Interview Questions Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Interview Questions Assignment - Essay Example My academic background is the main reason as I have gained significant knowledge for practice in the profession. Hiring me at this stage of my study will also mould me into the organization’s culture, as I develop my career while in the organization. An experienced person, having experienced many organizational cultures, may find it difficult to change into the company’s environment, a challenge that I do not face. I also offer the company leadership potentials that will help in empowering and motivating employees. Being a dynamic person and a fast learner, I can play many roles in the organization and shall therefore save it the burden of employing many people for specialized roles. My greatest weakness is my orientation to results. I always focus on achieving expected results in my environments, whether the results are my responsibility or that of a peer. This means overworking and sometimes stepping into other people’s mandates. The weakness has two major adverse consequences by I often manage them. One of the consequences is overworking to burnout but I normally take a rest when I experience fatigue. Another adverse consequence is conflict with peer when I move in to help in their roles. Though I often explain my intentions before engagement, there is sometimes lack of time for explanations and some people have accused me of taking advantage of their responsibility to seek recognition. This has however never been the case. An example of a time of successful communication with a difficult person involved a conflict with a classmate. He was known for his arrogance and lack of rationale that often involved him in violence, especially when he was under drugs. We were on an informal discussion about a news article that divided public opinion and he rose against my opinion. He quickly got emotional and people feared a fight. I had to either walk away to avoid a violent encounter or to confront him and let him know that his behavior was not right. I

A Brief History of Energy Use in Human Societies Essay Example for Free

A Brief History of Energy Use in Human Societies Essay The industrial revolution started the intensive use of oil, coal and natural gas. The development of factories, cars, and technological advances marks the start of air pollution. Smog from factories and the release of carbon dioxide from cars began to become detrimental to the environment as well as to health. Ever since the world continues to burn fossil fuels and will continue to do so. Factories, motor vehicles, buses, etc., are used throughout the world to provide people with transportation, products or food and have been a leading cause of air pollution. Similarly, these things have led to a series of environmental issues as well as health concerns, including many respiratory diseases (The Industrial Age). Although air pollution is a concern throughout the world, developing nations take different approaches to concerns as well as developed nations. Most of the worlds children live in developing nations, which means that they are exposed to higher levels of poverty and have different levels of health quality as oppose to developed, wealthier nations (Loomis et al. 1999). In a country like Mexico for instance, childhood mortality is high. Mexico City is one of the most populated cities in the world, with a population of eighteen million people and three million motor vehicles (Borja-Aburto et al. 1998). Nevertheless, air pollution has the same effects on the respiratory system among the population in New York City. Similarly, it is also densely populated and traffic congestion leads to the emission of air pollutants that are harmful to respiratory health. Air pollution affects the respiratory system, causing different respiratory diseases in both Mexico City and New York City, but there are a number of different methods used in each city to prevent further air pollution. Many countries in Latin America are going through rapid industrialization, as well as an increase in transportation and have not yet resolved health concerns related to air pollution. Due to the poor sanitation that young kids experience in poor countries, they are becoming infected with many diseases, thus becoming more susceptible to respiratory diseases (Loomis et al. 1999). When poor children experience life-threatening diseases, they are more likely to die because they cannot receive medical attention. In addition, studies reveal that air pollution is the main cause of the increasing infant mortality in Mexico City (Loomis et al. 1999). The main pollutants that are of a concern in Mexico City are nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter and tropospheric ozone (BellML et al. 2006). It is estimated that the transportation sector is responsible for about forty percent of the particulate matter emissions in Mexico City. Transportation however, is a vital sector in Mexico City traffic congestion in Mexico City forces people to take transportation methods to reach work, school, etc. Similarly, a large part of the population lives in poverty, which means they cannot afford a car. In addition, it has been reported that ozone causes the airway inflammation among young children playing outdoors. Nitrogen oxides increase the chance of respiratory infections as well as wheezing (Bernstein JA et al. 2004). Particulate matter is associated with infant mortality and also includes an increasing number of absences of students in schools as well as emergency room visits for respiratory problems including asthma (Bell ML et al. 2006). In addition, a reduction of 10 percent of particulate matter and ozone levels would save 273 to 1189 lives every year as well as save 760 US dollars a year there would be less emergency room visits, less medicine to purchases, less days of work or school missed or hospital admissions. New York City, similar to Mexico, has an air pollution problem caused by motor vehicles. However, morbidity and asthma is higher in different communities around New York City South Bronx and Harlem. These communities for instance, have higher diesel exhaust le vels from bus depots, truck routes, and waste transfer stations (Patel et al. 2013). As a result, this diesel exhaust creates black carbon. The black carbon is linked to the increasing number of respiratory diseases as well as the hospital admissions among children and adolescence in Harlem and South Bronx (Patel et al. 2013). Similarly, Patel et al. also explain that short-term increases of particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide are associated with airway inflammation among adults and children. The number of people being affected by air pollution will continue to grow, if no regulations to stop air pollution are enforced. Mexico city suffers from a serious air pollution problem, which has led to many respiratory diseases. However, there are policies that exist which help control air pollution. An air pollution problem that they face is ozone released from transportation methods. One measure Mexico City has taken to reduce vehicle pollution includes a motor vehicle Maintenance and Inspection (IM) program. This program keeps track of vehicle emissions to make sure th at the advanced emission control systems are working properly in modern-day cars (Riveros HG et al. 2002). In addition, catalytic converter devices added to the exhaust of a motor vehicle consisting of a catalyst that transforms pollutant gases into less dangerous ones were introduced in 1995 to Mexico City. In 1995, vehicles were emitting 70 percent less hydrocarbon, 75 percent less carbon monoxide and 65 percent less nitrogen oxide (Riveros HG et al. 2002). Similarly, methyl tertiary-butyl ether was added to gasoline beginning in 1995, to refine combustion efficiency and applied boundaries on the aromatic aspect of fuels as well as on the sulfur content in fuel used in industries (Mckinley G et al. 2005). However, despite the tries to limit air pollution, the levels of air pollution emissions remain high.The State of New York has many programs, which take care of the environment. For example, there is the Department of Environmental Conservation. This department carries out monitoring programs as well as pollution control. It also contains a Maintenance Program and requires a Vehicle Inspection, which monitors motor vehicle emissions and requires unsuccessful pollution control equipment to be fixed. Furthermore, New York City also has Inspection and Maintenance (IM) programs. These programs requires cars to take an annual emission inspection and requires a repair when emission system is not working properly. All of these methods are used in New York to prevent more air pollution to enter the atmosphere. As a result, although air pollution remains high in New York City, these methods to protect the environment from harmful pollutants (Controlling Air Pollution from Motor Vehicles).Air pollution is a major problem in both densely populated cities New York City and Mexico City. This problem has led to an increase in asthma, as well as other respiratory diseases. It has also led to an increasing number of hospital admissions, and emergency room visits. There are a large number of fatal deaths as a result of air pollution, which is why each city must have regulations to help eliminate the pollution. People are becoming sick, and a lot of money is being spent as a result of the pollution. Not only the people are suffering from this environmental problem, but the environment as well. Carbon emissions, as well as ozone are detrimental to Earth, as well as to health. Young children and seniors are the most vulnerable to these diseases, but something can be done to protect the citizens of these cities, and that is more air pollution control policies. Mexico City and New York City have regulations, but they are not enough to end the air pollution. Cars are a necessity in every major city around the world, which creates more air pollution for the world. However, more regulations need to be placed before the environment becomes greatly impacted by the man-produced emissions

How important is the setting in the short stories you have read? :: English Literature

How important is the setting in the short stories you have read? In this assignment I will analyse 5 short stories, which are all pre 1914. These are – ‘The man with the twisted lip’, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, ‘The Red Room’, by H.G Wells, ‘The Signalman’, by Charles Dickens, ‘A Terribly Strange Bed,’ by Wilkie Collins and ‘The Ostler’, also by Wilkie Collins. The stories all have an exterior location. For example, in the Red Room, the corridors on the way to The Red Room. The language H.G Wells uses, such as ‘haunted’, ‘darkness’ and ‘shadowy’ create a feeling of tension and suspense. This is even before you have reached the main setting. Compared to The Signalman, the way the settings are portrayed, there is very little difference. Some of the words used by Charles Dickens, such as ‘dark’, ‘gloomy red light’ and ‘cold’. Some similarities are that they both talk about darkness and lack of light. The interior settings play a significant part in most of the stories. The man with the twisted lip, there is an opium den. This sets the scene to a dark and gloomy setting, just as the authors did with the exterior setting. The authors are always using dark and gloomy symbolism. The opium den is described as ‘gloomy’, ‘dark’ and ‘black shadows’. This gets you on the edge, and you want to read on. In comparison to The Red Room which uses shock and surprise. Where it says ‘the young duke had died’, it goes on to say, ‘headlong down the steps’. This immediately shocks you because it is such a horrific death. This therefore is a very important part of the setting. In addition, when the candles start to go out, the character panics. The writer uses phrases such as ‘suddenly went out’, ‘black shadow sprang back to its place’ and ‘darkness was there.’ This excites the reader, and you want to read on. Also the writer uses short, sharp sentences to emphasise the panic and terror, which the character is feeling. Also the sub characters help to portray the eeriness of the story. In The Red Room, there is a man with a ‘withered arm’, and another with ‘decaying yellow teeth’. To the reader this is a very unpleasant and sickening thought. The people who spread the myth of The Red Room help to give out a horrific feeling to the story. In The man with the twisted lip, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle describes the people in the opium den as ‘bodies’, not as people. This shows that he does not see the

The Prisoner. A Fragment by Emily Bronte Essay -- Literary Analysis

At the start of the nineteenth century, religion and science coexisted as one. The idea behind the creation of man and nature was seen as the work of God, thus the issue of religion and science were one in the same. As the Victorian era progressed, there was an emergence of scientific thinkers that began to question the creation and miracles of God, which in turn led to turmoil within the Victorian society. What Victorian society had was a constant clashing of ideals between the emerging science group and the religious believers. People did not care to listen to each other’s beliefs, which led to an overall lack of mutual respect among the groups. It is through Emily Bronte’s The Prisoner. A Fragment that the tensions based on religion can be seen through the male and female characters who represent the clashing groups in Victorian society. Religious believers in the Victorian society had amazing fervor for the word of God and believed that everything that occurred in life came from the hands of God. A good majority of the works written during the Victorian era expressed a belief that through the endurance of pain and suffering on Earth, the individual will be forever rewarded in Heaven. The Prisoner. A Fragment, by Emily Bronte is a clear demonstration of this belief as a heroic female prisoner demonstrates hope that her creator will save her after she endures her unjust punishment. The speaker in this work is a man visiting the prison, which is located in his father’s castle. He narrates the story looking back on his visit to the prison. He makes the audience aware that he never really cared nor did he pay attention to the lives that were slowly coming to an end in the crypts. He makes a comment to the jailor and is given a re... ...hinking along with the fall of the Church of England. Emily Bronte, through her male and female characters in A Prisoner. A Fragment ,is demonstrating the struggle and the feuding that took place between the religious and anti-religious groups that began to emerge during this time. Not only does she represent these two groups, she also makes strong comment on women. It is clear that Bronte is breaking the stereotype of the woman by using a strong female character to demonstrate their power, as well as their ability to lead and be heroes in a social, religious, and political movement that was the center of so much controversy during this era. Works Cited Christ, Carol T., Catherine Robson, Stephen Greenblatt, and M. H. Abrams. The Prisoner. A Fragment. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Vol. E. New York, NY: W.W. Norton &, 2006. 1315-316. Print.

