John D. Rockefeller

Introduction John D. Rockefeller made one of the most influential decisions of monopolizing the petroleum industry. John D. Rockefeller was born at Richford in New York in 1839. He lived a humble life and while still young, he used to sell candy. Additionally, he could make money by giving the neighbors loans.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on John D. Rockefeller – Standard Oil Monopoly specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More At around the age of sixteen years, he was employed as a bookkeeper receiving fifty cents in a day (Gunderman and Gregory 1). In 1859, he collaborated with Maurice B. Clark and started a wholesale business followed by an oil refinery after including Samuel Andrews in the business. As the demand for oil increased, Rockefeller bought the refinery from his partners after borrowing money. Later, he bought as well as build other oil companies. In 1870, John D. Rockefeller collaborated with his brot her and established the Standard Oil Company at Ohio. Standard Oil Company gave John D. Rockefeller the strength of driving away other owners of refineries by procuring their business premises (Baylor 1). At around 1880, the Standard Oil Company was refining approximately ninety percent of the United States oil. The company controlled all the oil refining processes and marketing procedures in the United States. As a result, John D. Rockefeller had a strong influence on the quality of oil products produced and the market price. In 1890, John D. Rockefeller retired as the president of the company and Theodore replaced him. During the reign of Theodore, he initiated antitrust actions, which led to the collapse of Standard Oil Company into other small companies. According to Gunderman and Gregory, John D. Rockefeller survived in the business environment because of monopoly (1). Monopoly is a Greek word meaning alone or single. Monopoly exists when a particular business enterprise is the only supplier of a specific commodity (Baylor 1). The characteristic of monopoly is absence of competition to produce that commodity and a viable alternative product.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As a result, monopoly has a significant market power and it usually control the prices of commodities. For instance, monopoly can increase the profit margin by producing goods in small quantities and selling them at higher prizes. Standard Oil Company was a monopoly. John D. Rockefeller used unethical business practices to monopolize Standard Oil Company. The Six Unethical Practices of John D. Rockefeller Reducing the Prices of Oil and Its Products John D. Rockefeller reduced the prices of oil and its products temporarily (Baylor 4). His competitors could not keep up with the reduced prices because they had not planned for the same. As a result, most of the business people who w ere dealing with oil and oil products ventured in to other types of enterprises. Those who could not survive in the competitive business environment sold their enterprises to Standard Oil Company. The lower prices of oil attracted many consumers, hence, Standard Oil Company managed to establish a strong customer base. According to the theory of economics, low prices more often than not reduce the profit margin of a business and can even make it collapse. John D. Rockefeller was not interested in the profit, but in monopolizing Standard Oil Company by driving away his competitors. He managed to stabilize Standard Oil Company at the expense of the profit. F or instance, between 1880 and 1890, the price of processing raw oil dropped by one cent while that of refined oil by twenty six cents per gallon (Baylor 3).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on John D. Rockefeller – Standard Oil Monopoly specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page L earn More By cutting down the prices of oil, John D. Rockefeller did not only win local consumers but also the international traders. Baylor stated that, in order for the Standard Oil Company to compete with the Russian Oil in the Asian and European Countries, John D Rockefeller subsidized the foreign prices of oil (5). Additionally, he supplied free products in order to establish a universal customer base. For instance, in 1870, Standard Oil Company supplied kerosene lamps to the interior parts of the globe and taught people how to use them. Procuring the Components Required Making Oil Barrels John D. Rockefeller purchased the components required to make oil barrels and as a result, his competitors were unable to transport their oil to the consumers (Baylor 3). This is because his competitors could not change the raw oil into refined products that the customers can consume. Thus, Standard Oil Company was the major supplier of refined oil products and it gained fame all over the w orld. With time, Standard Oil Company started producing barrels and selling them at a reduced price in order to attract many consumers (Baylor 3). For instance, John D Rockefeller was selling a barrel at one point five dollar while external suppliers were distributing at a price of two point five. This difference of one dollar facilitated the monopoly of Standard Oil Company because it attracted many consumers. Secret Deals with Railroad The major advantage of Standard Oil Company was its ability to get reduced rates from the railroads. John D. Rockefeller used the fame and prestige of Standard Oil Company to form an alliance with railroads, which gave it rebates in privacy (Baylor 4). Hence, the railroads reduced the shipping charges of Standard Oil Company.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The reduced prices enabled the standard oil company to compete effectively with other business enterprises that were charged high rates for the shipping. Some business enterprises could not cope up with the competition and they allowed the Standard oil to be a monopoly. John D Rockefeller secured special considerations from railroads via giving them some amounts of oil. For example, John D. Rockefeller used to give railroads sixty carloads of oil every day in favor of shipment from other oil businesses (Baylor 3). Railroads could carry oil from Standard Oil Company only instead of collecting supplementary products from other oil refinery companies. As a result, Standard Oil Company dominated the market by interfering with the supply chain management of other small refinery companies. John D. Rockefeller won his railroads consumers by building an oil loading facility next to the train station, renting his oil tanker and taking responsibility for any accident on a property that belong ed to railroad (Baylor 4). This allowed Standard Oil Company outdo Pittsburgh Refineries because they could not receive any discount from railroads. Therefore, standard Oil Company managed to monopolize the market by maintaining reduced prices. Buying Competitors Secretly Gunderman and Gregory stated that John D. Rockefeller borrowed money and bought other oil refinery companies in secret (2). He then sent some of the workers from the procured company to find out the business deals of other oil refinery companies. John D. Rockefeller used the report of the findings to take caution against a competitive business deal. For instance, if an oil company plans to reduce the price of oil products, Standard Oil Company would lower their prices further. Some competitors that John D. Rockefeller had bought established oil companies and other refineries joined them. The aforementioned business development created competition with the Standard Oil Company. As a result, John D. Rockefeller secre tly hired the managers of the competitors companies and gave them high pay so that they do not produce any oil product (Baylor 2). The refineries that produced small amount of oil maintained an expensive skeleton team. Standard Oil Company acquired approximately ninety percent of the refining industries. In order to facilitate monopoly, John D. Rockefeller secretly bought dominating oil refinery companies but did not change their names to standard oil company. For instance, Baylor stated that John D. Rockefeller bought Creek Oil Company in Pennsylvania but he did not change the name to Standard Oil Company (5). As a result, the workers of Standard Oil Company and Creek Oil worked collaboratively. The sales of Standard Oil increased because customers who were against the company were still buying the oil because they thought it belonged to Creek Oil Company. Buying or Creating Other Companies That Sell Oil Related Products John D Rockefeller created companies that sell oil related pr oducts like pipelines as well as engineering firms that operated independently but gave Standard Oil Company rebates. In 1879, Standard Oil Company became a monopoly in the oil transport industry after John D. Rockefeller created an oil pipeline company (Baylor 3). Although Tidewater Pipe Line Company tried to compete with Standard Oil, it did not succeed. This is because John D. Rockefeller bought an exclusive chatter to construct its industry where Tidewater Company had planned to build one. As a result, Tidewater Company entered into an agreement with the Standard Oil Company so that they could survive in the competitive business environment. Since Standard Oil Company had control over the market, it restricted the pipeline business activities of Tidewaters to eleven point five percent and retained the remaining percentage. Standard Oil Company managed to form secret collaboration with the South Improvement Company. Thus, South Improvement Company proposed the secret cartels of t he Standard Oil Company and gave them rebates while raising the charges for the other refineries industries (Baylor 2). On the other hand, the South Improvement Company used to get rebates from other oil refinery industries as well as information about the prices of their products. John D. Rockefeller would be given the abovementioned information and he was able to regulate the oil prices and underpin his competitors. Moreover, Standard Oil Company used to ship their barrel on the Standard Oil Company railroad in exchange of a discount of forty cents per barrel. As people became aware of the dirty games of John D. Rockefeller in the oil industry, he had already acquired twenty two out of twenty six of his competitors in Cleveland. Use of Thugs John D. Rockefeller used thugs to coerce competitors who could not be persuaded to collaborate with him. Ida Tarbell, an European competitor tried to attack Standard Oil Company by arraigning the impact of John D. Rockefeller on other oil refi nery companies. When John D. Rockefeller realized the mission of Tarbell, he tried to engage him in an agreement. Tarbell refused and John D. Rockefeller send the owners of small refinery companies to destroy his oil pump and well by burning or smashing them (Baylor 3). The aforementioned tactic ensured that standard Oil Company remained a monopoly. The Net Worth of John D Rockefeller and Carlos Slim Helà º John D Rockefeller net worth was six hundred and sixty three point four billion dollars as of February (Ash 171). He got his money from oil businesses. He operated standard oil company for twenty seven years before retiring in i897. He is the founder of Rockefeller and Chicago universities. He was generous and supported tertiary institutions like Harvard, Yale and Columbia.John D. Rockefeller founded the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research and the Education Board in order to increase the opportunity of people to learn. He was a philanthropist. Carlos Slim Helà º is the r ichest person in the world with a net worth of sixty nine billion dollars (Ash 171). He gets his money from his telecommunication, retail and mining business enterprises. Some of them include Conglomerate, Telmex and Grupo Carso. He is the chief executive of Telmex. Every one dollar that each person in Mexico spent, twenty cents belongs to Helà º. It is predicted that in the next five year, the net worth of Helà º will increase by approximately thirty billion dollars if he maintain the same race. Conclusion John D. Rockefeller made one of the most influential decisions of monopolizing the petroleum industry. He used unethical business practices to monopolize the Standard Oil Company. On the other hand, he was generous and made sure that he donated ten percent of his dues every month. He is the richest man that has ever lived with a net worth of sixty three point four billion dollars as of February. Works Cited Ash, Russell. Top Ten of Everything. Oxford: Oxford Publishers, 2006. P rint. Baylor, Christopher. â€Å"The Life of John D. Rockefeller.† Education Humanities 3.4 (2001): 1-6. Print. Gunderman, Richard and Matthews Gregory. â€Å"Educating Leaders: Insight fron John D. Rockefeller.† Academic Radiology 1.1 (2012): 1-3. Print. This essay on John D. Rockefeller – Standard Oil Monopoly was written and submitted by user Joslyn Carver to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Never Too Late for an Online MBA Essays

