Use of IT tools in Road Management and Engineering Essay Example

Use of IT tools in Road Management and Engineering Essay The report presents the use of IT tools in the road management and engineering area. IT tools used in the road management and engineering area is the main approach worldwide. It can save time, cost, labor force and also perform some works that human may not be able to accomplish. HDM-4 and ARCADY are typical examples of computer programmes. HDM-4 aims at assisting engineers in predicting the future economic, technical, social and environmental outcomes of possible investment decisions concerning road assets. It provide assessments of the economic and environmental impact of investment choices and consider new development works, maintenance works and improvement works as possible investment choices. ARCADY can assist engineers in predicting accident rates in existing roundabouts and designing new roundabouts at an ordinary intersection. It can save much precious time for engineers in geometric design in avoiding iterations by hands. Examples of testing these two computer programmes we re performed. They justify the validity of both computer programmes in the road management and engineering area. However, nothing is perfect and the computer programmes also have drawbacks which will be discussed in this report. Contents Page Abstract We will write a custom essay sample on Use of IT tools in Road Management and Engineering specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Use of IT tools in Road Management and Engineering specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Use of IT tools in Road Management and Engineering specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer 1.0 Introduction 1 2.0 HDM-4 2-4 2.1 System Architecture 2 2.2 Road Management Function 2-4 2.2.1 Planning 3 2.2.2 Programming 3 2.2.3 Preparation 3 2.2.4 Operation 3-4 3.0 ARCADY 5 4 4.0 Test of HDM-4 and ARCADY 5 4-6 4.1 HDM-4 4-5 4.1.1 Results 5 4.2 ARCADY 5-6 4.2.1 Results 6 1.0 Introduction IT tools are widely used in many fields now. In the road management and engineering field, IT tools are especially vital and useful because road congestion and road accidents attribute billions of dollars in a country each year. For economical and environmental issues, uses of IT tools can efficiently reduce the social and economic loss due to the congestion and accidents, and mitigate the environmental impact from vehicles. The Highway Development and Management Tools (HDM-4) is a software system for investigating choices in investing in road transport infrastructure. It was developed on the basis of HDM-3. These choices may include developing new roads, improving existing roads, maintaining existing roads, introducing new vehicle technology and introducing new ways for funding and managing road assets. It will enable managers of road network assets to investigate the possibilities for providing cost-effective development and upkeep of their road system, which brings benefits to the communities that they serve. ARCADY is a popular computer programme for designing roundabouts in UK. It can design a new roundabout at an intersection; predict capacities, queue lengths, delays and accident risk at existing roundabouts. It is very important in road engineering for designing roundabouts quickly since time is very important in an engineering field. 2.0 HDM-4 HDM-4 is a decision support software system for assisting road managers to predict future economic, technical, social and environmental outcomes of possible investment decisions concerning road assets, and consider new development works, maintenance works and improvement works as possible investment choices and allow to consider investments on a single section of road, or a large network of road links (many sections), or any combination of road sections in a sub-network. For example, traffic volume and composition, deterioration of the road condition, the effect of works on road condition, the effect of the investment on vehicle emissions and the effect of condition and road works on road users, in terms of vehicle operating performance and costs, road user and cargo time delay and costs, accident rates and costs can be predicted. 2.1 System Architecture The HDM-4 technology can be integrated with present and future road management systems. It has been developed at three levels which are the knowledge and algorithms embodied in the modelling of technical, and economic performance of road infrastructure, the program modules which deliver the models in explicit terms, and the HDM-4 software, including the modelling modules, which provides the investment analysis and works programming functions (PIARC, 2000). The system architecture consists of a database, data managers, models and analysis tools. A database manages the input data and analysis results while data managers are software which provides the user interface and controls data. Models are software modules which reflect modeling algorithms, and analysis tools controls the system application (PIARC, 2000). 2.2 Road Management Functions The HDM-4 provides a powerful system for the analysis of road management and investment alternatives. The system can be applied to road management, programming road works, estimating funding requirements, budget allocations, predicting road network performance, project appraisal, policy impact studies and a wide range of special applications. 2.2.1 Planning HDM-4 can analyze the road system as a whole in medium to long term, or strategic, estimates of expenditure for road development and preservation under various budget and economic scenarios. Predictions can be made of road network conditions under different funding levels in terms of key indicators together with forecasts of required expenditure under defined budget. The results of the planning exercise are of most interest to senior policy makers in the roads sector in both political and professional means. The HDM-4 application in the planning level is always performed by strategy analysis. 2.2.2 Programming Programming involves the preparation of multi-year roadwork and expenditure programmes in which sections of the network needs maintenance, improvement or new construction, are selected and analyzed. Ideally, cost-benefit analysis should be undertaken to determine the economic feasibility of each set of works. The programming activity produces estimates of expenditure in each year, under defined budget, for different types of roadwork and for each road section. The HDM-4 application in the programming level is programming analysis. 2.2.3 Preparation This is the short-term planning stage where road schemes are packaged for implementation. At this stage, designs are refined and prepared in more details; bills of quantities and detailed costing are made, together with work instructions and contracts. Detailed specifications and costing are defined, and detailed cost-benefit analysis can be carried out to confirm the feasibility of the final scheme. The HDM-4 application in the preparation level is project analysis. 2.2.4 Operations Decisions about the management of operations are generally made on a daily or weekly basis, including the scheduling of work to be carried out, monitoring of labours, equipments and materials, the recording of work completed, and use of this information for monitoring and control. 3.0 ARCADY 5 ARCADY (Assessment of Roundabout Capacity and Delay) has been developed over the last 20 years by TRL (Transport Research Laboratory) and is used for predicting capacities, queue lengths, delays and accident risk at roundabouts. ARCADY is a user friendly and helpful tool to aid the busy traffic engineer in designing new roundabouts as well as assessing the effects of modifying existing designs. It can design a roundabout and predict the accident rates automatically within a short time. It can also avoid the iteration process by hand to save much time. Thus, ARCADY is very convenient and important in road engineering. ARCADY 5 is the most recent evolution of a program that has been successfully used to design and re-design thousands of roundabouts throughout the world. ARCADY 5s main platform is graphical under standard Windows* environment, which is common to many organizations including governments, multi-national organizations and universities. ARCADY is based on empirical relationships derived from the study of many UK roundabouts. The capacity relationships were established from a database covering 11,000 minutes of at capacity operation at 86 roundabout entries, and the accident prediction routine is based on 431 injury accidents at 84 roundabouts. Capacity and injury accident rates are linked directly to intersection geometry. The entire UK government, funded research programme, carried out at TRL, cost some and 7.5m or US$ 11.5m at todays values, and gives ARCADY robustness (TRL Software Bureau, 2003). 4.0 Test of HDM-4 and ARCADY-5 4.1 HDM-4 In the Highway Development and Management Series, Kerali (2000) presented an example of the analysis of HDM-4. The national road authority has drawn up a list of candidate road sections for periodic maintenance and improvement over the next three years in Western Province. The list of candidate road sections follows a review of pavement condition surveys carried out by consultants. There is a policy that the candidate projects are prioritized and selected for the maintenance programme in the three-year budget period. The objective of the task is to prioritize the candidates according to the economic benefits basis. The HDM-4 imports data from the Pavement Management System or use the HDM-4 Road Network manager to create the candidate road sections. It also defines the characteristics of the vehicles that use the road network and specify the traffic growth rates. The maintenance and improvement standards are assigned to the candidate road sections together with the unit costs. Afterwards, the road works can be determined. The unconstrained work programme results give the total funding required for the list of candidate road sections. Finally, HDM-4 can carry out the budget optimization to prioritize and select the short list of projects that can be carried out within the available budget. 4.1.1 Results The analyses indicate that the selected road sections for periodic maintenance and road improvement would require approximately US$11.345 million over the three year budget period. 4.2 ARCADY 5 ARCADY calculations can be applied to single island roundabouts with up to seven arm. The user has a choice of methods of entering traffic flows and the program can estimate the shape of the peak according to the amount of data available. The safety of a design can be tested using ARCADYs accident predictions. Accident prediction is available for all conventional and mini-roundabouts layouts. The program can be applied to single-island roundabouts with 3 to 7 arms and now mini-roundabouts. Both at-grade and grade-separated roundabouts can be modelled. Pedestrian crossings (zebra crossing type) can be included, and the queue lengths can be viewed, animated and printed. Roundabout capacity studies by Highways Agencys Compendium of Research from 1993 to 1996 with the project value of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½300,000 was carried out to check the continuing validity of the existing ARCADY relationships for conventional roundabouts and to derive capacity relationships for mini-roundabouts. The outputs were to be implemented in a new release of ARCADY incorporating both capacity and accident relationships for mini-roundabouts. It is 15 to 20 years since the capacity relationships used in the ARCADY computer program were established; corresponding capacity relationships for mini-roundabouts have never been separately determined. 4.2.1 Results The checks on capacities at conventional roundabouts have been found to be still valid (Highways Agencys Compendium of Research, 2003). Minor areas where further research work could give useful benefits have been identified. Related work on mini-roundabouts was brought to a successful conclusion. 5.0 Discussion The main approach of HDM-4 is usually biased to the economic approach because it is mainly applied in the network and program level which focus on the economic area. Therefore, it may not be very practical in real situation. For example, when evaluating the maintenance of a pavement in a long term period, it may estimate that the pavement only needs one major rehabilitation in the period. However, it is impractical to have a large funding for the rehabilitation in a short period such as one year. It may not be allowed in such a large amount such as millions of pounds in a year. Therefore, in practice, a major rehabilitation should be modified to several smaller ones around that period. It may be easier for funding in several times for several rehabilitations over a longer period. That shows planners or engineers must ensure the results obtained from HDM-4 practical in real before implementation because computer programmes can only give us the results under ideal conditions which are always impossible in our real world. Also, another drawback for the application of the HDM Model is the availability of adequate data. It is important that the highway agencies realize how critical it is to collect and process the required data in order to produce sound results. A specific budget should be assigned for this task if consistent and serious results are wanted. Collection of data is an expensive activity and it may not be possible for every road assets. ARCADY was justified to be still valid for different types of roundabouts. It can effectively assist highway engineers in assessing the existing roundabouts for safety or any possible improvement, and designing a new roundabout from an ordinary intersection in order to alleviate the heavy right turn movement. It also includes crash prediction model based on UK equation. The software is backed by TRL and thus the validity of it can be ensured by numbers of research. However, it required detailed knowledge of geometrics such as approach length, approach curvature and entry width and so on. It is also restricted to about 50% confidence limits and the calibration to U.S. capacity is still unknown at this time. 6.0 Conclusions IT tools bring many advantages and convenience to our lives. It shortens the gap between people and time required from place to place. It makes the world run faster with better quality. . They always play major roles in many fields such as construction, banking and design, etc. There are many computer programmes used for road management and engineering. HDM-4 and ARCADY are typical examples in this field. HDM-4 mainly performs its functions in road management in making decision for the future improvement of road assets in network and project level. It can predict the different impacts. Making decision related to cost is very important since budget is always limited and so prioritization is always necessary. The prioritization can be determined by HDM-4, and the budget and resource can be effectively allocated. ARCADY can perform its functions in road engineering in geometric design and accident rate prediction. It has the advantages of time saving, accuracy and clear presentation over human capability in design by hands. Accuracy is very important in geometric design since it can directly affect the road users. Therefore, it can increase the degree of road safety which is always the most important issue in road traffic. ARCADY has been developed to ARCADY 5 and this latest version was tested to be still valid in performing its functions effectively. Practical uses of both computer programmes also show their validities in the areas in many projects but further analyses are still necessary for overcoming the drawbacks.

