Sports and Entertainment Management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sports and Entertainment Management - Case Study Example Both companies had huge fixed costs to cover and working in their own capacities was proving insufficient to cover those costs. The decision to merge was brilliant as far as the financial performance is concerned. However, there were a myriad of issues to be dealt in this concern which were not easy to negotiate. Firstly, this was an undeniable fact that the two companies had been in a bitter competition over the past few years. There had been a feeling of animosity and it was not easy to get rid of it. Further, their policies and philosophies revolved around the same competition and their efforts had, so far, been largely oriented towards outdoing one another. Therefore, not only is there a need to merge their philosophies, there is also a need to create new philosophies according to which the amalgamated company was to work. However, the key personnel of both companies is mature enough to keep their eyes on the bigger picture. If the merger was the best solution to satisfy their pr ofit motive, they were prepared to go to the full distance. Secondly, Mark Redmond, the president and CEO of the new organization, has to make some big decisions regarding the staff. Redundant staff from both companies is to let go. At the same time, it is to be made sure that some of the staff, which is too essential to lose, is to be retained. It is natural in a merger that some employees prefer not to continue in the merged organization. It is probably because as soon as the news of a merger starts floating around, employees start a job search with more diligence than they normally do. Some of them even succeed in getting better job offers. There are certain employees that groom within a particular company and come to know about the operations of the company inside out. The element of acclimatization is too important to disregard. Such employees are too valuable to lose because new employees may come at the cost of valuable time. Further, it might take some additional cost to tra in the new employees. The merger in question is facing similar issues. They have to retain and integrate the personnel from the different companies. Integration is, of course, not an easy task either. The staffs had traditionally worked against each other and now they have to be harmonized. In this process, there is a great chance of losing momentum and having inconsistent standards. This in turn could have more adverse affects on the relationships with clients and the employees. Further complications arise when it comes to remunerations. While the remunerations at both companies for the respective staff were almost identical, XM Canada also had provisions for share ownership, options and change of control. This difference in the two companies was probably due to the fact that XM Canada was established as an independent company unlike SIRIUS Canada. This means that the remuneration scenario requires some serious decisions to create such a system in which all employees are remunerate d equally. Therefore, it can be seen that there are a lot of difficult things to manage during mergers. The companies in question belong to the field of radio broadcasting in Canada. They had significant differences in how they did their work. Their individual efforts had proved insufficient in the past and this is the primary reason of this merger. For instance, at XM Canada, the communication system was capable to develop the Canadian content for broadcast. On the other hand, SIRIUS Canada depended partly on Slaight Communications, who were also their investors, and partly on Canadian Broadcast Corporation for Canadian content. Further, XM Canada had developed and maintained its own communication and

EPA †Policy-making in the Federal System Essay Example for Free

EPA – Policy-making in the Federal System Essay The federal government enacted the Clean Air Act, so as to protect the citizens of the United States. At the same time Congress created the Environmental Protection Agency with its primary role of regulating and the enforcement of environmental policies at the state and tribal levels. A brief history on air pollution, in October 1928 in the industrial town of Donora Pennsylvania a thick cloud formed. This thick cloud lingered for five days, causing sickness in 6,000 and killing 20 of the town’s people. And in 1952, over 3,000 people died in London to what is known as the â€Å"Killer Fog†. These events alerted the federal government to the dangers that can come from air pollution and the public health issues that can arise from pollutants in the air. The original Clean Air Act of 1963 was passed, establishing funding for the study and cleaning of air pollution. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established and began operating on December 2, 1970. The EPA’s primary responsibility is enforcing and regulating the laws, these regulations and laws are for protecting the environment and public health. The EPA is a regulatory agency that Congress has authorizes to write regulation that explains the critical details that are necessary to implement environmental laws. (epa.gov/laws-regulation) The Clean Air Act 42 U.S.C.  §7401 et seq. (1970), regulated air emissions from stationary and mobile sources. With the approval of this Act the EPA was able to establish the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) which regulates emissions of hazardous air pollutants that can harm public health. The Energy Policy Act 42 USC  §13201 et seq. (2005) addressing energy  production in the United States, such as Energy efficiency; Renewable energy; Oil and gas; Coal; Nuclear matters; Vehicles and motor fuels. This Act provides loan guarantees for entities that develop or use inventive was that avoid producing greenhouse gases. Another provision of the Act increases the amount of biofuel that must be mixed with gasoline sold in the United States. (epa.gov/laws-regulation) America’s federal environmental laws set national standards, and on the condition that a state can shoulder the crucial task by enforcing these standards, they do by adopting laws that are as severe as the federal laws. Many states have assumed these responsibilities of enforcing the national standards by giving responsibility of specific programs throughout agencies within the state. The federal government is the overseer that enforces all cases and supervises the states’ activities while also monitoring state and the tribal operations of the Environmental Protection Agency programs. The Environmental Protection Agency supports the states and tribes to achieve effective enforcement and environmental compliance, and maintains support approved state programs through grant funds, and involvement. The Environmental Protection Agencies and state agencies make active efforts to educate the regulated community. A numerous compliance assistance tools have been put in place to help business, industry and state governments to conform to the environmental requirements. Web sites have been developed; hotlines, workshops, compliance training, fact sheets, and additional compliance guidelines are given to the regulated community. The Clean School Bus Program unites businesses, education, transportation, and public health organizations to encourage actions to stop the unnecessary idling of public schools busses. Modifying old schools busses with better emissions control technologies and proving cleaner fuels. The EPA is publishing a proposed rule designed to reduce air pollution, in 2017 the Tier 3 design would set new standards for vehicle emissions criteria and lessen the sulfur found in gasoline. This new rule would reduce tailpipe and evaporative emissions. The lower sulfur gasoline will improve  fuel economy by reducing gas consumption as well as reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency seeks to provide a healthy environment. By partnership-building with states and communities the reduction of environmental pollutants becomes a joint venture. References: Retrieved from: http://www2.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-energy-policy-act Retrieved from: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/documents/tier3/420f13016a.pdf Retrieved from: http://www.epa.gov/air/caa/peg/understand.html

Letter To Board :: essays research papers

I would like to commend the apparent effort of the Pulaski County Board of Education in their developing the new Drug/Alcohol Screening Program now in effect in both local high schools. I am grateful to see that some advance has been made to valorize the education process in our community. However, I am discouraged to see that the main focus of this program is centered around some of the most valued students in our schools. It is to my knowledge that this program is designed to screen students involved in extracurricular activities, including sports, and student drivers. Although I do believe that there is some sort of drug use within these groups, I do not feel that this is the epicenter of the school system’s problems. Most drug use and/or drug trafficking, I have heard of and/or witnessed has not come from any of the groups listed in your policy. I believe it makes sense that some athletes use performance enhancing drugs and/or alcohol, as do some student drivers and club participants, but I do not feel that this is the area of greatest concern to you. As I am aware of, drugs and alcohol cause a condition called demotivational syndrome, which is evident in frequent drug users. This syndrome causes a lack of motivation, followed by a decline in academic performance, followed by an ultimate decline in personal well being. Student athletes for example, are expected to maintain a rigorous practice schedule, as well as a certain grade point average, which is inconsistent with the symptoms and effects of demotivational syndrome. I believe that the greatest amount of victims of drugs and demotivational syndrome are not located in athletic or school programs, but inside the school itself. No drug user I k now of and may have been familiar with is involved with sports or extracurricular activities, nor would they choose to be. It is to my knowledge that no less than 10% of student participants in these activities will be randomly screened at any time. But, if the main drug use in schools isn’t in the activities department, but in the school itself, why couldn’t 10% of the total student body be screened? It appears to not only me but other members of the student body, that the school board tests members of athletic departments and certain extracurricular activities because they are concerned about the public image of our school system.

