James Cameron’s Science Fiction film Terminator II Essay Example for Free

James Cameron’s Science Fiction film Terminator II Essay James Cameron’s Science Fiction film Terminator II uses various conventions of Sci-Fi to not only engage viewers, but entertainment them. Science fiction uses various futuristic elements to convey powerful comments about society. This is most effectively done through his powerful and relatable social comments. His central social comments force audiences to question their own world and like all Sci-Fi texts explore how possible this actually is. The dominant social comment explored by James Cameron is that Technology will be our downfall. Other social comments that are also relevant are that humans have an intrinsic need to adhere towards morals and ethics that can’t be taught and that it is in the human race’s nature to destroy themselves. James Cameron clearly explains the social comments through various film techniques. Similarly, Henry Slesar’s short story ‘Examination Day’ relies heavily on its powerful social comment to effectively engage readers. While both texts make significant social comments, various other sci-fi conventions are also used to keep responders entertained. The dominant social comment that entertains the audience in an effective way explored by James Cameron is that technology will ironically be our demise. Cameron cleverly juxtaposes the opening scene of the hustle and bustle of lively Los Angeles to the close up traffic in 2029. However, in this shot the cars are destroyed and an empty playground further indicates the dystopian world of our society. The diegetic laughter of the girl on the swing and the non-diegetic music in the background creates suspense. The extreme white fade out to a dramatic close up of the empty swing swinging back and forth which then brings us to the close up camera shot of a human skull being crushed by the terminator clearly reveals that technology will lead to our demise. With the war of the robots being shown in the opening scene, audiences can immediately conclude that the genre of thriller is brought to the film as suspense is immediately introduced in the opening scene. This war indicates from the outset that technology will be our demise. While the irony of machines destroying humanity is immediately established as a significant social comment in this sci-fi text, Cameron begins to explore the characteristics of humanity in his second social comment. Throughout the film, Cameron relies on the humorous juxtaposition between the T100 and John Connor to highlight the emotional and idiocentric characteristic that are inherently human. It is through this and several other film techniques that Cameron’s second social comment is explored; that being human, is not something that can be taught. The moral and ethical justifications that are intrinsic to being human is clearly explored in the scene where John attempts to explain why, You can’t just go around killing people. John’s dialogue is contrasted with the T100s question; why not? close up camera shots of their contrasting facial expressions highlights this significant idea, that de spite our natural inclination destroy ourselves, reason and morality is only inherent to us Johns invalid explanation, because you just can’t †¦ this stuff is important, highlights the barrier between machine and human. Through this social comment audiences can easily link the text to the science fictional genre. This barrier is further explored when John humorously attempts to humanise the Terminator. Through various satirical scenes Cameron reveals humanitys saving grace is intact their emotions which are ironically aligned to weakness. When the T100 asks, why do you cry? The T100’s crying motif mixed with several film techniques symbolises the disparity between machines and humanity. In an age where technology is seen to advance the human mind, the T100s inability to understand why people cry highlights the superiority of humans, we just cry. Again further explaining the social comment we can still relate the film to the sci-fi genre. The third idea explored by Cameron is the ironic self- destructive behaviour of humanity. Using real life examples Cameron attempts to create a logical link between the creation of the destructive, abominable Terminators and the weapons that are already leadi ng us into destruction it is in your nature to destroy yourselves. While the terminator metaphorically highlights the paradox of our constant creation of destruction, it is the female protagonist Sarah Connor, who provides a fresh face and new insight into sci-fi revealing the contrast between the destructive creation of men and the beautiful, creation that only women are privileged to endure, â€Å"Fucking men like you built the hydrogen bomb. Men like you thought it up You dont know what its like to†¦ create a life All you know how to create is death . Her use of repetition and expletives highlights Cameron’s feministic approach to this social comment, symbolising men’s obsession with creating destruction. This not only makes this sci-fi film unique and original in its exploration of this common theme, it also allows audiences to question why humans are so obsessed with playing God. Similarly to Terminator II the short story Examination Day also explores Sci-fi convections in similar ways. Like ‘Terminator II’, ‘Examination Day’ is driven by its powerful and dramatic social comment. While subtly revealed to be set in the future, unlike ‘Terminator II’ this is not the dominant focus in the text. While the commentary is different to that of Terminator II, both texts entertain audiences primarily by focusing them to question their own lives like all sci-fi text, thus posing the ‘what if’ question. The short story ‘Examination Day’ hyperbolically explores a world where governments obtain ultimate control. This is brought to the readers in the opening paragraphs when Dickies parents are discussing a â€Å"Government intelligence test they give children at the age of twelve†. It is â€Å"the moisture in his mother’s eyes† when readers are aware that the story they have been told has contrasted what really is happening. Even though the links to sci-fi aren’t as clear as the ones in Terminator II we still see the connection through the thriller genre. As both Mr and Mrs Jordan try to avoid the conversation about the test suspense begins to develop as we understand that the test will possibly resemble a big part in the Jordan family’s life. As Mr Jordan explains the details of the test further we learn that the government will provide Dickie with truth serum. In this event readers are immediately informed that the government play a big role in everything which is making civilization less utopian and more dystopian. Is through little key things during the story we can see a resemblance to a futuristic world such as ‘Terminator II’, â€Å"Your classification number is 600-115†. Unlike Terminator II this short story utilises various literary techniques to explore this powerful social comment, relying on descriptive language and body gestures to capture the mystery and anxiety relating to this exam. Furthermore the repetitive image of the moistness of his mother’s eyes heightens suspense, hinting towards the significance of this Government intelligence test. Like Terminator II’ this text uses various sci-fi conventions such as the embedded thriller genre to effectively engaging audiences, k eeping them entertained. As the denouement reveals the unpredictable twist, we regret to inform you†¦ his intelligence quotient is above government regulation, the disturbing social comment become clearer †¦whether you wish his body interred by the government, or would you prefer a private burial place? Slesars clever use of inversion as Dickie fails the intelligence test because he is too smart, seems to be warning readers about the dangers of power and control, and the need for people to be more engaged and aware of governments and other organisations that may abuse their power. Like most sci-fi texts, Examination Day challenges our own world, and contemplates what may happen if we do not take more responsibility and interest in the powerful bodies that govern the people. Again, it is this dramatic yet relatable social comment that most effectively engages readers by shocking them much like Terminator II. While Terminator II looks at humanitys ironic destructive nature and dangerous over reliance on technology, Examination Day focuses on humanitys often gullible and negligent over reliance on powerful forces such as the government. While both texts are strongly driven by the relevant and powerful social comments, both texts follow the conventions of sci-fi through their mutual futuristic settings, advanced technology as well as the utilisation of other genres within; specifically the thriller genre. Along with powerful film and literary techniques, both texts entertain audiences.

