Being A Residence Assistant essays

Being A Residence Assistant essays The college lifestyle brings many amazing opportunities to any student that is willing to take advantage of what Curry College has to offer. Along with these new chances also comes some rather difficult obstacles that can be easily over come with the help of a friend or the guidance of a leader. In most cases that leader is the person right down the hall, the Residence Assistant. As I have learned from my personal experience that entering college, as a freshman can be a very scary experience for many reasons. First of all there is a major shift from the home centered family lifestyle to dorm based communal living. This can pose a problem for new students because it takes quite a bit of adjusting to get used to their new surroundings and ways of living. There is also the challenge of getting used to living with a complete stranger in cramped room with not much personal space. The academic pressures and demands in college are also different than they are in high school and even the most scholarly students must find themselves in a state of confusion at some point. Students at Curry College must get to know new teachers and new methods of learning while taking classes that they might have had no previous background in. Finding a quiet comfortable place to study is quite a challenge, never mind having the self-discipline to get oneself there and actually be productive. Finally, finding time for a healthy social life is of critical importance to Penn State students. Making friends, having relationships and involvement in outside the classroom activities is a great way to relax and have fun but it doesnt come without problems. Many students are faced with the issue of finding friends who the actually like and want to spend their time with. Getting involved is a great way to do this but too much extra activities can often lead to a great deal of stress. This stress can create many problems and sometimes students tend to look to th...

Russian revolutions essays

Russian revolutions essays The word at the beginning of the 20th century Russian Revolutions. Nicholas inherited the role of Tsar off his father in 1855, when his father Nicholas I passed away. Tsar Nicholas did not have the abilities to be a natural autocrat. He considered it his duty to act as autocrat. Nicholas tried to keep power. This produced a highly inefficient form of government and the First World War threw these weaknesses into sharp relict. By the end the Tsar had managed to ensure his isolation from virtually all sections of Russias society. Nicholas had the backing of a large and inefficient bureaucracy, but remained supreme. The state police and the army enforced his will, and his officials controlled education and censored the press. A duma, or parliament, was set up but the Tsar was able to appoint and dismis ministers at will. After the attempted revolution in 1905, in which there was many assassinations of ministers and members of the royal family Tsar Nicholas showed no indication to carry out reforms. Tsar Nicholas was an unintelligent family man who was completely unsuited to being the autocratic ruler of 140 million people. Nicholas was easily influenced by others and he lacked the determination to carry out serious changes in Russia. Tsar Nicholas believed that it was his duty to pass on the power he had inherited to his son. Nicholas married Alexandra, who was a Granddaughter of Queen Victoria. She was believed to be a German spy. She was also believed to have had an affair with Gregory Rasputin. The Tsar was under great influence of the Tsarina. Tsar Nicholas was killed, with his family, on the 2nd of March 1917. Nicholas II inherited from his ancestors not only a giant empire but also a revolution. And they did not bequeath him one quality, which would have made him capable of...

Environmental and Consumer Influences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Environmental and Consumer Influences - Essay Example According to Wilhem,Yankov & Magee (2011), consumer behavior is determined by their psychological makeup and the influence of others or may be defined as the outcome of interaction of the consumer and personal influence as well as pressure exerted on them by outside forces. An understanding of consumer behavior is integral in marketing and planning strategies because consumer preferences influence the existing consumers to generate preferences for new phones. Consumers may be either influenced by personal consumption or organizational consumption or individual and environmental factors. Some individual factors affecting consumer decision are demographics, consumer knowledge, perception,, attitudes and lifestyles while environmental factors include culture, social class, reference group, family and household. Most consumer decisions are influenced by price, brand, and interface and features particularly the physical appearance. Consumers significantly consider the size and the menu or ganization of mobile phones for self-identity purposes. Mobile phone users are also influenced by aesthetics and costs of the gadgets. Consumers value price, quality and style functions of the mobile phones. Some users prefer high priced mobile phones with unique features and style functions for identity purposes. Such kind of preference tends to be common amongst individuals who value personality issues. Moreover, the current youthful population embraces technological changes and would always love to identify themselves with new technology in the market. They tend to buy mobile phones that have new technology features and this greatly influences them to make new purchase decisions (Wilhem,Yankov & Magee, 2011). There are consumers who consider reliable quality and user-friendliness of the specific brand of mobile phone brand especially amongst youth consumers. Young consumers, mostly students and urban residents, value handsets of reputed brands, nice appearance, and advanced value

