Family Expecations Essay

I have found that family expectations are both problematic as well as helpful as I have grown and matured.   My family’s expectations revolve around our shared histories and aspirations as well as their perceptions of what I might be successful at or enjoy in life.   On the other hand, my life outside of my family has developed to a point where I gain encouragement and confirmation about my abilities and projections from other sources, such as my peers, my work, and through socializing. My ultimate priorities are up to me and only I can determine whether or not I am meeting my expectations no matter what my family believes.   That being said, pressures and expectations from my family has helped me to identify certain paths that I might prove successful for me in the long term.   My family usually has my best intentions in mind when they discuss their expectations for me and that can be a comforting and confidence inspiring motivation.   Additionally, if I have doubts about meeting my expectations, my family is there to advise me on what they feel I should or should not be doing in a particular situation based on their wisdom and previous experiences. In contrast, I often feel that my family’s expectations for me are based around what they knew of me as a younger adult or child.   Instead of asking me about my current goals and projects, often times they will revert back to telling me what my dreams were as a kid, or even worse, what dreams they had for me when I was a kid.   I understand that they are trying to be optimistic and positive influences on me, but at the same time I have grown up outside of my family and have created new ideas and goals for my future; not the necessarily the future that they always have had envisioned for me. Prioritizing family expectations is a balancing act for me because I want to make my family proud while at the same time living life according to my own principles.   This can be a difficult terrain to traverse, but ultimately it leads to more open and honest discussions about the best way to live life.   In our family, these discussions can at times become heated, but they are always interesting and we come out of them with newfound respect and hopes for the future. I have found that sometimes not living up to family expectations has been the most fruitful decisions I have personally made in my life.   Making my own choices and following my dreams in spite of my family’s expectations has paid off.   My family is proud of me for having the courage and the ambition to follow through on what I believe in.   If that is in fact their ultimate expectation for me, then I have found the balance necessary to surpass those expectations in the face of all obstacles.

Nes China Case Study Essay

1. Chen was told by her former colleague, Zhu, to give RMB 3000 (US $360) to each of the two government officials. What would be the consequences of doing so for the involved parties and other relevant stakeholders? The core issue around this case is the major differences between Chinese and western ethical values. It is common, in most developed Western countries, for businesses and government officials to closely follow business rules and regulations that are straightforward and by the books. There is absolutely no room for working around any of them, without risking your reputation and ultimately your career. It is common for Western cultures to implement internal audits to make sure no violations to the rules exists. Regarding business practices, dinner parties are common, but expensive gift giving is seldom used in a business setting. On the other hand, in China, building strong relationships and trust is a huge factor involved in their business practices. It is preferable for Companies and government agencies to conduct business with groups their associated with, rather than outsiders. For the Chinese, giving gifts shows a sign of reciprocity between the two parties. It will be almost impossible for NES to built a strong relationship with the Chinese officials without understanding the basics of how they do business. As Chen, what would you suggest to Mueller? Why? As Chen, I would suggest creating a separate business code of conduct especially for the China region. Chen should suggest that NES should not continue to make business decisions based on Western values because China has their own set of unique business norms and cultural values. If they want to be successful in their business dealings in China they need to implement a new plan. They can start by informing the Representative office, especially Steinmann and Dr. Perrin, of the importance of gift giving in the Chinese culture. As stated in the China State Council Article 382 and 383 that gifts given in the amount less than RMB200 do not need to be handed over to the gift administrative department. Also, as long as those gifts are not given for securing illegitimate benefits they are not considered illegal. Therefore, it would be in the best interest of NES representative office to  implement a new established code of conducts for the Beijing office. This will help eliminate uncertainty of the rules and regulations that apply in NES dealings with China and create a business culture that is more diverse and applicable to China’s business culture.

Is Organic Food Good for You Essay

What is organic food? †¢(1) Organic food is food which has been produced to standards designed to keep the production more ‘natural’. Fewer, if any, chemicals are used and most pesticides are banned – when they are used they are very carefully controlled. †¢(2)Organic food costs more then non-Organic food. This is not always the case but on average organic farmers generally charge more for their produce because: oMany organic farming practices take a bit longer and produce lower yields oIt is more labor intensive than conventional agriculture oFields have to be taken out of food production while they go through three years of organic conversion or for fertility building. Here you will find out if organic food is good for you or not, there will be the science behind it, advantages, and disadvantages evidence and a conclusion. The science behind it In the rush to produce more and more crops to satisfy growing demand producers have had to resort to using a lethal cocktail of pesticides to control disease and insect attack. Good news for their bank balances perhaps but not good news for your health, this is why you need to be informed of the advantages of organic food. Did you know that if you consumed an average apple you would be eating over 30 pesticides, even after you have washed it? Organic food is known to contain 50% more nutrients, minerals and vitamins than produce that has been intensively farmed. You will have to eat more fruit nowadays to make up the deficiency, but unfortunately that means eating more chemicals, more detrimental affects on your health eating something that should be good for you! Some more startling facts now. Pesticides in food have been linked to many diseases including: ? Cancer ?Obesity ?Alzheimer’s ?some birth defects There are probably others but if you think about it, how can it be okay for you to eat chemicals and not expect some form of reaction in your body. Our bodies are delicwonderful machines. Any form of foreign chemical is bound to cause irritation at the least. (3)Some organic foods, including fruit, vegetables and milk, may be more nutritious than non-organic produce, according to an investigation by British scientists. Early results from a ? 12m study showed that organic fruit and vegetables contained up to 40% more antioxidants than non-organic varieties, according to Professor Carlo Leifert at Newcastle University, who leads the EU-funded Quality Low Input Food project. Larger differences were found in milk, with organic varieties containing more than 60% more antioxidants and healthy fatty acids, he said. Antioxidant-rich food is often promoted as healthier because in lab tests the compounds neutralize free radicals that are thought to contribute to ageing. (4) Ben Gold acre says the Soil Association’s criticism of the recent Food Standards Agency research on nutrients is â€Å"not about organic food† and that â€Å"the emotive commentary in favor of organic farming bundles together diverse and legitimate concerns about unchecked capitalism in our food supply†, In fact, our argument with the FSA research is about whether it gives a fair and accurate picture of organic food. Gold acre. First, he said we were trying to change the argument by saying that â€Å"the important issue with organic food is not personal health benefits, but rather benefit to the environment†. More farmland wildlife, high animal welfare and lower pollution were not mentioned in our own initial response, but were put forward strongly by the government when the FSA launched its report, and we repeated it as the government’s view, with which I agree. Second he argued that absence of pesticides, no routine use of antibiotics on farm animals and far fewer additives allowed in organic food all deliver health benefits. Goldacre says that as these â€Å"cannot be measured† by the FSA research, mentioning them â€Å"is gamesmanship†. These are real benefits, confirmed by other research. The organic movement represents a spectrum of practices, attitudes, and philosophies. On the one hand are those organic practitioners who would not use chemical fertilizers or pesticides under any circumstances. These producers hold rigidly to their purist philosophy. At the other end of the spectrum, organic farmers espouse a more flexible approach. While striving to avoid the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, these practitioners do not rule them out entirely. Instead, when absolutely necessary, some fertilizers and also herbicides are very selectively and sparingly used as a second line of defense. Nevertheless, these farmers, too, consider themselves to be organic farmers [6]. For raising animals, antibiotics would not be permitted as growth stimulants but would be permitted to counter infections. The rules permit up to 20% of animal feed to be obtained from non-organic sources. This was done because some nutrients (such as trace minerals) are not always available organically. Irradiation, which can reduce or eliminate certain pests, kill disease-causing bacteria, and prolong food shelf-life, would be permitted during processing. Genetic engineering would also be permissible. More Nutritious? Organic foods are certainly not more nutritious The nutrient content of plants is determined primarily by heredity. Mineral content may be affected by the mineral content of the soil, but this has no significance in the overall diet. If essential nutrients are missing from the soil, the plant will not grow. If plants grow, that means the essential nutrients are present. Experiments conducted for many years have found no difference in the nutrient content of organically grown crops and those grown under standard agricultural conditions. Safer? Many â€Å"organic† proponents suggest that their foods are safer because they have lower levels of pesticide residues. However, the pesticide levels in our food supply are not high. In some situations, pesticides even reduce health risks by preventing the growth of harmful organisms, including molds that produce toxic substances . To protect consumers, the FDA sets tolerance levels in foods and conducts frequent â€Å"market basket† studies wherein foods from regions throughout the United States are purchased and analyzed. Its 1997 tests found that about 60% of fruits and vegetables had no detectable pesticides and only about 1. 2% of domestic and 1. 6% of imported foods had violative levels [13]. Its annual Total Diet Study has always found that America’s dietary intakes are well within international and Environmental Protection Agency standards. Most studies conducted since the early 1970s have found that the pesticide levels in foods designated organic were similar to those that were not. In 1997, Consumer Reports purchased about a thousand pounds of tomatoes, peaches, green bell peppers, and apples in five cities and tested them for more than 300 synthetic pesticides. Traces were detected in 77% of conventional foods and 25% of organically labelled foods, but only one sample of each exceeded the federal limit Pesticides can locate on the surface of foods as well as beneath the surface. The amount that washing can remove depends on their location, the amount and temperature of the rinse water, and whether detergent is used. Most people rinse their fruits and vegetables with plain Tastier? â€Å"Organically grown† foods are not inherently tastier than conventionally grown foods. Taste is influenced by freshness, which may depend on how far the products must be shipped from farmer to consumer. What kinds of locally grown fruits and vegetables are available varies from community to community. Whether they are organically or conventionally produced is unlikely to make any difference. In the early 1990s, Israeli researchers made 460 assessments of 9 different fruits and vegetables and no significant difference in quality between â€Å"organic† and conventionally grown samples. The Consumer Reports’ study found no consistent differences in appearance, flavour, or texture. Better for the Environment? Many buyers of â€Å"organic† foods believe that the extra money they pay will ultimately benefit the environment by encouraging more farmers to use â€Å"organic† methods. But doing this cannot have much effect because â€Å"organic† agriculture is too inefficient to meet the world’s food needs. Moreover, the dividing line between organic and conventional agriculture is not sharp because various practices are not restricted to one or the other. For example, â€Å"organic† farmers tend not to use pesticides, but faced with threatened loss of crops, they may change their mind. If certain patterns of pesticide use cause more harm than good and there is a way to remedy the situation, the people concerned about it can seek regulatory solutions. I don’t believe that paying extra for food will benefit anybody but those who sell it. This research shows there are benefits,† said Dr Kirsten Brandt of Newcastle University, which led the research. â€Å"The reason why it’s such a grey area is because it’s extremely difficult to measure the health benefit in any food, but we can say that if you eat 400g of fruit and vegetables per day you would get 20 per cent more nutrients in organic food. † Peter Melchett, policy director of the Soil Association, welcomed the new research. He said: â€Å"There is clear evidence that a range of organic foods contain more beneficial nutrients and vitamins and less of things known to have a detrimental health effect. â€Å"

