HR Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

HR - Assignment Example The point of this paper is to reveal insight into the different aspects of working from home, its suggestions, work the board apparatuses and an experimental run program recommendation that consolidates all the essential components for adequacy. Gone are the days when it was standard for work to be done inside restricted spaces and workplaces behind a work area in from an assigned timespan. The developing significance of HR and an investigation of the different viewpoints related with it brought forth new ideas that were planned for rousing workers as a driver of profitability. Numerous hypotheses rose for instance the administration benefit model that suggests that propelled representatives contribute towards work environment effectiveness and at last improve the general help levels of the business. Since representative inspiration assumes a critical job in inside driving the workforce to give their best at their work, numerous means and facilities are permitted by the businesses to ensure that the workers are quiet while at work. The developing significance of a committed workforce for the general authoritative achievement has made it basic that their changing needs are represented and provided food as well. Representatives presently look for work carefulness and innovativeness as significant factor for seeking after and holding a vocation. Individual lives and responsibilities are viewed as significant as expert ones, making it vital for the work environments to give them the adaptability to appreciate both. Much the same as occupation sharing and working time adaptability, working from home is one such component that assumes a gigantic job in giving the representatives the force and adaptability to function however they see fit inside time. Working from home alludes to the capacity of the representatives to work from far off areas during certain days of the week (Hr.ucmerced.edu, 2014). These areas could incorporate homes, libraries or other work stations. By permitting the representatives to accomplish a similar work they would have done on the off chance that they were at the workplace, from a position of

University of Phoenix Material Essays (404 words) - Education

College of Phoenix Material Essays (404 words) - Education College of Phoenix Material Phases of Critical Thinking Section 1: Stages of Critical Thinking Complete the grid by distinguishing the four starting phases of basic thinking as definite in Critical Thinking. |Stages of basic |Stage portrayal | |thinking | |The Unreflective |These are the masterminds that are fundamentally | |Thinker |unaware of the job of deduction in their | | |lives and of potential issues with their | | |own thinking. For the most part these scholars might be | | |educated, they will in general be not able to determine | | |problems in intuition or find new systems | | |to take care of issues. | |The Challenged Thinker|A tested scholar has gotten mindful of the | | |role thinking plays in their lives. They have| | |an comprehension of the fundamental components of | | |reasoning. They may think they have critical| | |thinking abilities, however they may not perceive | | |that they apply these basic reasoning | | |skills in their lives, and making it intense | | |for them to improve their reasoning abilities.| |The Beginning Thinker |The apprentice scholar understands that they | | |sometimes experience intense occasions in their | | |reasoning or critical thinking; and they take | | |great measures to screen and improve their | | |thinking. | |The Practicing Thinker|Theses scholars comprehend that the human | | |mind will in general act naturally double dealing, and they | | |attempt to evaluate and scrutinize their own | | |conclusions, convictions, and sentiments. | Section 2: Your Thinking Compose a 75-to 150-word clarification of your present degree of basic thinking improvement, and clarify why you put yourself at that stage. I trust I am a rehearsing basic mastermind, since I don't generally think basically and do need to frequently help myself to remember the propensities that I have to change with regards to speculation. I am excitedly striving to change my negative intuition propensities into positive reasoning propensities. I tend to tarry regularly and complete work at last with everything that I do. I perceive that I do have commendable propensities and I do my best to apply them when comprehending issues. I am an individual, who is apprehensive change, and I do understand the requirement for change in my life and in the way I issue explain. It is a fight to break down the entirety of the data and alternatives accessible to me before explaining issues and I in some cases attempt to take the most straightforward course. I comprehend I have individual issues to chip away at to the extent my own convictions and thinking, however I improve my reasoning.

How to Start a Business Online (even if youre a Newbie)