Challenges Faced by Honda

Challenges Faced by Honda 1 Introduction Honda is the most successful company existing in the market now days with the latest technology in the automobile industry with luxury cars to sports to family car they have a vast range of cars and motorbikes. Honda, (2010) In October 1946, Soichiro Honda established the Honda Technical Research Institute in Hamamatsu, Japan, to develop and produce small 2-cycle motorbike engines. Two years later, Honda Motor Company, Ltd. was born, and in 1959 Honda opened its first storefront in Los Angeles with six industrious employees. Honda opened there first U.S. plant in 1979 and have evolved into a company that directly employing more than 25,000 Americans. More than 100,000 workers are employed at authorized Honda automobile, motorcycle and power-equipment dealerships in the United States. Tens of thousands of additional Americans are employed by more than nearly 600 U.S. suppliers from which Honda purchases parts and materials. Honda, (2010) In the recent years the automobile crisis of 2008-2010 was the part of financial downturn, which affected automobile makers and suppliers around the world. The industry was weakened by the substantial increase in the prices of fuel linked to energy crisis of 2003-08 which discouraged purchases of automobiles with low fuel economy. In the year 2008 there were fewer fuel efficient models to offer to the consumers, the bigger automobiles including General Motors, Toyota, Ford, Chrysler, Nissan and Honda Motors experienced sliding sales. Honda, (2010) Honda Motors in 2008 announced it would be down sizing due to 2008 economic crisis and predicted that there may be reductions in staff at all levels of the management effective January 2009 2 Strategic Analyses, (2010). The process of strategic analysis the process of conducting research on the business environment within which an organization operates and on the organization itself, in order to formulate strategy. A number of tools are used in the process of strategic analysis, including PEST, SWOT analysis, and Michael Porters five forces model. Pest Analysis, (2010) Pest analysis is for Political, Economic, Social, and Technological analysis and helps to set a framework of macro-environmental factors used in the environmental scanning component of strategic management. Williams and Curtis (2007) that political factors include government regulations and legal issues and define both formal and informal rules under which the firm must operate. Specifically, political factors areas such as tax policy, labor law, advertising law, environmental law, trade restrictions, tariffs, and political stability Government plays an important role in the economy as well as in taxes to be charged to the company. These factors also play an important role in the employment law, competition regulations as the company can not make specific prices as they have to follow the competition regulations. Economic factors have economic growth, interest rates, exchange rates and the inflation rate. Pest Analysis, (2010) the factors have major impacts on how business works and decision making, example, interest rates affect a firms cost of capital and therefore it affects the business and how will grow and expand. Exchange rates affect the costs of exporting goods and the supply and price of imported goods. Economic factors affect the purchasing power of potential customers as the power to buy the product. Social factors include the demographic and cultural aspects of the external microenvironment. Pest Analysis, (2010) social factors affect customer needs and the size of market as well on the demand for a companys products and how that company will perform. Companies change various management strategies to adapt to these social trends (such as recruiting older workers). Social factors affect the needs and wants of the customer and the way they buy a particular product, as the demand may decline with the new product which offered to the wrong age sector. Pest Analysis, (2010) Technological factors can reduce the barriers to enter and reduce minimum efficient production levels, and play a big role outsourcing decisions. They can help to determine barriers to entry, minimum efficient production level and influence outsourcing decisions. Technological factors help to technological shifts that can affect costs, quality, and lead to innovation. SWOT analysis, (2010) SWOT analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business. SWOT analysis is a business tool by which, a firm will be able to implement a strategic analysis, analyzes and recognizes its corporate Strengths and Weaknesses as well as the existed or forthcoming Opportunities and Threats from its external environment. Completing a SWOT analysis will help in identifying and the ways to minimize the affect of weaknesses in your business while maximizing your strengths only when these four critical information elements are well elaborated and known. SWOT analysis compiles of, SWOT analysis, (2010) Strengths: attributes of the person or company that is helpful to achieving the objective Weaknesses: attributes of the person or company that is harmful to achieving the objective Opportunities: external conditions that is helpful to achieving the objective Threats: external conditions which could do damage to the objective Honda Motors is one of the most successful automobiles company in the world and with the help of PEST analysis and SWOT analysis they have come so far as they are able to understand what are the political factors, economic, social and technological factors they have to understand when they are producing the automobiles as well have to understand the needs and wants of the customer as well as the economy of the place as the government plays an important role. They have to understand the technology they have to provide in there automobiles because the latest technology will be able to attract the people better and they would be able to reach the market better and the relevance of SWOT analysis in running the business is very important as Honda has to understand what are there strengths, weakness, opportunity, threats in order to be successful in the market as they need PEST and SWOT analysis together to be able to survive in the market for long run these two analysis helps Honda to be a better company and be able to understand its customers and their needs. 2.1 Honda: Reconciling dichotomies (Product related core competencies versus process related core capabilities. Constructing dichotomies is the best avenue for new ideas in the field of automobiles industry. Productivity, (2010) Product related core competencies are measurement of the effective use of the resources, expressed as the ratio of output and input. Productivity as the ratio  of output and input. Productivity us very important to business because they can gain market share and make great profits. For example, when productivity increases, product costs decline and product price can be reduced. Productivity relates to competitiveness in the way that if two firms have the same level of output but one requires less input because of higher productivity, that one will be able to charge a lower price and consequently increase its shares of the market. Process related core capabilities typically describing the act of taking something through an establishment and usually set of procedures to convert it from one form to another, as a manufacturing or administrative procedure. The process core capabilities at Honda is playing an important role as it is helping in having new and developing innovative ideas for the company and playing an important role in product related core competencies. Process Capabilities, (2010) The concept of process capability has been used by the manufacturing industry to quantify the relation between product specifications and the measured process performance. Various ratios and indices have been developed to describe this relation. 2.2 International trade is exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories. International Trade, (2010) international trade area has flourished over the years due to the many benefits, as it has offered services to many countries across the world. International trade is the exchange of goods and services for an amount of capital. It is also one of important sources of money making for developing country, with the help of modern manufacturing techniques, advanced transportation, transnational corporations, outsourcing of manufacturing and services, and rapid industrialization, the international trade system is spreading and growing fast. International trade, (2010) Great variety of goods available for consumption and international trade brings in different kinds of goods from different destinations. This gives consumers a variety of choice to choose from and which will not only improve their quality but also the whole country. Better allocation and better utilization of resources, since countries tend to produce goods and items which they are good at and have a comparative advantage towards its competitors. Efficient production will help countries and they will be able to adopt better methods of producing goods and this will keep the cost down in order to remain competitive. Countries that can produce a product at the lower price will be able to capture a larger market share in the market. Therefore an incentive to produce efficiently arises. This will help standards of the product to increase and consumers will have a good quality product to consume. Automobile industry, (2010) Restricting trade in the context of global automobile industry, the global automotive industry, rapidly changing with global mergers and relocating its production centers towards emerging and developing economies. The industry is subject to imperfect competition which has resulted in too much of capacity, too many competitors and too much redundancy and overlap. The industry is worried about the demands and wants of consumers about product styling, safety, comfort and manufacturing efficiency. The industry have to really work hard to meet the demands of the consumers and what are the new wants as what types of cars they want in the automobile industry. Specialization in automobile (Honda) sector is increasingly becoming segment specific as each of these countries is finding its niche. China is specializing in components, India in two wheelers and small vehicles, Thailand in pick-up trucks and passenger cars and Indonesia in utility vehicles. As Honda is understating its market in these areas and other areas of the world as they are providing according to their customers wants as they have restriction in providing different kinds of automobiles which is not required in the particular country. Automobile industry is a symbol of technical marvel by human kind. Being one of the fastest growing sectors in the world with its dynamic growth phases are explained by nature of competition, product life cycle and consumer demand. 