Professional Roles And Values Essay Example for Free

Professional Roles And Values Essay My personal nursing mission statement is changing and developing as my career advances, however, one core piece will remain constant. I will strive to provide the best, safest, most ethical and compassionate nursing care that I can for all patients and family members with whom I come in contact. I began my post-high school academic career as an accounting major. I enjoyed the challenge of manipulating a report until I had balanced. I thought I had found my calling. As my first semester was nearing an end, I found myself contemplating the thought of sitting behind a desk all day. I wondered if I would find fulfillment in this work as a career? The more I pondered this thought, the more I realized that this was not the right career path for me. I saw images of the medical assistant program in the catalog at the school where I was attending. I could not shake the thought of the medical field for a profession. I attained my medical assistant degree and worked in the field for 10 years. The longer I worked, the more I realized that there was more that I wanted to do, but my current degree restricted me from going further. I researched nursing school programs and selected one with a night/weekend program that would allow me to continue working full-time during my studies. I have a family that I needed to continue to provide for and this seemed to be the best fit. My nursing school decision was fortified when I was selected for an award by the nursing faculty from all four semesters for excellence in the clinical setting. After graduation, I began my nursing career working as a case manager for orthopedic worker’s compensation patients. During this time I gained critical knowledge of the importance of clear documentation, the ever-changing requirements of insurance companies and an extra measure of compassion for patients whose lives were often changed by traumatic injuries. This time helped me to develop personally and professionally as a nurse. From there I went on to develop an in-office infusion program for  gastroenterology patients suffering from Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis. This experience helped me to learn valuable organizational and time management skills. I also learned a vast amount about the challenges of GI issues for patients of every age. This opportunity gave me leadership skills, as I was responsible for a program that serviced two locations, management of nursing staff and medical assistants. I also learned a very human side of nursing, as my patients visited me every eight weeks and were here for two to three hours at each visit. I got to know them as individualsmothers, fathers, children, students and employees. They became part of my life. To date there are nearly 70 patients for whom I am responsible. My next endeavor begins in one week. I will be leaving my â€Å"baby† to one of the nurses I have trained, to embark on a new challenge. I will be learning to work in a surgical setting, at an ambulatory surgery center. I know this new opportunity will push me to grow further as a nurse, as I seek to learn critical care. I hope to develop a new level of compassion and expertise that I can then use to provide comfort and reassurance to the patients for whom I am responsible. I am excited about this new challenge and look forward to all that I can bring to it. I believe nursing should cause us to change and grow; to stretch us to reach new levels of education, knowledge and compassion. I will strive to continually learn as my career progresses to better myself and provide the highest level of care for my patients. What is the functional difference between a regulatory agency, such as the board of nursing, and a professional nursing organization? While there are some overlapping concepts, for the most part they are very different in function. Both regulatory agencies and professional nursing organizations are concerned with equipping nurses in ways to provide the best, safest, most effective and ethical care. They differ in that a regulatory agency is just that, regulations. They set up rules that govern the way in which a nurse provides care to their patients. These regulations are not suggestions, but requirements that are expected of all nurses in all situations. Regulatory boards are not made up of â€Å"memberships† like a professional nursing organization. Regulatory agencies require certain standards for individuals to achieve to be licensed to provide nursing care. The public can gain reassurance about the nursing profession from knowing that nurses are regulated by a board of nursing. Professional nursing organizations (PNO), on the other hand, are optional memberships. One can choose to be part of an organization that will help to advance oneself in a specific area of nursing, such as the American Academy of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN), the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN), the American Nurses Association (ANA), or the American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM). (Monster staff) The list of PNOs is quite extensive and includes organizations for most any nursing specialty. PNOs also seek to shape health policy or public policy related to health matters. (unknown1) Professional nursing organizations work to advance public awareness of their branch of nursing or the nursing profession as a whole. They also seek to draw public attention to the nursing profession as a whole. There are many factors in a nursing code of ethics that guide how I choose to practice as a nurse. I will now explain how two components of a nursing code of ethics taken from the American Nurses Association guide my personal nursing practice. First I will look at, â€Å"The nurse, in all professional relationships, practices with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and uniqueness of every individual, unrestricted by considerations of social or economic status, personal attributes, or the nature of health problems.