Thursday, December 26, 2019

The Career Of A Social Worker Essay - 1487 Words

The career of a social worker is known by others as a person who has both the determination and responsibility to help others despite the unfavorable situations that is presented. From my perspective, a social worker is a giving person who loves what they do, despite the varying schedules. That perspective of a social worker is someone who I would like to become. Throughout my experiences, my approachable demeanor has helped me handle new and tough situations. Social work is by no means easy, but my personality helps equip me to enter the field of social work. My older brother’s situation has fueled my passion for supporting others. Despite being the youngest in my family, I assumed the role of the older sibling and took care of him, who suffers from hydrocephalus. From going to medical appointments to preparing meals, the reversal role that I experienced has made me realize that even from an early age, I felt responsible for my family’s needs and to provide emo tional support for my family. My innate drive to assume responsibility for my brother while providing familial support propels me to pursue a career in social work. Throughout my undergraduate education, I have been involved in my community taking care of the children abused by families, special needs children, and the mentally ill. The conversations that I had with these individuals are gut-wrenching and their struggle to get emotional help pulled my heartstrings. I found myself engaged in social serviceShow MoreRelatedThe Career As A Social Worker Essay1416 Words   |  6 Pagesactuality a profession as a Social worker is one of the most renowned occupations when it comes to assisting people. The path to becoming a social worker is very difficult, but in the end you will know what is to be human and to be humane. What it’s all about A career as a Social worker primarily involves attending individuals, families, groups of people to cope with complications they are facing which is beneficial to improving the patient’s lives. As a licensed Social worker you will carry immenseRead MoreA Career as a Social Worker1227 Words   |  5 Pagesthe stress of being a social worker, but in the end it is very rewarding. This job is not an everyday job for some people, it is a lot of hard work and it is helping people with situations that a person doesn’t see everyday. As a social worker it takes a lot to get through to people and for them to understand that what they are going through is not okay. Social working is the fastest growing career according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (Social Work Profession). ThereRead MoreA Career as a Social Worker Essay1041 Words   |  5 Pages A social worker has a very important job. Social workers help children and families in need of food, homes, and health care. They help children have a brighter future. There are many different types of social work. There are mental health, child and family, elementary, and high school social workers. There are advantages to being a social worker. One example is social workers get to save children. They take the child or children out of an abusive home, weather that is mentalRead MoreSocial Work Career As A Social Worker925 Words   |  4 PagesSocial Work Career If you are an individual who seeks to promote human well-being and have an intense desire to help others, you might consider pursuing a career in social work. â€Å"Social work is a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people† (International Federation of Social Workers, 2014, para. 2). Social workers identify those who need help, examine their situations and developRead MoreMy Career As A Social Worker Essay1477 Words   |  6 Pages Social work has evolved over centuries and social work as a profession has gone through a constant change that even continues today. As I begin this journey into my career as a social worker I have to consider so many things; understanding the history of the social work profession and what it means to my career, understanding that social work is a profession and not just a discipline, why it is important that this kind of work be done by a professional, what organizations can help throughout myRead MoreCareer Research: A Career as a Social Worker Essay540 Words   |  3 PagesI chose social working as my career because many other people go through tough situations and have a difficult time talking to relatives or friends to help them through a tough situation. I thought of becoming a social worker so I can have the ability to change the lives of others. Social work is one of those careers you can truly make a difference in people’s lives. I want to become a social worker because life isn’t about just helping yourself it’s about helping others as well, which is what socialRead MoreCareer Path For A Social Worker1903 Words   |  8 PagesCareer Path There are so many career path options. What is good for one, is not always good for all. I have been contemplating many different options and I have finally chosen one. The career path I have chosen is to take the summer off and work at home doing day care. Then return to Argosy University in September, to start my bachelor’s degree in psychology with a concentration on child adolescents. During which, I will volunteer with a local organization called the Family Promise of Green CountyRead MorePersonal Career Analysis : Social Worker Essay1063 Words   |  5 PagesPersonal Career Analysis: Social worker The world is full of social injustices. Human beings are faced with these injustices every day. Some people have it harder than others. A few social injustices humans face are poverty and economic disparity, discrimination, oppression, racism, and even more unfairness. This is where the profession of Social Work is essential. The reason of Social work is to promote the well-being of humans and the community. This field interests me because I want to helpRead MoreProfessionalism: A Career Plan as a Social Worker1438 Words   |  6 PagesCareer Plans The grass blows in the cool breeze, but a chill is in the air, winter is coming. I stop and look around; the pristine white gates surround a lush green pasture still unaffected by the cold. Inside young foals dance to the winds music, playfully kicking and biting at each other, daring the other to a race. I turn toward the silhouette in the distance and spot bright eyes and pricked ears. A whinny reaches my ears and then another responds, it is breakfast time and the horses let me knowRead MoreA Social Worker Is A Tremendous Responsibility And Career Rewarding Choice863 Words   |  4 PagesChoosing to be a social worker is a tremendous responsibility and career rewarding choice, with a definite purpose. The National Association of Social Workers (1999), Code of Ethics, defines the purpose of all social workers â€Å"to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, opp ressed, and living in poverty†. Social workers worry about the welfare of their clients; enabling them to restore

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

The Effects Of Obesity On The Body Height Of Children And...

