Monday, September 30, 2019

Cultural and Relationship Values Analysis Essay

Baderman Island Resorts has decided that it is a good time to implement a new employee handbook. Please be sure to read this memo in its entirety to understand why the handbook has been changed. Baderman Island Resort continues to grow in popularity and brings all types of travelers to the island. Because of this, the Boardman Management Group thinks that having a well-developed employee handbook will be beneficial for current and future employees. Also, The Boardman Management Group understands how important it is that every employee understand the organization’s specific goals, cultural values. As well as understanding the significance of each member of the organization to providing the finest customer service to our guests. Baderman Island Resorts will be changing to follow a more compliance-based cultural system. Boardman Management Group feels that this change will allow for increased growth, success and profitability. This new system is not meant to discourage the employees from continuing to take the initiative to be self-motivating and to continue to provide quality customer service. The internet blog section will continue to remain so employees can make suggestions and offer ideas. This new handbook will still encourage anindividual-based culture. Employees are responsible for their own job performance and for making sure that they follow the policies and procedures. Although there will indeed be times when a team-based culture will be necessary in order to complete certain duties accurately and successfully. The mission and vision statement for all employees is the quality customer service, an extraordinary vacation experience where the guests’ needs and desires are met above and beyond, and to guarantee the guests will not be disappointed. There has been a change to the mission and vision statement that discusses the future additions and attractions that are the process of developmental stages which will show the future and current guests that the Baderman Island Resort will be the place to visit in the future. The first thing that will be covered in the new employee handbook will be employer rights. This will include health and safety, diversity, affirmative action and due process procedures. There will also be coverage of the employee rights as well. This will include the same items covered in the employer rights. The final use of the employee handbook will be as a training, reference, and compliance tool to help the organization stay organized and focused on the goals and objectives of the company. Employees will be able to stay knowledgeable on the policies and procedures, and to remind the employees of the employer’s responsibilities and their rights. My hope is that this memo has been informative towards the new employee handbook and the direction that Baderman Island Resorts is heading towards. I believe that the new employee handbook will be an excellent tool for the employees to prevent confusion and questions that the employees may have. Employee Handbook for Baderman Island Resort Mission and Vision of Baderman Island Resort The mission and vision statement for all employees is the quality customer service, an extraordinary vacation experience where the guests’ needs and desires are met above and beyond, and to guarantee the guests will not be disappointed. Cultural Values of Baderman Island Resort Baderman Island Resort has the belief that in order to continue to succeed in the current market that the organization will need to become a morecompliance-based culture. To ensure that all laws are followed to make sure that the integrity of the company and employees is followed. Employee Rights Baderman Island Resort is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EEOC). The company’s philosophy is to recognize individual attributes and values that each employee brings to the job with respect and acknowledgement. By recognizing these principles it will allow the company to successfully reach its goals of providing excellent customer services and ultimately corporate profitability. Employer Rights Baderman Island Resort has contracted with an employment law firm to provide legal advice and to handle any employee/employer disputes and EEOC issues. Baderman also has the responsibility to ensure a safe and healthy work place for all employees. However in the event that an employee is injured on the job or becomes ill, workers compensation and FMLA leave are offered as well.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

A Modest Proposal: Cannibalism

I feel that Jonathan Swift’s piece of work could be used and interpreted different with each and all audiences alike. There is a whole bunch of information to interpret. How Swift, looks at children not as individuals, but as animals used to be sold to the rich as food. Swift’s work is very dark in this piece, with regard to selling of children for food. And with regards to Ireland’s economic advancements actually depend on it. He urges all other people to think that children could be sold in different styles and makes mention of how they could be prepared as a fine food dish. Swift’s states, â€Å"A young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee, or a ragoust. † Now normally if I can’t pronounce it I don’t use it or order it to eat, but these last two ways of preparing the children as food sounds as if a dish the rich would order. To me it sounds like Swift has rather expensive taste for lavish habits and tendencies. I think we can almost compare life in Ireland back then to today. All though there aren’t people selling their children to have the rich feast on their bones, or do I think it will come to that but it is close to our nation’s economic struggle. Our economy wouldn’t allow the selling of children of children to feed the rich. I do believe Ireland was in a lot worse shape than we currently are. They had no renewable resources such as fruits and vegetables to fall back on the way we do. They also didn’t have the amount of import and export trade that we have on our side. Swift constantly throughout his story states that selling the children to the rich is the only solution to the countries hard economic times. He even talks that all the families should consider fattening up the smaller children. Also Swift also makes mention of overpopulation and well makes a suggested solution to this crisis. He proclaims that children at the age of one can be sold to meat markets, thus helping the crisis of over population and in turn saving the parents of the children the cost of raising and providing for that child. Parents, who participated in this crazy idea, would pull the nation out of its current economic struggle. And that’s not all he then talks about how parents who helped out with his proposal how it would affect home life. Husbands would grow to respect wives better. What? I don’t know at all how this could possibly be something that could have a positive impact on a family what so ever. I think that Swift tries to persuade his readers that this is the only option for Ireland and its survival, in a dog eat dog world. He then starts stating statistics, he mentions of 120,000 some Irish children born in a year, that 20,000 should be kept for breeding and the continuance of the Irish legacy. And what’s even better is that a quarter of these choosing few, are to be males, are you serious 5,000 boys and the rest girls. This brings a question to my mind, what was the deciding factor that kept the child to be raised or sold. What tops the cake once more is that he says one boy for a total of four girls. I believe this contradicts his husband respecting the whole wife thing early in the paper. Swift goes on later to explain the idea of cannibalism should not stop at children, but instead its countries enemies, or even political figures. The idea of a nation such as Ireland cannibalizing its own population and natural resources sickens me. I would bat an eye at the thought of eating my son, or selling him off to the butcher to be slaughtered and sold. Swift goes on in this story to talk of common practices and courtesies. He talks that if Irish poor are to be married, and have a family, the family should refrain from domestic violence in and throughout the family, and love and cherish family. I serious think that this guy had dual personalities, he so many different stories to each situation. Possibly he was bi-polar or maybe he used some opium or something of that nature. I don’t think Swift had financial problems what so ever. Swift goes on in his work and states that he admits that this will drastically reduce the Irish population, but other nations should not practice this idea in their cultures. He considers it a â€Å"healthy patriotism†, and goes on to say that the children that are to be butchered should stay domestically and not be exported. This would keep other nations from wanting to overtake the Irish population and decimate the whole society and Irish culture. In Jonathan Swift’s work you can tell he is rather upset with Ireland’s politicians and the wealthy. You can also see that he is upset at the general population of the poor. He is angry at the poor population because they have made no plans or have no intentions to get out of the downward spiral their country is in. I wonder if he wrote this piece as a way of making the general population consider in participating in cannibalization, as an act to blow the whistle in a sense to make the politicians act on the current situation at hand in their times.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Personal Study †Northern Lights By Stephen Grant Essay

