Connecticut local Government Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Connecticut local Government - Research Paper Example ne at the Lincoln Basset School in four areas: academics, culture, talent and climate and operations noted that the school was below standard in most areas. Shahid (2014) stated that divide among staff, lack of basic resources, such as white boards and projectors and chronic absenteeism among students was the reason for the poor performance. The school was added to the State Commissioner’s Network for underperforming schools so as to significantly improve through collaborations between the state Department of Education and local stakeholders.(Shahid , 2014) Prior to finding the article I did not know that it was an issue within my community. When reading the article what amazed me was how the afterschool program has impacted positively to the kids as it serves as a catalyst for them to indulge into other avenues other than being closed with no exposure. I believe I feel this way because the program can help chronically low performing school rise. If I lived in my classmates’ community, I would ensure that they make use of their afterschool time to be doing something productive and impact their lives positively. I am saying this because many at times students engage themselves into bad behaviors like smoking and drinking alcohol. Shahid. A, Karim (2014).New Haven after-school program aims for positive life outcomes forparticipants .Retrieved from

Music assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Music - Assignment Example The Gypsy Laddie also evidences localization and changing beliefs with the reference to the lady running with the gypsies and leaving her Lord and child reflecting the changing status in the community at the time with Lords and gypsies. Balladic formulas involved the use of recurrent phrases, stanzas, and lines to express narrative ideas and underline the ballad narrative making it easy to remember the words of a ballad while common modifiers were used in changing pitches. The formulas allowed for the remembering of a shortened fashion of large narrative depicting its importance in remembering words in a ballad. Examples of formulas and common modifiers include the stock words, whole stanzas, incremental repetition, phrases. In songs, the Lily-White hand represented the imminent occurrence of dramatic action including rape or seduction as evident in Prince Heathen and Katherine Jaffray involving rape and torture and rescue respectively. Other formulas used in ballads include dressing in rich attire, where to get a bonny boy, and playing at the ball. Preserving the lyrics or keeping the â€Å"emotional core† intact was important because it represented â€Å"time honored expressions of recurrent ballad actsâ €  with formulas facilitating memorization (Harris, 22). Other than localization, other forces of change that affected ballad lyrics include consciousness of class differences, increased literacy levels/education, urbanization, religion, and different social values and practices (Buchan, 236). There is a possible connection between African American spirituals and the Underground Railroad, and most of the scholars believe that a connection exists between spirituality and the Underground Railroad network. Examples of words used in the Underground Railroad network that come from spiritual texts include â€Å"Drinking Gourd† referred to The Big Dipper who’s handle pointed to the North Star symbolizing the North Start in the Bible that let the

Identifying and preventing harm from deterioration in patients

Identifying and preventing harm from deterioration in patients This study will discuss what a nurse needs to know in relation to identifying and preventing harm from deterioration in patients in a hospital ward setting. A review of current literature will be carried out in order to find the best available evidence on the subject. The key issues arising from the literature will be critically analysed to provide a balanced and objective consideration of the strengths and limitations of current practice in relation to the recognition and communication of patient deterioration. Finally the study will use the evidence to attempt to make recommendations for practice in this area and discuss the nurses role in the development of the new practices which could enhance the management of patient deterioration and ultimately ensure safer care for patients. Rationale for Subject Choice As a student nurse about to become a registered and accountable practitioner, one of my main concerns is that I have the knowledge and skills to recognise deterioration in the condition of my patients and the ability to communicate my concerns effectively to ensure they are seen promptly by a more senior clinician and any further decline is prevented. Therefore my rationale for choosing to study this topic was to try to find evidence which would support me in contributing to safer care of acutely ill patients. Background The increasing complexity of healthcare, an ageing population and shorter length of stay, means that hospital patients today need a higher level of care than ever before. Therefore, it is essential that hospital staff are equipped to recognise and manage deterioration (Department of Health 2009). Many patients who experience cardiopulmonary arrest show signs of deterioration for more than 24 hours before arrest, and it has been estimated that approximately 23,000 in-hospital cardiac arrests in the United Kingdom (UK) could be avoided each year with better care (Smith et al 2006). Furthermore, evidence has shown that delays in recognising deterioration or inappropriate management can result in late treatment, avoidable admissions to intensive care and in some cases, unnecessary deaths National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) (2005) National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) (2007) (2007a). These