until the recent discovery of  the evocatively named Titanoceratops, which was diagnosed from an existing skull previously attributed to Pentaceratops, this five-horned dinosaur was the only ceratopsian known to have lived in the environs of New Mexico toward the end of the Cretaceous period, 75 million years ago. Other ceratopsians, such as Coahuilaceratops, have been discovered as far south as Mexico. Why did Pentaceratops have such a huge noggin? The most likely explanation is sexual selection: at some point in the evolution of this dinosaur, huge, ornate heads became attractive to females, giving big-headed males the edge during mating season. Pentaceratops males probably butted each other with their horns and frills for mating supremacy; particularly well-endowed males may also have been recognized as herd alphas. Its possible that the unique horns and frill of Pentaceratops aided with intra-herd recognition, so, for example, a Pentaceratops juvenile wouldnt accidentally wander off with a passing group of Chasmosaurus! Unlike some other horned, frilled dinosaurs, Pentaceratops has a fairly straightforward fossil history. The initial remains (a skull and a piece of hipbone) were discovered in 1921 by Charles H. Sternberg, who continued plying this same New Mexico location over the next couple of years until he had collected enough specimens for his fellow paleontologist Henry Fairfield Osborn to erect the genus Pentaceratops. For nearly a century after its discovery, there was only one named genus of Pentaceratops. P. sternbergii, until a second, northern-dwelling species, P. aquilonius, was named by Nicholas Longrich of Yale University.

Use an example of your choice to discuss how corporate restructuring Essay - 1

Use an example of your choice to discuss how corporate restructuring transformed market, productive and financial performance - Essay Example It can be affirmed that the competition level and the changing preferences of customers have changed the business environment at large. In this regard, the management of the companies have witnessed to face adequate complexities along with challenges in performing operations suitably in accordance with market demand (Froud & et. al., 2006). Subsequently, business organisations adopt corporate restructuring strategy with the aim of enhancing their business performances. Corporate restructuring is utilised as a procedure of changing business process, investment structure or organisational arrangement, so that business operations can be conducted with better competitiveness and effectiveness. Moreover, the strategy also aids business organisations to build flexibility in their operational activities (ABeam Consulting, 2004). Barclays PLC is a UK based multinational banking as well as financial service entity. The company offers various services that include credit cards, investment banking, personal banking and wealth management among others. Presently, the company has undertaken restructuring strategy with the aim of improving its business sustainability and competitiveness in the long-run (Barclays, 2014). With this concern, the essay emphasises analysing the strategy of corporate restructuring and its importance in improving productive functions, market operations and financial performances through using an example of Barclays. In the present competitive and changing market scenario, business organisations are required to adopt effective strategies with the intention of ensuring that their respective operational functions are performed in a profitable and competitive manner. In this respect, the notion of corporate restructuring is utilised immensely by the management team of organisations in order to improve business and operational performances. Conceptually, the notion of corporate restructuring is

Architecture of the Greek Culture from the Middle Bronze Age through Research Paper

Architecture of the Greek Culture from the Middle Bronze Age through the Geometric Period - Research Paper Example The paper explores how architecture mirrors the political, trade, and military conditions within Greek culture during the Minoan civilizations, Mycenaean Civilization, and Dark Ages of Greece. The Minoan civilizations (2600-1200 BC) The Minoan civilization represented a Bronze Age civilization that emanated from the island of Crete. The Minoan cities had stone-paved roads shaped from blocks cut with bronze saws (Pedley 36). The Minoan period witnessed numerous trade activities and the construction of striking palaces. An analysis of architecture of this period manifests absence of defensive walls. Minoan architecture features several structures that played the role of commercial, religious, and administrative life. Archeologists have successfully unearthed in Crete a Minoan landscape detailing tombs, palaces, towns, villas, and the roads that linked them. The evidence indicates a thriving prehistoric culture capable of surviving and expanding. The Minoans were prominent sea traders o n the Mediterranean and fostered cultural exchanges with other places such as Egypt. At the height of the Minoan civilization, the Minoan trade increased, in which Minoans came to rule over Mediterranean trading routes. Palaces represent some of the prominent architecture during the Minoan civilization. ... 20). The palaces experienced technological advancement with extensive drainage systems, aqueducts, irrigation, as well as wells that were deep and which were the sources of fresh water that could be used by the inhabitants. The palace buildings had multiple stories, which featured staircases (both interior and exterior), massive columns; light wells, outdoor places where people gathered, storage magazines, which represented the theaters of the ancient times. The method used in the construction included ceramic bricks coupled with stones that used to be rough linked by mortar within the interior walls (Biers 62). The Mycenaean Civilization (1600-100 BC) Greeks initially settled on the Greek mainland close to 2000 BC in which geography played a central role in the formation of a society. Mycenaean were equally wealthy as Minoans on Crete but can be described as relatively warlike. The Mycenaean civilization supplanted the Minoan civilization as the dominant sphere of influence on the G reek Islands. The military activity during the Mycenaean period  yielded to the fortification of major towns  such as Athens. The isolated forts served the purpose of militarily control territory (Pomeroy et al. 30). There were also various forms of exits typified by access ramps, monumental gates, vaulted galleries, and hidden doors fashioned to facilitate escaping in the event of a siege (Pomeroy et al. 31). Fortresses, which were built to suit the prevailing military conditions, represent some of the prominent examples of architecture during the Mycenaean civilization. The fortresses detailed massive walled structure built for defensive purposes. The walls of the structures