Causes of WWII + References essays

Causes of WWII + References essays "War! Good God ya'll! What is it good for?! Absolutely nothing! Listen to me!" To whomever have heard the lyrics of Edwin Starr's War is likely to have had some opinion formulated about how war is a destructive force in itself. In a world where power is absolute and idolized like an omnipotent force, it is easy to see how even an innocent person can be swept up in a race for supremacy. There are many underlying factors in why wars are started. Ranging from economic struggles, to territoriality, from religious beliefs to world domination, it all boils down to one common denominator, our need for greed makes us blood thirsty. That being said, this essay will focus on the aforementioned underlying factors. Each element brings its won unique aspects to catastrophic devastation. Also, the degree of destruction depends on the multiple inclusion of these elements. First up, are the socioeconomic causes of war which push governments to declare war on others to increase their revenue and weal th. Secondly, our differing belief structures, like ideology and religion, are often the reason for conflicting views which may incite jihads' or religious wars. My third point is territoriality, the need that some groups try to fulfill by taking over others' lands. As a fourth and final element, world domination with a foundation of prejudices creates mass genocide of past populations. Economic competition and improvement that existed and still exists creates a great tension between countries. Just like the arms race that was part of the Cold War and World War II, competition generates rivalries. Both the United States and the Soviet Union tried to out do each other and the battle escalated. Since each country wanted to protect themselves against a threat, retaliation lead to overproduction of weapons on each side. The escalation deteriorated the confidence between them, and made it more likely that a crisis could cause one side to strike. One g...

