SWOT Analysis Strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

SWOT Analysis Strategy - Assignment Example he environment by identifying the strategies creating a firm specific business model that best aligns the organization’s resources and capabilities to the requirements of the environment in which it operates. The acronym SWOT stands for, as has been alluded, to strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Each of these has a strategic implication to the business, and proper analysis will show a true picture of the organization’s place in the business environment. Strengths and weaknesses are internal to the business entity directly controlled by it while opportunities and threats are external, and a company can only anticipate and react to the changes. As such, analysis is instrumental in strategy formulation and selection to pursue the optimum possible position. For success to be realized, strengths should be build upon, weaknesses rectified, opportunities exploited and protect against threats. Strategic planning is enhanced by SWOT analysis as it is a source of information for strategic planning to identify core competencies, and setting of objectives. From the knowledge of the past and present, the future can be comfortably planned (Pearce & Robinson, 2012). Let us consider each of the four substrata in the SWOT matrix. An organization’s strengths are either tangible or intangible qualities which enable it to accomplish its missions. They form the basis under which success can be laid and sustained. They include patents, brand names, good reputation, exclusive access to resources, technical know-how by employees, and distribution network. The firm must have distinct features giving it consistency. The employee expertise, process capabilities, finances, products/services with customer goodwill and brand loyalty form the foundation for the organization to thrive. These are qualities hindering the firm from achieving its mission and accomplishing optimum potential by hindering the organization’s success and growth. The absence of certain strengths

Risk and uncertainty, the key public relations issues in the Essay

Risk and uncertainty, the key public relations issues in the contemporary era - Essay Example Notably, the public relations practice ensures that an organization can assess the potential impact of its policies on the public. After the implementation of the organizational policies, public relations practitioners seek feedback from the public concerning the policies. Public relations practitioners must understand the opinions held by different sectors of the public if they are to keep the organization well informed. In addition, public relations practitioners play critical cultural and social roles as they strive to serve as a link between the organization and the customers. In the contemporary era, risks and uncertainty are some of the defining aspects of business in the modern world. Risk and uncertainty prove to be highly ambivalent. Therefore, organizations have tasked public relations practitioners with handling risks and uncertainties in the organization. Evidently, the public relations practice is of critical importance to any organization in the modern day. This paper w ill focus on describing some of the cultural and social roles played by public relations, as well as the influence of public relations practice on the society. Finally, the paper will tackle risk and uncertainty as some of the leading issues in public relations in the modern day. Public relations practitioners play critical roles in an organization and in the community. It is the role of public relations practitioners to communicate the policies of an organization to the public. Notably, organizations need to determine the potential impacts of their policies on the community and the public. Therefore, public relations practitioners create the necessary intermediary between the organization and the public. In addition, public relations practitioners offer informed advice to the organization’s management. The daily activities of a public relations practitioner involve a continued interaction with different sectors of the public. Through the

Post Stroke Depression Health And Social Care Essay

Post Stroke Depression Health And Social Care Essay Stroke is considered to be one of the most devastating vascular events (Beekman et al 1998) which can cause death. The patients who survive are developing physical impairment. This impairment can make the patients disable or dependent. As a result of loss of functional activity and normal life style, the stroke survivors may also develop psychosocial disorders. The most common disorders among stroke survivors are depression, anxiety, impatience, impulsivity, insensitivity toward others, poor social perception, memory disabilities, apathy, irritability, and eating disturbance (Barker-Collo 2007, Barskova et al 2006, Bour et al 2009). In my research, I will focus more on the prevalence of post stroke depression in the Arab world. I will also investigate the QOL among the Arabic stroke survivors and the factors that influence their mental health and their QOL. Stroke, which also called cerebrovascular accident (CVA), is a neurological disorder that results from blood vessels disease (Carr et al, 242). It is caused by a sudden block of blood from flowing to brain leading to irreversible tissue damage result from thrombotic, embolic, or hemorrhagic events (Robinson et al 2010). There are two types of stroke: occlusive and hemorrhage. Occlusive stroke results from closure of a blood vessel while the hemorrhage is due to bleeding from a vessel. It is considered to be a third killer in the world after coronary heart disease and cancer and it is the most cause of disability among people who living in their own homes (Carr et al, 243). In the united state, Europe, and Australia, approximately 400 person per 100,000 populations over age 45 have a stroke (Bruce et al 2005). About 20% of stroke patients die within the first month of onset (Carr et al, 244). However, the reminding 80% of stroke patients can survive with medical management and rehabil itation. The medical management depends on the type of lesion (Carr et al, 245). Surgery is recommended for patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage, well-defined carotid disease, and good surgical risks (Carr et al, 246). To reduce the muscle spasm, pain, and posture that interfere with patients functions, the patients are injected with botulinum toxin into the muscles (Bruce et al. 2005). After the patients are stable medically, they commence active rehabilitation to prevent secondary physical, emotional, and intellectual deterioration (Carr et al 247). The rehabilitation team of stroke survivors usually consists of the followings: physician, nurse, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, social worker, and psychologist. Psychosocial issue: The clinical picture of the stroke patient is complex and varied between physical and psychological disorder. To insure the patient acceptance to different levels of care, it is important for all health care providers to communicate with information about patients moods, general symptoms, and worries and concerns about their own health as well as their neurological handicaps, treatments, and co-morbidity (Skaner et al, 2007). The psychiatric complications of stroke include a higher frequency of depressed mood, anxiety, memory disabilities, apathy, irritability, impatience, impulsivity, poor social perception and insensitivity toward others, and eating disturbance(Bour et al 2009 , Barskova et al 2006). Fatigue and sadness are the most common symptoms and 39% of patients always felt tired that is associated with feeling of depression(Skaner et al 2007). Depression Depression is affective disorder characterized by intense feelings of sadness, hopelessness, despair and the inability to experience pleasure in usual activities(Rang et al 2007).It is more common with left anterior hemisphere injury (Robinson et al 2010). It is considered to be significant risk factors for increase death within 7 years from date of onset (Robinson et al 2010). Every year there is 5000,000 new strokes in United State. Approximate 150,000 of them develop depression in the first year of post stroke (Elis et al 2010). The depressed patients complain from loss of interest, impaired ADL, psychomotor impairment, and gastro-intestinal complaints (Bour et al 2009). Management of Depression: The treatment of these symptoms can be established by pharmacotherapy and Non-pharmacotherapy. The pharmacotherapy may include the followings: imipramine, phenelzine, and fluoxetine which have some side effects on patients. It can cause nausea, anxiety, insomnia, weight loss tremor, drowsiness, and orthostatic hypotension (Rang et al 2007). The non-pharmacotherapy can include aerobic exercises and stretching (Foley et al 2008). Assessment tools: Despite of previous symptoms, the diagnosis of depression in stroke patients is difficult because of overlap of somatic and neurocognitive symptoms directly related to the cerebral damage of stroke and the symptoms of a depressive episode (coster et al 2005). However, the examiner can observe some behavior or use some instrument to judge if the patient is depressed or not (Robinsion et al 2010). The behaviors include: difficulty falling asleep, waking up early in the morning, not eating, losing weight, frequent tearfulness, social withdrawal, or acts as self-harm(Robinsion et al 2010). Whereas, the instruments include Montgomery Asberg depression rating scale (Farner et al 2009), Mooddepression questionnaire, and Becks depression scale (Cohen 2007). Montgomery Asberg Depression Scale is an assessment tool that measure psychological symptoms of depression as symptoms that can affect physical function. Snaith et al defined four degree of depression severity and recognize the patient as a depressed if the score more than 6 in this scale (Sagen et al 2009). Because it is valid and reliable, it can be used in assess treatment outcome and can also used in research (Zimmerman et al 2004). Another scale is Becks depression scale which was designed by Beck, Rush, Shaw, and Emery (Cohen 2007). The scale, which is a questionnaire, consists of 21groups of statements. The patient selects the most statement that best describes hisher feeling past 2 weeks (Questionnaire form). The patient is considered as a minimal depressed if the scale range between 0-13, mild depressed if range between 14-19, moderate depressed if range between 20-28, and sever depressed if range between 29-63(Barker-Collo 2007). It is valid and reliable measurement and (Beck et al 2002) it translated to Arabic to use in assessment and research (Abdel-Khalek et al 1998). Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of life (MANSA), which is the LQLP modified and brief version, is another assessment tool (Priebe et al 1999). It is used to measure quality of life of people with mental illness and physical disability (Eklund et al 2006). It is administered as a structured interview and consists of three sections (Priebe et al 1999). First section is about personal details: date of birth, gender, ethnic origin, and diagnosis. Section 2 contains details that can be varying over time: education, employment status, monthly income, state benefits, and living situation (Priebe et al 1999). The last section covers 16 quality of life domains which are work, finances, social relations, leisure, living situation, safety, family relations, sexual relations, and health. Fourteen domains have one item and the reminders two have two domains. These domains are health which assessed as physical health and psychological health and living situation: satisfaction with housing a nd living with someone or alone. Satisfaction scale are rated on 7-point rating scales started with couldnt be worse and ended with couldnt be better. This tool is reliable and valid and has good internal consistency (Eklund et al 2006). One further measure instrument is Patient Competency Rating Scale (PCRS) which is self rating tool. This instrument is used to assess emotional competencies such as: empathy, social initiative, and communication of ones own emotional states through 30 items. Its items are divided in four domains which are activities of daily living, emotional, interpersonal, and cognition. It is designed to measure patients mental and physical status after traumatic brain injury. Later on, it is used with stroke patients also. It is valid and reliable tool that can be used with stroke (Barskova et al 2006). Literature Review Stroke is the third cause of death in the world (Carr et al, 243). It is lead to disability and restricts activity of daily living. As a result of these physical problems, the patients can develop many psychological issues. Depression is considered to be one of these problems. Many studies show that 19.3% among hospitalized patients can develop post stroke depression and 23.3% among outpatients (Robinson 2003) .Here I mention some of studies that were done on post stroke depression. Townsend and his colleges (2010) did a study to evaluate the relationship between the acceptance of disabilities and depression following stroke. Ninety eight patients who were diagnosed with a stroke before one month and had no cognitive impairment or aphasia participated in this study. Twenty two of them had had a prior stroke. However, only 81 of participants were followed up nine months post stroke. The researchers used a prospective cohort mixed design with them. All participants participated in structured interview which yielded quantitative data one month after stroke. It included diagnostic type interview for depression and self report scale to measure disability and personal beliefs about accepting disability. Depression symptoms were assessed using the Structured Clinical Interview of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. In addition, they used National Institute for Health Stroke Severity Scale to measure stroke severity, Barthel In dex to measured personal activities of daily living, reverse scored Nottingham Extended Activities of Daily Living Scale to measure disability in extended activities of daily living, and adapted version of eight-item Acceptance of Illness Questionnaire to measure non-acceptance of disability. This structured interview was repeated after nine months of onset. In addition, there was semi-structure interview done in the first month of onset and only sixty participants participated in this interview. It included open-ended questions about patients concerns and it was used to extract thoughts and feeling about their condition. The researchers found that for every three stroke patient one of them complained from depression. In their sample, 29 of 89 (33%) patient developed depression one month after stroke, while 24 of 81 (30%) developed depression after nine months. They also found that there is no relationship between disability and depression or no physiological relationship. The non acceptance of disability, or psychological issue, has been the cause of post stroke depression. The depressed participant described themselves as useless and inadequate. Skaner and his collages (2007) aimed to investigate the self rated health after stroke and the prevalence of symptoms of depression and general symptoms three and twelve months of onset. Their study included 145 patients (69 were men and 76 were women) with a first -ever stroke and their mean age was 73.3 years. The participants were classified according to Katz ADL Index into seven groups, A-G, to assess the patients functional level. The A refer to patients that had no need of help, and patients in G are dependant and the help is necessary for them. They received questionnaires from the researchers to assess their self -rated health, symptoms of depression, and general symptoms. Self-rating of health was assessed by Goteborg Quality of life Instrument (GQLI). The same instrument was used to assess the prevalence of general symptoms which covered six different symptoms: mental, gastro-intestinal/urinary, musculoskeletal, metabolic, cardio-pulmonary and head/miscellaneous. The preval ence of depression symptoms were evaluated by Montgomery Depression Rating Scale which includes nine items: mood, feeling of unease, sleep, appetite, ability to concentrate, initiative, emotional involvement, pessimism, and zest for life. In this study the researchers compared the patients situation three and twelve months after stroke and they found that more than half of patients suffered from symptoms of depression with no significant change frequency between 3 and 12 months. The most common general symptoms after 3 months were reported by patients were fatigue 69%, sadness 58%, pain in legs 52%, dizziness 48%, and irritability 46%. While the most common symptoms after 12 months were fatigue 58%, impaired hearing 49%, pain the joints 49%, sadness 46%, and pain in the legs 45%. Barker-Collo (2007) examined the prevalence of depression and anxiety after stroke. He also investigated the relationship between depression and anxiety with age, gender, hemisphere of lesion, functional independence, and cognitive functioning. He included 73 patients who were diagnoses of stroke three months before. Of the participants, 40 were males and 33 were females with a mean age of 51.7 years. Their CT scans showed that 31 of them had left hemisphere damage and 33 were right hemisphere damage. The researcher used many measurement tools to get the results. He used Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) to measure depression. BDI-II is contain 21 four-choice statements and its total score ranges from 0 to 63. Participants selected the better choice that descripts their emotional and vegetative symptoms in the past two weeks. According to this scale, result between 0-13 is considered to be minimal depression, 14-19 is mild, 20-28 is moderate, and 29-63 is severe. The researcher also used Beck Anxiety Inventory to examine the anxiety symptoms and California Verbal Learning Test-II to measure recall memory. Visual Paired Associates test was used to examine visual learning and memory, and Digit and spatial spans test was used to test memory working. Additionally, Functional Index Measure which includes 13 motor and 5 cognitive items was also used to assess outcomes of rehabilitation. The motor items include self care, sphincter control, mobility, locomotion, and social cognition. While the five cognitive items cover independence in comprehension of communication, expressive communication, social interactions, problem solving, and memory. Furthermore, the researcher included Integrated Visual Auditory Continuous Performance Test and Victoria Stroop. The mood assessments and neuropsychological took about 120 min to be completed according to standardized procedures. The researcher found from his measurements that the prevalence of depression and anxiety three months post stroke was 22.8 and 21.1% respectively with one in five patients have either moderate or severe depression or anxiety. According to the site of injury, he found the patients with left hemisphere injury were more likely to get depression or anxiety. Because of the left hemisphere is the part which is responsible about language skills, the lesion in it can cause communication deficits which then can lead patients to feel depressed. Suffering of post stroke depression or anxiety can affect the physical therapy sessions. Depressed patient may lack the motivation to complete the session while the anxious patient can suffer from fearful of falling to attempt to walk without device. Appelros and Viitanen (2004) also measured the prevalence of post stroke depression in a Swedish Population during 1999-2000. They included 377 patients, 129 were females and 124 were males, with first ever cases of brain infarction, intracerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and stroke of undetermined pathological type and with mean age 74.5 years old. One hundred and nine patients complain of right hemisphere damage while 138 patients were left hemisphere damage. The researchers used Swedish version of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) which include 20 items, and cutoff is >5. The items cover anxiety, panic, insomnia, hypochondria, and pain. Patients in all cases answered the questions which were read aloud for them. Further evaluation was subjected to patients who crossed cutoff on the GDS. One year follow up, Modified Rankin Scale was used to assess dependency. Cognitive impairment was measured by using Mini Mental State Examination which define the cognitive impairmen t at a score of

