Inequalities in health Essay

Introduction. Mildred Baxter conducted a survey in 1990 on Health and Lifestyles, and asked 10,000 people how they defined health, her results were defined by Three answers: – Positive Definitions- where health is defined as feeling fit and able to undertake any reasonable task. Negative Definitions- where health is defined in terms of being free from pain and discomfort. Functional Definitions- where people define health in terms of being able to perform a range of tasks. Whereas Medical Definitions state that: – Illness is always based on an identifiable (physical/mental) cause. Illnesses and their causes can be identified, classified and measured. The cure lies in the physical body of a person, not their social relationships or their spiritual life. There is reliance upon drugs and surgery. During this essay I will be looking at the inequalities, (inequalities means that something is not equal to something else), in Health, with regards to class, ethnics, gender and age. There are several possible explanations for inequalities in health, these include: – Social and material reasons, (whereby because of poverty in society, it leads to ill health, because of poor housing, nutrition, etc), Cultural, religion reasons, (because of the difference in diet, and certain beliefs and habits that effect health), The effect an individual has on his or her own health, (by choosing what they eat, drink and whether they smoke or not). Social class We could argue that the standard of healthcare in different social classes are because of geographical reasons, and the level of funding that the government gives to poorer, lower class areas compared to the level that is given to richer, middle/higher class areas. This can be seen in the Black Report (1980) and The Health Divide (1987). These reports clearly show such strong evidence of social class inequalities in health that the government tried to suppress the findings. The Acheson report (1998) then went on to confirm the evidence of social class inequalities and recommend more help for poorer social classes by a means of improving their health. We can also clearly see from research that lower, poorer classes have a higher mortality rate, (including infant), than the higher classes, these are mainly seen in Respiratory Disease, Injuries and poisoning and Cerebro-vascular Disease, this is because lower classes tend to work mainly in manual work, (factories with dangerous machinery, working in bad weather conditions, etc). Tudor-Hart (1971), first suggested in the Inverse Care Law, that higher class that need it least gets more resources and lower classes that needs it most gets the least resources, So social class inequalities are made worse by inequalities in the NHS, this is because poorer areas don’t have as many GP practices, they have to depend on public transport, and are more likely to loose pay for taking time off. Whereas it is thought that the middle/higher classes have the resources to find out what healthcare they are entitled to, and are more likely to fight against poor health services, and are able to jump NHS waiting lists by paying privately. We can argue that material explanations suggest that those who suffer poor health do not have a healthy balanced diet, inadequate housing conditions, lack of education and joblessness, all stem from poverty, which shows the link between material deprivation and ill-health. Criticisms;- We can argue that poverty and class status in society is not just the reasons for poor health; it also comes down to the individual choices and cultural choices that are made by people in their life. We are not told we have to smoke or drink or take drugs, we do it because we want to, which we can argue is one of the reasons Respiratory Diseases and Heart disease are on the increase. We can also argue that another reason why these diseases and other health problems, such as obesity, which is high in lower classes, are on the increase is because of the cheap unhealthy food that is being eaten, and lack of exercise, is also an individual choice. Ethnic Inequalities We can argue that Ethnic groups experience poor levels of health as a result of inequalities in the health service. A comprehensive survey (The Health of Britain’s Ethnic minorities), was conducted in 1997 by James Nazroo, his findings challenged the view that biology and culture were the main factors that explained the health of ethnic groups in the UK, but instead focused on the importance of socio-economic factors. The findings found that: – people from black and Indian minorities are more likely to suffer from TB, Diabetes and Heart Disease, people from ethnic minorities are more likely to be hospitalised for mental illnesses, and most ethnic minorities show higher rates of still births, prenatal deaths and infant deaths as well as higher mortality rate. We can see from research conducted by the Health Authority that up to 50% of ethnic minorities described themselves as having poor health. We could argue that the reasons for this is because of poverty and material deprivation, while racism and discrimination also play an important factor, Minority groups have the lowest income, the worst housing, and the highest unemployment rates in the UK. We can also argue that other cultural reasons such as language barriers, religious reasons and the lack of knowledge of the dietary needs for ethnic minorities, from health professionals may lead to ethnic minorities not seeking medical advice and thus having poorer health. Criticisms: – We can argue that not all ethnic minorities share the same level of inequalities, Black African, Caribbean; ethnic groups are more accepted in society than Asians, Chinese groups make more money than Bangladeshi groups. We can also argue that it is also down to social class, a middle class ethnic minority doctor is more likely to be accepted than an unemployed lower class ethnic minority. We can also argue that it also individual choices that lead to inequalities, e. g.social exclusion, a lot of minority do not integrate in the community, instead they stay in groups of their own race. Ethnic minorities also believe that a strong sense of cultural identity protects against the effects of poverty. Gender Inequalities Through research we have found than women on the whole are healthier than men and that women’s mortality rates are lower than that of men. According to Hilary Graham (2002), men have fewer consultations with GP’s and have lower levels of illness. We could argue that this is because in society from the time we are born we are taught a â€Å"normal† role in society, firstly by our parents and then by schools, media etc, and boys and girls from a young age are given toys, (dolls, cleaning toys etc for girl, tools, cars etc for boys), which gives them a stereotypical role that is expected of them, because of this it is much excepted in society that women can go to the doctors more because they are a weaker sex, where a man is expected to be masculine and except illness. We could also argue that men mostly work in manual jobs, and that is why they have a higher mortality rate, whereas women take on a more domestic role, looking after the home and children, although we could argue that this is a large reason why women visit the doctors more often than men, according to Ellen Annandale (1998) women who work have better levels of health than those who do not, because of the sense of independence and a wider social network, thus lowering the number of women with depression. It has also been found that women are more like to be living in poverty than men, because for example most single parents are women on a low income. Criticisms: – We could argue that gender inequalities are lowering due to more women now having equal educational opportunities and having equal roles in a work place, it is now not so frowned upon that a man stays home with the children and women go to work. More women have become more career minded and education have become more â€Å"women† friendly. We can also argue that domestic labour has become easier for women in the home with the development of technology e.g. dishwashers, washing machines etc. There is also evidence to suggest women are biologically stronger than men, more male babies die than female, and they have a higher biological possibility of living longer. Age Inequalities We can argue that elderly peoples’ opinions of health differ greatly from those of younger people; elderly people accept a range of physical pain and limitations, whereas younger people would define them as symptoms of illness. We re-evaluate what illness is as we get older and accept greater levels of discomfort as â€Å"one of those things†, that comes with age. Mildred Baxter in her survey of Health found that young people define health in terms of physical fitness, whereas older people defined it in terms of being able to cope with everyday tasks. We can also argue that the poverty elderly people face also contribute towards ill health, because they cannot afford adequate heating, balanced diet etc, because the live on a low income, or may not know the benefits they are entitled to. Research has also found that elderly people do not visit the doctor because they see themselves as â€Å"wasting time†. Criticisms: – We can argue that inequalities can again occur because of individual choices, it could be argued that a poor diet is not just because of low income but they may live alone and cannot be bothered to cook for themselves. We also see that social class plays a part, because wealthy elderly people do not face the same inequalities in health as lower class elderly people. We can also see that the government have taken steps to improve the health of elderly people by introducing the flu vaccine and by giving heating grants etc. Conclusion. To conclude I think that there are no strong arguments to say that there is one specific social or materialist explanation for inequalities in health. I think that there are a number of factors that contribute towards inequalities, from geographical, social, financial, cultural, economical, religious reasons, to biological reasons. I also think that the choices we make as individuals’ plays a major factor towards the inequalities that we encounter in heath, and by changing certain things in our life that we have control over there would be fewer inequalities.