Thin Blue Line Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Thin Blue Line - Research Paper Example Adams had been in jail for seven years following his conviction for shooting Robert Woods, a police officer in Dallas, to death. Although the sentence had been commuted by the time of the interviews, Adams was still in prison and still maintained that he was not guilty of the murder. After Morris started researching Adam’s case, he was soon convinced that he was innocent and that it was clear who was responsible for the murder (Lankford 1). He, thus, turned his documentary efforts to building Adam’s innocence case. The Thin Blue Line was the result of these investigations, and it soon became a standard for investigative documentaries. It became a triumph of execution, more interesting than exploration of crime and consequence, and it has been influential on fiction and documentary films since. The Thin Blue Line by Errol Morris does not seek to tell the story of an investigation into a murder but is a murder investigation, which set investigative documentary standards. Morris captures the attention of the audience by making the documentary as a considered defense through interviews with both Randall Adams and the key witness in his case, David Harris (Bellizzi 1). He manipulates the Harris interviews to show that he is the only person who could have killed the Dallas police officer. Morris, throughout his entire documentary, reveals clues by letting the witnesses, judges, police, and criminals talk on and on. By doing this, Morris places the audience in the world of Harris, Adams, and the justice system of a little town in Texas. It seems as if Morris edited various scenes, as well as interviews, to show the story, as he wanted; which was that Harris was the guilty one and that Adams was not. He allows the story’s arc to move forward by using the interviews, whereas also, at the same time, examining some residents of the Texan town. This documentary differed from other documentaries at the time because it showed various viewpoints. Yet, eve n with these multiple viewpoints, Morris uses particular footage, and evidence, leading the audience on to a specific conclusion (Bellizzi 1). The Thin Blue Line has a basic construction that was deceptively conventional, specifically looking back to how profound its influence has been on subsequent documentaries (Bellizzi 1). Morris weaves three basic strands together, which widely increased the standards of documentary making. Firstly, those participating in the documentary to the cameras give the narrative’s core. These people in the documentary include the judge from the first trial, Adam’s lawyer, various eyewitnesses in the shooting, police members who investigated the case, the key prosecution witness David Harris, and Randall Adams. Secondly, the documentary pioneered the use of real and documentary evidence, including line-up photos and mug shots, court reporter illustrations, reports from newspapers, and diagrams and photos from the crime scene (Bellizzi 1). The documentary also had an influence on staged re-enactments in subsequent investigative documentaries. The filmmaker utilizes re-enactments in order to highlight the vital parts of his interviews, as well as important facts, to show the audience what he considered as being important to the inference chain (Rivera 1). In a particular scene, he reenacts Turko getting out of a police car, whereas throwing away his milkshake. The reason he reenacted the scene was that it showed the discrepancies that existed

Operating a Successful Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Operating a Successful Business - Essay Example In whatever activity an individual engages in, it is usually of substantive importance to ensure that there is always a thought about the future. Thinking about the future prospects from an earlier stage helps in proper planning mechanics. Saving from wages received is an important aspect that helps in providing future solutions, while at the same time, proving finances for the expansion of the prospects of a business plan. Financial constraints and problems are usually recurring and in certain instances abrupt. This therefore, calls for an individual to be ready at all times, in order to evade any unfortunate occurrences. Saving therefore, as a means of protecting the future is indeed a perfect approach towards addressing the issues pertaining to future uncertainties, which is a common challenge for businesses. Wastages as a contribution of unregulated and unplanned expenses are also a contributor to financial crisis in businesses. It is in order for businesses to spend money on different aspects that pertain to the successful running of the entity. However, in certain instances, individuals within the organization go overboard by making expenses that add little or no value into the business. Other aspects that contribute towards financial crisis are inadequate control systems, poor incentives, and inappropriate accounting. It is critical to note that with inappropriate determinants, addressing financial crisis could be a giant problem. Minimization of wastages by appropriate budgeting ensures that proper regulations are made in purchasing items that are of greatest needs, other than those that simply satisfy the common needs. However, little known, individual expense reports are also important for families in enabling appropriate budgeting. Many families tend to engage in impulse buying and therefore, find themselves in instances of continuous wastages and little savings.