Amazon :: science

Amazon The Amazon River is the second longest river in world. The headwaters begin high in the soaring Andes Mountains and stretches 6,400 km across the South American continent to the Atlantic Ocean. It discharges between 34 to 121 million liters of water per second, and depositing an average of 3 million tons of sediments near its mouth. The outpouring of water and residue is so vast that the salt content and the color of the Atlantic Ocean are altered for a distance of about 320km from the mouth of the river. Also, unlike many other rivers it ¡Ã‚ ¯s wide and straight from the headwaters to the mouth. During a new or full moon, a wave front from the ocean sweeps 650km upstream at speeds of 65km/h and this causes waves as high as 5m. Because of its vastness, annual floods, and navigability, the Amazon River is often called the Ocean River. The Amazon River is the largest and wettest tropical plain on Earth with heavy rains. Europeans were not the original keepers of this vast rainforest. The Amazonians are trapped between the old and new customs, and since they have traditions, their technology isn ¡Ã‚ ¯t as modern as the rest of the worlds ¡Ã‚ ¯. They live on the richest land with a wide variety of flora and fauna. With such great resources, including the river as transportation, almost anybody would want to seize the land and gain profits easily. The Amazonians have little power to defend themselves with spears against their guns. Unfortunately, the outside world has brought them diseases that are incurable with their own medicine. They cannot exist in the way they were before, but they know the Amazon better than any of us. If the rich businessmen listened to them instead of stealing from them, they might be able to improve the usage of the Amazon. All the tributaries merge into the Amazon River, but not all have an identical color. White-water rivers, the ice and snow from the Andes Mountains washes off soil nutrients from the rocks, allowing the water to have a dirty yellowish color. Clear-water rivers are azure-green in color; they barely contain any sediment. These rivers arise from the highlands that are created by hard rock that doesn ¡Ã‚ ¯t easily erode. Dark black-water river of the Rio Negro washes over old rocks, which are rich in minerals. The name  ¡Ã‚ °Amazon ¡Ã‚ ± just isn ¡Ã‚ ¯t any old name.

Fortress of North Carolina’s History

Stretching almost 500 miles through North Carolina and Virginia, the Blue Ridge Mountains stand like a fortress that conceal some of the oldest settlements of both pre-historic and early European settlement. Much of the 200-year-plus history of Appalachian culture still persists by simply discovering what remnants are left. In 1539, the first European expedition to venture into the Blue Ridge region was led by Span’s Hernando de Soto, as his troops landed near Tampa Bay, Florida, with over six hundred soldiers and some additional men (mostly servants and slaves).Soto's expedition headed toward the Appalachian interior with two goals — to find adventure and to discover gold and other precious metals rumored to be in the region. Numerous Native American tribes (most of them Mississippian cultures) resisted the Spaniards' advance (Olson 1988, p. 3). In May of 1540, Soto's expedition crossed the Blue Ridge, probably guided by Native American scouts who knew of a well-establ ished trail over the mountains. The expedition passed through the domain of the region's predominate tribe, the Cherokee, quickly and without difficulty.The reason behind must be that the tribe had already been decimated by smallpox or other European disease that spread to the Cherokee from coastal tribes, which likely had contracted that disease from earlier European explorers. The Peachtree site within the Cherokee county fits the description of the town of Guasili visited by Soto. The Peachtree site is geographically and topographically more accurately situated for the location of Guasili than either the Nacoochee or Etowah mounds, both of which had previously been considered as the site of Guasili.At present, this site in the midst of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where the feasibility of trails is limited, coincides more nearly with the expected situation as described by the chronicles than any other location. However, the significant point in this report is not whether this is the site of the ancient town of Guasili as shows at least one trail of importance which passes the site, while several others are connected to it (Setzler, Jennings & Stewart 1941, p. 9).However, it was England and France that garnered the political control of eastern North America, as many English settlers avoided exposure to the fighting by moving from the North Carolina and Virginia piedmont onto Cherokee lands in the Carolinas. In reaction, the Cherokee staged a series of attacks on English settlements and fortifications, a situation which came to be known as the Cherokee War. The Cherokee won several of these contests, including one major victory, the capture of Fort Loudoun on the Little Tennessee River in 1760.In retaliation English soldiers under Major Hugh Waddell in 1761 stormed Cherokee towns along the Little Tennessee River; suffering many casualties, the Cherokee pled for peace (Ehle 1988, p. 51). The English, recognizing that they could not fight the Cherokee and the Fren ch at the same time, forged a new alliance with the Cherokee. By 1763, this alliance had defeated the French and their Native American allies.English monarch King George III rewarded the Cherokee for their loyalty by issuing the Proclamation of 1763, which established a boundary line intended to prevent colonists from venturing onto Cherokee land. As the nineteenth century dawned in the Blue Ridge region with several states was mired in political squabbling over territorial boundaries. By 1800, the border between North Carolina and Virginia had already been surveyed, but North Carolina's border with the new state of Tennessee.As a cause of the frequent revision of county lines in the North Carolina Blue Ridge, it prompted the slowing the development of stable and productive county governments. The limited state funds allocated to mountain counties were often rendered ineffective by a lack of competent administration within the counties. For decades after the Revolutionary War, count ies in the Blue Ridge region not only were generally underrepresented in state politics, but also received little benefit from the federal government.Much of the western North Carolina landscape had been destroyed by the Revolutionary War, yet the state government of North Carolina put little effort toward boosting the region's economy. This was in part because the state's economy was sluggish, the result of many factors: a lack of harbors, the absence of an effective road system by which to conduct trade within the state, high transportation tariffs, and an over-dependence on agriculture (McPherson 1988, p. 65-71). In the North Carolina General Assembly in 1823, the state allocated funds for a trans-mountain road, the Buncombe Turnpike.Completed in 1827, this road linked South Carolina with Tennessee, allowing safe wagon transport from Greenville, South Carolina, over the North Carolina Blue Ridge, then through the valley of the French Broad River to Greeneville, Tennessee. A toll road, the Buncombe Turnpike profoundly affected the Blue Ridge communities through which it passed, providing economic relief to an impoverished region. Inns, supply outlets, and wagon-repair shops sprang up in a number of places along the turnpike. Owing to its strategic location along the turnpike, Asheville, North Carolina, grew quickly as a supply center for travelers.An important tourist attraction also emerged along the turnpike: Warm Springs, later called Hot Springs. The Buncombe Turnpike not only benefited the communities through which it was routed, but also served the nation by providing eastern markets with a steady supply of agricultural products, poultry, and livestock raised to the west of the Blue Ridge (Dunaway 1996, p. 113-115). During the Civil War, no major battles took place in the North Carolina Blue Ridge because political loyalties within the region were sharply divided, countless skirmishes occurred there.These conflicts were particularly frequent after July 1863, when the Confederate congress elected to position militia throughout the South in an attempt to capture draft evaders, return deserters to their commands, and control marauders who were opportunistically exploiting undermanned southern farms and villages. Confederate soldiers were soon present in the Blue Ridge, causing conflict wherever they encountered Union sympathizers. Thus, when the Civil War ended in 1865, marked the slowdown of political and social turmoil in the Blue Ridge region.The war had a profound impact on the region, as many people became disgusted at their ruined environment and disillusioned with their government. This is even worsened by the fact that political representation of the Blue Ridge people during Reconstruction was marked by corruption. Only after Reconstruction ended in the mid-1870s did state governments reorganize and actively participate in the economic development of the Blue Ridge. Finally, this improved the conditions in the region, which harnessed the forces of industrialization to come in. References Dunaway, Wilma A.(1996). The First American Frontier: Transition to Capitalism in Southern Appalachia, 1700-1860, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. Ehle, John (1988) Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation, New York: Anchor Press. McPherson, James M. (1988). Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, New York: Ballantine Books. Olson, T. (1998). Blue Ridge Folklife. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi. Setzler, F. M. , Jennings, J. D. , & Stewart, T. D. (1941). Peachtree Mound and Village Site, Cherokee County, North Carolina. Washington, DC