I have recently enjoyed studying a novel by Philip Pullman entitled Northern Lights. The main idea of the novel is about a girl who is travelling north to find her kidnapped friend and other children. She also wanted to give her father something. The novel was a delightful account of how the girl developed and became wiser throughout the story. The main element of the novel I am going to look at is how Lyra develops throughout the course of the novel. Pullman describes the development and determination of the character through characterisation. The author uses effective skills to develop the protagonist into becoming a wiser, more mature and a more courageous person. At first I found Lyra to be naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve and headstrong but as her character develops she learns more about how the world works. There is one thing in her I feel was with her through the novel. This was her courage. I feel that she is consistently courageous to the extent of the plot. Here is quote from the start of the novel in which her background story is told. ‘She was proud of her college’s eminence and liked to boast of it to various ragamuffins she played with by the canal or clay beds.’ Jordan College adopted Lyra when she was very young as her mother and father had died. She likes to think of it as ‘her college’ and is very proud of it. However, she is not educated at the college and there fore has a lot of spare time which she uses to play with street children. This shows her character to be of a young naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve and mischievous nature. This next quote shows the characters childish nature. ‘In many ways Lyra was a barbarian. What she liked best was clambering over the college roofs with Roger, the kitchen boy, who was her particular friend.’ This quote proves that she can form strong friendships. Another aspect of her character covered by this quotation is her distinct courage and she crawls around the high rooftops of the college. Either this or she is just childlike and does not realise the possible consequences of her actions. Interesting vocabulary in this quotation include: ‘clambering’ which suggests to me the impression of a child’s clumsy and ungainly movement, ‘barbarian’ use of this suggests they had their own little tribe and that she was fierce, brutal or a cruel person. Further on in the text Lyra runs away from a woman who captured her and is now left on the streets. She is confronted by a drunken man who offers her some brandy and shows a few more of her qualities. ‘Where are you going all alone like this’ ‘Going to meet my father’ ‘And who is he?’ ‘He’s a murderer’ ‘Ah! You’re joking’ ‘I en’t’ ‘Good night’ he said Here she promptly lies to the man and makes up a story about her father so the man will leave her alone. This proves that the man did not fool her and her character has grown from being naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve to being sensible and no longer childlike. It also displays her newfound talent for lying. In the quotation she is also using informal language, trying to fit into her surroundings. The next quotation confirms that Lyra is determined to achieve her goal and it also shows her stubbornness. ‘You’ve done your part Lyra.’ ‘But I en’t done nothing yet!’ Lyra protested as she followed the others. Lyra has joined with ‘The Gyptians’ she is trying to convince them to go north with her to try and find the kidnapped children. The Gyptians disagree and tell her it would be too dangerous for her to go. However, she rebels and ends up forcing her way with them. This shows stubbornness, her determination to achieve her goal and again her courage. Near the climax of the story, Lyra is in the prison camp and is trying to listen into a conversation through the air duct above the room. ‘Lyra was trembling. The blood was pounding in her ears’ She is listening in on the conversation and finds out about all the terrible thing they do to children there but she keeps listening until they leave. This demonstrates that she is fearful in some ways but she can control this fear and listen on. This reveals that she is brave and courageous. She gathers a group together so they can escape now she knows what would happen to them. This proves she has strong leadership qualities. When everyone agrees to go with her they promptly escape from the camp. The next quote establishes that she is a quick thinker. ‘A movement later she had turned on all the gas taps and flung a match at the nearest burner.’ This is a quote from a section of the book where Lyra is destroying a building as a distraction so they can escape from the camp. It shows great creativity and a benefit of her patchwork upbringing, where she has learned a few useful things. I think this was one good quality that she learned from when playing with her friends. The following quote also shows that she is a quick thinker and creative. ‘Then she dragged a bag of flour from the shelf and hurled it at the edge of the table so it burst and filled the air with white, because she heard that flour will explode if treated like that near flames.’ I feel that the use of the word ‘white’ is effective because it describes the atmosphere in the room at that time. It would have made it feel like there was a curtain of mist in front of them and may have made them feel claustrophobic and confused. The next quotes describes Lyra’s ‘patchwork’ upbringing. ‘Lyra’s Knowledge has great gaps in it, like a map of the world largely eaten by mice†¦.’ This highlights that she has had education put together by small pieces of information and learns things as she goes along. The quote is a effective example of this because you can just imagine the world with pieces of the map missing, like he education. This quote is also a simile. From my study of characterisation of Lyra, I have concluded that throughout the course of the novel she matures significantly as a person. Her initial character features were: naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½vetà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, being headstrong, being childlike and being courageous. These are now replaced by characteristics such as: maturity, courage and sensibility. I think that the author has employed great skill and achieved a great goal in the creation of Lyra.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Life and Its Lessons Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Life and Its Lessons - Essay Example Socrates said that he doesn’t want to flee, though he was to be sentenced. He wants to be sentenced even though he doesn’t believe in the ways on how the government sentenced him. He would like that the public know of his ideas rather than flee. He was a philosopher and he stood with his beliefs even if it meant he had to die for it. He further stated in Apology that â€Å"A good man cannot be harmed either in life or in death† and since he believed that he did the right thing, then he knew that even if he died then he would not be harmed.It was also in the text â€Å"Apology† wherein the â€Å"Strong Promise of Defiance† showed that Socrates was willing to defy the Athenian court whether it was a legal or illegal order if it stops him from being what he is which is a philosopher. In addition to this, another example is in the story â€Å"The Lesson† by Toni Cade Bambara, one of the characters Miss Moore is a college educated woman who has co me to live in a poor African−American neighborhood and took the responsibility to teach the children living in it about the community outside and the problems that African Americans and poor people face in the world. Miss Moore was not afraid to be different from the other members of the community where she lived. She was college educated, does not go to church like the rest of the community and wore her hair in curls that was different from the African-American descent who had their hair straightened out. . This just shows that she’s comfortable with her ancestry and does not conform to what was expected of their race. She was not afraid to share her ideas even if others think she is weird. Another example came from the play â€Å"A Raisin in the Sun† by Lorraine Hansbury, Beneatha was a feminist, her ideas and the way she thinks were that of a modern African-American woman. She even wants to works as a doctor which in his brother’s eyes was a job for a m an and wanted her to be a nurse instead. She was not afraid to speak of her ideas and what she feels (Domina, 3). In order to make right decisions people have to determine first who they really are. Because if they deny everything that they stand for, then the decision making capabilities may be hindered by conflicts within themselves. Another question that a person asks in life is â€Å"what can I know†, what people know in their lifetime came from what they learned from childhood and reinforced as they grow old. The lessons in life â€Å"what we can know† are influenced by people met in school, work, and the society. In addition, some lessons are results of the decisions or choices that are made. The story â€Å"The Things we Carried† by Tim O’Brien depicts and shows the things that soldiers carry both physical and emotional issues. It sets an example on what can one know in the workplace and the people they work

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Preservation of the cut flowers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Preservation of the cut flowers - Essay Example In most of the cases, people just store these flowers in water, which is absolutely not enough if the purpose is to keep those flowers healthy for a long time. Thus, the technique of growing plants, cutting the flower and the medium used to store them are important in order to store flowers for a longer time. In this experiment, two factors were more closely studied, a) Nutrition in the water, b) pH of the water. Floral plants are grown indoors, in a garden or for floral farming. These plants need to be handled very gently. Their nutritional requirements need to be taken care of in order to get very good quality flowers. Various factors that need to be considered while growing plants are soil, temperature, light, watering and fertilizer. A good care of the plants will results in a better production of flowers. Flowers are cut from plants for two main reasons, a) to promote more flowering on the plants, b) to make a floral bouquet. In this project the focus is mainly on the science behind the preservation of the cut flowers. There are four main factors that play an important role in the storage of flowers they are as follows. Temperature is a critical factor. Photosynthesis in plants occurs from sunlight, carbon dioxide and water to produce sugars. Sugar undergoes respiration to produce energy. This energy is then utilized to produce a flower. Thus higher the respiration faster is the flower development and faster is its death. The rate of respiration is directly proportional to the temperature. Thus, higher the temperature, higher is the respiration rate. This is the reason why flowers are usually stored in lower temperature.

Evidence Based Practice Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Evidence Based Practice - Coursework Example The implication is that evidence-based practice requires the clinicians to stay in touch with modest research literature and also use the information in their informed clinical decision-making processes. Moreover, EBP entails weighing values of the research evidence in relation to the clinical data and also taking into consideration the client’s informed consent. The bottom line is that clinicians should to identify what the literature recommends as the best practices and also sharing the knowledge with patients. During an emergency situation, evidenced based practice may be implemented in case a clinician has new information on how to manage and handle the health condition. Therefore, the staff plays a significant role in linking the clinical practice to the changes in the clinical research. In fact, emergency settings require more of evidence-based practice since research always bring new methods and strategies of handling health care situations and they might be even more effective than the traditional methods. According to Melnyk and Overholt (2014), clinicians engage in evidence-based practice in emergency setting when assessing wounds, injuries or other medical conditions that might require a high level of clinical

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Goodwill Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Goodwill - Essay Example "Pooling of Interests" or "Purchase Accounting Method". Under the first method, the Goodwill acquired on account of merger and acquisitions use to get amortized in equal installments over a period of 40 years. Under the second method, the Goodwill was considered as a permanent asset, which would not reduce in value with the passing of years, thus enabling the companies to test the same for impairment on an annual basis in order to ensure that fair value of the Goodwill was equal to its book value. Apart from the annual review, the impairment could also be exercised in instances where it indicated that the carrying amount of Goodwill needs reassessment. The process of assessment of impairment consists of two steps. Firstly it involves comparison of the intrinsic value of a business with its carrying amount including the Goodwill. Incase the book value exceeds the fair value, then nothing needs has to be done. On the other hand, if the fair value is lesser than the book value, impairment would be carried out. Under the US GAAP, the fair value of Goodwill is calculated by allocating fair values to unit assets and liabilities. In the case of impairment of Goodwill, same should be charged to the Profit and Loss Account. The International Accounting Standards also followed the footsteps of US GAAP concept. The basic difference between the UK and the International Accounting Standards is that in the former the Companies were allowed to opt either of the two op

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Infection control and prevention Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Infection control and prevention - Essay Example Insertion of central venous catheters (CVCs) has become commonplace in the peri-operative and intensive care setting. Over the years, they have played a reliable role in patient care for haemodynamic management, patent intravenous access in patients suffering from chronic illnesses and administration of parenteral nutrition and other chemotherapeutic agents. The three sites that are utilized for central venous catheter insertion are internal jugular, subclavian and femoral. Although, like any other medical intervention, these catheters have their own share of complications, it is the risk of infection, which has the most serious clinical and economic repercussions for the patient, physician and health care facility with high morbidity and mortality.One survey determined that central lines are associated with more than 40% of blood stream infections in England. Thus, it is imperative that strict infection control measures are enforced during the care of CVCs. Risk of infection in peri -operative setting would depend upon whether the CVC is kept in situ for a long time or it is removed post surgery. Otherwise, rest of the discussion about CRBSI is applicable to ICU as well as peri-operative setting. Definition and diagnosis of CRBSI Catheter related blood stream infection (CRBSI) is a type of hospital acquired infection which is clinically defined as fungemia or bacteremia in a patient with CVC in situ, as shown by positive blood culture from a peripheral vein, along with clinical signs of infection, but no other apparent source for positive blood culture. ... , or, blood sample from a peripheral vein and sample drawn from the catheter hub (IDSA 2012)) Risk of CRBSI in perioperative and ICU setting Many factors have been investigated for the role that they are likely to play in the development of these infections. The factors which have been most commonly scrutinized for their role in causation of CRBSI are: Selection of the type of catheter: single lumen catheters have a lower incidence of CRBSI than multiple lumen, antimicrobial impregnated catheters preferred in centres with high rates of CRBSI or prolonged requirement of CVC (reference no.23), role of peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) the site of CVC insertion: Subclavian most preferred, femoral least preferred hand hygiene: technique should be accurately followed aseptic precautions and skin preparation followed during insertion: use of gloves and barrier precautions, skin preparation with chlorhexidine in alcoholic solution nature and material of the dressing applied ov er the insertion site antibiotic ointment systemic antibiotic prophylaxis antimicrobial flush and lock solutions anticoagulant flush replacement of CVCs Replacement of IV administration sets handling of the CVC port by nursing and other health care staff USG guidance at the time of insertion Various studies and clinical trials support or contradict these factors. Also, there are evidence based practices and interventions based on these related factors and derived from the existing knowledge about infection control, which, when diligently followed in ICUs and other health care settings, have demonstrated a decrease in the rate of development of CRBSI (National Institute for Clinical Excellence 2003, Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee 2011). Pathogenesis of Catheter