Development of Soil Nutrient Sensors

Development of Soil Nutrient Sensors The rising demand for food crops and the growing concern for environment have made it necessary to shift from traditional agricultural practices towards modern agricultural practices. Traditional agricultural practices are labor intensive, time consuming, expensive and also a cause of environment pollution. To achieve sustainable agriculture, it is necessary that the precision agriculture technologies and practices are integrated with the traditional practices, which will also help to deal with the spatial heterogeneity of the soil [1]. The biggest hurdle in the proper implementation of precision agriculture is the inability to generate information related to a particular site rapidly and at an acceptable cost using laboratory analysis and soil sampling methods. The nutrients required for the healthy growth of a crop are obtained from the soil. The quality of crop yield depends on the quality of soil in which it grows. Therefore, soil testing is an important aspect of precision agriculture. The proposed research work is an effort towards the design and development of a soil monitoring system that can be used to estimate the urea content in soil. The system makes use of Partial Least Squares Regression Technique (PLSR) for the estimation of urea. The system can be made portable, smart, low cost and user friendly through the use of embedded systems. With some modifications the system can be designed to estimate more than one soil component. The thesis is organized in the following chapters as described below. Chapter I (Introduction) â€Å"Agriculture not only gives riches to a nation, but the only riches she can call her own†[2]. The growth in the demand for food, feed and fiber globally is anticipated to grow by 70 percent. The demand for crops for industrial use and in the production of bio-energy is also expected to rise simultaneously. The increasing demand for agricultural goods will put huge pressure on the limited resources available. The increase in urban settlement areas will force agriculture to compete for land and water. Agriculture will therefore have to adapt itself to newer conditions and at the same time will have to address issues related to climate change, maintenance of biodiversity and preservation of natural habitats [3]. To meet these demands, farmers therefore need to equip themselves with new technologies so as to increase productivity with limited number of resources. Sustainable resource management is the need of the hour. Conservation of soil quality is crucial to sustainability in agriculture. This has led to a shift from the use of traditional agricultural practices to modern agricultural practices so that the available resources are utilized in a sustainable manner. The modern technique of farming known as precision farming is based on the concept of site specific crop management. This method takes into consideration variability exhibited by the soil and accordingly inputs are applied based on the local requirements within a field. Soil sensing plays an important role in precision farming. Large numbers of soil sensors are being developed all around the world to measure different soil properties. Some of which are still in the research and development stage and some of which are commercially available. Based on their principle of working these soil sensors can be classified as follows: Electrical and Electromagnetic sensors: Depending on the composition of soil under test, electrical capacitance or inductance, resistivity or conductivity of the soil is measured. The response time of these sensors is very fast, they have high durability and are of low cost. These sensors are commercially available. Optical and Radiometric sensors: These sensors, through the use of electromagnetic waves, measure the level of energy that is either absorbed or reflected by the soil particles depending on the soil composition. The properties of the soil are measured using visible and near-infrared wavelengths [4]. They can be used for the estimation of CEC, soil texture, moisture and other soil parameters with the help of appropriate data analysis techniques. Mechanical sensors: these sensors measure soil resistance with the help of a tool used in the soil. The measure of resistance offered by the soil has a relation with the compaction of the soil which is a spatially varying property of soil. Acoustic sensors and Pneumatic sensors: Though these are a class of mechanical sensors, they can be used as an alternative means for the differentiation of physical and mechanical characteristics of soil. Measurements taken using pneumatic and acoustic sensor have been used to correlate soil texture and compaction. The application of acoustic sensors in characterizing the physical state of soil is not very clear and requires more research work. Electrochemical sensors: These sensors produce an output voltage through the use of ion selective membranes, depending on the activity of ions under study such as H+, K+, NO3 −, Na+, etc. Soil pH sensors using this technique are already commercially available. The extraction of ions such as potassium in real time is still not possible even though the concept appears to be simple. There is a need to develop fast, real time and portable soil sensors which can generate soil report instantly. Thus, the problem of designing and developing a smart soil monitoring system was formulated using a reconfigurable embedded system platform. Chapter II (Literature Survey and Objectives) The conventional laboratory methods of soil testing have a number of limitations such as they are expensive, labor intensive and time consuming. As such new methods of soil testing are being developed across the globe. A number of soil nutrient sensing techniques are in the stage of development and testing. These sensors can be broadly classified into two types depending on the techniques of measurement being used. 1. Optical sensing uses reflectance spectroscopy technique wherein the light that is absorbed/reflected by soil particles is measured. Since optical sensing techniques have the advantage of being non-destructive they are more widely used as compared to electrochemical sensing techniques [5], [6]. Soil color analysis can be used for estimating soil organic matter content through the use of optical sensors [7]. The visual and near-infrared spectral reflectance in optical sensing can be used for estimating soil texture, moisture, CEC etc. [8]. 2. Electrochemical sensing is based on the measurement of current or voltage generated between the sensing electrode and the reference electrode. The amount of voltage or current measured is related to the concentration of the selected ions such as H+, K+, NO3-, etc. [8]. Ion selective electrodes made of glass or polymer membrane, or ion-selective field effect transistors are used for the measurement of soil fertility. Ion-selective membrane sensors have a huge potential in the development of on-the-go soil nutrient(s) and pH sensors [9]. Currently, the accuracy of the results using these sensors is low as compared to those using laboratory tests, but this can be taken care of by increasing the sampling density. Use of Spectroscopic techniques in the estimation of soil properties has been demonstrated since 1970’s [10]. Various methods using spectral analysis have been proposed for the measurement of the soil properties. Methods that are based on the physical and analytical characteristics of the signal and chemometric based empirical methods provide good effective predictability. Therefore, the relation between soil properties and soil absorption can be used to develop regressions using field and laboratory data for calibration. Spectroscopic techniques are found to be faster, can provide real time measurements and are of low cost, as compared to conventional methods and hence are found to be more suitable when there are more samples and analysis to be done. Also, unlike laboratory testing methods which require sample pre-processing and the use of chemical extractants, spectroscopic techniques can be used directly, thus saving on cost and time [11]. Thus, the problem of developing a soil nutrient sensor using RF spectroscopy based on the dielectric principle was formulated. The thesis emphasizes on the design and development of the sensor and the use of embedded platform to make it portable, real time and user friendly system through the use of DSP algorithms. Objectives: In order to meet the global requirements of increased crop productivity and sustainable agriculture, there is an urgent need of developing soil sensors which are fast, accurate and portable. Also, the problem was formulated keeping in mind the conditions of Indian farmers. Indian farmers are mainly small farmers who are poor, technically unfit and cannot afford modern tools. This research work is being undertaken with the main objective of developing a fast, portable, cost effective and user friendly soil monitoring system to analyze the fertility status of the soil. The objectives of the research work are the design of a dielectric cell to measure absorption loss at RF frequencies for various soil nutrients and to use this RF data to develop a FPGA based smart soil monitoring system for accurate prediction of soil content using PLSR technique. The system shall be user friendly as well as reprogrammable for changed environmental conditions. Chapter III (System Design for Soil Monitoring System) The block diagram of proposed design for Soil Monitoring System is as shown in Figure 1. The design consists of RF data obtained from Scalar Network Analyzer fed as input to Altera DE2 board with target as NIOS II FPGA. The RF data is obtained from the soil sensor connected between a tracking generator and a spectrum analyzer. A soil sensor based on the dielectric loss technique is designed and constructed to measure the