† (American Nurses Association) This principle has affected me personally, in that in my current position of developing an infusion program for my office, I have been responsible for evaluating patients for the appropriateness of care in this setting. I am required to look at their health conditions, their emotional status and their insurance to determine if they meet the abilities of our in-office staff to provide excellent, safe, compassionate c are. It is imperative that I am non-judgmental and look at each patient as an individual. Their personal health needs must be foremost in my mind when I decide if we can care for them appropriately or not. It is a lot of responsibility and very difficult at times. I do believe I have been successful in this in that we have nearly doubled the number of patients we care for in the last six months. Second, †The nurse is responsible and accountable for individual nursing practice and determines the appropriate delegation of tasks consistent with  the nurses obligation to provide optimum patient care. In my current role, I am responsible for over-seeing other nurses and medical assistants in provision of care for our patients. It is imperative that I am certain that we are providing care that is within our scope of practice. Often, in an office setting, the doctors get comfortable with the skills of their nursing staff and request tasks, expecting that we will take care of them properly. I must be certain that orders are properly documented and signed by the providers and that I am not doing or asking others to do tasks that are not within our scopes of practice. On a weekly basis I find things that need to go back to the provider for clarification or reassignment for management by appropriate staff. This is paramount to assure safe care and ethical treatment of patients, as well as protection of staff from inappropriate expectations. In my upcoming role as a nurse in a surgical setting, I will be working daily with an interdisciplinary team of ordering physicians, surgeons, anesthesiologists, LPNs and many others. My practice will be guided by the following four divisions from the American Nurses Association: 1) nurses and people, 2) nurses and practice, 3) nurses and the profession, and 4) nurses and co-workers. (Lyons) First, as discussed in provisions 1-4, nurses and people considers all people, not just patients. This means I will consider families and other people involved in the patient’s care or life. Nurses and practice, from provisions 5-8, will require me to stay educated and aware of the current standards of practice and ethical guidelines by which a nurse should practice. According to provisions 5-9, by following the guideline of nurses and the profession, membership in PNOs will be important in helping me to stay aware of current standards for the specialty in which I am working, as well as current healthcare policy or legislation that is being negotiated. As a professional nurse, it will be important for me to be involved in advocating for the policy that I believe best suites the patients for whom I care. Lastly, as outlined in provisions 5-6, nurses and co-workers is of significant importance. New nurses often hear, â€Å"nurses eat their young†. I do not believe this should ever be the case. Our job is to guide and educate our patients. Why then, wouldn’t we be willing to help those fellow nurses in their work and development? I will seek to help my  fellow co-workers, whether they are nurses, LNAs or other professionals to provide the best care and maintain a healthy work environment in which all co-workers are valued for what th ey have to offer. One nursing theory that has influenced my nursing practice to date is Dorothea Orem’s â€Å"Self-Care Theory†. In Orem’s theory, she states that a person’s well-being is based on whole person health, to include both physical and mental health. In addition, she takes into consideration the social and interpersonal aspects of the person’s well-being. This theory is based upon individuals being responsible for their own care and the care of their family. This theory impacted my nursing practice significantly during my time as an orthopedic nurse case manager. It was of the utmost importance that patients took responsibility for their health, both for the sake of their physical status, as well as for the maintenance of their position at their place of employment. Orem’s theory also states that individuals need to be aware of potential health problems. This is important in worker’s compensation case management because patients needed to be aware of their ability to perform their work tasks. This sharing of information helped me to be