Speech to Persuade Cosmetic Surgery

Liposuction Intro:Introduce myself Transition: What Is Liposuction? Liposuction which Is also known as lipoplasty Is a surgical procedure used to slim and reshape specific areas of the body by removing excess fat deposits under the skin with the use of a vacuum-suction cannula. One thing consider is that a cannula is not always used sometimes an ultrasonic probe is used to break down fat then It is suctioned. Where on your body can you get Liposuction? Liposuction may be performed on the abdomen, hips. thighs, calves. arms. ttocks. back. neck. or face. A liposuction procedure may include more than one area. for example, the abdomen, arms, and thighs all on the same day or various areas that you choose, Liposuction is also used to reduce breast size in men with large breasts (gynecomastia). Who performs a lipo? Liposuction surgeries are performed by plastic surgeons. Any licensed physician may perform liposuction but it is recommended that they have special training Where can you have a procedure done? The procedure may be performed in a doctor's office, surgical center or hospital.Transition: But keep In Mind that It Is Important that It be performed In a clean environment. Emergencies may arise during any surgery and access to emergency medical equipment and/or a nearby hospital emergency room Is Important What to expect during Liposuction and after? During the procedure the physician will mark your body with a pen to Indicate where the fat is to be removed. Then you will receive anesthesia which is medicine that prevents you from feeling pain. Once the anesthesia is working, the physician will ake an incision in the area where the liposuction will be performed.A cannula which is a hollow tube will be inserted into the incision. The physician moves this cannula back and forth to suction out the fat. After the procedure you will stay at where the procedure was performed until the effect of the anesthesia has gone away. The cuts where the doctor inserted the can nula may be leaky or drain fluids for several days. You will wear special tight garments to keep your skin compressed after the liposuction procedure What is the risk of Liposuction? Infections may happen after any surgery including a liposuction.It is important to keep the wounds clean after the procedure to avoid Infections. swelling may occur after liposuction. In some cases swelling may continue for weeks or months after liposuction. Anesthesia can also be a risk if It Is not administered correctly. Poor wound healing. You may have Keloids which is an abnormal growth of scars. What Is the Cost? I ne cost 0T llposuctlon varies Dy states ana doctors It ranges anywnere Trom $7,000 per area. Transition: In spite of the cost I favor Liposuction because if it is oing to help someone feel better about the way they look and improve them I am all for it.https://www.plasticsurgery.org/cosmetic-procedures/liposuctionhttps://www.plasticsurgery.org/cosmetic-procedures/liposuction/procedureht tps://www.plasticsurgery.org/cosmetic-procedures/men-and-plastic-surgery/procedureshttps://www.plasticsurgery.org/cosmetic-procedures/liposuction/costhttps://www.plasticsurgery.org/cosmetic-procedures/liposuction/candidates

The external pricing decision Essays

The external pricing decision Essays The external pricing decision Paper The external pricing decision Paper The uses of Hubbart formula can have certain advantages and disadvantages. The Hubbart formula can establish the price over a period of time or a wide range of establishments. However, it requisite rate of return on owners capital employed, and works back to the total revenue that needs to be generated from accommodation. In addition to the required data, it also calls for the full cost, that is all the variable costs plus some share of fixed cost, and hence it is in fact a cost based pricing through the external pricing decision. Definitely, the company would like to attain what they are yearning for, nonetheless, this kind of approaches may appear to be too subjective and arbitrary, and it is acting as a method of allocating the fixed costs as well. Apparently, tourism is a seasonal industry and always influences by the global changes; therefore the occupancy of the hotel may vary according to different seasons and different incidents. Such as, a few months ago, there was a terrorism in Bali, after the Bali Blast, the travelers are not willing to travel to Bali since Bali seems to be a considerable dangerous place for them to travel. As a result, the occupancy of the hotels in Bali decreases significantly. Furthermore, we have to concern about the location of the hotel too, if it situates in Britain Brighton (the southern part of England where it is along the coastal area where it is a seaside resort), then the summer time will be the peak period of tourism, as a result, the seasonal prices should incline as well. As long as the hotel does not concern about this factor, then they will suffer from a great loss since there will be less visitors during the winter, and hence the occupancy within that period will be relatively lower. It appears that the occupancy that we use in the Hubbart formula is the average rate, yet it will amend noticeably in different months, so it is necessary to anticipate the monthly occupancy. It is certain that the demand for the tourism industry (e. g. hotels bedrooms) is always elastic, so it is unlikely that the tourism operating sectors (e.g. accommodation sector hotel) to set the prices according to the cost of the goods and services produced. As a result, it is essentially important for the company to realize the significance of charging the price that the market will bear, instead of charging the price according to their wishes. Thus, the full cost techniques can then applied to see if this obtainable price covers the full cost of the product or services, and how much profit can be made at this price. Last but not least, it is often said that pricing decisions are extremely complex. In addition to the incorporation of the basic cost and financial data, the Star Hotel should also add in other internal and external considerations, including macro-economic, environmental, political and social factors and also it should take the other factors non-financial and non-quantifiable nature (such as behavioral factors) into their concerns and considerations. To put it briefly, if the above disadvantages can be avoided, it may escape from the inefficiencies that automatically built into the costing system and the uncompetiveness and ongoing to the track of success. Pricing is closely related to the decision that managers in both profit-making and non profit-making sectors. Providing that the total revenues are not in excess of total expenses the firm must subsequently go into liquidation. Overwhelmingly, there are defined rules of pricing. In my point of view, the Star Hotel can either use the Hubbart Formula or Market-based Pricing, which is one way of the external pricing methods as well. It implicates that the price will be charged for goods and services offered to the travelers outside an organization on market prices. It is because the goods and services produced by the Star Hotel are in reality sold in a highly competitive market since there are other suppliers offering identical or near-identical products. Consequently, the suppliers will be competing fiercely in respect of price, quality, reliability, and services. Undoubtedly, the Star hotel is one of the participants in the tourism industry, and we can identify it as a tourism-operating sector. Moreover, the demand for the tourism products is actually elastic, meaning that the lower price is offered, the more units will be sold. By using this method, Star Hotel should firstly categorize its target market and evaluate its position in the market. Afterwards, the price can be set. Overwhelmingly, different markets will have its own price since dissimilar demands occur and also hotels have different abilities, such as some are better in services and some are famous for its quality products. Then an interpretation of the sales according to the source of reservations and category of client is necessary for a further review since it will disclose the standard achievable room rate. As a result, it is indispensable for the Star hotel to base its price per room on what is being charged in the market. Or else, if it charges more than the market price, their sales will be reduced. On condition that it charges less than the market, its sales will increase in short term but the market will quickly adjust to a lower level of selling prices. Furthermore, the market conditions largely determine a suppliers selling prices; it is particularly significant to ensure that tight control is exercised over costs. Otherwise, the gap between total sales and total costs (i. e. the profit) will be insufficient to guarantee an adequate return on capital employed. In case, external price determination is concerned, including both market oriented and cost oriented methods, we can generalize by arguing that prices tend to be governed by the market. And so it is important to ensure that unyielding management is exercised over costs, as there will normally be little opportunity to raise the selling price.