Third Party Conflict Resolution

Third Party Conflict Resolution MGT/445 Organizational Negotiations March 11, 2013 | | | | Third Party Conflict Resolution Conflict is an omnipresent facet of human existence present at every level of society. Differences in culture, norms, beliefs, wants, needs, and personality causes conflict. Throughout history people involved in conflict solicit assistance from a third party with the primary goal to negotiate a resolution. Team A is assigned to review a case involving two managers of a manufacturing company involved in a conflict. The following paragraphs provide an overview of the case and different third party interventions strategies.Team A included below the analysis of the case, a third party intervention strategy to resolve the conflict, the reason the strategy resolves the conflict, and an alternate strategy if the first strategy does not work. Case Overview The case involves a conflict with managers of a major producer of office furniture -Seatcor. Acting as the senior vi ce president of operations and chief operating officer, Team A must provide an appropriate solution to the conflict. Joe Gibbons is the vice president and general manager of Seatcor’s largest desk assembly plant. Joe has been with Seatcor for 38 years and is two years away from retirement.He worked his way up through the ranks to his present position and has managed successfully his division for five years with a marginally competent staff. Joe is a long-standing personal friend. There is a perception Joe has surrounded himself deliberately with minimally competent people possibly because he may have felt threatened by talented assistants. During lunch with Charles Stewart, assistant vice president and Joe’s second in command, it became clear there is a conflict between Charles and Joe. Joe’s potential replacement upon his retirement is Charles, who was hired last year.Joe was reluctant to hire Charles. Charles is 39, a tenacious, bright, and well-trained busine ss school graduate. Charles is doing a good job in his new position. Joe is in the process of completing a five-year plan for his plant. This plan will serve as the basis for a proposal to management for several major plant reinvestment and reorganization decisions. According to Charles, Joe has not included Charles in the planning process. Joe excluding Charles is disturbing him. His distress may be influencing his work and relationship with Joe. Charles may have an ulterior motive for disclosing this information.Joe runs a good ship and has good judgment. Confronting Joe may upset him and appear to undermine his authority. Joe may have a good reason for excluding Charles. Joe felt threatened by a junior manager or he may not be aware of Charles’ distress regarding exclusion from the planning process. Some tension between Joe and Charles may exist even though they are not in a verbal dispute. From a business standpoint, the potential conflict between Joe and Charles is a ver y serious problem. Joe will retire in two years so it will be important to have a trained replacement in place well in advance.Charles probably will have to live with the results of any major decisions about the plant after Joe retires. In addition, it is essential Joe support Charles so he can grow properly into his present position and future job. The goal is to resolve the potential conflict between Joe and Charles as well as benefit the company. It will be important to get Joe and Charles talking. The company will benefit if Joe and Charles have an amicable relationship so Joe can train Charles and collaborate on the five-year reinvestment and reorganization plan. According to the â€Å"The FreeDictionary† (2013), intervention means â€Å"to come, appear, or lie between two things† (Intervene, para. 1). As acting senior vice president of operations and chief operating, Team A must intervene to resolve the conflict. Third Party Intervention Strategies and Selection In the Seatcor case, Team is considering using a third party. â€Å"The terms third party and intermediary are both used to refer to a person or team of people who become involved in a conflict to help the disputing parties manage or resolve it† (University of Colorado, December 2, 2005,  p. ) Third parties can take the role of intermediary, consultant, facilitator, mediator, or arbitrators. â€Å"The various forms of observed third-party intervention are distinguished primarily by the degree of power that the intervener exercises over the process and outcome of the conflict† (Fisher,  April 2001-03-30, p. 1. The role of a consultant is to analyze the conflict and develop a plan to help resolve the conflict. The role of a facilitator is to arrange and manage meetings until a reasonable agreement is reached. More serious conflicts may warrant a mediator.Mediators are more involved and impose more structure to the discussion process between both parties. The goal of the mediator is to get both parties talking so each side understands the conflict from the other party’s point of view. Common understanding between both parties often yields a solution to the conflict. The role of the arbitrator is to listen to both sides, collect evidence, and determine the resolution to conflict. Decisions made by arbitrators are final. Informal interventions are incidental to the negotiation, whereas formal interventions are designed intentionally or in advance (Lewick, Saunders, & Barry, 2006, p. 87). As the senior vice president of operations and chief operating officer, Team A decides the best approach is to use a formal mediation strategy through an impartial third party. Applying the Intervention Strategy There are six steps to the formal mediation process that include introductory remarks, statement of the problem by both parties, gathering information, identification of the problem, bargaining and generating options, and finally reaching an agreeme nt. In general, the information gathering step is done after the parties have stated the problem. In this case it is important to ollect some data about the five-year plan and more on the relationship between Joe and Charles. It will be difficult to gather information without alarming the parties involved and creating rumors within the plant. Before the meeting with both parties, Team A will meet with Joe to allow him to explain his concerns with the development of the short-term plan. The mediation process will begin with arranging a meeting with both parties and the third party mediator. The mediation between Joe and Charles is set to take place at a local conference room close to the assembly plant with the third party mediator and Team A.This gives the mediation neutrality and takes away any implied bias by having the mediation at the plant. Hilary (2000) stated â€Å"Mediator neutrality legitimizes the mediation process because the parties, rather than the mediator, are in con trol of decision-making† (p. 145). The ground rules are simple but ensure Joe and Charles stay amicable with one another. Introductory Remarks The mediation begins with the mediator speaking to both Joe and Charles in the room. The mediator explains why he is there and the intent of the mediation. At the beginning of the eeting, the mediator will outline the reason for the meeting, the expectations of both parties, and protocol of the meeting such as allowing each party to speak without interruption. Also each party is asked to sign a paper agreeing to follow the ground rules, and the mediator can clarify any questions the parties may have about the ground rules The ground rules are simple but ensure Joe and Charles stay amicable with one another. * Both parties agree to take turns talking and will refrain from interrupting the other party. * Both parties will address the other party on a first name basis. The parties agree to pay attention to the other party to understand the other party’s wishes. * Each parties can request breaks when necessary. * Either party can speak up if the mediation falls off track. * Each party is to follow the guidance of the mediator. Statement of the Problem by the Parties Each party is asked to step outside and the other party speaks one-on-one with the mediator. This gives the mediator an overview of the situation and allows the mediator to counsel the parties on the correct language to not provoke the other party.Both parties are allowed in the room for face-to-face dialogue on the issues they believed led to the situation. Joe should be allowed to go first as senior manager. As the conversation progresses, the mediator writes down the problems from the views of both parties. The statements by both Joe and Charles will not necessarily be a true representation of the situation but will allow both parties express their respective view on the conflict. Joe may deny excluding Charles and is likely to place blame in an attempt to make Charles out to be the scapegoat.Charles may try to make Joe look bad to hide his own shortcomings or attempt to make himself look better. Either way, Charles’ distress may be warranted. Information Gathering In the information gathering step, the mediator will ask both parties questions to get to the potential root of the problem and evaluate the emotional undercurrents. Gathering information helps the mediator build rapport with both parties plus helps identify the root of the problem. Problem Identification After a short break, the mediator should summarize and repeat the highlights of the discussion to Joe and Charles.Summarizes the highlights helps both parties understand the primary points of the conflict. â€Å"The mediator tries to find common goals between the parties. The mediator will figure out which issues are going to be able to settle or those that will settle first† Stepp, J. A. , (February 2003). Bargaining and Generating Options Once th e mediator is confident of Joe and Charles’ commitment to achieve a negotiated settlement, the mediator may choose to hold private sessions with both parties to help move the negotiations along. The goal of the mediator is to find some common ground.This can lead to a final agreement, which diffuses the conflict and provides a new basis for future relations. Both parties may entertain alternative solutions without committing to any concessions. Reaching an Agreement During the final step of the mediation, Joe, Charles, and the mediator will work through the problems to find common ground. The ultimate goal would be for Joe to agree to mentor and train Charles for his position. In addition, Joe and Charles should agree to collaborate on completing the five-year reinvestment and reorganization plan.If an agreement is not reached an alternative strategy will be used. Alternative Actions Ultimately the needs of the company come first. If the relationship between Joe and Charles d oes not improve and an agreement is not reached then Team A will implement an alternative strategy. The next step would be to use arbitration. The third party mediator and Team A would advise both Joe and Charles are expected to act professional and put personal differences aside. Joe will be directed to provide training to Charles as well as work together on the five-year plan.If either party cannot agree to the terms of the agreement they may face possible termination. Conclusion Resolving conflicts, especially in a business setting is important. Conflicts can disrupt business operations and impede a company’s profits and growth. Team A selected the best approaches to resolve the conflict between Joe and Charles. The company solicited a third party mediator to protect the best interest of the company. Conflicts among employees are not uncommon and can be a simple a misunderstanding or personality conflict.If employees are not willing to work to resolve conflicts interventio n becomes necessary. From the information provided regarding this case it is unclear if Joe and Charles would have reached an agreement without a third party. Team A believed the information provided was serious enough to require the intervention of a at least a third party mediator or as a last result an arbitrator. References Fisher, R. (April 2001-03-30). Methods of Third-Party Intervention. Berghof Handbook for Conflict Transformation, ISSN 1616-2544(), 1-25. Retrieved  from  http://www. berghof- handbook. net/documents/publications/fisher_hb. df Lewick, R. , Saunders, D. , & Barry, B. (2006). Negotiation (5th ed. ). Retrieved on March 7, 2013 2013 from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. Stepp, J. A. (February 2003). How Does The Mediation Process Work? Retrieved from http://www. mediate. com/articles/steppj. cfm The free dictionary. (2013). Retrieved on March 7, 2013 from http://www. thefreedictionary. com/intervention 4 University of Colorado. (Dec 2, 200 5). Third Party Intervention. Retrieved from University of Colorado, International Online Training Program On Intractable Conflict website.

