Monday, December 30, 2019

Piagets Developmental Stages Essay - 920 Words

Piaget’s developmental stages are ways of normal intellectual development. There are four different stages. The stages start at infant age and work all the way up to adulthood. The stages include things like judgment, thought, and knowledge of infants, children, teens, and adults. These four stages were names after Jean Piaget a developmental biologist and psychologist. Piaget recorded intellectual abilities and developments of infants, children, and teens. The four different stages of Piaget’s developmental stages are sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. Sensorimotor is from birth up to twenty- four months of age. Preoperational which is toddlerhood includes from eighteen months old all the†¦show more content†¦I handed my infant niece, Harper, a set of keys, thinking she would shake them and giggle at the noise they made. I thought this because in Piaget’s developmental stage, sensorimotor, it states that infants learn from experimenting and their main focus is what is happening in that very moment. My prediction was correct. As soon as I held the keys in front of her she began to reach for them. Then once I handed the keys to her, she rattled them making a clanging noise. The preoperational stage is when infants become older, young children and they are able to think in a more symbolic way. In this stage children start to learn the difference between real and make believe, past and future. They tend to have more of an imagination as they grow older. Children in the preoperational stage still are not completely logical with their thinking. They go more off intuition. Do more of what they want to do, not what is the best thing to do. They are still too young to grasp the concept of cause and effect. They also do not understand time and comparison yet. My niece, Arianna, plays house and has baby dolls. She pretends like she is a mother to her baby dolls. Even though this is make believe she is playing the role of a mother to her baby doll. This connects to Piaget’s developmental stage of preoperational because her thinking is not completely logical, but she knows that the baby is not actually real. I think that this is how most littleShow MoreRelatedEssay Kermit and the Keyboard from a Cognitivist Perspective840 Words   |  4 PagesInformation processing approach focuses on the study of the structure and function of mental processing. Cognitive Information Processing (CIP) is based on the work of Atkinson and Shriffin and proposes that information is processed and stored in three stages; Sensory memory, Short term memory, and Long-term memory (Schraw amp; McCrudden, (2013). The CIP perspective on Kermit and the Keyboard focuses first on the input, in this situation this is the printed page. It then evaluates how the in formationRead MoreThe Theorist That I Chose To Write About Is Jean Piaget.1294 Words   |  6 Pages The theorist that I chose to write about is Jean Piaget. His theory deals with the nature of knowledge itself and how humans gradually come to acquire it. His theory is basically known as the developmental stage theory. In the developmental stage theory there are four different stages of the developmental theory: the sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational period. Jean Piaget was born in Neuchà ¢tel (Switzerland) on August 9, 1896. He was the oldest child of ArthurRead MorePiaget s Theory Of Child Development1085 Words   |  5 Pagespeople in psychology, Sigmund Freud and Jean Piaget, had an interesting take on what a child goes through as they develop through each stage. Freud and Piaget both came up with their own theories as to how a child grows cognitively throughout their life. 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Sunday, December 22, 2019

The Leadership Styles On Display - 865 Words

In the workplace, there are many leadership styles on display but how do I handle working with a manager whom I feel I cannot trust. On the other hand how do I respond differently to a manager whom I believe is trustworthy? And, last we will discuss which do I prefer and why. When working with a boss whom I do not trust, I tend hold back on giving them my real opinions. I usually keep my commits, concerning day to day activities to myself. I m not sure if they will turn my commits or opinions around and try to use it against me in an evaluation. I also feel when your manager is not worthy of your trust, it creates a somewhat hostile working environment because you are always looking over my shoulder to see what they are observing. Another issue is not being able to go to them for guidance. I just close the communication line and work on my own program, which makes my task even harder to accomplish. And I become less creative due to the fact I don t trust my boss will be open to change. Negative emotions, like decreased work performance, are created when there lack confidence in leaders of an organization. Some negative emotions foster anger, depression, sadness, worry, tense, regret, and jealousy (Zineldin M., 2012). If I m working for someone who I know doesn t have my best interest in mind, it makes me very uncomfortable, causing me to be less productive. I will only do the bare minimum required. It s hard to invest in someone who can t be trusted, there is an uneasyShow MoreRelatedLego Movie Analysis787 Words   |  4 PagesCHV-2O0-D Ms.Bains November 29th, 2017 Lego Movie Leadership Styles Lord business is the complete opposite of President Business. Lord Business is a very evil and selfish leader. Lord Business wants to take over the world himself and the leadership style he portrays is Dictatorship. 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Friday, December 13, 2019