a greater advocate for my patients with their providers and employers. As I continue on into a surgical setting, this theory will also be important as patients will need to know what to anticipate after their surgery physically, emotionally and socially. The nursing figure who immediately comes to mind as having an impact on my nursing practice is Florence Nightingale. I have known of her since my childhood, even before I knew I would grow up to be a nurse. I did not study her closely until I began nursing school. The reason I have selected Florence Nightingale is that she had such a significant impact on ground-breaking theory that led into today’s aseptic techniques. Ms. Nightingale led a team of nurses who helped to reduce the mortality rate for wounded soldiers during the Crimean War by two-thirds. (Unknown) Thanks to her careful attention to detail and relentless desire to help others, she studied the unsanitary conditions under which her patients were being cared for. She then developed new hygiene practices that created lasting impact on today’s medical profession. This information is the ground work for what  will guide my aseptic practices in a surgical setting, as well as those that I used working in wound c are in the orthopedic specialty. They are the basis for infection control in all healthcare settings. She was far ahead of her time. I recently had a situation with a patient where I had to exercise beneficence and respect for autonomy. My patient was having a reaction to an infusion of a medication called Remicade. This was her first dose being done in this clinical setting, and her second dose overall. Within the first 15 minutes of her infusion, I watched as she went from talkative and seemingly fine, to flushed, diaphoretic and shaky. I called the physician to get his input. He advised that I continue with my plan to hold the medication and run normal saline for a period of monitoring. We would reassess in 20 minutes to see if we could restart her infusion. As the end of the 20 minutes of normal saline was approaching, the patient seemed to deteriorate. She began to have rigors. This was not a typical infusion reaction. It was not listed in any of the research or clinical articles of which I had read. I called the physician back. As I did so, the patient expressed concern about whether or not he was going to s end her to the hospital. She desperately did not want to go. Over the last 5 months, she had been in and out of the hospital for extended periods of time. The thought of returning there frightened her. The physician suggested that she should go to the emergency room. As she expressed concern about going, he glanced at me. He then requested that I consult with her ordering physician. Upon calling the ordering physician, I could have expressed concern about her condition. I could have told him that I thought the other physician was correct. However, there was something in her request that seemed very controlled. Her vital signs were stable. I knew I was surrounded by help if it was needed. I trusted the patient’s request to remain autonomous. The ordering physician also felt that the patient would benefit from staying at the infusion center if she was physically able. I assured him the situation was under control and that I would transfer her immediately if her condition worsened. The patient stayed with me for monitoring for another 2  ½ hours. Her condition improved and she was able to safely return home without having to visit the emergency room. Beneficence is â€Å"action that is done for the benefit of others†. (Pentilat) I believe I acted with beneficence in making this decision to keep the patient with me. I believe the stress of a transfer to the emergency room may have made her condition worse and may have caused her to be admitted again. I have seen this patient since then and she has assured me that the extra time I had given her in the office impacted her both physically and emotionally. It is situations like this that make me truly love my job. It is times like this that I know nursing is not a job, it is a calling. REFERENCES American Nurses Association. Code of Ethics. (2015) Retrieved May 8, 2015 from http://www.nursingworld.org/Mobile/Code-of-Ethics Monster staff. The Ultimate List of Professional Associations for Nurses. (2015). Retrieved May 8, 2015 from http://nursinglink.monster.com/education/articles/11850-the-ultimate-list-of-professional-associations-for-nurses Nursing Excellence, The Online Newsletter for Childrens Nurses, e-Edition, Issue 9, Code of Ethics for Nurses, Jo A. Lyons, MOB, BS, RN-BC, Retrieved May 8, 2015 from http://www.valleychildrens.org/PRESSROOM/PUBLICATIONS/NURSINGEXCELLENCE9/Pages/CodeOfEthicsForNurses.aspx Pentilat, S., Beneficence vs. Non-maleficence. (2008) Retrieved May 9, 2015 from http://missinglink.ucsf.edu/lm/ethics/Content%20Pages/fast_fact_bene_nonmal.htm Unknown1. Differentiating the Roles of Regulatory Bodies and Associations for Health Professionals, A Background Document. (Feb. 2010) Retrieved May 8, 2015 from http://www.nursing.ubc.ca/Scholarship/RNNetwork/do cuments/Differentiating%20the%20Roles%20of%20Regulatory%20Bodies%20and%20Associations%20%20-%20Feb%202010.pdf Unknown2. Florence Nightingale. (2015). The Biography.com website. Retrieved 07:54, May 09, 2015, fromhttp://www.biography.com/people/florence-nightingale-9423539.