3 Whittingtons Evolutional and Systemic schools of thoughts. Applying the two schools of thought in developing strategy to Honda motors. Evolutionary process in which the Evolutional is way in which the evolutionary perspective: sell or die. Strategy, (2010) Marketing communications decisions are for short-term survival In the long-term we might be dead! Intense focus on short-run sales, not long-term brand-building Whittingtons four schools of thought The development strategy of Honda Motors have used the Whittington evolutional and Systemic school of thought in there process and the way to understand the market better and its competition. Not only maximizing the profit but also professional pride and culture as described under in the figure Evolutionary and Systemic schools of thought Whittington Evolution Systemic Opportunities to make decision and competition Unexpected swings in future Competition does not imply efficiency: markets can be manipulated; society has other criteria s for corporations than just profit maximization Finding possible causes of action and objective Trial and error forced choices Local approved Selecting course of action and developing strategy Improving operations management Strategic objectives depends on the specific social system in which the strategy is created Strategy Strategy = day to day management for surviving and competitive nature Other than profit maximizing is professional pride, influence, religion and culture The two schools of thought which are being used by Honda Motors in order to develop their strategies are Evolutional and Systemic and Honda are using these tools in a proper manner likewise in Evolutional school of thought used by Honda in Marketing communications decisions are for short-term survival Communication decisions are for short term in the evolution process Intense focus on short-run sales, not long-term brand-building. They have to consider intense focus on the market The school of thought who is better is Systemic school of thought because of lots of reason Systemic school of thought have Systemic School of thought used by Honda Consumer attitudes and behavior are confined to social systems with given norms, values, roles, culture, and ethics. Honda understands all these behavior and attitude of the customer in order to develop a better strategy in future. Limitations to what marketing communications can do in terms of market share the consumer culture rules, Honda have to have a good knowledge about the marketing communication and know its limits Other rational reasons for marketing communications than pure profit maximization, such as religion, culture and professional pride. This school of thought is better and more suited towards Honda as it keeps an eye on the consumer demand needs and wants as well understand its customer behavior. They have good knowledge of the marketing process. Honda believes in professional pride, culture and religion understanding of the people and how people react to these norms as Honda is the leading Automobile industry as it suites towards the Systemic school of thought in order towards the strategic development. Proper explanation of Systemic in figure below 4 Processual schools of thought is about understanding the brand and influencing the brand with some risk taking in decision making and Processual approach helps firm to maintain its goal of a simple strategy based on four loop. The loops can affect but should not change the strategic management of the firm and it is about Consumer attitudes and behaviors can be influenced Continuous improvement of brand, Creative ways of reaching customer Advertising management Certain degree of risk-taking in decision-making allows for innovative and The Processual School of Thought is about making the Honda adopt the strategy and develop a brand by understanding its customers and their need and wants. At the same time understand its values. The implications of strategic management on the four loops. The rational loop helps in making sure that strategic management would be based on rational thoughts and ideas. Processual school of thought helps in focusing on the use of rational decision making when making decisions and controlling the use of strategies. It helps and makes sure that all the implications of any decisions or strategies would be carefully analyzed under Processual School of Thought. Therefore Processual School of Thought is making the strategic management of the rational loop more though full and full of new ideas. The overt politics loop with the help of Processual School of Thought helps to create a more open influence on strategic management. Politics are used by some to add their ideas to strategic management without being discreet about it. Overt politics focuses on the use of influence and connections to assert strategic ideas with the help of Processual School of Thought and that is best thing for the company The Culture and cognition loop plays an important role when evaluated by the Processual School of Thought as it makes use of culture and tradition to influence strategic management decision and to make the strategies based on the culture of the place and country. Honda Motors uses culture and cognition as important factor in strategic development. The culture and cognition loop makes use of ideas to change strategic management decision so that the firm will act according to the needs and wants of the environment. In this loop Processual School of Thought would serve an important part in making decisions that will affect the firm and Processual approach helps the firm maintain its goal of a simple strategy based on the four loops. The covert politics loop with the help of Processual approach helps to create a more secretive means to influence strategic management; this involves a member of the Honda Motors secretively influencing strategic management decisions in his favor. Covert politics loop is a more secretive way to influence decisions and strategies and this usually creates decisions that may be beneficial to the company. 5 Conclusions Honda Motors is one of the leading automobiles industries and in couple of years they have been facing problems as the industry was weakened by the rapid increase in the fuel prices as well as to energy crisis of 2003-08, which made people to buy less of automobiles with low fuel economy. In the year 2008 there were some models released by Honda with fuel efficient models to offer to the consumers, the bigger automobiles including General Motors, Toyota, Ford, Chrysler, Nissan and Honda Motors experienced sliding sales. Honda has used PEST and SWOT analysis to work harder to achieve the goal to make their sales go high, and have worked on the weakness in the market as well. Honda has studied there PEST analysis and the factors that are affecting their company. Honda being the leading automobile industry has to know its strengths and weakness, when dealing with their customer. They need to know their needs wants and demands. Whittingtons Evolutional and Systemic schools of thoughts are being applied by Honda Motors to the better development of their strategy and which helps them to know where they are standing in the market and with the help of the four loops Honda can know its company better way as they will be able to understand its culture, religion and this will help to make better strategic decisions for the company.

Evidence Based Nursing in Primary Healthcare Team

Evidence Based Nursing in Primary Healthcare Team 189691 Title: Evidence Based Nursing is developing in primary health care . Critically discuss the applications to your practice. (District Nursing) Undergraduate Degree Level Essay 3,250 words Essay The evolution of the nursing profession has witnessed a great many changes of both emphasis and direction in both the delivery and the content of patient care as well as accompanying changes in both the philosophy and the theory of that care. Arguably the nursing profession has historically based its activities and also its philosophies, on tradition and the perpetuation of currently accepted practices which have not been firmly rooted in a general scientifically tested framework.(Roper N 1977). This can be verified by the fact that the nursing literature of the 1970s and 80s has many references from writers and commentators who were arguing for nursing to evolve into a research based profession and highlighting the fact that there was a demonstrable absence of a significant amount of good quality research-based fact which dictated the current practices throughout the profession in general. (Gortner SR 1976). An impartial observer, considering this situation over the intervening years, would probably agree that there has been a clear and marked swing in both the published literature and the actual practice of nursing, towards the underpinning of practice with strong scientific research. Evidence based nursing has emerged as being one of the dominant driving forces in nursing evolution and the advent of evidence based practice has become apparent to the point where it is now and this could be considered to be the â€Å"gold standard† and essential basis for the majority of professional nursing care (Yura H et al 1998) If we look at the issues and considerations that could support this statement, we could point to Hunt’s tour de force on the subject in his seminal paper of 1981 (Hunt J 1981), in which he sums up his belief that each nurse must care enough about her own practice to want to make sure it is based on the best possible information. This plea seemed to strike a chord in the nursing profession to the extent that, over the following few years, there was a noticeable increase in the published papers that both echoed these sentiments and also defined the various barriers to progress in this respect. These were largely quantified as including time constraints, limited access to the literature, a lack of training in critical skills of appraisal and, most fundamentally, a professional ethos and ideology that placed a great emphasis on the practical rather than the intellectual component of knowledge, together with a work environment that did not actively encourage the seeking out, resear ching and recording of new information (after Royle J et al 1996). One could be forgiven for observing that such comments are still relevant to a degree today. In order to present a balanced argument, we can observe that there is not a blind and uniform acceptance of evidence based nursing procedures. There are some who actively criticise evidence base procedures. Haynes (R B et al 1996) points to the fact that a blind following of evidence based practice can promote a concept of a â€Å"cookbook† of procedures that have to be dogmatically followed and it can stifle the holistic consideration of what may be best for each individual patient. We shall return to this point later. White (S 1997) counters this argument with the suggestion that a nurses’ professional training includes both learning the basic pathophysiology and anatomy and acquiring experience. She suggests that it is actually the â€Å"effective application of this experience that requires a sound evidence base.