Psychology Reflective Essay

After having various lessons, I would like to have a deeper evaluation of the chapter â€Å"Behavior in Social and Cultural Context† especially the concept of attributions . It is known that there are two types of attributions which are internal attributions and external attributions that we generally use to explain our own or other’s behaviors. Internal factors concern a person’s traits while external factors concern the external environment. In addition, I am actually shocked by the fact that there is a fundamental attribution error when we are explaining others’ behaviors. There is a real-life example that I would like to share. Last Monday, I was stuck in a traffic jam for half an hour on Nathan Road. I had a lesson at 8:30 am in Core A and I reached the pedestrian bridge at 8:25 am, so I was rushing to the classroom. At that moment, a scene annoyed me most and stopped my way to school. A boy who was around six years old was too energetic. He dashed and rushed around on the footbridge that disturbed others’ way. He also guffawed and touched or played with anything and everything he saw. Suddenly, he paced around and glared at his mum. Don’t walk like a stupid pig! Do you know how to walk? I have been waiting for you for so long! †He shouted at his mum. At that moment, I was very angry and strongly believed that the boy was so naughty and disrespectful that he showed his emotions with no restraint and did whatever he likes without regard for consequences. Based on the above case, the correspondence bias leads me to explain the boy’s behavior by ignoring the influence of situation on behavior. For example, actually he is a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, so he cannot be patient and always dash around. However, we tend to emphasize the dispositional attribution that the boy is so naughty and disrespectful. Apparently, we tend to overestimate internal factors and underestimate external factors when explaining others’ behavior. After understanding the concept of fundamental attribution error, I have an enquiry related to it. Is there an error too when we explain our own behaviors? In order to find out the answer of it, I do some researches on it. Afterwards, I found out that the concept of actor-observer bias which is proposed by E. E. Jones and R. E. Nisbett in 1971 gives a clearer picture on the error of explaining our own and others’ behaviors. It states that we as an actor are more likely to attribute our own actions to the particular situation than to a generalization about our personality while the reverse asymmetry held for people being an observer and explaining others’ behaviors. Nevertheless, I have doubts about both the fundamental attribution error and the actor-observer bias. In my opinion, I think that both of the ideas only firmly established when describing negative events. For instance, on the one hand, as an actor, when we get bad result on an exam, we usually attribute the reason to the difficult exam (situational). On the other hand, as an observer, when our friends get bad academic result, we usually attribute the reason to his or her lazy character (dispositional). If the event is positive, the reverse error occurs. With the same example but with the condition that both we and our friends get high marks in the exam, we will attribute the reason to hard-working (dispositional) and easy exam (situational) to explain behaviors respectively. Malle (2006) agrees that a reverse asymmetry held for positive events after conducting a mental-analysis. He states that the discrepancy may indicate a self-serving pattern in attribution that we attribute success to internal factors and failure to external factors. Therefore, I believe that we are explaining others’ by using both the self-serving bias and fundamental attribution error. Overall, the lessons build up my foundation for the psychological concepts and theories and we need to explore the psychological world by ourselves in order to find out more details, conflicts about and relationships between different ideas. For instance, in order to finish this reflective journal, I used Google scholar to search about the actor-observer bias and the criticisms about it that I did not learn on the book and in lessons. By experiencing the searching process, I have deeper understanding on it and it strongly impresses on my memory. The process also enhances my analysis skill, to determine which sources are useful and which sources are not related to my topic. Therefore, I enjoy the process of exploring the psychological knowledge by ourselves.

The effects of low socioeconomic status

Socioeconomic position is one of the cardinal factors act uponing pupil larning results. First to understand the ground ‘s why socio economic sciences position effects pupil accomplishment, it must be foremost defined. Many researches have defined socioeconomic position in many different ways nevertheless for the intent of this paper I will be utilizing the definition by Chapman and Ryan ( 2005, pp 497-498 ) ; â€Å" In Australia socioeconomic position is measured on wealth defined by place postal reference, household wealth, personal assets and parents educational background † . However this is equivocal as it does non take into history other variables such as existent place ownership, alternate ZIP code abode, full ownership of place and assets, portion portfolios, household heritage pecuniary liquid financess and personal pick. Cary ( 2011 ) states that there are two chief grounds why socioeconomic position influences pupils outcomes. This includes both educational an d socio cultural grounds. Based on the literature this paper will analyze these factors and how they play a major function in act uponing pupils larning result in schools. Does pupil ‘s place postal reference, household wealth, personal assets and parent ‘s educational background have an consequence on pupil larning results? The reply to this inquiry is rather ill-defined. This is because we have to take into history that non all people who reside in a low socioeconomic country are working category people. For illustration some people may take to populate in a low socioeconomic country but are really in-between category households. However it does influence pupils larning because societal category and socioeconomic position are correlated. We can non state nevertheless that all pupils populating in a low socioeconomic country are of working category nevertheless the literature argues that bulk of pupils who live in low socioeconomic countries do non make every bit good in school than pupils from a higher socioeconomic country. With that in head, the first educational ground to why socioeconomic position may act upon pupil acquisition is that of support inequalities. There has been a monolithic argument as to whether increased support in schools really improves student results. The survey reported by Ryan and Watson ( 2004 ) concluded that increased authorities support for private schools have been used to better quality of larning experiences of pupils which was measured by improved pupil instructors ratios. This means that there was a immense displacement of parents directing their kids from public schools to private schools. This shows the inequality of support within authorities and private sectors. For farther scrutiny of this factor, in the 2011 Australian Education Union Schools funding entry, it discusses how support within schools have an consequence on pupil larning results. The widening spreads between schools as proven by the turning unfairness in larning results and societal isolation between schools and pupils are a direct consequence of support agreements which have conveyed increasing sums of support to private schools over the last several decennaries, with immense rushs to the wealthier private schools instead than schools with legion deprived pupils, which is largely public schools ( Australian Education Union, 2011 ) . Teacher outlook is another educational ground. Sadly many instructors in schools today lower their outlooks of pupils based on their socioeconomic position. They automatically assume that pupils who have low socioeconomic position wo n't make good in school because many are absent from school or have behavioural jobs. This can be closely linked to pupil ‘s place life. Comber ( 1997 ) argues that instructors continue to keep shortage positions of some pupils. That is, some instructors hold lower outlooks for pupils from low socio-economic backgrounds, believing that these pupils have less larning possible than their more advantaged equals, or that background factors will needfully detain their acquisition ( Ruge, 1999 ) . Teachers need to be aware about pupil ‘s backgrounds and non automatically have a stereotyped position because this can impact their instruction which will hold an consequence on pupil ‘s acquisition. There are besides socio cultural grounds as to why SES influences pupil results. The first ground is pupil ‘s place environment. Students who come from low socioeconomic backgrounds are normally said to be disadvantaged. These disadvantages are â€Å" by and large associated with factors such as low-quality life environments, mobility, household unemployment or underemployment, deficiency of entree to resources that encourage larning such as books and pre-school plans and hapless wellness and societal favoritism † ( Department of Education and Early on Childhood Development, 2006, p 1 ) . These fortunes are linked with â€Å" hapless attending, lower keeping rates, less preparedness for schooling and poorer mean results at school † ( Department of Education and Early on Childhood Development, 2006, pp 1 ) . The section of instruction and early childhood development besides talks about the grounds why pupils from low socioeconomic backgrounds frequently have less successful outcomes. One result they focus on is literacy and numeracy. Research shows that pupils who come from low SES households normally do n't make every bit good in literacy and numeracy. They may come to school less organised and come from a household who do n't needfully take much involvement in their schooling or may non hold clip due to work committednesss ( Department of Education and Early on Childhood Development, 2006 ) . Therefore all of these factors play a function in finding how good pupils do in school. Another factor which influences pupil result is parent educational background. Eagle ( 1989 ) argued that parental engagement in instruction is less frequent in households with low SES. Parental instruction has been said to hold been closely linked to pupils larning results. A low SES family may non supply kids with experiences which will assist them with verbal and written linguistic communication for illustration reading to them and besides numeracy which will help them with their acquisition ( Centre for Community Child Heath, 2002 ) . Furthermore Baker and Stevenson ( 1986 ) suggest that overall ; parents from higher socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to be involved in schooling than parents of lower socioeconomic position. A higher instruction degree of parents is positively associated with a greater inclination for them to recommend for their kids ‘s arrangement in higher instruction classs and actively pull off their kids ‘s instruction ( Baker & A ; Stevenson, 1986 ) . Whereas, parents from lower socioeconomic backgrounds face many more barriers to involvement, including work state of affairss, deficiency of resources, transit troubles, and emphasis due to populating in deprived vicinities. Besides from a socio cultural point of position mismatch between school and household can hold an consequence on pupil acquisition. This may include linguistic communication, values and certain behavior. This can by and large estrange kids and lead to take down ego regard and motive ; nevertheless this varies with each kid. Many jobs which pupils from low socioeconomic backgrounds face are normally because what the pupils learn in the schoolroom does non associate to their experiences outside of school. Students who are more privileged obtain learning attacks which come of course to them because of their normal mundane engagements. ( Department of Education and Early on Childhood Development, 2006 ) . Students from low socio-economic backgrounds frequently do n't acquire this chance. Furthermore statistics have shown that pupils from low socioeconomic backgrounds do non ever make their full potency in their acquisition. The Erebus Report conducted by the New South Wales Department of Education in 2005 comparisons findings and statistics of pupils larning results who come from a low socioeconomic background and pupils from a high socioeconomic background. One illustration they give is reading comprehension and mathematics. The findings revealed that within the same school, a pupil who comes from a higher socio-economic group will accomplish better trial consequences than a pupil from a lower socio-economic group ( NSW Department of Education and Training, 2005 ) . It besides provides comparings between both high and low SES with pupil ‘s absences from school and the survey showed that pupils with low SES had higher figure of yearss absent from school ( NSW Department of Education and Training, 2005 ) . This could besides be a ground why pupils are non making their full potency. Ainley ( 2003 ) discusses farther analyses of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth informations in footings of the factors that impact on Equivalent Tertiary Entrance Ranks. Ainley ( 2003 ) found that the 3rd most of import influence on third entryway public presentation was pupil ‘s socioeconomic background which was measured by parental instruction, wealth and occupational position. Students, whose parents are professionals, achieve higher third entryway tonss. The other two former variables were pupil ‘s anterior public presentation and school attended nevertheless it is non hard to see that socioeconomic factors besides impact these variables ( Ainley, 2003 ) . In decision this paper has argued based on the literature that pupils from low socioeconomic are disadvantaged in facets of their acquisition due to certain factors act uponing these results. These factors include both educational and socio cultural grounds. Whereas research has shown that pupils from higher socioeconomic are inclined to make good in school because they have the appropriate financess to back up pupil larning. It is the schools duty to appreciate these state of affairss and the influences it may hold on pupils larning and pupils enthusiastic attack to stay learning and to turn to these issues consequently ( Department of Education and Early on Childhood Development, 2006 ) .Mention:Ainley, J. ( 2003 ) . Early literacy and numeracy achievement influences ENTER tonss. ACER Research Highlights, 2003, p. 8-9. Australian Education Union. ( 2011 ) . Schools Funding Review Submission. Retrieved on 20 March 2011 from: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.aeufederal.org.au/Publications/2011/Schoolfundreviewsub.pdf Baker, D.P. , & A ; Stevenson, D.L. ( 1986 ) . Mothers ‘ schemes for kids ‘s school accomplishment: Pull offing the passage to high school. Sociology of Education, 59, 156-166. Cary, L. ( 2011 ) . Social Class and Education. EDU231 Schools in context talk. Murdoch University. Perth: WA. Centre for Community Child Heath. ( 2002 ) . A Reappraisal of the Early Childhood Literature. Retrieved on 20 March 2011 from: hypertext transfer protocol: //fahcsia.gov.au/sa/families/pubs/early_childhood/Documents/early_childhood.pdf Chapman, B. & A ; Ryan, C. ( 2005 ) . The entree deductions of income-contingent charges for higher instruction: lessons from Australia. Economicss of Education Review 24. Science Direct. National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia. ( pp.491-512 ) . Comber, B. ( 1997 ) . Literacy, poorness and schooling: Working against shortage equations. English in Australia. Department of Education and Early on Childhood Development. ( 2006 ) . Understanding the Needs of Students from Low Socio-Economic Backgrounds. Retrieved on 20 February 2011 from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.education.vic.gov.au/management/schooloperations/equity/disadvantage.htm Eagle, E. ( 1989 ) . Socioeconomic position, household construction and parental engagement: the correlatives of accomplishment. ( ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED307 332 ) . NSW Department of Education and Training. ( 2005 ) . Review of the recent Literature on Socioeconomic Status and Learning. Retrieved on 20 February 2011 from: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.lowsesschools.nsw.edu.au/resources/ErebusReport.pdf Ruge, J. ( 1999 ) . Raising outlooks: Achieving quality instruction for all. Retrieved on 31 March 2011 from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.lowsesschools.nsw.edu.au/wcb content/uploads/psp/file/Raising_Expectations.pdf Ryan, C & A ; Watson, L. ( 2004 ) . The Drift Towards Private Schools in Australia: Understanding its characteristics. Discussion paper No. 479. Centre for Economic Policy and Research, The Australian National University.