studies highlighted the magnitude of the problem in the UK, they s howed that hospital staff do not understand the disturbances in physiology affecting the sick patient, they frequently ignore signs of clinical deterioration and lack skills in the implementation of oxygen therapy, assessment of respiration and management of fluid balance NPSA (2007) (2007a). NCEPOD (2005) reported that approximately 50% of ward based patients receive substandard care prior to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission, and 21-41% of ICU admissions are potentially avoidable. Analysis of 425 deaths that occurred in general acute hospitals in England showed that 64 deaths occurred as a result of patient deterioration not being recognised due to observations not being undertaken for a prolonged period leading to changes in vital signs not being detected, and delay in patients receiving medical attention even when deterioration was detected (NPSA 2007). Despite considerable economic investment there is continued evidence of suboptimal care and the Department of Health (DoH) (2 009) have acknowledged that the recognition and management of acutely ill patients need attention. They say there are many factors influencing a patients ability to receive appropriate and timely care including the failure to seek advice, poor communication between professional groups, and a lack of clinical supervision for staff in training (DoH 2009). The following literature review will attempt to find evidence of the factors which contribute to sub optimal treatment of deterioration. Literature Review A literature search was undertaken using the electronic databases CINAHL, ESCBO host, Internurse, Medline, Science Direct and Swetswise through the Liverpool John Moores University search engine, and also the British Nursing Index via Ovid using the Royal College of Nursing search engine. The keywords used were: deterioration, hospital deterioration, communication of deterioration and early warning systems. A total of thirteen articles were found to be of use, two of these were published outside the UK (Australia and Italy) however after reading them it was decided that the evidence was relevant and they were deemed appropriate for use. As the study developed a further search was performed using the terms deterioration tools, communication tools, SBAR and RSVP communication tool two articles from this subsequent search were used in this study. Additionally and as mentioned above useful references were also sought from the Department of Health, the National Patient Safety Agency, the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcomes and Death, and the National Institute of Clinical Excellence. The search revealed the topic had been fairly well researched, especially in recent years and the articles seemed to have stemmed from the reports by NPSA (2007) (2007a) and NICE (2007). Smith (2010) recently proposed a Chain of Prevention to assist hospitals in structuring their care processes to prevent and detect patient deterioration and cardiac arrest. The five rings of the chain represent staff education, monitoring, recognition, the call for help and the response and it was found that the themes of education, and recognition were well documented in the literature. Nurse Education Preston and Flynn (2010) say in order to avoid unrecognised patient deterioration and therefore enhance patient safety nurses must review their knowledge and skills in measuring the physiological parameters of temperature, blood pressure, blood glucose levels, oxygen saturation levels, and neurological function, and in particular identified the respiratory rate as a particularly sensitive indicator of clinical decline. In addition nurses also need to recognise the significance of physiological compensatory mechanisms that are activated in clinical deterioration, so they can report their findings accurately and with confidence to doctors and senior staff. Steen (2010) agrees that nurses require the knowledge and skills to be able to provide critical care in the general ward setting, as accurate assessment using a systematic approach can aid timely detection and intervention and can help to stabilise the individuals condition preventing organ dysfunction, multi organ failure and furthe r deterioration, thus reducing morbidity and mortality rates and admission to ICU. However, Odell, Victor and Oliver (2009) feel that recognising deterioration of a ward patient and referring to critical care teams is a highly complex process, requiring skill, experience, and confidence. Preston and Flynn (2010) suggest that nurses can be helped to develop these skills by attending the Advanced Life Threatening Events Recognition and Treatment (ALERT) course, they considered the possibility of nurses undertaking the ALERT course whilst a student, they say this will help newly qualified nurses to promote their skills, abilities and rationale for recognizing and responding to patient deterioration. They also recommend the further development of acute illness simulation programmes in both pre and post registration courses to help nurses to become more confident and expert in responding and reporting acute illness to medical and more senior staff. They say what is needed is a closer col laboration between education and health service partners to deliver these programmes and competent clinical teaching staff to facilitate these simulated exercises in a safe environment that utilises accurate patient scenarios, equipment and charts that are currently used in practice (Preston and Flynn 2009). Monitoring Accurate monitoring of patient condition featured highly in the literature. The NPSA (2007) revealed that in 14 of the 64 incident reports they studied, no observations had been made for a prolonged period before the patient died therefore vital signs such as blood pressure, pulse and respirations were not detected. But