Should Fraternities Be Banned From College Campus? :: essays research papers

Should Fraternities Be Banned From College Campus The frequency of binge drinking at fraternities and sororities leads to an â€Å"Animal House† style of living. (Dr. Henry Wechsler, Harvard University) Students celebrate the end of the week by flocking to local bars for $2 pitchers. They prepare for the big game by tailgating in the parking lots with coolers full of beer. Fraternities use keg parties to help recruit new pledges. As college students return to campus for the new school year, events like these will be repeated throughout the country. If students aren’t more careful experts say tragic events like the drinking binge that killed Louisiana State University student Benjamin Wynne and caused three others to be hospitalized could be repeated. â€Å"Every college has its own horror stories, most not as deadly as the one at LSU,† says Dr Henry Wechsler, a Harvard University professor and author of a 1995 study of binge drinking. â€Å"This is not a single occurrence. Something like this will happen again.† According to Harvard studies show that 44% of students and 86% of fraternity residents are binge drinkers, drinking four to five drink in a row. Wechsler attributes this to both heavy drinkers being attracted to frats and the Greek system turning some students into binge drinkers. So this leads to my question should frats be banned? The stereotype of college fraternities making merry fools of them may be amusing in the movies, but in real life it’s no joke. Alcohol abuse is a major health problem on college campuses all across the nation. So it’s encouraging that a few fraternities are taking a pledge of a different kind: They’re going dry. Beer is almost as synonymous with the fraternity system as Greek letters, and it won’t be easy to change that culture. But a few fraternities, including Sigma Nu and Phi Delta Theta chapters at the University of Utah, are attempting to put their organizations on the wagon by the year 2000. The Greeks at Utah State University have been dry since 1995. Members aren’t forbidden to drink alcohol, but such beverages eventually will be banned on fraternity property. Such a policy is unthinkable to many members and alumni, but the reality of high insurance costs and vandalism to their property are just reasons why frats are moving to become alcohol-free. The overriding concern, however, is student health. Alcohol abuse is epidemic among college students.

“Forgiving my father” by Lucille Clifton Essay

As a person treads through life, he or she will realize at one point or another that the existence of complex relationships will often have an affect on the actions of those involved. The nature of these relationships can have either a positive or negative effect on a person depending on the nature of it, or how severe its elements are. It is human nature to hold emotions inward and uphold a proud countenance; however, those who go against this natural tendency will exert a rebellion of sorts to any and every falsehood. In the poem â€Å"forgiving my father† by Lucille Clifton, the speaker describes a daughter is haunted by recollections of strife between her and her father. The speaker in the poem actually seeks to hold her father accountable for his shortcomings instead of forgiving him for his deficiencies. In the poem â€Å"My papa’s waltz† by Theodore Roethke, it is clear that the papa and the child have a relationship sprinkled with fear, joy and love. Both fathers in the poems are dangerous to their child in many ways. In Clifton’s poem, the speaker is in danger because of the mental distress and financial instability caused by her father. In Roethke’s poem, the speaker is in danger mainly due to his father’s abusive behavior. In Clifton’s poem, the speaker is using a monetary debt to symbolize a debt of love and affection. The father in this poem is unable to provide the necessary care for his family which leads to the early death of the speaker’s mother, and causes mental distress to the speaker. The speaker is haunted by her father even in sleeping. â€Å"all week you have stood in my dreams/like a ghost, asking for more time†(Clifton, Lucile â€Å"forgiving my father†, line 3-4) How can a ghost pay debts and asking for more time? It cannot. The word â€Å"ghost† symbolizes the worriment that the speaker has over the unpaid debts and lacks of care. While on the other hand, the father in Roethke’s poem, comes home drunk after a long day just in time for his son’s bedtime.