Wednesday, July 31, 2019

“On natural death” By Lewis Thomas Essay

From the moment all life forms are born, a journey is begun to the mysterious quarters of the unknown and the unexplained. It is a journey to the one place all beings are not sure of and fear the most. Whether or not it comes from old age, death is a part of the natural cycle of life. In the essay â€Å"On Natural Death† by Lewis Thomas, death is the spectacle of human and animal existence. He explores the world of death using rhetorical writing style to effectively support his idea of death. By using parallel sentences and persuasive techniques such as logos, pathos, and ethos, Thomas is able to alter the perception of the creeping demon into an exotic experience. Thomas’ use of parallel sentences creates his mood about death and why it is Nature’s job to help us through it. He points out in his essay that reading books on death causes a person to wonder how they will react when they encounter death. He seeks to assure the reader by saying that â€Å"if you know not how to die, never trouble yourself; Nature will in a moment†¦instruct you; she will †¦do the business for you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (275). The idea of the unknown creeps in the back of human thought because people are not sure how they will handle it; ergo they read books to prepare them for the unexpected arrival of death. With the use of parallel sentence structure, he emphasizes to the reader that they will be taken care of if they are faced with the grim situation by repeating the word â€Å"you†. This technique and word usage engraves the concept of death in the mind and makes the audience follow through the sentence confident that Nature will be there to assist them in the process. The road to death is a dreaded destination man and animal wish not to face alone. Through Thomas’ elucidation, nature is the mother that guides the individual and makes the journey a peaceful one. He creates his effective essay by using persuasive techniques such as pathos. Thomas illustrates that nature takes away the pain that accompanies death by telling a story of a â€Å"field mouse, at the jaws of an amiable household cat†¦with pain beyond bearing†¦all over his small body† (273). The mouse, at the gates of death, gets a shot of adrenaline, which dampened the mouse’s feeling of pain while  he is dying in the cat’s orifice. Nature has created a security blanket that covers up the excruciating pain that causes death to be an unpleasant experience. He builds emotion by walking the reader through the mouse’s painful encounter with the house cat and his experience of death. He makes the audience feel the intensifying pain covering every particle of the mouse’s body until he dies. The mouse’s experience can be explained through reason and scientific analysis. Lewis brings out another persuasive technique, logos, to prove his point of the dying field mouse. He starts by stating that at the instant the mouse is trapped between the cat’s teeth, â€Å"peptide hormones are released by cells in the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland†¦Ã¢â‚¬  to cause no pain to the dying mouse. (274). Thomas’ use of logos brings the reader up to speed on the scientific definition of death and pain. It explains how the body reacts when faced with death and uncertainty. The author’s explanation of the bodily defense mechanism creates logic and reason for the phenomenon that occurs. Whether or not death is defined scientifically or spiritually, death is the ultimate test of the endurance of one’s character when faced with the decision to fight or flee. Thomas’ excellent use of ethos in his essay best illustrates the endurance of one’s character. He extracts a part of another essay by Montaigne to show how death can be an experience that causes a person to rethink life. Montaigne, during a riding accident, was caused to rethink the natural process of death and how it felt to come close to it. Thomas quoted Montaigne to illustrate that â€Å"in order to get used to the idea of death†¦there is nothing like coming close to it† (274). By using Montaigne’s near death experience, Thomas is able to achieve ethos. Thomas wanted to exemplify to the audience that death is an experience that is more then the end of a life, but the reevaluation of one’s current existence. With the current thoughts and experiments of death, Thomas has successfully instructed the reader toward his direction of thought. By using persuasive language and rhetorical writing style, he made his essay a convincing argument that death is a natural and exotic experience everyone is  eventually faced with. The persuasive style of writing like parallel sentences, logos, ethos, and pathos draws the reader into the essay and makes him understand the idea of death. The reader gets the impression that natural death becomes an extraordinary and exhilarating experience all beings are destined to face.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Compensation for Wrongful Conviction

