Paths of Glory

Based on the novel by Humphrey Cobb, Stanley Kubrick directed the movie Paths of Glory in 1957. Kirk Douglas plays the role of Colonel Dax, a commander of the French army in World War I. Held in their trenches against the threat of German cannons, the regiment is ordered on a suicidal mission to capture the Germans. When the mission fails, French generals order three soldiers to be tried and executed on the charge of cowardice. Dax is selected defense attorney for the chosen soldiers. Kubrick explores the political planning and selfish personal ambitions that result in battlefield slaughter and irrational executions.The movie is constant in its disapproval of war and the pleasure-seeking of military leaders who arrange the deaths of thousands from the comfort of their headquarters. In the beginning of the movie, General Mireau verbally ordered artillery fire on his own men because they had not left the trenches to attack the enemy. This order was denied because it was not written and signed by the general himself. Verbal orders cannot be given out for it could be false. With a signed order, proof is seen from the signature.General Mireau refused to sign the order and instead became very upset. His outrage brought him to the decision to kill three soldiers. A meeting was held between General Broulard, General Mireau and Colonel Dax. General Broulard wanted to execute one-hundred of his own men for cowardice. Of course Colonel Dax disagreed. Therefore, General Broulard brought the number down to a dozen. The result was to choose one man from each regiment and then execute them. There were three regiments so there would be three men randomly picked by their lieutenant.Colonel Dax then requested that he be chosen as their defense attorney. He also had the responsibility of choosing someone who would be in charge of executing these men if they plead guilty in their trial. I would say that their trial was taken place in a Kangaroo court. Kangaroo court is defined as a self-appointed tribunal that disregards or parodies existing principles of law or human rights. All three men chosen for the execution walked in the court ready to be tried with Colonel Dax as their defense attorney.The judge, along with everyone else involved, seemed to already have a decision without knowing the character of each man, evidence and what their attorney had to say. The first man who spoke before the court was a guy who admitted he made it out of the trenches and into â€Å"no man’s land†. According to him, everyone around him was left dead except for one guy who was still left standing. They both headed back to the trenches so they could stay alive. He mentioned that he probably should have moved forward but instead he retreated.The second man who spoke before the court admitted that he advanced from the trenches until he was ordered back. All the court cared about was how far he got out of the trench. They didn’t care that he was ordered to re treat. When Colonel Dax mentioned the two medals the second man received over time, they were not interested. Finally, the third man was being tried. When he was climbing out of the trench, he was knocked out â€Å"stone cold† because of a corpse that fell on him. The court showed no mercy on any of these men. They were all plead guilty and sentenced to death.How can a man be a coward if he remained alive while everyone else lay dead? Why would he or any man for that matter continue going forward alone instead of retreating back to save their own life? How is a man a coward if he is doing nothing but obeying orders? What would make a court plead someone guilty of cowardice when that person has a medal in bravery? Why would a court execute a man who never had the chance to leave the trench because he was knocked unconscious by a dead body? All of these questions had to be going through Colonel Dax’s head.General Mireau asked Colonel Dax the question, â€Å"Are you prot esting the authenticity of this court? † He replied with the answer, â€Å"Yes sir. I protest against being prevented from introducing evidence which I considered vital to the defense; the prosecution presented no witnesses; there has never been a written indictment of charges made against the defendants, and lastly, I protest against the fact that no stenographic records of this trial have been kept. The attack yesterday morning was no stain of the honor of France, and certainly no disgrace to the fighting men of this nation.But this Court Martial is such a stain, and such a disgrace. The case made against these men is a mockery of all human justice. Gentlemen of the court, to find these men guilty would be a crime, to haunt each of you till the day you die. I can’t believe that the noblest impulse for man – his compassion for another – can be completely dead here. Therefore, I humbly beg you†¦ show mercy to these men. † Later on during the mo vie, Colonel Dax summons Lieutenant Roget to his quarters and orders the officer the assignment of supervising the firing squad – a job which requires putting a bullet in each prisoners head. You’ve got the job. It’s all yours,† Colonel Dax says. Lieutenant Roget tries to back out and convince Dax he is unfit for the job since he has never done such a task. Dax feels that if Roget had the audacity to pick a soldier of being dead based on the charge of cowardice, he can uphold the responsibility of ending their life. In this scene, Colonel Dax made it a point that Lieutenant Roget made a personal decision with his own reasons instead of picking from random because he was ordered to. Why did Lieutenant Roget choose Cpl. Paris to be executed?Before the assault, Dax ordered three officers (Lieutenant Roget, Corporal Paris and Private Lejeune) to go on a reconnaissance patrol into the darkness of no-man’s-land. The lieutenant â€Å"forfeited† hims elf, leaving the other two soldiers by themselves just because he was scared. Unfortunately, Private Lejeune did not make it out alive. When Corporate Paris returns back to French lines, he enters Lieutenant’s bunker to talk with him. Roget, shocked to see Paris, says, â€Å"I thought you’d been killed. † â€Å"You didn’t wait around to find out, did you Lieutenant?I mean you ran like a rabbit after you killed Lejeune,† Corporal Paris snaps back. Lieutenant Roget did not appreciate the tone and accusations being pointed at him whatsoever. He clearly lets Paris know that he is an officer and he should never be spoken to like that. Paris continues by saying, â€Å"Oh, well, I must be mistaken then, sir. An officer wouldn’t do that. A man wouldn’t do it. Only a thing would – a sneaky, booze-guzzling, yellow-bellied rat with a bottle for a brain and a streak of spit where his spine ought to be. You’ve got yourself into a me ss, Lieutenant. Roget cynically expresses his superiority and counter-reprimands him for insubordination, threatening a superior officer, and refusing to obey an order and inciting others to do the same. Paris threatens to bring charges and accuses his superior officer of drunkenness on duty, wanton murder of one of his own men, and cowardice in the face of the enemy. That is why bringing Corporal Paris to execution was personal for Lieutenant Roget. With proof that will hopefully save the three soldiers lives from execution, Dax ask to see General Broulard to report the new information he has just learned.With disregard to the information, Broulard replies, â€Å"Maybe the attack against the Ant Hill was impossible. Perhaps it was an error of judgment on our part. On the other hand, if your men had been a little more daring, you might have taken it. Who knows? Why should we have to bear more criticism and failure than we have to? These executions will be a perfect tonic for the en tire division. There are few things more fundamentally encouraging and stimulating than seeing someone else die. You see, Colonel, troops are like children. Just as a child wants his father to be firm, troops crave discipline.And one way to maintain discipline is to shoot a man now and then. † Dax had sworn statements by the men who witnessed General Mireau ordering artillery fire on his own men during the attack. He implies that the execution would not proceed if all the court knew Mireau’s actions to fire on his own men. General Broulard is not justified in holding his position with respect because he had the choice to stop the execution but chose not to. He believes that killing three innocent men shows an example in maintaining discipline. He chose not to stop this for he did not want to look bad upon.I believe that if he would have stopped the execution like Colonel Dax wanted him too; it would not look bad on Broulard. Full responsibility would have been over Gene ral Mireau for poor judgment and the lack of morals. General Mireau made this decision based on his ego and authority. Stanley Kubrick brings in the theme class distinction by making it clear that everyone is afraid. If ranked higher in power, fear can be overlooked in the form of authority. Lower classes were shown to be located in trenches while those better off became Generals and Colonels.To those in power, other soldiers were chess pieces to their decisions. That is where Kubrick uses the theme nationalism. The cliche â€Å"means to an end† is a good example of what General Broulard believed. He believed that if three men getting executed were what it took for the rest of the regiments to follow orders, then that is what it took to be successful in the war. He made decisions on what he believed was best even if it was morally wrong. The execution gave him and General Mireau a superior patriotic feeling, and that is where Colonel Dax conflicted with both Generals.