Alfred Hitchcock Essay Example

Alfred Hitchcock Essay Example Alfred Hitchcock Essay Alfred Hitchcock Essay Alfred Hitchcock (13 August 1899 29 April 1980) is perhaps one of the most renowned and innovative film directors in the history of cinema, with an incredible film-making career spanning over half a century and dozens of award- winning films. He specialized in the psychological thriller genre, creating famous hit films such as Psycho (1960), North by North-west (1958) and Vertigo (1959) and revolutionized many cinematic techniques such as camera angles, lighting and sound which he used extensively in his films to successfully create a variety of moods and atmospheres in scenes and to manipulate the audiences feelings and emotions from fear, shock and suspense.Psycho was based on the novel written by Robert Bloch, and is probably one of the most recognisable and famous films made by Hitchcock. Released in 1960, it initially received mixed reviews from film critics, but soon it became a massive hit at the box office and thousands of people around queued up at movie theatres to watch t he film. Later, many critics considered it Hitchcocks best film and praised Psycho as a masterpiece of cinematic art. Despite all these good reviews, the film caused a lot of controversy because it contained quite explicit gore and sex references, things that have rarely shown so strongly on American films as in Psycho .For example, there is a scene where a shadowy figure brutally stabs a woman while she is showering, and an embalmed corpse is shown during the end. Although these scenes are nothing compared to the brutal and overwhelmingly gruesome horror films of today, Hitchcock still struggled to get his whole film released due to censors efforts to delete several explicit shots in the movie. Psycho was known as the mother of all horror films and Hitchcock basically formed the whole archetypical basis for most horror and thriller films that were released after it.Shot in stark black and white, the film Psycho portrays young secretary Marion Crane as she successfully steals $ 40,0 00 from her employer and leaving her town of Phoenix in Arizona, intending to get married. However, as Marion escapes, she drives through a heavy rainstorm at night and accidentally drives off the highway, driving along an unlit road and turning up at the eerie, seemingly deserted Bates Motel, in the middle of nowhere. However the motel owner Norman Bate hurries out and helps her inside with her bags while the rain pours around them.After Marion has settled into her cabin, Norman Bates innocently invites her to have dinner with him in the massive, eerie house that overlooks the motel, however after he has a loud and furious argument with his invalid mother up in the second floor of the house, he brings the dinner down to the motel and suggests to Marion they have it in the parlour. The parlour scene is the scene prior to the famous, celebrated shower scene, and Hitchcock is very successful in this scene in using his technical mastery of camera angles, lighting and clever imagery to foretell the future events of the film. The scene begins when Norman walks into the darkened parlour and switches the light on, illuminating the room .The parlour, where the scene takes place, is a very interesting room which reveals a lot about Normans personality. It is decorated with stuffed birds of prey, like owls and large ravens, hanging from the walls and ceilings .The camera pans to each one, finally showing Marions uncomfortable expression with eating in a room full of stuffed birds. The two characters sit on the opposite ends of the room, both facing each other; however the camera never shows both of them in the same shot for most of the duration of the scene. In the scene Hitchcock makes clever use of camera angles and the position of the actors in the camera shots to subtly show to the audience the emotions of the two characters and who has power in the conversation .He also uses lighting to show the personalities of the two next to where Marion is seated there is a br ight light so there is almost no shadows on her , however, Norman is sitting in the dark side of the room, and most of the time half of his face is shrouded in shadow, something that cleverly shows his dual or split personality that is revealed and explained later in the movie.Marion starts eating her dinner, while Norman never touches his. Instead he watches her intently, sitting upright as she nibbles her sandwich, looking frightened as well as very interested. He remarks to her You eat like a bird which she replies to Youd know, of course as she looks around the room at the large stuffed birds, staring at her form the ceiling. They have a noticeably uncomfortable conversation about his strange hobby (taxidermy) which fills the time, not pass it and the audience notices his lack of friends. For most of the start of the conversation, the camera switches smoothly between Marion and Norman as they talk, and the camera angles are ordinary, shot at neither a low or high angle shot. Ho wever, as they start to talk about Normans mother and his furious argument with her, Norman is strangely shot in a very low angle- shot, that is cleverly framed to include the huge stuffed owl that hangs from the ceiling above his head, causing the audience to think of Norman as some kind of predator.His face is also half-shrouded with shadow. This change subtly shows that Norman has gained the power in the conversation. Despite this, his voice is still quiet. Suddenly, as Marion delicately suggests that Normans mother should be put someplace else in other words, an institution, the mood and the atmosphere of the room goes cold and foreboding, and the camera switches to Norman using a close-up shot of his face as he slowly leans in towards Marion, showing his angry face. Deep violins and cellos play slowly and ominously in the background, showing the seriousness of the conversation but not too loud as not to obscure Normans words. The camera quickly switches to Marion a few times, f raming her perfectly with a high-angle shot to show her powerlessness. The music rises with Normans simmering anger, and he furiously scorns Marions suggestions, but then leans backs against his chair and the music quietens with his anger, suddenly he is back to his friendly, affable personality. Now that the audience know the Norman is trapped in a situation where he has to care for his ill mother or let her die, they sympathize with him more.Afterwards, Marion decides to leave and thanks Norman for the dinner. While doing so, she stands up and talks a bit more, and the camera frames her with a low-angle shot- while showing Norman, who is still seated, in a very high-angle shot; this shows that Marion has regained power and to make the audience to think of Norman as less of a threat to Marion than before. However, before she leaves the room, Norman quickly asks Marion her name, and she accidentally replies with her real name (Marion Crane), not the name she signed in the motel ledg er (Marie Samuelson). The audience wouldve realized by now that there could be a connection between Marions bird-related surname with the birds of prey that Norman Bates stuffs, which he calls his hobby, and if this is perhaps a glimpse of the fate of Marion Crane, however they cannot be too sure at this moment, as why would Hitchcock kill the main protagonist so early in the film?After Marion leaves the room, Norman stands up and starts chewing some gum. His mood and personality has changed dramatically; he is suddenly more relaxed and casual, contrasting with his nervous and edgy temperament that he had when Marion was in the parlour. Walking towards the counter and picking up the ledger, the audience notice how confident he has become, and wonder what the reason is. He opens the ledger and the camera shows a close-up of what hes reading- the fake name that Marion wrote on her arrival to the motel- and then switches back to his face, while he shows a slight smirk at the false name and location. Then, he slowly walks back into the dark shadowy parlour, his face and body covered in darkness, and stops before a wall, momentarily surrounded by large, sinister birds of prey. The audience can see that he is trying to listen to whats happening next door, and then removes a painting on the wall that separates the parlour from Cabin Room 1 where Marion is staying to reveal a small jagged peephole cut into the wall, a beam of bright light coming from it.Peering into the small hole, it is revealed to Norman that Marion is undressing to take her shower. Hitchcock uses a point-of-view shot with the camera to show to the audience exactly what he is seeing, and they feel uncomfortable to be put in a position where they can spy on Marion. Next, the camera switches to an extreme close-up of Normans face, filling the screen with just his unblinking eye, which is illuminated slightly due to the hole. The music that is played during the scene (sinister, high-pitched, violins an d cellos) is very effective as it adds to the mounting creepiness of Norman Bates. Norman puts the painting back , and gazes at nothing, as though he is thinking intently about Marion, a stony, evil expression on his shadowy face .The audience are very fearful at this point, as they think that Norman could now try to assault Marion or alert the police over her fake name, and as he walks resolutely out of the parlour while the music gets slightly faster and louder, but the audience relax, as Norman instead walks up the hill to the large, sinister house where his mother is, and walks inside, shutting the door after him. The camera uses a long shot when he does this, to suggest that Norman is no longer a threat as he is so far away, lulling the audience into a false sense of security. The audience are now itching to find out what happens, whether Marion would escape with her boyfriend or give up the money, and as they know that they watching a Alfred Hitchcock movie, they know that the re are probably many shocking twists that make his movies so exciting, but perhaps not as shocking as what happens next in the filmThe camera switches to the interior of Cabin Room 1 and shows Marion, who is now clothed in a bathroom robe, scribbling on a piece of paper before ripping it out and tearing it to pieces. She walks to the bathroom and flushes the pieces of paper down the toilet (shockingly, another ground-breaking moment- a toilet flushing had never been seen or heard on American films, which was to jolt audiences, but not nearly as much as her brutal murder) and takes off her robe, steps in the bathtub, closes the shower curtain and turns the shower on.This is the beginning of the famed shower scene, where Marion, what the audience think is the movies main heroine and protagonist gets violently and brutally killed off while shes having a shower in the motel bathroom, in an unexpected twist that shocked the audience. The scene is only 4 minutes long, with over 70 differe nt shots and many camera angles and it took 6 days to fully film it. Hitchcock paid enormous amounts of attention to details, and used cinematic techniques extensively such as camera angles, music and sound effects to create a truly horrific murder scene.As Marion is showering, one of the most noticeable features of the scene is the extreme crispness and loudness of the sounds that she makes, accentuating the lack of other noise around her. Furthermore, as she is showering, it looks like she is really enjoying herself, as though the shower , probably because she has decided to go back to Phoenix and the water is having a cleansing effect on her, cleaning all of her guilt. Next, the camera shows Marion from behind to show the shower curtain. The bathroom door is opened, and the audience can just about see a sinister, shadowy silhouette through the translucent shower curtain as he/she steps forwards towards the shower, although Marion is oblivious to her surroundings. By now, the audi ence would be screaming at the screen, telling Marion to look behind her, but the silhouette pulls across the curtain (the sound of this is amplified greatly to emphasize its abruptness) to reveal itself -an unidentifiable, shadowy figure brandishing a large and menacing knife, one of the most iconic images of the horror genre, and stabs Marion repeatedly as she struggles.The sequence of shots that follows are shot from many different angles and altogether there were more than 70 shots, and the shower scene is sometimes hailed and the well-edited scene in history. As the figure stabs Marion, the camera quickly switches from Marions horrified, screaming face to the shadowy figure and back again, shooting the two from many different angles. This emphasizes the extreme franticness and rapidness of the murder. Furthermore, it gives the impression that Marion is completely surrounded and cant escape. Also, the camera shows the murderers arm move in a stabbing motion many times, so that e ven though the audience never really see the knife stabbing her skin, they use their imagination to fill up the blanks. About forty-seconds of brutal violence later, the mysterious figure swiftly leaves the bathroom and the camera cleverly only shows the back of it to conceal his/her identity.Meanwhile, Marion is left in the bath, bleeding to death, and the camera shows her hand slowly sliding off the tiled wall, signifying her diminishing life. Also, as her body falls to the floor of the bathtub, there is a shot of Marions face, which is cunningly framed so she is not in the centre of the shot, but more to the right of it. This camera shot shows how Marion is not the main protagonist and heroine of the movie anymore. She falls forward with her hand on the shower curtain , breaking it and laying on the floor dead while the camera pans to the bathtub the where the water is washing away Marion s blood down the plughole.Music and sound effects are perhaps the most effective techniques used here. When the silhouette appears, one of the most iconic movie soundtracks in film history plays; a tumultuous and ear-piercing cacophony of short, high screeching notes played by violins cellos and other string instruments that greatly emphasize the franticness of the scene. It was music that made the audiences skin crawl and their hairs to stand on end. Alfred Hitchcock actually didnt want any music in the shower scene, but after he heard the score composed by Bernard Hermann, it influenced the scene a lot, greatly adding to the horror and tension. It gradually became higher and louder as the murder goes on, accentuating the heightening horror of the scene, but then goes very melancholy and slow as Marion is left to die in the bathroom, signifying the last few moments of her life. It stops altogether after she falls over and breaks the shower curtain, and the only sound left in the scene is the splash of water from the shower falling on the bathtub. Sound effects also added to the horror. For example, the sickening sound of the knife slashing through Marions skin is very audible; giving the audience impressions that the cuts are very deep (the sound was actually made by stabbing melons with a knife)By exposing the audience to forty-five seconds of nonstop violence without actually showing any gore or blood, Hitchcock leaves it up to our imagination. Imagination has no limits which is why the scene is timeless and just as shocking half a century later. The shock is not only the sudden bombardment of cuts but the fact that he killed off his leading lady. We looked through her eyes, listened to her thoughts and witnessed her actions only to see her naked body slashed to an ugly death. With more than an hour to go, anything is possible. Even though the film had a low budget, and the props used in the shower scene were quite crude and unsophisticated (although it was 1960, and special effects werent really used in films back then) Hitchcock uses his technic al mastery of cinematic techniques to make the shower scene and the whole movie one of the most famous in film history.