Over the past few decades the United States has seen a dramatic rise in the average weight of children and adolescents leading to an obesity epidemic. According to Up-to-Date, body mass index (BMI) is defined as the standard measure of obesity in individuals. It is the body height in kilograms divided by the body height in meters squared (Skeleton, 2016). Child obesity is based on a standardized growth scale and is defined as a body mass index (BMI) that surpasses the 95th percentile of a fixed distribution for a child’s age and gender. For elementary school age students, the cutoff is around a BMI of 20 (Schanzenbach, 2005). An increased obesity is due to a disproportion of increased caloric intake with inadequate energy expenditure throughout the day. In a recent comparison of 34 countries, Janssen et. al showed that â€Å"the two countries with the highest prevalence of overweight and obese youth were Malta (25.4% and 7.9%) and the United States (25.1% and 6.8%) whil e the two countries with the lowest prevalence were Lithuania (5.1% and 0.4%) and Latvia (5.9% and 0.5%)† (2005). One of the numerous reasons why worldwide trends in obesity data are evolving this way is based on the relative socioeconomic status of the country. A country with a stable economy will see a shift in the data showing more constant food supply being generated and therefore a rise in overall dietary intake. This is one reason why countries such as the United States and China are showing higherShow MoreRelatedChildhood Obesity : A Growing Problem Essay1047 Words   |  5 Pageson Childhood Obesity. I intend to first plainly explain a clear definition of what Childhood Obesity is. Next I plan on explaining some possible reasons why children develop obesity. I also want to give clear consequences and life struggles that may be associated with a child who is obese. I also want to discuss long term effects of this disease on the individual as well as society. Finally, I would like to discuss some possible treatments associated with curing obesity in children as well as inRead MoreChildh ood Obesity : An Epidemic That Is Sweeping Through America1127 Words   |  5 PagesChildhood obesity is an epidemic that is sweeping through America. The key to understanding the threshold for the term obesity is to know the clinical definition. Obesity and overweight are two terms that are intermittently misused. Overweight is clinically defined as the excess body fat one has in terms to their height, muscle, bone, or in a combination of all factors (Childhood Obesity Facts). Obesity is simply the concept of having excess body fat (Childhood Obesity Facts). Adult obesity is theRead MoreDoes Counseling Help Children with Issues of Obesity? Obesity in children is an epidemic that700 Words   |  3 PagesDoes Counseling Help Children with Issues of Obesity? Obesity in children is an epidemic that continues to be a serious problem in our nation. Over the past thirty years, childhood obesity rates in the United States have tripled, and currently, approximately one in three children in the U.S. are overweight or obese. High body mass index (BMI) among children and adolescents is a public health concern in the United States (Ogden, Carroll, Curtin, Lamb Flegal, 2010). According to the CentersRead MorePrevalence Of Overweight And Obesity Essay1249 Words   |  5 Pagesoverweight/obesity among parents of children entering childhood obesity treatment and to evaluate changes in the parents’ weight during their child’s treatment (Trier, 2016). The study included the parents of 1,125 children and adolescents (aged 3-22) who were enrolled in a children obesity treatment program. They began by taking the heights and weights of the children and the BMI scores were calculated. After 2.5 years of treatment, the mean weight was tak ing from the parents of 664 children. The resultsRead MoreEssay on Informative Speech Outline-Childhood Obesity840 Words   |  4 Pages   Topic: Childhood Obesity INTRODUCTION I. Attention Getter: Hi, my name is Jill. I have been a pediatric nurse for almost 2 years now. According to the National Center for Health Statistics in 2011, childhood Obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. And in 2012, more than one-third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese. II. Specific Purpose: I would I like to inform you all of childhood obesity and ways to get involvedRead MoreChildhood Obesity Issue Essays1738 Words   |  7 PagesChildhood obesity Numerous children are victims of a variety of health problems inflicted by the deficiency of good nutrition and physical activity. Childhood obesity is a national epidemic and is continuously growing rapidly. Obesity is an excessive amount of body fat in relation to body mass, being overweight is your body weight in relation to your height (L. Marcus Ph. D and A. Baron M.S.W.). Obesity is the most distinct medical condition but the most difficult condition to treat. Obesity is theRead MoreResearch Report Questionnaires1342 Words   |  6 Pagesthe attitude of adolescent who reported their parent’s behavior positively and normatively was having good psychological adjustments. The study further revealed that the certainty of perceiving their parent’s behavior may be unfavorable to psychological adjustment and inflammatory processes of the adolescent. Therefore, based upon the above review we pose the hypotheses: H1: There will be significant relationship between social relationships and academic performance in school children. H2: Social relationshipRead MoreHow Does Obesity Impact Children? Essay1602 Words   |  7 Pagesharm it could cause to one s body. My partner, Alyssia Benejam, basically helped me with my choices to find a question and give me more info about m research question. After a while of thinking and deciding it finally came to me, â€Å"In what ways does obesity impact children?† Obesity is defined as, the condition of being â€Å"grossly† fat or overweight. As a teen we have stopped trying to figure out how obesity really works and why does it matter so much. As children we are told that we should a certainRead MoreAnalysis Of The Satirical Street Art That Sends Messages Of Awareness Of The Corrupt Society1626 Words   |  7 Pagesart that sends messages of awareness of the corrupt society, Banksy, has remarked that â€Å" a recent survey or North American males found 42% were overweight, 34% were critically obese and 8% ate the survey.† With the rising awareness and prevalence, obesity has become an epidemic. In the United States alone, one of every five Americans are overweight, and one of every five are obese. Among the younger ages of childhood and adolescence, the National Health and Nutrition Examination reported that 17% ofRead MoreOverweight, and Obesity are Results of Calorie Imbalance779 Words   |  3 Pagesdescribe excess body we ight for a particular height from water, bones, muscles, fat or a mixture of them all. Obesity is defined as having excess body fat, they both are results of calorie imbalance. Within the last 30 years adult as well as childhood obesity has increased significantly. Pediatric obesity has become an epidemic within the last 20 years. At the present time 31% of adults and 18% of children are obese. Body Mass Index is used to diagnose a child as being obese. Most often obesity represents

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Environmental Monitoring Impact Of Drilling Discharges

