Bias, Rhetorical Devices, and Argumentation free essay sample

The examples of bias are: The working man and the slum child are a gender bias. Kane is only pointing out that men are the only ones working and that all the children are slum. Kane makes a statement about â€Å"the decent, ordinary citizens know that I’ll do everything in my power to protect the underprivileged, the underpaid, and the underfed. † I feel this could be a begging the question fallacy; it is as if he is saying that the underprivileged, the underpaid, and the underfed are not the decent, ordinary citizen he is talking about. Kane goes and does an ad hominen fallacy when he starts attacking Boss Jim W. Gettys by calling him dishonest and a downright villainy. I think the campaigner used a political bias when he said â€Å"there is only one man who can rid the politics of this state of the evil domination of Boss Jim Gettys. We will write a custom essay sample on Bias, Rhetorical Devices, and Argumentation or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This may also be an ad hominen fallacy. The campaigner also used a hyperbole rhetorical device, he exaggerated about Kane being the next Governor of the state, and there is no proof that Kane is or will be the next Governor. When Kane uses these two sentences: â€Å"Now, however, I have something more than a hope†. And Jim Gettys—Jim Gettys has something less than a chance†. Is a metaphor rhetorical device that is used to compare two different things in the same sentence. Kane the speaker I do not feel he made any real arguments. He stated he will do everything in his power to protect the underprivileged, the underpaid, and the underfed. He never actually states what he is going to do. Kane never says why he is the best person to be Governor. There are no examples or plans of what he will do; good for the state as Governor. How would people be able to vote for him not knowing his plan or ideas for the state? I do not feel there were any counterarguments. Kane’s only argument was to get Boss Jim W. Gettys out from being Governor, he did not give any real reasons why just called Gettys names. Kane made a promise to have Gettys indicted, prosecuted, and convicted. However, I am left with one question; Why, What did Gettys do to need to be sent to prison? I like the way Kane spoke on the audio. He came across strong and spoke well. I do not feel that the speaker’s arguments were effective because he did not explain to his audience how or why he was the best candidate for Governor. Kane did not give any proof or examples of why Gettys was not a good candidate for Governor. Kane did not make any kind of speech on what he will do if elected Governor Such as fix our roads, make our schools safer for our children, lower taxes. He might as well of had a sign made that said if elected I will sit in my office and do nothing. I do not know about other people, but I would not be able to vote for someone who did not explain to me how he or she could help me and my state.

Life of Georg Simon Ohm

Life of Georg Simon Ohm Georg Simon OhmAt the time Georg Simon Ohm was born not much was known about electricity, he was out to change this. Georg grew up in Bavaria which is why most information about Georg is in German. There is even a College named after him: Georg-Simon-Ohm Fachhochschule Nuernberg. To much dismay not a whole lot has been written about him. Usually you will find a paragraph of the summary of his life. I hope to change this flaw in the history books by telling you as much as I could find on his life.When Georg was growing up his dad, owner of a prosperous locksmith business, wanted young Georg to study mathematics before joining the family business. Georg attended a Gymnasium, like a college, in Erlangen, Bavaria (now Germany) . During his time at this Gymnasium a professor noticed how he excelled in math. This professor's name was Karl Christian von Langsdorf, Georg owes this man much credit from his recommendations to others.ä ¸ ­Ã¦â€"‡: Ã¥ ¾ ·Ã¥Å"‹ç‰ ©Ã§ â€ Ã¥ ­ ¸Ã¥ ® ¶Ã¯ ¼Å' æ ­ Ã¥ §â€ After he graduated he took a job teaching mathematics at Erlangen University in 1805. He spent the next years looking for a better teaching position. He found what he was looking for in 1817 when a job was made available to him at Cologne Gymnasium. He now looked to research electrical current. In 1827 he published Die galvanishce Kette, mathematisch bearbeit (The Galvanic Circuit, Mathematically Treated). This was a mathematical description of conduction in circuits modeled after Fourier's study of heat conduction. This is also known as Ohm's Law.Ohm's Law, which is Georg's greatest accomplishment, started as an experiment. The experiment's purpose was to find the relationship between current and the length of the wire carrying it. Ohm's results proved that as the wire increased the current decreased.Ohm came up with a formula...

A Restaurants Management of Its Customers Assignment

A Restaurants Management of Its Customers - Assignment Example The first thing I noticed amongst the waiters is that they never said ‘no’ to the customer. In one incident, a customer asked whether the appetizer was sweet; however, the waiter went ahead to give the description of the ingredients that the restaurant’s chefs used to prepare the appetizer. In this case, the waiter did not give a straight answer to the customer, which gave the customer the choice to make an informed decision so as not to complain once they took what they ordered. Once the waiter brought the appetizer, the customer described the appetizer as spicy, which made me understand the reason why the waiter did not give a definite answer. Throughout my visit, waiters continued informing the customers about their inquiries, and I never heard the words ‘no’ and ‘I do not know’ uttered at any one time. Â  The location of the restaurant is close to a tavern that did not prepare any food. As such, patrons from the tavern would come to the restaurant in a drunken stupor after imbibing in alcohol. With some of the clients drunk, the restaurant’s staff required to have impeccable skills to handle such clients. Based on my observation, the waiters handled the drunken clients excellently without denying services to any of the drunken customers. In addition, none of the waiters, regardless of their gender, shied from approaching a client despite the client being sober or drunk. In a way, this handling of the customers was essential to ensure that the restaurant was not subjected to any unnecessary suits resulting from denying services to any customer. It is obvious that the restaurant has devised ways to handle their customers in an extraordinary manner. However, there is slightly one downside in the overall handling of the customers, especially when delivered their orders.