A Study in Scarlet Essay

The great author Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was born on the 22nd May 1859 in Edinburgh Scotland. He had graduated with a degree in medicine at Edinburgh University in 1881. His first short story was published in1879 however the first mystery featuring Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, ‘A Study in Scarlet’, was not until 1887. He had married twice and fathered five children. Conan Doyle had died in 1930. People are drawn to the Sherlock Holmes mystery as Conan Doyle is able to make the reader feel part of the story. The suspense and tension in his stories raise questions in the readers mind. This piece of course work will trace why Conan Doyle writings are popular in the 21st century. One key feature that helped the popularity of Sherlock Holmes stories is Conan Doyle’s use of language, style of writing and its simplicity. In the man with the twisted lip, Mr. Boone was a horrific looking beggar described as â€Å"a broad wheel from an old scar ran right across it from an old scar ran right across it from eye to chin, and by contraction had turned up one side of the upper lip, so that three teeth were exposed in a perpetual snarl. A shock of very bright red hair grew low over his eyes and forehead. † Conan Doyle’s use of descriptive language enables the reader to put together a picture of this revolting beggar. In the Red Headed League John Clay, also known as Vincent Spaulding, the criminal had asked to be called with respect â€Å"Have the goodness also, when you address me always say ‘sir’ and ‘please’. † The use of language to introduce humour can be picked up from such comments. Also the idea that a red headed man had died and he wanted to give his inheritance to any other red headed man. Conan Doyle starts to put questions in the readers mind ‘Why would someone want to do this? ‘ This seems virtually impossible and farfetched; such reference continually adds flavour to his writing. In the speckled band Dr. Roylott tried to threaten Sherlock Holmes and called him names â€Å"I know you, you scoundrel! I have heard of you before. You are Holmes, the meddler†¦ Holmes, the busybody†¦ Holmes the Scotland Yard Jack-In-Office†. Through dialogue we are able to deduce the character of Dr. Grimsby Roylott and his aggressive attitude towards people. The reader begins to understand why Helen stoner was afraid of her step father and had come to Holmes without his permission. Sherlock Holmes was able to speak fluent Latin â€Å"omne ignotum pro magnifico†; in the Victorian era you had to be well educated to be able to articulate a word of Latin. Conan Doyle has used this technique to show the reader Holmes accomplishments and status in society. Language plays a very important role in all Conan Doyle’s stories which in many ways have added to the never ending success. It has helped to transform the stories the stories into pleasant readings for a wide range of audiences. In all the stories a similar pattern seems to emerge which helps create the perfect recipe for a mystery. The stories unfold in the most unusual way leaving the reader intrigued up to the very end. The themes in Conan Doyle’s stories are directed towards acts of injustice, crimes, the clever villains and innocent victims; all spiced with greed. In the speckled band the victim was Helen stoner, who had come to seek help relating to the sudden death of her sister Julia. The villain to the readers surprise was Dr. Grimsby Roylott. Mrs. Stoner, mother of Helen and Julia Stoner, had received â€Å"not less than 1000 pounds a year† she gave this money to Dr. Roylott. â€Å"a certain annual sum should be allowed† to each daughter after marriage; due to Dr. Roylott’s selfish needs he was responsible for the death of Julia and attempt to murder Helen. In the red headed league Mr. Jabez Wilson had consulted Sherlock Holmes to look into an advert that seemed peculiar. Mr. Jabez Wilson had taken a job because it offered double a normal wage, â€Å"4 pound a week†. To the readers it seemed a shock that Vincent Spaulding, who was the loyal employee, had been the criminal John Clay. John clay had planned to steal the French napoleons from the bank. He was a con man â€Å"he’ll crack a crib in Scotland one week, and be raising money to build an orphanage in Cornwall the next. † In the man with the twisted lip Mrs. Neville StClair, the victim, had approached Holmes because she needed help finding her husband. Boone, the beggar, was able to earn â€Å"700 pounds a year† where as Mr. Neville StClair, a journalist, earned â€Å"two pounds a week. † Mr. Neville StClair was the victim of his own deeds as he was not able to meet the expectation of society within the Victorian era. In the 21st century many people are not able to find time to read long novels. Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories are short and simple to read, anyone can find time for them. You can pick up a story and read it on your way to work or school. The stories start in a similar way; we are first introduced to the innocent victims who are always reassured by Sherlock Holmes with his sympatric and caring nature and in most cases in the company of Dr. Watson. There is always a mention of the residence of Sherlock Holmes. This is to create a make believe situation in the readers mind. The setting is always dark and gloomy when the client comes to seek for advice; this gives a cosy and calm atmosphere. Conan Doyle was taught how to make deductions about patients by observing them closely; this skill was transferred to his stories and injected into his main character Sherlock Holmes. Holmes carries out his investigation using simple means. His use of knowledge allows him to give an insight in the red headed league. Vincent Spaulding had worked for half wage; he was always â€Å"diving down into the cellar like a rabbit† and he was the one who showed Mr. Jabez Wilson the advert. When Sherlock Holmes went to ask for directions, under pretence just to come in contact with the so called assistant Vincent Spaulding, he was reassuring himself that what he was thinking was actually possible. Holmes was able to conclude on the note that Vincent Spaulding and John Clay was the same person. Sherlock Holmes has a special essence which draws the reader towards him. Sherlock Holmes is known as one of the world’s greatest detectives. His mission was always to help gain justice for his clients. He is an individual who is never after money but more interested in solving the crime â€Å"my profession is its own reward†. He was a guardian angel to all and everyone had total trust in his skill. There are two sides of Holmes, one which is the never quitting crime solver and other which just likes to relax. He also has many weaknesses â€Å"cocaine injections and all the little weaknesses†. In these three stories Conan Doyle has used Watson to narrate the story. We are able to learn what is in the Dr. Watsons mind towards Holmes. John Watson is a very close friend and assistant of Holmes. He has full trust in friend’s skills and has the same thirst for mysteries as Holmes; â€Å"Your cases have indeed been of the greatest interest to me† The mystery in most cases concludes on the note that Sherlock Holmes has solved the case. In the speckled band Helen stoner was able to live without fear of her stepfather. This pattern of a constant happy ending allows the reader to look forward to the end and they know that they can always rely on Holmes. In the 21st century Conan Doyle still rubs shoulder with many other famous detective stories such as â€Å"murder she wrote† and â€Å"C. S. I†. None of them however can beat Sherlock Holmes!!! Conan Doyle has out done himself. The Sherlock Holmes stories are suitable for all age groups. Worldwide he is an accomplished writer as the stories have been translated into over 60 different languages. Even today the famous residence 221b baker street is still known as the fictional home of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Now it is the site of the Sherlock Holmes museum. Such tributes have helped keep the stories alive to date. Neelam Hirani Page 1 Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Miscellaneous section.

The Role of Women in Perfume and the Assault

The Role of Women in Perfume and The Assault In most cases, women are portrayed either as mother, lovers or people that fulfill men’s sexual needs. Both Perfume by Patrick Suskind and The Assault by Harry Mulisch is no exception. However, the reader might notice that in both novels women are portrayed in a flat, two-dimensional way and yet, paradoxically, have a significant symbolic value. The women of these novels seem to project the protagonists’ needs for these kinds of love and without them the novel would not exist. Therefore, they are not important for who they are, but rather for what they represent- the maternal and sexual love for men. In The Assault, Anton’s mother barely appears in the novel and yet we can notice how her subtly strong character had left a mark on Anton’s life. Her importance lays in what she represents in his childhood memory- a strong woman who is the core of the family. â€Å" †¦ She had a cavity in her tooth that could not be treated just then; to relieve the pain she had found a leftover clove in the kitchen to put on the sore spot, just as her mother and grandmother used to do. She sat up straight, but her husband across the table was bent over, reading a book. † (Mulish,10) Though this is a little detail that Mulisch had added, it characterizes her by inferring that she was strong. A contributing factor could be the setting of the novel. They were in time of war and the circumstances force her to be strong. We can also see a contrast between the mother and the father, the father was bending while she was sitting straight up. This infers that she was the more dominant figure. Therefore, even though Anton had lost both parents. The reader notices that Anton later on seeks Truus and Saskia to replace her, but does not search for anyone to replace his father. Truus who is also barely appears in the novel is a proof of how Anton never fully recovered of losing his mother. She was present in a time where he needed her affection. However, she is like a bridge to Anton between maternal and sexual love. â€Å"He touched her fingers; she took hold of his hand and pulled him close. On the cot she embraced him with one arm and with her other hand pressed his head against her breast. She smelled of sweat but also of something sweetish that he couldn’t identify. Perhaps it was perfume. † (Mulish, 32). Though she represents security and love like his mother did to him. The word choice by Mulisch insinuates Anton’s sexual awakening. The fact that they are on a ‘cot’ or a bed highlights the intimacy. She embraced him like a mother would embrace her child, however the focus on her ‘breasts’ arouses sexual feelings in Anton which he will realize later on in his life. Moreover, in the absence of light and presence of complete darkness, Anton cannot use his sight that is where the tactile and olfactory sense becomes heightened. This causes the scene to be more intense in the reader’s head. Saskia who is Anton’s first wife is also a two dimensional character in the book that is only present as Anton’s image of Truss. When Anton grows up he realizes that Truus was more than a mother figure to him. â€Å"There was nothing wrong with Saskia’s looking like the idea of Truus. Truus had under these circumstances, aroused an image in his mind to which Saskia seemed to respond, and that was fine, for it was not Truus’s image, but his own, and where it came from was unimportant†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Mulish, 131) The use of the word ‘aroused’ has a sexual connotation which came from the fact he felt intimacy in the dark and as a young boy, though unconsciously this intimacy aroused something inside him. Truus became like a fantasy of love that he perused. Saskia represents that love that he needed. Moreover, the addition of ‘under the circumstances’ insinuates that at the previous moment Anton needed certain affection which was in a form of a mother. However, now he needs it in a non-platonic form. This is where it shows that Anton never wholly recovered from losing his mother. As Sigmund Freud’s theory suggests, a man unconsciously marries a mother figure. Therefore, since Truus seemed to represent a mother figure and Saskia is his image of Truus, the mother figure in this novel is linked with romantic interest. Due to all the events that had happened to Anton, the woman he encounters in the dark (Truus) embodies his need for courageous, maternal and erotic love. This makes the two dimensional character Saskia, a symbol for his erotic desire. Anton in this passage is trying to reassure himself that where Saskia’s image came from is ‘unimportant’, however later on the readers realize that it actually does matter to him as they get divorced. Similarly to The Assault, the women in Perfume are portrayed very superficially and like Sasika, they represent erotic love. Although Grenouille seems uninterested in sex, there are many sexual parallels. In passages where Grenouille smells the women, Suskind describes it very sexually. â€Å"†¦ he (Grenouille) tore off her dress, and the stream of scent became a flood that inundated him its fragrance. He thrust his face to her skin and wept his flared nostrils across her, from belly to breast, to neck, over her face and hair.. †¦ down her genitals, to her thighs and white legs. † (Suskind, 45). Suskind uses imagery to form an image the reader’s mind. Like Mulisch did in the scene where Anton meets Truus, Suskind highlights the olfactory sense rather than others. This makes us smell the women and almost feel Grenouille’s sensation. He describes the power of the scent as a flood of water that moves towards Grenouille and floods him. He is completely taken over by it as if it were sexual feelings. However, he has no interest in the girl herself, but rather what she possesses. Here is where he parallels to Anton, who is not interested in whom Truus was but in what she represents to him. Stripping the females from their scent degrades them and reveals how Grenouille, like Anton, extracts what he needs of the woman and forgets about her as a whole. The remains of the females, which are their individualities, are forgotten like dead flower petals. â€Å"They lay on the surface for a moment, like eyes facing instant death, and lost all the color the moment the spatula pushed them down into the warm, oily embrace. †¦And it was not that the dead blossoms continued to give off scent there in the oil – no, the oil itself had appropriated the scent of the blossoms. † (Suskind, 181). This is the processes that Grenouille uses to steal scents from girls. Therefore, the blossoms here are a metaphor for the girls. This insinuates that they are only important for their scent which pleases Grenouille. The rest of the girl, which is her personality and her individuality all lies insignificantly on the surface ‘like eyes facing instant death’. Suskind continues to say how the blossoms had lost their color the moment Grenouille pushed the spatula. Sine color is what makes them beautiful it is insinuated that when Grenouille steals their scents, they are no longer beautiful for their inner selves. This makes Grenouille selfish. Anton and him extract what they need from the women and forget about her a whole. They do this to replace love that they were deprived of in their childhood. Like Anton Grenouille is deprived of his mother’s love and losing her has had a crucial impact on him. Since there is a thin line between different kinds of love, Grenouille, who is missing maternal love projects his needs in a sexual way. HE steals the essence of women for his own personal pleasure. â€Å"They lay on the surface for a moment, like eyes facing instant death, and lost all the color the moment the spatula pushed them down into the warm, oily embrace. And it was not that the dead blossoms continued to give off scent there in the oil – no, the oil itself had appropriated the scent of the blossoms. †(Suskind, 181) The use of specific time emphasizes the extent of Grenouille’s love- with the scent. Smell is always a strong sense that people associate with people they care for. It is intimate. Therefore it seems like non-platonic love. Moreover, the fact that Suskind writ es that Grenouille is not in love with the girl, but the scent emphasizes how Grenouille, like Anton uses women to project his needs. In conclusion, both Mulisch and Suskind do not show any effort in making the reader know the female characters deeply. Some women even remain unnamed for the whole novel! However, their presence is extremely crucial for the protagonists. Women are a projection of men’s needs. Some people may be offended when noticing such aspects of the portrayal of women in these two novels. There are two interpretations to why the authors portrayed the women that way. They could be either critiquing society for objectifying women or this portrayal reflects the authors’ own opinions

