Alternative Health Care Essays - Pseudoscience, Alternative Medicine

Alternative Health Care Alternative health care, also known as holistic or homeopathic care, is a myriad of unconventional health care approaches to healing and improving ill health. Dr. Samuel Hahnemann discovered homeopathy in the early 1800's. He was sick of the art of medicine practiced in his time; he said it was barbaric. He knew there had to be alternatives so, like any devoted science lover would do, he experimented on himself and his friends. Hahnemann found that large dosages of herbs increased symptoms so he decreased the dosage and found that the symptoms decreased and usually ceased (Smith 10). Homeopathy became popular in the nineteenth century. This may be accounted for because most patients at that time agreed that them-modern techniques were harsh and didn't work. The same thing is happening today. People are resorting to holistic remedies because the"promise of allopathic medicine has lost its luster"(Smith 10). Some criticize holistic care as being primitive. According to Joseph Wassesug, "Holistic medicine...is what we practice when we don't know the real answer." For example, years ago tuberculosis was treated was treated with fresh air and Adirondack chairs, polio was treated with baths and hub tanks, and rheumatic fever was treated with good nutrition and bed rest! (Copeland 103) Another problem with holistic care is that the government has no regulation of holistic practices and who practices them. This makes it difficult to determine exactly who is really qualified and which alternative medicines are safe. "Finally, critics such as Joseph D. Wassersug argue that while alternative practitioners may be more caring, some may not have the education or expertise to effectively treat serious injury" (Wekesser 95). We have got to use common sense when choosing a doctor. When a person has a M.D. or an R.N. after his name we opt to trust our life to him! One should check the doctors' background before visiting him. "...blind trust of medical degrees is not a replacement for using common sense" (Copeland 105). When someone chooses alternative care he must take into consideration its dangers. One could actually overdose on vitamins or misuse herbal therapies. "Instead of feeling better, I felt increasingly worse, like a spaced out zombie" complained Carol Copeland, a former holistic patient who almost lost her life to cancer because her homeopathic physicians were to proud to think they were wrong thus they neglected an ovarian cyst (Copeland 104 Wekesser 95). Another problem with these unconventional health care alternatives is that they give false relief. What this means is that when someone uses a holistic remedy and then feels relief he tends to credit the remedy. This method does not hold water because most ailments resolve themselves (headache for example). Barrett says holistic practitioners are quacks. "The main reason for quackery's success is its ability to seduce people who are unsuspecting and desperate" (Barrett 112-113). Nevertheless, holistic medicine has strengths. One, it recognizes the psychological, environmental and social aspects of illness. Two, it involves the patient in his own treatment with activities etc.. And three, it emphasizes preventive medicine as its base (holistic). Holistic medicine is a practice of health cares that that emphasizes treatment of the entire patient?body, mind and spirit. Homeopathic care, compared to allopathic is expensive. There are no doctor's visit's, or expensive antibiotic prescriptions necessary. This is not to say that doctors are not useful; obviously, if there were a serious injury one should not hesitate to go to a medical (allopathic) doctor (Smith 10). Homeopathy is ideal for the homemaker or mother because it enables her to cure common ailments with herbs that she may have around her home (Smith10). Homeopathy is easy to learn. There are workshops for the lay person that wants to understand holistic medicine. The use of many remedies can be performed by anyone; hence homeopathy does not require a medical degree (Smith 10). It makes sense to try alternative care. Some people feel that doctors are too interested in money and not entirely concerned with the patient (Gordon 107). There is an entirely new faith involved in alternative health care. It is a new approach to tradition and though some may be skeptical there is much reason to have a sound mind towards it. Homeopathy works fast; in most cases the remedies take affect in ten minutes. If by chance a homeopathy remedy didn't work one could still seek other medical help without worrying that he waited too long (Solovitch 100). Some people chose alternative care because so many other methods (and doctors) fail to cure them. Others do not like the

Czar Nicholas essays

Czar Nicholas essays Czar Nicholas II was born on May 6,1868 in Tscarskoe Selo, Russia. Nicholas was a well-educated child. He was also an intelligent man. His father was very strict so he spent most of his childhood in seclusion of the outside world. Czar was an unattractive man with brown hair and blue eyes. He always wore his hair down and parted to the left. He had a thick beard and mustache. One of his worst features was his pug nose he inherited from his father. His golden brown highlights were his best feature. Since Czar was such a short man his golden highlights stood out. WWI began on September 28, 1914 with a fight between Austria-Hungary and Serbia. Nicholas became one of the worst commanders ever. He made many mistakes one of the most significant things that Nicholas did to "dig his own grave," maybe the most substantial was his resistance to ideas other than his own. It was evident during the period of his reign that a large majority of the Russian population wanted government reforms. Nicholas, however, was an extreme conservative and would not accept any type of government reforms that would affect the old order. For example, when the Duma proposed a plan to reform the policy of land distribution, Nicholas responded by proclaiming the bill "inadmissible" and then dissolved the Duma. The same was seen when common people advocated reform. Nicholas used harsh measurements to suppress them such as imprisonment and even death. The way that Nicholas justified that he had the power to arbitrarily and unconstitutionally change laws was that it was his historic power and that he need only answer to God. This was another mistake because it made both the citizens and the government angered and more eager to overthrow him. Another one of the great mistakes that Nicholas II made was his reliance on his wife Alexandra and thus her mystic advisor Rasputin. During WWI Nicholas II made the poor decision to leave Alexandra in control of St ...

