Faith Diversity, First draft Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Faith Diversity, First draft - Essay Example At a physical level, that person may agonize pain, but their mental temperament is composed. His or her mental level is able to reduce the physical pain. Owing to that person’s mental temperament, the immune system is energized to fight the disease. At times, someone is at peace in tolerating physical pain or death in an ideal way, without suffering from it. A Buddhist have preference to calm and peaceful environments. Diet and exercise are fundamental constituents of healing or preventing disease in Buddhist. They pray and meditate frequently to stimulate relaxation and healing. If sickness does occur, many have faith in using the mind to help overcome it. If certain anything happens, there is belief that a person has caused that event to occur. Following death, Buddhists do not disturb the body for as long as time allows. The first 49 days after a person decease are very significant. This is the time during which prayers are offered before the new life, rebirth, begins (Andreasen, 2011). According to a Buddhist, if a medical doctor is very educated but not compassionate their medicine is ineffective. The beginning of trust comes with pledge, a sense of duty, and a sincere sense of concern. Buddhist doctor of medicine treat their patient as if they are their own child. This is the perception and spiritual beliefs a Buddhist individual has when cared for by health care providers (Katō, 2011). Shintoism is a lifestyle, not a religion. They show is excessive respect for nature and when Shintoists are adjacent to nature they are adjacent to their kami. Kami are spirits with mystical influences they worship which are often portrayed as a variety of objects in nature such as trees and animals. Shintoism shows a strong aspiration for sanctification in all sides of their life and this can be perceived through their ceremonies or in their way of philosophy. Shintoists, when a person dies, they believe that he is reincarnated. The spiritual perspective on

Establishing a Teen Court Program Essay Example for Free

Establishing a Teen Court Program Essay Inspired on discussions with the parents-teachers associations, the Teen Court Program has been established to allow the young to deal with issues that bother them. With this program, the school initiates an establishment of a court where teenagers are the judges, prosecutors, and defendants handling cases of fellow teenagers. This court shall handle minor offenses, usually those which are done inside the school premises. Thus, the teen court will affect the school as a whole. The students who are taking part and those for which the teen court will be imposed upon as well as the officials and parents of the students will be involved in the program. The Teen Court Program will be established with the student council. The participants will be required to attend a one-day seminar with the Juvenile Division Parole and Probation Center to familiarize themselves with court procedures. After the seminar, a selection will be done as to who shall be jurors, court clerks and bailiffs. Others will be given assignments as attorneys from which cases can be ascribed and consulted with. They will be manning case proceedings in such a way that adults do them. The only difference here is the age. The Teen Court Program will take of next year, beginning with the seminar slated at the Juvenile Division Parole and Probation Center on January 15, 2008. It will be followed by a series of qualifying tests and interviews to divide responsibilities among the members of the group. Primarily, the members of the teen court will come from the student council. However, non-members of the student council can likewise serve as volunteers. Should they aspire for positions, they will be asked to attend a pre-set seminar and go through he same tests and interviews. If they are volunteering as support assistants, all they need to do is be a bona fide student of the institution to be able to apply and qualify. Adults such as parents may also volunteer for administrative functions such as billing, management, and planning. The Teen Court Program is expected to improve the juvenile justice system in the school. It will also upgrade the treatment on minor offenders in the community. With it, minors are arrested and tried on the court in front of a teenage representation. Ultimately, it allows minors to be the leaders and defendants of justice in their own right. The school decided to create the Teen Court Program to allow teenagers to deal with their own issues. Believing that adults may lack or have no understanding of the issues surrounding teenagers given the difference in age and activities, the school has taken this step. It also creates leaders, and allows teenagers to take part in such important activities. The juvenile court program will proceed on offenses that are considered minor to be taken to the non-juvenile courts. These offenses include minor fights where there are no casualties, stealing, all forms of cheating, and other misbehaviors. The program is beneficial at that it allows offenders to be tried according to a due process instead of being confined with the judgments of the local school board (made up of adults); the peers of offenders will be able to testify and give their sides, and learn lessons as well. School officials will also be less burdened by these minor offenses, and in general the community benefits because the minors being tried in these juvenile courts are handled accordingly and receives no exposure to real criminals. It has also been found that juvenile courts are cheaper to operate.

Napoleon Bonaparte Essay -- Germany History Bonaparte essays

Napoleon Bonaparte The ideas of modern war can lead back to the 18th century during a certain campaign by a French military leader. This military leader was named Napoleon Bonaparte. He started a campaign against Western Europe that defined war and his strategies echoed throughout time up until the Second World War. His strategic plans were legendary up until his biggest mistake, which was invading Russia during its winter during the battles in the Waterloo Campaign.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before you can get into how he became a military genius you have breakdown how is life really was before his military career began. Napoleon was born in Ajaccio, Corsica, on August 15th 1769 to Carlo Buonaparte, a lawyer and political opportunist, and his wife, Marie-Letizia Buonaparte. The Buonaparte's were a wealthy family from the Corsican nobility, although when compared to the great aristocracies of France Napoleon's kin were poor and pretentious. Due to his parents connections he was able to enter the Military academy in Brienne in 1779. He moved to the Parisian Ecole Royale Militaire in 1784 and graduated a year later as a second lieutenant in the Artillery. When the civil war broke out the Buonaparte’s fled to France and adopted the French version of their name Bonaparte. When the political situation in France flipped around, Napoleon was tried for treason, but if not for his roots in politics, he would have been executed but his families connection s saved him from death. In 1795 Napoleon became a hero again and helped fight the revolutionary forces off. As a result of that, he grew to be one of the most respected military leaders in France.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1796 Napoleon was given control of an Italian army which helped defeat Austria. After that campaign he returned to France as a bigger hero than he originally was, but had to leave in 1798 to Egypt and Syria in order to threaten England’s imperialistic rule in Africa. Napoleon and his army returned in the August of 1799. Shortly after he took part in the Brumaire coup of November 1799, finishing as a member of the Consulate, France's new ruling triumvirate.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the Novel by Robert M. Epstein, his military background was identified and how he planned his attacks were broken down so that the average person could understand them. He was the individual who introduced the ideas of modern warfare to the global affairs. The de... ...w warfare. Also since there was a new air force being used, there had to be certain precautionary measures to be taken in order to thwart off the planes, thus the birth of flak cannons. These shot shards of metal not the sky to shoot down the planes. Finally the most important piece of technology that was introduced in World War Two was the Hydrogen and Atomic Bombs; which were dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. These two pieces of weaponry ended World War Two in the pacific front and in the world. Having Technology is was makes your Militaries, Navies, and Air forces modern, a strong battle plan is a great thing to have but that doesn’t make warfare modern. This is what gave certain forces the advantage over their opponents. Weaponry kills people, not the plans themselves. To have a significant advantage over your opponent is what conquering is all about, and that is what new advancements did. Even though Napoleon was a military genius and developed new theories on war, they didn’t make war fare modern, technology did. Bibliography Napoleon's Last Victory and the Emergence of Modern War, Epstein, Robert M. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. N.p.: University P of Kansas, June.

The Monkey and His Mother :: Personal Narrative Homeless Papers

The Monkey and His Mother My mother is always suspicious of panhandlers. She used to pull me closer whenever we'd encounter a begging homeless person on the subway and drop her eyes, focusing on the stray paper and chewing-gum medallions--blackened with soot of the city--that decorated the floor. She and my father frequently describe seeing a homeless man who begs in our neighborhood (claiming to have AIDS, and afflicted with a multitude of painful-looking sores) walking down a street near our house, dapper in a dark business suit, his face free of the blemishes that had covered his skin on other occasions. My father, also a self-professed cynic, believes in an inherent selfishness that motivates most human actions. "The tribal impulse is very strong," he says with a wry smile, as he gestures toward a newspaper article about nationalistic conflict. "People look out for their own interests." When I asked him about his experiences living through the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam war, I found that his involvement with each was limited--he vocalized support for the ideals of the former, and by 1969, disdain for the strategic incompetence represented by the latter--as he was occupied by his studies, and the desire to begin his career. My parents' cynicism spares no one. I remember my father's delight upon reading the book review for Christopher Hitchens's criticism of Mother Theresa, Missionary Position, Theory and Practice, in 1995. In the book, Hitchens cites Mother Theresa's apparently numerous, and highly self-interested exhibitions of decidedly unsaintly behavior. He describes her enormous--and entirely unaudited--wealth (Hitchens estimates one $50 million bank account to be only a "small portion" of her fortune) which she consciously kept outside of India--where she did most of her work--because the Indian government requires disclosure of foreign missionary funds. According to Hitchens, Mother Theresa received money from some dubious donors, including Savings and Loan swindler Charles Keating. Even despite her hefty fortune, the book asserts, Mother Theresa's treatment of the terminally ill was primitive and often completely ineffective. My father seized upon this exposition as a triumph of what he'd always known: no person should be considered angelic--most of us are equal parts good and evil, and, like most living creatures, we will all act on our own behalves most of the time. Neither I--a third-rate Mother Theresa at best--nor my sister was safe from the slings and arrows of my parents' pessimistic world-view.