Right to Education Essay Example for Free

Right to Education Essay On 12 April 2012, in its historical decision the Supreme Court (SC) of India threw its weight behind the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. The court upheld the constitutional validity of RTE Act that guarantees children free and compulsory education from the age of 6 to 14 years of age. The judgment makes it mandatory for the government, local authorities and private schools to reserve 25 percent of their seats for ‘weaker and disadvantaged sections’ of society. The decision has wiped away many apprehensions regarding the future of the Act. It has been welcomed by academicians, politicians, journalists and others. The Union minister for human resources development Mr. Kapil Sibal, articulated, â€Å"RTE can be a model for the world†. While there has been enthusiastic praise of the judgment, concerns related to quality, finance, ensuring of 25 percent reservation in private schools and change in classroom structure cannot be thrown into the winds. The amount put aside by Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is only Rs. 25,555 crores for 2012-13, which falls short of the recommended financial requirement of Rs 1. 82 lakh crore. From where will the rest of amount come? According to Kapil Sibal (2012) more than 90 percent of households will have to enroll their wards in government schools. Thus 90 percent of households’ wards will have poor access to education; if at all they are enrolled in schools, as the quality of education in government schools is a matter of serious concern. There is no clarity on how 25 percent reservation in private schools will be filled. There may be more than one private school in a neighborhood, so how will they decide who will go where? How will reservation in private schools be monitored? The 25 percent reservation in private schools will dramatically change the structure of classrooms in schools. Whether diversity of classroom will create democratic learning environment and enhance teaching learning process or will it put children from ‘weaker and disadvantaged sections’ in discomfited position? Concern of Quality Education One of the primary objectives of Right of Children Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 is improving quality education. The quality of elementary education, particularly in government schools, is a matter of serious concern. The quality of school education depends on various variables which includes physical infrastructure, method of teaching, learning environment, type of books, qualification of teachers, number of teachers, attendance of teachers and students and so on. There has been substantial progress in increasing enrollment with national average now at 98. 3 percent (2009-2010) according to official statistics. However, the attendance of pupils in class rooms has declined. In 2007, 73. 4 percent students enrolled for Standards I-IV/V were present in class, which has fallen to 70. 9 percent by 2011 (EPW, 2012). Fayaz Ahmad (2009) came with the findings that despite lack of staff in government schools, teachers remain absent on rotational bases. He adds that due to vacancies for teacher, absenteeism of teachers and poor infrastructure in government schools classrooms are multi-grade, i. e. one teacher attending to children from different grades in a single classroom. The attendance of teachers and students in schools is directly related with the quality of education. Furthermore, mere enrollment of children in school does not fulfill the aims of RTE. Amman Madan (2003) argues ‘the question of reform in Indian education has usually been conceived of in narrow ways – putting children in school and getting schools to function efficiently’. Despite high enrollments in schools 50 percent of children studying in the fifth grade lack the reading skills expected of children in the second grade (Annual Status of Education Report, ASER 2010). Ensuring 25 percent Reservation The RTE, Act, 2009 clause, 12 (1) (c) mandates for private schools to admit quarter of their class strength from weaker section and disadvantaged groups 1. The constitutional validity of this clause was challenged in the apex court of country. However on 12, April 2012, a bench of Chief Justice S . H. Kapadia, Justice K. S Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar upheld the constitutional validity of the Act. In response to the Supreme Court order, HRD minister Kapil Sibal said, â€Å"I am very happy that the court has set all controversies at rest. One of the biggest controversies was on whether the 25 percent reservation applies to private schools or not†¦ that controversy has been set to rest. †2 Reacting to the 25 percent reservation Krishna Kumar (2012) penned down â€Å"most ambitious among its objectives is the social engineering it proposes by guaranteeing at least 25 percent share of enrolment in unaided fee-charging schools to children whose parents cannot afford the fee. † Both Krishna Kumar and Kapil Sibal did not give indepth critical insight to the provision. The questions like, what will be the mechanism of selection process of 25 percent children from ‘weaker and disadvantaged sections’. Some private schools are very reputed and provide very high quality of education and some are either at par with government schools or little ahead. There is a hierarchy of private schools which are stratified in quality education. Who will go where what will be the criteria for that? Furthermore Indian society is patriarchal in nature, boys are even served good food in comparison to girls how one can expect parents or guardians will send a girl child to these private schools, if at all they agree to send a girl child to school. The reservation benefits will go to a particular gender of society. This will further reinforce and reproduce gender bias and social inequality in society. Thus RTE itself creates a vacuum for â€Å"reproduction of culture†. Fayaz Ahmad (2009) underlines, parents prefer schooling for their girl child but prefer government schools for them in comparison to a male child. The important finding which has been revealed by Fayaz Ahmad (2009) is the enrollment shown in schools was higher than what actually it was. This was done to get mid-day meals for more and more children so that teachers can save some money to bear other hidden expenditures and avoid wrath of authorities for poor enrollment. Despite employment of Resource Persons and Zonal Resource Persons by Jammu and Kashmir government in the department of school education ,who are obliged to ensure smooth and normal functioning of schools, such kind of loopholes are observed, how can the government ensure that private schools will follow the provision of 25 percent reservation. Change in the Structure of Classroom and Beyond. The RTE Act directed all schools, including privately -run schools, to reserve 25 percent of their seats for students from socially and economically backward families. That means, quarter of students in classes will be from marginalized section of the society. This will change the structure of classes. Krishna Kumar (2012) maintains â€Å"a classroom reflecting life’s diversity will benefit children of all strata while enriching teaching experience. † He further adds â€Å"classroom life will now be experientially and linguistically richer. It will be easier to illustrate complex issues with examples drawn from children’s own lives. † He rightly articulates that class room will reflect diversity and will be experientially and linguistically richer. But his argument that classroom diversity will benefit children from weaker section of society is hypothetical and ambiguous. School education can’t be separated from its social context, those who teach and learn carry with them attitudes, beliefs, habits, customs, orientations which differ from class to class. The elite schools have their own culture which suits to children of upper class. The teaching-learning environment at these schools suits children of upper class while children from weaker section may find themselves alienated from the schools. Bernstein (1971) while examining the mode of communication of working and middle class argues that both have different mode of communication and most of the teachers in schools belong to middle class which gives edge to middle class children in learning. Bourdieu(1977) empirical research in France explores that performance of a child in school on his access to cultural capital. He maintains that children of upper classes are able to understand contents of knowledge better than their counterparts belonging to marginalized sections of society. The present experience of India with mixed or diversified classroom is not encouraging. The children from marginalized sections of society are discriminated in the classroom on the bases of gender, caste, and ethnicity. Despite Indian constitution strictly prohibits discrimination on the bases of caste and other social backgrounds and makes it a punishable act yet children from marginalized sections are discriminated in schools. How can discrimination of ‘weaker and disadvantaged sections be prevented? There are various theoretical and empirical studies which have come up with that children from lower classes are at a backfoot in schools in the learning process. They are more vulnerable when enrolled in elite schools. Conclusion Indian children now have a precious right to receive free and compulsory education from the ages of 6 to 14 years of age. The government will bear all the expenditures of schooling. The act has mandated for private schools to reserve quarter of classroom strength for deprived sections of society, which will change the structure of classrooms in elite schools to school who are not yet enrolled. However, there are many apprehensions with regard to achieving desired goals through RTE. By pressing for 25 percent reservation for the ‘weaker and disadvantaged sections’ of society, government has acknowledged poor quality in government schools where more than 90 percent of households in the country will have to enroll their children even if 25 percent reservation is implemented in true sense. This means that there will be further diversification of society in India. There are also concerns whether those enrolled in private schools will cope and adjust with education system and culture of elite schools. There are many other loop holes which are pressing and challenging in the way of RTE: quality education, funding, teacher skills and enhance of reservation policy are some major concerns. Despite the flaws in the way of RTE Act, it is important to simultaneously ensure proper implementation of the Act. —————————————- Footnotes 1. The Gazette of India, http://eoc. du. ac. in/RTE%20-%20notified. pdf 2. Dhananjay Mahapatra Himanshi Dhawan(2012) Times of India, RTE:Govt Subsidy to be based on KV expenditure, New Delhi, 13 April. References. Ahmad, Fayaz (2009) â€Å" A Sociological Study of Primary Education Among Girls: With Special Reference to Block Hajin of District Bandipora† Dissertation, Barkatullah University. Annual Status of Educational Report (2010): â€Å"Annual Status of Educational Report ( Rural) , assessed 21April 2012: http://www. pratham. org/aser08/ASER_2010_Report. pdf Bernstein, B (1973): â€Å"Class Codes and Control: Applied Studies towards a Sociology of Language†, London, Routledge Kegan Paul. Boourdieu,P (1977): â€Å" Cultural Reproduction and Social Reproduction†, In Karabel, J and A. H, Halsey, (ed), Power and Ideology in Education. OUP Economic and Political Weekly (2012): â€Å"The Right to learn: Two Years after the Right to Education Act, the government needs to focus on quality†,16 April, Vol XLVII No 16. Kumar, Krishna (2012): â€Å"Let a hundred children blossom: A classroom reflecting life’s diversity will benefit children of all strata while enriching teaching experience. †, The Hindu, Delhi,20 April 2012. Madan, Amman (2003): Education as Vision for Social Change, Economic and Political Weekly May 31, 2003 pp. 2135-2136 Sibal, Kapil (2012): â€Å"Admitting kids from weaker sections while not lowering quality of teaching will be difficult for pvt schools, but it can be done: RTE Can Be A Model For The World† The Times of India, New Delhi, 20 April. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, popularly known as the Right to Education (RTE) Act, came into being in India from April 1, 2010. The Act introduces a number of changes in education delivery through schools in India. Many of the changes are simply revolutionary, and if they are implemented properly will vastly improve the system of imparting education in the country. The Act is a landmark in the history of education related legislation in India. However, some of the provisions of the Act, although included with noble intentions, will have unintended consequences that might counter some of the advantages of the new system itself. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, as published in the Gazette of India [No. 39, Dated August 27, 2009] makes for interesting reading. I present below a critique of some of the salient provisions of the Act, and elucidate how these provisions also have unintended consequences that have not been addressed. Along the way, I also provide suggestions on what could be done better. Category 1: Decisions relating to screening and failing students (Section 16) No failing allowed: Section 16 of the RTE Act states that no child shall be failed in any class or expelled from school till he or she completes elementary education (defined as education imparted from Class 1 to Class 8). The Act also provides for special training for students who are deemed to be deficient and deserving of extra help. The Government reasons that failing a child is wrong, no matter the level of learning deficiency the child exhibits with respect to his or her peers. Any such deficiencies, the Government thinks, can be made up through special training provided by the school authorities under Section 4 of the Act. The intention of this rule is no doubt to support those children who are not able to attain the level of performance required to gain admission into the next class. Through this provision, the Government wants to reinforce that performance standards are relative, that failing a child is an unjust mortification for the child’s persona, and that a child younger than 14 is too young to be explicitly classified as deficient compared to his or her peers. While all these reasons hold good, a number of issues remain unaddressed: Skill development: While it is true that failing a child may well cause the child to intensely doubt his or her abilities, the Government fails to appreciate that failing a child also serves as a protective mechanism. Under the mechanism of failing, a child whose skills are clearly deficient with respect to his or her peers is held back in the same class and denied promotion. Failing therefore also acts as a protective mechanism, allowing a child to spend more time in the same class to make sure that he or she gains skills commensurate with his or her peers, and acts as a crucial aid in skill development. Under the new system, however, the child graduates to the next class regardless of performance or skill level in the previous one. The system then provides for special attention (through Section 4 of the Act) for such a child in the higher class to make up the deficiency in skills and ability. The critical question is – can a child who is unable to bear the workload of a junior class now deal with the workload of a senior class in addition to taking special classes? The embarrassment of failing, which under a system of failing a weak student is corrected at the first stage of inadequacy, now carries over into senior classes. This only accentuates the embarrassment that a child faces because of an increasingly steep learning curve which he or she finds ever more difficult to negotiate as compared to his or her peers. As a consequence, the child faces academic seclusion in the higher class. No feedback mechanism: Failing also acts as an important feedback mechanism, making the child and his parents and teachers aware that the child is deficient in critical skills. It also acts as feedback for teachers – if more students fail in a teacher’s class than those in other teachers’ classes, the teacher’s methods and effectiveness should be put under the scanner. However, under the new system, when every child is promoted to the next class irrespective of performance, both parents and teachers in general put in less of a marginal effort to ensure development of the child. The onus to support the child is passed from teachers and parents to schools (through Section 4 of the Act), and rarely, if ever, will teachers be held accountable for falling standards of teaching. Similarly, the incentive for children to learn is diminished, because the fear of failure and the repercussions of non-performance are removed. No doubt all consuming interest rather than fear should be the motive for sustained academic development of children but a system that ensures less accountability for all concerned (students, parents, and teachers) in no way creates a case for substituting ‘fear’ with interest. The stick has been removed, but where is the carrot? Postponing development does not work: One reason often put forward is that failing creates a frustration and lack of confidence in the child, causing them to drop out of school. However, a child that is deficient in skills will find it even harder to catch on in a senior class. The frustration and inclination to quit will therefore be even stronger. Ultimately, the child may be inclined to drop out of school in frustration with the system (experienced over a number of years) rather than with just a particular teacher or class. With the latter, there is still hope to bring the child back into the system. With the former, even that is gone. Inability to deal with failure: A child who does not learn the value of accountability, performance, and hard work in the initial stages of its schooling will be ill-equipped to meet these constants of life in later stages. The child will grow up not with resilience, but with a sense of entitlement, feeling that it is the duty of teachers to provide special training when he or she does not perform. When this sense of entitlement is suddenly removed after 14 years of age, the child may well feel deprived, unsupported, and unable to deal with performance expectations. Rewarding competence is the rule in all professions and vocations – why not embed it into the child at an early age? Category 2: Prohibition on physical punishment and ‘mental harassment’ (Section 17). Section 17(1) of the Act prohibits physical punishment or mental harassment of students. While a ban on physical punishment is laudable, the one on mental harassment is incompletely defined. What, after all, is ‘mental harassment’? It could be anything from a light admonition for not completing homework to vile abuses meant to strip the student of all self-respect. The Act sheds no further light. The problem then becomes one of establishing the commission of mental harassment itself. When rules are incompletely defined, they are subject to manipulation and misuse. Consider the plausible scenario when the rule on mental harassment is sought to be enacted. The clear and visible effect is that teachers will not be able to physically punish or mentally berate students. However, there are also some unseen effects. No clear escalation mechanism: One of the unseen effects is that in rural areas and impoverished regions, where acts of mental harassment are most often carried out, these acts are not even reported (except in severe cases). This is because the child risks arousing further displeasure of the teacher concerned, and is not assured of action in any case. Section 17(2) of the Act prescribes disciplinary action against any teacher violating the rule. However, in a set up where mental harassment is hard to establish, reporting mechanisms are poor, the social matrix favours teachers, and where administrators are already feeling a crunch of available teachers, strong action against the guilty is unlikely. If at all it is to be more effective, the provision needs to be given more teeth – establish a uniform reporting and escalation mechanism for teacher misconduct and ensure that whistleblowers are not at the receiving end of punitive measures. ‘Mental harassment’ not clearly defined: In an urban, metropolitan setting, again the loose definition of mental harassment becomes a problem. Here, students are more empowered, and find it easy to report any behaviour which would constitute ‘mental harassment’ in their opinion. In such schools, errant behaviour from students is encouraged because any admonishment, even if it is meant to serve as a correction, can be (mis)interpreted as mental harassment. This will reduce the effectiveness of teachers to administer suitable admonitory measures to this class of students. A solution for improvement, then, seems to be introduction of a uniform escalation and protection mechanism for students, along with clearly defining what mental harassment constitutes, allowing students and teachers to be aware of potential violations when they occur. Category 3: Only ‘recognized’ schools allowed to function (Section 18) Schools which do not have a certificate of recognition from the local authority or government shall no longer be allowed to function, under Section 18 of the Right to Education Act. If such a school is already