It has been argued that Mills theory as advanced in On Liberty is Essay

It has been argued that Mills theory as advanced in On Liberty is flawed because of its failure to consider poverty and other social constraints. To what extent do you agree with this view - Essay Example It enlightens people on how the weaker people are preyed upon by those stronger I the society leading to some people having their right of liberty being violated. Mill in this theory describes the various factors that affect the liberty of people. Although Mill states several issues that arise when liberty is talked about, his theory can be termed as imperfect since he fails to consider poverty and social constraints. He does not show how social constrains and poverty influences the liberty of an individual or a society (Weir, 2007:34). The argument on the theory being imperfect is a solid one since poverty is one of the things that can lead to one being deprived on their liberty. From the essay, the people started to see that it was better if some of the magistrates and the governors of the states were tenants to them. This was better because they would not abuse the offices since the tenant hood was revocable anytime (Mill, 2002:47). But then, this would only be possible for those that were wealthy enough to be landlords and landladies, meaning that the poor in this society would not benefit from this kind of setting. These people are forced to submit to the governors and magistrates even when they are not harming anybody since this people that are in power see that they have nothing to lose because they are not tenants to the poor. Mill did not look at what would happen to the poor and therefore he did not include poverty in this theory, and thus rendering it flawed. Those living under high poverty conditions fa il to see that the government’s opinion is also their opinion and therefore their liberty is at risk. According to John Stuart Mill, the liberty does not just apply to adults only, but also apply to children and all those that are in a state in which they require to be protected against harming themselves. At times, the poor are ignorant and therefore they rarely take care of such people and the children and therefore

Health information system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Health information system - Essay Example Furthermore, distribution and access to to healthcare is determined by income and standards of living. These features form a social pattern in health that tends to shape health dynamics with respect to certain social requirements. It is important to note with complete patient data, avoidable hospital visits are reduced. Some hospitals use other forms of communication such as email and telephone to reach and support patients from home by checking their health records. For instance, physicians use EHR to determine a patients' health concern. An integrated and comprehensive health record transfers the trend of health care to an efficient approach while maintaining the quality of health care. This results in minimal wastage on financial implications to the hospital, patient and government. Importance of aligned financial incentives. Health outcomes for the population are seen as being influenced by the operation of the capitalist economic system at two levels. Within the capitalist socie ties, health matters have progressed with refined technology in drug production. Poor societies are more likely to fall ill compared to richer societies. Poor disease prevention measures, minimal awareness initiatives by stakeholders, poorly funded research and costly treatment procedures are likely to affect access to health by poor clusters of people. These are some of results of inadequate health data (Gruber, Cummings, LeBlanc, & Smith, 2009). For instance, patients in the least developed areas have been subjected to low quality medication and clinical care. As a result, many people die out of preventable diseases due to early detection or lack of treatment fees. With health records on such scenarios, it would be easy for health providers make adequate arrangements for such people. Meadows Ginny (2002) asserts that, â€Å"Utilizing clinical information systems, an informatics nurse can help other nurses explore and understand the informational and cognitive foundations of their profession. The ability to electronically record, integrate, and analyze data and information enables nurses to quickly move to the synthesis of nursing knowledge and the development of nursing wisdom, which they can then apply to affect patient care.† (Meadows, 2002). It is important to note that the rich controls the health organizations, health research institutions and drug distribution, thus making it difficult for the poor people to make any significant decision or policy on health matters. This has been achieved in some areas through creating enforcement departments within institutions to monitor progress and recommend necessary changes. EHS is important in generating information on how to tackle socioeconomic differences in health care and health policies in any nation are important for equal access to health facilities (Kaufman, Roberts, Merrill, Lai, & Bakken, 2006). This should address areas such as health information technology to shape a coordinated and focused n ational policy in support of patient care. A socially supportive atmosphere prompts the adoption of healthy behaviors. This can be realized when all people have equal and unlimited access to health facilities irrespective of class. Electronic health record (EHS) helps in adopting a patient-centerdness approach that involves shared decisions, outcome

Service Project for Diabetes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Service Project for Diabetes - Essay Example (CDC's Diabetes Program). Diabetes normally strikes persons above forty when the body system begins to slow down and physical activities decrease. A careless, sedentary lifestyle further aggravates the risks and complications arising out of this ailment. Lack of control and medication adversely affects the eyes, kidneys, heart, the nervous system and blood vessels. Diabetes can also be hereditary. The best way to prevent or control the disease is through a regimen of regular physical activities, diet and maintenance of normal blood sugar level and medical care. For type-2 diabetes, there are chances to delay or even prevent the development of the disease through modest lifestyle, regular routine of physical exercise and improved nutrition. (Nancy Jane Heilman, p.9). Economically backward and illiterate groups such as aborigines and tribes are more vulnerable to the ravages of the disease, since there is little to serve as inducements to incorporate changes to control and treat diabetes for healthier standard of living. The target Hispanic group in the South Valley District urgently need counseling and care in organized, time-bound manner so that they not only get access to medical care but also the opportunity to suitably modify their lifestyle necessary in controlling the disease. This is easier said than done among communities strongly rooted in age-old, traditional way of living However, it is very important to educate the community to alter their life style. A consistent schedule intertwining diet, physical activities and check up, daily follow up and feedback is bound to produce results. Initially, all activities must be geared to building relationship and winning the confidence of the community and learning their way of life. The cost factor The annual cost of treatment per patient works out to approximately US$3500 in tribal areas. Since the community is backward and poor, the cost must be borne by the health department through government and other donor grants. (The Provincial Diabetes Plan, p.8). Create awareness The purpose of the project is to reach diabetic patients within the Hispanic community and provide them with medical care and instructions on dietary intake and physical activities that help sustain a healthy lifestyle. It is critically important to educate them about the risk factors in the absence or avoidance of dietary controls and medical support. Further, inform them about the modifiable and non-modifiable aspects of diabetes, that is, certain factors like eating habits, stress, smoking and consumption of alcohol are modifiable, but hereditary, family history, gender and age are non-modifiable. To begin with, shortlist the names and other data of individuals displaying symptoms of diabetes from medical records available with primary health care centers and other health care agencies. Educating the community about diabetes is just as important as educating the individual patient. Besides, there are others who may not be diabetic but benefit from timely intervention to prevent the disease. Hospitals, dispensaries and other health care units' involvement is mandatory in order to successfully organize a 12-weeks'