†The whiskey on your breath/Could make a small boy dizzy/We romped until the pans/Slid from the kitchen shelf;/My mother’s countenance/Could not unfrown itself.† (Roethk e, Theodore â€Å"My Papa’s Waltz†, line 5-8) Envisioning a heavy-drunk man romping through the house with his small son, it is easy to see why a mother may frown at the spectacle. It is nearly time for bed, and the father is doing everything to get the son riles up rather than calm down for sleep. The fact that the romping dance is even disrupting  the order of the mother’s â€Å"kitchen shelf† surely contributes to her frowning countenance. Instead of bringing joy and love to their home, neither one of the fathers cares about his family. They bring danger to their family and leave unhealed wounds on their children. The father in Clifton’s poem is dangerous to the speaker. The relationship between the speaker and her father is marked by resentment and abandonment. In the second stanza of the poem, the speaker states that her grandfather is also a needy man just like her father.†but you were the son of a needy father,/the father of a needy son,† (Clifton, line 12-13) With neediness flowing through the family, the speaker is worried about her own destiny. The father in this poem sets a miserable path for the speaker to follow. In comparison to the father in Clifton’s poem, the father in Roethke’s poem abuses his child physically. The speaker depicts a harsh father-son relationship is that the description of the dancing is violent with systematic child-abuse. â€Å"The hand that held my wrist/Was battered on one knuckle;/At every step you missed/My right ear scraped a buckle./You beat time on my head† (Roethke, line 9-13) The father â€Å"beat time† on the child’s head and crashes around the room so much that â€Å"the pans/slid from the kitchen shelf.† The word â€Å"beat† is a clear indication of abuse, and the fact that the child is held still by a hand that is itself â€Å"battered† strengthened the sense that manual violence is the subject of the poem. A child doesn’t voluntarily use the word â€Å"beat† in the context of an adult’s relationship to the child unless intending to suggest child-abuse. The image of the father’s belt buckle scraping the child’s ear in the third stanza confirms the father uses whatever tools are available to accomplish this beating. Furthermore, the child doesn’t appear to be enjoying himself. â€Å"But I hung on like death./Such waltzing was not easy.† (Roethke, line 3-4) The child describes the â€Å"waltz† as requiring him to hang on â€Å"like death† is hardly a positive description of something a little boy would welcome. The word â€Å"death† raises the threatening reminder that child-abuse all too often has fatal consequences. In conclusion, both fathers are dangerous to their children. The father in  Clifton’s poem possesses an invisible danger to the speaker; while the other father possesses a visible danger to the speaker. However, I learn an important lesson from both poems also, which is to appreciate my parents even more. It is because my parents always love me unconditionally. I also learn to forgive others who may have hurt me either physically or emotionally. Often, forgiving someone can be a hard task. It can even be a crime for those who wish never to forgive. Forgiveness must come from the heart, and can be the solution to both parties.