Monday, September 23, 2019

Communication study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Communication study - Essay Example This chapter attempts to explore the use of indexes and scales as a measure of variable in social science research. It also discusses the various typologies employed in both qualitative and quantitative research (Babbie, 2012). Indices in this case are used to measure an individual item in relation to their importance in the concept being established. Babbie (2012) notes that indexes are normally used to measure a given social issues affecting people in the society. A scale, on the other hand, is used as a tool for ascertaining the intensity of emotions or attitude of an individual. Babbie (2012) reveals that the scales employed by the social scientists in research are normally constructed in the ordinal data level. Likert, semantic differential and Bogardus Social Distance Scales, are the typically examples of scales normally used by social scientists in their studies according to Babbie (2012). Babbie (2012) also considers the effectiveness of scales and indexes as a measure of variables in this chapter. In this regard, it comes out that scales are perceived to work better than indexes. This is because scales take into consideration the feelings being measured, as well as the intensity of the question asked, according to Babbie (2012). There are normally several data collection methods used by social scientists. Sampling is one of the most popular methods used for data collection. Sampling refers to the data collection method in which a given small sample is taken as a representative of an entire population according to Babbie (2012). In this chapter, Babbie (2012) explores sampling as a data collection technique used by social scientists. It also attempts to examine the various sampling techniques used by researchers, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of sampling as a data collection technique. Babbie (2012) reveals that sampling technique has been

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Chinua Achebe Things Fall Apart Essay Example for Free

Chinua Achebe Things Fall Apart Essay He had a slight stammer and had no patience with unsuccessful men. Okonkwo’s fears were becoming like his father, Unoka because his father was a failure. The characteristics of his father was his father was poor and his wife and children had barely enough to eat and people laughed at him because he was a loafer and they swore never to lend him money again because he never paid it back. Unoka was inactive, deprived, wasteful, weak, moderate, and always very fascinated in music and conversation. Okonkwo on the other hand was the total opposite of his father, he just married his third wife, he was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams last but not least he had taken two titles and had shown incredible prowess in two inter-tribal wars. 2. Kola is a stimulant, comparable to very strong tea or coffee, which is served on most social occasions in this culture. It is also one ingredient after which Coca Cola is named. Note how the ritual for sharing kola is described without being explained. Why do you think Achebe does this? He will continue to introduce Ibo customs in this fashion throughout the novel. * Achebe describes kola without explaining it because he wants the reader to know that Kola nuts plays a big part in the African culture due to the fact that in the book it states â€Å"He who bring Kola Nuts brings life†. Kola Nuts is to be presented to the titled man or a village head. This plays a very important social and ritual role in the Igbo culture. The kola-nuts are the highest symbol of Igbo hospitality. Whenever a kola-nut appears in a gathering, the matter to be discussed at that particular time is regarded as very important. When an important guest visits the community, kola-nuts are brought out and handed to the elder person. 3. One becomes influential in this culture by earning titles. As with the Potlatch Indians of our region and many other peoples, this is an expensive proposition which involves the dispersing most of ones painfully accumulated wealth. What do you think are the social functions of such a system? I believe the social functions of such a system is to show your people how far you have come as a person and how successful you are. So the more money that you spend it shows people how victorious you are. If you just have a regular old party without putting much money into it you aren’t that successful in other people’s eyes. 4. One of the most famous lines in the novel is proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten. What does this mean? Palm oil is a rich yellow oil pressed from the fruit of certain palm trees and used both for fuel and cooking. Look for other proverbs as you read. Cowry shells threaded on strings were traditionally used as a means of exchange by many African cultures. The villages distance from the sea makes them sufficiently rare to serve as money. Cowries from as far away as Southeast Asia have been found in sub-Saharan Africa. * This important quote shows how the Igbo people use their art of rhetoric so plainly. The quote shows how our lifestyle is one of fast-paced conversations, yet the Igbo prize conversation as an art form. That art form shows how the Igbo people use rhetoric so plainly. We all know proverbs are meant to be well thought-out and intentional but not quickly digested and forgotten. In the quote the metaphor suggests that words are organized by proverbs for digestion. Palm oil was a common form of cooking oil, and many foods were prepared with it for use. For that reason, proverbs are the source by which words or conversations are made. The same value that they place on food, the nourishment of life, to words, the sustenance of communication and for these reasons the community.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Relationship Between Motivation And Performance