Never Too Late for an Online MBA Essays Never Too Late for an Online MBA Essay Never Too Late for an Online MBA Essay It’s often said that it’s never too late to chase your dream; and nowhere is this truer than when it comes to education. Some people are able reach their educational goals early on in life – heading straight to college and even graduate school immediately following their high school graduation. But there are others for whom this normally accepted schedule does not make any sense. The evolution of a career or family commitments may push off the desire for a degree; a desire that may be revisited later in life. Luckily, for those who desire to pursue their degree later on in life – even an MBA – can pursue that degree online, eliminating the logistical constraints of juggling career and family and driving to a campus to attend classes several times a week. Today, non-traditional students – such as adult students who are already engaged in a career and other responsibilities – can pursue an online MBA from the comfort of their own home. With an online MBA program students can logon to virtual classes where they can complete the reading and other assignments along the same schedule as more traditional classes; the difference, of course, is that students can set their schedule to accommodate their other responsibilities instead of trying to fit travel and classes in to an already busy day. With careful planning and a commitment to this new phase in their lives students can earn their online MBA and realize their educational dreams no matter what the stage of their lives.

What Form Will Domestic Terrorism Take in the Future in the United Research Paper

What Form Will Domestic Terrorism Take in the Future in the United States - Research Paper Example This was a form of domestic terrorism since the perpetrators of the bombing were US citizens. This paper discusses the form that domestic tourism is likely to take in future in the US. It presents a comparison of the right wing comprised of white extremists, left wing, animal and eco terrorists and the influx of radical Islam in to the US. Right vs Left Wing Movements Both right and left wing movements share revolutionary ideologies. According to FBI (2009), the militia movement remains the most recent anti-government right wing movement. These extremist groups have been persistent in the US since the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma. The extremists comprise people who share anti-government ideologies. They are opposed to taxation by the federal government as well as the regulations imposed on economic activities. The militias also resist the federal government’s involvement in international activities as well as equality with regards to racial and religious minorit ies. In other words, they can be described as white supremacists and anti-government groups. The Ku Klux Klan is one of the renowned white supremacist groups. FBI further notes that right wing terrorist groups such as the Skinheads and the neo-nazis are significant security threats to the US. They engage in activities such as bombing as well as indiscriminate shooting in cities (Mullins and Young, 2010). Bjelopera (2011) argues that leaders of these groups promote the advancement of highly structured conspiracy theories making members to believe and behave in ways that make the group undesirable to the law abiding citizens. Some of them advocate for the removal of the term ‘illegal fire arms’ depicting that they would wish that they be allowed to own weapons. Considering their extremist ideologies and the fact that some have paramilitary organizational structures, the federal government has made concerted efforts to quell any terrorist plans that may cause harm to the p ublic through arresting any person possessing illegal arms. The more the federal government exerts pressure on these extremist groups, the greater their efforts to make their ideologies acknowledgeable among susceptible citizens. According to Lerner (2003), right wing extremists make efforts to affirm the need for pursuant of their goals. Their strategy is focused on indoctrination of the public with false philosophies against the government. Left wing domestic terrorism dates back to the late 19th century in the US. It was associated with anarchist groups who were against capitalism. These groups were backed by revolutionary immigrants from Eastern Europe (FBI 2009). Even though left wing terrorism began to decline in the mid 1980s, they left a trail of destruction, worst of all the killing of President William McKinley in 1901 and several bombings perpetrated on US industrialists and capitalists. The most recent left wing groups include; Weather Underground, SLA and the FALN among others who used strategies that instilled fear among the public such as widespread kidnapping and bombing of populous places such as Chicago’s Haymarket. These were among the strategies that the left wing terrorists used to attract attention to their ideologies. However, according to FBI, the only active left wing extremist group is the Puerto Rican separatist movement (Mullins and Young, 2010). Animal and Eco Terrorists Animal and eco terrorists are groups that focus on special interests such as

Dining Room in Authentic Elizabethan Style Assignment

Dining Room in Authentic Elizabethan Style - Assignment Example A typical building of the period is Wollaton Hall (1588), Nottinghamshire, built by Robert Smythson; it was the first English house to abandon the traditional central courtyard and to place in its stead a high-ceilinged great hall lighted by gallery windows and surrounded by classically proportioned, multi-windowed wings. Bible box - the bible box appeared, these were small side chests designed to hold the family bible. They were later made with a sloping top to facilitate writing and reading. It was the forerunner to the writing desk. They were oak, left natural or finished with oils or beeswax. Colour: During Elizabethan times, color schemes varied depending upon the location of the home. Lighter colors tended to be avoided in town and city dwellings due to pollution. Another factor in color choice was often determined by the availability of pigments. In country areas, interior decorations were often carried out by traveling craftsmen who carried limited supplies. Paint had to be mixed on site with whatever locally available ingredients could be found. For example, the blue-green color wash used on wooden paneled walls in country areas was derived from the earth pigment terra verde, mixed with egg whites and buttermilk. It is, nevertheless possible to make some general statements. For example, during the first half of the Victorian era, walls were usually light colors except for dining rooms and libraries. The second half gave way to much more vibrant, rich colors such as vivid greens and mahogany brown typically found in bedrooms. During this period, the general feeling w as that deep, rich colors enhanced the importance of a room. Owen Jones, architect and theorist of color and ornament, published a handbook, in 1856, called The Grammar of Ornament. The basis of Jones's theories on the use of color was that it was aesthetically correct to use a complex pattern consisting of one main color and many subsidiary colors. Considerable thought was given to creating the right balance of both color and texture between wall, molding, ceiling and woodwork. Adding texture to a room was achieved through the use of wallpaper; stenciling and specialist paint finishes such as sponging, marbleizing and spattering. In most cases it was very difficult to distinguish wallpaper from paint. The simulation of various kinds

The myth of original of Islam and how the I slam presented and use Research Paper

The myth of original of Islam and how the I slam presented and use example from Holy Quran and comparing it with the first story of creation in Genesis in the Bible - Research Paper Example reement in claiming that Adam was originally formed from the mud, that transforming a bunch of mud into an alive being is performed by God, that the formation of Adam took place before the formation of his companion Eva and that she was formed from the ribs of Adams (Von Rad 1973). But the Quran recounted that Eva was formed from the body of Adam only not identifying if it was from his ribs. It was recounted in the Bible that God gave Adam the ‘breath of life’, whereas in the Quran it is narrated that God gave Adam a ‘heavenly spiritual breath’ (Barto 2009, 88). This essay thus compares the Biblical and Qur’anic account of the Creation and the Fall of Man. The Bible begins with the beginning of time, the Creation. It is a complicated narrative that dominates the first chapter of the first book of the Bible, fittingly referred to as Genesis, and expands into the later chapter, where the story progresses and trails the story of our first parents, Adam and Eve. According to Katheer and Kamal-ad-Din (2001), obviously, the Christians read a similar Bible even if they referred to it as the Old Testament, and they usually understand it in a different way from its Jewish authors. However, the Muslims—the third group of Monotheists—have their own distinct rendition of such prehistoric episodes in a matching Scripture, the Quran, which they similarly worship as the Word of God. The description of the Quran of the absolute beginning of time, even though the same with that of the Bible in several points and meaning, both stipulate a supreme creation from naught, for instance, and on the Grand Designer’s crafting of humankind, is not specified in the continuous storyline of Genesis. The Quran is an anthology of God’s revelations to Muhammad over the final two decades of his existence (Sawma 2006). They are partitioned into 114 Surahs, but several of these Suras in all likelihood enclose multiple revelations. The Quran, therefore, is a compilation of