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The Advancement of Technology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Advancement of Technology - Research Paper Example On the other hand, at the present, Internet tools and techniques are transforming and modernizing the ways through which business operations are performed. In addition, these tools and techniques are also modernizing the basic technical frameworks on which various corporations are developing their domestic or internal business structures. This paper presents an overview of the developments in technology. This paper outlines the advancement of technology that has been playing a significant role in today’s world. Introduction New advancements in technology are brought through the knowledge of crafts, tools, methods and techniques or special scientific and technology systems. In addition, the technological developments play a significant role in resolving diverse kinds of issues and problems. Basically, these technological developments can be seen different areas such as in information technology, construction technology, space technology, medical technology, communication techno logy, art technology and so on. Moreover, the advancement in the technology refers to the development of all the areas connected with technology. The technology normally influences animal species, human and society. In fact, a lot of researches have been carried out on this subject shown that the advancement in technology plays a significant role in the improvement of human life. Before the 20th century this idea was rare in English. In this scenario, the earlier technology was taken as the explanation of art that was helpful. However, the description of â€Å"technology† has been changed with the development of technology (Advancements in Technology, 2012; Turban, Leidner, McLean, & Wetherbe, 2005). This paper will discuss the advancements in technology. In this scenario, this paper will discuss some of the important developments in the technology that helped the human race to become much faster, competent and more developed. Advancement in Technology in Different Sectors De velopment in technology performs a significant role in a number of areas/fields. In this scenario, one of the main technology based developments is seen in political sectors. With the advancement of technology a wide variety of war tools, guns, bombs are made. Though, they are bad for mass people who are not concerned with the war. On the other hand, the communication technology has narrowed the issues and barriers to the human communication. In fact, the history of developments in technology is both rich and long. Additionally, many researchers have made technology based development in space technology (astronomy), science and mathematics. In addition, the traditional herbal medicine, medicine and acupuncture are at the present replaced by the modern technology. With the improvement of technology shadow clock was created by the scientists, which was the first progress in technology. With the passage of time inventors invented a lot of scientific tools that are extremely large in nu mber and cannot be counted (Advancements in Technology, 2012; Turban, Aronson, & Liang, Decision Support Systems and Intelligent Systems, 7th Edition, 2004; Laudon & Laudon, 1999). The majority of business organizations are at the present making use of the Internet tools and techniques to develop a private internal network which is acknowledged as the

Analysis of Sony Experia Mobile Market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

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- Assess the extent to which an Arab Winter followed, and was caused Assignment

- Assess the extent to which an Arab Winter followed, and was caused by, the Arab Spring - Assignment Example The Arab Spring was a misnomer that was motivated by wishful thinking. During the time of Arab Spring overthrowing of the authoritarian regimes gave democracy a chance to bloom. Not only that this movement had given many Islamist parties to advance their undemocratic agendas. While there was political instability in Middle East and West Africa many Islamist insurgents and terrorist groups got the opportunity to expand their influence (Scott, 2009). In such circumstances the Middle East became more hostile strategic environment where regional security, Western values including the US national interest was under severe threat. It was not possible for the United States to react with a difference to this situation. The popular rebellions that erupted in Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, and in other Arab countries during the so-called Arab Spring are works in progress that have caused various outcomes. Since America is not the policeman of the world it is not possible for America to govern the Middle East and instruct the people how they should live their lives. Washington, however, could do a better job to protect the US national interest and promote peace and prosperity in the Middle East(Bellin, 2012). The United States needs a comprehensive strategy to combat Islamist regimes that promote agendas counter to American interests and that suppress opportunities for political, religious, and economic freedom. The Arab Spring had steered an unprecedented political transformation, which devolved into a chaotic Islamist Winter in many Arab countries threatening the US national interest (Howard, et. al., 2011). Washington lost a key strategic partner when Egypt’s Mubarak regime was replaced by one dominated by the anti-Western Muslim Brotherhood. Allies in Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait and Yemen now have to deal with challenges posed by Islamist-dominated

Biopsychosocial Case Study Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Biopsychosocial Case Study - Research Paper Example She provided a delightful, detailed impressive discussion of her past which was in no way connected to her present situation. She discussed irrelevant topics in a cute and charming manner and if the psychiatrist expressed irrelevance and changed the topic, she would become irritated and petulant. Another feature characteristic of histrionic personality disorder in Hilde was her attitude of putting the blame and responsibility of her present difficulties on some one else, other than herself. For example, Hilde stated that her husband was indifferent to her and that she suspected that he was seduced by one of his secretaries. She attributed her somatic symptoms to her husband's indifference towards her. Persons with histrionic personality disorder have interpersonal relationships that are often disrupted, shallow and insincere and emotionally, they overreact to even ordinary situations (Bienenfeld, 2009). When Hilde was pressed hard about her husband's interactions, she could not provi de any meaningful account of his relationship with the suspected secretary or the indifference attitude with her. Persons with histrionic personality disorder are excessively emotional and the emotions are labile. They exhibit attention-seeking behaviour. They are very dramatic and are frequently seductive or sexually provocative. They often suffer from somatoform disorders (Bienenfeld, 2009). Hilde suffered from frequent headaches and the physician has found it difficult to diagnose and treat the disorders Persons with histrionic personality disorder are usually emphatic and also socially perceptive. Hence, they tend to elicit new relationships easily. However, due to their emotionally insensitive nature, they lack the insight of their role in their own relationships and hence to do accept any blame for the inevitable problems in their relationships. Thus, they are closer to the defense mechanism of paranoid patterns of personality. In a parallel interview with Hilde's husband, he admitted that originally, he was attracted towards Hilde because of her physical attractiveness, social status and lively nature. However, over a period of few years, he realized that her love towards him was just a chronic flamboyance and that she never had an integrated personality. It was clear to him that her liveliness was not exuberance and her physical attractiveness was declining naturally, although, Hilde was spending enormous time and money to keep it up. Hilde's husband felt that Hilde was childish and superficial Individuals with this personality are often flirtatious and seduce others sexually (Bienenfeld, 2009). But, for those who follow such clues from these individuals, they do not get paid off much. Histrionic personality is more common in females and in males and infact, they appear ultrafeminine. Intellectual accomplishment is very low in these individuals. As far as analysis thought is concerned, there is deemphasis and hence these individuals are gullible, drama tic and impressionable. While Hilde described her children as wonderful and exceptionally bright and happy, Hilde's husband provided a picture that their behaviour was analogous to that of Hilde and they were spoilt and had academic difficulties. Biological, psychological, and social factors involved in the case Several factors probably contributed to the development of histrionic person