Relationship Between Motivation And Performance 1) To review the literature in order to understand the relationship between staff motivation and performance (including low absenteeism, reduced staff turnover etc.),and how increased empowerment of staff can improve staff motivation(including the comparison with the relevant motivating factors). 2) To review the literature in order to identify what is considered to be good practice in terms of both empowerment and recognition and to compare this with the current practice at the Bombay Hospital THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STAFF MOTIVATION AND INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE Shortages can be a symptom of demotivation, poor management and lack of organizational support (Zurn et al., 2005). Shortages are resulting in heavy workload, which is a precursor to job stress, and burnout, which have also been linked to low job motivation. Nurses job motivation is an elusive concept, which is defined within its extrinsic and intrinsic values (Cowin, 2002). Extrinsic values encompass the tangible aspects of the job including wages, benefits and bonuses, whereas intrinsic values include status, recognition, personal and professional development opportunities, and other similar factors (Cowin, 2002). Reasons for nurse demotivation have been well documented in the nursing literature. Such reasons include lack of involvement in decision-making, poor relationship with management, low salaries and poor benefits, lack of job security, poor recognition and lack of flexibility in scheduling (Albaugh,2003). Nurse demotivation has been also linked to emotional exhaustion and b urnout, Which can affect patient outcomes (Aiken et al., 1997). Furthermore Shields Ward (2001) and Tzeng (2002) has also stated that improper motivation is a primary predictor of nurses intent to leave (Shields Ward, 2001; Tzeng, 2002). A study conducted in the United States presented evidence showing that demotivated nurses were 65% more likely to have intent to leave compared to the motivated counterparts (Shields Ward, 2001). Other predictors of intent to leave vary from other motivation factors like low salaries and fringe benefits, inflexible work schedule (Coomber Barriball, 2007; Hayes et al, 2006), career advancement prospects (Tzeng, 2002, Rambur et al., 2003), in addition to poor management and job stress (Rambur et al., 2003). Nurses turnover is linked to situational factors (Larrabee et al., 2003) such as low levels of motivation (Tzeng, 2002). It is worth noting that improper motivation has also been found to be a better predictor of intent to leave as compared to the avail ability of other employment opportunities (Shields Ward, 2001; Purani Sahadev 2007). A study by El-Jardali et al. (2007) also found a negative correlation between motivation and intention to leave in Lebanese nurses. Their studys main objective was to examine the impact of motivation as a predictor variable on intention to leave used as dependent variable in the study. The finding of the study reveals that the main cause of the dissatisfaction and hence intention to leave was negatively associated with hospitals motivation schemes such as compensation and incentives (extrinsic rewards). Purani and Sahadev (2007) used motivation with multi-faceted construct as predictor variable and examine its impact on intention to leave among the nurses in India. Assuming one of the role as interaction and communication with clients and patient of both profession is common, their study also used experience as moderating variables to examine how working experience could affect motivation and inte ntion to leave relationship. Purani and Sahadev (2007) found that employees with long stay at workplace had higher level of motivation and would not incline to quit. Their finding also suggested that motivation and intention to leave relationship framework must also have other demographic variables consideration into the model of motivation and intention to leave. Pearson and Chong (1997) also examined the impact of job content and job information on motivation among Malaysian nurses in large public sector hospital. They found that job information is stronger predictor to nurses motivation and therefore argued that intrinsic factors such as job information and organization commitment also influence nurses motivation. However, they did recommend that motivation with information cues available to nurses are crucial to determine nurses motivation which may lead to intent to leave or higher job burnout, if not available. Tzeng (2002) examined the impact of working motivational factors a s well as job satisfaction factors as independent variables on nurses intention to leave in cross-sectional study in Taiwan. He found that low levels of motivation, emotional exhaustion and burnout and to the poor social image of the nursing profession influenced nurses intention to leave in Taiwans hospitals. This study therefore, suggested that motivation is a multi-faceted construct and should have both intrinsic as well as extrinsic factors to measure job satisfaction (Tzeng, 2002). HOW MOTIVATION AFFECTS EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE The extent to which employees are motivated in their work depends on how well those employees are able to provide output in their job. Motivation is expected to have a positive effect on quality performance. Employees who are characterized by a high level of motivation show a higher work and life satisfaction. Having a high level of motivation is therefore in itself valuable for employees and a decrease in motivation might affect employees negatively. The motivation leads to high level of initiative and creativity from the employee and where monitoring is difficult, motivation is therefore extremely important for ensuring high quality performance. In Armco Health Center, the quality of employee performance is measured by three individual measures of employee performance. The first measure of the individual performance items is a self-rating measure of employee performance through a program called SAP. The performance of the employee asks to indicate eight-points scale how well the em ployee is doing the job. The second measure of the performance of the Armco Health Center is the extent to which the nurses are willing to conduct tasks that are not part of their job description. The employees are asked to report on the SAP about their willingness to perform additional tasks that are not expected from them regularly and to think constructively about how the organization they work for could be proved. Last item that measure the performance of the nurses are the number of days they were absent. EMPOWERMENT AND STAFF MOTIVATION Nursing is increasingly broad in scope and encompasses an ever widening range of work behaviors and role responsibilities. However, they work within a climate of uncertainty and disempowerment along with high organizational demands placing them under considerable stress (1,2). This condition threatens both physical and emotional wellbeing of nurses and the profession itself and may results to low nurses commitment which in turn may contribute to disengagement or withdrawal of nurses from their organizations (3,4). Consequently, threatens organizational functioning and the quality care, since low nurses commitment leads to absenteeism or poor performance (5). However, the nurses low commitment is being a problem in many countries, Aiken et al(6) have cautioned that the health care workforce faces the serious risk of losing one in five registered nurse for reasons other than retirement. Supportively, several other studies revealed that the turnover rate for hospital registered nurse is among the highest rates found for professional and technical occupational groups (7,8). In addition, in 2002 the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO) recorded that current annual registered nurse turnover rates range from 18% to 26% (9). Moreover, Victorian Governmental Department of Human Services Research suggests that at low levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment, retention of nursing staff is difficult and this in turn increases absenteeism (10). The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, like many other countries is also suffering from nursing low commitment which evidenced by registered nurses high turnover rate and resignation(11). However, some national studies and articles highlighted that governmental sectors in Riyadh city were suffering for many years from high turnover rate of nurses that reached to 70% in some hospitals and resulted in high nurses shortage (12,13) . Along with working condition, salary, nursing disempowerment and uncertainty being cited to explain why the nurses exhibit poor work performance or uncommitted to their organization. In a research conducted by Attree (17) that studies the relationship between nurses perception regarding their control and governance , revealed that registered nurse were dissatisfied with their governance, perceived lack of control over their everyday practice and commented on a popular perception that they had become disempowered , lacked influence and asserted that they have fairly little power. Its the managers and physicians who have the power, not nurses. Both managers and physicians decided, told and expected from the nurse to just get on with it, without discussion, or negotiation. As Salvage (18), nurses may see themselves as skilled practitioners, but the public still clings to its old image of the nurse as the doctors handmaiden. This indicates that nurses are not powerless due to lack in competence, motivation, and/or information, but because lack of awareness and enabling system and structure. Foser and Hoggett (19) termed this situation as a Do more with less culture where rhetoric is designed to empower the exhausted workers by emphasizing their commitment to organizational goals . However, disparity between the nurses desired and perceived autonomy and control over daily job activities interferes with nurses attempts to perform according to their expectations as professionals and may contribute to disengagement and withdrawal from the profession of nursing (17). Parallel to this is the national view of nursing in Saudi culture. Abu- Zinada (11,20) stated in many articles that the nurses were disempowered, and have a feeling of uncertainty. In contrast, she saw that the nurse has the right to make decisions that are separate of the physician ones. Moreover, Al-morshed (21) considered that the nurses were not assistants to the physician or that their role is limited to giving injection or helping a patient, since the nursing is a science before everything. Thus, creating conditions that foster a sense of empowerment in healthcare settings are critical to both employee wellbeing and organizational success(22) . For employee well-being, empowerment offers opportunities for learning, development, and playing a more active role in operational decisions through the personal development and involvement in decision making. As a result, employees can sense their feelings of self-worth, meaningfulness, job satisfaction and morale that result from their contributions and control or autonomy over their work. Additionally, empowerment is essential for enhancing nurses role, strengthening the professional image, and continuously improving the healthcare system. It allows the nurses to perform in a professional manner by being more autonomous, responsible and participative (23). For organizational success, many hospitals uses the concept of empowerment as a retention strategies to improve nurses commitment by fostering the desire not to leave the organization for selfish interests or marginal gains, and increase willingness to work by making personal sacrifice, performing beyond normal expectations , endure difficult times with an organization and increasing acceptance of organizations values and goals . As a consequence, nurses will be less burned-out and more engaged in their work and will contribute to organizational effectiveness (24). Although, the concept of empowerment is frequently used in health services and in nursing ,particularly in relation to the quality of care, since the mission of nursing is to provide safe and quality nursing care thereby enabling patients to achieve their maximum level of wellness(25). Also empowerment play a significant role in the management of job stress and job satisfaction as well as in nurse attraction and retention ( 26). Hence, creating healthy work conditions that empowered nurses and provide freedom to act according to their expectation as a professional, may be a fruitful strategy for nurse managers and administrators to retain nurses who currently work by promoting their commitment to the organization, especially in a critical care settings. Nowadays, many seek power but few possess it. Nurses are not exception (Marquis and Huston, 2000). In health care settings, an unequal power base exists among administrator, physicians, and nurses as a result of the competing goals of administration and the coexistence of multiple lines of authority (Sabiston and Laschinger, 1995). The rigidity of hierarchical rule-bound structures has been specifically blamed for nurses inability to sufficiently control the content of their practice (Laschinger and Havens, 1996). Kanter (1993) proposed that an individuals effectiveness on the job is influenced largely by organizational aspects of the work environment. This author identified power and access to opportunities to learn and grow, as structural determinants affecting the behavior of the individual. This power is derived from the ability to mobilize information, support, and resources necessary for getting the job done. Access to these empowering structures is influenced by the degree of formal and informal power an employee has in the organization (Kanter,1993). Formal power evolves from having a defined job that affords flexibility, visibility and centrality to organizational purpose and goals whereas informal power is determined by the extent of employees networks and alliances with sponsors, peers, and subordinates within the organization. Access to these empowering structures has a positive impact on employees, resulting in increase in their job satisfaction, level of organizational commitment and feelings of autonomy. Consequently, employees are more productive and effective in meeting organizational goals (Dutcher and Adams, 1994 ; Laschinger et. al., 1999). Nurses autonomy or control over work was seriously limited by unequal power relationships with medical staff, which enhanced physician power and restricted the nurses freedom, and consequently hindered their empowerment (McParland et al., 2000). To achieve excellence in nursing requires empowered staff nurses in order to be effective in their roles, and to be more autonomous (Marquis and Huston, 2000). Nurses who perceive them to be empowered are more likely to enhance client care through more effective work practice. Thus by providing the sources of job-related empowerment and autonomy, work methods and outcomes could be improved (Kanter, 1993; Sabiston and Laschinger, 1995). EMPOWERMENT IMPROVES MOTIVATION Empowerment. Thomas and Velthouse (1990) define empowerment as personal power that flows from professional growth, which is correlated with job satisfaction. Klakovich (1995) further states that the empowerment of nursing staff may be the critical variable in achieving positive organizational outcomes while maintaining the caring values of the nursing profession Klakovich (1996) defines three dimensions of empowerment as reciprocity, synergy, and ownership. Empowerment is a reciprocal leader-follower relationship that advances and aligns strategies, both organizational and individual (Klakovich, 1995). The Reciprocal Empowerment Scale tool reports in three subscales: reciprocity and synergy sub-scales represent the interactive leader/follower process; the ownership subscale represents the outcomes . Reciprocity involves a leadership