Role of Cognitive Mapping in Health Care Management Decision

Role of Cognitive Mapping in Health Care Management Decision Describe and discuss the role of cognitive mapping in health care management decision making. Description of Cognitive Mapping Cognitive mapping is an operational research technique that consists of creating a graphical representation of a persons (or groups) way of thinking about an issue, and where directionality within the map is assumed to imply perceived causality among the concepts (Eden, 2004). The proposed value of the graphical representation, as argued from the field of political science, is that it makes it easy to for anyone to see how concepts and causal relationships are related, and appreciate the overall structure of all the assertions (Eden 2004 cited Axelrod 1976, p. 676). It is one mechanism of system dynamics simulation modelling that generally came about as a reaction to failure of traditional approaches to capture interactions within complex problems in social systems (Edkins et al. 2007 cited Checkland 1981). It avoids the common research process pitfall of reductionism by allowing multiple conflicting views to be revealed and, providing a comprehensive picture of the participants perspectives but keeping all details to represent beliefs that are most important to stakeholders represented (Duryan, Nikolik, Merode, 2015; Eden Ackermann, 2004). Cognitive mapping was initially introduced as a method for problem analysis. But recognizing its value, it has then found roles in performance measurement, decision making, and strategy formulation. Eden and Ackermann (1991) expounded on the possible uses of this technique in becoming an instrument for developing consensus about shared goals, providing structure to multiple and conflicting aspects of an issue, informing negotiation, and suggesting actions to resolve issues. Use of Cognitive Mapping in Health Care Cognitive mapping is argued to be best for messy situations wherein stakeholders do not understand the problem or interpret them differently, and often do not realize it (Mingers 2008 cited Ackoff 1979a). Healthcare decision making falls into this realm as it has always been complicated by information asymmetry, trade-offs between efficiency and equity, or moral ambiguity that become legitimate sources of uncertainty and debate among stakeholders. In fact, the first uses of cognitive mapping in operational research were in healthcare, education, and defense (Eden Ackermann, 2004). Mingers (2008) described an example in 1997 Manchester, where the UK Health Authority commissioned the Salford Community Trust to develop an integrated approach to childrens services. Mingers argued that while the project seemed straightforward, it turned out to be a messy problem as there was no agreement on the definitions of service specifications, services to be included, direction of the strategy, and how the project should be tackled. There were also many stakeholders involved in the issue (i.e. government, doctors, patient groups, industry) that had very strong opinions about the project. If the group were to make a plan based on epidemiology, practice guidelines, budget constraints and other numerical factors alone, without taking into consideration the stakeholders differing views, the proposed program would likely fail during implementation. Situations like these are common in healthcare decisions given the complexity of issues faced at doctor-patient, organizational, and national-policy level. Mathematical and statistical methods provide a narrow focus on measurable aspects of decision that fails to catch the reasoning, motivations, and interactions relevant to achieving these outcomes. Problem structuring through cognitive mapping provides an opportunity for healthcare decision makers to systematically measure these missing interactions and assess their impact to the goal under assessment (Pidd, 2004). Sachdeva et al (2007) explored the added value of cognitive mapping from traditional approaches in understanding patient flow delays in a Pediatric Intensive Unit (PICU) of a Childrens Hospital in Wisconsin, USA. Hard operations research (OR) results using modelling were persuasive, but became inadequate to result to change given politically sensitive issues that arose. Soft OR using cognitive mapping that was done identified new issues and offered a more holistic and comprehensive understanding of the issues complexity that helped persuade decision makers to act on the recommendations. SODA The most common technique for cognitive mapping is the Strategic Options Development Method (SODA). SODA is an ethnographic method derived from interviews that are intended to represent the participants subjective worlds the theoretical basis of which is explained by personal construct theory (Eden 2004 cited Kelly 1995) wherein people make sense of their world by seeking to manage and control it. SODA uses a formal modelling technique with rules for its development as described by a user guide developed by Eden and Ackerman (Ackermann et al., 1991). The transcripts of the interviews are separated into short distinct phrases (nodes) that eventually get sorted as goals, strategic directions, or potential options. Fidelity in transcription is imperative to represent the participants intentions and to promote ownership of the resulting map created. The concepts are linked (arrows) to determine accurate subordination of concepts, directionality and opposing poles to create the overall structure. While the map is an important output of its own, these can also be subject to further analysis to gain deeper insight, such as: Analysis Map Characteristics Goals Head analysis Nodes with only incoming arrows To identify end goals or effects Density analysis Number of mentions of the concepts To determine potential key issues from the perspectives of the participants that may need further examination Centrality analysis Number of links to the concept, or ratio of arrows to concepts To measure the importance and complexity of the concepts implication chain Hierarchical cluster analysis Number of concepts in chain or arguments linked to option To identify most potent options or valued outcomes to influence on the goals Potency analysis Number of goals each option supports To prioritize options with consequences for the biggest number of key issues Composite tail analysis Ranking of potency analysis To determine the single action that may cause multiple goals to be achieved Source: Summary by Author Healthcare Example of Using SODA A case study by Duryan et al. (2015) on intellectual disability care in Netherlands made use of SODA to determine factors that adversely affect delivery of patient-centered care as evidence for future resource allocation. Following SODA guidelines, the team conducted one-on-one, semi-structured, hour-long interviews with the managers and patient group leaders within one division of a residential care facility. Initially, they were thought to have contrasting goals financial sustainability for the managers and quality of care from resource constraints for the patients. Using the Decision Explorer software, cognitive maps were created and merged to reflect the combined views. Key assumptions were then discussed and verified, and follow-up focus group discussions with different subgroups of the patients (young vs old) and their families were done to refine the ideas represented by the initial group. The merged map was then subject to head, domain, centrality, potency analysis, and comp osite tail analysis. Results showed that group leader freedom to make decisions, flexible shifts, and time spent with patients were the most potent options/solutions, and therefore needed quick action by the managers. According to the researchers, the exercise successfully facilitated critical analysis of the problem and fostered ownership of the proposed solutions by all stakeholders. Seeing the different/ opposing thoughts organized and their end-goals similar also helped reach consensus and manage disagreements. Expansions of SODA While SODA provides solutions to complex strategic processes, it lacks a mechanism to allow for agreement among the strategies to be developed. SODA was developed further into JOURNEY Making (JOintly Understanding Reflecting and NEgotiating strategY) to become a process-oriented and management-science strategy by using the composite map in a workshop setting as a tool to help negotiation and explore policy options that will allow the issue to be intelligently resolved (Mingers, 2008). Another method, the Oval Mapping Technique (OMT), creates a cognitive map but through a highly participative strategy workshops. White et al (2007) used JOURNEY Making to collect and define public values and voices among stakeholders involved in a community hospital project in South London. Intergroup workshops were done in phases to map/graph the issues and options related to the decision. The process resulted to wide acceptance of the recommendations and an official plan enacted by the Department of Health. This is one among many examples of the opportunity to use these newer OR tools in healthcare strategy management planning at both organizations and the national policy arena. Limitations Cognitive mapping provides an opportunity to deal with messy problems in a systematic way, but general acceptance of it as a method is still lacking. Mingers (2008) explains that especially in the United States, it is viewed as a soft OR method not regarded for publication in top journals nor teaching in courses among top schools. The concerns on subjectivity of results remain valid that even though the process is systematic and rigorous, they are still variable and dependent on both study design and recruitment. The cognitive maps developed will depend largely on the choice of participants, their active participation, their personal motivations, and the assumption that they are adequately informed of the problem. And the probability of one person skewing the result is high given the small sample (i.e. 4-10 people) used for these activities. The method also assumes adequate facilitation by the research team to determine the key nodes and domains, which may not always be the case. Also, while cognitive mapping provides a snapshot of the decision making, it does not promote understanding over time periods and cannot be used to derive numerical assessments of its impact (Pidd, 2004). Cross-validation or triangulation using many models of the same issue may be done to increase its validity (Abernethy et al, 2005). Combination of soft and hard methodologies is believed to increase acceptance and sustain organization change especially in healthcare settings (Sachdeva et al., 2007). And, it should always be used in conjunction with other methods for research data gathering, monitoring, performance measurement, or decision support. Lastly, for cognitive mapping to be useful in decision support, it requires the decision makers to understand the method/process, recognize the value of the issues at the front line, take the results seriously, and act on the recommendations. It is therefore crucial for any research team using this method to help the decision makers appreciate the approach and engage with the recommendations. Reference Abernethy, M. A., Horne, M., Lillis, A. M., Malina, M. A., Selto, F. H. (2005). A multi-method approach to building causal performance maps from expert knowledge. Management Accounting Research, 16(2), 135-155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mar.2005.03.003 Ackermann, F. ., Cropper, S. A., Eden, C. L. (1991). Cognitive Mapping for Community Operational Research-A Users Guide. (E. Munford, A., Bailey, T., Ed.), Operational research tutorial papers. Duryan, M., Nikolik, D., Merode, G. Van. (2015). Reflecting on the efficacy of cognitive mapping for decision-making in intellectual disability careà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¯: a case study. International Journal of Health Planning and Management, 30(August 2013), 127-144. https://doi.org/10.1002/hpm.2215 Eden, C. (2004). Analyzing cognitive maps to help structure issues or problems. European Journal of Operational Research, 159(3), 673-686. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0377-2217(03)00431-4 Eden, C., Ackermann, F. (2004). Cognitive mapping expert views for policy analysis in the public sector. European Journal of Operational Research, 152(3), 615-630. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0377-2217(03)00061-4 Edkins, A. J., Kurul, E., Maytorena-Sanchez, E., Rintala, K. (2007). The application of cognitive mapping methodologies in project management research. International Journal of Project Management, 25(8), 762-772. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2007.04.003 Mingers, J. (2008). Reaching the Problems that Traditional OR/MS Methods Cannot Reach. Centerbury. https://doi.org/10.1080/00369220601100075 Pidd, M. (2004). Systems Modelling Theory and Practice. Systems Modelling Theory and Practice. Retrieved from http://www.untag-smd.ac.id/files/Perpustakaan_Digital_1/DECISION MAKING Systems modelling, theory and practice.pdf#page=16 Sachdeva, R., Williams, T., Quigley, J. (2007). Mixing Methodologies to Enhance the Implementation of Healthcare Operational Research. The Journal of the Operational Research Society, 58(2), 159-167. https://doi.org/10.2307/4622680 White, L., Bourne, H. (2007). Voices and values: Linking values with participation in OR/MS in public policy making. Omega, 35(5), 588-603. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.omega.2005.11.002

