Federal District Court Alleging First Amendment Violations...

I was recently asked to provide some prospective on a lawsuit that was filed in federal district court alleging first amendment violations against the former Sheriff of El Paso County, Terry Maketa, former Undersheriff, Paula Presley, as well as, the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners. It brings up a lot of interesting legal issues regarding federal civil rights complaints that I think are important to discuss. The Law the Action is Brought Under The lawsuit is brought under 42 U.S.C.  § 1983. Section 1983, or civil actions for deprivation of rights, is an amended version of the Civil Rights Act of 1871. The statute provides that: Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Thus, the two main requirements for a  § 1983 claim are (1) â€Å"state actors† and (2) â€Å"acting under the color of law.† â€Å"Color of law† has been defined by the United States Supreme Court as the [m]isuse of power, possessed by virtue of state law and made possible only because the wrongdoer is clothed with the authority of state law. U.S. v. Classic, 313 U.S. 299, 326 (1941). So, if Maketa and Preseley are the state actors, why

Operative Case Study Patient Data - 1738 Words

Peri-Operative Case Study Patient Data Patient CB is a 36 year old African American Female. She has a past medical history of hypertension, acid reflux, heartburn, and a hernia repair one year ago. She is a nonsmoker and reports never taking recreational drugs. Diagnostic tests related to her diagnosis include an abdominal ultrasound showing gallstones, an x-ray to verify stone presence, and tenderness with touch on the abdomin. CB was having a cholecystectomy because she was having pain in her abdomen related to gallstones. Her hernia was a result of a weakening of the abdominal wall. Surgery CB underwent a laparoscopic cholecystectomy with open incisional hernia repair in the Surgery Center of Pinehurst. This means that she had†¦show more content†¦This is due to the fact that the muscles must be paralyzed so the patient does not move around during the procedure. Fentanyl, Diazepam, and Propofol were administered to put CB to sleep, paralyze her muscles, and provide relaxation and memory loss of the procedure (Deglin). Potential post-operative complications from this procedure include malignant hypertension, hypoventilation, and nausea. Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) The first assessment of CB in the PACU revealed that she was still deeply sedated. The anesthesiologist almost had to administer Narcan to reverse her anesthesia because she was having such a difficult time waking up. She had clear breath sounds bilaterally and her skin was warm to the touch. Her initial blood pressure reading was 134/72. Her bladder was non-distended and her pain rating was 9/10 in her abdomen. An IV push of 2 grams of Dilaudid was given for her pain. Additionally CB was given Zofran for nausea. Specifically in the PACU the nurses are monitoring the patient’s airway, their pain, level of consciousness, any bleeding at the incision site, and nausea. CB was kept in the PACU, or stage I as it is referred to in the Surgery Center, for an hour until she was alert and able to breath on her own without a nonrebreather mask. Every patient is put on a nonrebreather and EKG when they arrive in stage I. Vitals are taken every five minutes times four, then once before they leave. There is a specific documentation

Alcohol Abuse in the Restaurant Industry Free Essays

string(95) " is going to be a slow night, and everyone could probably pull together to cover Sues section\." Alcohol Abuse in the Restaurant Industry Shelsie Ann Lawrence University of West Florida Alcohol Abuse in the Restaurant Industry The purpose of this paper is to look at the high incidence of alcohol abuse in the restaurant industry and the possible causes. I will use studies done, but also incidences from my own personal experience of 15 years in the restaurant industry. Background The American Psychological Association defines alcohol abuse as, â€Å"a drinking pattern that results in significant and recurrent adverse consequences. We will write a custom essay sample on Alcohol Abuse in the Restaurant Industry or any similar topic only for you Order Now † (http://www. apa. org/helpcenter/alcohol-disorders. spx). These consequences can be lost work days, vehicle accidents, the breakdown and loss of relationships, serious illnesses. Alcohol abuse is extremely high in the restaurant industry. It is readily available and consistently used as a reward for good behavior. The consequences of alcohol abuse are much more tolerated. I worked for a chef that would come in to work hung over and late. She would clock in, and then sit down to have a beer to help the hangover. After the beer was consumed, it was time to make something to eat, all of this eating up the first 30 minutes of her work day. She would not be punished for this behavior, because chances are, she was out drinking with one of our owners the night before. This scene would play itself out at least once a week. I also had a co-worker that was allowed to go home, due to a hangover. We will call her Sue. Sue was not much of a drinker. I would say, she probably went out once a month. Sue gets off work, and almost all her co-workers are at the bar drinking. At this particular restaurant, the kitchen and servers would close down the restaurant between the hours of 10:00pm and 11:00 pm, this would put the time staff gets off work around 11:00pm or midnight. The bar would then stay open until 2:00 am. To set the stage a bit more, it is also important to note a few other things about this particular restaurant. Staff was allowed to start drinking for free, any beer on tap and any wine sold by the glass, one hour prior to closing. Any other drinks, i. e. : cocktails, wine by the bottle, and bottled beers, were discounted half off. This restaurant did very well, and had minimal staff turnover, so they could afford to allow this. The staff dinner was served after the kitchen was cleaned and the wait staff done with all their tables. Staff meal is also called â€Å"Family Meal†, in the restaurant world. Family is what your co-workers become, in a restaurant. You spend more of your time with your co-workers, then anyone else. Restaurants are open on the days other people are off spending time with their families. You work every weekend together. You work every holiday together. You work every night together. Together you build contempt for those with â€Å"normal jobs† This is all shared together. These are things that only your co-workers and other â€Å"industry† people can understand. Most bars, in Seattle, when I cooked there, even offered â€Å"industry† discounts. Even if you aren’t drinking at the place you work, you still get a discount. You are still awarded with alcohol. So, on this night, Sue gets off work to find all her co-workers finishing up dinner and pouring more rounds of drinks. She had a particularly good night and made a hundred dollars in tips. She has been working at this restaurant for six months and hasn’t found herself fitting in yet. Fitting in, becoming friends with her co-workers, can afford many benefits. Servers are more likely to switch a shift with someone they like and know. They are more likely to help you out, by delivering food to your table, if you are someone they like. She usually eats her dinner, than goes home, while the rest of the staff stays drinking and talking about their work night. They stay because the drinks are free; they stay because when they go home, if there is someone at home, they won’t be awake to hear the stories of their work day. Sue decides to stay and have a drink, maybe get her co-workers to warm up to her a bit more. As soon as everyone see’s that Sue is staying they cheer. Everyone has wanted to get to know her more, but feels that since she never stays after work, that she is probably stuck up. Her manager buys her a shot, for a job well done that night at work. She pours a beer and immediately feels comfortable with everyone, partly because of the cheer, but also because she is now sitting down to her second drink of the evening. The evening progresses similarly to how it started. As more staff gets off work, more shots are bought. Other restaurant workers, friends of the staff are getting off work, and showing up. Pretty soon, the bar is filled with mainly employees and other restaurant workers. Before anyone notices, it is closing time. Now, if the owner of the restaurant was round, and chances are he was, he would allow the bartender to go home, or have a seat at the bar, and he would continue to serve the staff, with the front door locked, well after closing time. Tonight, the staff all drank until 4:00 am. Sue stayed right along with everyone. Sue comes to work the next day, green and doubled over. Everyone is setting up the dining room for dinner service later. Her c o-workers look their normal tired selves, but keep in mind, they drink heavily and often, this is just another day for them. Everyone see Sue and immediately cheers. One server comments on how great it was that Sue hung out with everyone the night before. Sue runs straight for the bathroom. After some discussion, they decide that it is going to be a slow night, and everyone could probably pull together to cover Sues section. You read "Alcohol Abuse in the Restaurant Industry" in category "Essay examples" They send someone in to the bathroom to tell Sue she can go home. No one chastises her. She is not written up. She will miss getting paid for the evening, but it was going to be a slow night anyway. She goes home, goes back to bed, and wakes up the next day to go back to work, back to everything being normal. This is a perfect example of the lack of consequences, in the restaurant industry, for alcohol abuse. Sue is practically rewarded for her bad behavior. By staying and drinking, she formed a bond with her co-workers. All her drinks were either free or heavily discounted, so she didn’t feel any financial burden. When she showed up for work, unable to perform her duties, her co-workers pulled together to allow her to go home. According to them, they had been there before. One reason for such a high rate of alcohol abuse, in the restaurant industry is the high rate of young adults employed. In a study done on young adult restaurant workers, 41% reported problem drinking. Young adults make up the majority of restaurant workers. Restaurant jobs offer the most pay, for the least amount of skill and time. Some restaurants require a degree to work in the kitchen, but no education is required to work as a server. If you are a student, and need a part time job, chances are you have worked, or do work as a server. College students consume large amounts of alcohol, with 31% meeting the criteria for alcohol abuse. (http://www. ollegedrinkingprevention. gov/statssummaries/snapshot. aspx) Serving positions allow for the flexibility needed for college students. You make the most pay, for the least amount of hours worked. The schedule is very flexible. If you need a night off to finish up homework, you can always call a co-worker to cover your shift. Chances are there is someone who needs money and can cover your shift. Even if you can’t get someone to cover your shift, you ca n be sure that if you do have to work, you can get off work early if the restaurant is slow that night. Less servers equal more tips for the rest of the staff, and like most servers, they always need more money. Restaurant workers live paycheck to paycheck. Most have no benefits, no health insurance, and are just one missed paycheck away from being completely broke. Out of the 10 restaurants I have worked in, only two offered health insurance. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median hourly wage of a food sever in 2008, including tips, was $8. 01. The median yearly salary of a restaurant cook, in 2008 was $21,990. There are exceptions to the rule, but the majority live at the poverty line. When no vacations can be afforded, one can take a mini vacation at the bar. With no health insurance, no one is getting annual checkups. You can stay in denial about any health problems that might arise from alcohol abuse, because chances are you haven’t been to a doctor in years. I had a co-worker that couldn’t afford to go to the dentist to get a much needed filling. We can call him Bob. Bob had been complaining of an aching tooth for weeks. He just kept taking aspirin and upping his nightly alcohol intake to allow him to sleep through the night. He knew eventually he would have to see a dentist, but he just didn’t have the money to go see one at this point. In the end, he had to go to an emergency clinic to have his tooth pulled. He was put on pain killers and antibiotics. This all ended up costing him five hundred dollars. This was more than a week of pay for him. Bob was trying to save up to go on a vacation with his girlfriend. He hadn’t taken a single day off of work in over a year. Now his prospects seemed even dimmer. He gets off work, pours a drink, and sits down to complain to his other co-workers. They all understand. Only a few of them have taken time off that year. At the very least, they can all sit around, and have a few drinks together to ease the pain. They are depressed and find solace in each other. This is the point when alcohol abuse can become cyclical. Alcohol is a depressant. When a depressed person self medicates with alcohol they are only making the problem worse. Method The method used for this paper was through personal experience in the restaurant industry backed by research in journals and studies on alcohol abuse and restaurant workers. Findings There are many causes for alcohol abuse; some of those being depression, the availability of alcohol, peer pressure and social factors, impulsiveness and low self esteem. Restaurants workers have alcohol readily available. They have discounts, and free drinks. They are awarded for good behavior with alcohol. The social factors that are prevalent in restaurant workers also play a role in alcohol abuse. Drinking becomes social with restaurant workers. It becomes their outlet. It is their way of bonding. They can definitely feel the peer pressure from co-workers to drink. In my story of Sue, she felt that drinking with her co-workers was the only way she would be able to fit in. She wanted to be friends with everyone; she wanted the benefits of that friendship. They wanted her to drink with them. She knew that the only way to penetrate the group was by drinking with them after work. After a few times of hanging out, after work with everyone, it can easily become a habit. I would see people actually get upset and offended when someone that usually stayed for drinks, just went home after their shift. Results There is definitely a high rate of alcohol abuse amongst restaurant workers or many reasons; ranging from the social aspects, the availability of alcohol, the high stress work environment, the prevalence of poverty amongst the workers, the late hours and just the acceptance of heavy drinking among the staff and management. I don’t see a change in the behaviors and attitudes of restaurant staff. I think this is a problem that will continue unt il stricter laws and rules are enforced. References ARTHUR H. FRIEDLANDER, D. , STEPHEN. (2003). Alcohol abuse and dependence:Psychopathology, medical management and dental implications. J Am Dent Assoc. Peter E. Nathan, P. John Wallace, P. , Joan Zweben, P. , and A. Thomas Horvath, P. (2010). Understanding Alcohol Use Disorders and Their Treatment. American Psychological Association . Rachel R. Doern, S. M. (2008). THE SOCIAL MEANINGS OF DRINKING: STRENGTHENING THE SOCIAL BONDS OF RESTAURANT EMPLOYEES. Advances in Consumer Research Volume 25 , 481-485. Roland S. Moore, P. C. (2009). Dimensions of Problem Drinking among Young Adult Restaurant Workers. AM J Drug Alcohol Abuse , 329-333. http://www. bls. gov/oco/ocos162. htm http://www. ohsrep. org. au/hazards/fatigue-impairment/alcohol-and-work/index. cfm How to cite Alcohol Abuse in the Restaurant Industry, Essay examples