Income Tax Contribution

Chapter – I – Introduction 1. 1-Focus of the Study This is the age of management information system (MIS) in the business world, which enables management to provide the appropriate information at optimal cost so manager can manage in private as well as government organizations. MIS can be defined as the system, which provides proper information that helps management to take management decisions in a timely fashion. Therefore the information served by management information system is very crucial for a proper management of a business organization. In a process of receiving information from various sectors, MIS use various sectors. As well as we can find the position of income tax in government revenue. Income tax is the main source of government revenue. If high sources of income tax in government revenue, government can make good development, economic planning for development of the nation. After knowing about the contribution of Income tax in government revenue of Nepal, we can find the strength and weakness of the government functions and method of raising the revenue. < There are various sources of government revenue. Income tax, VAT, custom duty, foreign aid, internal and external loan are the main sources. There are various users and interested person and sector of Income tax in government revenue. Government is the main interested and handles body of income tax. Government can make suitable policies, acts and rules for increasing the government revenue. In current situation, government must have sufficient revenue for developing the nation. At present government expenditures is gradually increasing but government revenue is not satisfactory. The trend of income tax in government revenue is not satisfactory up going, even it’s going down some years. Thinking of taxpayer towards the tax is not positive. The study of income tax shows the performance and contribution of taxpayers. Nepal has adopted mix economy. So there is equal contribution of private and public sector for economic development as well as government revenue. The overall performance of government and taxpayers reflected on contribution of collection of income tax in government revenue. Government and financial policymakers can make suitable policies and rules for collection of high income tax from organizations. Analysis of income tax in government revenue is the mean of financial and accounting interpretation. We can say that analysis of income tax in government revenue is meaningless until and unless it is properly analyzed, interpreted and taken any corrective actions to the best way. Therefore the analysis and interpretation part of government revenue is fulfilled by the analysis of income tax. The idea of introducing income tax in Nepal originated along with the first ‘Budget’ on 21st Magh 2008 B. S. (1952 AD). The first elected government finally introduced ‘Business profit and Remuneration Tax Act 2017’ to promise income tax on remuneration and business profit in Nepal. The ‘Business profit and Remuneration Tax Act 2017’ had very narrow coverage that income tax was imposed only on business profit and remuneration. Since this act could not cover all the sources of income, the ‘Nepal Income Tax Act 2019’ replaced it after two years to avoid such drawbacks. After a year, ‘Nepal Income Tax Rules 2020’ were enacted with the view of implementing the objectives of the income tax act. According to the changing condition this act was also incapable in fulfilling the needs of changing time, it was replaced by another, ‘Income tax Act 2031’. In the course of development and modernization of income tax system, the new ‘Income Tax Act 2058’ has been enacted. Similarly, the new ‘Income Tax Rules 2059’ have been enacted for the effective implementation of the objectives of the Act. The study will cover the analysis and interpretation of all activities related to income tax such as income tax from Business income, Investment income and Employment income. Main purpose of the study is to find out the relationship between income tax and other sources of government revenue, the trends of collection of income tax, contributing part of income tax in government revenue and to point out the reasons of low collection and imposed of income tax. 1. 2-Statement of the problem Income tax is the main source of government revenue. For the development of nation, every government needs high revenue. For higher the revenue, the main sources is income tax. The economy of a country flourishes with the flourish of government revenue and collection of income tax and it deteriorates with unsatisfactory performance of Government function in the country. Therefore periodical review and analysis of Income Tax in the country is very essential. Performance of Income Tax is very constructive for all stakeholders closely attached with the government revenue as well as for a prosperous economic future of the country. Generating income by any individual or institution is the main sources of income tax. If income is favourable then collection of income tax is also favourable. Lower contribution of income tax in government revenue negatively affects the country’s development. The variation of income tax contribution brings the variation of government revenue and government development function. Country’s economic development and government revenue are the closely related parts. For higher revenue, economic development is necessary and for better economic development of a country, high government revenue is necessary. Nepal is a landlocked country. The trend of collection of income tax is not satisfactory. As maintained above, sustainable economic development and good political environment is necessary for growth the income. Income is source of income tax. Currently, political situation of Nepal is not good. From one decade it’s being worse. Here is no good environment for income generating functions. Previously running organizations also can’t perform better. They are going downwards. Individual income is also not a good increasing trend. It affects directly income tax and government revenue as well as government activities. The data of income tax may suffer a lot in lack of proper view and analysis practice of it. Currently contribution of income tax in government revenue of Nepal may not sufficient for development of nation. At the analysis period of data income tax collection remained below the expected level due to various national and international level. Therefore, this research study is concentrated on trend of income tax collection to review and analysis the contribution in government revenue and to draw recommendation for coming period. 1. 3-Objective of the study 1. 3. 1 General Objective To analyze the contribution of Income tax in the government revenue of Nepal. 1. 3. 2 Specific objective To measure the ability of income tax to meet the government current requirement. †¢ To measure the ability of income tax to meet the government long term planning and policies. †¢ To measure the operating efficiency and ability to ensure for adequate government revenue. †¢ To analyze the problems of revenue collection from Income Tax. †¢ To suggest some measures for the improve ment of Income Tax collection. 1. 4 Signification of the study There are many institutions and individual that many contribute for government revenue by income tax. But their ability and willingness is not so good. The proportion of income tax in government revenue is not appropriate. The trend of income tax collection also is not sustainable and satisfactory. Much income tax acts and rules were implemented and many of are active at present. But they are not properly implemented. For many of these problem there is best alternative to analysis the trend and contribution of income tax in government revenue. 1. 5 Research Questions For the effective performance and result of the study and to state the findings in a core and precise form, the important research questions have been structured: 1. What is the state of income tax collection? 2. What is the proportion of income tax income for government revenue? 3. What is the trend of income tax collection? 4. What are the findings for coming days? 1. 6 A brief survey of the related literature The related theoretical and previous studies review will be made later on while writing the thesis. Main of these is: †¢ Budget speech of many fiscal years †¢ Performance Review of public and private Enterprises †¢ Economic survey of many fiscal years †¢ Statement of Income and Expenditure of many fiscal years †¢ Statement of Revenue of many fiscal years Different Acts, Rules and regulations, Ordinance and Circulars related to Income Tax †¢ Related Research, Thesis, Articles, Journals, Books, Web site etc. 1. 7 Limitations of the Study The study on â€Å"Contribution of income tax in the government Revenue of Nepal† is not free from the following limitations: i) This study is based on financial stateme nts, Economic surveys, Statement of revenue and Income and expenditure, which are subject to limitation of many National and International causes. ii) This study is based on past data’s which are provided by IRD or published. ii) The various methods and formulae are been taken as standard formula, which are worked out on the basis of different items and conditions. iv) Mostly secondary data are analyzed. v) The area of income tax is very wide, so all the part of it may not be covered. vi) Being a student, different types of resource constraint is another important factor, which has limited the scope of the study. Chapter-II-Research Methodology 2. 1 Research Design A research design refers to the conceptual structure within which the research is conducted. The research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance the research purpose within the economy and easy to procedure. This study is basically both in analytical and descriptive. 2. 2 Data collection procedure For the study, secondary data will be collected from IRD, Budget speech, Economic survey, Statement of Income, Income and Expenditure and from other related sources. The secondary data related to income tax and revenue are basically from last fifteen years. 2. 3 Tools for analysis To conduct the study, management and statistical tools such as ratio analysis, trend analysis, correlation regression analysis, variation, weights, diagram, graphs etc. will be used as required by the study. 2. 4 Methods for analysis and presentation Various results will be calculated by using various management and statistical tools, and formula, which are required for this study. Then the data will be presented on suitable tables, diagrams, graphs and formats with the help of different suitable computer software on the basis of which necessary interpretation and explanation will be drawn. 2. Plan of work The study will be carried out on sequential order, which will be five chapters. The first chapter will begin with the introduction of the study, followed by review of literature, research methodology, presentation and analysis of data and conclusion and recommendation in second, third, fourth and last fifth chapters respectively. 2. 6 Bibliography 1. Amatya, S. K. , Pokharel, B. B. and Dahal, R. K. (2004), Taxation in Nepal, M. K. Publisher and Distributors, Kathmandu, Nepal. 2. Budget speech of the Fiscal Year 2055/056 to 2060/061. 3. Economic Survey of the Fiscal Year 2055/056 to 2060/061. . Income Tax act, 2031(1974) and Income Tax act, 2058 (2002) 5. Income Tax Rules, 2059. 6. Income Tax, Circular Collection 2055/56 to 2060/61. 7. Statement of Income and Expenditure of the Fiscal Year 2055/056 to 2060/061. 8. Statement of Revenue from 2055/56 to 2060/61. 9. Wolf, H. K. , and Pant, P. R. ,(2002), SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH AND THESIS WRITING, Buddha Academic Publishers & Distributor Pvt. Ltd. , Kathmandu, Nepal. 10. Web sites : http://www. ird. gov. np/index1. php http://www. taxresources. com/ http://www. asosai. org/journal1993/revenue_auditing_in_nepal. htm

Americas security and economic priorities

Americas security and economic priorities The United States of America has always prioritized on security and economic matters. The highest priority of the United States on matters of security is to ensure that all the American citizens are well protected by the state from any form of insecurity, either internal or external. The safety and the safeguarding of human life have been termed as matters of priority.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Americas security and economic priorities specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Over the years, the United States has been attacked severally by the terrorists who kill a lot of innocent Americans. To prevent any further attacks, the federal government has ensured that security remains a key priority. This has made the president become committed to the provision of ideal security in order to prevent any terrorist attacks and any related threats against the homeland security. The government has also ensured that through the co operation with the other stakeholders it is in the position of prevent and provide mitigation response mechanisms. The national strategy on matters of security has laid a strategic plan that addresses the issues of security in the 21st century. A report released by Fanez (2011) on matters of international security show that violence and organized crimes at the transnational level have been identified as matters of primary challenge that needs to be addressed quickly. Since this is a grave matter, the international community and the Central American governments have joined hands to ensure that the regional security is maintained. The different stakeholders have come together to ensure that citizens’ security is given priority and that the rates of violence are reduced. The economic interests and priorities of the United States government are to ensure economic recovery within the shortest time possible. This stimulation would enable the country to maintain strong ties with the international community and other players for economic development. The government intends to establish an economy based on transparency, accountability and responsibility among the key players. The government is working towards the improvement of the economy and a reduction of the high rates of unemployment and healthcare.Advertising Looking for essay on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More By ensuring that the economy of the United States stabilises the U.S would be in a position to ensure that corporation exists with the international community. The economic policies of the U.S shape the other economies in the world and its wellbeing ensures that all other economies are operating from the same level. The aid offered by the United States to less developed nations assist in ensuring that economic ties exists as the debts are reduced and the level of standard of living is upgraded. International relationships have been ensured because of the economic interests of the U.S. The longevity of the US regional alliances is influenced by its cultural superiority, military strength, and the trading markets. These have caused imperialism in the region hence its long stand. U.S is a multilingual state that accommodates almost all the people in the world. The U.S deploys its military to different parts of the world. It also offers military assistance in both in human capital and knowledge leading to empowerment in military strength. Its might in military technology has ensured that other states can adopt the same through military aids and trainings. The trading blocks of the U.S have been opened to other countries. In conclusion, the U.S security priority is to protect its citizens against any internal or external security matters. It also aims at fighting terrorism, organised crimes, and violence that have become international matters. On economic matters the U.S aims at stabilising its economy a nd reducing the high rate of unemployment and making healthcare affordable and available to its citizens. New markets, military strength and cultural superiority have ensured that U.S stands out in the region. Funez, Angela. International Conference in Support of the Central America Security Strategy. 23 Jun 2011. Web. https://events.iadb.org/calendar/event/13928?lang=enAdvertising We will write a custom essay sample on Americas security and economic priorities specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Homeland Security. n.d. Web. https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/economy-jobs/