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder :: Post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD

Journal According to Sigmund Freud, events and emotions that are particularly disturbing are repressed into the unconscious. Often times this theory is true, but for people suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, they only wish that it were true. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. People with PTSD have persistent frightening thoughts and memories of their ordeal and feel emotionally numb, especially with people they were once close to. They may experience sleep problems, feel detached or numb, or be easily startled. PTSD was first brought to public attention in relation to war veterans, but it can result from a variety of traumatic incidents, such as mugging, rape, torture, being kidnapped or held captive, child abuse, car accidents, train wrecks, plane crashes, bombings, or natural disasters such as floods or earthquakes. People with PTSD may startle easily, become emotionally numb (especially in relation to people with whom they used to be close), lose interest in things they used to enjoy, have trouble feeling affectionate, be irritable, become more aggressive, or even become violent. They avoid situations that remind them of the original incident, and anniversaries of the incident are often very difficult. PTSD symptoms seem to be worse if the event that triggered them was deliberately initiated by another person, as in a mugging or a kidnapping. Most people with PTSD repeatedly relive the trauma in their thoughts during the day and in nightmares when they sleep. These are called flashbacks. Flashbacks may consist of images, sounds, smells, or feelings, and are often triggered by ordinary occurrences, such as a door slamming or a car backfiring on the street. A person having a flashback may lose touch with reality and believe that the traumatic incident is happening all over again. PTSD affects about 7.7 million American adults,but it can occur at any age, including childhood. Women are more likely to develop PTSD than men, and there is some evidence that susceptibility to the disorder may run in families. PTSD is often accompanied by depression, substance abuse, or one or more of the other anxiety disorders. Many people with anxiety disorders benefit from joining a self-help or support group and sharing their problems and achievements with others. Internet chat rooms can also be useful in this regard, but any advice received over the Internet should be used with caution, as Internet acquaintances have usually never seen each other and false identities are common.

Benefits of Electronic Medical Records

Benefits of Electronic Medical Records Stephanie Fine HCS/490 December 5, 2011 Cindy Perkins Benefits of Electronic Medical Records * â€Å"In 1972, the Regenstreif Institute developed the first medical records system† (Unknown, History of Electronic Medical Records, 2011, Para. 3). Since then, health care facilities across the nation are beginning to see the benefits that electronic medical records have on both health care providers and patients as well. This paper will discuss the benefits of electronic medical records for patients as well as one aspect relating to the values and importance of maintaining confidentiality when using this mode of communication. This paper will provide at least one reason this mode is an effective means of communication between consumers and providers and explain how this mode of communication differs from others. Finally, this paper will show how media and social networking change communication in health care as well as how electronic medical records can be used to market health care products or services. Although there are many benefits for patients and Electronic medical records this paper will focus on the top three. The first benefit would be that â€Å"Electronic medical records (EMR’s) help improve the care of patients and reduce medical errors in doctors’ offices† (Huckestein, 2011, Para. 1). This is because all of a patients medical records are kept in one place and access ed through a secured web portal by any provider that the patient must see. This leave less room for errors due to unspoken information that can be critical to the patient but forgotten to say to the provider such as allergies, medications, and previous diagnoses. The second benefit would be the ease of access. Most health care facilities that use electronic medical records also use e-prescriptions as well. â€Å"Prescriptions are electronically sent directly to pharmacies and are ready to be picked up after the office visit† (Huckestein, 2011, Para. 5). This helps to cut down on time and eroors made in patient medications. Along with quick prescription services the patient does not always have to wait for the doctor’s office to open to request information from their providers. â€Å"Patients may also be able to request referrals, prescriptions refills, and appointments through the Internet from their physicians’ offices† (Huckestein, 2011, Para. 5). The third benefit of electronic medical records for patients is the comfort of knowing that their medical records are kept safe , secure , and will never be lost. Keeping these records electronically, especially in the cases where patients can also gain access to them, means the patient won't be left without the records she may need† (Torrey, 2011, Para. 7). This is especially comforting to have if the health facility were happen to close or go out of buisness. The patient knows that he or she will still have all necessary records to continue with the health care that he or she needs. * While ease of access is very important, secu rity of electronic medical records is just as important. Health providers are required to abide by all HIPAA laws within the office as well as electronically. It is very important that not only health care staff but patients as well keep all passwords and user information to themselves and never reveal security information with others. This helps to ensure that all medical information is kept safe and free from identity theft and other crimes involving sharing or reveling medical information to anyone who is not authorized to view it. One reason this mode is an effective means of communication between consumers and providers the ease of access to all medical records in the event of an emergency situation. When a patient is well or seeing a provider for non emergency situations they are able to provide accurate information needed to help keep electronic medical records up to date. This data is kept in the same file and used to help the patient in the event of an emergency that perhaps the patient is unable to speak or inform the health prov iders of their medical history, medications, and or disease or illnesses they may have. At most, quick access to our records can be lifesaving if an emergency occurs and answers to those questions are needed during the emergency decision-making process† (Torrey, 2011). This can be very useful if the patient happened to be on vacation or out of town. It can â€Å"Provide a single, shareable, up to date, accurate, rapidly retrievable source of information, potentially available anywhere at any time† (Unknown, Electronic Medical Records, Electronic Health Records †¦ , 2011, Para. 12). * It is clear that electronic medical records are beneficial and different from any other mode f communication. This is because it is a direct link between both the provider and the patients. It is also set up to still be available regardless of a tragic event such as 911. Paper files, fax, and phone messages can be destroyed in a flood or fire but electronic medical records are here to stay. â€Å"Large scale EMR systems replicate their stored records in several places across the country so that one tragic event won't destroy them† (Torrey, 2011, Para. 4). * Another area that can be benefited by electronic medical records is health care product and service providers. Just like the ads one may find on social networks like face book and MySpace, ads for health care products and services can be place on the web portals that patients and providers use to obtain their electronic medical records. On the patient side, the patients can see new and upcoming health care products that they can discuss with their providers to help with medical issues. They can also see service ads for sites such as Web MD and the Mayo Clinic that help answer other questions they may have regarding healthier lifestyles and other information. On the provider side, there could be ads on new medications and drug reps that can help them decide what medications they would like to prescribe in their facility. * In conclusion, electronic medical records are a huge step forward in the health care world for both providers and patients. This paper has discussed the benefits of electronic medical records for patients as well as one aspect relating to the values and importance of maintaining confidentiality when using this mode of communication. This paper has provided three reasons this mode is an effective means of communication between consumers and providers and explained how this mode of communication differs from others. Finally, this paper has shown how media and social networking change communication in health care as well as how electronic medical records can be used to market health care products or services. * References Huckestein, D. (2011). Patients Benefit from Electronic Medical Records. Retrieved from IHA: http://www. ihacares. com/index. cfm/news-room/patients-benefit-from-electronic-medical-records/ Torrey, T. 2011, April 11). The Benefits of Electronic Medical Records (EMRs). Retrieved from About. com: http://patients. about. com/od/electronicpatientrecords/a/EMRbenefits. htm Unknown. (2011, September 14). Electronic Medical Records, Electronic Health Records †¦ . Retrieved from Open Clinical: http://www. openclinical. org/emr. html Unknown. (2011). History of Electronic Medical Records. Retrieved fr om http://www. nasbhc. org/atf/cf/%7BCD9949F2-2761-42FB-BC7A-CEE165C701D9%7D/TA_HIT_history%20of%20EMR. pdf * * * * *