How did the gold rushes change colonial Australia

How did the gold rushes change colonial Australia In the history of nations that throve on the territories of North America and Australia, the nineteenth century is marked by a series of gold rushes that forever changed the ways of development in economical as well as political and social spheres.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on How did the gold rushes change colonial Australia? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Although in Australia minor gold deposits had been discovered already in early nineteenth century, it was only in the 1850s that mass hysteria and search for gold started, acquiring the name of the Victorian gold rush, after the state most abundant in gold. The events connected with the Victorian gold rush transformed colonial Australia by dramatically increasing its population, restructuring the economic system, and promoting a new sense of identity among the nation. The first and the most obvious transformation Australia underwent as a result of the 1850s g old rush was the immense growth of the population quantity due to immigration rates. Rumors of Australian gold spread in the twinkling of an eye, and the white Australian population which had comprised only 77 thousand people before 1851, rapidly increased by over 370 thousand in only the first year of the rush and constituted 540 thousand people by 1854 (Gold Oz, n. d.). More settlers arrived to Australia in the several beginning years of the Victorian gold rush than there were prisoners brought to the continent from Britain. By the year 1871, Australian population had trebled from 430,000 in 1851 to 1.7 million in 1871 (Australian Government Culture Portal, 2007). Such dramatic increase in population quantity had its consequences both for the economic and political life of Australia. Large-scale immigration brought about the ever-growing need of Australian population for developing agriculture, manufacturing, and construction industries. On the other hand, those industries faced h ard times due to the fact that laborers fled to the areas where gold was discovered and thus left their work unattended. Agriculture was in fact one of the spheres most negatively affected by the events of the Victorian gold rush. For one thing, tillers inspired by perspectives of fast enrichment, left their farms behind, abandoning the land for the sake of gold mining. Other farmers switched their production from wheat to meat and tallow, which were more in demand in the domestic market (Attard, 2008). For another thing, sheep wool which had been Australia’s major export product in the first half of the nineteenth century, was replaced by gold, since the latter appeared a more attractive and valuable source of enrichment for the British Empire (Attard, 2008).Advertising Looking for essay on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In reply to the incredible wealth shipped by Australia, the country profited fr om a large amount of imports and business investment to it (Gold Oz, n. d.). The two major states where the largest deposits of gold had been discovered, Victoria and New South Wales enjoyed an improved system of transportation with the building of the first railroad, and the rudimentary mining techniques were quickly optimized to more modern capital-intensive forms of gold-mining by large companies (Cultural Heritage Unit, 2010). Together with economic benefits, Australian gold rush brought about a number of serious developmental issues to the country. With the land overcrowded by hundreds of thousands of new migrants, it was vital to provide people with appropriate living conditions. For this purpose, large-scale building projects were launched that satisfied the need for housing for the generation of the gold-diggers and their children later on, in the 1880s. The impulse in technology given by the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s helped Australia survive the severe economic depre ssion of the late nineteenth century (Attard, 2008). Simultaneously with economic development, population expansion during the gold rush inspired major social and political changes in the nineteenth-century Australia. The people who arrived to the country were no more exclusively criminals. Rather, the colony was seen as a land of new opportunities, and therefore the practice of providing criminals with a free ticket to wealth was ceased. Not only the British, but also German, French, Italian, and even American people came to seek luck in the gold mines of Australia (Gold Oz, n. d.). This turned the country into a multinational ‘melting pot’ distinguished by diversity of men united by a common ambitious idea of coining their own happiness. Huge masses of people demanded new way of organization and government that would correspond to the newly-arisen sense of being in control of their own destiny and building a self-governed democratic state. Principles of fair treatment and camaraderie led the new Australians to forming small mining clans which in the 1852 Eureka Stockade won the case against unfair mining licensing system. Two years later, another major rebellion resulted in giving the right to vote to the miners, providing more opportunities for buying land, and reforming the administration of goldfields (Gold Oz, n.d.). These events marked the birth of Australian democracy. Australian gold rush of the nineteenth century proved to provide a major impulse for developments both in economic and social spheres of the country. The drastic increase in population caused by mass immigration of the 1850s spurred not only technological innovations but also the establishments of democracy in the land that is now known for unprecedented cooperation and mutual support among its citizens.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on How did the gold rushes change colonial Australia? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn Mo re Reference List Attard, Bernard. 2008. â€Å"The Economic History of Australia from 1788: An Introduction†. EH.Net Encyclopedia, edited by Robert Whaples. Web. Australian Government Culture Portal. 2007. The Australian Gold Rush. Web. Cultural Heritage Unit. 2010. Electronic Encyclopedia of Gold in Australia. Web. Gold Oz. n. d. The History of Gold in Australia. Web.