Ap Us History Dbq

APUSH DBQ 6 All throughout the 1800s, slavery was a very controversial topic. During the 1860 election, Abraham Lincoln was asked about his views on slavery. He simply stated that he would do anything with slavery to preserve the union. A few months later, Lincoln issued the Emancipation and this went slightly against what he had said earlier. Once this was issued, the preservation of the Union and the abolition of slavery became the main goal in the war. I believe that Lincolns main goal was to preserve the Union and although he felt that slavery was morally wrong, he was willing to do anything to keep it together. There were many instances where Lincoln made his beliefs on slavery very clear. Although he believed that it was morally wrong, he still did not believe that blacks should have the same rights as an american. He wanted them to be free. Just free somewhere else. During his presidency he tried very hard to do whatever needed to be done to preserve the Union. Lincoln restated this again in August of 1863 when he reminded people of the democratic party that the civil war was being fought in an effort to put the Union back together. Feelings on slavery did not matter but freeing slaves would make things easier because Confederate war effort would become more difficult. I march of 1862, Lincoln decided that it would be best to award states that freed their slaves with money. With this, people were not able to say that they didnt receive money for getting rid of slavery. This was simply a bribe though. He was not forcing anyone to abolish slavery and it was completely the states decision. Although that made the thought of abolition seem less awful to the confederates, they were still unsure. When speaking to a Committee of Religious Denominations of Chicago in September of that same year, Lincoln admitted that slavery was a big part of rebellion. He also stated that emancipation would prove to Europe that the U. S. had morals (image of strong ally). Emancipation would then also weaken the rebels by taking their laborers. Although this was a good plan, people were also still curious as to what would happen to all of the freed black people because they are uneducated and not smart enough to do the average white persons work. Fredrick Douglas, brought up the idea of letting black people fight in the war, and Lincoln felt that it was a good thing for blacks to do. 54th Massachusetts was famous because it was the first all black regiment. All black people fought for free until they were seen as equal. At first, Lincoln was scared that they would not be good soldiers and they would not be loyal to the fellow troops. Another fear he had was that White regiments would be angry and refuse to fight. 54th Massachusetts did the assault on fort Wagner and although there were many casualties, they continued to fight. This impressed both Sherman and Grant. That concern was put aside when all the focus was pointed towards Lincoln during his famous Gettysburg address in July of 1863. During the historic speech, he stated that all men were created equal and pointed out that during the revolution, they fought for equality of all men. This meant that by having slavery, they were lying about the revolution. Lincoln made it a point to say that were an example to all other countries that wanted democracy. He called the United States a â€Å"test case† with slavery. They had to keep fighting for those who already died or they might as well have a monarchy. Everything was going smoothly until there was a race riot later that year. White people were beating up black people because they felt that they were stealing their jobs. Buckner was confused because these northern people were treating blacks like southerners. Abusing them and refusing to draft. He pointed out that the black people were fighting for a country that didnt even appreciate them. The memorable statement of his speech was that the freed men were braver than all the men in that room combined. As people argued about whether slavery should be abolished or not, Lincoln always made it clear that the one thing he cared about the most was the preservation of the Union. The southern states mainly insisted on keeping slaver for economic needs and the North was more open to the idea of abolition because they did not need slave help. With such a controversial topic, it was hard to compromise but with Lincolns will to do anything, the Union was once again united.

Phase 1 Discussion Board 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Phase 1 Discussion Board 3 - Essay Example Some of the management tools that aid the process of governing employee behavior include the code of conduct and ethical principles. Codes of conduct are clearly crafted rules that govern behavior of employees at the work place. The set of guidelines contain the dos and the don’ts of the organization. They further give a clear outline of appropriate disciplinary actions taken against an employee who contravene them. Ethical principles on the other hand refer to accepted behaviors. These are not written and have no mechanism effecting their compliance. Each society and profession has a number of acceptable behaviors and conduct to which every practitioner or member is required to abide by, failing to results to either lack of professionalism or gross misconduct. The ethical codes are in most cases reinstated in the codes of conduct of most professions (Davis, Giordano, & Licht, 2009). However, an individual is required to have a sense of responsive behavior in the conduct of bu siness transactions. Management in business refers to the coordinating, overseeing and supervising the activities in the organization with the aim of achieving the organization’s objectives. In doing this, the management ensures that all employees have the right mindset and are geared towards the attainment of the same. ... To a achieve this, the management must effectively and adequately understand the concept of management and the theories governing the same. Contingency theory of management postulates that each situation in the organization is unique and requires unique strategies to accomplish. This theory dictates that rather than having a universal approach to every situation, an organization should tailor make strategies for every situation. This way, the unique features of the situation are addressed. This is the most practical approach and is in most cases cost effective. Another theory of management that is equally effective is the systems theory. This theory views an organization as a system with four components that include input, transformational process, outputs, and feedback. Each of these four is integral to the attainment of the organizational objectives and must therefore be effectively coordinated. There are two types of organizational systems, the open, and the close system. A closed system does not interact with the external environment while and open system operates in constant interaction with the environment (Coon & Mitterer, 2011). Two theorists, Abraham Maslow and Douglas McGregor in analyzing the behavioral viewpoint of management hypothesized that human relations movements emphasize social factors at work resulting in group dynamics. It is common to find informal class groupings at a palace of work. These groupings are formed n the basis of mutual interest of the members. Despite being formal and irrelevant to the direct process production, the groups require effective management since they shape employee mindset. In such groups, employee come together especially at tea or lunch breaks and discuss social issues

Tecumseh Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Tecumseh - Essay Example This made the treaties that had allowed this annexation void since it was signed by individual chiefs (Klinck 43). He was also a skillful orator and a brave warrior. These traits made the Americans and the British admire him (Klinck 36). Although Tecumseh was the leader of the confederacy during the Tecumseh war and war of 1812, the relationship between the Shawnee and the Iroquois Confederacy was a mixed one, with some Iroquois speaking people being friendly and allied to the Shawnee and the others who were enemies to them. While the other groups were enemies to the Shawnee, the Mingo and the Huron groups were their allies (Edmunds 23). The reason for this mixed relationship between the Iroquois Confederacy and the Shawnee is the following: the Iroquois Confederacy pursued a territorial expansionism policy which caused a conflict with its neighbors. Consequently, the neighboring communities, such as the Mingo and the Huron (Wyandot), cooperated with the Shawnee people due to the thr eat of territorial loss they experienced from the Iroquois Confederacy (Klinck 45). However, the relationship between the Shawnee and the Iroquois Confederacy was that of enmity since the Iroquois Confederacy embarked on invading the hunting grounds previously owned by the Shawnee, eventually evicting the Shawnee from their native lands of Ohio. The Iroquois made the Shawnee their dependents (Edmunds 40). During the American war of Independence, the Shawnee, Native American tribe, opted for joining the British in the fight against rebel colonists. The Shawnee planned to become British allies since they hoped that joining hands with the British would help them evict the colonists from their territory and draw them back across the mountains (Klinck 49). Considering that the invasion of the British and the consequent treaty signed with the Iroquois Confederacy had allowed many Colonists to settle in the native Shawnee lands, they needed some support to evict the colonists, which - they hoped - the British would grant them since the colonists had rebelled against the British colony (Edmunds 54). This saw the Shawnee ally with the British during that war. The concepts of land use advocated for by the British caused friction between the Indians and the whites. Notably, the signing of the Royal Proclamation of 1763 which sought to draw a line of territory between the Whites and the Indians sparked a great conflict (Klinck 62). This treaty sought to establish a reserve for the Indians but eventually ended up causing the encroachment by the whites into the areas where the Indians had previously occupied. Additionally, the treaty signed between the British and the Iroquois Confederacy over land use angered the Shawnee who were the native occupants of these lands before they were evicted by the Iroquois Confederacy (Edmunds 22). Thus, these concepts of land ownership and land use sparked off conflicts between the Indians and the whites. Tenskwatawa was a Shawnee religiou s leader who advocated for the Indians to revert to their traditional lifestyle (Edmunds 47). There were various reasons why the teaching by Tenskwatawa became very attractive to the Native Americans. First, these teachings advocated for a return to the traditional ways of living for the Indians. He advocated for the traditional lifestyle that was not influenced by the white cultures (Klinck 50). Additionally, his teachings advocat