Mergers and Acquisitions of Chrysler, an American entity and Daimler

Mergers and Acquisitions of Chrysler, an American entity and Daimler In the current business world, entities are looking into ways to expand, acquire an operational or a competitive advantage edge. One way of accomplishing this entails mergers and acquisitions.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Mergers and Acquisitions of Chrysler, an American entity and Daimler-Benz specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A merger entails two firms combining on equal terms to form a different firm while in an acquisition; one firm becomes the holding entity of the other. This is normally an exceedingly risky move since most entities are different in diverse ways. Companies differ in terms of philosophy, culture, operations and organizational structure. Integrating all these aspects is challenging. Subsequently, many acquisitions and merge may fail to realize the ambitions of undertaking them (Goldberg Practising Law Institute, 2005). One of the factors that contribute to failure of mergers and acquisitions i s cultural disparity among organizations. Organizational culture denotes the values that an organization seeks to entrench among the staff members. Most of the American firms have a relaxed approach to management. However, European entities form countries such as Germany will probably have a very formal approach to management. Merging firms form such backgrounds may be tough. This will result in lower job satisfaction among the employees who have to alter the way they undertake their work. The culmination of a merge in the above scenario would be high employee turnover and lower productivity. The merger between Chrysler, an American entity and Daimler-Benz, a German company did not take off appropriately since the entity had many cultural and philosophical disparities.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Chrysler had a relaxed managerial attitude, which was suitable fo r its employees. Hence, this managerial approach was responsible for the success the entity had realized. Contrary, Daimler-Benz, another successful organization had a different managerial culture. The company owed its accomplishments to a formal managerial approach. The merger between the two organizations should have resulted in a bigger entity with massive potential. The resultant company would have had at its disposal a greater market proportion, excellent employees and a good product portfolio. However, the merger failed to meet the expectation of the managers and owners (Gole Hilger, 2008). The organizations had different philosophies with reference to remuneration and management. Attempts to merge these disparities had massive implications on the work force. The Daimler- Benz’s employees became more motivated as the entire entity tried to replicate their organization’s culture. Conversely, Chrysler’s employees were disoriented and most left the organizat ion. Subsequently, Chrysler’s performance dwindled significantly triggering take-over attempts by Daimler- Benz. The above example provides insight into the failures of mergers and acquisitions. The two firms failed to consider the human aspects of the merger. Chrysler and Daimler-Benz overlooked the impact of the merger on the most important resource, the human resource. As such, one firm was operating better than the other was, but the merged firm (resultant entity) was not realizing the expected results. This reveals that managers should make lengthy considerations prior to merging. The entity should consider the cultural disparity and various philosophies employed in determining vital issues such as remuneration.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Mergers and Acquisitions of Chrysler, an American entity and Daimler-Benz specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Overall, entities should seek merges among entities with similarities in numerous aspects. Disparities make it hard for entities to integrate various aspects of the merger (Sherman Hart, 2006). Conclusion In conclusion, mergers require massive preparations. Hence, merging entities should create a period within which to integrate and jell various aspects of the entities such as operations, philosophy and culture. This period should come prior to the signing of a comprehensive merger and acquisition deal. Period to this period the entities should sign a memorandum, which will detail what the entities should undertake to set the stage for the signing of a comprehensive deal. The integration process should provide insight to possible outcomes of the merger or acquisition (Sherman Sherman, 2011). References Goldberg, R. A., Practising Law Institute. (2005). A guide to mergers acquisitions, 2005. New York, NY: Practising Law Institute. Gole, W. J., Hilger, P. J. (2008). Corporate divestitures: A mergers and acquisitions best practices gui de. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley. Sherman, A. J., Hart, M. A. (2006). Mergers acquisitions from A to Z. New York: AMACOM.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Sherman, A. J., Sherman, A. J. (2011). Mergers acquisitions from A to Z: Mergers and acquisitions from A to Z. New York: American Management Association.

Memorisation then rote rehearsal Essays

Memorisation then rote rehearsal Essays Memorisation then rote rehearsal Paper Memorisation then rote rehearsal Paper The aim of my investigation was to investigate whether imagery was a better form of memorisation then rote rehearsal. Different psychologists have found one method to have a different level of effectiveness than the other. The one-tailed hypothesis for this investigation would be which is a better form of memorisation, imagery or rote rehearsal? The hypothesis was mainly concerned with investigating which factor, either imagery or rote rehearsal was the better form of memorisation. To investigate this, my aim is to use a group of 6th form students and examine which is the better form of memorisation. The study used repeated measures design. The sample I used was the opportunistic sample whereby I obtained those participants who were available to me at that time. I will be testing a representative sample of 20 students. The study will be carried out in a field setting. There will be some ethical issues that I will need to into consideration such as participants consent, right to withdrawal e. t. c. The results were collected on a sheet (appendix ). The words that were correctly remembered with the associated word were written down on the sheet. The participants were taken into a separate room so that other participants were not around, thus avoiding conferring and distraction. The results obtained showed that imagery is a better form of memorisation then rote rehearsal. It was found that more people INTRODUCTION There are various ways in which we can encode stimulus inputs. It may be stored as a visual representation so that you form a visual image of either the printed word itself or a pictorial image of it, or you could form an acoustic representation by saying the written word aloud. Alternatively you could form a semantic representation of the word, this would depend on your knowledge on the meaning of the word. My aim for this coursework is to find out weather imagery is a better form of storing information than rote rehearsal. Craik and Watkins distinguished between maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal. Maintenance rehearsal, in which material is rehearsed in the form in which it was presented (rote) Elaborative rehearsal, which elaborate the material in some way, e. g. by giving it a meaning or linking it with pre-existing knowledge Many psychologists have done research to suggest the procesess of encoding information. Atkinson and Shiffrin proposed the multi-store memory model, it attempted to explain how information from one storage system to another. The multi-store model sees rehearsal as the key control process, which transfers which helps to transfer information from short term-memory to long-term memory. The Brown-Peterson technique shows that STMs duration is very short and in the absence of rehearsal. However, information can be held in long-term memory almost indefinitely through maintenance rehearsal. Other Psychologists have tried to explain that imagery is a better technique for memorisation rather then rehearsal. Some psychologists who have done this are: Wollen et al (72). Bower and Springston Richardson et al (74). AIM My aim is to replicate the research carried out by Bower and Winzenz. They found that the imagery is a better technique for memorisation rather then rehearsal and that the participants of their research recalled more words using the technique process of imagery rather then rote rehearsal. The aim of the research is to see if the my findings will be the same as Bowers et al. HYPOTHESES Experimental hypothesis: There will be a significant difference between the number of words recalled using imagery rather than rote rehearsal, participants will remember more words using the technique of imagery rather than rote rehearsal. Null hypothesis: If any difference occurs between the number of words recalled using imagery and the number of words recalled using rehearsal, it will be due to chance alone DISSCUSSION From the experiment I found that recall was better when participants memorised the word using imagery. These results allow me to reject the null hypothesis, that all results will be due to chance alone and accept the experimental hypothesis. I have been able to fulfil my aim to find out if my findings will be the same or different as Bowers, the results are similar: that imagery was a better form of memorisation then rehearsal. Although this is true for the general results if we look at the individual results: participant 6 re-called three words using rehearsal but only one using imagery, this is true for several other participants. This could be due to the fact that the participants were actually using the imagery technique instead of rote rehearsal even though we had asked them not to. This is a point that needs to be taken into consideration if a repetition of the experiment is to be done. However it could be that rehearsal may actually be a better technique of memorisation, as some psychological research has found this to be correct. Some psychologists who found rehearsal is better technique for recall are Atkinson and Shiffrin, they found that rehearsal was a better technique for memorisation rather then imagery. They believed that memory traces in STM are fragile and can be lost within about 30 seconds unless they are repeated (rehearsed), if this is done them the materials remain for a lifetime. Richardson (72) supported the fact that imagery was a better technique compared to rehearsal. I think there are several ways for me to improve the research that I conducted if I were to re-do it. Instead of using sixth form students I will use adults, as some of the participants were not taking it seriously enough, that way the response is more likely to be more accurate. The research that I carried out did not take place in a natural environment so this could have affected the participants in some way, as they were aware this was an experiment. I could not have carried out my experiment in any other way, however if that was possible I would have had to break ethical issues such as consent and debriefing the participants: it would have been deception. I carried out the research in school, even though it was a classroom with its doors closed the participants were still affected by the noise made by other students walking past the classroom who were not participating in the experiment. Another limitation is that the number of participants involved was very small, to generalise I would need a much bigger sample as this way I would not be taking into account individual differences. Implications of the research: I could re-do this experiment but test imagery with other memory aids such as mnemonics and colour coding. As even though generally participants did better using imagery there were still some participants who did not, so it would be interesting to explore if other methods of recall are even better then memory Also I could use a much bigger participant sample, as this would allow mw to generalise my findings. My findings support and strengthen bowers research but question other researchers such as Anderson and Atkinson and Shiffrin. More Research is needed to discover what is the best method for recall.

Assessment Of My Health Record Samples

My health record (MHR) was developed to assist the patients and the healthcare industry, and it is successful in achieving the targets. However, the system is not perfect and has problems associated with it. Out of the many problems associated with the technology, one of the most concerning is the implementation and skills to operate the system. The reason behind the above-made statement lies on the fact that the implementation of the system is costly and requires additional expenses in training and providing the training resources to the stakeholders (McAlearney et al., 2015). The training is provided to make the stakeholders comfortable and aware of the systems operations and uses. Additionally, maintaining the system also demands expertise which the healthcare units have to hire to maintain their servers and systems. Another problem that is associated with the MHR technology is the difficulties that the healthcare experts face in updating the data of the patient regularly. The people who are not comfortable with the technology also finds organising the data according to the priority a difficult task. The older patients also prefer the traditional method of their medical records because they feel comfortable with it. Other people think that the data is stored on the internet which makes the technology insecure and vulnerable to cyber-attacks (Dinev et al., 2016). Hence, in conclusion, it can be stated that no real problem is associated with the system except for the perception towards it. The problem with the implementation cost can also be ignored if the systems long-term benefits are measured. The discussed technology was designed to assist in the medical industry, and it is fulfilling its objective. The capabilities of the technology are vast, and one of the most significant of them is the e-documentation. E-documentation refers to maintaining individual’s health record including the past and present condition electronically (Walsh et al., 2017). The documents are made available online to omit the hassle of carrying the documents and worrying about their safekeeping. The documents stored electronically can also be shared with healthcare units and experts in dire situation electronically with proper authentication. As discussed in the problems, one of the biggest challenges to the deemed system is the perception of the people that the system is insecure is a myth. The reason for the above-stated statement is that the data uploaded on the servers are kept encrypted, and appropriate authentication are provided to keep it protected from the trespassers. Additionally, a unique identification is provided to the users to enhance the security even further. The system stores data electronically which offers it the capability of managing and accessing the data from geographically diverse location. The system is also capable of enhancing the capabilities of the experts and the healthcare units. The experts and the healthcare units can test and evaluate new technologies and method in the deemed platform ("eHealth Reference Platform - Australian Digital Health Agency", 2018). The system is also capable of assisting the healthcare units in managing the inventory and offer notification when needed. The deemed system’s capability has been discussed in the above section which can be evaluated to determine the benefits of the system. On evaluation, it is evident that the system offers ease in the medical process. Hence, it can be stated that the system reduces the hassle in expert and patient communication and even enhances the caring of the patients which can be of great assistance for the people with disability and seniors (Hemsley et al., 2016). One of the capabilities of the deemed system is that it offers notification to the experts which helps the experts to cite proper attention towards the patient. The documentation part is also simplified which also preserves the expert’s time which he/she can use in caring for the patients. It is evident from the discussion above that the deemed technology is costly. However, it is partially correct as after the implementation the system saves a lot of money.   For the healthcare units, the capital is preserved inventory management and testing of new systems and techniques which they can perform with assistance from the system. While the patients are financially benefitted by omitting the mailing costs and the transportation cost that the patients incur in visiting the healthcare units. The system is capable of assisting in large geographical domain which offers the benefits of assisting in the dire situation (Turvey et al., 2014). In case, the expert is not physically available to the patient due to geographical distance then the former can offer medical advice or even refer the latter to another suitable expert. Hence, it can be stated that the deemed system provides multiple benefits which should be entertained by everyone. Dinev, T., Albano, V., Xu, H., D’Atri, A., & Hart, P. (2016). Individuals’ attitudes towards electronic health records: A privacy calculus perspective. In  Advances in healthcare informatics and analytics  (pp. 19-50). Springer, Cham. eHealth Reference Platform - Australian Digital Health Agency. (2018).  Digitalhealth.gov.au. Retrieved 11 March 2018, from https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/get-started-with-digital-health/what-is-digital-health/features-of-the-my-health-record-system/ehealth-reference-platform Hemsley, B., Georgiou, A., Carter, R., Hill, S., Higgins, I., van Vliet, P., & Balandin, S. (2016). Use of the My Health Record by people with communication disability in Australia: A review to inform the design and direction of future research.  Health Information Management Journal,  45(3), 107-115. McAlearney, A. S., Hefner, J. L., Sieck, C. J., & Huerta, T. R. (2015). The journey through grief: insights from a qualitative study of electronic health record implementation.  Health services research,  50(2), 462-488. Turvey, C., Klein, D., Fix, G., Hogan, T. P., Woods, S., Simon, S. R., ... & Wakefield, B. (2014). Blue Button use by patients to access and share health record information using the Department of Veterans Affairs' online patient portal.  Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association,  21(4), 657-663. Walsh, L., Hemsley, B., Allan, M., Adams, N., Balandin, S., Georgiou, A., ... & Hill, S. (2017). The E-health Literacy Demands of Australia's My Health Record: A Heuristic Evaluation of Usability.  Perspectives in health information management,  14(Fall).