College Writing Essay

Because story is used so pervasively to make arguments about how we should perceive the world around us and our place in it, we must learn to analyze what argument is being made in narrative, how it is being made, and most importantly, to assert our own response and counterargument about the issues at stake in a story. This semester, we will learn to analyze the form and content of story not only in terms of reading the argument the author advances through the organization of narrative components, but also in terms of how the medium a story is told through influences the shaping, message, and our reception of that story. In Narrative Across Media, you will acquire tools for analyzing narrative in multiple media and in multiple modalities. You will also look at critiques of each specific form of media and make your own argument about how story is shaped by medium, modality, and its narrative form. Finally, you will investigate whether translating narrative from one medium to another really do change the message of the story itself. Beginning with classical rhetorical ideas, you will analyze narrative in news media, in the short story, and in hybrid forms such as the graphic novel before moving into pop music compositions, looking at how narrative is communicated through the lyrics, video, and album art of a pop song. You will have the option of either writing a traditional research paper in print about narrative across media or composing your own work of media translation, and then will learn about the affordances and constraints of the power point frame before finishing with a group film analysis project. COURSE DESCRIPTION: College Writing 11011 This course focuses on themes and issues specifically relevant to the function and roles of narrative, the medium and the modalities it is conveyed through in society. Through the exploration of this course theme, students will develop critical reading, thinking, and writing skills. College Writing 11011 develops students’ reading, writing, and critical thinking skills by emphasizing multimodal reading and writing as critical and recursive processes. Writing is approached as a recursive process that includes prewriting strategies, drafting, revising, and editing. The course helps students recognize and read important themes articulated in multiple modalities within individual texts and between divergent texts, emphasizing that interpretation itself is a process both recursive and contestable, using the multiplicity of valid interpretations and a knowledge of the allowances of multiple modalities to throw into relief the student’s own processes of interpretation and the assumptions these are based on. This course uses works of sustained complexity which, when read together or against each other, bring into focus their different interpretive frameworks and their statements, sometimes agreeing, sometimes complicating the issues being investigated. Students will focus on a particular body of discourse in several short formal compositions, learning to incorporate research into their own contribution to the ongoing discourse, culminating in an extended piece of writing which ties together many of the key themes and issues investigated in the course. STUDENT LEARNING ACTIVITIES: Class- This is a working writing lab-a space within which you will learn to hone your writing and critical thinking skills. There will be brief lectures or demonstrations on matters of common interest almost every day, but work time will primarily be spent in activities that involve writing/ composing, responding to writing/ composing, and revising. We will also devote work time daily to meetings one-on-one with the instructor, in groups of fellow students, or as a class in order to learn how to critically read,  in addition to learning how to construct arguments in multiple modalities, and to give excellent feedback to your fellow writers on their work. In-Class Discussions – Almost every class will involve an in-depth discussion of the assigned readings of the day and their relevance to the journal’s central theme of Narrative Across Media. Students who read the material, annotate it, and come to class with the daily reader-response completed as well as with questions about the ideas presented in the text not only enrich the class, they learn more and receive higher grades. Become an active learner! Assigned Readings – For each class, you will have a reading/reference selection assigned from the principal texts. These assignments will be designed to help you prepare the current assignment and to identify the location of specific references to which you can turn when you need help in any writing task. Apply the advice and information in them to your coursework; students who do so almost always receive higher grades. The texts will provide you with many of the practical techniques and much of the background knowledge you will need to know to write well at Kent State and in your later career. Develop the habit now of turning to them for answers to questions of research and writing, and plan to keep them as permanent references on your Writer’s Bookshelf. Freewrites – Freewriting is an in-class activity that provides a chance for you to exercise your writing skills. The rules are — there are none! The only thing you can do wrong is stop writing. The purpose is to get you into a writing mindset, to encourage fluency in getting words to paper. Freewrites will last about five minutes and may be ‘prompted’ at my discretion. Enjoy freewriting! You will find your most creative, insightful topic ideas during these freewriting sessions. Journal Entries/ Creative Writing – Because we meet only two times per week, you will be required to bring one 1-page journal entry to class per week on loose-leaf paper. These entries can be on the readings for class, montages of poetry and fiction, word-sketches of people you observe in the world around you, musings on how your life is at the moment, and so on. The purpose of weekly independent writing is to have fun with writing and express yourself! If you prefer to work all semester on a longer print, visual, aural, or other project equivalent to the 14 pages of journaling, ask me if it would fulfill this requirement. Reader-Response Papers – For most of the assigned readings, you are required to not only do the reading, but to respond to assigned questions or topics pertaining to the text. These will involve comparing and contrasting how different authors deal with similar themes in their work, applying specific rhetorical analytical tools to the texts to gain a deeper insight into their workings, and using quotations from the texts to effectively prove points you make about that work and its discussion of the themes related to the course. New York Times Article Analysis and Presentation – You will be required to sign up to analyze and lead a discussion on a New York Times story relating to the course theme once during the semester. This involves sending me the link to your chosen article or news element the class period BEFORE you are scheduled to present, and then on the day of the presentation, turning in your discussion questions and your in-depth one-page analysis of the article. Guidelines for this presentation are available on VISTA. Extra Credit – You will be able to earn Extra Credit for the course in several ways. Introduce a News Article for Discussion–For extra credit, volunteer your close reading of an article from any section of the NYT, looking at the central idea of the piece, what the main argument about that idea is, and how the word choice and structure of the piece contribute to communicating that argument (see handout guidelines for preparing your news presentation). Argue with the Readings- you can choose to write a response with citations to one of the course readings or a reading related to the main themes of the course that you have found through your own research. This helps you to gain practice in responding to specific points, word choices, and techniques in the readings. (Example of response with citations: In his essay â€Å"Fire in the Belly,† Lasn claims that culture has become toxic to the mental environment (84). However, I think that he is a little full of it. He offers little actual evidence to prove his points – for example, he claims A (30), and seems to think that stating B is â€Å"proof†! ) Translate a Narrative from One Medium to Another, or from One Mode to a Combination – you can take a class-appropriate narrative from any medium or modality and translate it into another medium or modality. This involves taking the central themes and ideas and representing them in another way. Also include a one page rationale explaining how changing the medium changed what could be said / how it could be said, as well as why you chose to change the work from its original form to the form of the translation. Supplemental Research on Course Topic – do supplementary research on a topic to present informally to the class on the day that the related reading is being discussed. Learn a Composition Program – teach yourself a composition program you didn’t know how to use before, keeping a composer’s/learner’s log while doing so to record the ups and downs of the learning process. We will be using PowerPoint as a class for some compositions, but you can learn about the visual aspects of MS Word, Adobe PageMaker, Audation (a sound composing tool), or Moviemaker/ related movie making composition tool. Many of these programs are expensive to buy, but can be downloaded on a trial basis for free. COURSE GRADES: Your course grade will be determined at the end of semester based on your scores on each of the four main projects (and any revisions you turn in), your in-class participation, and your RQAs. I. Essay 1: A Day Without Mediation (3-5 pg. ) 15 pts. II. Essay 2: Pop Music Analysis (5-7 pg. ) 15 pts. III. Essay 3: Research Paper and Power-Point (5-8pg. , 5+ slide) 20 pts. IV. Essay 4:Film Project Presentation and Write-Up ( 4-7 pg. )10 pts. V. RQAs: Research Question Assignments 10 pts. VI. In-Class Participation (NYT Article Analysis, Freewriting, Journal Entries, Workshop Participation, and Group Discussions of Assigned Readings &Responses.) 30 pts. Total Points Possible: 100 pts. Your Semester Grade will be based on the following percentage scale: A 100-90% B 89-80% C 79-70% D 69-60% F 59% and lower Attendance: Attend classes EVERY MWF, not whenever you feel the urge. Attendance is vital for group workshops. Should you miss class because of illness or other emergency, provide me with documentation explaining the absence. Unexcused absences will lower your course grade. If you miss five or more classes without a valid excuse, we will need to schedule a conference to determine whether you should continue or withdraw/drop. Participation: Come to class prepared to discuss the reading and writing for the day and to participate in workshops. Weak participation (unwillingness to discuss readings & unwillingness to participate fully in workshopping peer papers) will lower your final grade. Learning is doing, so become an ACTIVE student. Late papers: You will be docked 5% of the points possible on an assignment for each class meeting it is overdue. Plagiarism: Plagiarism may take many forms, some of which we will discuss in class. Protect yourself by becoming aware of Kent State University’s policy on academic honesty, and by meticulously documenting your papers when you quote, summarize, or paraphrase other sources. If I find you have plagiarized some of a paper, you will receive no credit for that paper and no option to revise, and your course grade will be lowered. If I find you have flagrantly plagiarized, you will fail the course and the incident will be reported. E-Mails: I will reply to e-mails in 24 hours usually, but not immediate – do not e-mail expecting immediate replies. This is why it is key to ask homework questions in class, and have the contact information for a couple of other people in the class to call for clarification or the assignment, if you’ve missed it. E-Mail Ettiquette: Use Subject Headings! Don’t be SPAM-Blocked! Use a subject heading for your e-mail clearly explaining what you are writing about. Use Appropriate Titles and Spell Names Correctly – In the e-mails to me or to your other instructors, use Netiquette – address me as â€Å"Professor Wagoner† – I do not go by â€Å"Ms, Mrs. , or Miss. † Set Up a Missed Class Lifeline: Do not e-mail the instructor for the assignment. Instead, call or e-mail a reliable fellow student from class to get the homework. -Also check VISTA’s Daily Assignments folder and the course schedule in the syllabus for paper deadlines. Check both places to be current on what is due in class. Where’s the Stapler? Papers must be stapled or paperclipped when you turn them in. I don’t provide staples or paperclips, so you need to be responsible for collating your own papers so that they don’t get mixed up in turn in piles. INCLEMENT WEATHER: You know, that Ohio thing with the gray sky and sleet. If  the weather is nasty outside, listen to a public radio station, or watch a local news channel to find out if class for the day has been canceled. If the news station has not reported class cancellation by 8:30 a. m. , class is not canceled and you should attend. If you commute from out of town and sleet or snowstorms are making travel dangerous, call and ask me if you should try to drive in! Should class be thus canceled, continue preparing assignments as scheduled, and we will condense classroom activities as necessary to catch up with the syllabus. DISABILITY POLICY: In accordance with University Policy 33242-3-01. 3, if you have a documented disability and require accommodations to obtain equal access to this course, please contact me at the beginning of the semester or when given an assignment for which the accommodation is required. Students with disabilities must verify their eligibility through Student Accessibility Services (330-672-3391 or www. kent. edu/sas). ACADEMIC SUPPORT AREA: As your instructor, I invite you to share any concerns about any writing assignment with me. I also invite you to visit the Kent State University Writing Center, located on the fourth floor of the KSU Library. It can be a valuable resource for your writing development, and will facilitate writing at all stages of the writing process. You can seek help from me or the KSU Writing Center for: Choosing an IdeaDocumentation of Sources (MLA & APA) Developing an IdeaContent Revision Drafting an EssayG. U. M. (Grammar-Usage-Mechanics) Instruction To make an appointment, call the Writing Center at 330-672-1787. Help is also available online at the Online Writing Lab (OWL). Call to schedule an online appointment, and visit the website at http://dept. kent. edu/english/WritingCent. Drop-in tutoring is also available at the Information Commons, First Floor of the KSU Library – ask librarian for dates and times! Statement on Enrollment/Official Registration: The official registration deadline for this course is September 8, 2013. University policy requires all students to be officially registered in each class they are attending by the specified deadline (check with your advisors). Students who are not officially registered for a course by published deadlines should not be attending and will not receive credit or a grade. Each student must confirm enrollment on his/her class schedule (Student Tools on Flashline). Errors must be fixed prior to the deadline. Withdrawal from Course: The course withdrawal deadline is November 3, 2013. This is the last day for withdrawing from any or all courses before a â€Å"W† is assigned. Students with low grades should strategize with their advisors about dropping the course without a W (Withdrawal) on transcripts, with a W (by November 3), or without a W (afterNovember 3). These designations refer to different policies about incorporating the course grades into your cumulative GPA and should be treated very seriously. Check with your advisor to confirm withdrawal dates. Student Accessibility Policy University Policy 3342-3-01. 