A Dirty Job Chapter 8 Free Essays

string(282) " Can you feel your feet\?† â€Å"Go ahead, kill me, you fucking coward,† said Charlie, bucking around in the chair, trying to lunge at his captor and feeling a little like the Black Knight in Monty Python’s Holy Grail after his arms and legs had been hacked off\." 8 A STREETCAR NAMED CONFUSION Into the breech of the Castro district Charlie Asher charged, an antique sword-cane from the store on the van seat beside him, his jaw set like a bayonet, his visage a study in fearsome intensity. Half a block, half a block, half of a block onward – into the Valley of Overpriced Juice Bars and Outlandish Hair Highlights – rode the righteous Beta Male. And woe be unto the foolish ne’er-do-well who had dared to fuck with this secondhand death dealer, for his raggedy life would be fast for the bargain table. We will write a custom essay sample on A Dirty Job Chapter 8 or any similar topic only for you Order Now There’s going to be a showdown in Gay Town, Charlie thought, and I am gunning for justice. Well, not really gunning – since he had a sword concealed in a walking stick, not a gun – more of a poking for justice – which didn’t really have the avenging angel connotation he was looking for – he was mad, and ready to kick ass, that’s all. So, you know, just watch out. (Coincidentally, Poking for Justice was the title currently second in popularity at Castro Video Rentals, closely edging out A Star Is Born: The Director’s Cut, and outranked only by Cops Without Pants, which was number one with a bullwhip.) Charlie turned off Market Street and just around the corner on Noe Street he saw it: Fresh Music, the sign done in blocky, Craftsman-style stained glass, and he felt the hair at the back of his neck bristle and an urgency in his bladder. His body had gone into fight-or-flight mode, and for the second time in a week, he was going against his Beta Male nature and choosing to fight. Well, so be it, he thought. So be it. He would confront his tormentor and lay him low, as soon as he found a parking place – which he didn’t. He circled the block, cutting between cafs and bars, both of which were in abundance in the Castro. He drove up and down the side streets, lined with rows of immaculately kept (exorbitantly priced) Victorians and found no quarter for his trusty steed. After a half hour of orbiting the neighborhood, he headed back uptown and found a spot in a parking garage in the Fillmore, then took the antique streetcar back down Market Street to the Castro. A cute little green, Italian-made antique streetcar, with oak benches, brass railings, and mahogany window frames – a charming brass bell and a top speed of about twenty miles per hour: this is how Charlie Asher charged into battle. He tried to imagine a horde of Huns hanging off the sides, waving wicked blades and firing arrows as they passed the murals in the Mission district, perhaps Viking raiders, shields fastened to the sides of the car, a great drum pounding as they rowed in to pillage the antique shops, the leather bars, the sushi bars, the leather sushi bars (don’t ask), and the art galleries, in the Castro. And here, even Charlie’s formidable imagination failed him. He got off the car at Castro and Market and walked back a block to Fresh Music, then paused outside the shop, wondering what in the hell he was going to do now. What if the caller had just borrowed the phone? What if he stormed in screaming and threatening, and there was just some confused kid behind the counter? But then he looked in the door, and there, standing behind the counter, all alone, was an extraordinarily tall black man dressed completely in mint green, and at that point Charlie lost his mind. â€Å"You killed her,† Charlie screamed as he stormed by the racks of CDs toward the man in mint. He drew the sword as he ran, or tried to, hoping to bring it out in a single fluid movement from the cane sheath and across the throat of Rachel’s killer. But the sword-cane had been in the back of Charlie’s shop for a long time, and except for three times when Lily’s friend Abby tried to leave with it (once trying to buy it, when Charlie refused to sell it to her, then twice trying to steal it), the sword hadn’t been drawn in years. The little brass stud that you pushed to release the blade had stuck, so when Charlie delivered the deathblow, he swung the entire cane, which was heavier – and slower – than the sword would have been. The man in mint green – quick for his size – ducked, and Charlie took out an entire row of Judy Garland CDs, lost his balance, bounced off the counter, spun around, and again tried for the single d raw-and-cut move that he had seen so many times in samurai movies, and had practiced so many times in his head on the way here. This time the sword came free of the scabbard and slashed a deadly arch three feet in front of the man in mint, completely decapitating a life-sized cutout of Barbra Streisand. â€Å"That is un-unfucking called for!† thundered the tall man. As Charlie recovered his balance for a backhand slash, he saw something large and dark coming down over him and recognized it at the last instant, as the antique cash register slammed down on his head. There was a flash, a ding, and everything got dark and gooey. When Charlie came to, he was tied to a chair in the back room of the record store, which looked remarkably like the back room of his own store, except all the stacked boxes were full of records and CDs instead of all variety of used jetsam. The tall black man was standing over him, and Charlie thought at first that he might be turning to mist or smoke, but then he realized it was just that his vision was going wavy, and then pain lit up the inside of his head like a strobe light. â€Å"Ouch.† â€Å"How’s your neck?† asked the tall man. â€Å"Does your neck feel broken? Can you feel your feet?† â€Å"Go ahead, kill me, you fucking coward,† said Charlie, bucking around in the chair, trying to lunge at his captor and feeling a little like the Black Knight in Monty Python’s Holy Grail after his arms and legs had been hacked off. If this guy took one step closer, Charlie could head-butt him in the nads, he was sure of it. The tall man stomped on Charlie’s toes, a size-eighteen glove-leather loafer driven by two hundred and seventy pounds of death and used-record dealer. â€Å"Ouch!† Charlie hopped his chair in a little circle of pain. â€Å"Goddammit! Ouch!† â€Å"So you do have feeling in your feet?† â€Å"Get it over with. Go ahead.† Charlie stretched his neck as if offering his throat to be cut – his strategy was to lure his captor into range, then sever the tall man’s femoral artery with his teeth, then gloat as the blood coursed all over his mint-green slacks onto the floor. Charlie would laugh long and sinister as he watched the life drain out of the evil bastard, then he would hop his chair out to the street and onto the streetcar at Market, transfer to the number forty-one bus at Van Ness, hop off at Columbus, and hop the two blocks home, where someone would untie him. He had a plan – and a bus pass with four more days left on it – so this son of a bitch had picked the wrong guy to fuck with. â€Å"I have no intention of killing you, Charlie,† said the tall man, keeping a safe distance. â€Å"I’m sorry I had to hit you with the register. You didn’t really leave me any options.† â€Å"You could have tasted the fatal sting of my blade!† Charlie glanced around for his sword-cane, just in case the guy had left it within reach. â€Å"Yeah, sure, there was that one, but I thought I’d go with the one without the stains and the funeral.† Charlie strained against his bonds, which he realized now were plastic shopping bags. â€Å"You’re messing with Death, you know? I am Death.† â€Å"Yeah, I know.† â€Å"You do?† â€Å"Sure.† The tall man spun another wooden chair around and sat on it reversed, facing Charlie. His knees were up at the level of his elbows and he looked like a great green tree frog, crouched to pounce on an insect. Charlie noticed for the first time that he had golden eyes, stark and striking in contrast to his dark skin. â€Å"So am I,† said the evil mint-green frog guy. â€Å"You? You’re Death?† â€Å"A Death, not THE Death. I don’t think there is a THE Death. Not anymore, anyway.† Charlie couldn’t grasp it, so he struggled and wobbled until the tall man had to reach out and steady him to keep him from toppling over. â€Å"You killed Rachel.† â€Å"I did not.† â€Å"I saw you there.† â€Å"Yes, you did. That’s a problem. Will you please stop thrashing around?† He shook Charlie’s chair. â€Å"But I wasn’t instrumental in Rachel’s death. That’s not what we do, not anymore, anyway. Didn’t you even look at the book?† â€Å"What book? You said something about a book on the phone.† â€Å"The Great Big Book of Death. I sent it to your shop. I told a woman at the counter that I was sending it, and I got delivery confirmation, so I know it got there.† â€Å"What woman – Lily? She’s not a woman, she’s a kid.† â€Å"No, this was a woman about your age, with New Wave hair.† â€Å"Jane? No. She didn’t say anything, and I didn’t get any book.† â€Å"Oh, shit. That explains why they’ve been showing up. You didn’t even know.† â€Å"Who? What? They?† Mint Green Death sighed heavily. â€Å"I guess we’re going to be here awhile. I’m going to make some coffee. Do you want some?† â€Å"Sure, try to lull me into a false sense of security, then spring.† â€Å"You’re tied the fuck up, motherfucker, I don’t need to lull you into shit. You’ve been fucking with the fabric of human existence and someone needed to shut your ass down.† â€Å"Oh, sure, go black on me. Play the ethnic card.† Mint Green climbed to his feet and headed toward the door to the shop. â€Å"You want cream?† â€Å"And two sugars, please,† Charlie said. This is really cool, why are you giving it back?† said Abby Normal. Abby was Lily’s best friend, and they were sitting on the floor in the back room of Asher’s Secondhand, looking through The Great Big Book of Death. Abby’s real name was Alison, but she would no longer tolerate the ignominy of what she called her â€Å"daylight-slave name.† Everyone had been much more responsive to calling her by her chosen name than they had been to Lily’s, Darquewillow Elventhing, which you always had to spell for people. â€Å"Turns out it’s Asher, not me,† Lily said. â€Å"He’ll be really pissed if he finds out I took it. And he’s Death now, I guess, so I could get in trouble.† â€Å"Are you going to tell him you had the book?† Abby scratched the silver spider stud in her eyebrow; it was a fresh piercing and still healing and she couldn’t stop messing with it. Abby, like Lily, was dressed all in black, boots to hair, the difference being that she had a black-widow’s red hourglass on the front of her black T-shirt and she was thinner and more waiflike in her affected creepiness. â€Å"No. I’ll just say it got misfiled. That happens a lot here.† â€Å"How long did you think it was you?† â€Å"Like a month.† â€Å"What about the dreams and the names and stuff it talks about, you didn’t have any of that, right?† â€Å"I thought I was just growing into my powers. I made a lot of lists of people I wanted gone.† â€Å"Yeah, I do that. And you just found out yesterday that it was Asher?† â€Å"Yeah,† said Lily. â€Å"That sucks,† said Abby. â€Å"Life sucks,† said Lily. â€Å"So, what now?† asked Abby. â€Å"Junior college?† They both nodded, woefully, and looked into the depths of their respective nail polishes to avoid sharing the humiliation of one of them having gone from dark demigod to local loser in an instant. They lived their lives hoping for something grand and dark and supernatural to happen, so when it had, they took it more in stride than was probably healthy. Fear, after all, is a survival mechanism. â€Å"So all these things are soul objects?