The Command and Control or Top-Down Management Style Research Paper - 2

The Command and Control or Top-Down Management Style - Research Paper Example In addition, the whole team must agree on the course of action taken by the organization concerning diverse issues (Yee-Melichar, Boyle & Flores 2011, p. 159). This paper wishes to examine the top-down management approach in the management of organizational change. The top-down approach in managing change implies imposed change since the change plans come from senior levels. Top-down style involves implementing changes more quickly as well as dealing with problems if necessary. Thus, this style is effective in organizations in which employees tend to resist changes. However, the style has the potential of increasing resistance to change due to the failure of incorporating employees in the change process. The managers at senior levels require being very specific when spelling out the change expectations as those following such plans do not participate in the process of planning (Anderson, Ackerman-Anderson 2001, p. 100). Since employees are not incorporated in the decision-making course and are repeatedly only motivated via either incentives or fear, moral can turn out to be an issue but these are usually countered by strict organizational requirements for all employees. However, change management could is inadequate since the top management may ignore a substantial part of the organization irrespective of how effectively such top-level decisions are reached (Morgan 2000, Para 4). In recent years, the top-down style of management is perceived as less favorable compared to the other management styles. However, it is sometimes very essential towards the success of projects and organizational change as seen above. An organization’s style of management plays a crucial role in determining whether the organization will triumph or fail. In this case, an organization can adopt a top-down style of management or a participative/inclusive management style (Dogra 2000, Para 1). Now, this paper can only say that both means of management are good as some projects  and organizational change management processes may work differently with the different management styles.

Detection of artefacts in sleep studies data Literature review

Detection of artefacts in sleep studies data - Literature review Example The studies have yielded different findings and this implies that scientists are yet to comprehend the phenomenon fully. However, empirical studies have established that sleep is important for enhancing normal and healthy performance of physical and mental aspects of the human body. In addition to these findings, sleeping process has been exclusively studied to establish the various stages involved and the brains level of activity during the process. This paper investigates the various stages of sleep and the role of sleep to human beings. Recent scientific studies have discredited the common misconception that regarded sleep as a dormant mental state. Scientists have established that the brain maintains a high level of activity during sleep. In addition, sleep influences the physical and mental functioning of our bodies in various ways that continue to attract numerous studies in order to enhance our understanding about the phenomenon (Baddely, 2000). Nerve-triggering chemicals call ed neurotransmitters determine whether we are awake or sleep by stimulating various groups of nerve cells and neurons in the brain. In the brainstem that links the brain with the spinal cord, neurons produce various neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine and serotonin that ensures that some parts of the brain remain active while in a wakeful state. When we begin falling asleep, neurons at the base of the brain start signalling and they suppress the neurotransmitters that keep us awake (Espana and Scammel, 2011). According to Espana and Scammel (2011), the state of wakefulness is enhanced by neurons present in the midbrain, pons, and in the posterior hypothalamus that produce various types of neurotransmitters, including histamine, serotonin, dopamine, acetylcholine, orexin and norepinephrine. The neurotransmitters that determine wakefulness and sleep diffuse actively in the brain, activating the targeted regions of in the cortex and forebrain. The reciprocal inhibition that occurs between sleep and wake controlling regions in the brain helps in the production of sleep and wakefulness with quick transitions between the states (Espana and Scammel, 2011, p 847). Scientists use three basic measures to classify sleep into different stages. The three measures include the gross brain activity, muscle tone and the eye movement (Carlson, 2001). Electroencephalograph (EEG) machine detects gross brain wave activity from which it produces summary of electrical action from the brain. The muscle tone is measured using an electromyogram (EMG) machine while eye movements during sleep are recorded using electro- oculogram (EOG). According to Harvey and Bruce (2006), electroencephalograph (EEG) is the most widely applied measure of distinguishing the different sleep stages while electromyogram (EMG) and electro-encephalograph are crucial in differentiating rapid eye movement (REM) sleep from the other types. Two different states alternate in cycles when a person is asleep and they portray the varying levels of neural activity in the brain. The states that constitute sleep are non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) (Zhang, 2004). According to Zhang (2004), each of these states is associated with a unique and different form of brain wave activity. Non -rapid eye movement (NREM) is subdivided into four different stages that include stage 1, 2, 3 and 4. Therefore, typical sleep is made up of five stages, where NREM constitute 75% and the rest is REM (Carlson, 2001). The stages of REM sleep and NREM

Ikea Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Ikea - Case Study Example For this reason, IKEA focuses on the market segment where these customers are identified. This creates a remarkable point for IKEA to continously formulate promotional communication that would entice the benefits that these target customers desire. The firm’s targeting strategy is therefore concentrated. Concentrated targeting strategy allows marketer to facilitate promotional message and direct it to a single and specific market segment (Pride and Ferrell 181). This makes IKEA dynamic in its attempt to create competitive advantage in its industry. To reach this competitive advantage, IKEA uses psychographic variables for segmenting consumer market. Psychographic variables pertain to lifestyle, attitudes and personalities (Reid and Bojanic 136). It is clear based on the case that the firm uses the idea it has about the consumers’ attitudes, lifestyle and personality when it implements its targeting strategy. Furthermore, to enhance this strategy, the firm also incorporates the behavioral and benefits variables. Behavioral variables include the actual behaviors of the customers which could become the basis of what service to offer them (Reid and Bojanic 137). This leads to its emancipation of additional service thru its cavernous stores for hungry customers. In addition, IKEA clearly tries to win its target customers by offering them the benefits of their products. Benefits are very important because they could help the firm in its identification of appropriate information to use to its target market (Reid and Bojanic 13 9). As a result of the above marketing strategies, IKEA today has become the leading home furnishings brand in the world with 330 stores in 40 countries and having dynamic actual and online interactions to its customers with around 154,000 co-workers (IKEA). It has aggressively expanded from its humble

Installation of Cameras on Highways and Roads Research Paper

Installation of Cameras on Highways and Roads - Research Paper Example The rationale behind the enforcement of this project is to reduce the number of accidents casualties, particularly at accident black spots (Marcus Nieto, 1997). A speed camera or a traffic enforcement camera is a camera mounted on roads and highways, to monitor traffic movements on the motorway. These cameras are highly sophisticated to be able to read vehicle registration numbers in case of Highway Code violations. The cameras are able to detect the speed of a moving vehicle, and if found to be overspeeding, a call is then made to police patrol vehicles that are waiting nearby. Speed enforcement cameras are highly effective tools for discouraging speeding and consequently, reducing road accidents. Point-to-point speed cameras, for example, calculate the average speed of a moving vehicle over a stretch of the road or highway and discourage motorists from the habit of speeding up then slowing down near fixed safety cameras to avoid detection. Red light cameras are cameras that are connected to traffic signals and sensors buried at the stop line or the crosswalk. The cameras are highly effective in identifying traffic light violators by continuously monitoring the traffic signals. The red light cameras are especially useful in cities, where they enforce traffic regulations by automatically taking photos of vehicles whose drivers run the red lights. The red light cameras rely heavily on the sensors buried under the stop line, to enforce the traffic laws. The cameras are triggered when vehicles pass over the sensors at a specified time after the traffic lights turn red, and above a pre-set minimum speed. The photograph shows the vehicle of the red light violator at the intersection. The red light camera records the time elapsed since the commencement of the red light, the time, date and vehicle speed.

Research paper proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Proposal - Research Paper Example (Hunt, 1) Therefore, this research paper is an endeavor to realize the various aspects of children's literature, including its history, characteristics, elements that make good children's literature, and how it formulates good readers etc. The annotated bibliography of this paper suggests the seminal elements in this research paper. The book Children's Literature: Developing Good Readers by Nuba, Sheiman, and Searson is a valuable resource in the study of children's literature as it deals with the history, the essential factors, etc of children's literature and introduces the area in great detail. This also helps in an analysis of the role of children's literature as the articles by eminent writers suggest how it creates good readers and includes a list of valuable resources of children's literature. The illustrated version of the text by Silvey is most valuable in a profound analysis of children's literature. The various entries in the text also help the researcher in dealing with the most essential and minute aspects of children's literature. ... Griswold, Jerry and Jerome Griswold. Feeling Like a Kid: Childhood and Children's Literature. JHU Press. 2006. P 1-148. The book by Jerry and Griswold has essential value in the research as develop on the five basic themes in classic and popular works of children's literature such as snugness, scariness, smallness, lightness, and aliveness. The discussions in the text also help one in determining the essential characteristics of children's literature and, therefore, it is a valuable resource for the research. Cecil, Nancy Lee and Patricia Roberts. Families in Children's Literature: A Resource Guide, Grades 4-8. Libraries Unlimited. 1998. This resource has a key role in the analysis of children's literature in relation to family and "teachers and librarians...find helpful activities for using children's literature as a resource to acquaint middle-school children with the myriad ways families of all races and cultures live." (Cecil and Roberts, xii) The book deals with diverse family groups, heritage and traditions, relationships and conflicts within families, etc in relation to children's literature. Hunt, Peter. Children's Literature. London: Blackwell Publishing. 2001. P 1. Hunt's book is most useful in understanding children's literature and its importance based on valuable theoretical perspectives. Along with a valuable account of the history of children's literature, the book also provides an essential guide to the writings by the most celebrated writers of children's literature. Therefore, this resource is an important contributor to the analysis of children's literature and its various essential elements. Works Cited Ballew, Vince and

You Tube Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

You Tube - Essay Example For instance, it creates a homogenous community among people living in diverse states globally whereby they can share same platform while enjoying similar videos. People have different intentions when posting their videos in Youube. Some post them for entertainment, advertisement whereas others they are merely for discussion or debate besides many other reasons. Portable gadgets characterizing the current technology have in a way helping share much through Youtube. This contributes to its cheapness because one does not need to be in front of a TV or seated in a house so that he or she can watch and listen to a video played by a stationary machine. Hence, it provides an alternative and great way of reaching numerous and different people globally. To shun its misuse, there are set regulations that safeguard the content meant to control what users normally upload in terms of videos and comments such that people do not end up using inappropriate language. Apart from socializing, Youtube has couple of educational channels that fit or benefit all age groups. These channels provide varied learning contents required in each level of education, which is from K-12 to college level besides used as informing tool concerning other none academic sources (Study Mode 2013). Moreover, other channels such as the animal planet provide people with new information that they may need to get. Youtube is changing the way people consume media. For instance, unlike the other forms of media when an advert is made in the Youtube, it remains there forever in which an interested person can get the information he or she needs. This is contrally to the other forms such as the Televisions and Radios, which only broadcast certain information in a given time, besides which even other media forms post their advertisements in the YouTube. Uploading videos in this platform is free, hence changing the ideas of paying for the advertisements by some media consumers such as musicians, companies, schools