Visa Inc Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Visa Inc - Research Paper Example Visa Inc. (2011) is a company that was founded from the simple idea of digital currency, but had managed to connect millions of businesses, consumers, financial institutions, and even governments to each other in the short while that it has been operating. It allows its customers, in over 200 countries (Visa Inc, 2011) and areas to replace their cash and check transactions to digital transactions. It has a separate network named VisaNet (Visa Inc, 2011) for financial institution clients. VisaNet is a central and modular payments network that offers three important services of â€Å"risk management services, information services and transaction processing services† (Visa Inc, 2011) all together in one package. Furthermore, VisaNet (Visa Inc, 2011) is constantly working on ways to improve their service, so that people can utilize the method of electronic payments for several more purposes and in more places, because of the network size and payment expertise. This enterprise also provides financial institutions with recognized payment products, which they use to provide â€Å"cash-access, prepaid, debit and credit programs to customers of all types† (Visa Inc, 2011), people as well as state owned and private businesses. This company is the owner of the Visa brand, with their customers crossing several millions and with 1.8 million ATMs distributed worldwide amongst several countries and regions (Visa Inc, 2011). This company remains a frontrunner amongst all electronic transaction companies since the start of its operations. It initialized with credit cards and moved on to offer mobile payments and neural networks, being one of the first companies worldwide to offer such services, thus always remaining updated and developed in an already rapidly changing industry. Considering the large contribution of Visa’s payment platforms to global commerce, its support to all its customers seems invaluable. Visa Inc. (2011) itself does not deal directly with customers in terms of issuing cards or

Sedimentary or metamorphic rocks and engineering issues Essay

Sedimentary or metamorphic rocks and engineering issues - Essay Example der, 2001).   Given the ability of engineers to measure all these, an emphasis on the latter is quite important in order to provide insight that would at least help in reducing earthquake intensities in the society. Particularly, the understanding of sedimentary rocks and their contribution to earthquakes intensities is necessary. To start with, earthquake shaking starts from the rupturing fault and then continues at other distances away from the fault. Earthquake shaking intensity is supposed to decrease as the distance from the rupturing fault decreases. However, it has been observed that shaking in one site is sometimes stronger than shaking in another site. Sometimes, this shaking can be ten times higher or stronger than shaking in another site (Ammon, 1997). Geologists have come up with information relating sedimentary rocks with earthquake shaking intensities. Geologists argue that shaking is always high in areas of softer rocks. In addition, shaking is amplified in areas of thicker sediments compared to areas of thin sediments. As it has been observed, the major reason why sedimentary rocks are associated with shaking intensities is because they are soft (Denecke & Series, 2003). An explanation of the relationship between sedimentary rocks and earthquakes shows that seismic waves’ speed is much higher in hard rocks when compared to sedimentary rocks. This is because the latter are soft as it has been explained earlier. In areas with different rock types, waves tend to pass through harder rocks to the softer rocks, they slow down. However, in order to carry the same energy carried in the hard rocks, they tend to get bigger than before. Therefore, shaking at sites that have soft rock layers is stronger since the seismic waves tend to move slowly as shown in Figure 1 and 2 (SCEC, 2014). The loss of life and properties associated with earthquake intensities can actually be controlled by avoiding buildings in area of soft sedimentary rocks. If this is not