3 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content. If you have a documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments. Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these through Student Accessibility Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit www.kent. edu/sas for more information on registration procedures). STUDENT CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM: Condensed Version [For the complete policy and procedure, go to www. kent. edu/policyregister and search for policy 3342-3-01. 8, or see http://www. kent. edu/policyreg/chap3/3-01-8. cfm or http://www. kent. edu/policyreg/chap3/upload/3342. 3. 01. 8. pdf ] Cheating and plagiarism constitute fraudulent misrepresentation for which no credit can be given and for which appropriate sanctions are warranted and will be applied. The university affirms that acts of cheating and plagiarism by students constitute a subversion of the goals of the institution, have no place in the university and are serious offenses to academic goals and objectives, as well as to the rights of fellow students. â€Å"Cheat† means to intentionally misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of academic work so as to accrue undeserved credit, or to cooperate with someone else in such misrepresentation. Cheating includes, but is not limited to 1. Obtaining or retaining partial or whole copies of examinations, tests or quizzes before these are distributed for student use; 2. Using notes, textbooks or other information in examinations, tests and quizzes, except as expressly permitted; 3. Obtaining confidential information about examinations, tests or quizzes other than that released by the instructor; 4. Securing, giving or exchanging information during examinations; 5. Presenting data or other material gathered by another person or group as one’s own; 6. Falsifying experimental data or information; 7. Having another person take one’s place for any academic performance without the specific knowledge and permission of the instructor; 8. Cooperating with another to do one or more of the above; 9. Using a substantial portion of a piece of work previously submitted for another course or program to meet the requirements of the present course or program without notifying the instructor to whom the work is presented; and 10. Presenting falsified information in order to postpone or avoid examinations, tests, quizzes, or other academic work. â€Å"Plagiarize† means to take and present as one’s own a material portion of the ideas or words of another or to present as one’s own an idea or work derived from an existing source without full and proper credit to the source of the ideas, words, or works. As defined, plagiarize includes, but is not limited to a. The copying of words, sentences and paragraphs directly from the work of another without proper credit; b. The copying of illustrations, figures, photographs, drawings, models, or other visual and nonverbal materials, including recordings of another without proper credit; and c. The presentation of work prepared by another in final or draft form as one’s own without citing the source, such as the use of purchased research papers. Academic Sanctions, From Section D The following academic sanctions are provided by this rule for offenses of cheating or plagiarism. Kent campus instructors shall notify the department chairperson and the student conduct office each time a sanction is imposed. Regional campus instructors shall notify the regional campus dean and the student conduct officer each time a sanction is imposed. Regional campus student conduct officer shall notify the Kent student conduct office each time a sanction is imposed by a regional campus Instructor. The following academic sanctions are provided by this rule for offenses of cheating or plagiarism. In those cases the instructor may 1. Refuse to accept the work for credit; or  2. Assign a grade of â€Å"F† or zero for the project, test, paper, examination or other work in which the cheating or plagiarism took place; or 3. Assign a grade of â€Å"F† for the course in which the cheating or plagiarism took place; and/or; 4. Recommend to the department chair or regional campus dean that further action specified in the rule be taken. The department chairperson or regional campus dean shall determine whether or not to forward to the academic dean or to the vice president for the extended university a recommendation for further sanction under this rule. Procedures for invoking sanctions. (From Section E) (1) Academic administrative procedures pertaining to paragraph (D)(1)(a) of this rule. In the event that an instructor determines that it is more probable than not that a student in a course or program under the instructor’s supervision has presented work for university credit which involves an act of cheating, plagiarism or cooperation in either, then the instructor shall: (a) Inform the student as soon as is practical, in person or by mail, of the belief that an act of cheating or plagiarism has occurred. If the student cannot be reached in a reasonable period of time, the instructor may proceed with sanctions, notifying the student in writing as promptly as possible of the belief and the procedural steps the instructor has taken. (b) Provide the student an opportunity to explain orally, in writing, or both, why the student believes the evaluation of the facts is erroneous. (c) If the explanation is deemed by the instructor to be inadequate or if no explanation is offered, the instructor may impose one of the academic sanctions listed in paragraph (D)(1)(a) of this rule. Where appropriate, the instructor may recommend the imposition of academic sanctions listed in paragraph (D)(1)(b) of this rule. In addition, the instructor may refer the matter to the dean of the college, campus, or school in which the student is enrolled for imposition of academic sanctions listed in paragraph (D)(1)(b) of this rule. (d) The instructor shall notify the office of judicial affairs of the circumstances and action taken. Such notification will be used as background information in the event that formal conduct charges are initiated against the student. (e) The instructor shall inform the student in writing of the right to appeal, and the procedure to follow. (f) The instructor shall keep the evidence of cheating or plagiarism in a secure place and provide it upon request to any appeals officer or the conduct officer. The instructor shall provide copies on request to the student at the student’s expense. (g) The instructor shall cooperate with academic and student conduct personnel in any appeal of the decision, and/or in adjudication of any disciplinary proceedings. Academic Appeals. The general principle that applies to the following procedures is that an appeal is directed to the administrative level immediately above the unit from which the appeal emanates. Appeals are limited to the following reasons: a. The decision is arbitrary or unreasonable, b. The decision resulted from a procedural error, c. The decision is not in accordance with the facts presented, d. New information is available which may suggest modification of the decision. Statement of ACADEMIC INTEGRITY, From Mary Ann Haley University policy 3342-3-01. 8 deals with the problem of academic dishonesty, cheating, and plagiarism. None of these will be tolerated in this class. The sanctions provided in this policy will be used to deal with any violations. If you have any questions, please read the policy at http://www. kent. edu/policyreg/chap3/3-01-8. cfm and/or ask. Learning Outcomes Statements for ENG 10000-40000 Courses ENG 11011 – COLLEGE WRITING I †¢ Rhetorical Knowledge–By the end of their Tier I writing course, students should be able to recognize the elements that inform rhetorical situations. This understanding should enable them to produce texts that – o Have a clear purpose o Respond to the needs of intended audiences o Assume an appropriate stance o Adopt an appropriate voice, tone, style, and level of formality o Use appropriate conventions of format and structure †¢ Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing–By the end of their Tier I writing course, students should be able to – o Use reading and writing for inquiry, learning, thinking, and communicating o Analyze relationships among writer, text, and audience in various kinds of texts. o Use various critical thinking strategies to analyze texts †¢ Knowledge of Composing Processes–By the end of their Tier I writing course, students should be able to – o Understand writing as a series of recursive and interrelated steps that includes generating ideas and text, drafting, revising, and editing o Recognize that writing is a flexible, recursive process o Apply this understanding and recognition to produce successive drafts of increasing quality †¢ Collaboration—By the end of their Tier I writing course, students should understand that the writing process is often collaborative and social. To demonstrate that understanding, students should be able to – o Work with others to improve their own and others’ texts o Balance the advantages of relying on others with taking responsibility for their own work †¢ Knowledge of Conventions—By the end of their Tier I writing course, students should be able to – o Employ appropriate conventions for structure, paragraphing, mechanics, and format o Acknowledge the work of others when appropriate o Use a standard documentation format as needed. o Control syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling †¢ Composing in Digital Environments—Developments in digital technology are expanding our understanding of â€Å"writing. † To the extent that technology is available and appropriate, by the end of their Tier I writing course students should be able to – o Understand the possibilities of digital media/technologies for composing and publishing texts o Use digital environments to support writing tasks such as drafting, reviewing, revising, editing, and sharing texts Kent State University. Proposed Statement of Student Academic Intent: Our Student Commitment to establishing habits of Excellence, Honesty, Integrity and Professional Accountability in classes on all campuses at Kent State University. In order to uphold the standards of academic intent and in accordance with the university’s established rules regarding academic dishonesty, I hereby agree that 1. I will not plagiarize, 2. I will not cheat, 3. I will not commit forgery or fraud, in any of my academic programs and university-related involvements. I recognize that I have the right to inform professors/authorities if I witness a violation of this statement of Student Academic Intent, just as others have a right to do so with me. As members of an academic community, in the spirit of self -motivated and self-disciplined learning, we must take greater personal responsibility for our actions and cannot shelter individual or collective inappropriate practices. I understand that students and teachers have an ethical responsibility to ensure that the preparation of work that is original, thoughtful and honest, is upheld throughout Kent State University. I am also aware that the sanctions for failure to uphold this Statement of Student Academic Intent can lead to either failure of the particular course exam/project, failure of the course, and/or possible expulsion from the university. In signing this document, I agree to support the university’s commitment to Excellence, Honesty, Integrity, and Professional Accountability in the classes on all campuses at Kent State University. Printed Full Name: _______________________ Signature: ______________________________ Date: _______________ Initiated by the Members of the 2009 Student Advisory Council of the. College of Arts & Sciences. Awaiting University- wide approval. COLLEGE WRITING BIO – SHEET NAME MAJOR____________________________ CLASS YEARMINOR POINT of ORIGINCAMPUS HOME E-PORTFOLIO, BLOG, or WEBSITE E-MAIL ADDRESS What professional goals do you hope to work toward during your time in this course? What have your lifelong experiences with writing & reading been like? Do you enjoy writing? Why/why not? Do you enjoy reading? Why/why not? (Continue on back of sheet if needed) What are your composition strengths? Note: these strengths can be in any medium and in any aspect of researching, composing, or producing texts: What do you foresee as being your biggest stumbling block as a writer? What else are you taking this semester? What medium do you read most of your stories in, and what are your favorite kinds of stories? What do you like about these stories – what makes them so appealing? (Examples: TV Shows, Video Games, Music, Books, etc. ) What was the last text you read for fun? (Can be book, magazine, back of your cereal box, etc. ) What was the last book you read? Was it fun? What are your favorite activities? What is some of your favorite music? What is your favorite stress food? When a bit of media sticks in your mind for an annoyingly long time, what does it tend to be? Give a current example. (Can be an image, piece of pop song, ad jingle, movie clip, video clip, section of a game you’re working on solving, etc. ). COLLEGE WRITING 11011 FALL 2011 PROJECTS and READINGS SCHEDULE I. A Day Without Mediation – Week 1-Week 3 WK 1 – COURSE INTRO AUG 27- AUG 29PAPER I – PREWRITING T- COURSE INTRO. For TH, Turn in BIO-SHEET and ACADEMIC HONESTY SHEET (In the syllabus). READ and WRITE RESPONSE to – LASN â€Å"Culture Jam† PDF (BL), DAVIS â€Å"Television† (C ) for TH. TH – NO MAPS FOR THESE TERRITORIES and Discussion. Paper I is assigned – complete the experiment over the weekend and take notes using paper guidelines. FOR TUE, READ and RR to TURKLE and VONNEGUT. WK 2 – Sept 3-5PAPER I – DRAFTING T- For TH, READ and RR – Steven Johnson â€Å"Watching TV Makes You Smarter†(BL). TH- WRITE Draft I of â€Å"A Day Without Mediation† for TUE Sept 10. WK 3 – Sept 10-12PAPER I – REVISING & EDITING T- DRAFT I of PAPER I WORKSHOP. For TH, read O. Henry â€Å"Gift of the Magi† and Maupassant â€Å"The Necklace. † (C ) TH- For TUE, Revise and Complete FINAL DRAFT of PAPER I to turn in with all prewriting and notes. PAPER II ASSIGNED. ANSELL SMYTHE RESPONSE ASSIGNED. -Also, look for three possible songs complex enough for analysis, and write about why each one might be good for a deeper analysis. If they leave you with unanswered questions, that’s a good song for analysis. II. Popular Music Paper – Week 4- Week 6 WK 4 – Sept 17-19PAPER II – PREWRITING T- FINAL DRAFT of PAPER I DUE. ANSELL SMYTHE RESPONSE DUE. For TH, read Cheever â€Å"The Swimmer† (C ), and complete your analysis of lyrics for the song you will base your paper on for TH. Music Workshop #1. TH- LYRICS ANALYSIS DUE. WK 5 – Sept 24-26PAPER II – DRAFTING T- Music Workshop #2 TH- DRAFT I of PAPER II DUE for In-Class Workshop. For TUE, READ and RR -Anderson â€Å"Hands,† and Anderson â€Å"Form, not Plot† (C ). Music Workshop #3. WK 6 –Oct 1-3PAPER II – REVISING T- Atwood â€Å"Happy Endings,† & Cortazar â€Å"A Continuity of Parks† (C ) For TH, prepare Draft II of Paper II for Workshop. TH- DRAFT II of PAPER II DUE for In-Clas Workshop. Discuss Atwood, Cortazar. For Tue, complete and revise Paper II. III. Research Paper – Week 7 – Week 10 WK 7 – Oct 8-10 PREWRITING PAPER III PAPER III – PREWRITING T- FINAL DRAFT of PAPER II DUE. PAPER III – Research Paper – Assigned. -For TH, Brainstorm Topics and Bring Top 3 Research Paper Topics to Class Meeting in Library! Bring Library Card. -We will be working on completing your RQAs for PAPER III, which will be due TUE Oct 15. -For TH, READ and RR on Gilman â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† (C ). TH- LIBRARY DAY MEETING – Meet on First Floor Computer Lab of Library. -Prepare RQA Report for Tuesday using research gathered today. -Will discuss and collect â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† RRs Monday also. WK 8 – Oct 15-17 PAPER III – DRAFTING T- RQA Report.