† asked Abby, as cheerfully as her integrity would allow. She waved to the piles of stuff Charlie had marked with â€Å"Do Not Sell† signs. â€Å"There’s like a person’s soul in there?† â€Å"According to the book,† said Lily. â€Å"Asher says he can see them glow.† â€Å"I like the red Converse All Stars.† â€Å"Take them, they’re yours,† said Lily. â€Å"Really?† â€Å"Yeah,† Lily said. She took the All Stars off the shelf and held them out. â€Å"He’ll never miss them.† â€Å"Cool. I have the perfect pair of red fishnets I can wear with them.† â€Å"They probably have the soul of some sweaty jock in them,† Lily said. â€Å"He may worship at my feet,† said Abby, doing a pirouette and an arabesque (remnants, along with an eating disorder, of ten years of ballet lessons). So I’m like a Santa’s Helper of Death?!† Charlie said, waving his coffee cup. The tall man had untied his one arm so he could drink his coffee, and Charlie was baptizing the stockroom floor with French roast with every gesture. Mr. Fresh frowned. â€Å"What in the hell are you talking about, Asher?† Fresh felt bad about hitting Charlie Asher with a cash register and tying him up, and now he was wondering if the blow hadn’t caused some sort of brain damage. â€Å"I’m talking about the Santa at Macy’s, Fresh. When you’re a kid, and you notice that the Santa Claus at Macy’s has a fake beard, and that there are at least six Salvation Army Santas working Union Square, you ask your parents about it and they tell you that the real Santa is in the North Pole, and he’s really busy, so all these other guys are Santa’s helpers, who are out helping him with his work. That’s what you’re saying, that we’re Santa’s helpers to Death?† Mr. Fresh had been standing by his desk, but now he sat down again across from Charlie so he could look him in the eye. Very softly he said, â€Å"Charlie, you know that that’s not true now, right? I mean about Santa’s helpers and all?† â€Å"Of course I know that there’s no Santa Claus. I’m using it as a metaphor, you tool.† Mr. Fresh took this opportunity to reach out and smack Charlie upside the head. Then immediately regretted it. â€Å"Hey!† Charlie put down his cup and rubbed one of his receding-hairline inlets, which was going red from the blow. â€Å"Rude,† said Mr. Fresh. â€Å"Let’s not be rude.† â€Å"So you’re saying that there is a Santa?† Charlie said, cringing in anticipation of another smack. â€Å"Oh my God, how deep does this conspiracy go?† â€Å"No, there’s no goddamn Santa. I’m just saying that I don’t know what we are. I don’t know if there is a big Death with a capital D, although the book hints that there used to be. I’m just saying that there are many of us, a dozen that I know of right here in the city – all of us picking up soul vessels and seeing that they get into the right hands.† â€Å"And that’s based on someone randomly coming into your shop and buying a record?† Then Charlie’s eyes went wide as it hit him. â€Å"Rachel’s Sarah McLachlan CD. You took it?† â€Å"Yes.† Fresh looked at the floor, not because he was ashamed, but to avoid seeing the pain in Charlie Asher’s eyes. â€Å"Where is it? I want to see it,† said Charlie. â€Å"I sold it.† â€Å"To who? Find it. I want Rachel back.† â€Å"I don’t know. To a woman. I didn’t get her name, but I’m sure it was meant for her. You’ll be able to tell.† â€Å"I will? Why will I?† he asked. â€Å"Why me? I don’t want to kill people.† â€Å"We don’t kill people, Mr. Asher. That’s a misconception. We simply facilitate the ascendance of the soul.† â€Å"Well, one guy died because I said something to him, and another had a heart attack because of something I did. A death that results from your actions is basically killing someone, unless you’re a politician, right? So why me? I’m not that highly skilled at bullshit. So why me?† Mr. Fresh considered what Charlie was saying, and felt like something sinister had crawled up his spine. In all his years, he didn’t remember ever having his actions directly result in someone’s death, nor had he heard of it happening with the other Death Merchants. Of course you occasionally showed up at the time when the person was passing, but not often, and never as a cause. â€Å"Well?† Charlie said. Mr. Fresh shrugged. â€Å"Because you saw me. Surely you’ve noticed that no one sees you when you’re out to get a soul vessel.† â€Å"I’ve never gone out to get a soul vessel.† â€Å"Yes, you have, and you will, at least you should be. You need to get with the program, Mr. Asher.† â€Å"Yeah, so you said. So you’re – uh – we’re invisible when we’re out getting these soul vessels?† â€Å"Not invisible, so to speak, it’s just that no one sees us. You can go right into people’s homes and they’ll never notice you standing right beside them, but if you speak to someone on the street they’ll see you, waitresses will take your order, cabs will stop for you – well, not me, I’m black, but, you know, they would. It’s sort of a will thing, I think. I’ve tested it. Animals can see us, by the way. You’ll want to watch out for dogs when you’re retrieving a vessel.† â€Å"So that’s how you got to be a – what do they call us?† â€Å"Death Merchants.† â€Å"Get out. Really?† â€Å"It’s not in the book. I came up with it.† â€Å"It’s very cool.† â€Å"Thanks.† Mr. Fresh smiled, relieved for a moment not to be thinking about the gravity of Charlie’s unique transition to Death Merchant. â€Å"Actually, I think it’s a character from an album cover, guy behind a cash register, eyes glowing red, but I didn’t know that when I came up with it.† â€Å"Well, it makes perfect sense.† â€Å"Yeah, I thought so,† said Mr. Fresh. â€Å"More coffee?† â€Å"Please.† Charlie held out his empty cup. â€Å"So, someone saw you. That’s how you became a Death Merchant?† â€Å"No, that’s how you became one. I think that you may, uh – † Fresh didn’t want to mislead this poor guy, but on the other hand he didn’t actually know what had happened. â€Å"I think you may be different from the rest of us. No one saw me. I was working security for a casino in Vegas when that went sour for me – I have a problem with authority, I’m told – so I came to San Francisco and opened this shop, started dealing in used records and CDs, mostly jazz at first. After a while it just started happening: the glowing soul vessels, people coming in with them, finding them at estate sales. I don’t know why or how, it just did, and I didn’t say anything about it to anyone. Then the book came in the mail.† â€Å"The book again. Don’t you have a copy around?† â€Å"There’s only one copy. At least that I know of.† â€Å"And you just mailed it out?† â€Å"I sent it certified mail!† Fresh boomed. â€Å"Someone at your store signed for it. I think I did my part.† â€Å"Okay, sorry, go on.† â€Å"Anyway, when I got to the Castro it was a very sad place. The only guys you saw on the street were very old or very young, all the ones in the middle were either dead or sick with HIV, walking with canes, towing oxygen cylinders. Death was everywhere. It’s like there needed to be a soul way station, and I was here, trading records. Then the book showed up in the mail. There were a lot of souls coming in. For those first few years I was picking up vessels every day, sometimes two or three times a day. You’d be surprised how many gay men have their souls in their music.† â€Å"Have you sold them all?† â€Å"No. They come in, they go out. There’s always some inventory.† â€Å"But how can you be sure the right person gets the right soul?† â€Å"Not my problem, is it?† Mr. Fresh shrugged. He’d worried about it at first, but it seemed to all happen as it should, and he’d gotten into the rhythm of trusting whatever mechanism or power was behind all of this. â€Å"Well, if that’s your attitude, why do it at all? I don’t want this job. I have a job, and a kid.† â€Å"You have to do it. Believe me, after I got the book, I tried not doing it. We all did. At least the ones I’ve talked to did. I’m guessing you’ve already seen what happens if you don’t. You’ll start hearing the voices, then the shades start coming. The book calls them Underworlders.† â€Å"The giant ravens? Them?† â€Å"They were just indistinct shadows and voices until you showed up. There’s something going on. Starting with you, and continuing with you. You let them get a soul vessel, didn’t you?† â€Å"Me? You said there’s a bunch of Death Merchants.† â€Å"The others know better. It was you. You fucked up. I thought I saw one flying over earlier in the week. Then today, I was out walking, and the voices were bad. Really bad. That’s when I called you. It was you, wasn’t it?† Charlie nodded. â€Å"I didn’t know. How could I know?† â€Å"So they got one?† â€Å"Two,† Charlie said. â€Å"A hand came out of the sewer. It was my first day.† â€Å"Well, that’s it,† said Fresh, cradling his head in his hands. â€Å"We are most certainly fucked now.† â€Å"You don’t know that,† Charlie said, trying to look on the bright side. â€Å"We could have been fucked before. I mean, we run secondhand stores for dead people, that’s sort of a definition of fucked.† Mr. Fresh looked up. â€Å"The book says if we don’t do our jobs everything could go dark, become like the Underworld. I don’t know what the Underworld is like, Mr. Asher, but I’ve caught some of the road show from there a couple of times, and I’m not interested in finding out. How ’bout you?† â€Å"Maybe it’s Oakland,† Charlie said. â€Å"What’s Oakland?† â€Å"The Underworld.† â€Å"Oakland is not the Underworld!† Mr. Fresh leapt to his feet; he was not a violent man, you really didn’t have to be when you were his size, but – â€Å"The Tenderloin?† Charlie suggested. â€Å"Don’t make me smack you. Neither of us wants that, do we, Mr. Asher?† Charlie shook his head. â€Å"I’ve seen the ravens,† Charlie said, â€Å"but I haven’t heard any voices. What voices?† â€Å"They talk to you when you’re on the street. Sometimes you’ll hear a voice coming out of a heating vent, a downspout, sometimes a storm drain. It’s them, all right. Female voices, taunting. I’ve gone years without hearing them, I’ll almost forget, then I’ll be going to pick up a vessel, and one will call to me. I used to phone the other merchants, ask them if they’d done something, but we stopped that right away.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Because that’s part of what we think brings them up. We’re not supposed to have any contact. It took us a while to figure that out. I had only found six of the merchants in the city back then, and we were having lunch once a week, talking about what we knew, comparing notes – that’s when we saw the first of the shades. In fact, just to be safe, this will be the last time that you and I have contact.† Mr. Fresh shrugged again and began to untie Charlie’s bonds, thinking: It all changed that day at the hospital. This guy has changed everything, and I’m sending him out like a lamb to the slaughter – or maybe he’s the one to do the slaughtering. This guy might be the one – â€Å"Wait, I don’t know anything,† Charlie pleaded. â€Å"You can’t just send me out to do this without more background. What about my daughter? How do I know who to sell the souls to?† He was panicked and trying to ask all the questions before he was set free. â€Å"What are the numbers after the names? Do you get the names like that? How long do I have to do this before I can retire. Why are you always dressed in mint green?† As Mr. Fresh untied one ankle, Charlie was trying to tie the other back to the chair. â€Å"My name,† said Mr. Fresh. â€Å"Pardon?† Charlie stopped tying himself up. â€Å"I dress in mint green because of my first name. It’s Minty.† Charlie completely forgot what he was worried about. â€Å"Minty? Your name is Minty Fresh?† Charlie appeared to be trying to stifle a sneeze, but then snorted an explosive laugh. Then ducked. How to cite A Dirty Job Chapter 8, Essay examples

