Monday, September 30, 2019

Airport Descriptive Essay

Once inside security at the Las Vegas International Airport, one can watch the excited people getting ready to take that once in a lifetime trip. There is a continuous hum of happy chatter, luggage wheels softly rolling across the floor, and cell phones ringing. It’s late in the afternoon, which is a prime time to get through airport security. The lines are short and the TSA agents are proudly dressed wearing their newly dry cleaned cobalt blue uniforms. A meticulously sewn on patch with our Nation’s flag and a magnificent eagle catches my eye, displaying a proud workforce and a dutiful employee.Each uniform displays a shining gold badge that catches the light and the black cords from the walkie talkies hangs close by. There aren’t many people and the TSA agents are standing tall and are eager and delighted to help the next traveler safely pass through security. A mother and her child are happily placing their items in the taupe rubber-maid bin getting ready to s lide it down the black conveyor belt as an important looking business man casually waits behind them.The little boy was obviously dressed to see someone special and proudly sports an army green jacket and a blue and red striped shirt underneath, his pants are clean but you can tell they have been worn dozens of times and he has spent much time on his knees probably playing with his precious red race car he is now happily placing in the container which is now passing through the airport scanner. After obediently placing his items in the bin the little boy slowly but obviously thrilled walks through the big airport scanner grinning at the TSA agent ahead of him.He suddenly jumps enthusiastically as the scanner beeps and promptly turns around and his mom and the well-dressed business man both laugh and admire his energy. His mother starts examining his pockets for any stowaway metal objects. The escapee was found and the boy tries his chance with the big scanner again. This time he suc cessfully makes it through with his pleased mom right behind him. Elated the boy hurries over to examine his red racecar making sure it survived the expedition in the scanner. After carefully gathering their items the mom and her little boy set out to catch their flight.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

How does Steinbeck present loneliness in ‘of mice and men’? Essay

How does Steinbeck present loneliness in ‘of mice and men’? During the Great Depression in the 1930s in the USA many migrant workers went to California in search of work. In the novel â€Å"Of Mice and Men† John Steinbeck deals with the loneliness which affected these characters. One of the main symbols of this, is the setting of the novel is in Soledad, which translated from Spanish means solitude. Steinbeck point to the cause of loneliness being from discrimination, and the loneliest person on the working ranch would likely be the black stable buck â€Å"Crooks†, this is proved by his actions and his attempts to make friends. You first understand him when he expresses his loneliness to Lennie, â€Å"a guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you. I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick†. (page 82) This indicates he has become mentally ill due to his extreme loneliness in his room. As an African American he is not allowed into the bunk house or to play cards with the white ranchers. Crooks tells Lennie it is â€Å"Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink. Well I tell you, you all of you stink to me.† (page 77) This shows that he longs to join them in playing cards and feels bitter and angry that he can’t. This was a very racist time in America. Crooks was the only black person on the ranch and there was only one other black family in the area. As Crooks says â€Å"If I say something it is just a nigger sayin’ it.† (page 80) Crooks at first turns Lennie away from his room saying â€Å"you got no right to come in my room.† (page 77) but due to Lennie’s ‘disarming smile’ (page 77) he gives in and invites him in. When Crooks realises about the dream of the farm he wants to be part of it, offering to work for nothing. â€Å"If you†¦guys would want a hand to work for nothing – just his keep, why I’d come an’ lend a hand. I ain’t so crippled I can’t work like a son-of-a-bitch if I want to.† (page 86) This shows how desperate Crooks is to overcome his loneliness and be part of something. However, this dream is stopped by Curley’s wife who threatens to accuse of him of rape so that he will be hung. She reminds him that everyone will believe her saying â€Å"Well, you keep your place then, Nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny.† (page 91) This makes Crooks remember that he is not able to be anything else and that the dream is futile. He returns to being angry and bitter. Steinbeck does not offer any solution to Crooks loneliness. He simply gives an observation on life and how lonely it can be for some people. He shows how racism can cause loneliness and isolation and this can cause people to be very bitter and angry.   

Saturday, September 28, 2019

International Banking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

International Banking - Essay Example The 2008 crisis is considerably the first crisis in the era of globalization, as caused by a number of factors which include funding liquidity, and market liquidity (Kolb, 2009, p. 10). Funding liquidity is the availability of sufficient cash in the capital deposit of a financial institution. This means that funding liquidity risks occur whenever banks cannot fund their own businesses. Market liquidity, on the other hand, takes into considerations issues to do with trade institutions which are easily able to do business within the available markets; therefore, market liquidity risk factors are the difficult situations when any market is not sufficient enough for easy trade activities (Pedersen, 2008, p. 13). The roles of Funding Liquidity and Market Liquidity in the 2008 Crisis According to Strahan Philip (2012), funding liquidity risks and market liquidity risks contributed much to the occurrence of the 2008 financial and economic downturn. Towards the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008, the consequences of banks giving liquidity to loaners and creditors in the world’s leading economies was felt throughout the globe. The banks in the USA began lending loan liquidity to people; this led to weakening of their capital bases. It additionally exposed banks to funding liquidity risks, which eventually lead to bank runs. ... This saw the JP Morgan Chase bank running out of cash in its deposit pots. The issue of securitization is another cause of the financial crisis. American banks came into one pool in order to create a sense of security while giving out irresponsible loans. This proved dangerous since the banks gave out risky loans to many individuals who could not afford to service these loans at high interest rates as was expected of them (Pinyo, 2008, pp. 1-6). Due to runs, the banking institutions got involved into the trend of cash borrowing in order to create more securitization. As a consequence, property prices started fluctuating, thereby causing panic even in the Sub-prime mortgage market (Rhodes & Stelter, 2010, p. 32). Banks that did not have enough cash in their accounts began repossessing their high value properties such as buildings. Bigger banks, on the other hand, started to buy securities from the minor banking institutions with the intentions of saving the economic situation as had p revailed. However, this instead resulted into greater damages within the real world economy (Weisberg, 2010, p. 46). At far, all these economic turnovers resulted into funding liquidity risks and market liquidity risks within the banks themselves, hence scaring away a number of investors who then reacted by withdrawing their deposits; and thus, commodities prices fell to the extreme levels. The chart below indicates Liquidity Spiral as caused by the market and funding liquidity risks. Sources: (Pedersen, & Garlean, 2007; Pedersen, & Brunnermeier, 2008) How to measure bank funding liquidity risk and market liquidity risk There are several ways of measuring funding

Friday, September 27, 2019

Contemporary corporate governance issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 1

Contemporary corporate governance issues - Essay Example The emergence of the concept shareholders value arose from the concept of separation of ownership and control which is also known as fragmentation of ownership. The concept focussed on how the owners of the company usurp the company’s profits for personal interest. The concept of shareholders emerged to enhance the betterment of the company. The relationships between the banks and the companies in UK prevented concentrated share ownership of certain companies in UK. The prevalent laissez –faire policy in the UK focussed on the non economic interest of the company and wanted to underpin the emerging corporate economy. There were sudden changes in the policies of the company where there was minimum government intervention and the concept of shareholders value evolved. The concept revolved around the fact that individual private owners of the company are the shareholders of the company, and managers have to act in accordance with their decisions. Whenever shareholders were unavailable for decision making in a meeting, the managers of the company would make the decisions on the shareholders behalf (European Investment Bank, 2012c). This ensured that the divergence between the interests of shareholders and managers did not become too extreme. The modern day business practices regard shareholders as the owners of the company. They usually buy the shares of the company (European Investment Bank, 2012a). There is no specific amount of shares that need to be bought in order to become a shareholder of the company. Shareholders can exercise their voting rights in the company. There are some exceptions, like the Kuala Lampur Stock Exchange prohibits the shareholders from exercising their voting rights. Shareholders regard the annual meeting as a serious event as they can question the management regarding issues which are pertaining to the company and are included and excluded in the annual report.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Explain the reasons for and the effects of Bahamian emigration to Term Paper

Explain the reasons for and the effects of Bahamian emigration to Florida between (1870's-1920's) - Term Paper Example Why United States? The country was agricultural country, the country has strong economic foundation, and the quality of life of its citizen was comparatively better than other any country. The United States was considered to be land of opportunity, and was therefore a safe haven for the migrants from South America. The economy of the country was on road to success and expansion, and the country required large number of labour forces. The migrants were South America were therefore able to find adequate opportunities, and were able to secure economic fortunes and quality life. The status of the newly emancipated blacks in the nineteenth century provoked a wave of migration of whites to the United States. Key West played an important part in the Bahamas – Florida connection. Many whites who were living in the northern islands such as the Abacos were making a livelihood from activities such as sponging, fishing and wrecking. After emancipation these activities also became a part of the livelihood of the newly emancipated slave. The whites then found themselves in stiff competition with the blacks. This and other reasons drove them to occupy Key West which was in close proximity to the Bahamas. There racial prejudices also helped to push them at a faster rate and in greater numbers. â€Å"The Abaconians had migrated because they were ‘disgusted at the civil and religious equality of the negroes’ and were conversely attracted by the fact that Florida was a slaveholding state resolutely adhering to ‘Southern values’, where the y could ‘gratify their contemptuous dislike without stint and without reprisals’ (Craton & Saunders 218). The trend changed, however, in 1865 after the abolition of slavery in the United States. Encouraged by the possibility of job opportunities and better living conditions many black Bahamians also moved to Key West. Another wave of black Bahamian migrants

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Personnel management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Personnel management - Essay Example The main significance of diversity in any organization is that the employees can face many adversities and contingencies on a continuous basis. In a workplace where there is diversity, one can see that the employees have more empowerment and official rights. The main objective of an organization in attracting different employees is to enhance the team workability and talent pool. Moreover, the human resource department of an organization has more selection in recruiting employees if the workforce of the organization is supposed to be diverse and versatile. The workforce of an organization can be diverse in relation to many factors: gender, race, nationality, disability and education. Moreover, the organizations can reap more advantages and disadvantages from the employees if work diversity exists in a workplace. Practically, if we consider defining the concept of workplace diversity, it can be referred to as the inclusion of variety of people in an organization to receive full potentiality out of them. According to Edwards (2012), â€Å"When the workplace is diverse, it shows that your establishment is a true equal opportunity business that hires people with different backgrounds and races, instead of segregating, or discriminating against a certain individual†. The diversity in a workforce has a highlight of extracting potentiality from various human resources available throughout the world. This includes various types of people with different instincts who can contribute to the success and profitability of an organization. In America, the workforce diversity can be reflected in the employer’s option of hiring people aged from 25 to 64 in an attempt to get maximum potentiality and experience from the country’s manpower. In the same manner, it has been recently noticed that the recruitment of Hispanic/Latino employees has