† Research evidence can aid the professional decision making process, but cannot either do the clinical examination or collate the vast amount of sni ppets of information that pass between patient and nurse. White suggests that it is this clinical expertise (derived from learning and experience), that is the crucial element in the application of the evidence based knowledge which separates true evidence based nursing practice from the â€Å"cookbook† approach with Haynes’ vision of the mindless and unquestioning application of â€Å"both guidelines and rules† (White S 1997). Before we leave the general issues relating to evidence based nursing, we shall also cite the analytical work of Pearson (A 2000) who produced an influential treatise on the role of the nurse and nursing in evidence based research. In his paper Pearson makes a fundamental and significant delineation between lay nursing and professional nursing which is defined by the application of research based practices and procedures. He suggests that the evolution of evidence based nursing had its origins in the days of the reforms pushed through by Florence Nightingale, became commonly accepted practice in the 70s and 80s when the â€Å"theoretical constructs of practice began to evolve and be adopted†, and has currently culminated in the advent and emergence of the nurse practitioner and nurse specialist whose professional structure, training and practice is essentially evidence based. This essay is primarily about how evidence based nursing is developing in primary healthcare team with specific reference to personal practice. This is a potentially a vast topic and therefore we will use illustrative examples of specific areas of development. A great deal of a primary healthcare team’s time (particularly that of the nurse) is taken up with the treatment of pressure sores and ulcers. It is instructive to consider the evolution of the evidence base for the treatment of this condition and then to extrapolate the process to other conditions frequently seen in primary care. We can cite the work of Sir James Paget who made the observation in 1862:- Elderly patients with femoral neck fractures and other high risk groups develop them (pressure sores) early, chiefly in the first week, and then made the observation â€Å"They often appear on the day of operation. It is not just the patient, but every part of his or her body, that must survive the operation†. (Bliss MR 1992). The rationale for citing this statement is that it illustrates a comment and observation that may be factually correct, but has no evidence based weight whatsoever other than being a reflection of the author’s opinion. It has no foundation in statistically verifiable fact and may be subject to all forms of objective bias. It obviously was never produced as a result of a randomised controlled trial but, like many other â€Å"pronouncements† by prominent practitioners, it has both influenced and been accepted by generations of healthcare professionals over the years. This exemplifies Roper’s point, cited earlier, relating to the tradition of previous practice being perpetuated by successive generations. The point can be tracked further still by considering a more recent paper by Vohra (Vohra R K et al. 1986). On the face of it, this paper gives a comprehensive overview of the (then) current practices in the treatment of ulceration and pressure sores. It goes into great detail relating to the aetiology, pathophysiology and trends in management of the ulcer patient and has an extensive and current reference section in the paper. The problem form the perspective of this essay is that, although the paper is undoubtedly comprehensive in its approach, virtually the entire paper together with virtually all of the cited references, is opinion based with not a single reference to a good quality randomised controlled trial. (MacLean DS 2003). The paper does make use of comparative studies where one treatment is compared with another, but this in turn exemplifies yet another shortcoming and that is that such trials are good if a healthcare professional has only these two options at their dispo sal for treatment, (which is seldom the case). Modern philosophy would dictate that in good evidence based practice, the nurse would need to be able to cite evidence that one treatment is demonstrably superior to all others for a given set of clinical circumstances and that this evidence is from a repeatable and unbiased source. To give an illustration of this point, MacLean makes the comment:- It is clearly of minimal value to a patient to be able to say to them that a comparison of rubbing a pressure sore with honey has been found more beneficial than rubbing it with butter when the use of a ripple mattress is clearly superior to both of them. If we contrast this paper with another, more recent paper (Bliss et al. 1999), there are a number of very significant differences. This paper is also an overview of the current trends in treatment of ulcers and pressure sores. Firstly the author is a nurse. Secondly, it only cites 12 references (as opposed to over 70 in the Vohra paper) but each is a randomised controlled trial selected to support the various statements made in the paper. This represents a major and fundamental change in presentation, philosophy and practice. It could be suggested by the cynic that such observations are a chance finding in two randomly selected papers. We would suggest that an examination of the literature of the periods involved would support the view that they represent a true reflection of the genuine change in both style and expectation that now pervades the nursing professions and more fundamentally, it also reflects the criteria by which papers are now judged and accepted for publication in the major peer reviewed journals. It is not appropriate to discuss the content of the paper in detail other than to observe the fact that the paper concludes with a description of the classic Gebhardt trial (Gebhardt KS et al 1994) which compared the results of bed rest with intermittent chair nursing on the development of ulceration and in the words of Morris (A 2002):- In many respects, the Gebhardt trial is a reflection of both the calls noted in the previous paper for proper scientific scrutiny to be brought to bear on the subject and the evolution of the expectation of the healthcare professions into the requirement for a firm evidence base for their continued work. In terms of direct impingement on the practical aspects of primary healthcare nursing, the move towards evidence based procedures can be illustrated in the development of scales such as the Waterlow scale (PN 1991). This was developed as a direct recognition of the need for an evidence based tool which would both directly help the nurse assess and quantify the degree of risk together with helping them predict just which was the most effective treatment modality for any individual patient. This was accomplished by allowing a reproducible measurement of ulceration and thereby rendering this area of clinical practice amenable to proper scientific scrutiny and testing. The result of this scale development is that the nurse can identify a treatment that has not only been suggested by previous practice or experience, but one that can be shown to be the most appropriate for a given set of clinical circumstances with the most likely clinical benefit (NT 1996). It is a logical step from this position to the situation where new scales are developed based on evidence based assessments and treatments, to predict the likelihood of healing of ulcers. Such a situation has resulted in the development of tools such as the PUSH scale (Gardener S et al 2005). This represents the currently accepted end-point of a logical progression that we have traced and quantified from the type of opinion based pronouncements of Sir James Paget, past the experience based observations and comparative trials such as those of Vohra, through to the completely evidence based practices of today where a clinically defined situation is identified, a solution is hypothesised and then subjected to validation by appropriate double blinded and unbiased scientific techniques in a randomly controlled clinical setting. It allows the authors (Gardener S et al 2005) to conclude their paper with the comment The PUSH tool provides a valid measure of pressure ulcer healing over time and accurately differentiates a healing from a non-healing ulcer. It is a clinically practical, evidence-based tool for tracking changes in pressure ulcer status when applied at weekly intervals. Such a comment is virtually unchallengeable because of the weight of valid recorded evidence behind it. If we consider new and current moves to examine the evidence base of activities in the primary healthcare team, we can also consider the advent of screening clinics which are commonly nurse-led. (Califf R M et al. 2002). We could consider the current trend for hypertension screening. It is commonly accepted that treating hypertension is of value in preventing both morbidity and mortality, (Cooper R et al. 2000), but a less frequently asked question is â€Å"What is the rationale and the evidence base for providing a screening programme for patients?â€Å" (HTT 2005). Curiously, the evidence base for the screening programmes that have been run has been rather insecure. The main reason for this has been the comparative paucity of definitive information relating to the levels of effective treatment and, as the treatment can realistically only be assessed as effective over a long time span, such studies take many years to yield substantive information. It therefore follows that the evi dence base for screening can only realistically be determined once a rational an proven evidence base for treatment has been established. (Brotons C et al. 2003). This is the position set out in the comprehensive paper by The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Working Group (HTT 2005). A pragmatic view would also have to observe that the position is further complicated by the constant evolution of new drugs and methods of measuring blood pressure which render previous data on the subject out of date by the time that it is assimilated. (Appel L J et al. 2003). This paper is very detailed in its assessment of the situation and it is not practical to consider all of its findings in any depth, but it provides a comprehensive overview of the evidence base for the promotion of hypertensive screening together with the evidence to support the use of different levels of hypertension as the endpoint of the screening process. Perhaps we can conclude this essay about the relevance of evidence base nursing practice to primary health care with the excellent and though-provoking article by Frances Griffiths. (Griffiths F et al. 2005). Although we have been arguing for the use of evidence based practice in modern nursing care, there is one commonly overlooked aspect of this practice which is the subject of the Griffiths paper. As the wealth of good quality information relating to the effectiveness of many clinical interventions and practices increases, this fact alone presents healthcare professionals in general with the increasing dilemma of how to apply the information obtained to the individual patient. The evidence base for a procedure will generally inform clinicians of the likelihood of it being successful in the general population. It will not give any