the literature revealed the crucial importance of regular observations in the recognition of deteriorating patients. Preston and Flynn (2010) said doing the observations is crucial for detecting early signs of deterioration in acute care as closely monitoring changes in physiological observations can identify abnormalities before a serious adverse event occurs. Early identification is important to reduce mortality, morbidity, length of stay in hospital and associated healthcare costs (NICE 2007). Preston and Flynn (2010) also stipulated that close supervision of unqualified nursing staff doing the observations in acute care should be a high priority and should follow both the NICE (2007) guidelines and recommendations from the NSPA (2007) (2007a). However following an observation of care by Morris (2010) an issue was identified where observations were incomplete, with recording of respiratory rate and oxygen saturations omitted and although an early warning score chart had been used, a score had not been recorded (Morris 2010). Recognition The importance of nurses utilising an early warning system was highlighted. Cei, Bartolomei and Mumoli (2009) say using the Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS) when recording patient observations is a simple but highly useful tool to predict a worse in-hospital outcome and aid identification of patients at risk of clinical adverse events such as cardiac arrest, sepsis and raised intracranial pressure. Nonetheless a study by Donohue and Endacott (2010) revealed that participants did not look for trends in the MEWS data and few used MEWS data in the manner it was intended i.e. it was used to confirm whether the patient met the trigger criteria, rather than as a routine component of assessment, the study found that MEWS was used infrequently, used too late and not employed to communicate patient deterioration. Mohammed, Hayton, Clements, Smith, and Prytherch (2009) felt the significant advantage of an early warning or track and trigger system like MEWS was that they use a visual scale t hat gives a score if a physiological recording enters a colour zone. But they found that there are disadvantages to using these systems in practice if nurses add up the scores incorrectly. In their study (Mohammed at al 2009) found that calculating scores could be improved by using a handheld computer and this approach was more accurate, efficient and acceptable to nurses than using the traditional pen and paper methods in acute care. The Department of Health (2009) say early warning systems play a key role in the detection of deteriorating patients; however, clinicians need to be aware that in some clinical situations these systems will not reflect clinical urgency (Department of Health 2009) and effective assessment skills must be employed. Call for Help and Response The NPSA (2007) report revealed that in 30 of the 64 incident reports they audited, despite recording vital signs, the importance of the clinical deterioration had not been recognised and/or no action had been taken other than the recording of observations (NPSA 2007). This could be due to ineffective communication of the deterioration. The literature review showed that communication of deterioration was a more recently well documented subject. Steen (2010) Tait (2010) feel that a vital component of the management of the acutely ill patient is the ability to communicate clearly and precisely with all members of the multidisciplinary team to aid timely and appropriate help and intervention for the patient. Still there is much evidence of communication breakdown between disciplines, Beaumont (2008) states communication between medical and nursing staff can be problematic, nurses may not communicate clearly enough and struggle to convey information in a manner that would convince doctor s of the urgency of the situation, sometimes there is failure by doctors to perceive, understand or accept the source of nurses clinical and professional judgement, less experienced nursing staff might not feel comfortable or confident to call more senior staff because they fear doing the wrong thing or crossing occupational and hierarchical boundaries. These problems can result in conflict between professional groups as they attempt to work towards positive outcomes and may prevent patients from receiving assistance and support when required (Beaumont 2008). Endacott, Kidd, Chaboyer and Edington (2007) agree that formal divisions of labour and professional boundaries can cause gaps or discontinuities in patient care and feel communication between clinicians must improve. Donahue and Endacott (2010) say the failure of nurses to recruit senior support to deal with acutely ill patients is a contributing factor to the sub-optimal care of critically ill patient, it may be due to a lack of experience or knowledge on the part of the doctor but may equally be due to the nurses inability to articulate the seriousness of the situation. Their data identified that nurses have an awareness of the need for a succinct story but they continue to make calls for assistance with little relevant information (Donohue and Endacott 2010). As stated above suboptimal communication between health professionals has been recognised as a significant causative factor in incidents compromising patient safety and the use of a structured method of communication has been suggested to improve the quality of information exchange (Marshall, Harrison and Flanagan 2009). A number of communication tools are available; some hospitals use the SBAR (situation, background, assessment, recommendation) tool to structure conversations between members of the multidisciplinary team, which uses standardised questions to prompt the conveyor of information to share the necessary details (Steen 2010). In a simulated clinical scenario Marshall et al (2009) described the positive effect of this method on students ability to communicate