behavior pattern of sharing power, support and information. Empowerment Research has shown correlations between nursing leadership job satisfaction and e mpowerment (Laschinger et al., 2003; Mrayyan, 2004). In recent years, the idea of empowerment has become popular in the nursing literature (Kluska et al., 2000; Laschinger Finegan, 2005). The review of the literature reveals empowerment being used in various contexts; such as, mental health, chronic care, and health promotion (Dahlgaard Dahlgaard, (2003), Paterson(2001) . In these contexts, the concept of empowerment incorporates positive and respectful relationships through constant dialog (Ellefsen Hamilton, (2000) Prybil( 2003). Morrison, Jones, and Fuller (1997) performed a non-experimental descriptive study that explored the effects of leadership style and empowerment on nursing job satisfaction. The participants included various nursing personnel, such as nurse managers, nursing assistants, nursing clinical leaders, licensed practical nurses and staff nurses. The researchers examined how staff nurses perceived empowerment The researchers results in their variance analysis i ndicated a statistically significant difference in empowerment among different job classifications within the organization Empowerment accounted for more variance with job satisfaction for licensed personnel than for unlicensed personnel, as well as, for differing by type of satisfaction. The researchers findings indicate the importance of empowerment to staff nurse job satisfaction. They also show the contribution of empowerment to job motivation and how they vary by personnel. This study gives reason for performing this research study that examined the relationship of nurse empowerment and motivation Furthermore, studies have shown that Indian nurses had a moderate empowerment level and their actual work empowerment perception was significantly lower than their expectation (Huang, Lin, Hsu, Chen, Huang, 2003). The findings also showed that nurses had the lowest score on participation in decision making. Researchers pointed out that the nursing leaders tended to use authority and might only consult several members opinions for decision making. The opportunity for nurses to participate in decision making is limited. As such, frontline nurses might think decision making is the managers responsibility, not theirs (Mok Au-Yeung, 2002). Participation can be seen as the highest level of empowerment. Nurses level of participation in decision making (PDM) can be used as an important indicator of empowerment. In western health care system, it has been found that the area where nurses prefer to be involved in decision-making is more related to the context of nursing practice, such as nursing unit operation (Blegen et al., 1993). Yet, in Indian nurses PDM is still not well studied. The extent to which nurses prefer to be or are actually involved in decision making is still not clear. Laschinger and Finegan (2005) surveyed 273 medical, surgical and critical care nurses concluding that structural empowerment had a direct effect on organizational trust and respect, job motivation and commitment. An important addition to the understanding of empowerment in nursing education was another finding that empowerment increased motivation level of the nurses (Falk-Raphael, Chinn, Anderson, Laschinger, Rubotzky, 2004) Work empowerment has been linked to many other important organizational outcomes, such as job motivation, organizational commitment, lower levels of job stress and empowering leader behaviors (Spence-Laschinger, Tuer-Hodes, 2003). Hollinger-Smith and Ortigara (2004) stated that nurses perceptions of work empowerment are related to commitment to and trust in the organization, autonomy, participation in organizational decision-making, and job motivation. Increased autonomy and work motivation have been directly linked to nurse retention and increased patient satisfaction (Hollinger-Smith Ortigara, 2004). Empowering work environments can also influence nurses ability to practice in a professional manner, ensuring excellent patient care and positive organizational outcomes. Organizational changes have a direct effect on the work environment and may contribute to higher rates of demotivation, burnout and absenteeism among staff (Kuokkanen, Savikko Doran, 2007). Factors of empowerment c an also provide a way to measure the effects of organizational changes (Kuokkanen et al., 2007). To achieve excellence in nursing requires empowered staff nurses in order to be effective in their roles, and to be more autonomous (Marquis and Huston, 2000). Nurses who perceive them to be empowered are more likely to enhance patient care through more effective work practice. Thus by providing the sources of job-related empowerment and autonomy, work methods and outcomes could be improved (Kanter, 1993; Sabistonand Laschinger, 1995). In Sochalskis (2002) survey of nurse empowerment , it was found that 1 out of 3 staff nurse participants (manager and staff level) were dissatisfied and hence demotivated in their job. Increasing job satisfaction, as it positively correlates with empowerment and organizational commitment, is a strategy to help retain employees (Laschinger, Finegan, Shamian, Casier, 2000). As patient care becomes more technologically advanced and complex, (requiring greater experience on the part of nursing staff to perform the job correctly), workplace stability and a utonomy become invaluable in a hospital setting (Laschinger et al,2000.). Many researchers have concluded that building collaborative decision making teams will empower both nursing and managerial staff; which boosts morale and work performance (Cowin, 2002 Kluska et al., 2004). Ellefsen and Hamilton (2000) concluded that nurse empowerment encourages nurses in management positions to perform their duties efficiently and with confidence and competence. Research suggests when hospital leadership encourages subordinate empowerment; there is a direct link to increased subordinate job satisfaction and motivation (Laschinger, Finegan, Shamian, Wilk, 2001). Evidence has shown that empowered nurses shift their self-perceived role from that of a subordinate to collaborator; which encourages consensus building, improves job ownership, improves trust and the followers motivation, sense of responsibility and organizational commitment( Wagner ,2006 Watson, 2002). Empowerment not only increase s job motivation, but inspirational and visionary transformational leadership encourages the highest level of staff efficiency and productivity (Keuter, Byrne, Voell, Larson, 2000; Moss Rowles, 1997). Masi (2000) concluded that empowerment provides opportunities for choice and promotes autonomy, which allows subordinates to demonstrate their competencies. The espoused benefits of empowerment The supposed benefits of empowerment can be broadly divided into two areas: benefits for the organization; and benefits for the individual. Much of the empirical research into empowerment has focused on organizational benefits assuming that these are the driving force behind attempts to engender empowered working (Cunningham et al., 1996). Certainly the motivation for managerial adoption of empowerment is typically driven to help managers manage and improve work organization and job performance, not to primarily create an environment that is beneficial for the employee (Psoinos and Smithson, 2002). Global competition and a changing business environment have prompted organizational change in response to increased pressures to improve efficiency and performance (Lawler et al., 1992). It has been argued that organizations with higher levels of empowerment have demonstrated improvements in various economic performance areas (Applebaum et al., 1999). The economic benefits of empowerment s pecifically may be difficult to assess as often it is introduced as part of a broader initiative such as BPR and TQM (Psoinos and Smithson, 2002). Despite the espoused organisational benefits Argyris (1998) argues that empowerment has still not delivered the promised benefits, remaining a myth rather than reality. While it could be argued that the primary motive for empowerment is initially driven by the need to improve the economic performance of the organisation, benefits to the individual employee have also been identified. Nykodym et al. (1994) found that employees who consider themselves empowered have reduced conflict and ambiguity in their role, as they are able to control (to a certain extent) their own environment. They suggested that this reduces emotional strain on the employee. Similarly, it has been suggested that empowered employees have a greater sense of job satisfaction, motivation and organisational loyalty (Koberg et al., 1999, Spreitzer et al., 1997). Empowerment cannot only impact attitudes but it can also impact on performance, specifically employee productivity (Koberg et al., 1999) and employee effectiveness (Spreitzer et al., 1997). Overall the literature points to many potential benefits to both organisations and employees like if the workplace empowerment is successful, then it produces a win-win situation (Lashley, 1999). However, despite the strong support for empowerment in theory, in practice empowerment may exist in rhetoric only and control is the reality for employees (Sewell and Wilkinson, 1992). Although it may be considered that employee empowerment will improve organizational performance but it is possible that empowered employees are not necessarily more motivated or have higher levels of job satisfaction (Collins, 1999). Thus the benefits of empowerment should not be assumed to automatically occur nor should the rhetoric of empowerment be confused with the reality. Measurement of the employee benefits is very difficult t o achieve. Unlike organisational benefits which can be measured using objective facts, individual benefits are much more complex. Certain objective measures, such as absence and turnover rates have been applied in this context (Psoinos and Smithson, 2002). However, it is often considered that softer measures of employees attitudes may provide informative insights omitted by other more tangible measures (Psoinos and Smithson, 2002). FACTORS IMPORTANT FOR MOTIVATING EMPLOYEES One of the most perplexing healthcare retention issues is keeping newly licensed nurses from leaving after just a year or two of employment in the clinical setting (Zucker, Goss, Williams, Bloodworth, Lynn, Denker, et al., 2006). Kovner, Brewer, and Djukic (2007) presented evidence that 13% of newly licensed 1490 RNs had changed principal jobs after one year, and 37% reported that they felt ready to change jobs. Nurses leave the profession mainly because of low pay and poor job satisfaction (DiMeglio, Padula, Piatek, 2005)Hence pay and motivation at workplace are very important factors of retaining the staff. Therefore, nurse leaders are faced with two challenges: to recruit sufficiently qualified nurses and to establish rewarding work cultures that promote retention. Recruiting a younger generation of nursing staff members and meeting retention demands of cross-generational nurses will be a challenge like no other previously seen in healthcare (Cordinez, 2002). Newly licensed nurse s recruitment and retention into the workplace are fundamental strategies for ensuring that healthcare systems have the continued capacity to deliver patient care (Berliner Ginzberg, 2002). Understanding why newly licensed registered nurses choose to remain in nursing is an essential component of recruitment and retention strategies. Despite a recent four year trend of increasing nursing school enrollment and graduation of qualified nurses (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2005), the latest data on the shortage of RNs in the United States is estimated to reach about 500,000 by 2025 (Buerhas, Staiger, Auerbach, 2000.This study shows that nursing shortage is going to increase and hence motivating factors like pay,proper work environment and empowerment are necessary for retaining the experienced nurse staff. Hecker (2005) predicts that more than one million new and replacement nurses will be needed by the year 2014. The problem is that many of the newly licensed nurses w ill not remain in nursing and will choose to leave the profession within four years of graduation from a nursing program (Sochalski, 2002). In a study by Bowles and Candela (2005), 30% of newly licensed RNs left their first nursing position within one year of employment, and 57% left their first nursing position within two years of employment.This study further provides evidence that adds to the case study done by Kovner, Brewer, and Djukic (2007) which also adds to data and evidence that nurses are leaving their profession due to lack of empowerment and motivation in hospitals. The nursing shortage and the high incidence of turnover among newly licensed nurses within the first year of employment need to be investigated. It is well documented that nurses are leaving the profession because they are dissatisfied with current working conditions and not because they are disenchanted with the ideal of nursing, which originally attracted them to the profession (Lynn Redman, 2005; Strachota, Normandin, OBrien, Clary, Krukow, 2003). There is limited research that addresses newly licensed registered nurses career choices post-graduation. The future of nursing rests in the ability to recruit and retain upcoming generations to the profession.Currently, however, there is limited knowledge concerning what influences the decisions of newly licensed registered nurses to remain in nursing. Thus, the objective of this study was to identify factors that influence newly licensed registered nurses decision to remain in nursing. The shortage of people entering professional nursing, nurses dissatisfaction, and high turnover of newly licensed registered nurses are issues of concern. The national shortage in the nursing workforce highlights the critical importance of encouraging nurses to remain in practice. Evidence suggests that a shortage of nurses is detrimental not only to quality of patient care, but also to staff morale, which in turn affects staff retention (Wilson, 2006). The socialization and assimilation of newly licensed nurses into the healthcare system is a pivotal event that influences the retention of nurses (Aiken, Clarke, Sloane, Sochalaski, Silber, 2002). Professional socialization and work readiness are contributing factors to the retention of newly licensed registered nurses. The transition from student to new nurse is a vital period in several ways. It is the quality of this transitional experience that is likely to influence new nurse retention (Clare van Loon, 2003; Duchsch er, 2001; Ewens, 2003). Professional socialization, a potential buffer to the effects of reality shock, includes the acquisition of knowledge, skills, identity, occupational traits, values, norms, and self-concept (Mamchur Myrick, 2003). The process of professional socialization, from career choice to transition to enculturation to the practice setting is influenced by others, especially other nurses (Beck, 2000; Hinds Harley, 2001). It is this initial professional socialization of nurses that will determine the success or failure of retaining new nurses in the healthcare workplace. The increasing complexity of health services and the acuity of patient care create an expectation by the healthcare organization that the new nurse will hit the ground running (Cowin Hengstberger-Sims, 2006, p. 61). Furthermore, Cowin and Hengstberger-Sims believe the workplace expects newly licensed nurses to quickly fulfill their potential as knowledgeable workers, but the health organization remune rates newly licensed nurses at the lowest possible pay scale. These researchers asserted that incongruencies such as high level of stress related to responsibility and high workloads paired with minimum pay compound the effects of reality shock of nurses new to the field. The healthcare workplace demands work readiness from its newest nurses and the partnership of responsibilit