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Hollate Company free essay sample

The analyzed case study refers to the Hollate Manufacturing company, which belonged to the home construction industry since 1950s. The company operated in the United States and Canada with 14 divisions spread throughout the countries. Hollate’s performance was significantly better than its peers, resulting in $1 billion sales. The company maintained its growth over the years due to growth-through-acquisition strategy. However, the home construction industry suffered downturn in recent years. Hollate manufacturing faced a problem with audit as far as with personnel. Four suggestions are given along with answer to the question how to avoid alike situations. Problem statement After initial public offering Jack Brennahan took the position of the chief executive officer in the company. It resulted in hiring an experienced and well-educated William Blackburt, who took Brennahan’s former position as chief financial officer. Subsequently the board was reorganized and the board committees were created. The rapid growth of the company was not followed by hiring more auditors and had only four at that time, moreover, internal audit did not test financial reporting. We will write a custom essay sample on Hollate Company or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Jonas Durand, the chief audit executive met often with the CFO instead of with audit committee. The CEO seemed too optimistic about the downturn ending soon. Additionally, new external auditor took Hollate as its client. Data analysis: Members of the audit committee, apart from chair of the audit committee, were not well-versed in accounting rules, even the basic ones. The suggestion of providing them with instructions in basic accounting matters was rejected. This was a serious case, as audit committees should be aware how Hollate’s books were constructed, so they could justify its correctness. Furthermore, the CAE failed to hire more internal audit personnel and had difficulties in fulfilling his tasks in time, which was a serious issue because Duran could not cope with amount of tasks he was given. He met regularly with the CFO asking him questions, when he did not understand something. That caused Durand to have little communication with audit committee to which Blackburt reported on Durand’s behalf. What is more the CEO did not want to make huge cuts due to downturn, as he believed it would end soon and wanted to be prepared for quick return to full capacity production, therefore, personnel as worried of losing their jobs due to tough competitive climate. Due to continuous downturn in the industry Hollate’s performance started to slip. Previously taken $150 million credit line to finance acquisitions was violated as the company failed to meet covenants. As fourth quarter earnings were to be announced the new external audit company LPS LLC started to ask qu estions about unexplained accounting transactions to which they did not receive answers nor from controller nor from Blackburt, who was believed to know everything about Hollate’s financials. This was a serious situation as figures in the journals turned out to be significant and Blackburt acted with anger and frustration, which was not common for him. Solutions to the problems: The CEO should organize the accounting course for all those in the board, who are unfamiliar with accountancy rules and make sure the audit committees are fully capable of understanding it and it sources. Additionally, more personnel in the internal audit should be hired to assure its tasks being completed correctly and in the full extent. Moreover, it has to be assured that controllers always respond to external auditors questions, so a situation like mentioned above never occurs again. The CEO should take a precise insight into William Blackburt’s actions. It is highly recommended that the CFO does not interfere with the CAE’s job to provide feedback directly to the audit committee. Moreover, the company’s strategy should be discussed to assure that COO, marketing and sales VP and general counsel do not take passive roles. Additionally, the CFO should not focus so greatly on opposite strategy as presented by the CEO, as now the CEO wanted to maintain secure growth via acquisitions, securing gap in production and more geographic coverage, and on the other had the CFO wanted only more and more new acquisitions, which was not the right approach because his subordinates may have been confused about company’s strategy. Most importantly, the external audit should be given straight answers to their question to be fully aware of Hollate’s situation, as far as the company is quoted on the stock exchange and there is no place for uncertainty in the books or even a small suspicion of a fraud. Actions mentioned above should be implemented quickly to secure Hollate’s market position. Q1. First move of Jack Brennahan should be to investigate the reasons why did William Blackburt and the controller refuse to answer the questions asked by external auditors, followed by clearing out the uncertainties in the books which were a subject of concern to them. Q2. Hollate ended in situation like that due to