Question: Describe about An Environmental Monitoring Study To Assess The Impact Of Drilling Discharges In The Mid-Atlantic? Answer: International Law in regulating the Global Oil Gas Industry: There are various global processes of extraction, exploration, refining, transporting (by pipelines and oil tankers) and marketing of petroleum products. These global processes are included in Petroleum Industry. Fuel oil and Gasoline are the major products of the industry. Petroleum industry is divided into five factors: upstream (exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas), downstream (oil tankers, refiners, retailers and consumers). Nature of the Industry: Business is done by the offshore oil and gas industry in all over the world. The designing and engineering of the industry is done according to the extraction of hydrocarbons at sea place. According to the four interests, it is isolated from traditional shipping: A marine component sensitive to the fact that the most part of the work is done on ships. To create a production facility, an industry component is used for drilling of a hole in the seafloor. The interest of the Coastal State for assurance of the safety of the work. The international interest in uniformity. The role of International Law in regulating the global oil gas industry: Various efforts have been applied over the years to achieve the goals. Some points have been given mentioned below, which include: Commercial importance of offshore oil and gas exploration is increasing continuously. It is taking place where the water level is increasing continuously. Difficulties are being created by this level of water. Various counties which are engaged in offshore oil and gas are known as developing countries. Instructions would be given to these countries by an International Convention. The states of the developing countries would have template for use. A brief overview of the global oil and gas industry: Set of opportunities and threats are presented by the global economy. In the range of industries, these are presented for businesses. Latest industry trends and statics are provided by the Global Oil Gas Exploration Production global market research report. The products and the customers, which are driving profitability and revenue growth, are identified by this report. The companies which are leading in all over the world, are identified by the industry report. Industry Analysis Industry Trends: In the last few years, emerging economies of the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) have driven demand for energy. These demands are recovering and petroleum prices are increasing. Due to it, profit margins have also been increased in the last few years. According to the expectations, industry employment may increase in the next coming years. Rising production of oil and gas will be reflected by it. It will also increase the difficulty of extraction of oil. Industry Products: Crude Oil: As per the estimation, the account of crude oil should be 68.1% of industry revenue in 2015. It is representing a decline from the year 2010. Strong natural gas production is reflected by the declining importance of oil. Various grades of crude oil are produced worldwide. The range of these grades varies from the highest-quality light, sweet crude oil to poor-quality heavy, sour crude oil. Industry Activities: Exploration of oil and gas Extraction of crude oil Extraction of Natural gas Production of Liquefied natural gas (LNG) Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) production, except in conjunction with petroleum refining Extraction of Oil shale. Graph of top Crude Oil producing countries has been shown below: Negotiating an Oil and Gas Contract Main Terms and Conditions: Various changes have been made in the oil and gas industry. Due to it, it has become the most challenging task of the world. To make this task more understandable, it has been divided into three parts. arious common types of agreements are used in the part 1. The participants are guided through various contracts. These contracts focus upon the understanding of the key issues with drafting techniques. General contact terms are discussed in the part 2. All types of agreements have some common terms. These terms are known as General contact terms. Negotiation skills with specific references are discussed in part 3. Points to be covered up in Negotiating Skills: Increasing negotiated relationships Commercial and technical skills Recognition of a negotiation Great role models Structure for control: Best result is obtained by the best negotiation. Negotiation controlling and process management are the keys for the best negotiation. Control for success: Key planning checklist to negotiate well Structure for success: Creating the space to agree Trading for success: Understanding relative values Some more points to be remembered for well negotiation: Psychology of persuasion Available range of levers Focusing on persuasion Legal/Environmental issues as a result of Oil and Gas activities: Various environmental issues occur due to oil and gas activities. Due to effluent, water contamination occurs. Seepage occurs form the storage and waste tanks. Due to discharge of effluents, thermal pollution occurs. In this case, the temperature of the effluents is higher than recipient water bodies. Water contamination occurs due to oil spills. During operations at production and refining plants, particulate emissions into the atmosphere are generated. Potentially hazardous materials are released occasionally. Solvents and acid or alkaline materials can be considered as potentially hazardous materials. Figure of sources of discharges and emissions from offshore installations has been shown above. Due to inappropriate disposal of solid wastes; soil, surface water or ground water contamination occurs. It occurs from chemical industry processes which include effluent treatment sludge and particulate matter from dust collectors. Due to truck circulation. Changes in local traffic occur. Loud noise is generated by equipment and operations. Due to it, noise pollution occurs. The next figure shows the Trends in the amount of produced water discharged and injected and the quality of the produced water (oil content). Various accidents occur which impact the environment; such as leaks, large oil spills, fires and explosions on plants. Above figure shows the Developments in the number of offshore installations and installations discharging. Petroleum Development Arrangements in the Oil Gas Sector: Influences that shape contractual framework of Petroleum Development: Petroleum development contract forms are influenced by Petroleum exploration and production activities. These activities are borne out of fact that: Crude oil and Natural gas resources are not easily accessible because they exist far below the earths surface. Human life expectancy is increased by Hydrocarbon resources. These resources are very significant in modern world; therefore, affect their development. First of all, searching of oil and gas resources is required for petroleum development activities. After the searching of these resources, they should be converted from primary state to the secondary state for consumption. Natural Gas Consumption has been shown in the figure below: Contractual Framework of Petroleum Development Activities: There are three main types of contract firms: Upstream / Exploration and Production contracts Petroleum Development Agreements International Petroleum Agreements Field / Service contracts at exploration phase of activity Contracts from production phase into midstream phase Field / Service Contracts at Exploration Phase: At exploration phase, required Field / Service Contracts are given below: Seismic Survey Rig Contractor Rig Services Contractor Supply of equipment Contracts from Production to Midstream Phase: Required contracts from production to midstream phase: Crude oil lifting Crude oil transport Crude oil sale Decommissioning of well Types of Petroleum Development Arrangements: Concessions : used in 60 countries Production Sharing Contracts : used in 41 countries Risk service contracts : used in 4 countries Participation Agreements Major oil trade movements have been given below. A case study The Nigerian Oil Gas Industry: In Africa, Nigeria is the largest oil producer. The rank of Nigeria captures its place among the top 10 oil production countries in the world. According to the estimation, Nigeria contains oil reserve of 37.2 billion barrels and natural gas reserve of 180 trillion cubic feet. Oil and Gas Journal (OGJ) has given this estimation at the end of the year 2011. In 2011, per day production of crude oil and dry gas was 2.53 million barrels and 1 trillion cubic feet respectively in Nigeria. The economy of Nigeria depends