Research paper proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Proposal - Research Paper Example (Hunt, 1) Therefore, this research paper is an endeavor to realize the various aspects of children's literature, including its history, characteristics, elements that make good children's literature, and how it formulates good readers etc. The annotated bibliography of this paper suggests the seminal elements in this research paper. The book Children's Literature: Developing Good Readers by Nuba, Sheiman, and Searson is a valuable resource in the study of children's literature as it deals with the history, the essential factors, etc of children's literature and introduces the area in great detail. This also helps in an analysis of the role of children's literature as the articles by eminent writers suggest how it creates good readers and includes a list of valuable resources of children's literature. The illustrated version of the text by Silvey is most valuable in a profound analysis of children's literature. The various entries in the text also help the researcher in dealing with the most essential and minute aspects of children's literature. ... Griswold, Jerry and Jerome Griswold. Feeling Like a Kid: Childhood and Children's Literature. JHU Press. 2006. P 1-148. The book by Jerry and Griswold has essential value in the research as develop on the five basic themes in classic and popular works of children's literature such as snugness, scariness, smallness, lightness, and aliveness. The discussions in the text also help one in determining the essential characteristics of children's literature and, therefore, it is a valuable resource for the research. Cecil, Nancy Lee and Patricia Roberts. Families in Children's Literature: A Resource Guide, Grades 4-8. Libraries Unlimited. 1998. This resource has a key role in the analysis of children's literature in relation to family and "teachers and librarians...find helpful activities for using children's literature as a resource to acquaint middle-school children with the myriad ways families of all races and cultures live." (Cecil and Roberts, xii) The book deals with diverse family groups, heritage and traditions, relationships and conflicts within families, etc in relation to children's literature. Hunt, Peter. Children's Literature. London: Blackwell Publishing. 2001. P 1. Hunt's book is most useful in understanding children's literature and its importance based on valuable theoretical perspectives. Along with a valuable account of the history of children's literature, the book also provides an essential guide to the writings by the most celebrated writers of children's literature. Therefore, this resource is an important contributor to the analysis of children's literature and its various essential elements. Works Cited Ballew, Vince and

Hofstede Cultural Difference Critiques Essay Example for Free

Hofstede Cultural Difference Critiques Essay Arguably, Hofstede’s work (1980, 1997) represents a pioneering approach of culture as a way of comparing international management frameworks. First of all, prior to offering any evaluations in regards to McSweeney’s criticism (2002a/b), it is crucial to identify the nature of Hostede’s work within the entire sphere of the culture approach itself. In contrast to the guarantors of the emic approach , whose main concepts tend to discard the equalization and standardization of dimensions in national cultures’ comparisons, the pillars of Hofstede’s work, which belong to the etic approach , are based on 5 dimensions whereby national differences are then measured. In other words, from the emic standpoint it is also arguable that the etic research methodology, as aiming to identify equalities among national differences, would risk throwing out the baby with the bath water . On the other hand, from the emic perspective, dividing the culture into a set of defined scopes stands as the only way to actually enable researchers to compare cultures . Having briefly introduced the shortcomings related to both approaches, McSweeney’s critiques can now be narrowed down to a specific scope, which is mainly encompassed with Hofstede’s research methodology. Research Validity  In light of the importance for any researches to provide clear definitions on the specific research concepts and key words, the first part of this essay will evolve on contextualizing the meaning of culture within Hofstede’s work, thus, giving ground to McSweeney’s relevant sources of criticism. Geert (1980) has defined culture as the collective programming of the mind distinguishing the members of one group or category of people from another. McSweeney essentially critiques Hofstede’s adoption of nations as means of cultural comparisons, scorning the territoriality uniqueness of culture in primis. In regards to this issue, Hofstede in a second stage (2002: 1356) acknowledges that nations are not the ideal elements for studying cultures, yet this is the only way researchers could have access to comparable units. Predictably, thousands of other author’s contributions in regards to the definition of culture would make this argument even more complex. For the sake of this analysis, emphasis would be given to the arguments in regards to the research methodology. Research Reliability: Research Sample The first criticism which may arise is likely to involve the representativeness of Hofstede’s research sample. In more details, he argues that 117,000 questionnaires for two surveys, covering 66 countries would be enough to ensure the research reliability. From my point of view, McSweeney’s critiques result founded when analysing the sampling framework in more details. CountryNumber of Respondents for Each Country Belgium, France, Great Britain, Germany, Japan and Sweden (6 countries)More than 1000 Chile, Columbia, Greece, Hong Kong, Iran, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey (15 countries)Less than 200 [Tab. 1] As it can be seen by the table (Tab. ), in 15 countries the sample size is composed by less than 200 respondents, which results to be extremely small compared to other countries with over 1000 respondents. To couple this argument, McSweeney discusses about the narrowness of the population surveyed as respondents were all IBM employees, mainly involved with the marketing and sales departments. Hofstede’s reply ( 2002), stating that this sample’s framework had only been used in order to isolate the national culture differences from both the organizational and occupational culture, seems however to give rise to other arguments. As McSweeney’s (2002a: 95-99) argues, respondents’ cultural framework is made up by three non-interacting and durable levels of culture (Tab. 2). At the first level, the assumptions which would free this model from any shortcomings would be that there is only one IBM culture and that there is also a common worldwide occupational culture for each job (Hofstede 1980a: 181). What are these assumptions based on? According to McSweeney (2002a: 96), these assumptions are â€Å"too crude and implausible to underpin Hofstede’s emphatic empirical claims† . Following the thread of his argument we come across a situation where assuming that an IBM employee, whether in a developed USA head office or a new opened branch office in Pakistan, will possess the same identical organizational and occupational culture does become hard to encompass. In response to this argument, Hofstede acknowledges that considerable differences exist at the â€Å"organizational level† (1991: 93), yet it redefines the entire organizational culture as a mere set of â€Å"shared perceptions of daily practices† (1991: 182-3), therefore distancing from the early-stage value-based definition. According to McSweeney (2002b), this is only a failed attempt to deliver a straightforward concept and definition of organizational culture. Back to Culture Hofstede’s vision of culture is often linked to two different concepts, unique national tendency and central tendency, respectively. In the first case, as pointed out by McSweeney, the national uniformity which Hofstede claims to have found, results to have no valid grounds as it derives from a very specific micro-level (IBM). Secondly, in regards to the claimed average tendency, the heterogeneity of questionnaires’ responses completely contradicts this conceptualization at the first place. As cited from Jacob (2005), â€Å"if exceptions to the rule are as numerous as the rule itself† to what extent could predictions based on that rule be reliable? In many countries, McSweeney argues, the typical IBM employee would at a high extent diverge from the general population. That is to say that an IBM employee in Taiwan would not necessarily reflect Taiwan’s population average individual, especially when we are talking about someone who holds a managerial position in a multinational firm. This concept brings us to another aspect of McSweeney’s criticism (2002a:92), â€Å"culture treated as a mere epiphenomenon, completely casual†, as conceptualized by Hofstede, it would look like something which moves along the history â€Å"enduring†, yet it is not subject to radical changes due to fluctuating social, economic and institutional trends (Tab. 3). Questionnaire and Dimensions Arguably, the questionnaire itself also presents some limitations. Firstly aimed to investigate the employees’ morale at IBM, it also resulted to reflect some values that, for Hofstede, could have been used to unveil the national cultural differences’ myth. Citing one of his research questions, â€Å"How long do you think you will continue working for this company? †(1980 Appendix 1) , it is obviously clear there would be differences in whether this question is being asked in a country, say, the USA, with plentiful employment vacancies, or in a country, say Thailand where at the time of the research the unemployment rate was comparatively high. Under these circumstances, it is extremely hard to assume that the respondents were not influenced by other social, political and institutional factors (See Tab. 3). Therefore, his research’s entire reliability could be easily questioned on this basis. Despite ensuring the confidentiality of respondents’ answers, employees’ foreknowledge of the end objective of the survey might have easily encouraged them to assume a more positive attitude in order to support their divisions’ reputation. Arguably, the responses analysed by Hofstede were situationally restricted (McSweeney, 2002a: 107). In more details, the questions only reflected values related to the workplace, furthermore the surveys were exclusively directed within the workplace and were not tested in non-work place locations for both same respondents and others. In light of the first purpose of the questionnaire, it is spontaneous to raise a question in regards to the validity of the dimensions found by Hofstede. Could it be possible that a specialized study in cultural differences would have delineated different dimensions? In his response, Hofstede acknowledged that, although there may be some other dimensions equally important for the structuring of a comparative cultural analysis, relative questions were simply not asked. McSweeney with reference to Triadis (1994) argues that bi-polar dimensions of national cultures should not be comprised of opposite poles (for example: Individualism – Collectivism), but depending on the situations they could coexist. Under these principles, the work of Schwartz (1992) appears to give a comparatively dynamic dimensions’ disposition. History and Research Validations In the last section of his book, Hofstede (1980: 326- 331) includes some historical and contemporary events which he states would validate his research findings. However, McSweeney (2002b) argues that these stories reveal nothing but justifications, leaving out the basics for an accurate confirmation. According to his analysis, Hosfstede’s assertion, â€Å"the more masculine a culture the more antagonistic are industrial relations, is flawed as the trends for working days lost in industrial disputes , in both Spain and the UK, result to vary enormously over time. In other words, we could argue that these fluctuations are highly influenced by political, economic and institutional changes. In the case of industrial relations’ disputes in Spain, after the death of Spanish dictator Franco in 1975, the level of working days was subject to a huge increase. Hofstede’s findings have also been validated by other studies, reflecting the same national cultural differences . This is one of the reasons why Hofstede’s work has so far been used in many disciplines as pioneer of the cultural approach in the sphere of comparative international management. Under these circumstances, as Hofstede states (2002 p. 1358), it is just not all about faith in his research, but it is the willingness of the society to accept his work as something which could be taken to a step further. In some cases, institutional factors, history, politics and economy do provide better explanations in this field, yet as Hofstede would argue, the cultural perspective does have his validity as it offers a complete different view on values embedded by people which do have an influence on their daily lives. Conclusion Arguably, some of Hofstede research framework’s features, especially the ones related to his research methodology, do present various shortcomings. However, the overall importance of cultural approach for national differences should be seen as undeniable (Koen, 2005). Nevertheless, it is worth pointing out that after all, the main argument merely evolves on Hofstede’s claims to have â€Å"uncover[ed] the secrets of entire national cultures† (1980b: 44). Despite his book title narrowing the scope of its findings down to the work-place, â€Å"Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Place Values†, Hofstede, in many of his publications, seems to overestimate his findings. It is extremely important to acknowledge and appreciate the enormous contribution that Hofstede has made to the entire society’s understanding of international cultural differences. On the other hand, it is also crucial to stay away from the â€Å"taken for granted† approach when coming across such a complex topic. As mentioned in the preface, etic and emic approach despite having a different vision on how to measure and analyse culture, they could still be seen as two complementarities which could be extensively used for a more thorough research. In addition, although admitting that limitations in research methodology do hamper the objectivity of findings, the etic approach still stands as the unique way to allow researchers to obtain comparable quantitative data. I do also appreciate the contributions made by McSweeney, whose criticisms have enabled me to adopt a more critical line of thought in analysing this interesting topic. At some extent we could assume that Hofstede’s research is still a â€Å"work in progress†, eventually other advocates of the etic approach will take it to a more universal level, as some of other authors in this field have already done. I would like to conclude this essay with a quote from McSweeney (2002a: 90), when he states that Hofstede’s work could be dismissed as a misguided attempt to measure the unmeasurable .