Wrongful conviction has been something that has always occurred in the court systems. For many years, prior to DNA testing, there was no way to avoid this for some people. This issue has really been one that has attracted a lot of attention. There have even been songs written about the subject such as Bob Dylan’s â€Å"Hurricane. † Wikipedia (2009, pp 1-2) refers to this situation as the â€Å"miscarriage of justice. † In the definition it states that it is the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime which was not committed by the person. It can also mean that the conviction was sentenced in a trial that was found to be unfair or a trial which had been disputed. Although wrongful convictions still do occur there are a lot of resources that are put into place so that this does not happen any more. These things have been added in order to assist the overall justice system in being able to modify issues and in being able to utilize the best and most solid convictions in order to alleviate the issues that have occurred in the past with wrongful convictions. Some have even believed that there is something that is essentially wrong with the process of the current justice system (Westervelt and Humphrey 2001 Chapter 1). There are many different theories as to why wrongful conviction has become so prevalent in the modern day society when with the advancement of technology one could argue that wrongful convictions should lessen. A lot of these issues have to do with the attitudes towards crimes and the overall attitudes of law enforcement as well as the public perception of violent criminals. The issues are that there are a lot of violent crimes that occur in society. When law enforcement is unable to find a conviction the public outcry is heard and there are a lot of problems with respect for law enforcement and the overall feeling of safety of those who are living in the society. There is then an outcry for someone to pay for the crimes that have been committed. These are especially heard when the crimes have to do with rape or murder as these violent crimes are thought to be worse than some other crimes. Law enforcement’s answer is find someone to blame the crime on in order to be able to modify how they are looked at by those in society who matter, the general public. Sadly in today’s society it is often not whether or not the right person is behind bars that give reassurance but rather it is whether or not someone is paying for the crime which has been committed. The public should be aware that the outcries and over-involvement in the catching of violent criminals has lead to the wrongful conviction of many people and that therefore it will continue to lead to wrongful conviction until there is a public outcry for justice and the involvement to find the right criminal for the crime. There are many different situations in which wrongful conviction could apply. One such situation would be where someone is not charged however they are still arrested and detained for a crime which they did not commit. Also there are the problems with someone who has charges dropped prior to trial after being detained and charged for a crime which was not committed by the person. A third way that someone could be wrongly convicted is if he/she is denied bail but then they are tried and aquitted. Some other reasons behind wrongful convictions are those who are able to have a conviction overturned on appeal but yet they have still been convicted. Another one is that the person could have been sentenced after being convicted of another crime prior to when the appeal for which they were originally arrested was heard. Finally the last reason for wrongful conviction is that there is the person who has been able to be pardoned from a crime which they are found ot be convicted of or they are able to have the conviction overturned in an appeal after having served time from the initial conviction (Hoel 2008, pp 1). The issues of wrongful conviction do not just cause problems for those who have been wrongly convicted but also for those who are working in the justice system. Judge Learned Hand once stated that he felt that he was in some sense followed by the fear that he had sentenced or convicted someone of a crime for which they did not commit. This judge recognizes that at times things are not done right and he too agonizes over the thought that he will condemn someone to an unfair fate for a crime that he/she did not commit. The criminal justice system does take precautions and they do attempt to not have these types of problems however at times they seem almost unavoidable. In the book, Presumed Guilty: When Innocent People are Wrongly Convicted the author talks about the issues with the criminal justice system and their struggle between trying to uphold the law and trying to be as unbiased and fair as possible in not handing down wrongful convictions (Yant 1991, Chapter 1). There are many causes for wrongful conviction. Some of these causes are not as bad as they have been in the past as our culture has developed and become more open minded, however they have been prevalent in the past. The main reasons for wrongful conviction have been fraudulent results or evidence, errors in eye witness testimony, and discrimination whether racial or against those who have disabilities. It has been described that the unfortunate common scene of the wrongful conviction has been that the defendant is sentenced and that around ten years later or more he/she is proven innocent by DNA evidence. Later the victim will continue to maintain that the defendant was guilty and that their eye witness testimony was not wrong. In the end, this scenario continues to hurt the wrongly accused as he/she will continue to face discrimination as those feel that there is still a problem with them and that they are still guilty. These innocent defendants not only have to live with the sacrifices of spending time imprisoned but also they have to face continued discrimination from those who feel that they are guilty, therefore some form of compensation should be allowed to those who have been wrongfully convicted in any criminal justice system (Westervelt and Humphrey 2001, Chapter 1). Overall what can be taken is that there is a connection between the beliefs of harsh forms of punishment and the death penalty and the ethical possibility that one could be wrongly convicted and deserve to be free. Some other causes of wrongful conviction were discussed in Paul Craig Roberts’ article The Causes of Wrongful Conviction. This author tries to make a connection between the strong opinions for issues like the death penalty and issues with wrongful conviction. His remedy is to work harder at ensuring that there are not problems with wrongful conviction and therefore that there is less of a need to argue and fight over the issues of the death penalty. This author believes that there is a huge injustice in the wrongful conviction and that in the end it is this and not the penalty. This is meaning that the issue of wrongful conviction first needs to be dealt with prior to the other issues with crime and punishments of these crimes. Some of the problems with wrongful conviction can be traced back to the New Deal in that the government during the New Deal put the power for carrying out the law and setting up the law in the same government body and in the hands of the same agency which is one contributing factor to these problems. Some other areas where the laws have gotten out of hand are the laws that are pertaining to the freezing of assets. These laws were originally intended to be used against those who were associated with the mob however they were expanded and it has been common for them to be applied to innocent property owners on a regular basis (Roberts 2003, pp 567-570). For some things, like fingerprinting, it is often thought that there can not be mistakes and that they can not lead to wrongful conviction however at times this could be wrong. The problems that can occur with fingerprinting leading to a wrongful conviction are very rare and for a long time were thought to be non-existent. In 2004, Stephen Cowans was found innocent from his crime by DNA evidence and it was the evidence of fingerprinting that had led to his conviction in the first place. In this case it was the mislabeling of a card with his fingerprints that led to his arrest and conviction. When ran through various tests and attempts through research on this topic it was not uncommon to have a few mistakes. The problem with this is that there were only false positives in this area (Cole 206, pp 39-50). At this time there are few resources available for those who have been wrongly convicted. There has been a lot of commentary for hundreds of years about how wrong it is for someone who is innocent to be convicted for a crime which he/she did not commit. This can be evidenced through quotations like those from Voltaire in 1774, stating â€Å"It is better to risk saving a guilty person than to condemn and innocent one,† or Sir William Blackstone, who stated â€Å"It is better that ten guilty persons escape than one innocent suffer. Yet, even with all of this information and the strong political views that have been prevalent for hundreds of years there still seems to be a problem with the justice system and one in which innocent people are convicted as guilty on a regular basis. During the 1980’s and 1990’s it became prevalent in American society that attention was drawn to cases where those who were innocent were â€Å"severely punished. † Take for instanc e the case of Isidore Zimmerman who had been wrongly convicted and served twenty four years for a crime which he did not commit. This man chose to fight for compensation and it took yet another twenty years of him fighting in order to be awarded $1 million in compensation for the damages that being wrongly imprisoned for twenty four years had caused. Sadly, this man died just four months after winning his fight. One of the largest problems with these types of cases is the fact that the victims (those who have been wrongly imprisoned) do not have a set standard of compensation which should be available to them as their lives have truly been ruined by some type of mistake in our justice system (Huff, Rattner, and Sagarin 1996, Chapter 1). The tragedy here is that this man had to fight his whole life, fight for his rights and to not be sentenced for a crime which he did not commit, fight to get out of jail and then fight for the right to compensation after his life was ruined by a wrong conviction. The people who have been wrongly convicted for various reasons have a voice and deserve to be heard on this topic and it is something that greatly affected them and continues to affect them on a daily basis. Take for instance the case of Kenny Adams who was wrongly convicted based on the fact that he had been wrongly identified. This man was bitter and angry at what he felt was a failed justice system and he was thought to be uncooperative by authorities and those who were in charge of sentencing him as he had maintained his innocence and refused to take any plea bargains which could have greatly reduced the time that he spent in jail. This man was innocent and later proven innocent by DNA evidence however he spent some of the best years of his life wasting away in one of the worst prisons in our country. He spent his time in a prison that was known for breaking down the hardest criminals and all the while he maintained his innocence and pushed through to finding a way to prove that he had been innocent. One of the main reasons that he was convicted was based on the fact that he was an African American male and there was eyewitness testimony that put three African American males and one Mexican male in the area where a young couple was raped and murdered. Maybe perhaps these were the crimes that Dr Martin Luther King Jr. as talking about in the summer of 1963 when he stated that one of his dreams was that his children could live in a country where they would not be judged by the color of their skin but rather by who they were as a person (Ciolino 2005, Chapter 1). It is still hard to imagine that there continues to be discrimination based on someone’s race in a world that is so integrated as the world today. Another case of wrongful conviction based on discrimination is that of Marion Coakley. This man was severely mentally retarded and had been convicted of rape. He was unable to cooperate or thrive in the prison setting as he was unable to understand the expectations and why the expectations were expected of him. Therefore he was in trouble a lot and was put into isolation cells and other various forms of punishment for his inability to cooperate. He had a lot of problems with basic comprehension and understanding. Marion also had a lot of built up anger in being convicted of a crime which he did not commit. He was frequently moved between various prisons and within a twenty four month period he had been moved a total of eight times. He talked often about how he felt â€Å"railroaded† into prison as he did not understand how he could be punished for a crime which he did not commit (Scheck, Neufield, and Dwyer 2001, Chapter 1). In this case it was an example of how one can be discriminated against based on a disability affecting his/her cognitive functioning. Another man who was wrongly convicted was Gary Dotson. Gary Dotson was wrongly convicted after he had been identified as a rapist by his victim. This man maintained his innocence and six years later the supposed victim recanted her testimony stating that she had falsified it all in an attempt to ward off problems with her foster parents if she was pregnant from having consensual sex with her boyfriend at the time. She claimed to be recanting to clear her conscious. The only problem was that after Dotson was released he was re-imprisoned when the judge chose to believe that the woman’s recanted statement was the true lie. Later after a national outcry the governor of IL released him still maintaining that he was guilty but saying that he had enough time served for his crime. Later it was proven through DNA evidence that he was wrongfully accused and convicted, however this was after having not only served time in prison once but twice and having to live outside of prison with the conviction on his record (Huff, Rattner and Sagarin 1996, Chapter 1). There is no current remedy available to assist victims of this tragedy. These victims are those who have been wrongly convicted of a crime, forced to serve time and later exonerated of that said crime but still having to live with all of the stigma and discriminations as if they were the criminal that they had been convicted of being. There are many different types of wrongful conviction however typically only those which are the most severe, the cases of murder or rape are brought to public attention. This type of wrongful conviction does not only deal with a specific type of crime however but there are wrongful convictions in all types of crimes. Some of the problems with there being no compensation for the victims have to do with the after effects of wrongful conviction and how this type of thing really affects the person’s life. There can be all types of issues with wrongful imprisonment and these include issues with finding employment, finding housing, interpersonal relationships and having the respect of other people. Those who have been wrongly convicted have problems with being able to find suitable employment as many employers discriminate against them. Not only do the wrongly convicted have a hard time with finding employment but they also have difficulty in finding housing. Another area where there is strong discrimination is in housing. For those who have been wrongly convicted it can be very difficult to find good housing as there are a lot of places that will not rent to those who have had convictions and even if a conviction has been overturned if it were a conviction for rape or murder there is a chance that the once accused might not be able to find housing based on this information. These victims also have a loss in their interpersonal relationships as this type of conviction can ruin a marriage and a family and at times the victim might not even be allowed to see his/her children even after the wrongful conviction is overturned. Although there are many more areas in which a person would be deserving of compensation for a wrongful conviction one of the main other reasons is that there is a loss of overall respect from others towards this person. This happens when the person does not get the respect that he/she deserves from people based on the fact that there are past convictions and therefore people discriminate against him/her (Huff, Rattner, and Sagarin 1996, Chapter 1). Part B. Wrongful convictions and the compensation thereof are all different based on what part of the world the formerly accused is living in. There are differences that are major between Australia, U. S. A. , New Zeland, and England. Each of these areas has a separate current trend in the compensation of those who have been wrongly convicted, however there are many other issues that are necessary to be dealt with as well with each country and simple solutions for each to find a way to compensate those who have served time for a crime which they did not commit. The overall goal of each country should be that there are a national standard and a set of regulations to determine the amount of help and the type of compensation that should be given to the wrongly convicted. There should be standards for this type of compensation and certain things should be taken into consideration as well. In Australia there has been a lot of research on the subject of wrongful convictions and the compensation for those who have had a wrongful conviction in the past. Some of the laws in the country are made to protect those who are wrongly convicted. In the country’s codes and amendments it is stated that there can be compensation given through victim’s rights and advocacy and therefore there might not be a need for a court hearing or legal follow up in order to ensure that the wrongly convicted are given the compensation on their own. In Australia there is right to compensation for these issues. The basic meaning of this is that there is a payment made without the legal repercussions or legal fight that would be required in other countries (Hoel 2008 pp 2-4). In the ACT (Australian Capitol Territory) there are specific codes that are used in this area. Those who are wrongly convicted have a right to seek compensation if one of the following is committed. These include that the victim have â€Å"been convicted of a criminal offense by a final decision of a court, suffered punishment because of the conviction, and had the conviction reversed (or been pardoned) on the ground that a new or newly discovered fact shows conclusively that there has been a miscarriage of justice. † The law does not have a set standard of compensation (Hoel 2008, pp 2-3). Since there are no regulatory standards in Australia at this time it is being questioned as to whether or not the government should set in place a set of standards for the wrongly convicted. In her article, Does Australia Need a Specific Institution to Correct Wrongful Convictions by Lynne Weathered there was a lot of information encouraging Australian government to take a stand and work towards an appropriate form of compensation for those who are wrongly convicted in the country. This article compares the systems and regulations in place in Australia with other countries (Weathered 2007, pp 179-186). Not only has the country of Australia been working on creating a system in place for those who are wrongly convicted but also the United States of America has been working on these issues as well in regards to how they affect the country. In the United States of America there are a lot of different factors that are been looked at in the idea of compensation for those who are wrongly convicted. Some states are working harder than others in the fight for restoring rights to those who have been wrongly convicted. One of these states is Illinois. In this state the state legislative bodies just passed a law where there is no requirement for a wait or a court trial for a pardon in wrongful conviction cases. This means that these victims are instantly pardoned from these issues and that there is an encouragement for these victims that were not there before. This new law allows for those who are wrongly convicted to be able to apply for their certificates of innocence at a circuit clerk’s office anywhere in the state rather than having to go before the governor and go through a governmental pardon trial. This was a celebrated victory for those in the United States and it gave a good format for other states and other countries in something simple that could be done for those who are wrongly convicted to be compensated in some way instantly without having to wait (Ahmed 2008, pp 1-2). Not only has Illinois made strides in working towards compensation for the wrongly convicted but so has the state of Mississippi. Another state that has really stepped up to the plate in ensuring victim’s rights when wrongly convicted has been Mississippi. In Mississippi it was passed into law that someone who was wrongly convicted and spent time in prison deserved $50,000 per year served for a total of up to $500,000. This bill was passed and justified as there were a lot of issues with the victims not being able to put their lives back together and with them having a difficult time learning how to live back in the free world again after being imprisoned and having to deal with the issues of their imprisonment (Newsome 2009, pp 1). There have been many articles and papers written on the topic of compensation for wrongful conviction in the United States however it is apparent that there needs to be more follow up incentives and better standards for the nation as a whole as a lot of the strides are on a state level rather than a national level. In her article Louise Radnofsky discusses all of the problems with there not being a unified decision among the states in the USA with the subject of wrongful conviction. She looked at cases where there was not unified decision and where the victims of the issue of being wrongfully convicted were not given any type of pardon or any help to overcome said issues. The overall standard was that these victims were not able to get any compensation unless they lived in one of the states where the compensation is available. In the end the USA should take control of this situation and there should be some type of compensation for those who have been wrongly imprisoned (2007, pp 1-3). Overall it could be argued that the United States is working on a separate state by state level to deal with the issues of wrongful conviction and compensation for the victims. There is still a long way that the country could go and nationalizing some of the state’s plans could be simplest way to putting these policies and procedures into law and helping those who need the compensation to gain it appropriately and simply. Not only are victims in the United States able to sometimes get compensation but also there are sometimes ways for those in the country of New Zealand to get compensation as well. Not only do major changes need to be made in Australia and the USA but also the country of New Zealand needs to make appropriate changes in order to rectify the ideas of wrongful conviction for those in their country. There have been extreme cases in the country of New Zealand where there has been compensation awarded to victims of wrongful convictions. In New Zealand it is possible that there have been awards made based on the amount of time and energy the wrongly convicted has put into being able to get compensated. However there is no set protocol and there have not been mandatory regulations in this area either. The cases that have been seen and heard which have been awarded money for compensation are all ground breaking and could eventually help to ensure that all of those in the country of New Zealand are compensated if they are wrongly convicted (Goff 2001, pp 1). Not only is there a stride being made in New Zealand for the wrongly convicted but also there is progress being made in the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom it is possible for one to apply for wrongful conviction compensation through a government agency that allows for them to be able to apply for benefits and services. This is done by completing a form and sending it to the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. The decision is then made by the Justice Secretary as to whether or not some form of payment is deserved by the victim. This can mean that a decision could be made that there would be no need for the compensation and no right to it as well although it has been stated that this is highly unlikely in these situations. There are also some limitations and timelines to which the country adheres and they are strict so the victims need to know their rights and they should know that they must apply immediately to be considered for such payment (Compensation for Wrongful Conviction 2008, pp 1-2). It is unclear in the UK as to how one is supposed to learn about these programs and the right to compensation as it seems that it is not something that every wrongly convicted person has been aware of. There has been a lot of information available about the overall use of the follow up procedures and their ability to truly help those people living in the United Kingdom. In 2005 a lot of statistical data was published on this situation in order to the UK’s government to be on board for the Freedom of Information ACT 2000. In these reports it was reported that during the time period as to how many of the wrongful conviction applications were a result of HM Customs and Exise. These cases being more critical as they were entailing a lot more hardships for the wrongly convicted then other standard cases. The issues here include the fact that not all of the victims who were wrongly convicted were awarded compensation and not all of the victims applied for these compensation benefits so one could infer that there is not a lot of information available for those victims of wrongful conviction (Applications for Compensation Following Wrongful Conviction 2005, pp 1-2). Although there have been strides in many countries for those who have been wrongly convicted there is still a long way to go for them to be able to get full compensation for the hardships that they have/will face. The overall solution for those who have been wrongly convicted is a compensation to help the victim to be able to manage life on his/her own without having to face further persecution and issues that are currently on hand for these individuals. A solution for each of the above mentioned countries could be the same. It would a standardized form of follow through. There should be instant proof of one’s innocence and there should be public recants of the crimes which they were wrongly convicted for. The victim’s records should be cleared and it should be safe for them to apply for employment or housing with the persecution that would be there if they were to still have the conviction and the issues associated with it held over their heads. Another thing that needs to be done is a monetary settlement. This monetary settlement should include money for their time served in order to compensate in some way for the life that was lost while these victims were behind bars. Some of the worst parts of wrongful conviction are that the wrongly convicted are typically convicted of the worst crimes, that being the crimes of rape or murder. These wrongly convicted are then required to work out a plan for how they are to get their life back on track after having had mostly everything taken from them in an act of vigilantism on the part of law enforcement and the people in the community. This is often very hard for these wrongly convicted and wrongly accused as this past will undoubtedly follow them. Whether or not they had nothing to do with the crime the stigmas and the negative opinions of others will continue until there is some type of law in place to help assume the responsibility for helping these victims to be able to get back on their feet and no longer be wrongly subjected to these forms of harm and oppression. There needs to be a set standard for compensations and programs in place to help the wrongly convicted to be able to better their lives and themselves.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Business Management of Cloud Services