A Light Emitting Diode Engineering Essay

A Light Emitting Diode Engineering Essay A Light-Emitting Diode in essence is a P-N junction solid-state semiconductor diode that emits light when a current is applied though the device.[1] By scientific definition, it is a solid-state device that controls current without the deficiency of having heated filaments. How does a LED work? White LEDs ordinarily need 3.6 Volts of Direct Current (DC) and use approximately 30 milliamps (mA) of current and has a power dissipation of approximately 100 milliwatts (mW). The positive power is connected to one side of the LED semiconductor through the anode and a whisker and the other side of the semiconductor is attached to the top of the anvil or the negative power lead (cathode). It is the chemical composition or makeup of the LED semiconductor that determines the color of the light that the LED produces as well as the intensity level. The epoxy resin enclosure allows most of the light to escape from the elements and protects the LED making it virtually indestructible. Furthermore, a light-emitting diode does not have any moving parts, which makes the device extremely resistant to damage due to vibration and shocks. These characteristics make it ideal for purposes that demand reliability and strength. LEDs therefore can be deemed invulnerable to catastrophic failure when operated within design parameters. Figure 1 shows a typical traditional indicator LED. Traditional indicator LEDs utilize a small LED semiconductor chip that is mounted on a reflector cup also known as the anvil, on a lead-frame (whisker).This whole configuration is encased in epoxy which also serves the purpose of a lens. LEDs have very high thermal resistance with upwards of 200K per Watt. LEDs are highly monochromatic, only emitting a single pure color in a narrow frequency range. The color emitted from an LED is identified by peak wavelength (lpk) which is measured in nanometers (nm). The peak wavelength is a function of the material that is used in the manufacturing of the semiconductor.[3] Most LEDs are produced using gallium-based crystals that differ in one or more additional materials such as phosphorous to produce distinct colors. Different LED chip technologies enable manufacturers to produce LEDs that emit light in a specific region of the visible light spectrum and replicate different intensity levels. Thus, one would vary the material used in the production of LEDs in order to obtain the desired results. The graph below depicts the variation in response time for the specific wavelength of light. Principle Mechanism The essential portion of the Light Emitting Diode is the semiconductor chip. Semiconductors can be either intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic semiconductors are those in which the electrical behavior is based on the electronic structure inherent to the pure material.[5] When the electrical characteristics are dictated by impurity atoms, the semiconductor is said to be extrinsic.[6] See Appendix A for further information regarding the different materials and their characteristics. This chip is further divided into two parts or regions which are separated by a boundary called a junction. The p-region is dominated by positive electric charges (holes) and the n-region is dominated by negative electric charges (electrons). The junction serves as a barrier to the flow of the electrons between the p and the n-regions. This is somewhat similar to the role of the band-gap because it determines how much voltage is needed to be applied to the semiconductor chip before the current can flow and the electrons pass the junction into the p-region. In general, to achieve higher momentum states (with higher velocities), there must be an empty energy state into which the electron may be excited. (In other words, to achieve a net flow of electrons in one direction, some electrons must change their wave vectors thereby increasing their energy.) [8] Band-gaps determine how much energy is needed for the electron to jump from the valence band to the conduction band. As an electron in the conduction band recombines with a hole in the valence band, the electron makes a transition to a lower-lying energy state and releases energy in an amount equal to the band-gap energy. This energy is released in photons. Normally the energy heats the material. In an LED this energy goes into emitted infrared or visible light. If a large enough electric potential difference (voltage) is absent, across the anode and cathode, the junction serves as an electric potential barrier to the flow of electrons. When sufficient voltage is applied across the chip of the LED, the electron has enough driving force to move in one direction over the junction that separates the p-region and the n-region. The p-region (holes) is where the positive charge forms the majority of charges. (Implicitly, there are also negative charges but they are the minority).Vice versa for the n-region. The electrons from the n-region basically flow across the junction into the p-region. In the p-region, the electrons are attracted to the positive charges due the mutual Columbic forces of attraction between opposite charges of same magnitude. Thus recombination occurs. After every successful recombination, electric potential energy is transformed into electromagnetic energy. This releases a quantum electromagnetic energy that is emitted in the form of a photon of light with frequencies characteristic of the semiconductor that was used in the process. These photons have specific wavelengths thus specific colors according to the different materials used. Therefore, different compositions of the chemical elements used in the manufacturing of the semiconductor results in different colors emitted as well as different energies needed to light them. The electrical energy is in proportion to the voltage required to enable the electrons to flow across the p-n junction. Predominantly, LEDs emit light of a single color. Application There are various materials that are used in the manufacturing of Light Emitting Diodes. Most of the materials are gallium-based crystals and are used in high-brightness applications. Gallium is a minor metal noted by its low melting point of 29.8  °C, the name being derived from Gallia, the Latin for France, which was where it was discovered. [14] Among these include AlGaAs (Aluminum-Gallium-Arsenide), a semiconductor that typically generates the red spectrum, often used in signs, displays and electronic equipment. InGaAlP(Indium-Gallium-Aluminum-Phosphide) produces the yellow-green wavelength to red are often used in signs, auto interior as well as exterior, traffic signals and cellphones.[ 15] InGaN (Indium-Gallium-Nitride) typically generates Blue, Green and white spectrums and are used most often in full color signs, cell-phones, auto interior, traffic signals.[16]. Furthermore, there is room for further improvement on the design of traffic lights. The visible light from the LEDs in a traffic light can further be modulated and encoded with information. Hence, it can be used for the broadcasting of audio messages or any traffic or road information. Essentially, all LED traffic lights can be used as communications devices. [17] InGaN LEDs too has been made the light source of choice for many diagnostic and photo-therapy applications from the Ultra-violet to the near Infrared. [18] Light-emitting diodes (LED) emit light in proportion to the forward current through the diode. Light Emitting Diodes are the cutting edge technology of lighting today. Generally, Light Emitting Diodes are categorized according to their performance. The performance of a LED is linked to a few primary characteristics of the LED itself which includes color, peak wavelength and intensity. As LEDs are highly monochromatic, LEDs are differentiated according to their peak wavelength. Peak wavelength is a function of the LED chip material. Although manufacturing process variations produce a standard deviation of  ±10nm, nevertheless, these variations are perceptible to the human eye because the 565nm to 600nm wavelength spectral region (yellow to amber) is where the sensitivity level of the human eye is at its peak. [19] See Appendix B for details on the different semiconductor types as well as characteristics of those semiconductors. The light output of a specific LED varies with the type of chip, encapsulation and efficiency of individual wafer lots. There may be other random variables that may affect the performance of the LED too. This typically is categorized into the nuisance variable factor and is taken into account as the error margin. Many LED manufacturers use different terms such as super-bright, and ultra-bright to describe LED intensity. However, such terminology is entirely subjective, as there really is no industry standard for LED brightness. Luminous intensity is roughly proportional to the amount of current (I) supplied to the LED. The greater the current, the higher the intensity.[20] Nevertheless, luminous intensity (Iv) does not represent the total light output from an LED. Both the luminous intensity and the spatial radiation pattern (viewing angle) must be taken into account. If two LEDs have the same luminous intensity value, the lamp with the larger viewing angle will have the higher total light output. Overall visibility can be enhanced by increasing the number of LED chips in the encapsulation, increasing the number of individual LEDs, as well as utilizing secondary optics to distribute light. To illustrate, consider similar red GaAlAs LED chip technology in four different configurations: In each individual case, the amount of visible light depends on the application of the LED as well as how the LED is being viewed. The single chip setup may be suitable for direct viewing in contrast with high ambient lighting. The 6-chip may be more suitable as a backlight to a switch or small legend, while the cluster or lensed LED design may best be used to illuminate a pilot light or larger lens. In this millennium, Light Emitting Diodes or LEDs are making major inroads into a lot of industries. In the past, filament bulbs like incandescent and halogen lamps dominated and were the main source of lighting. Today, in the automotive industry, we see cars with LEDs for taillights and instrument panels. Why the switch to the new technology? Among the reasons why include the longevity of the LED itself. It lasts on average 20,000 hours for a 15-Watt traffic light in comparison to 1000 hours for typical filament bulbs.[23] Generally, LEDs are designed to operate upwards of 100,000 hours. This greatly supercedes the standard incandescent bulb with an average lifespan of about 5000 hours.LEDs too are low voltage devices that respond almost instantaneously to changes in current (~10Mhz).[24] This would entail better safety for motorists on the road. Costs of maintenance of the vehicle would too decrease as replacements of the lighting fixtures need not be done as often. With such fast reponse times, LEDs used as an unbiased photodiode, exhibits a non-linear power dependent response that also can be used for sensitive detection and characterization of mode-locked femtosecond and picosecond laser pulses. [25] In the electronic industry, we have LEDs for lighting of almost everything. The ergonomic flat-panel computer screens otherwise known as liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are also in essence miniature LED clusters. The introduction of LCDs marks another milestone in development in the hi-tech industry. Displays now can be made that use less power as well as emit much less radiation in comparison with the traditional cathode ray tube (CRT) display. According to Keith Robinson for Frost Sullivan, The light emitting diode (LED) market, especially the visible LED (VLED) market, is poised to experience explosive growth once economic conditions improve in North America. The most significant technology improvement that has taken place in the last 10 years for LEDs is the introduction of blue and blue-green LEDs. The nitride-based LEDs have opened new opportunities for manufacturers of lighting products, such as traffic signal manufacturers and outdoor signboard manufacturers. The increased use of the new colors in consumer products and automotive applications is expected to have a positive impact on the market. [26] Manufacturers have always been striving to replicate colors as accurately as possible. This is has always been the holy grail for the display industry. LEDs have made this a reality. Typical incandescent bulbs cannot replicate the vivid colors that can be reproduced using LEDs. LEDs give pure saturated colors with up to 130% more gamut compared to standard NTSC specifications.[27] Take the reproduction of white light. When light from all parts of the visible spectrum overlap one another, the additive mixture of colors appears white. However, the eye does not require a mixture of all the colors of the spectrum to perceive white light. Primary colors from the upper, middle, and lower parts of the spectrum (red, green, and blue), when combined, appear white. To achieve this combination with LEDs requires a sophisticated electro-optical design to control the blend and diffusion of colors. Variations in LED color and intensity further complicate this process. Presently, it is possible to produce white light with a single LED using a phosphor layer (Yttrium Aluminum Garnet) on the surface of a blue (Gallium Nitride) chip.[28] Although this technology produces various hues, white LEDs may be appropriate to illuminate opaque lenses or backlight legends. However, using colored LEDs to illuminate similarly colored lenses produces better visibility and overall appearance in comparison with CRTs. Moreover, LEDs are not deficient in the reliability department. LEDs are solid state devices with no moving parts as well as no fragile glass or filaments. LEDs too use up to 90% less energy in comparison with conventional bulbs and lamps today.[29] Today a LED flashlight may last up to 200% longer with the same batteries used to operate conventional filament flashlights. [30] Furthermore, LEDs are environmental friendly because they contain no mercury and since they last longer (about 100,000 continuous hours of life); there will be less disposal waste in the environment. This in turn would result is less pollution and less wastage of our precious and limited resources. LEDs also form the foundation for applications in optical-fiber communication and diode lasers. They produce a narrow spectrum of coherent red or infrared light that can be well collimated. This characteristic of the light produced by LEDs has enabled engineers to manipulate the setup to enable data transfer. This has made it possible for continents to be linked via the internet. Information can be sent across the globe in a matter of fractions of a second and vast chunks of data can be transmitted without a hitch. With the improvement of infrastructure, the benefits extend also to the general populace. Before we had modems that used coaxial copper cables, today we have T1 to T3 connections which utilize fiber optics. Most institutions, organizations and companies that require the use of large bandwidths of data have such connections. Take for example, San Jose State University, it utilizes several T3 connections to the internet and has T1 connections locally across campus to alleviate data congestion. In this way, data is made readily available to those hungry for knowledge. Conclusion Light Emitting Diodes has such a profound impact on society. It affects our daily lives as well as activities. It is used in so many applications and so many places. With Light Emitting Diodes, so many significant improvements to already existing technology could be made. Historically the LED market has experienced signal digit growth of about 8.5 percent. The laser diode market has experienced double-digit growth in the past of approximately 30.0 percent and once economic conditions improve it is anticipated that the market will experience strong growth rates once again. [31] As this technology expands, so does our horizon and our conquest for the betterment of todays technology. Light Emitting Diodes truly is a great invention of the age.