Hospital Management of SWOT And PESTEL assignment essay

Question: Discuss about the Hospital Management for SWOT and PESTEL. Answer: Introduction The Dubai Health Authority has decided to set up a Multi Specialties to provide better quality treatment for the patients having eye problems. Using the experience of the Super Eye Hospital, which is one of the key eye health care centers of Dubai, the health department of Dubai has decided to open up the new hospital. However, due to high cost of medical expense the multispecialty hospital have to suffer from incurred loss. In this report, the reason for the loss of the multi-specialty hospital has been analyzed using popular tools like SWOT and PESTEL analysis. Detailed recommendation has also been provided, which will help to improve the performance of the hospital governing body and hospital management. SWOT analysis for reasons success and loss Van Durme et al. (2014), have stated that in order to conduct the SWOT for evaluating the strength, weakness, opportunity and threats of a healthcare organization, it is important sufficient relevant data. The data and the information related to the health status and medical care that is highly important for this purpose. It is important to analyze the data that is related to the decisions that are being made by the healthcare management. The strength of the hospital is that it is designed to provide the latest techniques of treatment related to the eye care. Being a multispecialty hospital, it is equipped with all the latest forms of equipment that are needed for providing treatment. The management of the hospital has gained significant experience from the Super Eye Hospital, which was able to make significant profit due to high rate of bed occupancy. The total numbers of successful treatment that is provided by the hospital has also helped to increase the reputation among the people of Dubai. The location of the hospital is one of the prime positions of Dubai, which makes it easily accessible for the all the people of UAE to seek treatment. The major weakness of the health care institute however is the lack of proper marketing plan. The management of the hospital has failed to raise the level of awareness among the people about the importance of getting the latest form of eye treatment. Moreover, the high level of cost of medical service that is needed to provide treatment has discouraged the patients belonging from the middle and weaker section of the society to seek treatment. The hospital also lacks the proper healthcare workers, who have the skills to deal with the latest equipment of eye treatment. However, the latest form of medical technology provides the opportunity to provide better quality of treatment. There is also no other multi-specialty hospital at Dubai, which provides the opportunity of easier competition. Nevertheless, the adverse changes, which is taking place in the medical field is posing major threat to the healthcare organization. The patients are also demanding cost-effective forms of treatment, which is one of the major challenges for the hospital. There are also the issues of crisis of skilled healthcare workers, who have proper training with the use of heavy medical instruments. PESTEL analysis for the reason of success and loss With the help of the PESTEL analysis it is possible to investigate all the elements that have the capacity to influence all the business performance of the industry. The PESTEL analysis is the acronym for political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors, which helps to determine the success rate of business (Yksel et al. 2012). The healthcare industry of Dubai is one of the fastest growing sectors of the nation, which is highly affected by all the major issues related socio-economic aspects. Dubai is considered to be one of the developed cities of the world and is also one of the major cities in the Middle East regions (Laeequddin, et al. 2016). The political system of Dubai is made up of federal structure and hence, there are no political parties in the nation. However, the country often face crisis due to political crisis. The seven different types of Emirates with the Saudi Arab region have allowed the nation to enjoy the flexible mode of governance (ANDREI and PRISECARU 2014). The frequent political conflicts within the nation disturb the business environment of the nation. The economic condition is another important element of the external business environment. The high GDP and per capita of UAE has helped the multi-specialty eye hospital to make significant process. Nevertheless, the nation also faced issues due lower rate of employment and poor level of income. Thus, a major section of the people of the nation does not have the money to afford for high level of medical treatment. Hence, the target group of the Eye hospital is limited to smaller section of the society. On the other hand, the high flow of foreign investment that is being received by the country has helped the Eye hospital to provide lower cost medical treatment (Balasopoulou et al. 2016). The choice of the people in the society of the people of UAE to choose high quality medical service has also helped the health institute to make significant profit. However, the discrimination that exists in the society has not allowed the monitories in the society of UAE to avail better quality care in high standard healthcare center. This is one of the major causes of loss faced by the Eye hospital. The poor technological infrastructure of the nation has been challenging for the Eye hospital as they require the use of the latest forms of medical equipment. The health authority of Dubai also does not have proper plans for the improvement of the application of technological equipment in the medical care centers. The hot and dry weather in the nation of UAE makes a challenging environment for proper business operating process. There no specific guidelines for the legal system in UAE and hence, this factor do not pose special challenge for the business environment. Nevertheless, the absence of proper business laws has allowed many unethical practices within the Eye hospital. Reason for huge incurred loss The lack of planning process by the Dubai Health Authority, which is a government organization, is the prime cause for the failure of the Eye hospital for making significant profit. The multi-specialty hospital also requires proper technological infrastructure and the lack the system has resulted in the poor implication of the medical equipment. The lack of proper leadership meant that the decisions that were taken by the health workers were not able to meet the requirements of the patients of the hospital. The price of the medical cost that is provided by the Eye hospital is highly expensive that has resulted in lower number of patients. Moreover, due to poor planning process the Eye Hospital has to suffer financial loss due to the lack of proper planning. The healthcare failed to provide treatment to the patients requiring quick treatment action as they lack proper skilled working staffs. The lack professional doctors also lowered the reputation as the patients lost their faith about the quality of treatment that is being provided. The hospital also lacked the ability to deal with critically sick patients. The cost of the supply has gone up significantly due to increased expense of the supply of medical needs. The operation process of the hospital also requires high expense, which increased the overall expenditure of the hospital management. Recommendations for the Hospital governing Board The Dubai Health Authority is the primary governing body of Dubai, which provide guidelines of health regulation within the city of Dubai. The authority is responsible for providing the health infrastructure that is needed for providing high quality health service. They have the responsibility to deal with all the major issues related to the health service that is available in Dubai. The primary role of the health authority of Dubai is to monitor the performance of all the hospitals and healthcare centers (Hussein et al. 2015). The change in the modern forms of treatment demands modifications in the treatment techniques, which will help to meet the growing demand of high quality health service. The economic change in the global health market is caused due to the introduction of the modern forms of equipment in the health service. However, due to lack of proper planning for the future the Eye Hospital in Dubai has sufferer as they failed to the implement the guidelines (Singer et al. 2015). It is important for the health authority of Dubai to attract investors from all sectors, which will help in the process of fund raising process for the healthcare sectors in Dubai. For effective hospital management project it is important to improve the market environment of the healthcare sectors. The tax for the manufacturing of healthcare products needs to be decreased. This will help the healthcare sectors to reduce the expense and thereby provide healthcare at lower costs. The health authority needs to raise the level of awareness about the importance of using the modern form of treatments. They also need to monitor whether all the healthcare centers are following the guidelines of the ethical conduct, which includes providing minimum wages to all the healthcare workers and not allow any forms of discrimination while providing treatment to the patients (Wagner et al. 2014). Protecting the needs of the environment and promoting the healthcare policies are the other important duti es of the health authority, which will help to improve the healthcare market of Dubai. Recommendations for Hospital and Operation Management There are certain key performance indicators, which will help the Eye Hospital to deal with the issues regarding high cost and lower quality of health service. The management of the hospital needs to collect significant amount of data related to the clinical and financial service. In order to increase the profit margin for the hospital, it is important to use the ten major indicators for the in the management and operation department of the hospital (Tracey 2015). With the help of the survey with the clients of the hospital, it is possible for the management of the hospital to understand the needs of the patients. The measuring elements of the Likert Scale are used as the indicators to measure the satisfaction level of the customers. The survey regarding the safety level of the customers will help the hospital to take measures increase the level of safety within the hospital. Following are the ten key performance indicators for the hospitals. Performance Indicators Description and Justification Rating According to Likert Scale Accommodation This is the primary requirements of the hospital. The management of the hospital needs to maximize the total number of accommodations. However, it is important to ensure that all the beds have proper equipment for proper life support. The occupancy rate helps to identify the total number of patients, who are admitted in the hospital. 3 Average Room Rate This is measure of the earnings that is made by the hospital from each room. The rate depends upon the total number of beds that is available in each of the rooms. 3 Patient Satisfaction It is the measure of the satisfaction by which the employees are satisfied with the service provided by the health care centre. This is the most important indicators, which helps to indicate about the service quality, which is provided by the healthcare center. 4 Labor cost Ratio This is the measurement of the salary given to every health workers. With the help of this indicator it is possible to evaluate the quality of service provided by patients. 3 Inpatient raw mortality rate This is the statistical measure of the total number of deaths that occurs among the admitted patients of the hospital. Low mortality rate indicates better quality service for the hospital. 4 Revenue per available room: It is the measure of the amount earned from the beds available per rooms. Higher the rate of revenue earned, higher is the rate of success for the healthcare center. 3 Readmission rate This is the indicator of the total number of patients, who got re-admitted in the hospital after getting discharge from the hospital. Higher the rate of readmission, greater is the performance rate of the hospital. 3 Average Length of Stay It is the average length of stay that is calculated by dividing the number of patient admission with same diagnosis related problems. Lower the average length of stay, higher is the chance of success. 4 Claims denial rate It is the measure of the total number of denial faced by the patient while claiming any health service from the hospital. Lower the number of denial rate, higher is the chance of success. 4 Stakeholders Reliability This is the measure of participation, taken by the stakeholders of the hospital. Greater the value of stakeholders reliability, greater in the chance of success for the healthcare center. 3 These indicators are used by the hospital management in order to improve the performance of and also measure the progress they are having in making business. Rating according to the Likert Scale Highly Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Highly Dissatisfied 5 4 3 2 1 Conclusions In order to provide better health service, it is important for the Eye hospital, which is equipped with the latest forms of medical technology to lower the cost of medical service. It is also the duty of the hospital management to use operational skills in order to implement cost effective forms of treatment. The use of the KPIs is one of the main indicators, which will help to measure the performance level of the hospital. The management of the hospital will use the elements of the KPIs to improve the business performance of the hospital. Reference Andrei, V. and PRISECARU, I., 2014. The use of PESTEL analysis in development of the Romanian geological repository.UPB Sci. Bull. Series C,76, pp.247-254. Balasopoulou, A., Latsou, D., Kousoulakou, H., Michael, N., Mc Kenzie, D., Mair, A., Vontetsianos, T. and Geitona, M., 2016. The use of PESTEL as a change management tool to inform change management of polypharmacy and adherence within SIMPATHY program.International Journal of Integrated Care,16(6). Hussein, H., 2015. Predictors of Patient Satisfaction Among Diabetic Population Attending Primary Health Care Centers at Dubai Health Authority.Quality in Primary Care. Laeequddin, M., Laeequddin, M., Abdul Waheed, K. and Abdul Waheed, K., 2016. Strategic management in cartelized environment: case of Hisham Packaging, Dubai.Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies,6(2), pp.1-16. Singer, S.J., Hayes, J.E., Gray, G.C. and Kiang, M.V., 2015. Making time for learning-oriented leadership in multidisciplinary hospital management groups.Health care management review,40(4), pp.300-312. Tracey, J.B., 2015. Hospitality HR and Big Data: Highlights from the 2015 Roundtable. Van Durme, T., Macq, J., Anthierens, S., Symons, L., Schmitz, O., Paulus, D., Van den Heede, K. and Remmen, R., 2014. Stakeholders perception on the organization of chronic care: a SWOT analysis to draft avenues for health care reforms.BMC health services research,14(1), p.1. Wagner, C., Groene, O., DerSarkissian, M., Thompson, C.A., Klazinga, N.S., Arah, O.A., Suol, R. and DUQuE Project Consortium, 2014. The use of on-site visits to assess compliance and implementation of quality management at hospital level.International Journal for Quality in Health Care,26(suppl 1), pp.27-35. Yksel, I., 2012. Developing a multi-criteria decision making model for PESTEL analysis.International Journal of Business and Management,7(24), p.52.