Business Management of Cloud Services 1. Establish executive support Senior management team must understand and take responsibility for the successful adoption of cloud services. Pressures will come from a number of key players in any cloud decision: IT, finance, procurement, and the user community. The IT community is most concerned about global access and impact on networks, security, user performance, etc. The key to their support is a globally-aware architectural plan for cloud implementation. Finance and procurement are most concerned about saving money. The key to executive support is a well-thought ROI rationale and calculation. Users are often most concerned scaling the environment in lock-step with changes to the business. The key to executive support from this group is to demonstrate higher elasticity from the cloud. 2. Address organizational change management Management must understand and address the pressures introduced by cloud computing on the organization. Cloud computing will introduce change to the normal IT development and deployment processes, breaking down many organizational barriers and norms. At the heart of change is fear of loss-primarily, loss of control. The change must have a well-managed, well-planned process for mitigating fear of loss. Embracing change is critical to success. 3. Establish commitment The organization must be fully committed to developing and executing a strategic plan for cloud computing within the enterprise. Adoption of cloud computing should be led by senior management including the CEO and CFO with the CIO and CTO playing a role of key enablers. 4. Carefully evaluate cloud service agreements to ensure critical business needs Do not use service agreements for a fundamentally broken system that cannot meet the expectations being set. The service agreement is a shared responsibility and simply moving a service to a cloud provider does not mean that the service will magically work. Buy service, not servers. Look for complete managed s ervices where you rely on the cloud provider to integrate all the parts into a complete solution. A properly negotiated service agreement will ensure there is a partnership between the customer and provider for the overall success of the service. 5. Address federated governance Cloud services are by nature distributed, but most command-and-control systems for managing IT are hierarchical. To succeed, some degree of distributed control and federated governance is necessary to match the model of cloud service delivery. Before making a decision on a cloud service provider, it is important to understand how the cloud service will be managed and what processes need to be integrated into the existing IT environment. 6. Rationalize security and privacy At the heart of security is trust. Often cloud providers have a deeper awareness of what is required to provide good security than the customers they serve. However, the customer and cloud service provider must work together to estab lish a trust relationship and to establish the security and privacy required. Document the level of security required to properly protect the service and data and let the provider confirm how the requirements will be met. Objectively measure the provider’s true security capabilities. It is critical that sensitive information does not find its way into the wrong hands. The provider is responsible for ensuring that the data has appropriate protection, consistent with the requirements of the SLA. 7. Comply with legal and regulatory requirements An organization must be aware of and plan for adherence to legal and regulatory requirements, including those related to security, privacy and accessibility. Failure to comply can derail the cloud computing effort and result in costly lawsuits. 8. Define metrics and a process for measuring impact Create operational metrics which define steady state success – define how the metrics will be measured. Use metrics to assess cos t savings and revenue enhancement, and to validate SLA compliance, including elasticity, availability, performance globalization, etc. By measuring results, there will be a baseline from which to make better decisions for future cloud services with the goal of continual ROI improvement

Characteristics of civilized societies and civilization Assignment

Characteristics of civilized societies and civilization - Assignment Example â€Å"A Labyrinth that housed the Minotaur, a monstrous creature, half man and half bull, the product of the union of Minos’s wife Pasiphae with a bull. Minos exacted from Athens a regular tribute of seven boys and seven girls, who was sent to be devoured by the Minotaur. The Athenian hero Theseus volunteered to stop the grisly tribute. He went to Knossos with the new group of intended victims and, with the help of the king’s daughter Ariadne, killed the Minotaur in its lair in the middle of the Labyrinth. He then escaped with Ariadne and the Athenian boys and girls. Theseus later abandoned Ariadne on the island of Naxos, but the god Dionysus discovered her there and comforted her† (Cunningham and Reich).What aspect of the first chapter most intrigued you?The civilization process/ stage among the Greeks. The process was slow but intriguing because the amount of technology was limited.   The architects came up with different design models including doric and ico nic.How did the physical geography of Greece affect the development of the states?The mountains separated the city states; hence the states were able to develop independently.What are the causes of the many contradictions in Classical Greek mythology?There is no concrete evidence that backs the events in the myths. Distortion of the original events is prone to happen, leading to contradictions.How did the Doric style differ from the Ionic style or order of architecture (consider the base, capital, frieze)? Hoplite- meaning an armed infantry.