indication, other than a probability, of its chance of success in the individual patient. This is a problem for the nurse (and other healthcare professio nals), as the bulk of current medical practice is on a face-to-face basis with individual patients, rather than dealing with populations. (Fox R C 2002) To illustrate this point, Griffiths points to the fact that it is commonly accepted that epidemiology tells us that smoking is an independent risk factor in the population for myocardial infarction, yet there is no evidence base to tell us which particular individuals will be affected. Similarly there are a multitude of good quality trials which show that there is an increased risk of breast cancer that is linked with hormone replacement therapy but there is nothing that will tell us which individuals are at specific risk. (Willis J 1995) This dilemma is central to the proper understanding of the place of evidence based practice as the balance between good practice based on proper evidence and individual patient care is central to the history of nursing and will not disappear however good the evidence base for a particular treatment becomes. In the words of Haynes (R B et al. 2002):- Diseases always manifest themselves in patients bodies and minds, and in seeking to understand, treat, and predict the outcome of disease, clinicians need to move their focus from the individual to more generalised research. To this end, the nurse would do well to reflect on the fact that assimilation of evidence is central to her practice, but communicating that evidence to patients is a key part of clinical consultations, with a growing evidence base of how it is best achieved. References Appel L J, Champagne C M, Harsha D W, Cooper L S, Obarzanek E, Elmer P J, Stevens V J, Vollmer W M, Lin P H, Svetkey L P, Stedman S W, Young D R; for the Writing Group of the PREMIER Collaborative Research Group. 2003 Effects of comprehensive lifestyle modification on blood pressure control: main results of the PREMIER clinical trial. J Am Med Assoc. 2003 ; 289 : 2083–2093. Bliss M and Bruno Simini 1999 When are the seeds of postoperative pressure sores sown? BMJ, Oct 1999 ; 319 : 863 864 Brotons C, Godycki-Cwirko M, Sammut M R. 2003 New European guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice. Eur J Gen Pract. 2003 ; 9 : 124–125 Califf R M, DeMets D L. 2002 Principles from clinical trials relevant to clinical practice: part I. Circulation. 2002 ; 106 : 1015–1021 Cooper R, Cutler J, Desvigne-Nickens P, Fortmann S P, Friedman L, Havlik R, Hogelin G, Marler J, McGovern P, Morosco G, Mosca L, Pearson T, Stamler J, Stryer D, Thom T. 2000 Trends and disparities in coronary heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases in the United States: findings of the national conference on cardiovascular disease prevention. Circulation. 2000 ; 102 : 3137–3147. Fox R C. 2002 Medical uncertainty revisited. In: Bendelow G, Carpenter M, Vautier C, Williams S, eds. Gender, health and healing: the public/private divide. London : Routledge, 2002 : 236-53. Gardner S, Rita A. Frantz, Sandra Bergquist, and Chingwei D. Shin 2005 A Prospective Study of the Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing (PUSH) J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci., Jan 2005 ; 60 : 93 97. Gebhardt KS, Bliss MR. 1994 Preventing pressure sores in orthopaedic patients. Is prolonged chair nursing detrimental? J Tissue Viability 1994 ; 4 : 51-54. Gortner S R, Bloch D, Phillips T P. 1976 Contributions of nursing research to patient care. J Adv Nurs 1976 ; 1 : 507–18. Griffiths F, Eileen Green, and Maria Tsouroufli 2005 The nature of medical evidence and its inherent uncertainty for the clinical consultation: qualitative study BMJ, Mar 2005 ; 330 : 511 ; Haynes R B, Sackett D L, Gray J A M, et al. 1996 Transferring evidence from research into practice.-The role of clinical care research evidence in clinical decisions ACP Journal Club 1996 Nov-Dec ; 125 : A14–6. Haynes R B, Devereaux P J, Guyatt G H. 2002 Physicians and patients choices in evidence based practice. BMJ 2002 ; 324 : 1350 HTT 2005 The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Working Group on Future Directions in Hypertension Treatment Trials Major Clinical Trials of Hypertension: What Should Be Done Next? Hypertension, Jul 2005 ; 46 : 1 6. Hunt J. 1981 Indicators for nursing practice: the use of research findings. J Adv Nurs 1981 ; 6 : 189–94 MacLean D S 2003 Preventing Managing Pressure Sores Caring for the Aged March 2003 Morris A H 2002 Decision support and safety of clinical environments Qual. Saf. Health Care, March 1, 2002 ; 11 (1) : 69 75. NT 1996 Pressure sore assessments Uses and limitations of standard pressure sore classification and risk assessment systems. Nursing Times July 17 1996 Vol 92 No.29 Pearson A 2000 Nursing Practice and Nursing Science: Building on the Past and Looking to the Future Joan Durdin Oration Paper Series Number 6 2000 PN 1991 A policy that protects The Waterlow pressure sore prevention/treatment policy. Professional Nurse February 1991 Roper N. 1977 Justification and use of research in nursing. J Adv Nurs 1977 ; 2 : 365–71. Royle J A, Blythe J, Ingram C, et al. 1996 The research utilisation process: the use of guided imagery to reduce anxiety. Canadian Oncology Nursing Journal 1996 ; 6 : 20–5. Vohra R K and C N McCollum 1986 Fortnightly Review: Pressure sores BMJ, Oct 1986 ; 309 : 853 – 857 White S. 1997 Evidence-based practice and nursing: the new panacea? British Journal of Nursing 1997 ; 6 :175–7 Willis J. 1995 The paradox of progress. Oxford: Radcliffe Medical Press, 1995. Yura H, Walsh M. 1998 The nursing process. Assessing, planning, implementing, evaluating. 5th edition. Norwalk, CT : Appleton Lange, 1998. ################################################################ 11.9.06 PDG Word count 3,454

A Structural and Vocabulary Analysis of John Donnes The Flea Essay

A Structural and Vocabulary Analysis of John Donne's "The Flea" In his poem "The Flea", John Donne shows his mastery in creating a work in which the form and the vocabulary have deliberately overlapping significance. The poem can be analyzed for the prominence of "threes" that form layers of multiple meanings within its three stanzas. In each of the three stanzas, key words can be examined to show (through the use of the OED) how Donne brilliantly chose them because of the various connotations they had to his audience. Finally, each of the three stanzas contains completely different moods that reflect the speaker’s emotions as the situation changes. Upon knowing some of John Donne’s personal history, especially of his eventual high position in the church, it is no surprise that religious overtones embellish much of his erotic poetry. The Holy Trinity is the body created by three entities: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. "The Flea" shows Donne’s obsession with this divine number and can be examined as a series of several "threes" beginning with the total number of stanzas in the poem: 3. Each stanza contains 9 lines, making the poem a series of 3 stanzas containing each a total of lines equaling 3-squared. As for the total number of lines, the poem contains 3-cubed, or 27. Each stanza contains the rhyme scheme AABBCCDDD. This is also a series of threes, containing 3 sets of rhyming couplets and ending in three lines rhyming DDD. The word "flea" is mentioned in all three stanzas of the poem. The OED had many entries for the word proving that Donne chose a word with its own trinity of multiple meanings, as a noun, an adjective, and a verb. First, it is a noun meaning the small, black, bloodsucking insect. This is ... ...ll of the speaker’s hopes are prematurely executed in the third stanza when the lady crushes the flea between her nails. This stanza is anticlimactic because the eager hopping around from argument to argument abruptly comes to a halt with one action. The speaker is rejected, and immediately retreats from his pursuit. His tone becomes scathing and the overall mood becomes like the purple blood that has stained the lady’s nail: "a hue of mourning." The hopes of the speaker coil down from the high apex of hope that builds in the first two stanzas to an embarrassing low in the last stanza. In conclusion, the true beauty of Donne’s poetry comes through in the tireless search for connections, overlapping, and deeper meaning. As one searches for these meanings, the 27 lines of "The Flea" become a mysterious maze that has no completion and never takes one to a dead end. A Structural and Vocabulary Analysis of John Donne's The Flea Essay A Structural and Vocabulary Analysis of John Donne's "The Flea" In his poem "The Flea", John Donne shows his mastery in creating a work in which the form and the vocabulary have deliberately overlapping significance. The poem can be analyzed for the prominence of "threes" that form layers of multiple meanings within its three stanzas. In each of the three stanzas, key words can be examined to show (through the use of the OED) how Donne brilliantly chose them because of the various connotations they had to his audience. Finally, each of the three stanzas contains completely different moods that reflect the speaker’s emotions as the situation changes. Upon knowing some of John Donne’s personal history, especially of his eventual high position in the church, it is no surprise that religious overtones embellish much of his erotic poetry. The Holy Trinity is the body created by three entities: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. "The Flea" shows Donne’s obsession with this divine number and can be examined as a series of several "threes" beginning with the total number of stanzas in the poem: 3. Each stanza contains 9 lines, making the poem a series of 3 stanzas containing each a total of lines equaling 3-squared. As for the total number of lines, the poem contains 3-cubed, or 27. Each stanza contains the rhyme scheme AABBCCDDD. This is also a series of threes, containing 3 sets of rhyming couplets and ending in three lines rhyming DDD. The word "flea" is mentioned in all three stanzas of the poem. The OED had many entries for the word proving that Donne chose a word with its own trinity of multiple meanings, as a noun, an adjective, and a verb. First, it is a noun meaning the small, black, bloodsucking insect. This is ... ...ll of the speaker’s hopes are prematurely executed in the third stanza when the lady crushes the flea between her nails. This stanza is anticlimactic because the eager hopping around from argument to argument abruptly comes to a halt with one action. The speaker is rejected, and immediately retreats from his pursuit. His tone becomes scathing and the overall mood becomes like the purple blood that has stained the lady’s nail: "a hue of mourning." The hopes of the speaker coil down from the high apex of hope that builds in the first two stanzas to an embarrassing low in the last stanza. In conclusion, the true beauty of Donne’s poetry comes through in the tireless search for connections, overlapping, and deeper meaning. As one searches for these meanings, the 27 lines of "The Flea" become a mysterious maze that has no completion and never takes one to a dead end.