Atomic Bomb Essays (93 words) - , Term Papers

Atomic Bomb Was Atomic Bomb Necessary? August 6th, 1945, 70,000 lives were ended in a matter of seconds. The United States had dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. Today many argue over whether or not the US should have taken such a drastic measure. Was it entirely necessary that we drop such a devastating weapon? Yes, it was. First, we must look at what was going on at the time the decision was made. The US had been fighting a massive war since 1941. Morale was most likely low, and

The Impotence of Proofreading

The Impotence of Proofreading The Impotence of Proofreading The Impotence of Proofreading By Daniel Scocco Its a fact that a spell checker will not catch all the mistakes on your text. More specifically, it will not catch misspellings that form other valid words. So how do you solve this problem? Proofreading, of coarse! Just read again through youre text trying to spot words that dont fit, and make sure to not loose the focus while you do it. Proofreading is sometimes more important then using the spell checker itself. You should proofread virtually any written piece, from emails to blog posts. Proofread your homework as well, since you dont want to drive the principle of your school crazy. Lets be honest, misspelled words are defiantly a sign of ignorance. The simple act of proofreading will have a great affect on the quality of your material, and I am sure that youll earn more complements from people. Their you go my friend, and take this advice seriously. After all, you dont want to look dumb in front of the general pubic! P.S. Can you find all the mistakes? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 English Grammar Rules You Should KnowUsed To vs. Use To50 Synonyms for â€Å"Villain†

See instruction Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

See instruction - Term Paper Example The company expects less first year total revenue with the opportunity to increase revenue of second year exponentially because of Valentines Day sales (excluded in the first year due to April opening). The area will have nearly 1400 residents at the time of opening the Castleberry Hill. Studies indicate that a population of 9,000 is necessary to support a traditional retail florist and therefore it is important to point out that Shades of Blue will not be a usual retail florist. In the first three years of Shades of Blue’s development, the company will not depend on retail traffic, but will instead use advanced technology and smart marketing programs to target repeat buyers in more than 1,500 targeted businesses in Atlanta office buildings. The company’s business is to provide flower delivery services to customers who want to gift their loved ones with fresh flowers. Shades of Blue will target men who are more accustomed to spending money on loved ones. Shades of Blue is scheduled to open in April. The total space for the shop will be approximately 800 sq. feet. The shop will be located alongside the main street with one-fourth of the space would be allocated for retail use, and remaining space would be used for workspace and storage. At this time, there are no other planned florists in the Castleberry Hill that can act as a competitor. Free parking is available for the shoppers who visit the shop. However, majority of Shades of Blue’s revenue will be generated from routinely delivered floral arrangements outside of the Castleberry Hill area. Shades of Blue will be open for six days (Monday – Saturday), and will remain close on Sunday and on other public holidays. Hours of operation will be 10:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Monday - Friday, and from noon - 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. Hours might get extended during the holidays. The vision statement of the company informs the customers about the business of

Coal-Fired Power Plants (CFPPs) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Coal-Fired Power Plants (CFPPs) - Research Paper Example Because of its dedication to fight the global climate change, BNP Paribas created its coal-fired power generation policies last September 20113. Being the 4th European bank† that has issued CSR policy on projects related to coal-fired power plant4, BNP Paribas’ policy objectives is to â€Å"integrate climate change issue in coal-fired power generation sector by taking into account greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions† and â€Å"avoid investing in companies with low environment and social standards†5. BNP Paribas set a minimum efficiency standard of 43% in high-income countries and 38% in low-income countries for its generic greenfield CFPP projects and a maximum emission requirements of not more than 550 CO2/kWh in high-income countries and 660 CO2/kWh in low-income countries for other greenfield CFPP projects6, 7. For brownfield CFPP projects, BNP Paribas require the applicants to comply with â€Å"IFC Environmental, Health and Safety Guidelines for Thermal Pow er Plants† to meet the required level of emission and/or at least 10% increase or improvements from the required level8. CFPPs projects that were not in compliance with BNP Paribas’ policy on coal-fired generating projects were purposely turned down (i.e. projects in Turkey and Vietnam in 2011 and India in 2012)9. As of 2011, BNP Paribas avoided additional 70 MteqCO2 each year10. 2.2 Credit Agricole Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank is Europe’s 4th biggest bank and the world’s 5th biggest bank which aims to serve client’s investment banking needs11. Credit Agricole’s policy on CFPP projects are based on the guidelines set by the Climate Principles initiative, Environment Health and Safety Guidelines, IFC Performance Standards, International Energy Agency (IEA), Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Kyoto protocol, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the World Coal Association12. Before gra nting a financial support to CFPP projects, Credit Agricole will analyze a set of its ESG criteria which includes the plant location, quality of coal utilized in generating electricity, compliance with national and international regulatory frameworks, technology used in generating electricity, limit in the emission of pollutants, etc.13, 14. 2.3 Citibank Citibank is a US-based banking corporation. For the past 200 years, Citibank managed to establish a strong connection in more than 1,000 cities and 160 countries around the world15. Back in 2003, Citibank implemented its Environmental and Social Risk Management (ESRM) Policy16. Unlike the other banks and financial institutions, Citibank has been recognized as one of the biggest financiers of CFPP projects worldwide17. Since 2008, Citibank was able to finance almost 150 CFPP projects in US alone18. Even though Citibank plans to sell its shares in the Indonesian coal producer of Adaro Energy, Citibank is very much decided not to remov e or cut down its active participation in the financing process of new CFPP projects19. 2.4 Societe Generale Societe Generale is a French multi-national banking and financial institution that is currently operating for more than 149 years in history20. As part of its environmental sector policy, Societe Generale created its E&S laws and regulations which require all clients to comply with their requirements.