RF responses of various soil nutrients. The cell is rectangular in shape with outer dimensions 13cmx2cmx2.5cm and is made up of PMMA sheets. The inside surface of the cell is lined with gold foil and the same is connected to the outer shield of the feed connectors so as to provide the necessary shielding effect. The outer surface of the cell is covered with a copper foil and is also provided with the necessary shielding effect. A wire made of gold is connected from the input feed connectors to the output feed connector at centre of the cell. The RF spectrum of a sample is measured by placing it in the cell. A tracking generator is used for injecting an RF signal into the sample through the central gold wire. Thus, a dielectric cell consisting of the central wire, the outer copper shield and the sample is formed. The signal strength starts reducing as it propagates through the central wire from the input end to the output end of the cell, due to the dielectric loss associated with the sample solution. Thus, an output signal proportional to the absorption loss of the sample solution is captured by the RF spectrum analyzer connected at the receiver end of the cell. Signal Hound USB-TG44A tracking generator and Signal Hound USB-SA44B spectrum analyzer are used with both the instruments working in the frequency range of 1Hz-4.4GHz. Figure 1: Block diagram of the Soil Monitoring System Figure 2 shows the RF spectra for urea in the range 10MHz to 4.4GHz. Figure 2: RF Spectra of urea. Figure 3: Section of urea spectra with varying concentrations Samples for obtaining the RF responses of various soil components are prepared by dissolving the required component in distilled water. The amount of the component to be added to water was calculated from the data obtained from agricultural department. This amount was taken as the normal concentration of a particular component found in the soil. Samples of varying concentrations of the soil components are prepared and denoted as 1 for normal, 0.5 for half the normal, 2 for twice and 3 for thrice. The soil components considered for the study are urea, potash, phosphate, calcium carbonate and sodium chloride. The frequency range of 10 MHz-4.4GHz is divided into smaller frequency ranges based on the unique frquencies at which the variation in the attenuation is found as per the change in the concentration of the soil component. A set of recorded spectra for various combinations of the five soil components with concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 are used in the calibration file. In order to predict the unknown concentration of urea in a sample, the detected spectra containing the urea signature along with the other components is passed through signal conditioning stage. The output from Spectrum Analyzer is stored in the computer. This data is then fed to a CYCLONE II device with Altera Nios II processor running on it. The recorded spectra are then passed through SIMPLS algorithm running on NIOS II processor. The algorithm predicts the concentration of unknown sample (Urea) and displays the result on LCD or a computer screen. The SNR of the detected spectra must be sufficiently high so a s to provide reliable urea specific information and therefore data processing is needed to identify spectral features of urea from the combination spectra originating from interfering matrix components like potash, phosphate, sodium chloride and calcium carbonate. We can extend the use of this system for the analysis of other soil components by modifying the processing algorithms required to analyze that component without changing the hardware. Chapter IV (Multivariate Data Analysis) It is a statistical analysis technique used in the case of data consisting of multiple variables. Due to the advancements in the field of information technology there is a huge amount of data being generated in various fields. Though the magnitude of data available is huge, it is still a challenge to derive useful information and knowledge from this data. Multivariate Analysis can be used to derive meaningful information for the improvement of process performance and product quality. Over the last decade, multivariate analysis is being successfully used to monitor and model chemical/biological processes [12]. Techniques using multivariate data analysis are widely used in the analysis of spectral data both quantitatively and qualitatively. Quick analysis of complex samples from their spectral signatures can be done using standard tools like Partial Least Squares (PLS), Principal Component Regression (PCR), Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Multivariate Curve Resolution (MCR) and discriminant analysis based on chemometric techniques [13]. Partial least squares (PLS) isone of the recent multivariate data analysis technique particularly useful in situations where there is a large set of independent variables (i.e., predictors). A set of dependent variables can be predicted from this set of independent variables by using PLS. Partial Least Squares (PLS) can be an effective tool for the analysis of data as it has minimum constraints on scales of measurement, size of sample, and residual distributions. It consists of methods for regression and classification, and techniques for reducing dimens ion and tools for modeling. The basic assumption on which the PLS methods work is that a small number of latent variables that are not directly observed or measured are used to drive the observed data from a process or a system. The technique of PLS for projecting the observed data to its latent structure was developed by Herman Wold and coworkers. PLS is now being used as a standard tool in the analysis of a wide spectrum of chemical data problems in chemometrics. The successful data analysis of PLS in chemometrics has led to its increase use in other scientific fields such as bioinformatics, food research, medicine, pharmacology, social sciences, physiology etc. PLS is a multivariate technique that transforms the input-output data onto a smaller latent space, by extracting a small number of principal factors having an orthogonal structure. The extraction of the factors is done in such a way that it provides maximum correlation with the dependent variable [14]. To model linear relations between multivariate measurements, PLS is used as a standard tool. Multivariate Calibration Model for Soil Monitoring System: Multivariate spectroscopic data can be analyzed using the PLSR model. PLSR is one of the techniques of multiple linear regressions and is probably the least restrictive of the various multivariate techniques used in multiple linear regression models. This feature of PLSR makes it possible to be used in situations when there are limitations on the use of other multivariate methods, for example, when the predictor variables are many as compared to number of observations.PLSR can be used as an elementary analysis tool for the selection of suitable predictor variables and in the identification of outliers. PLSR model based on SIMPLS algorithm using C language is developed and ported on NIOS II platform to estimate the urea concentration. The PLSR model is validated for the following cases: Case 1: Changing urea concentrations from below normal to above normal i.e. from 0.5 to 2 and keeping other components at their normal concentration value i.e. 1. Case 2: Changing the concentration of each of the other soil component from 0.5 to 2 and keeping urea constant in all the cases. Chapter V (Design of FPGA Soft Cores for Soil Monitoring System) DSP functions can be implemented using two different types of programming platforms: digital signal processors (DSP) and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Digital signal processors are microprocessors specifically designed for handling DSP tasks, while FPGAs are reconfigurable signal processors. The factors that make FPGAs more suitable, particularly for high performance computing applications are: (i) Huge potential for implementation of parallelism (ii) The control logic is embedded (iii) On-board memory in FPGA helps to overcome the limitation set by number of I/O pins on processor logics memory access bandwidth and hence results into significant performance benefits (iv) A higher capacity FPGA can be used on the same board as an older device, to support performance upgrades. DSP Implementation on Embedded system The implementation of DSP algorithms is done on Altera platform. A Nios II system is designed to measure the concentration of urea in soil. The Nios II system is the heart of the instrument which controls the various modules of the system like interacting with 12 bit ADC and performing the SIMPLS algorithms on the spectral data to estimate the concentration of urea. The whole interface and algorithms are implemented using 32-bit NIOS II soft-core ported on CYCLONE II FPGA. Chapter VI (Analysis, Results and Conclusion) The thesis covers the design and development of soil sensor based on the dielectric technique. The technique proposed the use of RF signals in the range of 10MHz-4.4GHz and analyzing the detected spectra in the soil sample for urea signature. In this thesis a novel Soil Monitoring System is developed using RF spectroscopy based on embedded technology. An Altera DE2 board based on NIOS II soft-core platform and having target as CYCLONE II (EP2C6) is used to estimate the urea content in soil in the RF range of 10MHz-4.4GHz. SIMPLS algorithm for PLSR model is developed using C language and embedded on the NIOS II platform for the estimation of urea concentration. The designed sensor was tested for its precision by recording the spectra of a particular component over a number of times. The PLSR model was validated by calculating percentage error under various conditions. It was found that the predicted urea values showed percentage error which was within the acceptable levels required fo r device development.