The Red Room by H.G. Wells Essay -- Red Room Wells Essays

The Red Room by H.G. Wells The title 'The Red Room' immediately attracts the reader's attention; it is symbolic but leaves unanswered questions. ?What is the red room Is this room dangerous? Overall the title raises so much curiosity wanting us to read on and find answers to our questions. Red is a very strong colour and is generally associated with blood, danger, warning, hell, and above all, fear, the title also shows the setting of the story. It makes you wonder why the room is called the red room and if it is actually red. The Red Room contains all the elements of a ghost story; the story is written to illustrate the nature of fear and is an insight into how it affects the human mind. This story contains all the features of a 19th century novel; it is set in an old derelict house, it involves moving through dark passages, and it involves a ghost/haunted room. It also contains all the features of a good short story. It has an effective opening, a realistic setting, a limited number of believable characters and has a plot with a clear conflict, a plot that builds suspense, excitement, and the plot has a twist at the end. The story is structured to create and sustain suspense, from the very beginning right through to the climax of the story where the man is overcome by total darkness. The Red Room is based upon the myths concerning a haunted room within an old derelict castle. The story is told in first person, which makes it very personal and allows the reader to feel as if he/she were there. It is about a young man who volunteers to go and stay overnight in the ?Red Room?. The room is known to be haunted and there are many myths and legends about death that are brought up during the story.... ... when his fear has taken his sense of reasoning and he tries to leave the room and accidently knocks him out. When he finally wakes up the next morning he realises that there was nothing supernatural about the room but only peoples fear of the unknown. The story keeps the reader guessing right up to the end of the story. The answer is not particularly clear and does not provide the reader with a final, conclusive answer. This keeps the reader wondering about the story after he/she has read it. The story reveals that there is no ghost in the room, just one man?s battle with fear: ?There is no ghost at all; but worse, far worse?Fear!? This makes you question whether he would have injured himself if he had not been told about the ghost story at all by the old people. This still gives a sense of mystery about the room after the answer has been given.