Fire Protection Systems essayEssay Writing Service

Fire Protection Systems essayEssay Writing Service Fire Protection Systems essay Fire Protection Systems essayFire is an uncontrolled process of burning that creates a danger to human life and is accompanied by the destruction of property. Fire is characterized by chemical interaction of combustible substance with oxygen, allocation of a large amount of heat and intense gas exchange of combustion. The fire, which is extinguished at the initial stage, is called ignition. Fire protection systems are created to protect facilities from fire. Fire protection systems include: fire dampers, fire doors, windows and gates made ​​of special materials, fire line systems, smoke management systems, automation of buildings, etc. There are modern hi-tech fire protection systems capable of detecting fires in the early stages. They include analog addressable fire alarm system and wireless fire detectors. When designing fire protection systems, individual factor should be considered: function of the protected object, its design features and private characteristics. T he main purpose of fire protection systems lies in providing protection from fire through a combination of automatic fire alarm systems, mechanical means of individual and collective protection, fire extinguishing, smoke removal, and employees training to fire regulations (Sturzenbecker, 2012). If all its components work properly, protection is effective.Fire alarm and connection systemsAccording to experts, one of the most sought and highly effective components of the fire protection system is a fire alarm system, whose main function is to save peoples lives. It is designed to react quickly to a fire, transmit a signal to fire extinguishing systems and alert about the fire. Fire alarm is considered a consolidation of all hardware designed for early fire detection.Automatic fire alarm outputs signals to the inclusion of fire extinguishing installations, operates smoke protection systems, engineering and technological equipment and other fire protection. Fire alarm system is designed to ensure automatic fire detection in the time required to activate fire signals. Usually fire alarm and connection systems include such equipment: fire detectors, security and fire panel or a computer with the special programs and a system that collects and processes data from fire detectors. Fire alarm is triggered as a result of an open fire, the presence of smoke or carbon monoxide in the air, as well as rise of temperature. These signs are identified by sensors light, smoke, heat, hand, combined and multi-touch. All administrative, industrial, ancillary buildings, outdoor installations, warehouses and constructions of oil refining and petrochemical industry should be equipped with the manual detectors of electric fire alarm. Receiving stations of fire alarm system must be installed in buildings of fire stations. In automatic mode the fire alarm should be transmitted in hospitals, child care centers, nursing homes, hotels, cultural and entertainment areas and other crowded pla ces. By connection type, sensors are divided into wired and wireless, basing on the principle of creating an information signal about fire active and passive. Active detectors produce a signal in a protected area, they are triggered if there is any change of parameters of generated signal. Passive sensors are triggered directly by changes in the environment, resulting in fire. According to ways of defining alarm and generating signals, detectors and fire safety systems are divided into: threshold alarm (triggering of a fire sensor determines a fire), questionnaire addressable alarm (control panel is conducting a survey of sensors to determine their status) and analogue addressable alarm (control panel detects fire). Analogue addressable alarm is considered the most effective and costly. A special place in the fire alarm is given to an uninterruptible power supply system. This is a prerequisite for its normal operation. Therefore, alarm is equipped with standby power and batteries, which enable the system to work smoothly for a few hours.To ensure the necessary protection on large objects, alarm system is installed and connected to other security systems. Fire alarm systems must be installed at the facilities where the fire can cause personal injury or death.Smoke management systemsPeople’s death and damage to property can be caused not only by fire, but also by the subsequent spread of smoke. Statistics prove that peoples death often occurs from carbon monoxide poisoning and other toxic combustion products. So the question of capabilities of ventilation networks and drainage systems needs careful analysis for security and preservation of property.The main task of the smoke management system lies in localization of smoke and toxic gases, releasing evacuation routes, providing evacuation of citizens from the building covered by fire. Today, smoke protection system is an integral part of the project of engineering systems of many buildings. High-rise buil dings, hospital complexes, building prisons, shopping malls, underground structures and tunnels are equipped with these systems. Smoke protection should be installed in stairwells, hallways, safety zones, and in the escape routes.Smoke management system of the building is aimed primarily at protecting people on the escape routes and safe areas against fire hazards. Smoke protection system provides the following protection methods: use of space-planning and design solutions to deal with smoke in buildings during fire, use of smoke ventilation air supply to pressurize air in the protected areas, use of devices of mechanical and natural ventilation to remove the products of combustion and thermal decomposition. Ventilation of the room often plays a decisive role in the occurrence of fire. When the volume of incoming fresh air corresponds to the amount of combustion oxidant, there is the highest burning rate, and hence the highest heat output with minimum heat loss. Smaller air flow red uces the amount of heat, greater – decreases heat loss. Complete lack of ventilation is almost a full guarantee against fire, if there are no oxidizing agents in the air. Burning rate is associated with ventilation and is directly regulated by it. But in some cases, the combustion is not determined by the amount of air supply, and is dependent on the properties of combustible fibers. According to experts, smoke management systems must perform the following tasks: to prevent the spread of smoke to other premises and escape routes, to provide fire retardant and smoke-shielding zoning of each floor, to provide favorable environment for emergency services personnel and fire fighters. Thus, the task of smoke management systems is not only maintaining breathable air, but also ensuring maximum safety of designated routes in case of fire evacuation.Smoke protection system is closely connected with fire suppression systems, network of alarm sensors and fire alarm system. Smoke managem ent systems are of great importance, as they affect the whole complex of measures to ensure fire safety, including the operation of all devices (network extinguishers sprinkler, fire valves, safety switches, smoke detectors, etc.). Active smoke management system is based on the system of exhaust fans and air handling station, which provides a flow of fresh air into the room. Combining these two systems into one is, unfortunately, almost impossible.Fire Protection Systems essay part 2

Under Armour Example

Under Armour Example Under Armour – Article Example Under Armour Which of the five competitive forces is strongest and why? Product innovation is key is relating to the demands ofthe customers. It remains to be important in controlling inventory and thus acquire more market share in the very dynamic business environment. Who are Under Armours top three competitors to watch in the sports apparel industry? Why?The global market for sports apparel is highly competitive because the products are not easily differentiated. The top three competitors of Under Armour are Nike, Adidas, and Puma. These players are considered the three competitors due to Global Sports Apparel Market share they command and the obtainable revenue. What are the differences between the competitors strategies Under Armour, Nike, The Adidas Group? Which company has the better strategy? Why?Some players such as Under Armour focus on athletic apparel products of high quality-innovative performance. Other such as Nike concentrates on both constant innovation and different iating their products to target specific sport athletes and increase their market share. Nike has proved to have better strategies and this is evident in the huge global market they command in athletic apparel products. Their athletic apparel products offerings place this multinational in a niche market while differentiating the company from all competitive set. Using the financial data provided in the case study, which of the three rivals has been the best performer?Nike is the main competitor in the industry commanding close to 15% of the global market share and 42% being in America thus can be considered the best performer. Nike has remained a vital brand power while playing industry positioning role.What can Under Armour learn from its competitors? There is need to employ strategies that make their sports products appear unique despite the competition and target ignored sport segments. Likewise there need for Under Armour to understanding which of their competitor’s produ cts trend online and use this information to adjust company’s inventory to demands by customer. By incorporating all these changes into company’s marketing strategies, they will get closer to challenging their competitors.What can you apply to organizational work in your sector from what you in the Under Armour case? The organizations remain to be dynamic and competitive to date and as such review of strategies helps to remain competitive and acquire more market share. Exploring various options allow any company to learn a lot from the competitor success and adopt better strategies to remain competitive. Top of FormBottom of Form

How Madison Proposes to Solve the Problem of Factions Essay

How Madison Proposes to Solve the Problem of Factions - Essay Example In response to these challenges Madison proposed a number of solutions. This essay considers Madison’s proposed solutions to the problem of factions, and considers how the contemporary legislative branch of government comports to these Madison’s insights. How Madison Proposes to Solve the Problem of Factions There are a number of means by which James Madison proposes to solve the problem of factions. He begins this discussion by first indicating that are two major ways that the causes of factions can be removed; in these regards, he states, â€Å"the one, by destroying the liberty which is essential to its existence; the other, by giving to every citizen the same opinions, the same passions, and the same interests† (Madison). He continues his discussion indicating that in removing the first faction would be a sincere travesty, as liberty is as important as air. In regards to the second method of eliminating faction, he indicates that while this might be the prefe rred approach, it is entirely impracticable. In these regards, Madison’s main contention is that the essence of factions are so deep-rooted into the souls of humanity and the fabric of the nation that removing them is warranted next to impossible. While Madison indicates that removing the causes of factions is impossible, he argues that in dealing with factions they must be managed and controlled with knowledge of the general human motivation that underlies their existence. For Madison, the problem then becomes structuring this managing of governing body in a way that preserves the rights of individuals that may not currently be in majority power. While it is easy to consider the nature of a pure democracy in these regards, it’s clear that Madison is indicating such a governing structure based on majority vote would ultimately result in factions and subsequent violence. Madison also indicates that it is impossible to simply rely on an enlightened leader to manage this form of factional structure, as it will result in them ultimately capitulating to majority concerns. Through acknowledging the impossibility of a pure democracy, Madison goes on to consider the aspects of the democractic structure that fail to address factionalism and the means by which these problems can be amended. In these regards, Madison proposes a Republic. Within the Republic structure, Madison indicates that an appropriate number of representatives will be appointed to guard against factional interests of the majority. As a wide-variety of citizens will be voting on the potential representatives, Madison argues that it will be much more difficult for these representatives to resort to treachery that oftentimes becomes individuals of power. In these regards, Madison gives great consideration to the proportion of representatives to the number of electors, as, â€Å"enlarging too much the number of electors, you render the representatives too little acquainted with all their l ocal circumstances and lesser interests; as by reducing it too much, you render him unduly attached to these, and too little fit to comprehend and pursue great and national objects† (Madison). He argues that the proposed Constitution presents a powerful articulation of this