Literature theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Literature theory - Essay Example The only difference is that Iser impresses that the value of literature is in making sense of the literature itself while Barthes says literature is the product of the culture. According to Barthes, readers too read and find meaning in the literature just as anthropologists do. These are often expressed symbolically. Iser too finds gaps in the literature of which the reader is expected to make sense. The reader is also expected to make moral judgments of the characters, according to Iser. Compare/contrast the rhetorical theories of Iser and Fetterly. Try to identify areas of agreement and disagreement in their discussions of how readers read and/or how poetry affects its audiences. (186 words). Fetterly states that most of American literature has been written by male and from a male perspective. It also reflects the male oppressive attitude towards women and a woman is expected to identify against herself when she reads such literature. Fetterly further insists that a woman should resist what the literature wants her to do. In contrast Iser feels the value of the literature lies in trying to make sense of the literature. While Fetterly states that women should not allow this sort of literature to affect us as the literature carries the culture, Iser contends that we do not perceive or absorb all that the literature wants to convey at the same time. It takes place over a period of time. Fetterly believes that women should attempt to change the culture. They should not just try to read through the intention of the author but reject it if they find it objectionable but Iser feels that at times the effect on the reader is much later and this is true of a novel as well as poetry. Both however agree that literature affects the reader. Woolf, Arnold and Eliot all three agree that the individual writer is influenced by the literary tradition but they disagree on the

History of AIDS Essay Example for Free

History of AIDS Essay AIDS is a disease that destroys a person’s immune system. AIDS is a blood born pathogen. It was originally only found in gay men. This led to people calling it the â€Å"gay men disease. † They use to think that this was punishment from God for their being gay. Then researchers found out some drug users were also getting the HIV virus, which leads to AIDS, from sharing needles. After that, it was referred to as the â€Å"gay man and druggy disease. † All of the labels AIDS has been given are completely wrong; even heterosexual, sober people can get AIDS. Considering the many ways of contracting HIV/AIDS it seems foolish to limit the causes to sex and drug use. Jonathan Mann wrote: We do not know how many people developed AIDS in the 1970s, or indeed in the years before. We do now know that the origin of AIDS and the virus HIV was probably in Africa. What we also know is: â€Å"The dominant feature of this first period was silence for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was unknown and transmission was not accompanied by signs or symptoms salient enough to be noticed. While rare, sporadic case reports of AIDS and sero-archaeological studies have documented human infections with HIV prior to 1970, available data suggest that the current pandemic started in the mid- to late 1970s. By 1980, HIV has spread to at least five continents (North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Australia). During this period of silence, spread was unchecked by awareness or any preventive action and approximately 100,000-300,000 persons may have been infected. (qtd in â€Å"History†) The first awareness of AIDS was in June of 1981, when they found traces of PCP in five men in Los Angeles, California. This event occured when they believed only gay men could get the disease, so they were not worried about it spreading to heterosexual people. This was all also before the method of transmission was known; they thought a person could catch it if he or she were standing to close to someone who had the disease. In December of 1981 the first cases of AIDS were reported in intravenous drug users. In 1982 AIDS was still nameless. People started calling it numerous names, such as â€Å"Gay Compromise Syndrome,† â€Å"GRID (gay-related immune deficiency),† â€Å"AID (acquired immunodeficiency disease),† â€Å"gay cancer† and â€Å"community-acquired immune dysfunction. (â€Å"History†) Later that year, reports emerged of children and transfusion recipients getting AIDS. Everyone knew this was no longer a gay related disease. Persons who may be considered at increased risk of AIDS include those with symptoms and signs suggestive of AIDS; sexual partners of AIDS patients; sexually active homosexual or bisexual men with multiple partners; Haitian entrants to the United States; present or past abusers of IV drugs; patients with hemophilia; and sexual partners of individuals at increased risk for AIDS. qtd in â€Å"History†) This was the message that CDC (Center for Disease Control) sent out when researchers discovered that AIDS was spread through body fluids. It was not until March 1983 that researchers discovered this. Between 1987 and 1992 there were many prevention groups created. ACT-UP (the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) was founded to attempt to end the AIDS crisis. â€Å"On April 2, 1989, Hans Verhoef, a Dutch man with AIDS, was jailed in Minnesota under the federal law banning travelers with HIV from entering the USA. †(â€Å"History†) In July of 1990, Kimberly Bergalis was infected with HIV by her dentist, David Acer. The CDC would not believe Kimberly, they didn’t think this type of infection was possible. Her father kept telling the CDC that Kimberly would not back down, thus by the end of it all the CDC supported her conclusion. Early in 1991, the CDC confirmed that the same dentist infected two other patients. In the fall of 1991 Kimberly requested mandatory HIV testing for all health care workers, so that â€Å"others don’t have to go through the hell that I have. (â€Å"History†) A few years after the CDC chose not to do the mandatory testing, Kimberly Bergalis died. In 1991 Earvin (Magic) Johnson announced that he was HIV positive; he then retired from professional sports. He wanted to use his celebrity status to educate kids about the disease. He also said, â€Å"I think sometimes we think, well, only gay people can get it – it is not going to happen to me. And here I am saying that it can happen to anyone, even me Magic Johnson. † (â€Å"History†) In 1992 the FDA(Federal Drug Administration) approved the use of two drugs combined, it was the first combination of drugs that was successful. This new drug is not a cure, but it constitutes an important addition to the expanding group of antiviral drugs currently available, including AZT and DDI, for treating people with AIDS. † stated James Mason. (â€Å"History†) On December 1, 1993, World AIDS Day, Benetton and ACT UP Paris put a giant condom (22m x 3. 5m) in the time square equivalent in Paris to raise awareness of the disease. (â€Å"History†) One of the television ads, entitle Automatic, features a condom making its way from the top drawer of a dresser across the room and into bed with a couple about to make love. The voice-over says, ‘It would be nice if latex condoms were automatics. But since they’re not using them should be. Simply because a latex condom, used consistently and correctly will prevent the spread of HIV. ’ (qtd in â€Å"History†) This was a commercial that attempted to make men wear condoms to keep the HIV virus from spreading. If a man wears a condom it will reduce the chance of the woman contracting the virus. In 1994 scientists found a medication that reduced the spread of HIV from mother to infant by two thirds. This was the first sign that mothers can decrease the spread of HIV to their children, and maybe stop it all together. In 1996, a heavyweight boxer was tested positive for HIV before a fight. This was his reaction: â€Å"I thought AIDS was something that happened to gays and drug addicts. A macho guy like me who loves ladies and super fit – he doesn’t get AIDS! † stated Tommy Morrison. (â€Å"History†) In his State of the Union address on 28th January, US president George Bush proposed spending $15 billion in combating AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean over the next 5 years. He called the scheme a great mission of rescue. This comprehensive plan will prevent 7 million new AIDS infections, treat at least 2 million people with life-extending drugs, and provide humane care for millions of people suffering from AIDS, and for children orphaned by AIDS. †-President Bush Just two days later, US Health Secretary Tommy Thompson was elected as the new chairman of the Global Fund for HIV, TB and Malaria. It was hoped this move would prevent a conflict between the Bush administration and the international health community. (qtd in â€Å"History†) Symptoms of AIDS include; heart infections, intestine infections, and other infections that are uncommon. When a person has AIDS he or she gets very uncommon infections that a healthy immune system could fight off. Since his or her immune system slowly gets destroyed he or she can’t fight off infections and viruses that most people can. The most common cause of AIDS is sexual transmission. This can be between two men, two women, or heterosexual intercourse. The second highest cause is being exposed to blood borne pathogens. This can happen from blood donations, or just having open wounds. This however cannot happen from close contact, like some people believe. The least likely way to contract the virus is from mother to child, because we now have drugs that make it so less than one percent of children will get it from their mother. AIDS is a disease that will completely destroy your immune system. It attaches to your white blood cells and keeps them from doing their job. White blood cells would normally fight off any infection that get into your body, but when the HIV virus changes to AIDS it will block the receptors from the message your brain sends saying to attack this bacteria. This means AIDS does not kill you, rather the illness AIDS won’t let your body fight kill you. There are many ways to prevent AIDS, the most effective way is abstinence. If you are not sexually active, you cannot get an STI. However, if you feel you have to have sex use a condom. Not only does it prevent unwanted birth, but it will also reduce the transmission of STIs. (â€Å"CDC†) The importance of condoms in the fight against STDs is readily apparent, whether one focuses on the past, the present or the future. But condoms clearly have not been used as widely as they must be to significantly slow the spread of infection. One solution is the greater promotion of condoms through advertising, education and public-awareness campaigns. We believe another necessary step is to improve condoms – making them more user-friendly, sexy and pleasurable. (qtd in Pinkerton) Another way to prevent the spread of AIDS is to avoid infected blood. So if you are a doctor working on an HIV positive patient, wear rubber gloves. Also, if you are HIV positive, don’t have sexual relations with multiple people, and tell them if you are going to sleep with them. The least you can do is let them know they are risking their lives. William B. Kaliher has investigated cases of venereal disease for more than twenty-five years. In the following viewpoint, Kaliher asserts that while it is mandatory for health departments to find and notify the sexual partners of patients with venereal disease, partner notification in HIV cases is not mandatory. He argues that partner notification is especially important in HIV/AIDS cases, however, as AIDS is always fatal. Without mandatory notification, he contends that those who have HIV can continue to infect other people. If people with HIV/AIDS are notified that they may be infected, they can get tested. qtd in Kaliher) In this society, two things are very clear. The government is not making decisions in the best interest of the public health. The government is also not utilizing every tax payer’s dollar; they are not doing as much to prevent the spreading of AIDS as they can do. Also another way of preventing the spread of AIDS would be to educate the people most likely to spread the disease. The health official could do this by going into the areas where drug users live, and tell them that if they share needles they are at risk of dying earlier than normal people are. They could also talk to the prostitutes in Las Vegas, the women who are with ten, fifteen, or twenty men a night. They could tell them not only are they at higher risk for spreading the disease, but they could also spread it to hundreds of other men. (Kaliher) There is no vaccine against HIV, and no cure for AIDS. The key to decreasing the spread and reducing the impact of this disease is to promote healthy behaviors that prevent infection or minimize the adverse effects of treatment. Health promotion, disease prevention, and symptom management are key components of the research conducted by the biobehavioral scientists supported by the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR). The Institute funds both domestic and international HIV/AIDS research programs. (qtd in NINR) There are also many myths about AIDS. First of all AIDS is not just the gay men disease. Anyone can contract AIDS, and not a lot of people try to prevent spreading it. Like the saying â€Å"gay as AIDS† that statement is very inaccurate. AIDS is present in many heterosexual peoples’ lives. Also AIDS is not only in drug addicts who share needles. Someone cannot call AIDS the druggy disease or the gay men disease just because they were some of the first people to have it. The solution to the myths about AIDS is to increase awareness on all of the aspects of AIDS. People need to know that people can get AIDS from more than just sharing needles and having gay sex. People can catch AIDS from their mother when they are born or being breast fed, people can catch it from having heterosexual sex, and people can also catch it when they receive a blood donation from an infected donor.