How to Start a Business Online (even if youre a Newbie) Launching a new business is exciting and frightening at the same time.It’s like diving into the cold water for the very first time, you feel the chills through your body but instantly begin to enjoy the swim after a while.By reading through this guide, you will learn to avoid the mistakes that most newbie entrepreneurs make and successfully follow steps to grow your new business online in the best way possible.BENEFITS OF CONDUCTING BUSINESS ONLINEHere are some of the benefits of conducting a business online over renting a workspace.Low Cost to StartAn offline business will most likely incur a large investment thanks to the physical facilities required in running business operations. Consider adding the electricity and labor costs, and you’ve just overshot your budget.An offline business must also provide uniforms, security cards, invest in equipment for its employees. All this causes the business to ride uphill as far as finances are considered. The margin of error for failing i n a business with a large investment attached is dangerously low.By starting an online business, you perform the same operations except everything is digitalized. Logistics is covered by a shipping partner, products are all digitally marketed, advertisements are managed through free organic traffic and SEO scripts. You only pay for a domain name and a hosting platform. That’s it!The margin of error when there is little investment attached to an online business is large, you can afford to make mistakes and still recover with minor losses. Unlimited Income PotentialOnline businesses offer the worldwide market as your consumer base.There are no restrictions, laws, or geographical boundaries to stop you from expanding your business.Everything is conducted on the internet and hence, your store is available for everyone to see and purchase.Imagine opening a storefront in front of a bustling and crowded market and having over 1 million visitors every single dayâ€" this is how an online b usiness functions, there are no space constraints or fear of running out of space for your customers to shop.All you need is a dedicated hosting platform that can handle large volumes of traffic without slowing your site down.The objectives that an online business needs to concentrate to achieve success are â€"Social-media marketing strategies to help capture your target audienceSEO optimization of your website to ensure your site is ranked among the top searchesEmail marketing to send out various advertising campaigns to your loyal shoppersWork from AnywhereYour office is your laptop, the best part about running an online business is you can be in any remote location around the world and simultaneously be connected to your business.The freedom that online business provides makes you wonder why isn’t everyone opening an online store and driving profits to their products.Every time you visit a café such as Starbucks, notice the number of people actively hooked to their laptops tha t are busy typing away.A large percentage of these people in coffee shops are actually entrepreneurs running their business in the comfort of their preferred destination.You too can join the club by running an online business at your favorite spot.Online businesses also offer flexible work timings, you don’t necessarily need to commit to a 9-to-5 work timing.You decide the time factor and you can hire freelancers on websites such as Fiverr and Peopleperhour to help you with additional tasks.Increased ScalabilityWhen you first start your business, it’s like a footprint in a sandy beach. To create a trail of footprints, entrepreneurs are required to invest in marketing and brand awareness.Luckily, unlike physical storefronts, online businesses require a small percentage of the marketing investment to get their brand out in the open.While a physical store relies on the radius around the store to attract customers, an online store attracts customers from all over the globe, thereby increasing its scalability remarkably well.By expanding to a worldwide market, you could sell items that are particularly hot in a remote location such as Germany.In such cases, you just need to ensure that your product can be shipped to Germany to make a sale and you’ve created a successful online venture.10 STEPS TO GET YOUR ONLINE BUSINESS STARTED EFFICIENTLY1. Find a Product the Market NeedsBrainstorm the type of business you’d like to start and register the domain name.This is the most important step and is completely dependent on the type of business you’ll run.Understand the consumer demand and try to meet it by launching a product. Ensure the product you launch offers a unique perspective to it that your competitors don’t have â€" lifelong product service, 24/7 on-call support, etc.An online business is something you will invest a lot of time in, understanding the demographics and geographical locations where you intend to launch your business is incredibly critical. Ask yourself questions such as â€"Who will benefit from the product? What age group is most likely to buy my product?What kind of marketing strategy should I consider when targeting my audience?When you understand the type of consumers you are targeting, you can conveniently create a marketing strategy that caters to their tone and style.For example, if you’re launching a digital marketing business, it’s important to understand whether you will be working with B2B (Business to Business) or B2C (Business to Consumer), this helps you build specific marketing campaigns exclusively for your clientele.2. Host and Design a WebsiteThe very first thing to do when considering to run a website is acquiring a domain name.A domain name is an address through which you are found on the internet. Examples such as â€"www.google.com, www.yahoo.com are all domain names.Consider opting for a domain name with a SSL certificate for added security for your customers. You can acquire a free SSL certi ficate from Cloudflare. Remember to choose a domain name that is easily identifiable with your business.Next, your online business requires a powerful web host, you don’t want your customers accessing your site only to know it’s down.This causes you to lose business. Always opt for top hosting platforms like Bluehost, In Motion, and HostGator.You have to choose a content management system to host your content such as WordPress, Weebly, and Wix. We suggest WordPress for new business owners as WordPress has plenty of convenient plugins and you can launch your website within minutes of acquiring your domain name.Now, we move towards the design portion of the website. You need to design the site in a user-friendly manner to ensure visitors navigate efficiently along your website.You could also consider acquiring premium WordPress themes to instantly attract your visitors. Difference between premium and free themes is mostly down to the fact that paid themes have less work for the us er to do as much of the design is readymade while free themes usually require the user to write a few lines of code to access their preferred website design. 3. Write Intelligent Copy to Attract VisitorsHave you ever entered a shopping site or a professional website such as Apple or Amazon?You will notice that these sites have well-written advertising campaigns and amazing clarity in demonstrating marketing strategies for their products. Exceptional copy is what diversifies a good site from a stunning one.Don’t clutter your website with unnecessary widgets and plugins in order to capture your audience.Take a look at some of the sites below to get an example of how a business site should look with great copy â€"Found is a business website that helps with B2B marketing. The website is simple and easy on the eyes of its visitors.Slack is a website concentrated around shared workspace and bringing together teamwork related activities.Pingdom is a business site that allows consumers to build their e-commerce business and how to retain customers. It has a simple overlay to its website design.As you can see the following sites have varying levels of design, while some are simple and require a little bit of knowledge in HTML5 and CSS, others are heavy into jQuery and other programming languages.If you feel you’ve got other errands to run and no time to develop a website, you can always hire a web developer on freelancer sites such as Fiverr.4. Utilize Search Engines to Drive Organic TrafficNow that we’ve setup our website and had our way with the design.It’s time for the fun times to begin.Now we need some customers to come over to our newly generated online business.But how should you plan to generate your traffic â€"Organic traffic or Paid Traffic?Organic traffic is traffic that is free and is usually created by increasing your presence on the internet.When search engines rank your website high for the keyword that your customers search for, your site ends u p getting a lot of clicks and thus, free publicity.Search Engines Optimization or SEO is an exceptional technique to ensure your site is ranked among the top searches when a user searches for a related keyword.Let’s say your business is about “Photography” and you sell photos on your website. What are the words that link your website to the target audience when they type a keyword into the search field? â€" Photos, free photos, images, stock photos, etc.Pick a niche, if you’d like to provide professional photos at a fee, then choose a keyword such as “professional photos”, if you’d like to give out free stock photos and earn ad revenue, choose “stock photos”.When you pick a niche, you generate more dedicated traffic to your site. This is how SEO works and utilizing the Yoast SEO plugin can do wonders to your WordPress site.5. Email Marketing is a Great Way to Keep in Touch with Your CustomersHaving new customers is good but you know what’s great?Acquiring recurri ng customers that come back to your website and buy your products frequently.These loyal customers are where you should spend most of your marketing efforts on.Businesses that have recurring customers tend to grow much faster over acquiring 100 new customers every month. One way to ensure repeat customers is by introducing Email Marketing to your online brand.Customers are always looking for the latest news without having