Marketing communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing communication - Essay Example The selection of the proper target group and promoting the event is very much important. To satisfy the demanding customers the event management companies are creating new ways to win the customers mind. The Glastonbury Music and Art festival is one of the legendary events in the world. And to design a marketing campaign for this event is a challenging work to do. However, the proper marketing communication mix is discussed in this particular paper to make it the best event in UK. The events like Woodstock music festival, October Fest, many sports events like Football World Cup, Cricket World Cup, Olympics, and art and music festival like Glastonbury Festival of contemporary performing art are globally renowned events and managing these events with suitable marketing communication is a very challenging job Introduction: Marketing is concept that, boost up the sales. It is basically a presale activity. Marketing is something which needs innovation and creativity as the act of marketin g depends on the need and preferences of the consumers. The marketing is the blood of the company, without the proper act of marketing it is very hard to sell a product. Marketing consist of many factors and, it is always changing with the changes in the mind of the customer. There are many theories in marketing management but, most of the times these theories are better to be read in the books for the academic excellences but, in real life the marketing have ever changing dimensions. It should be remembered by each and every marketing person that, marketing is not only about the selling product in a fast manner. It should be remembered that the proper marketing strategy would give a long term effect on the product itself to modify into a brand. Most of the time marketing and sales is taken as the cause and effect, but marketer forget about another asset associated with the marketing and that is brand. This paper will take an attempt to identify the best marketing communication proc esses, advertising tag lines and best ethical practices of the advertising with the proper regulations for the event called The Glastonbury Music and Art festival. The paper will mostly focus on the best marketing campaign which includes media, PR and online promotions. The identification of target audience, conceptualizing the event and post event analysis is very much important for any event management company. The event management industry has given a new look to the global event business. The properly managed international events have a great effect on the economy of the country. The event management business and the core concept of globalizing the events have given a great repute to the cultural festivals. An Evaluation of Marketing Communications: The marketing mix: In this new era of marketing the traditional 4 Ps are not enough anymore. As every product is associated with some kinds of services so the 7 Ps are more relevant. Service marketing required some more specification s as far as the marketing is concern. The traditional four Ps of marketing are very important for the product marketing. However, according to Crane (1993) the additional three Ps are also very important for the service oriented business (Crane: 1993). And they are people, physical evidence and the process. According to Rutherford and O’Fallon (2007) the hospitality industry works with three main parties and they are the owner of the hotel, the management team and the

The relationship between changing of labor force(total labor number ) Research Paper

The relationship between changing of labor force(total labor number ) and Unemployment rate - Research Paper Example A study by Hornstein defined labor force participation as the number of people who are eligible to work. In many countries, a noted in a study by Meyer, labor force is often calculated monthly. Additionally, the same study indicates that when workforce increases, unemployment declines (Meyer). During the economic recession, the unemployment rate rose rapidly, from approximately 4% in 2007 to 10% in 2009 (Conrad). However, since the economies have been improving, the unemployment rate has been reducing gradually. After four years of the recession, unemployment has been at 7% (Conrad). At the same time, participation in the labor force has been declining steadily over the same time. It now stands at 63%, the same level it was in the 1980s. A study by Elmeskov noted that the decline in the labor force participation indicates that the unemployment rate is going to reduce, but slowly. This means that there is a relationship between labor force and unemployment rate. Economic experts predict that if the labor market improves many people who have left their jobs will return and contribute to the pool of the unemployed. In this case, the number of unemployed persons will reduce, and the labor force participation will increase (Elmeskov). A number of studies have demonstrated an adverse correlation between the unemployment rate and the workforce participation (Boesler; Hornstein; Toossi). The authors of these studies argue that when unemployment rate declines, the labor force participation increases. This paper agrees with these studies because indeed, there is a negative correlation between the unemployment and the labor force participation. A study by Hornstein noted that the potential workforce is categorised into three groups. These are the employed, the unemployed, and the inactive workforce. The inactive workforce is individuals who

Comparative Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility Assignment

Comparative Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility - Assignment Example To understand more about comparative advantage, the author will feature in an example. In country A, a worker using machinery produces 4 shirts and 4 skirts per hour while in country B which has less machinery, a worker produces 4 shirts and 2 skirts per hour. It is evident that the less efficient country has a comparative advantage in producing shirts. With the absence of trade, the opportunity cost per shirt is 2 skirts. Bearing in mind that the more efficient country has a 1:1 trade-off, the cost per shirt may reduce to as low as 1 skirt depending on the volume of trade. The more efficient country has a comparative advantage in skirts. It would, therefore, make economic sense if the country shifted its shirts production resources to produce more skirts. It would then trade them for shirts. In economics, the net benefits realized by each country are called the gains from trade. The idea of comparative advantage was first mentioned and developed in Adam Smith’s book The Wealt h of Nations. Here, he puts the theory as follows: if a foreign country can supply us with a commodity cheaper than when we ourselves can make it, it is better to buy it from them with gains realized from our own industry. This has to be employed or designed in a way that we have some advantage. David Ricardo, in his 1817 book, On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, investigated the advantages and alternatives as well as relative opportunity in an example involving Portugal and England. In his book, he noted that in Portugal, it was possible to produce both cloth and wine using less labor compared to producing the same quantities in England. He also noted that the relative costs met in producing those two goods were different in the two countries.