Analysis of Competition in the Technology Market

Analysis of Competition in the Technology Market EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Dells competitive advantage is their direct customer sales and customer support; this has made the company one of the leading suppliers of computer systems. Dell has a better understanding of its customers computer needs through continuous online and telephone interaction. This constant interaction drives individual and enterprise productivity. Future growth rates for the computer industry are expected to be less than previous years however, Dell can still be profitable. One of the main problems that Dell faces is the struggling United States economy which Dell has no control over. This is compounded by a saturated PC market with lower profit margins from industry price wars. Dell must focus on being a market taker, instead of trying to be a market maker. Dell needs to capitalize on their ability to enter and dominate new markets, as it did in the low-end server and workstation markets. The company must pursue an international expansion of their middle and high-end server products. T hrough the acquisition of a company like EMC Corporation Dell can pursue the external data storage market. Dell has already captured a large share of the United States market and must increase its server, storage, and service segment overseas to gain more international market share, particularly in China and Latin America. The only viable strategy in order to achieve Michael Dells goal to double Dell Computers current revenue to $60 billion by 2007 is to work on methods to improve sales in the stated new areas. A combination of service, storage and server product growth across newly established international markets is vital to achieve Dells ambitious goal. The United States economy is in a recession, but there are numerous opportunities for growth outside its borders. INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT In the early 2000s, the electronic computer industry was struggling amidst a weak economic climate that presented challenges in business and consumer markets alike. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, after a sharp increase from $56.9 billion in 1998 to $64.7 billion in 1999, electronic computer shipment values fell in 2000 to $62.9 billion. As the economy took a turn for the worse, shipment values plunged to $55.8 billion in 2001. This affected virtually every product segment within the industry, including servers and workstations. Along with values, actual unit shipments also declined, falling from 27.2 million in 2000 to 22.7 million in 2001 (XXX). In the early 2000s there were numerous factors that slowed the purchase of new computers. On September 11, 2001 the terrorist attacks crippled consumer confidence. There was also a rise in the unemployment rates and the possibility of war with Iraq. All these factors made customers content with keeping their existing computers. These s ame conditions caused a slowdown of technology spending in the corporate world too. The wave of year 2000 related new equipment purchases that took place at the end of the 1990s, as well as the availability of quality used equipment from bankrupt Internet companies in the early 2000s, also had a negative impact on the corporate market for new electronic computers. Global competition among computer makers has favored, low-cost producers, and many of these are United States firms. The four largest United States computer makers, Dell, Compaq, Hewlett- Packard, and IBM controlled approximately 40 percent of world computer shipments. In late 2000, Dell proved itself as a potent competitor by taking the title of world market leader away from Compaq. In 2002 Hewlett-Packard had acquired Compaq, in an effort to challenge Dells position. In 2005 the industry reported 2,278 companies manufacturing electronic computers, employing 90,762 people who generated some $196,557.41 million in revenue. Average sales totaled $116.4 million per company. Electronic computers represented 59.7 percent of the market, while digital personal computers garnered 23.5 percent of the market (Electronic Computers, 2007). LEADING COMPANIES DELL Dell designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells and supports information technology systems and services. The company sells its products directly to large corporate, government, healthcare, and education customers as well as small to medium businesses and individual consumers. Dell offers its products in six categories: desktop computer systems, mobility products, software and peripherals, servers and networking products and storage products. The desktop computer systems offer three product lines: Optiplex, Dimension and XPS. The company also offers Precision work stations (Galenet, 2008). The Optiplex product line is primarily for business, government, and institutional customers and the Dimension product line is for small businesses and home users. The XPS product line is for the gaming and entertainment needs of the customers. For the users that run sophisticated applications like three-dimensional computer-aided design, digital content creation, geographic information systems, computer animation, software development and financial analysis the company offers the Precision workstation. The mobility products division provides MP3 players, handhelds (Dell Axim) and three lines of notebooks (Dell XPS, Latitude and Inspiron). The XPS product line for  notebooks targets customers in the gaming or entertainment segment. The Latitude product line focuses on business, government, and institutional customers, while the Inspiron product line is targeted at small businesses. Dell is a leading player in the United States and worldwide for notebook computer shipments (Company Spotlight, 2008). The software and peripheral products of Dell includes printers and displays, software, notebook accessorie s, networking and wireless products, digital cameras, power adapters, scanners and other products. The company offers variety of third party software products such as operating systems, business and office applications, anti-virus and related security software and entertainment software. The companys power edge line of server focuses on enterprise customers and small organizations. Dell is the market leader in the United States in shipments of x86 servers. Computers and servers on small to medium networks can be connected using Dells PowerConnect switches. Dell doesnt just provide products, they also offer infrastructure consulting services, deployment services, asset recovery and recycling services, training services, enterprise support services, client support services and managed lifecycle services. Through Dell Financial Services (DFS) the company can provide United States businesses financing alternatives and asset management services. HEWLETT-PACKARD Hewlett-Packard (HP) offers a complete product portfolio spanning across personal computing, imaging and printing related products and services, and technology solutions. The company operates through seven business segments: enterprise storage and servers, HP services, software, the personal systems group, the imaging and printing group, HP Financial services and corporate investments. The enterprise storage and servers, HP services and software segment are aggregated under the technology solutions group. Hewlett-Packard is headquartered in Palo Alto, California and the company operates in over 170 countries around the world. The United States is the largest geographical market, 33.4 percent of the total revenue during 2007 (Smith, 2008). Enterprise storage and servers provide storage and server products to both small and medium sized businesses. Industry standard servers include entry-level and mid-range ProLiant servers, which operate primarily on the Windows, Linux and Novell operating systems, and Intel Corporation (Intel) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) processors. The companys product lines span across pedestal-tower servers, density optimized rack servers and HPs BladeSystem family of blade servers. The technology solutions group includes enterprise storage and servers, HP services and HP software. Technology solutions group provide servers, storage, software and information technology services for enterprise and mid-market business customers to manage their current IT environments. Business critical systems include Itanium-based Integrity servers running on the HPUX, Windows, Linux and OpenVMS operating systems including the high-end Superdome servers  and fault-tolerant Integrity NonStop servers. Business critical systems also include the Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC)-based servers with the HP 9000 line running on the HP-UX operating system, HP AlphaServers running on both Tru64 UNIX and Open Virtual Memory System, and MIPs-based NonStop servers. The company has planned to phase out its Alpha server product line in recent times (PCs Industry Profile, 2008). Hewlett-Packards services include technology services, consulting and integration, and outsourcing services. It serves industries such as communications, media and entertainment, manufacturing and distribution, financial services and the public sector, and government and education services. The technology services ranges from standalone product support to high availability services for multi-vendor environments and business continuity and recovery services. The consulting and integration segment provided consulting and integration services to implement technology and industry-specific solutions for customers. Outsourcing services provides IT management and outsourcing to support infrastructure, applications, business processes, end user workplace, print environment, and business continuity and recovery requirements. HP Software provides management software solutions including support, that allow enterprise customers to manage their IT infrastructure, operations, applications, IT services and business processes under the brand, HP OpenView. It also delivers comprehensive, carrier-grade software platforms for developing and deploying next generation voice, data and converged services to network and service providers under the HP OpenCall brand. Hewlett Packard acquired Mercury Interactive Corporation, Bristol Technologies, SPI Dynamics and Opsware in fiscal 2007, which added transaction monitoring, applications security testing and data center automation capabilities to its portfolio. Personal systems group (PSG) is one of the leading providers of personal computers (PCs) in the world based both on volume and annual revenue. Its product line includes