BT Company: Business Analysis Report and SWOT

BT Company: Business Analysis Report and SWOT Part 1: Understanding the business 1. Suggest the income streams and costs that may be appropriate to an organisation in your sector. The main income streams for the telecommunication industry is the revenue achieved through the usage of their services. Originally those services were limited to the provision of telephone communication using landlines. Today, the communication industry has expanded the number of services that it provides into mobile, VoIP, internet and other communication. The majority of the revenue can come from any one of those different services. For example, in 2005 BT had 75% of its revenue coming from their traditional services, but in 2006 this number decreased to 68%. Instead the company received an increased amount of revenue from it’s â€Å"New Wave† services, such as networked IT services, broadband, mobility etc. The mobile telecommunications provider such as Vodafone gets the most of its revenue from the tariffs that it charges its customers for using their mobile phones. However, the mobile telecommunication has also expanded into the provision of other services such as messaging and data and information provision. The largest cost for any communication company is the maintenance of the business. This cost can consist of staff costs, contractor wages, operational costs etc. Main contributor will depend on the company. For example, BT identifies ‘other operational costs’ as its main contributor to the overall cost of maintaining the business, representing 35%. The ‘other operating costs’ include the cost of supporting the network IT services, maintenance and support of the networks, costs of accommodation and marketing and general overheads (BT, 2007, p. 34). 2. What measures of performance are applicable to the industry? The majority of the industry has a few fundamental performance measures. The prime measure is the satisfaction of their customers. This is not surprising considering the competitiveness of the industry, the ease with which customers can change providers and the fact that the companies’ profits are based on the volume of customers. The other measures can include the satisfaction of the company’s employees. The industry that is so customer focused tries to provide them with as much human contact as possible (as long as it is profitable). Therefore the industry employs a large volume of employees. Satisfied employs are more likely to make sure that the customers are happy with the service that they are getting, allowing the companies to stay competitive. For example, BT has four performance measures regarding the satisfaction of their employees: employee engagement index, diversity, HS: loss time injury rate and HS: sickness and absence rate. Other performance measures can include: the satisfaction of the suppliers; investment in the community; protection of the environment; digital inclusion and sustaining integrity. In order to measure those performance measures, the company engages a number of internal indices. Some of those indices are much easier to measure, for examples the number of complaints that the company receives, the others are more difficult, such as measuring the integrity of the employees. The majority of the companies employ surveys in order to measure the more difficult quantifiable factors. 3. Construct a Value Chain for a company within the industry. The value chain has been developed by Michael Porter in 1985. The method divides the organization into the activities that is performs and them links them to the company’s competitive position. Porter (1985) argued that only by separating the organization into its activities and findings the right links will the managers be able to achieve a competitive advantage. The value chain method distinguishes between primary and support activities. Combined, they should lead to a margin, which is equal to the cost of the product subtracted from the price that it is sold to the customer. Model 1 depicts the value chain. Primary activities in the business are concerned directly with the creation, production and delivery of service and are grouped into inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and service. The Support activities are there to help the primary activities and they are divided into main areas of support activities: procurement, technology development (including RD), human resource management, and infrastructure (systems for planning, finance, quality, information management etc.). The support activities are directly linked to the primary activities, and if those links are produced well, then the company will become more efficient and competitive in the market. The value chain model can be applied to the telecommunication industry. The inbound logistics are the goods and services that the company receives from its suppliers. In the world of telecommunication, this can be the phones (that might be manufactures in China), the cables, the sim cards etc. The ‘operations’ in the original method meant manufacturing of the product. Since telecommunication is already dealing with a finished product, it is the provision of this product that can be named their ‘operation’. For example, provision of the reception, the IT platform that connects people etc. The outbound logistics is the finished product being delivered to the customer. In this case this can be the phone set, the website of the company where the customer can buy their own product etc. Every telecommunication company has their marketing and sales team, that offer services and make customers aware (through advertising) of their services. In the competitive industr y such as telecommunication, the firms pay a lot of attention to the right kind of marketing and promotion. If a company releases a new product, the other companies are likely to follow. Therefore the first ‘inventor’ has to capture as much market as possible. Furthermore, due to the competitiveness of the industry, the companies are under pressure to provide the customers with as much as possible, in order to keep them, as finding a new customer is always much more expensive then keeping the old one. The last section of the primary activities is the ‘service’. Service is something that the company provides after the customer has the product. In the telecommunications this means installation of the product into the customers home, helping the customer with every day questions, replacing the product if is gets broken etc. Under the support activities the first factor is ‘procurement’. The procurement department in the telecommunications industry are people who buy all of the inbound logistics into the company. This department will be in charge of agreeing the best deal with the suppliers of the product and making sure that the product is of high quality. Technology development is an extremely important element in the telecommunications industry, which allows them to gain a competitive advantage. The technology development in this method can also include customer relationship management activities, and not be limited purely to the innovation. Human resource management is a vital part in this method as those people are responsible to the satisfaction of the employees, which can be achieved through remuneration, training and development, bonuses and other HR strategies. The above mentioned would be the base for the value chain. However, it should be noted that the majority of the companies in the telecommunications industry are multi-national corporations. They provide a large number of products to their customers world wide. Furthermore, the components of their services may come from a wide range of suppliers, for example the plastic for the phone will come from Russia, the phone will be constructed in China and painted in India. Due to their size, the majority of the companies have already established the most productive and available route of producing, maintaining and providing the service. Therefore, the value chain would be a lot more complicated with both the primary and support activities. Furthermore, the margin may also come from a wide range of sources, such as mergers and acquisition, investment in stock markets etc. 4. Construct a Value System for the industry. The value system was also introduced by M. Porter (1985). It represents the link between the value chains of different ‘market customers’. For example, it will link the value chain of the suppliers to the value chain of the company to the value chain of the channel and then to the value chain of the customer. The supplier value chain for the telecommunications industry can include the suppliers of the physical products, such as phones and sim cards from the supplier value chain; provision of the telephone connection and services in the company value chain; services provided by the third party distributors (such as Yahoo!) in the channel chain and a wide range of customers buying the products (for example businesses, individuals and other telecommunication companies). 