Free Essays on Parkinsons Disease

Parkinson’s Disease 1. Parkinson’s Disease is a progressive, chronic, debilitating disorder of the central nervous system that affects many people. Early symptoms of Parkinson’s disease can be as understated as an arm that doesn’t swing naturally when walking or slight tremors in the fingers on one hand. Another early symptom can be the occurrence of a low, mumbling verbal communication that may be testing to comprehend. One may experience a deficiency of energy, feel depressed, and have trouble sleeping. Some other symptoms of Parkinson’s are tremors, which can begin with a minor shaking in one finger that may later proliferate to the whole arm; muscle tautness in limbs and neck; shortage of automatic movements such as blinking and smiling. One may also experience sluggish motion, which may cause a slow, shuffling walk with an uneven way of walking and a bent posture. Several muscles may become immobilized. Functioning of the digestive tract may retard, bringing about p roblems with swallowing and digestion. 2. Sally Smith, a 63 year old woman from Long Island, went to the doctors because she was experiencing strange symptoms. She was a high school physical education teacher who was experiencing difficulties both in the classroom and at home. She felt her job was compromised by some unknown cause. What had always been easy for her to do was becoming harder. Her speech had deteriorated and it was difficult for her students to understand what she was saying. She was also experiencing muscle stiffness in her limbs. She had developed a stooped posture and an unsteady gait. As a result of these symptoms, her physician took down her medical history, which included a hysterectomy 5 years ago, observed her symptoms and completed a neurological examination including an evaluation of her coordination, completion of simple dexterity tasks and an evaluation of Sally’s walking. As a result of these tests and Sally’s past... Free Essays on Parkinsons Disease Free Essays on Parkinsons Disease Parkinson’s Disease 1. Parkinson’s Disease is a progressive, chronic, debilitating disorder of the central nervous system that affects many people. Early symptoms of Parkinson’s disease can be as understated as an arm that doesn’t swing naturally when walking or slight tremors in the fingers on one hand. Another early symptom can be the occurrence of a low, mumbling verbal communication that may be testing to comprehend. One may experience a deficiency of energy, feel depressed, and have trouble sleeping. Some other symptoms of Parkinson’s are tremors, which can begin with a minor shaking in one finger that may later proliferate to the whole arm; muscle tautness in limbs and neck; shortage of automatic movements such as blinking and smiling. One may also experience sluggish motion, which may cause a slow, shuffling walk with an uneven way of walking and a bent posture. Several muscles may become immobilized. Functioning of the digestive tract may retard, bringing about p roblems with swallowing and digestion. 2. Sally Smith, a 63 year old woman from Long Island, went to the doctors because she was experiencing strange symptoms. She was a high school physical education teacher who was experiencing difficulties both in the classroom and at home. She felt her job was compromised by some unknown cause. What had always been easy for her to do was becoming harder. Her speech had deteriorated and it was difficult for her students to understand what she was saying. She was also experiencing muscle stiffness in her limbs. She had developed a stooped posture and an unsteady gait. As a result of these symptoms, her physician took down her medical history, which included a hysterectomy 5 years ago, observed her symptoms and completed a neurological examination including an evaluation of her coordination, completion of simple dexterity tasks and an evaluation of Sally’s walking. As a result of these tests and Sally’s past... Free Essays on Parkinsons Disease Title: Parkinson’s disease General Purpose: To make my audience aware of Parkinson’s disease and allow them to gain some knowledge on the subject. Pattern of Organization: Topical order. Introduction: Imagine having resting and postural tremors, muscle slowness of movement, and postural imbalance to deal with on a daily basis, Well, that’s what people suffering from the crippling disease known as Parkinson’s. Thesis/central idea: I’m going to explain a little about the Parkinson’s disease, tell the stories of some famous Parkinson’s sufferers, and the tell you where we are at right now on dealing with the disease and trying to find a cure.. Establish credibility: I’ve read through numerous articles and books on the disease and have found many interesting facts. I. A. Parkinson’s disease is defined by as a disorder of the brain characterized by shaking and difficulty while walking, movement, and coordination. B. The disease is associated with damage to a part of the brain that controls muscle movement. C. Parkinson's disease was first described in England in 1817 by James Parkinson. The disease affects approximately 2 out of 1,000 people, and most often develops after age 50. It affects both men and women and is one of the most common neurologic disorders of the elderly. D. Some alternative names for Parkinson’s disease include paralysis agitans or shaking palsy. E. Parkinson's disease is caused by the deterioration of the nerve cells of the part of the brain that controls muscle movement. Deterioration of this area of the brain reduces the amount of dopamine available to the body. Without dopamine, the nerve cells cannot properly transmit messages, and this results in the loss of muscle function. In addition to the loss of muscle control, some people with Parkinson's disease become severely depressed. Although early loss of mental capacities is uncommon, with severe Parkinson's the person may exhib...

Parentheses

Parentheses Parentheses Parentheses By Mark Nichol Parentheses serve several specific functions, but their general purpose is to set a grammatical unit of content off from the surrounding text. The parenthesized material can range from a single letter, numeral, or other symbol to an entire sentence. (Because enclosing more than one complete sentence in parentheses overextends the digression, it is not recommended.) Here is a summary of ways to deploy parentheses. First, a definition of terms: Parenthesis denotes a single parenthetical mark, but it can also refer to a digression, interlude, or interval enclosed in parentheses or other pairs of punctuation marks, such as commas, dashes, or brackets. The first of two parenthetical marks is an open parenthesis, and the second is a close parenthesis. The pair together are called parentheses. A parenthesis of an entire sentence can be inserted within another sentence, but omit a period after the parenthesized sentence (However, an exclamation point or question mark is acceptable!) to avoid confusion. (A complete sentence may also follow the terminal punctuation of the preceding sentence; in that case, include a period- or another terminal punctuation mark- immediately before the close parenthesis.) An incomplete sentence within parentheses is not punctuated with a period, but, again, an exclamation point or question mark is allowed. When providing an explanation or an example, the additional information can be enclosed in parentheses. Note in the following sentence how a parenthesis of a parenthesis should be formatted. (The abbreviations e.g. [â€Å"for example†] and i.e. [that is†] generally precede such information in formal and scholarly prose; in more casual contexts, the phrases are employed.) This is general American English style; British English style (and legal style and style for some other contexts) is parentheses within parentheses. Parentheses enclose the abbreviation of an acronym or initialism after the spelled-out name of an agency, company, or organization to inform the reader about how the entity will be identified on subsequent references: â€Å"The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded in 1909.† (Note that the article the is not repeated in the parenthesis, but it should precede the initialism when it appears again.) Parentheses are used to enclose a note when a reader is directed to a cross-reference or when a writer glosses (presents a brief definition of) a term, provides a citation for a quotation or a fact or figure, points out that he or she has used italics to emphasize part of a quoted passage, or otherwise annotates a quotation. Note that the location of the parenthesis in the following sentence is awkward: â€Å"Consider whether a ‘risk expert’ should serve on the committee (i.e., someone with a background in risk management or oversight relevant to the nature of the organization’s operations).† Parenthesized annotation, just like additional information enclosed in a pair of commas or dashes, should immediately follow the relevant word or phrase, as here: â€Å"Consider whether a ‘risk expert’ (i.e., someone with a background in risk management or oversight relevant to the nature of the organization’s operations) should serve on the committee.† Back-to-back parenthesis is acceptable, but this can be avoided by combining two pieces of information into one parenthesis divided by a semicolon or by reorganizing the framing text to separate the two parenthetical comments. When the items in a run-in list (a list appearing within a sentence rather than formatted vertically) are numbered, they should be enclosed in a pair of parentheses (not with a close parenthesis only)- as in â€Å"The three types of rocks are (1) igneous, (2) metamorphic, and (3) sedimentary†- but numbering is seldom necessary. Use parentheses in moderation; excessive deployment of the symbols can give text a cluttered appearance (note their ubiquity in this post) and result in an obstacle-ridden narrative flow. Often, a pair of commas will suffice in their place, and dashes are appropriate when abruptly interjecting additional information, especially when the writer wants to give an impression of sudden interruption rather than unassuming interpolation. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:15 Terms for Those Who Tell the FutureBroadcast vs Broadcasted as Past FormEpidemic vs. Pandemic vs. Endemic

Pearson's hard soft acid base theory in bioinorganic Term Paper

Pearson's hard soft acid base theory in bioinorganic - Term Paper Example The theory implies that soft acids tend to bind to soft bases and hard acids to hard bases. An increase in the electronegativity of an element or ligand causes an increase in the polarizability; this in turn increases hardness. The theory is useful in predicting the pathways of chemical reactions. The chemical conditions in which a hard or soft base or acid in put in can cause the hardness (or softness) characteristics of the acid or base to change. Therefore, borderline elements and ligands might increase or decrease in hardness or softness depending on the chemical conditions. Because of this reason, the metals in various metalloenzymes may be subjected to chemical conditions that might alter their hardness or softness properties. Enzymes with metals that exhibit Pearson’s hard and soft acids and bases theory include: 1) Urease This is an enzyme with nickel at its active site found in many species of bacteria, algae, plants (such as Jack Bean) and invertebrates. It plays a k ey role in the catalytic hydrolysis of urea to form ammonia and carbon dioxide as pre the equation below: Urease in Jack Bean has a single catalytic unit made up of an ?-subunit that has the active site with a dimeric nickel center. One of the two Ni atoms (Ni-1) coordinates to histidine via the nitrogen atoms and a water molecule. The second Ni atom (Ni-2) is similarly coordinated to histidine via the N atoms, two water molecules and to aspartic acid via the O atom. Mechanism: There are several mechanisms that explain how urease works. These include: a) Zerner mechanism In this, a carbonyl oxygen in urea attacks one of the water ligands attached to Ni-1. A nitrogen atom in the urea molecule donates its lone pair electrons to a carbon atom forming an N=C bond (Dixon, Riddles and Blakeley). This then reacts with a carboxylate ion. A base-catalyzed deprotonation of one –OH ligand on Ni then occurs. The resultant electronegative O attacks the carbonyl carbon. The N=C bond initia lly formed donates two electrons to the nitrogen, cancelling out the charge on it. The intermediate carbon formed with a coordination of 4 is then broken down by a sulfhydryl group. Ammonia is released when the C-N bond is broken after an H atom bonds to the N. This occurs alongside the breaking of the bond between the octahedral nickel and oxygen. A carbamate ion coordinated to the Ni is then formed. Water displaces the carbamate. The resultant carbamate then degenerates to yield carbonic acid and urea. b) Mangani mechanism This mechanism stipulates that both Ni-1 and Ni-2 take part in the reaction. The first atom, Ni-1, binds to urea, causing its activation. The second, Ni-2 binds to a water molecule, causing its activation (Benini, Rypniewski and Wilson). Ni-1 is in a five-coordinate formation, bound to urea via a carbonyl O atom. The distance between the two Ni atoms is reduced by the movement of the urea molecule towards Ni-2. The relatively low Lewis base property of NH2 in ur ea makes it a poor chelating ligand. Its high basicity however, enables the binding to Ni to occur. 2) Carbon monoxide dehydrogenase This is a nickel-based enzyme found in various bacteria. The enzyme plays a role in the catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide to form carbon dioxide as per the equation below: There are two classes of carbon monoxide hydrogenase enzymes: one has a Mo-[Fe2-S2] active site and the other a Ni-[Fe3-S4]