commercial PCs, consumer PCs, workstations, handheld computing devices, digital entertainment systems, calculators and other related accessories, and software and services. Workstations are individual computing products designed for users demanding enhanced performance such as computer animation, engineering design and other programs requiring high-resolution graphics. HP provides workstations that run on UNIX, Windows and Linux-based operating systems. Hewlett-Packard is the leading imaging and printing systems provider in the world. The segments portfolio of offerings includes consumer and commercial printer hardware, printing supplies, printing media and scanning devices. The HP Financial services provide financial service to small and medium size businesses. It also offers leasing, financing, utility programs and asset recovery services, financial asset management services for large global and enterprise customers. This group provides innovative and customized services to counter technology obsolescence. ACER Acer functions in the manufacture and sale of IT products, and provision of computer software and maintenance services. The company operates in Taiwan, Europe, Asia, and North America. The company operates through a single business segment and sells Acer branded desktop personal computers (PCs), notebook PCs, and other related information technology (IT) products and services. Acers IT product range includes computer system (desktops, notebooks, handhelds, and tablets), servers and storage products, monitors (cathode ray tube and liquid crystal display), peripherals, projectors, internet appliances and personal multimedia, and digital still cameras (DSC). Acer provides a commercial and consumer series desktop. The commercial series desktops include Veriton and AcerPower brands and the consumer series include the Aspire brand. The company provides four series of notebooks: Aspire series, TravelMate series, Tablet PC series, and Ferrari series. The Tablet series is Acers latest high-mobility solution, which easily converts between notebook and slate modes. Acers servers and storage products are sold under the brand name Altos and Acer. Acers services are based on the MegaMicro business model, which is defined by the company as a mega infrastructure that supports micro services. The services offered include e-Enabling Services Business, enabling Information Platform Services, and Enterprise e-Caring Services. The companys e-Enabling offerings combine Acers IT products and services, and are delivered through the companys infrastructure. (Acer.com, 2008) APPLE Apple is one of the major providers of personal computers, portable digital music players, and mobile communication devices. Apple designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers and related software, services, peripherals, and networking solutions. The company also designs, develops, and markets a line of portable digital music players along with related accessories and services including the online distribution of third-party music, audio books, music videos, short films, and television shows. The company sells its products worldwide through online stores, retail stores, direct sales force, and third-party wholesalers and resellers. Acer is managed on a basis of geographic segments. The company operates through four operating segments: the Americas, Europe, Japan, and retail. The Americas segment includes both North and South America. The Europe segment includes European countries as well as the Middle East and Africa. Each reportable geographic operating segment provides the same kind of hardware and software products and services. The retail segment currently operates Apple-owned retail stores in the United States, Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The company has 174 retail stores in the United States and 23 stores in Canada, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Apples Desktops product line includes iMac, eMac, Mac mini, Power Mac, Mac Pro, and Xserve. Portables include MacBook, iBook, MacBook Pro, and PowerBook. iPod products include iTunes Store and iPod services, and the companys own and third party iPod accessories. Other music related products and services include hardware accessories of the company and third parties, wireless connectivity and networking solutions. Software services comprise Apple  branded operating system and application software, third party software, AppleCare, and Internet services. COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT The threat of new entrants into PC market is moderate, a compromise between high brand recognition in the market and strong market growth. The new web enabled mobile phones and games consoles fill the needs of some buyers as well as PCs making the threat of substitutes moderate. Rivalry within the market is moderate, as large competitors are faced with relatively high exit barriers, but still enjoying strong growth that leaves plenty of expansion room for all players. There is product differentiation within the market in terms of technical specification, styling, and support services offered, leading to decrease buyer power. However, there is little differentiation in the underlying architecture, with even Apple recently moving to the use of Intels x86 processors. This pushes the market towards commodification and strengthens buyer power. Buyer power can also be increased if more technology savvy people build their own computer. This requires special knowledge and is only a valid alt ernative to a small portion of the customer base. Buyer power overall remains moderate. Supplier power is low because PC manufactures do not incur a significant cost when switching suppliers. However, Intel has strong supplier power due to its brand recognition of its products and use in the vast majority of PCs on the markets. Microsoft also has strong supplier power as a result of their dominance in the operating systems market. The overall supplier power is strong. The threat of substitutes within the PC market is moderate, with much of the functionality of modern PCs being unavailable through alternative means. However, one of the largest threats to the consumer PC market lies within the sphere of gaming, especially with respect to the next generation games consoles, whose increased specifications are attracting gamers away from the PC format. Mobile phones and similar hand-held devices with email and web browser capability can also replace much of the communication role of PCs. The major PC manufacturers are relatively large companies. Some are strongly focused on the PC market (e.g. Lenovo), others have broadly diversified businesses (e.g. Sony), and so that on average the importance of the PC market to its players is moderate. COMPANY SWOT DELL Strengths Despite losing market share to Hewlett-Packard Company in the recent past, Dell continues to remain a strong player in the computer hardware segment. In the computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing industry in the United States, Dell was in the second place behind the Hewlett-Packard Company. In the computer and computer peripheral equipment and software wholesalers industry in the United States, Dell was in the first place with a market share of 6.5 percent. Dell is also one of the leading players in the global servers segment. The company has a strong market position in the storage segment owing to its partnership with EMC. The companys Asia Pacific-Japan segment has reported strong performance in recent three years. The revenue of this segment increased from $5,465 million in fiscal 2005 to $7,358 million in fiscal 2007, an increase of 34.6 percent over 2005. All product categories in this region experienced revenue growth during fiscal 2007 and fiscal 2006. The company has a wide product portfolio, comprising desktops, notebooks, servers, storage products, networking, printers, ink and toner, televisions, software and accessories. Dell has formed partnerships to strengthen its presence in areas where it is weak. A wide portfolio of products has helped the company provide bundled offerings to customers. Weaknesses Dell has weak internal controls. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) started an investigation into the accounting and financial reporting matters at Dell, in August 2005. In 2006 The company announced that its Audit Committees investigation had identified a number of accounting errors, evidence of misconduct, and deficiencies in the financial control environment. The company has had to recall several products in the recent past owing to quality issues. In August 2006, the company announced the recall of 4.1 million notebook batteries owing to fire risk. These Dell branded batteries were based on cells of Sony. The company also recalled several other products in previous years owing to quality problems, including AC Adapters and printers. Opportunities Dell has acquired new companies in 2007 and also plans to go in for acquisitions in the future. In July 2007, Dell entered into an agreement to acquire privately-held SilverBack Technologies, a service delivery platform provider for remote monitoring and management of information technology infrastructure such as servers, storage, networks, desktops and notebooks. In the following month, Dell entered into an agreement to acquire ZING Systems, a private consumer technology and services company that focuses on always-connected audio and entertainment devices. This acquisition enables Dell to use ZINGs capabilities to continue improving the entertainment experiences it provides its customers. In November 2007, the company has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire EqualLogic, (Dell.com, 2008) a provider of high-performance iSCSI storage area network (SAN) solutions optimized for virtualization. The  global Personal Computer (PC) market generated total revenues of $163.8 billion in 2006, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.3 percent for the period spanning from 2002 to 2006. Desktop sales proved the most lucrative for the global PC market in 2006, generating total revenues of $123.1 billion, equivalent to 66.9 percent of the markets overall  value. In comparison, sales of Laptops generated revenues of $60.9 billion in 2006, accounting for 33.1 percent of the markets aggregate revenues. The company is entering into new retail agreements to enable consumers to have greater access to Dell products. In September 2007, the company partnered with Gome, Chinas largest consumer electronics retailer to reach millions of in-store computer buyers and to sell the companys latest products through it. In October 2007, Staples and Dell