5. What are the environmental factors that may influence the industry? Most of the large organizations today are environmentally friendly, and have special strategies to maintain this position. For example, BT is one of the largest consumers of electricity in the UK (BT, 2007, p. 3). In order to reduce the damage to the environment, the company has adopted the majority of the environmentally-friendly electricity sources, such as wind generation, solar and hydroelectric energy generation. The telecommunications industry face a number of environmental risks that can damage their profitability. For example, global warming increases the number of storms and floods that are occurring around the world. In turn, this damages the telecommunications’ infrastructure and can cost the industry billions of pounds. Moreover, by damaging the environment, the costs of the primary products can increase (e.g. electricity). Since the telecommunications industry relies on a wide range of products outside of their own services, an increase in the cost of primary prod ucts, such as electricity, is likely to have a negative effect on their profits. Part 2: Evaluating Company Resources 1. How well is the present strategy working? â€Å"Group Strategys principal role is to help the BT Group maximize long term value for shareholders. This involves ensuring that the BT Group can sustain competitiveness in all its markets† (BT, 2007, Group Strategy). The financial results for the 2006 showed that the company has strengthened its position in the market. It had increased its revenue by 6% to  £19,514m, provided its customers with both the income and investment growth, by increasing the share price by 8% and dividend pay out by 14% in one year (BT Annual report, 2007, p. 2). Since their share price has gone up over the year, it can be argued that the company’s strategy has worked. Furthermore, BT has also subdivided their strategy aim into a number of objectives, namely: â€Å"to pursue profitable growth in new wave markets to maximise the return from our traditional business to transform our networks, systems and services for the twenty-first century to create long-term partnerships with our customers† (BT, 2007, Annual Report, p. 4). The â€Å"new wave† activities (networked IT services, broadband and mobility) growth has been overachieved by 50% by the company in 2006 (BT, 2007, Annual Report, p. 4). The company has also asked all of their existing customer to swap to the subscription-based packages. They have achieved 67% customer base being swapped to the subscription, which has also overachieved their target. The transfer of all of the services onto the 21C (twenty-first century IP technology) has not been completed yet. Finally, BT has achieved an increase of 3% in their customer satisfaction table, which also brought them closer to their long term goal. Therefore it can be argued that BT’s strategy has been successful. 2. What are their resource strengths and weaknesses? BT’s resource strength is their brand and strong reputation, that is recognized world wide. Their strong brand allows them to form stronger relationships with their customers (stakeholders, customers, suppliers, employees). BT’s reputation of reliability, consistency and effectiveness allows them to keep their customers and increase their customer base. Furthermore, BT provides a wide range of services that are in line with the latest technology, such as IP phone calls and are often a market leader in the industry. BT had a large number of weaknesses a few years ago: it was loosing the DSL market share to every competitor in the market, it had a shrinking market share in the fixed line services and sometimes it was not up to speed with the innovative technology. However, the new market strategy has proved very beneficial to the company. The company was the first in the IDSL provision in the UK market in 2006; its market share is growing and it is transferring most of its services onto the 21C technology (BT, 2007, Annual Report). Although introduction of 21C will be beneficial to BT in the future, it can have a negative impact on the profits in the short run. Furthermore, does BT think far enough? There are a wide range of external risks that BT group faces. From the social aspect, they can be divided into: supply chain working conditions and outsourcing. The ‘supply chain working conditions’ risks arises from the wide range of services that BT buys from across the world. The company is committed to following the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Labour Organisation rules. The main risk of breaching those rules is that the company may be faced with a large number of law suits and loose its reputation. In turn, reputation is one of the most valuable assets of the company, as it has a positive correlation with the number of customers that sign up and stay with BT. The group deals with this risk by asking all of the suppliers to fill in the ‘Risk assessment questionnaire’, which it then examines and decides if it should deal with the named supplier (BT, 2007, Human Rights and Suppliers). BT has outsourced a number of operations such as human resource contracts, pensions, recruitment and training, as well as finance, accounting and payroll (BT, 2007, Outsourcing). The risk arises when the company tries to get the cheapest service and ends up making a very expensive mistake. For example, the BT can loose control of the quality of the service that the outsourced functions provide; or the outsourced departments may make a financial mistake, that will lead to wrong internal decisions within a company. 3. What are the external opportunities and threats facing them? There are also a number of factors that can be quite threatening to BT. The change in the environment, where natural catastrophes can destroy BT’s infrastructure, have already been discussed. The collapse of the stock market can also have a negative effect on the company, as BT invests some of its money in the stock market. Furthermore, an innovative product, such as WoIP being introduced by another major competitor, will strongly harm BT’s profits (since all of the phone calls can be free, without relying on the internet). The economic and political decisions can also affect the profitability of the company. For example, if the interest rates rise sharply in the UK, the disposable income of the customers will decrease. In turn, the customers may reduce their usage of the BT’s services or swap to cheaper providers. Moreover, since BT has global presence, large looses in one of the countries may put a lot of pressure on the rest of the Group to ‘bail outâ₠¬â„¢ the damaged company, which can negatively affect the profits. As has been mentioned above, there is also an issue of reputation. Loss of reputation due to the external factors can strongly affect company’s profitability. Furthermore, mobile phone providers also represent a threat, since they undercut the prices and the majority of the customers find mobiles an effective way to communicate. However, there are also a wide range of opportunities available to BT externally. For example, the technology progress has been very rapid over the last few years, which means that BT can take advantage of this to gain extra customers. The IP voice communication will also allow BT to gain more customers worldwide, as there will not be legal barriers of the contract. More and more people are getting to know how to use the internet. Since BT is moving towards making their phone calls through the internet rather then fixed lines, this means that BT will have an opportunity to deal with a larger customer base. Finally, BT has a good reputation, capitalization and brand that it can use to expand into a wide range of those products. 4. How strong is their competitive position? BT’s competitive position can be seen from two perspectives: in the UK and worldwide. In the UK, BT has a very strong competitive position, since it is the largest communication provider in the country (BT, 2007, Annual Report, p. 7). Worldwide the situation is a bit different (see Table 2). Table 2: BT’s competitive position worldwide BT T Pvt1 VZ Industry Market Cap: 47.23B 232.84B N/A 105.08B 6.51B Employ ­ees: 104,400 302,000 143,251 N/A 12.52K Qtrly Rev Growth (yoy): 5.00% 23.10% N/A 31.80% 3.80% Revenue (ttm): 38.76B 63.06B 5.62B1 88.14B 4.02B Gross Margin (ttm): 84.08% 56.99% N/A 60.33% 65.54% EBITDA (ttm): 11.00B 22.88B N/A 29.53B 1.67B Oper Margins (ttm): 13.31% 16.87% N/A 16.13% 15.46% Net Income (ttm): 5.38B 7.36B 304.40M1 5.48B 402.77M EPS (ttm): 6.35 1.887 N/A 2.12 1.55 P/E (ttm): 8.98 19.76 N/A 17.03 15.1 PEG (5 yr expected): 2.17 1.51 N/A 3.08 1.64 P/S (ttm): 1.24 3.67 N/A 1.21 1.61 Source: Yahoo! Finance Where: T= AT&T Inc Pvt1 = Cable and Wireless plc VZ = Verizon Communication Inc Industry = Telecom Services – Foreign As can be seen, BT has a small capitalization value compared to its closest direct competitors in the telecommunication market. However, its value is still nearly 7 times the size of the average market capitalization of the industry. The revenue growth has also been poor compared to the largest competitors, and hardy exceeds the industry average. However, despite the low capitalization, the net income of BT is very close to that of the other companies, which indicates that the company is efficient. 