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Parasagittal Meningioma Essay Example

Parasagittal Meningioma Paper Nursing Management 1 PARASAGITTAL MENINGIOMA Nursing management of a patient with Parasagittal Meningioma Nursing Management 2 Nursing management of patient with PARASAGITTAL MENINGIOMA P. A a 41 years old male was brought to the hospital due to the chief complaint of headache and dizziness. During the interview, the patient stated that 2 days prior to admission, he was having a severe headache associated with blurring of vision and dizziness. He took paracetamol which provided temporary relief without any consultation done. He was prompted to seek medical attention on March 23, 2011 due to persistent headache. He underwent MRI scan and revealed that the left part of his brain have a tumor that can lead him to be diagnosed with other signs and symptoms of having a Parasagittal Meningioma. According to Dienpenbrock (2004), Meningiomas are slow-growing and most often occur in middle aged adults. The standard treatment is surgery with the complete removal or partial dissection. Nursing management should focus on the treatment and preventing the effect of increased intracranial pressure or ICP by closed monitoring vital signs, and motor functions should also be checked because specific motor deficits may occur depending on the tumor’s location. Pathophysiology Parasagittal meningiomas form near the falx, a groove that runs along the brain fromfront to back, according to medical experts at the Brigham and Womens Hospital. Meningiomas may occur intracranially or within the spinal canal. They are thought to arise from arachnoidal cap cells, which reside in the arachnoid layer covering the surface of the brain. Meningiomas commonly are found at the surface of the brain, either over the convexity or at the skull base. In rare cases, meningiomas occur in an intraventricular or intraosseous location. The problem of classifying meningioma is that arachnoidal cells may express both mesenchymal and epithelial characteristics. Other mesodermal structures also may give rise to similar tumors (eg, hemangiopericytomas or sarcomas). The classification of all of these tumors together is controversial. Nursing Management 3 The current trend is to separate unequivocal meningiomas from other less well-defined neoplasms. Undoubtedly, advances in molecular biology will allow scientists to determine the exact genomic aberration responsible for each specific neoplasm. We will write a custom essay sample on Parasagittal Meningioma specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Parasagittal Meningioma specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Parasagittal Meningioma specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Parasagittal meningioma causes symptoms like: Headache that is due to the increase the normal pressure levels within the brain. The severity of headache pain can range from mild to severe and can localize within any region of the head. Leg weakness can also occur. Typically, a meningioma that forms on the left side of the falx causes right leg weakness, while a meningioma that forms on the right side of the falx causes left leg weakness, explain medical experts with the Merck Manual. In certain cases, sensations of weakness can affect both legs and can experience difficulty standing or walking normally. Vision Problems is also present because of increased pressure within the brain it can affect the optic or eye nerve. If the optic nerve is damaged or pinched, he or she can develop vision problems as a symptom of this condition, report health experts with the Mayfield Clinic. Affected people can experience blurred or cloudy vision, which may contribute to headache symptoms or sensations of dizziness. Cognitive dysfunction or Personality Changes may affect people as stated by professionals with the Brain Science Foundation. A person who is normally quiet or reserved can suddenly become talkative and outgoing. Alternatively, social people may appear abruptly withdrawn or depressed. Some of these are signs and symptoms manifested by P. A. that can lead him to be diagnosed to have Parasagittal meningioma. Nursing Management 4 History P. A. , a 41 years old male was complaining of headache and some episodes of dizziness. He was admitted and diagnosed to have Parasagital Meningioma. According to him, it was his third time to be hospitalized. He stated that he had no previous illness, surgeries and medication therapy. The patient does not have any history of any diseases such as hypertension, diabetes ellitus, heart disease and lung disease. He is having an allergy with fish and doesn’t have any allergies to drugs. He’s avoiding to eat pork because of his religion Islam. Nursing Physical Assessment P. A is conscious alert and coherent. The patient vital signs were as follows: body temperature 37. 5 degree Celsius, pulse rate 81bpm, blood pressure 120/70 mmHg, respiratory rate 17cp m. The client voice was soft and talks pretty slow. He appeared to be disabled. We asked the client about his feelings. He was quite emotional about his situation. He is having headache and also stated the he was experiencing pain at the level of 8. This was related from the surgery he had which can also cause him increase intracranial pressure. The patient had a visible curve on his left parietal head. And that was from the recent surgery he had. The patient is unable to move his right arm, probably due to the left affected part of the brain that would cause few or complex disability on his right hemisphere. The patient’s lower extremities particularly his legs are quite skinny and very weak. He was unable to walk and currently using a wheelchair and assistance from his siblings. He had some wound marks and also has several gunshot marks on his upper and lower right leg. He appeared to have some weakness. The patient did not have any intravenous line, and he is currently wearing eyeglasses due to his vision problems which were caused by his brain condition. He said that the pain was sustained for several days. Nursing Management 5 Related Treatments According to Mayfield clinic a parasagittal meningioma can increase the normal pressure levels within the brain. This pressure elevation can cause headache symptoms in people with this condition. Encourage the patient to verbalize his feelings. Monitoring of patient’s pain is very important together with adequate bed rest and proper drug compliance to relieve headache, drugs: (Celecoxib) TID. Another thing is that, a meningioma that forms on the left side of the falx causes right leg weakness, while a meningioma that forms on the right side of the falx causes left leg weakness, explain medical experts with the Merck Manual. For this reason safety is the priority for the patient, proper assistance, range of motion exercise, physical therapy, adequate nutrition and drug compliance, Rest between activities provides time for energy conservation and recovery. If the optic nerve is damaged or pinched, people with a parasagittal meningioma can develop vision problems as a symptom of this condition, report health experts with the Mayfield Clinic. For this reason, wearing eyeglasses will help to improve the patient’s visual problems related to his condition. Parasagittal meningiomas that develop near the front portion of the falx can lead to significant brain dysfunction in affected people, warn medical professionals with the Brain Science Foundation. People with this condition can experience unusual memory loss or can have difficulty with logical decision-making, drugs: (Nurocer. , Adjunct in the treatment of myoclonus of cortical origin; dementia ; other disorders/states w/c include alcoholism, vertigo, cerebrovascular accidents, behavioral disorders. Depakote, valproates 5-15 mg/kg/day), for this situation understanding the patient’s situation with proper drug compliance to treat these symptoms, and a nurse-patient relationship is also an important independent therapeutic approach for this. Must prioritized safety and closely monitoring the patient symptoms is a must to ensure that the patient is responding well to the treatments. Nursing Management 6 Nursing Care Plan Based on what Hickey (2003) have said, one of the complication that may be prevented is headache. So P. A’s nursing diagnosis is chronic pain related to brain trauma as evidenced by verbal reports, guarding behaviour and limited range of motion. Some of the assessment that suggests that the patient was having chronic pain was disorientation, increasing irritability and facial grimacing when palpitated. His vital signs were as follows: body temperature 37. 5 degree Celsius, pulse rate 81bpm, blood pressure 120/70 mmHg, respiratory rate. The goal is to relieve the pain from pain scale of 8 to 3 and to decrease the facial grimacing. The nursing interventions for P. A’s nursing diagnosis were as follows: First is to establish rapport to gain the patient’s trust. Next is to perform comprehensive assessment of pain (location, duration, onset, intensity). These assess the pain felt by the patient. Next is to assess vital signs, noting high blood pressure, rapid heartbeat and increase in body temperature. Physical signs and complaints associated with chronic pain should also be noted. Administer medications as ordered by the physician. Provide patient with health teaching such as: having a bed rest and encouraged to stay on non-stimulating environment to reduce or lessen the pain that triggers him. During the nursing interventions the patient is responsive and tried his very best to help him feel more comfortable. Nursing Management 7 Recommendations In order for P. A to continue his recovery and improve his state of well being, he must adhere to all the orders made by his physician. He must also learn how to provide opportunity to re-energize and refocus on tasks at hand because he was expected to have easy fatigability. Encourage the patient to ask questions regarding his concerns regarding his health to his care providers. References * Smeltzer, Bare, Hinkle, Cheever (2008). Medical Surgical. Brunner and Suddarth’s (Eleventh Edition). Pages 2302-2306. * Mayfield Clinic: Meningiomas * Brigham and Womens Hospital: Meningioma * Brain Science Foundation: Meningiomas * Merck Manual: Meningiomas * Meningiomas. org: Parasagittal Meningiomas