functioning, the Act prescribes that it be shut down within 3 years if it fails to meet norms. If a new school is set up, it must conform to the norms for a school as laid out in the Schedule of the Act, or be shut down within three years. The norms themselves prescribe minimum teacher-student ratios for different classes, the existence of a permanent building, minimum number of working hours per teacher, and a functioning library, among other things. There is no doubt that a school which provides all of these will be superior in imparting education to an institution which provides only some of these. However, two main difficulties arise – it is erroneous to conclude that private, unrecognized schools offer a quality of education that is less than that offered by recognized schools, and banning private unrecognized schools further aggravates the problem of scarcity of formal education institutions. Unrecognized schools may be better than recognized ones: In a study conducted on private, unrecognized schools in the slums of East Delhi in 2004-05[1], James Tooley and Pauline Dixon from the University of Newcastle found that there were more unrecognized schools than government schools in the locality. In this research paper, the authors found, through unannounced visits, that a higher number of teachers were teaching in private unaided schools as compared to government schools. Further, they found that private unaided schools (including unrecognized ones) had superior or similar inputs than government schools. Most significantly, in this study, Tooley and Dixon found that children in unrecognized private schools scored 72% higher in Mathematics, 83% higher in Hindi, and 246% higher in English than students in government schools. Students in private unaided schools were found to be more satisfied with facilities being provided to them than their counterparts in government schools. Teachers in these schools reported a level of satisfaction similar to that reported by teachers in government schools. Importantly, even head teachers or principals were reported to maintain closer monitoring on teachers in private unaided schools (including unrecognized schools) than in government schools. Considering that monitoring and continuous evaluation of teachers is an important element of the strategy under the new Act, this last point gains even more significance. In another study conducted by Tooley and Dixon[2] in 918 schools within a locality in Hyderabad, 37 percent were found to be private unrecognized schools, compared to only 35 percent government run schools. Around 65 percent of school-going children in the area went to the private, unrecognized schools. It may be argued that this study was conducted only in particular areas, and that things might be different in other parts of the country. This notion is refuted by another study done by Karthik Muralidharan and Michael Kremer of rural private primary schools in India in 2003[3]. This study, as claimed by the authors, is a â€Å"nationally representative survey of rural private primary schools in India conducted in 2003†[4]. While conducting this research, the authors found that private schools are most common in areas with poor public school performance. In spite of paying lower teacher salaries, these schools have children with higher attendance rates and higher test scores. The teachers are 2 to 8 percentage points less likely to be absent as compared to public school teachers, and 6 to 9 percent more likely to be engaged in regular teaching activity. These research studies do present strong evidence for the view that private unrecognized schools are comparable, if not superior, to their government counterparts. The onus is on the government to prove conclusively that this is not so. Until this has been done, closing down the unrecognized schools, even with a 3 year grace period to confirm to standard regulations, might be hasty, unwarranted, and a step backward. Unrecognized schools solve the problem of outreach: Under Section 13(1), the Government has mandated that no school should collect any capitation fee for granting admission to a child. This move is welcome, and it will ensure that discretionary admissions are not the hegemony of the rich. However, having addressed the symptom, the Government has failed to address the underlying cause. Why do schools demand that capitation fees be paid for admission? The simple reason is that the number of children seeking admission is much higher than the number of seats available. The school therefore sees this as a convenient way of ensuring admission for those wards whose parents can contribute the most to the school financially. The presence of this phenomenon itself indicates the paucity of available education. The solution would be to either ensure that government schools or private recognized schools can ensure education for every child who seeks it. As this is a huge task and is not easily accomplished in at least the foreseeable future, private unrecognized schools must be a crucial part of the strategy for enabling outreach. Not only will this ensure a lesser burden on the government to set up new schools quickly, but it will also ensure that the overall vision of the Act – basic education for the widest base of children possible – is more convincingly achieved. We need to create more schools, not less. Private unrecognized schools are not the alternative to recognized institutions – they are the alternative to no education at all! By proposing to shut them down, the government decreases the outreach of education made possible by these institutions. An uncertain future for students: The RTE Act mandates that unrecognized institutions which fail to meet the set criteria will have to close down after a period of about 3 years. However, apart from mandating that the students in these schools will have a right to seek transfer to other schools within the area, the Act does not specify how and on what basis these students will be given admission in other schools. With recognized schools already straining under the burden of having to support free education for all students who approach them (till their capacity), the room for accommodating more students will be scarce. This itself will create uncertainty for students studying in these unrecognized institutions, and will also create a strain on recognized institutions to accommodate them later. The only alternative is for the state to open as many recognized schools (of approximately similar capacity) as the number of unrecognized schools that it closes down. A Times of India report[5] cites various studies that show that in Punjab, 86% of more than 3000 private schools are unrecognized and 3. 5 lakh children are enrolled in them. The report also says that in 1996, the Public Report on Basic Education in India (PROBE) survey of UP, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh found that 63% of private schools were not recognized. According to the report, Andhra Pradesh has 10,000 unrecognized schools, and Delhi has at least 1,500 catering to around 6 lakh children. The report also cites Prof Yash Aggarwal of the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), who in 2000 had said that the number of unrecognized schools in the country was doubling every 5 years and the number of such schools was soon expected to be 1. 5 to 2 times that of government schools in the country. With 10 years already having passed since this assertion, one can assume that unrecognized schools form a large part of the educational backbone of India. To break this apart and yet keep the neck straight will be a difficult endeavour. Category 4: Prohibition of private tuition by teachers (Section 28) Section 28 of the RTE Act mandates that no teacher should engage himself or herself in private tuition activity. Through this provision, the Government is trying to address the problem of teachers not teaching properly in schools and then requiring students to attend private tuitions to actually learn the subject material. The intention again is worthy of appreciation – any provision that improves standards of teaching in the classroom and removes perverse incentives for teachers to earn money from their students through unethical means is welcome. A question of money: The primary reason why teachers underperform in the classroom and then require their students to attend private tuitions is the want of additional income, unfettered by a loose monitoring and punitive system. Banning teachers from taking private tuitions does not do away with the cause of the problem. With the RTE Act enforcing strict norms on the appointment of teachers, some aspirational educationists might well be forced to sit out. It is then possible for their collaborators inside the system to promote the seeking of private tuitions with these private teachers, with of course a money sharing arrangement being worked out between the two. While banning private tuitions by teachers themselves is a welcome step in this regard, this should also be reinforced with a ban on referring students for private tuitions. Monitoring this will not be an easy task, but then neither will be monitoring teachers to ensure they do not provide private tuitions. It is student reporting that must be the proof of misdemeanour in this case (with suitable verification and safeguards to ensure false reports are filtered out). Banning referral for private tuitions along with private tuitions by teachers themselves will make the legislation more complete. A question of performance: Even if private tuitions by teachers are successfully done away with, it still does not address the prevalence of teacher underperformance and absenteeism. One may argue that with an alternative source of revenue (private tuitions) now removed, teachers will be loath to take up government school jobs, as the effective income earned is lower. Some capable teachers who would otherwise have taught well in school, and also taken private tuitions, will therefore walk away from a government school teacher job, choosing to dedicate themselves completely to private tuitions. On the other hand, some less capable teachers, who were not teaching well in school but were supplementing their income through private tuitions, will elect to stay on. With the failing mechanism also removed, the performance evaluation of these teachers will become even more difficult. Underperformance, therefore, will stay, and teacher absenteeism will only increase (especially to pursue other income opportunities). Section 24 of the Act prescribes punitive measures to be undertaken in case absenteeism and non-performance of duties is observed. While it prescribes the minimum duties to be undertaken by each teacher, no specification is made of what constitutes high performance.