clear telephone referrals. However, Featherstone, Chalmers and Smith (2008) feel that SBAR is not a memorable acronym and they prefer the use of the RSVP (Reason, Story, Vital Signs, Plan) system used in the ALERT cou rse as framework for the communication of deterioration, the authors say SBAR does not easily slip off the tongue, and RSVP is much easier to remember in an emergency. They say the reason for the call can be explained in clear simple language, and the story gives a time line of important events, they feel nurses will be familiar with a narrative style of communication and are used to giving a brief summary as part of the handover process. The vital signs must be given in figures, and can include the early warning score, or summarized in words that convey the deterioration effectively and the plan for the patient should be outlined by the caller or expected from the receiver (Featherstone et al 2008). Smith (2010) says the use of standardised method of communication, such as the RSVP system will improve communication about patient decline. Recommendations for Practice Constant change within the National Health Service is essential to advance care quality and ensure the provision patient focused care that is evidenced based. Ensuring the latest and best available evidence is put into practice is a is a crucial way of ensuring that people get the treatments and services that are the most effective and will have the best health outcomes, it ensures that the public funding that supports the NHS is used wisely and that the treatments and services offered are cost effective, and both of these factors lead to the provision of clinically effective care. Everyone involved in healthcare provision must ensure quality is enhanced and must be willing to change current practices for the benefit of patients. Nurses have a professional responsibility to keep up to date with changes and developments within their field and to deliver care based on the best available evidence or best practice (Nursing and Midwifery Council 2008). Larrabees (2009) Model for Evidence Based Practice Change suggests that there are six steps towards implementing change in practice, firstly practitioners should assess need for change in practice, and this study has found evidence which clearly points to the need for changes in practice in order to reduce avoidable harm to patients. The next steps of Larabees Model (2009) are to locate the best evidence, and critically analyse the evidence, and from the evidence found in this study it is evident there are several recommendations for changes in practice which would help nurses in acute care to develop their skills in recognising and reporting deterioration. To keep the Chain of Prevention suggested by Smith (2010) strong he suggests that staff education, monitoring, recognition, the call for help and the response must all be robust in order to prevent harm from unrecognised and unassisted illness. Recommendations to enhance these areas would be to ensure that the recognition of life threatening illness is taught from an early stage in a nurses career by attending the ALERT course earlier in their training and by the teaching of patient scenarios in the clinical area and facilitated by staff who are trained in critical care. With regards to the call for help and the response rings of the Chain of Prevention (Smith 2010), it has been shown that the use of communication tools help nurses to get an earlier response when calling for assistance, so it seems sensible to implement the standard use of a communication tool in acute care when communicating deterioration. The next step in Larabees Model for Change (2009) is to design the practice change, and it is recommended that use of the RSVP communication tool (see appendix) should become hospital protocol when calling for assistance; this is because it is easy to remember and it is used as part of the ALERT course which many acute care nurses have attended. Nurses should receive training on the use of this tool and it should be displayed near the tele phone in every acute area. In order to implement and evaluate this change, which are the next steps in the Model (Lara bee 2009) a nurse should firstly let people know about it, this can be done by using various means of communication i.e. trust intranet, ward meetings, discussion with senior nursing staff and managers. They must then get people to take on the change by involving enthusiastic team members and organising a pilot test of the use of the RSVP tool. Crucially the rate in which more senior practitioners respond must be audited find out if the tool is working in practice and if not why not, is more information or training required is the tool not displayed clearly enough. The final step of the Model for Change (Larabee 2009) is to integrate and maintain the change in practice, to do this a nurse must ensure all new staff are trained to use the system and continuously evaluate its use to ensure it is working in practice. Conclusion This study has highlighted the evidence base and resources available to support nurses in contributing to safer care of acutely ill patients it has found that in order to facilitate accurate detection of changes in condition, nurses working in acute care must acknowledge the importance of observations and early warning systems in the identification of patients at risk of adverse events and ensure patients are assessed using a sound knowledge of physiological compensatory mechanisms, to enhance this knowledge they should attend an ALERT course, the evidence pointed to nurses attending these courses early in their career and that clinical scenarios could also help increase their knowledge of acute illness. It was found that communication tools help nurses when calling for senior assistance and the implementation of a standard tool within acute hospital settings could help to prevent harm from deterioration.