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Statistics for Quality Management Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Statistics for Quality Management - Coursework Example The main perspective of this assignment is to analyse the issue initiated in the study related to accounting and its related software. The study which has been associated with the same is defining the importance of ERP on the functions of an organisation. It is required to initiate the problems, identified in the study, and specifically defined the concept of ERP in particular. Before going in the further details in the assignment, it is important to define about the ERP in particular and then move towards the main theme of this paper. Dragon Oil is a private individual company and considered as the well recognized individual in the exploration of oil and gas along with manufacturing activities across the globe. The company’s headquarter is located in Dubai and is enlisted in the stock exchange of Ireland. The company came into existence with the name Oliver Prospecting & Mining Co. Limited in Ireland by the year 1971. The company was then come up with new plans and strategies along with new name Dragon Oil in 1993 and executed heavy investment in the oilfield of Cheleken. ENOC evolved a major venture by 1998. During the period 2005 to 2005, the Dragon oil did an extensive increment in capital for more exploration while observed a net income of around US$ 648.4 by 2012. The process flow of the company is highly sophisticated comprises on different department and software implementation. The implementation of ERP becomes one of the dominant processes for the company as a whole.The acronym of ERP is Enterprise Resources Planning and it is known as one of the most essential tools or software which can assist an organisation from different perspectives and angles. ERP integrates the system that usually associated with the internal and external management of information within the premises of an organisation (Buljevich, E & Park, Y 1999). ERP system is one of the most sophisticated systems for the organisations as a whole as it

Monday, September 23, 2019

Ethics and Professional Responsibilities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ethics and Professional Responsibilities - Essay Example This is because they may result in to severe consequences if not well checked. Therefore the moral obligation to consider the consequences of their actions or decisions lies with the engineers themselves. Whenever a safety problem occurs or during a disaster recovery, any concern noted by engineers should get reported to the relevant authority to enable investigation and subsequent response to the problem. This has often been a challenge especially when one feels they may be blacklisted or fired. However, it is ethical and moral standards that an individual engineer has that will bring a difference when such situations arise (Jr, Pritchard, Rabins, James, & Englehardt, 2013). When an issue of concern is not reported due to fear of having one’s job in the line, the consequences that may arise could be very dire not only to those in the surrounding but also to the engineers who engage in the given activity. Therefore, it is important for engineering students to have ethics as a part of the curriculum so that they are prepared to make decisive decisions in their professional careers. This will enable presentation of code of ethics to the profession of engineers saving the world from the unforeseen misfortunes that may result from unethical practices in this profession ( Jr, Pritchard, Rabins, James, & Englehardt,

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Scientific Management by Federick Taylor Essay Example for Free

Scientific Management by Federick Taylor Essay Federick W. Taylor, considered the father of scientific management published his work, The Principles of Scientific Management in 1911 has been instrumental in revolutionising management thought. He promoted the process of scientifically studying work to increase worker and organisational efficiency. His principles contributed to a variety of management practices involving specialisation, assembly production, division of work, work incentives and management control. The development of machine-tools reach a point marking thr beginning of today large scale production line in factory more tan hundred years ago. The commencement of mass factory production was fundamentally influenced by Federick Talyor. His scientific management concept shaped for good all the features of industry and Talyor is the inaugurator and father of, as well as chief worker in, the movement to impart excellence to management by viewing it as an art base on scientific principles. universal in scope, his work long since has penetrated to every country and that in these establishment ther saw some degree of influnce by his scientific principles. In our global economy, efficient businesses will be rewarded with profit as Federick Taylor advocated in his concept of Scientific Management. In a global economy, there is simply no places for inefficiency to hide wrote Hamel in The Utimate Business Library and You have to believe that Federick Winslow Taylor would have loved Wal-Mart,Sony or Federal Express modern icon of efficiency More than 100 years has passed yet his principles in scientific management is still relevant in many sectors of business today. One example is the fast food restaurant, likened to little factory, with a manager who overseas and control the workers, sales, inventory and supply, everything to keep the shop running efficiently as Talyors wishes. Much of Taylors ideas were adapted in the operation of the assembly line and many of Ford Motor companys operations in the assembling of motor vehicles in early 1910. This was when Ford Motor mass produced cars. However the application of Taylors concept into management practices was met with resistant opposition from workers and their unions, as workers had to work very much faster in Taylors Scientific Management style. Union leader resented Taylors ways and claimed workers were mistreated in his focus towards efficiency. Yet others will find Taylors ideas applaudable up to today. Schachter(2007) found Taylors style still practice in many governrment agencies where proposal of public sector efficiency was similiar with Taylors approach.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Mexican Americans in American Popular Culture Essay Example for Free

Mexican Americans in American Popular Culture Essay It is a known fact that modern entertainment media created certain images and stereotypes of Latin, Asian and other ethnic minorities living in our country. American cinema movies, TV series or even PC games mostly picture the members of Latin and Mexican cultures as aggressive tempered mustached guys, who smoke and fight a lot, and who are always involved in drug distribution or some criminal activities. This tendency had very negative effects on our minds, and many of our citizens are convinced that there are no educated, good-mannered and decent people in Mexican communities. I was always wondering why it happens this way, and studying some historic material, including the articles from the site Digital History, helped me to find some answers on this question. This tendency proved to have a long history and it was formed during the second and the third decades of the twentieth century, when Hollywood producers started expressing their concern and fears caused by the afflux of talented Mexican actors, including Lupe Velez or Dolores Del Rio, their success and public recognition in the US. That is why many performers of Latin origin were given the roles of bandits, thieves and other not attractive characters. After the World War II a number of movies were produced, in which the directors tried to restore the image of Mexican Americans, but after the 1960s, when the problems of illegal immigration from the South became topical, caricaturizing the Mexicans continued. During the last decades, negative characters of Hispanic origin have been appearing in many popular cinema movies or TV series, starting from Chico and the Man and ending with 24. Also, a great contribution to reinforcing the distorted images of the Mexicans was made by a series of popular video games Grand Theft Auto (GTA). In my opinion, this situation is really dejecting, and I am convinced that recent attempts of Mexican artists to demonstrate their true cultural identity and unique distinctive heritage must be supported in our society, and their ethnic voices must be heard.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Primary and Early Dentition Treatment

Primary and Early Dentition Treatment The function of primary dentition is to provide mastication, as well as to maintain the occlusion, and to maintain space for permanent teeth eruption. The primary teeth exfoliation and permanent successors eruption is a physiological process (Rao and Sarkar, 1999). In recent decades even after the advanced dental care that increased with intact dentition, early loss of primary teeth still remain a major concern (Bach and Manton, 2014). Early loss of primary teeth result majorly from dental caries. Other causes include trauma, infection, ectopic eruption, arch length deficiencies leading to resorption of primary teeth and congenital disorders (Brothwell, 1997).   Consequences of early loss of primary teeth includes unwanted tooth migrations of primary or permanent teeth with associated loss of arch length. Deficiency in arch length can lead to malocclusion with crowding, rotations, ectopic eruption, unfavourable molar relationship, overbite, overjet, and cross bite (Brothwell, 1997) . The problems accompanying with early loss of primary teeth have been a subject of concern in many studies. Early loss of teeth in the primary dentition has different impacts depending on which teeth are lost, childs age, existing alignment and occlusion (Rock and British Society of Paediatric, 2002). Potential consequences must be considered during the clinical examination and treatment planning to determine whether space maintenance is required and what type of space maintainer would be most appropriate (Ngan et al., 1999) Early loss of a primary incisor has little effect upon  the permanent dentition although it does detract  from appearance. Early loss of primary canines or molars is more  serious since space loss may follow. In each quadrant  the primary canine and molars together are larger than  the succeeding permanent canine and premolars, the  difference in tooth sizes between the two dentitions  being the Leeway space [10]. This can be assessed  with reasonable accuracy by the size difference  between first and second primary molars, since the  primary first molar is equal in size to the premolar  that will replace it, while the primary second molar is  much larger than the second premolar. For this reason  the Leeway space is also known as the E space.   Extraction of a primary canine or molar may  cause mesial drift of teeth behind the space and  distal drift of anterior teeth, with resultant displace-  ment of permanent teeth and centreline disturbance.   Early loss of a primary incisor has little effect upon  the permanent dentition although it does detract  from appearance. Early loss of primary canines or molars is more  serious since space loss may follow. In each quadrant  the primary canine and molars together are larger than  the succeeding permanent canine and premolars, the  difference in tooth sizes between the two dentitions  being the Leeway space [10]. This can be assessed with reasonable accuracy by the size difference between first and second primary molars, since the primary first molar is equal in size to the premolar  that will replace it, while the primary second molar is  much larger than the second premolar. For this reason  the Leeway space is also known as the E space.  Extraction of a primary canine or molar may  cause mesial drift of teeth behind the space and  distal drift of anterior teeth, with resultant displacement of permanent teeth and centreline disturbance. Early loss of a primary incisor has little effect upon  the permanent dentition although it does detract  from appearance.   Early loss of primary canines or molars is more  serious since space loss may follow. In each quadrant  the primary canine and molars together are larger than  the succeeding permanent canine and premolars, the  difference in tooth sizes between the two dentitions  being the Leeway space [10]. This can be assessed  with reasonable accuracy by the size difference  between first and second primary molars, since the  primary first molar is equal in size to the premolar  that will replace it, while the primary second molar is much larger than the second premolar. For this reason  the Leeway space is also known as the E space. Extraction of a primary canine or molar may  cause mesial drift of teeth behind the space and  distal drift of anterior teeth, with resultant displacement of permanent teeth and centreline disturbance. Impact of early loss of primary molars: Primary second molar is most often prone to get caries and results in early loss. Early loss of primary second molars can   lead to decrease in arch length prominently in maxilla than in mandible (Ngan et al., 1999). The loss of second primary molar lead to mesial migration of adjacent first permanent molar, loss of space for second premolar eruption and early eruption of second permanent molar. The decrease in arch length is more severe when primary second molar loss occurs prior to eruption of first permanent molar as second primary molar serve as a guide for erupting first permanent molar (Ngan et al., 1999). However no substantial change in midline coincidence (Rock and British Society of Paediatric, 2002). Henceforth, it is generally agreed that reduction in space after early loss of primary second molar is more significant than primary first molars and require space maintenance (Ngan et al., 1999). A long term study conducted in Canada to investigate the effects of early loss of primary molars in 107 children over six years of age, 66% of these children had early loss of primary molars majorly because of caries. These children were followed for approximately six years with yearly assessment   for space loss. This study reported that loss of space was more when second molar was lost early and its effect is more in maxilla than in mandible, and had detrimental effect on molar relationship.   When first and second molars are lost, the arch length was significantly effected in maxilla than mandible. The space loss was mainly due to the drifting of first permanent molar while canine distal migration was significant until 9 years in mandible and 8-11 years in maxilla. Relatively more space was lost in first year following the extraction with rate of space loss age related in maxilla but not in mandible (Northway et al., 1984). Macena et al., 2011, conducted a study to evaluate the space changes after premature loss of deciduous molars among 55 Brazilian children of age between 6 and 9 years and followed for 10 months. This study reported that early loss of second primary molar lead to significant changes in the space left in both arches. The major decrease in space occurred in the first 3 months after the extraction of the deciduous molars. The decrease in space after second primary molar occurred majorly because of mesial movement of first permanent molar and which may lead to impaction of permanent second premolar or future crowding. They suggested that a space maintainer is needed in such cases especially when it occurs in children with malocclusion and crowding (Macena et al., 2011). Recently a study conducted to determine the space loss after early loss of second primary molar before eruption of permanent molar and after eruption of permanent molar in 87 children and followed for 48 months. They reported that significant space loss occurred in the first six month (P