Local authorities are better placed to respond to crises and disasters

Local authorities are better placed to respond to crises and disasters Introduction Local and central governments have different roles to play in the response and management of disasters. In this context, disaster means a â€Å"sudden catastrophic event that brings any enormous destruction, damage, loss and/or devastation of property and life† (Taylor 1986, ‘Coordination for Disasters’ p.12).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Local authorities are better placed to respond to crises and disasters specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The damages so referred are immeasurable and vary in magnitudes depending on the inflicted region’s geographical location, climatic conditions and earth’s surface degree of vulnerability. During the occurrence of disasters, the social systems of emergency responses remain more often than not rendered disrupted and malfunctioned. Any hazard that causes immense human suffering amounts to a disaster if it is unpredictable occurring in a large enough speed to out power the response systems, characterized by uncertainty, urgency and the posing of intense threat. For any disaster to take place, people must be living in hazardous places for instance near volcanoes that are active, slopes susceptible to slides, or in regions likely to flood. In addition, the hazardous phenomenon must take place, whether it is human or naturally instigated. Finally the occurrence of the â€Å"disastrous phenomenon must cause immeasurable extensive damages especially where preventive measures have not been taken† (Taylor 1986, ‘The Context of British Politics’ p.57). Therefore, as the paper unveils, disasters do not include single incidents of human life losses such as a plane crush but rather entangle widespread human sufferings such as an intense earthquake, financial, outbreak of certain infectious diseases, flooding, or even human instigated disasters such as Chernobyl or sea express spill among others. The essa y will look at the roles of the central government in control and management of disasters as contrasted from the local government’s roles and finally evaluate the combined hands of both governance levels to draw a conclusion on which governance level is best placed to cope with disasters management. However, as is exposes, the reverse of the proposition is the case. Overview of the history and practice of civil defense Various theoretical perspectives have been formulated by different nations to cope with disasters. For instance, in 1991 â€Å"†¦the UK government launched a review of disasters preparations in the nation† (Alexander 2000, p.71). A national aim geared towards enhancement of nationwide emergencies planning agendas was published in 2003.Advertising Looking for essay on public administration? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The agenda focused on putting into place resilience measures fo r the nation to respond to aftermaths of disruptive challenges as opposed to measures of risks reduction via anticipation or alternatively redundancy measures. According to Comfort (1994, p 157), such an approach makes an assumption of â€Å"†¦a capacity to reorganize resources and action to respond to actual danger, after it occurs†. Resilience here entangles specialized protections, which are standardized and centralized methodologies of hazards prediction. According to the civil contingencies bill, all the above mentioned resilient measure are all duties of local governments with an exception of centralization which is a mandate of central governments. â€Å"The general requirement of the bill, as an embodiment of current government thinking, seem to make it clear that central government’s desire is to distance itself from response to local disasters whilst trying to ensure adequate local preparation† (Lupton 1999, p.83). Crucial to note is that disaster s idiosyncrasies are not ardently necessary addressed by putting in place formal ways of disasters preparations. According to Comfort (1994), some of the idiosyncrasies include â€Å"need to be flexible in response and to be prepared to innovate† (p.158). Armed with these idiosyncrasies, any form of disaster response system can be sure to respond to the specific requirement of any new moment. As result â€Å"Central government desires to remain detached from local emergencies can be justified in the context and remains consistent with a theme of appropriate decentralization† (Taylor 1986, ‘The Context of British Politics’ p.56). Historically, differences exist in the manner in which decentralized and centralized nations handle disasters. The centralized governments have â€Å"fewer decision takers and that they are placed at a higher level in the response hierarchy† (Alexander 2000, p.164). The hierarchical and centralized models designed to handle disaster have received enormous critics since they have been perceived as having the capacity to hinder free information flow and consequently posing a tragedy in decision-making.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Local authorities are better placed to respond to crises and disasters specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Modern trends however, are based on coming up with remote structures that are adaptable to specific incidents and which posses amicable familiarity with appropriate responding services. As Penning-Roswell (1996) observes, â€Å"†¦at least in the case of natural hazard, although there is tendency to focus disaster response at local level, because of the intimate knowledge of the environment in which the emergency is occurring† (p.123) a broader disciplinary and geographical perspectives makes better insights be realized. Whether the disaster response is well established at local level as opposed to central level of governance is subject to essential requirements such the generic role of the government and the ability to have appropriate leadership during, before and after the occurrence of any disaster both at national and at local levels. Local and central government Leadership and disasters response Leadership encompasses willingness and the availability of good will to act in an appropriate way. Leadership, Prior to occurrence of any disaster, is essential despite the fact that more often than not, it is not easily recognizable. Under normal circumstances, deferring traits are demanded from those occupying authority positions during times of emergencies. Leave alone at local level, the capacity of the leaders at central government level to provide appropriate directive in times of disasters is subject to critics as for example during the hurricane Katrina disaster. Penning-Roswell (1996) noted that â€Å"Mismanagement and lack of preparation in relief effort in respons e to hurricane Katrina and its aftermath: specifically delayed response by federal flood protection to the flooding of New Orleans, Louisiana was attributed to leadership gaps that occurred on occurrence of the disaster† (p.142). This poses a big question on the credibility of the leaders to provide quick directions in times of emergency. Despite the fact that the state and local authorities have primarily responsibility to play in response to disasters with consequences of pointing the finger of blame on governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin, the central government slow response was particularly to be to be noted.Advertising Looking for essay on public administration? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The central government has all the essential resources that can be mobilized for quick response to disasters but the beaurocracy to be followed such as the requirement of the financial and assessment of the damages caused before the actual release of state resources to deal with the disasters compounds the problem. Even though the local authorities may be well familiar with the environmental conditions of their localities and hence well positioned to determine the rescue services required much quickly, some disasters exceed their financial allocations or rescue equipments wealth. In most situations, those who are responsible for making urgent decisions on behave of a state are normally at the top hierarchical leadership levels. However, it takes some remarkable time before these leaders are acquainted with magnitude of damages due to the hierarchical established information flow channels with a repercussion of delayed rescue missions. If the local governments were conferred with, th e requisite ability to make quick decisions that can enable them to divert funds that were initially intended for other local government functions to the response of the disasters. It should be noted, â€Å"†¦if a consistently effective response to disasters is to be approved at the local level the realizable approach to the leadership role in time of crises is required† (Penning-Roswell 1996, p.151). According to the work of De Waal (2005) â€Å" rises tend to produce responses that require swift decisions to be made by relatively small groups of senior managers in order to deal with short term threats and that administrative and organizational centralization is a byproduct of this initial response† (Para 7). Small group of decision makers as a result has a capacity to make quick decisions In the event of crisis. Such a scenario is typically to be found in the at local government level if at all they have all the necessary resources to mobilize. A critic to this line of view would argue that, an assumption that the leaders in the central government would assume their acquaintance with unfamiliar environment and release funds to cater for disasters is anticipated. Another obstacle in arguing that the local governments are well positioned to deal with disasters than central governments is their skill-level of diversification required which in most cases not possible. Alexander (2000) says that, â€Å"relying entirely on local lead in the response to a disaster requires that a very substantial number of seniors and middle management officers are appropriately selected and trained for the role, one that might never occur in their careers† (p.88). With the increased pressure on resources allocation, issues confining the local authorities to particular mechanism of arriving at decisions raises questions about local governments ability to make rescue plans independently and if at all they are given this opportunity, would