Italian Mafia v.s. Russian Mafia in the United States Research Paper

Italian Mafia v.s. Russian Mafia in the United States - Research Paper Example They are known to exist in Europe, Asia and America. Most of these mafias have targeted America. They may have considered the country as a strategic location to extend their operation. Italian, Russian and Asian mafias are considered present in the United States. The Italian and Russian mafias are the ones to have developed a strong alliance with its American members. They have successfully penetrated almost all part of U.S. territory. According to Frank Shanty (2008), the Italian mafias became known to U.S. in 1880. During that period, over five million Italians migrated to the country (Woetzel, 2004). There were various reasons for the immigration. Some were brought to America for their talent. Others were political refugees and escapee from legal issues (Woetzel, 2004). As a consequence, one could find many Italian Americans roaming around the cities (Shanty, 2008). These people of dual citizenship have formed gangs which alarmed the American society. A gang was perceived as a criminal organization. It can be inferred then that the Italians were the pioneer of gangs in America. In 1900, an issue came out that â€Å"a monolithic and corporate-like crime† group was preying on America (Shanty, 2008). This organization was allegedly composed of Italian American members. Nonetheless, investigators have not found any group of such kind. The controversy was then labeled as a misconception. The idea was just bro ught up due to anti-immigrant sentiment and sensation journalism (Shanty, 2008). In the following years, the thinking developed further. Crime fighters have theorized that Italy was behind the organized criminal organization. They specifically described it as an Italian conspiracy (Shanty, 2008). Several articles then were released digging up the history of Italians. An Italian man named Lucky Luciano even came up and made a revelation. He stated that in 1931, an association of younger Italians had murdered almost one hundred Mafioso leaders across the

Nursing leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nursing leadership - Essay Example More so, it requires nurses to ensure that they are well equipped with recent and updated skills and knowledge to be able to practice safely and effectively without supervision. In addition, it involves keeping clear and accurate records to help in future references and avoid unnecessary confusion. A systemic review is where several trials of similar intervention are conducted to create an outstanding outcome. It aims at coming up with the best available research on a given issue by synthesizing the results of various studies. It makes use of transparent methods to identify, analyze and combine the results of any relevant study. Systemic reviews have become acceptable in health care setting and other disciplines. Philosophy of nursing refers to the core values and beliefs that a nurse upholds when performing their professional duties. It is the belief that every patient, regardless of their race, economic status, or disease they are suffering from, should receive high quality health care with the highest regards to compassion, integrity and respect that they deserve. Personal philosophy nursing includes the nurses’ feelings and perceptions on ethical issues of nursing as well as the patient’s basic human rights. Nursing is an important profession that mainly deals with individuals’ health care. It involves provision of holistic and quality healthcare for the sick and infirm. Nurses are expected to offer quality care and create awareness about different health conditions among the patients as well as the public. More so, they empower every patient concerning the delivery of a holistic treatment approach. Nevertheless, nursing helps in providing necessary support to different patients and their families. Nursing is all about providing quality health care to those who are in need. It is about maintaining a good relationship with the patient, being a

In what ways has the post-Cold War economic globalization expose Essay

In what ways has the post-Cold War economic globalization expose workers, consumers and countries to new insecurities and how can the risks associated with process be managed - Essay Example The Cold War, after all, albeit essentially a geopolitical divide spawned a great economic divide between two blocs that characterised the world set up since the end of the World War II until the late 1980s. Since the divide did not confine itself between the then two superpowers but spread throughout Europe, Asia Africa and Latin America the ensuing economic split was extensive and thorough throughout the globe. Economic competition was all-consuming between the two blocs and the trade between them and their allies was virtually reduced to barter and countertrade. Internal trade within each bloc however, grew during the Cold War as represented by such pacts and agreements as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) or the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) for the US bloc and the Council of Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) for the Soviet bloc (Aldonas 2009 29-30). With the end of the Cold War, economic changes far and wide ensued. Gone were the restrictions and barriers that characterized the economic and trade relations between countries belonging to the respective Soviet and US blocs. More significantly, it freed up the economic resources that were previously used to fund the excessive manufacture of weapons and armaments on both sides. Trade liberalisation unfettered by ideological constraints brought China’s entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and saw the latter’s rise and emergence, along with India, as the new economic superpowers. The new economic freedom facilitated world economic growth that reached a new height in 2004 at 3.8 per cent, an economic development that exemplified the rapid economic growth that outpaced that of the last three decades combined (Aldonas 2009 29). Yet, along with the unprecedented rapid economic growth, the unification of the world market or globalisation in the post-Cold War

Improvised, Electronic, Device Essay Example for Free

Improvised, Electronic, Device Essay Always expanding and reconstructing electronic and industrial music to its breaking point while keeping rhythm and melody intact, FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY are preparing to unleash the latest chapter in their storied history with the release of IMPROVISED. ELECTRONIC. DEVICE. on June 25, 2010 on Dependent. I. E. D. is definitely furthering the direction of the band and sound, creatively and artistically, explains founder and mastermind behind FLA, Bill Leeb. Were finding new ways to make sound. A hearty and robust album thick with a hybrid of electronics and guitars, I. E. D. takes their trademark sound and beefs it up with metallic guitars and stylized industrial beats. Kicking off with the adrenaline-infused title track, its apparent that this is a new and improved FLA. This is the first time in Front Line history that we did a track in a 5/4 signature, explains Bill. Chris [Peterson, keyboards] was pushing for more diversity, challenging the band to do something different. We wanted this track to be as challenging and complex as the world we live in as there are no easy answers. From the electronic bounce of Hostage to the dark metal of Release to the ambient and atmospheric closing track, Downfall, I. E. D. is an album rife with the FLAs brand of intelligent dance music. The first single Shifting Through the Lens is the most danceable track FLA has created in the last decade and came together quite naturally. Jeremy [Inkel, keyboards] came up with the original sequence for the verse and chorus and, right away, I really liked what I heard, Bill explains. It really brings together a lot of the different aspects of industrial and electronic that we all like. The inimitable Al Jourgensen (Ministry, Revolting Cocks) guests on the sonic industrial onslaught of Stupidity, which Bill describes as, inspired by the Ministry album The Last Sucker. Jeremy was on tour with his other band Left Spine Down supporting RevCo and he get to know Al really well. Were really excited to have him on it! Adds Jeremy, Not only did Al agree to do the vocals, but he got his hands dirty with the production and mixed the whole song in his studio in El Paso. Formed in 1986 when Bill left Skinny Puppy, FLA are still as vital and energetic as ever. With US and European tours planned for Summer and Fall 2010, theyre gearing up for their legendary epic live performances. Were quite excited [to tour], Bill adds. We feel we have grown as a band over the last four years. We really eel this new album will sound great live and cant wait to get out there and be creative with it! Silver Recovery Canisters for Used X-ray Fixer in Dental Offices Using silver recovery units for the management of used fixer only makes economic and practical sense if the flow of used fixer is at least 2-3 gallons per week. Most dental offices generate a gallon or less of used fixer per month; not enough flow to make on site silver recovery cost-effective, due to the cost of buying and periodic replacement of the two required units. Such minimal flow also allows the steel wool in the recovery units to rust between uses, making the units ineffective in as little as 6 months after first use. Setting up two silver recovery canisters in a series can range from $200 to $1,700. Operating, changeover, and testing costs can add an additional $150-$300 annually. Most dental offices only generate ? to 1 gallon of used fixer per month, making proper on-site silver recovery not very cost-effective. Hazardous Waste Services Directory is a database that offers a list of companies that can help you to manage silver waste