Thursday, September 19, 2019

pipe lines :: essays research papers

Herkansingsopdracht ETGRS2 (interactieve lesbrief): Als herkansing wordt van een student gevraagd een lesbrief over een onderwerp of thema uit het vakgebied van Game Technologie / Game Design uit te werken als een zelfstandig te ‘lezen’ lesbrief. Doel is je, op basis van het geen in de lessen is behandeld, je eigen interesse, vaardigheid en richting, verdieping te zoeken in een thema / onderwerp, en dit zodanig te presenteren in een lesbrief dat anderen na lezen van de lesbrief meer over het onderwerp te weten zijn gekomen. Het moet een heldere en inzichtelijke tutorial-achtig verhaal zijn, gericht op een doelgroep van MT-studenten die met Games (en GameMaker) aan de slag gaan (dus nog niet zoveel kennis hebben). NB. Dus niet de lesstof of lesreaders of bestaande tutorials kopià «ren en aanbieden, maar zelf een uitgebreider verhaal maken, waaruit het behandelde item (en de bijbehorende sub-items) duidelijk uitgelegd worden. Zodat ook duidelijk wordt dat je jezelf er in verdiept hebt. In principe is ieder onderwerp mogelijk, als het aansluit op het vakthema GameTechnologie en/of GameDesign. Onderwerpen moeten eerst voorgelegd worden voor goedkeuring. De lesbrief behandelt deze dan door de te presenteren historie, achtergronden, theorie, voorbeelden, à ©Ãƒ ©n of meerdere oefeningen en tot slot een toekomstvisie van jezelf op het onderwerp. Kies een onderwerp welk aansluit op je eigen 'gerichtheid' ; waar ben je goed in – waar heb je feeling mee – waar wil je jezelf verder in verdiepen; dit om tot een lesbrief van een zinvol niveau te kunnen komen. Onderwerpen kunnen zijn (maak keuze of doe een voorstel voor eigen onderwerp): Basic game technologies (kies een van onderstaande items): *Behavior and Motion : reactive behavior rule-based systems in games agents and bots in games Finite State Machines *Motion control Interaction models Motion planning Collision detection †¢ path finding 􀂃 collision detection 􀂃 AI principles MT – programma E&T – vak ETGRS2 jan. 2005 NWH, 4-4-05, pag. 2 / 2 †¢ Essentials of a (good) game 􀂃 Rules 􀂃 Play 􀂃 Meaningful Play 􀂃 the game System 􀂃 Magic Circle 􀂃 Procedural Representation Basis opbouw 'lespresentatie': Een lespresentatie is een helder, overzichtelijk, verdiepend college aan de andere studenten over een bepaald thema of onderwerp binnen het domein van Graphics&Sound. Een makkelijk leesbaar, tutorial achtig document, met beeldmateriaal (screenshots, movies etc.) waarin het onderwerp duidelijk wordt behandeld.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Antigone :: Free Essay Writer

Antigone The characters in the play Antigone all suffer a downfall of some sort. The major characters suffer the most, though. In this short essay, I will document on how the two main characters, Creon and Antigone, both inevitably become tragic heroes. The first example that I observed in Antigone was her self-righteous plight to bury her brother. She believes that what she is doing is right, and that she will do it no matter what the consequences, because he was her brother, her blood. This establishes the first part of a tragic hero, the part about doing something for the good of someone else, rather for than the greater glory of doing it. The first impression that Creon made upon me was his stern, ironclad manner and ethical code. When the reader is first introduced to Creon, his or her first impression is that Creon will eventually die, as the villain does in nearly any play, movie, novel, etc. But in actuality, Creon suffers the most of all, losing his one key to immortality, his son. I ruled out that Antigone probably was a tragic hero to a lesser extent, however, when she started to question her actions. A real hero of any sort always does what they think is right. Since Creon still hadn't changed his mind at that point, I was perplexed on who would become the one who regretted their actions later, and was eventually going to experience a catharsis. Haimon was the "silent" tragic hero of the play, suffering at the hands of his strict father. Haimon remained loyal up to a certain point, until the question of whether Creon's decision was possibly the right one. Haimon established himself as a tragic hero when he tried to kill Creon in revenge for Antigone's suicide. Haimon not only lost Antigone's love, he lost his life. Earlier, I mentioned Antigone's self-righteousness. Creon had an egotistical point of view as well. Antigone thought at first that her actions were justified and righteous when it came to the question of morals and ethics. Creon was not at all different, believing that his way was the "right" way, or the way the "Gods" would have chosen. Both realized the mistake they made, and regretted it later, when it was too late. Creon certainly suffered the most, losing three of his immediate family, the unmentioned being his wife. But to say that Creon is the only tragic hero in the play is extremely naive and shortsighted.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Five force model of PIXAR

Threat of new entrants: High Advanced technologies make it difficult for new competitors to enter the market because they have to develop those technologies before effectively competing. The requirement for advanced technologies positively affects PIXAR. The PIXAR has a high level technology development department, so the threat of new competitors is the technology. Threat of substitute products or services: Moderate I consider substitute products to be theater or other forms of entertainment. Internet is also a substitute form of entertainment as the concept of instant messaging was very popular at this time. Also, we can see the beginning of the popular social network Facebook gain traction as it was launched in 2004. Rivalry among existing competitors: High Since there are only a few key players with similar percentage of market share (ranges from 14%-19%), the competition between them is strong. To be more competitive, the growing trend is to consolidate and acquire other studios. For example, Vivendi acquired Universal in 2000, which was then acquired by GE in 2004 and Viacom acquired DreamWorks in 2006. Power of buyers: Moderate I assess this threat to be moderate as there are many potential consumers with limited financial impact on the industry. In addition, the industry is dominated by key players thus is able to limit the options for the buyers. On the contrary, even though there are only a few options, there are effectively zero switching costs for customers. Hence, watching a film by one company does not make it more costly or difficult to then watch a film from a competitor. Power of suppliers: Moderate I assess this threat to be moderate since with technology, hand-drawn animation is being replaced by computer technology. In addition, the needs for these computer animation skills start to be outsourced from North America to Asia Pacific where there are significant lower costs coupled with high quality computer animation production.