Palliative Care Nursing

Introduction Palliative is a concept of care that provides coordinated medical service to patients with progressive incurable diseases.The allied health service is proactive and seeks to improve the lives of individuals that are faced with life threatening diseases and their families. Dying and death are part of life and as such palliative care offers the patients a holistic care service that includes social, psychological and spiritual care (1, p.33). Therefore palliative care aims at ensuring that the patients and their families lead the best quality of life without having to be stressed about their condition. This essay takes a critical look at the philosophy and principles of palliative care and how they apply in nursing care. Discussion on the Statement The philosophical statement given by the World Health Organisation on palliative care is directed at ensuring that the patients have the best quality of life even when they have terminal illnesses. Palliative care is extended to the family of the patients to ensure that they continue to lead normal lives despite the challenges caused by the terminal diseases. In the past, patients with terminal illnesses were seen as sufferers and with the continual advancement of the disease, care was focused was on lessening the pain for the dying patients. However, with the development of palliative care, the dying patients are no longer seen as sufferers but as other normal patients and are given specialised care from designated professionals (5, p. 23). These professionals maintain humaneness as a core value and must respect the law with regards to the patients and their families and include them in all key decisions. The care is comprehensively provided to manage physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs of the patients and their families. Palliative care is governed by principles that govern its practice. In the nursing profession, the nurses affirm life and regard dying as a normal process. This is a message that is communicated to both the patients and their families to help them accept the harsh reality of life. Communication is an important part of the process and as such the nurses are required to communicate with the patients and their families in the best possible manner. The nurses are required not to hasten or postpone the death of the ailing patients. They are instead required to relieve the patients from pain and distress to ensure that they improve the patient’s quality of life. Principles of Palliative Care in Nursing Palliative care is governed by some core principles that the professionals like nurses, doctors, counsellors and social workers are supposed to adhere to. This section takes a critical look at the principles of palliative care as they apply to the palliative care of patients and families in nursing care. Successful incorporation of palliative care in nursing practice is not a function of complex specialist environments, medical interventions or availability of drugs and disciplines (3, p54). The principles highlighted here apply to nurses working in any environment where they encounter the dying. The principles are discussed under the following themes: Emphasis on the quality of life Palliative care should be centred on the quality of life of the patients and their families. The nurses are required to encourage the patients and their families and help them focus on the quality of the life of the patient and not the number of days left to live. Quality of life is defined differently depending on the patient and the disease. The nurses improve the quality of life of the patient by managing the distressing symptoms in order to positively impact the course of the illness. The nursing palliative care team should help the patients and their families enjoy their lives to the maximum while facing the complex medical conditions (10, p. 74). Communication plays an integral part in the nursing palliative care and as such the nurses are required to continually speak with the patients and their families about their wishes, desires and what quality of life means to them (6, p. 63). The communication on quality of life should start early in the course of the illness when the ol der members of the family are able to contribute before they get stressed and start making immediate decisions. The emphasis on quality of life improves management of symptoms and communication between the nurses and the family. Patient and family are the focus of care This is a core principle that cuts across all settings because the patients and their families are the unit of care, not the disease (2, p. 77). Palliative care addresses the meaning of suffering, life, death and disease within the context of each family unit. It recognises the fact that all family members will be part of the disease process and as such their views and individual care plans must be taken into account in the palliative care. Symptom Management The nurses are required to assess and treat symptoms using the least invasive ways that will not cause more distress than the original symptom (7, p. 80). Interdisciplinary collaboration, frequent assessment, communication and appropriate management are important concepts of symptom management in palliative care. Symptom management should always be the start of diagnosis in patients with life threatening diseases or those that are potentially life threatening. This should be continued throughout the treatment process in order to improve the patient’s quality of life (3, p. 87). Communication and Decision Making Communication with the patients and family should be done clearly, collaboratively and compassionately in order to improve the patient’s quality of life (8, p. 81). Communication with the patients and family is important as it ensures that the family and patients are consistently updated on the course of the disease and treatment. The patients and their families depend on frequent, consistent communication on sensitive and difficult information and may at times need repetition of facts. The communication should be both ways as the nurses should listen to the views of the patients and their families in order to be able to provide care that suits their needs in all ways including culturally and spiritually (11, p. 101). It also allows the family members to reveal more about the patient as this information may be useful in the treatment process depending on the disease. Recommendations for Palliative Nursing Care As already indicated earlier in the discussion, it is not easy to fully implement the principles of palliative nursing care. However, nurses should try hard to ensure that these principles are fully implemented in nursing care. Palliative care can be further incorporated through good hospital practice with nurses spending more time with the patients and their families to discuss and plan care within a multidisciplinary team framework (4, p. 15). The nurses should pursue a partnership approach and make good use of open and honest communication with the patients, relatives and the health team. Such ideology is important in nursing philosophy of individualised care that embraces a holistic approach and active patient participation in care (9, p. 71). The nurses should reintegrate palliative care into the culture of the hospitals. This reintegration into the hospital culture will be helpful to the patients particularly those with terminal illnesses. This is very critical because nurses a re often at the forefront of general delivery of palliative care within the hospital. They are very well placed and should use their position to help uncover better ways of improving the quality of care to the patients and their families. Lastly, the nurses should receive palliative care education to ensure that they are equipped with the knowledge and management skills necessary for dealing with patients and their relatives as they have diverse personalities, cultures and beliefs. Conclusion Palliative care is very important to the patients and their families particularly those with terminal illnesses. This essay has explored the philosophy and principles of palliative care in nursing and has concluded by making recommendations on how hospitals can incorporate it within their cultures. For effective implementation of palliative care in nursing, the nurses need to be well educated on palliative care and how to conduct it in order to minimise misunderstands between them and the patients and their relatives. Proper implementation and execution of palliative care is important in improving the quality of lives of the patients and their families, especially those with terminal or potentially terminal illnesses. Therefore nurses should engage the patients and their relatives in all key decisions to ensure that they get as much information from them in time before the levels of stress get high. Such information is important and can be used in providing individualised care to the patients. References Aitken, Sandra. Community Palliative Care The Role of the Clinical Nurse Specialist. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. Bern-Klug, Mercedes. Transforming Palliative Care in Nursing Homes: The Social Work Role. New York: Columbia University Press, 2010. Byrne, Judi. Palliative Care in Neurological Disease: A Team Approach. Oxford: Radcliffe Pub, 2009. Foyle, Lorna, and Janis Hostad. Illuminating the Diversity of Cancer and Palliative Care Education: Sharing Good Practice. Oxford: Radcliffe Pub, 2010. Lugton, Jean, and Rosemary McIntyre. Palliative Care: The Nursing Role. Edinburgh: Elsevier/Churchill Livingstone, 2005. Matzo, Marianne, and Deborah Witt Sherman. Palliative Care Nursing: Quality Care to the End of Life. New York: Springer Pub. Co, 2010. Payne, Sheila, Jane Seymour, and Christine Ingleton. Palliative Care Nursing Principles and Evidence for Practice. Maidenhead, Berkshire, England: Open University Press, 2004. Payne, Sheila, Jane Seymour, and Christine Ingleton. Palliative Care Nursing: Principles and Evidence for Practice. Maidenhead: Open University Press, 2008. Perrin, Kathleen Ouimet. Palliative Care Nursing: Caring for Suffering Patients. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2012. Pfund, Rita. Palliative Care Nursing of Children and Young People. Oxford: Radcliffe, 2007. Stevens, Elaine, Susan Jackson, and Stuart Milligan. Palliative Nursing Across the Spectrum of Care. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 2009

The Grocery-Store Purchase Situation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Grocery-Store Purchase Situation - Essay Example First, she recognizes either a problem or an opportunity. Perhaps she is checking the stocks of grocery items that she plans to buy and finds out that she is running out of food for her pet. There she recognizes the problem, where the decision-making for the purchase of pet food starts. Â  Depending on her level of involvement in choosing the brand of pet food, as well as the perceived risk of the decision outcome will determine how she would deal with the problem. If she is not actively involved in searching for information to solve her problem, this is what is more likely to happen: perhaps she would first look into the evoked set, those brands which she knows well and is choices for her to meet this problem. In any way, her decision would only be based on a small set of brands that she knows, aside from her loyalty brand for she is not actively involved in searching for information to solve her problem. Â  Perhaps, it has been the custom for her to buy a certain brand of pet food, and she sees that her pet is very satisfied with it—so she just buys another pack of that brand. Since the brand meets her expectation, she continues to buy it and writes it down on her shopping list. She has just taken the ‘habitual path’ of brand decision-making in this case, as the purchase decision is out of habit. Â  There are other instances where this kind of decision-making varies.