Friday, September 20, 2019

Analysis of Learning Styles and Theories

Analysis of Learning Styles and Theories Section A Part 1: Who I am as a learner? What is learning style? According to Honey and Mumfords learning style questionnaire (1992) learning is seen as a continuous cycle in which a person has a learning experience, reviews the experience, concludes from that experience and plans the next step. A persons preferences for one or more of the stages of the learning cycle translate into strengths and weaknesses of learning style. In experiential learning theory, the model of style is based on a theory of learning. The theory defines four phases in the process of learning from experience: concrete experience; reflective observation; abstract conceptualization; and active experimentation. Individual learning styles are defined by a persons reliance on these four learning modes. (Boyatzis and Kolb, 1995) Gagne (1984) says these strategies enable learners to choose at appropriate times the intellectual skills and declarative knowledge they will bring to bear on learning, remembering, and problem solving. 1. VARK Introduction of VARK: The VARK stands for Visual (V), Aural (A), Read/Write (R), and Kinesthetic (K). It is a tool for learner to analyze their learning style. According to the Fleming (2009) VARK is a questionnaire that provides users with a profile of their learning preferences. It is about a learners preferences for taking in and giving out information in a learning context. The purpose of VARK is to help learner to think about their learning style in multiple ways. It suggests some ideas for learner to know which learning methods are suitable for them and how they can learn effectively. However, the limitation of VARK is that questionnaire does not show anything about motivation. It only contributes to improve learning. Learners only can change their study methods based on their VARK results (Fleming, 2009). My learning style result of VARK is as follows: According to my VARK result, I have got nine marks in Aural. Visual, Read/ Write as well as Kinesthetic are all in seven marks. It shows that I am a multimodal learning style. I can learn from different learning styles and it implies that I have strong in Aural area. Aural learner learns by listening who likes to be provided with aural instructions. In fact, my result of the VARK is closes match to my own learning style as I often use different learning methods under different situations. For example, I prefer attend group discussions, lecture and tutorial. At school, I like to attend the lecture to lectern the teacher to explanation. In the final year project, I enjoy discuss with my group members and explain new idea to others. Also I follow my group leader instructions to find some useful data from the internet for our project. On the other hand, I also as a Visual style learner. Visual learner prefers demonstrations in their learning and can learn through descriptions. In my working experience, I work in Wellcome supermarket, my supervisor demonstrated that how to placed the goods on the shelves and told me all products in which area. I can easily get the meaning and memorize it because of leaving a strong impression in my mind. For the kinesthetic learner, I prefer experiencing things rather than only read the notes during the learning process. For example, I need to trials on my own when buying a new mobile phone, rather than reading the leaflet of the products. Finally, VARK result can indicate my learning styles. Sometimes I like practice actively, sometimes I prefer listening only. Thats why I have multimodal preferences. In fact, I have to pay more attention in different learning styles. VARK is very useful for helping me to know more about my learning preferences. 2. MBTI Introduction OF MBTI: The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was developed by Katherine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myer. It based on the theories of psychologist Carl Jung (Morgan and Barbour, 2008). Hutchinson (1997) shows how personality indicators such as the MBTI can he used in a practical way to understand differences in how people behave and to assist in team building and communication in a business environment. The MBTI scales measure a preference for four dimensions: (Saggino, Cooper and Kline, 2001) Extraversion-Introversion Which represents the orienting toward the outer world of people and things or the inner world of concepts and ideas. Sensing-Intuition Which reflects the individuals preference for factual realistic or global possibilities perception. Thinking-Feeling Which represents arriving at judgments by impersonal and logical processes or by subjective processes. Judging-Perception The process of coming to a conclusion about something or becoming aware of something. In combination, the MBTI is a sixteen-type personality profile instrument. (Goby and Lewis, 2000) However, according to Coe (1992), he said that the MBTI has several limitations. First, it does not show any indication about peoples values and motivations. Second, the MBTI does not measure pathology. Third, the MBTI does not measure how well the preferred functions are performed. My MBTI result for my Personality: According to my MBTI results, the above result shows that my preferred style of MBTI is ESFJ and ESFP which are 72% and 66 % respectively. It shows the most dominant function is extrovert, sensing, as well as feeling. For the ESFJ, the most important preferences are Extraverted Feeling. This means I focus on building harmony in the working environment. I like to build rapport with people and create a positive atmosphere. I look after peoples welfare. Also I like to keep everybody happy and have a good relationship with others. I value other peoples contributions, seek to develop the role that others play, and invest a lot of effort in building positive relationships. I try to overcome differences of opinion and find ways in which people can agree. For the ESFP, the most important preferences are Extraverted Sensing. I bring things to fruition by getting things done, and getting them done now. I am very action-oriented, dealing with whatever tasks the current situation presents. I often spur others into action as well. I make use of your experience and utilize tools or processes of which I already have knowledge. I try to have an immediate impact on things, injecting a sense of urgency, and aiming to achieve clear goals and tangible results. Base on the result, MBTI helps me to understand the personality. I agree that I am an extravert person. As I have worked as Wellcome Supermarket, I found that building the positive atmosphere can improve the relationship within the company. I also like to build a good relationship with customers that I enjoy work into a happiness environment. Also I am a vice-president of my secondary schools alumni association. I like to share my study path with others. Besides that I also concern on what group members feeling rather than my feel and invest a lot of effort in building positive relationships. So I am a feeling person. As a sensing person, when I am doing assignments, I want to focus on the facts which help my working process. Also, I like to ask my classmates who had experienced those situations previously in order to make a better decision. Those two personality types (ESFJ and ESFP) are differing in Judging and Perception. This preference is about the process of coming to a conclusion about something or becoming aware of something. I also think the judging is my personality. I like to make a plan and follow the guideline to work within a time limit. When I am doing final year project, I hope myself and my team members follow our plan and to meet the requirement. 3. BELBIN Introduction of BELBIN The Belbin team-role inventory is a well-known and established measure for identification of individual team roles (Senior and Swailes, 1998). Belbins particular focus on the establishment of roles within a team, where the assumptions of duties and responsibilities depends on a measure of self-discovery combined with a perception of the needs of the team as a whole. Belbin identify 9 team roles in relation to different needs of a group including plant, resource investigator, co-coordinator, shaper, monitor evaluator, team worker, implementer, complete finisher and specialist. My BELBIN result for my Team Role: According to my Belbin report, the most preferred roles that I suited are team worker and specialists in which I scored about 80 and 100 respectively. Specialist means people who have the specific knowledge and skills to do their tasks. This type of people is enthusiastic in providing special knowledge and skills to accomplish the team goals. They will only contribute on only a limited front and dwell on specialized personal interest. They only consider their own specific area to come out a solution, so they cannot provide a wider perspective. For example, I am interested in computer. I prefer to do something about data analysis and search information from the internet. In final year project, I use my knowledge to analyze the research data and give the conclusion on that part. Also I provide technical support in the presentation. Team worker represents the people who are co-operative, mild, perceptive and diplomatic. They prefer to work with others and usually listen, builds and avert the friction within the team. They are indecisive in crunch situations. For example, I often listen to others instructions in my work. Also I need to cooperate with my colleagues to complete the works. 4. Summary To summarize, I believe these tests are quite reliable. According to the test results, I know and understand myself more. I am an extravert person who likes to talk with others and learn from different learning styles. I can cooperate with others and also concern their feeling. I provide my computer knowledge for people and give some advice for them. Therefore, these tests help me identify myself and let me know how to improve myself. It makes me think more and consider which job is suitable and interesting to me. If I want to be a leader, I need to learn more different styles and improve my weaknesses. It will be a great benefit to my future career. References Boyatzis, R. Kolb, D. (1995) From learning styles to learning skills: the executive skills profile, Journal of Managerial Psychology, 10(5), pp. 3-17 Boyle, G (1995) Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI): Some Psychometric Limitations, Humanities Social Sciences papers, Bond University Briggs, K. and Myers, I. (2009) Free Personality Test: MMDI website, Available at: http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/mmdi-re/mmdi-re.htm (Accessed 19th November 2009) Coe, C.K., (1992) The MBTI: potential uses and misuses in personnel administration, Available at: http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/343006-1.html (Accessed: 19th November 2009) Fleming, N. (2009), FAQ of VARK official website, Available at: http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=faq (Accessed: 19th November 2009) Goby, V. Lewis, J. (2000) Using Experiential Learning Theory and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator in Teaching Business Communication, Business Communication Quarterly, 63(3), pp. 39-48. Jackson, C. Lawty-Jones, M. (1996) Explaining the overlap between personality and learning styles, Journal of Personality and Individual Differences, 20, pp. 293-300. Lessem, R. Baruch, Y. (2000) Testing the SMT and Belbin Inventory in Top Management Teams, Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 21(1/2), pp.75-83 Morgan, A. Barbour, K. (2008) An initial study into the personality types of undergraduate business students. Proceedings of the Academy of Educational Leadership, 13(1), pp.33-38 Saggino, A. Cooper, C. Kline, P. (2001) A confirmatory factor analysis of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Personality and Individual Differences, 30(1), pp. 3-9.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Ciceros De Amicitia Essay -- Friendship Death Love Essays

Cicero's De Amicitia Cicero’s De Amicitia brings a unique perspective to the topic of friendship and how it relates to death. The word amicitia comes from the Latin root word amor which is translated to mean â€Å"love†. In this day and age the word friendship has taken on a slightly different meaning from the ancient meaning. Cicero’s De Amicitia seeks to define what friendship is, its characteristics and principles. He has challenged us to reconsider what constitutes a true friend. Upon observing a typical friendship it becomes clear to us that this relationship is actually devoid of true love; the love in which Cicero speaks of. A genuine friendship is a rare and beautiful thing; a mutual relationship formed between two virtuous people of the same sex in which both individuals love the other as much if not more than themselves. â€Å"In the face of a true friend a man sees as it were a second self.† To love another person as much as you love yourself, to give without the expectation of receiving something in return is indeed an amazing concept. It is sometimes hard to comprehend its existence in this world where friendship is more for utility; â€Å"serve for particular ends - riches for use, power for securing homage, office for reputation, pleasure for enjoyment, health for freedom from pain and the full use of the functions of the body. But friendship embraces innumerable advantages.† The structural foundation upon which a friendship is built is a key determining factor concerning the quality, life and longevity of a friendship. When this foundation is weak and built on the selfish desires of those individuals, that friendship is ultimately put to the test. A utility based friendship is impermanent; giving way to the changing circumstances it faces over time as Cicero stated â€Å"For if it were true that its material advantages cemented friendship, it would be equally true that any change in them would dissolve it.† It does not have the qualities to endure and will fail to thrive in the face of such trials and tribulations as â€Å"conflicting interest; differences of opinion in politics; frequent changes in character, owing sometimes to misfortunes, sometimes to advancing years.† In this type of friendship the individual takes pleasure in each other’s company only in so far they have hopes of gaining an advantage from it. For Cicero, true friendship can only be achie... ...h act. â€Å"I am disposed to think, therefore, that in his case mourning would be a sign of envy rather than of friendship. If, however, the truth rather is that the body and soul perish together, and that no sensation remains, then though there is nothing good in death, at least there is nothing bad.† This statement shows a certain level of jealousy for you envy the freedom your friend has now achieved in death whereas you are still encased in your human form, your soul trapped and yearning for knowledge and wisdom. Feelings of joy would wash over the surviving friend if indeed their friendship were true. Feeling joyful that this person he has loved with all his heart and soul has moved on to a beautiful place, free from the human condition. Reading Cicero’s work has helped validate that which I have always felt to be true; not just of friendship but of death. I conclude with a passage in which Cicero touches on the purpose of forming friendships; †For it is not so much what one gets by a friend that gives one pleasure, as the warmth of his feeling.† One day I hope to understand through first hand experience rather than just through speculation and dissection of Cicero’s writing.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Depleted Uranium Ethics Of the Silver Bullet :: Argumentative Persuasive Weapon Papers