Parts Emporium Synopsis

Chapter 13: Parts Emporium* A. Synopsis This case describes the problems facing Sue McCaskey, the new materials manager of a wholesale distributor of auto parts. She seeks ways to cut the bloated inventories while improving customer service. Backorders with excessive lost sales are all too frequent. Inventories were much higher than expected when the new facility was built, even though sales have not increased. Summary data on inventory statistics, such as inventory turns, are not available. McCaskey decides to begin with a sample of two products to uncover the nature of the problems—the EG151 exhaust gasket and the DB032 drive belt. B. Purpose The purpose of this case is to allow the student to put together a plan, using either a continuous review system (Q system) or a periodic review system (P system), for two inventory items. Enough information is available to determine the EOQ and R for a continuous review system (or P and T for a periodic review system). Because stockouts are costly relative to inventory holding costs, a 95 percent cycle-service level is recommended. Inventory holding costs are 21 percent of the value of each item (expressed at cost). The ordering costs ($20 for exhaust gaskets and $10 for drive belts) should not be increased to include charges for making customer deliveries. These charges are independent of the inventory replenishment at the warehouse and are reflected in the pricing policy. C. Analysis We now find appropriate policies for a Q system, beginning with the exhaust gasket. Shown here are the calculations of the EOQ and R, followed by a cost comparison between this continuous review system and the one now being used. The difference is what can be realized by a better inventory control system. Reducing lost sales due to backorders is surely the biggest benefit. 1. EG151 Exhaust Gasket a. New plan Begin by estimating annual demand and the variability in the demand during the lead time for this first item. Working with the weekly demands for the first 21 weeks of 1994 and assuming 52 business weeks per year, we find the EOQ as follows: Weekly demand average = 102 gaskets/week Annual demand (D) = 102(52) = 5304 gaskets Holding cost = $1. 85 per gasket per year (or 0. 21 †¢ 0. 68. †¢ $12. 9) Ordering cost = $20 per order EOQ = 2(5,304)($20)/$1. 85 = 339 gaskets Turning to R, the Normal Distribution appendix shows that a 95 percent cycle-service level corresponds to a z = 1. 645. We then find Standard deviation in weekly demand (? t) = 2. 86 gaskets, where t = 1? Standard deviation in demand during lead time (? L) = 2. 86 R = Average demand during the lead time + Safety stock = 2(102) + 1. 64 5(4) = 210. 6, or 211 gaskets 2 =4 *This case was prepared by Dr. Rob Bregman, University of Houston, as a basis for classroom discussion. CN-108 Chapter 13: Parts Emporium b. Cost comparison After developing their plan, students can compare its annual cost with what would be experienced with current policies. Cost Category Current Plan Proposed Plan Ordering cost $707 $313 139 314 Holding cost (cycle inventory) TOTAL $846 $627 The total of these two costs for the gasket is reduced by 26 percent (from $846 to $627) per year. The safety stock with the proposed plan may be higher than the current plan, if the reason for the excess backorders is that no safety stock is now being held (inaccurate inventory records or a faulty replenishment system are other explanations). The extra cost of this safety stock is minimal, however. Only 4 gaskets are being held as safety stock, and their annual holding cost is just another $1. 85(4) = $7. 40. Surely the lost sales due to backorders is substantial with the current plan and will be much less with the proposed plan. One symptom of such losses is that 11 units are on backorder in week 21. A lost sale costs a minimum of $4. 16 per gasket (0. 32. †¢ $12. 99). If 10 percent of annual sales were lost with the current policy, this cost would be $4. 16(0. 10)(5304) = $2,206 per year. Such a loss would be much reduced with the 95 percent cycle-service level implemented with the proposed plan. 2. DB032 Drive Belt a. New plan The following demand estimates are based on weeks 13 through 21. Weeks 11 and 12 are excluded from the analysis because the new product's startup makes them unrepresentative. We find the EOQ as follows: Weekly demand average = 52 belts/week Annual demand (D) = 52(52) = 2704 belts Holding cost = $0. 97 per belt per year (or 0. 21. †¢ 0. 52. †¢ $8. 89) Ordering cost = $10 per order EOQ = 2(2, 704)($10) / $0. 97 = 236 gaskets Turning now to R, where z remains at 1. 45, we find: Standard deviation in weekly demand (? t) = 1. 76 belts, where t = 1 Standard deviation in demand during lead time (? L) = 1. 