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Aspects to the Priestly Cosmology of the Letter to the Hebrews Essay

Aspects to the Priestly Cosmology of the Letter to the Hebrews - Essay Example There are several chapters in the book of Hebrews that are primarily devoted to the early Christians’ view of cosmos. One of the aspects of priestly cosmology in the book of Hebrews is found in the author’s description of Melchizedek priesthood which the author largely considered to be raised by eternal life and is superior to Aaron’s priesthood (Heb.7.11-19). As the Melchizedek, Jesus was believed to have the power to rescue his people from the power of evil. The role of Jesus Christ is, therefore, to restore the true temple (Barker, 2004, p. 11). Another possible aspect of priestly cosmology in the epistle is the imagery of the temple. Throughout the book, there are a number of instances where various practices in the temple such as the offering of sacrifice are described. Incarnation and resurrection are also presented as some of the ways through which human beings can become divine and move to the eternal world which is believed to be the true temple. Scholar s agree that the aspects of cosmology depicted in the book of Hebrews fit well in the world of the first century. For example some of the elements of cosmology contained in the Epistle include the description of the metaphysical dualism between the natural world and the highest heaven. Scholer (1991, p.17) also concurs that the Epistle was generally meant to exalt Jesus Christ as the high priest and son of God. The contemporary view of cosmos is, however, based on the today’s astronomical understanding of the universe, rather than the on the aspects of priestly cosmology found in the Letter to the Hebrews. This paper discusses the various aspects of priestly cosmology in the Epistle of Hebrews, its comparison to the contemporary world view of cosmos and the potential insights which can be used in teaching Christianity faith. Comparison between priestly cosmology and the contemporary view of cosmos Cosmology is generally concerned with the origin, organization, structure, as w ell as the beauty of natural laws that ensure order in the universe. The contemporary view of cosmos is based on the today’s astronomical understanding of the universe, rather than the on the aspects of priestly cosmology found in the Letter to the Hebrews. As opposed to the first biblical view that the earth and heaven are the center of the universe, several discoveries have proven that the sun is the center of the solar system and the vast cosmos. On the other hand, the theological view of cosmos depicted in the Epistle of Hebrews is based on the belief that God is the maker of the universe and Jesus is seen and his true manifestation (Hughes, 1997, p.45). Jesus Christ is seen as the perfect son of God and is the source of salvation to humanity. The book also highlights the first century’s understanding of cosmos with regard to God controls the universe. Throughout the letter to Hebrews, Jesus is depicted as high priest, son of God; everything brings out the aspects of the beginning of the universe that is from creation to the eternal end (Bruce, 1990, p.79). Irrespective of the views attributed by individuals in the modern world, it remains clear that there is a spiritual being that ensures order in the universe and to whom we all attribute our origin from. Science alone has failed to explain this and in the context of spiritual wellbeing, this is God whom Christians put their faith

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Sleepy Inn Motel Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sleepy Inn Motel - Case Study Example Even though it is near a quickly expanding resort region, this represents long-term growth and Huang needs to change his revenue stream much more quickly. Huang faces competition from Hilton Inn, Ramada Inn, and Best Western as well as many other lower-priced hotels similar to his own. His larger competition represents very well-known brands with a great deal of brand recognition and brand loyalty by a variety of mixed demographics. Further, since the only promotional material for this region are two billboards operated by the Tourist Bureau, Huang simply cannot rely on the marketing competency of this agency to fill his capacity rates. Huang maintains a low-cost pricing policy that he had established in the hopes that it would bring enough attention to make travelers choose Sleepy Inn Motel over other well-established branded competition. However, the problem here is that 68 percent of visitors to the region are younger couples and older couples with no children, two demographic gro ups that typically have much more access to higher financial resources. This is likely the reason why Huang witnesses visitors turn into his parking lot, but never enter the building. Once a hotel has established brand recognition and brand loyalty, it is difficult for a smaller, virtually unknown name to compete effectively without very intensive integrated marketing campaigns that must be managed and updated constantly. Further, the study conducted of local tourist needs identified that 78 percent believed it important to have recreational facilities before choosing to make a purchase. This is a substantial volume of customers and it is likely that Huang’s lack of a swimming pool is the reason why individuals turn in, but then leave in favor of the larger hotel brands. The costs of adding a swimming pool and other recreational facilities, such as a gym or child’s area, would be a budgetary problem for Huang who is currently experiencing lower-than-average occupancy r atios. Days Inn does not require extensive financial investment and this is a very well-known brand with many different loyal demographics, including military, school teams, business travelers, and senior citizens. Days Inn already has their own well-established marketing campaigns that include on-air promotions such as the described promotion with Blue Bonnet margarine and also a senior citizen discount card to invite incentive purchases. Since Days Inn also has a dedicated customer reservation line, a travel magazine, and a website, this represents the best long-term option for Huang under a franchising agreement. Days Inn might also allow Huang to establish his own unique in-house marketing literature if this were required which could be determined at the time of contract negotiation. The amount of money demanded under the franchising agreement, by Days Inn, is only eight percent of total room revenues. To support choosing Days Inn rather than operating his own brand, a brief rev enue analysis is required. At $45 per night, with only 55 percent of occupancy, this represents $10,395 weekly in gross revenues. By moving under the Days Inn brand, at $70 per night and 68 percent of occupancy, Huang will earn $20,090 in gross revenues weekly or $80,360 monthly. This is almost double what Huang is

Friday, July 26, 2019

The Apprentice TV Program Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Apprentice TV Program - Assignment Example The shortlisted contestants live communally in a suite at Trump Tower in New York City. The successful applicants become divided into two groups. The groups indulge in tasks set to stretch their creativity and business skills. Each group selects a project manager to lead them in the mission. The failing team leaves the competition. The remaining group then splits into two other groups. These undertake another task in the subsequent week. Elimination follows until three contestants remain. The competition ends with the selection of one participant who secures a one year contract in one of the business interests belonging to Donald Trump. The elimination is competitive with profitability heavily emphasized. Teams that make losses during their task face elimination. Elimination takes place in two phases. After failure, the project manager in charge of the team selects two to three people most likely to be the cause of poor performance. The other members get dismissed while the project m anager and the selected members face Trump in the boardroom where their fate awaits. Executives from selected companies interview the finalist duo from which Trump hires the apprentice. The apprentice TV program places its basis on apprenticeship. It is one of the oldest forms of work-based learning. The traditional system, however, lacked sufficiency causing variance in quality. A time-based apprenticeship presents the most benefits to both an organization and a prospective worker. It forms a strategic approach to learning in a field of work as opposed to possession of certain skills. Apprenticeship allows workers to absorb values and ideas of a field of trade. Placement into apprenticeship varies with company's policy. Some firms prefer young people straight out of school while others prefer new learners in the team (Cunningham et al, 2004, pp.62). Apprenticeship programs began way back in time. They incorporate what is learned in class with hand on experience.

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Recession and Cosmetics Demand Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Recession and Cosmetics Demand - Research Paper Example Therefore a decline in their real income makes goods and services relatively expensive. In economics demand is influenced by a number of factors and this include price, price of substitutes and income. For a normal good as the price of this good increases then the demand for this product declines, assuming that all the goods in an economy are normal goods and that cosmetics are substitutes to highly luxurious goods then it is evident that a decline in the income of consumers will result into a relative increase in the price of the luxurious goods which will be substituted with less expensive cosmetics. This is referred to as the substitution effect, the following diagram shows the effect of an increase in price on the demand. Consumers want to maximize their utility, in order to maximize utility consumers want to increase the total units of goods consumed, however the total units of goods and services purchased is determined by the budget line and the indifference curve, for this reason therefore the decline in income results into a decline in the real income and therefore consumers will only purchase a few units of goods, in order to maximize utility the consumer will opt to purchase... The article states that the employment level and investment in the cosmetics industry increases in a recession, this can be explained by the multiplier effect, as the level of demand increases as discussed above investors anticipate higher demand and as a result they invest more, more investment mean that the level of employment in this industry will increase. Therefore investment is influenced by the high demand in this industry. This scenario can also be explained by the inferior good concept, the demand for inferior goods decline as the income of consumers increases, at a certain level of income consumers no longer demand the inferior goods and therefore it is true to state that as the income level declines the inferior good demand increases, the following diagram shows the changes in the demand curve as income increase for an inferior good: From the above diagram it is evident that as the level of income increases the demand increases however at a certain level of income an increase in income will result inot a decline in demand. For this reason therefore cosmetics especially lipstick can be considered as an inferior good whereby during economic hardships and the level of income is declining the demand for this good increases, it is also true that when income increases the demand for this good declines. Conclusion: From the above discussion it is evident that the article states that the cosmetic industry does not change as expected, in the first case we associate cosmetics with the theory of inferior goods whose demand declines as income increases and therefore demand may increase as the level of income declines in a recession. Consumers also experience an increase in relative prices as their real income declines, this means that as consumer

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Financial Managment course project Research Paper

Financial Managment course project - Research Paper Example Discussion of the family riches would involve studying the personal, professional and the financial initiative that makes the family rich. Financial initiative Finance initiative represent a step taken by an individual by showing his willingness to remain strong in gaining market share while trumping the existing competition. The Rothschild family has taken a financial initiative to ensure that they remain economically afloat. One of the major financial initiative taken by the family is the maximizing their concentration in bank investment. Since the foundation by Amschel Rothschild the family has continued, sharpen their ways of bank investment because of the realization that it fetch them more money (Nasar, 2000, p.636). The concentration in banking activities has helped the family in developing better ways of increasing their wealth through their investment. For instance, the family have branches across the UK and US something that has helped in increasing their market share. Esta blishing branches in the richest zones around the world is enough financial initiative that would have acted as a pinnacle for the wealth of the family. The branches helped the family into reaching a wider market thereby raising their acquisition from the market. Another financial initiative witnessed by the family in the early 20th century is their involvement in other investment activities. After the realization that only one type of investment would not serve well, the family went flexible by exploring other investment activities. The family decided to expand their operations by investing in railway, coal, iron working, oil and metallurgical investments (Golden, 2012, p. 67). This change in the strategy assured the family of success since a failure in one activity would have been compensated by the success of another. It is true that diversification in the investment activities helped the family a bid deal especially after the Nazi seized their Austrian banking house. Without the investment in other acitivities, the family would have suffered some sort of downfall. The family has also included in their operation, the provision of government securities. Another financial initiative applied by the family is the expansion of its operation to include government securities and industrial companies. The two, government and industrial companies represent the pillar of any economy; hence, their inclusion means the family has also established themselves as a pillar in the economy. Inclusion of government as one of the clients represents one of the strongest financial initiative that a company can make. It is often difficult for the government to suffer downfalls hence a deal with them is an initiative towards staying rich as long as the government remains in position. The government is the last resort for any activity occurring in a country; hence, including them in investment means the family have strengthened their acquisition in the territory. Further, another fi nancial initiative is the inclusion of the bigger industrial companies in their investment activities. This also assures the family of a lasting wealth since the other big industrial companies would do anything within their effort to avoid downfall. The financial initiative taken by the family, in including the big names in their investment list, means that their downfall would mean the downfall of the global economy. It is difficult for the

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Prison Corruption and Control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Prison Corruption and Control - Essay Example For corruption to occur, it requires discretionary powers and a lack of accountability (World Bank, 1998). If accountability is present in any shape or form, the likelihood of corruption becomes reduced. In the same manner, a civil society as well as an organisation within that civil society can reduce corruption if it focuses on accountability wherever there are discretionary powers handed over to a given party (Von Muhlenbrock, 1997). For example, prison wardens may have discretionary powers to a large extent in terms of how prisons are supposed to be handled and how they are to be governed. This discretion gives them great power in managing prisons and they are able to maintain control of quite a few situations where not having discretionary powers would lead to inefficiencies in the system. Even a prison guard can be given discretionary powers and such powers are required for him/her to perform his/her duties. At the same time, all individuals working in a prison have to be made accountable for their actions. Situations where it is suspected that discretionary powers were misused, have to be brought to light and if the individual is found guilty of misusing his/her power, appropriate punishments need to be given out to that individual. Unless the process of holding people accountable for their use of power is established, discretionary power would lead to some level of corruption (Von Muhlenbrock, 1997). As long as accountability remains in place, the chances of prisons, societies even business enterprises becoming corrupt remain minimal (SMH, 2006). The issue of accountability is not limited to social bodies such as prisons and hospitals. On a larger scale it also applies to countries and nations who may use their discretionary powers to establish their own controls over a region or over other countries. Even in such cases, if the country can be made accountable for its actions, the chances of misuse of power become minimized.