Gender Dichotomy Reinforcement in Mary McCarthys Memories of a Catholic Girlhood :: Essays Papers

Gender Dichotomy Reinforcement in Mary McCarthy's Memories of a Catholic Girlhood McCarthy reinforces the mind/body and culture/nature gender dichotomies proposed by Sherry Ortner through character presentation. She aligns mind and culture aspects with male characters, and bodily concerns and natural occurrences with the female. She exhibits traditionally feminine qualities of writing by using a more circular rather than linear style, giving attention to details of food, clothing, and body appearances. In her book Making Gender, Ortner argues that women's different bodily functions may cause them to be closer to nature, place them in different social roles, and give them a different psychic structure than men (27). Along with the woman-is-to-man-as-nature-is-to-culture analogy come other dichotomies associated with masculinity and femininity. Women's writings are traditionally more circular than linear and women are more concerned with their bodies than men. The opposite can then be said about men; they write in a linear style more often and value their bodies less. McCarthy aligns most female characters, including her grandmother Preston and her great-aunt Margaret, with bodily concerns. She describes her grandmother physically, giving details about her high-bridged nose, and hair that "was naturally black, black as a raven's wing and with a fine silky gloss, like loose skeins of embroidery thread" (202). McCarthy furthers the importance of her grandmother's body by stating that "this body of hers was the cult object around which our household revolved" (225). Her body is on display, not any aspect of her mind or personality. Mrs. Preston is most concerned with the presentation of the body, her own as well as McCarthy's. Due to its importance, she keeps properly clothed so much so that it becomes a garish sight whenever exposed. She often reminds McCarthy to pull her skirt down, even in the private home. This concern with coverage adds to the dramatic scene when her grandmother learns of her sister's death, goes into hysterics and her night gown exposes her thighs. McCarthy remembers wanting to pull down the gown as a first impulse rather than comfort her. This thought reveals that body presentation is the concern that overrides the mental state of the woman. It also reinforces the idea that women are more concerned with bodies than minds. McCarthy presents her grandfather Preston more abstractly with illustrations about his character rather than details about his physical appearance. Gender Dichotomy Reinforcement in Mary McCarthy's Memories of a Catholic Girlhood :: Essays Papers Gender Dichotomy Reinforcement in Mary McCarthy's Memories of a Catholic Girlhood McCarthy reinforces the mind/body and culture/nature gender dichotomies proposed by Sherry Ortner through character presentation. She aligns mind and culture aspects with male characters, and bodily concerns and natural occurrences with the female. She exhibits traditionally feminine qualities of writing by using a more circular rather than linear style, giving attention to details of food, clothing, and body appearances. In her book Making Gender, Ortner argues that women's different bodily functions may cause them to be closer to nature, place them in different social roles, and give them a different psychic structure than men (27). Along with the woman-is-to-man-as-nature-is-to-culture analogy come other dichotomies associated with masculinity and femininity. Women's writings are traditionally more circular than linear and women are more concerned with their bodies than men. The opposite can then be said about men; they write in a linear style more often and value their bodies less. McCarthy aligns most female characters, including her grandmother Preston and her great-aunt Margaret, with bodily concerns. She describes her grandmother physically, giving details about her high-bridged nose, and hair that "was naturally black, black as a raven's wing and with a fine silky gloss, like loose skeins of embroidery thread" (202). McCarthy furthers the importance of her grandmother's body by stating that "this body of hers was the cult object around which our household revolved" (225). Her body is on display, not any aspect of her mind or personality. Mrs. Preston is most concerned with the presentation of the body, her own as well as McCarthy's. Due to its importance, she keeps properly clothed so much so that it becomes a garish sight whenever exposed. She often reminds McCarthy to pull her skirt down, even in the private home. This concern with coverage adds to the dramatic scene when her grandmother learns of her sister's death, goes into hysterics and her night gown exposes her thighs. McCarthy remembers wanting to pull down the gown as a first impulse rather than comfort her. This thought reveals that body presentation is the concern that overrides the mental state of the woman. It also reinforces the idea that women are more concerned with bodies than minds. McCarthy presents her grandfather Preston more abstractly with illustrations about his character rather than details about his physical appearance. Gender Dichotomy Reinforcement in Mary McCarthy's Memories of a Catholic Girlhood :: Essays Papers Gender Dichotomy Reinforcement in Mary McCarthy's Memories of a Catholic Girlhood McCarthy reinforces the mind/body and culture/nature gender dichotomies proposed by Sherry Ortner through character presentation. She aligns mind and culture aspects with male characters, and bodily concerns and natural occurrences with the female. She exhibits traditionally feminine qualities of writing by using a more circular rather than linear style, giving attention to details of food, clothing, and body appearances. In her book Making Gender, Ortner argues that women's different bodily functions may cause them to be closer to nature, place them in different social roles, and give them a different psychic structure than men (27). Along with the woman-is-to-man-as-nature-is-to-culture analogy come other dichotomies associated with masculinity and femininity. Women's writings are traditionally more circular than linear and women are more concerned with their bodies than men. The opposite can then be said about men; they write in a linear style more often and value their bodies less. McCarthy aligns most female characters, including her grandmother Preston and her great-aunt Margaret, with bodily concerns. She describes her grandmother physically, giving details about her high-bridged nose, and hair that "was naturally black, black as a raven's wing and with a fine silky gloss, like loose skeins of embroidery thread" (202). McCarthy furthers the importance of her grandmother's body by stating that "this body of hers was the cult object around which our household revolved" (225). Her body is on display, not any aspect of her mind or personality. Mrs. Preston is most concerned with the presentation of the body, her own as well as McCarthy's. Due to its importance, she keeps properly clothed so much so that it becomes a garish sight whenever exposed. She often reminds McCarthy to pull her skirt down, even in the private home. This concern with coverage adds to the dramatic scene when her grandmother learns of her sister's death, goes into hysterics and her night gown exposes her thighs. McCarthy remembers wanting to pull down the gown as a first impulse rather than comfort her. This thought reveals that body presentation is the concern that overrides the mental state of the woman. It also reinforces the idea that women are more concerned with bodies than minds. McCarthy presents her grandfather Preston more abstractly with illustrations about his character rather than details about his physical appearance.