Monday, November 25, 2019

Why Should I Go Vegan A Report on The Benefits of A Plant Based Diet And The Drawbacks of Modern Farming Professor Ramos Blog

Why Should I Go Vegan A Report on The Benefits of A Plant Based Diet And The Drawbacks of Modern Farming https://1drv.ms/p/s!AoHc1z-_679AcDFi2Wd36eheb8k

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Commiuncation in business- case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Commiuncation in business- case study - Essay Example The case study content will be highlighted first where the client is described in detail and key terms will be described in detail and these include motivation as well as culture. The overview of the situation will be discussed in detail and the last part will specifically focus on suggestions about recommendations as well as solutions about how a team leader might use these theories to motivate their employees. Terms of reference In my capacity as a human resources consultant, Google Inc has approached me to offer advice about how it can improve its operations with regards to motivation of its employees across cultures. Basically, Google Inc is a multinational public company that specialises computer services and internet search corporation based in California. According to its official website, Google operates one of the biggest internet search engines in the world and it develops a number of internet based services and products. The organisation operates more than one million seve rs in data centers around the world and it has more than 200Â  000 employees worldwide. Against this background, they have approached me to offer advice about how they can improve their operations across cultures given that they operate in different countries with diverse cultures in a bid to ensure that these employees are satisfied with their work. The organisation is primarily concerned with obtaining information about how the leaders can motivate their employees across cultures. The concept of motivation plays a very pivotal role in as far as viability of the organisation is concerned. Employees form the back bone of each organisation given that they are the ones who actually perform all the work. In this given case, the leaders of Google ought to know that there is every need to satisfy the needs of the employees for their own good with regards to growth of the organisation. Motivation in this case is not only limited to financial gains but it extends to include other psycholo gical benefits. These will help create a sense of belonging to the organisation whereby retention of key staff can be possible. In this regard, this client has consulted me with the main aim of ensuring that the company continues to grow since it is their aim. The organisation is also concerned with establishing the impact of culture on its operations. Operating in diverse cultural backgrounds is not an easy feat given that people from different countries have different values that determine the way they behave. These values ought to be taken into consideration the reason why Google has sought advice from an expert in this area. Different people have different values and these ought to be taken into consideration so as to ensure that the organisation achieves its goal of remaining a leading internet service provider globally. Culture also plays a pivotal role in an organisation as it is mainly concerned with establishing the expected standards of operation within the organisation. T he leaders of Google have also approached me to get information about leadership in the organisation as this

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Profiling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Profiling - Essay Example What one says or does is sieved by the society through a very fine net of critical judgment, so as to analyze the flavor of racism, one-sidedness and religion in it. In such circumstances, people specially those who have close resemblance with the suspected group have to undergo immense emotional labor and have to adapt their actions and sayings as per the demand of the sensitive listeners and watchers. This does require an adjustment in the bandwidth of tolerance as (Varadarajan) has rightly depicted in his essay. People’s actions are shaped by their internal beliefs and are an outcome of their philosophies. They may or may not want to adjust their actions and reactions in accordance with the demand of the terrorism-phobic society. Emphasis on profiling is a result of spread of terrorism which has in turn, had many philosophical and spiritual impacts on the society as a whole. Thus, profiling in itself, becomes a fairly complex philosophical issue. Is profiling acceptable? If so, under what circumstances? No, profiling is not acceptable.

Monday, November 18, 2019

Autism Spectrum Disorders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Autism Spectrum Disorders - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that Ð ¨n an ideal world, most families will have no stress no matter what situation gets in their way. However, most families with children with autism spectrum disorders become more stressed compared with families with typically developing children. Baron-Cohen and his colleague's article support that both parents of the children with ASD report significantly elevated stress levels compared to those with typically developing children. For one to understand the research content, it is significant to define the autism spectrum disorder. Autism spectrum disorder refers to a term that describes autism and four other disabilities affecting individual’s ability to communicate, socialize, and respond to individual’s environment. The spectrum usually gets diagnosed before age three. Autism is a spectrum disorder since children can have diverse characteristics or symptoms that affect them from mild to severe range. Some of the chara cteristics include the delay in social interaction and communication, repetitive body movements, obsessions over certain objects and having specific rituals and routines. ASD tends to affect mostly the males compared to females. Currently, it is reported in Autismspeaks.org (2010) that in every 110 children, one is diagnosed with ASD and every 70 boys there is one with ASD. Additionally, there are no known ASD cures. However, there are several treatments that lessen the severity of the autism. Usually, people tend to think about the children diagnosed with ASD, and no one tends to think about the impact that the diagnosis has on parents. Often, parents with children diagnosed with ASD go through an emotional experience. The parents go through the thoughts of thinking that their child is perfect to think that their child has an incurable disorder that may affect every aspect of the child’s life. Hence, parents should learn how to cope with the situation after the initial diagn osis.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Spiritual Coping Strategies (SCS) Scale Research