signed an agreement which allows customers to have the option to buy at 1,400 Staples stores for a wide collection of Dell notebook and desktop computers, monitors, printers, ink and toner (Dell.com, 2007). Threats The electronics manufacturing industry is struggling to compete with the black market, parallel import, and smuggled goods. Some countries like China represented an overwhelming 81 percent of the total value of seized goods in 2006. With an increase in the number of counterfeit products being manufactured in China, the company faces serious threats in most of its market segments. These products, although of poorer quality in most cases, are considerably cheaper and may affect the revenue of the company in the long run. Dells failure to comply with new environmental legislation could result in significant penalties and liabilities. Restriction of Hazardous Substances (ROHS) Directive, effective as of July 2006, imposes restrictions on the use of six hazardous materials. Although the company uses a number of third party manufacturers, it will continue to bear responsibility for compliance with the ROHS directive. The European Union has also enacted the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive which makes producers of electrical goods, including computers and printers, financially responsible for specified collection, recycling, treatment, and disposal of past and  future covered products. The United States and Eurozone are two important markets for Dell. The recent turmoil in financial markets, the very weak housing market indicators and consumer sentiments, the growth projection for the United States and the United Kingdome has slowed. Economic slowdown in the United States and Eurozone could lead to less IT spending, which in turn would adversely affect demand for the companys products. HEWLETT-PACKARD Strengths Hewlett-Packard has a strong market position in most of its product segments. The company has a leading market position in the global PC market in terms of shipments. Hewlett-Packard seized market leadership from Dell in the global PC market in 2006 and managed to sustain it in 2007 with 19 percent market share. The company is the second largest entity in the servers market behind International Business Machines (IBM), with its server range extending from low-end systems to high-end systems. In particular, the company is the market leader in x86 Blade and UNIX based servers. Hewlett-Packard has a leading market position in printers. Hewlett-Packard has reported strong financials in recent years. The company has reduced its long-term debt over the last few years from $6,494 million in 2003 to $4,997 million in 2007. Hewlett-Packards long-term debt ratio stood at 0.1 for the fiscal year ended October 2007. The strong financial position provides the company the flexibility of expanding its geographical coverage and product portfolio through organic and inorganic initiatives. Hewlett-Packard also has high brand equity. The company is one of the leading brands in the technology sector along with Microsoft, IBM and Intel. Hewlett-Packard markets several products such as personal computers, inkjet printers and digital cameras to consumers. A strong brand image plays a critical role in consumer markets. Weaknesses Hewlett-Packard has weak internal controls. The company is being investigated by a number of agencies for employing questionable methods to identify the board member, who was leaking  confidential information to the media (Los Angeles Times, 2006). The company is accused of using private agencies, which used illegal methods such as imitation to obtain the phone records of its board members and select journalists. Hewlett-Packard lacks in-house management consulting division. Instead the company has formed partnerships with the likes of Accenture and Capgemini to provide management consulting services to its customers. Increasing number of IT services companies are establishing management consulting divisions in order to provide a more comprehensive and integrated range of services. The research and development expenditure of Hewlett-Packard has remained flat in recent years. The company invested $3,643 million in research and development in each year of 2006 and 2007 compared with $3,492 million in 2005. Research and development as a percentage of revenues declined over the last three years from 4 percent in 2005 and 3.9 percent in 2006 to 3.5 percent in 2007 (HP.com, 2007). Opportunities Hewlett-Packard has undertaken an ambitious revamp of its IT operations, which it hopes will not only improve its effectiveness but also serve as a showcase for its technological capabilities. Hewlett-Packard has taken up five classes of IT initiatives: portfolio management, IT workforce effectiveness, world-class IT, enterprise data warehouse and global data centers. The portfolio management initiatives of the company include reducing active projects from 1,200 to 500 and reducing the number of applications. For improving IT workforce, the company is reducing its IT core sites from 100 to 29 among other initiatives. The company is focused on extending its leadership in imaging and printing. HP acquired Snapfish, online photo service, to dominate the sharing and printing of digital images over the internet. Hewlett-Packard is expanding Snapfish in Europe and Asia. Threats Hewlett-Packard faces intense competition in all its business segments in terms of price, quality,  brand, technology, reputation, distribution, range of products etc. The company faces stiff competition in the PC market. The company has become the market leader in the PC segment in the third and fourth quarter of 2006, sending Dell to the number two position. Acers acquisition of Gateways has made it the third largest PCs supplier in the world. In some regions, the company faces competition from local companies and from generically-branded or white box manufacturers. In the printer supplies segment, Hewlett-Packard competes with re-manufacturers including private label brand stores such as Office Max, supply stores such as Cartridge world, internet vendors and original equipment manufacturers such as Lexmark. The European markets and the United States economy are forecast to decline in coming years. The unemployment rate in the United Kingdom is also forecast to grow in 2008. Risi ng interest rates and increasing unemployment would negatively affect the consumer spending in the United Kingdom. ACER Strengths Acer has robust market position in the global PC and notebook markets. In 2008, the company was ranked as the third largest player in the global PC market with a market share of 12.8 percent. Acer was ranked the second largest in the global notebook market with a share of 19.6 percent. The company was ranked the third largest player in the United States PC market and notebook market. In September 2008, the company completed acquisition E-Ten Information Systems (Acer-group.com, 2008). The acquisition helped the company to strengthen its position in handheld devices, including smartphones and GPS devices. Acer also purchased Packard Bell in 2008. In 2007 the company purchased one of the largest PC companies in the United States, Gateway. The successful mergers of Gateway and Packard Bell helped the company to strengthen its presence in the United States and enabled deeper penetration into the European and Asian markets. These acquisitions helped the company in generating increasing re venues from non-Taiwan markets. Weaknesses Acer is significantly dependent on Europe for its revenues. In FY2008 and FY2007, the company generated around 51 percent of its total revenues from Europe. Europe is experiencing a slowdown in the recent periods. The United Kingdom economy is forecast to be weak in the coming years. The companys high dependence on Europe makes its operations vulnerable to fluctuations in Europe economy. Opportunities The smartphone market is expected to grow in the coming years. It is anticipated that the smartphone market will grow by 15 percent every year for the next three to five years. The value of the global smartphone market is also expected to be more than $95 billion, representing 47 percent of the total handset market value in 2013. Acer is well-positioned in this segment. The growing smartphone market will provides the company an opportunity to increase its revenues in the coming years. Despite the slowdown in the overall PC market, the netbooks/mini-notebooks sales are forecast to grow in near term. The netbook market experienced a robust growth in 2008 and is forecast to grow about 68.5 percent in shipments. Acer offers netbooks under its four brands: Acer, Gateway, Packard Bell and eMachines. Acer has upgraded its products in the recent times. In September 2008, Acer along with its partners introduced Acer-Hitachi SMS 100, a storage product designed for the needs of small and medium sized businesses. The product offers enterprise class features and does not require specific storage experience to be installed and can be connected to any server through an ethernet network. Acer also launched the Aspire M7200 desktop PC targeting multimedia home-users looking for a powerful multi-tasking system, with plenty of expansion and customization capabilities Threats Acer competes with several large branded as well as smaller branded and generic companies. The company faces severe competition from branded competitors such as Apple, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard. The note book segment has also attracted competition from nontraditional players. Intense competition in the PC segment may erode the companys margins and reduce its market share. Acer has been part of several patent law suits in the recent periods. In 2007, HP  filed a suit against Acer alleging that Acer and its United States subsidiary have knowingly infringed on five HP patents related to PCs. This has raised HPs recent patent claims against Acer to 10. However in 2008, Acer settled all ongoing patent litigations with HP. Acer operates in various countries worldwide, and is exposed to risk from changes in foreign currency rates. The company derived about 95.3 percent of sales from customers outside Taiwan in FY2008. The consolidated companies record transactions in their respective func tional currencies, which generally are the local currency of the primary economic environment in which these entities operate. APPLE Strengths Apple enjoys a high level of brand awareness and brand recognition for its products throughout the markets in which it operates. Apple leverages its brand image to differentiate its product offering and drive sales. The companys strong brand enables it t