Monday, September 16, 2019

The Act Of Bullying In Schools Education Essay

Bullying is the act whereby a individual hurts, persecutes or even intimidates a weaker individual. This is one act which is profoundly rooted in schools where the seniors take advantage of the juniors and maltreat them a great trade. The strong-arming action involves many incidences of combat, in which instance the toughs involve themselves in battles with the other pupils ( Whitted & A ; Dupper, 2010 ) . The victims of such an action are more frequently faced with quite a figure of jobs which are non encouraging. These may consist of disquietedness, really low ego regard, depression, really low-self assurance, and even hapless self-image ( Whitted & A ; Dupper, 2010 ) . The victims may be so much affected that they start losing involvement in school. Both the toughs and those bullied show hapless psychosocial operation than those who are wholly uninvolved ( Nansel et al, 2009 ) . This translates to really low school attending and attendant hapless public presentation in the academi c circles. This is so a major job which needs to be addressed with all the earnestness that it deserves. However, the instructors, in the procedure of controling this mystifier, may stop up passing instructional clip on the same, something that affects the overall academic criterions in the long tally. Background Covering with this facet of force in schools has become a teething job to most instructors. High profile degrees of force are most dealt with, but strong-arming is one signifier of force which is non considered to be utmost but ought to be taken attention of, lest it brings down the criterions of instruction due to its inauspicious effects. Harmonizing to research which has been carried out in the recent times, intimidation has been found to hold really deep effects on the general acquisition ambiance of a school. The ability of proper acquisition by the pupil is extremely affected due to apprehensiveness. This is brought approximately by the torment and all signifiers of bullying associated with intimidation patterns. If this job is non corrected, it can take to other signifiers of force, which might be more unsafe ( Whitted & A ; Dupper, 2010 ) . Back in the twelvemonth 2001, the â€Å" No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 † ( NCLB ) , a jurisprudence which was passed in the Uni ted States of America, sees unto it that safety in the school is upheld and of major importance to the school direction. Schools which are considered to be mature with job behaviours and therefore insecure are marked, and their pupils permitted to travel to safer schools. However, those schools which are considered to be safe demand be in the same vicinity or part. This shows the earnestness with which the facet of force, and in this instance intimidation, is taken with. Bullying, as one of the major job behaviours in schools, can really hold sedate reverberations on all the parties involved in it, and are at times long-run. The victims ever suffer a batch of jobs. They try to sequester themselves and this leads to depression and a feeling of insecurity at all times ( Crick & A ; Casar, 2009 ) . Students tend to detest and fear traveling to school, one thing that leads to many school dropouts ( Whitted & A ; Dupper, 2010 ) . The toughs besides suffer emotionally and their societal lives may be eroded in the long tally. These toughs may stop up in unsafe packs and groups in future. These are the people who get involved in condemnable activities and stop up being a menace to the society. Therefore, the earlier this job is taken attention of, the better. The informants besides bear some effects. Reports indicate that informants of these strong-arming actions suffer fright of being the following victims and marks of such mistreatments. They therefore suf fer hurt and are ever unhappy about the same. This translates to hapless public presentation in their faculty members since they concentrate on how to avoid the toughs and being the latter ‘s quarry, instead than concentrating on faculty members ( Chandler et al. ) . Anti-bully plans which are to win at the school degree need to aim the kids as persons. This will assist in altering the manner the pupils position and comprehend the whole affair, which translates to a safer acquisition environment. To accomplish this, all the parties have to be profoundly involved in these plans, that is, the victims, the toughs, those who witness these actions, and even their households ( Whitted & A ; Dupper, 2010 ) . For these types of plans to bear fruit, the instructors and decision makers must ever demo their involvement by manner of to the full back uping the plan. This involves passing fundss on them and guaranting that the plans are taught in category by manner of drifting them in the course of study. The instructors should take a firm stand on etiquette and acceptable behavioural tendencies amongst the pupils. School regulations need to be developed which prohibit strong-arming at all costs. Everybody in the school, need to take it as his or her ain enterprise to control this frailty and convey it to an terminal. No 1 should excuse this type of behaviour, and more so the caput of the establishment. The decision makers should affect everybody in coming up with policies that address this job and the policies need to be written 1s and distributed to the whole school community. One such policy should clearly specify what intimidation is and most likely a coverage system which is rather confidential. This will travel a long manner in promoting those who are victimized or have witnessed such an action in the establishment to describe without fright of being known ( Nansel et al, 2009 ) . An appraisal of the advancement of the anti-bully plans is supposed to be implemented in order to c over decently with this frailty. This can be done in signifier of questionnaires which are distributed most frequently. Through such appraisals, consciousness is created in the school and aid to take a firm stand the importance of good behavioural patterns. Such an appraisal besides assistance in the procedure of coming up with other schemes such as programs of implementing the plans which are set, since everyone is involved. Now that everyone is involved, consciousness and cognition over the same is enhanced, one thing that help cultivate virtuousnesss such as empathy in the pupil ‘s lives. Problem Statement The general survey is how the instructors covering with strong-arming during the category that involve physical maltreatment, psychological, and badgering that may ensue in hapless academic public presentation for the victims. The job of this survey is instructors taken the clip to turn to Acts of the Apostless of force in the schoolroom diminish instructional clip. Bullying is one pattern which is of a major concern to all schools. Not merely does it impact the academic criterions of the pupils and the school in general, but besides leads to eroding of the behaviours and ethical motives of those involved, particularly the toughs. This job needs to be sorted out for there to be a good and ample environment for larning to take topographic point efficaciously. Research has proven that most instructors take strong-arming for granted. They take it as mere childhood wonts and behaviours. The dining hall torment patterns, for illustration, are normally overlooked, and this forms the footing for this type of sick behaviour that needs to be done off with ( Whitted & A ; Dupper, 2010 ) . The job arises where the instructors tend to pass clip covering with intimidation instances, clip which could otherwise be used in productive academic work. This is because they are involved to the full in the decision-making procedures, which include coming up with poli cies which may be used in covering with this job. Execution of these policies is besides time-consuming ; particularly where they are floated after there is an dismaying rate of strong-arming incidences. Both school and student-intervention methods discussed earlier on should be implemented in order to cultivate an environment which is friendly and easy to cover with. Teachers who have incorporated instructions on strong-arming into their instruction course of study find it easy to cover with this frailty in ulterior yearss. This is because the pupils learn to appreciate each other and incidences of strong-arming are greatly reduced. A qualitative descriptive research methodological analysis is appropriate while transporting out this survey since it entails inside informations refering the ideas of people, particularly the instructors and their sentiments. The population group has to affect unfastened inquiries and a physical instruction instructor from Jacksonville, FL Schools. Purpose statement The intent of this descriptive qualitative survey is to derive some apprehension from instructors about their perceptual experiences and patterns environing strong-arming behaviours in category. This is based on the fact that teachers view this whole issue in a different position. This research survey is aimed at look intoing the grade and extent of job behaviour in schools nationally. The survey will imply all the signifiers of force in the school whether high-level or low-level. Problem behaviours which are regarded to be utmost or high-ranking include onslaught and even killings.This are normally given all the attending in most schools at the disbursal of the low-level signifiers of force ( Crick & A ; Casar, 2009 ) . Some signifiers of job behaviours are non viewed as being exterme, and are therefore overlooked. One such signifier of force is strong-arming and is truly widespread ( Whitted & A ; Dupper, 2010 ) . The environment and general temper of the school is ever affected by strong-arming patterns. The aftereffects of strong-arming are far much alarming and it ‘s a high clip the job is solved one time and for all. The other intent of this descriptive qualitative research survey is to look into the sort of attempts which are underway in schools to forestall job behaviour. Due to the inauspicious effects of the latter in schools, a batch is being done to make away with it. The instructors are the acknowledged leaders in this attempt ; nevertheless, duty for effectual anti-bullying plans must be the duty of the entire school community ( Nansel et al, 2009 ) . One of them is integrating strong-arming bar plans in the course of study. This aid in early instructions against job behaviours in the pupils. It besides creates awareness amongst the school community and will travel a long manner in forestalling any farther behavioural jobs in future. Policies to cover with intimidation jobs are besides established. This has to affect all the members of the school community for effectual execution and attachment to these policies. The caputs of the schools are besides at the head in the kerb of these behav ioural jobs. There bases are to be steadfast and should direct strong messages which prohibit these signifiers of force since they extremely and negatively hold both physical, societal, and psychological impacts. The concluding intent of this descriptive research survey is to look into how good the attempts to forestall job behaviour are being implemented. Some of the policies are implemented, but non in full, a thing which hinders the full realisation of the chief aim. The school squad responsible for inadvertence of the school ‘s blustery bar plan provides developing for all staff members on this issue and any other behavioural jobs and this commission trade with execution of all the set up policies ( Nansel et al, 2009 ) . This survey is to travel into the deepnesss of measuring and analyzing the correlativity between strong-arming and engagement in physical instruction categories, a thing which is to help the procedure of battling job behaviours in schools and their associated effects.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

The Masculine and Feminine in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Since time immemorial, men and women struggle against each other because of the issue on power, control and domination. William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream similarly depicts men and women who are at odds due to their differing beliefs and values.Through the characters of Theseus, Hippolyta, Oberon, Titania, Egeus, Hermia, Demetrius and Helena, Shakespeare represents that the feminine is struggling against the authority and domination of the masculine and the masculine is maintaining its authority and domination over the feminine. This essay attempts to explain how Shakespeare accomplishes to characterize the feminine and the masculine through the men and women in the play.A Midsummer Night’s Dream illustrates that women attempt to go against male domination in the story but they are almost always controlled by men. Examples of feminine disobedience to the patriarchal rule are demonstrated by Hermia, Titania, Helena and Hippolyta.At the start of the st ory, Hermia does not follow his father Egeus’ decision for her to marry Demetrius. Instead, she chooses Lysander because she loves him. She resists his father’s right to decide whom to choose for her future husband. She would rather choose to live as a nun or to even die for breaking the Athenian law than to be married to Demetrius. When she was brought by her father into the presence of Theseus, she speaks these words:So will I grow, so live, so die, my lord,/ Ere I will yield my virgin patent up/ Unto his lordship, whose unwished yoke/ My soul consents not to give sovereignty. (I.i. 79-82)These words reveal the beliefs of the feminine that they would rather choose other options like being a nun or being sentenced to death than to suffer being with a man they do not love. It also expresses the belief that the woman alone has the right to decide whom to allow dominion over her.Similarly, Titania queen of the Faeries does not yield to her husband’s wish to make a â€Å"changeling boy† who was given to her by an Indian King to be his page. Titania stands by what she wants and she resolves that she will take care of the boy especially that the boy’s mother who is already was her loyal follower.So she tells her husband Oberon, â€Å"And for her sake I rear up the boy, / And for her sake I will not part with him† (II.i. 136-137) and she defies the masculine authority of Oberon. Titania’s decision and actions relate that even if a woman is married to a man, it does not mean the wife will submit to everything the husband wants.On the other hand, Helena complains on the limitations of women, â€Å"We cannot fight for love, as men may do; / We should be woo’d and were not made to woo./ I’ll follow thee and make a heaven of hell,/ To die upon the hand I love so well† (II.i. 241-244).She resists moral conventions that only men can pursue after the women. She follows Demetrius even if he drives him away from him. She bluntly tells Demetrius: The more you beat me, I will fawn on you./ Use me but as your spaniel, spurn me, strike me,/   Neglect me, lose me; only give me leave/, Unworthy as I am, to follow you. (II.i. 204-207).Helena and her actions exemplify women who are liberated and who wants to be equal with men in terms of expressing their feelings to the one they love.Lastly, Hippolyta is a symbol of a woman who fought against male aggression but was conquered. In Act I Scene 1 of the play, Theseus, Duke of Athens, mentions about winning over Hippolyta’s love with his â€Å"sword† and by inflicting her with â€Å"injuries† which could mean that Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons has been defiant against the masculine authority of Theseus before he became triumphant.And even though she is already betrothed to Theseus and does not say anything more about the wedding, it is uncertain if she heartily agrees to it. Despite of this, Hippolyta is an example of a w oman who is courageous to fight. Unfortunately, she is also an example of the feminine that is usually defeated by the masculine. Her fate is also what happens to Titania.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Mediatory Argument