Greenspan: The Man Behind Money Essay -- Essays Paapers

Greenspan: The Man Behind Money In Justin Martin's book Greenspan: The Man Behind Money, the life of Dr. Alan Greenspan, a man whose expertise in economics has dramatically influenced the state of the U.S. economy, is told from a historical perspective and in a semi-chronological order. Alan Greenspan grew up in New York City's Manhattan. After his parents divorced he went to live with his mother and her parents. Greenspan's father rarely visited, yet when he did, Greenspan was extremely happy. This detail struck an emotional cord in that it was evident Greenspan strived to succeed not only for himself but also for the approval of his father. Greenspan's father was a NY Stock Broker and published a book entitled, Recovery Ahead, a book about President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal and the state of the economy. The book had the following inscription: "May this my initial effort with a constant thought of you branch into an endless chain of similar efforts so that at your maturity you may look back and endeavor to interpret the reasoning behind these logical forecasts and begin a like work of your own. Your Dad." (4) This would eventually become Greenspan's mission in life. Although he saw his father few times during his adult life, his father surely new of his son 's success through all of the media attention Greenspan received over the years. Greenspan was influenced by his mother, books, and by mentors in his life. While in attendance at Columbia University, Greenspan took a seminar on business cycles, taught by Arthur Burns. On the first day of class, Professor Burns asked the following question, "What causes inflation?" then said, "Excess government spending causes inflation." Greenspan having read John Maynard Keyne... ...strife of the poor was received with boo's and anger. He quickly realized the insensitivity of what he had said and apologized. The book mentions that from his educational background, work experience, and his time at his Economic firm Alan Greenspan was destined to become Chair of the federal reserve, but regardless of the career he had chosen, it seems that Greenspan was destined to succeed-period. After reading this book, I am not only thoroughly impressed by Chairman Greenspan, but I also understand Economics from a historical standpoint and its affect on my life-past, present, and future. Justin Martin went to great lengths to, in detail, explain the principles behind economics in such a way that made it easy to understand and enjoyable to read. Works Cited Martin, Justin. Greenspan: The Man Behind Money. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Perseus Publishing, 2000.