The Properties And Uses Of Bricks Construction Essay

The Properties And Uses Of Bricks Construction Essay Brick is a core material that is commonly used to build the wall of a building. Clay bricks are the most common brick type. It is made from sand and clay and uniformly burnt at temperatures between 800 °C and 1200 °C. Surface finishes are sometimes applied, e.g. glazed bricks. Glazed bricks are still being produced in large quantity and can be obtained from major English brick manufacturers and suppliers. Calcium Silicate bricks is manufactured from sand-lime (calcium silicate). The bricks are pressed under great pressure and steamed in an autoclave. The bricks are smooth, fine textured and light in colour. The colour of the brick is produced from material source, composition and firing temperature. The size of bricks over time has changed considerably. Some early medieval bricks were 13 inches by 6 inches by 2 inches. By the late 15th century a brick 9.5 inches by 4.5 inches by 2 inches became the norm and a charter in 1571 stipulated bricks by the measurement of 9 inches by 4.5 inches by 2.25 inches. By the 18th century, 8.25 inches by 4 inches by 2.5 inches brick was introduced. Modern bricks are 8.5 inches by 4 inches by 2.5 inches which is following metrication translated to 215mm by 102.5mm by 65mm. Modern bricks are the bricks that are most used in buildings nowadays. 2.1.2 Defect of Size Poor material selection and preparation or underfiring is the main problem of oversized bricks. Undersized bricks are caused mainly by poor material preparation, faulty moulds and overfiring. 2.1.3 Defect of Shape There are many grounds which contribute to defects in shape. These are including poor preparation of moulds or moulding technique, faults in stacking, rough handling and uneven drying. If the bricks are considerably over burnt, incipient fusion takes place and the bricks, called burrs, will come out of the kiln or clamp and get stuck together. Burrs are suitable only for hardcore purposes. 2.1.4 Defects of Body Faults in the raw material can give rise to defects such as cracking, bloating and laminations. Cracking and warping of bricks, causing incipient weakness, may be due to exposure of green bricks to direct sunlight or rapid drying winds. Similar effects will be produced by putting green bricks into the kiln too soon. Large cracks maybe caused by rain getting onto hot bricks. 2.1.5 Defect of Appearance These defects are caused primarily by faulty wires in the case of wire-cut bricks. Dark spots are caused by the presence of unevenly distributed iron sulphide in the clay. 2.2 Types of Brickwork Defects 2.2.1 Introduction Most parts of a building are built using bricks. Nowadays, brickwork defects are commonly found in buildings. This problem is getting more serious as days go by. Brickwork defects may cause a lot of problems to the occupants. The main problem encountered in building with traditional outside bearing wall of brickwork and concrete inside bearing structure is caused by differences in the temperature and moisture-induced movement. Cracks may be discovered in walls and solutions have to be found to alleviate this problem. (Verhoef, 2001) Brickwork defect which occurs in buildings has a variety of reasons. This is perhaps not surprising when one considers the wide range of different bricks and techniques in the construction of building, differences in the construction sites and the varied occupational or owner usage of the completed building. Brickwork will deteriorate and decay if not properly maintained. Such deterioration can be caused by a number of factors and can take various forms. The main signs that the brickwork is afflicted are surface growth and staining, efflorescence, loosed brick becoming dislodged, cracks appear through the bricks or mortar and etc. (Moses Jenkins, 2007) In this sub chapter, the different types of the brickwork defect will be determined. This chapter gives an overview of various types of brickwork defects and understanding the brickwork defects. By identifying the different types of the brickwork defects, it will be easy for the occupants or owners to find out the causes of the defects and subsequently take the suitable remedy methods to address the problem. 2.2.2 Brick Wall Settlement Any movement in a structural  brick wall will risk having the bond courses in the wall broken. Any movement in a  brick veneer wall which has broken or loosened the connections between the veneers to the underlying structure is potentially dangerous and risk collapsing the masonry. 2.2.3 Bulging Brick Wall This is likely to be a bond-brick or bond-course failure. This defect is potentially extremely dangerous and immediate action must be taken. If not, it will cause the building to suddenly collapse. 2.2.4 Cracks and Bulges in Brick Walls Frost and earth loading can push a below-grade brick foundation wall inwards. The wall is often bulged inwards as well as showing horizontal and step cracking and loose bricks will surface over the bulged area. The damage occurs from slightly above ground level to roughly the frost line. 2.2.5 Cracks and Loose Bricks Normally, crack and loose bricks are caused by frost, settlement, expansion, diagonal and stair-stepped. These defects often happen at building corners where the roof spillage is concentrated. 2.2.6 Loose Bricks and Missing or Lost Mortar This is the movement where the mortar is severely washed-out by roof spillage or other water movement against the foundation. Loose and lost bricks may also occur where wood blocks, originally set into a wall to permit nailing of interior components, is damaged by insects or decay. Similarly, if the wood joists are damaged and bent excessively or collapsed (insect damage, rot, fire), the collapsing joist can, as its in-wall end moves, damage the foundation or building wall. Fire cuts on wood joists in brick walls were intended to minimize this damage source by angling the end of the joist where it was set into the wall pocket. 2.2.7 Spalling Bricks Spalling is caused by water and frost, such as water leaking into a brick structure at any entry point: a crack, a brick which has lost its hard surface, or at openings by window and door penetrations. It is best to also beware of caulking bricks. 2.2.8 Exfoliating-Rust Damage to Bricks Masonry wall will have these defects when brick walls have been improperly caulked where caulking should have been omitted. The most common example of this defect is the damage that occurs to a brick wall when a steel lintel over a window or door is caulked tightly between the brick and the steel. Moisture penetrating the brick wall through cracks or mortar joints is trapped around the steel lintel. Rust developing on steel lintels has tremendous lifting power as the rusting exfoliating metal expands, sufficient to crack and damage bricks around the lintel. Improper Repair Mortar  on Brickwork During repair works, tuck pointing or re-pointing bricks can cause surface spalling of bricks if the mason uses a too hard mortar with high portland content or mortar on soft bricks in a climate exposed to freezing weather. The high portland content means that the mortar will be not only harder, but more waterproof than the surrounding bricks. Water trapped around the hard mortar can freeze leading to surface spalling of the bricks. This is particularly likely to be seen when a wall has been tuck pointed using hard high-portland mortar where originally a soft high-lime mortar was used and where the original bricks were soft. Salts on Brickwork Salts are a major cause of deterioration. Salt can enter bricks through contaminated water ingress. In coastal areas, salt can come from the sea and, in winter, the nearby application of road salt is a constant threat. Salt is damaging because it creates a steady expansion of crystals within the bricks. This can eventually force the structure of the brick apart. The source of salt can occur from within the bricks themselves or from the application of contaminated mortars or renders. Brick lined chimney flues are also vulnerable as sulphates can be introduced when flu gasses condense. This is a common defect where a chimney has been sealed without adequate ventilation. 2.2.11 Efflorescence on brickwork Efflorescence appears as a white powdery deposit on the brick. It is a phenomenon that soluble salt dissolved in water are carried, deposited and gradually accumulated on brick surfaces to form an unsightly scum. Without water, efflorescence cannot occur. The soluble salts may be originated from the raw material of bricks. But in most cases, efflorescence is caused by salts from the external sources such as ground water, contaminated atmosphere, mortar ingredients and other materials in contacts with the bricks. To minimize the risk, (it can never be completely avoided in brickwork exposed to weathering) the building detail should be designed, as far as is possible, to avoid saturation. In other words, good overhangs, copings and sills with drips, need to be considered. Efflorescence can be helped on its way by sponging down the wall with clean water (avoiding substantial wetting) or dry brushing with soft brushes. Any other treatment should be avoided as it may disfigure the bricks.    2.2.12 Thermal Movement on Brickwork Every materials expand or contracts as the temperature of the material changes, typically expanding as its temperature increases and contracting as its temperature decreases. Different materials expand and contract at different rates when they undergo similar changes in their temperatures. Brick veneer can expand and contract approximately. When determining the expansion or contraction of a brick veneer, it is important to remember the effects of the sun on materials. The energy from the suns rays raises the temperature of a material well above the air temperature. On a day when the air temperature is 32 ° F, the energy from the sun can raise a walls temperature to above 100 ° F. 2.2.12.1 Thermal expansion failures in Structural or Veneer Brick Walls A separate factor that can cause very large movements and extensive damage to brick structures or brick veneer walls is the thermal expansion which occurs across a long or tall brick wall when that wall is heated by intense sun exposure. The photographs show significant thermal expansion damage in a long brick structure. Significant breaks and gaps  at vertical brick mortar joints due to thermal expansion and perhaps some frost and water damage. Figure1: Significant breaks in mortar Horizontal sliding breaks  in brick mortar joints,  exposing reinforcing wire to rust, exfoliation, and additional damage from those forces as the exfoliating wire produced still more pressure on the mortar joint. Figure2: Horizontal breaks in mortar Step cracking  following mortar joints near the building corners and where the wall movement was resisted by first story intersecting brick walls abutting at right angles the middle section of the long brick wall. Figure3: Step cracking in mortar Cracks and broken bricks at the intersections of brick walls and openings. Figure 4: Cracks and broken bricks (InspectApedia, 2007) 2.2.13 Moisture Movement on Brickwork Moisture affects all porous masonry materials, including bricks, mortars and concrete masonry units but in very different ways. These effects must be considered when a combination of these materials is used, such as when bricks rest on a concrete foundation, brick veneer units are used with block back up, and when brick and architectural concrete products are used in the same Wythe bands of precast concrete or architectural concrete block in a brick veneer. After their initial mixing or casting, mortar, poured-in-place concrete and concrete masonry units shrink as the curing of the Portland cement proceeds. This is an unavoidable consequence of the curing of concrete products and is accommodated in design. 2.2.14 Sulphate Attack on Brickwork Most ordinary clay bricks contain sulphates of sodium, magnesium or calcium. These salts are soluble in water, calcium sulphate being less soluble than the other two. Normally, these sulphates are seen as the harmless efflorescence which affect appearance only and need simply to be brushed away. In theory, most brick walls with mortars based on OPC (Ordinary Portland Cement) are liable to sulphate attack. The most vulnerable walls are earth-retaining walls and parapet walls but sulphate attack is a problem also on rendered, and facing brickwork. On rendered brickwork, sulphate attack is manifested by cracking of the rendering, the cracks being mainly horizontal and corresponding to the mortar joints below. The rendering may adhere quite well to the bricks early in the attack but areas are likely to become detached as the expansion of the underlying brickwork causes severance of the bond between the two materials. (Eldridge, 1976) 2.2.15 Lime Staining on Brickwork Lime staining occurs when calcium hydroxide is deposited on the face of brickwork. Lime staining will quickly absorb carbon dioxide from the air and becomes calcium carbonate. It is virtually insoluble and can only be removed by expert which is a costly treatment. The calcium hydroxide can come from three main sources: calcium hydroxide caused by the hydration of Portland cement from hydrated lime added to mortar from brickwork in contact with wet concrete 2.2.16 Porosity on Brick Porosity is an important characteristic of bricks. In contrast to other moulded or pre-cast building materials, the porosity of bricks is attributed to its fine capillaries. By virtue of the capillary effect, the rate of moisture transport in the brick is ten times faster than in other building materials. Moisture is released during day-time and re-absorbed during night-time. The ability to release and re-absorb moisture by capillary effect is one of the most useful properties of brick that helps to regulate the temperature and humidity of atmosphere in a building. This distinctive property makes bricks an admirable building material, particularly suitable for buildings in the tropics. On the other hand, all porous materials are susceptible to chemical attacks and liable to contamination from weathering agents like rain, running water and polluted air. 2.2.17 Crack in Brick Faces / Firecracks The finished appearance of clay brick can vary greatly; this is because it is dependent on clay and the manufacturing process. Some products contain cracks of varying degree (sometimes referred to as firecracks) as an inherent feature. Firecracks are usually visible on the product as delivered. However, firecracks can be masked by the texture and surface sands used in the manufacturing process which becomes visible after the bricks are laid as a result of natural weathering of exposed brickwork. 2.2.18 Dampness of the Brick Wall More or less permanent dampness showing more clearly on the internal wall surface from ground level up to a height of about 750mm, but may be higher in severe cases or if the outer face is covered with a non-porous finish. The decorations may be damp, blistered or discoloured, or, if dry, may have been pushed off the wall by a film or salts which will often be seen as a fluffy crystalline growth. The possible causes of dampness in the brick wall are lack of DPC (damp proof course), by-passing of the DPC, and failure of the DPC material. 