The Coca-Cola Company Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Coca-Cola Company - Research Paper Example We will be looking at several types of financial ratios available in assessing the financial position of The Coca-Cola Company: Liquidity Ratios, Asset Management Ratios, Profitability Ratios and Gearing Ratios. The quantitative findings in this segment can be found in the Appendix section of this report. The results show that The Coca-Cola Company has a good Liquidity Ratio. The company’s Current Ratio is 1.12 (0.95 in Q1 2008) and its Quick Ratio is 0.94 (0.80 in Q1 2008). This means that The Coca-Cola Company is still able to generate enough cash to settle its short-term liabilities. There has been a slight improvement in its Liquidity Ratio compared with the previous quarter. As a guide, a current ratio of 2 is ideal. However, in the company’s case, 46% of its Current Assets (42% in Q1 2008) are made up of cash and cash equivalents. At a glance, the company’s assets are being managed efficiently. Its Inventory Turnover is 1.13 (1.07 in Q1 2008), which shows t hat company is trading better. Its inventories declined by 6% in the first quarter of 2009 whereas its sales increased by 3% in the same quarter of 2008. Nevertheless, the company should take note that over increasing its inventories may adversely affect its business performance. This is because costs associated with holding inventories for too long can be very expensive. As such, managing its inventories well is recommended. There is a slight improvement in the Average Collection Days of 39 (43 Days in Q1 2008). Although the company is able to meet its short-term liabilities; it should still make an effort to improve the collection of its debts. The credit term given to its customers is not stated; however, as a guideline, 30 days is recommended. In this case, the company’s customers are enjoying slightly more than the normal credit terms and this should be monitored.

Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 42

Philosophy - Essay Example Searching for knowledge is just like trying to get bigger and bigger squares than the one we have started with. Actually, the basis of most of Plato’s philosophical ideas was mathematics. He was fond of mathematics because of its idealized abstractions and its separation from the merely material. According to Plato, the mathematician could well consider himself as dealing only with the purest form of thought and as having nothing to do with the imperfect everyday world. The eagerness to be enlightened and greediness to be experienced are the real cause of man’s destruction and suffering, according to Plato in the Meno. In fact, the continuous search for knowledge about the unknown is an aspect that has been characterizing human beings since their early existence on earth. In that sense, an important characteristic of human nature in general is the easiness with which man can commit a sin, despite the fact that he clearly knows the good. This is what is referred to as "Menos paradox" in Platos Meno. Plato, in this play, sends an important message about the nature of man, saying that, in many cases, man can clearly differentiate between what is good and what is evil and still can fail to do the good. Consequently, Plato had his own philosophy of ethics. His ethical theory rests on the assumption that virtue is knowledge and can be taught, which has to be understood in terms of his theory of Forms. The highest Form for Plato is the Form of the Good, and knowledge of this Form is the source of guidance in moral decision making. Accordingly, Plato argued that to know the good is to do the good. The epitome of this is that anyone who behaves immorally does so out of ignorance. This assumption is derived from Platos conviction that the moral person is the t ruly satisfied person, and because individuals always desire their own happiness, they always desire to do that which is moral. Therefore, it can be said that Plato’s

Issues in Global Business and Consultancy Essay

Issues in Global Business and Consultancy - Essay Example The choice for those locations is due to the technological advancement and industrial production and as part of the globalisation strategy. As a result of the globalisation and to its contribution to the worldwide healthcare needs, the company ranks among the research–oriented healthcare and pharmaceutical companies in the world. Indeed, this has made the company to play a leading role in making sure that the global population remains healthy. As well, the company benefits from its global business approach, and enjoy Comparative Advantage, Absolute Advantage Fallacy, Endogenous Advantage, and Bilateral Trade Patterns, due to the nature of its production. Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Brief Research Methods 3 Globalisation 4 Globalisation Challenges and the Company’s Interventions 6 International Trade Theory 7 Comparative Advantage 7 Absolute Advantage Fallacy 7 Endogenous Advantage 8 Bilateral Trade Patterns 8 Recommendations 9 Conclusions 9 Bibliography 10 Appendix 11 Introduction Global business and consultancy are the major considerations for companies seeking success. There are certain issues affecting business operations, which have to be predetermined, analysed for the good of the business. In this report, the major issues to be discussed include globalisation and International Trade Theory relating to GlaxoSmithKline Company (GSK). The company was formed in the year 2000 when Glaxo Welcome Company and SmithKline Beecham merged (Weysig, 2004, p.16). Since the company is international based, operating in more than 100 countries, all the factors in the global business arena has an impact on it s operations. As any other company, GSK has internal and external challenges because they manufacture health products. Therefore, millions of people are depending on the products for their health needs, meaning that an outbreak of epidemic disease creates an impact of increase in the demand of the products. Int ensifying their research is the key to the company’s development. Some of the globalisation factors affecting the company include is he demand arising from low income countries. As a leader, they have the mandate and compulsion to fulfil their mission despite all the global challenges. Brief Research Method During the study, the researcher employed a deductive approach in doing the investigation. First, the researcher formulated the topic of discussion, under which the problem to be investigated was stated. Secondly, literature review followed, in which the divergent views of different scholars and other relevant company information was incorporated. Third, the researcher proposed the theory to be used in the company analysis, and designed the research to test the theories. Finally, the researcher started the study by collecting data, analysing them, using qualitative and quantitative techniques, after which the findings were presented. Globalisation The company is based in t he United Kingdom, with branches in more than 100 countries distributed across the world (Feenstra, 2003, p.44). The other important aspect of the company to note is that, the UK, US, China and Belgium host the major research centres of the company (Feenstra, 2003, p.45). Due to its contribution to the global health needs, the company is categorised

Geographical information system and agriculture Research Paper

Geographical information system and agriculture - Research Paper Example In the long run, commonly referenced data can be superimposed to determine relationships between data components. Geographic information system (GIS) software applies relational database management technologies to consign a series of attributes to every spatial characteristic (Longley et al 86). Ordinary aspect identification keys are used to associate the spatial and attribute data among tables. For example, a soil polygon can be associated to a chain of database tables that explains chemical composition, its mineral, crop yield, slope, land use suitability, and other features. Another aspect of Geographic information system (GIS) is that it provides the capability to coalesce series of data into a multiple data layer that may later be a base layer in the database. For instance, demography, slope, wetlands, hydrography, soils and land use can be merged to develop a solitary layer of proper hazardous waste storage sites (Longley et al 140). These data, in turn, may be integrated into the listing database of local government and applied for regulatory and planning evaluations.GIS software normally allows for two kinds of data. Some use raster data i.e. satellite imagery while others use vectors to represent features on the surface of the earth. Most systems allow for complete integration of both types of data (Pierce and David, 11). A GIS can be used to explain basic locational questions such as what is positioned at a given level on the earth surface; or where is the exact element located? At the same time, soils data across the entire watershed can be asked to determine the distribution of regions with hydric soils of huge than 100 acres and are linked to key river system (Pierce and David, 15). Geographic information system (GIS) is becoming the dais of choice for mixing and analyzing enormous range of data in the field of agriculture due to the ability to analyze those data flow and display

Global Marketing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Global Marketing - Case Study Example 2.2 Economic Factors 6 2.3 Social Factors 6 2.4 Technological Factors 7 2.5 Environmental Factors 8 2.6 Legal Factors 9 3.0 Risk Analysis of China 10 4.0 Risk Analysis Commentary 14 5.0 Recommendations 15 Appendix 17 Works Cited 18 1.0 Introduction The economic reforms adopted by China in 70s and 80s certainly succeeded in changing the global perception about China. It was only owing to these reforms that the sectors devoid of state interference exhibited a marked growth. The opening up of the Chinese economy definitely made way for foreign investment and trade. However, the momentum of reforms in China though steady has been more or less cautious and slow. Ushering in of the reforms led to a minimal yet conclusive delegation of...The Chinese GDP stood at $ 3.42 trillion in the year 2007 (McGregor 2007). Credible experts and institutions expect the Chinese economy to become the world's largest economy by the end of 21st century. However, the development in China exhibits gross income disparities, a trend bolstered by the ensuing liberalization of the domestic markets. Not to mention that an undemocratic political setup has multifarious ramifications those have a direct detrimental impact on the economy. With the fruits of pros perity appropriated by urban centres and politically elite, the human resource development in China has been non-uniform and slow (Plafker 2008). The Western corporations attuned to much liberal and open system do tend to be positive yet apprehensive about venturing into the Chinese climes. The economic reforms adopted by China in 70s and 80s certainly succeeded in changing the global perception about China. It was only owing to these reforms that the sectors devoid of state interference exhibited a marked growth. The opening up of the Chinese economy definitely made way for foreign investment and trade. However, the momentum of reforms in China though steady has been more or less cautious and slow. Ushering in of the reforms led to a minimal yet conclusive delegation of power and responsibility to the local players (Hexter 2007).

Progressive Era during the Great Depression Essay

Progressive Era during the Great Depression - Essay Example These four events marked and established a concrete history that shaped as well as helping in describing the current setup of the world. Progressive era that transpired through 1800s to 1920s established a critical moment of change for the American society and world in general. The period characterized with massive urbanization coupled with high rate of industrialization. In nutshell, the Progressive era became synonymous with high levels of poverty that touched lower class that constituted the biggest percentage of the American population. No sooner had the impacts the Progressive era fade than America and world in general bumped into yet another tempting moment of Great Depression. This period begun in 1929 and ended in the early 1940, before giving way for World War II. According to Sage (2010, p. 1), the spirit of progressive started to signalize in the early 1890s when small businesspersons, farmers and other reform oriented leaders merged to form the Populist Party. The purpose s of the party were to confront and address the problems faced by the American societies such unemployment, injustice, poor leadership among other. It is from Populist Party that Progressives would later develop after the former gained national trust. As mentioned earlier, Progressive era entailed numerous events ranging from urbanization and industrialization that necessitated the need for change in the American societies. The rate at which urbanization took place alongside industrialization could only translate to the effects of poverty. Increased poverty among majority of citizens translated to poor health services, high crime rates, racism, violence, class warfare, and greed, together with corruption. In the description of Burt (2004, p. 3), poor working conditions and environments were also justifiable causes of concern by the Progressives. By 1890, 18% of the total labor in the country constituted of the women and children. Prior to the Progressive era, American experienced hi gh influx of immigrants who in turn compromised the wage rates for the native employees bearing the stiff competition for employment opportunities. To extinguish such misfortunes from the society and ensure growth of the American societies, a group of individuals from higher social class mutinied to form a social movement called â€Å"Progressives†. Members of the Progressive group were mainly city dwellers who had significant college education (Burt 2004, p. 4). According to the Progressives, honest government, safe environment, and education for the country were the only options that would help save and develop the country. Progressive was the only sure way of responding to, and appreciating the industrial revolution that had hit the country. Among the Progressives were Jane Addams, Susan Antony, Margaret Sanger, Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and Carrie Nation among others. The leading journalist of the era who helped spread the message of progress was Ida Tarbell, Thomas, Nast, Upton Sinclair, and Jacob Riis. The political reformers and activists of the time included Theodore Roosevelt, William Dubois, Booker Washington, and Eugene Debs. The great missions of the Progressives included fighting fear among the immigrants, teaching democracy and exposing evil and corrupt acts committed by those holding power. Rauchway (2007, p. 8) remarks that election of Robert La Follette as the governor of Wisconsin