upon the oil and gas sector. In 2010, total energy consumption for Nigeria was 4.4 quadrillion Btu (111000 Kilo tons of oil equivalent). This estimation was given by the U.S. EIA. In Nigeria, oil and gas activities started in 1908. In the terms of structure, industry is divided into three parts: Upstream sector Downstream sector Services sector Downstream sector includes the midstream sector. Crude oil and gas have to pass from various processes. These processes are processing, storage, marketing and transportation. These processes are covered in midstream sector. The key segments in the downstream sector are: Transmission and Conveyance Distribution and Marketing Liquefied Natural Gas (LPG) In Africa, the largest Natural Gas Reserves are hold by Nigeria. There is limited infrastructure to develop this sector. Nigeria LNG (NLNG) is the first and most ambitious gas project of Nigeria. It has six LNG trains in operation with total annual capacity of 31 bcm. The graph of World Crude Oil Production (Millions of Barrels per day) has been given above. Legal Resolution of disputes in the Oil and Gas Industry: Dispute Resolution Options have been given below: Arbitration Domestic / International Expert Determination Other ADR Application in Oil and Gas Industry Advantages and Disadvantages There are various points in Litigation: Difficulties of Litigating Local laws Courts Good, Bad and Ugly Litigation against States Timescales Long and very long Arbitration: It can be considered as binding method for dispute resolution. It is the most efficient method of settling a dispute. The arbitrator can be chosen by the disputing parties. It depends upon the complexity. Privacy is maintained in the whole process. It is maintained confidentially, which is crucial in the oil and gas sector. It has more flexibility than litigation. It can be customizes according to the disputant needs. The time consumption and cost element is lesser than that of litigation. For arbitration, venue and platform can be chosen easily by the disputants. Expert Determination: Independent expert, which has vast knowledge of field, can be chosen by Expert Determination method. To settle financial and technical claims, expert determination method is chosen. Industry expert is involved in expert determination method. Industry expert is well aware of potential disputes in oil and gas industry. Dispute outcomes become final, if parties agree to bind with expert determination. This method is much cheaper and faster than litigation and arbitration. By this method, flexibility is given to oil and gas disputants. Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments: Final goal in the litigation process is the Recognition and Enforcement of a Judgment. When enforcement of a foreign judgment is asked by a party, the issue of recognition and enforcement becomes the initial phase of litigation. In the recognition and enforcement of the foreign judgment, U.S. law is liberal. There are two types of cases of the question of recognition of foreign judgments. First case is the most common case. According to it, the foreign money judgment is given by judgment creditor. Enforcement is not involved in the second type of judgment recognition case. In both type of cases, efficiency is promoted by recognition of the foreign judgment. Duplication of previous proceedings is avoided in both types of cases. Current affairs and issues in the Oil Gas sector: Frontier acreage and access to reserves: Exploration and development of new fields are represented by Frontier Acreage challenge. It was regarded as too difficult, expensive and politically unstable to justify operations. Unconventional resources: Due to advancement in technology, partial issues of global demand are being resolved by these resources. Shale gas, oil sands and coalbed methane (CBM) are the unconventional resources. Conventional reserves in challenging areas: Unstable political regime is represented in these areas. It leads to lack of security for investments. There are various countries with unstable political situation (Nigeria, Lybia, Iran). References: Menzie, C. A., Maurer, D. Leathem, W. A. (1980), An Environmental Monitoring Study To Assess The Impact Of Drilling Discharges In The Mid-Atlantic. The effects of drilling discharges on the benthic community In: Symposium on research on environmental fate and effects of drilling fluids and cuttings BERR (2008). Environmental monitoring for UK offshore oil gas. DECC Summary report for OSPAR Joint Assessment and Monitoring Group. Grsvik, B.E., Meier, S., Westrheim, K., Skarphinsdttir, H., Liewenborg, B., Balk, L. Klungsyr, J. (2007). Condition monitoring in the water column. Klungsyr J., Balk, L., Berntssen, MHG., Beyer, J., Melbye, AG ., Hylland, K. (2003). Contamination of fish in the North Sea by the offshore oil and gas industry. Olsgard, F., Gray, J.S. (1995). A comprehensive analysis of the effects of offshore oil and gas exploration and production on the benthic communities of the Norwegian continental shelf. OSPAR. (2007). Assessment of the possible effects of releases of oil and chemicals from any disturbance of cuttings piles. Davies, J. M., Kingston, P. F. (1992). Sources of environmental disturbance associated with offshore oil and gas developments. Black, K. P., Brand, G. W., Grynberg, H., Gwyther, D., Hammond, L. S., Mourtikas, S., Richardson, B. J., Wardrop, J. A. (1994). Environmental implications of offshore oil and gas development in Australia-production activities Sydney: Australian Petroleum Exploration Association. Watts Michael (2001). Petro-Violence: Community, Extraction, and Political Ecology of a Mythic Commodity in Violent Environments Grant, A., Briggs, A. D. (2002). Toxicity of sediments from around a North Sea oil platform: Are metals or hydrocarbons responsible for ecological impacts. Klungsyr J., Balk, L., Berntssen, MHG. Beyer, J., Melbye, AG., Hylland, K. (2003). Contamination of fish in the North Sea by the offshore oil and gas industry. Thacker, W.C.(2007). Estimating salinity to complement observed temperature: Gulf of Mexico. Akosua k darkwah (2011). The impact of oil and gas discovery and exploration on communities with emphasis on women. Camilli, R. (2010). Tracking hydrocarbon plume transport and biodegradation. Pegg, Scott. (2009). Chronicle of a Death Foretold: The Collapse of the Chad-Cameroon Pipeline Project. Muhlenberg, F. and Birklund Andersen, J. (2008). Analysis and assessment of biological and chemical monitoring data from offshore platforms in the Danish sector of the North Sea. G. O. Young, Synthetic structure of industrial plastics.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Professional Development of Nursing Professionals Essay Example

Professional Development of Nursing Professionals Essay â€Å"The IOM is an independent, nongovernment organization that gives advice to people in decision-making positions†¦ The opinions of the IOM are highly regarded and carry weight in legislative decision† (Grand Canyon University[GCU], n. d. , para. 6). This paper will explore the impact on nursing of the IOM report, focusing on the topics of education, nursing practice, and the role of the nurse as a leader. In the chapter Transforming Education, the IOM committee identified â€Å"major changes in the U. S. health care system and practice environments will require equally profound changes in the education of nurses both before and after they receive their licenses† (Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, at the Institute of Medicine; Institute of Medicine [IOM ], 2011, p. 163). IOM recognizes studies that show a correlation between BSN prepared nurses and better patient outcomes. The committee strongly supports advanced education and recommends a goal of increasing the percentage of BSN prepared nurses to 80% by 2020. The report further calls for more advanced practice RNs, more qualified nursing instructors, and more nurse researchers educated at the doctorate level. The report stresses the â€Å"need to establish, maintain, and expand new competencies throughout a nurse’s education and career† (IOM, 2011, p. 