How do the views of Machiavelli, Hobbes and Grotius differ and what Essay

How do the views of Machiavelli, Hobbes and Grotius differ and what aspect of society influenced these theories - Essay Example To his mind the law was a necessary and rational perversion of nature, part of the civil contract that governed all societies - a compromise in order for men to live peacefully. Grotius, on the other hand, would not accept the separation of nature and the law - the true law arose out of human nature and, more pertinently to him, the nature of God. As such, the law is not merely a series of arbitrary rules with which those in a social group (say, the state) are forced to comply. It is a base for all interaction, including interaction between states. As such Grotius points to a law than can be transnational, one that binds all cultures and societies. Machiavelli portrayed a system of government that, unlike the systems of government that had been propounded before, was based entirely on pragmatic concerns. In his writings there is a large gap between the concept of things that are morally correct, and those things which are politic and advisable. As he says when regarding the way a leader chooses to rule his people, "it is a sound maxim that reprehensible actions may be justified by their effects" (Brown et al. 266). This, then, completely changes the landscape of how one is to understand the law, which before Machiavelli had been considered the inscription of rules barring those practices which are immoral or against the common good. In other words, people had seen the law as something which was used to protect society from those members of it who wished to harm the rest. The only way the law is a consideration in Machiavelli's philosophy is if the prince needs to pacify the populace and, by doing so, retain control of a kingdo m. The rule of law, then, is merely used by the leader as an appeasement to the collective might of the masses. However - Machiavelli is quite clear - the law can be suspended at any time the prince sees fit, and it should offer no protection from the violence he might wish to inflict - "It should be observed here that men should either be caressed or crushed" (Brown et al. 260). An example that Machiavelli uses is the annexation of Milan by Louis XII and its subsequent loss to Ludovico. When Louis had taken the principality, the people expected certain favours from him but, in actuality, he ruled as a tyrant. This made it nearly impossible for him to hold the Milan when a new attack came from without. "For when the people who had opened the gate to Louis found that they did not receive the benefits they expected, they could not endure the oppressive rule of the new master" (Brown et al. 258). Notice that Machiavelli does not treat the law (and other benefits, such as governmental structures, a wealthy privileged class, etc.) as a result of the organic growth of society. Rather, it is a tactical means of a prince retaining power. Machiavelli does not identify the rule of just law as a prerequisite of the state, quite the opposite, it is one weapon in the arsenal that a ruler might use in order to perpetuate his rule. As we will soon find, Hobbes sees the law as a treaty between a group of people - a little like a social contract - which grows of necessity when enough people congregate. For Machiavelli, however, the rule of law is applied from above, by the prince or emperor. The rule of law is intrinsic to the

TPP-Pacific Trade Partnership and International Business Research Paper - 1

TPP-Pacific Trade Partnership and International Business - Research Paper Example Trans-Pacific Partnership is also of great interest because of its ambition to extend well beyond the limits of trade and trade policy including other different issues that affects trade agreements. The common issues that are likely to affect TPP are linked to the ambition of TPP to go beyond the limits of trade and its policies including trade in services, intellectual property, and technical barriers to trade. Supply chain complication has been cited as a major challenge likely to face Trans-Pacific partnership especially in this era of global business and cross enterprise collaboration. As stated by Inkyo et al (145), the Supply chain conference held in 2003 had cited development in the digital economy such as cloud computing, green growth and inadequate approaches to ensuring competitive business environment as some of the major challenges that are likely to face TPP. However, according to Deardorff (5), TPP is creating a framework to deal with all concerns and that could be the reason for the long time negotiations. The areas of negations in the Trans-Pacific Partnership include services and investments and other barriers to trade include in services, goods and investments, capacity building, government procurement, custom rules, labor, phytosanitary standards, e-commerce, telecommunications, intellectual property and technical barriers to trade. Researchers and economists have cited a lot of implications of what has been described as â€Å"spaghetti or noodle bowl† problem of overlapping preferential trade agreements (PTA) at the beginning of the year 2012, the world trade organization had reported more than 319 agreements that were already on force. According to Inkyo et al (147), each agreement signed between two or more countries continue to complicate and increases the complexity of the global trading system. The new PTA, Trans-Pacific Partnership that is currently under

Financial and Strategic Planning Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Financial and Strategic Planning - Coursework Example s; (1) patients are adopting a much healthier and generally safety conscious lifestyle, or, (2) patients are dissatisfied with the services offered and therefore opt to seek these services elsewhere. There is need for a physical survey and assessment of this situations as it may pose a legitimate threat to the operations of the medical institution. This situation can be remedied by the use of a more intensive marketing strategy that is well within the boundaries of ethics. This is to ensure that the general public is informed of all the services that Franklin Healthcare provides. There is great need for the introduction of medical facilities that employ modern day technology. This is essential in helping the hospital expand its operations and the services it offers to its clients. These new services will require increased expenditure on hospital equipment, specialized and highly qualified staff and the infrastructure development to support the expansion of services offered. Franklin Healthcare may potentially increase its services to the customer by developing new services that are geared towards increasing healthcare knowledge for its clients and the general public. This would potentially increase the number of clients that the institution receives. The facility appears to be financially healthy. This is owing to the fact that the larger part of its income, 50%, is generated from business with third-parties as opposed to dependency on patient revenue and/or grants and investments. Furthermore, according to the information provided, Franklin Healthcare spend less than 1% of its revenue. This is an indication of financial stability in the case of the institutions performance. The Grant is a considerable portion of the hospitals revenue. However, considering the financial position of the hospital, it is evident that the Hospital does not require the grant to remain operational. Furthermore, the 25% represents the grant and the institution’s investments. This

Enterprise Book Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Enterprise Book - Case Study Example ion through high quality services such as through fast transactions and helpfulness of the staff, the ESQi provides the appropriate environment that helps in fulfilling this objective (Exhibit 3). This is because it is tied to the entire organization’s main processes including employee compensation. Customer satisfaction, with respect to ESQi, became the main agenda where the customers were contacted to provide feedback on their experience when being served by the company. As such, the managers became responsible for the scores. The tool was also the main determinant of whether an employee could be promoted where a good score of the subject employee’s branch would guarantee promotion after they had been working in the company for a specified period. This implies that the salaries were tied to the individual’s performance in the duties assigned. This mode of compensation prompted the employees to work more time than what had been specified by the company so as to increase the chances of promotion and higher salaries resulting from the branch’s performance. This system would be very effective if the company ensures that all employees are well aware of its operations and if it is followed to the letter. This is because it has sparked increased motivation to the point that the employees are willing to work longer than the company has stipulated. Additionally, it sparks a commitment among the employees, which would function as a competitive advantage for Enterprise. The most important issue with respect to emerging issues in the market is the idea of consolidation between two main players that include DTG and Vanguard. The merger may present a significant threat to Enterprise although independent efforts by either DTG or Vanguard do not measure to Enterprises’ operations (Exhibit 1). This could be a main threat because combination of operation means combination of managerial ideas where such a merger could result in a very strong managerial practice to

Financial and Strategic Planning Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Financial and Strategic Planning - Coursework Example s; (1) patients are adopting a much healthier and generally safety conscious lifestyle, or, (2) patients are dissatisfied with the services offered and therefore opt to seek these services elsewhere. There is need for a physical survey and assessment of this situations as it may pose a legitimate threat to the operations of the medical institution. This situation can be remedied by the use of a more intensive marketing strategy that is well within the boundaries of ethics. This is to ensure that the general public is informed of all the services that Franklin Healthcare provides. There is great need for the introduction of medical facilities that employ modern day technology. This is essential in helping the hospital expand its operations and the services it offers to its clients. These new services will require increased expenditure on hospital equipment, specialized and highly qualified staff and the infrastructure development to support the expansion of services offered. Franklin Healthcare may potentially increase its services to the customer by developing new services that are geared towards increasing healthcare knowledge for its clients and the general public. This would potentially increase the number of clients that the institution receives. The facility appears to be financially healthy. This is owing to the fact that the larger part of its income, 50%, is generated from business with third-parties as opposed to dependency on patient revenue and/or grants and investments. Furthermore, according to the information provided, Franklin Healthcare spend less than 1% of its revenue. This is an indication of financial stability in the case of the institutions performance. The Grant is a considerable portion of the hospitals revenue. However, considering the financial position of the hospital, it is evident that the Hospital does not require the grant to remain operational. Furthermore, the 25% represents the grant and the institution’s investments. This

An analysis of an ad campaign of your choice Essay

An analysis of an ad campaign of your choice - Essay Example Just like every other seller in the market, jewelers also rely on Christmas to make huge sales. They have achieved this by giving out some of the best Christmas campaign advertisements to persuade people to invest in Jewells specifically their jewels. This paper is going to do a comparison of two globally renowned reputable jewelers Christmas advertisements. The jewelers are Cartier and tiffany and co. and their Christmas advertisements which appeared across a range of platforms that is on TV, online on YouTube and billboards. In addition, this paper is going to analyze tiffany and co and Cartier with the consumer buying process. The consumer buying process can be defined as the process the consumer goes through before deciding on what product to buy. This process is a very crucial process in that it determines whether a consumer is going to buy ones products or another brand. It includes five known stages which are product recognition, information search by consumer, evaluation of a lternatives, purchase decision and post purchase behavior. Tiffany and co and Cartier both have a campaign adverts which means a series of adverts with the same target. They both recognize the consumer buying process in their adverts in that in tiffany and co. Christmas advert the name of the brand is first shown to tell the customer what products is being advertised and even at the end the name is put on the screen solely which is product recognition (Pride & Ferrell, 2006, 235). The same applies to Cartier whose name is printed in all the products shown on the advert as small inscriptions on the jewel boxes. The end of the advert is also dedicated to the brand name solely on the screen thus both companies have produced product recognition in their adverts. Color has been utilized by the two reputable jewelers as their main form of communication as the colors are synonymous with these brands. This showcases the jeweler’s knowledge on the