Assessment Referrals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Assessment Referrals - Essay Example According to Deiner (2003), â€Å"Communication is the process by which information is transmitted between two or more individuals† (pp. 273). Before making a referral for additional assessment in determining whether or not a student has a communication disorder, thorough amounts of interventions should be completed—as well as copious note-taking and recording evidence of a student’s behavior. Two strengths of observational assessment are: 1) that a teacher can physically see with his or her own eyes what problem or problems the student is dealing with; and then 2) record these observations for further discussion at some point in the future. The limitations of observational assessment are that: 1) there is no feedback provided by the student unless verbal or written; and 2) there is no way to know, short of asking, what the student’s viewpoint is during the assessment. Anectdotal records would be preferable to keep records—and then later on, the sch ool psychologist might be able to take such notes and go down a checklist of his or her own about what these behaviors together might mean. According to Boyles and Contadino (1998), â€Å"Poor communication skills can interfere with every aspect of the childs life. Learners with communication disorders quickly fall behind in school. Vocabularies dwindle, memories fail, and problem solving becomes difficult† (pp. 158). Therefore, if the diagnosing individual can pinpoint what the student is having difficulty with, that might make the student be able to more effectively handle his or her

Media And Communication Studies Problems In Encoding Media Essay

Media And Communication Studies Problems In Encoding Media Essay Introduction Communication is the basic instinct of human being. The interaction and communication process is complex. It directs the researchers to understand the way the cognition works. Latest researches have become more advanced in the context of encoding. CDA (critical discourse analysis) and DA (discourse analysis) have been prerequisite to understand the encoding process. Objectivity, especially in the field of journalism is of great concern. The factors influencing the cognition and the process of encoding have been of the great concern for the communication scholars. Encoding is an integral part of the communication process. With out encoding and decoding it is not possible to communicate and being communicated. If we exclude the encoding the concept of communication is not possible. Mass media in Pakistan like any other media across the globe is working under the lines of responsibility but it is essential to understand the problems in encoding. Process of encoding and decoding is part of everyday communication. Anchormen, news reporters and producers play an important role beyond many others in communication field. Agenda setting, opinions building for a particular purpose have been the major area of interest for the communication experts and the journalists. It is obvious in our daily news media that some hot issues summarily go beyond the surface and the new one take their place to mold the attention of the public from one point to an other. This may go successful in one way when the message is encoded perfectly and then the receiver of the message decodes it in the way the sender wants it. For the successful and objective communication certain studies have been conducted by the communication and language experts focusing especially to the problems in the encoding process. PART II Encoding Definition: Encoding is the translation of purpose, intention, or meaning into symbols or codes. (Communication theories: Origins, Methods, And Uses in Mass Media 3rd Edition) By Werner J. Severin James W. Tankard, Jr Mostly these symbols are in the form of numbers, letters or words. These symbols work like bricks in forming the structure of any language. Other shapes of the encoding can be a photograph, motion picture, musical note or in the form of any sound. Encoding is such a process which demands deep attention to understand. It is the part of our routine life. Communication is the vital part of our life. We can not remain in isolation and feel relief when we express our intentions and feeling to any other person. The process of communication involves the most important factor that is encoding. Encoding basically occurs in mind. In other words it is the process of mind in which our intentions and what so ever we want to communicate is converted or shaped into the form of words which may be in the written or spoken form or can be any kind of gesture. We do the encoding on the basis of our knowledge and our past experiences. It is prerequisite for the journalists and communication experts to understand the encoding and its impact on the objectivity of the news or the message being conveyed. Encoding and the Society: Communication works like blood in the body. The process of interaction and transmission of the intentions and ideas from one to other person requires the cognition to come in work. With out the encoding it is impossible to deliver ones intentions to the other. The process of the encoding and decoding follow each other. A person encodes the message in reaction to what he/she decodes. Encoding process is available at every stage. In the field of communication from interpersonal to mass communication; each level has encoding in the process of dissemination of the information. At the mass communication level media disseminate the information to diverse societies. In the societies electronic journalism has a great role in providing the information about daily happening. The general public is regularly exposed to news channels and construct the opinion on the basis of what they watch and listen. Opinion of a society plays important role in the power play at social and national level and even impacts the international power structure. Keeping in mind the importance of the social opinion, it has been the concern of the communication scholars to ensure the objectivity at every stage of news and information dissemination. The process of delivering the information at this level passes through various stages. From the ordinary witness at the crime scene to the reporter, from reporter to the news desk, from news desk to the anchor person and from anchor person to the audiences, the process of encoding is involved at each stage. To ensure the transparency in the information distribution, making it objective and to provide the reality till the audience, certain studies have been conducted by the communication scholars. In the latest studies the scholars have conducted the Critical Discourse Analysis to study the way social power abuse; dominance and inequality are enacted, reproduced and resisted by text and talk in the social and political context. It thus want to understand, expose and ultimately to resist the social inequality. Additionally the scholars have conducted the Discourse Analysis- a general term for a number of approaches to analyze written, spoken, signed language use. Encoding and the Language: In the process of encoding, language plays an important role. A group of students of the language which is called General Semanticists have worked over the encoding. They also have identified some characteristics of the language. These characteristics are essential to understand in understanding the encoding and the problems in its process. To understand the process of encoding in our society, individuals of the society and the media experts including communication experts and journalists it is essential to be known about these characteristics of the language. Media experts and journalists themselves go through the process of the encoding to shape their selections and intentions and the reality of the world around, and this afterwards again shaped by the minds of individuals in the society. At this point to save the objectivity and the purity of news and the affairs about the world around is the major concern. The misuse of the language takes the communicator or the person being communicated to certain amalgamations of the problems. Following are characteristics of the language identified by the General Semanticists: Language is Static; Reality is Dynamic Language is Limited; Reality is Virtually Unlimited Language is Abstract Assumptions Built into Languages Language is Static; Reality is Dynamic: Words themselves do not change over the period of time, yet the world around us is full of change. In the process of the evolution it is the natural phenomenon that certain species are not permanent in their shape and structure but they keep on developing time to time. In this case it is fact that we use the same fixed limitations and the words to describe any event or the world around. We use some specified words and attributes for certain things and events but with the passage of time their importance and area of influence keep on changing. Mass media communication experts especially the journalists use a specified vocabulary and terms to convey daily happenings. In the developing countries like Pakistan, the journalists in mass media field are not literal to the level essential for their work and the media here is in the developing stage; which has the potential risk to objectivity and the true tackling of the matter of the encoding in the sense of obtaining the information and imparting it to the masses but with the gradual rise in the education towards the importance and the responsibility in the news dissemination process is bringing a positive change. Language is Limited; Reality is virtually Unlimited: According to Wendell Johnson (1972) there are 500,000 to 600,000 words in the English language and they are to represent millions of individual facts, experiences and relationships. The people generally use limited vocabulary for their conversation in daily life. Miller (1963) says that vocabulary for telephone conversation is 5000 words and for novel are 10,000 words. Journalists and communication experts generally have the limited vocabulary. They come across various events in their daily life which they finally encode and give the shape of words and voice and broadcast for the audience and viewers. According to this characteristic of the language they can not show the exact reality of the event. This aspect in other words compromises the objectivity required in the news dissemination process. Due to having the limited vocabulary it becomes hard to convey the true picture of the reality. Language is Abstract: According to General Semanticists in the abstraction process we select some details about anything and leave rest of the details. Every language contains some abstractions. It is one of the most important features of the language. It allows us to think in categories. Much of the human knowledge is bound up in the process of categorizing and classifying. As the words become more abstract their correspondence to the reality becomes less and less direct. In the process of encoding especially according to the journalism perspective, objectivity is the foremost thing to consider. It has adverse effects if the audiences are not conversant to the encoding and abstraction processes. Assumptions Built into the Language: As General Semanticists say; the structure and vocabulary of the language contains many assumptions about the nature of the reality. Wendell Johnson observed that the language we use not only puts words in our mouths, but it also puts notions in our heads. Many folk languages contain certain assumption which are influenced by the culture and norms in which the speakers of that language live. Our mind is like a room which is colored by our experiences and cultures and when we speak in native or foreign language, that language builds assumptions in our mind besides putting words in our mouth. Misuses of the Language: General Semanticists have identified some misuses of the language due its static limited and abstract nature. They have identified four common misuses. Dead-Level Abstracting Undue Identification Two Valued Evaluation Unconscious Projection Dead-Level Abstracting: This concept, described by Wendell Johnson (1946) refers to getting stuck at one level of abstraction. The level could be high or low. High level abstractions are words like justice, democracy, freedom, mankind, and communism, peace with honor, and law and order. The low level abstraction can be like, some one recounting every detail of his or her day. An effective message contains generalizations at a high level of abstraction, but there are also specific details at a low level of abstraction. One effective technique for doing this is to give a lot of examples. (Communication theories: Origins, Methods, And Uses in Mass Media 3rd Edition) By Werner J. Severin James W. Tankard, Jr Undue Identification: General Semanticists have described the undue identification as, the failure to see distinctions between members of a category or class. This term points out that they are seen as identical or identified. Another term for this is categorical thinking. In everyday discourse, it is sometimes referred to as overgeneralization. One common kind of undue identification is stereotyping. (Communication theories: Origins, Methods, And Uses in Mass Media 3rd Edition) Two Valued Evaluation: This is also known as thinking with the excluded middle. According to this, there are only two possibilities of any thing and there is no third possibility of being something at the middle. For example: Right or Wrong Day or Night The General Semanticists have advised the way to eliminate such kind of misuse of the language by having the multivalued evaluation. In other words, to think that there are a range of possibilities of anything. Unconscious Projection: According to the General Semanticists the unconscious projection is a lack of awareness that ones