When it comes to finding common ground on important issues, few polarize people as much as immigration questions and difficulties. There are plenty of varying opinions on immigration, especially when one considers whether or not to grant United States citizenship to illegal immigrants. Some feel that illegal immigrants should be given a chance to earn their citizenship, since they are already in the country. Others feel that they are criminals who deserve nothing from the government of the United States. Finding a middle ground on that issue is difficult, but it is possible through mediation. When one takes the time to research the issue at hand, some interesting things come to light. The first thing that a person must understand is the definition of an illegal alien. An illegal alien, as the name suggests, is a person who comes to the United States illegally. In short, it is a person that enters the country through some means that is not approved by the immigration office of the United States. The punishment for such an offense is something that must also be considered by any person who is looking to do research. If an illegal alien is found out in the United States, then they are usually deported back to the country where they came from. In some cases, they are detained for a short time before being shipped back to their country. Research must also be done on the options for these people. Where do they come from and why do they come to the United States? As one might expect, the majority of illegal aliens come to the United States because they have nowhere else to go. These people do not have a future or a leg to stand on in their previous countries, so they make their way into America with an eye on making a new life for themselves or for their families. One side of this argument might also focus on the job status of these people, as well. Unfortunately for many Americans, some of the jobs have been occupied by illegal aliens. This is something worth considering if one hopes to find a middle ground between the two sides of this equation. There are certain middle grounds in this argument where people come together. Though folks might disagree on many things, one would be hard pressed to find anyone who believed that illegal aliens were worse off in the United States. In addition, most people on either side of the chart can admit that illegal aliens are just as likely to pass the citizenship requirements as those people who migrate to the United States legally. In addition to all of that, both sides can see some part of the American dream coming out in this situation. When America was being formed, it took on all comers as a place where anyone could come to explore and find great opportunities. Though that has changed some, it is still one of the American ideals that all residents of this country hold near and dear. As for disagreements, there are many in this case. The fundamental disagreement between the two sides is that people who think illegal immigrants should be given citizenship believe that the illegal alien laws are unfair. They believe that there needs to be widespread reform to accommodate for those people who make their way to the United States. Their basic argument is that it should not be illegal to come to America. Those on the other side would argue that the laws are in place to protect the country from being overrun by cheap labor and they are there to keep the economy in tact. In addition to all of that, the two sides disagree on the impact that illegal immigrants might have on the job market. Those who support the illegal immigrants feel that, ultimately, the increased productivity with these new workers will help stimulate the economy. Obviously, those on the other side feel that adding more low cost workers will make it difficult for people to demand competitive wagers in a competitive market. It is important to keep in mind the different viewpoints when trying to reach a common ground. In this case, the perspectives could not be any different on the issue. On one side, there are the illegal immigrants, who have escaped their previous life and made it to the land of opportunity. They see a new life sitting right in front of them for the taking and they see nothing wrong with that. Those who want these people gone are looking out for their best interests and they are somewhat fearful of what could happen is illegal immigrants were granted citizenship. Because neither party has had the chance to walk in the other party’s shoes, it makes things especially difficult. Illegal immigrants cannot understand why those people in the U.S. do not want to share their wealth. Those in the U.S. do not understand where the illegal immigrants have come from and why they might have made the decision to come. The common ground here is that everyone wants to work for the greater good of the human race. While it might seem like an idealistic or simplistic common ground, it is the basic premise that will have to drive the decision making. No good intentioned human being wants to see another human being suffer. That is where these people can come together. There are plenty of people in the United States who would want to see illegal immigrants exported that might have come from a rough background. They can certainly relate to the plight of these immigrants. The common ground is not a huge piece of dirt, but there is room for people to come together there for the great good of society. As far as a solution goes, there seems to be a place for one in this case. Though it might not fall right in the middle of what people are looking for, there is a way to come to something of a compromise. In order to give illegal immigrants the best chance to prove themselves and earn their way into the country, a probationary period must be adhered to before they are â€Å"full citizens†. In addition to that, they would have to complete all of the steps that normal immigrants have to go through, including the tests. This would benefit both sides, as it would not blindly throw people back into the hell that they used to inhabit, but it also would not open up the borders to anyone who wanted to come. Those people who made the choice to come to America would understand that it is going to take a long time to gain citizenship. In addition, this might even encourage people to go about immigration the right way, instead of having to sneak into the country.

A Comparison of Piaget, Freud, and Erikson

A Comparison of Piaget, Freud, and Erikson Essay A Comparison of Piaget, Freud, and EriksonbyRandy HartenstinePsychology 1513-51Extra Credit PaperApril 8, 1999Hartenstine 1The field of psychology has grown to be respected as a science. Objectivity and the scientific method are both part of the psychologists mode of operation. However, even the greatest of psychologists can only theorize about what makes human beings act the way they do. Absolutes are not part of psychology. Everything is relative and open to speculation. Theorists give us their views or ideas about life. In the field of psychology, there have been many different areas of interest. Human development is one of the most popular areas of interest for those who study psychology. Freud, Erikson, and Piaget are all great theorists with different ideas concerning human development. Each theorist developed ideas and stages for human development. Their theories on human development had human beings passing through different stages. Each theory differed on what these stages w ere. These theories also differed with their respect towards paradigmatic assumptions, learning and development, and relationship towards educational practice. Freud is known as the father of psychology. Although some of his work has been dismissed, most of it still holds weight in the world of psychology today. Freud believed that inner forces fueled human development. He believed the most powerful of all inner forces was our sexual being. Freud linked everything with sex. This includes any bodily pleasure whatsoever. Thus, when Freud discusses the sexual needs of children, they are not the Hartenstine 2same kind of sexual needs that an adult would experience. Children experienced sexual gratification in different ways. Sucking their thumbs or retaining their excrement could be seen as sexual gratification for small children. Freud also specified certain areas of our body as erogenous zones. Those areas included the mouth and genitals. This all fit in to Freuds obsession with sex. An obsession that could be linked to the era that Freud lived in. It was a very conservative period in history. Sexual feelings were often repressed. Freuds theo ry on human development could be labeled the psychosexual stages of development. Freud believed human beings passed through different stages in their life based on which part of their body gratified them. Freuds psychosexual stages of development are five in total. The Oral stage takes place from birth to about one year. During this stage, a child is orally oriented. The mouth is the childs erogenous zone. Everything a child touches is put in his mouth. Freud believes children do this because it gives them pleasure. When a child sucks his thumb, it does so because it gratifies them. According to Freud, the gratification is sexual. The second stage in Freuds psychosexual development theory takes place between the ages of two and three years of age. The erogenous zone shifts location, thus moving from one stage to another. The second erogenous zone in Freuds stages of human development is the anal region. Freud believes childrenHartenstine 3experience sexual gratification during bowel movements and when they withhold bowel movements. Some children may even experience pleasure handling, looking at, or thinking about their own feces. Once the Anal stage of development has been completed, the next stage of development for Freud is the Phallic Stage. This usually occurs at about three years of age. The shift in erogenous zones moves from the anal region to the genital organs. This stage is also known as the Oedipal Stage of psychosexual development. This name comes from the legendary king, Oedipus, who killed his father and married his mother. During this stage, children take interest in their sexual organs. Soon they notice differences and similarities between themselves and their parents. Each sex wants to be with the parent of the other sex, for girls this is referred to as theelektra complex. Once the children realize they can not be with their mother or father, they identify with the parent of the same sex. The next stage is called the stage of Latency. A lack of change or absence of erogenous zones characterizes this stage. After the realization that the child can not be with a parent sexually, the child shifts its attention to same-sexed relationships. Boys will shift their sexual urges and drives to something acceptable, such as sports. This is a time of relative calm. The last stage of Freuds psychosexual development is the Genital Stage. The erogenous zone returns in a very powerfulHartenstine 4way in the genital organs. This stage takes place from puberty into adulthood. True sexual desire and sexual relationships mark this stage. Erikson took Freuds ideas and enhanced them. He added stages for the adult years. He also shifted his attention to identity rather than sexuality. Erikson developed the psychosocial stages of development. He is known for his eight stages of life. Eriksons first stage is during infancy. It deals with trust versus mistrust. The child develops an outlook on life and whether the world can be trusted or not. Th e child develops trust if the parents give the child something it can rely on. According to Erikson, the child develops a sense of optimism or pessimism during this stage. The next stage in Eriksons psychosocial development is during early childhood and is known as autonomy versus shame and doubt. The child becomes autonomous and realizes he can say yes or no. This stage will determine whether a child develops a sense of self-certainty. Eriksons next stage takes place during the ages of three to six years. This stage is marked by initiative versus guilt. This stage is important in developing the childs sense of enterprise. The child develops initiative when trying out new things and is not scared of failing. The fourth stage of Eriksons developmental theory takes place at about six years of age and lasts till puberty. This stage deals with industry Hartenstine 5 versus inferiority. The child learns skills of the culture and must deal with feelings of inferiority. Adolescence brings about the next stage for Erikson. This stage is known for identity versus identity confusion. During this stage, Erikson believes adolescents must develop a sense of self-awareness or knowing who they are. They develop a sense of identity. The sixth stage for Erikson is known for intimacy versus isolation. READ: WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN AND HIS MARCH TO THE SEA William Tecumseh She EssayThis stage takes place during young adulthood. The person seeks commitments from others. If he is unsuccessful, he may take on isolation. Erikson believes this stage is important in learning love. The seventh stage for Erikson takes place during adulthood. It is marked by generativity versus stagnation. During this stage, the adult is concerned with guiding the next generation. This stage according to Erikson gives the adult a sense of caring. Eriksons last and eighth stage takes place at a mature age. Old age is marked by integrity versus despair. During this time, the people may achieve a sense of acceptance of their own life, which in turn allows for the acceptance of death. When one passes through this last stage, Erikson believes that a person has achieved wisdom. Piaget also believed in developmental theory. Her stages were cognitive stages. These stages were based on what the child can do. Acc ording to Piaget, a child passes through four stages in its life. Piaget was interested in the childs Hartenstine 6abilities and senses, not sexual desires like Freud was. Piaget believes the first stage of development should be a cognitive one. Her first stage is known as the sensorimotor stage. It takes place from birth to about two years of age. During this time, a child learns motor meaning, object permanence, and the th beginning of symbolic representation, also known as language.The child will change from someone who responds only through reflexes to one who can organize his activities in relation to his environment. It does this through sensory and motor activity. The next stage in Piagets cognitive development theory is the pre-operational stage. This takes place from about two to seven years of age. During this stage, the childs language develops. They develop a representational system and use symbols such as words to represent people, places, and events. From about seven t o thirteen years of age, Piaget believes children enter the concrete operational stage. They can solve problems logically. They can understand rules and form concepts. Some children become moralistic. The last stage Piaget believes is the formal operational stage. This stage takes place from about twelve years of age through adulthood. Once someone has reached this stage, one should be able to think abstractly, manipulate abstract concepts, use hypothetical reasoning, and use creative language. These three theories on human development each have their Hartenstine 7own good and bad points. One problem all theories must deal with is paradigmatic assumptions. These are ideas that the theorist has taken for granted as facts. An example is Freuds notion that women suffer from a lack of self-esteem or self worth all their lives because of penis envy. Freuds assumption could have derived merely because of the time when he lived, and it was a time when women were treated as second class citizens. Freuds assumption that sex is the driving force behind everything could also be a product of his times. Sexual feelings were often repressed. The problem with paradigmatic assumptions is that each person grows up in a different culture and some theories dont apply to everyone. The problem with psychology remains that it is not an exact science. It is difficult to develop good paradigmatic assumptions because of that. Erikson assumes a child must learn these virtues or skills in this order. But, what if a child does not? Someone may never have a meaningful relationship, but they may develop wisdom. This would undercut Eriksons assumptions that everyone must pass through these stages in this order. Piaget also has some assumptions in her theory. A person that never learns to add may be able to think hypothetically. These mistakes only show that psychology still has its flaws. Each of these theories has some value because they are Hartenstine 8not totally wrong. These theories have withstood criticism and are some of the best. Each theory is similar by time and their sequence of life events; where they differ is in their focus. Freud focuses on sex, Erikson focuses on the self and social orientation, and Piaget focuses on the childs abilities and senses. Each theory is also useful when applied to its relationship to educational practices, and these different ideals guide teachers in the mystical theories of forever trying to understand human development, the mind, and its behaviors. READ: Human Resource Management Of Standard Chartered Bank EssayHartenstine 9Work CitedCoon, Dennis. Introduction to Psychology: Exploration andApplication, 7th Edition. Minnesota: West PublishingCompany, 1995. Freud, Sigmund. The Basic Writings of Sigmund Freud. Brill, A. A.: Dodd, Mead and Company, Inc., July 1979. Piaget, Jean, et al. The Psychology of The Child. Berkeley andLos Angeles: University of California Press, Ltd., 1972.