Migraine Headaches: Probable Causes and Effective Treatments :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Migraine Headaches: Probable Causes and Effective Treatments During my first year of High School, I began getting frequent headaches, about three or four each week, which included symptoms of nausea, increased sensitivity to light and an intense throbbing pain localized to one side of my head. Immediately, my parents and friends noticed a change in my behavior. Shortly after the onset of these headaches, my academic performance suffered as the intense symptoms became debilitating. With their enduring persistence, I visited a neurologist who diagnosed me as suffering from migraine headaches. The symptoms were clearly indicative of classic migraines, which the neurologist informed me were usually genetic. Therefore, upon questioning me about my family history of neurological disorders, he did not find it surprising that my maternal grandmother had been plagued with severe headaches since her early twenties. Later, he explained to me that the precise cause of migraines was yet unknown but that there were some very effective treatments available t hat would prevent the onset of the migraines. After trying several different medications, we found a successful preventative drug, called Norpramine. Six years later, still on the medication, I only suffer from an intense migraine about two or three times per month. However, searching for the correct medication was the most painful and helpless process of my life, an experience that I would never care to relive. Before I had settled on Norpramine, I was using medications that were only effective in relieving the symptoms after the onset of a headache, one of which was a painful injection that had a variety of uncomfortable side effects. Over the years, I have done some superficial research on migraines, finding it perplexing that a disorder that affects millions of individuals is so difficult for scientists to pinpoint. Thus, I decided to focus this paper on the probable causes of migraine headaches and examine some of the possible treatments that work well for many individuals, including me. Migraine headaches affect an estimated 11 to 23 million Americans, women more commonly than men, and include symptoms like throbbing or pulsating pain and nausea (1). The first documented records of migraines originate from 3,000 B.C, when a popular treatment involved drilling holes in the skull to release evil spirits (1). Several scientifically based theories about the cause of migraines have recently developed, although the exact mechanism is still unknown. One of the current, highly supported theories suggests that migraines occur when there is a specific chemical imbalance in the brain, which in turn results in changes in the blood vessels (2).