statements are to a degree statements about oneself. Wendell Johnson (1972) went so for as to claim that basically we always talk about ourselves. William Shakespeare said, Nothing is good or bad, but thinking makes it so. It is the I behind the eye that does the seeing. The seeing goes on inside our heads and inside our nervous system. What we see is our response to what we look at. (Communication theories: Origins, Methods, And Uses in Mass Media 3rd Edition) PART III Literature Review Stuart Hall: Stuart Hall has worked over encoding. His paper encoding/decoding was published in 1973. Many of the terms set by Hall remained influential in the field of cultural studies. Hall explored this work during his stay at Birmingham. Hall worked on that how media messages are produced, circulated and consumed. His essay challenged three major things in the communication process. He argued that; Meaning is not simply fixed or determined by the sender. The message is never transparent. The audience is not passive recipient of the meaning. According to him, distortion is built into the system. It is not the failure of the producer or the viewer. He argued that there is lack of fit between two sides of communication exchange. That lack of fit is between the moment of the production of the message and the moment of its reception. In other words, there is lack of fit between encoding and the decoding process. Cultural theorist Stuart Hall developed the reception theory. This theory analyses that how readers (audience) receive the literary text. This is basically a textual analysis approach that focuses on the range of negotiation and opposition concerning to the audience. According to this theory the text in any form is not accepted passively but the audience or the readers interpret the meanings in their cultural backgrounds and the past experiences. As per this theory, the process of encoding going on in any persons cognition is always influenced by his cultural background and the past experiences of the life. General Semanticists: In the world of communication, encoding has been the matter of the great concern. A group of students of language which was named as General Semanticists, have worked on the problems of encoding. This group was at first led by the Alfred Korzybski, a Polish who later migrated to United States of America. Encoding as being the basic element in the communication process which deals with the work of cognition is unavoidable in the process of analyzing the communication and the interaction of human beings with each other and its effects. In the process of accounting the importance of the encoding we can not put aside the role of the language. The language as being the central tool in the process of the communication affects the whole process of sharing the ideas and interaction with each other. Focusing on the vitality and the role of the language in encoding, they have identified some characteristics of the language that make the encoding difficult-especially in the language. These scholars have been in concern with the role of language in our daily life and its effects over our mental health. They have suggested to use the language in the way as the scientists use, to avoid the problems generated by the misuse of the language. Describing the characteristics of the language which make the encoding difficult, they identified the language as; Language is Static; Reality is Dynamic Language is Limited; Reality is Virtually Unlimited Language is Abstract Assumptions Built into Languages Misuse of the language causes the wrong encoding of any purpose or intention which takes the person being communicated, away from the reality. The person who gratifies his needs for information and news is on the stake of the key performers in the information dissemination process such as media producers, anchor-persons and the news reporters. General Semanticists have also identified some misuses of the language. Wendell Johnson has the prominent work in this regard. The misuses of the language are; Dead-Level Abstracting Undue Identification Two Valued Evaluation Unconscious Projection According to Wendell Johnson, getting stuck to a level of abstraction, and basically we always talk about ourselves, are the matters of the great concern. The field of journalism like other communication activities requires more attention towards these findings by the General Semanticists. The element of the objectivity has been of great concern. S. I. Hayakawa (1964) discusses three kinds of statements focusing the objectivity. Reports Inferences judgment According to him, the statement which is capable of verification is called the report. He describes the inferences as the statements made about unknown on the basis of known and finally he discussed the judgment as an expression of approval or disapproval for an occurrence, person or object. Journalists are sometimes challenged for their objectivity and unveiling the true picture of reality. For this the Hayakawa has advised to follow the report method of the statements and avoid inferences, statements and slanting. Encoding and Mass Media in Pakistan: Mass media in Pakistan has been playing active role in dissemination of the information to the audience at every newsworthy occasion. Certainly there is no scarcity of the hardworking journalists working in the whole process of the communication and the news dissemination. At the present stage there is great competition going on among various TV channels, of which most of the channels are newly emerged. Being the first in the broadcasting race some times the violation of the standards and ethics of news reporting is obvious. Some of the channels have been showing the videos of such a brutal incidents which would never be shown under the codes of ethics. Whether it is print or the electronic media, loopholes in the process of information gathering, processing and distributing stages are apparent. Government has established PEMRA to regulate the media but it too has been kept under the influence of the interests of the governing body in the past. In the print media there are a number of news stories available at the news desks which are firstly encoded by the reporters in the words on the paper, which sometimes are not written properly due to limited vocabulary of the language held with the reporter. There are gatekeepers at various stages of the news production which practice their influence on the word structure of the news. Sometimes a few newsworthy stories are left behind due to unavailability of the space in the print and the time in the electronic media and that reserved space is due to the immense influence of the advertisers, through which mass media generate the revenue. In such above mentioned conditions, the objectivity is the element of great concern in the whole process of the mass media. There have been no work done over the issue of encoding by the mass media of Pakistan and there is no research held over the audience way of the encoding in Pakistan. There are a few channels (TV, Radio) and newspapers which are never influenced by the rivalry of the circumstances and tried to provide the objective news to the audience and vied to unveil the reality. But to analyze the way the mass media in Pakistan encodes the messages and to analyze the way the audience further encode the messages, is the matter of great concern. PART IV Hypothesis To analyze the objectivity and the encoding process by the news media it is essential to set a hypothesis. Under the hypothesis we will discuss the level of objectivity and the way how mass media especially the news media (print and electronic) of Pakistan and the audience encode the news. Statement of the Hypothesis News media (print and electronic media) in Pakistan politicize the news PART V Analysis Mass media in Pakistan has diverse outlets. It is not merely confined to the print media or in the other words the newspapers. There are news agencies, newspapers, magazines, radio, TV channels, internet and the movie industry under the title of the mass media in Pakistan. Debating on the issue of the encoding we will pass through the performance of the all kinds of media in Pakistan focusing on the issue of politicizing of the news elements by the media industry. Pakistan as being one of the developing countries is passing through the process of the evolution in the field of industry, economy and the media field. Where there are various TV channels are getting approval for the start of the broadcast, there many newly born newspapers are sacrificing for there erectness and stability in the corporate culture of the present Pakistan. Besides this there is one more way of recreation, learning and information for the audience and that is radio listening. The radio Pakistan enjoys the vast area coverage with respect to other FM radio stations having a limited area for broadcast. Internet too is full of blogs and WebPages. Society in Pakistan is divided into urban and rural population. The urban population is being exposed to diverse media outlets than the rural population. The emerging news media in Pakistan has been influenced by the political economy being practiced by various corporate and the political bodies. The newly emerging media whether in the form of print or electronic have to vie for their existence and their existence can not be assured with out generation of the revenue. The struggle to generate the revenue some times put these media industries on the way other than the objectivity. The objectivity has been the great concern for the communication experts and the scholars. It would be the foremost responsibility of the mass media to provide the accurate picture of the reality and do not keep the audience away from the reality. Encoding of the news is blurred by the various key players in the media industry due to their affiliations with the corporate world and the political body. Corporate sector influences the media by using the advertisement tool and the political body cares for its interest and if the media go against, it puts the sanctions through the governmental media regulating bodies. This way, the corporate and the political bodies control the contents of the news and other media messages and make the reporters, news editors, columnists, anchor persons and the news producers to think in the way they want. As the general semanticists identified, due to the limited aspect of the language the reporter sometimes can not describe the reality of the incident in the way as it should be. The assumptions built in the language makes the key performers in the media industry to think in the way that is influenced by their culture and past experiences. As the Wendell Johnson said, the opinions of the columnists are to some extent the talks about themselves. These are basically their opinions and not necessarily the reality of something. The element of the judgment according to the Hayakawa is also visible in the opinions given in the news articles and the columns. Reports are the only the way to come up with the reality for the audience. There are the reports that can only be verified and are credible thats why the emphasis is given on the report (a type of statements according to Hayakawa). The audience as per the uses and the gratification theory gratifies their needs from the mass media in the form of the news and the entertainment. And if they gratify their needs on the basis of the news encoded by mass media under the influence of any corporate or the political body, they will live with the wrong picture of the world around them in their brain and that will effect their reaction in the social life. Agenda setting aspect of the mass media is also applicable in this regard. The influential bodies and sometimes the personal bias of any of the key performers in the mass media molds the structure of the news in a particular sense generating collection of words which causes to set a particular agenda in the public. Sometimes the political influence of the political body being the major provider of the advertisements to the mass media makes news media to make an issue over particular news in the media and bury the other news which however may cause any harm to the political body. The contents of the news in the media are also affected by the advertiser which buys large space or the time in the news media and this way controls consciously or unconsciously the news flow and its encoding. Some of the events have been given more than the due time and rests of the important events are kept at the stand by although the newsworthy incidents keep happening all the time in any of the corners of the country. The news is not merely encoded by the news media but it is further encoded by the audience and it then further travels to the rest of the audience through their opinion leaders in the public sphere. If the encoding at any stage in the news media is of that other than reality and away from the objectivity, the travel of the information at any stage will not be fruitful for the audience. PART VI Findings News media in the Pakistan are encoding the news messages for the audience. Those media that are strong are practicing better encoding of the news and focusing on the element of objectivity than those which are newly born and needs revenue from advertisements for their strength building in the media market. The threat to the objective encoding is expected in the talk shows where the anchormen conclude the discussion and give inferences and judgments. This aspect is also visible in the news articles and columns which are basically their own opinions about the reality. Audiences further encode the messages based on what kind of encoding done by the news media they come across. They remain away from the reality if they are gratifying from the inobjective encoding by the news media. Thanks With Best Regards M Bilal Bhatti MS 1 Media Communication Studies IIUI, Islamabad