to come over to your website. By providing opt-in email triggers to acquire user email addresses, you can send weekly newsletters regarding the latest product launches and discount offers.You could offer a free eBook or a freebie in exchange for their email. By building your email customer base, you simply have to send them an attractive email every week or month and your customers are bound to be interested and come over to your website to have a look, if they believe in your brand, your product is bound to sell.Here are a few Email marketing tools to help you wit h your online business â€"Drip: Drip is an email marketing platform that allows bloggers and ecommerce marketers to generate leads by integrating with your website.Aweber: Aweber is great for small businesses that have just started to begin sending email campaigners to a small userbase. You can also opt for a 30-day free trial before you pick up their product.MailChimp: MailChimp is quite popular for free users or new businesses that want to handle a user-friendly design and have no experience with email marketing campaigns. The free plan allows you to send mails to over 12,000 subscribers.Mad Mimi: This tool is great for creating professionally styled emails utilizing several popular social-networking platforms. Mad Mimi even integrates with Google Analytics.6. Setup an Efficient Customer Service SystemImagine a customer were to purchase your product and he finds an issue with it, he comes back to your website to contact the customer support but you haven’t established a support section.Not only will he leave a negative feedback about your website, you will also lose valuable traffic to your site as any kind of negative publicity is harmful for an online business.After-sales service is the single most important feature to introduce in an online business. If customers have queries, they need to be attended to immediately.Either start a ticket system where they receive an automated mail sent to them regarding the amount of time they have to wait for their issue to be resolved or have a chat bot answer most of the common questions.An online chatbot automates over 85% of customer’s queries on its own, according to a report. If the query is advanced it can be forwarded to your support team and hence, this can cut down your overload of customer queries and quickly generate responses via chatbots to keep your customers happy.Remember happy customers are returning customers.Chatbots also convert visitors into buyers without a waiting period.7. Social Media Campai gns to Increase User VisibilitySocial-media marketing is simply unmatched in terms of increasing brand awareness and gaining new customers. Most of the world hangs out in social-media platforms due to how social norms have begun to develop in a digital age.You can find all kinds of audience on these networks â€" young, old, middle-aged, married, single, etc.Let’s take Facebook as a social-media campaign, a business must first â€"Build a Facebook business pageRun paid ads or promote blogs to redirect trafficCreate a video or two on the product/brand you’re advertisingEventually, increases likes and followers on your Facebook pageSimilarly, on Twitter and Pinterest, the target audience would be attracted via tweets and pinups, respectively. Individual marketing strategies are required for distinct social-media platforms. Instagram requires high-quality images to attract an audience.When you build up your business and earn profits, it’s recommended to invest in Google AdWords, Yo uTube ads, Facebook campaigns, etc. although, it costs a percentage of your profits, the amount of traffic you’re likely to generate is astronomical.8.   Write Blogs and Articles to Ensure Customers Make Smart PurchasesIndividuals on the internet are always hunting for information time and again. It’s no different when you launch your product, perhaps your customer base is cautious and may not buy the product until there is feedback or information about it.By writing blogs and articles explaining your product in-depth, you can redirect your customers and provide them with knowledge.In this way, they will be more than happy to buy the product once they understand what it truly does.Customers in the modern digital age prefer to make informed purchases and hence, articles about your business is a necessity if you want your customers to make informed purchases.They will also learn to appreciate your company for the information it provides over competitors that don’t provide produc t information. In this way, you can build a loyal rapport with your consumers.To write articles, you can either hire content writers from Fiverr or simply write a short product breakdown yourself.9. Create Referral Systems and Reward Systems to Spread the WordRewarding your customers with a reward point system is a great way to pass on your brand from one customer to the next.Consider this, you want to spread the word without spending too much money on advertising campaigns, the best way to do this is by word-of-mouth.By spreading the message to your own customers, you begin to increase your audience gradually.Referral systems that include discount coupons, gift vouchers, prizes, etc. are great ways to reward your loyal customers for spreading the word to their social circle.A single Facebook post or a Tweet can spread to thousands of their friends within a few minutes, this type of advertising is unmatched and most big brands such as Amazon and Apple, utilized referral programs to get their brand awareness out during the early days.Here are 3 popular ways to create loyalty programs â€"Tier System: A tier system is where a customer moves through 3-4 tiers of placements such as Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum based on their purchases or number of referrals. Each tier should offer a specialized option such as bronze can offer 50% reduced shipping while Gold could offer free shipping and Platinum offers a flat 15% discount. This way the customer tries to aim for the highest tier and refers to as many people as they can.Point System: This system relies on gathering points overtime to redeem for prizes on the site. Say a single referral earns a customer 10 points at around 1000 points then can claim a gift such as a table lamp or a t-shirt. By increasing the value of prizes for various point levels, you create an addictive reward system for customers to shop at your store as well as refer your store to their loved ones.Spinning Game: While not as popular as the poin t or tier system, the spinning game is similar to the prize wheel at carnival events. For every purchase, the customer rolls a digital game wheel and upon stopping on any of the colored sections, a reward is chosen that the customer takes home. This game system can be redeemed for every purchase of $500 with jackpot prizes being a holiday trip or a luxurious item from your store. The better the prizes the more customers you attract into trying the wheel. 10. Increase Reputation of Your Brand Through Back-end SalesThe first time a customer buys your product, it’s known as front-end sales.Every other sale after the front-end sale from the same customer is known as back-end sales.Online businesses earn up to 8-times the profits by recurring sales.While most companies focus on front-end sales, back-end sales are equally important to improve success and growth of the company.Let’s take an example â€" If you were to open a café and sell a single cup of coffee to 10 new customers on t he first day at $3 a cup, you will make a profit of $30. If you were to gain 10 new customers on the 2nd day as well as 5 of the customers from day 1, you now earn 30 + 15 = $45.That’s an increase of 50% in profits on day 2 just by recurring sales alone.Every time you carry over your recurring sales, the profits increase exponentially and thereby you build your customer base over time.THE FINAL TAKEAWAY WHILE LAUNCHING AN ONLINE BUSINESSBy following the above 10-steps, you successfully create a plan that launches your business in the right direction. Understanding your audience is extremely important when expanding to geographical boundaries you aren’t familiar with.Make sure your products aren’t offensive to the culture followed in a specific country.

Facebook Is A Good Thing Or Bad Thing - 1461 Words

Almost everyone in the world has a social media, from middle schoolers to elders. Most of them have a Facebook account, including myself. The real questions are: Do you think you can live without Facebook? Is Facebook a good thing or bad thing? Facebook is an incredible type of social media that is influential in the way people communicate with others. Facebook can have both positive benefits and negative effects, including: People can spend too much time on Facebook, they can develop health issues, and they can be influenced to join groups or volunteer for community events. When people get on Facebook, they do not realize how much time they spend on it, either scrolling through the news feed, messaging their friends, or watching funny videos. People tend to shut out the outside world and focus only on Facebook. One expert says: â€Å"Facebook limits the time people can spend on more efficient means of communication in real life† (Carlsbad 1). Instead of spending so much time on Facebook, you could hang-out with your family and make some memories that you will remember for the rest of your life. Also, you could go outside and enjoy the day instead of being inside on Facebook, you could go for a walk or play with your nephews, nieces, cousins, or children. Experts all agree that â€Å"the nature of Facebook is that it is a time guzzler† (Shefa 1). Most of your day can be spent on Facebook and you may not even notice it. Some people even use Facebook while at work, and that means theyShow MoreRelatedIs Facebook Good or Bad?785 Words   |  4 PagesINSTRUMEN 2 Facebook – Good or Bad? www.facebook.com is a very popular social network website. Facebook is so popular, that soon it will reach one billion members. There are many things said about Facebook, some good and some bad. The biggest question of all is how does it weigh out in your life. Actually, there are many advantages of using Facebook. 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Becoming Members Of Society Learning The Social Meaning...