The medieval era and The Renaissance Era Research Paper

The medieval era and The Renaissance Era - Research Paper Example The Middle age was followed by the Renaissance movement which evolved in the 14th century. Renaissance is divided in to three important periods that are the Early Renaissance, High Renaissance and Late Renaissance or Mannerism. There was a substantial turn over in arts during this period as it was given more financial attention compared to the former Era. The art groomed and flourished as the artists paid more attention to the perspective. The paintings, sculptures and drawing were realistic and a sense of emotion was expressed in the art. Human body was given immense importance. The beauty of human physique was appreciated through arts. The artists of the Renaissance movement played with colors. They applied the techniques of light, color and space used by the ancient Roman and the Greek. Their focus was more worldly and secular. The artists drew paintings that manifested the social life and routine activities of the people. The concept of linear perspective was also introduced whic h helped the artists to create illusions of space and distance on a level surface. Hence art was exuberated. The art in this Era was modernized. The paintings now exhibited man studying philosophy and math rather than praying to God. This drastic change in the field of arts was attributed to the diminishing belief of the people in religion. For instance the painting of Jan Van Eyck depicted a couple being married in a room rather than a church. Although people adopted the modern style of arts there was an indelible relation.

A Better Future with Green Technology Essay Example for Free

A Better Future with Green Technology Essay We live in the 21st century which has been called the â€Å"century of the environment†. Our nation’s leaders and individual citizens are coming to an understanding that we can not assume any longer that problems such as pollution, climate changes and the dwindling amount of natural resources can be put off for a future generation to deal with (Green Technology, 2010). There are many uses and reasons for green technology. However, with the use of green technology we can have a healthier, cleaner and possibly longer future. In this paper, I will be discussing just a few of those many uses. The term technology refers to the application of knowledge for a practical purpose. Now the field of green technology encompasses a continuously evolving group of industries, industrial applications, methods and materials which exploit the value of the technologies that benefit the environment. This includes techniques from generating energy all the way to non-toxic cleaning products (Green Technology, 2010). These groups particularly exploit the way this technology impacts the human condition. See more: Unemployment problems and solutions essay The group of effected industries is quite diverse. It includes businesses as far as the fields of energy and agriculture. There are some who predict that someday every consumer product will be affected by green technology. The main goal of green technology is to find ways to produce technology in a way that does not damage or deplete any of the Earths natural resources. The use of green technology is supposed to reduce the amount of waste and pollution that is created during production and consumption. There are many different uses for green technology in our everyday lives. These different uses include a renewable energy source from alternative fuels, recycling, building green, natural and environmentally friendly cleaning supplies, green chemistry and even green nanotechnology (Green Technology, 2010). The most urgent of these issues is perhaps the use of renewable energy. The two main ways to be able to generate energy would be by using solar powered panels and the other is using wind turbines. Recycling is an easy way for us to help out our future generations. Recycling helps to eliminate unnecessary waste in our landfills and is also environmentally friendly. Another good way to also be environmentally friendly is to buy products that have been made using recycled products and natural ingredients. The U.S. Enviromental Protection Agency defines building green , also known as â€Å"sustainable† or â€Å"high performance† building, as the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building’s life-cycle from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and deconstruction. This practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort (Palmese, 2009). Building green encompasses everything from the choice of building materials to where a building is located (Green Technology, 2010). The United States military is trying to cut back its dependency on their usage of fossil fuels. Therefore, they are turning to more greener and natural approaches to curb their dependency. The green that the military is turning to is definitely not the camouflage. Currently the Army and Navy are both exploring green technology options. Soldiers are going green with solar power units, purifying stagnant waters, solar tents and LED lights (Lowman, 2011). The military is developing two solar powered humvees that they call FED Alpha and FED Bravo. FED stands for Fuel Efficient Ground Vehicle Demonstrator (Iliaifar, 2011). FED Bravo’s details are very sparse and so it still remains more of a mystery. FED Alpha is suppose to be equipped with a solar panel that is mounted on the Humvee to be able to assist with its electrical systems (Iliaifar, 2011). The U.S. military are currently using solar powered cooling tents in Afghanistan. The U.S. military has a goal to achieve 25 percent renewable energy by the year 2025. Fort Drum, NY has one of the world’s largest solar installations which currently heats the entire base (Lowman, 2011). The U.S. army and the U.S. Navy have both kicked off net zero programs which is aimed at reducing not only energy use on bases and also on water use and waste. The U.S. Navy is aiming for half of its bases to have net zero energy consumption by 2020. The Army is planning to install rooftop solar installations in as many as 160,000 private military home in 33 different states to help with energy costs (Westervelt, 2012). The Navy has commissioned a ship that is energy efficient. It is called the Makin Island. It is the first amphibious assault ship to replace its steam boilers with gas turbines. It is also the first Navy surface ship to be equipped with both gas turbinesand an auxiliary propulsion system (Department of Defense, 2009) The trucking industry is also continuously evolving to be be more green. Carriers are going with cleaner trucks to get better fuel mileage and help cut out on harmful emissions. These days there are numerous opportunities for a carrier to turn their fleet into a green fleet (Britton, 2010). California is becoming more of a green state. The state of California passed new laws to where a truck driver can not idle there truck if it is not a clean emissions truck. Now that the new clean trucks, Freightliner Cascadia and the International ProStar and Lonestar, are readily available it makes this easier to achieve. The trucking industry has been able to achieve nearly zero nitrogen oxide emissions as of January 1, 2010. It also achieved zero particulate matter emissions as of January 1, 2007 (Britton, 2010). Now that the trucking industry has been able to cut back nearly all emissions to zero they are turning their sights on another problem. The new problem the industry is tackling is fuel consumption. One thing they have tried so far is using auxiliary power units, which are also known as APUs, when idoling the truck at a rest area or truckstop has helped instead of burning a gallon of fuel an hour to idol the truck like before it now takes a gallon to idol for all ten hours since having an APU installed on the trucks. Another way the trucking industry was tried to conserve fuel to become greener is by switching to wide-based tires. This has cut consumption as much as ten percent in some cases (Britton, 2010). Freightliner has clean drive technology in all their trucks they make now. They can claim this only due to Selective Catalytic Reduction, or SCR, and Blue Tec Emissions Technology that help their heavy duty trucks to exceed EPA standards while still being cost efficient, practical and proven to stand the wear and tear of the industry (Freightliner). Blue Tec Emissions Technology has proven to increase performance with every drop of diesel fuel, reduce more of the pollutants from exhaust gases, and improve profitability from every mile covered. The Blue Tec Technology treats the exhaust gases and the end results are nitrogen and water. The same thing we breathe in. The Cascadia has an aerodynamic exterior to also help reduce drag and improve on fuel efficiency. There are new developments constantly in the field of green technology. One of the new developments is a hydrogen powered car. It is a zero emission car that produces water as exhaust. Green technology is hitting our major cities. Most cities are going organic and natural to preserve the Earth’s resources. Most larger cities have public transportation that run off clean fuel. Before we know it there will not be a location that is not going green or already gone green. We ourselves can jump on the green bandwagon. We can do this simply by doing a few things we already do to begin with. The first way is to come up with your own cleaning supplies from a few things around the house such as baking soda, vinegar and even lemons. Baking soda is good to remove stains, cut through tough grease and to freshen carpets (US Green Technology,2012). With these three simple products you could clean your entire home. Vinegar and newspaper or paper towel you can clean windows, mirrors and tile. Do not throw out any old electronics. It is better to donate old cell phones to someone in need or recycle them at a store that offers it. This is important because the old battery and possibly even the device still could contain mercury, which is extremely poisonous to the environment (U.S. Green Technology, 2012). After all the hard earned money spent on the device to begin with, it would be better to put it to good use some how. Another way to be green is the stop drinking bottled water because it saves our planet from having another non-biodegradable plastic bottle laying around. It is better to get a filter that you place on your faucet (U.S. Green Technology, 2012). Hopefully the nation’s leaders and all of the individual citizens will come to understand that while we live in the century of the environment, they can no longer assume that the Earth’s natural resources will be there for the future generation to be able to handle the problems of pollution, climate changes and the rapidly dwindling amount of natural resources left. There are many great uses and reasons for choosing to use green technology. The use of green technology can lead us all to a healthier, cleaner and possibly longer future. References Bibb, B. (2011) Green Perspectives Mandatory Commercial Recycling Creates Manufacturing Jobs. Green Technology. Retrieved from http://www.green-technology.org/green_technology_magazine/a-new-kind-of-corporation-in-california-for-a-new-bottom-line-q-/green-perspectives-mandatory-commercial-recycling-creates-manufa/ Britton, D. (2010, February 17) Investing wisely in Green Technologies. Heavy Duty Trucking. Retrieved from http://www.truckinginfo.com/news-details.asp?news_id=69434 Department of Defense. (2009, October 22). Retrieved from http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=49147 Freightliner Trucks (2012, March 5) Retrieved from http://www.freightlinertrucks.com/TruckInnovation/Clean-Drive-Technologies Green Technology (2010) Retrieved from http://www.green-technology.org/what.htm Green Technology (2010) Retrieved from http://www.green-technology.org/about.htm Iliaifar, A. (2011, December 29). Retreived from http://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/us-military-planning-to-go-green- with-hybrid-humvees/ Lowman, M. (2011, August 01) The military goes green. Science/Technology. Retreived from http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/08/01/v-print/1381865/the-military-goes-green.html Palmese, R. (2009, June) Green Building Construction in California. Retrieved from http://www.green-technology.org/greentech-report-june09r.pdf U.S. Green Technology. (2012, January 14). How to be Green. Retrieved from http://www.usgreentechnology.com/stories/how-to-be-green/ Westervelt, A. (2012, Febuary 2). Why the military hates fossil fuels. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/amywestervelt/2012/02/02/why-the-military-hates-fossil- fuels-and-you-should-too-part-one-inefficiency/ Westervelt, A. (2012, February 6). The Military’s Green Tech Strategy. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/amywestervelt/2012/02/06/why-the-military-hates-fossil-fuels-part-two-alternatives/ Westervelt, A. (2012, February 14). How the Military uses Green Tech to Save Soldiers L ives. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/amywestervelt/2012/02/14/how-the-military-uses-green-tech-to-save-soldiers-lives/