Friday, September 13, 2019

Large Corporations managing change,internal change drivers and Research Paper - 1

Large Corporations managing change,internal change drivers and catalysts - Research Paper Example In the organizational context researchers define change as â€Å"necessary way of life in most organizations†1. Again, some other researchers have defined organizational change as â€Å"a relatively enduring alteration of the present state of an organization or its components or interrelationships amongst the component and their differential and integral functions, in totality, in order to attain greater feasibility in the framework of the current and future environment†2. The present study intends to investigate the reasons that compel firms to change, and how companies manage the change process. In this regard, the role of internal change drivers and catalysts is vital. Mills and Mills write in their book Understanding Organizational Change that the operations of a company as well as other organizations are affected by a variety to environmental factors such as leadership change, mergers and acquisitions, downsizing, introduction of new products, industrial disputes, political and legal climate, changing consumer preferences and technology3. Change is the only thing constant in the environment and is taking place every day. However, when we refer to organizational change, we are specifically referring to change that has significant impact how employees think about their organization and the changes they need to make in their work to cope with it. Organizational Change is thus referred to as a change in the core aspect of a company’s operations. It has been determined with the previous discussion that for organizations change is not merely inevitable but to a great extent essential for survival. However this does not automatically imply that people would be readily accepting the change. The truth is that changing an established behavior makes people uncomfortable, and the result is resistance4. Implementing change is a very challenging task. The unfamiliar makes the employees suspicious; it is their natural concern

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Continuum Professional Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Continuum Professional Development - Essay Example Like any other activity I developed a working plan that would help me achieve my goals and objectives. The action plan was mainly based on gaining experience and learning from experienced practitioners. According to Plunket (2008) creating good relations with experienced practitioners is the best way to gain effectively from continuum development practices. In the action plan, I focused on the location of my placement as a junior practitioner, the skills required from me, being in good terms with my tutors and supervisors and having the best academic qualifications. In continuum practice development an action plan should have a mandatory requirement of acquiring maximum skills from the academic side and skills in practice development (Jasper, 2006). The author further argues that as a student, academic qualification is the most important requirement to build ones skills in their career. In the academic level students are advised to also create relationship with their tutors and other experienced instructors who may guide them as amateur nursing practitioners. In the paper, I will discuss my experience in continuum professional development in terms of communication and working with others. Additionally, there will be an inclusion of my strong and weak areas as a learning nursing practitioner. ... In my academic life, I developed my communication skills by research and by creating relationships with my instructors. Like a requirement in continuum professional development, one should create a healthy relationship with tutors and instructors. In this way, the experienced practitioners aid students in understanding the requirements of the practice. In terms of communication I indulged in practical lessons in gaining experience and getting used to the terms involved. In the practical lessons, there were programs which we participated in that helped our tutors evaluate and promote our progress. The programs were based on specific requirements from our tutors. The programs enhanced our communicating skills with patients, taking notes from practical lessons, analyzing the trends in communication in the practice and learning from experienced practitioners how to relate to the practice situations. Communication in the academic level is also enhanced through creating groups that help fo rmulate communication strategies (O’Farell & Evans, 2008). In these groups, tutors and instructors provide instructions on how to create communication programs and trends to suit the field. Additionally, the groups act as support mechanisms to slow learners who require more attention when learning. According to Hansen (2013) communication in groups help students have confidence and enough self esteem to face patient and experienced practitioners. In groups, every person is ranked an amateur regardless of their sharpness and level of understanding. This helps students feel comfortable when learning and experimenting new communication skills. Academically, students also learn how to work in groups. In every class level tutors created groups which required working together to

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Methodologies for the water quality and eutrophication potential Article

Methodologies for the water quality and eutrophication potential assessment in Lakes (Melen Reservoir) and application of water quality models (WASP, PAMOLARE) - Article Example The quantitative nature of assessment refers to the precise information on different pollutant parameters , usually undertaken based on detailed sampling followed by laboratory analysis (Mantas et al, n.d.). The quantitative investigations on water quality is assessed on the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water. The physical parameters refers to those assessed by physical means like visual appeal, odour and taste. The high turbidity, mixing with colored wastewater, high water temperature, odour generated from the dead and decayed matter are some of the changes that are noticed through physical means. But chemicals parameters are those that require detailed chemical analysis to understand the characteristics. The dissolved oxygen that measures the amount of oxygen molecules present in the dissolved state , biochemical oxygen demand to give the measure of organic impurities in water, nutrients like nitrates and phosphates are the major chemical parameters that mus t be monitored continuously. The bacteriological quality refers to the various biological organisms that are present in water like phytoplankton, bacteria, protozoa and variety of small plants. In the case of lakes and reservoirs, high influx of nutrients into the water body results in the indiscriminate growth of green plants like phytoplankton and small sized floating weeds termed as eutrophication. In order to estimate the long term impact of the current pollution trends on the water quality , model and simulation studies become very essential. The models usually proposed are theoretical models, empirical models or statistical models. They are very essential to understand the changes in the water quality of streams and hence to propose appropriate means for the restoration methods. The mechanisms behind the fate and transport of contaminants/pollutants are mostly based on mass balance calculations that incorporates different processes

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Critically discuss the importance of sponsorship in the event industry Essay

Critically discuss the importance of sponsorship in the event industry - Essay Example The benefit that the event experiences is funding that might not otherwise be available if this marketing opportunity was not possible. Sponsorship provides a mutually beneficial relationship between the sponsor and the organization of the event, a conduit for communication that then occurs between the event and the market that exploits that relationship. The benefits of this relationship are defined by the elevation of the image of the sponsor through association and the event through monetary resources from which to fund the event. The following essay will explore the relationship of the sponsor and the event, their unique blend of product and cause creating an opportunity for associations that connect through an emotional context to consumers. The essay will first explore the meaning of sponsorship, transitioning to the benefits to the sponsors and then to the event organization. Although a mutually beneficial relationship, there are issues that can arise that will cause problems for either the sponsor or the event. These issues will be examined for their effect on the sponsorship relationship. The conclusion of the paper reveals that sponsorship is a powerful resource in enhancing a brand, creating positive emotional context through transference of social equity from an active entity to a supporting entity. 2. Defining Sponsorship According to Damster and Tassiopoulos (2006, p. ... According to Bowdin (2006, p. 228), â€Å"sponsorship is said to be one of the most powerful mediums now used to communicate and form relationships with stakeholders and markets†. The relationships that are formed during the act of sponsorship connects the sponsor to the event, allowing the market to relate one to the other, in spite of direct relevance to the connectivity between the sponsoring entity and the purpose of the event. As an example, a soft drink may have no direct relationship to a sport, but still may become associated with the emotional connections that a consumer makes to that sport as it is then transferred to the soft drink. As suggested, not only events can be sponsored, but individuals through either their participation in an event or through their participation in their sport or craft can be sponsored by outside entities. A specific example of intra-sport types of sponsorship can be seen through the sponsor of a celebrity sports personality through the eq uipment that he or she uses. According to Pringle (2004, p. 126), â€Å"customers perceive outstanding performance to be inextricably connected with a piece of sporting equipment and can assume with a high level of confidence that if they too were to play using that particular guitar, piano, racket, bat, club, or pair of boots, then their own personal performance would certainly be no worse†. In associating a piece of equipment that is related to the expertise of a celebrity, a brand can benefit from the perceived superiority of its product. Therefore, when defining sponsorship on a larger scale in terms of event sponsorship, it must be understood that this is undertaken by a company in order to

Monday, September 9, 2019

Why Is China Growing So Fast Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Why Is China Growing So Fast - Term Paper Example Any country is said to be developed if the demand and supply chain of a country shows that there is more supply of goods or anything than demand by the market. Many factors count in these regards: the natural resources and their extractions according to the geography, manufacturing, distribution, consumption, exchange medium etc. All these factors set the constraints and parameters in which the economy of any country works and may or may not flourish. All activities happening in a country also account for its economic growth. The occupations, education, business and investments are the basic pillars upon which the economy stands. The greater amount of people a country produce as literates or skilled workers, the more productivity will increase, and the economy will grow. More the resources are being used by the government for its people, the less will be the demand, and ultimately the economy will boost. Overall, the size of economy of any country is determined by the gross domestic product GDP and GDP per capita of the country, which only includes such economic activities in which the money is exchanged. The living standards in a particular state are measured through GDP per capita, and every change in GDP indicates a change in the living standards. Economic growth is defined as the â€Å"increasing capacity of the economy to satisfy the wants of goods and services of the members of society. Economic growth is enabled by increases in productivity, which lowers the inputs including labor, capital, material, energy, etc. for a given amount of output† (Kendrick, John W.1961). Economic growth is often related to Economic Freedom—the process in which citizens are allowed to make their own economic policies without the interference of government. China, India and Japan are considered the fastest developing countries amongst all nations. There has been a pre-1978 era of capitalization during which the Chinese government has applied strict central indust rialization rules of its own which resulted in constrained economic growth and misallocation of resources. Ever since then having realized the effectiveness of providing economic freedom to its industrialists and decreasing the intervention on the part of government by shunning the policy of taking over the control of industries, China has witnessed rapid economic growth and has improved its business environment for local and foreign investors. In addition to that there were some other reasons of China’s economic boom apart from economic freedom? Economists carefully studied the Chinese economic system and revealed the following astonishing facts: 1. They said that no doubt the Chinese government highly focused upon capital investment like manufacturing and communication and put in an extra effort to increase the productivity of a huge skilled and efficient work force, which is considered to be the most significant factor and the actual dynamic force behind the rapid growth o f Chinese economy. The combination of large scale capital investment and efficient work force together have work wonders for the Chinese economy which can never be obtained by any of the factor alone. 2. The government of china encouraged private investors and businessmen to come forward to mutually put in place wide-scale economic reforms. Foreign investors were welcomed and they were provided with ideal conditions for business, with limited or no control of the state government. These strategies on the part of Chinese government proved to be successful and gave impetus to immense economic growth a