5. What is your assessment of the culture within the company? Will it be supportive to change or not? BT has a strong set of values within the company. Those values build the culture of the company. Furthermore, judging from the amount of information that is available of their website, it can be assumed that BT is very good at informing all of its employees of any changes that are taking place in the organization. The employees rarely welcome change or restructuring, however over the years it has been shown that good and frequent communication with the employees will allow the company to implement the changes much more easily. Therefore, the BT’s employees are likely to be supportive of the changes that BT makes. Part 3: Strategy and Competitive Advantage 1. Review the generic strategies. Which would be suitable cost advantage, differentiation or focusing on a niche market? Given the 3 generic strategies: cost advantage, differentiation or focusing on a niche market, BT is more likely to go for differentiation. This opinion is based on the existing strategy that the BT is adopting. BT provides a wide range of services. It could go for a niche market if it will have an opportunity to keep the rest of the products. For example, at the moment it’s transferring most of its services onto 21C platform. This will allow BT customers to use internet for communication. Although most of the large telecommunications companies have not done that, there are a number of companies that have already dominated this market e.g. Skype. BT could also go the cost advantage, as the telecommunication industry is becoming more and more price competitive. However, as with any industry, price wars can not last forever. Considering that BT used to be a state monopoly and therefore has an advantage of the largest customer base, it has decided to provide quality to the customers rather then quantity. Furthermore, since BT is launching the large transferal of its technology onto the 21C base, it is unlikely to go for a cost advantage this year. Instead, it will provide its customers with high quality innovative products, that will be cheap once they launch (internet communication is free). This leaves differentiation. As has been discussed above, BT has chosen a number of strategies that will differentiate it from its competitors, such as the 21C platform, direct and clear communication with the customers, emphasis on the good treatment of its employees and innovative products. 2. Looking into the future, how may the company seek to achieve cost competitiveness? Achieving cost competitiveness is the aim of every company in the world. Cost competitiveness can be achieved through economies of scale and scope, as well as synergies. BT is a very large company and therefore has a stronger negotiation power with its suppliers. The suppliers might be willing to provide BT with lower prices for their products, since BT is likely to order large volumes of products. Economically, as the company gets bigger, the cost of production of one more unit of a good or service decreases (marginal cost). Therefore, as BT expands it will be able to decrease the cost of the production. However, the economic theory also states that this decrease in marginal cost will eventually reach a point where the company will enter the diseconomies of scale (the marginal cost will start to increase). In order to avoid that, BT has expanded globally, rather then just within the UK. BT can also reduce costs through the economies of scope – the production of a wider range of goods. The marginal costs will decrease because certain fixed costs will be shared between the products. For example, the IP platform that BT is using will not only be used to generate revenue from the phone calls, but will also be used for the provision of video messaging services. Later on, if BT decides to bring out another product, it will be able to use this IT platform without the need of building a new one. BT can achieve synergies between its businesses. BT operates 4 separate businesses: BT retail, BT wholesale, BT Global services and Openreach. There are a large number of synergies between all of those companies, for example HR, finance and accounting services. Furthermore, if BT decides to acquire another company in the future, it is likely to use the existing synergies to create even more synergies with the new company in the future. Furthermore, there are a large number of other cost cutting exercises that the company can do in the future to achieve cost competitiveness, such as restructuring, selling some parts of its business that are no longer useful to it and increasing efficiency internally. 3. Suggest ways that information technology and information systems can be used to exploit external opportunities and defend against threats facing the company? Information technology (IT) is strongly linked to the information systems (IS) in telecommunication industry. BT is successfully using both to capture new opportunities in the market, as has been discussed previously. However, as the whole industry is moving towards VoIP, BT could use its existing information systems to move a step further – provide WoIP services. VoIP requires internet in order to use free voice calls, while WoIP allows a customer to use free voice calls without internet. In turn, by using the IT and IS BT can capture a larger share of the market not only in the UK but also worldwide. Furthermore, BT has enough capitalization and IT in order to compete with the mobile phone providers. It can expand to provide those services. Efficient IT and IS will allow BT to connect people cheaply around the world, where the customers will not need to worry where they are resident. BT is very much aware of the external threats that it faces. IT and IS will not be able to defend BT from the environmental risks. However, some of the social risks can be eliminated. For example, the outsourced functions of finance and accounting can be checked electronically first, by setting up an appropriate IT system. The work can then be send to Britain for checking. Furthermore, although BT can not control the stock markets, it can certainly install a number of IT systems that will allow it to prevent a large loss of money, for example by using Technical Analysis systems. By making sure that all of BT’s IT and IS systems work efficiently, the company will reduce the risk of losing its reputation. 4. Analyse the current core competencies of the company. The current core competencies of the company is professionalism, integrity, straightforwardness and team work. All of those competencies are built into their core values. Furthermore, by achieving those competencies as a business the company will be able to achieve its overall aim – bring value to the shareholders. Competencies are often measures on the internal scale of the company, which makes it difficult to analyze for the outsider. However, the companies achievements and the strategy for the future work reflect those competencies. It is in the interest of the company to retain professionalism and integrity towards the customers and employees, if it want to keep both groups. Straightforwardness is a good differentiator of the company, as this allows better communication with the customer, and therefore contribute towards building a loyal customer base. The team work, in turn, will allow the company to achieve its performance targets. 5. Apply a SWOT matrix to the analysis carried out in Activity 2 to gain an understanding of how the strengths and weaknesses of the company may be considered, together with the opportunities and threats that exist, to determine a set of strategic options for the company. SWOT Analysis (S)trengths (O)pportunities Stable and increasing share price Strong financial results Strong brand Good reputation Worldwide Reach Market leader in the UK Large customer base Increasing number of customers that will use the IP platform Further expansion into the world market Use of capital to expand into ‘products of the future’ (W)eaknesses (T)hreats Lack of innovative products Sometimes overprices products which leads to loss of the market share (DSL) Weak global market presence Supply chain working conditions Outsourcing Loss of reputation Environment Stock market crash Recession Mobile phone users BT is the largest fixed-line provider of communication in the UK. Since BT used to be a state monopoly it has a very large number of customers. However, since its privatization, despite a strong competition not only from the new fixed-line providers by also from the mobile phone providers, BT still has a very strong market presence in the UK. This indicates that BT has built a certain customer loyalty, which can be added to its strengths. As the communication market matures, new technology and opportunities are entering the industry. The most recent innovation, that remains a threat to the most fixed-line providers is the building of the IP platforms. The IP platforms allows the customers to speak to each other for free by using their internet. BT has been extremely proactive and has built the platform. Since the majority of its customers are still using fixed lines for communication, in order to the customers to start using the new products, BT should communicate the instruction on how to use the products very clearly. Furthermore, it should also inform the customers of the new products available. Strategically, BT should be able to connect the majority of its customers, since it will be cheaper to them to use the platform. The next move would be to make sure that all of the ‘voices of the customer’ are heard, as with any new systems there will be a number a faults. BT should then implement all of the changes that it has decided on. Since the price of the communication will decrease, the BT will be able to make higher revenue through an increasing number of customers that will start using the service and through the sale of other goods and services that it provides through the new platform. Therefore, BT should start making a good marketing plan of how to sell their new products. The number of customers available to BT is likely to increase over time, as more people are connecting to the internet. This is a great opportunity for BT to increase its world market share. Considering that BT is not the first company to implement this, a large number of customers have already been captured. The BT can use