Anti-Trust

The law was broken when the group of anesthesiologists banded together to drive out any form of competition, which resulted in the failure of Mr†¦ Alto's business. Initially the organization of anesthesiologist from SST. Peters Community Hospital agreed to a settlement of $462,500. The trial Judge deemed the award from the Jury was excessive and ordered a new trial. The conclusions of the new trial were, the damages incurred were not the hospital's responsibility due to lack of evidence and the settlement from the physicians was sufficient (Bazaar 2012).Exclusive Contracts Hospitals routinely enter Into contracts with various professional groups for the sight to be the exclusive provider of their specific services at the facility In exchange for the group agreeing to provide and manage all aspects of that service wealth the hospital. These â€Å"exclusive contracts† generally result In the chosen medical department and associated equipment being closed off to physicians w ho are not part of the contracting group. Exclusive contracts are generally considered to be good for most doctors who participate in the groups and bad for those excluded by them.In fact, while exclusive contracts offer obvious benefits to the physicians who receive he perks from the contracts and obvious disadvantages for those who are excluded, they also present pitfalls for physicians in the chosen group. The included doctors are somewhat slaves to the groups and will be kicked out of the groups if the physician does not comply with the rules and regulations of the contract. Exclusive contracts are agreements that initially appear to be anta-competitive on face value; multiple courts have rejected anti-trust challenges to exclusive contracts creating an unfair advantage, which reduces competition.Physicians and nurses that have been excluded because of exclusive contracts have had much greater success in attacking exclusive contracting arrangements on the premise of breach of co ntract and lack of procedural process grounds. In order to prove there has been a violation of anti-trust and elimination of competition within a work environment such as a hospital. Typically exclusive contracts are built to keep outside providers from competing with the physicians who are already employed at the hospital or medical treatment facility. In rare cases like the Alto v.SST Pewter's Community Hospital case, the nurse anesthetist was already contracted with the facility and performed similar procedures as the anesthesiologists except for a cheaper rate (Bazaar 2012). The hospital administration should have analyzed the formation of the group odd providers and recognized what the Intentions were. Remedies to Breach Arbitration of breaches In anta-trust laws were frowned upon years ago when anta- trust laws were first set into place. Arbitration is a relatively fast way to arrive upon a being flexible and not as formal as a traditional courthouse.Usually, arbitration can b e scheduled quicker and with less working parts than a trial. In rare instances, if all parties involved come to an agreement, arbitrators can sometimes create rulings that judges are not allowed to decide. In arbitration, both sides present all evidence to an arbitrator in efforts to prove each side's case. The arbitrator reaches a final verdict and decides whom the winners and losers are. An arbitrator does the Job that a traditional Judge or Jury would normally do in court if the matter escalated to that point (Hill 2014).Summary Judgment is another remedy to handling the decision process in the event of a suspected anti-trust law breach. Summary Judgment is a decision entered by a court on behalf of one party that was in disagreement with another party, without the length and expense of a full trial. The idea of the summary judgment process is to remove the need to argue agreed upon facts and to decide without trial one or more causes of action in the complaint. The presenting a nd pleading procedures are extremely technical and complicated. This process is fairly dangerous to the party that the decision is being made against (Hill 2014).Conclusion In this scenario, the groups of anesthesiologists were guilty of violating anti-trust saws with the internal contract that was created to eliminate competition from outside vendors for delivery of care. Anti-trust laws were created top prevent larger companies and organizations from pushing smaller entities out of the ability to fairy compete for business. Mr†¦ Alto received a settlement from the hospital initially but was later unable to recoup legal fees and damages from the hospital once the trial judge ruled the damages were excessive.