How to write a thesis Essay Example for Free

How to write a thesis Essay While a thesis is often required by most universities as a final paper for students who desire to get their degrees, a thesis constitutes an objective proof of the authors’ understanding and capabilities in their chosen field of interest. Before undertaking any research study, it is important to pick a thesis topic that one is interested in. This topic may be taken from a personal or an established research. Since researchers have a time table in completing their papers, it is necessary to narrow the topic and to use sources that are recent and relevant. It is also beneficial to choose a topic that is focused, with enough sources of information, approved by the university or thesis adviser and a topic that will be beneficial to one’s career and will lead towards the completion of more researchers or books or in becoming an expert in the field (Childress, n. d; University of Ottawa, n. d. ). A thesis must consistently follow a format, e. g. American Psychological Association, Modern Language Association, Chicago, Turabian or Harvard for in-text and bibliography citation. Preliminary pages The introductory pages of a thesis usually includes a title page, an approval page, an acknowledgement page, a table of contents, a list of tables and figures and an abstract. A title is a concise statement of the topic, mentioning the major variables investigated. An abstract is a brief, accurate and comprehensive summary of the content, results, purpose as well as the implications of the study. It is written after the whole study has been finished (Kastens, et al, 2009). Introduction and Review of Related Literature The main purpose of the introduction is to show your answer to the questions, â€Å"What are you doing? †and â€Å"Why are you doing it? †. It also presents the background of the study to acquaint the reader of the problem to be dealt with as well as the significance of the research study. Literature on any topic may be found from several sources. Reviewing the past literature helps define the problem and provide an empirical basis for the hypotheses. It is important to cite only selected studies pertinent to the specific issue and emphasize major findings and methodological issues. There must be a logical continuity between previous studies and the study being undertaken. The statement of the problem, statement of hypotheses or objectives, definition of terms and scope and delimitations are part of the introduction. The problem must be clearly stated and written as a declarative statement or as a question, broken down into specific subproblems, usually written in the form of questions. The research hypotheses that will be tested or the specific objectives at which the research is aimed must be stated in terms of observable behaviour allowing objective evaluation of results. Hypotheses should be used wherever there is a basis for prediction and must be clear, concise predictions of expected outcomes and findings. In the definition of terms, the principal terms that are used will be listed and defined, particularly where the terms have different meanings to different people. The scope and delimitations includes explicit statements on the scope and delimitation of the study and will indicate what the study will include and will not include. Methodology In a research proposal, this section should tell the reader what the researcher intend to do and how it is going to be done. It should also inform the reader how the study was conducted in sufficient detail so that the reader can replicate the study or evaluate the appropriateness of the methods and the reliability of the results. This section also includes the research design used, use of and the process of constructing the research instruments, data gathering procedure, statistical designs used and the analysis undertaken as well as the group from which the sample is drawn, the method of sampling and the rationale for the sampling method. Results and Findings  This section should summarize the data collected, including the statistical treatment, if any. A general rule is to prepare the text in details so that the reader can comprehend the results by reading the text without consulting the tables or figures. The tables and figures should be prepared so that they can stand alone in describing the outcomes of the study. Discussion and Interpretation This is the most critical part of the research report and this section answers the questions, â€Å"So what? † in relation to the results of the study. â€Å"What do the results of the study mean? The researcher must carefully examine, summarize, interpret, justify the results and draw inferences. Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations Wording of the summary and abstract should not be exactly the same. Summarize everything covered in the research paper. The conclusions provide the â€Å"so what† of the findings. The recommendations are practical suggestions for the implementation of findings or for additional research. References This should list all sources cited in the text. References must be carefully chosen and cited accurately. Use the appropriate format required by the university. Appendices  This is used when a description of certain materials would be distracting or inappropriate to the main body of the report. In deciding whether to include material in the Appendices, be guided by the criterion: â€Å"Will it be useful to the reader in understanding, evaluating, or replicating the study? † A thesis is a reflection of the writer’s mastery of the subject area. The research paper must be free from typographical and grammatical error and must follow the required structure. Repeated reading and revision and asking the supervisor to critique the thesis draft will ensure a well polished paper.

Psychological Assesment of a client :: essays research papers

Psychological Analysis 1) What are your initial observations of the patient? Include name, age, marital status, profession, behavior, etc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   My client’s name is Arleen Mc Coy. Arleen is a thirty eight year old female. She has been married for 15 years and has two sons ages five and twelve. Arleen is a police officer and has been so for ten years. She is currently on paid medical leave and has three weeks left before she is due back at work. Arleen’s parents have been divorced for sixteen years and her father is an alcoholic with history of physical abuse toward his children. Her profession as a police officer came about from her desire to â€Å"serve and protect† because she could not do so as a child. Arleen has two brothers, one that she keeps in contact with and one that she does not. The day of our first visit my client seemed edgy and relayed to us that she has been feeling extremely stressed lately. Her husband and her have not been getting along because of her edginess. She says she has not been able to sleep, and does not want to go back to work or visit any of her fellow colleagues. My client has been having dreams and flashbacks about an incident that occurred while on the job. The incident occurred when she made a routine traffic stop and an altercation occurred between her and the suspect after one kilogram of cocaine was found during a routine search. The suspect then pulled out a gun and fired a shot wounding officer Mc Coy and ricocheting onto a car. By misfortune the car lost control and a five-year-old boy was killed as a result of the crash. Since the event my client has experienced feelings of helplessness, she feels if she could only go back and do something differently the child would not of had to die. 2) What is your diagnosis? Discuss the reasons for your diagnosis- the specific symptoms, social conditions etc that lead you to make your diagnosis.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The diagnosis that seems most appropriate for my client is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD is the response to an extremely traumatic event, which elicits fear, helplessness, or horror. Some of the characteristic symptoms for this disorder include the re-experiencing of the event in forms of dreams and flashbacks, which occur while awakening or intoxicated. Arleen claims that every time she closes her eyes the scene re-plays in her head time and time again, and she has been drinking to help her cope with this. Psychological Assesment of a client :: essays research papers Psychological Analysis 1) What are your initial observations of the patient? Include name, age, marital status, profession, behavior, etc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   My client’s name is Arleen Mc Coy. Arleen is a thirty eight year old female. She has been married for 15 years and has two sons ages five and twelve. Arleen is a police officer and has been so for ten years. She is currently on paid medical leave and has three weeks left before she is due back at work. Arleen’s parents have been divorced for sixteen years and her father is an alcoholic with history of physical abuse toward his children. Her profession as a police officer came about from her desire to â€Å"serve and protect† because she could not do so as a child. Arleen has two brothers, one that she keeps in contact with and one that she does not. The day of our first visit my client seemed edgy and relayed to us that she has been feeling extremely stressed lately. Her husband and her have not been getting along because of her edginess. She says she has not been able to sleep, and does not want to go back to work or visit any of her fellow colleagues. My client has been having dreams and flashbacks about an incident that occurred while on the job. The incident occurred when she made a routine traffic stop and an altercation occurred between her and the suspect after one kilogram of cocaine was found during a routine search. The suspect then pulled out a gun and fired a shot wounding officer Mc Coy and ricocheting onto a car. By misfortune the car lost control and a five-year-old boy was killed as a result of the crash. Since the event my client has experienced feelings of helplessness, she feels if she could only go back and do something differently the child would not of had to die. 2) What is your diagnosis? Discuss the reasons for your diagnosis- the specific symptoms, social conditions etc that lead you to make your diagnosis.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The diagnosis that seems most appropriate for my client is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD is the response to an extremely traumatic event, which elicits fear, helplessness, or horror. Some of the characteristic symptoms for this disorder include the re-experiencing of the event in forms of dreams and flashbacks, which occur while awakening or intoxicated. Arleen claims that every time she closes her eyes the scene re-plays in her head time and time again, and she has been drinking to help her cope with this.