76 3 = 3 belts R = Average demand during the lead time + Safety stock = 3(52) + 1. 645(3) = 160. 9, or 161 belts b. Cost comparison After developing their plan, students again can compare the cost for the belts with what would be experience d with current policies. Cost Category Current Plan Proposed Plan Ordering cost $27 $115 485 114 Holding cost (cycle inventory) TOTAL $512 $229 With the belt, the total of these two costs is reduced by 55 percent. The safety stock with the proposed plan may be higher with the proposed system, as with the gaskets, but added cost for safety stock is only $0. 97(3) = $2. 91. Chapter 13: Parts Emporium CN-109 The big cost once again is the lost sales due to backorders with the current plan. A lost sale costs a minimum of $4. 27 per belt (0. 48 †¢ $8. 89). If 10 percent of annual sales were lost, the cost with the current policy would be $4. 27(0. 10)(2704) = $1,155. Such a loss would be much less with the 95 percent cycle-service level implemented with the proposed plan. D. Recommendations For the gasket, the recommendation is to implement a continuous review system with Q = 339 and R = 211. For the belt, the recommendation is to implement a continuous review system with Q = 236 and R = 161. E. Teaching Strategy This case can be used as a â€Å"cold-call† case or as a short case prepared in advance of the class meeting. If used without prior student preparation, it works best as a team assignment. Each team can have a different assignment (P or Q system, gasket or belt). When used as a cold-call case and time is a oncern, the instructor should provide the mean and standard deviation of the weekly demand for the two products. Begin with a general discussion of how to do the analysis, and then work through the analysis. If done with teams, give each time to follow through. After the teams develop their policies, have them make the cost comparison. It brings back the fundamental notions of cycle inventory and ordering costs that were introduced i n the Inventory Management chapter. The discussion at the end can broaden into other issues, such as applying the notion of inventory levers and the use of systems other than a Q system to control inventories. If time permits, the instructor can have the class hand-simulate their policies, using the actual demand data in the first 21 weeks of 1994 for the gaskets and the last 9 weeks of 1994 for the belts. Use a form to record the simulation, either as a handout or transparency. The starting conditions on backorders, scheduled receipts, and on-hand inventory can be what is mentioned in the case for week 21. Simulating the new system is similar to what is to be done in Advanced Problems 28-31 in the Inventory Management chapter. CN-110 Chapter 13: Parts Emporium

Bacillus Anthracis essays

Bacillus Anthracis essays The bacteria Bacillus anthracis, the etiologic agent of Anthrax, is a large, gram positive, sporulating rod. Approximately 2-6 Â µm in length, this bacterium can be cultivated in ordinary nutrient medium under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. More commonly recognized by the name Anthrax, this bacterial pathogen is primarily a disease of domesticated and wild animals, particularly herbivorous animals, such as cattle, sheep, horses, mules, and goats. Humans become infected incidentally when brought into contact with diseased animals, which includes their flesh, bones, hides, hair and excrement. Recent bio-terrorism events in history dictate the necessity for a complete understanding of Anthrax and its infectious abilities. Unfortunately, the road to such discovery is long and arduous. The virulence of Anthrax depends on two factors: the bacterial capsule and the toxin complex. All virulent strains of B. anthracis form a single antigenic type of capsule consisting of a poly-D-glutamate polypeptide. The unusual poly-D-glutamyl acid capsule is itself nontoxic, but functions to protect the organism against the bactericidal components of serum and phagocytes and against phagocytic engulfment. Capsule production depends on a 60-megadalton plasmid, pX02; its transfer to nonencapsulated B. anthracis via transduction produces the encapsulated phenotype. The capsule plays its most important role during the establishment of the infection and a less significant role in the terminal phases of the disease, which are mediated by the Anthrax toxin. The Anthrax toxins are composed of three proteins: the protective antigen, the lethal factor and the edema factor. The protective antigen is an 83-kd protein that binds to the target cell receptors. Once bound, a 20-kd fragment is proteolysed, thus exposing an additional binding site. This binding site can combine with either edema factor (89-kd protein) to form edema toxin, or lethal factor...