The Core Objective Of JWD Organisations

The Core Objective Of JWD Organisations The case study that we are going to cover is of JWDs consulting project management intranet site project, the objective of this case is to identify and to recognize the critical assumptions and constraints of project management. The core objective of JWD is to provide world class project management services related to project management to various organizations that is in need for better project management services. According to the CEO of JWD, Joe Fleming the company can streamline its services and also can increase and maintain its business opportunities and services by providing all the informations related to project management and its services on the companys intranet site, to make the services and products informations available to its current and potential clients. Objectives The business objective of JWD is to formulate strategies to find new opportunities and to continue their growth in the market along with increasing the profitability of the company. The major objective of the company in formulating the project management intranet site is to support the objectives as defined by the company in its strategy and to increase the visibility of the expertise of the firm to its internet. The company will not only achieve their strategic objectives but also help in reducing the organizations internal costs by presenting standard tools, techniques, templates, and project management knowledge to all the internal consultants that are associated to the company. The project management intranet site will give a threshold to the company in meeting those objectives finally. Current situation and problem/opportunity statement JWD currently has a fully functioning web site as well as a corporations intranet; the organization uses the website to provide information about the company. And the intranet is basically used for providing human resource information to the employees such as let know the employees about the hours where they have to put their efforts on various projects and also let know the employee about their benefits and other assets and also allowing them to change certain informations about them at times. The other major advantages of the intranet for the employees is that they can access the online directory related to the company and its clients, the intranet also provides the employees with the benefit of using the web based e-mail system where they can read and compose mails from their ID that is given to them from the company. The firm also uses an enterprise-wide project management system where the firm can track the progress in the projects and other reports and processes that is going on in the organization. The major focus of the enterprise-wide project management system is that it can focus on the status of deliverables and other meetings scopes, time and cost goals. The opportunity that the company has about including a new section on the companys intranet is that of sharing the consultants project management information and knowledge across the organization. The main point about the JWD consultancy is that it recruits only professional and experienced consultants that have wide knowledge and an area of expertise in the field of consultancy and gives them freedom to work on projects that they feel feasible according to the corporations requirements, and which they think might fit in the structure of the organization. However even the most experienced and the most talented professionals is seeking for advice in the company on how to work effectively and efficiently as the business is growing exponentially and the projects are becoming more and more complex. Critical assumptions and constraints The intranet site that is proposed should be a valuable asset to the company as the company had invested a huge amount and resources in the project. For the success of the project many factors plays a major role such as the consultants and the clients should actively support the project to give a threshold and a sense of satisfaction to the company as it is very important for the company to keep their morale up. The intranet site must have the capability of generating back the amount that was invested in the project by reducing the internal costs of various other processes that were going on in the organization before the introduction of the project of intranet site, and also to provide new business opportunities to the company. The main part that is to be played in the success and the initiation of the intranet site project should be that of the project manager who should make sure that all the processes related to the project is successfully implemented and is of worth. Secondly there should be an active participation in the project by expertise from various sections of the company as well as from the clients organization. The new system should be capable of running on the existing softwares and hardwares of the company so that no extra cost of implementing new hardware and software should be faced by the company. One more thing that the software should be capable of is that the software should be very handy to use i.e. there should be no complexity in operating the software by the client and other user form the public so that no extra cost should be faced by the company in providing the training and knowledge about the software. But the main thing is that the software should be secured enough so that no unauthenticated user can access the data that is not meant for him. Analysis of options and recommendations There are three options before the company to address the opportunity The first option before the company is to do nothing i.e. any need for any new software or service solution as the business is doing well, new service can only make the job more complicated for the company. The second option before the company is to buy new specialized software rather than building one and to make a little development about the software to increase and to maintain its capability in the company. The third option before the company was to design and develop new intranet capabilities in the company itself using mostly the resources that they already had with them like the existing hardwares and softwares and the human resource that they have in the organization. Based on the discussion that was done with the stakeholders the ultimate conclusion that JWD arrived to is to use the third option. 6. Preliminary project requirement The major features and services that the intranet site promises to provide are: The intranet site will give user an access to several project management templates and tools. I.e. the user must be able to use the templates and tools and also get have access to the instructions of how to use these templates and tools along with the examples to use these templates and tools on real time projects and services. One more feature that is included is that the user will be able to submit new templates and tools that can prove to be beneficial for the company and also reflects the users ability. The submission of templates and tools are subjected to be first edited and screened from the project management office. The user will have an access to related project management articles that will help them in working on their own project. The clients and consultants will feel as there is an information overload when they will research on the project management information. This results in the wasting of precious time that they should be spending with their clients. The new intranet facility will include an access to all the project management articles that will prove to be very important in the project management, the articles will be made available to be searched by the topic name, this will save the precious time of the user and hence results in high productivity. The user can also send a command to the project management office requesting them to find additional articles that will meet their needs. The intranet site will also have links to other main web-sites that will help the users in gaining important knowledge about the subjects. The site will also have a brief description about the external web-sites. The site will have a very important feature named ask the experts that will help in building relationship with the current and the future clients, this feature will also help in sharing knowledge with the internal consultants. The intranet will have appropriate security measures so that only authenticated persons can get the informations and no person can get that information that is not meant for him, only the internal consultants and the authenticated persons can have access to the required information. The site must have a feature to charge for the premium services to the internal members and the internal consultants. The site must also have a feature to charge the external users for some features. The payment option should have a credit card option along with other payment options. The user should be able to download the required information and data only after the verification of the payment. The other features that should be included in the site should be suggested by the users. 7. Budget estimates and financial analysis The JWD consultancy estimated the cost for the entire project to be $1, 40,000. The estimate that the consultancy arrived at is based on the factors that the project manager has to work for 20 hours per week in a total for about 6 months, and the other internal staff that is estimated to be working for 60 hours per week for a total duration of 6 months. The customer representatives were not considered to be paid under the project, the staff project managers pay will be $50 per hour, the pay of other members of the project management staff was considered to be $70 per hour, some initial cost were also estimated to be $10,000 for purchasing softwares and services from suppliers. After the completion of the project JWD estimated that the cost for the management and the maintenance of the software thereafter is estimated to be $40,000 per year by the company, this cost that was estimated were primarily to update the ask the expert feature and the online articles. The projected benefits were based on the reduction of hours that the consultants will spend on doing the research on the project management information, tools and templates and other related features. The projected benefits that the consultancy estimated were of the profit and new services that the project will develop for the country and hence will count in the companys revenue. The company estimated that if 400 consultants will save 40 hours per year and if they could bill that time span to other projects that have generated a profit of $10 per hour, then it is estimated by the company that they could earn a profit of $1, 60,000 per annum, and if the intranet produces new business by 1% then it is estimated that the profit generated by the new project would be at least $ 40,000 per annum. Therefore the total profit that the company estimated would be around $ 2, 00,000 per annum. 8. Schedule estimate The sponsors of the company were hoping to see the project completed within six months, but there were flexibility in the schedule. The estimated life cycle of the product was assumed to be around 3 years by the company, and the product is considered to be very useful in its lifetime. 9. Potential risks Several risks were involved with this project. The first and the foremost risk that was assumed by the company was that of the internal consultants and the external clients, as they dont have any idea about the interest of the clients and the internal consultants in the new system i.e. the clients and the internal consultants were not satisfied that if the project will be proved to be fruitful and will be profitable for the organization. User input also has a great significance and is very crucial for the system to be successful as the users are the ones that populate the data into the system, and the users were the ones that could tell the efficiency of the system and also realize the potential benefits of using the system. The technical risks that were involved in the system were the searching method that was used to search the data on the intranet, and the security risks that were involved in the system like that of hacking into the system and the failure of the payment system. But the system were using only that technologies that are technically proven by the experts therefore, there is a very little chance that the system will fail because of the technical failure. The major business risks that were included in the system are the risk of the investment of money and time along with the investment of human resource. One more major business risk associated with the system is that of the projected benefits of the system i.e. not realizing the projected benefits of the system would be a great business risk for the organization as the organization would suffer a huge loss if they couldnt identify the potential of the software. 10. Exhibits (Budgeting) Exhibit A: financial analysis for the project management intranet site Table : financial exhibit Project charter Project title The title of the project was project management intranet site project Project start date The project was scheduled to be started on May, 2, 2008 Project finish date The project was scheduled to be ended on November, 4, 2008 Budget information The budget that the firm allocated for the project management intranet site was $ 1, 40,000. The initial estimate that the project manager estimated was a total of 80 hours per week work and that work was estimated to be done by internal labors majorly. Project manager Erica bell was appointed as the project manager for the whole project. Project objectives The objective before the firm was to develop a new capability that is accessible on JWD consulting intranet site, the main task of the site will be to help internal and external customers in managing new projects effectively and conveniently. The main features of the site is that the site will contain several tools and techniques that can be downloaded by the authenticated users and the outside users after paying some amount, the site will also contain examples of completed projects and templates that will be based on real time projects and that can be used by the internal consultants and clients for detailed understanding and completion of their projects effectively, the site will also contain important articles based on project management topics and that can also be used for gaining knowledge and understanding about the project management related topics, the site will also have an article retrieval service that will allow the user to send their query for the related article to the project management section and the project management section will made available those articles to the user. The intranet site will also have links to various other useful sites with a brief overview of the contents and the usefulness of the site, this feature will help the user in getting all the information about any related topic that they are unable to find on the companys intranet site. The intranet site will also have an ask the expert feature on the site that will help the users to post questions and queries that they have about any project, after asking the advice from the experts about a related project the user will get an expert advice on how to tackle that