Comparison of the Great Gatsby, Leisure Class, and Teaching in Tehran Essay

Class differences in society are a major impact on the lifestyle of people. Even today we can see how it effects how a person experiences their life. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, we can clearly see how Gatsby’s social status changes while in Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi we can see how class differences effect the opinions of the people in the class. The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen also demonstrates the philosophy and the dynamics of the differences between the rich and the poor. In these three works, status is portrayed as a dominant force in shaping one’s educational and/or social experience. In The Great Gatsby we can see how one’s status effects a person’s educational and/or social experience. Gatsby was born into a poor family and so he wasn’t able to get a proper education. Instead he worked as a clam-digger and a salmon-fisher, unlike Tom and Nick who had the best education due to their higher status and abundance of money. Gatsby had a different social experiece from Nick who was raised as a wealthy young boy who knew of his status. This acted as a confidence booster, one that assured him of his identity. Nick’s father once said to him â€Å"‘Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone†¦ just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had† (1). Gatsby, on the other hand, had a different social experience. Gatsby wasn’t spoiled and became mature at a younger age. However, when Gatsby moves to West Egg, his educational and social experiences now differ from his past due to him being a higher status. Gatsby, now a wealthy man, is able to pursue an education with more confidence. He is also able to experience a new social standing. An example of him excercising his new wealth and position in society is his hosting of popular parties in which he is able to observe how higher class people interact. Despite this he is always uncomfortable with the rest of the higher class and is only a spectator of his parties. He never really fits in because although he is now a higher class, he grew up poor with different ideals. Growing up in a different environment made Gatsby think that with money he can achieve anything – even his goal of attaining Daisy’s love. His naivety with money shows distinct class division between poor and rich. Interaction between men and women in Tehran make women dependent on men. Gender plays a role in determining staus in Tehran. No matter how poor a man is he is seen as having more status than most women. In the excerpt Reading Lolita in Tehran, we can see the different educational and social values between men and women. Since men are raised thinking they have the superior status and their outlook on women are all similar. Unlike men, women are forced to be dependent on the male because of Tehran laws. This restricts women to do what men want to. Educationally both men and women were taught in this excerpt ,but how they perceived education was different. For a very religous man like Mr Nyazi, The Great Gastby as a book goes against eveything he believed in. Religon and his beliefs made him more narrow-minded and unable to look at the whole picture, making his argument biased. Mr. Nyazi argued, â€Å"West is our great enemy, it is the Great Satan, not because of its military might, not because of its economic power, but because of its sinister assault† (126). For a woman in Tehran to be able to argue back to a man was a big deal. Zarrin had a less biased view than Mr. Nyazi arguing how he wasn’t reading critically enough. Zarrin said, â€Å"An inablility to read a novel on its own terms. All he knows is judgement, crude, and simplistic exaltation of right and wrong† (128). In this particular society, gender is a status that is even more difficult to break through than wealth. Being born into a wealthy family meant that you have many advantages. In The Theory of the Leisure Class we can see how the standards of the wealthy are very different from the poor. Being born into a higher class also comes with social pressure to be like everyone else and be different from the poor. Thorstein speaks of some guidelines wealthy people follow to show off their wealth to say I’m not poor ,but rich. At this tage of wealth consists chiefly of slaves benefits accruing from the possesions of the riches and personal service and the immediate products of personal service†(1). What the wealthy experience is very different from the poor. The wealthy has more freedom of choice, having more leisure time to do what they please, while the poor must work everyday to survive. Whether through status or gender ,these roles in society inevitably effect the experiences and oppurtunities that are offered. Gatsby being how he changed from the lower class to the higher class or even how Zarrin viewed The Great Gatsby versus Mr. Nyazi’s view.