Free Essays on Flextime

Flextime is a new work concept, which I feel will help employees want to come to work on time and actually get what they have to do done. It’s being used my numerous corporations Flextime is a work concept which divides the day into "core time," when all employees are expected to be at work, and "flexible time," usually at the beginning and end of the day, when employees may select their own arrival and departure times. A weekly period of 35 hours must be established. Acceptance of flextime is completely voluntary; employees may choose to remain with a standard summer schedule of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with a one-hour lunch. In addition, certain departments, such as CCS and Facilities, will have schedules that vary from hours described below or have particular needs that may, in some instances, be addressed outside this policy. Following are the procedures for implementing flextime at Rider University. Department heads should meet with staff before the effective dates of this policy to discuss relevant issues including the following: 1. Effective dates for summer, 2001, are Monday, May 14th, to Friday, August 24th. 2. The core time is 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. All employees must be in attendance during this period. Flexible hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The base period of the standard work day is 7 hours. A lunch time of at least 30 minutes must be taken each day. Time sheets, where applicable, should accurately reflect hours worked. 3. Schedules must be coordinated within working units and approved by the supervisor, so that department coverage continues to be provided for the business period of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Schedule selection will be made on an month-by-month basis and, except for emergency situations and coverage for absences, these schedules may not be changed. 4. Overtime: Hours worked in excess of the weekly base period of 35 hours (37.5 hours for maintenance employees) are... Free Essays on Flextime Free Essays on Flextime Flextime is a new work concept, which I feel will help employees want to come to work on time and actually get what they have to do done. It’s being used my numerous corporations Flextime is a work concept which divides the day into "core time," when all employees are expected to be at work, and "flexible time," usually at the beginning and end of the day, when employees may select their own arrival and departure times. A weekly period of 35 hours must be established. Acceptance of flextime is completely voluntary; employees may choose to remain with a standard summer schedule of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with a one-hour lunch. In addition, certain departments, such as CCS and Facilities, will have schedules that vary from hours described below or have particular needs that may, in some instances, be addressed outside this policy. Following are the procedures for implementing flextime at Rider University. Department heads should meet with staff before the effective dates of this policy to discuss relevant issues including the following: 1. Effective dates for summer, 2001, are Monday, May 14th, to Friday, August 24th. 2. The core time is 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. All employees must be in attendance during this period. Flexible hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The base period of the standard work day is 7 hours. A lunch time of at least 30 minutes must be taken each day. Time sheets, where applicable, should accurately reflect hours worked. 3. Schedules must be coordinated within working units and approved by the supervisor, so that department coverage continues to be provided for the business period of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Schedule selection will be made on an month-by-month basis and, except for emergency situations and coverage for absences, these schedules may not be changed. 4. Overtime: Hours worked in excess of the weekly base period of 35 hours (37.5 hours for maintenance employees) are...

Free Essays on Utilitarian

Mill's Utilitarianism: Sacrifice the innocent for the common good? When faced with a moral dilemma, utilitarianism identifies the appropriate considerations, but offers no realistic way to gather the necessary information to make the required calculations. This lack of information is a problem both in evaluating the welfare issues and in evaluating the consequentialist issues which utilitarianism requires be weighed when making moral decisions. Utilitarianism attempts to solve both of these difficulties by appealing to experience; however, no method of reconciling an individual decision with the rules of experience is suggested, and no relative weights are assigned to the various considerations. In deciding whether or not to torture a terrorist who has planted a bomb in New York City, a utilitarian must evaluate both the overall welfare of the people involved or effected by the action taken, and the consequences of the action taken. To calculate the welfare of the people involved in or effected by an action, utilitarianism requires that all individuals be considered equally. Quantitative utilitarians would weigh the pleasure and pain which would be caused by the bomb exploding against the pleasure and pain that would be caused by torturing the terrorist. Then, the amounts would be summed and compared. The problem with this method is that it is impossible to know beforehand how much pain would be caused by the bomb exploding or how much pain would be caused by the torture. Utilitarianism offers no practical way to make the interpersonal comparison of utility necessary to compare the pains. In the case of the bomb exploding, it at least seems highly probable that a greater amount of pain would be caused, at least in the present, by the bomb exploding. This probability suffices for a quantitative utilitarian, but it does not account for the consequences, which create an entirely di... Free Essays on Utilitarian Free Essays on Utilitarian Mill's Utilitarianism: Sacrifice the innocent for the common good? When faced with a moral dilemma, utilitarianism identifies the appropriate considerations, but offers no realistic way to gather the necessary information to make the required calculations. This lack of information is a problem both in evaluating the welfare issues and in evaluating the consequentialist issues which utilitarianism requires be weighed when making moral decisions. Utilitarianism attempts to solve both of these difficulties by appealing to experience; however, no method of reconciling an individual decision with the rules of experience is suggested, and no relative weights are assigned to the various considerations. In deciding whether or not to torture a terrorist who has planted a bomb in New York City, a utilitarian must evaluate both the overall welfare of the people involved or effected by the action taken, and the consequences of the action taken. To calculate the welfare of the people involved in or effected by an action, utilitarianism requires that all individuals be considered equally. Quantitative utilitarians would weigh the pleasure and pain which would be caused by the bomb exploding against the pleasure and pain that would be caused by torturing the terrorist. Then, the amounts would be summed and compared. The problem with this method is that it is impossible to know beforehand how much pain would be caused by the bomb exploding or how much pain would be caused by the torture. Utilitarianism offers no practical way to make the interpersonal comparison of utility necessary to compare the pains. In the case of the bomb exploding, it at least seems highly probable that a greater amount of pain would be caused, at least in the present, by the bomb exploding. This probability suffices for a quantitative utilitarian, but it does not account for the consequences, which create an entirely di...