Mini-ethnography On Gamer Culture Essay -- essays research papers

â€Å"Man, Fragged by the LPB Sniper again!!!† That may sound like nonsense to the average person but to the seasoned Counterstrike veteran it speaks volumes. Today, millions of people of all ages are coming together on the Internet to compete against each other in a variety of online games. The most popular of which is an online modification of the game Half-life entitled Counterstrike. Counterstrike itself is comprised of players broken up in to two teams, terrorists and counter terrorists, who then compete against each other to achieve a range of goals in a variety of levels. People from anyplace in the world can log in to one of the hundreds of Counterstrike servers running on the Internet and team up with and play against anybody anywhere. To play the game players manipulate their characters movements inside the simulated scenario they see on their monitor. They do so by using the keyboard and mouse in tandem to move around the level, find opposing players and then â€Å"frag† or kill them with whatever weapon they currently have, there by eliminating them for the remainder of the round. However, in most cases the teams’ goals are more complex than just eliminating the other team. For instance, in one level one player assumes the role of the V.I.P. and his counter terrorist teammates try to escort him to a helicopter on the other side of the level. The terrorist teams objective is to find and assassinate the V.I.P. before he is able to escape. This and other missions like it create an exciting and adrenaline filled environment that are part of the reason gamers just can not quit. For the most part people team up with and compete against people they haven’t met and probably never will meet in a face-to-face manner. This yields some very interesting results. I was able to observe two peers of mine playing Counterstrike online in the same room on their separate computers on several occasions for extended periods. Also, I installed Counterstrike on my computer here in my dorm room and played online myself a number of times. The first thing that I noted and the first I am going to talk about is the player’s ability to create and maintain their own online identity. Every player in an online game of Counterstrike or any other game for that matter has his or her own handle or call sign. They are nicknames that the players come up with themselves and adopt as names ... ...10 dollars to gain access to an online server that acts as a simulated finite world for each person to place their character in. Players manipulate their character and basically live that person’s live in that finite simulated world that contains other players. They buy property, get a job and interact with other players. I was unable to actually observe anyone playing Everquest or play it myself. However it seems to take the level of interaction to new levels. For obvious reasons I find that a little unsettling. I think that is safe to say that many people actually prefer their simulated online personas and friends to their real life ones. That may pose new problems in the future. At the pace that technology is currently developing I think that soon the number of people who find more satisfaction and fulfillment in their â€Å"cyber lives† will only grow. Also, to speculate a little I think that in the future it will probably be possible to immerse yourself in a to tally simulated environment. Will be people totally isolate themselves and spend years inside life simulations oblivious to the real world but still perfectly content to live out their days in a Matrix like cyber dreamscape?

Left Wing Extremism Essay

Six years back, when on November 4, 2004, the Prime Minister proclaimed Left Wing Extremism as the biggest threat confronting the nation that had to be dealt at ‘war footing’, it had a ring of resolve of a freshly elected government to take the bull by its horns. However, when he repeats the same now, it carries an air of helpless lamentation. The efforts at war footing notwithstanding, during the last six years, the area under Naxal influence has nearly doubled extending to nearly 203 districts in fourteen states. The strength of armed guerrillas has swelled from less than 7,000 then to somewhere around 13,500 now. Left extremists, today, have many more and much sophisticated weapons; (estimated to be nearly 14000 as against 5500 in 2004) and have upgraded their tactics, field craft and skills in handling weapons and explosives manifold. They raise funds nearly to the tune of Rs. 1,200 Crore a year, which in an impoverished area of their dominance is a huge amount to create instability and enables them to pay regular monthly salaries to their armed cadres. Economic conditions of the people have by and large remained unchanged despite sizeable developmental outlays – most of the funds either misused or siphoned off by the corrupt. It would be erroneous to infer that the government took no initiatives both at security and developmental fronts to deal with the situation. However, in terms of results achieved, the efforts made have failed to achieve the expected results. It makes it a case less of error of intention, and more of lack of capability, which in a national security paradigm is a cause of much greater concern. The matter that needs to be pondered over is why a country of India’s Comprehensive National Power is unable to cope with an existentialist threat from an ideology that has been defeated and discredited world over, is unable to counter an offensive by under-resourced and ill trained tribals and despite being world’s biggest democracy is unable to mobilize its civil society in its fight against the extremists, whose agenda is patently anti-national. The first requirement for designing an effective response is to accept the realities as they are and to make a hard assessment of the enemy – his mindset, doctrines, capabilities and goals. One can not win unless one fights and one can not fight till one is able to define the enemy – boldly and bluntly. One major reason why we, as a state, have often gone wrong in our responses and not derived full value out of our efforts and sacrifices is our fear to face the hard realities as they exist, notwithstanding the compelling evidence. What needs to be accepted by all those in power and those who aspire for it is that Left Wing extremism is pure and simple terrorism that fully meets the conventional definition of the term i. e. Use of violence to terrorise people for achieving political objectives’. Their armed struggle is for acquiring and then retaining political power through barrel of the gun and both in theory and practice they have not deviated from this goal. While often advanced causative factors –developmental, social, political etc. – may have ample justifications on their own merit, for Maoists they are only instrumentalities to seize political control. In pursuance of this end, they are prepared to make a common cause with all those who are inclined to give expression to their dissent through violence. They support everything that negates Indian nationhood – may it be the secessionists in J&K, insurgents in North East, radical Islamic groups or armed ethnic groups. In an interview in 2007 Ganapathy, the Secretary General of CPI-Maoists asserted â€Å"We see the Islamic upsurge as a progressive anti-imperialist force in the contemporary world. It is wrong to describe the struggle that is going on in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Kashmir, Chechnya as Islamic fundamentalism. Our Party supports the Islamic upsurge†. Commenting on 26/11 massacre of Mumbai, Bimal, Polit Bureau Member was quoted in Hindustan Times that â€Å"We do not support the way they attacked the Victoria station, where most of the victims were Muslims. At the same time, we feel the Islamic upsurge should not be opposed as it is basically anti-US and anti-imperialist in nature. We therefore want it to grow. † Varavara Rao referring to North East insurgencies stated on May 13, 2007 that â€Å"This is a time for all revolutionary, democratic and nationality movements, like the ones in Kashmir and the Northeast to unite, and something will come out of this unity†. They stand against India’s sovereignty, unity, democratic polity and civilisational values and hence will have to be fought and defeated at all planes – ideological, political, and physical. Any dilution in accepting this basic character of the threat will only compound the problem and prolong the national agony. Having settled the goal, the next stage is working out the strategy to achieve it. It is obvious that the policy of ‘blow hot blow cold’ does not work and only betrays the confusion indecisiveness of those in power. It also demoralizes the security personnel. Indecisiveness is a consequence of fear and needs to be shunned. The security apparatus of the country, given the right resources, empowerments and leadership is quite strong and resilient to take on the Left Extremists. They need to be provided best of weapons, vehicles, communication equipment, armoured personnel carriers, night vision devices, portable gen-sets, direction finders etc. There is also an urgent need to improve their living conditions, making safe their work places and keeping their morale high. Most importantly, tactical plans should be well deliberated upon by senior and experienced officers and wherever possible duly rehearsed. It is particularly necessary where central forces have to work along side the local police forces. Maoists are great political analysts who carefully work-out their long term strategy and tactical plans. Maoists in their political estimates assess, and probably with some justification, that the political class in the country, irrespective of the brand names that they carry, are fast losing their legitimacy and credibility. The elected representatives hold their positions more by virtue of legality of the process that catapultes them to power than the moral authority, trust and respect of the people that they claim to represent. The credibility of the governmental apparatus to provide a sense of security and justice to the people, redress their basic grievances, assure development and assure dignity is at a low ebb. Most of the extremist actions analysed in strategic terms are aimed at exploiting this in firmity and indulging in acts will further erode the legitimacy and credibility of the system. Their attacks on police and para-military forces are aimed at demonstrating that the coercive power of the government is a myth as it is even unable to protect itself. Their holding Jan Adalats, imposing fines and dictating terms for talks are calculated to undermine the government’s ability to enforce its writ and authority and gave credibility to their propaganda that government is only a ‘paper tiger’. On the contrary, the state has been able to do little to demolish the contrived self image of the Left Extremists as saviors of the people. The discordant voices within the government and display of confusion and indecisiveness immensely boost their moral. While the far flung tribal areas are in the news because of incidents of violence what is lesser known is their fast spreading influence in urban suburbs, among the trade unions, unemployed youth etc. much beyond the tribal areas. To meet this grave challenge the political class first needs to do a serious introspection and subordinate their party interests if not for the larger national interests than at least for their own self interest. All political parties need to realize that they face an existentialist threat as the political power, the booty of the war, has to be seized from them. This is a classical model of Fourth Generation Warfare-(4GW) – a warfare where the enemy is invisible and the battle is for the control of civil society – through coercion, controlling the hearts and minds of the people or delivering results by redressing grievances of the people. The modern day guru of Fourth Generation Warfare, William Lind aptly observes that, â€Å"If nation states are going to survive, people in power must earn and keep the trust of the governed. Addressing the American Council of Foreign Relations he said â€Å"The heart of Fourth Generation Warfare is a crisis of legitimacy of the state†. How true to the Indian model when he added that, â€Å"The establishment is no longer made up of ‘policy types’- most of its important functionaries are placemen. Their expertise is in becom ing and then remaining members of the establishment. Their reality is covert politics and not the competence or expertise†. When the 4GW will visit them their response would be to â€Å"close the shutters on the windows of Versailles†. Majority of the people in Maoist affected areas and even their supporters and cadres have little to do with Maoism at ideological level. They are only alienated and angered people with real of perceived sense of injustice, oppression and indignity. Maoists are cleverly exploiting this sentiment to their advantage – caste conflicts in Bihar, resentment against landlords in Andhra, discontent against forest laws in tribal areas, unemployment amongst youth and radicalism among Muslims are all given prescription of capture of power through gun as the ultimate solution of all their problems. While the local grievances need to be effectively addressed through improved governance and ruthless accountability, there is also a need for creating mass awareness of the ultimate designs and consequences of what the extremists stand for. Maoist propaganda must also be effectively countered, particularly at the political level. Democratic political parties have plenty of political arguments and facts in their favour to demolish the subversive propaganda of the Left extremists. They also have reach and access upto village levels with intimate social networking that needs to be arnessed. This task cannot be undertaken by the government agencies or the police. Additionally, through a concerted, credible and sustained psy-war offensive contradiction in their ideologies and practices, tales of their brutalities, collaborations with the rich to collect funds, incidents of moral turpitude etc. should be highlighted. The local and national media, think tanks and NGOs operating in the region could be leveraged for the purpose. Some of their front organizations, masquerading as think tanks and NGOs engaged in subversive propaganda also need to be tackled effectively. At tactical level the most important advantage of 4GW warriors is the advantage of invisibility. Only quality operational intelligence can make them visible for counter tactical operations aimed at pre-empting, preventing and punishing the depredators. It is also the only instrumentality through which they can be tactically surprised and their advantage of speed and surprise neutralized. The tendency to raise additional battalions without corresponding accretion in operational intelligence capability creates little pressure on the extremists and only provides them more targets to hit at. State Police forces, with their intimate knowledge of the terrain, language and local people are best equipped to develop ground intelligence. They need to be resourced and trained for intelligence work. Diversion of at least 30% of central modernization grants to state police for intelligence up-gradation should be made mandatory. Money is one of the most important factors helping extremists to acquire weapons and explosives, raise their cadre strength by recruiting youth on regular salaries and carrying out mass mobilization programmes. They are reportedly collecting Rs. 1,600 crore a year, which is a big money for carrying out armed insurrection in an impoverished area. With a determined effort and much lower risk, the governments can take stern actions against business houses paying protection money, transporters paying levies, contractors giving taxes and corrupt government officials sharing the loot from the developmental funds. Most would be willing to cooperate if provided sense of security and protection which can be achieved at a much lesser cost. There is no doubt that this menace ultimately will be contained and countered. A finely chiseled strategic response is required only to minimize its cost to the nation in terms of valuable lives lost, growth and development stalled and innocent people falling prey to malicious propaganda of the extremists. The civil society and opinion builders have a vital role to play in this. They should create right pressures on the politicians and create broad spectrum awareness among the people to help bring about a convergence in national response.