Functional Health Patterns Community Assessment Essay

Sharp Healthcare offers groups for breastfeeding mothers, postpartum depression, grieving for loss of a child, obesity, eating disorders etc. Do the community members value health promotion measures? What is the evidence that they do or do not (e.g., involvement in education, fundraising events, etc.)? Fundraising events for local kids with Neuroblastoma (Pediatric) Cancer Fundraise for community sports like football and cheerleading What  does the community value? How is this evident? Religion- Church on Sundays with family Family Values- many family functions like concerts in the local park, movie night at the Lake On what do the community members spend their money? Are funds adequate? Cars Homes, rent- cost of living is high in CA Eating out Shopping Middle Class majority, funds can get tight Health Perception/Management Predominant health problems: Compare at least one health problem to a credible statistic (CDC, county, or state). Obesity 33% in San Diego are overweight, 26% are obese 30% of kids grades 5/7/9 are overweight/obese in San Diego County (â€Å"Community profile: county†, 2013) Immunization rates (age appropriate). 4.5% of Kindergarteners are missing one or more vaccines Out of 43,000 kindergarteners in the county, 1900 are not fully immunized Not all families in San Diego are immunizing their children due to things they hear about vaccines- EX: vaccines causing autism Parents do not do their research and often listen to hear-say or false news reports Appropriate death rates and causes, if applicable. Top 10 causes of death in San Diego: Malignant neoplasms, diseases of the heart, Alzheimer’s, chronic lower respiratory diseases, cerebrovascular disease, accidents (unintentional injuries), diabetes, intended self-harm (Suicide), chronic liver disease (cirrhosis), hypertension/hypertensive renal disease and influenza/pneumonia (â€Å"San Diego County†, n.d.) In 2012, in San Diego alone there were 20,018 deaths 3,684 in East County San Diego 1,806 were Male 1,876 were Female 377 Hispanic 3,015 White 130 Black 88 Asian 70 Other Age groups 0-4 (28 deaths), 5-14 (6 deaths), 15-24 (42 deaths), 25-24 (68 deaths), 35-44 (90 deaths), 45-54 (278 deaths), 55-64 (474 deaths), 65-74 (587 deaths), 75-84 (863 deaths), 84+ (1,248 deaths) (â€Å"San Diego County†, n.d.) Prevention programs (dental, fire, fitness, safety, etc.): Does the community think these are sufficient? Drug Abuse prevention programs, Delinquent and school failure prevention programs CAL Fire teaches a fire prevention program locally in San Diego, CA Safe Kids San Diego which teaches prevention of unintentional accidents such as drowning, child passenger safety, sports and recreation safety and pedestrian safety (â€Å"Safe Kids San†, 2014) Western Dental provides services for people who no insurance for a cheaper rate Multiple gym facilities such as 24 hour Fitness, Crunch and Chuze are some of the biggest gyms out here Available health professionals, health resources within the community, and usage. Planned Parenthood- health care for pregnancy and STD prevention Local hospitals- Kaiser Permanente, Sharp Grossmont Hospital, Scripps Hospital, Sharp Memorial Hospital are a few big hospitals in San Diego, CA Urgent Care clinics like Doctors Express are available San Diego Public Health Language Specific healthcare such as Arabic, Spanish, Tagalog etc. Common referrals to outside agencies. WIC- Women, Infants and Children Black Women, Infants and Children Food Stamps Low Cost medical and dental care Habitat for Humanity Nutrition/Metabolic Indicators of nutrient deficiencies. Vitamin deficiencies such as Vitamin D and Iron Unexplained fatigue, brittle, dry hair, ridged or spoon shaped nails, mouth  problems, diarrhea, irritability or lack or appetite can all indicate nutrient deficiencies San Diego has one of the largest homeless populations in the country, especially homeless veterans. Malnutrition is prevalent in this group of people Obesity rates or percentages: Compare to CDC statistics. This bullet was answered up above in a previous question. Affordability of food/available discounts or food programs and usage (e.g., WIC, food boxes, soup kitchens, meals-on-wheels, food stamps, senior discounts, employee discounts, etc.). Food Stamps WIC (Women, Infants and Children) BWIC (Black Women, Infants and Children) Meals on wheels Senior discounts offered at some restaurants like Soup Plantation. 55 plus is considered senior citizen here in California Project Homeless Connect Availability of water (e.g., number and quality of drinking fountains). Water fountains in all stores and schools Drinking water (Tap water) meets most government standards but needs to be more thoroughly treated Water comes from 3 places: Northern California from snow and rain, the Colorado river and local rain water runoff Fast food and junk food accessibility (vending machines). Vending machines at most all high schools California trying to change contents to offer healthier choices Fast food on almost every corner- very accessible Evidence of healthy food consumption or unhealthy food consumption (trash, long lines, observations, etc.). Always long line as fast food places Gyms always crowed, protein/workout drinks always in hand Beaches are full of people in bathing suits (fit and unfit) Farmers markets on Wednesdays crowded A lot of people do special programs like Weight Watchers, Opti-Fast, Medi-Fast, Nutri-System, Jenny Craig etc â€Å"Re-think your Drink† this program is trying to eliminate sugar sweetened drinks and are replacing them with water, low fat milk for 50% or greater natural fruit juices Provisions for special diets, if applicable. Items containing specific allergies have them stated on the label like nuts, shellfish or specific fruits For schools (in addition to above): Nutritional content of food in cafeteria and vending machines: Compare to ARS 15-242/The Arizona Nutrition Standards (or other state standards based on residence) Fruit/veggie based drinks with no less than 50% fruit juice Milk 2% fat, non-fat, soy or rice milk Not more than 35 percent of its total calories can come from fat (excluding: nuts, seeds, eggs, cheese, fruit, vegetables and legumes) Not more than 10 percent calories from sat fat (Excluding: eggs and cheese) Not more than 35% of its total weight may be composed of sugar, including naturally occurring and added sugar (excluding: fruits and vegetables that have not been deep fried) Not more than 250 calories per individual food item (Middle schools and Jr High Schools, High Schools) No more than 175 per individual food item for elementary schools Amount of free or reduced lunch 60% free or reduced lunch in schools in San Diego, CA Elimination (Environmental Health Concerns) Common air contaminants’ impact on the community. Smog, Allergies- Pollen, Mold Noise. Major Airport, major Military bases, heavy traffic noises Waste disposal. Miramar Landfill Pest control: Is the community notified of pesticides usage? Yes, individual residences take care of their own pest problems Hanta Virus- In mouse poop in our area Hygiene practices (laundry services, hand washing, etc.). Laundry mats are in abundance, dry cleaners and individual washer and dryers in some residences Singing the â€Å"Happy Birthday† song twice while washing hands was on the local news to help people wash their hands more efficiently Toilet seat covers in most public bathroom services Signs stating â€Å"Must wash hands before returning to work† in all restaurant bathrooms Bathrooms: Number of bathrooms; inspect for cleanliness, supplies, if possible. Most public bathrooms have signs for employees to sign when they have checked and maintained the restroom Public bathrooms are generally clean and well stocked, if not usually an employee of the place is easily notified Universal precaution practices of health providers, teachers, members (if applicable). Protective gowns, gloves, shields when handling bodily fluids for health providers when in facilities Teachers usually do not have access to all of the equipment necessary but generally have gloves on hand Temperature controls (e.g., within buildings, outside shade structures). Temperatures generally in the 70-75 ranges in controlled areas such as schools and stores Shades provided at local parks Community pools and beaches available for hot temperatures Safety (committee, security guards, crossing guards, badges, locked campuses). Most day cares are locked facilities Crossing guards at most elementary and middle schools Security guards at stores and hospitals to prevent theft and crime Trolley Guards Volunteer Police patrol (Elderly men and women) Activity/Exercise Community fitness programs (gym discounts, P.E., recess, sports, access to YMCA, etc.). YMCAs Gyms: 24 hour fitness, crunch, chuze AYSO (local soccer leagues for kids) T-ball/ baseball/ softball fields at Cactus Park (name of play park) P.E in middle school/high school for 2 years Recess at elementary schools Zumba and Jazzercise programs locally Recreational facilities and usage (gym, playgrounds, bike paths, hiking trails, courts, pools, etc.). Playgrounds at most local parks Mission Trails- hiking, bike trails Cowles Mountain, Iron Mountain- Hiking trails Community pools- YMCAs Safety programs (rules and regulations, safety training, incentives, athletic trainers, etc.). Lifeguards at local community pools and beaches Safe drivers incentives with Allstate Insurance Discounts on car insurance with good grades and no trouble Crime Stoppers, Mc Gruff Crime Dog, Kidzwatch Academy, Safety Sam are police station programs that kids and other community members can participate in to ensure community safety Injury statistics or most common injuries. In San Diego, unintentional injuries were the sixth leading cause of death in 2009 Nearly 1000 people died that year of unintentional injuries with 30% of those caused by poisoning including overdose Every hour in San Diego, an average of 19 people are hospitalized or treated in