Overview On Evidence Based Nursing Nursing Essay

Overview On Evidence Based Nursing Nursing Essay According to Olade (2004), nursing practice using observed phenomena and evidences is an example of education which refers to formalized experiences designed to enlarge the knowledge or skills of nursing educators or practitioners. Through experiences and evidences, the ability to learn actual clinical practice and the orientation in health care protocols and policies in handling patients needs will be achieved. This method is also termed as Evidence-based practice. Evidence-based practice involves a combination of many disciplines, including aspects of multidisciplinary sciences to promote the restoration and maintenance of health in our clients (Davies, 2005). Much literature has been published on this topic in recent years, an evolving subject and concept for specific practices that promote more effective, safer and more efficient ways of caring (Drenkard Cohen, 2004). Maintaining and improving high satisfaction and job retention among nurses is an important area to discover (Ebe ll, 2008). To achieve this, we need a workforce to continually strive for excellence, be responsible and flexible enough, have the confidence to face the challenges, and inspire everyone with a shared vision. These are strengths needed by nursing staff to motivate others health care provider to fulfill their potential and achieve goals (Littlefield, 2005). Researches, studies and articles were utilized and analyzed in gathering the necessary information needed. Clinical education, skills and practices are the key concepts used in this paper. Challenges Possession of knowledge and competency in performing skills and interventions which can be acquired in hands on training is essential in practicing the profession especially in the medical-surgical unit where I supervise. As a nursing professional, tangible skills and knowledge in a hospital setting is very important in managing clients and supervising clients (Burns Foley, 2005). Evidences were identified through thorough assessment and research. The challenges discussed below were identified through gathering of recent information in my Medical-Surgical unit and data that focuses on this subject. Communicating effectively at all levels is a common barrier in the implementation of change among health care in various settings (Kleinman, 2004). As a member of the hospital workforce, a nurse must have the capability to communicate effectively in a non-judgmental way and stimulate other colleagues to think critically. They must also arouse enthusiasm and develop quick thinking and imagination. Moreover, they must also demonstrate resourcefulness and professionalism with infinite patience, understanding, confidence and perseverance are also challenges (Bryar et al, 200). According to Kleinman (2004), health care professionals are striving constantly to improve and develop the standards of care. Meeting the challenges require health care providers to be effective leaders who foster a culture and develop partnerships that embraces innovation (Salsberg, 2008). Organizational culture and leadership style result to staff satisfaction, increased productivity, improved patient care well-functioning teams (Drenkard Cohen, 2004). Getting health information about new knowledge is also a critical case or situation, but we have to look at how to make the system on healthcare execute its purpose better for certain facility so that the provided care is more efficient, accessible and effective (Pravikoff et al., 2005). Recent studies have reported gaps between nursing practice and researches (Brancato 2006) and identified different challenges that prevent the evidence to clinical practice to translate into clinical settings (Olade 2004). These challenges in applying evidence-based practice in nursing have been consistent across researches. One challenge is that, in the generation and development of new medical and nursing knowledge, the resistance of profession has often been incorporated with the new ways of practice (Young, 2004). The study suggests that much recent practices are based frequently on tradition, experience and intuition, rather than validation of science (Pravikoff et al., 2005, Egerod Hansen 2005). Furthermore, the growing numbers of nurse studies and researches designed to develop and improve nursing practice at the staff nurse level cannot make nurses improve their skills, research knowledge and understanding. They frequently lack nurses formal training such as scientific inquiries (Fink et al. 2005, Melnyk 2005, Melnyk et al. 2004, Pravikoff et al. 2005, Olade 2004). Institutional challenges to Evidenced-based Practice have also been identified. Moreover, challenges according to Melnyk (2005) were also found such as difficulty gaining support financially for the programs and trainings that ensure the effectiveness of skills, practice, leadership and integration of the program with existing practice of care through trainings and seminars and sustainable momentum during the shift of culture. Study also revealed that these challenges are not limited to those who implement the program (Young, 2004). In general, the main role of nurses is focused on providing effective, quality care. Hence, more advanced and competent means of preparing nurses to supervise and manage their patient is important (Briggs et al., 2004). These challenges must be addressed properly by the implementation of appropriate approach and programs to increase the knowledge and experience. Skill development for nursing educators must constantly be framed within the context of individualized patients. Nursing educators should make themselves aware of every situation happening in the field and make it a motivational means to improve the profession by proper preparation and education (Welk, 2007). Therefore, the need for implementing evidenced-based approach to nursing practice is essential in addressing these issues. Strategies for Implementing an Evidence-based Approach to Nursing Practice The nursing profession enters a new era not knowing what to expect. Yes, patient care is the same everywhere, but they must be comfortable with the environment they are placed in. Adaptation is crucial in the clinical arena (Kleinman (2004). Evidenced-based practice and clinical experience may become a highly useful and effective strategy in clinical practice. The nurse becomes less apprehensive about the clinical environment and becomes more client-focused, therefore increasing the effectiveness of care. This also provides the nurse an opportunity for role modeling as the client and family maintains and develops standards of practice and competent care in a familiar environment (Foster, 2007). In implementing an evidenced-based approach to nursing practice, nursing professionals must learn the ability to have excellent learning and communication skills, exhibit organizational and leadership ability (Salsberg, 2008). The particular problem which is the main issue of the study conducted by Rosswurm and Larrabee (2005) which suggests that the ability of nurses to perform their responsibilities and duties by exhibiting clinical skills and professional abilities are important. Nurses must possess good assessment skills and have good insight and judgment skills in order to anticipate or interpret the needs of the client in health care practice (Hewson, 2006). This evidenced-based model can be used to accommodate change process for the observed facts and laws that can be related to a particular aspect of nursing practice (Burns Foley, 2005). Communication practices must be addressed to identify and effectively set goals. Communicating effectively at all levels is a common barrier in the implementation of change among health care in various settings (Henderson, 2009). In addition,Littlefield (2005) strongly agrees that effective communication is the major factor in the success of effective learning outcomes for the implementation of new approaches, especially in a multicultural environment. As nurses play a different role at different time periods, communication should be considered in my Medical-Surgical unit in order to maintain the effectiveness and quality for the future improvement. Communication plays an essential role in enhancing clinical learning environment. Hallin Danielson (2009) describe that the role of communication is more concerned with the development of clinical competency by using strategies such as role modeling, feedback and questioning, within a supportive, safe and welcoming manner. For experienced nursing practitioners in hospital settings such as the Medical-Surgical unit, financial support and educational programs should provide resources to maintain theoretical and clinical competence (Hagger McIntyre, 2007). The key to successful client management is communication in caring for patients. Some of the activities being practiced in a hospital setting are the provision of the most current information possible for the nurses and nursing educators using the evidence-based practice and through collaborative approach of health care professionals (Lichtman, 2008). It is also useful to have and possess general skills needed to be competent in educating and training nursing personnel in health facility (Welk, 2007). I can share my ability to have excellent teaching and communication skills, exhibit organizational and leadership ability in my unit. The particular factor which is the main issue in improving the knowledge to perform their responsibilities and duties through exhibiting clinical skills and professional abilities is really important. Nursing practitioners must also support the possession of good assessment skills and have good insight and judgment skills in order to anticipate or interpret the needs of the client in health care practice (Foster, 2007). Lastly, trainings, workshops or programs should be properly planned and outlined to provide information and instruction for nurses in the principles of teaching and learning different skills, pedagogical styles, and valid evaluation techniques. According to Hewson (2006), workshops for nurses would impart knowledge and skills essential for success in the clinical setting. Embracing the knowledge and acquired skills in a familiar environment provides the practitioner with an increased level of confidence in the educational development of nursing professionals (Salsberg, 2008). To properly accommodate the strategies mentioned above, the conceptual model for translating evidence into clinical practice authored by Rosswurm and Larrabee (2005) will be helpful to promote the change process. This model recognized that translation of research into practice requires a solid grounding in change theory, principles of research utilization, and use of standardized nomenclature. The model has the following six phases: 1) assess the need for change in practice, 2) link the problem with interventions and outcomes, 3) synthesize the best evidence, 4) design a change in practice, 5) implement and evaluate the practice, and 6) integrate and maintain the practice change. The model provides a pragmatic, theory-driven framework for empowering clinicians in the process of evidence-based practice. The first phase is assessing the need for change in practice which searches for evidence to support the change. The second phase is linking the problem, interventions, and outcomes by using standardized nursing classification systems and nomenclature to identify the problem, and the desired outcomes .The third phase is synthesizing the best evidence by organizing systematic and critical strategies. The fourth phase is designing the practice change by identifying strategies to explore the original issue further and to implement it into practice. The fifth phase is the implementation and evaluation of change in practice by building and fortifying systems identifying problems, communicating and managing changes. The last phase is integrating and maintaining the change in practice, this step of the model is pending further evaluation and consideration (Rosswurm and Larrabee, 2005). This model is applicable to the subject because of its nature in terms of change process and method. Behavior, skills, competency, personal traits and knowledge can be addressed through the utilization of this model (Lichtman, 2008). Freiburger (2004) suggests that learning style in practice can be changed according to the situation such as when going through a new experience and at different maturation. Towards the end when an individual becomes confident and starts to discover new things by him/herself shows that evidenced-base approach of learning (Young, 2004). Conclusion Knowledge and competitiveness is a product of evidenced-based practice. Experience and effective learning processes are essential in actual clinical practice of the nursing profession. To be an effective nurse, one should begin with the individual appraisal of ones self competency and enhanced education based on practices and trainings taken previously during undergraduate and graduate studies, workshops, trainings, continuing education, and preparation for teaching seminars or modules including the conceptual, academic and clinical orientation (Foster, 2007). Competitiveness is largely based on innate potentials and motivations afforded by the familiarity of a learning environment. Accordingly, the primary responsibility of the nurse to the patient is to give him/her the kind of care the patient condition needs regardless of race, creed, color, nationality or status (Salsberg, 2008). The nurse must also advocate the rights and serve as facilitator of patients well being (Foster, 2007). In doing so, the patients care shall be based on subjective and objective evidence, needs, the physicians order and the ailment, and the involvement of the patient and the family. Evidence-based practice promotes understanding of the differing values held by people in other cultures (Henderson, 2009). For example, it helps the client understand why other people in one culture may regard with approval of their practices of exposing their elderly members to the harmful elements, while people in other cultures may abhor such practice (Henderson, 2009). The strength of this critical thinking and decision-making is its recognition of the relationship between personal values and a choi ce of action. It also equates personal values and wrong action and recognizes limits of personal experience and perspective and it implies that a persons moral judgments are infallible. I believe the richness or intensity of the inculcation of knowledge, positive values and skills of a person is not simply based on the innate capacity of one to evaluate, think, reason and interact in a learning situation. It also equally depends on the quality of the nursing experiences which are either limited by the nurses ability and will to choose or by what is desirable to her which is readily accessible in the environment. Nursing education, concepts and programs for improving the knowledge in health facility should also be provided to maintain theoretical and clinical competence of health setting and facilities. From what I have learned in my own area of practice, the key to successful knowledge development is competent learning and effective communication during the practice to achieve the goal of competency. This will determine the path of being an effective and competent nursing professional.