Personal Development Plan for the Next Five Years Essay

Personal Development Plan for the Next Five Years - Essay Example ement) For my personal analysis, I used the Myers-Brigg personal indicator and the VARK learning styles assessment. Myers-Briggs assessed me as a INTJ, Introverted, focusing on my inner world, Intuitive, one who interprets and adds meaning to data, Thinking, one who depends on logic and consistency, and Judging, one who prefers things to be settledhttp://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/. The Myers-Brigg type indicator is based on C.G. Jung’s psychological character theory that classifies individuals by their introverted and extroverted attitudes as fundamental orientations to the subjective world around them (MacCrae & Costa, March 1989). Myers-Briggs used Jung as their starting point and created 16 types of attitudes and preferences to measure personality types. The MBTI measures our preference for 1) interacting with one another, 2) gathering information, 3) making decisions about what we experience, and 4) controlling ourselves and the world around us (Nicholson, 24 June 2011). Extroversion or Introversion(Energy Orientation)   According to Quenk,extroverts get their energy from the outer world of people and objects.(Quenk, 2009) Extroverts are social and outgoing, build attachments quickly and share ideas readily; introverts are personality opposites of extroverts. This type of personality is satisfied and feels energized when they spend a time alone or with a close friend.(Quenk,2009).According to Watkins,these type personalities think before they speak, are not always self-confident and are reserved and introspective(Watkins,1999).   According to my MBTI result I'm clearly the introverted personality type (84% introversion vs. 16% extroversion).The result of the first step was not surprising for me. I have been criticized many times about being introverted, but the significant way to analyze me is by giving an example about my friends and our meetings. As a friends group, we usually meet in numbers of three or four peop le and avoid activities that require interaction with other people. We prefer going to the cinema rather than talking in a pub. Even when we are giving a party we invite people that we know very well, rather than groups of strangers or classmates. According to these examples I am an introverted personality type.   Sensing and Intuition (Learning Process)   By Sensing we gather information using our five senses; Sensing is based on details of the environment surrounding us (Quenk,2009).Intuition is assimilation of ideas and theories by focusing less to the details in environment (Joyce). People who prefer sensing like problems with standard solutions, they are more realistic, practical and more interested in things happening (Bayne, 1997). Intuitive people are more futuristic, impatient to routine and they like to see the big picture (Bayne,1997).   Results of the MBTI showed that my learning style is more close to the intuitive type (intuition 74% vs. sensing 26%).   When I get bored from a book,to entertain myself I open the book at random and try to relate the events to one another then attempt to figure out the ending of the book. Sometimes I ignore details aboutan object and assign a metaphorical meaning to the story. I agree that I prefer intuition but I am questioning the high percentage that was portrayed in my evaluation. When I solve problems I

Potential Benefits and Risks of Deeper Globalization for Guidia Assignment

Potential Benefits and Risks of Deeper Globalization for Guidia - Assignment Example This essay declares that globalization therefore is considered as multi-disciplinary in nature with its roots in politics, economics, technology, sociology etc. It is however, critical to understand that major emphasis of globalization is through the economic integration where economies integrate with each other through free and unrestricted trade. As a result of this trade, not only technological transfer becomes possible but more foreign direct investment also arrives. As a result of these changes, economic growth can actually quicken. This paper stresses that term globalization has emerged during 1960s however it was during so called roaring nineties that it started to take the serious public attention. Over the period of time, the early literature on globalization however gave it a connotation that globalization is actually westernization vs. the rest including nationalism etc. Post 9/11 scenarios have made this impression much stronger with globalization taking different meanings and assumptions. The emergence of rationalism as a major framework for knowledge is considered as the first element which encouraged the development of globalization. Over the period of time, rational decision making has made it more important for nations and societies to actually expand their activities in order to grow and evolve. Capitalism is another important factor which has actually made it mandatory for producers to actually look for new markets to increase their sales volumes. Under capitalist ideology, producers of the goods a nd services actually attempt to obtain more therefore in pursuit of profits, firms attempt to expand globally. (Scholte, 2002) Technological innovation is another important factor which has resulted into the globalization. Rapid changes in the communication technologies, transport as well as other technologies have allowed better integration of economies across the globe. It is however, important to note that the changes in the way capitalism have progressed and emergence of rational thinking has actually created a social order which has fostered the technological innovation. Technological innovation therefore is considered as the result of capitalist development and rational thinking. Globalization however, gained more momentum with the spread of technological innovation. Supportive regulatory framework has also resulted into the creation and speeding up of globalization also. Supportive regulatory frameworks have actually eased out the entry and exit barriers thus allowing domesti c as well as international firms to become more proactive in entering into and maintaining their presence in the global market. Supportive framework however, has been made possible only due to the economic development and r

Information Systems supporting the Department of Human Services Assignment

Information Systems supporting the Department of Human Services - Assignment Example Basically, organizations are segmented into different departments. Further, these departments are specified according to their roles and functions as well as these functions on a broader dimension are further supported by other business processes that shape overall structure of an organization. Now, it is very important for us to understand the role of Information System as a basic component in an organization as it enhances the abilities and adds value not only to an organization but also to its customers. The use of Information System mainly depends on the nature and the needs that are required to be addressed in meeting the objectives within an organization. It is worth mentioning that an organization is comprised of different systems which are inter-related with each other as well as the role of effective information and its usage among these systems is directly associated with the process of quick decision making. It is highly imperative for the organizations around the world to establish an effective and more comprehensive Information System that would help them in achieving their goals with increased work efficiency. TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents: Introduction: 3 Business Process of the Functional Area: 4 Creating Financial Statements: 5 Financial Operations: 6 Financial operations work on the basis of these statements as these statements show the performance and the financial needs of the organization. This also helps the organization to evaluate the potential of their operations and their financial capability that would further assist them in generating more funds and fulfilling its needs and other requirements. Financial operations estimate the potential or other possible resources through which they can generate funds. -Investing cash: 6 INFORMATION SYSTEMS: 6 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems: 7 Management Information Systems: 9 List of References: 11 4-Samuel, M. (2010), â€Å"The Direct Link between Business Results and Organizational Cultu re†, viewed on 17 July 2011, 11 6-Kehinde, T. (2010), â€Å"Effective Information System† viewed on 17 July 2011, 12 8-Business Local Listing, (2009), â€Å"Advantages of Business Process Outsourcing† viewed on 17 July 2011, 12 APPENDICES 12 Introduction: To understand the importance and functioning of an Information System, it is very important for one to understand the structure of an organization. An organization consists of different groups and departments working together for achieving an organization’s goals and objectives. Organizations can be classified on the basis of their goals and structure. However, we cannot deny the fact that a balanced synchronization within the different departments and systems leads to smoother operations which results in overall success of the organization in the long-run. Functional Area: Basically, organizations are consisted of the functional areas which are inter-lined with each other as well as they are also respo nsible for achieving the goals of an organization (Jiang 2009, p.156). In large organizations, it is easy to differentiate between functional areas as they operate in

Research Summary and Ethical Considerations Essay

Research Summary and Ethical Considerations - Essay Example Many suspected that the cause of disease is because of lack of knowledge of the hospital personnel like the nurses and doctors. The disease being highly contagious can lead to many cases within a short period. I will do a research on the Texas Children Hospital to find out the number of children that have measles. I will also analyze the level of knowledge of nurses and doctors to account for the increased prevalence of the disease. Background of study Problem The chief problem that has increased level of patients under five years having measles is ignorance. This is because the new nurses and doctors have not experienced children that have the measles infection. This is because for, a long time, the disease in Boston has been nonexistent because of vaccination (Fabes & Martin, 2008). Therefore, the doctors cannot correctly diagnose the disease as measles. Again, the new doctors and nurses do not know the importance of issuing vaccines to children. This is because they have just lear ned about the diseases in medical schools but have never treated a child with the disease to know how it is serious. Significance The significance of the study is to enlighten the nurses on the danger of neglecting these reduced but acutely dangerous diseases. By doing this, the study aims at improving the attention nurses pay on children by ensuring that all receive their vaccinations (Thomas, 2003). Purpose The study aims at ensuring the prevalence of measles does not increase as this will ultimately increase the mortality rate of children less than five years. Objectives This reading aims at assessing the knowledge level of measles of nurses and doctors in the Texas Children Hospital. HA- There is positive relation existing between the knowledge level of measles and the increased prevalence of measles in Texas Children Hospital, Boston. Concepts Vaccination- this is when an individual is given antigens that trigger the immune system to create protection from a specific disease. M edical personnel- this are qualified people who work in a health facility to ensure that patients are treated and taken care of. Method of study The study will be a qualitative research where the observations found will be expressed in words. This is most appropriate when the data required cannot be expressed numerically. An example is like the attitude of nurses and doctors towards vaccinating children below 5 years. Research Design The study will use a cross sectional study design as it is most appropriate. This is because it will show knowledge of people on the measles disease as well as the importance of vaccination against it. Sample The approximate number of children who come for measles vaccination in the Texas Children Hospital is 425. The sample will target 129 children who will be used in the study. I was able to find the sample size to use in the study by using the following formula. D=G Where D is the desired sample size; G is the standard normal deviation at 95% confide nce level. S is the number of children who have vaccination against measles. b is 1-S, and f is the level of statistical significance set. H=Z?Sb/f? To substitute the symbols with values enables one to find the estimated population size. H= (1.96)? (0.14) (0.86)/ (0.05)? (The number found is divided by the estimated value of the number of children who received vaccination from the hospital.) H=40 Therefore, the sample size that the study will use will be forty children to