Problems In Christianity Essay -- Religion Religiuos Christian essays

Problems in Christianity   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Christianity is one of the largest practiced religions in the world, yet there is still hatred towards every walk of life. This is due to many different interpretations of the Bible throughout the years. The Bible has been revised so many times that no one knows what the original could or would have said. Even if there are ancient scriptures around today who owns them and why are these texts not published in their original format. We are still using different versions of the Bible that contain many revisions. These revisions have caused thousands of contradictions in how people should run their lives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Christianity began like every other religion starting out, as a cult. Roughly 2,000 years ago a man, Jesus Christ, was born into this world. Throughout his life he performed many miracles and began to get a large following of believers. He was referred to as a savior for the people, the one who would deliver them unto salvation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This all began during the era of the Roman Empire. The Romans felt that Jesus was a threat so they had him killed by means of crucifixion. Supposedly three days after his death Jesus came back as a spirit to prove his holiness. This sparked an explosion in this new religion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Once Christianity had taken much of Europe, the Bible began to change. Kings began having monks change the Bible to suit their (the kings’) beliefs. The Bible was used to condemn all other religions in Europe, especially Paganism. The present image of the devil was derived from Paganism. The Christians told the Pagans that they should fear their horned god because he was a beast, and instead convert to Christianity where the All Mighty was good and peaceful. How ironic, that in today’s society we are told to fear the Christian god, because his vengeance is great, like they told the Pagans to leave their God because he caused them fear. Yet today we tell our Christian children to fear God because he punishes the sinners. The reasoning is different but it is fear just the same.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One contradiction in the Bible is the question that there is more than one god. In Deuteronomy 6:4 â€Å"The Lord our God is one Lord.† While in Genesis 1:26 â€Å"And God said, Let us make man in our image.† Both of these quotes come from the King James Version of the Bible. Which one should we follow? Most believe that this reference t... ...dictions throughout the Bible are due to the original meanings of a word or other possible translations. Although it is always scholarly to consider the original languages, why should that be necessary with the â€Å"word of God?† An omnipotent, omniscient deity should have made his all-important message unmistakably clear to everyone, everywhere, at all times. No one should have to learn an extinct language to get God’s message. If the English translation is flawed or imprecise, then God failed to get his point across to English speakers. A true fundamentalist should consider the English version of the Bible to be just as inerrant as the original because if we admit that human error was possible in the translation, then it is equally possible in the original writing. If a contradiction exists in English then the Bible is contradictory and therefore a flawed book. Works Cited The Bible, King James Version. The Bible Gateway. â€Å"http://www.bible.gospelcom.net† Graves, Robert, Raphael Patai. The Hebrew Myths.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Buenos Aires: Editorial Losada, 1969. The Kabbala. Morris, Henry M., and Henry Morris III. Many Infallible Proofs. Green Forest: Master Books, Inc, 1990.