resistence basic guide :: essays research papers

A basic guide to resistance. Electron Flow Model Everything is made of very small particles called atoms. Each atom has a heavy positively charged nucleus and is surrounded by a cloud of light, negatively charged, electrons. In metals, the outer most electron of each atom is weakly attracted to the positive nucleus and can escape from the atom and wander around between the atoms. [Note 1] So, in metals, we have all these millions and millions of electrons whizzing about at high speed, in random directions, between the fixed atoms. When you connect the piece of metal across a battery all these electrons are still whizzing about at random, BUT they are also forced to slowly drift in one direction. This slow drift is called the current. [Note 2] As the electrons are forced through the metal they collide with the atoms and transfer energy to them. This is where the word resistance comes in. The electrons experience resistance to their forced movement between the atoms. When the electrons collide with the atoms the electrons lose energy and slow down, the atoms gain energy and vibrate faster. You should know that the faster the vibration of particles the hotter the temperature of the material is. So the energy from the battery, that is used to force the electrons to move, is transferred to the atoms, and we see this as the metal getting hotter. The resistance of a metal always leads to a heating effect when a current is passed through it. The size of the resistance will depend on the type of metal, and its dimensions. Note 1 The regular arrangement of atoms in metals is called the "lattice" or "crystal lattice". The electrons are not completely free from the nuclei so it is not quite correct to describe the electrons as "free electrons" or the atoms as "positive ions". However, in many books you will see metals described as "a sea of electrons moving randomly through a lattice of positive ions." In newer books and your GCSE specification you might find the atom parts described as "positive atomic kernels". Anyway, this whole arrangement is known as "metal bonding" and the attraction of the electrons to the positive atomic kernels produces the characteristic properties of metals. Note 2 The current in a metal is due to the drift of electrons. Without the atomic model many people get the idea that charges (electrons) flow out of one end of a battery, through the wire, and then back in to the other end of the battery.

Regulatory and Accreditation

Quantitative Research Article Critique Sandra M. Smith NUR/518 February, 26, 2012 Veta Massey Quantitative Research Article Critique Kalisch, B. J. , & Lee, K. (2011). Nurse Staffing Levels and Teamwork: A Cross-Sectional Study of Patient Care Units in Acute Care Hospitals. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 43(1), 82-88. Introduction The purpose of this study is to explore the current research data and use of the Nurse Teamwork Survey to see if nurse staffing levels predicts teamwork. The importance of teamwork is to achieve a higher level of patient safety, quality of care, job satisfaction, and decrease turnover.A cross-sectional descriptive design was used with a 2,545 nursing staff on 52 units delivering patient care, in four different hospitals among the Mid- West. The relevance of the study is to show that there is an association between quality, safe care, and teamwork which also requires safe staffing (Kalisch & Lee, 2011) The title of the article suggests the main variables an d the population in the study. The abstract concisely and clearly summarize the main problem, method, and results of the study. The problem identified is a lack of understanding between the relationship of workload, teamwork, and level of staffing.Literature review The literature review is up- to -date and focused mostly on primary sources. Dates of the literature review range from 1994- 2009. Only one review studied was over 10 years and six were in the past five years. The review provides a range of comparisons between teamwork and job satisfaction, mortality rate, interpersonal skills, and quality of care. What is known is that a higher level of teamwork in the intensive care units was found to be related to a decrease in mortality rates (Kalisch & Lee, 2011). Also, a decrease in vacancy rates, and staff turnover was associated with higher level of teamwork.Brewer (2006) showed that† improved teamwork found a significant decrease in patient falls. † The literature rev iew provides a solid base for this study. What is unknown is the relationship between workload, staffing levels, and teamwork. Framework The study illustrates a â€Å"conceptual framework which postulates that staffing levels predict teamwork when there is control of the acuity( CMI) of the patients on the units, the size of the hospital and the nurse staffing levels( nurse staffing included RN’s, LPN’s, NA’s, and unit secretaries)† (Kalisch & Lee, 2009, p. 3). There is a conceptual map, which identifies the variables and relationship that is simple and understandable. The framework was based on the outcome of the literature review and the effects that staffing levels had on teamwork. The framework does identify the relationships between teamwork and staffing levels to patient outcomes. â€Å"The framework relates to the body of nursing knowledge in that patient safety and patient perception of care delivered in held in high esteem for nurses† (Kal isch & Lee, 2011, p. 83).The conceptual framework identified the meaning of teamwork by using the Salas, Sims, and Burke (2005) study that identified five important elements of teamwork (trust, team orientation, back up, shared mental model, and team leadership). Using