Communication in Health and Social Care Essay Example for Free

Communication in Health and Social Care Essay 1. 1 Apply relevant theories of communication to health and social care contextsAccording to George Gerbner,he describes the three main branches of communication studies as; 1. †semiotics† The study of signs and symbols and how they combine to convey meaning in different social contexts,This branch is mainly concerned with how verbal,non verbal and aural signs and symbols combine to create messages. 2. Media effects the study of behaviour and interaction through exposure to messages,It emphasizes measuring,explaining and predicting communication effects on knowledge,perceptions,beliefs,attitudes and public opinion,It is strongly influenced by scientific methods from the fields of psychology and social psychology. 3. Message production is the study of the large-scale organization through social institutions and system,example; mass media,political organisation,government and advocacy groups. Their history, regulations,policy making impact,It is strongly influenced by scientific methods from the fields of sociology but also by the methods of political science and public affair. According to Abraham Maslows humanistic theory of learning,learning contributes to psychological health. The goals of learning includes discovery of ones vocation or destiny;knowledge of values;realization of life as precious;acquisition of peak experiences; senses of accomplishment;satisfaction of psychological needs;awareness of beauty and wonder of life;impulse control;developing choice and grappling with critical existential problems of life. Applying Abraham Maslows Hierarchy of needs in The Care Home Setting,service users needs should be met like; Freedom of abuse and neglect from the care workers and ensuring them adequate food and shelter;Free from any kind of discrimination,risks and danger to be able to feel safe;Ability to trust their care workers and receive effective communication;Respect for their rights,dignity,privacy and diversity;Helping them take control of their own lives in order to develop their full potential and reach their goal. According to John B. Watson, Behaviours can be measured,trained and changed. It also acquired through conditioning which occurs through interaction with the environment. All of our sensory work, memory work,attention,etc,are part of definite modes of behaviour. In a Care Home Setting, it explains why we need to separate service users with an agitative behaviour from a noisy environment where other service users are happily participating in a physical activities,to prevent his/her agitation to aggression which can be potentially harm to the other individuals,care workers needs to take the service user to a quiet place to settle down. Sometimes moody behaviours are the service users way to communicate what they feel so its very important on the part on the care workers to be very observant on service users mood change and act accordingly According to Sigmund Freuds outline of psychoanalysis(1940),He compared the human mind to an iceberg in order to describe the structure of personality. The small portion of the iceberg that lies above the water represents the conscious mind,or all the thoughts,feelings,and desires that you are fully aware of. This is the aspect of our mental processing than we can think and talk about rationally. A part of this includes our memory,which is not always part of consciousness but can be retrieved easily at any time and can be brought into awareness which is called preconscious. The massive below the surface represents our unconscious mind,The reservoir of feelings,thoughts,urges and memories that outside of our conscious awareness. Most of the contents of the unconscious are unacceptable or unpleasant,such as feelings of pain,anxiety or conflict. According to Freud, the consciousness continues to influence behaviour and experience,even though we are unaware of these underlying influences. In relation to this theory at The Care Home setting,Care workers deal with different Service user with different behaviours, medical problems,communication problems,cultures and needs. It is very important to identify the individuals communication capabilities and incapabilities to be able to help them empower their weaknesses and difficulties,in that way, care workers will be able to get cooperation from the service users and establish rapport on doing their everyday task and to meet their needs and maintain their well being. According to Ulric Neisser cognition is all processes by which the sensory input is transferred ,reduced,elaborated, stores,recovered and used. In short,it means it is the branch of psychology that studies mental processes including how people think,perceive,remember and learn. It is involved in everything a human being might possibly do;that every psychological phenomenon is cognitive phenomenon. An example of this theory at the Care Home Setting where service users are suffering of dementia,Care workers needs to encourage service users to participate on ctivities such as brain and physical exercises,social gatherings and have a good diet,to stimulate their brain cells and regained its brain power. 1. 2 Undertake and evaluate at least one communication activity in Health and Social Care Organization,considering Confidentiality and Data Protection Act 1998. Communication in a Health Care Organization is very important. It is the key for the health care providers and other health agencies to carry out their responsibilities to maintain the well being of the service users. An example of this is when making a care plan for the service users,all individuals that are involve in continuing health care of the service user must contribute on making the care plan by communicating their observations, assessments and suggestions on the service users daily activities ,risks and wellness. The service user should contribute as well on making their care plan by telling their preferences,choices, wishes and needs. Otherwise, the care workers will have no idea what kind of care the service users wanted to receive. If the service user cant speak for themselves,there must be a representative to speak for their behalf,either a social care worker,solicitor or a member of their family. When the care plan has been made,it should be kept in a secure and protected filing cabinet which only authorize person can have access on the document for data protection and to maintain confidentiality on the informations written in the care plan to protect all personal informations gathered.  If the service user needs to be transferred to a new health care services,the care plan should be presented for their reference. 1. 3 Describe and explore barriers to communication with health and social care Organisations In a Care Home for vulnerable adults,the most common communication barriers that a care workers encounter are the following; difficulty of hearing,impaired eyesight,learning difficulties,memory loss,foreign language,cultural differences,stroke,emotional problems,sensory loss and others. Problem arises between care workers and service users when doing personal care tasks if these barriers mentioned are present, the task may not be completed well because of misunderstanding which resulting in cooperation from the service user. Therefore,it will never be easy for the care worker to perform the task well without the full cooperation of the service user. Often times service users disagree with some procedures if your explanation is not enough for them to understand it,or if they are not comfortable with it. To solve the problem, care workers should encourage the service user s to have an input with the care they want to receive. They might know a better way to do the task in their most comfortable and convenient way. If the service user have difficulty of communicating because of the barriers mentioned,ask them what kind of communication method they prefer and wish to use,thus giving them a choice. Explain the various methods of communication available and what would be suitable for them. Seek further advice from the specialists in the wider health care team. Care givers also consult to the clients care plan as this should contain all necessary information. Care givers need to listen attentively and take notice of what the service users are communicating and not assume what they want. 1. 4 Understand how to transmit values and the need to transmit values when communicating within health and social care Organizations Respecting the rights of the service users at the care home should be highly observe. When the preferred method of communication of a service user has been identified,which is obviously the ones that they can communicate most effectively,care workers must respect to use it or learn to use it because if they dont,then they are of risk of not communicating effectively,distressing the service user and breaching their rights. A service user who has suffered of stroke may have communication problem such as, they can understand the care workers completely but have difficulty with speech and its likely to become very frustrated if they cannot express themselves using their preferred method of communication. Problems arises when the care worker will just assume what the service user is saying rather than giving them more time to talk or attempting to encourage them to communicate their choices,wishes,preference and needs. If this happens the service user may end up for example;served with a meal they never want, wear clothes they never picked out and go to bed when they dont wish to,these situations shows that the rights of the service users has been taken away from them.

Monday, July 22, 2019

Factors to be considered when planning to fill a vacancy and carry out an interview Essay Example for Free