such plans be up t o date and available at the time of disaster occurrence? Research conducted by Pitt (2007, Para. 2) called upon the â€Å"government to show leadership and urgently set out the process and timescale for improving resilience in UK†. In his report, he identified the central government being at the best possible position to solve disastrous problems since it is the one, which has the capacity to make appropriate nationwide binding policies to help curb disasters. Considering two alternatives, for disasters to be dealt with appropriately at local level, some randomness in training of staff is essential. The other way out is to deploy specialists of different disaster response skills management to all local authorities. This evidently is not possible since the nature of disasters is normally random and characterized by infrequent events. An example of such an encounter is the Exxon Valdez oil spillage in Alaska disaster. The communities in Alaska have experienced distinctive histo ric disasters. As Browning and Shetler (1992) note, â€Å"three major disasters have occurred in this region during the twentieth century, each the largest of its kind in north America: Katmai eruption of 1912, the great Alaskan earthquake of 1964 and the Exxon Valdez oil spillage† (p.477). With occurrence of disasters in the same region, local communities acquired noble skills in disaster management accompanied by organizational skills. Browning and Shetler noted in their study of Exxon Valdez oil spillage disaster that, â€Å"†¦creativity, knowledge, energy and organization of local communities are sources that are not adequately tapped under the current contingency planning process† (p.480). However, were the skills reflected in the Exxon Valdez oil spillage, how much did local authorities contribute to the disaster management? From the rapid and swift movement of the central government to contain the Katmai eruption in 1912, it clearly indicates that the centr al government, through appropriate leadership has a better position to contain disasters. This remains possible by provision of funds urgently to aid in the evacuation, resettlement and provision of essential humanitarian services to the victims: what the local governments despite having adequate local environmental knowledge lack. The generic role of the central and local governments The central government has a historic generic responsibility to protect and manage its society to ensure maximum welfare and services delivery. Disaster management is one of such indigenous societal responsibilities that the central government must play. However, in an attempt to save money, it diverts the responsibility to the local authorities while not considering the effectiveness and efficiency of the response. The generic responsibility of the central government to cope with big disasters within a nations surfaces evidently in Pitt’s work on the report of flooding disaster in the united ki ngdom. He pointed out that â€Å"the government should provide local resilience forums with the inundation maps of reservoirs to enable them to assess risks and plan for contingency, warning and evacuation† (Pitt 2007, Para. 5). The local government thus functions under the directives of the central government. It can thus be argued that in case the central government does not respond sufficiently to provide the right and within the right time, the necessary strides that need to be taken by the local authorities to respond to certain disasters, then the whole response process may end up being slowed or unsuccessful altogether. The government must act first in an attempt to lay out the foundation of the response process by ensuring that â€Å"critical infrastructure is as resilient as possible, whilst essential services providers should become considerably more active in local and national emergency preparedness and response† (Pitt 2007, Para. 6). Furthermore, the envir onmental agencies are more often than not under the control of the central government. As a result according to Cabinet Office Strategy Unit (2002), the environment agencies responsibility to â€Å" play their part by providing infrastructure operators with a specialized site-specific flood warning service, offering longer lead times to enable defenses to be set up in time†(p.79) depend on the central government willingness to take up its generic roles. Foucault argues, â€Å"†¦the neo-liberalist tradition of developed western nations shies away from too much state intervention and instead champions individual freedom and rights† (Lupton 1999, p.86). It is now that the local governments should come in, despite their limited capacity to cope with certain disasters sufficiently to aid the central government. According to Pitt (2007), the local governments should play a significant responsibility to facilitate management of risks of local flood by â€Å"taking the l ead in tackling local problems of flooding and co-coordinating all relevant agencies† (Para. 7). He further adds, â€Å"Upper tier authorities should establish oversight and scrutiny committees to review the work undertaken to reduce flood risks and publish annual updates on the work undertaken† (Pitt 2007, Para. 11). However, this is a single noble role of the local government as identified by Pitt, which for its success must depend to large extent on the central government’s responsibility to make and implement facilitating policies. On the other hand, disasters do not just present danger moments but rather the danger process. Managing the entire process is a mandate of the central government as part of its generic roles. Comfort (1994) was to the opinion that â€Å"a good deal of political decision making is now about managing risks-risks which do not originate in the political sphere. Yet have to be politically managed† (p.161). The largest political d ecisions with nationwide impacts are generally more affiliated to the central government than it is to the local governments. The central government via the established political systems has the noble role to ensure political decisions are arrived to such that they contribute to the overall welfare of the society nationally. From a different perspective, politics evolution and the associated impacts on central government generic duties are in a manner that translates the task of risks management to a serious issue that deserves more of central government address than the local government. The central government can be able to adjust certain provisions so that disasters can be managed in a humane way without interfering with the individuals’ stakes. Take for example, the flooding disaster. The central government is capable of relocating flood victims to some certain selected land acquired through revocation of ownership of lands since in many countries; the central government is mandated to regulate and control use of public land by the constitution. On the other hand, the local government only utilizes the land as stipulated by the central government. Responses by local government to disasters are normally received with critics. For instance, the response of sea express spill in UK resulted to the establishment of joint response centre (JRC) to address the problem. As Alexander (2000) notes â€Å" the conflict of normal services versus preparation for major incident manifested itself here in that the planning process that supported the JRC had not taken into account the effects of local government organizations†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p.121). Again, the express disaster resulted to existence of multiple cells of operation, which were clearly not integrated and lacked robust and clear coordination process. The ability of the local governments to go beyond local issues either at political or operational level remains questionable. Conclusion The essay has made ef forts to show that coordination, leadership and the generic responsibilities attributed to local and the central governments coupled with flexibility and innovation are essential elements of disaster management. These elements draw much of their necessary inputs from the central government so that they become robust and evenly distributed within jurisdiction borders without attracting contrasting or parallelism ideologies and stands. A singly established national disaster response agency cannot pragmatically deal with multiple and widely spread disasters alone. The local governments must thus take up, play ardently their anticipated roles, and support the local communities in times of disasters occurrence. However, a question arises on how reconciliation of numerous established local disasters response agencies routine operational imperatives can be harmonized to ensure a common, efficient and effective effort designed to ensure central objectives of public, environment and society protection from escalation of harm emanating from disastrous occurrences. As a result, central government stands up high being at a better position to respond to crisis and disasters than local governments. References Alexander, C., 2000. Comforting Catastrophe. Harpenden: Terra publishing. Browning, L., Shetler, J., 1992. Communications in Crisis, Communication in Recovery: A Postmodern Commentary on the Exxon Valdez Disaster. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 10 (3), pp. 477-498. Cabinet Office Strategy Unit., 2002. Risk: Improving Government’s Capability to Handle Risk And Uncertainty. London: Cabinet office. Comfort, L., 1994. Risk Resilience: Inter-Organizational Learning Following the Northridge Earthquake of 17 January 1994. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 2 (3), pp. 157-170. De Waal, A., 2005. An Imperfect Storm: Narratives of Calamity in a Liberal-Technocratic Age. Web. Lupton, D., 1999. Risks. London: Routledge. Penning-Roswe ll, E., 1996. Criteria for the Design of Hazards Mitigation Institutions. (eds). Christopher hood David K.C. Jones. In Accident Design; Contemporary Debates in Risk Management. London: UCL press. Pitt, M., 2007. Learning Lessons from 2007 Floods. Available at https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100605032704/http://archive.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/pittreview/thepittreview.html . Taylor, A., 1986. Coordination for Disasters. In Disasters, 10(1), pp. 12-45. Taylor, A., 1986. The Context of British Politics. (ed). Jane Franklin. In The Politics of Risk Society. Cambridge: Policy press.