164). â€Å"Many of todays new nurses are undereducated to meet practice demands across settings† (http://www. acn. nche. edu/media-relations/fact-sheets/impact-of-education). Increasing the overall and continuing education of nurses would have a tremendous impact on the advancement of the nursing profession. Nurses could potentially become some of the most educated and diverse members of the health care team. Increasing the diver sity of the student body, as the report recommends, would improve communication and care to minorities. A higher educated workforce would further assist in the transition of nurses from the hospital to community setting that is likely to occur in the future (IOM, 2011, p. 13). The US is currently in a transition from acute care to community based care. With this, a demand is being created to build an already short primary care workforce. The IOM committee recognizes the drastic impact nurses could have in increasing access to primary care. The committee states expanding nurse’s roles could create more efficient and effective healthcare. Their key message is â€Å"nurses should practice to the full extent of their education and training† (IOM, 2011, p. 85). IOM supports redesigned roles for nurses. We will write a custom essay sample on Professional Development of Nursing Professionals specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Professional Development of Nursing Professionals specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Professional Development of Nursing Professionals specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The report gives specific examples of companies such as the VA, Kaiser Health, and Geisinger, which have utilized nurses in expanded roles, including using more APRN’s as primary care providers. The results have shown great improvements in patient care. The committee supports using nurses in such roles as promoting prevention and wellness, promoting health, and providing education from disease prevention to management of chronic conditions. They recommend nurses assume these roles in collaboration with physicians. With the shift to community acquired care comes a need for better coordination of care and disease management. This role can be filled by RNs, and will create a huge opportunity for RNs to expand their practice. The committee believes nurses need to be more fully utilized in order for the transformation of healthcare to occur. This includes advanced practice RN’s. Many states do not allow advanced practice RNs to practice to the extent of their abilities. Restrictive scope of practice regulations, physician opposition, a fragmented healthcare system, and outdated insurance policies are all obstacles this country must overcome in order for APRNs to practice to the extent of their abilities. The committee recognizes the importance of APRNs to provide the majority of primary care in the US. Increasing the number of providers would make primary care more accessible to the population. If the recommendations of the IOM are followed, nurses could be responsible for the majority of primary care for patients. The IOM has stressed the importance of the nursing role in educating patients on disease prevention, management of chronic conditions, and health promotion. This is a subject in which this author is in firm agreement. While providing patient care, it is clear there is a lack of education regarding disease process and management. Patients frequently feel lost regarding their illness. Education will be very important when the shift from acute to primary care occurs. Education and health promotion are areas in which this author plans to transform and improve in her practice. The IOM committee calls for stronger leadership on the part of nurses. They feel this is critical in order to â€Å"implement the changes necessary to increase quality, access, and value and deliver patient-centered care† (IOM, 2011, p. 251). IOM’s key message regarding leadership of nurses would give them a voice they do not currently have. In order for this to occur, nurses need to change their outlook and become leaders not doers. IOM states â€Å"nurses should be full partners, with physicians and other health professionals, in redesigning health care in the United States† (IOM, 2011, p. 221). The committee states nurses must collaborate with physicians and other health care professionals in order to provide better patient care. IOM states the need for nurses to reach out to â€Å"new partners in arenas ranging from business, government, and philanthropy to state and national medical associations to consumer groups† (IOM, 2011, p. 51). If nurses can gain these partners, their voices and ideas would be more widely spread. The committee encourages â€Å"leadership from nurses is needed at every level and across all settings† (IOM, 2011, p. 225). Leadership must begin with the student nurse and continue with bedside nurses, community nurses, CNO’s, nurse researchers, and nursing organizations . If nurses across the field answer this call, they will become involved in policy-making process from the hospital to the political fronts. One can imagine the improvements in healthcare if the individuals who have the most interaction with the patient are also involved in creating policies that protect these same patients. The recommendations of the IOM are achievable. With perseverance, the IOM’s vision of â€Å"a future system that makes quality care accessible to the diverse populations of the United States, intentionally promotes wellness and disease prevention, reliably improves health outcomes, and provides compassionate care across the lifespan† (IOM, 2011, p. ) can be a reality.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Handling Errors and Exceptions in Delphi Applications

Handling Errors and Exceptions in Delphi Applications Unfortunately, building applications includes coding. Regardless of how carefully you write/debug your program, it will be impossible to imagine every situation that can go wrong. The inexperienced user might, for example, try to open a nonexisting file or input a bad value into a data field.Users make mistakes and we should be prepared to handle/prevent these errors wherever and whenever possible. Errors, Exceptions? An exception is generally an error condition or another event that interrupts the normal flow of execution in an application. Whenever an error results from processing a line of code, Delphi creates (raises) an object descendant from TObject called the exception object. Guarded Blocks An application responds to an exception either by executing some termination code, handling the exception, or both. The way to enable error/exception trapping within a given code, the exception must occur within a guarded block of statements. The general code looks like: try   Ã‚   {guarded block of code} except   Ã‚   on do begin   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   {exception block-handles SomeException}   Ã‚   end; end; A try / except statement executes the statements in the guarded block of code. If the statements execute without any exceptions being raised, the exception block is ignored, and control is passed to the statement following the end keyword. Example: ... Zero:0; try    dummy: 10 / Zero; except    on EZeroDivide do   Ã‚  Ã‚   MessageDlg(Can not divide by zero!,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   mtError, [mbOK], 0) ; end; ... Protecting Resources When a section of code acquires a resource, it is often necessary to ensure that the resource is released again (or you might get a memory leak), regardless of whether the code completes normally or is interrupted by an exception. In this case, the syntax uses finally keyword and looks like: {some code to allocate resources} try   Ã‚   {guarded block of code} finally   Ã‚   {termination blok - code to free resources} end; Example: ... AboutBox:TAboutBox.Create(nil) ; try   Ã‚   AboutBox.ShowModal; finally   Ã‚   AboutBox.Release; end; ... Application.OnException If your application doesnt handle the error that caused the exception, then Delphi will use its default exception handler - it will just pop up a message box. You may consider writing code in the OnException event for TApplication object, in order to trap errors at the application level. Break On Exceptions When building a program with exception handling, you may not want Delphi to break on Exceptions. This is a great feature if you want Delphi to show where an exception has occurred; however, it can be annoying when you test your own exception handling. Few final words The idea of this article is to give you just a quick look at what exceptions are. For further discussion on exception handling, consider On Handling Exceptions in Delphi Exception Handling, using a tool like Delphi Crash / Exception Handling with Bug Reporting and some of the following related articles:

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Activity Based Costing

Activity Based Costing Introduction Activity based costing (ABC) is a widely adopted accounting practice where the cost of making various products and services are based on the companies’ activities (Panda1999, p. 5).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Activity Based Costing specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The costs are specifically allocated to products and services according to the level of consumption of each category but comprehensively, it assigns more indirect costs into direct costs (unlike other conventional accounting practices) (Armstrong 2006, p. 363). The major benefit associated with this accounting technique (ABC) is that a company can be able to specifically know which products and services take up most costs and which are overpriced and less profitable so that a required remedy is developed. Activity based costing basically works by allocating the overall resource costs according to the activities commensurate with the m to the final products and services that are produced by a given company (Armstrong 2006, p. 363). In a more general sense, the technique is basically used to understand a company’s profitability in relation to the costs incurred when producing various goods and services. In this regard, it is important to note that activity based costing has been widely adopted by many organization because it aids in decision-making processes that touch on pricing, outsourcing, identification, and the actual benchmarking of the standards of production of goods and services (Panda1999, p. 5). However, in as much as the activity based costing technique has been beneficial to many organizations; many are also finding it very difficult to implement it. This trend has seen a number of organizations in emerging economies face a number of challenges adopting the technique, despite evidence of incredible success of its implementation in other parts of the world existent in many literature excerpts. Significant challenges have been recorded in areas touching on acceptability, augmentation (with other computer systems in the organization), ensuring the system is of value to the company and its environment (among other challenges) (Liu and Pan 2007).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This study will critically analyze the experiences and challenges of such companies in implementing ABC and how many of them have been able to succeed with this process, while others have openly failed. This will be done through an analysis of two companies (XU JI Electrical Company Limited and Global Electronics Inc) operating in emerging markets. XU JI Electrical Company Limited Though activity based costing has been widely adopted in the Western world, there is still increased skepticism among many companies operating in developing economies of its effectiveness. Such is the situa tion observed in China (Liu and Pan 2007). In fact, Hu (2001) explains that the implementation of Activity based costing in China is still at the theoretical level. This situation can be evidenced in the case of XU JI Electrical Company Limited which is based in China. The company is basically an electronics company that manufactures electronic goods used in the development of public infrastructures like rail. Activity based costing technique was introduced in the company in the year 2001 when there was a strong need to devise methods on how to tackle increased competition in the industry and to employ more efficient accounting techniques for better performance. The initial system was particularly based on the labor-hour absorption rate where costs were allocated across production lines. This system was largely inefficient because it inhibited the company from pursuing competitive pricing strategies. Activity based costing was therefore introduced in the early months of the year 200 9 under the First product department where the main objective for implementing the costing technique was to establish accurate product costing information for purposes of cost control (Liu and Pan 2007). In the implementation of the activity based costing technique, the services of an implementation team was sought, where their primary mandate was to train the existing employees on how to use the system and to build an ABC conceptual model. The latter task was effectively carried out, except for the general administrative and finance expenditures which contributed an overwhelming expenditure of approximately 77% of the entire cost budget. Due to the fact that there was an increased organization structure inhibition, the implementation team decided to develop the ABC conceptual model on the number of employees evidenced in each given activity (as a temporary measure) (Liu and Pan 2007).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Activity Based Costing specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More From this analysis, we can see that the company’s operations in China’s fast-paced business environment posed a challenge in the overall implementation of the ABC model because it was difficult to maintain it on an up-to-date level. In fact, similar research studies point out that many more companies face the same challenges especially in identifying a good cost driver for the application of ABC because some of these cost drivers become obsolete after a given period of time (Liu and Pan 2007). Liu and Pan (2007) further explain that the same situation has been evidenced in a number of Western economies where many companies have had to abandon their ABC implementation processes because of the volatility of the economy. After basing the model on the number of employees, the Activity based costing model had to be computerized where a specific Chinese software was identified for this purpose. However, during the imp lementation process, the lack of experience in dealing with such software augmentation led the company into significant conceptual errors that almost grounded the activities of Activity Based Costing implementation process. The company therefore had to seek the guidance of the activity based costing implementation team manager to asses the situation and provide possible remedies. The team manager did so, and after determining the company’s rationale, the project went on smoothly. The company was therefore able to produce monthly Activity based costing reports but there was a significant challenge in augmenting the ABC software with other computer softwares that were in existence before it. From this analysis, we can see that there is a strong need for technical expertise in the product implementation stage of ABC implementation to tackle functionality and compatibility issues. This fact is also supported by Baker (1998, p. 257) who affirms that the input of technical expertis e is vital in the overall successful implementation of ABC. The technical expertise evidenced in the above scenario was characteristic of the team manager’s input in salvaging the situation (ABC implementation). As regards functionality and compatibility issues, it should be understood that the incompatibility of the ABC system and other computer systems was likely to pose a problem for other staff members in the organization (like in the warehouse division or the finance department) because there normally are instances of increased workloads where the officers have to double-check data added by the frontline managers into the ABC system.