Reporting Practices and Ethics Essay Example for Free

Reporting Practices and Ethics Essay Financial practices and ethics can play an important part of any organization including the health care environment. In order for the health care organization to be successful one must adopt an efficient financial practice and possess ethical standards. The management of finances for a health care organization may be a challenge for managers. This is why the health care manager will follow four basic elements for financial management. The basic elements include planning, controlling, organizing and directing, and decision making (Baker Baker, 2011). Health Care Organizations have accounting principles generally acceptable and will comply with the financial practice and the practice of ethics to avoid fraud or abuse of the reporting practices. Elements of Financial Management Financial management has four basic elements, which assist the manager in making effective decisions for the health care organization. The first element of financial management is planning. The financial manager needs to identify the steps that he or she needs to take to accomplish the goals of the organization. However, first the manager must determine what the goal is for the organization and at that time determine what steps to follow to achieve the goal. The next element is controlling; a plan is in place that each area of the organization must follow. The financial manager must ensure that the areas are following such plans. The staff can view the current reports and make a comparison with reports from the past. In comparing previous and current reports the financial manager can see if an area in the organization needs more attention because the area may not be meeting its goals. The third element is organizing and directing. In organizing the financial manager must decide on what resources are best to use to be more effective. The manager must also determine how to use those resources effectively to reach the goal of the organization. In directing, the manager must provide supervision daily to run the organizing element efficiently. The final element is decision making. The manager must make decisions with the alternatives available such as information in the reports. Decision making should be side-by-side with planning, controlling, and organizing. When making a decision the manager must analyze and evaluate the information to make effective decisions (Baker Baker, 2011). Acceptable Accounting Principles Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) provides guidelines to the company’s financial manager. The guidelines will cover the principles of accounting and practices. The generally accepted accounting principles guideline, guides the financial manager in the reporting and recording the financial information. For example, the financial manager will use the guidelines when preparing the financial statements such as the balance sheet. One health care organizations practice for releasing financial information will perform a practice of reconciliation in accounting. One organization reviews the balance sheets and makes them compatible as one. The next step is to determine the classification of each balance sheet such as high risk or low risk. The final step is the organization must decide a reporting schedule such as monthly or yearly. In knowing and understanding the documents and how to analyze the information this prevents an auditor from finding misstatements (Cox, Draa, 2008). Standard Financial Ethics Making an ethical decision is a requirement of health care managers. One must ensure the meeting of needs of individuals within the organization. Principles of ethics include fairness, justice, and professionalism. The organization possesses a code of ethics when interpreting the organizations transactions such as losses or assets. The Health Care Portability and Accountability Act help reduce abuse and fraud concerning finances whether it is deliberate or unintentional. Fraud and abuse is increasing because of the increase in the delivery of health care. Organizations take better actions in working toward the reduction of fraud and abuse. One way to do this is to develop a compliance program, which a financial manager will play a key role. Compliance programs allow a proper practice on reporting the financials, and comply with the ethical conduct standard by avoiding fraud and abuse (Hern, n.d. ). Conclusion For an organization to be successful it needs to ensure the following of the financial reporting practices and maintain a standard of conduct ethically. The organization should follow the basic elements of financial management. When an organization follows the steps in the correct order there is less of a chance the organization will receive an audit. As long as the organization follows the generally accepted accounting principles there is less chance of an audit, and less of a chance of fraud or abuse when reporting the finances. References. Baker, J. Baker, R. (2011). Health care finance: Basic tools for nonfinancial managers (3rd ed. ). Sudbury, MA: Jones Bartlett Publishers Cox, B. , Draa, M. (2008). Back to basics with account reconciliations. Business Finance, 14(6), 38-38. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/211076250? accountid=35812 Hern, W. (n. d. ). Corporate compliance is a necessity, not an option – healthcare financial managers’ role in helping their organizations prevent financial fraud. Retrieved from http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m3257/is_n1_v51/ai_19146070.

Literature Review Strategy for Evidence Based Practice (EBP)

Literature Review Strategy for Evidence Based Practice (EBP) Introduction Evidence based practice (EBP) is an approach to health care in which health professionals use the most appropriate information available to make clinical decision for providing high quality patient care (McKibbon, 1998). EBP has shifted the focus of health care professionals from a traditional approach on authoritative opinions to a stress on facts extracted from previous research and studies (Sackett et al, 1997). It has been suggested by that nursing practice based on evidence enhances patient care, as compared to traditional practices (Majid et al, 2011). In addition, as nurses are increasingly more involved in clinical decision making, it is becoming essential for them to make use of the best evidence in order to make effective and justifiable decisions (Majid et al, 2011). To discuss the evidence for a clinical skill, this essay will investigate the antiseptic preparations for surgical site antisepsis. The rationale for selection of this topic is its significance for the clinical nursing practice as nurses are frequently involved in the surgical site preparation (Dizer et al, 2009). Surgical site infection (SSI) is a type of healthcare-associated infection in which a wound infection occurs following an invasive (surgical) procedure. It has been suggested by National Institute of Health and Care (NICE, 2004) that surgical site infections account for almost 20% of all of healthcare-associated infections. It has been further highlighted that nearly 5% of patients undergoing a surgical procedure develop a surgical site infection antiseptic preparations. NICE (2008) has recommended that aqueous or alcohol based solution with chlorhexidine or iodine can be used for prevention of SSI. However, it does not favour or recommend one solution over the other. This essay will explore the literature for evidence about efficacy of these preparation in comparison to one another. It is important for the nurses to be aware of the best available evidence regarding antiseptic preparations to minimise the risk of surgical site infection. Research Question and Literature Search The research question for the current essay will be formulated on the PICO framework as suggested by Sackett et al (1997): P Population or problem Clean-contaminated surgical procedures I Intervention Chlorhexidine gluconate C Comparison or comparator Povidone-iodine O Outcome Surgical site infection The question formulated for the current essay using PICO framework would therefore be: In surgical procedures, is chlorhexidine gluconate more effective in comparison to povidone-iodine in reducing surgical infections? To answer the question, literature search for the available evidence for was done. The author identified a list of key search terms and synonyms that can result in a large number of hits and combined these with Boolean terms AND/OR. Terms made up of of two words were looked for by making use of speech marks so that they were are not searched for separately, and truncation was used for terms identified to have multiple endings. The key words used were surgical site infection anti-septic preparations iodine and chlorhexidine. In order to make sure that an in-depth search was done, which would elicit the largest number of studies more than one academic search engines were searched by the researcher. Cinahal: Contains an index of nursing and allied health literature and is helpful for use in a thorough search (Glazsiou, 2001). Medline: Suggested to be used in healthcare systematic reviews (Glazsiou, 2001). NHS Information Resources and NHS Evidence: Is a widely used database resource containing evidence-based reviews and specialist research from reliable sources. NHS evidence was searched separately. Cochrane Library: Provides a list of systematic reviews and RCTS that have been published or are in a process of publishing (Glazsiou, 2010). Pubmed: It is a commonly used internet resource for healthcare professionals with a large international coverage. The results of the search generated a large number of article however these had to be reduced in order to generate an appropriate research article which can answer the question formulated. Therefore, an inclusion and exclusion criteria was set to narrow down the large number of articles generated. The guidelines from NICE (2008) in which both preparation have been recommended in 2008 hence the research was done for studies published after that. Only randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have been included as they provide the best evidence. The articles which were not in English and published before 2009 were therefore excluded. Also, the studies in which preparations for a particular type of surgical procedure were studied were also excluded as the evidence for general surgical procedures was being looked for. Abstracts of the studies generated from the search of different data bases engines were thus read so that the articles which do not satisfy the inclusion criteria of this essay can be excluded. This resulted in selection of one article which satisfied the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the current work. The study by Darouiche et al (2010) is a RCT which compared the efficacy of two surgical preparations i.e. chlorhexidine–alcohol with that of povidone–iodine for preventing surgical site infections. In order to achieve this, preoperative skin preparation was done for adults undergoing clean-contaminated surgery in six hospitals with either chlorhexidine–alcohol scrub or povidone–iodine scrub and paint in a random way. The primary outcome was any surgical-site infection within 30 days after surgery. This study will be critically analysed to identify its strengths and weaknesses. It has been suggested by Burls (2009) that critical appraisal is the process of carefully and systematically examining research to judge its trustworthiness, and its value and relevance in a particular context. The critical skills appraisal programme (CASP) tool (Appendix 1) for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) will be used as the selected study is a randomised controlled trial. Screening questions 1. Did the trial address a clearly focused issue? Yes, the study addressed a clearly focused issue with clear problem to be explored, comparison groups and outcomes being investigated using a PICO framework to formulate the research question thereby increasing the rigour of the study (Huang et al, 2006). 2. Was the assignment of patients to treatments randomised? Yes, the assignment to treatment and placebo group was carried out randomly in a ratio of 2:1. This will increase the validity of the study. Literature suggests that random allocation of patients to study groups help to minimize both the selection bias as well as the impact of any confounder present (Cormack, 2000). It has also been observed in the study that in order to match the two groups and deal with possible inter-hospital differences, randomization was stratified by hospital by using computer-generated randomization numbers without blocking. This is a strength of the study as stratified randomisation can help to attain maximum balance of significant characteristics without compromising the benefits of randomisation (Altman and Bland, 1999). 3. Were all of the patients who entered the trial properly accounted for at its conclusion? Yes, the trial was not stopped early and the patients were analysed in the groups to which they were randomised. The study has done both intention-to-treat analysis for both groups as well as per protocol analysis. This accounts for the drop outs in the study an also been reported thus accounting for these drop-outs which may decrease the internal validity of the study. According to the Cochrane Collaboration (2014) intention-to-treat analysis minimised the presence of bias which may exist due to loss of participants, thus upsetting the baseline similarity attained by randomisation. Detailed Questions The study by Darouiche et al (2010) does not explicitly mention whether the personnel involved in the study were blind to the treatment groups. However, it has been mentioned in the study that the operating surgeon became aware of which intervention had been assigned only after the patient was brought to the operating room. In addition, both the patients and the site investigators who diagnosed surgical-site infection on the basis of standard criteria stayed unaware of the group assignments. This minimises the bias in the study and increases its validity as differential treatment or evaluation of participants can possibly introduce bias in the study at any phase of a trial (Karanicolas et al, 2010). Hence, it is a strength of the study. According to Berger (2006), in addition to randomisation, it is important to keep the baseline variables of the study groups similar at the commencement of the trial as it is essential for a RCT to compare groups that differ only with reference to the treatment they receive. The baseline characteristics of both groups have been reported in the study and did not show any significant difference between the two intervention groups reflected by their insignificant p values. It appears from the study that both chlorhexidine and iodine groups were treated the same way other then intervention. In order to determine the treatment effect, clear pre-defined primary end point has been given by Darouiche et al (2010). The primary outcome was defined on the basis of a standard criteria given by the CDC hence it increases the reliability of study. The results of the study found that the overall rate of surgical-site infection was significantly lower in the chlorhexidine–alcohol group than in the povidone–iodine group (9.5% vs. 16.1%; P = 0.004). In order to find the results, the study undertook multiple statistical considerations and tests. The study increased its statistical power by increasing the sample size in each group which gives the study 90% power to identify a significant difference in the frequency of surgical-site infection between the two groups, at a significance level of 0.05 or less. In addition, as mentioned above intention-to-treat and per protocol analyses were performed which further increases study validity. The study also carried out a pre-specified Breslow–Day test for homogeneity to find whether the results were consistent across the six participating hospitals. This was also a strength of the study as literature suggests that involvement of multi-centre patients can compromise the external validity of the RCTs (Rothwell, 2010). This is due to potential effect of differences between health-care systemswhich result in different treatment affects, values and confidence intervals have also been reported where required. Regarding the application of the results in the settings in UK, it has been highlighted by that the study by Darouiche et al (2010) was done in the US and used an aqueous solution of iodine. However, in the UK, the most widely used skin preparations are alcohol-based solutions of 0.5% chlorhexidine or 10% iodine (Tanner, 2012). This is because aqueous-based solutions are thought to be less effective than alcohol-based solutions. Hence, to make the study applicable to the UK settings, 2% chlorhexidine in alcohol should have been compared with 0.5% chlorhexidine in alcohol or 10% povidone iodine in alcohol. The benefits of the study are definitely superior to the harms as SSI not only causes significant unwanted outcomes and distress for the patient but also results in increased costs for the patient, the healthcare and the wider economy (Tanner, 2012). Thus, a number of factors increase the external validity and internal validity of the study including stratified randomisation, blinding of study personnel, intention-to-treat analysis, keep the baseline variables of the study group’s similar, sample size and a number of statistical tests. In addition, clear pre-defined primary end point increased the reliability of the study. The study thus has very low risk of bias and can be therefore rated as 1++ according to NICE hierarchy of evience (NICE, 2004). Hence, alcoholic chlorhexidine solution is significantly more effective in reducing SSIs than povidone iodine. However, the results should be applied to UK settings with caution. References: Altman, D.G. and Bland, J.M. (1999) How to randomise BMJ. 11;319(7211), pp. 703-4. Berger VW. (2006) A review of methods for ensuring the comparability of comparison groups in randomized clinical trials. Rev Recent Clin Trials. 1(1), pp. 81-6. Burls, A. (2009) What is critical appraisal? London, Hayward Group. Cochrane Collaboration (2014) Glossary, [Online] Available from: http://www.cochrane.org/glossary [Accessed 29 January 2014] Cormack, D. (2000) The research process in nursing, 4th ed., Wiley-Blackwell: Oxford. Crookes, P.A. Davies, S. (1998) Research into Practice. London: Balliere Tindall. Darouiche, R.O., Wall, M.J. Jr, Itani, K.M., Otterson, M.F., Webb, A.L., Carrick, M.M., Miller, H.J., Awad, S.S., Crosby, C.T., Mosier MC, Alsharif A, Berger DH. (2010) Chlorhexidine-Alcohol versus Povidone-Iodine for Surgical-Site Antisepsis. . N Engl J Med. 362(1), pp. 18-26. Dizer B, Hatipoglu S, Kaymakcioglu N, Tufan T, Yava A, Iyigun E, Senses Z. (2009) The effect of nurse-performed preoperative skin preparation on postoperative surgical site infections in abdominal surgery. J Clin Nurs. 18(23), pp. 3325-32. Glasziou, P. (2001) Systematic reviews in health care: a practical guide, Cambridge; Cambridge University Press. Huang, X., Lin, J. and Demmer-Fishman, D. (2006) Evaluation of PICO as a knowledge representation for clinical questions. AMIA Annu Symp Proc, pp. 359-63 Karanicolas, P.J., Farrokhyar, F., Bhandari, M. (2010) Practical tips for surgical research: blinding: who, what, when, why, how? Can J Surg. 53(5), pp. 345-8. Majid, S., Foo, S., Luyt, B., Zhang, X., Theng, Y.L., Chang, Y.K., Mokhtar, I.A. (2011) Adopting evidence-based practice in clinical decision making: nurses perceptions, knowledge, and barriers. J Med Libr Assoc. 99(3), pp. 229-36. McKibbon, K.A. (1998) Evidence-based practice, Bull Med Libr Assoc. 86(3), pp. 396–401. NICE (2004) Reviewing and grading the evidence [Online] Available from: http://www.nice.org.uk/niceMedia/pdf/GDM_Chapter7_0305.pdf [Accessed 9 February 2014] NICE (2008) Surgical site infection Prevention and treatment of surgical site infection, London: NICE. Rothwell, P.M. (2006) Factors That Can Affect the External Validity of Randomised Controlled Trials, PLoS Clin Trials. 1(1): e9. Sackett D.L, Richardson W.S, Rosenberg W.M.C, Haynes R.B.(1997) Evidence-based medicine: how to practice and teach EBM.Edinburgh, UK: Churchill Livingstone. Tanner J (2012) Methods of skin antisepsis for preventing SSIs. Nursing Times; 108: 37, 20-22.