Free Essays on THE IRISH IN THE CIVIL WAR

When looking at the development of the United States, many groups have contributed to making our country to what it is today. But many times, the Irish’s accomplishments are forgotten about and their past is spotted with feelings of hatred. The Irish took part in many events and significant happenings of America’s history. One of the crises that they contributed to was the Civil War. Many Irish immigrants fought for the country, on both the Union and Confederate sides. The Irish Brigade is one of the most heard about groups of soldiers, but there were many more Irish who gave their lives for their country. Also, many Irishmen who fought in the war were honored as brilliant soldiers and some even becoming ranking officers. By the end of the Civil War, the Irish immigrants had left a mark on history and made a place for themselves in America. For many years, the controversy of the enslavement of blacks was a dividing issue between the North and the South. Many Northerners wanted to abolish slavery or at least confine it to the South. The Southerners did not want any restrictions put on slavery (Damon 9). Some Southern states threatened to withdraw from the Union if they were denied the right to own slaves (Damon 9). The South was outnumbered, outgunned, and outmanned, but they entered the Civil War with as much determination as the North had confidence (Courcy). The Irish Americans, like many other groups and families, were split by the war and having to choose sides. Many Irish in the North were in support of slavery. â€Å"They did not want to fight to free the slaves and thereby increase labor competition† (Takaki 152). They knew that if the slaves were freed, then they would be able to move to the North and compete with the Irish for their jobs. They feared economic competition (Horowitz 186). But th e thought of preserving their country had a greater influence on many Irish. Peter Welch, who became a color ser... Free Essays on THE IRISH IN THE CIVIL WAR Free Essays on THE IRISH IN THE CIVIL WAR When looking at the development of the United States, many groups have contributed to making our country to what it is today. But many times, the Irish’s accomplishments are forgotten about and their past is spotted with feelings of hatred. The Irish took part in many events and significant happenings of America’s history. One of the crises that they contributed to was the Civil War. Many Irish immigrants fought for the country, on both the Union and Confederate sides. The Irish Brigade is one of the most heard about groups of soldiers, but there were many more Irish who gave their lives for their country. Also, many Irishmen who fought in the war were honored as brilliant soldiers and some even becoming ranking officers. By the end of the Civil War, the Irish immigrants had left a mark on history and made a place for themselves in America. For many years, the controversy of the enslavement of blacks was a dividing issue between the North and the South. Many Northerners wanted to abolish slavery or at least confine it to the South. The Southerners did not want any restrictions put on slavery (Damon 9). Some Southern states threatened to withdraw from the Union if they were denied the right to own slaves (Damon 9). The South was outnumbered, outgunned, and outmanned, but they entered the Civil War with as much determination as the North had confidence (Courcy). The Irish Americans, like many other groups and families, were split by the war and having to choose sides. Many Irish in the North were in support of slavery. â€Å"They did not want to fight to free the slaves and thereby increase labor competition† (Takaki 152). They knew that if the slaves were freed, then they would be able to move to the North and compete with the Irish for their jobs. They feared economic competition (Horowitz 186). But th e thought of preserving their country had a greater influence on many Irish. Peter Welch, who became a color ser...

The Catcher in the Rye2 essays

The Catcher in the Rye2 essays The Catcher in the Rye is about a man named Holden Caulfield, who is narrating the story. Holden is in a psychiatric hospital in California, where at the given moment he was spending his time. He then had a flashback of when he was a young man at the age of sixteen. The story starts off at Pencey Prep, Holden's present school at which he was flunking out of. Holden had only a few more days before his expulsion from Pencey, so he had been paying his final dues to his admired instructors, such as Mr. Spencer, Holdens elderly History teacher. After spending some bothersome hours with Mr. Spencer, Holden returned to his room in Ossenburger Memorial Hall. There he was visited by Robert Ackley whom he disliked with a great passion, however he still had a conversation with him about school matters. While having an unpleasant discussion with Ackley, the conversation was then soon interrupted by Ward Stradlater, Holdens roommate. Stradlater notified Holden that he was going on a date with Jane Gallagher that night, an Holden had agreed to write a paper for Stradlater while he was on the date. After eating dinner, Holden began to write the paper and while doing so, became immersed in old memories of his brother Allie whom he loved dearly, but sadly had passed away. When Stradlater had arrived back at the dorm, Holden interrogated him about the date he had with Jane hoping that Stradlater and Jane did not have a sexual interlude with each other. Stradlater was upset by Holdens line of questioning and the two boys ended up in a confrontation and physical fight together. Holden lost the altercation trying to protect his old girlfriend. After the fight that Holden had with Stradlater, he attempted, without success, to befriend Ackley, for he didnt want to leave Pency Prep without a friend. However it seemed that Ackley was neither interested nor concerned about the fight that the...

EC5--Movie, book, TV show, or song Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

EC5--Movie, book, TV show, or song - Essay Example According to the law, the figure or value that is expressed in words is meant to govern over the value expressed in words as the figures expressed in words are much more difficult to alter. In essence, the words control the figures up until the point where the words are considered ambiguous. â€Å"Catch me if You Can† is a biography that is founded on the life and experiences Frank Abagnale, a young man who managed to rip off millions of dollars from the bank through check fraud. He manages to do this by posing as pilot from Pan American World Airways, a doctor from Georgia and a parish prosecutor from Louisiana. This is relevant to the theme by virtue of highlighting the different loopholes within the security and scrutiny of checks and how individuals manage to circumvent these loopholes. The movie shows how check fraud is conducted by individuals and/or corporates with the aim of ripping of financial institutions. However, the law has prescribed different measures for punishing the culprits and recovering the fraudulently obtained