Principal Agent Theory Essay

There are many settings in which one economic actor (the principal) delegates authority and/or responsibilities to an agent to act on his behalf. The primary reason for doing so is that the agent has an advantage in terms of expertise or information. This informational advantage, or information asymmetry, poses a problem for the principal—how can the principal be sure that the agent has in fact acted in her best interests? Can a contract be written deï ¬ ning incentives in such a way that the principal can be assured that the agent is taking just the action that she would take, had she the information available to the agent? Solving this problem is a matter of some concern for patients dealing with their doctors, clients dealing with their lawyers, etc. It is also a crucial concern for business ï ¬ rms dealing with their employees. Especially in the twenty-ï ¬ rst century, employees are often hired precisely because they have information available that is unavailable to the managers of a ï ¬ rm, who changes or implements new ways of work (Innovation), making sure that employee expertise is put to work in the interest of the ï ¬ rm can make the difference between success and bankruptcy–as illustrated by the performance of Google Corporation and their success. Principal-Agent Theory The key common aspect of all those contracting settings is that the information gap between the principal and the agent has some fundamental implications for the design of the bilateral contract they sign. In order to reach an efficient use of economic resources, this contract must elicit the agent ´s private information. This can only be done by giving up some information rent to the privately informed agent. Generally, this rent is costly to the principal. This cost or payment is what is known as Monitoring Cost, on which the Principal can limit divergences from his interest by establishing appropriate incentives for the agent and by incurring monitoring costs designed to limit the aberrant activities of the agent (Jensen, 1976, pg. 5). And just like in any other trade, the Principal is giving something in exchange of the actions and decisions of the Agent; we can say that the Monitoring Cost is an action with its own reaction:Bonding Cost. This is the Welfare the Agent is willing to take, on behalf of the Principal, to limit or restrict his own actions, therefore reducing the deviation from the Principal’s interests. These costs guarantee that the Agent will not take certain actions which would harm the principal or to ensure that the principal will be compensated if he does take such actions (Jensen, 1976, pg. 5). Nevertheless there will always be some divergence between the agent’s decisions and those decisions which would maximize the welfare of the principal. The equivalent of the reduction in welfare experienced by the principal as a result of this divergence is what we refer as the Residual Loss (Jensen, 1976, pg. 5). But as said on the beginning, this deal is because of a lack of information or expertise of the Principal in comparison with the Agent. This lead us to the Asymmetrical relationship. Asymmetrical relationship refers to the fact that the Agent may have more information than the Principal, leading to the fact that the Principal may not know to what degree are the actions of the Agent in the Principal’s own interests. Given the self-interest of the Agent, he may or may have not behaved as agreed (Eisenhardt, 1989, 61). Information is asymmetric because the agent, of course, knows which decision he is going to make (Spremann, 1987, pg. 4). This Asymmetrical relationship leads into a field of risk and uncertainty represented by the dilemma of Moral Hazard and Adverse Selection. Moral hazard is a situation where the behavior of one party may change to the detriment of another after the transaction has taken place. A party makes a decision about how much risk to take (Agent), while another party bears the costs if things go badly (Principal), and the party insulated from risk behaves differently than how it would if it were fully exposed to the risk. According to contract theory, moral hazard results from a situation in which a hidden action occurs. Bengt Holmstrà ¶m (1979) said this: It has long been recognized that a problem of moral hazard may arise when individuals engage in risk sharing under conditions such that their privately taken actions affect the probability distribution of the outcome. The non-observability of the agent’s action may then prevent an efficient resolution of this conflict of interest since a contract can never stipulate which action should be taken by the agent. In a moral hazard context, the random output aggregates the agent’s effort and the realization of pure luck. However, the principal can only design a contract based on the agent’s observable performance. Through this contract, the principal wants to induce, at a reasonable cost, a good action of the agent despite the impossibility to condition directly the agent’s reward on his action. In general, the non-observability of the agent’s effort affects the cost of implementing a given action. Moral hazard can be divided into two types when it involves asymmetric information (or lack of verifiability) of the outcome of a random event: Ex-Ante Moral and Ex-Post Moral. An ex-ante moral hazard is a change in behavior prior to the outcome of the random event, whereas ex-post involves behavior after the outcome. For example, in the case of a health insurance company insuring an individual during a specific time-period, the final health of the individual can be thought of as the outcome. The individual taking greater risks during the period would be ex-ante moral hazard whereas lying about a fictitious health problem to defraud the insurance company would be ex-post moral hazard. However, there is a second type of informational asymmetry which can also characterize principal-agent relationships. Adverse selection, anti-selection, or negative selection is a term used in economics, insurance, risk management, and statistics. It refers to a market process in which undesired results occur when buyers and sellers have. This is where the agent possesses some information prior to choosing an action which, if known by the principal, would influence the choice of action he would like the agent to make. The agent is then required to pass some message to the principal which depends on the ‘private information’ he has. Since the chosen effort, outcome and payoff to the agent may all depend on the message he transmits, the agent may have an incentive to misrepresent his information. The design of the contract will then have to take account of this problem of ‘adverse selection’. It is important to stress that, as adverse selection, moral hazard would not be an issue if the principal and the agent had the same objective function. Crucial to the agency cost arising under moral hazard is the conflict between the principal and the agent over which action should be carried out. Managing Innovation. First of all we have to define what is innovation. An Innovation is a new idea, which may be a recombination of old ideas, a scheme that challenges the present order, a formula, or a unique approach which is perceived as new by the individuals involved (Zaltman, Duncan, and Holbek 1973; Rogers 1982). As long as the idea is perceived as new to the people involved, it is an â€Å"innovation,† even though it may appear to others to be an â€Å"imitation† of something that exists elsewhere. Included in this definition are both technical innovations (new technologies, products, and services) and administrative innovations (new procedures, policies, and organizational forms). Even though innovation is always progress, it does not mean that can fit on everyone or that everyone will be happy applying it, and more because it involves changes. When we are talking about innovation in an enterprise, managers have to deal with 4 problems. This problems are reflected in a variety of questions the CEOs often raised (Van de Ven 1982).: 1. How can a large organization develop and maintain a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship? 2. What are the critical factors in successfully launching new organizations, joint ventures with other firms, or innovative projects within large organizations over time? 3. How can a manager achieve balance between inexorable pressures for specialization and proliferation of tasks, and escalating costs of achieving coordination, cooperation, and resolving conflicts? From these questions we can find three of four different factors that related to the Principal-Agent Theory, as Google did and we will explain it, to succeed in the implementation of innovation.First, there is the human problem of managing attention, second, the process problem is managing ideas into good currency so that innovative ideas are implemented and institutionalized, and finally there is the structural problem of managing part-whole relationships, which emerges from the proliferation of ideas, people and transactions as an innovation develops over time. It is often said that an innovative idea without a champion gets nowhere. People develop, carry, react to, and modify ideas. People apply different skills, energy levels and frames of reference (interpretive schemas) to ideas as a result of their backgrounds, experiences, and activities that occupy their attention. People become attached to ideas over time through a social-political process of pushing and riding their ideas into good currency, much like Donald Schon (1971) describes.Schon also states that what characteristically precipitates change in public policy is a disruptive event which threatens the social system. Here is where the Principal enters, because he needs the new ideas, so he makes a deal (contract) with the Agent to get those ideas. He (Agent) needs to respect and fulfil the contract previously made, incurring the bonding costs, so think or adapt ideas. In some way, the Principal or the contract is the pressure who makes the Agent work. A more realistic view of innovation should begin with an appreciation of the physiological limitations of human beings to pay attention to non routine issues, and their corresponding inertial forces in organizational life (Van de Ven and Hudson 1985). This make us think on the psychological aspect of the human being. You can implement innovation in your company or to your life (or someone else), it will be a new thing and our attention will be all focused on it. But when exposed over time to a set of stimuli that deteriorate very gradually, people do not perceive the gradual changes- they unconsciously adapt to the worsening conditions. Suddenly we lose our focus on the innovation and we just keep doing the same routine without even thinking why. Organizational structures and systems serve to sort attention. They focus efforts in prescribed areas and blind people to other issues by influencing perceptions, values, and beliefs. Janis (1985) states that only the vigilance pattern generally leads to decisions that meet the main criteria for sound decision making. Vigilance involves an extended search and assimilation of information, and a careful appraisal of alternatives before a choice is made. Here is where the Leader enters, setting the way where all efforts should go to. Most of the times, these directions go around the customers needs or wishes, and the manager materialize them into the new goals, ideas or direction of the innovation.In Principal- Agent language, here is where we can find the monitoring cost, the Principal pay attention into the actions of the Agent and corrects if necessary, in case that the actions of the Agent go in a different direction as they had stipulate on the contract. Proliferation of ideas, people, and transactions over time is a pervasive but little understood characteristic of the innovation process, and with it come complexity and interdependence – and the basic structural problem of managing part- whole relations. Transactions are â€Å"deals† or