Why is the Holocaust Still Relevant Today in Wiesels Night Essay

The Holocaust is over and has been for about sixty years, so why are we still talking about it? Why is it still relevant in our world today? The world should have learned from its mistakes, but the sad part is that we did not. No, Hitler is no longer killing millions of innocent men, women, and children, but we are still just still just as cruel only in different ways. Night is Elie Wiesel’s factual account of his experiences in the holocaust. He brings us to a world in which not many people want to go. He tells us the true story of what really happened in Nazi concentration camps. Elie Wiesel, a holocaust survivor chooses to tell his story and begins to teach an entire generation the dangers of ignorance and hatred. Just by telling his story, just by writing it down, Wiesel is helping to educate people about what atrocities happened in the concentration camps. It tells us about how he was stripped down of his human rights. â€Å"A7713?’ ‘That’s me’† (51 Wiesel). Wiesel talks about how he was degraded as a human being. He is not even considered a person anymore. He is dehumanized and reduced to little more than a number. An example of the harshness is the selections, where he saw people who slept beside him the night before, get sentenced to death. He makes it clear that just because you passed an examination, doesn’t mean you’re safe. You might have been lucky this time but there will be a next time and they can just as easily give you death. He is basically saying that if you want to survive, then you had to prove yourself strong and healthy, but basically it was all on luck. This teaches us how cruel the Nazis were to the people in the concentration camps. Every selection would be dreadful and you had no way of knowing wheth... ...spoke about the concentration camps while they were going on, then that could have made the difference. All you really need is one person to start and others will follow. There was a reason why Wiesel made it out of the camps, and millions of others did not. He made a difference. He educated so many people of the pains of the Holocaust. Since we now know about it, we should not be ignorant and pretend that there is no other problems in our world, because there is. Now that we know this and we know what has happened in the past, we should do everything we can to prevent this from happening in the future. We determine the future, we can either ignore the problems of others including in other countries and the same thing might happen to us, or we can choose to do something about it and try to eliminate hatred and make sure that no one will have to experience it again.

Ella Fitzgerald - The Gold Collection Essay -- Music

Ella Fitzgerald - The Gold Collection The overall illusion of Ella Fitzgerald’s The Gold Collection album is a reflection of the trials and tribulations of love. The collection consists of many tracks that have passionate lyrical value, that the words instantly relate to those moments in life when you are struggling with devotion for a significant other. The album is arranged in a precise manner, where those melancholy and heartrending songs are preceded by upbeat, catchy tunes, that even with the gloomy lyrics, make you want to return to your childhood, where everything was simple and uncomplicated. Certain songs, like â€Å"Angel Heart† and â€Å"Sophisticated Love† are prime examples of the slow, and remorseful songs where Ella’s strong and intense voice simply devours your emotions. In these songs, she has extensive use of vibrato in specific areas, where she draws out certain beats of words, and just by closing your eyes and listening, you can immediately sense the sentiment of the word, along with each and every syllable after. Her prominent voice, with solo accompaniment on the ...