Typical Course of Study - Kindergarten

Typical Course of Study - Kindergarten The elementary years lay the foundation for learning throughout a students educational career (and beyond). Childrens abilities undergo dramatic changes from kindergarten through 5th grade.   While public and private schools set the standards for their students,  homeschooling parents  may be unsure what to teach at each grade level. Thats where a typical course of study comes in handy.   A typical course of study provides a general framework for introducing appropriate skills and concepts for each subject at each grade level. Parents may notice that some skills and topics are repeated in multiple grade levels. This repetition is normal because the complexity of skills and depth of topics increases as a students ability and maturity increases. Kindergarten Kindergarten is a highly-anticipated time of transition for most children. Learning through play starts to give way to more formal lessons. (Though play remains an essential part of education through the elementary years.) For most young children, this first foray into formal learning will include pre-reading and early math activities. It is also a time for children to begin understanding their role and the roles of others in the community.   Language Arts A typical course of study for kindergarten language arts includes pre-reading activities such as learning to recognize upper- and lower-case letters of the alphabet and the sounds of each. Children enjoy looking at picture books and pretending to read. Its crucial to read to kindergarten students on a regular basis. Not only does reading aloud help children make connections between written and spoken words, but it also helps them acquire new vocabulary skills. Students should practice writing the letters of the alphabet and learn to write their name. Children may use drawings or invented spelling to tell stories.   Science Science helps kindergarten students begin to understand the world around them. It is essential to provide opportunities for them to explore science-related topics through observation and investigation. Ask students questions such as how, why, what if, and what do you think. Use nature study to help young students explore earth science and physical science. Common topics for kindergarten science include insects, animals, plants, weather, soil, and rocks.   Social Studies In kindergarten, social studies focus on exploring the world through the local community. Provide opportunities for children to  learn about themselves and their role in their family and community. Teach them about community helpers such as police officers and firefighters.   Introduce them to basic facts about their country, such as its president, its capital city, and some of its national holidays. Help them explore basic geography with simple maps of their home, city, state, and country. Math A typical course of study for kindergarten math includes topics such as counting, number recognition, one-to-one correspondence, sorting and categorizing, learning basic shapes, and pattern recognition. Children will learn to recognize numbers 1 through 100 and count by ones to 20. They will learn to describe the position of an object such as in, beside, behind, and between.   They will learn to recognize simple patterns such as A-B (red/blue/red/blue), complete a pattern that has been started for them, and create their own simple patterns. First Grade Children in first grade are starting to acquire more abstract thinking skills. Some begin to move toward reading fluency. They can understand more abstract math concepts and can complete simple addition and subtraction problems. They are becoming more independent and self-sufficient. Language Arts A typical course of study for first-grade language arts introduces students to age-appropriate grammar, spelling, and writing. Children learn to capitalize and punctuate sentences correctly. They are expected to spell grade level words correctly and capitalize common nouns. Most first grade students will learn to read one-syllable words that follow general spelling rules and use phonics skills to decipher unknown words.  Ã‚   Some common skills for first graders include using and understanding compound words; inferring a words meaning from context; understanding figurative language;  and writing short compositions. Science First-grade students will build on the concepts they learned in kindergarten. They will continue asking questions and predicting outcomes and will learn to find patterns in the natural world. Common science topics for first grade include plants; animals; states of matter (solid, liquid, gas); sound; energy; seasons; water; and weather. Social Studies First-grade students can understand the past, present, and future, though most dont have a solid grasp of time intervals (for example, 10 years ago vs.  50 years ago). They understand the world around them from the context of the familiar, such as their school and community.   Common first-grade social studies topics include basic economics (needs vs. wants), beginning  map skills (cardinal directions and locating state and country on a map), continents, cultures, and national symbols. Math First-grade math concepts reflect this age groups improved ability to think abstractly. Skills and concepts typically taught include addition and subtraction;  telling time to the half-hour; recognizing and counting money; skip counting (counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s); measuring;  ordinal numbers (first, second, third); and naming and drawing two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes. Second Grade Second-grade students are becoming better at processing information and can understand more abstract concepts. They understand jokes, riddles, and sarcasm and like to try them on others.   Most students who did not master reading fluency in first grade will do so in second. Most second graders have also established foundational writing skills. Language Arts A typical course of study for second-grade children focuses on reading fluency. Children will begin reading grade-level text without stopping to sound out most words. They will learn to read orally at a conversational speaking rate and use  voice inflection for expression. Second-grade students will learn  more complex phonics concepts and vocabulary. They will begin to learn prefixes, suffixes, antonyms, homonyms, and synonyms. They may start learning cursive handwriting.  Ã‚   Common skills for second-grade writing include using reference tools (such as a dictionary); writing opinion and how-to compositions; using planning tools such as brainstorming and graphic organizers; and learning to self-edit. Science In second grade, children begin using what they know to make predictions (hypothesis) and look for patterns in nature. Common second-grade life science topics include life cycles, food chains, and habitats (or biomes).   Earth science  topics include the Earth and how it changes over time; the factors affecting those changes such as wind, water, and ice; and the physical properties and classification of rocks.   Students are also introduced to force and motion concepts such as push, pull, and  magnetism. Social Studies Second graders are ready to begin moving beyond their local community and using what they know to compare their region with other areas and cultures.   Common topics include Native Americans, key historical figures (such as George Washington or Abraham Lincoln), creating timelines, the United States Constitution, and the election process. Second graders will also learn more advanced map skills, such as locating the United States and individual states; finding and labeling oceans, continents, the North and South Poles, and the equator. Math In second grade, students will begin to learn more complex math skills and attain fluency in math vocabulary.   A second-grade math course of study usually includes place value (ones, tens, hundreds); odd and even numbers; adding and subtracting two-digit numbers; introduction of multiplication tables; telling time from the quarter hour  to the  minute; and fractions. Third Grade In third grade, students begin to make the shift from guided learning to more independent exploration. Because most third-graders are fluent readers, they can read directions themselves and take more responsibility for their work. Language Arts In language arts, the focus on reading shifts from learning to read to reading to learn. There is an emphasis on reading comprehension. Students will learn to identify the main idea or moral of a story and be able to describe the plot and how the actions of the main characters affect the plot. Third graders will begin using more complex graphic organizers as part of the pre-writing process. They will learn  to write book reports, poems, and personal narratives. Topics for third-grade grammar include parts of speech; conjunctions; comparative and superlatives; more complex capitalization and punctuation skills (such as capitalizing book titles and punctuating dialogue); and sentence types (declarative, interrogative, and exclamatory).   Students also learn about writing genres such as fairy tales, myths, fiction, and biographies.   Science Third graders start to tackle more complex science topics. Students learn about the scientific process,  simple machines  and  the moon and its phases. Other topics include living organisms (vertebrate and invertebrates); properties of matter; physical changes; light and sound; astronomy; and inherited traits. Social Studies Third-grade social studies topics help students continue to expand their view of the world around them. They learn about cultures and how the environment and physical features affect the people of a given region. Students learn about topics such as transportation, communication, and the exploration and colonization of North American. Geography topics include latitude, longitude, map scale, and geographic terms. Math Third-grade mathematical concepts continue to increase in complexity.   Topics include multiplication and division; estimation; fractions and decimals; commutative and associative properties; congruent shapes, area and perimeter; charts and graphs; and probability.   Fourth Grade Most fourth-grade students are ready to tackle more complex work independently. They start learning basic time management and planning techniques for long-term projects. Fourth-graders are also starting to discover their academic strengths, weaknesses, and preferences. They may be asynchronous learners who dive into topics that interest them while struggling in areas that dont.   Language Arts Most fourth-grade students are competent, fluent readers. It is an excellent time to introduce books series since many children at this age are captivated by them.   A typical course of study includes grammar, composition, spelling, vocabulary-building, and literature. Grammar focuses on topics such as similes and metaphors; prepositional phrases; and run-on sentences.   Composition topics include creative, expository, and persuasive writing; research (using sources such as the internet, books, magazines, and news reports); understanding fact vs. opinion; point of view; and editing and publishing. Students will read and respond to a variety of literature. They will explore genres such as folklore, poetry, and tales from a variety of cultures.   Science Fourth-grade students continue to deepen their understanding of the scientific process through practice. They may try conducting age-appropriate experiments and document them by writing lab reports.  Ã‚   Earth science topics in fourth grade include natural disasters (such as earthquakes and volcanoes); the solar system; and natural resources. Physical science topics include electricity and electrical currents; physical and chemical changes in states of matter (freezing, melting, evaporation, and condensation); and the water cycle. Life science topics typically cover how plants and animals interact with and support one another (food chains and food webs), how plants produce food, and how humans impact the environment. Social Studies The history of the United States and the students home state are common topics for social studies in fourth grade. Students will research facts about their home states such as its native population, who settled the land, its path to statehood, and significant people and events from state history.   U.S. history topics include the Revolutionary War and westward expansion (the explorations of Lewis and Clark and the lives of American pioneers) Math Most fourth-grade students should be comfortable adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing quickly and accurately. They will apply these skills to large whole numbers and learn to add and subtract fractions and decimals.   Other fourth-grade math skills and concepts include prime numbers; multiples; conversions; adding and subtracting with variables; units of metric measurements; finding the area and perimeter of a solid; and figuring the volume of a solid. New concepts in geometry include lines, line segments, rays, parallel lines, angles, and triangles.   Fifth Grade Fifth grade is the last year as an elementary student for most students since middle school is generally considered grades 6-8. While these young tweens may consider themselves mature and responsible, they often need continued guidance as they prepare to transition fully to independent learners.   Language Arts A typical course of study for fifth-grade language arts will include components that become standard through the high school years: grammar, composition, literature, spelling, and vocabulary-building.   The literature component includes reading a variety of books and genres; analyzing plot, character, and setting; and identifying the authors purpose for writing and how his point of view influences his writing. Grammar and composition focus on using correct age-appropriate grammar to write more complex compositions such as letters, research papers, persuasive essays, and stories; honing pre-writing techniques such as brainstorming and using graphic organizers; and building on the students understanding of parts of speech and how each is used in a sentence (examples include prepositions, interjections, and conjunctions). Science Fifth graders have a strong basic understanding of science and the scientific process. Theyll put those skills to work as they delve into a more complex understanding of the world around them. Science topics usually covered in fifth grade include the solar system; the universe; Earths atmosphere; healthy habits (proper nutrition and personal hygiene); atoms, molecules, and cells; matter; the Periodic Table; and taxonomy and the classification system. Social Studies In fifth grade, students continue their exploration of American history, studying events such as the War of 1812; the American Civil War; inventors and technological advances of the 19th century (such as Samuel B. Morse, the Wright Brothers, Thomas Edison, and Alexander Graham Bell); and basic economics (the law of supply and demand; the primary resources, industries, and products of the United States and other countries). Math A typical course of study for fifth-grade math  include dividing two- and three-digit whole numbers with and without remainders; multiplying and dividing fractions; mixed numbers; improper fractions; simplifying fractions; using equivalent fractions; formulas for area, perimeter, and volume; graphing; Roman numerals; and powers of ten. This typical course of study for elementary school is intended as a general guide. The introduction of topics and acquisition  of skills can vary widely based on the studentss maturity and ability level, a familys preferred homeschooling style, and the type of homeschool curriculum used.