Information Systems supporting the Department of Human Services Assignment

Information Systems supporting the Department of Human Services - Assignment Example Basically, organizations are segmented into different departments. Further, these departments are specified according to their roles and functions as well as these functions on a broader dimension are further supported by other business processes that shape overall structure of an organization. Now, it is very important for us to understand the role of Information System as a basic component in an organization as it enhances the abilities and adds value not only to an organization but also to its customers. The use of Information System mainly depends on the nature and the needs that are required to be addressed in meeting the objectives within an organization. It is worth mentioning that an organization is comprised of different systems which are inter-related with each other as well as the role of effective information and its usage among these systems is directly associated with the process of quick decision making. It is highly imperative for the organizations around the world to establish an effective and more comprehensive Information System that would help them in achieving their goals with increased work efficiency. TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents: Introduction: 3 Business Process of the Functional Area: 4 Creating Financial Statements: 5 Financial Operations: 6 Financial operations work on the basis of these statements as these statements show the performance and the financial needs of the organization. This also helps the organization to evaluate the potential of their operations and their financial capability that would further assist them in generating more funds and fulfilling its needs and other requirements. Financial operations estimate the potential or other possible resources through which they can generate funds. -Investing cash: 6 INFORMATION SYSTEMS: 6 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems: 7 Management Information Systems: 9 List of References: 11 4-Samuel, M. (2010), â€Å"The Direct Link between Business Results and Organizational Cultu re†, viewed on 17 July 2011, 11 6-Kehinde, T. (2010), â€Å"Effective Information System† viewed on 17 July 2011, 12 8-Business Local Listing, (2009), â€Å"Advantages of Business Process Outsourcing† viewed on 17 July 2011, 12 APPENDICES 12 Introduction: To understand the importance and functioning of an Information System, it is very important for one to understand the structure of an organization. An organization consists of different groups and departments working together for achieving an organization’s goals and objectives. Organizations can be classified on the basis of their goals and structure. However, we cannot deny the fact that a balanced synchronization within the different departments and systems leads to smoother operations which results in overall success of the organization in the long-run. Functional Area: Basically, organizations are consisted of the functional areas which are inter-lined with each other as well as they are also respo nsible for achieving the goals of an organization (Jiang 2009, p.156). In large organizations, it is easy to differentiate between functional areas as they operate in

Media Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Media Review - Essay Example ocial policy begun in 2011 through the aid of the digital internet transition who’s aim was to come up with new opportunities that have continually led the innovative forms of investigative journalism. As a result, Ai Media for the past two years have continuously embarked on diligently using the social media (Face Book, Twitter and YouTube) to reach out and share information with regard to the deaf and hearing impaired in the US community. In essence, the company focus more on the disabled persons, and how they should also be given a chance in participating in this company and the products that the company provides. In response, the company continually welcomes feedbacks and suggestions regarding such reactions and comments that are given out by all participants (Flynn 4). Of importance to note is that, Ai-Media has certain principles and guidelines that the company uses in ensuring their media policy remain an efficient tool of communication. To begin with, this social policy ensures that the concept of the community is well understood in terms of giving support to either side (clientele and the company). Secondly, contents found on the social media are friendly to the clientele and further embrace the presence of opinion diversity. This must go in line with the materials that are posted on the social media, the audience involved and the judgement that the company gives. In addition, Ai-Media is conscious and transparent of their intention. Basically, the company is sensitive on placing posts on individual clientele or organisation regarding their nationality, gender, sexual preference, disability and any other related issues. According to Flynn (4), it is worth mentioning that, the social policy must be in a position to assist the concerned persons. In this case, the Ai-Media is mainly concerned with a particular group of people –the disabled (hearing impaired and deaf) thus bringing value as would be expected. In the