Course of Action for Owens Corning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Course of Action for Owens Corning - Essay Example This meant the company had to develop new IS capabilities and also to plan for a strong IS human resources management. It was also found that when the staffs were getting trained in SAP their requirements outside was very attractive and people were moving out of the company. Â  At the planned implementation time, the first release was done - October 1995. Second and third releases identified training as a major lacuna during the implementation phase which cost them quite some time and efforts. Not just teaching the computers and PC operation but also processes that are being adopted by the company. Release 4 was the SAP R/3 roll out at the Roof and Asphalt plants a total of 140 units where this was to be switched on by Mar 1997. This was to be followed closely by the other units of insulation and composites of North America. But then there were lots of issues relating to bugs in SAP, attrition among people and a swift implementation of switching it all on at the same time. From our analysis, we find that the issue is one of staged implementation and now they need to take a measure of putting unit after unit in order and lessons learned in one place could go on to help the rest. A plan to put all these in a phased manner needs to be worked out and implem ented with the same vigor when it was started in 1994. Â  Owens Corning was swiftly growing with its new acquisitions and there was an ongoing incorporation of new technologies that improved their working situation and the profitability of the company. The Roof and Asphalt plants divisions of OC were just over 80 units strong and the implementation of SAP R/3 was to happen in these. But the rapidly changing scenario and the acquisitions of units caused a number of changes in the company resulting in the implementation of SAP R/3 for R&A divisions alone at more than 140 locations. All this meant that the exercise is going to get tougher than planned.

Work Placement in Hailong Hotel (Learning Log) Essay

Work Placement in Hailong Hotel (Learning Log) - Essay Example They must possess the necessary skills and knowledge so that the person can fit into any kind of organisation and help the organisation at attaining the goals of the organisation. The table below helps to comprehend how competent enough I am for the job in which I am presently working. Numerous kinds of skills are generally to be possessed by the individual prior to entering the workplace. These numerous skills include problem solving ability, time management, communication skills written, decision making skills, organisational skills, leadership and motivation among others. It can be analysed that I am quite competent enough in terms of adaptability, self motivation, tolerance, and negotiation skills. I also find myself proficient enough in dealing with large amount of data which is considered as one of the most significant skills for a person in an organisation. I am also competent enough in resolving the problems and planning. Most of the organisations state the fact that it is qu ite significant for the employees to possess problem solving as well as planning skills since the employees possessing these two skills can assist in attaining the goals of the organisation and can help in maintaining sustainable advantage.... ning v Desire to achieve/motivation v Curiosity v Deep understanding v General knowledge v Relevant work experience v Equipped for continuous education v Problem setting ability v Ability to use IT v Knowledge of the organisation v Specialist factual knowledge v Prior knowledge of the job v Knowledge of social/political issues v It can be analysed that I am quite competent enough in terms of adaptability, self motivation, tolerance, and negotiation skills. I also find myself proficient enough in dealing with large amount of data which is considered as one of the most significant skills for a person in an organisation. I am also competent enough in resolving the problems and planning. Most of the organisations state the fact that it is quite significant for the employees to possess problem solving as well as planning skills since the employees possessing these two skills can assist in attaining the goals of the organisation and can help in maintaining sustainable advantage. However, I find myself less competent in terms of time management, team work as well as leadership potential. Efficient time management is vital in order to attain the tasks of the organisation and to evade wasting the valuable organisation assets. Leadership as well as team management are all about being capable of directing a team to perform the best that it can. Team management is about the capability to obtain the best from the workforce. Leadership can also be observed to be a process of making oneself to be looked upon as an example in any organisation. The organisations cannot run efficiently without a good leader. Similarly, it is also significant to possess skills related to proper team management. Therefore, in order to place myself in a better organisation I need to equip myself with the