Globalization, Unemployment, and Recession Links

Globalization, Unemployment, and Recession Links A reader recently sent me this e-mail: It seems to me that we are now engaged in an economy that may look different from any we have experienced. The Globalization of the economy has created huge firm closures in America expecially in manufacturing and forced lower wages on those employed by this sector. Typically and historically manufacturing jobs have created higher wages in this country but now we see all the rules are changing. Do you believe globalization will bring new trends to the relationship between rececession/depression and firm closures? I believe it already has begun. - Before we begin, Id like to thank the e-mailer for her very thoughtful question! I dont think globalization will change the relationship between recessions and firm closures, since the relationship between the two was fairly weak to begin with. In Are recessions good for the economy? we saw that: We do not see great differences in firm closures between periods of high growth and periods of low growth. While 1995 was the beginning of a period of exceptional growth, almost 500,000 firms closed shop. The year 2001 saw almost no growth in the economy, but we only had 14% more business closures than in 1995 and fewer businesses filed for bankruptcy in 2001 than 1995. Competition between firms in periods of growth: During a period of high economic growth, some firms still perform better than others. Those high performing ones can often squeeze weaker performing ones out of the marketplace, causing firm closures. Structural changes: High economic growth is often caused by technological improvements. More powerful and useful computers can drive economic growth, but they also spell disaster for companies that manufacture or sell typewriters. Would 0% Unemployment Be a Good Thing? Cyclical Unemployment is defined as occuring when the unemployment rate moves in the opposite direction as the GDP growth rate. So when GDP growth is small (or negative) unemployment is high. When the economy goes into recession and workers are laid off, we have cyclical unemployment. Frictional Unemployment: The Economics Glossary defines frictional unemployment as unemployment that comes from people moving between jobs, careers, and locations. If a person quits his job as an economics researcher to try and find a job in the music industry, we would consider this to be frictional unemployment. Structural Unemployment: The glossary defines structural unemployment as unemployment that comes from there being an absence of demand for the workers that are available. Structural unemployment is often due to technological change. If the introduction of DVD players cause the sales of VCRs to plummet, many of the people who manufacture VCRs will suddenly be out of work. Thats my take on the question - Id love to hear yours! You can contact me by using the feedback form.

Case Study on Synaptic Corporation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Case Study on Synaptic Corporation - Essay Example This essay is on a case study of Synaptic Corporation, which is a company that develops drugs. The company’s staff is broadly divided into two: Information management and computational scientists. The Company faces cultural challenges and lack of proper communication and coordination between the two teams. This results to several risks within the Corporation. This essay identifies the risks facing the Information management process and their respective tools as recommended by the hired consultant. To be able to fully give the solutions to the issues that are plaguing Synaptic Corporation, as a consultant, I would like to point out some of the risks that from my analysis and research, seem to be affecting the company. These types of schedule risks are quite common; they are defined to be slips in schedule as a result of aspects that are at least ostensibly under the project’s control. More than half of the scheduled risks are represented by delay risks. There are about f our types of delay risk. They include hardware, parts, information, and decisions. Main sources of delay with regard to parts are problems to do with delivery and availability. Delays may also be as a result of available parts that did arrive at the required time although they have been discovered to be having defects. For example in the current case, the Information Management complains that the scientific software development presented to them by the Computational biologists is defective and that it does meet the standards of the company apart from being incompatible with the company architecture. This therefore causes the Information management to delay in making decisions that are critical to the operation of the corporation based on what the computational scientists have to present. Another case in the delay category is information type of delay. Both misunderstandings and communication time lags may result to information delay. In other cases, there can be interruption in the delivery of required reports as well poor access to the relevant information (Kendrick, 2009, p. 72-73). In the synaptic case, there is delay risk as a result of information based delay. This can be deduced from the explanation given by the Information Management managers. They assert that the computational team does not make consultations with them early enough (indicating communication time lags). Apart from this, the computation scientists are blamed for submitting an end product to the Information Managers which requires which does not give the latter sufficient time to switch to a new set of servers on a deadline that is too tight. They also claim that doing all this requires both planning and budgeting that should have been done earlier. This clearly points out an element of information delay due to communication time lags between the two groups. On the other hand, I have found out as a consultant that computational scientists are complaining of the Information Managersâ€℠¢ slow pace of development and perceive their demands about documentation and governance as bureaucratic and uneconomical. In their view, the Information managers are behind the technology curve. This from my point of view as a consultant is a clear show of misunderstanding between the two groups, which are the key cause delay risk in fulfilling the objectives of the corporation. The other cause of delay risk is the hardware that is required to ensure that project work has been performed. These include both equipment and systems that may be late (Kendrick, 2009,