the ER because of injuries Car accidents, drowning, falls, assault, struck by an object, burns, overexertion and suffocation are some of the most common causes of injury in all age groups Evidence of sedentary leisure activities (amount of time watching TV, videos, and computer). Computers used as primary resource for schools Internet used as primary resource for community Driving short distances that could be walked T.V takes up, on average, 2.8 hours of most people’s day Ages 15-19 spend read for an average of 4 minutes per weekend day and 52 minutes playing a game on the computer Ages 75 and over spend an average of 1 hour of reading per weekend day and 20 minutes playing games or using a computer Employed adults with no children spend about 4.5 hours per day doing leisure activities and employed adults with a child/children spend about 3.5 hours doing leisure activities per day Means of transportation. Trolley, Bus, Cars, Bikes, Walking and park and ride for carpool Sleep/Rest Sleep routines/hours of your community: Compare with sleep hour standards (from National Institutes of Health [NIH]). Eating heavy dinners, caffeine, smoking and exercise late in the day is effecting sleep of people in San Diego Graveyard shifts are common due to places being open 24/7 Sleeping anywhere from 6-9 hours Indicators of general â€Å"restedness† and energy levels. Lack of â€Å"bags† or â€Å"dark circles† under eyes Hair, makeup and outfit appropriate for environment Less caffeine needed Factors affecting sleep: Shift work prevalence of community members All shifts, mostly 12 hour shifts in the healthcare field, Mainly anywhere from 7am-6pm for most full time employed people Environment (noise, lights, crowding, etc.) Near main airport, military bases, lights and crowds near football and baseball stadiums, colleges, living near freeways Consumption of caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, and drugs A least 3 major Universities in San Diego (Caffeine intake!) Average age in San Diego is 20s-30s and large nightlife crowd downtown San Diego (Alcohol and drugs) 2012 drug stats: Heroin increase, crack/cocaine decrease, methamphetamines increase, marijuana increase, prescription opioids decrease, ecstasy decrease (â€Å"Drug abuse patterns†, 2014) Homework/Extracurricular activities High school student average 3 hours of homework per night Anywhere from 6.8 to 17.5 hours of homework per week for high school students Elementary schools 2.9 hours per week Middle school 3.2 hours per week After school sports- up to 3 hours of practice for some like football Health issues Stress, common colds/flu, pediatric cancers, diabetes types 1 and 2, obesity, hypertension Cognitive/Perceptual Primary language: Is this a communication barrier? English/ Spanish, Arabic, Vietnamese (possible communication barriers) 37.1 % of San Diego’s population speaks a different language than English Educational levels: For geopolitical communities, use http://www.census.gov and compare the city in which your community belongs with the national statistics. San Diego County : High school graduates 85.4 % Bachelor’s degree or higher 34.4 % (â€Å"State and county†, 2014) Opportunities/Programs: Educational offerings (in-services, continuing education, GED, etc.) Many programs offering GED programs and prep classes including community colleges All hospitals and healthcare centers provide in-services Grossmont college, Grossmont adult night school ROP (Regional Occupation Program) Learn English (program in El Cajon, CA to help foreigners learn English) Educational mandates (yearly in-services, continuing education, English learners, etc.) CEUs for nurses- 30 hours every 2 years for RNs Special education programs (e.g., learning disabled, emotionally disabled, physically disabled, and gifted) GATE- gifted and talented education program Children’s outreach project Library or computer/Internet resources and usage. El Cajon library Internet on all phones, ipads Computers at most schools including elementary schools Funding resources (tuition reimbursement, scholarships, etc.). Scholarships offered through the Chamber of Commerce for academics up to $3,000. Many colleges offer academic scholarships and sports scholarships (Full and partial rides) UCSD and Rady’s Children’s Hospital both have tuition reimbursement and student loan repayment programs UCSD will repay two thirds of the tuition or student loans Board of Governor’s Fee waver Military discounts Self-Perception/Self-Concept Age levels. Many families in El Cajon Mainly 20s and 30s in San Diego County such as downtown San Diego Kids under age 5= 6.5% of population People under age 18= 22.6 % of population People 65 and over= 12.3 percent of population Programs and activities related to community building (strengthening the community). San Diego City College peer mentoring program MAD (mothers against drunk driving) Big Brothers/Big Sisters program (Mentoring adolescents) Peer Leaders (high school program- students give other students â€Å"counseling† when they feel like they cannot talk to an adult) Community history. The area now known as San Diego County has been inhabited for over 10,000 years by the Kumeyaay Indians San Diego became part of the United States by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on 1848 ending the U.S. –Mexican War One of the original counties of California San Diego used to be a very large county including all of Los Angeles and extended to the Colorado river Pride indicators: Self-esteem or caring behaviors. San Diego is one of the most sought out cities to visit and/or live Very expensive because they demand is there A lot of plastic surgery in San Diego Spray tans, fake nails, fake hair, people are in shape (wears bikinis) San Diego residents support a lot of charities and cancer/disease foundations Donating money to a good cause is common among this community Published description (pamphlets, Web sites, etc.). San Diego Magazine Sandiego. org for local media (Website) Union Tribune San Diego (News Paper) Role/Relationship Interaction of community members (e.g., friendliness, openness, bullying, prejudices, etc.). East San Diego is more friendly than West or North San Diego (More money in those areas) Very accepting of Gays and Lesbians in San Diego ( Hill Crest is a city known for an abundance population) Gay Pride Parade is a huge event in SD Very large interracial community, not a lot of prejudices Programs to prevent in-school bullying Vulnerable populations: Why are they vulnerable? Homeless population downtown San Diego Lack of medical insurance How does this impact health? Increase spread of disease Increased severity of disease No access to medication or medical treatments Power groups (church council, student council, administration, PTA, and gangs): Mexican Mafia Logan Heights Gang Hells Angles PTAs in elementary schools Jehovah’s witness Mormons How do they hold power? Influential Have a lot of people under them or following them PTA helps make decisions for schools Positive or negative influence on community? Gangs usually a negative influence Hells Angels used to have more of a negative influence but now are more positive towards the community and support local charities like pediatric cancer ones Harassment policies/discrimination policies. Under the California Department of Public Health all employees have a right to work in an environment free from all forms of discrimination, including sexual harassment, intimidation, retaliation or coercion. The CDPH is committed to providing a work environment free from sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that is illegal under both  state and federal law The Fair Employment and Housing Act defines sexual harassment as harassment based on sex or of a sexual nature; gender harassment; and harassment based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. The definition includes harassment based on sexual orientation, and also protects an individual’s actual or perceived gender identity, whether or not different from the individual’s actual gender at birth The CDPH endorses a â€Å"zero tolerance† policy aimed at preventing all such inappropriate behavior. As a result, CDPH may take corrective actions, up to and including formal discipline, when policy violations occur, even if they are not so serious as to be unlawful (â€Å"Sexual Harassment Prevention†, 2008) Relationship with broader community: Police San Diego has had allegations of inappropriate behavior of police officers such as groping and sexual favors CHP, Sheriff’s department, Police in each city such an San Diego Police Department Fire/EMS (response time) Generally called from the City in which the Emergency is Response time is good- generally under 10 minutes Fire departments all work together from all surrounding cities when needed Large fire in Escondido/ San Marcos just happened in San Diego County, fire departments from all around came to help Cedar fire in El Cajon more than 10 years back, fire departments from out of state came and helped Other (food drives, blood drives, missions, etc.) San Diego Blood Bank- always has blood drives in parking lots of big stores like walmarts and businesses Local food drives at schools and healthcare clinics/facilities Sexuality/Reproductive Relationships and behavior among community members. Have had many allegations of teacher/student relationships Many older male/young female relationships and visa-versa Many relationships with more than 10 year gaps Young marriages/pregnancies common Married Population 45.15% Single Population 54.85% Now Married 43.16% Married but Separated 1.99% Never Married 40.39% Widowed 4.58% Divorced 9.88% Married, w/children 35.54% Married, no children 37.34% Single, w/children 16.27% Single, no children 10.86% (â€Å"People in San†, 2014) Educational offerings/programs (e.g., growth and development, STD/AIDS education, contraception, abstinence, etc.). Planned Parenthood- teachings and prevention methods of STDs and Pregnancy, prenatal care Access to birth control.