Union and Intersection

Primary Task Response: Write at least 3 paragraphs that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas. Part I: Describe how the notion of union and intersection apply to retrieving records in databases. Give an example of 2 sets that might appear in a database to help in your description. A prominent couple is found murdered in their mansion located in an affluent neighborhood. The housekeeper found the bodies and called the police.The housekeeper tells the detectives that quite a few valuables are missing from the house: artwork, electronics, jewelry, cash etc. In the initial stages of the investigation the detectives cannot decide whether this was a robbery gone wrong or a murder the perpetrator tried to disguise into a robbery. Not wanting to miss any potential leads the police compiles a joint list of suspects: every suspect on this list is either a known robber or a known killer (or both). For the first set R={x| x has a robbery rap sheet} they access the Theft/Robbery Division database.For the second set M={y |y has a murder in his criminal record} they access the Homicide Division database. It is not uncommon that different divisions within the same police department maintain different databases. Although state and national databases do exist they are usually slow moving and most often than not they generate unmanageably long lists of suspects. The advantage of a local database consists in a much easier access and output which is oftentimes much more relevant to the investigation – in 99% of the cases the crime is perpetrated by a local suspect.Thus the initial set of suspects S is the union of R and M: S=R? M. Suppose however that S has too many suspects. Given the personnel shortage it is not feasible to investigate every name which appears in S. the police needs to find a way to narrow down this list. After re-interviewing the neighbors, it turns ou t that one of them witnessed a suspicious green Chevy van idling on a street corner close to the murdered couple’s house. The van was in a rough shape which made it unlikely to be owned by one of the local residents.The detectives have now a clue that helps them narrow down their list of suspects. They access the DMV database to extract the list of drivers who own an older model green Chevy van. In other words they retrieve the set C= { z | z owns a green Chevy van}. The investigators then compare their list of suspects S , to the names listed in C, looking for common entries. In other words they are interested in the set of prime suspects P, where P is the intersection between S and C: P=S? C. Part II :Discuss the notion of the logical â€Å"or† and the logical â€Å"and† in computer programming (coding) or flowcharts.Why is it important to know how to apply these correctly? The traditional scope of computer science was the automation of numerical operations. B ut since reasoning can be seen as a kind of computation, in principle it can be automated as well. Computers represent information using bits. A bit is a symbol with two possible values, zero and one. The word bit comes from binary digit, because zeros and ones are the digits used in binary representations of numbers Computer bit operations correspond to the logical connectives.Information is represented using bit strings, which are lists of zeros and ones. Operations on the bit strings can be used to manipulate this information. At a very basic level, the binary string approach accompanied by the operations that can be performed with these strings via the logical connectives constitute our way of translating the problem in a form the computer can â€Å"understand†. Eventually, the computer is the perfect executant so it will end up doing exactly what we told him to do – which is not always the same with what we intended to have him do.The difference between 0 and 1 ma y not seem large; however, in absolute terms is as large as the difference between true and false, or the difference between black and white. The use of 0’s and 1’s is a matter of convenience if anything else; alternatively we can work with â€Å"dinks† and â€Å"dunks† with exactly the same (logical) result. A quick example is most likely going to drive this point home. One of the places where logical connectives are used most frequently are the internet search engines. Suppose however that by a silly programming mistake a certain search engine XYZ. om reads â€Å"or† instead of â€Å"and† and vice-versa. Suppose your instructor recommended an article written by Jones and Smith on the topic of logical connectives. The instructor could not remember the authors’ first names nor the exact title of the paper but he suggested that a quick search on XYZ. com should help you locate the paper in no time. Needless to say if your search query â€Å"Jones† AND â€Å"Smith† AND â€Å"Logical† AND â€Å"connectives† is interpreted as â€Å"Jones† OR â€Å"Smith† OR â€Å"Logical† OR â€Å"connectives† the chances of locating the paper are just as great as the chances of finding thr needle in the haystack.

Psychology (imagery usage) The WritePass Journal

Psychology (imagery usage) Introduction Psychology (imagery usage) IntroductionReferencesRelated Introduction For a number of years imagery has been known to be an effective method to enhance athletic performance and sporting success. Currently Imagery researchers have majorly became interested in the mechanisms behind imagery’s performance-enhancing effects and how these can be maximized. It has also transpired through neuroscience research that a â€Å"functional equivalence† exists between imagery and performance of a skill or movement, as they are both triggered by the same neurophysiological processes (Decety Jeannerod, 1996). A cognitive neuroscience approach to motor imagery in sport was presented by Holmes and Collins (2001) they examined current research efforts in neuroscience and applied the findings to developing a deeper understanding of motor imagery as athletes commonly use it. In particular, they highlighted the implications of the notion of the functional equivalence of the motor imagery and motor execution systems for sport psychologists. As a result, it has become one of the most popular psychological strategies employed by athletes, coaches, and sport psychologists. Holmes and Collins (2001) developed a PETTLEP model that included 7 different factors: Physical, Environment, Task, Timing, Learning, Emotion and Perspective. The PETTLEP model recommends that influencing the physical nature of imagery to near motor preparation will stimulate the peripheral receptors that are related with task execution and increase the psychophysiological congruence of motor preparation and motor imagery at the central sites, ultimately strengthening the memory trace (Beisteiner, Hà ¶llinger, Lindinger, Lang, Berthoz, 1995). Imagery has been defined as â€Å"using all the senses to re-create or create an experience in the mind† (Vealey Greenleaf, 2001). Imagery is widely known to be used in any physical activity to improve performance, skill and change behavioural problems. Imagery in sport is a form of stimulation which is similar to a real sensory experience, except imagery stimulation occurs in the mind. Imagery can also be known as ‘visualization’ and there are 4 different types of senses which are all important and they are known as the kinaesthetic, auditory, tactile and olfactory senses but the kinaesthetic sense to athletes is the most important one because when our body moves in several ways we can feel it and this helps athletes improve performance. Through imagery you are able to re-create positive experiences that have previously happened or picture new events to prepare yourself mentally for performance. Holmes and Collins suggested that all athletes should be actively i nvolved in the imagery experience. (Adapted from Holmes and Collins, 2001, 2002) The PETTLEP model of intervention are useful in daily clinic to facilitate learning, performance skills, strategies, modifying cognitions, regulating arousal and competitive anxiety in the handling of athletes and sports performance. For example if there was a football team that wanted to use imagery to prepare for the possibility of going to penalties of a tournament, the PETTLEP model would be: Physical: The players would imagine being in shortage of breath and they would even make themselves shortage of breath prior to imaging to stimulate the state they would be in during a match. The players could then perform the imagery in the standing stance wearing their kit and boots in the exactly same way they would when they practise or actually taking a penalty. Environment:   When wanting to create an atmosphere the imagery used would be in the competition scene using photos, videos and sounds of the crowd to make an environment as if the players are actually taking a penalty. Task: Should be reflected in the image which means each player should focus internally and concentrate on factors such as which corner in the goal they are going to place the ball. Each player should include prompts they would work on when taking an actual penalty an example of this would be, never look at the goalkeeper and just solely focus on the ball and wait for the referees whistle to begin their run up. This should be mirrored in the imagery picture as a result. Timing: The penalty planning and carrying out the run up and flight of the ball should be imaged in real time. Learning: When the athletes manage to master the technique then they can then move onto other elements such as the changes in emotion they would start to experience as they become a talented penalty taker. Emotion: Footballers are encouraged to add in the appropriate emotions they experience when going to take a penalty so they get used to these emotions and learn to relate them with success. Addition of related emotion will help increase the vividness of an image. Perspective: If the footballers view the technique of taking a penalty, they may perform the imagery from an external visual perspective. However they may prefer to use internal visual imagery when wanting to view the factors they will focus on when making their preparations for the penalty. As a result each footballer should consider which visual perspective is best and switch between the two. Holmes and Collins (2001), â€Å"PETTLEP model† was said that there is evidence especially when mixing physical and environmental strategies in terms of conducting imagery on field (I.e. rehearsing imagery of kicking a football penalty on the field instead of imagining this while at home). The SIQ questionnaire is an well-organized way of gaining knowledge about the athletes ability to conduct imagery. The next step would be to develop an efficient imagery intervention, that could develop the athlete’s ability. References Holmes and Collins, (2001), The PETTLEP Approach to Motor Imagery: A Functional Equivalence Model for Sport Psychologists, Journal of applied sport psychology, vol.13(1), p.60-81 Hall, C. R., Martin, K. A. (1997). Measuring movement imagery abilities: A revision of the movement imagery questionnaire. Journal of Mental Imagery, 21, 143-154.