Spiritual Coping Strategies (SCS) Scale Research Background of the Study The study of religion and spirituality has been gaining much attention to researchers nowadays. Research studies on these two areas and their relationship to health are expanding rapidly. (Koenig Bà ¼ssing, 2010) The relationship of religion and health has been existing in all groups of population even in the past. (Koenig, King, Carson, 2012 as cited by Koenig, 2012) Koenig (2012) comprehensive systematic review of existing research about the relationship of religion and spirituality to health revealed positive influence of religion and spirituality to patients health and longevity, specifically to psychological, social and health behavior. Religion offers resources for coping with stress and increases the positive emotions rather than the likelihood of the negative effects of stress. On the part of the healthcare providers, religious beliefs found to be influential in making medical decisions. Furthermore, it may generate beliefs that conflict with medical care, induce spiritual struggles that create stress and impair health outcomes and it may interfere with disease detection and treatment compliance (Koenig, 2004). While Christian dominated countries in the west have been serious in this area, there is a much lesser studies that has been done in the Muslim – dominated Middle East countries that examines the relationship of these variables to health. (Koenig Alshohaib, 2014) This holds true in Saudi Arabia where Islam was born and is considered as one of the most religious place in the world. Little is known about religiosity and spirituality and their relationship to health as perceived by Saudi Muslims. (Al Zaben, et al., 2014) For the last three decades, there has been a marked rise in the prevalence of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) in Saudi Arabia. (Al-Sayyari Shaheen, 2011) Alsuwaida et. al (2010) reported in their study that the prevalence of ESRD in the young Saudi population is around 5.7%. Furthermore, a systematic review conducted by Hassanien, et. al (2012) reported yearly mortality rate in three different regions in Saudi Arabia. The data showed that between 2001 and 2003, there were no significant changes in the mortality rates of these regions. However, at present, the annual cases of ESRD in the country continue to grow. It was anticipated that the Saudi population will rise up to 3.5 folds over the next 20 years. Probably this will also cause a rise in new cases. In 2008, 2976 new patients were added to the hemodialysis program pool. This represents 29.2 % of the total 10,203 patient. (Al-Sayyari Shaheen, 2011) Patients undergoing dialysis experience serious challenges to their physical and mental health. These challenges are brought by stresses, fears, family problems, and physical discomforts. (Al Zaben, et al., 2014) In addition, the complexity of their treatment regimen as well as the unknown complications which are associated with such disease contributes to the suffering of these patients. (Lingerfelt Thornton, 2011; Barnett, Yoong, Pinikahana, Si-Yen, 2007). These patients also perceive uncertainty of life on dialysis because of the struggles and hard times that they experience in life as related to their mode of treatment. (Polascheck, 2003) Likewise, psychiatric disorders such as major depression, dementia and delirium are relatively high in these patients. Furthermore, coping problems are very common to these patients which if not addressed can lead to more serious problems such as higher mortality. (Kimmel et al. 1998; Drayer et al. 2006; Chilcot et al. 2011; Mapes et al. 2003; Al Zaben, 2014) The involvement of religion and other spiritual activities are widely used by patients to cope with physical and mental challenges that they face throughout the course of their disease. (Saad de Medeiros, 2012; Wachholtz Sambamoorthi, 2011; Amjad Bokharey, 2014) Patients from Saudi Arabia have shown similar use of these variables as ways of coping. Interventions with religious background are widely used which indicates the strong influence of religion to their lives most especially when they are in life-threatening situations such as in chronic illnesses. (Jazieh et al. 2012) Religious and spiritual coping are widely studied in relation with hemodialysis patients both in Christian and non – Christian patients. (Valcanti, Chaves, Mesquita, Nogueira Carvalho, 2012; Saffari, Pakpour, Naderi, Koenig, Baldacchino Piper, 2013; Spinale et al. 2008; Asayesh, Zamanian, Mirgheisari, 2013; Patel, Shah, Peterson Kimmel, 2002; Berman et al. 2004) Studies have reported that spiritual coping affects the over-all health of patients with ESRD. It also assists in the patients’ adaptation as well as in their health – related quality of life. (Patel, Shah, Peterson Kimmel, 2002; Valcanti, Chaves, Mesquita, Nogueira Carvalho, 2012; Ramirez et al. 2012) Thus, religiosity is potentially influential to the overall health of dialysis patients, including their commitment and compliance to dialysis treatment. (Pruchno, Lemay, Field Levinsky, 2006) In Saudi Arabia, researchers are beginning to focus on this area in Hemodialysis patients. Al-Jahdali et al. (2009) surveyed 100 HD patients at King Fahd National Guard Hospital in Riyadh and King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Jeddah about predictors of advanced care planning preferences. They reported that majority (70%) of the patients scored high in a single question religiosity scale. However, they found out that religiosity is not identified as a predictor of advanced care planning preferences. A more recent study was conducted by Al Zaben et al. (2014) to examine the relationships between religious involvement and the mental and physical health of HD patients in Jeddah region. They have found out that involvement in religious activities is associated with better overall psychological functioning, better social support, improved physical and mental functioning, better health behavior and better commitment to dialysis treatment. Because of the increasing interest of researchers in Saudi Arabia in this area, it is essential to have an instrument that can accurately measure the spiritual coping of patients. Majority of the available instruments in this area were structured for Christian patients. (Baldacchino Buhagiar, 2003; Koenig Bà ¼ssing, 2010; Hawthorne, Youngblut Brooten, 2011; Charzynska, 2012) To my knowledge, there is no available valid instrument that measures the spiritual coping strategies of Saudi Muslim HD patients. It is for this reason that this study was conducted. The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Arabic version of the Spiritual Coping Strategies Scale (SCS) among Saudi HD patients. Methodology Design This is a cross-sectional study that evaluated the validity and reliability of the Saudi Muslim version of the Spiritual Coping Strategies Scale (SCS) among hemodialysis patients. Participants The participants of the study included _______ patients enrolled and undergoing hemodialysis in the HD unit of a general hospital located in Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia. Convenience sampling technique was employed for sample identification. The study participants’ number was adequate for a factorial analysis. Inclusion criteria were: (1) being a Saudi, (2) self-identified Muslim, (3) being HD patient with CRF or ESRD, (4) enrolled in the HD unit of the general hospital, (5) 20 years old and above, (6) male and female, and (7) conscious, coherent and oriented. Measures Demographic Characteristics Patient’s information in the patient’s chart was examined to collect the data for their demographic characteristics. These included: (1) age, (2) gender, (3) religion, (4) civil status, (5) employment, and (6) duration of undergoing HD. Spiritual Coping Strategies Scale The Spiritual Coping Strategy Scale (SCS), developed by Baldacchino and Buhagiar (2003), is a self – administered questionnaire that determines the spiritual coping of the respondents. It has a Judeo-Christian orientation and was based on the nursing, psychological, sociological, philosophical and theological literature. The SCS scale was developed in English and then translated into the Maltese language. It is a scale that measures both religious and spiritual (nonreligious) coping strategy which constituted its two subscales. It measured the respondents’ attitude towards religion and belief in God. The SCS is a 20-item, 4 – point response scale from â€Å"never used† or 0 to â€Å"often used† or 3. The responses indicated how often they use the various coping strategies presented. The Religious Coping subscale was comprised of 9 items which were meant to assess the respondents’ attitude towards their religious practices and their relationsh ip to God. On the other hand, the Spiritual Coping subscale has 11 items which relates to coping strategies that involve relationship to self, others and nature. The scores of all items is ranging from 0 to 60. A higher subscale and total scale score indicated more frequent use of the religious or spiritual coping strategies. The internal consistency reliability of the religious and spiritual coping factors was 0.82 and 0.74, respectively. A test – retest reliability of r=0.47 and r=0.81 for the subscales and total scale, respectively, was also reported. (Baldacchino Buhagiar, 2003) The SCS was earlier translated to Italian (Burrai, Scalorbi, Sebastiani, Cenerelli Cocchi, 2009), Spanish (Hawthorne, Youngblut Brooten, 2011) and Farsi (Saffari, Koenig, Ghanizadeh, Pakpour Baldacchino, 2014) languages. Validity and reliability of these versions were established accordingly. Muslim Religiosity Scale This is a 13 – items scale that measures the religiosity of Muslim population. It has two subscales. The first subscale is a 10 – item religious practices scale while the second subscale is a 3 – items intrinsic religious beliefs scale. Validity and reliability of the scale was earlier established with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.68, 0.64 and 0.93 for the full scale, religious practices scale and intrinsic beliefs scale, respectively. (Koenig, Al Zaben, Khalifa Al Shohaib, 2014; Al Zaben et al. 2014) The Arabic version of the scale was utilized in this study. Quality of Life Index Dialysis Version III The Ferrans and Powers Quality of Life Index Dialysis (QLI) Version-III measures the HRQoL of the HD patients. This scale has four subscales which includes health and functioning subscale, social and economic subscale, psychological/spiritual subscale, and family subscale. The QLI has two parts. The first part measures the satisfaction of the respondents and the second part measures the importance of the various aspects of life. The ratings in the second part are used to weight the satisfaction responses. Items that are rated with higher importance have a greater effect on scores than those of lesser importance. Overall quality of life as well as scores in the four domains is calculated. A score of 19 and lower means poorer quality of life. Validity and reliability of the QLI Dialysis Version was reported somewhere else with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.93. Likewise, the four subscales exhibited acceptable validity and reliability. Content validity was good as it was based from ext ensive literature reviews on HRQoL and with patients’ report. (Ferrans, 1996; Ferrans Powers, 1985; Ferrans Powers, 1992) The Arabic version of the Quality of Life Index Dialysis (QLI) Version-III was used in this study. Translation and Cross Cultural Adaptation of the SCS The translation and cross – cultural adaptation of the SCS followed the cross-cultural adaptation of self-report measures guidelines for translation. (Beaton, Bombardier, Guillemin Ferraz, 2000) The guideline suggests five stages: (1) translation, (2) synthesis, (3) back translation, (4) expert committee review, and (5) pretesting. In this study, the cultural and religious context of Saudi Arabic language was considered in the translation process. The first step of the adaptation is the forward translation. Two independent forward translations were made from English to Arabic by two bilingual Saudi nationals. One of them is a nurse educator who specializes in mental health nursing. The other Saudi is a lecturer with specialization in English language. After the translations have been done, the two translators together with an observer met to synthesize the result of the translation. A consensus from the two translators signified the completion of the Saudi Arabic version of the SCS. The Arabic version was then presented to two non-medically inclined translators who translated it back to English. These two translators were unaware of the concept as well as the purpose of the scale. The Arabic version was then presented to a panel which comprised of a: (1) Muslim religious leader; (2) Islam scholar, (3) nurse clinician, (4) nurse researcher, and (5) translator. The committee decided for the cultural and religious equivalence of each items in the scale. After reaching a consensus, the pre-final Arabic version of the SCS was formed. The pre-final Arabic version was then subjected for pilot testing for validity and reliability. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (Add modifications done here) Data Collection Data gathering was performed from May to June 2015. The SCS Arabic version, the Muslim Religiosity Scale Arabic version and the Ferrans and Powers Quality of Life Index Dialysis (QLI) Version-III Arabic version was distributed to the respondents by the researchers with the assistance of the nurses on duty. The nurses where properly informed about the purpose and procedure of the study. The respondents were given 20 to 25 minutes to respond to the scales. Three weeks after the initial data collection, the same questionnaires were redistributed to a subsample of 25 respondents. (Hawthorne, Youngblut Brooten, 2011) Ethical Consideration Ethical approval was granted by the Ethical Review Board of Shaqra University. Permission to conduct the study was sought from the administration of the general hospital. Modification and translation of the original version of the SCS to Arabic language was permitted by the original authors. The respondents were asked prior to participation to sign the informed consent signifying their understanding of their voluntary participation to the study. No incentives were offered to the respondents for their participation. Statistical Analysis All statistical analyses were done using the SPSS version 21.0. Internal consistency reliability of the Arabic version was assessed with coefficient alpha and item–total correlation (ITC). An alpha higher than 0.70 was considered acceptable internal consistency reliability while an ITC between 0.30 and 0.50 is considered moderate and ITC higher than 0.50 means good. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to assess the factor structure of the SCS Arabic version. Kaiser – Meyer – Olkin (KMO) index was computed to check for sampling adequacy. KMO value equal to or higher than 0.6 indicate sampling adequacy. Further, to determine whether the correlations among variables were appropriate for the factor model, the Barlett’s test of sphericity was used. A Barlett’s test of sphericity with p The stability reliability for the test–retest subsample of the translated scale was assessed with Pearson product moment correlations. Convergent validity was established by examining the association between spiritual coping and religiosity. Divergent validity was established by the relationship between spiritual coping and health-related quality of life. Both were tested using Pearson product moment correlations. Differences between demographic profiles on the spiritual coping strategies using the SCS Arabic version were also examined using t-test and One-way ANOVA. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Kids Killing Kids :: Argumentative Persuasive Violence Essays