Different Approaches in The Wisdom of Teams

Jon R. Katzenbach is a director of McKinsey & Company, Inc., where he has served the senior executives of leading companies for over thirty years. His experience includes work with both public and private sector clients from the industrial, financial, and consumer industries. He has also served a variety of nonprofit institutions. He specializes in issues involving corporate governance, organization, and leadership. Douglas K. Smith is a former consultant at McKinsey & Company, Inc., who today is a leading commentator on organizational performance and change. Simply, teams outperform people working alone. This is especially true when the performance requires multiple skills, judgements, and experiences. Consultants or former consultants of large consulting firms wrote the Wisdom of Teams. The Wisdom of Teams authors have roots at McKinsey. A consulting firm based out of Dallas Texas. The authors have spent considerable time working with teams, studying them and are now using their books to impart that knowledge to those seeking to form, develop and facilitate successful teams in their organizations. However, the two books take very different approaches. Teams are one of the catchwords of the 90's. And with them has come an explosion of literature telling us what teams are and what they are not; how to create them, measure them, use them and empower them. A new vocabulary has emerged that distinguishes work groups from work teams, and self-directed teams from all other teams. Some of the essential lessons learned about teams and team performance are: – Teams do not arise without a perforce challenge that is meaningful to those involved. – Real team†s results will be greater if the leaders aim their sights on preference. – Biases toward individualism cannot interfere with the team†s goals. The Wisdom of Teams presents lessons learned from the success and failure of actual teams. The authors base their wisdom on personal experience along with extensive interviews conducted with 50 different businesses. Katzenbach and Smith's lessons are supported by case studies. â€Å"Real† teams are the focus of the book. According to Katzenbach and Smith, a â€Å"real† team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable. These elements of a team — purpose, performance goals, common approach to work and mutual accountability — define what teams are and how they should be managed. Teams are distinguished from work groups in that the work they perform is collective as opposed to the sum of individual contributions, leadership roles are shared, and the team does real work together that result in a specific product or service being delivered. This distinction is important, because the focus of the book is on what teams are, what it takes to become a team and how to exploit the potential of successful teams. The authors also present useful guidelines for determining when to use a team and when to use a work group. Teams are not presented as an organizational ideal. In fact, Katzenbach and Smith encourage looking at the organization's goals and policies to determine if a team or work group is the best choice. Their bias is that teams are worth the trouble where they support organizational goals. In their view, the potential of teams is unlimited and cultivating real teams is one of the best ways of upgrading the overall performance of an organization. Katzenbach and Smith's advice is simple, straightforward, and practical. They look at teams in an organizational context. Certain elements are critical to team success. The organization needs to have or develop a strong â€Å"performance ethic.† In other words, compelling clear purposes and performance standards need to be an important part of the organization's culture. According to Katzenbach and Smith, performance, not chemistry, shapes teams. â€Å"Real† teams emerge when the individuals in them take risks involving conflict, trust, interdependence, and hard work. Making conflict constructive by developing ways to handle differences and concerns and molding them into common goals is when real teams emerge. The authors suggest achieving this by establishing urgency and clear direction in teams, selecting members based on skill balance, not personality, and with opportunities to learn from each other. Establishing clear start-up rules for behavior and seizing upon a few immediate performance-oriented tasks that are challenging but achievable also help teams develop. Spending lots of time together and giving positive feedback are key. The authors describe the senior management team as the hardest to establish they present this as a fact of organizational life that can be addressed. Their solution: start by creating a strong senior management work group and go from there. Many successful organizations using teams have them. The authors are also realists. The difficulty teams may face such as lack of management direction is described with suggestions for addressing them. Finally, and maybe most importantly, Katzenbach and Smith are optimists. They believe that most people are able to lead. Leaders need to provide guidance and give up control and most importantly believe in the team and put them first. It is that attitude, belief in the team, that is the most important characteristic of a leader. They conclude that a strong performance ethic leads to the pursuit of common performance results that benefit customers, shareholders, and employees. An overemphasis on any one area creates distortions that lead to turf battles and politics. Managers must demand and then relentlessly support pursuit of performance by teams. This clear simple model can easily be applied to any type of organization. All of this advice is offered while keeping jargon to a minimum. In fact, the book starts by acknowledging what we all know creating change in an organization can be difficult. Yet, The Wisdom of Teams provides simple strategies, to analyze organizational readiness, and alternatives that will get your organization closer to a real team environment. It outlines the basics elements of team and then offers techniques for sticking to them to achieve success. You do not need to be a process consultant to make teams work in Katzenbach and Smith's world. In addition, this is the book's greatest strength. While the advice offered is good, the book could be much more concise and easier to read. Many of the points are redundant. This is a good book for the beginner, who wants to understand the issues.