Factors to be considered when planning to fill a vacancy and carry out an interview Essay The purpose of recruitment is too attract the best candidates for the job, and to then pick the most suitable. To make sure that the best person is picked Human resources will have to make sure that they are clear about * What the job entails * What qualities are required to do the job? * What rewards are needed to retain and motivate employees. If the wrong person is recruited and then finds the job too boring or difficult, then the business will not get the best out of its Human resources Department. It will also mean additional costs for the organisation because if the employee leaves because they are unsuitable they would have wasted money on training and will have advertise for their replacement. When filling a vacancy a number of things have to be considered. Before even thinking about filling the job vacancy the organisation needs to carry out a job analysis. The job analysis is a study of what the job entails. It contains skills, training and tasks that are needed to carry out the job. The reason why the organisation needs to recruit to fill the vacancy is a very important aspect to consider, because the person in the job before may have been unhappy. To prevent this from happening again managers can set up exit interviews with the previous employee to see if they are able to improve the job. Are records of Past Employees available? Records of past employees would also be a good thing for any organisation to have because then the business may be able to hire someone who has worked for them before this would save induction and training costs. Whether or not the organisation recruits internally or externally is an important factor to consider. If the organisation recruits internally * Savings can be made, and individuals with inside knowledge of how the business operates will need less time for induction and shorter periods of training. * The organisation is unlikely to be disrupted by someone who is used to working there. * Internal promotion acts will act as a motivator to other members of staff within the organisation. * From the organisations point of view, they will be able to asses the strengths and weaknesses of an insider, however there is always a risk attached to hiring an outsider who may only prove to be good on paper. The disadvantages to recruiting internally are that * You will have to replace the person who has been promoted. * An insider may be less likely to make criticisms of the business to get the organisation working in a more effective way. * Promotion of one person is an organisation may upset another. Has the appropriate Recruitment documentation been drawn up? Recruitment documentation is another important aspect this includes the job description, person specification, advertisements and interview sheets. Job Description Purpose The job description needs to include the job title, responsibilities and a simple description of the role and duties of the employee within the organisation. To make sure that the job description is up-to-date a job analysis should be carried out. The Job Description has a number of uses * It tells the candidates for a job what is expected of them. * It helps personnel officers to compare the job description with the candidate. * The Job Description can be used as a gauge to see whether or not the employee is doing the job properly, by comparing their activities with the job description. * Arguments about what the employee has to do can be settled by looking at the job description. The job description is a means of communication between the organisation and candidate to maximise relevance of potential applicants. Person Specification The purpose of a person specification is to outline the type of applicant the business is looking for. The person specification also gives potential applicants the chance to match themselves against the specification. The organisation needs to know the type of person they are looking for this can be set out in the person specification. The person specification sets out the mental and physical attributes, which will be needed for the job. A person specification is used so the prospective candidates know what qualities they should have and what is expected from them. It can also be called upon in an interview situation where the employer can match the candidate to the person specification and the position. Advertisement Job advertisements are an important aspect to the recruitment process. An organisation is able to advertise job vacancies to a selected audience through their job advertisements. Advertisements must reach the people who have the qualities needed to fill the vacancy. The nature of the advert will depend on * The target audience managers, supervisors, retail assistants etc. * Where the advert will be placed on a notice board in a local or national newspaper, etc. A good job advertisement will provide prospective candidates with information and will also discourage people who are not qualified for the vacancy. The way in which the vacancy is advertised will be different is the job is being advertised internally or externally. If the job is being advertised internally it will be most likely to be advertised on the staff notice board or in the jobs bulletin, however if the job is being advertised externally it is more likely to be advertised in a newspaper. Interview Assessment Form In an interview assessment form the areas for evaluation are usually * Physical appearance and deportment Does the candidate have the right image suited to the advertised post? * Attainments What experience and qualifications that they have meet the needs of the post. * General Intelligence * Special Aptitudes What skills does the candidate have which relates to the job for example foreign languages or knowledge in the latest software package. * Personality/disposition Another factor of recruitment, which needs to be considered, is the legislation, which affects it. If the organisation does not comply with the set legislation then the individual responsible will be taken to court or the industrial tribunal. To avoid legal action an organisation will make sure that the recruitment criteria are made clear and that any terms of employment are made obvious to the candidate. The organisation needs to make sure that its company policy and practice comply with the relevant legislation. A number of the laws affecting the recruitment process are * Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1958 This deals with an obligation on firms of more than twenty employees to employ disabled people up to at least three per cent of the workforce. * Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and 84 This deals with the prohibition placed upon job advertisers to discriminate against women in advertising or conditions of service. * Race Relations Act 1980 and 1982 This is the outlawing of discrimination against employees because of their race, colour or ethnic origin. After the vacancy has been filled, the Human Resources department needs to be sure that they leave enough time for vetting and background checks if the job requires this for example any jobs involving children. If this is not dealt with effectively the organisation will be in the position of having an empty vacancy until they are completed.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Childcare Act 2006 in a Childcare Setting

Childcare Act 2006 in a Childcare Setting Childcare Act 2006 Introducing provision relating to the authorities of duties/action of the well-being and improvement care of young children. The Act Introduced by parliament was passed to define/introduce leadership authority for the intentions of evolving; Every Child Matters programme (launched 2003 via Victoria Climbie story) Improving childcare/safety. Available Childminding facilities. Child providers Training and advice service. Parental upbringing information service. The act is structured with four sections of order; Sections One; Authorities located in England Two; Authorities located in Wales Three; Acquirements inspections made for childcare providers in England. Four; General provisions. The Early years foundation stage (EYFS) lies within section 39-48. This section act authorises high quality education/childcare for children aged 0-5 years including minimising equalities within children via the existing assistance of job centre plus/NHS. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childcare_Act_2006 Poverty The Act introduced is to enforce the protection of children. Every Child Matters Foundation provides protection of Safety, Promotion of Health, economic well-being, achieving standards, Positive attitude, Including promotion of equality amongst others. Childcare Act 2006 aims to reduce poverty supporting parents to work increases the childs environments and living reducing inequalities among children most at risk of poverty via deprivation/disadvantages promoting social mobility. Every child matters foundation set standards for the well-being of young children ensuring safety/health/economic/well-being/Achievements and Positive self steam. Legal Requirements for childcare providers are published via Ofsted under Statutory Framework for the Early years foundation stage EYFS. The Statutory framework stage within the EYFS has a number of requirements sectored. Involving; School leaders/staff Childcare providers/childminders Nurseries Pre-schools/playgroups childminding settings Maintained/non-maintained and private schools Developments Learning/development Welfare Additional legal information Regulation information assessment scales legal information in relation for adult to children ratio. The Framework provides direction/order to ensure all early year providers are meeting expectations for growth intellectual/physical developments required for when they enrol for mainstream school. Including the health/safety of the children. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework Learning/development requirements The authorised requirements MUST be met by the provider. The type of childcare setting/children all need to be put into considered while requirements are being pursued. Resources to ensure this are accessed via internet access: (http:/www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file) Development requirements childcare Act 2006 Early learning expectations. The child should hit the target of development/achieve; Knowledge/skills/comprehension of the standards that a child should reach by the age of five. Education Programmes skills/processes lectured by the provider. Assessment arrangements structured for the continuation of achievements. Learning standards/expectation Supporting Personal, Social and Emotional Development is a standard set to support development of skills; Self Confidence/learning/communication/sociability skills for future friendships and confidence. Comprehension of their environment is a development educed to expand fact/theory of their surroundings, also influencing the learning of technology/individuals and other areas. Physical Development; This is an imperative stage of development as children should always be subjected to activities influencing/permitting physical activity. Improving their co-ordination/physical strength. Also providing an education on the benefits to themselves via participation leading to a healthy lifestyle and a variety of good food options/benefits. Mathematics; This is a standard targeted to introduce numbers to the child for prior knowledge for enrolment of when mainstream school commences. Involving; Configuring shapes/measurements. Numeracy via Counting objects/addition and subtraction problem solving. Literacy: This standard can be influenced through using Books/reading magazines/Television subtitles. Poems should be introduced as the sounds of rhyming words, a terrific influence to remembering words/sounds. Introducing writing skills; letters to the sound can be a great start to early writing skills. Expressive Arts and design: Creative play is a form of educational play for children to produce Self confidence, Understanding of the role/express feeling. This can involve role play/Dance/Art work/performance or music. Assessments This is a requirement made to observe any target standards made by Statutory Framework for early years have been met or made progress. During the assessment observations are documented evidence which is recorded via the childcare provider. There also needs to parental contribution made for communication between provider/parent. The Legal requirements are established by the Statutory Framework for early years foundation stage. To ensure the well-being of safe guarding children. The requirements focus on the promotion of the childs welfare within the setting; The childcare providers are all CRB checked and suitable. Environment, Equipment and Premises are to standard. Documentation is clearly constructed. Organised forms of education for learning, emotional, social, physical and interlectual development are in operation. Legal requirements for safe guarding children involves met/passed standards; Information of complaints documented Premises and security Outings Equality of opportunities Medication Illness/injury Food/Drink Smoking Behaviour management Safe recruitment (CRB checked) Correct Number of staff for children Risk assessments Premises. Respecting/valuing individuality The understanding of each individuals personality can be taught from a early stage. It is important from a young age for each child to realise and understand that each person is different and may have a respectful difference of opinion. The influence of their elders impact a child perspective greatly as of which it is of vast importance to set good values for the child to develop good characteristics becoming a decent member of society. Children are influenced how to behave via their elders, as a child learns via observational skills. Setting a good example of how to behave is important as it can greatly affect the upbringing of the childs behaviour/personality. The childcare setting surroundings should advertise images of positive perception of the world including all cultures as a human race and mother nature. To promote individuality there should also be access to role play, toys, and electronics. Their maybe a Varity of practiced cultures within the childcare setting. Therefore its a good idea to introduce a monthly cultural lesson on any cultures present within the group so children can understand the differences between cultures, using the foods, animals, preparations, weather, clothing is used and why!. The cultural lessons can educate the child to enhance their intellectual/emotional and social development as it influences children to talk about the way they live inviting a group discussion. Achievement days/awards are extremely effective upon the childs self confidence as the award presents the childs achievement/s. An award/award chart leading to an award day may influence the child to work towards the award for self satisfaction of learning or behaviour. The awards day can also be via the involvement of outside activity hobbies, Swimming/dance/football clubs, which can be discussed within the setting, promoting information on possible outside activities permitting children to express their excitement of their achievements. Group work is essential to child social development as it concentrates on communication/structuring ideas/problem solving and compromising with others. Role play is a great way to promote group communication as there has to be discussion/agreement in who plays which role, confidence with discussions, understanding the roll and discussing it and respecting all thoughts/theories. Personal values can be influenced via good routines, interaction within a good/comfortable setting, such as story time, understanding when to listen and the appropriate time to proclaim their thoughts via showing understanding of the concept. Positive/Negative Behaviour From day one a child is effected by his/her environment. As the child develops there are boundaries needed to be put into place to ensure positive behaviour development, as the child understands right from wrong therefore grasps an understanding of the correct responses/actions. without the examples the child can develop negative behaviour and become confused. Boundaries permit the childs understanding of how to behave therefore understand that if rules are not practiced there will be consequences. The child need to understand whats right or wrong as negative action can put others at risk such as pushing another child or smacking/biting. without consequences a child will not comprehend the action is wrong or will take liberties. Rewarding a positive action/praise is a well achieved award or emotion for reaching/gaining credibility at any stage of development/age i.e. If a child is successful with potty training/behaviour or socialising. Awards/praise influence children to achieve/progress goals. The outcome to the award method is so the child eventually doesnt rely on a form of award and continues to proceed with positive actions, this is where a disciplinary act should be put into motion if any negative behaviour become apparent, if the child out steps their boundaries then a cause of action should be solicited; The naughty step (minutes time out for the duration of the childs age) or no favourite food/book to read. If no action is taken the child could proceed with negative behaviour/anger problems. A group discussion of behaviour expectations should be an active source of communication between peers/providers to ensure a friendly/happy/safe environment. Negative behaviour: create a adverse impact on the childcare environment for everyone present. The victim of the situation can become very distressed/upset effecting child/provider. The incident should be addressed (by the provider) as soon as possible as the child/children of cause will be able to comprehend where they have stepped out of line. The provider will have to explain where the child went wrong, as just saying NO will not deliver the insight of what they did wrong. The provider needs to introduce boundaries within the childcare setting to enforces the correct expectation of behaviour. Awarding the child for good behaviour needs to be introduced and is just as important as discipline. Even though negative behaviour is more apparent to good behaviour, applauded good behaviour can encourage children to want recognition/positive response from his/her providers/parents and peers, even though discipline needs to be an active consequence, sometimes on minor instances if the child gains no response then the child will learn he/she wont gain the required attention. Otherwise if little/no good behaviour is acknowledged the child will always feel like they are naughty and lack enthusiasm for improvement. If good behaviour is applauded then this will encourage future good behaviour eventually become a positive impact improving the childs actions. It is imperative to be consistent with the message being preached to the child involving positive/negative behaviour, even a simple mistake can influence the wrong message so clarity/consistency is highly important. A positive attitude from the provider can determine the atmospheres positive or negative vibe, this can create a happy/safe positive environment for the children/providers or a negative/unhappy one. Its of great importance the child feels safe/inspired/happy within their childcare setting. Conflict management between children/adults Unfortunately conflict occurs within every childcare setting, It is the way it is addressed which leads to a positive/negative standard of care. A conflict can be present between children or a child struggling to except the providers authority. John Broadus Watson An American psychologist whom established the psychological school of behaviourism. Watson was the author of Psychological Care of Infant and Child in 1928. Watson believed children should be treated as a young adult. He proclaimed that the inevitable dangers of a mother providing too much love and affection can provide a negative impact upon the childs future, He proclaimed that the love affection response was conditioned love. Impacting the future generations by mentioning Invalidism proclaiming that society doesnt show high affection to the developing older children/young adulthood within the real world, therefore parents/careers should not deliver high expectations of reality. Watsons views of Nature and nurture was that nurture was the corrected theory. Hes theories were that nobody is born with natural instinct and supporting this theory he believed that all knowledge is gained via interaction with his/her environment and parents should take sole priority for the responsibility they relinquish upon their children. Conditioning; http://www.simplypsychology.org/classical-conditioning.html) There are debates on how conflict impacts a childs upbringing. Positive views of conflict include it to be a natural emotion of life and should be expressed, supporting Watsons theory in nature and expectations of life. Negative views introduce beliefs that conflict can inflict anger therefore effecting ones social abilities via lack of suitable role model. Critics of Watsons views; Needs which are unmet; due to lack of physical/mental emotion leading to Cravings for attention. Selfishness; Leading from lack of emotion, the child can become an adult with difficulties to understand others needs of love and attention/affection. social skills; As the child finds it difficult to understand other childrens different thoughts and views. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childcare_Act_2006 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework (http:/www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file) Conditioning; http://www.simplypsychology.org/classical-conditioning.html)