Depleted Uranium Ethics Of the Silver Bullet I. INTRODUCTION/ABSTRACT: â€Å"All the soldiers there were wearing NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical warfare) protective clothing. We said: ‘What’s going on here?’ And their answer was: ‘Didn’t you know? This ammunition is a bit dodgy.’† – Tim Pubrick, Gulf War veteran, British Royal Army tank commander.6 Depleted uranium (DU) ammunition is a very recent advancement in military weapons use. Due to its effectiveness against piercing armor, DU ammunition has recently become a popular item among NATO armies and will most likely become a mainstream form of conventional ammunition among many other armies of the world. However, massive amounts of circumstantial evidence strongly suggests that the use of DU ammunition has known to cause dramatic side effects, such as health problems, stillborn babies, toxic and poisonous land, water supplies, and residential territories. Hence an important question arises, is it ethical to use DU ammunition on the battlefield? II. WHAT IS DEPLETED URANIUM (DU)? Before we can analyze the ethical use of DU ammunition, it is important to first establish the technology behind DU and DU weapons. Uranium is one of the heaviest elements found in nature and is emits alpha, beta, and gamma particles. It is 1.7 times denser than lead.12 The half-life of U238 (DU is 99% U238) is 4.5 billion years!13 Uranium byproducts(such as Thorium (Th232)) have even longer half-lives, making uranium an element that gets more radioactive during its own decay process.5 Natural uranium is 99.274% U238, 0.720% U235, and 0.0055% U234.14a Uranium is enriched when its contents of U235 reaches 3.2-3.6% (since U235 is fissible). Weapon-grade uranium is +90% U235.14a What is depleted uranium? We start out with natural uranium and extract enriched uranium for nuclear fuel and weaponry. The leftover from the extraction process is something very similar to natural uranium, known as â€Å"depleted uranium†. The only difference is that DU has 0.202% of U235 and 0.0008% of U234.14a How much DU do we currently have? As of June 1998, we have around 57,800 huge steel cylinders of DU or 496,000 metric tons. 14b Storage of DU is very complicated and problematic since corrosion of DU storage cylinders often occurs over relatively short periods of time.15 III. MODERN APPLICATIONS OF DU: The applications of DU are quite extensive. DU is very low cost and is readily available. DU can be used as a commercial aircraft counterweight. A Boeing 747 needs 1,500 kg of DU.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Othello – Iago’s Deception of Roderigo

In this passage, Iago is trying to persuade Roderigo that they both have a common enemy, Othello, and that they should work together in their revenge against him. Iago wants revenge because Othello gave the promotion of lieutenant to Cassio instead of him. Roderigo wants revenge because Othello is married to Desdemona, the woman Roderigo is madly in love with. The passage then ends with Roderigo leaving the stage, leaving Iago alone to recite a soliloquy, revealing his true emotions to the audience for the first time. In his first speech, Iago seems very controlling over Roderigo; he starts his speech by two consecutive gestures implicating that he is the superior character in the scenario. He starts by telling Roderigo how he feels towards Iago, â€Å"Thou art sure of me†, leaving no room for Roderigo to question him. This boldly tells the audience that Iago is the decision maker in this duo, as he is making an important decision for Roderigo, whether to trust Iago or not. Roderigo’s indecision has made him ‘weak’. Iago then immediately orders Roderigo to go ‘make money’, which further emphasizes Iago’s superiority. Iago then goes on to trying to comfort Roderigo with the orders and decisions Iago is making for him, in a sense, by showing him how they are both in common and want the same final outcome (that they both hate Othello and want him to suffer). â€Å"I have told thee often, and I retell thee again and again, I hate the moor†, Iago uses the words ‘again and again’ to emphasize and make clear and definite how much he loathes Othello, and then says ‘my cause is hearted’ to express how important it is for him to have revenge on Othello (he craves it deep down in his heart, hence it is hearted). Iago then proposes that he and Roderigo should work together in an accumulative effort to avenge against Othello, and continues to try and persuade him to trust him. He says ‘ if thou canst cuckold him, thou dost thyself a pleasure, me a sport’ to ensure Roderigo that he can help him in sleeping with Desdemona, which will bring great pleasure to Roderigo, and will be easy to accomplish for Iago, much like a ‘sport’. The word ‘sport’ is particularly interesting as, in my opinion, it makes Iago seem very wicked because it seems as if sabotaging relationships is a sport to him, an act that brings him joy and others sorrow. ‘For I mine own gained†¦. But for my sport and profit’, this sentence which Iago says in his soliloquy, suggests to the audience that Iago is a selfish or self-empowering person, meaning that he would not spend time or waste knowledge unless it somehow benefited him. In Iago’s soliloquy, it is the first time the audience gets to see how he processes the events of the play and how he thinks and plans his revenge against Othello. He reveals how he plans to turn Othello and Cassio against one another and, by doing so, ‘eliminating two birds with one stone. This also stimulates a sense of suspense, as the audience is aware of the damage that will happen in the future but are not aware of how it will happen. During the soliloquy, Iago presents his two-faced character, which the audience by now will have suspected he has. After Roderigo leaves, Iago immediately starts his soliloquy by expressing how much of a fool Roderigo is, and how Iago is only using him as a sort of personal piggy bank. â€Å"Thus do I ever make my fool my purse†. This immediately makes it clear and obvious to the audience that Iago is not what he seems and what the other characters believe him to be, honest and loyal. This bluntly imprints Iago’s true personality into the minds of the audience.

Monday, September 16, 2019

America Needs It Nerds Essay

People around the world need to open there eyes to what intellectual individuals can do for the world rather than only idolizing the celebrity’s and athletics. â€Å"America Needs Its Nerds† by Leonid Fridman talks about how in our society that we idolize celebrity’s and athletics more than intellectual people. Friedman effectively persuades an audience of intellectuals to value their academic prowess with a logical definition of â€Å"Geek,† comparisons that highlight the extent of the issue, and rhetorical questions that encourage actions. In the beginning of his essay, Friedman defines â€Å"geek† to catch the reader’s attention and offend them, so that they will take action. He cites the Webster’s New World Dictionary defining â€Å"geek† as a street performer who shocks the public by biting off the heads of live chickens.† The archaic term was used derogatorily about geeks. Today, intellectuals would be offended by th is definition, and it would ultimately catch their attention. He intends that intellectuals, when learning this fact, will become offended, read the article, and then take action to resolve the injustice. Halfway through his essay, he compares the United States with East Asia and the intellectuals at Harvard to athletes in order to show the dire need to take a stand. He compares to the intellectuals that live in the United States and the intellectuals that live Asia. who ironically do not feel comfortable expressing their own intellectual self’s to the world because the chance of embarrassment. In the last sentence in the third paragraph â€Å"Nerds are ostracized while athletes are idolized.† this quote is explicitly trying to inform the reader that intellectual individuals should be more idolize as well as any other athlete or celebrity. At the end of his essays, he uses a rhetorical question to get the reader to think about how intellectualism should be valued and what they are going to do to change society’s fault. To prove his point, Fridman asked, â€Å"How long can America remain a world- class power if we constantly emphasize social  skills and physical prowess over academic achievement and intellectual ability?† He asked us this show the necessity of knowledge we need to strive and stay a main power in the world. Present day, we emphasize the need for social skills an America rather than intelligence, and it will definitely catch the citizens of America who still want to be a striving country. Fridman asked this question to the intellectuals of the United States to evaluate the current situation we are in and ultimately speak up, take a stance and make knowledge the main focus of our nation rather than social skills.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Study guide answer exam