Reactions in Water or Aqueous Solution

Reactions in Water or Aqueous Solution Several types of reactions occur in water. When water is the solvent for a reaction, the reaction is said to occur in aqueous solution, which is denoted by the abbreviation (aq) following the name of a chemical species in a reaction. Three important types of reactions in water are precipitation, acid-base, and oxidation-reduction reactions. Precipitation Reactions In a precipitation reaction, an anion and a cation contact each other and an insoluble ionic compound precipitate out of solution. For example, when aqueous solutions of silver nitrate, AgNO3, and salt, NaCl, are mixed, the Ag and Cl- combine to yield a white precipitate of silver chloride, AgCl: Ag(aq) Cl-(aq) → AgCl(s) Acid-Base Reactions For example, when hydrochloric acid, HCl, and sodium hydroxide, NaOH, are mixed, the H reacts with the OH- to form water: H(aq) OH-(aq) → H2O HCl acts as an acid by donating H ions or protons and NaOH acts as a base, furnishing OH- ions. Oxidation-Reduction Reactions In an oxidation-reduction or redox reaction, there is an exchange of electrons between two reactants. The species that loses electrons is said to be oxidized. The species that gains electrons are said to be reduced. An example of a redox reaction occurs between a hydrochloric acid and zinc metal, where the Zn atoms lose electrons and are oxidized to form Zn2 ions: Zn(s) → Zn2(aq) 2e- The H ions of the HCl gain electrons and are reduced to H atoms, which combine to form H2 molecules: 2H(aq) 2e- → H2(g) The overall equation for the reaction becomes: Zn(s) 2H(aq) → Zn2(aq) H2(g) Two important principles apply when writing balanced equations for reactions between species in a solution: The balanced equation only includes the species that participate in forming products. For example, in the reaction between AgNO3 and NaCl, the NO3- and Na ions were not involved in the precipitation reaction and were not included in the balanced equation.The total charge must be the same on both sides of a balanced equation. Note that the total charge can be zero or non-zero, as long as it is the same on both the reactants and products sides of the equation.