2.2.19 Brick Growth and Expansion Gaps in Brickwork Bricks undergo long-term permanent expansion over time. This expansion continues for the life of the brick, but the majority of the growth occurs early in its life. Most general purpose bricks have a coefficient of expansion in the range of 0.5-1.5mm/m (millimeters per meter) over fifteen years. Designers can use the values of the coefficient of expansion to accommodate for the growth of bricks by the size and spacing of the control joints. The provision of control gaps or articulation joints between parts of the structure during construction will accommodate movements within the structure over time. Numerous sources of movement exist and include: The change in size of building materials with temperature, loading conditions and moisture content The differential change in size of building materials (for example, cement products shrink over time, whilst clay bricks expand slowly over time) Foundation and footings movement Frame movement Frame shortening Temperature movement Internal horizontal and vertical movement 2.3 Causes of the brickwork defects 2.3.1 Introduction Brickworks are used primarily in the construction of walls. To construct the brick wall required many skills, design, experience, selection of material, and technique. Lack of all expertise may cause the brickwork defects or failure of the building. The defects that occur in brickwork maybe the result of inherent faults, deficiencies in production, design, materials or workmanship, and attack by environmental agents. After the brickwork has been constructed, it maybe meets of various requirements, climate, loading, and occupational in use. It is not surprising that defects happened or occurs frequently. In this sub chapter, the causes of the brickwork defects will be list out. To find out the actual causes of the brickwork defects will be easily for the occupational to take the right remedies immediately and reduces the brickwork defects happen. 2.3.2 Selection of bricks The choice of bricks is often influenced by the price but the quality required must also be carefully considered in order to avoid defects developing during the service life of the material. Therefore, the selection of suitable bricks for any particular purpose has often to be a trade-off between appearance and durability requirements on the one hand, and cost on the other. This is not always possible to assess the quality of bricks by the colour, variability of colour of bricks of the same source and method of production can often be an indication of strength and durability variations. 2.3.3 Storage of bricks Bricks on site are rarely kept under adequate cover. Defects in the bricks resulting from the lack of adequate protection on the site are rarely apparent before use. However, bad weather conditions can be detrimental to bricks in that saturation by rain can be responsible for both subsequent efflorescence and decoration defects. 2.3.4 Soluble Salts in Bricks Under burnt bricks contain a high salt content. The salts come from the raw clay from which the bricks are made, or are formed in the burning process. Most clay bricks contain some soluble salts, but the types and amounts vary appreciably. The effect of the soluble salts on both efflorescence and the more serious problem of disintegration of bricks themselves are largely governed by the strength and pores structure of the bricks. 2.3.5 Sulphate attack Sulphates are salts which are naturally present in industrial waste, gypsum product, clay bricks, flue condensates and in some ground waters. In persistently damp conditions, sulphate will react slowly with tricalcium aluminate forming a compound called calcium sulphoaluminate. This reaction causes the cement mortar or render of the brickwork to expend and eventually disintegrate. 2.3.6 Solar Radiation While drying out of soil by trees is the most common reason for cracking in brickwork, some clay are also very susceptible to drying out by direct solar radiation. The northern facing wall is the most likely to be affected and stepped diagonal cracking is the most common symptom, usually occurring at the north east and north west corner of the building. (Loveder, 2000) 2.3.7 Migration of moisture The movement of moisture beneath a building can produce the phenomenon known as long term dome and saucer effect. The dome effect is a slow heaving of the soil caused by movement of moisture from the perimeter of the house to its centre, and the saucer effect is moisture moving in the opposite direction, from the centre towards the perimeter. The dome effect causes the walls to tilt outwards and the restraining influence of the roof produces horizontal cracks on the outside wall. These will be wider on the outside surface rather than the inner. 2.3.8 Planting of tree Some of the brickwork defects may cause by big trees roots that plant nearby the building area. When planning to plant trees, the idea to be considering is the strength of the footings under the house. If lack of strength, the roots of the trees maybe grow into the ground under the building and cause the brick wall settlement and cracking. 2.3.9 Uneven settlement of foundations Where a particular heavy load is placed on the foundation such as a large column, movement may occur as moisture is squeezed out of the soil or the soil readjusts itself. This consolidation will stop when the soil has finally compacted enough to support the load. Brick wall or masonry wall may crack which may result from movement during compaction. 2.3.10 Excessive vibration Damage caused by vibration from earth tremors, heavy traffic or pile driving is fairly rare, however if the vibration is great enough to actually cause the foundation to move, brickwork cracking or defect can occur. The crack will show up irregularly if the sources of the vibration cannot be removed. (Loveder, 2000) 2.3.11 Additional building Building an addition building onto a house or add more storey of houses can impose a load intensity on the soil different that which is there already and so cause differential settlement. Even if the loading intensities are similar, the difference in time between when the two settlements occurred can be enough to create the brick wall cracks. 2.3.12 Approach of design Design of brick wall is very important. The designer must have the knowledge about the brick experience in chosen the types of brick to be used. The designer must be fully aware of the clients needs. Defects often occur because of a lack of understanding of the different types of bricks and the method of construct the brick wall. 2.3.13 Lack experience of worker Workers in the masonry construction is not in strict accordance with the construction and standards, masonry mortar is not full, especially in vertical mortar joints are not full, and even produce dense seam, seam permeability. In addition, the dry brick on the wall, mortar in the brick water was absorbed, causing low strength of mortar, brick and mortar separation, so that the overall stiffness of masonry fell, gray mortar joints crack. 2.3.14 Overloading Cracks of brickwork may result from overloading of the ground on which the building rests, or of the building itself or parts of it. Releasing the load does not necessary allow the masonry wall to revert to its original state since the overloading may have been partially accommodated by a permanent compaction of the bricks. The forces responsible for the overloading may be of external origin, such as excessive wind, or may be internal, such as those arising from the installation of excessively heavy equipment for which the masonry wall was not designed. A change of occupational may have same results. 2.3.15 Lack of maintenance Maintenance must be taken for all the building to minimize the cost of repair work for seriously defects happen. Lack of maintenance will make a small cracks or defects on brickwork change to more serious and serious. 2.3.16 Improper soil analysis and preparation When a builder chooses an area of land to build on, it is important to do some sort of soil analysis and preparation. The analysis will provide the developer and/or builder with enough information to choose the adequate soil preparation and construction strategy that should be used to develop the land. Improper soil analysis and preparations can be very damaging to a housing development. For example, a builder can discover that the land soil is made up of expansive soil. If this is the case, houses need to have a foundation that will be able to support the changing pressure and consistency of the soil. This is because expansive soil will swell when wet and then shrink once it dries. If one builds on this type of soil and is not aware of it, there will inevitably be issues to handle. There will be crack in the brick wall or masonry wall. The repair of this is very costly and very intrusive. Unfortunately, the reality is improper soil analysis and preparations happen all the time. 2.3.17 Negligence of construction Negligent construction is an unfortunately common occurrence. A builder has to be very careful when choosing a contractor or subcontractor. A builder will sometimes use one contactor for various projects. A contractor may have skills to install floor tiles but not the know how to build a brick wall. The responsibility can fall on several parties when there is a defect, and thats up to your attorney to determine. 2.3.18 Movement of the ground Mining subsidence, landslips, earthquakes, or moisture changes of shrinkable clay soil may cause the movement of the ground. The brick wall of the building will be crack because the wall of building has become displaced from the rest without any change in actual size of the materials. In theory, this is possible to reconnect the displace parts to bring the building back to its original condition but in practice this seldom can be done. 2.3.19 Acid rain Acid rain is precipitation that is much more acidic than normal rainfall, and the acid rain is usually caused by pollution such as sulfur and nitrogen emissions. Several different mechanisms are operant in the deterioration of brick masonry through the action of acid rain. The bricks are susceptible to acid rain through the selective dissolution of their glassy phase. The mortar is affected mainly by the reaction of the calcareous components. The soluble salts resulting from these reactions, in solution with rain water or condensed moisture, will migrate through the porous matrix of the masonry. In the places where the water evaporates the salts will be deposited. Repeated dissolution and re-crystallization of these salts leads to the mechanical disruption of the masonry structure. Since the salts will concentrate in the more porous material, either the brick or the mortar will be more seriously affected, depending on their relative porosity. 2.3.20 Environment Two aspects of the environment have been considerably which is wind and temperature. This is because they cause loading to be applied to the structure. The strong wind may cause the brick wall or the whole building move, this may cause cracking to the part of the building. The high temperature applied to the brickwork may cause spalling and brick prolong to high temperature can lead to surface vitrification. (Swoden, 1990) Table 1: Causes of the brickwork defect and the preventive method to avoid it happen No. Causes of brickwork defects Preventive method 1. Selection of bricks Use the bricks that are strength and durability 2 Storage of bricks Keep the bricks under dry place 3. Soluble Salts in Bricks Use the bricks that are less contain of soluble salts 4. Sulphate attack Ensuring the wall does not get and stay in unduly wetted. Use cement low in tricalcium aluminate 5. Solar radiation Make sure trees plant far away from the brick wall 6. Migration of moisture Use of damp proof course below the brick wall 7. Planting of tree Make sure there have no big tree nearby the brick wall 8. Uneven settlement of foundations Make sure the foundation is strong enough 9. Excessive vibration Make sure the foundation is strong enough 10. Additional building Do not build additional building of brick wall after a long period finish of brick wall 11. Approach of design Designer must be experienced and knowledgeable 12. Unskilled worker Make sure the brick wall is built by skilled worker 13. Overloading Brick wall must be design according to building use 14. Lack of maintenance Must me maintenance the brickwork annually 15. Improper soil analysis and preparation Check the soil properly and make sure the design of brick wall is strong enough 16. Negligence of construction Careful when choose the contractor 17. Movement of the ground Make sure the foundation is strong enough 18. Acid rain Wash or clean the brickwork before it decay or surface treatment 19. Environment Use the brick that are strength and durability 2.4 Remedies method of the brickwork defects in building 2.4.1 Introduction As known early, brickwork is one of the largest parts of most of the building. The strength, stability, and durability of brickwork are very important. If lack of all those factor, the brick wall or masonry wall maybe fall down or collapse suddenly. If the brickwork occurs any cracking or defects, the right method of remedies must be taken immediately. This is to ensure that the occupational or owner use the building under safety and healthy purposes. Brickwork will deteriorate and decay if not properly maintained. Such deterioration can be caused by a number of factors and can take various forms. The main signs that brickwork is suffering are surface growth and staining, efflorescence, loosed brick becoming dislodged, crack appears throw the bricks or mortar and etc. So, the right remedy must be taken to ensure the brickwork do not decay and deteriorate. (Moses Jenkins, 2007) In this sub chapter, the remedies method for various types of defects will be list out. This is to avoid the brickwork defect getting serious in building in construction industry. The defects of brickwork must be repair immediately, if not the defects will be more serious. For example, cracking can be due to expansion or shrinkage the clay brickwork itself. 2.4.2 Remedies of efflorescence Efflorescence can be minimized by laying dry bricks and by speeding up the drying process after the bricks have been laid by providing good ventilation. The salts that cause efflorescence are soluble in water. Hosing with water will cause the salts to dissolve and be re-absorbed into the brickwork, and then reappear when the brick wall dries out again. Acid or alkaline treatments are not recommended as they increase the salt content of the wall. The best method is simply brush off the deposit with a stiff dry bristle brush after the wall has dried out. Then sponge the surface with a damp synthetic chamois or high suction sponge. Use very little water and rinse sponge frequently in fresh water. 2.4.3 Sand-Blasted Bricks   Which have been cleaned of old paint, algae, or stains using high pressure sand blasting or possibly even v