What does it mean to be a woman or man? Whether we a man or a woman, in today’s society it is not determined just by our sex organs. Our gender includes a complex mix of beliefs, behaviors, and characteristics. How do you act, talk, and behave like a woman or man? Are you feminine or masculine, both, or neither? These are questions that help us get to the core of our gender and gender identity. Gender identity is how we feel about and express our gender and gender roles: clothing, behavior, and personal appearance. It is a feeling that we have as early as age two or three. In the article, â€Å"Becoming Members of Society: Learning the Social Meaning of Gender,† the author, Aaron Devor, is trying to persuade his readers that gender shapes how we behave because of the expectation from us and relate to one another. He does this by using an educational approach, describing gender stereotypes, and making cultural references. He gets readers to reflect on how â€Å"Childr en’s developing concepts of themselves as individuals are necessarily bound up †¦to understand the expectations of the society which they are a part of† (389). Growing up, from being a child to an adult is where most of us try to find ourselves. We tend to struggle during this transition period, people around us tell us what to be and not to be, Jamaica Kincaidt in her short story, â€Å"Girl† tells just that, the setting is presented as a set of life instructions to a girl by her mother to live properly. The mother soberlyShow MoreRelatedBecoming Members Of Society : Learning The Social Meanings Of Gender Essay1063 Words   |  5 Pagesdifferently from each other. Society has developed stereotypes and archetypes for the two different genders. Men are portrayed to be strong, independent individuals that are the providers of the household. Women are often seen as weak subordinates that take care of the children and residences of men. The way society has char acterized genders and their roles are as separate and unequal. Aaron H. Devor wrote in his essay â€Å"Becoming Members of Society: Learning the Social Meanings of Gender† the following quote:Read MoreBecoming Members of Society: Learning the Social Meanings of Gender (Devor1029 Words   |  5 Pagessegregate themselves only because society has taught them that grouping together is the only way to stay safe. In support of this argument I contend that this feeling of being ashamed of one’s own native tongue is nothing less than marginalization, in order to appropriate the labor of the Hispanic Americans to keep them from assimilating into the American mainstream. In the 1960’s American society was influenced by movements that were fighting the political and social injustices of the time. 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As a social construct, it is an umbrella term that mark a group affiliation to a common origin, culture, religion, or geography; it consists of shared traditions, behaviors, values and beliefs. (Waters, 1990) Outlining the elements and components of ethnic identity, Phinney and Ong (2007) stress its multidimensionality and dynamism, it encompasses several cultural, linguistic, behavioral features as well as being

Bvaria Free Essays

string(118) " learn in this study unit is that it gets them started in their studies and the way of studying and learning at EVIL\." Even after university studies, it is not always easy for refashions to stay up-to-date and at the same time trust their existing expertise. Professionals also have to be prepared to switch Jobs, get used to new working environments and stay flexible. And finally they have to deal with high expectations and the pressure to perform. We will write a custom essay sample on Bvaria or any similar topic only for you Order Now Of course there are different programmer to choose from at EVIL Wakening, and one student is different from another. But many of you aspire to become professionals often in an international context, and you will come across the situation as described above. Nice you all. So what else do you have in common? You will ark with other people (colleagues, clients, commissioners) and you have to relate to them in one way or another. That means communication is central. English is crucial: you now need to learn to use spoken and written English, so that it becomes natural to you to work and learn in that language. You will need to act professionally, that means you need to show certain professional behaviors and a ‘grown-up’ attitude. Other people need to rely on you and your sense of responsibility. You have to learn right (career) choices in life, and do things as well as you can without underperforming or overstretching yourself. This is why we try to prepare you for a professional career, so that you can be confident that upon graduation, you a have more than sufficient skills and knowledge, as well as the right attitude, to work in such changing environments, whilst keeping your head cool. So that, wherever you are and wherever you work, you are aware of the things that you still need to learn, but also of the things that you are good at and that you can rely on. And that whatever happens, you are prepared to find out and communicate with other people about what is needed. Whether you are working as an employee or perhaps later, in more senior position, managing others. In more formal terms, the goal of working on your competences F and G is therefore to develop students’ abilities to communicate and collaborate professionally in an international context, and to engage in a process of developing themselves professionally. This is done through a combined programmer of Mentoring, Training and English sessions. In the first two terms of year 1, we take the first steps towards that goal. 1. 2 General Content The study unit is offered through a combined programmer of Mentoring, Training and English sessions. Mentoring: Topics Performance and study progress of student Professional orientation Wellbeing of student Description Monitoring of study progress and support of the individual student in relation to her/ his personal and professional b ehavior and development. The mentor (a staff member from the Course Programmer) supports professional orientation: at the end of term 2 in the choice of major. Training: Communication, feedback (inch. Peer assessment skills) Teamwork, Task process and team process, exercises) Reflection Planning work and study skills Three training sessions per term in order to start understanding the above mentioned topics and begin to demonstrate skills and use tools that are practiced in the sessions. English: pre-test level 82 CHEF vocabulary acquisition listening and reading Academic Purposes Description Six sessions per term in which students first do a preliminary test. Students are instructed on vocabulary acquisition, and have the opportunity to write practice papers during the term targeted on specific purposes. Sessions further emphasize on writing skills. In addition, students practice text analysis reading comprehension with (critical) analysis. Please note that for the English sessions there is a separate annual. 2. Competences and Learning objectives 2. 1 Competence and level This study unit develops two very related competences, which are offered for students of all Bachelor programmer of EVIL in a generic way. Competence F: To communicate in an international setting Competence F is a very broad competence encompassing spoken and written English, developing skills such as listening, presenting, interviewing, writing, working in teams effectively. It is focused on communication in the professional international setting and at times this also touches on interpersonal (life) communication skills too: egg fleeting, giving and receiving feedback, cross-cultural understanding. At higher levels the practice and understanding of similar qualities may be repeated but in more complex situations, or in a different role, egg as a manager, advisor etc. Competence G: To develop professional behavior Competence G is all about learning to adopt an attitude needed for a professional: taking responsibility, performing according to your abilities and qualities, being able to adapt to the circumstances, including handling cultural differences. This includes knowing yourself well with your strengths and weaknesses, acting upon those nakedness egg by setting learning goals for yourself. Again, the focus is on qualities needed for a professional attitude but these qualities are never far from more general life qualities, egg setting priorities, making choices. It is obvious that professional behavior is often very much integrated with communication (so with competence F) and therefore the two competences are usually mentioned together. In the first year of studies these competences are offered at level 1: Please be reminded that for the English sessions there is a separate manual. 2. 2 Learning objectives The objectives for this study unit (terms 1 and 2 of year 1) are as follows: Students show knowledge and understanding of interpersonal professional communication, and of the importance developing these competencies for their studies at EVIL. Students show reflection skills focused on their teamwork experience and begin to use different instruments to study effectively, to communicate and develop professionally. Students begin to feel at ease with using the English language on a daily basis and learn to use it correctly and independently in a professional and academic context both in verbal and written forms. Level of English is based on the Common European Framework of Reference (CHEF), year 1: Bal for reading, listening, 2. Professional role The relevance of what students learn in this study unit is that it gets them started in their studies and the way of studying and learning at EVIL. You read "Bvaria" in category "Papers" This includes how to get to grips with a task as a team. Besides teamwork, we also wish to train students in becoming reflective about the quality of their (team) work: how did it go? What was my role? What did others do? How could I do better next time? In many professional situations team work is a key feature of day to day work and by starting to do this early on, we intend to train students thoroughly. We use the same teams that work together on assignments for other study units. 3. Learning methods and Learning activities 3. 1 General outline Generally speaking there are 3 methods of teaching and learning in the study unit Professional Behavior and Communication, and they complement each other. On Blackboard you will find an overview of different activities related to the first and second term of BBC under the name Timeline BBC. Mentoring: Mentoring means the monitoring of your study progress and supporting you as an individual student in relation to your personal and professional behavior and development. The mentor is usually a staff member from your Course Programmer and will also support you in your professional orientation, for example at the end of term 2 in the choice of major. In the mentoring time, you have individual meetings with your mentor. In several cases you have to prepare yourself for such meetings, for example by writing something in advance and by placing it on your own digital space on Blackboard. Usually your mentor will meet her or his group of mentoring students (10 students) all together, in the first or second week of each term. After that, 2 individual meetings will be held each term and you and your mentor have to arrange for this. Training: Each term, three training sessions (of 3 hours each) are held. These trainings are interactive group sessions, where a lot of communication skills and certain tools are being practiced and discussed, and real-life situations are simulated. Your trainer is a specialized communication trainer and he or she will not be afraid to challenge you ND invite you to go Just a little further than what you normally do. Trainings are often fun but of course it is all about very serious and real competences to be developed. In several cases you have to prepare yourself for your training, for example by self-study (reading or writing something in advance) and bringing examples from your own experience to the training room, and/or by placing something you have written on your digital space on Blackboard. English: programmer of self-study as instructed in the separate manual. At the beginning of the first term students do a preliminary test. Students are instructed on vocabulary acquisition, and have the opportunity to write practice papers during the term targeted on specific purposes. Sessions further emphasize on writing skills. In addition, students practice text analysis reading comprehension with (critical) analysis. Please be reminded that for English there is a separate manual. 3. 2 Supporting lessons Mentoring programmer Term 1 1 . Plenary introduction to BBC by the co-ordination: What is BBC, meaning of competences F Pathway of year 1 focusing on BBC Important tips (use of your digital space on Blackboard, prepare for your sessions) 2. Group meeting with your mentor: Getting to know your mentor and each other Submitting your c.v. and portrait 3. Two (2) individual meetings with mentor: Discuss progress and difficulties: study skills, team work Term 2 4. Study Abroad Event in week 1 5. Group meeting about choice of major and placement (with mentor or otherwise) 6. Two (2) individual meetings (or 3 very short ones) with mentor: Discuss results of first term, discuss reflective report written for assessment term 1 Discuss progress and difficulties: study skills, team work Training sessions 1 . Introduction to communication and Team work l: What is communication and why is it so important? What is the scope that we have in these trainings? What is Team work? The 3 aspects of team work: Product (or task), Task process, Team process. In this term we’ll focus on Task process: the ‘hardware’ of the collaboration process, or the procedures and steps involved. Practicing with task process (exercise in class). How to make sure to use this in your term team assignment? 2. Study skills: Discussing and practicing different skills: Planning, preparing, reading books, writing an action plan, summarizing, repeating, asking questions. Discussing experiences with teamwork during the term. Tips for improvement. 3. Reflection I and Practice for assessment: What is reflection and why should we reflect? Report. Practicing the procedure for the assessment. Term 4. Teamwork II: Looking back in plenary on Task process in 1st term. Lessons learnt Repeating 3 aspects of Team work, now focus on Team process: the ‘software’ of collaboration. Exercise with team work, focusing on team process 5. Face to face communication skills: Discussing and practicing different skills: listening, summarizing, asking questions, rephrasing, non-verbal reactions. Feedback: rules of giving and receiving feedback, Shari window. 6. Preparing for a Personal Development Plan: Using a format for a PDP Formulating SMART: what is it, why is it important. Practicing the use of the format in a SMART way English sessions Be reminded that for English there is a separate manual, giving you all the details of the lessons and preparations needed. 3. 3 Assignments On Blackboard you will find an overview of different activities related to the first and second term of BBC under the name Timeline BBC. In this ‘Timeline’ you also find products that we expect you to submit or upload on your digital space in Blackboard. In summary the assignments for mentoring and training (not including English) are as follows: Week 1 – Initial choice of major – for mentor, major co-ordination and programmer co- ordination. Week 2 – Submit your c.v. and portrait by uploading on your digital space on Blackboard – for mentor. Not marked Week 8/9 – Write reflective report for assessment. Exact deadline to be communicated by trainer. Upload on Blackboard – for assessor to be marked, also visible for mentor. Term 2 End of week 8 – Write and submit Personal Development Plan including initial choice of major and an image of your ‘dreamed’ first placement. Upload on Blackboard – for mentor, also visible for trainer. Not marked, but will be subsequently discussed with mentor at the beginning of term 3. In addition to the above, you are strongly advised to prepare for the individual mentoring meetings by thinking about how you are doing study-wise, what needs your special attention, what should be discussed with the mentor, This may also include writing down a number of points. 4. Examination 4. 1 General outline For this study unit, two partial examinations are organized, WAGE PAW (40%) and WAGE PAW (60%), together providing the final grade for this study unit. Together the two exams need to have a weighted average of 5,5 to pass the study unit (of 5 SEC). Examination in term 1 Type of assessment: team meeting (week 7 or 8), individual written paper (week 8/9) In week 7 or 8 a team meeting is organized for the team that worked together during term, under guidance of the trainer, in which a ‘peer assessment’ is carried out, with a duration of 45 minutes total. Immediately before this team meeting, students get 30 minutes to prepare individually. The peer assessment discusses task process (procedures, road map, methods) and team process (task sharing, team meeting skills, communication skills). Afterwards, at home, students write an individual reflection paper (based on a format) about teamwork during the term and taking on board the feedback from peers. Paper is marked. The procedure of the peer assessment will be practiced during one of the training sessions. WAGE PAW â€Å"Writing a formal paper† Examination in term 2 Type of assessment: written exam The written assessment takes place in a computer room on a stand-alone computer, o students can only use Word. Students are allowed to bring dictionaries and grammar reference books, which are clean (no notes inside) and may be inspected by the supervisor. Students get a writing assignment at the start of the assessment and then write a paper (memo, letter, report, proposal, essay) of about 350 words in 120 minutes. Topic of the paper is only known in the exam room. Paper is assessed on English proficiency using criteria such as accuracy of grammar and vocabulary, mindfulness of organization and structure of paragraphs, and awareness of style and audience. 4. 2 Criteria and grading WAGE PAW â€Å"Reflecting on team work† Bottom mark: 5 Weighing: 40% Marking criteria: Student is capable of writing a 750-1000 words reflective paper, in which the opinions of others are compared with those of self. Student uses the offered format for reflection. Student selects relevant situations and can formulate appropriate reflection questions about these situations. Student draws conclusions and lessons learnt. Weighing: 60% Students can write an accurate, formal paper Students start becoming aware of and are capable of applying basic rules of paragraphing and layouts of different types of professional and academic comments. Students start becoming aware of differences in formal and informal writing styles Students start increasing their corpus of active vocabulary in both writing and speaking. Together the two exams need to have a weighted average of 5,5 to pass the study unit (of 5 SEC). 4. 3 Resist A partial examination has to be retaken when the grade is lower than 5. When both partial exams are 5 or higher but the weighted average is lower than 5,5, the student can choose which exam to resist. Both partial examinations can be retaken in the term following the normal assessment moment. How to cite Bvaria, Papers