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Write a 500 word Market Research Brief from behalf of a company of Essay

Write a 500 word Market Research Brief from behalf of a company of your choice. The brief can be developed on any kind of problem the company has or may have - Essay Example He is known to push people to accomplish goals and objectives more than they thought they could achieve. He also stretched the possibilities of hardware and software design that yielded revolutionary products of which we enjoy today that often drove his people nuts(time). He was known to become rude, [slave driver at times], unreasonable, fickle, arrogant and even took credit for other’s ideas. But despite these seeming weaknesses, Job’s leadership have undeniably drove the company from near bankruptcy to become one of the most envied companies in the world. This management style of Steve Jobs however is no longer emphasized in the present leadership of Apple. Being such, Apple is bound to have problems without a leadership that is driven to innovate because such leadership and organizational discipline that was instilled by Steve Jobs was the main factor that drove the company to excellence that produced radical innovation. Its new CEO Tim Cook did not have the same drive towards excellence nor have the genius of Jobs to think of revolutionary products that would shake the industry. And due to this shortcoming, he is more predisposed towards what he calls as â€Å"incrementalism† which is essentially just to make things better what Steve Jobs already did. And this new leadership is dangerous to the company because it is one of the management traps that lead a company into a downfall. This is the management leadership trap that Robert Schaeffer articulated in the article â€Å"Mistakes Leaders Keep Making† of failing to pu sh for significant improvement for fear that people are already overwhelmed (2010). As a result, Apple is no longer growing and its former competitive edge of being radically innovative is no longer there. In an industry where change happens at a dizzying pace and products become obsolete overnight, doing the same thing even better is problematic because it

Saturday, September 7, 2019

Growing Popularity of Women in Rugby in America Essay

Growing Popularity of Women in Rugby in America - Essay Example Women rarely participated in contact sports. The chance availed itself and they streamed in large numbers to play the sport. The history of women rugby in America is colorful since it started in 1972, and underwent various changes and challenges but only popularized in 1993. Rugby enables women to play by the rules of men and display their physical strength just like men do. This is a property that endears women to the game. It is common knowledge that rugby requires extreme physical strength due to the violence involved. Physical strength is associated with men. Females even at work places are offered light jobs that require little physical strength. Femininity is associated with physical weakness and minimal violence. As women play rugby, they display physical strength as they defend their territories by locking arms and elbows. Similar to male rugby players they take pride in their bruises and injuries incurred from the violence of the game. This seems out of order because many women would prefer to remain unburies and scar less. Women normally played basket ball, soft ball and volley ball over the years. The sports require energy but not as much energy as rugby. The women therefore gained a sport which they use to stretch their physical abilities to the maximum (Brown, M., Growden, G., & Guthrie, P. (2011). There are few limitations on the physical abilities in rugby, the stronger the better. The physical ability however is not limited by the physical appearance of an individual. The sport is ideal for any body type. After refining physical and technical prowess, there is a part for every person to fill in the team. This should also be accompanied with aggressiveness and violence, the nature of women is that they are good listeners and they pay attention to details. This aspect of femininity complements them a great deal. Trainers claim that women pay more attention during training compared to men (Rawson, S & Nahman, N, 2005). They are

Friday, September 6, 2019

Detailed Guidance Essay Example for Free

Detailed Guidance Essay The key to doing well on this task is detail. Several sections require that you analyze information. This requires that you read carefully, think deeply and show your insight that you gained from the information provided in the case study. A1. Utah Symphony Strengths and Weaknesses When picking out the strengths and weaknesses of symphony there isn ¿t a list to which you can refer. Rather, you will want to read the case study carefully and to use your insight to discover indications of strengths and weaknesses in the data provided in the case. Be sure to cite examples and to address all four required areas including: financial strengths/financial weaknesses leadership strengths/leadership weaknesses of the symphony. The key will be to think deeply about the facts of the case and to provide insightful responses. When considering financial strengths and weaknesses some items that you might consider include: profitability, stability, capital availability, reliance on revenue streams, fundraising, endowment sizes, expenses structures, policies that effect finances etc. and anything that you believe would affect the finances of the firm in a positive or negative way. When considering leadership strengths and weaknesses your focus should be on the leaders of the symphony, Keith Lockhart. What his strengths that you can make a case would improve is effectiveness as a leader? What are his weaknesses that would lessen his effectiveness as leader? Another thing to consider would be if there are any vacant key positions that would influence the leadership of the organization. Be sure to expound upon each strength and weakness. For a hypothetical example; if I were to indicate that the opera had a profit I would further indicate whether this was a strength because it was significant or I could as easily support that it the profit was so small in relation to its expense structure that the level of profitability was actual a financial weakness.  Now that I had made a general claim I would bring in the numbers from the case study to support my claim and then move on to the next strength or weakness. The key will be to discuss each strength and weakness enough to establish that it is, in fact, a strength or a weakness. A1a. Steps for Utah Symphony Now you ¿ve provided some really good insight in your discussion about weaknesses for the symphony and in doing so you have identified a number of weaknesses. The evaluators will be looking to see that you ¿ve provide recommendations of key steps that Anne can take for each of the weaknesses that you identified in your discussion. Also, with regard to key steps you will want to identify specific actions that Anne can take. For examples if one of the weaknesses is poor fundraising you might suggest that Anne sets aside a period of time each week during which she can employ her fundraising skills to improve fundraising. The recommendations of steps that she can take can be common-sense, basic steps (nothing fancy) but that would be effective in dealing with the weaknesses. A2. Utah Opera Strengths and Weaknesses Review the case study carefully to find examples of the strengths and weaknesses in the financial and leadership aspects of the symphony. Be sure to cite examples and to address all four required areas including: financial strengths/financial weaknesses leadership strengths/leadership weaknesses. The key will be to think deeply about the facts of the case and to provide insightful responses. When considering financial strengths and weaknesses some items that you might consider include: profitability, stability, capital, liquidity, revenue streams, fundraising, endowment sizes, expenses structures, policies that effect finances etc. When considering leadership strengths and weaknesses your focus should be on Anne Ewers. What are her leadership strengths? What are her strengths that you can make a case for would assist her ability to lead? What are her leadership weaknesses? Does she have any personal liabilities that would  weaken her ability to lead. Be sure to expound upon each strength and weakness. For a hypothetical example; if I were to indicate that the symphony had a profit I would further indicate whether this was a strength because it was significant or I could as easily support that it the profit was so small in relation to its expense structure that the level of profitability was actual a financial weakness. Now that I had made a general claim I would bring in the numbers from the case study to support my claim and then move on to the next strength or weakness. The key will be to discuss each strength and weakness enough to establish that it is, in fact, a strength or a weakness. A2a. Steps for Utah Opera Now you ¿ve provided some good insight in your discussion about weaknesses for the Opera and in doing so you have identified a number of weaknesses. The evaluators will be looking to see that you ¿ve provide recommendations of key steps that Anne can take for each of the weaknesses that you identified in your discussion. Also, with regard to key steps you will want to identify specific actions that Anne can take. For examples if one of the weaknesses is poor fundraising you might suggest that Anne sets aside a period of time each week during which she can employ her fundraising skills to improve fundraising. The recommendations of steps that she can take can be common-sense, basic steps (nothing fancy) but that would be effective in dealing with the weaknesses. A3. Scorecard Aspects Find and download the Balanced Scorecard document given to you in Task Stream. The balanced scorecard is not covered in your book. Look at the book from SkillPort  ¿ Performance Drivers: A Practical Guide to Using the Balanced Scorecard. This is where the template came from. Read chapter 1, 2 and 3 to best understand it.  ¿Compare the information in the current scorecards for each company to the cultures you can discern from the case study. Do you think the scorecards adequately address the strengths and weaknesses? Why or why not? B. Merged Company Balanced Scorecard (Create a Balanced Scorecard for the merged company using the strategic goals. These goals are given to you in the directions for the task (see information above the questions).  ¿Don ¿t just combine the symphony and opera goals, CSF ¿s and measurement.  ¿Use the strategic goals to develop a goal for each of the four aspects. Now, be creative, what should the critical success factors and measurements be?  ¿Make sure to create and include a vision statement and a business model statement (you can use the ones on the symphony and opera balanced scorecards as a model). When creating the goals for the individual sections of the balanced scorecard you will want to create goals that are specific to the section (finance, customer, internal etc.) but that, if achieved, would help the company to achieve the five first-year strategic goals that are identified at the top of the task. C. Merged Company Strengths and Weaknesses The key here is to analyze the company utilizing the balances scorecard as an analytical tool. In earlier sections you had to analyze strengths and weaknesses as you pull them out of the facts of a case study. However, now you have been introduced to a new analytical tool; the balanced scorecard and you will need to analyze each element of the balanced scorecard. You should analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the merged company addressing each section of the scorecard e.g. financial customer, internal process learning and growth. D. Issues From reading the case study and after reading about change management in Chapter 18 of the Kreitner and Kinicki, discuss an issue in each of the 3 areas (finance, human resources, and customer satisfaction) then include good mitigating steps that Anne could take to prevent the problem.†¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨D1. Mitigating Actions This section requires that you identify 3 actions that Anne can immediately take to mitigate the three issues you identified above. (You should provide one recommendation for each of the issues that you identified in part D.) You should not only identify, but should also  explain, exactly what Anne should do for each of the three recommendations that you provide. †¨E. In-Text Citations and References in APA Format Every reference that is listed on the Reference list should have been cited in-text in your response. If you did not cite something in-text it should be taken off of this reference list. However, at minimum you should cite the case study and the course textbook and there should be corresponding in-text citations within your response.