problem and the related strategies about that project. Some sections of the intranet site will be made available to the user so that they can access for free of cost, the other features of the site will be paid for the external users. But most of the section of the intranet site will be accessible to current customers and the internal consultants of the company, but there could be some features for which the internal consultants and the clients would have to pay, that features would be the value added or the add-on features of the site. Approach The approach applied by the firm on the project is: The first thing that the project management team does is that they conducted a survey among the consultants and the customers to determine the critical features of the new intranet site. The second approach that the project management team applied is to review the external and internal templates and to review the project management documents thoroughly. The third approach by the project management team is concerned with the security and the accessibility features of the intranet site i.e. the project management team researched on the softwares that will provide the security features, manage user inputs in a corrected and well accessible mode, facilitate the articles, and to use and to implement the ask the experts feature. The fourth approach that had being taken by the project management team is to use the iterative approach to develop the intranet site i.e. to continuously feed suggestions from descent users and to make the changes accordingly if applicable anywhere in the site like that related to the security features, and the applications. The fifth approach that the project management team has taken is related to the financial aspects of the project intranet site i.e. the team is developing approach to determine the ways to measure the value of the intranet site in terms of reduced costs and in terms of finding ways to generate new revenues, both of these strategies is being monitor during the project and for one year period after the completion of the project. Roles and responsibilities Table : role and responsibilities of the team Comments: I will support this project as time allows, but I believe my client project take priority. I will have one of my assistants support the project as needed-Michael Chen We need to be extremely careful testing this new system, especially the security in giving access to parts of the intranet site to the public and clients.-Kevin Dodge and Cindy Dawson Project management planning Planning phase in the project management process is considered to be the most difficult phase as it consists of various processes and often is an unappreciated process. As planning is not always facilitated therefore many peoples assume that project planning is a vein process and view it in negativity. The main purpose of the project planning is to guide the project in executing successfully. And to successfully execute the project it is necessary that the planning for the project execution should be realistic and useful i.e. it should be feasible, therefore a fair amount of time and process is required for the project planning process. In the project planning process peoples who is knowledgeable with the project planning phase should work on the project planning process. The planning and processes table explains all the areas of project management planning like knowledge area of the project, planning process of the project, and the outputs that the team was getting after executing each and every task. In view of the fact that the project management intranet site project was relatively small therefore, the project manager Erica believes that the most important planning documents that the team should consider should be the: A team contract that will bound the team to their responsibilities. A project scope statement that will clarify the scope and other aspects of the project A work breakdown structure i.e. WBS should also be included. The team will also need to formulate a Gantt chart analysis that will cover all the dependencies and the resources that is entered. All the documents that were discussed and other information that is related to the project will be available to all the team members so, that the team members would have a detailed understanding of all the processes that is going on and will have a chance to make suggestions wherever applicable. JWD consulting had already used project websites for quite a few years and had been very successful in facilitating communications and document related informations. JWD consulting had also created project organization charts, along with a formal communications management plans, quality management plan, a detailed cost estimate plan, procurement plans, and other planning documents that is really helpful for the company in formulating strategies and other plans. As soon as the project team had signed the charter, the project manager Erica organized a team-builder meeting related to the project management intranet site, the purpose of calling the meeting was that she wants each and every person of the group to get comfortable with each other i.e. she wanted that each person in the group should not be shy of any other person of the group and should feel comfortable with working with them, Erica herself had talked and met other members of the team personally and shared her professional experiences with them, this was the very first time that the whole project team is spending much time together. The team members consisted of Jessie faue who worked with Erica in the project management office, therefore they knew each other very well, but as Jessie was new to the company therefore she needed a team gathering to interact with others, Michael Chen was the senior consultant for the firm and had been involved in highest priority projects for the exte rnal clients, Michael attended the meeting with his assistant Jill Anderson who will support the project in the absence of micheal, michaels involvement in the project was a double benefit for the team as he is very straightforward in dealing clients and is very experienced in his field, Michaels assistance would also be a great benefit for the team as Michael knew both of the client representatives from past projects. Kevin dodge was JWDs intranet guru who had a great insight of technical aspects and had a very good experience in this area. Cindy Dawson was also from the IT department of JWD and she also had a good experience in working as a business consultant and has remarkable negotiating skills. Kim Phuong and page miller was the two client representatives, and they were very excited about the project, but they were cagey of sharing sensitive information about their company with the team of JWD. Erica had used certain techniques to let the team members get to know each other, she asked everyone about their dream vacations and where they want to spend most of their time, this activity proved to be an ice-breaker activity for the team as everybody felt relaxed after sharing their thoughts with each other. After the session, Erica explained each and every aspect related to the project to the team and also explained the importance of the project and other major aspects, she also explained that the most important thing in working as a team is an effective teamwork therefore she then asked everyone to sign a contract that every person in the group felt comfortable in signing the project. Contract signing between the team members for all projects had always been the key strategy of JWD to help in promoting the team work and to clarify the communication between the team. Erica then explained the major aspects of the contract explaining all the details and aspects related to the contract, and then showed the team a sample template related to the contract. Erica then divided the project management team into a group of two, the first group is the group consisting of all the members from the consulting department and in the other group she departs all the members of the information technology department. This strategy of Erica helped the team as all the members are now related to a particular group where they expertise their field, now everyone can provide their ideas and contribute to the knowledge related to the project in their fields. Table : planning processes and output Scope statement Project name: project management intranet site project Date: may 18, 2008 Prepared by: Erica bell, project manager Project justification The CEO of JWD consulting, requested this project to support the company in meeting its strategic goals. The main features of the intranet site is that the site would increase transparency of the companys products and services to the current clients and to the potential clients, with the help of the intranet which would be available to the clients and potential clients. The intranet site will also help the company in reducing its internal costs and also help in streamlining the processes and operations that is going on in the company, the intranet site will also help the company to increase the companys profitability by providing new opportunities, standard tools, new techniques, templates for assistance in project development, and will also provide project informations and knowledge to internal clients. The budget passed for the project is $ 1, 40,000. An additional amount of $ 40,000 per year will also be required after the completion of the project for the maintenance of the site and to include new features in the site. The benefits that are estimated that the site would produce per year would be $200,000 per year by generating new businesses. It is very important to keep focused on the system paying for itself i.e. the amount that is invested in the development of the project, within one year of the completion of the project. Project management related deliverables Business case, charter, team contract, scope statement, WBS, schedule, cost baseline, status report, final project presentation, final project report, lessons-learned report, and other related documents are important for the management of this project. Project execution Executing any project involves taking necessary actions to ensure all the processes are executed and is complied in the project management plan. Project execution also includes the work that is required to include any new hardware or software or any new process to include into normal operations. Most of the products that the project had promised to deliver had been completed in the project execution phase and usually requires most of the resources to accomplish most of the processes. All the processes are like knowledge area, executing processes, and the output of the project execution phase is listed in the planning process and outcome table. The main focus of many customers and project sponsors is the outcome that is related to providing the products, services, or the particular result that is desired from that project. Besides the outputs that are listed below other outputs are equally important like change requests, corrective actions. As the project was relatively smaller project, therefore it was very much possible for Erica to work closely with other team members on the project to make sure that they all are working correctly and in the right direction. Erica had a very good networking with peoples across the world that can help her whenever there is any problem related to the project, through networking Erica can well take advantages of her networking skills by getting the work done through other peoples in the firm and external peoples without any additional cost. She assured everyone that whoever uses the intranet application will also understand that they were producing as part of the project and assured them that this project will surely help each and every one of them in the future. Erica knew that providing a strong leadership and using excellent communication skills will surely help in the project execution in a much better way. that the firm majorly uses to outsource the portions of the projects. Erica knew that Joe the CEO of the company and other project sponsors would like to see project reports and progress made in the project through milestone reports therefore Erica formed a milestone report based on that. Joe also wanted Erica to alert him to any potential issues and problems whichever arrived in the project, Erica used to meet all the project team members to talk on the issue quite frequently and also use to give Joe review about the ongoing in the project on a regular basis like once in a week or after completing a particular milestone. Instead of using the project management software, Erica used the word processing software to create milestone report because the project was a relatively low level project, and she can very well manipulate the report format easily in the word processing software. Table : milestone report as of June 17, 2008 Gantt chart Network Diagram Note: Path shown in red color is critical path. Many conflicts did arrive in several meetings like conflicts on human resource and other issues. Sometimes it often happened that Michael seemed a little bored and Erica did noticed that thing, Michael often left the room in the middle of the meetings to talk to other clients, seeing that Erica asked Michael about the situation and found that though Michael was supportive for the project but he told Erica that he can only spend a little time for the project. Erica saw that Michael was much more productive outside the meetings, therefore Erica thought that Michael should attend minimal time for team meetings and should concentrate on other issues like project development and related issues, Erica saw that Michael was contributing to the team by contributing to the team by providing the feedbacks and also through his leadership on the ask the expert feature for the intranet site. Therefore Erica adjusted his communication style and allowed Michael to manage the things as he would like to manage. Another major conflict arose when Cindy was contacting the potential suppliers for asking assistance on ask the exert feature and related user request features. Kevin wanted to develop and write all the software for the project itself but instead Cindy insisted on purchasing the softwares and thought it would produce more business sense to buy all the softwares from a reliable source. Cindy had to convince Kevin to buy the software requirements and that it would be more effective if we purchase the required softwares from reliable sources. Cindy discovered that their estimate of $ 10,000 to buy the software was only half of the amount that were needed for the project, she therefore discussed this problem with Erica explaining the need for custom development of the softwares no matter which supplier they choose for the project. Erica therefore agreed on to buy the softwares from some outside source, and therefore asked the suppliers to approve the additional funding that is required for the software. Joe did agree on to allocate additional amount but he still emphasized on the fact that the project should pay for itself within one year of completion of the project. Erica also had to ask Joe on the matter that the project team were receiving low responses from the user on the surveys and requests. Therefore Joe sent out an email to all the JWD consulting consultants and other employees requesting them to provi