A leopard, a lion, and a she-wolf in Canto 1 free essay sample

Dante encounters a leopard, a lion, and a she-wolf in Canto 1. What do you think these beasts symbolize, if anything? Which animal seems to pose the greatest problem for Dante? When Dante is in his quest to get to the sunlight, he encounters three animals, which are a leopard, a lion, and a she-wolf. They fill him with fear and drive him back down to the sunless wood. They represent three major categories of human sin as well as three major divisions of the hell which Dante will experience later. The poet Dante represents mankind which is threatened by these three animals.Their symbolism contributes to the shadowy atmosphere of the opening scene and they are related to subsequent events in Dantes journey through hell. Some physical characteristics of these three animals reveal their hiding meaning as metaphor in Dante’s work. As described inferno, â€Å"all tremor and low and gaudy pelt†, the symbol the leopard represents the sin of fraud and lust. We will write a custom essay sample on A leopard, a lion, and a she-wolf in Canto 1 or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The lion’s head held high represents pride and raging with hunger represents violence. The She-Wolf carries every craving in her leanness meaning she is painfully skinny. It represents incontinence, avarice and malice, which Dante considered the worst of the sins. Moreover, it also may represent political ambition. At that time, in Florence, political squabbling take place all the time. Greed afflicts the whole country. I think the She-wolf seems to causes greatest problem for Dante. These beasts, especially the She-wolf, drive Dante back despairing into the darkness of error. And now a she-wolf came, that in her leanness / seemed racked with every kind of greediness / (how many people she has brought to grief!) (Inferno I 49-51). As we can see from the description that the She-wolf approaches Dante step by step, which threaten Dante most. As I mentioned above, She-wolf represents the political ambition in some way and Dante describe what She-wolf’ s sin means the worst of the sins.