The Freedom of a Christian Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Freedom of a Christian - Essay Example This essay will review one of the Three Treatises by Martin Luther, titled as ‘The Freedom of A Christian’ which is considered to be the final treatise in the collection. Martin Luther in his treatise â€Å"The Freedom of the Christian† begins by making two inconsistent statements where he narrates that a Christian is not restricted from any external influences and is entitled to serve other community selflessly as a slave. It is quite interesting to take into consideration that a Christian is not only free but also a servant to the society as narrated by Luther. Luther further states that being the servant of the society it is significant to perform the good work that is vital to bind neighbour with neighbour facilitating peace within the community. In this context, it can be claimed that Luther contradicts himself by asserting that tasks or responsibilities bestowed are not needed for the purpose of good reason; however, it is important that a Christian needs to be both free and a servant. Stating precisely, he affirmed that until a person is servant to others he cannot be a Christian. Furthermore, to serve the society playing the role of a selfless and faithful servant, it is important to perform supportive and accountable responsibilities. Therefore, it can be affirmed that towards the end of the treatise, Luther’s position becomes similar to that of the Catholic position, since he also considers the responsibilities performed for the good of the society as an essential feature to be a Christian. Luther discusses that one particular thing which a person needs in life in order to become virtuous is the word of God, which he defines as Gospels. Luther also states that good work as well as good deeds is not so significant for an individual owing to the fact that they are external to the individual’s body. However, the author places greater emphasis upon faith and grace as they are related with the soul of the person and hence are attributed as internal. The author asserts that a person tends to build the quality of true faith from his devotion and acc ountability towards God which needs to be built internally rather than generating from external influences. At the end of the document the author unambiguously advocates that if God has failed to fill the individual’s soul with faith and grace, the nature is most likely to express disapproval of it. Section 3: Extended Analysis of the Document Martin Luther’s ‘Freedom of a Christian’ was first made available in the year 1520. It was considered as one of the important documents of the sixteenth-century, Protestant Reformation. In the present day context as well, his work remains one of the classic tracts of the Protestant culture. The book was written on the eve of Martin Luther’s excommunication from the Church, as his final ecumenical signal towards Rome prior to making his pretentious exit. The Tract was dedicated to Pope Leo X by Luther embellishing it with a strong preamble addressed to the ‘blessed father’. As can be observed, in t he later pages of the ‘Freedom of a Christian’ Luther aimed at considering other people who were basically exaggerated because of their ostensible dignity from being respected as a Christian similar to his discussions in other tracts published in the year 1520. It can further be learnt that Luther’s ‘Freedom of a Christian’ became his bold new announcement on human character and human autonomy that aimed at describing all Christians irrespective of their degree of solemnity as being traditionally defined. The influence of then external environmental factors such as society, politics, and cultural values can also be apparently witnessed in the treatises, which were documented during an age featured by considerable changeovers

Implications of Differences in National Culture for International Assignment

Implications of Differences in National Culture for International Business - Assignment Example Due to the tight spot that is progressively afflicting the large global companies, international business ethics has ascended to facilitate in attending to these oppressive subject issues. International business ethics makes an effort to contend with inquiries of what to accomplish in circumstances where ethical morals are scrapped and become at odds in consequence of different and, oftentimes, opposing cultural practices. Negotiations in the international business platform can be deliberated from a wide or a restricted sense: negotiations in a wide sense comprise nearly all, if not all, forms of "consultation, communication, discussion, exchanging of views, reaching a consensus, and formal negotiations" (Chang, 2006). Those which are in a restricted sense comprise the undertakings that are accomplished in locations that are openly or officially arranged for negotiations (Chang, 2006). The academic sphere of discussions gained differing stance towards the relationship between culture s and the manners of negotiations. A few people are certain about the fact that negotiations have turned out to be a collective and shared behavior, and notwithstanding the cultural upbringings of those involved in the negotiations, and in the international business in general, the manner of negotiations is achieved inside the pre-set structure. Nevertheless, there are still those who are positive about the fact that negotiations in different nations are divergent from each other in that they manifest manifold and, more often, conflicting forms, and are basically diverse. To a wide-ranging expanse, varying cultural backgrounds result in varying kinds of organizations. This relationship is not complete and conclusive, nonetheless, and labeling, categorizing should be evaded (Liu, 1996). To appreciate the influence of national cultural difference on multinational business and negotiations, as well as in terms of the decision making process, a multi-cultural study and the varying natio nal cultural strengths and weaknesses can be employed in order to project a differing countries’ potential behaviours in negotiation process, and to recognize the cultural factors that may impact the decision making process (Chang, 2006). It is normally considered that multicultural investigations are concentrated on particular occurrences and deliberate the parallels and differences among countries. While this type of investigation may have limited potential in terms of the selected nations or particular behaviors on international business negotiations, it remains to hold a considerable importance in terms of facilitating individuals to understand business negotiations in a global perspective considering that it touches on different values, behaviors, and decision-making models of individuals coming from different nations (Ghemawat & Reiche, 2011). For instance, China and the United States have absolutely varying styles in carrying out a negotiation owing to: (1) Americans h ave diverse personalities in so far as the geographical divisions of Americans are concerned: â€Å"southern, eastern, and western regions are like different worlds† (Chang, 2006), as compared to (2) China’s extremely analogous, communism-inspired personality traits. National Cultural Differences and International Business Negotiations Regardless of the nature of the discussion of the personality traits as influenced by one's national culture, it is quite thought-provoking and challenging to profoundly comprehend and figure out international business negotiations considering that it involves manifold complex factors.

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

Strategic Management - Essay Example Based on the industrial analysis, it presents which the position in the industrial life cycle in which it belongs. Focusing on the opportunities and threats emerging from the industry analysis and the present position in the industrial life cycle where it belongs, the project makes an analysis of the future outlook of the company. It presents the future strategies that the company should resort to. Secondly, it makes a competitive analysis of the industry also. This is done using the Porters’ Forces Model which emphasizes on the factors like the suppliers and the buyers bargaining powers, the threat of new entrants, the entry of substitute products and services in the industry and the existing competition between the rival firms. About the Company HSBC is considered one of the largest financial and banking services providers in the world. The company’s international network is comprised of 7500 offices across 87 nations in Europe, Asia Pacific, America, Middle East and Africa. The company serves more than 100 million customers through its wide range of financial services. Among its major services are Commercial Banking, Personal Financial Services, Global Banking and markets and finally, Private Banking. It is listed in the stock exchanges of London, Paris, New York, Hong Kong, and Bermuda. The company holdings are shared among 220,000 numbers of shareholders across the world located in 124 nations and their territories (HSBC-a, 2011). The company has a unique international pedigree. A number of HSBC’s companies had started operations years ago and they have all attained extreme success and prosperity. The company is named after the founding member, Hong Kong and Shanghai Corporation Limited which was set up in the year 1965 for financing the upcoming trade between Europe and China (HSBC-a, 2011). Industry Analysis The global financial industry including banks suffered a major setback after the advent of the financial crisis that engulfed t he entire financial markets. After a period of continuous slowdown the banking industry is expected to witness positive growth rates following improvements in the overall macroeconomic outlook of the world. This was mainly possible because of the strong support provided by the governments to bailout the financial institutions who were on the brink of a severe crisis. A study by the Boston Consulting group pegs the total value of market capitalisation of the global banking industry at 6.4 trillion US dollars which is more than double of the figures of the previous years. The total shareholder returns offered by the banking industry was at its highest since the onset of global recession in 2003 and as valued at 47.1 percent (The Boston Consulting Group, 2010, p.1-2). Figure 1: World Economic Outlook Projections (Source: Reserve Bank of India, 2011, p.17) The figure above indicates a strong positive outlook for the forthcoming years. The interesting part of this is that along with the developing economies the positive trend can also be traced to the developed economies who bore the maximum brunt of the economic recession (Reserve Bank of India, 2011, p.15-20). The analysis of the markets reveals a situation of