exchanges which tie people together within an institutional context. The relationship between the Principal and the Agent is a deal, a transaction. As the Principal wants a result but can not produce it by himself, puts him in the position of a transaction. The prevailing approach for handling this complexity and interdependence is to divide the labor among specialists (Agents) who are best qualified to perform unique tasks and then to integrate the specialized parts to recreate the whole. The objective, of course, is to develop synergy in managing complexity and interdependence with a deal design where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, where both of them obtained what they were looking for. In search of that correct synergy, John R. Commons (1951), argued that transactions are dynamic and go through three temporal stages: negotiations, agreements, and administration. The deal between Principal- Agent has to be very flexible to succeed this, without being vague and confusing. Following Ashby’s (1956) principle of requisite variety, learning is enhanced when a similar degree of complexity in the environment is built into the organizational unit. This principle is a reflection of the fact that both parts are dependant of the other (the main reason of the Principal- Agent relationship) but also a reflection of the need of being in the same ground of information, or at least on the same conditions of it (if not, there would be no deal and no need of each other). With this point and Management of Attention, the Principal can avoid and solve the problems and risk of Moral Hazard and Adverse Selection. Google case Talking about innovation and implementation, we can see Google. Google is the place to work according to Fortune magazine, which listed the top 50 companies to work for. Google appears as a top contender for most features, including unusual perks, cafeterias, health cover and work environment. Even Management guru Gary Hamel praised Google in his book The Future of Management, stating that more companies should adopt their system. The system ensures that interesting ideas—even those that aren’t obvious fits for Google’s capabilities or core business model—receive some degree of attention. Their management have 3 statements and the base of all of it: First, set and communicate clear criteria for how you make funding decisions. Make sure those criteria include quantitative elements (how big could the market be) and qualitative elements (how passionate are we about this). Second, create an â€Å"ideal† innovation portfolio that blends core improvements and new growth businesses. Finally, consciously seek ideas that provide â€Å"unique† diversification by using a new channel, reaching a new customer, or creating a new revenue stream. Every developer has 20% of their time to work on any project they want, free time if you want to see it like that, but they have also to fulfil some goals, achievements and chores. they have freedom, but still, have some responsibilities that have to accomplish. Developers have to report to their managers that they had finished all of those chores. As long as they keep doing that, the deal or transaction still valid. About those 20% of free time, everything the developers creates, is property of the company, and still have to be approved by his manager, but have a complete freedom of the way of working and develop it. In exchange of that intellectual currency, Google give their employees not only their salary, but also a lot of benefits and rewards. For example Google offers include 100% health care coverage and onsite childcare facilities, also a rule at Google is that no staff member should ever be further away than 100 feet from a source of food. That doesn’t mean that they only have access to vending machines with junk food, or that the cafeterias give out quick, easy and grease-laden meals. Chefs of the highest calibre prepare range of meals, with unique variations on everyday meals. Macaroni and cheese, for instance, comes with wild mushrooms and truffles. In Google we see that the Principal-Agent and Innovation Management concepts and ideas applied. First of all, we have to begin with the need of the Principal, the motor of the transaction. Google needs to keep on the market via innovations and new products. To fulfil those needs, Google hires new development engineers, the Agents, to create those innovations. As Bonding Cost, Google offers the engineers a payroll and to take care of their life needs, such as health, food and, in some cases, housing as an equivalent of their intellectual currency. There is no way to eliminate the Residual Loss, but in Google they try to have the smallest one. They know they are asking a lot, but give a lot as well. As an example of that, Google tries to increase the welfare of their agents at all time more than any other company in the world, by giving them a greater payroll (incentive or Bonding cost) as exchange of actions, decisions and innovations that favors both parts. We can see here the vigilance that the Principal has over his Agent, the Principal does not have a total control over the Agent, but gives him some chores to do to keep him on track and to keep his ideas flowing. This vigilance or monitoring is what we can see as Monitoring Cost. Talking about Moral Hazard and Adverse Selection, Principal and Agent are always on the same track and in a lot of communication, making their bond flexible and healthy. As we said earlier, when both Principal and Agent have the same objective function, Moral Hazard and Adverse Selection, are not an issue. Great part of their success is because they understood for who are they working for: themselves. Google hires young people, not only because their potential and innovative ideas, but also because young people are the greatest part or their market. Young people working and developing tools for young people. Who understands better their needs as themselves! Conclusion Innovation is the goal of every enterprise and person in this world: we were born to improve in any moment. And even though, it is very difficult to create it or implement it. Thankfully, the Principal-Agent help us understand how some part of the human relationships work and how we can keep a healthy staff and also to remunerate them truly. Also it is important to denote that is impossible to know at all the time what the Agent is doing or going to do, but if you create the correct synergy, and set goals that will benefit both parts, the risk of a bad decision and therefore, the vigilance, can be almost eliminated and an ambience of trust is built. Something that surprise me it’s the fact that being in the same situation for a long time doesn’t helps the Innovation, when normally one thinks that this will create experience and knowledge enough to know how to change the method or create a new one to make it better. Bibliography Jean-Jacques Laffont & David Martimort; 2001;The Theory of Incentives:The Principal-Agent Model. Merton H. Miller; Kevin Rock;1985; Dividend Policy under Asymmetric Information; The Journal of Finance, Vol. 40, No. 4. (Sep., 1985), pp. 1031-1051. Ray Rees; 1985; THE THEORY OF PRINCIPAL AND AGENT:PART 2; Bulletin of Economic Research 37:2;1985. Andrew H. Van de Ven; 1986; Central Problems in the Management of Innovation; Management Science, Vol. 32, No. 5, Organization Design (May, 1986), pp. 590-607. Michael C. Jensen,William H. Meckling; 1976; Theory of the Firm: Managerial Behavior, Agency Costs and Ownership Structure. Kathleen M. Eisenhardt; 1989; Agency Theory: An Assessment and Review. Klaus Spremann; 1987; Agency Theory, Information, and Incentives; pp. 3-38. Bengt Holmstrom; 1979; Moral Hazard and Observability; The Bell Journal of Economics, Vol. 10, No. 1, (Spring, 1979), pp. 74-91. Zaltman G., Duncan R., Holbek J; 1973; Innovations and Organizations. Rogers E.; 1982; Diffusion of Innovations. Schon D.;1971; Beyond the Stable State. Janis I., Groupthink; 1982; â€Å"Sources of Error in Strategic Decision Making,† in J. Pennings (ed.), Strategic Decision Making in Complex Organizations, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1985. Commons J.;1951; The Economics of Collection Action. Ashby W. R.; 1956; An Introduction to Cybernetics.

I Have No Idea Essay

* 1. How does the author define â€Å"cell yell† (paragraph 2)? What changes in society since the 1950s does the author suggest account for the way people use cell phones today? -The author defines â€Å"cell yell† as a bad behavior from a human talking on the phone too loud, in a way that is including stranger into his private conversation. In the 1950’s, people were used to have their conversations inside an enclosed phone booth where no one could hear their conversation. These phone booths where at public places. Nowadays people don’t care about having privacy when they are talking on the phone. * 2. How does mobile phone design contribute to bad cell phone manners? -Mobile design tend to make us feel that the other person on the phone can’t hear us clearly or vise versa because of the phone’s size and how close the mouthpiece is to our mouth. What part does the cell phone user’s sense of self-importance play? -I believe that the part that cell phone user’s sense of self-importance play is for the other person to who we are talking to can listen to us clearly. * 3. Eavesdroppers on cell phone conversations experience various reactions, both positive and negative. According to the author, what are some of these reactions and how do people listening against their will handle their strong feelings? -Some people still talk on the phone privately, others don’t. Some people use text messages to express their feeling and not having to listen to the person’s disappointed voice. Some people prefer to receive a bad new via text message. * 4. Based on the author’s examples, what are the rude cell behaviors that bother people the most? What behaviors bother you the most? You might wish to share with the class a humorous or outrageous illustration of bad cell manners that you have encountered. -The rude behavior that bothers people the most is when people are talking too loud. The behavior that bothers me the most is when I’m chating with someone and that person is using his phone instead of putting it away to bond with me. I honestly hate when people do that. WRITING ASSIGNMENTS * 1. Write an essay in which you argue for or against having a â€Å"designated outcast zone† for cell talkers in restaurants, theaters, or other places—the way many establishments now isolate smokers. Develop your thesis with two or three clear supporting points. -People that talk on the phone on quite places. People that text instead of paying attention to what really matters. * 2. Is the rudeness of cell phone users just a symptom of a society that has become less considerate and more self-centered? With a group of classmates, brainstorm other possible â€Å"symptoms† of this trend. Some ideas might include rude clerks and customers, aggressive drivers, or the dying art of thank-you notes. Then select one of these and write an essay in which you suggest ways to reverse the trend. -Yes I believe it is. Aggressive drivers. People nowadays don’t care about other people anymore. For example in Miami, at least one or two hit-and-run happens every week. People scream from car to car. People shot other people for beeping. 3. E-mail and texting are just two other technologies that some people use inconsiderately or even abusively. For instance, some people forward jokes many times a day, and others text during meetings or dates. Write an essay in which you suggest rules of web etiquette for one technology. You may wish to look up â€Å"netiquette†Ã¢â‚¬â€the word for rules to govern online behavior. -Texting. There is people that text 24/7. They can’t live without texting on the phone. Something else that’s being ruining us are smart phones that offer us social network for us to use at anytime, this is overwhelming. People pay more attention to their phone nowadays because of those social networks.