Fight Club Essays

Fight Club Essays Fight Club Paper Fight Club Paper Essay Topic: Fight Club Novel The other people who were camping near us wanted to drink and party all night long, and I tried to get them to shut up one night, and they literally beat the crap out of me. I went back to work just so bashed, and horrible looking. People didnt ask me what had happened. I think they were afraid of the answer. I realised that if you looked bad enough, people would not want to know what you did in your spare time. They dont want to know the bad things about you. And the key was to look so bad that no one would ever, ever ask. And that was the idea behind Fight Club. (1) This realisation that humanity does not want to know about the dark side of life is central to the narrative of Fight Club. It focuses on how society has become numb; relying on physical possessions to define them (Id flip through catalogues and wonder what kind of dining set defined me as a person) rather than accepting yourself as being more than what you own, your career and how much money you have in your wallet, a notion which one of the central characters, Tyler Durden, reminds his followers of regularly. The film adaptation of Fight Club remains loyal to the ideas presented in the novel, with a few somewhat hidden visual clues to highlight the message within the story. : Our Narrator is an insomniac, working for a big corporate car company evaluating accidents, and whether it would be cost effective to warrant a recall. To counter-attack these dehumanising factors he joins numerous therapy groups and soon finds himself addicted, that is, until another tourist names Marla joins the self-help group scene and he finds himself unable to open up, and his insomnia begins again. It is soon after meeting Marla that the Narrator meets Tyler Durden, an enigmatic soap manufacturer who embodies all the qualities he wishes he had self-fulfilment, perfect looks and who isnt a slave to his possessions. Together they form Fight Club, a way to feel something in an otherwise numb life which consists of the same thing day in and day out. When Marla overdoses on Xanax, she is saved by Tyler and the two embark upon a sexual relationship. Tyler tells the narrator that he must never talk about him with Marla. Under Tylers leadership, the fight club soon spirals into a nihilist terrorist organisation named Project Mayhem, which commits increasingly destructive acts of anti-capitalist vandalism in the city. After an argument, Tyler disappears from the narrators life, and following a member of Project Mayhem dying, the Narrator attempts to trace Tylers steps, discovering that clubs have been set up in all major cities. One of the participants identifies him as Tyler Durden, which a phone call to Marla confirms, and he realises that Tyler is an alter ego of his own split personality. Tyler appears before him and explains that he controls his body whenever he is asleep. The opening scene of the film shows the main character, an unnamed twenty-something male, being held at gunpoint. The succeeding description, accompanied by a visual tour through the corporate building which is about to be blown up, immediately engages the viewer, as not only does the visual style appear edgy, but intrigue about how he got himself in such a situation is aroused. One of the main gripes in Fight Club is the consumerist society, and at its heart is a dark parody about consumerist discontent. The film engages with this idea by regularly not showing faces and focussing on other aspects to identify them. The first instance this is shown is when the unnamed central character, unnamed because it could be any twenty-something male, is approached by his boss. He immediately focuses on his tie, identifying the day as Tuesday because his boss was wearing his cornflower blue tie. We then get a glimpse of how our main character has fallen victim to the Ikea trend, the camera pans around his apartment with the catalogue descriptions of each item he owns appearing next to it. The scene finishes with a comment about how we used to read pornography, now it was the Horchow collection which fully shows how consumerism has become the new form of self- gratification. Its only when his apartment is blown up that he begins his journey to total freedom, his entire i dentity was enclosed in that apartment, and now that it has gone he begins again Its only after weve lost everything that were free to do anything. Director, David Fincher, employs an impressive array of techniques to tell the story, combining traditional cinematic conventions (voice overs, breaking the fourth wall to address the audience directly) with arresting CGI sequences and subliminal blips. For example before we are formally introduced to Tyler, he flashes onto the screen at what may seem like random moments, but are in fact key to unravelling the mystery of a confused identity. Of course, we dont realise the genius behind this until after the film. The main thing to remember whilst watching this film is that nothing has been put in there by mistake; every minute detail serves its purpose. From this aspect Fight Club succeeds in every way, and it also succeeds as being one of the rare film adaptations which is better than the book. The opening credits of Fight Club shows how the film incorporated modern CGI sequences to its advantage; a special effects sequence which quite literally takes us into the Narrators brain, wh ich starts from a tiny glow deep within his brain-cells, through his mouth and up the barrel of the gun. The clean look of the CGI contrasts greatly with the general visual texture of the film. There are many negative images in the film (bags of human fat splitting open, broken teeth and crackling electrical cable in water) which all adds to the effect. The most discussed, and criticised, aspects of Fight Club is its violent content. Fight Club was one of the first openly violent films to be released after Columbine High School massacre in April of 1999, and for this reason it generated a lot of critical attention about its attitude and graphic depiction towards violence, with voices being raised claiming that the movie glorifies violence by portraying it as something positive. (2) No one can deny that Fight Club is a violent movie; there are in fact some scenes which are so brutal that some viewers will turn away. But there is purpose behind showing this bloody battering, and its to make a point about the bestial nature of man and what can happen when the numbing effects of day-to-day drudgery cause people to go a little crazy. As the film evolves, he methodically reveals each new turn in an ever-deepening spiral that descends into darkness and madness. The reason Fight Club is such a memorable film, lies in its ability to reach out to modern society, of a certain age at least, and engage and relate to them in someway. The characters acknowledge at more than one point that theyre in a film. The Narrator makes sarcastic voice-over remarks, and is constantly rewinding and fast-forwarding through his story. After the Narrator has giving us the whole story, we return to the comment this is about where we left off, and Tylers response, Oh. Flashback humour. Fight Club takes on everything that cinema can do but has been too afraid to. Maybe it is the fights that stand out the most. In an era of fake fight scenes, beefed up with special effects, the fight scenes in Fight Club have a somewhat narcotic effect; with their documentary feel its much more realistic. The lack of music only adds to the atmosphere, with the only memorable music being at the very end of the film appropriately named Where Is My Mind? Fight Club is a daring film, forcing you to thing outside the box with how a Hollywood film should look and feel. It also forces the audience to question their lives, in modern times most people can not help but be caught up in the consumerist rat-race.

Case Study 5 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

5 - Case Study Example It means that when Subaru wants to introduce a new product, the existing products are rarely eliminated (Yamaguchi, 2005). Subaru also centers its products on the customer needs. This is what drives the firm’s product development. Customer needs are monitored and then they are integrated into the way the products of the firm are developed with an intention to make sure that the customer is happy with e products. The fact that the customer needs keep shifting has also meant that the firm has to continually look for ways to innovate in a dynamic way to keep up with the high speed of changing customer needs. Subaru realizes that without keeping up with the changing customer needs, it will be hard for it to remain competitive in the market. This has therefore been the central part of the firm’s strategy with regard to the way it accesses the market. Google’s product development is both similar and different from others found in the other firms. It is similar because like in other firms, product development is the ultimate market strategy for any firms. Firms in a modern economy realize that they have to continually change their product in order to meet shifting customer needs and therefore they have to keep improving their products. Like Google, they have to keep innovating new ways to make the customer happy. However, Google is also different in that its innovation is more dynamic and more spontaneous. Unlike in other firms where any innovation process has to be thought out and be flagged by the senior management, innovation at Google is an everyday process and it is everybody’s responsibility as opposed to it being a process only initiated by the managers. Google’s product development is also customer focused (Iyer & Davenport, 2008). Their innovation is all about making sure that the customer gets what t hey want. In fact, they take advantage of the technology to make sure that they can personalize the products for each

Course Project Task 4-5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Course Project Task 4-5 - Essay Example The corporate level strategy has a good chance of succeeding because Nissan’s management is not new to Thailand. Nissan already enjoys an established presence in Thailand. In order to turn its weaknesses into strengths, Nissan must steer its expansion program carefully so that justification for the eco-car is clear, and the investment pays off. Further, since Nissan is already in the process of corporate restructuring under the Recovery Plan, it can use this to its advantage by molding the new structure so that it specifically supports the expansion program in Thailand. Also, as Thailand has cheaper labor than Japan, the expansion program in Thailand will further help Nissan in slashing labor costs. This would make it a leaner company that can focus on the eco-car and lead the future more profitably. There is thus a greater chance for profitability in Thailand than in Japan with the strong yen. As Nissan already has a presence in Thailand, it has established access to suppliers and dealers. This enables Nissan to use its existing business relationships as a springboard for carrying out the expansion programs. Development of the eco-car specifically is also of special interest to Thailand’s government and to environmental groups. Therefore, gains can definitely be made from synergy and the environment of Thailand is supportive. Nissan’s corporate strategy could identify the new eco-car more closely with Thailand to consolidate the relationship and open up new opportunities for moving beyond Japan and its alliance with Renault. The change would make business sense for Nissan to further its Recovery Plan on one hand and set the stage for the future with its new eco-car on the other. Change is necessary if Nissan wants to thwart its troubles of the past and invent a new eco image for itself in promotion of its Green Program. As for turning threats