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In making the employees and staff receptive to the new ABC system, XU JI Electrical Company Limited decided to adopt the formal feedback session technique (Liu and Pan 2007). This technique was successfully used to show employees the benefits of the system; a process which ultimately led to a lot of satisfaction among the company staff. However, some sense of resentment was observed from the front-line managers who pointed out the demanding nature of inputting data into the system as their biggest cause of concern regarding the system. Nonetheless, after subsequent meetings, there was a growing level of understanding among the managers. A link between ABC implementation and performance measures was identified to be the biggest cause for concern when analyzed in terms of future implementation considerations of the project which was considered to be a future agenda for discussion. From this analysis, we can see that the inclusion of the bottom-level and top-level employees in the impl ementation process was critical to the acceptance of the costing technique. Though there were significant objections coming from front-line managers, there were subsequent discussions aimed at seeking employee buy-in that brought the managers onboard. This analysis shows that constant communication between all stakeholders in the organization is likely to improve the probability that changes will be accommodated in the organization. Global Electronics Inc Global electronics Inc is a company specialized in making power semiconductors for signal processing and power control applications and many of its products are also used in braking antilock systems, airbag systems, computer keyboards, modems and the likes. During the end of the year 1999, the company had experienced a significant dip in sales that caused a lot of tension within the company (as regards the long-term prospects of the company’s sustainability) (Juras 2003, p. 1). To remedy this situation, the company decided t o employ the activity based costing system to uphold the company’s efficiency. In a general sense, the company experienced significant success in implementing the ABC system because its new manager, Chris Richards, had a good background in ABC. This was the first step that could be learnt from the company’s experience in implementing ABC because the company’s new manager brought a lot of technical expertise that could be used in implementing the ABC model. In a more general sense, this analysis shows that importing beneficial technical expertise is a positive move towards ensuring smooth implementation of ABC. It is also important to note that having someone with a significant experience about the implementation of ABC, spearheading the process, is also a good move for the company. It was also observed that the education about the new model (ABC) and the task of wrapping management’s thoughts around the new model was still attributed to him (Chris Richard s, the new manager). Basically, management’s buy-in could be attributed to his influence. This analysis is important to organizations that experience problems getting management to adopt to new changes in the organization. More essentially, it is important to note that having someone with considerable experience regarding ABC, in the managerial team is a plus towards getting the overall managerial team to accept changes in the organization. Another reason for the smooth implementation of the model was attributed to the company’s operating capacity. The company‘s director of manufacturing (cited in Juras 2003, p. 2) affirmed that: â€Å"The number one thing we had going for us was an urgency factor. I truly believe people would not have given us the time of day with respect to ABC if we were making 10 percent return on sales. Having operating losses of $100 million causes people to listen†. Moreover, in successfully implementing the ABC model, a steering co mmittee which encompassed most members of all the company’s departments was quickly formed. The members came from finance committees, product engineering, operations management, and other functional teams of the organization, but extra assistance was also sought from external organizations to enable the company effectively implement the ABC model (Juras 2003, p. 2). The move to include members from various departments of the organization ensured that the steering committee was holistic, in terms of member contribution because all the departmental members represented most functional areas of the organization. It is also important to note the input of the steering committee in the implementation of the ABC model because it played a vital role in the entire process. The steering committee basically went ahead to define the tasks of each company plant department, assign the resource costs to the specific activities, and determine the activity drivers, among other technical areas of the ABC implementation model (it is important to note that all functional managers of the organization gave support to the steering committee) (Juras 2003, p. 1). From this analysis, we can see that having a steering committee was quite vital to the successful implementation of the ABC model, considering the above tasks are key in the design stage of implementing the ABC model (Salvendy 2001, p. 2319). It is therefore vital for organizations that have a problem going past the design stage of the ABC model to have a steering committee that specializes on moderating the tasks to be covered at this stage. It was also confirmed by Global Electronics’ manager that setting short-term goals during the implementation of the ABC model was essential in ensuring the process implementation process was smooth (Juras 2003, p. 3). The short-term goals set for the implementation of the ABC model was meant to improve the product cost accuracy and optimize the company’s product mix. A long-term objective was also established, and it was meant to transit the company into a long-term activity based costing management criterion. This is also another pointer that can be borrowed by organizations which have a problem implementing the ABC model because quite a number fail to understand the short-term and long-term goals of implementing ABC in the first place. Having clearly set short-term and long-term goals is therefore vital to the overall implementation of the ABC model because it steers the organization into the right direction during implementation. Integrating the new ABC model with other existent systems was also a tricky affair for the company, but it successfully managed to undertake the ABC model in an offline manner where the system was managed separately from the previously existing labor-based standard costing system. In the same manner, the new model was also managed separately from the financial reporting system. However, it was quite tricky for the co mpany to maintain the offline system because there were issues of employee behavior, and other issues arising from previous negative experiences learnt from the PUC process that the company engaged in. Part of this problem was summarized by Juras (2003) that: â€Å"The problem with a non integrated approach, even though it is certainly a lot simpler and less risky, is how do you affect behavior?For example, you cant run the marketing organization based upon achieving some desired gross margin when they are relying upon bogus costs to push the stuff that you dont want them to be pushing.But, how do you motivate these people to go after the right set of products if youve got a bunch of accountants sitting over here who have knowledge derived from some offline system that nobody else is aware of?