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Student ID Cards are Not Necessary for Safety :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Wearing Student ID Cards is Not Necessary for Safety "Stop right there, young lady!" echoed through the empty hall of White Knoll High School. I broke my fast stride and turned around slowly, slightly breathless from my power-walking. When I saw Mr. Johnston striding towards me with a pen in one hand and a pad in the other, I suddenly realized what else I had forgotten that morning. Before I could reach into my book-bag pocket for the ID I had yet to put on, Mr. Johnston was beside me and slipped me the small sticker. He shook his head and said, "Now, now, Tina. I thought you would have set a better example than that. Let's try to keep that ID on, okay?" With the sticker in one hand and my tardy slip in the other, I walked to the first block class that I was already ten minutes late for with the hanging cloud of after-school ID detention waiting for me the next day. Pushing my way through the stream of people trying to leave the school at 3:20 the next day, I found my way to the discipline office. Taking my place at the end of the line that stretched out of the room and halfway down the hall, I found myself listening to a discussion about why everyone else had detention that day. "Yeah, man. I had my ID card under my jacket so they couldn't see it." "Well, I'm here for an hour today, because I had to skip detention yesterday for a doctor's appointment." "Oh yeah? Well, I've got you all beat, 'cause I got two detentions yesterday. The first one was because I left my ID in my car. Then, my sticker wasn't showing, so I got another one." After listening to all their sob stories, I shared mine involving a faulty alarm clock, an early school bus, and just plain forgetfulness. Despite the shared pity of the group, we had all taken the detentions without complaint. The routine had gone on since the first day of school, and we all knew by tha t point that there was no escaping the punishment. After finally checking in with the poor teacher stuck with the task of watching over us that afternoon, I looked at the other students in the room with me.

The Benefits of Running Essay example -- Exercise Health Fitness Paper

The Benefits of Running Why do they run? Running. It’s painful, tedious, and exhausting. So, why do so many Americans do it? People run for many reasons. Most often, people run to stay in shape and to reach an ideal body weight. Studies show that a combination of diet and exercise is the most effective way to lose weight, as it triggers a loss of body fat and a proportional increase of lean tissue. Running, a rigorous cardiovascular exercise, allows a person to burn an average of 100 calories per each mile he or she runs. Other popular activities, such as biking and walking, only burn a fraction of those calories in the same amount of time. While the average human being burns about 2000-2500 calories a day by simply existing, running 5 miles a day can burn an additional 500 calories, making it a legitimate way to lose weight. Furthermore, running is an easily accessible activity-- with a decent pair of sneakers and some determination, anyone can run. Surprisingly, how fast a person runs has little effect on the number of calories he or she will burn. The most important factor is weight. For example, a 220-pound person running an eight-minute mile burns 150 calories, while a 120-pound person running at the same pace burns only 82. Every person’s body requires an excess of 3500 calories in order to gain a pound or a deficit of 3500 calories in order to lose a pound. Thus, 180-pound person who runs 5 miles each day will lose about 5 pounds a month. However, as his or her weight goes down, he or she will burn fewer calories per mile. Eventually, a runner’s weight will stabilize. When this will happen depends on how much the runner eats and how far he or she runs. Most runners lose weight effortlessly at first, but eventually, t... ...test. It is a place where I can escape my problems and enter into a world where I am invincible. Bibliography Blinkie, David. What is an Ultramarathon? www.fred.net Fixx, James F. The Complete Book of Running. New York: Random House, 1977. Simbeck, Rob. "Running it Off." Nashville Scene. January 22, 1998. Pp. 18-26. Galloway, Jeff. Galloway's Book on Running. Bolinas, California: Shelter Publications, 1984. Hang, John. The Essential Runner. New York: Lyons and Burford, 1994. Henderson, Joe. Better Runs. Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics, 1996. Rodgers, Bill. Lifetime Running Plan. New York: Harper Collins, 1996. Running with George. Eating Right to Fuel the Runner. www.brainbug.com Running with George. Finding the Right Fuel for Your Body. www.brainbug.com Running with George. The Fight Against Fat. www.brainbug.com

Friday, July 19, 2019

Anorexia Nervosa Essay -- essays research papers

Anorexia Nervosa A lot of people including men not just women often dream about having the perfect body. Some may work hard for it and others may think they cannot achieve that dream. In our society, we seem to make body image appear to be almost one of the most important things. Young girls less then thirteen years of age can start to see themselves as being "fat" even if they are thin. In fashion magazines for instance, you will hardly ever see pictures of overweight or slightly overweight people. They are filled with runway models who are so skinny it looks as if they are sick with a disease or are cracked out on drugs. How can people think that looking that way is attractive? It's so disgustingly gross to see models like that when they look emaciated at times. They call themselves "models." Who would want to model themselves after someone who looked like that? Although, it is sad to say that some people actually go as far as starving themselves to look like what they thin k is perfect. Anorexia nervosa is an illness that most commonly happens with teenage girls. At times even teenage boys and adults can struggle with anorexia. Anorexia causes people to be obsessed with food and being thin. Often at times, people with anorexia have emotional problems and use food and weight to try to deal with their problems with a sense of control. "Ninety percent of all anorexics are women" (The National Women's Health Information Center Pg. 1 of 4). There is no exact cause of anorexia. For some, they feel that they are not happy and think that being thin Butler 2 would make them a lot happier and successful. Anorexia can sometimes come from problems in relationships or bad experiences from early childhood. People with anorexia are perfectionists. They need everything to be perfect in their lives and if not, then they blame themselves if their lives are not perfect. Along with having anorexia, there are many problems caused b... ...ients. There are also support groups that anorexics go to so they can discuss their fears and help each other recover from their illness. People with anorexia need full on support from their friends and family as well. Friends and family need to show love for the person with the illness. A lot of times, people with anorexia will beg and lie so they don't have to eat. They feel if they will give up the control they have from gaining weight. Friends and family need to be strong when dealing with a person who is suffering from anorexia. They cannot let the person talk them into believing there is nothing wrong or let the person convince them that they don't need to eat for the time being. Family and friends need to be there for that person and shouldn't get angry at them. Being anorexic is an illness and needs professional help because it cannot be controlled by willpower. Word count: 917

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Don’t Live to Eat but Eat to Live Essay