An Overview of Health Promotion Programs

An Overview of Health Promotion Programs ASSIGNMENT: What are health prevention programs? What role do employers play with health prevention programs? Research health prevention programs and the various companies that offers them. Which company’s program do you prefer? Why? In November 2006, I began my journey to lose weight and become a healthy individual. When I was 203 pounds, I knew I needed to lose weight because I was currently vulnerable of succumbing to the many health issues like high blood pressure, heart disease, joint problems and even exercise induced asthma. During my quest to lose 63 pounds, I began a health prevention program that overtime would eliminate or greatly reduce my chances of ever contracting a lifestyle related illness. I didn’t know it at the time, but many businesses today work to provide the same lifestyle I was seeking to achieve and still look to obtain today. If businesses look to provide health prevention programs, it would be a great idea to learn more about what health prevention programs entail. Health prevention programs are programs that are created to help the public fight off illnesses and overcome diseases. Health prevention programs stave off chronic diseases such as heart disease, various cancers, and lower respiratory infections such as COPD and asthma. Most of these can be prevented by stopping high-risk behavior such as smoking and overeating. The reason why health prevention programs are so effective is because, like the name says, these are programs that prevent illnesses as mild as obesity (which is in no way mild) and as severe as heart attacks and strokes (Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2014). Chronic diseases like heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes are responsible for at least seven and as much as 10 deaths a year in the United States. Furthermore, treatment for the preventable yet chronic ailments costs over 75% of the over $2.5 trillion that is spent annually on health care costs. Finally, yet not exhaustively, obesity is responsible for a great deal of health costs. Because disease risks often related to various social activities like tobacco use, physical inactivity, poor diet, and alcohol abuse, this often results in unnecessary reasons for poor health and even more unnecessary reasons for chronic disease (Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2014). Businesses are interested in health prevention because of the indirect costs businesses incur for poor health in the work place such as absenteeism, physical disability, and reduced employee work output. These cause are further exacerbated by increased health insurance costs. These reductions in production due to preventable health issues have been known to cost employers in the United States as much as $1,685 per individual employee per year. Another ways to view it is that it costs employers $225.8 billion a year (Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2014). This means there is a necessity to implement and then expand an evidence-based health prevention that will provide the opportunity to improve the health but also control health care spending in the United States. Health prevention programs have proven effective. Workplace health programs have influenced social norms; establish new health policies, promote healthy lifestyles, and generate health screenings like immunizations, and reduce on-the-job exposure to hazards that can cause injury and diseases. When evidence based health prevention programs are effectively executed, these programs can generate around a $3 profit for every dollar spent (Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2014). Health prevention programs have also benefited programs that focus on aging. Measures taking by the Administration on Aging is has implemented programs that benefit older adults manage and improve their health. Older Americans often suffer on a daily basis with chronic diseases, illnesses and injuries such as heart disease, arthritis, and diabetes. Health prevention programs are key in teaching older adults healthy behaviors and lifestyles. One of the best ways health prevention programs benefit older adults is through the use of community based wellness programs. These health prevention programs have been proven track record of increasing self-sufficiency and independence among older adults while decreasing trips to health care providers so that older adults are able to care and manage their health on their own for longer periods of time (HHS Administration on Aging, 2014). As alluded to earlier, businesses have benefited and have a heightened role in generating health prevention programs. First of all, companies can create three to five health intervention programs that often involve a combination of new programs, policies, and even environmental programs that highlight and celebrate nutrition and physical activity, while discouraging alcohol abuse, drug use and tobacco use in the workplace. One example of these programs include creating an inner and outer workplace environment that is completely tobacco-free while also subsidizing counseling to quit smoking and excess drug and alcohol issues. Another programs brings a local farmer’s market into the workplace. The farmer’s market not only provides the produce but also offers nutritional education and counseling, menu creations based on healthy, whole foods, non-junk foods in the workplace cafeteria and vending machines, counseling for weight loss and weight maintenance; and physical activ ity /lifestyle counseling, such as walking and running clubs. A successful workplace health prevention program will result in the full support and commitment of health prevention leadership and employees that are fully entrenched in all core health prevention programs that are created in a healthy lifestyle culture within the worksite (Health Promotion Programs, 2014). There are quite a few businesses that have excellent health prevention programs. First of all, SAS an international software company located in North Carolina, provides for its employees a wellness program that is built around its recreation and fitness center. This recreation and fitness center is open not only to SAS employees but also the employee family members and those who retire from SAS. Furthermore, SAS provides health checks, smoking cessation programs and incentives for accomplishing fitness goals. Finally though not exhaustively, the recreations and fitness center also provides preventative services as well as primary health care services to the SAS employees and their dependents (EHS Today, 2014). Another company that excels in generating health prevention programs is actually a university. The University of Alaska provides their employees an opportunity to complete a wellness profile so that they can uncover any hidden health concerns and then direct the employee to the right department in the university’s on-site health and wellness services. The university’s employees can then take part in applicable health screenings, health and fitness events, health and wellness coaching, and online health tracking. Employees who take part in the university’s health prevention programs are often reward for participating in the program (EHS Today, 2014). A third company that excels in providing a health prevention program is the Hamilton Utilities Corporation. This company health prevention program has the goal of providing a healthy workplace for all of their employees. The health prevention program encourages their employees to go beyond popping pills and submitting to surgeries for health maintenance but to look to maintain health from a holistic point of view. This involves measures such as a supportive work environment, workers safety, and employee empowerment programs. The company’s wellness team then evaluates and implements their wellness programs. Then the company’s management team provides support for the company’s wellness efforts through employee training, employee participation incentives, and implementing vending machines that provide healthy food choices in the workplace (EHS Today, 2014). Of all the programs, I am most impressed with the health prevention program that is found at SAS. Frist of all, I like how they provide a smoke free environment outside as well as inside. I remember one company I worked at where I needed to drop off an overnight package in a FedEx drop box that was right next to a prime smokers spot. I always had to hold my breath at that spot because that second-hand cigarette smoke was indeed quite intense. Furthermore, I really appreciate the thoughtfulness of SAS to provide a fitness center that is accessible not only to the employees but also to the employees family and it’s available to the employees long after they retire. Finally, though certainly not exhaustively, I appreciate how SAS rewards employees for accomplishing fitness goals really touches my heart. I would love to work at a company that rewards a person for reaching his or her goal weight, completing a 10K and even anniversaries for each year an employee’s goal weight is maintained. I would be honored to work at such a company. Conclusion After completing this assignment, I’m even more encouraged to lose the thirty pounds I’ve regained. I want to live a long and healthy life and I can’t do that with a thirty pound excess weighing down my heart and challenging my breathing and joints. Furthermore, even with health insurance, managing the hazards of excess weight is expensive. I would rather spend money on tap dance classes and running 10Ks than on prescriptions for managing high blood pressure. Finally, though certainly not exhaustively, I have a six-year-old nephew that I want to watch grow up, graduate from college and get married. I’ve always said I want to dance at his wedding; and I can’t do that as well if dancing will cause breathing problems due to excess weight. I’m so thankful for companies that provide health prevention programs because they encourage me to maintain my own healthy lifestyle. References Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2014). Comprehensive Workplace Health Programs to Address Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Tobacco Use in the Workplace. Retrieved March 16, 2014, from Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): http://www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/nhwp/index.html EHS Today. (2014). Employers Take Active Role in Promoting Workplace Wellness. Retrieved March 16, 2014, from EHS Today: http://ehstoday.com/health/ergonomics/ehs_imp_81305/ Health Promotion Programs. (2014). Health Promotion Programs. Retrieved March 16, 2014, from Helath Promotion Promotion Programs: http://healthpromotionprogram.org/health-promotion-wellness-program-activities-design-and-implementation/ HHS Administration on Aging. (2014). Health, Prevention, and Wellness Program. Retrieved March 16, 2014, from HHS Administration on Aging: http://www.aoa.gov/AoARoot/AoA_Programs/HCLTC/Evidence_Based/index.aspx

The Difficulties of Immigrating to the USA :: Immigration Labor Jobs Migrating Essays Papers

â€Å"U.S. policy-makers and the general public believe causes of immigration are evident: poverty, unemployment, economic stagnation and overpopulation drive people to leave their countries† (Sassen, p.14). In many cases this can be a true statement, however, during the course of study it was found there are many other factors influencing migration to the United States. Either way, migration to America can only happen in two different forms, legally or illegally. The U.S. Border Patrol effortlessly tries to contain the flow of people across state lines, but the main reason this epidemic exists stems from the policies that deter people from taking the legal route. The processes involved to becoming an elite member of the American society is costly, time consuming, frustrating and can often lead to dead ends. By performing a case study on an immigrant that is taking the legal approach, the conclusion can be drawn on why individuals slip under the citizenship radar. The Netherlands, Amsterdam, a country and city with extremely liberal laws and open policies. The visualization were Dutchmen and women walk around in wooden shoes and wear large hats, why exactly would a person travel half way across the world and land in the United States? A non-bordering country, fairly unaffected by globalization and maquiladoras. I sat down a talked with a native Dutchman and asked him many of the questions from my opening paragraph and this is what I learned. His name is Koos Van Leeuwen, he lives in the northwest valley of Phoenix, Arizona: â€Å"Kevin, did it work out for in California? With the job interview you had? Were the offers they made any good? I did not get my working permit yet. Because my boss has to give more proof that they need all the education I have had. I might be over educated. But we'll see how it works out. Question 1=what made you migrate to the united states? I was studying Theology at the University of Utrecht. At the end of my studies I wanted to travel, because that is more than likely the only time that you will have the opportunity to travel. Later on you get a job and then a home and traveling for a longer period of time becomes more and more difficult. I had a few countries I wanted to visit: Japan, Canada, Australia or