† (p. 3). This experience showed that despite the fact that the company had a remedy to solve the problem of implementing the ABC model; it still experienced significant challenges in su staining the strategy for long. The biggest cause for this problem can be attributed to the fact that the organization failed to include the behavioral aspect of implementing this strategy. From this analysis therefore, we can observe that the failure to include the behavioral considerations of implementing the ABC model in the organization can eventually render the whole strategy useless. Comprehensively, the ABC implementation process went on as planned and fell within a nine-month schedule, but this smooth transition could be attributed to including activities within the cost model that bore a strong influence to strategic product pricing and mix decisions (Juras 2003, p. 3). The inclusion of a centralized project team also contributed a lot to the coordination of activities that were done in the implementation process. This team was quite crucial in ensuring a sense of consistency was observed within all plants. It is also identified that the top-bottom approach of implementing the ABC model was deemed appropriate because such a model was basically aimed at making lower-level employees understand the benefits of the ABC model. Moreover, it was identified that the ABC model was essentially hatched at the company’s headquarters and it was the duty of management to push the idea down to lower-level managers and employees (regardless of their personal decisions) (Juras 2003, p. 3). Interestingly, the move by the company’s project team to educate the plant manager was criticized by the company’s manager as ineffective because of the assertion that: â€Å"When we went to the plants to do training, it was like a whirlwind tour; we just showed them some charts and said, now sit down and we are going to ask you some questions.I dont think we put ourselves in our internal customers shoes. We paid very little attention to their constructive concerns or their need to truly understand ABC†. Conclusion This study points out the challenges and successes of implementing ABC by two companies operating in emerging markets. Comprehensively, we see that firms in emerging markets have a significant problem in accepting ABC because it is not a previously implemented model. Having a steering committee and seeking the services of an external agency (with a significant experience in ABC implementation) is a good strategy to making existing managerial teams accept changes. We have also seen that there is a significant challenge experienced by the companies in augmenting ABC with previously existing computer applications, and comprehensively, we see that seeking technical expertise in doing so is a good move towards ensuring there is a smooth transition into ABC, without causing any operational hitches. Also, we see that having clearly set goals is an important tool to steer the implementation of the ABC model in the right direction. This observation is critical, in the sense that, many organizations have been identified to abandon ABC implementation because they do not have a clear understanding of the importance of implementing the ABC model in the first place. In a general sense, we can see that adopting a top-bottom implementation strategy is also important in ensuring the ABC mode is implemented effectively. Burke (2006) affirms this fact and implies that the top-bottom implementation strategy is important because the decision to implement an ABC model is normally undertaken at the company’s headquarters and many organizations expect managers to ensure employee buy-in, to make the transition a success. Conclusively, we can say that organizations operating in emerging markets experience challenges of transitioning from old accounting models to ABC and therefore, tactical strategies need to be adopted to ensure there is a smooth transition from old accounting models into new models. References Armstrong, M. (2006) A Handbook Of Management Techniques: A Comprehensive  Guide To Achieving Managerial E xcellence And Improved Decision Making. London, Kogan Page Publishers. Baker, J. (1998) Activity-Based Costing and Activity-Based Management for Health  Care. London, Jones Bartlett Learning. Burke, L. (2006) CIMA Learning System 2007 Management Accounting Decision  Management. London, Butterworth-Heinemann. Hu, Y.M. (2001) The spontaneous formation and development of ABC, ABM in Chinese Organization. Accounting Research (China), 3, 33–38. Juras, E. (2003) Global Electronics, Inc.: ABC Implementation and the Change  Management Process. (Online) Web. Liu, L.Y.J. and Pan, F. (2007) The implementation of Activity Based Costing in China: An innovation action research approach. The British Accounting Review, 39, 249 264. Panda, N. (1999) Activity Based Costing For Indian Industries. New Delhi, Mittal Publications. Salvendy, G. (2001) Handbook of Industrial Engineering: Technology and Operations  Management. London, Wiley-IEEE.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Organisational Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Organisational Behaviour - Essay Example Teams on the other hand are defined through the efforts that result in performance that is better and greater than the sum of individual inputs. In effect an understanding of the group gives insight to an understanding of the individual. Teams have become more popular over the years for certain reasons. They often outperform individuals through natured competition and spirited inter group motivation. They also allow the individual to use their talents in a more efficient way. They have also been continuously associated with the ability to adjust and respond to changing environments. Team or group dynamics create a more democratised environment that increases the level of motivation among the employees. Work teams have certain benefits to the individual that accrue to the collaboration of the employees. They also have their share of disadvantages and over the individualised approach to work. To begin with, teams have a more creative approach to problem solving and are more thorough in the performance of their obligations and duties. This increases the quality of the work done. The various employees learn from the different perspectives and backgrounds on how to evaluate all pros and cons of the problem. Teams present and inter team competition which motivates the individual to perform better and emerge better. The interaction with the team also allows the individual to develop other skill sets besides the employment performance skills such as leadership, communication and association. It builds the individuals social and relational aspect through the team based interactions. On the other hand participation of an individual in a team has its challenges and disadvantages. The under-participation or over-participation of an individual in the team leads to uneven use of the individual’s potential which limits the performance of the individual. In case of team conflict the work environment created for the individual becomes more unfriendly and difficult (Scott , 2007). Team participation makes it quite difficult to motivate and acknowledge individual effort. Teams also limit individual’s creativity to the team level and it creates more bureaucracy in the work place. Further, not all individuals are comfortable working in teams and they actually work better when working individually. 2. ‘There’s no such thing as ‘stress.’...it’s all in an individual’s head and just an excuse to take time off work’ discuss There is no specific definition or explanation for job stress. It is a common phenomenon among most organisations and it occurs due to various reasons. It can however be expressed by the consideration of the internal and external circumstances and symptoms that are common with people undergoing stress. The most widely adopted explanation and definition of stress is one that expresses the circumstances that create the potential for stress. It can be presented as the result of a situatio n that creates demands that threaten to breach the individual’s capacity and abilities as well as the limits of the resources that are available. This therefore goes to the indifference between the rewards and costs of the obligations over the resources