Does it seem as though parenting values have changed Essay

Does it seem as though parenting values have changed - Essay Example With the modern technology, many books on parenting, an individual may expect parenting now to be much better and easier compared to fifty years ago. The kind of society where confusion and all manner of immorality exist among parents and children, leave people wondering whether the parenting values have also positively changed with the changing world. In order to instill values in a child, the parents have to be the example to their children but what is happening in the society currently proves the opposite. This trend emerged greatly after the Second World War. With modernity and economical strains, most parents work day and night to provide for their children material needs and forgetting the most important aspect of parenting which involves instilling values. Absentee parents can have negative impacts on their children (Raiford, web). An ever-absent parent cannot instill discipline or values such as respect for others in a child. Most research show that parent’s absenteeis m can even lead to psychological trauma in children, which may extend to adulthood. Any child or person with psychological problems may develop some behaviors that are not admirable in any society set up such as a careless attitude towards life (Raiford, web). According to statistics, there have been an increasing number of divorce cases across the nation. Divorce cases where children are involved rather expose the kind of irresponsibility and lack of parental values among parents in the society. Divorcing especially when the children are still young will always have a negative impact on the children’s well being. Research show that children raised by single parents suffer emotionally and may develop certain habits to adulthood. It is quite evident that most parents no longer know what they want for their children in future and fail to consider the welfare of their children before divorcing. Being together as a family is important in the development of children and building s trong personality in these children (Chambers, 55). It is upon parents to know the values they want their children to acquire and it is upon them to instill these values (Reasoner and Marilyn, 4). Parents who consider divorce without concrete reasons seem to have lost or changed the meaning of parental values. The increased immorality among our teenagers raises alarms and leaves people wondering if by any chance parental values still exist in the modern world. Teenage alcoholism and smoking are common phenomenon among American children even though it may have serious health repercussions. Researchers have blamed the problem on parents. It is upon the parents to guide their children towards making the right choices in life. Making the right choices is a value that a parent can only instill in a child if they were the example. For instance, with alcoholic parents, there are high chances of a child picking the habit from the parents since children are greatly influenced by nature of th e family set up. According to Jacob, adolescent children and adults tend to have similar drinking patterns with their parents (205). It is a fact that children with alcoholic or smoking parents do pick the habits at a tender age. In the early days, high school and birthday parties were occasions where age mate met to discuss and share their experiences but today it is the exact opposite. Children become adults in such parties drinking and smoking themselves even to a point of death. It is with no doubt

Work, People and Productivity Mgt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Work, People and Productivity Mgt - Essay Example These include; Preoccupation with failure, sensitivity to operations, reluctance to simplify interpretations, deference to expertise and commitment to resilience. People in HRO work in recognition of the high risk environments and occupations. In order to enhance productivity and reliability the HRO must carry out self-assessment and evaluation. These characteristics provide a guide to the thinking and mindfulness in the organization (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2001). It is important to recognize that policies and manuals in an organization constantly change; the HRO should be mindful and be sensitive to the complexity of the systems and environment of the HRO. The HRO should quickly work to identify and anomalies and problems and quickly eliminate potential problems. As an HRO it is important to always be aware and have updated information on the state of the systems and processes in the organization. This is key to identifying possible problems and preventing them (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2001). It is important that the HRO offer concrete and detailed explanation and documentation of processes in the organization. Simple explanations to processes and activities are not ideal for proper diagnosis of problems in the organization. This eliminates the problem of not knowing what’s going on in the organization until it’s too late. Concise and clear explanations of processes improve reliability and productivity of the organization (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2001). Failures and errors are bound to occur in any HRO, it is the roles of the HRO to identify, predict and eliminate possible catastrophes rather react to them. An HRO constantly keeps in mind that they might have omitted something that might put the organization at risk. This should be viewed as opportunities to improve current systems by determining weaknesses, examining

Does it seem as though parenting values have changed Essay

Does it seem as though parenting values have changed - Essay Example With the modern technology, many books on parenting, an individual may expect parenting now to be much better and easier compared to fifty years ago. The kind of society where confusion and all manner of immorality exist among parents and children, leave people wondering whether the parenting values have also positively changed with the changing world. In order to instill values in a child, the parents have to be the example to their children but what is happening in the society currently proves the opposite. This trend emerged greatly after the Second World War. With modernity and economical strains, most parents work day and night to provide for their children material needs and forgetting the most important aspect of parenting which involves instilling values. Absentee parents can have negative impacts on their children (Raiford, web). An ever-absent parent cannot instill discipline or values such as respect for others in a child. Most research show that parent’s absenteeis m can even lead to psychological trauma in children, which may extend to adulthood. Any child or person with psychological problems may develop some behaviors that are not admirable in any society set up such as a careless attitude towards life (Raiford, web). According to statistics, there have been an increasing number of divorce cases across the nation. Divorce cases where children are involved rather expose the kind of irresponsibility and lack of parental values among parents in the society. Divorcing especially when the children are still young will always have a negative impact on the children’s well being. Research show that children raised by single parents suffer emotionally and may develop certain habits to adulthood. It is quite evident that most parents no longer know what they want for their children in future and fail to consider the welfare of their children before divorcing. Being together as a family is important in the development of children and building s trong personality in these children (Chambers, 55). It is upon parents to know the values they want their children to acquire and it is upon them to instill these values (Reasoner and Marilyn, 4). Parents who consider divorce without concrete reasons seem to have lost or changed the meaning of parental values. The increased immorality among our teenagers raises alarms and leaves people wondering if by any chance parental values still exist in the modern world. Teenage alcoholism and smoking are common phenomenon among American children even though it may have serious health repercussions. Researchers have blamed the problem on parents. It is upon the parents to guide their children towards making the right choices in life. Making the right choices is a value that a parent can only instill in a child if they were the example. For instance, with alcoholic parents, there are high chances of a child picking the habit from the parents since children are greatly influenced by nature of th e family set up. According to Jacob, adolescent children and adults tend to have similar drinking patterns with their parents (205). It is a fact that children with alcoholic or smoking parents do pick the habits at a tender age. In the early days, high school and birthday parties were occasions where age mate met to discuss and share their experiences but today it is the exact opposite. Children become adults in such parties drinking and smoking themselves even to a point of death. It is with no doubt

Ethical Dilemma Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Ethical Dilemma - Essay Example It is indisputable that marijuana smoking has many ill effects not only to the smoker but also to the community surrounding a smoker. Consequently, while confronted with such a dilemma, there is the need to engage in ethical decision making to make the choice that best fits a person. The theories of normative ethics are superior tools of decision making when an ethical dilemma arises. The theories of Utilitarianism and the deontological ethics have been highly regarded in the philosophy of decision making, especially when individuals seek to choose between right and wrong actions in the society. While the Utilitarianism theories express that human beings will make a choice depending on the end effects, the deontological theory proposes that human beings have primary â€Å"duties† that they have to fulfill in every decision that they make. The objective of this paper is to critically apply normative theories in solving the ethical dilemmas that come along with smoking marijuana . In this case, smoking marijuana is an ethical issue that is surrounded by both legal and moral issues that can only be solved through critical decision making techniques. ... Currently, the drug has found application in treatment of cancer patients, as an anti-pain drug to reduce headaches, improving appetite among HIV patients and with treatment of the side effects of chemotherapy. However, in the field of medicine this drug is administered in small portions as the medical experts recognize the effects that come along with the use of the drug in large quantities (Jabelle, 2013). From this perspective, it is indisputable that this drug has many positive effects that are beneficial to the human race. On the other hand, the use this drug in the social circles has generated a lot of heat in its use and abuse in the social circles. The government in many states has waged war against marijuana use and laws have been enacted to prohibit its consumption in the society. While many states such as the United States have opposed any move to legalize this substance, other nations such as Jamaica have legalized its use in the public (Jabelle, 2013). Of more concern is the use of this drug as a means to get high in the entertainment circles in the society. The side effects of this drug in its excessive use are the risk of loss of short term memory and development of diseases of the nervous system (Souryal, 2010). Consequently, the proponents of its illegalization have proposed that this drug has long term consequences on the public and only regard its use under the prescription of a medical expert. Smoking marijuana as an ethical issue has both legal and moral consequences that come along with it. In the moral perspective, it is wrong since its abuse in the long term causes the user to suffer from diseases of the heart and the nervous system. In addition, the users of this drug are specific social groups that exist in this

Science and Math Is More Important Essay Example for Free

Science and Math Is More Important Essay Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? It is more important for students to study history and literature than it is for them to study science and mathematics. Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion. (250-300 words) ESSAY History, literature, science and mathematics are all classic and very important subject in their own sense. No subject can be given more or less importance in life. However, in my opinion, studying science and mathematics are more important than studying history and literature. Firstly, science and mathematics are essential to most subjects. In other words, No matter which subject you want to learn, economics, finance or mechanics, you must have sufficient science and mathematics knowledge to understand it. For example, if person after studying science in secondary school, it is still possible to change lanes towards law at university, but if one only does the art subjects in school, one has no possibility of becoming an engineer later. My second reason is, studying science contributes abundantly to the human life. What I’m trying to say is, without science or mathematics, there won’t be any technology, which we will still be in our prehistoric days without it. Electricity is a typical example. How will we survive if the magical power vanished? Not only it’s used for lighting but to make most machines work. We need electricity like we need air to breathe. Although Shakespeare or Charles Dickens’s work are all very fascinating, but so are Newton’s laws of gravity and movement. And actually, without the creation of paper or pen, which is science, William Shakespeare wouldn’t exist. In conclusion, it is clear that the importance of science and mathematics have to be learnt is much more than studying history and literature. Science and mathematics should be the two most necessary and impotent subjects in our modern life.