MHE599 - Culminating Project Module 5 - Case Essay

MHE599 - Culminating Project Module 5 - Case - Essay Example however in other cases their response to the disaster will be inadequate without proper steps and this will to lead to views that Federal government bodies could have done a better job. This scenario of inadequate response was visible during the disaster of Hurricane Katrina in the geographical region of Louisiana. U.S. Constitution’s 10th Amendment states that, â€Å"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.† (gpoaccess.gov). That is, through this amendment, the constitution entrusts the responsibility of public health and safety of the people in a particular state to the respective states itself. This means the emergency management of disasters and other tragedies as well as law enforcement is also the responsibility of the state government and local bodies. Critics of this amendment and ones who are against further autonomy for the local governments state that giving the responsibility of public health and safety particularly during emergencies would be too much for the local bodies. The 10th Amendment provides significant responsibility on the states; however Hurricane Katrina because of certain shortfalls has proved that the amendment wrongly places too much responsibility on the states. Although, in course of our history, several state and local governments have done an adequate and commendable job in aiding the public in times of natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, Tsunami, etc, it is not the case all the time. Hurricane Katrina is one such case of inadequate response because the first responders, Louisianan government and New Orleans City council themselves became the victims of the catastrophe, as their local infrastructure was maximally wiped out. Along with this shortfall, the local bodies performed inadequately raising questions regarding the 10th Amendment and how the Federal bodies if involved maximally could have

The role of UK government increasing the competition in the mortgage Dissertation

The role of UK government increasing the competition in the mortgage markets to stimulate the British housing marketing and even - Dissertation Example The UK too experienced housing bubble burst as a reported 37,749 homeowners in the UK lost their homes to the bank between March and June 2008 (Seeking Alpha, 2008). The crisis deepened as banks cut off mortgage lending. Banks and building societies are expected to pay about ?130bn of the emergency borrowing they availed from the Bank of England and the Treasury (Bown, 2011). Rationale for research Traditionally, in most economies, people preferred to remain tenants throughout their life. Changes in lifestyles, education and temptations by the cheap lending rates introduced the concept of becoming house owners. Businessmen in earlier days would tend to invest any extra funds into their business rather than invest in housing (Lawson, 2011). The idea was that this would grow and bring in more prosperity and ready cash to be used for personal purposes than invest in dwelling which one never disposes off. Liquidity preference theory states that the more liquid an asset, the more attracti ve it is an asset as it can be traded easily (Wyatt, 2011). Properties, even in a buoyant market take several weeks to be traded and in a recessionary economy, it may take years. It is less attractive an as investment and the transaction costs are also higher because of the stamp duty and legal fees. Motivation for the study The motivation for the study has arisen from this concept – why did people become interested to invest their savings in dwellings which may appreciate over time but can be of no use to the person who has made the investment? It would also be interesting to evaluate the role that the UK government has played in boosting housing and mortgage of housing in expectation that this would contribute to the growth of the UK economy. Research Aims and Objectives With the objective to determine that competition in the UK mortgage sector did not yield the expected returns and was in fact responsible for the housing bubble, the objectives of the study are: To evaluate the measures that the government took in boosting the housing sector To list the incentives that the government provided to enhance competition in the mortgage market To evaluate the impact of the cheap lending rates in the housing market on the UK economy Literature Review While traditionally building societies were responsible for financing house owners, the concept changed in the 1980s. The business model of the building societies was very simple but as demand intensified, there were queues for mortgages which prompted government intervention (CML, 2004). Competition in the mortgage sector intensified as centralized lenders such as housing corporations entered the market. The UK property bubble was inevitable as the valuations were stretched and lending criteria loosened (Lynn, 2007). Unsecured bad debts and mortgage arrears continued to rise as owners could not keep up payments. The government made attempts in different ways to boost investments in housing. Government intervent ion in housing finance has always existed in every economy through the creation of special circuits for funding flows (Diamond & Lea, 2000). The idea was that investments in dwellings would enhance the banking and the financial sector which would support the growth of the economy. However, political and market forces have been responsible for eroding the reasons for creating the circuits.

Jadelink Market Essay Example for Free

Jadelink Market Essay Comentario en Internet de Harvard Business Review : â€Å"The experienced entrepreneurial chief executive officer (CEO) of Jadelink International Limited strives to create a modern jewelry brand representing a new perception in jade. The CEO has achieved early success of growing sales rapidly and bringing Jadelink products to Shanghai, the trendiest city in China. But the company wants to expand business to the Asian and international luxury goods markets. This requires intensive capital to continue to build up the company scale. This case examines the consideration of venturing a new business in the China market, managing business growth and acquiring venture capital. It also allows discussion of factors leading to a successful entrepreneurship and dealing with business highly associated with industry tradition, people connection and product design and innovation†. Q1: How would you characterize Chung as an entrepreneur? What lessons did he learn in the past few years as an entrepreneur? See the comments on above Kent Chung us the CEO and founder of Jadelink International Limited, company based in HK. He is an accountant that worked for Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (DTT) and then he started his own accounting Firm. He likes business and he likes to be an entrepreneur, he: * Sold cosmetics in HK. He learned that he invested a lot in expensive furniture there. * Sold Silk stocks (medias de seda) in Lo Wu * Published Puntonghua (mandarin) Books. * Opened a Cigar shop that currently still operates in a four stars hotel (with profits). * He lost HK $12 millions in an investment of an online education project. In this case, he learned that people want pleasure and looking good, not inspiration or education. The key point is to know the desires and trends of consumers. He summarized the lessons as follows: * Business startup: Team spirit, company infrastructure, work coordination, trust. * Entrepreneur: Hard work, multitasking, flexibility, pressure-resistance, independence * Drivers of a company: Clear business direction and product familiarization. Mastering financial foundation is important. Luxury Market Tea. First Chung bought a tea garden in 2004. Rich Chinese started to buy expensive/premium tea. Problems faced: Farmers knew what leaves are better and they keep them for themselves. Picking tea in an intensive labor, the farmer did well but the motivation dropped quickly once they make enough money to live leisurely. Manage farmers was hard. Jade Business Jade was more suited for Mr. Chang. His wife studied gemology and his younger brother’s father in law (el suegro de su hermano menor) was a veteran of the industry that known everything of sourcing and stones cutting. Jewerly market in China was booming. He founded the company Jadelink International Limited in 2005, with the investment of a Silent Investor, and his wife. Q2: What was the value proposition of Jadelink? Jadelink controlled all the operation flow Material Purchasing and processing. * Product design, manufacturing and retailing took place in different subsidiaries. * Team in HK: Design * Plant in Foshan (Guandong province): Cutting, slicing and polishing. * Several Contractors and Artisans in HK were outsourced (for final phases of the process) in order to avoid dependence of one of them. a) Jadelink conducted market research, ask for customers’ feedback, and design according customers taste. In addition, they have an exclusive technique in stone-cutting enabled Jadelink to use almost 2/3 of a jadeite rough to make the maximum number of jewelry items. b) Chung use to ask to candidates to probe their abilities spontaneously (designers mainly). Chung selected excellent professionals to build up the company. How did Chung succeed in starting up Jadelink? Once the company â€Å"Jadelink† was founded, Chung only took 25 months to set up: * A heading office and retail store in HK * A manufacturing plant in Foshan * 8 retail shops at vantage points in Shanghai * A company website and e-business in Japan * In 2008 there are more than 80 employees. Asi o mas exitoso 3. What did Chung do to establish the company? He has a very clear idea: Jade is precious for Chinese, but if one wants to buy jade jewelry, would the person think of any particular company The initial investment was approximately HK $ 30 million. * Chung $ HK 10million (cash) * Silent Investor $HK10 (cash) * Wong (wife) invested her stock of jade merchandise 4. Outline the current problems facing Jadelink. How did these problems arise? In 2006, Jadelink had sales of a couple of million HK dollars, which increased several times in 2007. In the first two months of 2008, when the sales volume was three times the sales for the same period in 2007, the business broke even. Chung was confident that no potential competitors could emerge fast enough to threaten Jadelinks business in a few years. Therefore, he wished not only to open 30 to 50 shops in all major cities of China but also to promote the brand internationally, expanding to Taiwan, Singapore and Japan, making Jadelink a leading player in the industry. Chung believed that Jadelink was good enough to survive well in the market with this existing scale. However, if he wanted to push the growth of Jadelink forward, he would have to expand the company within five years, which would require an estimated RMB100 million (about 16 million dollars) investment. As Jade industry is capital-intensive, there is too much capital being backlogged in the raw jadeite. The production period usually lasts long, which puts a lot of pressure on capital turnover. Besides, the payback period for a Jadelink shop is two years and it requires about six months for a counter in a department store. As a result, though the company has started to make profit, the existing amount of cash flow is not satisfying enough. More stores and years are required to obtain enough funding to implement Chung’s plan for expansion. If Chung chose to develop at a conservative pace, using the company’s retained earnings, he might miss the opportunity to grow with the expanding China market. Also, potential competitors could also emerge. Therefore, Chung decided to obtain external funding from venture capitalists and other forms of private equity. Internal management problems as the management system was not clear enough. Practices were not recorded, and there is a lack of clear guidelines and training manuals. Q5: What were the issues that caused Chung to obtain external funding? In the eyes of venture capitalists, his company was small and few investors understood the jade industry or recognized the market potential. Chung was concerned they were treaty Jadelink as on their pretty production divisions and simply put it under the existing structure without recognizing his vision and Jadelink’s strengths. Q2: Give recommendations for promoting the expansion of Jadelink. 1. Optimize the internal management system. Jadelink should record practices and set up clear guidelines and training manuals. As Jadelink expands, the company will come across more problems in daily activities. Some of the problems may be similar so there is no need to discuss how to handle it every time. With clear guidelines and training manuals, employees will know how to deal with the affairs under certain circumstances. 2. Attract professional staff. Since the policies〠customers’ preference〠culture and resources are different in varies countries, Jadelink should hire experts who have a good knowledge of each country in order to adjust to and broaden the market. Designers are supposed to know one country’s custom and culture well so that they can manufacture products which cater for the need of customers in different countries. 3. When searching for external funding, Chung had better choose the investors who would respect his effort and vision in addition to focusing on the monetary value of Jadelink. Thus the investors would feel an attachment to the company and be able to relate to their own affections for the company, and they will have the same target as Chung, which is to transform Jadelink into a world-famous brand. Otherwise investors may hold different opinions against the CEO, which would make the operation and management difficult.