Key accounting policies Essays

Key accounting policies Essays Key accounting policies Essay Key accounting policies Essay Fiat group put into practice an interpretation IFRIC 4 as of January 1, 2006. To be very particular about the interpretation it specifies that an arrangement contains a lease if it depends on the use of a particular asset and hand over a right to control the use of that asset. An amendment to IAS 39 titled Financial Instrument Recognition and Measurement to the foreign currency risk of a highly probable permit intragroup forecast transaction to qualify as the hedged element in a cash flow hedge in consolidated financial statements, which was released in 2005. The amendment states that the operation is denominated in a currency which ought to be different from the functional currency of the body which enters to that deal. Moreover the foreign currency risk will have an impact on consolidated financial statements. Another amendment to IAS 39 was issued by ISAB which concerned recognition and measurement to limit the use of the opportunity to determine any financial asset or liability to be measured at accurate value via profit and loss. An alteration under the title Group and Treasury Share Transactions was released on November, 2006. The amendment set ups that share based payment arrangements in which an entity gets services as consideration for its own equity instruments must be accounted for as equity-settled. Fiat group has introduced this interpretation in January, 2006. Reassessment of Embedded Derivatives was released on March 3, 2006. It demands evaluating by an entity if implanted derivative is require to be cut off from the host contract and accounted for a derivative when the body first becomes a party to the deal. The ISAB released the IFRS 8 in 2006, 30 November. It is about new standard which requires the information within segment reporting to be based upon the mechanism of the entity that management board uses to decide about operational issues. Disclosure Fiat keeps a continuous contact with the Shareholders. The contact policy is an open communication. A lot of presentations are held regularly to provide crucial events. Furthermore, seminars were introduced in order to extend the information about Fiat group performance. Official website www. fiatgroup. com with an intention to provide historical financial data, real time updates on Fiat stock and periodic publications.

Employment law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

Employment law - Essay Example t or set of circumstances that can arise. This is particularly so in labour industries where economies and policies are constantly changing to accommodate the realities of the times. With so many sources of law and with employment laws perpetually evolving, obtaining a balance can be a mammoth task. However, because the labour market is constantly in a state of change, the need to maintain a balance between legal certainty and fairness for the purpose of avoiding conflict requires that the law changes to meet those challenges. What is legally certain and fair today may not be certain and fair tomorrow. In this regard, the current law reflects the dynamics and demands of labour market changes and the constant demand for labour market reform. This research paper illustrates this best by critically assessing the current labour laws relative to employee status, contractual terms of employment, unfair dismissal and equality. These areas of employment law best illustrate the need for a var iety of sources of flexible laws and the attending challenges for maintaining a balance between legal certainty and fairness. I. Employee Status Historically, the contract of employment makes provision for the basic employee/employer relationship. However, the terms and conditions of that contract have always been interpreted by reference to statute, hence the significance of the term â€Å"status†.5 The fact is, although the employment status may be agreed to and reflected in an employment contract, the matter does not end there.6 This is entirely important because employee status will often correspond with the degree of employee protection and rights. The law therefore intervenes to ensure fairness in the construction of the employment contract with a view to providing a greater degree of legal certainty and fairness in the determination of the employee’s status. The implications are far reaching in terms of creating a balance between fairness and legal certainty. To begin with, the inequality of bargaining power in the employment relationship is well recognized and accepted. As Edwards explains, it was necessary to depart from the concept that employees and employers were at liberty to negotiate and finally reach an agreement as to what will form the essential terms/conditions of the employment contract resulting from the parties’ own different positions in relation to one another. Specifically, party autonomy is undermined because it necessarily levels the playing field between the relative power imbalances between the employee and the employer.7 In this regard, statute intervenes to define the term employee and even then, provides a degree of legal certainty by leaving the definition vague enough to ensure that adjudicators can flexibly determine whether or not employee status can be inferred. To this end Section 230(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 provides the term â€Å"employee† refers to a person who either has or â₠¬Å"works under† an employment con

Sexual Assault on College Campuses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sexual Assault on College Campuses - Essay Example This case forms part of the controversy that lies behind such cases where individuals mainly female students are sexually assaulted but they never live to get justice either because the school administration or the disciplinary panel frustrates their efforts and/or the police officers who are supposed to follow on the same become a source of ridicule to the already frustrated individuals. This essay will, therefore, look at the issue of sexual assault in colleges and the role of the administration in handling the social vice. In addressing the problem, the campuses take the first responsibility in curbing the vice. Advocates for civil liberty hold that the campuses need to put in place stringent measures that will stop individuals from engaging in the act. Seeking for justice is a two-way traffic issue where as much as the school may want to establish the facts and make the culprits carry their responsibility, it is also possible that some students may try to implicate others for offences they never committed. It has already been established that there are students who ended up being expelled for offences they never committed. Some of the measures put by the campuses to address the issue are not practically such as advocating for an affirmative consent between partners at any stage of sex. Most campuses are also not equipped to handle such cases. In a situation where a lady has been raped, the immediate action will involve a visit to a medical practitioner for vaginal swabs to be taken that will probably aid in a forensic investigation. If the initial personnel that the case is reported to fails in adjudicating for such an action, it is likely that the evidence will be spoilt and following the case will be futile. The students need to be informed on the process of reporting such an occurrence. Most students are not only ignorant of their rights but also ignorant of the measures that they should take if they fell victim in such a case.  Ã‚