Enron Corporation Essay

Enron Corporation began as a small natural gas distributor and, over the course of 15 years, grew to become the seventh largest company in the United States. Soon after the federal deregulation of natural gas pipelines in 1985, Enron was born by the merging of Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, a Nebraska pipeline company. Initially, Enron was merely involved in the distribution of gas, but it later became a market maker in facilitating the buying and selling of futures of natural gas, electricity, broadband, and other products. However, Enron’s continuous growth eventually came to an end as a complicated financial statement, fraud, and multiple scandals sent Enron through a downward spiral to bankruptcy. During the 1980s, several major national energy corporations began lobbying Washington to deregulate the energy business. Their claim was that the extra competition resulting from a deregulated market would benefit both businesses and consumers. Consequently, the national government began to lift controls on who was allowed to produce energy and how it was marketed and sold. However, as competition in the energy market increased, gas and energy prices began to fluctuate greatly. Over time, Enron incurred massive debts and no longer had exclusive rights to its pipelines. It needed some new and innovative business strategies. Kenneth Lay, chairman and CEO, hired the consulting firm McKinsey & Company to assist in developing a new plan to help Enron get back on its feet. Jeffrey Skilling, a young McKinsey consultant who had a background in banking and asset and liability management, was assigned to work with Enron. He recommended that Enron create a gas bank to buy and sell gas. Skilling, who later became chief executive at Enron, recognized that Enron could capitalize on the fluctuating gas prices by acting as an intermediary and creating a futures market for buyers and sellers of gas; it would buy and sell gas to be used tomorrow at a stable price today. Although brilliantly successful in theory, Skilling’s gas bank idea faced a major problem. The natural gas producers who agreed to supply Enron’s gas bank desperately needed cash and required cash as payment for their products. Enron also had insufficient cash levels. Therefore, management decided to team up with banks and other financial institutions, establishing partnerships that would provide the cash needed to complete the transactions with Enron’s suppliers. Under the direction of Andrew Fastow, a newly hired financial genius, Enron also created several special-purpose entities (SPEs), which served as the vehicles through which money was funneled from the banks to the gas suppliers, thus keeping these transactions off Enron’s books. As Enron’s business became more and more complicated, its vulnerability to fraud and eventual disaster also grew. Initially, the newly formed partnerships and SPEs worked to Enron’s advantage. Yet in the end , it was the creation of these SPEs that culminated in Enron’s death. Within just a few years of instituting its gas bank and the complicated financing system, Enron grew rapidly, controlling a large part of the U.S. energy market. At one point, it controlled as much as a quarter of all of the nation’s gas business. It also began expanding to create markets for other types of products, including electricity, crude oil, coal, plastics, weather derivatives, and broadband. In addition, Enron continued to expand its trading business and, with the introduction of Enron Online in the late 1990s, it became one of the largest trading companies on Wall Street, at one time generating 90% of its income through trades. Enron soon had more contracts than any of its competitors and, with market dominance, could predict future prices with great accuracy, thereby guaranteeing superior profits. To continue enhanced growth and dominance, Enron began hiring the best and brightest traders. However, Enron was just as quick in firing its employees as it was in hiring new ones. Management created the Performance Review Committee (PRC), which became known as the harshest employee ranking system in the country. Its method of evaluating employee performance was nicknamed â€Å"rank and yank† by Enron employees. Every 6 months, employees were ranked on a scale of 1–5. Those ranked in the lowest category (1) were immediately yanked (fired) from their position and replaced by new recruits. Surprisingly, during each employee review, management required that at least 15% of all the employees ranked were given a 1 and therefore yanked from their position and income. The employees ranked with a 2 or 3 were also given notice that they were liable to be released in the near future. These ruthless performance reviews created fierce internal competition between fellow employees w ho faced a strict ultimatum; perform or be replaced. Furthermore, it created a work environment where employees were unable to express opinions or valid concerns for fear of a low ranking score by their superiors. With so much pressure to succeed and maintain its position as the global energy market leader, Enron began to jeopardize its integrity by committing fraud. The SPEs, which originally were used for good business purposes, were now used illegally to hide bad investments, poorly performing assets, and debt; to manipulate cash flows; and eventually, to report more than $1 billion of false income. The following are examples of how specific SPEs were used fraudulently. Chewco: In 1993, Enron and the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) formed a 50/50 partnership called Joint Energy Development Investments Limited (JEDI). In 1997, Enron’s Andrew Fastow established the Chewco SPE, which was designed to repurchase CalPERS’s share of equity in JEDI at a large profit. However, Chewco crossed the bounds of legality in two ways. First, it broke the 3% equity rule, which allowed corporations such as Enron to not consolidate if outsiders contributed even 3% of the capital, but the other 97% could come from the company. When Chewco bought out JEDI, however, half of the $11.4 million that bought the 3% equity involved cash collateral provided by Enron—meaning that only 1.5% was owned by outsiders. Therefore, the debts and losses incurred at Chewco were not listed where they belonged, on Enron’s financial reports, but remained only on Chewco’s separate financial records. Second, because Fastow was an Enron officer, he was, therefore, unauthorized to personally run Chewco without direct approval from Enron’s board of directors and public disclosure with the SEC. In an effort to secretly bypass these restrictions, Fastow appointed one of his subordinates, Michael Kopper, to run Chewco, under Fastow’s close supervision and influence. Fastow continually applied pressure to Kopper to prevent Enron from getting the best possible deals from Chewco and, therefore, giving Michael Kopper huge profits. Chewco was eventually forced to consolidate its financial statements with Enron. By doing so, however, it caused large losses on Enron’s balance sheet and other financial statements. The Chewco SPE accounted for 80% (approximately $400 million) of all of Enron’s SPE restatements. Moreover, Chewco set the stage for Andrew Fastow as he continued to expand his personal profiting SPE empire. LJM 1 and 2: The LJM SPEs (LJM1 and LJM2) were two organizations sponsored by Enron that also participated heavily in fraudulent deal making. LJM1 and its successor, LJM2, were similar to the Chewco SPE in that they also broke the two important rules set forth by the SEC. First, although less than 3% of the SPE equity was owned by outside investors, LJM’s books were kept separate from Enron’s. An error in judgment by Arthur Andersen allowed LJM’s financial statements to go unconsolidated. Furthermore, Andrew Fastow (at that time CFO at Enron) was appointed to personally oversee all operations at LJM. Without the governing controls in place, fraud became inevitable. LJM1 was first created by Fastow as a result of a deal Enron made with a high-speed Internet service provider called Rhythms NetConnections. In March 1998, Enron purchased $10 million worth of shares in Rhythms and agreed to hold the shares until the end of 1999, when it was authorized to sell those shares. Rhythms released its first IPO in April 1999 and Enron’s share of Rhythms stock immediately jumped to a net worth of $300 million. Fearing that the value of the stock might drop again before they could sell it, Enron searched for an investor from whom it would purchase a put option (i.e., insurance against a falling stock price). However, because Enron had such a large share and because Rhythms was such a risky company, Enron could not find an investor at the price Enron was seeking. So, with the approval of the board of directors and a waiver of Enron’s code of conduct, Fastow created LJM1, which used Enron stock as its capital to sell the Rhythms stock put options to Enron. In effect, Enron was insuring itself against a plummeting Rhythms stock price. However, because Enron was basically insuring itself and paying Fastow and his subordinates millions of dollars to run the deal, Enron really had no insurance. With all of its actions independent of Enron’s financial records, LJM1 was able to provide a hedge against a profitable investment. LJM2 was the sequel to LJM1 and is infamous for its involvement in its four major deals known as the â€Å"Raptors.† The Raptors were deals made between Enron and LJM2, which enabled Enron to hide losses from Enron’s unprofitable investments. In total, the LJM2 hid approximately $1.1 billion worth of losses from Enron’s balance sheet. LJM1 and LJM2 were used by Enron to alter its actual financial statements and by Fastow for personal profits. Enron’s books took a hard hit when LJM finally consolidated its financial statements, a $100 million SPE restatement. In the end, Fastow pocketed millions of dollars from his involvement with the LJM SPEs. Through complicated accounting schemes, Enron was able to fool the public for a time into thinking that its profits were continually growing. The energy giant cooked its books by hiding significant liabilities and losses from bad investments and poor assets, by not recognizing declines in the value of its aging assets, by reporting more than $1 billion of false income, and by manipulating its cash flows, often during fourth quarters. However, as soon as the public became aware of Enron’s fraudulent acts, both investors and the company suffered. As investor confidence in Enron dropped because of its fraudulent deal making, so did Enron’s stock price. In just 1 year, Enron stock plummeted from a high of about $95 per share to below $1 per share. The decrease in equity made it impossible for Enron to cover its expenses and liabilities and it was forced to declare bankruptcy on December 2, 2001. Enron had been reduced from a company claiming almost $62 billion worth of asse ts to nearly nothing.