Endocrine disrupting compounds and human fertility Essay

In the past 100 years, humans have introduced several hundreds of new compounds into the environment, which actually have affected the physiology of both plants and animals including humans (Propper, 2005). In most cases these deleterious effects are unintended and it was not predicted before that these compounds could have such effects on organisms. Therefore the actual mechanisms by which these compounds affect physiological functions of other organisms are not yet properly researched. When such compounds affect the endocrine systems they are called endocrine disrupting compounds. These compounds would affect different hormonal pathways and physiological functions such as reproduction, development, metabolism and even the behavior of humans and other animals. The present essay is intended to identify some of the endocrine disrupting compounds that affect human fertility, the mechanism of affecting, to analyze the weight of different evidences available and to analyze the current investigation techniques. Endocrine disrupting compounds have been defined as â€Å"an exogenous agent that interferes with the synthesis, secretion, transport, binding, action, or elimination of natural hormones in the body which are responsible for the maintenance of homeostasis, reproduction, development and/or behavior† (Kavloc et al. , 1996). The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has accepted this definition as the most appropriate one in the year 2004. These compounds are capable of interfering with normal signaling mechanisms of the endocrine system. Either they could block or make changes in the synthesis of hormones, or they could mimic some of the endocrine compounds, thereby affecting the target organs. They could also affect the release of these hormones from the concerned glands and its transportation. They could also bind with the specific molecules to which hormone binds. These compounds are usually seen in pesticides, industrial effluents, pharmaceutical compounds, etc. Heavy metals also could induce endocrine disruption. Wastewater effluents from cities as well as from agricultural fields are sources of such compounds. The neuro- endocrine system might also get affected by these compounds causing changes in the reproductive organs and associated behaviors in humans. Most of the researches in this filed are concentrated towards the effect of these compounds on estrogen and other steroids responsible for reproduction (Propper, 2005). According to Caserto et al. (2008) these compounds could affect human heath seriously even when present in very small amounts. This is especially because many such chemicals would be these affecting a single target. There are many studies which reveal that waste water discharge in to natural waters have resulted in the changes in reproductive organs of aquatic fauna. This is because of the presence of 17 beta estradiol, estrogens, androgens, etc, in wastewater. These compounds are highly stable and therefore could not be removed completely from wastewater by various treatment procedures to reclaim the water. Traces of these compounds would be present in the drinking water, which is prepared from these natural waters into which the wastewater has been disposed. Bioaccumulation of these compounds in humans is expected to affect fertility (Falconer, 2006). Wagner and Oehlmann (2009) have conducted a study to determine the level of endocrine disrupting compounds in usual food stuffs of humans and they selected bottled mineral water as one of the sources of this compounds. The effort was taken based on the fact that endocrine disrupting hormones reaches the body of human mainly through foodstuffs. They used estrogen receptor alpha for the identification. They found that the mineral waters in plastic bottles are seriously contaminated with phthalates that are getting leached into the water from plastic bottle. Thus it was proved beyond doubt that endocrine disrupting compounds are present in plastic wares and extensive use of plastic wares to store food would result in increased level of these compounds in the foodstuffs with a deleterious effect on fertility. According to Rhind (2005) there is an urgent need to study the effects of endocrine disrupting compounds on animals. Very little is known regarding the concentration of these compounds in the different tissues of animals, the concentration required to produce a deleterious effect on the animals, effect of prolonged exposure to an single compound, the effects of different classes of compounds, effect of the exposure to more than one compounds at a time etc. With the available information it is possible to establish that the endocrine disrupting compounds in the environment is affecting human health adversely with a high impact on fertility. The effect of these endocrine disrupting compounds on human reproduction is different for different compounds. Compounds such as diethylstilbestrol affect female reproductive system and cause abnormal follicular growth, ovulation, abnormal formation of corpus luteum and the overall maintenance of ovary would be affected. It would also affect the normal sexual differentiation in females. Pregnancy would be affected because of the negative effects on fertilization and implantation of the embryo in the uterus. Another pollutant called dioxin has been reported to cause endometriosis in women, which is a very painful disease that leads to infertility (Crisp et al. , 1998). There are some compounds, which are naturally occuring such as phytoestrogens produced by plant that could mimic the properties of estrogens produced by humans (Caserta et al. , 2008). Natural sex hormones are used extensively for different purposes in farms as well as in urban areas and there is every chance that these would become harmful to non-targeted organisms including humans because of the concentrating effect. There are many evidences, which prove that environmental contaminants are causing problems in female fecundity as well as fertility (Louis et al. , 2006). There are evidences to prove that puberty, menstruation, endometriosis, pregnancy, senescence period for reproduction etc are affected by exposure to these compounds. Diethyl stilbestrol was given to pregnant women during 1950’s to prevent miscarriage. But later on due to the adverse effects of these compounds most of the kids developed abnormalities. Finally the compound was withdrawn from the market. The female child produced in such cases developed menstrual abnormalities, vaginal hypoplasia, sudden abortion, premature delivery, uterine malformation and overall low fertility. If the child is a male, it was found to develop testicular dysgenesis syndrome (Milhan 1992). Maternal exposure during pregnancy and exposure to these compounds present in the mother’s milk during the prenatal period are believed to be the reasons for such defects. This occurs due to the lipophilic nature of these compounds, which in turn gets stored in the adipose tissues of the mother. This is one of the strongest evidences of the deleterious effect of these compounds on human reproductive system. There are reports that state that human sperm production has decreased in the past 50 years. Although accurate evidence is not there, the reasons for this decrease is attributed to the presence of endocrine disrupting compounds in the environment (Crisp, 1998). Leydig cells tumors are increasingly believed to be caused by this factor. Same is the case of prostrate cancer. Studies conducted in Coke-oven workers have revealed that there has been an increase of mortality among them due to prostrate cancer due to occupational exposure to these compounds. However more research is required to find out the actual cause of this cancer, whether it is due to endocrine disruption by any chemicals in the environment.

Arthur Reed Case Study Essay

This case study involves Arthur Reed who works for Blue Grocery Stores Incorporated as a warehouse supervisor (case study, 2010) and is having a difficult time fulfilling staffing requirements during the summer months he has tried some options that didn’t fulfill the needs of the business. This case study will help Arthur meet these goals. Staffing Issues The summer months were a staffing headache for the warehouse supervisor at Blue Grocery Stores Incorporated (case study, 2010). Everyone wanted to take their accrued vacation then. After all, summer time was the perfect time for family vacations and activities. What made this staffing issue a bigger headache was the fact that a significant number of employees were calling in for sick days during this time of year as well. Replacement workers hadn’t worked in the past so that’s another challenge to overcome. Options for Optimum Staffing The first suggestion would be for the company to pay for the costly steel-toed boots for the replacement workers and waive any union dues for the replacement workers (case study, 2010). If for some reason that didn’t work, the next suggestion in solving this staffing issue would be to hire a summer temporary force using college students. College students can always use extra money for school. I would suggest that the company to pay for the costly steel-toed boots, this would help attract more potential temporary employees for the summer months. The final option would be to adjust the warehouse hours for the summer time. Instead of working a day and afternoon shift, consolidate both teams of employees into one team with two different starting times, two hours apart. That will optimize the staffing, while eliminating the need to hire temporary employees for the summer. If corporations have to rely on temporary employees to fulfill the needs of the business, then they are risking the business objectives. Temporary employees are just that, temporary, and there is a strong possibility that the company performance would slip in relying on them. There could be compromises and arrangements made with the shipping and receiving of supplies so that the business goals are still obtained. This is the best option if successful, not only does it not rely on temporary employees to fulfill the business needs, this keeps the company budget down while maximizing the resources that are available.