Infection and its prevention Essay Example

Infection and its prevention Essay Example Infection and its prevention Essay Infection and its prevention Essay Infection and its prevention have been a prime concern of mankind for a long time. Infection is a condition that results when a microorganism is able to invade the body, multiply and cause injurious effect or diseases. (McCall Tankersley, 2007:71) Infection control therefore refers to policies and procedures used to minimize the risk of spreading infections, especially in hospitals and human or animal health care facilities. The purpose of this is to reduce the occurrence of infectious diseases. The aim of this essay is to look at how infection control and the theatre environment impact on a patient undergoing surgery. The first part of the essay looks at infection control in the hospital setting in general; touching on issues such as hospital acquired infection like Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) and Clostridium Difficile (CD). Then the essay delves into the design of the surgical theatre and how it impacts on patients; it further talks about surgical etiquette placing much emphasis on hand washing as this is the first defence in preventing transmission of pathogen (Radford et al, 2004). Finally a conclusion is drawn on all the issues raised and their impact on the patient undergoing surgery. In the past, surgery would have been performed in a convenient location such as the patients home or a hospital ward with only basic infection control in place (Essex-Lopresti 1999). In Phillips (2004) describes the process for preparing the room as rudimentary, amounting to little more than removing furniture and non essential items and boiling linen, perhaps fumigation if time allows. Today, most surgery takes place in operating theatres that are specially designed for that purpose. There are two types of infection, the endogenous and exogenous infection. Endogenous infection occurs when microorganisms that normally exist harmlessly in one part of an individual to become pathogen, whereas exogenous infection happens when microorganisms from other source or from other person, object, animal or the environment (Woodhead 2005). Infection control refers to policies and procedures used to minimise the risk of spreading infection especially in hospitals. Nosocomial or hospital acquired infection (HAI) occur in approximately 5% of all hospital patients. The longer a patient stays in hospital, the higher the risk of getting HAI and sometimes even leading to death. There are many reasons why patients infected with HAI: Firstly weak immune system which makes them more vulnerable to infection due to patient sickness or treatment. Secondly, infection agent can be introduced to the patient by medical procedures and thirdly, on admission with infectable disease agent, patient can transfer diseases to a patient or patient to staff or visitor (Jones, 2008). HAI has, over the past few years dominated the media with its coverage of the superbugs, in particular MRSA and CD. A HAI or nosocomial is that which is acquired or develops as a result of treatment while the patient hospitalised for more than 48 hours and who did not have signs and symptoms of such infection on admission. Radford et al (2004) cited the research of Emmerson et al (1996) 9% of patients admitted to hospital acquire HAI from surgical wound infection after hospital discharge. MRSA has the ability to resist to one or more conventional antibiotics. Study suggests many people are carriers of MRSA but are colonised in their nose or back of their throats and on their normal flora. Report from BBC news (2005) stated that about 100,000 get infected with MRSA each year when they get admitted into hospital. The only way health care workers can reduce this infection is; a good hand washing between patients, a good standard hygiene in hospital and patients with MRSA treated in a highly isolated as much as possible. The operating theatre is designed in accordance by national and processional guidelines as described by Woodhead et al (2005). Each department is divided into three zones, the outer or dirty zone which is unrestricted area where normal clothing can be worn; it contains the entrance to changing areas and usually has access to remove theatre waste. The clean or semi-restricted zones are the staff changing rooms, anaesthetic and recovery rooms and sterile supplies. Access is restricted and all personnel and patients have to wear theatre attire. There is exception sometimes to patients that need support, such as children, mental ill patients or translators to the anaesthetic room. The sterile or restricted zones include the operating theatre, preparation rooms and the scrub areas. Surgical attire and possible masks will need to be worn at all times (Davey Ince 2004). Sterile areas should avoid overcrowding by theatre staff to reduce the risk of accidental contamination to sterile instruments and layout. To reduce airborne contamination, movement of staff and patient should be kept to a minimum. This helps to reduce airborne bacteria from entering the operating theatre (Woodhead 2005). Ventilation, temperature, humidity and airborne contamination have an important role in the design of a good operating theatre. In order to control the movement of air, the operating department requires specialised ventilation system. Usually the system employed in ventilating modern operating departments are laminar airflow (LAF) technology and positive pressure (PP) systems; these are in theory designed to reduce surgical site infections. The theatre is particularly arranged in a way so that air pressure is filtered moving air from clean to less clean areas and this continues when the theatre room is not in use. This is in place to reduce the airborne contamination, reduce expired anaesthetic gases and to control temperature and humidity, thus reducing and minimising bacterial growth. Adequate ventilation in theatre can be achieved by properly closing theatre doors, windows are well sealed, ceiling solid and the floor impermeable to washable material with no gaps or cracks and cove red joints where it meets the wall. Also shelving should be kept to a minimum (Weaving P, et al 2008). In orthopaedic theatre the air is ultraclean. These system are used when the risk and consequences to developing infection are greater. Ultra clean air, provided by the laminar flow systems, is designed to move particle free air over the aseptic operating field in one direction; it can be in vertically or horizontally sweeping away particle in its path. These canopies have the capacity to provide up to 400 to 500 air change per hour and can reduce the incidents of surgical site infection ,so together with good practice and the use of prophylactic antibiotics, the impact of surgery upon the patient should be favourable (Woodhead et al 2005) . 37à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ C and high humidity is the optional where most bacteria reproduce, to keep a theatre room free from bacteria the temperature should be between 20 to 24oc and humidified air levels of 50 to60%, this help to suppress bacteria growth, also help create a good impact upon the surgical patient, as infection rates are considerably lower (Davey and Ince 2004). Infants, children and burnt patient need a warmer temperature to avoid hypothermia, therefore each operating theatre have its own controls for regulating the temperature (Mangum 2001). There are two types of lighting found in theatre, the laminar lighting used to light the operating theatre and auxiliary and the surgical lighting. Both harbour microorganisms on it surfaces due to the movement and activities of staff in the operating theatre (Phillips 2004). This should be clean regularly to reduce the risk of infection. The theatre must be damp dusted before the first case of the day, and it is essential to clean and disinfect all contaminated areas of the theatre at the end of each case (Mangum, 2001) Infection control as defined earlier as policies and procedures use to minimize the risk of spreading infection, staff do not always go by this policies and guidelines. For example policies on air movement in the department, normally doors between the anaesthetic room and theatre are mostly left open by staff therefore affecting the positive pressure from working effectively. Staff need constant trainings and made aware of updated policies. These measures will help to control infection. According to Woodhead et al (2005), 300 million skin squames are shed per day and about 10% of this have microorganisms of which smaller particles stay as airborne for some hours. Some big particles may rest on work surfaces, furniture and equipment. 37% of airborne microbial contamination can be reduced if in every 3 minutes air is changed in the theatre. Different type of waste should be separated and disposed of in the right way. All waste known, or considered to cause disease in humans or other living organisms is considered infectious waste (DH, 2006). In the authors trust yellow is the colour coding for clinical waste which can cause a risk of infection or can be hazardous. Green bags for the linens. All waste bags should not be more than three quarters full (Davey Ince, 2004) and it is the duty of the staff to ensure that and dispose off in the appropriate manner to meet the requirement of the control of substances hazardous to health regulation (COSHH). Maintaining a safe and clean environment is essential for a good impact upon surgical patients, but staff themselves can be a source of microbial contaminated (Green et al, 2003). Staffs are screened by their occupational health department. They are annually screened for such infections as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B.; this screening is mandatory and is design to protect patients from exposure from infected staff. Microorganisms are shed from exposed skin, hair and mucus membranes, so to achieve a sterile field and to reduce infection for both patients and staff; staff need to wear appropriate clothing, prepare patients, use sterile equipment and eliquette during surgery. According to Radford et al (2004), every staff working within the theatre context needs to change into suit and trousers as classed as personal protective equipment (PPE) made from cotton fabric to reduce skin cells to the surroundings. Other PPE such as footwear, mask, eye protection etc. are also worn by staff as an infection control measure during surgery. Hospital Acquired Infections may not be eradicated but many outbreaks can be prevented through effective hand washing. Transient microorganisms are easily removed during hand washing therefore it is one of the most important procedures to prevent the spread of infection (Woodhead Wicker 2005). Hand antisepsis started in the 1860 by Joseph Lister. He realised decay is caused by microorganism and it can be prevented by disinfecting the clinical environment and all equipment with carbolic acid. It also included staff having their hands washed in a solution of 5% carbolic acid before undertaking surgery. Other development on surgical hand antisepsis occurred including scrubbing the hands and arms with a brush where the term scrub comes from. Also introduction of alcohol rubs in the late 1990s which contain antiseptic agent such as chlorehexidine gluconate alcohol solution which when rubbed on the hands does not need rinsing (Tanner 2008). Hand washing takes place before and after patient contact, following removal of protective clothing, immediately following contamination with blood or body fluids and after handling contaminated or potentially contaminated articles (Davey and Ince 2004, p39). This hand washing is a form of standard precautions for all staff to practice since staff cannot tell which patient is contaminated; therefore it is one of the most important procedures to prevent the spread of infection. Healthcare workers handling patient with their catheter, bed linen, wound, disposal of linen and waste come in contact with microorganisms. Also staff or practitioners caring for MRSA patients can have the pathogen on their skin for a few hours, this means it can transfer to another patient or staff easily. During these times, hand washing is vital to help stop the spread of infection. Surgical hand scrubbing gets rid of transient microorganisms which help to minimise the number of resident microorganisms in the recent study of Tanner 2008. Before hand scrub, all jewellery with the exception of single plain band must be removed. False nails and nail polish is not acceptable, since they harbour pathogens as studied by Heddewick et al (2000). Aqueous antiseptic solution such as Chlorhexidine gluconate and providone-iodine are efficient in removing transient organisms and reducing resident organisms to a safe level. Frequent hand wash minimise a low bacterial count under gloves which is accepted by all healthcare workers. To start effective hand scrub, temperature of the water must be checked; also arms and hands must be wet before applying anti-microbial solution. The hands and arms are washed from fingertips to the elbows and hands are held higher than elbows in order to prevent microorganisms dropping back to the fingertips. There is no agreed time for how long a surgical hand wash should last, but between 2 5 minutes have been vouched for by most researchers as enough and effective. Hands should be properly dry. Alcohol based hand rubs are also effective for use between patient contact. When used, the right technique should be employed to ensure it covers the relevant areas and left to dry (Woodhead et al 2005). Sterile gowns are worn after hand scrub to prevent bacteria from scrub staff to the surroundings or operating site, thus reducing surgical side infection (SSI) (Radford et al ,2004). Gloves must be put on using the closed gloving technique, not touched by the staff members bare hands. During orthopaedic operation, double gloving is recommended as any perforations will be highlighted and sterility will not be compromised. Surgical instrument and sterile equipment are prepared in the preparation room just before use, thus minimising the risk of contamination from airborne microbes. Patients are then positioned on to the table before a scrub nurse wheels the trolley into the operating area (Davey and Ince, 2004). A patients skin around the incision site is disinfected to reduce the number of bacteria present so as to reduce the risk of endogenous infections. The most effective antiseptic are those which are alcohol based. This has to be left on the skin to evaporate before draping begins (Weaving et al, 2008). The rationale behind this is to reduce the natural flora from getting into the incision and avoiding the patient contracting SSI. The rest of the patient is covered by draping which comes in disposable or reusable; this is to provide a sterile field in which the operating team can work without risk of contaminating themselves or the instrument. Draping start from the incision site working out towards the peripheries and should not be removed until dressing applied and surgery completed (Radford et al, 2004). Infection can not be totally eliminated and has serious consequences for the patient; however the risk of contracting infection can be reduced by adhering to infection control procedures and policies such as effective hand washing, wearing the appropriate personal protecting equipment. The design of the operating department also plays an important role in the success of controlling infection. Ventilation system needs to be working effectively to achieve its use; temperature and humidity parameters need constant checking. The continuous education of staff about theatre policies and regular update of the policies will go a long way to help reduce infection in theatre.