The World Is Not Enough, and Die Another Day. Essays

The World Is Not Enough, and Die Another Day. Essays The World Is Not Enough, and Die Another Day. Essay The World Is Not Enough, and Die Another Day. Essay Essay Topic: Arguable In this research project I will explore whether the James Bond movie reflects the society and time which it is constructed through its narrative structure, analysing The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day. I believe most James Bond films do reflect the worldwide society. The narrative structure of each Bond film is quite similar, but each obviously has different story lines. The similarities include the action, the stunts, the sexy women and a traditional high-speed chase. In the words of the new director Lee Tamahori Awesome sets, breathtaking stunts and a well-practised monster machine are what makes a Bond film.(1) The chase is one of the areas that I shall look at to see how action and speed help dictate the narrative pace. The chase being the ice chase from Die Another Day directed by Lee Tamahori. As well as the opening sequence and the scene in Kazakhstan of the World Is Not Enough, directed by Michael Apted. Both produced by MGM which in itself is a big institution which is well known for big budget films, just having MGM as the producing company set high expectations of the audience. These are all vital scenes, which help to dictate the narrative pace and also backup the ideology that Bond, Played by Pierce Brosnan, falls under the action/ Thriller category in terms of genre. The genre category of Bond however is not so straight forward to categorise. An action film is described as having stunts and chases, high energy, possibly with rescues, battles, fights, escapes, non stop motion, spectacular rhythm, pacing and adventurous heroes.(2) Which both The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Die have. But there are so many individual conventions that Bond films alone have, it is arguable that Bond has become a sub-genre of the action thriller genre. The most profitable film series of all time is James Bond(3). Conventions such as the Bond girls, action etc. It is also important to look at the main characters in any movie, here it is James Bond, and see how that character helps carry the narrative. We know so much about Bond already from the previous 18 films, so ther e is no need for character introduction so the storyline can commence from the beginning of the film. We know that he will get into trouble and the question in each film is how will he get out of it? The whole Bond characters could easily fit into Propps theory of character construction. He believes there are eight character roles. The villain, in reference to The World Is not Enough an example of this is Renard and Gustav Graves in Die Another Day. The villain in Propps theory is someone who opposes or 1. Lee Tamahori, Sight and Sound magazine November edition. 2. www.filmsite.org 3.Guinness world records Adam Irvine .2 actively blocks the heros quest that is shown in quantity in both Bond films. The hero who seeks something which in all Bond films is filled by the man himself, Bond. The Donor who provides an object with magical properties, in this case of Bond these are gadgets that Q offers Bond in all the Bond films. The helper who aids the hero that is Dr Jones in The World Is Not Enough and Jinx in Die Another Day. The princess which acts as the reward for the hero and the object of the villains plot in The World Is Not Enough, Electra King fills this role and Miranda Frost in Die Another Day. The princesses father whom acts to reward the hero for his effort (father figure e.g. M). The dispatcher who sends the hero on his/her quest via a message which in both cases is M. The false hero who disrupts the heros success by making false claims. Pierce Brosnan is James Bond this is because Pierce himself is British and has the aura of being a spy. As he has been Bond for several films he has been connected and established as James Bond, his clean cut looks give the sense that all spies look like this and are all well looked after. Every man wants to be him and every woman wants to be with him. Bond always wears suits this may be because of the stereotypical British man from the views of Americans and worldwide it gives a distinct connection to being British. Bond is described as an anomic hero, as Geoffrey Hurd named the category. Anomic hero meaning he works alone, foregoing typical pleasures in order to focus on his work, and instead receiving metaphorical rewards. Which are the woman he has sex with, which does represent women in a negative light, appearing weak and under a male dominant world, but they often have their own contribution later on in the film. For example in The World Is Not Enough Electra King played by So phie Marceau, appears to be weak and in need of protection by Bond however we later discover that she is the main villain and Renard is working for her. And in Die Another Day Jinx played by Halle Berry, appears initially to be independent, which indeed she is, but still needs Bond to rescue her later in the film. My point being the position of Bond woman is also important to the theme and the narrative. They have important roles but are not heroes of any description, just an aider to Bond. Within The World is Not Enough iconography is used by showing the Dome this shows that Bond is moving into the 21st century with the rest of the world it also gives the audience the thought that they have been places that Bond has Been to. In James Bond London is the only place in the UK that is used although it is only a small part of the UK it is well known and helps audience world wide establish that its being set in the UK. Toderov has discussed an equilibrium Theory- which discusses the concept of narrative being initially balanced then disrupted by conflict and then finally resolved at the end. This technique is used to capture and sustain an audience this is quite clearly illustrated in The World Is Not Enough. As I shall explain when I de-construct the opening sequence. In looking at narrative structure today compared to how it was when the first film was made in 1962 Philip C Congleton Adam Irvine .3 has much to say on the filmeras and sub- genres, all of which are relevant to narrative. The first Bond, which was made in the 1960s which Congleton called the transition era..(1) When colour and television were developing and most importantly film was mature (2) the action move was new and was very exciting to an audience, still with large budgets, with cold war threatening, there was much emphasis on making enemys Russian or Communist in decent. But today in the modern era there is a more technological focus and special effects play a huge part. There is still however things that never change included in the Bond film. Current political affairs appear to be the focal point The World Is Not Enough having important scenes and many references to the Middle East. The Bond films also deal mildly with social values and cultures, With a lot of involvement of Chinese and Japanese cultures. Particularly in Tomorrow never Dies and Die Another Day starts with Bond after an action sequence caught and being tortured during a 14-month period, before he is exchanged for the main villains henchman, Zoa. This is not the sort of narrative we expect from a Bond movie. But it is enlightening, showing poor conditions and treatment associated with various armys during recent years. But despite this setback with the opening sequence, he still manages to beat the bad guys, save the world and get the girl, which in this case is Halle Berry. She play s Jinx and after they meet in an exotic location and exchange a few sexual innuendoes, they sleep together. It isnt until he catches he catches up with her later the next morning that he realises she is a secret agent for an American government agency. This is an important factor to the narrative structure of the film because so many times before in the bond films, a woman that bond encounters seems to have an individual project connecting to the villain that makes a sort of side narrative that keeps us the audience intrigued. But Jinx isnt the only girl that Bond sleeps with, He also has sex with Miranda Frost, an MI6 agent just like Bond, that we first suspect, begin to trust and then discover that our first thoughts were correct and that she is in fact working along side the bad guy, Gustav Graves, these characters are all important to the narrative but the one main scene that I shall examine is the ice chase. I think this is the most important because it gives a sense of pace an d represents a typical Bond movie. But first though The World Is Not Enough analysis. The opening sequence begins with Bond walking down a Spanish street, looking smart and composed. This is where Toderovs theory is able to be implemented, with equilibrium being in place for about 60 seconds whilst we see Bond walking down the street then see the panning shot of the majestic Swiss bank, just to give the audience a sense of location. The next shot we see is a close up of Bonds gun having been placed on the table. This almost tells us there will be 1. Philip C Congletion, www.jamesbond.com 2. Philip C Congletion, www.jamesbond.com Adam Irvine .4 trouble and the fact that Bond carries a gun, is a connotation that he also carries disequilibrium with him. Bond then has a rather tense conversation with the arrogant Swiss banker before he uses his rigged glasses to set of a small explosion that disorientates the two henchman watching Bond, allowing him to kill one and knock out the other. The quick editing and mise-en-scene techniques such as close ups on Bond sets the pace of the movie once again. All of the action in the bank office happens in a few short seconds and dictates the narrative pace. Bond then escapes, as we know he will, rather fantastically, by jumping out of the window, attached to nothing except a blind cord. Also carrying the merchandise he was apparently sent to retrieve, none other than money. So far already many conventions of Bond have occurred and Bond is doing just what we the audience wants him to do, announcing danger. The next main scene is the one set in Kazakhstan, where Bond infiltrates a Russian sc ientists layer named Dr Arkov. As Bond is being driven down the dusty track, the explosion on the side of the road almost warns the audience that this will be a dangerous situation for Bond. He then assumes the role of a Russian scientist and cleverly fools the people around. But doesnt convincingly fool the beautiful woman that Bond encounters, Dr Christmas Jones. During their brief and cagey conversation the Doctor appears to be dominant, with her angry opinions about having to fix the problems Dr Arkov caused. Dr Arkov being the man that Bond is impersonating. Dr Jones then tries to catch Bond out by talking Russian but Bond calmly and smoothly replies in Russian also. This mild flirting between the two gives us an idea that something more serious will happen between them. The general sight of Dr Jones in her minimal clothing is one thing to keep the male audience interested at this point, and also reinforces the tradition that the Bond films have had since the beginning. The scene after a delayed shot on Dr Jones face cuts to a high angle, birds eye view of Bond descending well below ground level in a dark elevator. The tense non-diagetic sound sets the mood that this is a dangerous place, and the subdued lighting signalled once again that dark times maybe ahead for Bond. When he reaches the bottom of the lift he is confronted by a dark tunnel, with oil drums with DANGER signs virtually tell the audience that Bond will again encounter danger. Also a flashing bright neon light, which could represent the long tunnel of death on the way to heaven, but being an anomic hero that he is, he struts confidently and unfazed down the tunnel only to encounter his nemesis Renard. It is at this point that we see how Bond is represented. He is represented as the really good guy, being lit and full face in the picture and the bad guys face in darkness and shadow. He is also shown to be humane, by not shooting Renard straight away. Between them, Bonds other side to his character is shown when when Renard torments Bond. Bond then becomes agitated and starts moving and re-positioning his gun. A few minutes on when the position of dominance has shifted to Renard. Bond first instinct is to protect Dr Jones. He then exhibits the sort of charm that female audiences are looking for. After re-loading his gun he stands and gets his legendary gadget watch out and just before he fires the grappling hook he says to Dr Jones stay calm assuming she is a typical weak woman, however as we subsequently see Adam Irvine .5 she isnt. She plays a pivotal role in their escape being able to unlock the damaged electrical doors, just in time to save Bond as he Is swinging down the tunnel followed by a ball of fire from an exploding bomb. He then escapes with another spectacular stunt following Bonds unsuccessful pursuit of Renard. These mise-en-scene techniques such as the camera angles like point of view shots of the enemys plus all of the action, fast editing, gun fire, and gorgeous women keep the narrative flowing and are exactly what we the audience want to see. The scene is excellently constructed to continue the good flowing narrative structure. Particularly the fast editing. The chase is what I believe to be one of them most exciting parts to a Bond movie and in Die Another Day they dont let the audience down. It dictates narrative pace and reinforces values that we all like to believe that it would be great to have a fast car, and the fact that Bond always has, makes the audience more envious of wanting to be Bond. The ice chase begins when Bond who has secretly crept into his invisible stealth car unnoticed, but the gets discovered and shot at by Zao in his Jaguar. The product placement of these two cars signalling that they are the best and can do anything. The pursuit begins and after a few minutes they find themselves chasing each other on the frozen lake. There are a lot of close up shots on Bonds face whilst he is in the car, with a determined but concentrated look upon his face. Zao is piling the attack on Bond, firing as many weapons as he can at one time but Bonds car gadgets seem more than a match for the oncoming shelling. There is at this time lots of cuts and quick editing, with the longest shot being at the most 5 seconds. The best part of this scene is when one of the missiles fired at Bond hits quite close and turns Bond onto his roof and he is left sliding along the ice on his roof. So the legendary 007 makes his escape from this situation look quite simple he opens the sun roof and releases the passenger ejector seat and subsequently turns the car back onto its wheels, just as another missile flies under the car while it is in the process of turning. Of course these techniques of camera angles give the best view. The lighting is carefully constructed to look like one place when the scene was actually filmed in two locations. The main stunts were filmed in England because there was a danger that the ice could break if they toppled a moving car on it. The camera techniques used create great tension and grad the audiences attention. This whole high-speed chase was actually filmed with the cars moving at about 15 miles per hour and the camera recording speed slowed down. So when they resumed the film speed to normal it appeared that they travelling at around 60 miles an hour. The end of that particular scene then finishes with Bond bumping the back of Zaos car with his own and knocking Zao of coarse. He does regain control and they disappear into the distance towards the ice palace. This was perhaps the best chase in the history of Bond when it comes to mise-en-scene projection and cunning techniques. At this point I was gripped to the film and pulled into the narrative further. Adam Irvine .6 The best filming techniques that I have ever seen on screen! (Peter Francis.) It is clear that one of the main things that dictate narrative structure is narrative pace, particularly in Bond films. They are as we have discussed almost their own genre so the conventions of Bond films are unique to Bond films as they are only to be seen together in a Bond film. In analysis I can conclude that James Bond films do reflect both the society and time in which they are set. This can be dominantly found in their representation of women, reflecting the change of womens roles in society over the years that Bond has been around. When it first started women were looked at to just stay home and cook for their man, but now are seen as equal in society. Although The World is not Enough and Die Another day are set in various countries they offer a central representation of the middle east. This is because of the change in the travel industry. Now people can travel easier so James Bond producers no longer use luxurious places so people wish to visit them as they already can. Particularly using the Middle East however gives the whole audience a political look at that area, distinctly where there is conflict. This offers an audience an inside look and a view on real life conflict areas. The narrative is very important to every genre, particularly to an actio n thriller.