Keep in mind that I am looking at your exam questions while writing the study guide. Be sure you know what the terms are, how they have been researched, and describe your answers In your own words. I decided to limit your test to the first three chapters. You can do quite well focusing on the material below. Enjoy! Why is drug withdrawal a painful experience for addicts? Using drugs puts an excess amount of neurotransmitters in the body.When there is an overflow the brain stops making it naturally and when the drug wears off it takes mime for the brain to star making the chemical once again on its own system. Some neurotransmitters are dopamine, serotonin, Acetylene's, Morphogenesis, Gamma- nonparametric acid, Endorphins. Endorphins are natural opiates. Brooch's area and Wrinkle's area in the brain and their responsibilities. B- speaking W-understanding What does It mean to be randomly assigned? The design of a study such that all subjects have an equal chance of being assigned to an y group or condition.What does it mean to be debriefed? A discussion of procedures, hypothesis. And subject reactions at the completion of the study. Explain what a correlation is and its mathematical representation. A correlation exists when 2 variables are related to each other. May be positive or negative depends on nature of the association between the variables measured. Correlation Indicates the 2 variables that change together In the opposite direction. Strength of correlation depends on size of coefficient.Be very clear about the difference between correlation and causation. What is responsible for carrying information from the central nervous system to tissue? What s an independent and dependent variable? What do we know about Alchemist's disease, schizophrenia and neurotransmitters? Alchemist's brains show to have low levels of ACH-Acetylene's. Schizophrenia is linked to excess levels of dopamine. What Is an agonies/antagonist and how do they work? Chemical that mimics the action of a neurotransmitter.Antagonist *jiff]: Chemical that opposes the action of a neurotransmitter. Agonies works with the muscles, and the antagonist is the muscle working against it Know all of the various schools of psychology and their arguments. Structuralism was eased on the notion that the task of psychology is to analyze consciousness into its basic elements and investigate how these elements related. Functionalism was based on the belief that psychology should investigate the function or purpose of consciousness, rather that it's structure.Natural selection inherited characteristics that provide a survival or reproductive advantage are more likely the alternative characteristics to be passed on to subsequent generations and thus come to be â€Å"selected† over time. Behaviorism is a theoretical orientation based on the premise that scientific psychology should study only observable behavior. Humanism is a theoretical orientation that emphasizes the unique qualit ies of humans, especially their freedom and their potential for personal growth. What is research replication and why do it?The repetition of study to see whether the earlier results are duplicated. What were the Greek philosophers interested in discovering? Know our policies described on our syllabus well. Know the key points and messages of ALL of our video presentations; Know all of the research methods discussed in class along with their strengths and weaknesses. What is the magical responsible for? What comprises the limbic system, endocrine system, sympathetic nervous system, peripheral nervous system & central nervous system.Limbic systemic: Thalamus, Hypothalamus, Hippopotamus, and the magical. Endocrine systemic>?k G: Group of glandless* that secrete†Z chemicals into the bloodstream that help control bodily function. Sympathetic nervous immobilizers the body resources for emergencies. Peripheral nervous all those nerves that lie outside the brain and spinal cord. Cent ral nervous G: Brain and spinal cord. How do neurons communicate? Axons and dendrites carry information to and from the cell body. Neurotransmitters send signals chemically between neurons.What is the placebo effect? According to ancient Greek civilizations, what is psychology? A definition for a topic of study. Psyche was used to refer to the soul, spirit, or mind, as distinguished from the Know all of your brain lobes, their location and their responsibilities. Frontal lobes: speaking, muscle movements, making plans, Judgments Parietal lobes: sensory area Occipital lobes: vision Temporal lobes: auditory In order to measure either a physical or mental construct, what criteria must the measure meet?Mean, median, mode they have been researched, and describe your answers in your own words. I decided material below. Learn a lot and earn an A. Enjoy! Why is drug withdrawal a painful experience for addicts (hint: What are the brains' natural opiates called)? Text & Lecture Your brain sto p produce dopamine†¦ Because the drug give too much†¦ And when you stop taking them. There are no dopamine left What does it mean to be randomly assigned? Text & Lecture Randomly select object or†¦.It can generalize the whole population that represent chi What does it mean to be debriefed? Text Ex: give you the different reason for certain study†¦ And tell you the truest after Explain what a correlation is and its mathematical representation. Text & Lecture Ex: something cause other things to happen†¦ A cause B†¦ Ex: not study cause bad grade†¦ Mathematical representation—positive +1 no correlation negative correlation -1 as the research close to O, that means it have no correlation What's the relationship between ice cream sales and pool drowning?Lecture Relation between this too is summer. Cause more sale in ice cream, the more people go swim and more people drowning. A- ice cream b-PDP C heat c cause A and B so more B=more What is an inde pendent and dependent variable? Text & Lecture Independent-music they listen dependent- how many world they memorize (amount that been measure) to Lecture Alchemies – schizophrenia-have ex dopamine or lack neurotransmitters (page 75)(he like to test drugs and what effect) What is an agonies/ antagonist and how do they work?Lecture Agonies- keep the reaction going antagonist-stop the reaction going (ex antagonist can stop the pain) Know all of the various schools of psychology and their arguments?structuralisms, Functionalists, Behaviorist's, etc. Lecture Structuralism- need name v†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ First school in German-take what you have experience and break down-(ex what make you anger) Functionalism- †¦. James – ex(why people drop out school†¦ ) stall-study the whole not parts of the brain he study dreams†¦ Hypnoses John Watson-more about behavior and something that can measure skinner-rewards and punishment

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Brief Gonzales V. Raich

The case entitled ALBERTO R. GONZALES, ATTORNEYT GENERAL, et al. , PETITIONERS v. ANGEL McCLARY RAICH et al had the case no 03 – 1454. This was a case filed in the United States of America Supreme Court. The case was formerly known as the Ashcroft v. Raich. Substantive Facts The respondents, before the case was filed were growing and consuming cannabis. This is in accordance with the fact that they use the marijuana for medical purpose.The growing and consumption activities were authorized by the state of California; the Controlled Substances Act of the federal government had confiscated the medicines and drugs that were derived from the marijuana plants. Because of the confiscation of the drugs that were from marijuana, the respondents had posted a claim that the infliction of the CSA against them is a violation in the Commerce Clause. The inflictions also had violated the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment including the 9th and 10th amendments.Medical necessity is als o claimed to be violated with the inflictions of the Controlled Substance Act (AudioCaseFiles, 2007). It was noted that California is a state wherein the use of marijuana for medical purpose is allowed. Without the drugs derived from marijuana, there would be so much pain experienced by the patients and death could result from those pains. Procedural History Angel Raich together with her companions in the field of medicine had sued the government because of the interference done by the federal government to their endeavor of using marijuana for medical purposes.Their claim is that the federal government had violated the constitution since it is constitutionally right to use marijuana for it (marijuana) was permitted to be used within the premises of the California State. Moreover, the claim included that the marijuana used by the California’s Medical co-ops are not in the name of commerce, nor did they bought the drugs from other states. Thus, the resources used for growing t he marijuana plants were only obtained within the premises of the State of California.Another claim from the Angel Raich was that she had used marijuana to prevent herself from dying because her doctor had claimed that she has allergies to the medicines she was prescribed. The federal government on the other hand claims that it was written in the Controlled Substances Act that it does not permit the legal use of marijuana in terms of medical purposes. Moreover, when the California State will not cease in using marijuana, it would be unfair for the other states not to also use marijuana for medical purpose.Their claim is not to permit exemption in using marijuana as stated in the US Federal Law. Broad and Narrow Holdings There is a general rule in the Constitution of the United States of America that the constitution is not allowing or permitting police powers to be carried by the federal government. But it was also stated in a clause in the US Constitution that it the federal govern ment will have this limited power in terms of commerce regulation in other countries and within the several states of the country. The clause that had given a limited power to the federal government is the Commerce Clause.As written in the history of the Commerce Clause, the federal government did only a very little interference with the activities done in the states of the country. The case of Angel Raich is quite simple not like the several cases filed in the Cumpreme Court of the United States. It was very clear that there was no commerce that had undergone in the course of the marijuana usage by the California Medical Co-op. All the activities done by the Raich and company had been within the California State and it was clear that the drugs were purely used for treating illness and diseases, specifically used also by Raich (Guither, 2007).Doctrinal and Policy Reasoning The case of Wickward v. Filburn which is related to the wheat production was used t ocompare the Raich’s case. In the wheat production case which was also commerce related case, the farmers are regulate the production of wheat in order to have a control in the volume of wheat that is transported within the states of the country. Filburn had a process did not violate the law because he only sold a portion of his wheat and other wheat produced was used for home consumption and other purposes. Filburn had lost the case considering the unsold portion of the wheat (Guither, 2007).Miscellaneous Justice Sandra Day O'Connor who presented a dissent of the GONZALES V. RAICH case started her statement by citing come of the relevant issues that are related to the case. She had stated the action done by the Commerce Clause authority was related to the Federalism issue among the states. Federalism is the one which encourage innovation if the state of California had agreed to be the laboratory of the entire country and will have the role of doing and performing experiments and studies which would no t affect the country.It is a federal crime according to Justice O’Connor to grow marijuana in your backyard and use it for medical purposes but if the state of California was considered to be a laboratory, then the use of marijuana (for medical purposes) is not a question (Cornell University Law School, 2007). Justice Clarence Thomas had also written a separate dissent of the case. He mentioned that the cultivation as well as consumption of marijuana done by the respondents is not included running in the commerce industry since there was no production for marketing done nor the respondents had bought materials for the cultivation.Thus, there was no strong evidence that the respondents had violated the Commerce Clause or even any law that was listed in the Constitution. The federal government in return should not have prohibited such activities (Cornell University Law School, 2007). Literature Cited: AudioCaseFiles. (2007). Gonzales v. Raich. Retrieved September 12, 2007 from http://www. audiocasefiles. com/cases/detail/case/8834/ Cornell University Law School (2007). Supreme Court Colloection; GONZALES V. RAICH (03-1454) 545 U. S. 1 (2005) 352 F. 3d 1222, vacated and remanded. Retrieved September 12, 2007 from http://www.law. cornell. edu/supct/html/03-1454. ZD1. html Cornell University Law School (2007). Supreme Court Colloection; GONZALES V. RAICH (03-1454) 545 U. S. 1 (2005) 352 F. 3d 1222, vacated and remanded. Retrieved September 12, 2007 from http://www. law. cornell. edu/supct/html/03-1454. ZD. html Curtis, Parker, Douglas, Finkleman (2007). Constitutional Law in Context. Volume 1. Second Edition. Guither, Pete. (2007). Raich v. Ashcroft – A Guide to the Supreme Court Case. Drug Warrant. com. Retrieved September 12, 2007 from http://blogs. salon. com/0002762/stories/2004/11/23/raichVAshcroftAGuideToTheS. html