Kids Killing Kids As you wind down from a long day at the office, you turn on the six o’clock news. The opening story lays out a gruesome attempt to murder, maim, and terrorize children in a city you have never before heard of. Instantly, you are thinking that this must be a review for a soon to be released blockbuster movie. In your mind, nothing like this would ever happen in our civilized world; however, headlines they are. You picture the perpetrators as horrid, evil-minded monsters. What kind of person could commit such a crime against innocent children? As you listen further, your eyes open wide, your heart skips a beat, and you gasp in shock as you discover that these evil-minded monsters you had just envisioned are nothing more than pimple-faced, hormone driven teenagers. Yes, teenagers. As you begin to really absorb the impact of such a crime, you realize that the teenagers that committed this crime are not much older than your own children. Suddenly, you have the uncontrolla ble urge to find your children and hide them from the world. You ask yourself, â€Å"What is wrong with society? What would cause a child to kill anther child? Where were their parents? How could this have happened?† Then, you try to convince yourself that this could never happen in your community. Although fictional, this story is one that is happening in homes all over our country. The real problem is that the crime described above is only one of many that are being committed by our youth. In fact, juvenile crime as a whole is increasing at an alarming rate. It seems that our youth is at war with itself. On a self destructive path that must be altered. How? This is the question at hand. The viewer above asked himself questions that need to be asked, but more importantly they need to be answered. The answers are not as simple as they may seem. The rise in juvenile crime has awakened a heated debate between the liberals and conservatives of our country about the causes, effects, and solutions of such a widespread problem. The liberals argue that this problem can only be fixed through government control; whereas, the conservatives believe the problem can only be fixed at home.