The title sounds easy right? Eat to live, don’t live to eat. Simple enough. So why do I go to the park and half of the people I see are overweight or severely obese? Why are their kids fat? Why do my coworkers have fat rolls that hang off the back of their chairs? It’s a question I have asked myself over and over again. There have been many theories as to why people are fatter today than they were 100 years ago. Now you can choose to believe the BS about good calories and bad calories or that we are fatter because we don’t eat like our ancestors. You can also choose to believe that calories don’t matter and we are fat because of the processed junk food we consume so much of. By taking a look at fat people, we can make the most probable assumption that they consume more calories than they expend. So, if you are in tune with what happens when energy intake is greater than expenditure, you know the excess energy is stored as body fat or contributes to LBM gain under certain situations. Why is this important? A long time ago when we had to chase down our food and stab it with a sharp object, storing fat was essential for survival as it could be days or weeks before we might feast again. So after I expended all of that energy hunting down the kangaroo, you can bet your sweet loin cloth I am going to sit and stuff myself for the next few days. Now some of that ingested energy went to preserving lean body mass but a lot of the excess was shuttled right into my fat cells. Thankfully we have the ability to store fat, otherwise I wouldn’t be here today writing this article. So here is what I have noticed. While it’s not revolutionary, it’s not something we think about much. We are Emotional Eaters Many of us are emotional eaters. We sometimes eat to relieve stress and find comfort in eating certain foods. While I have not looked at statistics, I am willing to bet those of us at high stress jobs are more likely to be overweight than those in less stressful positions. I witnessed this at a previous job where over half of the workers there were over weight and some were dangerously obese. The day job was very stressful and the cafeteria served some really calorie dense food. People would go to lunch and take the edge off by eating a foot long chili cheese dog or go down the road and polish off a few big macs. Then when it was time to head home, I am sure many hit the pint of ice cream for their post dinner indulgence. I have also noticed people working in lower stress environments to be slimmer and more fit. I supposed they had more energy and vigor outside of work to be more active than their stressed out counterparts. Now this could all be coincidence and anecdotal but I have a hunch there is more to it than that. Lots and Lots of Food If you live in America, you know how easy food is to come by. We are constantly being told to eat thanks to TV, radio and the internet(I am thinking about ordering a pizza right now because of the Domino’s ad I see on the web page). This seems to screw with our natural cravings. It’s like we only become hungry because food is always in front of our face. So we only think we are hungry. We eat and then a few hours later are bombarded again with more advertisements of food. Time to go to Wendy’s! No wonder we are a bunch of fatties. Lack of Balance This is probably the biggest factor in the obesity epidemic we are facing. The fact is most people are very sedentary. We wake up, go to work, sit for 8 hours and return home to sit some more until we hit the sack. Now this may sound a bit exaggerated but it’s not far from the truth for many. Most of the people living like this are very chunky too. People like to argue and say they have a metabolic disorder. They say â€Å"I eat the same amount that my grandparents used to eat and they were always thin. † I wonder if working on a farm and doing manual labor had anything to do with them staying so slim? If you are sedentary and desire to maintain your weight it’s most definitely a great idea to begin working out a few times per week, burn some calories and move around a bit more than usual. Perhaps you can begin walking on your lunch break. If you don’t have time to do any extra activity, then the only way to manage your weight is by watching what you eat and keep it at your maintenance intake. Now ideally, you will be doing both of these(exercise and watching your diet) for optimal results. Eat To Live Eating purely out of necessity is often hard to do because some food tastes so good. Sometimes we eat a little too much or indulge a bit too often. I am not telling you to completely limit your intake of what you really enjoy eating because that will only make you crazy. This is coming from the guy ho eats cereal every day because he absolutely loves it. I really love a big bowl of Cap’n Crunch with cold whole milk. The main point I am trying to make here is we should view food as energy and nothing else. You simply need energy to live. Do not get hung up on food being bad or good, clean or unclean. This will only lead to a terrible relationship with food. I have experienced some slight issues with binge eating, thus I had to take the time to reestablish a healthy relationship with food. Nowadays I am not concerned with what I eat, as long as I eat enough for my current goals. I make sure to get my protein, fish oil and fill in the rest with the other macros. I may eat pizza, tacos, oats or have a few beers. Once you can view food as nothing but a fuel source, a piece of chocolate cake or a bowl of rice is essentially the same difference. They both provide energy. We need energy to live. Don’t live to eat, eat to live. Many people struggle to attain the health goals that they want to achieve. Whether those goals are losing weight, lowering cholesterol levels or just getting into better overall health, the foundation for those goals is a healthy diet. Diet is a four letter word. I’m not sure if you’re aware of that. When people hear the word diet, they cringe. They immediately think it means you have to eat very little, and the food that you’re allowed to eat must taste terrible. I am here to tell you that does not have to be the case. When I talk about diet I mean diet in its most basic meaning. The first definition of diet listed in the dictionary is as follows: Diet (n) – food and drink considered in terms of its qualities, composition, and its effects on health. It’s not about breaking down what you’re eating a cutting a bunch of it out to lose weight. It’s about the quality of the food that you are putting into you mouth and how it will affect your overall health. It truly is about your habits with regard to food. When patients come into my office diet is always something that we modify. Patients come to see us for a wide range of conditions, but dietary change is almost always necessary. There is the occasional patient that already has a perfect diet, but they are few and far between. Patients are very motivated at first to change their eating habits because they are very motivated to feel better. As they get into their programs motivation dwindles and people begin to miss their comfort foods. It really is amazing how much people depend on food to make them happy. It should not be that way. Food can certainly be a source of joy. There is nothing better than a good piece of steak or a tasty chicken breast sometimes. However, if foods become your only enjoyment there is a problem. Food should be nourishment, not your sole source of pleasure. Patients, even when they are achieving the results they desire, complain about the dietary changes they’ve been forced to make. Of course the alternative is to continue down the path they were on, eat as they wish and continue to feel bad. Either way they feel trapped. This is where the mind set needs to switch. They need to finally realize that they need to eat to live, not live to eat. If a person can understand that concept, accept it and then apply it, dietary changes are easy. You are eating to be healthy and therefore happy. Not the other way around. Patients that have the hardest time changing often do not accept this concept. They don’t want to give up ice cream, candy, cakes, etc. ecause they get enjoyment out of consuming them. There are physiological reasons for this of course, but even when those are addressed the mindset does not change. If one can decide to use food as a tool to get healthy rather than a tool to be happy changes occur much faster. Remember this concept: food is fuel for our bodies. We need it to function. We need it to live. We can certainly enjoy it, but it should not be a tool to make us happy. We should view food simply as something that can nourish our bodies and make us healthy. Viewing it this way makes it much easier to make good choices. Inevitably people who choose â€Å"comfort foods† make bad choices. When was the last time you heard that someone over ate chicken breast? It doesn’t happen. People over eat the bad stuff like donuts, chips or ice cream because they are eating for joy, not for nourishment. Abiding by the eat to live, don’t live to eat mantra will serve you well because it will help you make the right diet choices for the right reasons. Chances are, you’ve tried to lose weight. The first goal of dieting is to stop further weight gain. The next goal is to establish a realistic weight loss goals. Any intentional weight reduction results in health benefits. And, the amount of weight loss can improve your health. Changing your behavior to adopt a healthier lifestyle can be tough; however it’s easier to make healthy lifestyle changes one step at a time. Sticking to a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables and exercising regularly are also proven ways to prevent diseases such as cancer and heart complications. Losing weight is not simple because many factors affect how much or how little food a person eats and how that food is metabolized by the body. Your weight depends on the number of calories you consume, how many of those calories you store, and how many you burn. If you decrease your food intake and consume fewer calories than you burn, or if you exercise more and burn up more calories, your body will reduce some of your fat stores. In order to turn your body into a weight loss machine, you must start by determining how many calories you should consume each day. Weight loss can be accomplished by eating fewer calories and by exercising to help you burn fat and calories and keep the weight off. Exercise can boost your metabolism increase muscle mass as a result you burn more calories. The most effective method for weight loss is reducing the number of calories you consume while increasing the number of calories you burn through physical activity. In order to reach this goal, you must multiply your current weight by 15 that’s about the number of calories per pound of body weight needed to maintain your current weight if you do at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day. To lose one to two pounds a week your food consumption should provide less than your total weight-maintenance calories. You will also need to build more activity into your day. In order to lose at least a pound a week, try to do at least 30 minutes of physical activity at least three days a week, and reduce your daily calorie intake. Physical activity is an important part of weight management. However, calorie intake should not fall below 1,200. Becoming physically active can help you burn extra calories and naturally increase your glucose uptake by increasing your metabolism and muscle mass. Whether you want to drop 10 pounds or 100, the truth is that no weight loss plan will work if you don’t stay with it. Our bodies require a complex array of nutritional components, and especially the micro-nutrients that are missing from the normal diet. The question is how to do this while eating less. The answer is to eat super foods, or booster foods. Booster foods provide us with a full spectrum concentrated nutrition with minimal caloric content. A well-functioning metabolism has three jobs: it converts energy from the food we eat into work and heat; it eliminates toxins and any unnecessary nutrients in the form of waste; and it stores glucose in the form of lycogen and extra energy as fat for future use. All of these functions are interrelated and interdependent; they rely on each other. One cannot function properly without the support of the other two. Healthy leanness results from burning fat and building muscle. Many people try to lose weight, but fewer people lose weight and keep it off. The first step in losing weight safely is to determine a realistic weight goal. If you want to lose weig ht, cutting calories or controlling your portions is a good place to start. After determining a reasonable goal weight, devise an eating plan. Our eating habit and lifestyle have a great impact on our body. This does not mean you have to stop eating your favorite foods. It means you must reduce your caloric intake. Set a realistic weight loss goal. One of your goals should be to lose a few pounds and be able to keep it off for a long time. Eating foods high in fiber, such as fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains can be an important aid in weight maintenance because eating enough of fiber can help make a person feel full or curb your appetite longer. Weight loss is a continuous process.