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Effect of Bicarbonate Supplement on Kidney Function

Effect of Bicarbonate Supplement on Kidney Function Bicarbonate Supplementation Slows Progression of CKD and Improves Nutritional Status Ione de Brito-Ashurst, Mira Varagunam, Martin J. Raftery, and Muhammad M. Yaqoob  Lay Abstract Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the long-term damage of the kidney. Symptoms only start presenting when the disease is progressing towards the advanced stages. It is a disease of the elderly population, and with the UK’s ageing population, cases are likely to increase in the near future. Metabolic acidosis (MA) is a common complication of CKD and treating this has been thought to slow down the decline in kidney function. Bicarbonate supplementation has previously been used as an experimental treatment on rat models to correct the MA but results have been inconclusive. There is also a lack of long-term trials investigating the effect on humans. The results showed bicarbonate supplementation was beneficial to kidney function and nutritional status of patients, while causing minimal side effects. More clinical trials need to be performed to consolidate these findings and to look at alternative treatment regimens before being implemented into clinical practice. Background Information and Rationale for Carrying Out the Work Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the long-term decline in kidney function. It is defined as kidney damage resulting in a GFR ≠¤ 60 mL/min/1.73m2 for more than 3 months, or kidney damage for more than 3 months with evidence of structural or functional abnormalities, with GFR not necessarily reduced (1). In advanced stages it can lead to metabolic acidosis (MA) due to a decreased tubular bicarbonate secretion, which has been known to cause protein catabolism and increased insulin resistance (2), and impaired ammonium excretion (3). The lesser stages of CKD are quite common in communities but ESRD is quite rare in populations. CKD is a disease of the elderly with around 30-40% of the population > 75 years having CKD at stages 3-5 (1). It is usually asymptomatic until the later stages of the disease and during ESDR, the only possible life supporting treatments are transplantation or dialysis (4). Obesity is associated with an increased risk of CKD by over 2.5 times (5). With obesity, type 2 diabetes and hypertension all on the rise (6-8) , there is likely to be a boom in the number of CKD cases within the next couple of decades. There is clearly a need to address this future burden on the healthcare system. Correction of MA in dialysis patients has shown to slow down protein degradation in a small number of short term clinical trials (9, 10). Studies on rat models have shown inconsistent evidence where MA has been shown to slow down progression of renal failure (11). Due to the short term nature of these studies, there has been inadequate evidence on the impact of renal function. There have been very few studies investigating the correction of MA in CKD in humans and also the lack of long term studies of the effect on pre-dialysis patients, which were the main motives for carrying out this study. Approaches to the Question and Key Results The research question raised was whether bicarbonate supplementation to patients with MA in CKD could slow its progression and improve nutritional status. A single-centre, open-label, randomised, parallel-group study was carried out to investigate this question. The inclusion and exclusion criteria were stated explicitly. 134 eligible patients were randomly assigned to either routine standard care or oral sodium bicarbonate tablets 600mg TID which was increased as necessary to maintain bicarbonate ≠¥ 23mmol/L. The treatment assignment procedure was done by an external statistician and involved block stratification, then randomisation carried out within each stratum of men, women, diabetics and non-diabetics. This method helped to balance each of the patients’ covariates and ensured adequate concealment. As a result, 67 patients were assigned to the control group and 67 patients to the treatment group. To reach a power of 90% which would allow an absolute difference of 30% to be detected, 63 patients in each group would have to be studied, but to allow for non-compliance, this was increased to 67. Calculation of statistical power ensured a large enough sample size. The 2 groups had similar baseline characteristics (Table 1) and ap art from the bicarbonate supplementation, they were both treated equally. Patients were followed up every 2 months for 2 years for the primary outcome measurements while nutritional assessments were carried out at 0, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months by a single dietician. All patients were able to be analysed with none of the patients being lost to follow up or discontinuing the intervention, however 5 withdrew before receiving the treatment. Intention to treat analysis was performed. The investigators, statisticians and the single dietician were blinded to the initial group assignment as they were directly involved in assessing the outcomes, but since the trial was open-label, it suggests that patients and external clinicians were not. The outcomes were focused on the research question and were measured in a standard way. The primary outcomes were the decline in renal function, the number of patients with rapid progression of renal failure, and the development of ESRD that required dialysis. After 12 months, the rate in decline of CrCl was lower in the treatment group at 1.88 ml/min per 1.73 m2 (95% [CI] 0.39 to 4.15 ml/min per 1.73 m2) than the control group at 5.93 ml/min per 1.73 m2 (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.19 to 7.76 ml/min per 1.73 m2) (P Secondary outcomes were measurements of changes in normalized protein nitrogen appearance (nPNA), dietary protein intake (DPI), serum albumin and mid-arm muscle circumference (MAMC) to identify the nutritional status of patients. Results showed an increase in DPI (P Likely Impact of Research Outcome The fact that there was both a slowdown of the decline in kidney function and a reduction in the number of patients progressing to ESRD is clinically beneficial. However, the confidence interval for the treatment group is quite large (0.39 to 4.15 ml/min per 1.73 m2) and the upper limit is close to overlapping with the confidence interval of the control group at the lower limit (4.19 to 7.76 ml/min per 1.73 m2) for the rate in decline of CrCl. Statistically, the treatment may only offer a marginal improvement over the control, but the bicarbonate supplementation clearly does offer some benefit to stage 4 CKD patients. There are also significant nutritional benefits to CKD patients. Poor nutrition leads to protein energy wasting (PEW) and a low serum albumin which increase morbidity and mortality in dialysis patients (12), but this can be easily reduced with bicarbonate supplementation. The patients studied in this trial are not 100% representative of the population. This trial had to exclude 30 out of 184 potential subjects due to eligibility criteria. The exclusion criteria included morbid obesity, congestive heart failure, chronic sepsis, malignant diseases, cognitive impairment or uncontrolled hypertension so findings will not apply to patients that fall into these categories, however the findings will be important for the majority of patients with CKD. The trial was only a single centre study on patients at the Royal London Hospital in the East End of London. The demographic in this area of London is likely to vary from demographics in other parts of London and the UK. I think all the outcomes of interest to the patient were considered before the trial. Side effects of worsening hypertension and oedema that required an increase in therapy and loop diuretics respectively were minimal (Table 3). Blood pressures rose and oedema worsened more in the treatment group but these were not statistically significant (P=0.17 and P=0.5). The single main issue was that 6.5% of subjects experienced a bad taste taking the tablet of the sodium bicarbonate, which was then switched to a powder form. In the long term I think this trial will form the basis of a future change in clinical practice. The change will not be immediate as this is the first RCT on pre-ESRD patients with MA and more clinical trials need to be carried out in this area, with a subsequent systematic review and meta-analysis. Overall, the bicarbonate supplementation does offer an advantage over standard treatment, and the fact that bicarbonate itself is simple and very cheap to source and produce with minimal side effects also works in its favour. Future Work and Conclusion There are some changes I would make to the trial. The confidence interval for the treatment group is quite large (0.39 to 4.15 ml/min per 1.73 m2) and the upper limit is close to overlapping with the confidence interval of the control group at the lower limit (4.19 to 7.76 ml/min per 1.73 m2) for the rate in decline of CrCl. So statistically, the treatment may only offer a marginal improvement over the control. In order to achieve a more precise CI, a larger sample size could be used, and a multi-centre trial could be conducted so that the findings can be applied to a wider population. I think the accuracy of the outcomes would also benefit from the use of a placebo and double-blinding. This study focused only on patients in stage 4 CKD. While these patients are likely to experience MA, it may also be beneficial to study the effect on patients in stage 3 CKD. Patients especially in stage 3b CKD (GFR 30-44 mL/min) are at risk of slipping into the stage 4 category and bicarbonate supplementation has potential to act as a preventative treatment. The serum bicarbonate level in the treatment group was maintained at 23 mmol/L or greater. There was no upper limit for the bicarbonate level and considering that the normal range of serum bicarbonate is 22-28 mmol/L, we can see that the trial looked at the lower end of the reference range. I think a future clinical trial should look at the effect of bicarbonate supplementation on stage 4 CKD patients when serum bicarbonate is controlled within a middle range of 24-26 mmol/L and at the upper end range of 26-28 mmol/L. It is encouraging to see that there have been more RCTs investigating the positive outcomes of bicarbonate supplementation on CKD (13-15), however further investigations still need to be carried out to reach an optimal and definitive treatment plan. References 1.Barratt J, Topham PD, Harris KPG. Nephrology. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2009. 2.Kopple JD, Kalantar-Zadeh K, Mehrotra R. Risks of chronic metabolic acidosis in patients with chronic kidney disease. Kidney Int Suppl. 2005(95):S21-7. 3.Bailey JL. Metabolic acidosis: an unrecognized cause of morbidity in the patient with chronic kidney disease. Kidney Int Suppl. 2005(96):S15-23. 4.Smart NA, Dieberg G, Ladhani M, Titus T. Early referral to specialist nephrology services for preventing the progression to endà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ stage kidney disease. 2009. 5.MacLaughlin HL, Hall WL, Sanders TA, Macdougall IC. Risk for chronic kidney disease increases with obesity: Health Survey for England 2010. Public Health Nutr2010. p. 1-6. 6.Klahr S, Morrissey J. Progression of chronic renal disease. Am J Kidney Dis. 2003;41(3 Suppl 1):S3-7. 7.Shaw JE, Sicree RA, Zimmet PZ. Global estimates of the prevalence of diabetes for 2010 and 2030. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2010;87(1):4-14. 8.Guh DP, Zhang W, Bansback N, Amarsi Z, Birmingham CL, Anis AH. The incidence of co-morbidities related to obesity and overweight: A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Public Health. 2009;9(1):88. 9.Graham KA, Reaich D, Channon SM, Downie S, Goodship TH. Correction of acidosis in hemodialysis decreases whole-body protein degradation. J Am Soc Nephrol. 1997;8(4):632-7. 10.Williams AJ, Dittmer ID, McArley A, Clarke J. High bicarbonate dialysate in haemodialysis patients: effects on acidosis and nutritional status. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 1997;12(12):2633-7. 11.Jara A, Felsenfeld AJ, Bover J, Kleeman CR. Chronic metabolic acidosis in azotemic rats on a high-phosphate diet halts the progression of renal disease. Kidney Int. 2000;58(3):1023-32. 12.Lowrie EG, Lew NL. Death risk in hemodialysis patients: the predictive value of commonly measured variables and an evaluation of death rate differences between facilities. Am J Kidney Dis. 1990;15(5):458-82. 13.Kovesdy CP. Metabolic acidosis and kidney disease: does bicarbonate therapy slow the progression of CKD? 2012. 14.Abramowitz MK, Melamed ML, Bauer C, Raff AC, Hostetter TH. Effects of oral sodium bicarbonate in patients with CKD. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2013;8(5):714-20. 15.Gaggl M, Cejka D, Plischke M, Heinze G, Fraunschiel M, Schmidt A, et al. Effect of oral sodium bicarbonate supplementation on progression of chronic kidney disease in patients with chronic metabolic acidosis: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial (SoBic-Study). Trials. 2013;14:196.