Nokia competencies

Nokia competencies Every firm comprises of competencies, not all possess core competencies, these are crucial for a competitiveness. This report examines the core competencies that contribute most significantly to Nokias competitive advantage. These consist of organisational culture and research and development. Nokias competitive advantage will be analysed based on corporate brand and products and services base, then personal analysis reported. 2.0 Theoretical idea of core competencies Firms possess competencies through efficient use of resources and are required for firms to compete. Core competencies are attributes that an organisation possesses which in turn allows it to achieve competitive advantage (Prahalad Hamel, 1990 cited Henry. A, 2008). There is differential performance between companies in the same industry, due to individual core competencies since the environment is constant. In 2008, Dell had the largest market share in UK PC market (Datamonitor, 2009), with core competencies in its value chain giving competitive advantage (Henry. A, 2008). Core competencies should be appropriable so those who provide the attributes for the competitive advantage should reap benefits (Kay. J, 1993 cited Open University, 2009). The key is not to focus on all competencies just ones that add most value and competitive advantage. Collis and Montgomery (1997) identified some attributes within the organisation are more useful for gaining sustainable competitive advantage (Henry, 2008). The features of useful attributes are that they help provide value to customers, are unique and difficult to imitate (Collis Montgomery, 1997, cited Hooley. G et al, 2008) as seen in figure 1. Other theorists support this identification, Prahalad and Hamel (1990) identified three tests for core competencies: 1. A core competence should provide access to a wide variety of markets. 2. A core competence should make a significant contribution to perceived customer benefits of end products. 3. A core competence should be difficult for competitors to imitate. (Prahalad cited The Free Library, 2002). Hamel and Prahalad (The Free Library, 2002) identified core competencies should not remain static whilst the environment changes. Core competencies enable production of new products and services and increase customer relationship management, they should be envied by competitors but difficult to replicate (Hooley. G et al, 2008). Shangri La Hotels have a stronger customer relationship than their competitors (Datamonitor, 2009) their mission Delighting customers each and every time (Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, 2009). 2.1 Nokias core competencies Nokia has many competencies but due to recent success appears to focus on the right core competencies to gain competitive advantage. The two significant ones are organisational culture (Blau. J, 2003) and investment in research and development (Nokia, 2009). Organisational culture is a core competence and source of sustainable competitive advantage (Barney, 1986b, cited Hamel. G Heene. A,1994). 2.1.1 Nokias organisational culture Nokia, unlike competitors, is innovative and entrepreneurial by adopting the correct culture (Blau. J, 2003). Within the organisation entrepreneurship is encouraged by managers open to employee suggestions for new products and services, this allows continuous learning, there is also a feedback process for employees engaging in new ideas (Blau. J, 2003). VP Niitamo, Chair of European Living Labs Portfolio, Some of Nokias success, is from continuously bringing in young, talented people, without pushing them down one particular career path (Blau. J, 2003). For this to take place they must have shared vision to ensure full commitment from employees (Kanter, 1983 cited Henry. A, 2008). 2.1.2 Nokias research and development Another core competency is Nokias research and development. Nokia employs 51,750 people, over one third is made up of people in research and development. The company employs approximately 1,000 new people in research and development each year, aiming for those who have new skills (Blau. J, 2003). Nokias extensive research and development enables it to create trusted consumer relationships, the best mobile devices everywhere and context enriched services (Nokia, 2009). 3.0 Theoretical idea of competitive advantage Competitive advantage results from matching core competencies to opportunities (Business Dictionary, 2009). Many 2000 dot.com failures were companies identifying the opportunity but not having competencies to achieve competitive advantage (Hooley. G et al, 2008). Companies can achieve competitive advantage by charging higher prices for increased value products and services or offering the same products and services as competitors at lower prices (Porter. M. E, 1985). Differences between rival products and services have become narrow, so companies need to find new ways of distinguishing themselves in customers minds. Companies can use brands to be distinctive compared with competitors, and create a relationship with customers for competitive advantage (Chailan. C, 2008). In 2008, the airline industry saw JetBlues new experience based differentiation after they created T5 terminal at JFK. T5 added brand value by augmenting the service with additional and complementary features (DDB, 2009). Companies should look for sustainability; competitive advantage that competitors are unable to imitate (Barney, 1991 cited Henry. A, 2008). Tesco uses vendor managed inventory and builds relationships with suppliers such as Nestle and Coca Cola to improve availability, providing competitive advantage for those involved, however unsustainable (William Reed Business Media Ltd, 2009). Figure 2 identifies the relationship between core competencies and competitive advantage. Although core competencies lead to competitive advantages this may be indirect by developing core products or services. 3.1 Nokias competitive advantage Nokia is currently worldwide largest mobile phone maker, therefore they must have significant core competencies to gain competitive advantage (Yahoo Finance, 2009). Nokias competitive advantage is based on scale, brand and services (Nokia, 2008). 3.1.1 Nokias brand value After wavering in 2004, Nokia came back to build an outstanding reputation through a 12% increase in brand value and became fifth top brand (Kiley. D, 2007). Nokia currently has number one brand in many markets worldwide (Temporal. P Davies. R, 2009). Nokias organisational culture contributed to its corporate brand since employees and processes are reflected in the brand (Temporal. P, 2009). Nokias research and development assisted in creating brand value by keeping up to date with evolving consumer demands and is recognised as a company that provides consumers with the desired products and services. NRC, Nokias innovations hub invests at least 5% of the annual research and development budget. Innovations are created for commercial purposes after three to five years development (Samuels. M, 2006). 3.1.2 Nokias products and services Ideas need to align with organisational culture, therefore this must be correct to generate desired products and services (Henry. A, 2008). Organisational culture is reflected in products and services through processes and procedures, this led to sustainable competitive advantage. The knowledge possessed by employees cannot be easily transferred, groups of employees would be required for a fraction of the knowledge (Argote. L Ingram. P, 2000). Nokias research and development continuously improves and generates new products, this is essential as Nokias markets became highly competitive over the last decade with entrants such as Apple iPhone (Ward. A, 2009). In 2002 Nokia received the Frost and Sullivan market engineering award for its secure access system innovation which was an exceptionally evolved product (BNET,2003 Calif. S. J, 2002). 4.0 Critical analysis I conclude that Nokia has effectively developed competencies into core competencies to develop sustainable competitive advantage. I consider Nokia to have core competencies in particular organisational culture and research and development, contributing most to Nokias competitive advantage. The organisational culture is quite unique among competitors, yet as industry leader so they must be doing the right things internally in relation to the external industry. Other companies should steer away from the negative image that innovative organisations are only effective in small organisations and implement some of Nokias techniques to reduce differential performance between them. However, I realise this will only be effective if there are shared values and commitment from the entire organisation as with Nokia. Organisational culture cannot be easily learned so this must create sustainable competitive advantage until competitors have developed their culture more effectively. Nokia invests heavily in research and development which is reflected in its product and service offering which is outstanding, therefore I see it as a worthwhile investment. I have identified that Nokia doesnt just employ people for research and development, it supports them and develops their knowledge base to benefit the company. I identified Nokias main competitive advantage being brand value and product and service offering. I recognise that Nokia successfully achieved competitive advantage of its brand organisational culture and the beliefs and practices adopted by the company. Nokia must continue to do the right things such as ethical behaviour in the work place or the brand will be tarnished and will be difficult to rebuild unless its loyal customer base sticks by regardless which I find doubtful. Nokias other competitive advantage consists developing latest product designs and outperforming rivals through services. I do not consider this sustainable, despite Nokias investments in research and development. Product innovation in the mobile phone industry is the main contributor to growth, through replacement sales (Cassell. J, 2004). This is likely to remain the case as the market is already saturated, therefore I feel Nokia wont maintain this level of competition as rival companies would invest more into research and development to compete. Overall, I find Nokia making best use of its core competencies to gain competitive advantage but dont believe it will continue to be industry leader without enhancing its core competencies to meet evolving demands. 5.0 Conclusion In conclusion it has been analysed that Nokia has several core competencies, the most significant being organisational culture and investment in research and development. These core competencies led to competitive advantage in the form of strong brand image and exceptional product and service offerings. Although this is currently the case for Nokia within the mobile phone industry, they may not be sustainable as will be identified over time.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Physiology