Raymond Carvers Cathedral Essay Example

Raymond Carvers Cathedral Paper Raymond Carvers Cathedral: Religious Undertones Revealed However, this epiphany was not Just about the ignorant man attaining insight, but a divine realization. In Carvers Cathedral the main character not only experiences an epiphany Into keenness. He also awakens too world of religious insight. There are several indicators that affirm this assertion. First, the title Cathedral and symbolism behind using a cathedral instead of any other place or object. The actions and dialogue throughout the story have religious undertones. Lastly, Carvers previous and succeeding works provide a foundation for the belief that Cathedral has religious internment. The title Cathedral in itself predisposes the reader to have some kind of idea that the story will pertain to religion. Before even beginning to read the story, the reader has already entered into the world of religion, faith, and Holiness. A cathedral Is a holy place where people gather to worship. This signifies unity, and having faith in something superior and larger than humanity. Carver could have used any other venue or object to serve as the item to be drawn by the characters in his story, and as the title. Besides the lucid use of the title, cathedrals are brought up during the story when the narrator and Robert are watching T. V. This sparks conversation and Robert asks the narrator if he is in any way religious. He responds, l guess I dont believe in it. In anything. Sometimes its hard. You know what Im saying? (Carver 29) The narrators answer to Roberts question proves how ignorant and unknowing he is. Writer Monroe Engel has noted, In Cathedral, starting with the title Itself, the religious context is strategic and surely highly conscious, its all a matter of negative reference. We will write a custom essay sample on Raymond Carvers Cathedral specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Raymond Carvers Cathedral specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Raymond Carvers Cathedral specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Religious allusion suggests what is missing from the life depicted. It is not part of the present context of that life. (Engel 165) Monroe demonstrates that the narrator, whom does not have any religious beliefs, sakes It known to the reader so that one can understand the realization that he has later on during the story. The narrator not only lacks the ability to express himself intelligently, but also lacks knowledge concerning transcendent matters. Carver deliberately included that conversation to foreshadow the marvel near the ending of the story. The opposing view would say that Carver was referring to a humanly awakening, and nothing more. Writer Mark Facility stated: Grace, Carver says, is 1 OFF Detested upon us Day toner mortals, Ana t I comes sensually, Orleans In circumstances as mundane as a visit to the barber hop [It is] Not Grace in the Christian sense at all, it is what grace becomes in a godless worlda deep and creative connection between humans that reveals to Carvers alienated and diminished creatures that there can be contact in a world they supposed was empty of sense or love in the cathedrals we draw together, we create large spaces for the spirit. (Worthwhile 470) I completely disagree with this acquisition, of the research that I have done on Raymond Carver, I could not find this quote in which he supposedly said these fallible remarks. If Carver were referring too humanly happening, then he would not eave repeatedly used words that have religious meaning. Grace by definition is the unmerited favor and love of God. It is impossible for a writer to make such obvious references to prayer, God, and devils without having spiritual suggestions. In addition to the title and use of the word cathedral in the title. The dialogue leads the reader to believe that there are religious elements in the story. The first instance is when the narrator, his wife, and Robert are sitting at the table, about to eat dinner. The narrator blurts out, Now let us pray. Pray the phone wont ring and the food doesnt get cold. (Carver 26) This incontestably displays that the narrator views religion, or God as a Joke. He is apparently mocking prayer, which to many believers is something holy. He has no moral values, and does not care that he is exposing his views to a stranger. Later on in the story, Carver uses more innuendos of religion. For example, when the narrator is explaining to Robert, whats happening on the T. V. Screen. The scene that is described is men wearing cowls, being tormented by men dressed up as devils, and wearing skeleton costumes. Robert comments, Skeletons, I know about skeletons. (Carver 27) This leads me to believe that Robert is alluding to his discernment of the spiritual life and death, confirming that he is wiser and enlightened, unlike the narrator. Yet once again in the short story, during conversation, the narrator speaks about God. In those olden days, when they built cathedrals, men wanted to be close to God. In those olden days, God was an important part of everyones life. You could tell this from their cathedral- building (Carver 29) By making this statement, the narrator is implying that God is no longer important to people, and that being religious is an obsolete concept. After analyzing the several examples, I assert that Carver purposefully included these lines in his short stories to associate his characters too religious meaning. He recurrently addressed the topics, of God, prayer, devils, and cathedrals in Cathedral. Geoffrey Wolff, a student of Carver made a comment in an interview that further affirmed that Carver chose these words, and dialogues carefully and purposefully. Ray believed in the power of language so profoundly, it was so sacred to him, that he understood, as few people understand, that words are loaded pistols. Sometimes to say something, to name it, is to enact it. So there were certain words he would not say. (Halter 184). It is this reverence for language, the suspicion of its mystical and incarnation power, which causes Carvers spirituality to depend largely upon ineffable encounters with nature rather than the spoken word. (Worthwhile 461) If Carver was so incredibly meticulous with choosing his words when speaking, then why would he use words in his writing such as bevels, tormenting, Go, religious, Ana prayer I en only explanation would D he was trying to convey religious and/or spiritual ideas. If he did not, then he would not have utilized those specific words. In Carvers short story Will You Please Be Quiet Please? He also uses religious connotations through an epiphany. Literary critic, Arthur Bethel elaborates: Silence does not efface Ralph; quite to the contrary, through sexual intercourse with his wife, Ralph is born a new man, a sensual man, Carver underscoring the positive nature of this development with the words marveling and stupendous. Creation can be wonderfully enormous, indeed, even religious; hence the appropriateness of Rallys bath before the sexual encounter with its baptismal annotations; the conclusions quasi biblical rhythms; and, most importantly, the echoes of the creation scene in Genesis, of Gods moving upon the face of the waters. (Bethel 133) This story is about the relationship off man and his wife. How the man views her, and his own sexuality. In the story, Ralph appears to be an outcast in the world of carnal knowledge. At the end of the story he springs to life sexually. Somehow, Carver uses everyday events and happenings to illustrate spiritual revelations. In another one of Carvers short stories, The Students Wife, there are more tinges o divinity. After a sleepless night, the young woman Nan, begins to see her surroundings from a different perspective. The sunlight is terrible, and her husband seems desperate in his sleep, the bed sheets become white grossly before her eyes. She gets down on her knees and says God, God will you help us, God? At this moment in the story she experiences an epiphany, everything around her is menacing, and seems uneasy. In a frightening and anxious moment of hopelessness, she then surrenders herself to God, and asks for his help. Carver could not have used a more clear implication. This calling onto God by Nan, is similar to the moment when Jesus cries out to his Father in his final moments of physical life. My God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46) In no way can Nan, a young woman, be compared to Jesus. However, the two incidents may be associated by the desperate act of calling on God, in a moment of disparity. Several of Carvers writings include epiphanies probably due to the fact that he experienced one during his own life. After being an alcoholic, and hospitalized four times within two years, he quit drinking. This life-altering event of becoming sober apparently influenced his short stories. Carver most likely experienced an epiphany of Gods revelation in a moment of desperation, and through his characters and writing he recreated his own encounter. After analyzing Cathedral and the manner of writing and diction that Carver used, it is evident that he made religious suggestions. The title Cathedral alludes to religion, and worship. The dialogue throughout the story, which includes various words, such as God, religious, and devils, suggests a divine revelation. Quite few of Carvers other short stories have religious indications as well. The mentioned stories include Will You Please be Quite Please? and The Students Wife. Both have obvious referrals to God, and epiphanies. It is evident that Carver intentionally made these religious references in his works to signify that his seemingly simple and short stories truly convey much deeper truths. It is not difficult to realize this by reading the stories, without even having to scrutinize them. The echoing hints all prove that Carver was consciously trying to illustrate the everlasting mundane AT men seeking Works cited ten celestial.

The Great Depression †American History II Essay (200 Level Course)

The Great Depression – American History II Essay (200 Level Course) Free Online Research Papers The Great Depression American History II Essay (200 Level Course) The Great Depression was the worst economic downturn is American history. The stock market crashes of Black Tuesday and Black Thursday in October of 1929 were the immediate causes on the Great Depression. I found that there are three underlying causes to the Great Depression. There was the over production by businesses during the 1920s, second the concentration of America’s wealth in the hands of a few people, and third the lack of prosperity among the farmers and the factory workers caused up rest. Looking at the retailer’s shelves could show the over production by business. The retailer’s shelves were stocked full and no one was buying the merchandise. So the merchandisers put the extra stock in warehouses that were stocked full, so they were not ordering from the manufactures. In turn, the manufacturers had to cut production and started cutting jobs. This led to the consumer being unemployed, which meant that the consumer could not afford to buy the merchandise. The wealth of the nation was held in a few people’s hands. The wealthy started putting their money into the stock market in stead of the market. The underconsumption hitting the nation caused â€Å"the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer.† The rich also took on a lot of debt to expand their businesses. When taking on the debt, they used ENRON techniques of misrepresenting their assets. This practice left them very vulnerable to the possibility of having to pay back these loans. The farmers and the blue-collar workers did not prosper during the Roaring 20s. The farmers were pressed to compete with other growers in other countries. American farmers found themselves further in debt from trying to increase productivity because they started investing in new technology such as plows, harvesters and tractors. The price of cotton, hogs, and cattle fell by half, therefore, the gap between farmers and the urban workers grew. Farmers could never catch up, many became tenet farmers because they could not pay their mortgages, and many just quit farming. On top of all these issues Herbert Hoover did not know how to deal with the depression. He took the Republican stand that the depression would heal its self. Hoover put into the effect of lassiez faire. Hoover appeared to be heartless and uncaring about the people of the country because of his refusal to help the people. He did try to create the POUR, or President’s Organization on Unemployment Relief to generate private contributions for relief to the poor. However, it never got off the ground. He did get some public jobs started such as the Hoover Dam and Grand Coulee Dam. He also started the Reconstruction Finance Corporation that would have two billion dollars to work with. However, this plan failed also. Then to make things worse he signed the Hawley-Smoot Tariff. It raised taxes by 1/3 and of course hurt the economy more. Hoover was a believer in a balanced budget, however, he would raise taxes with one breath then in the next tell the people to spend more mo ney. Hoover defeated all of the social reform bills brought to him by congress. Even though Hoover is not looked on favorably by history maybe he did lead the way for the New Deal, and government involvement in almost every aspect of out lives. Hoover stuck to his own morals and beliefs, which lead to the landslide victory of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932. Hoovers actions, and the over production by businesses during the 1920s, the concentration of America’s wealth in the hands of a few people, and the lack of prosperity among the farmers and the factory workers were the underlying reasons for the crash of the stock market and the Great Depression. Research Papers on The Great Depression - American History II Essay (200 Level Course)The Effects of Illegal ImmigrationTwilight of the UAW19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2Hip-Hop is ArtMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductRiordan Manufacturing Production PlanLifes What Ifs