Electronic Health Record Essay Example for Free

Electronic Health Record Essay In the proposed scenario, a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) with a Post-Masters Nursing Informatics Certificate has decided that the 100 bed hospital that she works in would benefit from transitioning from paper charting to using an electronic health record (EHR) system. She has done initial clinical research and has a solid foundation of best-patient-practice reasons that support this change. She has also researched and studied the information on the government’s websites HealthIT.gov, and CMS.gov pertaining to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009. HITECH is a stimulus package approved by the US government allowing $19 billion dollars to be divided between hospitals and doctors â€Å" who demonstrate â€Å"meaningful use† of electronic medical records†(ARRA HITECH Solutions, 2015). She knows that the best way to select and institute an EHR is to assemble a team of members with various specialties pertaining to the goals outlined in the stages of HITECH. Stage 1- Data capture and sharing, Stage 2- Advance clinical processes and Stage 3- Improved outcomes. Each of these stages has it’s own meaningful use criteria. As seen in the diagram to the  left. The CNS begins by choosing the members of her team from various disciplines in the hospital. Because this will mean corporate wide changes and adoption. Her list includes the following, from the IT department, a Clinical Nursing Informatacist- chosen for a specialty in how nurses interact with software and what is required for nurses to effectively care for patients, and the Director of Clinical Informatics- chosen for an overall knowledge base of the hospitals informatics resources and requirements including what software and hardware is currently available, what has worked or failed in the past and what changes will need to happen to keep the hospital compliant with patient privacy and safety regulations. She will also need a Corporate Project Manager to organize and disseminate information to the various off-site entities related to the facilities that will need to be on board with this change across the corporation. A Chief Medical Information Officer will be key in providing the perspective of the physicians and their particular needs and goals, and to be a liaison for the staff physicians when the EHR rollout occurs. A Chief Information Officer will bring knowledge about the hospital’s day to day functions that will need to integrate into the new EHR along with how those systems currently function. A Chief Nursing Information Officer will have their finger on the pulse of each nursing unit and be aware of the different user interface requirements that will be needed by different departments for the the specific type of flow and care given. Lastly, a Chief Financial Officer will be able to guide the team on topics concerning governmental funding and current assets along with helping to create and maintain a budget as required with the acquisition of new software and hardware, he will also be able to work with each department’s budget makers when the time comes for allocating training hours and equipment purchases. Along the way the team will need to bring in sub-specialists to give information and feedback as they hone the new system, but for now the assembled team will be responsible for researching, choosing and implementing the best EHR for their hospital. A.2 a-e) Choose 2 real-life computerized management systems and analyze them by comparing their advantages and disadvantages, recommend the best choice to meet the ‘MU’ requirements, describe how the features of the recommended system meet the guidelines outlined in the three stages of meaningful use, describe the impact on quality of patient care, documentation and outcomes. The team is aware that currently they have a computerized system that they use for reporting and tracking labs, radiology and scheduling, but all documentation is paper based. They consider the price point involved with adding modules to the existing McKesson software vs purchasing and implementing an entirely new EHR called EPIC. EPIC appears to be user friendly and able to seamlessly connect all of the facilities under the umbrella of their corporation. They make a list of some of the pros and cons associated with each system. McKesson has the upside of being a system they have already worked with and it has different programs that can be pieced together to meet some of the meaningful use (MU) criteria for compliance. They already have a working relationship with this vendor and some experience with the product. Once the discussion gets going, the team realizes that there are many more bad points than good with McKesson. In their experience, the software modules are connected in a piecemeal fashion that makes it difficult for programs to interface. Quite frequently data is just lost and not retrievable. There are different data entry systems for the different types of departments i.e. OR, ER, labor   delivery, Med/Surge, radiology, and pharmacy. The different systems do not allow for across the board data harvesting and that makes it difficult and time consuming to track reportable nursing and CMS indicators. The aesthetics of McKesson are something that is frequently complained about by the staff, due t o lack of distinctive color transition and eye fatigue. Lastly, the group is very reluctant to continue on building their EHR base with McKesson because the PCPs in the area will not be able to access hospital records, and office visit information will not be available to the hospital based staff. Due to the need for increased man hours in servicing McKesson, lack of discrete data sampling, and the poor continuity of care related to PCPs not having access to hospital data and vice versa, the team decides to choose Epic instead. Epic has the down side of being a system that will require a large initial outlay of funds. The hospital will have to purchase software, and related hardware. They will have to expand the IT and biomedical engineering departments to support and maintain the new system and equipment (something that would have been necessary to a smaller degree with McKesson). They will have to address some retrofitting needs related to wiring and computer instillation and lastly training will be a very big issue. Despite the potential down sides, the team comes up with a long list of reasons that EPIC is the right system to choose. To begin with EPIC is all one system. It allows for seamless interdepartmental interfacing. The PCPs in the area already use a version of EPIC and this will allow for easy data exchange and a patient’s information will follow them easily. The EPIC system has a medication reconciliation form that is easily viewable to all care givers and pharmacies in the area, keeping track of each patients reported medication dose and frequency. EPIC has a ‘my chart’ feature that allows patients see labs, after visit summaries , and to interact with physicians about scheduling, medications and lab results. EPIC has  many built in safe guards, including password protection, continuous backup and recovery programs so no dat a is lost, and the vendor provides continuing support as needed. EPIC comes in 3 pre-bundled, customizable templates, each already set up to meet the Meaningful Use (MU) criteria without having to alter the program. The team can look at the three available options and determine if one fits them perfectly, or find the closest one and alter it to fit their specific needs. Some examples of how EPIC will meet the Stage 1 MU criteria are computerized physician order entry, checking for drug interactions and allergies automatically, tracking demographics, keeping current diagnosis, medication and allergy lists, allowing patients to have electronic access to discharge summaries, and it gives patients electronic access to physicians. Once the hospital has used EPIC for at least two years, some examples of how EPIC will help meet the Stage 2 MU criteria are ongoing patient data entry and discreet sampling for report generation. The team will continue to develop the software that demonstrates interoperability in sharing of lab results with other providers and systems. Security risk assessment will be ongoing and built into the system. Smoking status will be tracked on all patients 13 and older and the EPIC software is designed to guide the facility from meeting the Stage 1 criteria to meeting the Stage 2 criteria. Stage 3 MU objectives are projected to improve outcomes. The team is waiting on the final ruling for what the Stage 3 guidelines will be and in the mean time they have a projected goal of focusing on primary prevention measures and improving overall population health. This will include recommended vaccination reminders, smoking cessation assistance, healthy lifestyle and meal planning recommendations, and yearly checkup reminders generated by primary physicians that will crossover to hospital patient charts. Some of the better benefits of EPIC include point and click tabs in the assessment fields, this allows for discrete sampling of information. EPIC utilizes a reporting workbench that will harvest requested, reportable data  and assemble it into a user friendly template. This will benefit the hospita l by reducing former man-hours required to find and collect data for clinical quality measures, public health reporting, and CMS indicators. Discrete data sampling from EPIC will make the hospital a benefit to the community as well by allowing it to track trends and provide information to community health nurses. EPIC comes with the ability to establish hard stops and reminders that allow real-time users to be aware of needs for care coordination and patient specific follow-ups or recommended testing related to treating chronic conditions. It will also allow for symptom driven order entry fields to be immediately available in emergent situations where time taken to look for those things could mean a worse outcome. This is especially important when people present with symptoms of stroke or heart attack. Another EPIC benefit is the different levels of bedside specific PHI protection related to sensitive care. EPIC has a ‘break the glass’ functionality pertaining to all sexual assault and psychiatric admits. This function only allows relevant staff to open and view these patients charts, any others are shown a pop-up warning and a notice is sent to start an investigation of any other person who logs in to theses charts. The team is impressed with the information provided by EPIC concerning scanning patients and medications at the bedside and the reduction in medication errors this causes. The scanners will integrate with the medication dispensing machines already in use at the hospital. One of the major benefits of EPIC is the order entry build. Each physician, with a minimal amount of training, can customize the order entry process to reflect their needs. Medication orders are instantly linked to a pharmacist to double check for allergies, and correct dosing information, and then the medication becomes available, via PYXIS machines on the unit for the RN to administer at the bedside. The bedside dosing requires the patient and medication to be scanned, further eliminating potential erro rs, and provides a pop-up warning if an emergency override is required during any of these steps. While the team acknowledges that training and time to become familiar with the new charting and bedside routine changes will initially impact patient care in a negative way, they have a plan in mind to keep the patients educated on the new system changes and the anticipated better care available to the patients across the board from instituting an EHR system. Having the patients ask questions and give real time feedback will help the team tweek their training and bedside routines to give better, more organized care that results in trackable outcomes. This is just an overview of some of the many functions EPIC has that persuaded the team to choose it as the new EHR system for the hospital. (EPIC and McKesson related information was culled from the authors own experience with the systems and personal interviews with multiple members of the informatics department at St Francis Hospital, Indianapolis campus). A.3 a) Use of Quality Improvement Data EPIC has point and click assessment tabs and a standardized documentation format that links related data. This allows for discrete data sampling related to things like CMS indicators. The hospital will be able to track compliance with things like ‘door to EKG’ times in the emergency department, Foley catheter use and resultant CAUTIs, and the time from when a patient presents with stroke symptoms until a cat scan is done and/or whether the patient receives antithrombolytics as a result. The hospital will also be able to generate reports on errors that occur the via the Risk Monitor Pro incident tracking software. This will allow them to continue researching and improving processes. A. 3 b) Security Standards and Methods EPIC has 24 hour monitoring of staff use while logged in, and the records they access. This is important because hundreds of staff members will be using the system and there has to be accountability if employees were to look up their own records, or the records of friends or family. This  information can be tracked and the employee interviewed and disciplined if needed. EPIC also comes equipped with incident reporting software called Risk Monitor Pro. All staff members are encouraged to use this format to report any incident that might warrant further investigation. It covers every location, type of employee, type of equipment, patient, visitor or vendor. Risk Monitor Pro forms are used to report potential or perceived injuries, faulty equipment, sentinel events and things that have the potential to cause harm or damage. This information can be followed up on by the risk management team, so that process improvement is an ongoing process. The team works with members from the IT department and plans for primary data storage with a redundant back up storage unit that simultaneously updates so if the primary server fails there is no loss of information. They have also planned for a second, off site data storage center that can be used in case of emergency to ensure continuity of services, and keep things up and running while the primary system is off line for upgrades. Lastly back up tapes will be kept at a third site in case both of these areas are compromised, and the system can be rebooted and running again within 72 hours. A. 3 c) Explain how the system will protect patient privacy and meet HIPAA requirements EPIC will protect patient privacy in a number of ways. End User access is limited to only being able to access the information needed to do their jobs. Making the accessible information different for nurses, physicians, registration clerks, radiology technicians, committee members etc. Personnel will only be granted access once they have completed security training and have signed documentation stating that they understand the legal risks and responsibilities when accessing protected health information (PHI). Individuals outside the hospital will have access to EPIC as well, for example nursing home physicians. They will have a read only access granted, but will require multiple patient identifiers to access the information. Also, as mentioned earlier, EPIC will employ security related  chart hard stops like ‘Break the Glass’. A. 3 d) Explain how the recommended system meets HIPAA requirements EPIC helps to meet HIPAA requirements with automated enforcing of access policies, and pro-active alerting that links directly to the risk management department, requiring strong password policies, and automatic logout at end user work stations. EPIC allows providers to protect the integrity of data and recover original data in the case of it being altered or damaged. EPIC users are required to have appropriate training to be able to access the system, and can be locked out in the case of termination. Portable devices carry encryption software that does not allow for third party data extraction or access. EPIC can also quickly generate reports with discrete sampling related to various forms of access. The majority of compliance will be the responsibility of the staff with written policies, documented sanction programs and investigation that is on-going, consistent and documented. A. 3 e) Describe how adopting the system will reduce costs to the organization Instituting this new system will initially generate more costs, but in the long run will save the hospital money in many ways. Meeting the ARRA/HITECH Act requirements will help to offset those cost with financial incentives and avoiding fines and penalties. Having readily available test results will decrease the costs and labor associated with repeating lost or illegible results. With superior organization and data summary tools, the cost for labor associated with studying charts individually and generating reports will be exponentially lower. The need for transcriptionists will be greatly reduced by utilizing dictation software. Facilities for storage of paper charting cost money for upkeep and staffing. An electronic database should make billing and insurance claims easier to process and thereby generate revenue faster. The time it takes for physicians to spend going over complicated medical histories with patients is greatly reduced by  having that information readily available in a database. â€Å"According to a recent study, when hospitals rely on advanced electronic health records they can save up to 10 percent per patient admission† (Advanced EHR Cuts Hospital Costs By 10% Per Admission, 2014). 4. A) Explain why active nursing involvement in the planning, selection, and implementation of the systems is important to the success of the implementation process and meeting meaningful use requirements Active nursing involvement is important to the success of implementing any process that affects care given at the bedside. For the system to be optimized for use, nursing suggestions and feedback are critical. EPIC knows this and has a team of nurses on staff to work with the facility  in developing end-user interface. ‘Nurses’ from the hospital include the advocates, CNS’s, NP’s, LPN’s, managers, and bedside care givers, each with a specific focus and experiences that are valuable when helping to decide how charting should work. Any thing that pulls a nurses attention away from the patient, or is distracting or difficult to work with decreases the perceived level of care and increases the potential for errors. The health care goals of meaningful use include improving efficiency, safety and quality while decreasing discrepancies, involving patients and their families in their care, improving public health outcomes, improving care coordination, and advancing security and privacy of PHI (Gregory Klepfer, 2010). All of these things are the foundation of every interaction a nurse has with a patient. This is why nursing is one of the most trusted professions, according to the Gallup pole website, nurses come out on top at 80% when people were asked to rate â€Å"the honesty and ethical standards of people† in different given fields (Honesty/Ethics in Professions | Gallup Historical Trends, n.d.). Because standard nursing care already meets the goals outlined for meaningful use, the most important thing the average  nurse can do is to work hard to be competent utilizing the selected EHR software. Advanced users and nurse leaders are important to help guide the EHR selection process in the direction that will improve the bedside interactions and user interface. Clinical nurse specialists have advanced educations and bring the nursing philosophy to the selection and implementation process. All of these roles are vital to the success of any EHR implementation.