The Objectives Of Clinical Management Systems Information Technology Essay

The Objectives Of Clinical Management Systems Information Technology Essay CMS stands for Clinical Management System, including the information integration, inventory control, data processing and tools for medical data exchange. Generally the major user for CMS are physicians, and consist of laboratory information system (LIS), radiology information system (RIS), picture archiving and communication system (PACS). 1In medical fields, the application of new CMS mainly develops in the following stages. Automated medical record (AMR) is mainly used for the automation in medical data processing from paper into e-format. Electronic medical record (EMR) ensures a good communication for paperless and image exchange and sets up foundation of medical terminology. Electronic patient record (EPR) ensures the interoperability networking for the data exchange between CMS or other parties by using a single and standard format. Electronic health record (eHR) sustains the medical decision support system. In the medical support system, it conducts data mining skills from getting multiple data from multiple databases to assure the correct medical decision. Recap above stages, the applications of CMS are useful in medical filed. Objectives Due to the following objectives, our team suggests Town Health co Ltd to implement Clinic Management System (CMS). Increasing business opportunity; Connecting medical record with Hong Kong Government regulation standard; Exchanging medical data with Hong Kong Government centralize database. Company Background Town Health Co Ltd. (The Group) Established in 1985, the group has adopted the managed healthcare model to provide high quality and affordable medical services to our corporate clients. THMN has a full range of medical services, including General and Specialists Services, Dental Services, Physiotherapy Services, Laboratories Imaging Services and other auxiliary medical services. The Group has well developed and became one of the largest healthcare services providers, with about 30 medical clinics and specialist outpatient clinics, in Hong Kong. Company network Figure 1.1 http://www.thmn.com.hk/our_locations.asp Company Workflow The Group was operating a standalone medical management system over 10 years. Many problems occur throughout their daily operation. The basic operation workflow is shown as below figures 1.1. Diagnosis New Patient Registration Consultation Medical Record Transfer to Hospital/Other films Treatment Figures 1.1 For our daily operation, a new patient is required to fill in a registration form for his / her personal information in paper format. Then the duty doctor consults and examines the patient based on the background and situation at that moment. The paper medical record and real time observation by the duty doctor will be used as tools to support the diagnosis of the patient. Finally, the staff or nurses will input the finalize treatment formulated and medical record into the existing medical system. Five Force Analysis For The Group Suppliers Industry Competitions Buyer Potential Entrants Substitutes Threat of New Entrants There are many new entrants in Hong Kong healthcare services industry. It is because of the rapid changing of economical scale, such as new investments from PRC. Threat substitutes Since the market demand is changing recently, many different professionals are willing to join together and run their business to provide a 24*7 (24 hours with 7days) services. Besides, they combine their services into a single business firm, such as Chinese medical services, Dental and out patient services. Therefore they can share resources to reduce the operating cost and increase the revenue. Bargaining power of Suppliers Most of suppliers ally their product price due to the increasing price of most original materials. For a healthcare group, they are required for lots of inventory, like drugs and medicate equipment. This is a main reason for their high operating cost. Bargaining power of Buyers The Government regulation was release as benefit to all Hong Kong elders such as health care voucher, eHealth medical record sharing system, and etc. Industry Competitors There are many strong competitors with increasing and steady revenue. Moreover, most professionals quit their job in public sector (Government Hospital) and join the joint venture of healthcare group to start their own business. SWOT Analysis for The Group Strength The group is established for over 25 years, it is a well-known health care services provider with confidence in providing quality services. A wide spread of clinic coverage is convenience to all patients in Hong Kong. The medical management system assists on keeping patients records that ensures the efficiency on daily data processing. Weakness Performance of existing medical management system becomes slower due to the increasing size of data. Increasing numbers of patient records reduce the performance of accuracy. Thus, many errors were found in daily operation which influences the efficiency. The system will become a bottleneck of the Group for the business expansion. Opportunity Modernize on computer system provided a better management on patients data and prevent error to increase efficiency on operation. Also, connectivity to Hospital Authority (HA) and insurance companies database can get advantages on increasing revenue and convenience of data exchange for the Group. Treats The medical industry competition had a huge impact to the Group due to the decreasing market share and revenue while the running cost for equipment and drugs is increasing. Research Methodology Research method Interview for analyzing the current problems The aim of the interview is gathering information about the understanding for the current system and its process. Our team conducted the interview to narrow down the problems one by one. Web survey for capture the industry strategy Due to the rapid change for the market, this survey is aimed to get the most common strategy for our team. Data Gathering This process is mainly used for identify the existing operation problems through the interview with the company partners, managements and customers. Peoples interviewed: Partners Project mangers Customers The questions for Partners What is your corporate vision and mission? What is your corporate development target in long term / short-term? What is your development strategy in long terms / short terms? Do you agree the change of Hong Kong market decreasing revenue of your company? How many resources had been spent on your strategy development projects? What is / are the existing problem(s) that your company is facing now? And how does your company fix it? The questions for Project Managers How do you carry out the CMS? How long do you planned for your project schedule? How the CMS fulfill the development of your company that you had mentioned before? How many resources had been spent on your strategy development projects? The questions for Customers What service(s) do you mainly used in Town Health Corp? Do you comfortable with the current system of Town Health Corp? 3 Do you have any suggestion(s) for Town Health Corp? Through the interviews, our team recognizes the mission of health care group is providing a comprehensive healthcare service. The short term planning is to develop an effective clinical management system, while the long term objective is to build up an exhaustive service for customers, such as medical decision support analysis. To achieve the short term and long term objectives mentioned above, we have to improve: The duties schedule of physician Communication channels with other insurance companies The inventory control and allocation Standardization of e-health medical record Survey result All interviewee thought that the eHealth is useful as it answered them many questions and as a platform to communicate with others. Whats more, over 80% clients having discussion with professional after a year, which is dangerous if they didnt take annual body check. Almost 80% clients thought the Clinical management system should be connected into Hong Kong centralize database. Due to the elderly dont know how to use the high technology (e.g. computers), thus the respondents refuse to use it. There are only 20% of interviewees think that the Clinical management system cant be effectively the diagnosis processing. Almost 80% of respondents has been used the clinical management system, especially most of them used the Google one. The respondents all are educated above the primary school and most of them are in the age group of 30-39. Values Identified from Interview Objective Schedule Management Insurance interface Inventory control e-medical Record The duties schedule of physician Communication channels with other insurance companies The inventory control and allocation Standardization of e-health medical record Problem Definitions The Group was operating a standalone medical management system over than 10 years. However, there are still many problems occur during daily operation. Data formatting out of date The existing medical system was developed in 1989. All clinic offices were allocated a standalone workstation for operating medical system. The medical system database was developed by FoxPro which could not conduct data mapping with other new technology like Microsoft SQL server, MySQL server. Hence each medical system was all recorded year by year until present. Suffering in medical claim to insurance company Every time when different insurance companies transfer some patients data for inquiry, the staff needs to input the patient data one by one manually in order to get the corresponding data from the database. After all required data have been extracted from the database, the staff needs to enter the corresponding data to different systems that provided by insurance companies. Sometime if the data from insurance companies could not match with the database, the staff needs to notify the insurance company for amendment. After receiving the update data, the staff needs to do the inquiry all over again. Cannot manage resources on inventory Existing medical management system can only handle patients records. Inventory of the Group is recorded by using a logbook. Using of pen and paper cannot fulfill the services standard nowadays. That is not a flexible and efficiency way to keep track and monitor inventory, especially for a medical group which owned over thirty clinics. Manpower that used on inventory is also become a challenge on management and costs. Cannot manage customers appointment effectively Many clinics handle their patient appointments by using telephone bookings and marked on the notebook. However, it always has the contrived mistake, for example, marked down the wrong name or contact number. Sometimes the patients need to wait for a long time to check the appointment time or the medicine stuffs. Furthermore, the doctor may not stay in one single clinic; it is inconvenience for the customers who want to consult the same doctor. Based on problems above, managements decide to carry out a new Clinical Management System (CMS) to replace the existing one. Our learning area: Electric Medical Record, Interfaces with Insurance Company, Inventory Control and Book appointment with web interfaces. Successful Stories 2The Hospital Authority (HA) of Hong Kong 3The Hospital Authority (HA) is one of the successful case of implement CMS in Hong Kong. HA set up 15 Chinese medicine outpatient clinics (CM Centres). These 15 CM Centres are served with a fully computerized Chinese Medicine Information System (CMIS). CMIS is developed by HA for managing a large amount of clinical information. The CMIS is aimed to the support for patient administration (example, appointment, registration and payment), clinical modules (example, diagnosis, consultation notes and prescription) and pharmacy management. It can also treat as a platform for data analysis, planning and researches. The Integrative Medicine Information and Research Manager of HA, Tat Tse said, the system can reduce errors and enhance risk management, for example, the emergence of drug incidents, we can trace the patient and arrange examination as soon as possible. 4Union Hospital in Hong Kong Another successful case for CMS implement is Union Hospital and Union Hospital Polyclinic. Union Hospital was established in the year 1994 while Union Hospital Polyclinic (Tsuen Wan) went into service in January 2007. Hospital and polyclinic have an advanced Customer Management System to provide comprehensive patient data and flexible registration service. It is convenience for the clinic and the hospital to access the patient information and medicine history. It is also expediency for the patient to choose the venue for having the follow-up care thought out the network of Union Hospital. Proposed Solutions With the reference to the above successful cases in Hong Kong, the main purpose for the CMS is easy to deliver medical data. It is a centralized system to control and share the resources, like medical information, to related departments, like Pharmacy, Laboratory and front-end clinics department. Besides, CMS can be synchronized all the medical data to both public and private hospitals and other CMS. A brand new CMS become an important milestone in the IS strategy development. Inventory control To improve the inventory control, the implement of inventory control system is required. It can increase the flexibility and efficiency. The new system will include inventory monitoring, stock transfer, out of stock alert and reporting, and other function like expiry date reminder and search. These functions are the daily tasks which are operating manually every day. The implement of new system can help to reallocate manpower to other tasks. Schedule management The system will renew the data periodically. Old records of patients will be found easily. Clinic staff can handle the patients records and the appointments by using an easier way. Insurance interfaces The system can get requests from different insurance companies and reply those insurance companies automatically. A summary report will generate for checking every day. This can save the manpower of processing insurance companies request and prevent missing or wrong information exchange. E-medical standard Since all the new medical data should be matched with international standard, developers change all the new medical data into  [5]  HL7 format. HL7, an