Diction And Imagery In The Poe :: essays research papers

The Challangers Quest   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The world today can be a dangerous place, causing people to be precautions. To be a risk taker in today’s society involves courage and a willingness to be vulnerable. In the poem“Swimming alone,'; author Patricia Keeney uses diction and imagery to convey that venturing into risky situations requires one to be brave and yet desperate.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The swim is presented to the reader as an enormous challenge that only the brave and desperate would face, such as a player in a challenging computer game. Diction such as ‘dangerous’ and ‘trouble’ used throughout the swim maintains the risk the swimmer must face. The line“whirled pearl smoke,'; signifies confusion which heightens the unsureness of the situation. Vulnerability becomes evident as the swimmer suffers “cunning furtive spasms.'; The challenge heightens and the swimmer is represented as an “angry isolate.'; Like a computer game special affects are added in to increase the danger such as the lightning and the darkness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Imagery such as “Deliberately fracturing glass moving down through pools'; conveys the mental picture of the water being glass shattered with every stroke. Shattering glass suggesting danger and fear. “Barely missing the moon’s pale hiss,'; portrays the image of a deadly snake, heightening the risk of the challenge. The depiction of “white nudes between each sizzling shaft,'; brings to the reader the vulnerability the swimmer feels running from one danger to another. Also, the affect of a challenging computer game is again played. The swimmer is like a loosing player challenging each feat and then faced with yet another.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some goodness comes out of taking the risk of swimming alone. Ones“prohibition and expectations are ignored.'; The challenger of this feat has let go of all egoism as a result of the vulnerability faced.

Discrimination Worksheet Essay

†¢ What is discrimination? How is discrimination different from prejudice and stereotyping? Racial and Ethics Group 13th Edition by Richard T. Schafer defines discrimination as the denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups because of prejudice or for other arbitrary reasons. Discrimination is different from prejudice and stereotyping because discrimination is the act of excluding a group from some right, privilege, or service which is based upon some form of prejudice or stereotyping. Stereotyping is a generalization of a group of people from a certain race which is usually negative and a prejudice is a first impression of a person which is usually based off a stereotype. Discrimination is actual positive or negative actions towards a person or group based solely on their differences. An example would be an employer not hiring Hispanics because he does not like them. †¢ What are the causes of discrimination? Discrimination is caused by race, religion, gender, ethnicity; this can affect promotions, or even getting the job to begin with. Discrimination is often based on ignorance, fear and stereotypical viewpoints. There are many causes for discrimination. One of which is learned from behavior. If you grew up seeing discrimination practiced by your parents, you will probably follow the same mind-set and this will be passing on through generations and generations of families. Racism is the major cause of Discrimination. It creates a big gap between people the hate for minority groups and the action to oppress them. For example to deny a Hispanic family living in an all-White community. †¢ How is discrimination faced by one identity group (race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disability) the same as discrimination faced by another? How are they different? Discrimination at times is something one person cannot control such as age, race or even one’s disability. The similarities are that they are all suffering at the hands of insensitive and ignorant people. To be honest I really do not think there is an actual difference at all in the discrimination faced by one group versus another group. To me discrimination is discrimination. I do not see a difference with discrimination from one person to another person; the only difference is that person’s ethnicity. Someone may not like blacks over Hispanics but when it comes down to it and they had to choose let’s say for example an employment opportunity that person might go along with the black person. That one person might have just picked the black male over the Hispanic male because he does not like Mexicans and now that one person may think all Hispanics are Mexican.

Pray the Devil Back to Hell Essay

Recently we watched â€Å"Pray the Devil Back to Hell† in English class. A few of the social issues addressed were: poverty, peace and women’s rights. The women were so fed up with how their president has been treating everyone. He got young children to run around with guns and hurt innocent people. Everyone was so below poverty that children were starving to death and there was nothing the parents could do because they themselves were starving. The women wanted so badly to have peace to stop the war, the fighting, and the poverty. The women just wanted a say in what was happening around them, to get a chance to stop it all. Prior to watching this movie I didn’t know how badly the women and children had it. I didn’t know how below poverty the how whole country was. Another thing that I really didn’t know is how much forgiveness the women had for those who did such bad things to others. The women and children were placed last compared to the men and the higher people of the government and because of that they had so much hardships put on them due to starvation. For me I would find it very hard to just forgive and forget the things that had been going on for so long. I would find it hard to trust people because I wouldn’t feel safe around them knowing that not that long ago they were shooting, killing, and raping innocent people. I thought the movie was moving, empowering and touching. One part that was really emotional for me was when the one lady was telling a story about a woman who witnessed her husband being killed and her daughter being rapped. Anyone who can go through that much pain, disaster and hardship is a strong individual. If I were in their place I don’t know how I would be able to go through all of that day in and day out and there never be a hope of it getting better. Those women though they stuck it out and prayed so much that things got better and that just shows how amazing all of them are. This movie is one of those movies that will be hard to forget because the amount of pain in it. When you see something so catastrophic it is hard to forget. To me this movie really teaches you to stay strong, keep motivated and most importantly that anyone can be successful. This movie taught me so much about prevalence and how the power of good over comes evil. Those women prayed so much that they got so much accomplished and they got so many things to change for the better. In my future I will use this movie as a motivation tool and as a way to remind myself that even though times are hard they will get better you just have to hold on. Also in the future I will use this movie to show that anything is possible if you have help from those you love and believe in. Overall I thought this was a really good movie. I thought it taught you a lot about diversity, women’s rights, poverty and peace. The movie was a very touching and inspiring movie; there is also a lot of emotion due to what they had to deal with on an everyday basis. To me the movie and their stories really teach you that you should be aware of your surroundings and to be helpful in your community.

Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say Essay

Question 1. Describe how the story is structured to influence your response to the text. Question 2. Describe one of the story’s major settings. How is it constructed and what is its significance to the story and its ideas? North America is the major setting in this book. North America holds a lot of new technology and everything is new and spectacular to him, the trains, the enormous rock sculptures and an endless farming field are examples of this. There is also a bad side to this place; there are huge cities of factories and tall buildings with thick smoke coming out of each building. But above all, best place was California, where there were a strong sunlight, the Sierra Mountains and the seacoast. Along the way he had met and shook hands new people, which had different cultural backgrounds to him. This setting is constructed in a way that the more the grandfather travels the more he liked it and wanted to make the ‘New World’ his home. This setting shows that the cultural barrier can be broken and people should go out and see the world and meet new people to develop more familiarity of the world they live in. Question 3. How are you positioned to respond to the major character/s of the story? What values are represented through them? Question 4. Describe the extent to which language and graphics are successfully used together to shape your response. Discuss with close reference to at lease two examples. In the Grandfather’s Journey, there are a few pages where the graphics and the text connect together to give the reader a better understanding of situation. At the beginning (on page 4) the text was ‘My grandfather was a young man when he left his home in Japan and went to see the world†. On this page it shows the grandfather in Japanese clothes and the background had very dull colours because he is still in the ‘Old World’. On the next page it shows the transition to the ‘New World’. The background colours have changed from dull to bright and he had changed into European clothes. The wave that looks very unsteady shows the ‘New World’. All this happens when you want to ‘see the world. On page 17, there is a picture of the grandfather’s daughter holding a pram with a European doll sitting in it. The text that goes with the page was ‘As his daughter grew, my grandfather began to think about his own childhood. He thought about his old friends’. In the picture the author shows the contrast between the Asian girl and the European girl using different clothing and the cultural difference (seen through the colours of the hairs). When compared, the grandfather began to remember how his old friends in Japan were when they were little. This illustrates ‘†¦think about his own childhood. He thought about his old friends.’ Question 5. Discuss the attitudes and values of the text and your personal response to these. Question 6. Describe at least one link you can make between this book and another/other texts you have read or viewed. How do the texts compare in terms of the ideas presented and how do you respond to these ideas? One of the pages in this book makes us realise that we often label Japan as the enemy in World War II, whilst they were also the victim and had also suffered a large amount of devastation. In the film Pearl Harbour, one of the scenes was Japan bombing Pearl Harbour. This only shows the negative side of Japan, where they were attackers, but it did not show them as the victims suffering from the disaster. This movie is persuading the audience to blame Japan for the damages of the war, where Japan had to go through the emotional breakdowns and physical injuries. Even though the book tells us not to blame Japan for the damages and the movie shows us that Japan was the enemy in World War II, there is still a link between the two texts and that is after a war majority of the participating countries will have, no matter large or small, havocs. I think, because of this, we should not blame a certain country for the occurrence of the war, and should not blame any country since the countries that participated are both enemies and victims of the war.