Physiological Changes Of Aging Biology Essay

Physiological Changes Of Aging Biology Essay Aging does not give a good feeling to most human beings because of the diseases and problems associated with it. History has it that most individuals have always tried to stave off aging and death. The affluent often seek lamb cell injection in medical centers in search of youthfulness. Many people take mega doses of vitamin E all in the hope of attaining the fountain of youth. Aging is the continuous and irreversible decline in the efficiency of several physiological processes. It is considered to occur once the reproductive phase of life has passed (Lata, 2007). In actual fact, aging starts as a developmental process starts at conception. In recent times, aging has become a deeply rooted social issue with anti-aging therapies taking the center stage in the magazines, newspapers and the general media. The etiology of aging is important to be understood but it is more crucial to differentiate the normal physiological changes from the changes brought about by diseases. Individuals exp erience the physiological changes differently. Main Body Physiological changes arise with aging in all the human organ system. Progressive functional decline and the gradual deterioration of the physiological with increase in age include a decrease in productiveness and loss of viability. The aging person becomes vulnerable to diseases and become susceptible Cardio-vascular system The heart muscles especially on the left ventricle become weak. The heart valves degenerate and are calcificated. The artery walls cease to be elastic. This loss of elasticity is also known as arteriosclerosis. The cardiac output and baroreceptor sensitivity significantly decrease. The decrease in blood flow leads to reduction in stamina. The hepatic and renal functions are also decreased. The nourishment of the cells gradually becomes less. The blood pressure response to volume depletion, standing and heart blocks becomes impaired (Boss, 1981). Respiratory system The lung tissue and the airways become less elastic and the cilia activity is reduced. The uptake and exchange of oxygen is decreased. The muscles of the rib cage wear out thus reducing the ability of the person to breath deeply expel carbon dioxide or even cough. The perfusion/ventilation mismatch is a common occurrence and it results in reduced stamina with fatigue and shortness in breathing. Oral cavity Most aging individuals experience loss in bones and tissues around the mouth may be infected with diseases. As a result of infections, more than 50 percent of people who are above 60 years of age loose their teeth especially those who are not keen on the health of their mouth. These lead the individual to be choosy about the food they consume. The choice of food that is easy to chew lead to reduction in consumption of fruits and vegetables that are high in dietary fiber. Musculo-skeletal system There is generalized wear of all the muscles in the body accompanied by replacement of the muscle tissue by fat deposits. This has the effect of loss of some muscle strength and tone. More specific implication of this is significant reduction in the ability to breathe deeply. The gastro-intestinal activity is reduced and can lead to bladder incontinence or constipation. Calcium is lost and bones generally become less dense. This may result to osteoporosis and reduction in ability to bear weight. As a consequence, the chances of spontaneous fractures are increased. The vertebrae can calcify resulting in postural changes. Body joints also experience change. The degenerative inflammation of the joints, also know as arthritis, is a common persistent condition among the elderly. Gastrointestinal system As age increases, the stomach cellsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ ability to secrete digestive juice is reduced. The secretion of hydrochloric acid, saliva and digestive enzymes decreases. This has the effect of interference with digestion of protein. There is decrease of secretion of intrinsic factor which is crucial for absorption of vitamin B12. The changes may lead to impaired swallowing, gastrointestinal distress and one may experience delayed emptying of the stomach. The small intestine becomes less able to absorb some nutrients. There have been cases where the elderly suffer from cramps and even diarrhea after consuming dairy products containing lactose. This may be as a result of lack of lactase. Constipation may be experienced as a result of distorted gastrointestinal spontaneous movements, inactivity and weak muscle (webdietitian.com, 2010). Sexuality Sexual performance and desire may be a reality even with aging. However, the frequency may diminish. Changes that are experienced by women as they age include atrophy of the ovarian, uterine vaginal tissues with a significant decrease in vaginal fluid production resulting in dry vaginal mucosa. Women also experience menopause with diverse hormonal changes. Physiological changes in men include reduction in production of sperms and the prostate increase in size. The sperm count is reduced and the viability is reduced. There is decreased libido and ejaculation is delayed. For both men and women, more stimulation becomes a requirement for them to become aroused and even more time to achieve an orgasm. Menopause is one of the main indications of aging. It is among the changes that are apparent in relation to age-related changes. It occurs due to the disappearance of oocytes from the ovary. Most women after menopause experience hot flashes or vasomotor instability. Sensory changes In order to gather information, synthesis and internalize, senses play a central role. The ability to take part in social interactions is affected by the senses. With age, there occur changes in vision. At about forty to fifty years, the pupil starts to decrease in size. The response to light is decreased. As a result, the amount of illumination required by the aging person is increased as compared to a younger person. Focusing for such a person takes longer and there are significantly higher chances of nearsightedness. There occurs loss of accommodation which makes it hard to read. Reading from a close distance may become difficult, a condition also known as resbyopia. It can be corrected by putting on glasses with convex lenses. The lens of the eye may start thickening and yellowing. Once this happens, light is diffracted, the depth perception is decreased, sensitivity to glare is increased and it becomes hard to distinguish pastel colors. Change in hearing ability also occurs with age. The sensitivity to high frequency tones decrease. The ability to differentiate similar pitches decrease due to changes in the cochlear hair cells and bones of the inner ear. The other significant sensory change is in smell and taste. It is imperative to note that the two are interrelated and equally important. They are both crucial for eating and checking for hazards in the environment. They are useful for detecting spoilt food, fumes and smoke. After the age of eighty, the reduction in the number of taste buds leads to a decline in the ability to taste. Some elderly people experience a drastic decline in their ability to smell. This usually results from disease or blockage of the olfactory receptors in the upper sinus. After the age of twenty five every human being losses nerve cells. With time, this results in reduction in efficiency of nerve transmission which impact on coordination and response time. However, research has shown that these physiological and anatomical changes limitedly impair the actual intellectual functioning related to the process of aging (Lata, 2007). Intelligence is associated with a wide range of abilities that gives one the avenue to make sense of experiences. They include the ability to think conceptually, comprehend new information, and make rational decisions and verbal fluency amongst others. Some abilities such as the ability to think abstractly are biologically determined and are known as Fluid Intelligence. There are those intellectual abilities that reflect the skills and knowledge an individual has gained through life experiences. These abilities are known as Crystallized intelligence. Tests on intelligence have shown somehow poorer performance on by older person s on fluid intelligence. There are indications that there is little or no difference on tests of crystallized intelligence. Reduced efficiency of nerve transmission in the brain result in poor processing of information and loss of information during the transmission may be blamed for the poor performance in tests on older people (Magalhaes, 2008). Personality changes The best aspect of change that has been documented in regard to personality change due to aging is increased preoccupation with oneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s inner self. These include greater attention to individual feelings and attention to personal feelings and experiences and reduction in extraversion. Another aspect that has been observed is gender role identity. Men tend to be more nurturing, affiliation seeking and expressive as they advance in age. Women tend to be more achievement-oriented and instrumental. Conclusion Many of the interlinked physiological changes are as complex as the biological processes of the body. Even though there has been a progressively monumental research in aging but the middle ground on the theory of aging on one specific aspect is yet to be established. Physiological changes do not occur uniformly for all individuals but are jointly affected by genetic and environmental factors. This fact further heightens the difficulty of finding a universal theory regarding aging. Universal in this case means what the human race is involved in terms of the global-aging phenomenon. The temptation to regard many of the age-related so-called diseases as the end of normal physiological changes is high for most people. The distinction between the erosion in function of pathological and normal aging states should be unmistakably delineated. The diseases that arise in the elderly should be well separated from the signs of aging in order to give the right attention to the two different phenomena. Deep understanding of the normal physiological changes and those changes caused by diseases make it easy for the clinicians to diagnose and manage the elderly. The failure of a clinician to recognize the differences may lead to unnecessary clinical testing, misdiagnosis of the aging person and eventual mismanagement. The problems that are associated with ageing can be managed through use of glasses, intake of adequate vitamins, and consumption of green vegetables rich in antioxidants among other ways. Some people may have dramatic and rapid levels of decline yet others may have much less significant changes. Although aging is a genetically determined process, environmental factors often have an impact on the aging process. Some environments may accelerate aging while others may not interfere with the aging process.

A Time To Kill Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In A Time To Kill, by John Grisham, two drunken white men violently raped, beat, and nearly killed a 10-year-old black girl named Tonya Hailey. Her father, in a clouded rage, executed the two rapists with an M-16 on their way out of the courthouse. His vigilante form of justice was not well taken by many in prejudiced Ford County, Mississippi. On the other hand, he had lots of support from the black community and from any white person whom dared to step into his shoes. A young, thirty-something lawyer named Jack Brigance was hired as his defense. He personally hoped it would give him national recognition, but his outlook turned sour when an all-white jury was drawn to decide on the fate of this Negro man. As the case gained popularity, the KKK got involved, and everyone involved in the court case was put in severe danger through shootings, riots, bombings, and random acts of violence. The non-stop action this book has to offer would keep any reader on the edge of his seat through the last page of the novel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The story begins with the horrific, detailed rape of Tonya Hailey. Besides being the most disgusting series of events in the entire book, the reader has no choice but to pray that the little girl will make it out alive. Through all of the beatings and tortures, she luckily survives, offering a sense of relief and finality. Shortly after, though, the action picks up again with the sheriff’s search for the rapists...