The Goblin shark , the retractable jaw, shape and colour of body as Research Paper

The Goblin shark , the retractable jaw, shape and colour of body as well as the electro-sensitive organs for finding prey - Research Paper Example Sharks are mostly found in tropical to warm-temperate waters, and can live in depths as deep as 2000 meters. The most common shape that is associated with sharks is the fusiform shape, such as the one seen in the Great White Shark. However, in reality sharks have various shapes and sizes to suit their prey and environment. The most well-known example of these is the hammerhead shark, from the family Sphyrnidae, which have a flattened structure on their heads that also houses the eyes, making it look like a hammer (Compagno, 1990). There are also other well-known sharks that seem to resemble rays due to their flat bodies, or those that resemble whales with regards to their body and mouth shapes. In this paper, a poorly-known but also one of the most unusual-looking species of sharks, the goblin shark would be discussed as to how its adaptations have lead to its unique body shape, skin color, and jaws. Goblin Shark Descriptions and Physiological Adaptations The goblin shark, (Mitsukuri na owstoni Jordan, 1898) is a deep-dwelling shark that is established as one of the sole extant species of its family, Mitsukurinidae, order Lamniformes, with the rest to be only known from collected fossils (Parsons, Ingram, & Harvard, 2002). It is a poorly- known, elusive deepwater fish, with only around 33 established literatures about its studies, 22 of those are from the vicinity of the Izu Islands, and the rest are scattered across the globe (Duffy, 1997). Thus, until now it is a species that is not well-understood, including its other feeding habits, growth and development patterns, as well as its reproductive cycle. What also makes it harder to study is that once caught off-shore and brought to aquariums, it dies within a span of a week (Compagno, 2000 as cited in Grijalba-Bendeck & Acevedo, 2009; Yano, Miya, Aizawa, & Noichi, 2007). The holotype of the species was captured in 1898 somewhere in the Bay of Tokyo, and most of the other early specimens that were subsequently ca ught were also found near that part of Japan (Jordan, 1898 as cited in Bean, 1905; Dean, 1903; Duffy, 1997; Hussakof, 1909; Parsons, Ingram, & Harvard, 2002). The shark seems to be a well-known species along the coasts of Izu, where the locals call it Tengu-zame, translated as elfin or goblin shark (Bean, 1905). Its large liver is used as an oil source, and the flesh is used as fertilizer. While being seen as rare in most parts of the world, the species seems to be a common bycatch in long line and bottom trawling nets, which suggests that it prefers to live near the meso-pelagic to near-benthic zones (Duffy, 1997; Grijalba-Bendeck & Acevedo, 2009). Other areas where the species are also seen and collected are in Australia, the Indian Ocean, South Africa, French Guiana, Europe, the Gulf of Mexico, and New Zealand (Duffy, 1997; Parsons, Ingram, & Harvard, 2002). The goblin shark has a flat, elongated blade-like snout called the rostrum, small eyes, flabby body, slender teeth and a ca udal fin that has no ventral lobe and resembles that of the thresher shark (Yano, Miya, Aizawa, & Noichi, 2007). This rostral appendage is shorter in adult sharks as compared to younger ones (Bean, 1905; Duffy, 1997; Grija

Written Business Communication (Assignment #4C) Assignment

Written Business Communication ( #4C) - Assignment Example I would like to kindly remind you on the yearly warranty that you issued when you installed the gates since I suppose that will help you track the information on the same. For more clarity, I have attached the company’s proposal invoice to attest that the installation of the iron gates is still within the warranty and so still valid. All day shift employees are required to park in lots A and Lots B in the assigned spaces. On the other hand, the daytime employees are reminded not to park in the curbs lots, but eventually they may loan spaces to other distinguished employees that is if the parking spaces are not in use. To receive the a white sticker, please stop by the relations, employee at the cafeteria October 1st and it will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and also 3:00 to 5:00 to take their applications and also be issued with the white parking stickers. The swing shift employees may also park at the curb before evening at 3:00. Furthermore, after 3:00 p.m. all the swing shift employees are allowed to park in any empty parking space, even those for the Tandem, Handicapped or event management. For everyone’s convenience, we are all encouraged to register ourselves with the employee relation. This way there will be no inconvenience caused to any employee as far as parking space is concerned. Please stop at the cafeteria and get your white sticker at the most convenient time. All the tickets will be issued to all the cars that will not be having the sticker. By doing all that is needed there will be smooth parking activities and time also will be saved for more productive issues rather than things that are less