The nurses' responsability in the prevention of medication errors Essay

The nurses' responsability in the prevention of medication errors - Essay Example With the number of law suits rising in the country regarding medical malpractices, the quality of care needs not be assumed, and must at all times be considered as a crucial aspect in medical practice (Reason, 2000). The author continues to argue that medical practitioners have faced disciplinary issues, shame and threats due to malpractices. Nurses’ role Since nurses are major players in offering medical care, they are concerned with the health of an individual from the onset of medication to the end (Cohen, 2007). In light to this argument, it is argued that nurses play the major role of ensuring that they understand the major factors that lead to errors in the medical provision. This role of prevention of errors is crucial in the prevention of medical errors (Cohen, 2007). Among these errors are inclusive of incorrect calculations of medical dosages, improper consultations, inexperience, and failure to adhere to the set protocols amongst others (Cohen, 2007). With these ave nues of medical errors in place, the quality of medical service is then jeopardized. In this case, the nurse should play the major role of ensuring that they minimize the avenues of cropping up of medical errors as possible. A good example is that of the nurses’ conversance with the FEMA (Failure Mode and Effect Analysis) that has been instrumental in alleviating chemotherapy errors (Hartranft, Sheridan-Leos & Schulmeister, 2006). Nurses are able to come up with thoughts on how to safeguard the safety of the patient care. Despite the fact that, Cohen (2007) indicates that the nurses are mostly forced by the management to cause some of these errors, they are should be on the frontline to ensure that they minimize as many challenges as they can. Secondly, in the medical setting, they must have vast experimental knowledge in the concerned field (Cohen, 2007). This allows the nurses have a big picture of the entire case, always counter check the medical history of a patient prior to making any form of conclusion (Cima, ?2011). This means that, the nurse is able to offer assistance by advocating for patient’s safety; thus, prevention of the occurrence of any form of delay in the institution. In this case, Cima (?2011) indicates that team work is possible, as well as involving leadership as a theme that allows nurses describe the various mechanisms of dealing with nurses’ errors. Thirdly, the nurses play the role of discovering the number and type of errors they make in the course of duty. As argued by Hwang et. al (2008), a majority of the errors made by nurses are inclusive of poor breakdown of workflow, which emanates from wrong identification of the patients, and using the wrong information on another patient (Patel et al., 2008). Besides that, it is also possible that the nurses mis-transfuse blood, which may cause adverse haemolytic reaction among the patients in question (Mole et. al, 2007). In the work of Bates and Kim (2006) and Escoto et. al (2008), nurses have a major role of correcting medical errors. This is possible by devising a medical error reporting system in the health institutio

Thunderstorm Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Thunderstorm - Article Example The theatrical attraction and general characterization of the plot, in line with the thematic relevance of the play is magnificent. Despite the play exhibiting more of the ancient settings of the time, the relevance and the brilliance of the actors is exceptionally fascinating. The paper is an analysis of general plot, characterization, the cultural influence and reception by the audience, and the general commentary on the contemporary society of the Chinese through interactions and actions. The thunderstorm is in this case used to describe the complex blood relationships as well as the various tragic incidences that are perceived inevitable. Therefore, it is a dramatic occurrence with significant connotation together with heart-stirring artistic expertise. Zhou Puyuan, the head of the coal-mining modern company is portrayed in the light of a selfish and arrogant person, who has little interest in the whereabouts of both his family and the workers within the company. He is equally hypocritical, cold-blooded, and selfish, as evident through the brutality and dictatorship evident in the scenes. The Chinese culture is characteristically inclined towards male superiority over the female gender, and Zhou Puyuan plays a perfect role of chauvinism in the society. The role is well brought out in the scene through the actor, especially the command tone that inevitably restores dominance in the settings. It is a massive privilege on the part of the modern generation to witness such characterization of their forgotten roots in the modern generation. However, I find the experience complicated for other non-Chinese audience interested in the play, particularly due to the strong translated message of the play, but it is easy to appreciate the colorful and moving acting, which only prompts an urge to see more. I must confess that watching the play was one of my favorite moments, with