international standard medical system, can exchange data with other systems, which will be the main trend for future development. This action may cost lots of resources in transferring to the new CMS, it is still certainly required for the long term strategy of health care industry. Physical Architecture This section describes the physical architecture of the System. The below diagram shows the physical architecture of the System. The CMS is constructed in 3-tiers web based architecture, which includes web server, application server and database server. Web Server The Web Server will be the primary entry point for all users to access the system. All user activity will be limited within the Web Server. Application Server The Application Server will serve the validation process and the using of the stored data in the Database Server. Users will access these functions through the user interface located at the Web Server. Database Server The Database Server will be the central repository of all data. These data will be using for validation purpose. Software requirements Internet Explorer 5.5 above Java web starter 6.0 above MySQL 10.0.1 above Tomcat web server 6.0 above Hardware requirements IBM X3250 M2, Xeon E3110 3.0GHz/ 1333MHz (DC 65w 6MB L2 cache), 8GB 667MHz SDRAM, 160GB Hot-Swap SATA HDD Tape Drive [Prod Servers] IBM Tape Backup Drive Juniper Netscreen-5GT CableCat5 and Cat6 KVM 1U 15 LCD Monitor w/ 8-port PS/s Solution Budget The solution estimated project costs are shown as below: Items Estimated Costs (HK$) 1. Project team staff/development costs# 500,000 2. Project office set up and running costs including rent, telecom costs, mail/courier, etc. 100,000 3. IT costs including PC, software, printer, fax, LAN set up, etc. 100,000 Grand Total 700,000 Workflow of new CMS E-Medical record standard formats (Health level 7) apply in CMS First of all the medical record (HL7) run across multiple module of CMS, the example shown the workflow of e-medical Record useful in multiple modules of CMS. HL7 is mainly use for data exchange in different multiple module. Such as a single medical record it can be data exchange to doctors in clinical departments then transfer information to other lab departments then the lab result can be generate the medical decision support lab test. Finally the doctor can be made the medical decision and prepared the consultation result. The medical can be claim to insurance company directly for patients. Workflow of appointment in CMS The client calls to book the time with the right doctor. The clinical nurses mark down the information of the client and find out the clinic data from the database. The nurse call to remind the client and confirm the booking. When the client comes, then the appointment is done. Phone in to clinic Mark down the client information Call back and remind the clients Appointment done! Workflow of inventory system 1. Medicine, equipment or office supplies delivered to warehouse, information and amount of each product will be updated into the inventory system 2. Staff in clinics will place order for different items in the inventory system, delivery will be arranged. For some critical items like life-saving medicines, order will be automatically placed once the amount dropped to preset minimum quantity 3. Items delivered to each clinic from warehouse Workflow of Medical Claim Enquiry From Insurance Company Insurance company send medical claim request to CMS, CMS will retrieve data automatically from database and return diagnosis result back to that insurance company. Implementation Schedule The following is the paramilitary schedule of the proposed plan: Date Major Milestone Month 1 Launch of the CMS Project Proposal evaluation Month 2-4 Project Initiation User Requirement Collection Mouth 5-6 System Design and Analysis Procurement and Installation of Hardware and Software Interface with external systems Mouth 7-8 Program Development Mouth 9-11 User Acceptance Test Documentation Training Mouth 9-11 User Feedback Collection User Feedback Analysis System Design Revision Mouth 9-12 Program Modification User Acceptance Test Documentation Training Phase 2 Live Run Conclusion Durng the study topcis,all of us exploer our eye on Hong Kong Helthcare business operations.Due to the market change from previous, Hong Kong became stanadardation with international.The government of HKSAR become the leader role on electric health care stanard and regulations. Hence the team regonzine the implementation of cinical management system just the begin electric health care stages. All the industry stakeholders become more international standardization in future! Project Self-evaluation The study of CMS and its functions team completed the target because we can learn Healthcare knowledge during the project. The project management works are fine and the team conducts many discussion points during preparation. Finally I inspirit our teamwork steps until project closure. Tommy Wong @ Middlesex University 2011 During this project, I got the chance to explore and learn about the medical industry, and the relationship between information technology and medical and how they benefit each other. In my own findings using information technology in medical industry especially the outpatient services, is still in a preliminary stage, which mean more I.T. elements can be used to enhance the perform, more efficiency and profit can be archived. Simon Wong @ Middlesex University 2011 During this project, our division of labor is very balance. Everyone tried the best and put many efforts on it. I in charged the parts of findings, included the survey result, interview result and others. However,  some difficulties  encountered in  investigations, for example,  many respondents were  not sure  what  is eHealth, or  send the mail to people have not reply. I think our team spirit is good. But I should do the project more actively. Whats more, after my self-evaluation, I think my work is fair effective and efficient, due to the fair English grammar, I might need the others group mates help to proofread. At the same time, I think my time management can be better, because of my delay, the schedule of work might postpone. I hope I will do it better next time. Eric Pang @ Middlesex University 2011 Medical topic is a totally new topic to me, but to deal with different industries and departments is one of characteristic for Information Technology. Though this project, my skill for handling an unfamiliar topic is improved, which is equipped me to be an Information Technology professional. In this group project, I responsible for research on medical field business model. I found that even in a field of professionalism, the competition between companies still very great. Therefor price war is not a best way for them to increase the revenue. Before this project, I truly believed that price war is always a way to help companies to develop their business, but now I understand that with the information system support and re-engine the process flow, the company still can increase their productivity and achieve the target of increasing revenue. After this project, doing the analysis on the company background and market background become more and more import to me when designing solutions. This is the first time for me to handle an unfamiliar topic, medical health care industry. I had spent a lot of time to search information and catch up the schedule of my teammates. By having thIs experience, I am sure that I can do better for next time. Ben Wong @ Middlesex University 2011 Appendix 1 Interview Questions with Answer Dr Joseph Lee, Partner of Corporate Development Town health Co Ltd 1 Feb 2011 Dear Dr Lee, We are a group of year 3 undergraduate students of Middlesex University, School of Engineering and Information Sciences. As part of our final year studies, we have been asked to contact and interview a strategic manager on a topic related to the use of Information Technology and Information Systems within the organization. The focus of our approach is to look at the strategic reasons why a particular configuration of IT/IS functionality was adopted assuming that competitive advantage was the prime focus of the implementers. The topic we have selected is Clinical Management System implementation for the chain health care group. We approach you because we believe that our topic represents an important strategic use of IT/IS within your organization. We are requesting a short interview with an appropriate strategic manager within your organization. We should only take a short amount of time at your convenience. However, we do have a deadline of early December for this part of our work. If you are available to help, please reply me by email to [emailprotected] Thank you for your consideration of our request. Yours truly, Tommy Wong Attn: Dr Joseph Lee, Partner of Corporate development, Town Health Co. Interview Questions 1. What is your corporate vision and mission? Our group mission is grouping up all the clinic services to provide a comprehensive healthcare place to the public. 2. What is your corporate development target in long term / short-term? Long -term: Our corporate development target will be emphasized on the elderly mansion. We can provide the periodically body check as elderly easy to have the elderly ill. We would like cooperating with them by contractual in the future 5 years. Whats more, they will enjoy the discount by joining our group elderly program. We hoped that we can have over 30 elderly mansion join us. Short -term: Another our consideration is the doctors who wanted save the rent. They can use the place that share with other doctors, thus they still have their own clinic room but share the rent and human resources. It is because we want to keep increasing our shops (about 10 /year) in different area in HK to enhance our brand image. 3. What is your development strategy in long terms/ short terms? Increase the shops of Town Health is the one of the promotion plan. It increases the brand warranty and customer trusting. When the demand increases, the supply should be increased too. In long term, Town Health has to use personal selling to explain the services to the elderly mansion. Therefore we will recruit more sales to demonstrate our job to the elderly to increase our professional image and increase the corporate opportunities. 4. Do you agree the change of Hong Kong market decreasing revenue of your company? No. It was totally opposite with your question. As the citizens in HK becomes older and older, their requirement of the elderly instruments and healthcare in growth rapidly. In fact the target market in our industry is growing, the revenue of our company is in an enhancement. 5. How many resources had been spent on your strategy development projects? A lot! Human resources and Material resources which includes the instruments, medicines, equipments. I think it will over 100 millions. 6. What is / are your existing problem(s) that your company is facing now? And how does your company fix it? We have to find the Corp target carefully as many of them are not the legal one, whatever the mansion or doctor. We want to enlarge our clinic healthcare by a good quality. We would like asking the existing customers opinions and their past experience. Sometimes we need to find the good doctors by the positive word-of mouth. Thanks for your time and attention. Mr Jackson Tam, Project Manager Town health Co Ltd 1 Feb 2011 Dear Jackson, We are a group of year 3 undergraduate students of Middlesex University, School of Engineering and Information Sciences. As part of our final year studies, we have been asked to contact and interview a strategic manager on a topic related to the use of Information Technology and Information Systems within the organization. The focus of our approach is to look at the strategic reasons why a particular configuration of IT/IS functionality was adopted assuming that competitive advantage was the prime focus of the implementers. The topic we have selected is Clinical Management System implementation for the chain health care group. We approach you because we believe that our topic represents an important strategic use of IT/IS within your organization. We are requesting a short interview with an appropriate strategic manager within your organization. We should only take a short amount of time at your convenience. However, we do have a deadline of early December for this part of our work. If you are available to help, please reply me by email to [emailprotected] Thank you for your consideration of our request. Yours truly, Tommy Wong Attn: Jackson Tam, Project Manager, town health Corp. 1. How do you carry out the CMS? I would set up a project team. Most of the members come from functional team. I also recruit external consultant to be the project adviser. 2. How long do you planned for your project schedule? 2 years 3. How the CMS fulfill the development of your company that you had mentioned before? The functions of CMS commit, electronic medical format as connecting with international standard, the platform connecting with insurance company modules and also control inventory and physicians schedule management. 4.How many resources had been spent on your strategy development projects? Over 2 Millions. All are spent on in-house team development works. Thanks for your time and attention. Ms Eva Ma, Deputy Business Development officer. AIA HK Co Ltd 1 Feb 2011 Dear Eva, We are a group of year 3 undergraduate students of Middlesex University, School of Engineering and Information Sciences. As part of our final year studies, we have been asked to contact and interview a strategic manager on a topic related to the use of Information Technology and Information Systems within the organization. The focus of our approach is to look at the strategic reasons why a particular configuration of IT/IS functionality was adopted assuming that competitive advantage was the prime focus of the implementers. The topic we have selected is Clinical Management System implementation for the chain health care group. We approach you because we believe that our topic represents an important strategic use of IT/IS within your organization. We are requesting a short interview with an appropriate strategic manager within your organization. We should only take a short amount of time at your convenience. However, we do have a deadline of early December for this part of our work. If you are available to help, please reply me by email to [emailprotected] Thank you for your