Compare and contrast Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Essay

Introduction The current essay focuses on two different therapeutic techniques, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Solution Focused Brief Therapy. The initial component of the essay outlines the therapeutic orientations of both approaches; then, the different approaches are related to a case study of a young lady called Linda who is seeking counseling due to feelings of hopelessness. The essay is then finished with some of the author’s personal opinions on the two therapeutic approaches. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy While Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has been in development since the 1980’s, it has only recently risen to prominence and is sometimes described as a ‘new wave’ therapeutic technique. ACT is a modern behaviour therapy that uses acceptance and mindfulness interventions alongside commitment and behaviour change strategies to enhance psychological flexibility (Sonja, 2011). ACT differs from many modern therapies, in particular its approach to dealing with distressing emotions, thoughts and behaviours. Unlike many modern psychotherapies, ACT does not look to reduce the severity or frequency of unwanted thoughts and emotions; however, it instead focuses on helping people to live more rewarding lives even in the presence of undesirable thoughts, emotions and sensations. ACT is underpinned by a program of research on the nature of human language and cognitions know as Rational Frame Theory (RFT). RFT describes how normal human language processes dramatically change the human experience by resulting in the ability to readily and frequently evaluate virtually all of its experiences negatively (Flaxman and Blackledge, 2010). This verbal capacity allows humans to compare their ‘ideal’ to their ‘flaws’. Any discrepancies can be interpreted as unworthiness, and this can be a cause of psychological distress. RFT has led to the development of an empirically based model of human functioning that comprises six interrelated therapeutic processes. These are: acceptance, defusion, contact with the present moment, self as context, values, and committed action. While detailed descriptions  of these processes are beyond the scope of the current essay, a few elements can be explored. Cognitive fusion is a core process, which can lead to psychological distress. Cognitive fusion refers to when words themselves take on the properties of the things to which they refer (Flaxman and Blackledge, 2010). For example, if someone has gone through a violent attack, that individual may have thoughts about the attack, which can bring up in the present, all the thoughts, emotions and memories associated with that event, even if it was many years ago. In this example the individual may start to think that all people are dangerous, and therefore not go out. Thus the process of ‘fusion’, by which verbal processes come to excessively or inappropriately influence behavior, which may lead one to behave in ways that are guided by inflexible verbal networks. ACT would look at assisting the individual to not be governed rigidly by the thoughts in their head, working instead to find ways to more effectively interact with the directly experienced world, rather than the verbal ly constructed one in their mind (Sonja, 2011). Acceptance and commitment While the word acceptance may have associations for some such as â€Å"grin and bear it† or ‘soldiering on’, the word is used differently in ACT. In ACT the word acceptance refers to the willingness to experience distressing emotions and experiences that are encountered in the process of behaving in a way which is consistent with one’s values (Flaxman and Blackledge, 2010). Commitment refers to a public commitment to a specific value or value-consistent behavior, where the individual acts in accordance with their values. For example, a person whose value is to be ‘a caring partner’ may commit to taking their partner out for a meal each week. Solution-focused brief therapy Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) was developed by Steve De Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg in 1986. SFBT believes that change can come from two primary  sources, firstly by getting clients to discuss their preferred future, for example what their lives might look like should therapy be successful and, secondly, by detailing their skills and resources that clients have at their disposal (Macdonald, 2011). SFBT holds that language and words are very important, and that helping clients talk about their lives in more useful language can lead to positive change. One of the major differences between SFBT and other psychotherapies is that while SFBT acknowledged that clients tend to come to therapy to talk about their problems, the SFBT will not encourage them to talk about their problems, but rather to talk about solutions (Rafter, Evans and Iveson, 2012). One of the central assumptions of SFBT is that the client will choose the goals for therapy and that the client themselves have resources which they will use in making changes (Macdonald, 2011). The therapeutic conversation aims at restoring hope and self-esteem, while reducing anxiety to a point where people become able to think more widely and creatively about solutions. SFBT holds that high anxiety can restrict cognition and attention to the surrounding environment and that, by reducing anxiety, it would allow for wider thinking about possible approaches to problems, as well as mobilizing their existing strengths and resources to address their desired goals (Rafter et al, 2012). Therapeutic relationship and goals The therapist adopts a non-expert or ‘not-knowing’ stance, in which the individual selects the goals and the means to get to the goals. Unrealistic goals may be negotiated with the therapist. Unlike other therapies no homework is given and no advice is given as to what should be done next. As Insoo Kim Berg said: ‘leave no footprints in the clients life’. The word ‘brief’ in SFBT means that therapy should not last ‘one more session than is necessary’. Research shows that the average client utilizes 3 to 6 and a half sessions (Macdonald, 2011). The therapist seeks to maintain respectful curiosity about the client’s situation. The therapist assumes that change is possible or even inevitable,  given the nature of the human existence, this philosophical stand point has its basis in Buddhist teachings, that change is a continual process and stability is only an illusion (Richard, 2011). Assumptions of SFBT De Shazer’s 3 rules which underpin SFBT 1 If it ain’t broke don’t fix it 2 Once you know what works do more of it 3 If it doesn’t work, don’t do it again, do something different (Rafter et al, 2012). All clients are motivated towards something. Clients do not lack motivation and it is the therapist’s job to uncover what they are motivated towards. Attempting to understand the cause of the problem is not helpful and, in some cases, can be harmful as clients get caught up in describing their situation in negative language. However fixed a problem pattern may be, the client will be engaging in some of the solution. Linda’s presenting problem Linda has come to counseling, as she appears unsure about the direction her life is heading. There appears to be a gap between what Linda wanted to be and what she perceives herself to be now. She has described issues with her partner, including arguments over marriage. Linda also describes some negative thoughts about herself such as feeling ‘hopeless’ and ‘not good enough’. These thoughts and feeling appears to be very distressing to Linda. Many of these thoughts appear to be related to her new job where is often feels inadequate. Linda has also stated that she has found social interaction less rewarding recently and describes it as ‘pointless’. Linda and ACT One of the first steps for Linda would be discussing with the ACT therapist  her chosen life values, that is the things that are most important in Linda’s life. For example, Linda might decide that being very successful in her work is an important value for her. Once the goal is established the therapist and Linda would look to commit to a pattern of behavior that is in line with the goal of ‘being successful at work’. Often avoidance and cognitive fusion issues can act as a barrier for clients in achieving their goals. Experiential Avoidance, Cognitive Fusions and Linda Within ACT, the case formulation is that affective disorders are the result of unsuccessful attempts to escape from challenging private events that the individual is unwilling to experience (Zettle, 2004). This is also known as experiential avoidance, which can be defined as the process by which individuals engage in strategies designed to alter the frequency or experience of private events, such as thoughts and feelings, memories or bodily sensations (Sonja, 2011). For example, Linda describes herself as ‘conservative’ and not much of a ‘risk taker’; up to this point in her life Linda has taken jobs that are well within her comfort zone. As such, Linda may have avoided challenging work environments and avoided the pressure and criticism that comes along with these positions. The ACT therapist would focus on a course of work with Linda encouraging her to experience the full spectrum of thoughts, feelings and emotions so she does not feel the need to avoid or escape (Sonja, 2011). In this case asking Linda to experience the thought/feeling that ‘she is sometimes not good enough’. By facing this thought Linda may become more comfortable with it, and be able to function even in the presence of these distressing thoughts. As experiential avoidance is seen as the underlying cause to psychological distress it stands to reason that the solution would lie in engaging clients in the situations they find difficult. If we accept that life will inevitably have psychologically distressful events and that often these events cannot be avoided, then therapy should help clients accept the distress that arises during life. At the core of RFT’s account of language and cognitions is the assumption that the kind of abstract, evaluative words  we struggle with that claim to capture reality, in fact cannot. Thus, the acceptance part of ACT is not an acceptance of how an individually literally perceives it, but rather the acceptance of his experience as it is, and not how his mind says it is. In this instance ACT would look to reduce the hold of language on the situation. Linda may make the statement ‘I’m hopeless’, ACT would look to reframe this to ‘I’m having thoughts that I’m hopeless’ rather than ‘I’m hopeless’. Reframing the statement in this way would move Linda away from defining herself as being ‘hopeless’ to defining herself as a person who sometimes feels hopeless; this would hopefully lessen the psychological distress and help Linda be more able to move towards her chosen goals. Linda and SFBT SFBT holds that there are two powerful tools to assisting recovery. The first, that positive talk about an individual’s preferred future will result in positive change; and secondly, identifying and highlighting the resources an individual already has at their disposal will better allow the individuals to use those resources. The SFBT therapist may ask Linda ‘What are your best hopes for therapy?’ thus encouraging problem free talk which is used to enhance the therapeutic alliance (Rafter et al, 2012). Problem free talk can often reduce anxiety and guilt if the therapist enquires about their success and interest as well as the problem. For example Linda has stated that there is a gap between how she is and how she wants to be, the SFBT therapist may ask ‘Can you tell me about a time when your actual self and ideal self were closer together?’ Perhaps one of the most famous elements of SFBT is the ‘miracle question’; as such it is worth looking at the miracle question in relation to Linda. The miracle question is designed to bring a sense of optimism and play, allowing creative thinking to emerge and confirming the goals already identified at the outset (Richard, 2011). The miracle question is designed to encourage the client to talk about the potential positive results of successful treatment. The miracle question is as follows: ‘I’m going to ask you a kind of strange question now. Suppose [pause] you go to bed and to sleep tonight as usual [pause] and while you are asleep a miracle happens [pause] and the problem that bought you here today [look round all present] is solved [pause]. But you are asleep and don’t know that it has been solved [pause]. What will be the first small sign that this miracle has happened and that the problem is solved?’ When asked the miracle question Linda would be prompted to describe feelings, thoughts or emotions which she wants to have in the future. She may answer ‘Well I guess I might feel more confident in my abilities, I may be more comfortable with who I am and I wouldn’t feel so anxious’. The SFBT therapist would then seek to expand on this answer by asking ‘what else?’ while always focusing on the positive elements of the answers. In the above example we see that Linda says ‘I wouldn’t feel so anxious’ the SFBT therapist may respond ‘Well you say you wouldn’t feel anxious, so what would you feel?’ to which Linda would hopefully respond with something positive ‘I’d feel calm and satisfied’. ACT vs. SFBT The power of language Both ACT and SFBT hold language as a powerful influence on human distress. ACT argues that as human language has become more complex it has also presented humans with new challenges. Specifically how we use language to relate our own self to other people/stimuli. People learn arbitrary ways of evaluating themselves and their experiences in culturally agreed upon ways, for example ‘having no partner means that you are undesirable, being inadequate is bad’ and people hold these statements as rules or absolute truths (Sonja, 2011). Take, for example, the statement ‘being inadequate is bad’ this could lead an individual who has been inadequate to conclude that they themselves are bad, the individual may arrive at this conclusion without acknowledging the subjective and incomplete nature of the statement ‘being inadequate is bad’. Humans, according to ACT, come to place too much  value in the accuracy of language. Indeed language holds so much powe r that what is verbally believed is consumed as solid fact (Sonja, 2011). SFBT focuses on a different effect of language on the human condition. While ACT states that it’s how we relate language to ambiguous stimuli which is the cause of psychological distress, SFBT focus on the use of ‘problem free talk’ to improve an individuals psychological distress. SFBT holds that talking about solutions rather than the problem will in itself allow for positive change in an individuals life. The idea being that time is spent talking about individual’s strengths, rather than their problems, will reduce stress. When stress is reduced SFBT holds that clients are more able to access solutions for their problems, as when clients are anxious they have restricted cognitions. The therapeutic relationship Studies have indicated that the therapeutic alliance has a significant impact on the outcome of treatment (Lambert and Barley, 2002). ACT and SFBT share some similar ideas around what the therapeutic relationship should look like. Both approaches believe that the therapist should take a ‘not-knowing’ position which puts the therapist ‘in the same boat’ as the client. In ACT the therapist acknowledges that they themselves are human and struggle as well and thus they should be able to apply ACT principals to their own experiences in order to respond consistently and coherently with the model and to form an authentic relationship. If the therapist does not apply the principal to their life in and out of the session they may come across as disingenuous (Sonja, 2011). While ACT requires the therapist to buy into the principles they are preaching, SFBT requires the therapist to assume that change is possible and even inevitable, given the nature of human existence. The therapist needs to hold genuine optimism about the possibility of recovery. An SFBT Therapist also uses language matching or language tracking as a means to building a solid therapeutic relationship. Language matching refers to when the therapist uses the client’s word for events and situations. If possible the  therapist should use words or phrases the client uses in every statement. It is argued that renaming something amounts to contradicting the clients, which may not be helpful in building relationships. Personal preference Both ACT and SFBT have strong and affective therapeutic intervention styles. In my opinion, it is ACT’s unique approach to psychological distress that stands out as the most powerful. The idea that part of being human involves times of psychological distress resonates strongly with my own set of ideas. Indeed trying to restrict unpleasant psychological experiences seems in some ways to be unnatural, and against what it is to be human. Helping people to live and function in the presence of distressing emotions seems a more worthwhile pursuit than attempting to eliminate or restrict unpleasant experiences. In modern society there is an obsession with the idea that people should be happy all the time and this creates a situation whereby people who do not feel happy feel bad about not being happy and thus compound their misery. The central idea of SFBT, that the therapeutic session should be centered on solutions rather than the problems is a clever tweak on the traditional approach to therapy. In my opinion, it makes sense to spend more time talking about what resources an individual might have and engaging in positive speak rather than talking at length about what is going wrong. Psychodynamic therapists have long said if you name an emotion in a session, then soon that emotion will appear, often accompanied by memories and experiences connected to it, therefore it stands to reason that if the problem is discussed at length this will be accompanied by the negative thoughts and emotions experienced with it, equally if the solution is discussed the thoughts and emotions may be more positive and foster hope. I feel that this technique could be easily amalgamated into other therapeutic frameworks. It would also be personally more enjoyable to the therapist to be discussing positive solutions, rather than spen ding all the time listening to problems. Conclusion Both ACT and SFBT offer a unique take of traditional psychotherapies. ACT helps individuals in achieving their chosen life goals even in the face of psychological distress and difficulties, while SFBT approaches psychological distress in a unique way by focusing less on the distress itself but rather the solutions and resources the individual has available to themselves. For Linda, ACT would entail some exposure of her fears of criticism, in order for her to achieve her goal of professional success, ACT would help her deal with the inevitable professional criticism which occurs in high pressure jobs. While SFBT would lessen Linda’s anxieties with solution focused talk, which in turn would mean that Linda could more affectively assess her personal resources and apply them to achieving her goals. References: Batten, Sonja V. (2011). Essentials of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Retrieved from http://www.eblib.com Corsini, Raymon., Wedding, Danny. (2014). Current Psychotherapies. United States of America: Brooks/Cole. Flaxman, Paul E.; Blackledge, J.T.; Bond, Frank W. (2010). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy : Distinctive Features. Retrieved from http://www.eblib.com Macdonald, Alasdair (2011). Solution-Focused Therapy : Theory, Research & Practice. Retrieved from http://www.eblib.com McKay, Matthew; Lev, Avigail; Skeen, Michelle (2012). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Interpersonal Problems : Using Mindfulness, Acceptance, and Schema Awareness to Change Interpersonal Behaviors. Retrieved from http://www.eblib.com Nelson-Jones, Richard. (2011). Counselling & Therapy. London: SAGE publications. Ratner, Harvey; George, Evan; Iveson, Chris (2012). Solution Focused Brief Therapy : 100 Key Points and Techniques. Retrieved from http://www.eblib.com