Battle of Arsuf in the Crusades

Battle of Arsuf in the Crusades The Battle of Arsuf was fought September 7, 1191, during the Third Crusade (1189-1192). Armies Commanders Crusaders King Richard I the Lionheart of Englandapprox. 20,000 men Ayyubids Saladinapprox. 20,000 men Battle of Arsuf Background Having successfully completed the siege of Acre in July 1191, Crusader forces began moving south. Led by King Richard I the Lionheart of England, they sought to capture the port of Jaffa before turning inland to reclaim Jerusalem. With the Crusader defeat at Hattin in mind, Richard took great care in planning the march to ensure that adequate supplies and water would be available to his men. To this end, the army kept to the coast where the Crusader fleet could support its operations. In addition, the army only marched in the morning to avoid the midday heat and campsites were selected based on the availability of water. Departing Acre, Richard kept his forces in a tight formation with the infantry on the landward side protecting his heavy cavalry and baggage train to seaward. Responding to the Crusaders movements, Saladin began shadowing Richards forces. As Crusader armies had proven notorious undisciplined in the past, he began a series of harassing raids on Richards flanks with the goal of breaking up their formation. This done, his cavalry could sweep in for the kill. The March Continues Advancing in their defensive formation, Richards army successfully deflected these Ayyubid attacks as they slowly moved south. On August 30, near Caesarea, his rearguard became heavily engaged and required assistance before escaping the situation. Assessing Richards route, Saladin elected to make a stand near the town of Arsuf, just north of Jaffa. Arraying his men facing west, he anchored his right on the Forest of Arsuf and his left on a series of hills to the south. To his front was a narrow two-mile wide plain extending to the coast. Saladins Plan From this position, Saladin intended to launch a series of harassing attacks followed by feigned retreats with the goal of compelling the Crusaders to break formation. Once this was done, the bulk of Ayyubid forces would attack and drive Richards men into the sea. Rising on September 7, the Crusaders needed to cover a little over 6 miles to reach Arsuf. Aware of Saladins presence, Richard ordered his men to prepare for battle and resume their defensive marching formation. Moving out, the Knights Templar were in the van, with additional knights in the center, and the Knights Hospitaller bringing up the rear. The Battle of Arsuf Moving onto the plain north of Arsuf, the Crusaders were subjected to hit-and-run attacks beginning around 9:00 AM. These largely consisted of horse archers dashing forward, firing, and immediately retreating. Under strict orders to hold formation, despite taking losses, the Crusaders pressed on. Seeing that these initial efforts were not having the desired effect, Saladin began focusing his efforts on the Crusader left (rear). Around 11:00 AM, Ayyubid forces began increasing the pressure on the Hospitallers led by Fra Garnier de Nablus. The fighting saw mounted Ayyubid troops dash forward and attack with javelins and arrows. Protected by spearmen, the Crusader crossbowmen returned fire and began exacting a steady toll on the enemy. This pattern held as the day progressed and Richard resisted requests from his commanders to allow the knights to counterattack preferring to husband his strength for the right moment while allowing Saladins men to tire. These requests continued, particularly from the Hospitallers who were becoming concerned about the number of horses they were losing. By mid-afternoon, the lead elements of Richards army were entering Arsuf. At the rear of the column, the Hospitaller crossbow and spearmen were fighting as they marched backwards. This led to the formation weakening allowing the Ayyubids to attack in earnest. Again requesting permission to lead his knights out, Nablus was again denied by Richard. Assessing the situation, Nablus ignored Richards command and charged forward with the Hospitaller knights as well as additional mounted units. This movement coincided with a fateful decision made by the Ayyubid horse archers. Not believing that the Crusaders would break formation, they had stopped and dismounted in order to better aim their arrows. As they did so, Nablus men burst from the Crusader lines, overran their position, and began driving back the Ayyubid right. Though angered by this move, Richard was compelled to support it or risk losing the Hospitallers. With his infantry entering Arsuf and establishing a defensive position for the army, he ordered the Templars, supported by Breton and Angevin knights, to attack the Ayyubid left. This succeeded in pushing back enemys left and these forces were able to defeat a counterattack by Saladins personal guard. With both Ayyubid flanks reeling, Richard personally led forward his remaining Norman and English knights against Saladins center. This charge shattered the Ayyubid line and caused Saladins army to flee the field. Pushing forward, the Crusaders captured and looted the Ayyubid camp. With darkness approaching, Richard called off any pursuit of the defeated enemy. Aftermath of Arsuf Exact casualties for the Battle of Arsuf are not known, but is estimated that Crusader forces lost around 700 to 1,000 men while Saladins army may have suffered as many as 7,000. An important victory for the Crusaders, Arsuf boosted their morale and removed Saladins air of invincibility. Though defeated, Saladin quickly recovered and, after concluding that he could not penetrate the Crusaders defensive formation, resumed his harassing tactics. Pressing on, Richard captured Jaffa, but the continued existence of Saladins army prevented an immediate march on Jerusalem. Campaigning and negotiations between Richard and Saladin continued over the next year until the two men concluded a treaty in September 1192 which allowed Jerusalem to remain in Ayyubid hands but permitted Christian pilgrims to visit the city. Resources and Further Reading Military History Online: Battle of ArsufHistory of War: Battle of Arsuf