Sales Force Compensation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sales Force Compensation - Research Paper Example ch is to accelerate desired behaviors in the entire workforce along with the reinforcement of the overall business strategy that will boost the firm’s performance (Mia & Evans, 2007). Unilever ensures that its total rewards program is supportive to achieve the desired targets of the company and the Human Resource (HR) professionals of the company have ensured that it possesses six features that are vital for the effectiveness of this program (WorldatWork, 2007). The main features of the total rewards approach are as follows: 1. Compensation – It is the most important part of the entire program as it is the basic pay structure that comprises of both fixed and variable pays along with the long-term and short-term incentives. The fixed amount is the base salary which remains constant for every salesperson and the variable pay is dependent on the method used i.e. commission, pay-for-performance, piece-rate pay, time-rate pay and others. The other incentives comprise of bonuses, profit-sharing, ownership share and etc. 3. Benefits – These are the factors that the employees are looking for in their jobs in addition to the monetary payment that they receive such as medical benefits, life insurance benefits, social security, unemployment and etc. These other benefits are valued highly by the employees and at times employees may not opt for jobs that do not provide such benefits. 4. Rewards and Recognition – When employees achieve something highly desirable or challenging, they need to be shown the appreciation either by giving them rewards in the form of bonuses, profit sharing, share ownership or announcing the success within the organization to declare the person’s valuable contribution in the company. 5. Work-life balance – The employees have to be provided support in maintaining adequate balance between the work, personal life and community responsibilities. They can be provided with financial support, paid and unpaid vacations, caring for dependents

Write a research paper on Confucianism Proposal

Write a paper on Confucianism - Research Proposal Example In fact he almost always avoided being drawn into discussions dealing with God and the supernatural. His theories tried to steer clear from any involvement with any supernatural being. For instance, when one disciple queried him about the afterlife, he quickly retorted that because man does not yet fully understand the mortal world, it is very unlikely that he can contemplate on such concepts as heaven and god (The Analects). He did also express the notion that men do not need any god because men are capable of living a harmonious existence without any help from any supernatural being The Confucian Analects, which is a document comprising all his sayings and discourses, conversations and travels, is no Bible or Koran or any kind of scripture (Legge 2006, p. 1). There is nothing in it that makes reference to revealed teachings. It is neither a religious nor a political treatise but instead, it is just a record of his conversations with his disciples as well as narrations of Confucius’ deeds during particular occasions. In the Analects, nowhere did Confucius teach the people to believe in a higher being or power. If Confucianism is tinged with a patina of religion, it is because his zealous disciples and admirers deified him after his death. They constructed a temple in his honor and refurbished his tomb in Chu-fou (Kufow), Shantung province, his birthplace and made this a mecca for all educated Chinese. They replicated the Analects and distributed them all throughout China after his demise. They reprinted his Classic series i.e. Classic of Poetry, Classic of Historical Documents, Classic of Changes, Record of Rites and Classic of Spring and Autumn Annals, which are not religious books at all but mere literary collections cum history (Legge 2006, p. 1). Because of these publications, his teachings soon electrified citizens all over the country with his words of

Palliative Care Clinical Experience

Palliative Care Clinical Experience Introduction The purpose of this assignment is to reflect on a clinical experience in palliative care and demonstrate the knowledge and skills associated with this. The symptoms, symptom management and government guidelines and standards will also be discussed in relation to how this will impact the care of the patients who are experiencing life threatening illnesses. This will be achieved through using Gibbs (1988) model of reflection. I chose this model of reflection because it is clear and cyclical model which allows the reflector to revisit the same problem and also to examine my practice which will help me to develop and improve in the future. Description As an adult nursing student, I will be reflecting on an experience with a patient who was receiving palliative care that I encountered during my community placement. The patient received palliative care and required management of symptoms to help maintain their quality of life for the patient and their family. This involved a patient, who will be named Mr. Jones for confidentiality reasons. Mr. Jones was an elderly patient who had been diagnosed with bowel cancer along with liver metastases, the cancer was in the advanced stages. Mr. Jones was being cared for at home by his wife and carers who visited him at home twice a day to help with getting him up, washing and dressing and helping him back to bed. The district nursing team also visited him on a regular basis. When meeting with the patient his main concern was his pain control and available options which he would be able to receive to manage this. Feelings Initially when I heard about the diagnosis I was intrigued and wanted to find out more about the patient and their condition. When I met the patient I felt sympathetic towards him and the family and upon discussion he revealed that he felt like giving up and ending it all. A mixture of thoughts entered my mind, although I could understand why he would want to give up, the only reason was because he was worried about the pain he was starting to experience. When the nurse and I discussed the pain control options he appeared to be more positive about the situation and apologized for what he had said. On reflection it was a positive experience as it allowed me to see how people cope differently with terminal conditions, and the impact it has on the family and carers Evaluation During this experience I thought that the nursing team had built a good professional relationship with the patient and their family. The patient had plenty of time to discuss any concerns or issues that he had .The issues discussed such as symptom management were all assessed and prioritized well; how the patient is feeling is important and needs to be taken into consideration. This would also need to be discussed with his wife alone, to find out how she is feeling and to offer her support. When discussed further, the feelings of giving up related to his pain management. This is why the Visual Analogue Scale was used for a couple of weeks to monitor the progression of his pain (Crichton 2001). I found the tool to be beneficial for effective management of pain because it was a good indicator as to when we would need to adjust his analgesia using the World Health Organization (WHO) analgesic ladder (WHO, 2004). This aims to give the correct drug, correct dose, given at the correct time and proves to be inexpensive and 80-90% effective (WHO, 2004). This ensured the patient was in the least amount of pain which enabled them to carry on with activities of daily living. Analysis The World Health Organization (2009) has defined palliative care as: an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems such as physical, psychosocial and spiritual.Caring for those receiving palliative care in the community during the end stages of life requires an extraordinary commitment from the nursing team, not only human resource but also competence, compassion and focus in anticipating the needs of the patient and family. It is a complex activity involving a holistic approach, building relationships together with expert professional skills and decision making processes (Melvin 2003). As well as pain, other common symptoms during advanced cancer are nausea and vomiting, with rates ranging from 50-60% (Kearney and Richardson, 2006). It is important to treat the reversible causes of nausea and vomiting before resorting to antiemetics. This can be achieved by appropriate assessment and documentation of symptoms which evaluate the effect of treatment given and can be completed and reviewed quickly to utilize less patient energy and nursing time (Kearney and Richardson, 2006). Cancer patients also experience psychological or affective symptoms of fatigue which include lack of energy and motivation, depression, sadness and anxiety, the sense of willpower and fighting spirit is often lacking and personal resources that have usually kept a person going in the past are ineffective (Juenger, 2002). Fatigue can take away the ability to do things that the patient and family want to do or need to do. The control over life events reduces, further affecting the persons quality of life. An essential part of nursing care for fatigue includes returning some of that control (Porock 2003). Giving information can be a positive way to do this. Nu rses can explain that the person is not alone in the experience as fatigue is an expected occurrence in advanced cancer and discuss the causes of fatigue, effects and side effects of treatment and the impact of stress and depression, this will help the patient to manage the fatigue more effectively (Porock 2003).Mr. Jones was prescribed oral slow-release Morphine Sulphate for his pain, however he was beginning to experience break through pain, nausea and vomiting which was making it difficult for him to take his morphine. We suggested he kept a record of his pain over a couple of weeks using a visual analogue scale (VAS). When we visited him again we were able to use the VAS to assess his pain and make changes to analgesia as appropriate using the analgesic ladder (see appendix). From the assessment it was appropriate to increase his analgesia to step 3 of the analgesic ladder (WHO, 2004). A syringe driver was prescribed to administer morphine and an antiemetic over a 24 hour period which could be increased or decreased as required. Providing drug compatibilities have been checked, a combination of three drugs can usually be administered safely with the advantage that vomiting will not affect absorption, as it is given subcutaneously and the gut is not involved (Thompson, 2004). Although using a syringe driver improves symptom management with minimal inconvenience, complications can arise and nurses should be able to recognize these quickly and solve the problems efficiently (Lugton, 2002). The disadvantages of using this equipment is the painful injection site, infection risks and infusion rate problems (Thompson, 2004). Mr. Jones commented on giving up and after further discussion, we found this related to his pain. Evidence shows that there is a link between chronic pain and depression as they share similar physiological pathways, whilst social and psychological factors appear to affect the severity of it and when they co-exist the severity of both conditions appears to worsen (Gray, 2001). Ineffective management of psychiatric disorders can be caused by failure to recognize, diagnose and treat appropriately in palliative care settings with 50% of psychiatric disorders being undetected (Payne et al, 2007). Patients with cancer should have access to appropriate psychological support and should be assessed regularly by trained professionals as recommended by National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE, 2004).Many people may wish to try complementary and alternative medicines to improve symptoms of their cancer, the reason being many feel dissatisfied with conventional medicine and feel the desir e to experience holistic health care for symptomatic relief with a sense of well being (Nayak et al 2003). Auricular acupuncture (acupuncture to the ear), therapeutic touch, and hypnosis may help to manage cancer pain, whilst music therapy, massage, and hypnosis may have an effect on anxiety, and both acupuncture and massage may have a therapeutic role in cancer fatigue (Mansky and Wallerstedt 2006). However there is a lack of evidence to support that complementary and alternative medicine treatments are effective, the risks associated with them are unknown and can potentially be harmful. There has been increasing concern with the use of botanicals and dietary supplements by cancer patients because of the potential interaction between them and prescription drugs (Mansky and Wallerstedt 2006). During this experience, I realised just how important communication is, not only in this situation, but any situation that includes the patient, relatives, carers and multi-disciplinary team. C ommunication is an essential part of good nursing practice and forms the basis for building a trusting relationship that will greatly improve care and help to reduce anxiety and stress for patients, their relatives and carers (NMC 2008). Groogan (1999) acknowledges that communication is not something that people to do one another, but it is a process in which they can create a relationship by interacting with each other. From Mr. Jones perspective, patient-focused communication can be the most important aspect of treatment, due to its capacity to exacerbate or relieve the fear that often accompanies cancer, with evidence of effective communication resulting in decreased anxiety, greater coping ability and adherence to treatment (Dickson 1999). Communication can be divided into three types; cognitive, emotional and spiritual. Cognitive communication involves the giving and receiving of information, emotional communication involves the feeling and expression of psychological responses and spiritual communication involves the expression and feeling of thoughts relating to existing issues beyond the person (Fallowfield Jenkins 1999). When speaking with Mr. Jones and his family the language used was clear and easy to understand. Stress, emotions and fatigue that accompany a terminal illness make it necessary for the information to be repeated to ensure the patient and family have absorbed it and feel reassured (Latimer 2000).Mr. Jones was given enough time to discuss his concerns and issues without feeling like he had a limited period or that the nurses had many other patients to see, however, what often matters is the quality of interaction rather than the length of time. Giving a few moments of time which are totally focused on the patients communication needs can often limit the amount of time spent communicating later when further explanation or clarification is needed (Faull et al, 2005). Mallet and Dougherty (2000) suggested that patients tend to be more dis satisfied with poor communication than with any other aspect of their care and concluded ineffective communication continues to be a major issue in health care.The Department of Health has produced the End of Life Care Strategy (DoH 2008) which promotes high quality care for all adults at the end of life which is the first for the United Kingdom and covers adults in England. Its aim is to provide people approaching the end of life with more choice about where they would like to live and die. In addition, the Macmillan Gold Standards Framework (2003) is another way of combining many different practices. The framework includes 7 Gold Standards which relate to key aspects of care, and guidelines for best practice on teamwork and continuity of care, advanced planning, symptom control and support for patients and their carers. Primary Health Care Teams who join the programme are guided and supported through a combination of workshops, resource materials and networking (Macmillan Cancer R elief 2003). In place is also the NICE clinical guidance on supportive and palliative care (NICE 2004) which advises those who develop and deliver cancer services for adults with cancer about what is needed to make sure that patients, their families and carers, are well informed, cared for and supported. These initiatives had a positive impact on Mr. Jones as the nurses were able to use these guidelines to offer Mr. Jones the best care suited for him and he was then able to make informed decisions regarding the care he would like to receive. These initiatives also have a positive impact on health care professionals as they are supported and encouraged to improve their knowledge through workshops and resource materials. Action Plan/Conclusion My reflection of this experience has taught me how complex it is caring for someone receiving palliative care. It requires a holistic approach to ensure the patient and the family receive the best possible care in accordance with the guidelines and standards, in which they must remain empowered and make informed choices regarding their care and treatment with the help of health care professionals. I now understand how complicated symptom management can be; cancer patients experience many symptoms from their condition and also side effects from their medication. Assessments are vital to ensure the appropriate treatment and management of symptoms. The importance of communication has been brought to my attention once again, in my future nursing practice I will focus on my communication skills as this is an essential part of good nursing practice and plays a vital role in palliative care. Although this was an upsetting experience it has also been a positive one as this will affect my fut ure nursing practice a great deal as I have gained vital skills to look after those receiving palliative care and I am now aware of the various strategies and frameworks in place to ensure patients and families receive a high standard of care.

Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story Chapter 33

Chapter 33 Ship of Fools Tommy led them down a narrow hallway and into a large room paneled in dark walnut and furnished with heavy, dark wood furniture. Paintings and bookshelves filled with leather volumes lined the walls; strands of gold wire running across the front of the shelves to hold the books in place in rough seas were the only evidence that they were on a boat. There were no windows; the only light came from small spotlights recessed into the ceiling that shone on the paintings. Tommy paused in the middle of the room, fighting the urge to stop and look at the books. Lash moved to his side. â€Å"See that?† Lash asked. He nodded toward a large painting – bright colors and bold shapes, squiggles and lines – that hung between two doors at the far end of the room. Tommy said, â€Å"Looks like it should be hung on a fridge with ladybug magnets.† â€Å"It's a Miro,† Lash said. â€Å"It must be worth millions.† â€Å"How do you know it's an original?† â€Å"Tommy, look at this yacht; if you can afford a boat like this, you don't hang fakes.† Lash pointed to another, smaller painting of a woman reclining on a pile of satin cushions. â€Å"That's a Goya. Probably priceless.† â€Å"So what's your point?† Tommy asked. â€Å"Would you leave something like that unguarded? And I don't think that you can run a boat this size without a crew.† â€Å"Swell,† Tommy said. â€Å"Jeff, let me have that shotgun.† Jeff, still shivering from his dunk, handed over the gun. â€Å"Shell in the chamber,† Jeff said. Tommy took the gun, checked the safety, and started forward. â€Å"Keep your eyes open, guys.† They went through the door to the right of the Miro into another hallway, this one paneled in teak. Paintings hung along the walls between louvered teak doors. Tommy paused at the first door and signaled for Barry to back him up with a speargun as he opened it. Inside, row upon row of suits and jackets hung on motorized tracks. Above the tracks, shelves were filled with hats and expensive shoes. Tommy pushed aside some of the suits and peered between them, looking for a set of legs and feet. â€Å"No one here,† he said. â€Å"Did anyone bring a flashlight?† â€Å"Didn't think about it,† Barry said. Tommy backed out of the closet and moved to the next door. â€Å"It's a bathroom.† â€Å"A head,† Barry corrected, looking around Tommy's shoulder into the room. â€Å"There's no toilet.† â€Å"Vampires don't go,† Tommy said. â€Å"I'd say this guy had this boat built for him.† They moved down the hall checking each room. There were rooms full of paintings and sculpture, crated, labeled, and stacked in rows; another with oriental carpets rolled and stacked; a room that looked like an office, with computers, a copy machine, fax machines, and filing cabinets; and another head. They followed the hallway around a gentle curve to the left, where it traced the line of the bow of the boat. At the apex there was a teak spiral staircase that led to a deck above and one below. Light spilled down from above. The hallway curved around the bow and back to the stern. â€Å"The hallway must go back to that other door in that big room.† Tommy said. â€Å"Lash, you, Clint, Troy, and Jeff check the rooms on that side. Your Majesty, Barry, Drew, come with me. Meet us back here.† â€Å"I thought we were going to stay together,† Jeff said. â€Å"I don't think you're going to find anything down there. If you do, yell like hell.† The Emperor patted Lazarus's head. â€Å"Stay here, good fellow. We shan't be long.† Tommy pointed upward with the shotgun and mounted the stairs. He emerged onto the bridge and squinted against the light coming through the windows. He stepped aside and looked around the bridge while the others came up the stairs behind him. â€Å"It looks more like the bridge of a starship,† Tommy said to the Emperor as he came up. Low consoles filled with switches and screens ran along the front of the bridge under wide, streamlined windows. There were five different radar screens blipping away. At least a dozen other screens were scrolling figures and text; red, green, and amber lights glowed along the rows of toggle switches over three computer keyboards. The only thing that looked remotely nautical to Tommy was the chrome wheel at the front of the bridge. â€Å"Anybody know what any of this stuff is?† Tommy asked. Barry said, â€Å"I'd say that this is the crew that we were wondering about. This whole thing is automated.† Barry stepped up to one of the consoles and all the screens and lights winked out. â€Å"I didn't touch anything,† Barry said. The foghorn on Alcatraz sounded and they looked out the window toward the abandoned prison. The fog was making its way across the bay toward shore. â€Å"How's our time?† Tommy asked. Drew checked his watch. â€Å"About two hours.† â€Å"Okay, let's check that lower deck.† As they came down the steps, Lash said, â€Å"Nothing. More art, more electronics. There's no galley, and I can't figure out where the crew sleeps.† â€Å"There is no crew,† Tommy said as he started down the steps to the lower deck. â€Å"It's all run by machines.† The floor of the lower deck was made of diamond-plate steel; there were no carpets and no wood: pipes and wires ran around the steel bulkheads. A steel pressure hatch opened into a narrow passageway. Light from the bridge two decks above spilled a few feet into the passageway, then it was dark. â€Å"Drew,† Tommy said, â€Å"you got a lighter?† â€Å"Always,† Drew said, handing him a disposable butane lighter. Tommy crouched and went through the hatch, took a few steps, and clicked the lighter. â€Å"This must lead to the engines,† Lash said. â€Å"But it should be bigger.† He knocked on the steel wall, making a dull thud. â€Å"I think this is all fuel around us. This thing must have an incredible range.† Tommy looked at the lighter, then back at Lash, whose black face was just highlights in the flame. â€Å"Fuel?† â€Å"It's sealed.† â€Å"Oh,† Tommy said. He moved a few more feet and barked his elbow on the metal ring of a pressure hatch. â€Å"Ouch!† â€Å"Open it,† Drew said. Tommy handed him the shotgun and lighter and grabbed the heavy metal ring. He strained against it but it didn't budge. â€Å"Help.† Lash snaked past Drew and joined Tommy on the ring. They put their weight on it and pushed. The wheel screeched in protest, then broke loose. Tommy pulled the hatch open and was hit with the smell of urine and decay. â€Å"Christ.† He turned away coughing. â€Å"Lash, give me the lighter.† Lash handed him the lighter. Tommy reached through the hatch and lit it. There were bars just inside the hatch, beyond that a rotting mattress, some empty food cans, and a bucket. Red-brown splotches smeared the gray walls, one in the shape of a handprint. â€Å"Is it the fiend?† the Emperor asked. Tommy moved back from the hatch and handed back the lighter. â€Å"No, it's a cage.† Lash looked in. â€Å"A prison cell? I don't get it.† Tommy slid down the bulkhead and sat on the steel floor, trying to catch his breath. â€Å"You said this thing had an incredible range. Could stay out to sea for months, probably?† â€Å"Yeah,† Lash said. â€Å"He has to store his food somewhere.† Inside the vampire's vault, just above his face, a computer screen was scrolling information. A schematic of the Sanguine II lit up one side of the screen with nine red dots representing the vampire hunters and Lazarus. Green dotted lines traced the patterns of their movements since they had boarded the ship. Another area of the screen recorded the time they had boarded and another showed exterior views of the yacht: the raft tied up at the rear, the dock, fog sweeping over the Saint Francis clubhouse. Radar readouts showed the surrounding watercraft, the shoreline, Alcatraz, and the Golden Gate in the distance. Optical disk drives recorded all the information so the vampire could replay it upon awakening. Motion detectors had, upon sensing Barry's presence near the console on the bridge, activated switches that rerouted all of the ship's control to the vault. The Sanguine II was wide awake and awaiting its master. â€Å"How's our time, Lash?† Tommy asked. â€Å"About an hour.† They were gathered at the stern of the yacht, watching the fog roll into shore. They had searched the entire ship, then gone back through it again, opening every closet, cupboard, and access panel. â€Å"He's got to be here.† â€Å"Perhaps,† said the Emperor, â€Å"we should go ashore and set Bummer on another trail.† At the mention of his name Bummer yapped and worked his head out of the Emperor's pocket. Tommy scratched his ears. â€Å"Let him out.† The Emperor unbuttoned his pocket and Bummer leaped out, bit Tommy on the ankle, and shot through the hatch. â€Å"Ouch!† â€Å"Follow him,† the Emperor said. â€Å"He's on the trail.† He ran through the hatch, followed by the Animals and Tommy, limping slightly. Five minutes later they were standing on the diamond-plate floor of the engine room. Bummer was scratching at the floor and whining. â€Å"This is stupid,† Barry said. â€Å"We've been through this area three times.† Tommy looked at the section of floor where Bummer was scratching. There was a rectangular seam, ten feet long by three feet wide, sealed with a rubber gasket. â€Å"We didn't look under the floor.† â€Å"It's water under the floor, isn't it?† Jeff said. Tommy got down on his knees and examined the seam. â€Å"Troy, give me one of those swords.† Troy Lee handed him a fighting sword. Tommy worked the tip under the rubber gasket and the blade sank into the seam. â€Å"Get that other sword into this crack and help me pry it up.† Troy worked his sword into the seam and they counted to three. The edge of the panel popped up. The other Animals caught the edge and lifted. The floor panel came up, revealing a coffin-length stainless-steel vault two feet below the floor. Bummer leaped into the opening in the floor and began running around the vault, leaping and barking. â€Å"Well done, little one,† the Emperor said. Tommy looked at the Animals, who were holding the floor panel up on its edge. â€Å"Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet the owner of this vessel.† Drew let go of the floor panel and jumped into the opening with the vault. There was just enough room in the opening for him to move sideways around the vault. â€Å"It's on hydraulic lifts. And there's a shitload of cables running in and out of it.† â€Å"Open it,† Troy Lee said, holding his sword at ready. Drew pulled at the lid of the vault, then let go and knocked on the side. â€Å"This thing is thick. Really thick.† He reached up and took Troy's sword, worked the blade under the lid, and pried. The sword snapped. â€Å"Christ, Drew! That sword cost a week's pay.† â€Å"Sorry,† Drew said. â€Å"We're not going to pry this baby open. Not even with a crowbar.† Tommy said, â€Å"Lash, how's our time?† â€Å"Forty minutes, give or take five.† To Drew, Tommy said, â€Å"What do you think? How do we get it open? A torch?† Drew shook his head. â€Å"Too thick. It'd take hours to get through this. I say we blow it.† â€Å"With what?† Drew grinned. â€Å"Common items you can find in your own kitchen. Someone's going to need to go back to the store and get me some stuff.† Cavuto watched Troy Lee's Toyota turning around, put down his binoculars, and quickly backed the cruiser into a driveway behind the shower buildings. He hit the redial on his cell phone and the gate guard answered on the first ring. â€Å"Saint Francis Yacht Club, gate.† â€Å"This is Inspector Cavuto again. I need to know the registered owner of the Sanguine Two.† â€Å"I'm not supposed to give out that information.† â€Å"Look, I'm going to shoot some guys in a minute. You want to help, or what?† â€Å"It's registered to a Dutch shipping company. Ben Sapir Limited.† â€Å"Have you seen anyone coming to or from that boat? Crew? Visitors?† There was a pause while the guard checked his records. â€Å"No, nothing since it came into harbor. Except that it fueled up last night. Paid cash. No signature. Man, that baby's got some fuel capacity.† â€Å"How long has it been here?† Another pause. â€Å"A little over three months. Came in on September fifteenth.† Cavuto checked his notebook. The first body was found on the seventeenth of September. â€Å"Thanks,† he said to the guard. â€Å"Those guys you had me let in are causing trouble. They took a boat.† â€Å"They're coming back through the gate. Let them do what they want. I'll take responsibility.† Cavuto disconnected and dialed the number of Rivera's cell phone. Rivera answered on the first ring. â€Å"Yeah.† â€Å"Where are you?† Cavuto could hear Rivera lighting a cigarette. â€Å"Watching the kid's apartment. I got a car. You?† â€Å"The kid and the night crew are on a big motor yacht at the Saint Francis yacht club-hundred-footer. Boat's called the Sanguine Two; registered to a Dutch shipping company. They've been out there a couple of hours. Two of them just left.† â€Å"He didn't seem like the yachting type.† â€Å"No shit. But I'm staying with the kid. The Sanguine Two pulled into port two days before the first murder. Maybe we should get a warrant.† â€Å"Probable cause?† â€Å"I don't know – suspicion of piracy.† â€Å"You want to call in some other units?† â€Å"Not unless something happens. I don't want the attention. Any movement from your girl?† â€Å"No. But it's getting dark. I'll let you know.† â€Å"Just go knock on the damn door and find out what's going on.† â€Å"Can't. I'm not ready to interview a murder victim. I haven't had any experience in it.† â€Å"I hate it when you talk like that. Call me.† Cavuto rung off and began rubbing a headache out of his temples. Jeff and Troy Lee were running through the Safeway aisles, Troy shouting out items off Drew's list while Jeff pushed the cart. â€Å"A case of Vaseline,† Troy said. â€Å"I'll get it out of the stockroom. You grab the sugar, and the Wonder Grow.† â€Å"Got it,† Jeff said. They rendezvoused at the express lane. The cashier, a middle-aged woman with bottle-blond hair, glared at them over her rose-tinted glasses. â€Å"C'mon, Kathleen,† Troy said. â€Å"That eight-items-or-less bullshit doesn't apply to employees.† Like everyone who worked days at the Safeway, Kathleen was a little afraid of the Animals. She sighed and began running the items over the scanner while Troy Lee shoved them into bags: ten five-pound bags of sugar, ten boxes of Wonder Grow fertilizer, five quarts of Wild Turkey bourbon, a case of charcoal lighter, a giant box of laundry detergent, a box of utility candles, a bag of charcoal, ten boxes of mothballs†¦ When she got to the case of Vaseline, Kathleen paused and looked up at Jeff. He gave her his best all-American-boy smile. â€Å"We're having a little party,† he said. She huffed and totaled the order. Jeff threw a handful of bills on the counter and followed Troy out of the store, pushing the cart at a dead run. Twenty minutes later the Animals were scrambling through the Sanguine II with the bags of supplies for Drew, who was crouched in the opening with the stainless-steel vault. Tommy handed down the boxes of fertilizer. â€Å"Potassium nitrate,† Drew said. â€Å"No recreational value, but the nitrates make a nice bang.† He tore the lid off a box and dumped the powder into a growing pile. â€Å"Give me some of that Wild Turkey.† Tommy handed down some bottles. Drew twisted the cap off one and took a drink. He shivered, blinked back a tear, and emptied the rest of the bottle into the dry ingredients. â€Å"Hand me that broken sword. I need something to stir with.† Tommy reached for the sword and looked up at Lash. â€Å"How we doing?† Lash didn't even look at his watch. â€Å"It's officially dark,† he said.