Rheumatoid Arthritis Physiology Introduction Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is defined as a chronic, autoimmune condition that affects 400,000 people in the UK (Cooney et al. 2010). It is both bilateral and symmetrical in pattern and is typically presented in individuals between 30 to 50 years with females being more afflicted than men (Cooney et al. 2010). Although, RA is of unknown aetiology, causes are said to be both genetic and environmental in nature (Abhishek et al.2010). More specifically, inflammation, inactivity and loss of mechanical stability around joints plays a role in causing pain, stiffness and swelling of multiple joints. Consequently, long-term effects of RA been associated with reduced muscle strength (Ekbolm et al. 1974) and aerobic capacity (Minor et al. 1988). Currently, there is no cure for RA and therefore, management emphasizes on decreasing symptoms and promoting quality of life through either Drug Modifying Anti-Rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) or physiotherapy (Arthritis Research, UK). Indeed, DMARDs are a first line treatment for RA; however, not everyone responds adequately to DMARDs (Smolen and Keystone, 2012) and RA patients usually refrain from using this due to the potential occurrence of life-threatening side-effects (Kinder et al. 2005). Today, physiotherapy for those with RA consist of many passive interventions such as patient education, delivery of heat or cold, massage and electro-magnetic energy (Wasserman,2011). However, despite earlier fear of aggravation of symptoms, increased disease activity and joint damage, there is now scientific evidence showing that exercise is safe and beneficial; making it an imperative part of rehabilitation (Stenstrom and Minor, 2003). Specifically, the most valued by RA patients is Hydrotherapy treatment (Hall et al. 1996) due to its ability to alleviate symptoms suddenly through exercising in water. The use of water properties such as buoyancy and warm temperatures enables patients to move freely through decreased weight bearing on joints, increased range of motion and reduced pain (Campion, 1997). Although, Hydrotherapy is growing significantly in popularity, literature in regards to the effectiveness of Hydrotherapy for RA has not been evaluated adequately. For example, Eversden et al. (2007) concluded that the Hydrotherapy group reported a greater perceived benefit in comparison to the land-based exercise group after six weeks. Importantly, these authors conducted a fairly well-designed study in that they took some precautions to eliminate bias through true randomization and concealment processes. However, these findings were not reflected in the physical functional or pain scores. Alongside this, there was a greater number of participants in the Hydrotherapy group compared to the Land-based group leading to potential biases. Secondly, Hall et al. (1996) found that all groups assessed (Hydrotherapy, Seated Immersion, Land Exercise and Progressive Relaxation) demonstrated joint tenderness and pain relief. However, Hydrotherapy presented the most improvements (26% mean decrease) after 4 weeks treatment. This study demonstrates strengths over Eversden et al. (2007) in that they had assessed disease activity rather than just improvements in functionality. However, it was not clearly stated whether or not improvements in Hydrotherapy group were statistically significant and treatment dosage, if longer (>4 weeks) could have produced a greater therapeutic effect. Thirdly, Bilberg and Mannerkorpi (2005) found significant improvements in muscle function and endurance of upper and lower extremities and grip force. However, this was not supported by an increase in aerobic capacity as indicated by their hypothesis and primary outcome measure (Cycle Ergometer Test; Astrand 2006). Unlike, Eversden et al. (2007) and Hall (1996) this study reported intensity of exercise (70% of HR) and addressed longer term effects (12 weeks). However, sample size was small (46 patients) and temperature of pool was not specified, making it difficult to generalise data. Overall, there was inadequate reporting of depth, temperature of pool, type and intensity of exercises. Although, outcome measures differed between studies, they were appropriate for use (Al-Qubaiessy et al). Therefore, there is some evidence showing that Hydrotherapy plays a role in reducing pain (Hall et al. 1996). Finally, this highlights the importance of using standardised exercise procedures, longer term-interventions especially as RA is a chronic condition. This will help in making specific recommendations. Therefore, in accordance to PICO, my research question is The long term effects of using specific Hydrotherapy exercise protocols: Aqua-Aerobics Programme and The Bad-Ragaz Ring Methods for RA. A randomized Controlled Trial. Research Design From a pragmatic viewpoint, a mixed methods approach will be best-suited for this study as pain is a multi-dimensional phenomenon. However, a positivist would argue that this study should be carried out only objectively as this would allow generalizable conclusions to be drawn (Brooms and Willis, 2007). Alongside this, they would argue that researchers are detached from the investigation, thereby reducing bias (Bryman, 2004). Contrastingly, an interpretivist would support a qualitivate approach which would allow greater and richer insight into patients perceptions of pain (Bryman, 2001). Therefore, yielding both qualitative and quantitative data will help increase findings and reliability of results (Bryman, 2004). For example, this study will be able to assess the subjective nature of pain whilst still observing the relation between pain and disease activity objectively. Thus, taking this stance, will allow to address the biopsychosocial approach rather just a biomedical model of care objectively (Engel, 1977). Finally, an experimental, embedded design will be used in this study. Alternatively, an interpretivist would use a case-study that assesses an individuals experiences; this will have high ecological validity but lacks the ability to produce generalizable conclusions.ÂÂ   By employing a multi-faceted approach, it will strengthen causal inferences by providing the opportunity to observe data convergence or divergence in hypothesis testing (Abowitz and Tool, 2010). Research Method In line with Rogers et al. (2003), the embedded experimental design utilised in this study will involve a two-phase sequential approach (Creswell et al. 2005). This will include qualitative analysis carried out before intervention to inform the development of the treatment and after to help explain treatment outcomes (Figure 1). Figure 1: Experimental Embedded Design. (Creswell 2005). Alongside this, an RCT will be used. In accordance to the hierarchy of evidence an RCT is suggested to be one of the most powerful in research (Akobeng, 2005) due to its ability to reduce risk of bias and systematic error (Bryman, 2004; Suresh, 2011). Contrastingly, a cross-over design would be difficult due potential carry-over effects even with a washout period (Saks and Allsop, 2013). Intervention Details The CONSORT statement will be used in order to enhance completeness and transparency of the study (Schulz et al. 2010). For example, attrition bias will be reduced through reporting drop-outs and reasons for this will also be included (Schulz et al. 2010). Reporting of eligibility criteria is essential to determine whether results can be applied to others in the same condition (Bluml et al. 2011).ÂÂ   In this instance, patients (men and women) aged 18+ (in line with the American College of Rheumatology) with chronic RA who meet Steinbrocker Functional Class I, II, or III (Steinbrocker, 1949) will be recruited from NHS outpatient settings in the West Midlands. Those who sustain a steady drug intake for 30 days in relation to Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) 3 months and DMARDs will be included in the trial. Although injections and corticoid injections in the 4 weeks leading up to the study will not be permitted, drug changes and injections will be during; this reflects the pragmatic nature of this study. Consequently, recruiting in this manner will increase ecological validity as it represents a real-world situation (Broom and Willis, 2007). Those, which have received physiotherapy treatment within 30 days of assessment will be excluded in order to avoid any carry over effects. Also, patients who have had joint-replacement surgery within the last 6 months will be excluded. Likewise, contraindications of exercise and immersion in water needs to be taken into account (e.g. patients with uncontrolled epilepsy or fear of water) will also be excluded. It is true that greater exclusion criteria can reduce generalisability of results. However, such steps have to be taken in order to eliminate occurrence of confounding data which could potentially have a negative impact on the results of the clinical trial (Broom and Willis, 2007) Group Details Patients will be randomized using sealed opaque envelopes with treatment allocation. Random sequence of numbers will be established through flipping a virtual coin (Eversden et al. 1996) to either: Hydrotherapy 1 (Aqua Aerobics Group) (Eccentric, Concentric Exercises). Hydrotherapy 2 (The Bad Ragaz-Ring Group). Home-Exercise group that continue with daily activities. Unlike previous research (e.g. Hall 1996; Eversden et al. 1996), this study will consider intensity at moderate level (70%) as it has been shown to demonstrate physiological improvements (Astrand, 1986); assessed via a heart rate monitor throughout sessions. Additionally, depth of pool will be just under chest height whereby 50%+ of bodyweight is offloaded through buoyancy and hydrostatic pressure has been suggested to reduce swelling at this level (Becker, 2009). Importantly, temperature will range from 33.5-35.5 degrees which is safe and sufficient enough to produce therapeutic benefits (Becker, 2009). Finally, treatment dosage will be twice a week consisting of 30 minute sessions for a 20 week period. This will address longer-term effects. Outcome Measures A research assistant blinded to the treatment allocations will evaluate the outcomes measures in order to reduce detection bias. Bilberg and Mannerkorpi (2005) used a C Reactive Protein (CRP) (i.e. higher levels demonstrates active inflammation) in order to test assess disease activity. However, it is said that more than 40% of RA patients have normal CRP levels (Sokka and Pincus, 2009), thus decreasing validity and clinical applicability. Therefore, this study will use Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as the primary objective measure due its ability to present visual aspects of inflammation within the synovial membrane; shown to be a superior method and very relevant for RA (e.g. Østergaard, 2009) (Figure 1). This will be taken, baseline and post treatment for all groups. Secondary outcome measures will include Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) (Figure 1) assessed on a 10cm scale, whereby 0cm indicates no pain. This is widely used to assess rheumatic diseases and a number of studies have established data showing that VAS results are very reproducible (e.g. Dixon and Bird, 1981).ÂÂ   Other physical measures will include the Ritchie Articular Index in order to assess joint tenderness; intra-reliability of this test has been shown to be acceptable (Levy and Dick, 1975) and is easy to perform. Finally, aerobic capacity will be analyzed through a submaximal test in accordance to Astrands Principle (Astrand and Rodahl, 1986); shown to have satisfactory reliability in RA populations (e.g. Mannerkorpi and Ekdahl, 1997). Both of which taken pre-post. Statistical Considerations and Analysis Analysis will be completed via the Fishers exact test and continuous variables by Wilcoxon signed rank tests for within group comparisons. Importantly, data analyses will be completed according to the intention to treat principles. Ethical Considerations In line with Beauchamp and Childress (2001) it will be essential to have respect for autonomy. Respecting this value, means to protect participants through data protection/confidentiality and ensuring they are adequately informed about what is proposed. In order to keep data anonymised personal details of quantitative data sets will be replaced with numbers. Most importantly, informed consent will be obtained before commencing the study to ensure participants are not subject to an intervention they do not want. To further fulfil these requirements, an information sheet for participants will be written which will also state risks as well as what data will be used for. Conclusion The main advantage of this study is that is assesses disease activity on a physiological level objectively and also observes the impacts subjectively via VAS scale; an unpopular approach in the Hydrotherapy literature (E.g. Hall, 1996, Bilberg et al. Eversden et al, 2007). Findings from this study, will hopefully assist in creating structured and standardised exercise programmes that could be used throughout healthcare systems. Finally, limitations of this study include the high costs that are associated with MRI scans and Hydrotherapy facilities. Nevertheless, this will address the longer term effects of Hydrotherapy for RA. Referenced Material Abhishek, A., Butt, S., Gadsby, K., Zhamg, W. Deighton, C.M. (2010). Anti-TNF-alpha agents are less effective for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in current smokers. Journal of Clinical Rheumatology. 16(1): 15-8. Abowitz, D.A. and Toole, T.M. (2010). Mixed Method Research: Fundamental Issue of Design, Validity, and Reliability in Construction Research. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management. 136 (1). Akobeng, A.K. (2005). Understanding Randomised Controlled Trials. Archives of Disease in Childhood. 90. 840-844. Ã…strand, P.O. Rodahl, K. (1986) Textbook of Work Physiology, 4th edition. New York: McGraw- Hill, 1986. Beauchamp T. and ChildressÂÂ   (2001). Principles of medical ethics. Fifth Edition. New York: Oxford University Press Becker, B. (2009). Aquatic Therapy: Scientific Foundations and Clinical Rehabilitation Applications. American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 1. 859-872. Bilberg, A., Ahlmen., M. Mannerkorpi, K. (2005). Moderatley Intensive Execise in a Temperate Pool for Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Randomized Controlled Study. Rheumatology. 44: 502-508. Blumle, A., Meerpohl, J.J., Rucker, G., Antes, G., Schumacher, M. and Elm, E.V. (2011). Reporting of Eligibility Criteria of Randomised Trials: Cohort Study Comparing Trial Protocols with Subsequent Articles. British Medical Journal. 342. 18-28. Broom, A., and Willis, E. (2007). Competing paradigms and health research. In Mike Saks and Judith Allsop (Ed.), Researching health: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods (pp. 16-31) London: Sage. Bryman, A. 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