8 Writing Tips for Beginners

8 Writing Tips for Beginners 8 Writing Tips for Beginners 8 Writing Tips for Beginners By Ali Hale Welcome to the wonderful world of writing! However young or old you are, writing can be so rewarding. For some writers, it’s a fun hobby and a creative outlet; for others, it’s a dream career. When you’re just getting started, you might feel excited but also a little daunted – where should you begin? What do you need to know and learn? The great thing about writing is that whatever stage you’re at, you can keep growing your skills and honing your craft. This applies whether you’re a total beginner or a best-selling author: there’s always something new to learn or try. In your early months (or even years) as a writer, these eight tips should help you on your way Tip #1: Try Lots of Different Types of Writing When you’re just starting out, you might not know what you want to write – you just want to write! Or, you might have a firm idea of the type of writing you’d like to do (maybe you want to be a novelist or a poet, for instance). As a beginner, you’re in a great position to try out lots of different types of writing, without needing to commit to one in particular: no-one’s (yet!) demanding your next book. So have a go at a wide range of genres and styles – you might surprise yourself with what you enjoy. I never set out to be a freelancer (my writing dreams were all about being a novelist) †¦ but ten years into freelancing, I still love it, and I’ve written and published three novels too. Tip #2: Read Some Good Writing Blogs or Books †¦ But Not Too Many There are some brilliant books and blogs out there that’ll teach you the basics of writing (and much more): Daily Writing Tips is a great place to begin, of course! For fiction-writers, I always recommend K.M. Weiland’s blog Helping Writers Become Authors, and Nigel Watts’ book Get Started in †¦ Writing a Novel; for non-fiction writers, the Copyblogger blog is a great read, as is Joanna Penn’s book How to Write Non-Fiction. One trap that beginner writers sometimes fall into, though, is that they read and read, trying to learn everything there is to know about writing – but they don’t actually write! So don’t get too caught up in reading: make sure you’re also setting aside time to try out writing exercises, or to develop your own ideas. Tip #3: Start With Small Projects, Not Book-Length Works If you’ve never written much before, launching straight into a novel probably won’t work: either you’ll run out of steam within a few chapters, or you’ll keep writing but you’ll end up with a story that needs an awful lot of work to make it publishable. It’s better to hone your skills on smaller projects first: think short stories if you’re a fiction-writer, or short articles or blog posts if you’re a non-fiction writer. These can be a great way to explore potential ideas and topics without committing to a book-length work straight away. Tip #4: Write Regularly So You Don’t Lose Momentum Some writers think you should write every day: personally, I don’t think that’s very good advice. Maybe your weekdays are very busy, because you work long hours, but your weekends are clear. Or perhaps it’s the other way round: you have some time during the week while your kids are at school, but your weekends are packed with activities. It’s fine to set a writing schedule that suits you and your life †¦ but do make sure you’re allowing yourself time to write on a regular basis. If weeks go by without you writing anything, you’ll inevitably lose momentum. Writing at least once a week works for most people. For those who need extra help fighting procrastination, this post has many tips to beat writers block. Tip #5: Use Clear, Straightforward Words While I’m a huge fan of words, and love the sound of some more unusual ones (eclectic is one of my favourites!) †¦ I think that as a writer, it’s normally best to keep things simple. Even if, in school, you got extra marks for showing off your impressive vocabulary, readers frankly don’t care! You should, of course, use the word that best fits what you mean: sometimes a precise, technical word is the best choice, even if it isn’t the simplest. But in general, keep George Orwell’s advice in mind: â€Å"Never use a long word where a short one will do,† and â€Å"Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.† Needless to say that you should use clear, correct English as well. Using a spellchecker is not enough. Proofreading and editing is essential to produce quality prose. Tip #6: (Fiction Writers) Don’t Mix Past and Present Tense This can sometimes be tricky to get to grips with when you’re new to writing: but if you’re writing piece of fiction, you need to choose between past and present tense. You can tell the story as though it’s already happened: John hurried down the street. Sue ran after him, furious. â€Å"John!† she shouted. â€Å"Come back here!† Alternatively, you can tell the story as if it’s currently happening: John hurries down the street. Sue runs after him, furious. â€Å"John!† she shouts. â€Å"Come back here!† What you can’t do is mix past and present: John hurried down the street. Sue runs after him, furious†¦ Sometimes, there’s a place for switching from past to present tense or vice versa – but be careful that you don’t switch accidentally. Tip #7: (Fiction Writers) Don’t Use the Same Word Too Often If you use the same word repeatedly within a short space of time, it can start to stand out for the reader and become a distraction from your writing. This is particularly true of unusual words (I read a novel recently by an author with a particular liking for the word â€Å"stolid†). Here’s an example: John locked the door before opening the letter. He could hear Sue moving around in the kitchen, just outside the door. As he drew the letter from the envelope, there was a knock on the door. â€Å"John? What are you doing in there? Open the door!† The word â€Å"door† appears four times in that paragraph, and there’s a danger of it having a slightly comic effect. Some words are fine to repeat as often as you like, however: little ones like â€Å"a†, â€Å"the†, â€Å"and†, â€Å"he†, â€Å"she and so on. With character names, too, it’s best to just pick something to call them and stick with it. So don’t try to remove all repeated words – but do keep an eye out for words or phrases that you tend to over-use. Tip #8: (Fiction Writers) Stick to One Character’s Perspective at a Time Even if you’re writing in the third-person rather than the first-person, it’s a good idea to stick to just one character’s perspective in any given scene or passage – this is called â€Å"third-person limited† or sometimes â€Å"deep POV† and contrasts with the â€Å"third-person omniscient† viewpoint that’s typical of classic 19th century literature. Readers expect this close third-person perspective, and it allows you to give the thoughts and viewpoint of one character at a time – helping the reader to identify with that person and to really understand them. Beyond all these tips, though, there’s one thing I want to leave you with: the fact that no-one is born able to write. You may not yet have the skills you want as a writer †¦ but you can develop those skills. A year or so ago, my five-year-old daughter could only write a few words (and often got her letters backwards); now, it’s fascinating to watch her fledgling attempts at writing stories, messages, and even puzzles. Just like her, you could look back a year from now and be surprised at how far you’ve come. Wherever you are right now with your writing, keep on working at it, keep enjoying it, and keep finding new things to learn as you go along. Good luck! Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to Capitalize Animal and Plant NamesThe Writing Process20 Names of Body Parts and Elements and Their Figurative Meanings

Adaptation & Accountability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Adaptation & Accountability - Essay Example data, but as far as the number of healthcare organizations in private sector grows faster than that of public sector, they become the leaders of the technological revolution. ‘The new health care delivery organizations should save money by concentrating their purchasing power, enforcing strict cost controls, and implementing programs to standardize medical practices’. (Laubach, 1997) The Duke University Medical Center needed a modern database to track the free space information, as it includes three different hospitals and several laboratories, and thus having correct space information is the key element of the robust healthcare delivery. ‘We considered how we could reconcile our databases with that of Accounting’s System, which include supporting the indirect cost recovery studies, with the daily business of the Medical Center.’ (Graf, 1998) The absence of a good database in any healthcare organization might even indirectly lead to its closing, and much has already been said about it. Any organization needs the ability to adapt to the changing environment, as it is always influenced by the limited resources and increasing competition. (Laubach, 1997) Only a few organizations are able to develop a strong plan of adaptation through looking for opportunities of modernizing their techniques and making marketing strategies work effectively. Duke Medical System was mainly concentrated on the issue of information technologies, and at present time there is no argument, that information technologies play major role in any business activity. Duke Medical Center was able to provide the system of interactive planning, which implies, that the company’s activity is aimed at inner adaptation together with the adaptation to the external environment. This healthcare organization does not ground its activity on the intuition of its financial and administrative managers, which had lead many companies towards their closing. The present strategy of Duke is created