Shakespeare Sonnet Compare and Contrast Essay

Sonnet Compare and Contrast Essay Love can be expressed and described in many different ways. Shakespeare`s sonnets â€Å"116† and â€Å"18† justify that love has the ability to create extremely powerful feelings between two people, which can help them achieve the ultimate sense of happiness. To that end, when people experience true love they live a more joyful and content life. When a person finds love their lives are filled with joy and pleasure that bring true happiness into ones life.In sonnet â€Å"116†, Shakespeare writes that love should be; â€Å"an ever fixed mark, / That looks on tempests and is never shaken,† (lines 4-5). Shakespeare is speaking of a building that could never be destroyed. This quote carries a metaphor within it, by referring to love as a sturdy building. True love should never collapse; it should always hold fast and be strong no matter how dire a situation is. The metaphor also brings to light the idea that love can empower a person by creating a sense of strength and stability in between the two people that share it.In sonnet â€Å"18,† Shakespeare is able to justify that when one is in love, one will always see the beautiful side of the person they admire. This is described in lines 9-10 â€Å"[†¦] thy eternal summer shall not fade, / Nor lose possession of that fair owest;† Shakespeare is comparing a glorious and never ending summer to how a person views their true love. Through the lover’s eye, beauty and youth will never fade. This quote also contains a hyperbole, one cannot be youthful forever, just like summer does not last all year, but in the eyes of those in love beauty doesn’t change and summer doesn’t turn to fall.One that has experienced true love has a enhanced view on life, and becomes deeply invested into their soul mate. In both poems, Shakespeare declares that when two people are in love, they in turn create deep enthusiasm for another. A person i n love see`s eternal beauty in the other. Sonnet â€Å"18† compares â€Å"thee to a summer`s day? / Though are more lovely and temperate† (lines 1-2). Shakespeare uses a comparison to a beautiful summer day, to explain that a person in love believes that their soul mate is lovelier.By using an association with something tangible like the warmth and beauty of summer, Shakespeare is able to validate the couples enthusiasm and intensity of feelings for each other. As shown in sonnet â€Å"116† metaphors are also used to show love, Lines 4-5 provide an even deeper and more significant meaning for this sonnet. The metaphor makes love seem like an unbreakable structure, one that is built on trust, admiration, and no doubt of wavering feelings. Lines 4-5 contain examples of diction such as, â€Å"never,† â€Å"shaken,† and â€Å"tempest†.Diction is used in this quote to create a deeper meaning and emphasize on how firm the structure should be. The word â€Å"never† gives a sense of confidence that nothing will ever be destroyed and the love will always be the same. Love creates enthusiasm within a person, causing them feel a deep compassion for another, but love also makes a person stronger by guiding them through problematic moments Love should be able to guide people through hard times and support them when they need it most.The quote in line 2-5 of Sonnet â€Å"116† is very metaphorical because the quote implies that love should be strong and will never let a person down no matter how hard the situation is. As Shakespeare said, â€Å"Love is not love, Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove,† he refers to love as being something tangible, as a solid unbreakable object. By doing so, he explains that true love cannot just come and go with the tide or the wind but that it is a stable and durable fixture. Love should not only make a person stronger, it should also have th e ability of guiding and giving advice to a lover.In Sonnet â€Å"116† line 7, Shakespeare states that love is, â€Å"the star to every wandering bark†. This phrase compares the North Star, which is used by different vessels, as a guide to love. The vessel is a lost and hopeless soul but the star is love which helps guide a person to happiness. Once a person finds their rock, they are able to grow and have confidence knowing that they have somebody to support them. Shakespeare`s sonnets â€Å"116† and â€Å"18† validates that love is a powerful connection between two people.

Will receiving a college degree improve your career opportunities Essay

Will receiving a college degree improve your career opportunities - Essay Example This paper puts into perspective how a college degree can improve career opportunities. A college degree has the potential of enhancing my career opportunities because it increases an individual's chances in the market. Case in point is that an individual with a college degree has an added advantage compared to those who do not have a single certificate. Unlike previous regimes, a college degree provides an opportunity for an individual to earn decently compared to a high school graduate. The financial value of a college qualification cannot, therefore, be overemphasized because it is the only gateway through which an individual can earn some decent living. A college degree widens an individual's world view making it possible to scrutinize issues from different perspectives. Employees require individuals who are critical and can make appropriate decisions under crucial circumstances and a college degree presents such opportunities. A reflection in the process of Critical thinking used in forming the response Critical thinking is an essential component employed in determining the appropriateness of the information presented. The process of critical thinking used relate to the process used to find content for the answers in this context. Having a college degree improves an individual's portfolio in the job market and understanding such as a phenomenon demands essential interpretation of the inherent facts.

Mini Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mini - Case Study Example This in turn has driven Panera to be a leading firm in restaurant industry and grown in sales and profit pies (as evidenced in figure 1 and 2) Panera has undertaken quite a number of strategies that have spurred it to stay ahead of its competitors. First, it has pursued customer excellence strategies manifested in areas such quality customer service rooted in all its systems and procedures. For instance, the order accuracy, time of delivery and ambience of service have improved the rate of satisfaction. This has boosted the loyalty and brand name of the firm.(comerford and Collaghan,p.14). Second, it has pursued both product and market development strategies. These have been evidenced in diversifying in more regions in order to bring products and services closer to their customers. Sales have increased through the adoption of innovative programs such as improving product features to suit and satisfy quite a variety of customers with various tastes and preferences.(Porter, 13) The firm has also undertaken proper financial management strategies that have ensured no debt. Its liquidity has trended upwards than any of its competitors. It is most efficient evidenced in asset that has translated into more profit. It has a narrower operating margin. The firm can also improve its value by pursuing the following strategic options (Collaghan and comerford,) Diversify into more strategic units so that a wide customer base. The improvement of service will create a better relationship with the community thus improving the profit margin pies of the firm in the end. Increase the budget in social marketing strategies with an aim of making a wider customer community. Today’s customer like sophisticated technologies such as facebook, twitter and yelp. This will involve a substantial financial investment. 1) The economic environment remains the same for seven-year period. For instance, that there will be no

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

Gynecomastia - Essay Example Although this condition worries those a lot that experience it, yet they are least likely to share what they experience with others because they don’t want to be made fun of. Most people are not aware of this condition and hence tend to make fun of the individuals that carry gynecomastia. As I read more, I came to know that people tend to go for expensive surgeries in order to get this treated, but most resolve to lie in pain with it because they don’t have the courage to discuss their problem with anyone. Thus, the patient lacks emotional support. I read the readers’ comments at the end of the article and many expressed that they wanted to do something about it but didn’t know how to go about it. This motivated me to interview a surgeon and seek his opinion regarding the treatment of gynecomastia. The first thing I did about it was get an appointment with the surgeon. He is a famous surgeon in a government hospital and has been performing surgeries for ov er 15 years. I had already prepared a list of questions that I needed his replies to. The questions were; â€Å"How often do you encounter the cases of gynecomastia? What are the possible treatments for gynecomastia? What is the cost of surgery and which is the most cost-effective treatment? How can gynecomastia be prevented?

An Epidemic of Fear Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

An Epidemic of Fear - Essay Example The impact of their study back then is worth nothing such that even today the immunization rates of measles, mumps and rubella have not been fully recovered. About the outbreak of epidemic emerging a year before Wakefield’s research was proven to be fraudulent, I feel that there was no connection between vaccines and autism in the first place. The research was highly plausible. In his article â€Å" An Epidemic of Fear†, Offit voiced out various risks. He never lobbied the Bush administration in its endeavors to implement a program that was aimed at giving smallpox vaccines to tens of thousands of Americans. He feared that implemented this program will kill people. According to him, the preventive vaccine was a bigger risk than the risk of chicken pox itself. It was the notion of risk in his mind that triggered the anti-vaccine movement. He felt that the parents should be given the option to opt out of such vaccines and be able to see for themselves if the movement would be risky for children or not. The idea was also embedded in CDC’s vaccination schedule- the overall risk to public health after such a move was too big to allow individuals or to give them the liberty to make decisions that will affect their communities. The risk is also one of the main motivating aspects of Offit’s life. He took the risk of giving his teen children the flu-vaccine even before it was recommended for children of their age group. The risk here for him was the harm inflicted on his children if they got sick. He wanted to protect his children at any risk and he also wanted Americans to be completely educated about risk and not automate their thinking mechanism. According to him â€Å" choice not to get a vaccine is not a choice to take no risk, It’s just a choice to take a different risk, and we need to be better about saying, ‘Here’s what that different risk looks like.’