this conceptual framework its basic foundation, the Nursing Teamwork Survey (NTS) was developed and tested to be used for the psychometric elements. This testing resulted in identifying five different elements of the nursing team that was descriptive. The research questions proposed where asfollows: â€Å"By controlling the CMI and size of the hospital, does the level of staffing predict nursing teamwork?By controlling hospital size and CMI, does the level of staffing predict subscales of teamwork (trust, team orientation, back up shared mental model, and team leadership)† (Kalisch & Lee, 2011, p. 83)? The aim of the research questions was appropriate to the study on that they identified the relationship betwee n teamwork and staffing levels. Method The study (Kalisch & Lee, 2011) used a descriptive, cross-sectional design and an appropriate sample was used. â€Å"The setting was four hospitals within the Midwest of the United. Sampling characteristics were 60% over the age of 35.The majority of the sample were female (89%) and RN’s (70%), and the majority (74%) had at least 2 years experience† (Kalisch & Lee, 2011, p. 83). The sample group was identified and described and sufficient in size and character. The size of the hospitals were between 300 -900 beds. All units were eligible for inclusion. A total of 52 beds was the study sample. The sampling staff made up 2,545 respondents. 1,741 were RN’s, 41 were LPN’s, 502 were NA’s, and 191 were unit secretaries. The sample groups were appropriately identified as pertinent to the study question.The NTS was used in this study and was intended to measure nursing teamwork in the inpatient care setting. The Bartl ett test was used to indicate the correlation matrix that showed it not to be an identity matrix. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measured the sample adequacy. In this study it was determined to be excellent at (0. 961). Confirmatory factor analysis also showed that the team work model of five factors fit the data well. A comparative fit index model was 0. 884 with a root mean square error of approximation to be 0. 055. The test and retest reliability was good at 0. 92.The consistency of the survey showed to be 0. 94 with co-efficient ranging from 0. 74-0. 85. The results of these tests showed a similarity in responses of staff members on the same unit (Kalisch & Lee, 2011). The NTS used was a questionnaire. It contains 33 questions with a Likert-type scaling system. This survey was generated by the literature review and from focus groups with staff members. The staff members are dependent variables within the study, although the hospital size and CMI of the patients are independent variable s. The survey was given to the staff with a time limit for responding.The response was anonymous. Staffing data was also obtained by each hospitals database. The nurse staffing indicators included hours per patient day (HPPD), RN hours per patient day (RN HPPD), and skill mix (RN’s LPN’s, and NA’s providing direct patient care). The acuity of the patients was also a factor. The study did ensure comparable data among the four sites. This was done by using the raw data that was provided by the participating hospitals. The appropriate statistical methods were used in this study and the research questions were also addressed with the groups surveyed. Data collectionThe study was conducted over a four- week period where data was collected from each facility. The data collection phase included two separate study phases. The first phase was the administration of the survey to the units and the collection of raw staffing data from the hospitals. The NTS was put in an en velope with a letter of explanation about the study. Incentive was given to each participate by the addition of a candy bar. The participation was made known to be voluntary. The subjects were to place the completed survey in a locked box provided on each unit. A pizza incentive was given for units who achieved a 50% return.This incentive was appropriate because the staff had to take time out of their work day to do the study. The second phase, which collected the raw data of HPPD, RN HPPD, CMI, and skill mix were obtained from each unit prior to the NTS being administered (Kalisch & Lee, 2011). The collected data was appropriate to the study questions. Statistical data analysis Data analysis was obtained by the use of the Statistical Package for Social Science version 16. 0. The unit analysis is identified as the patient care unit. The mean score for teamwork level obtained from the NTS was collected and combined to a unit level team score.Statistical analysis was done to address e ach question in the study. Appropriate methods were used to analyze the data obtained. â€Å"Preliminary analysis involved using frequency, descriptive, and correlation methods that associated with the research question. Correlation analysis was effectively used to address the relationships between hospital bed size, staffing levels, and teamwork† (Kalisch & Lee, 2011, p. 85). Regression analysis was done to identify the correlation of staffing levels as it compares to the five subscales of teamwork.One analysis identified HPPD as the high level of predictability of teamwork on the unit. The analysis showed that the higher the skill mixes on a floor and higher HPPD, the greater the predictability of teamwork. The findings of the study are adequately summarized by the use of multiple tables. The findings are reported in a manner that would support evidence-base practice. Discussion The major findings of the relationship between staffing levels and teamwork were interpreted and discussed. This study does demonstrate that there is a relationship between HPPD and nursing teamwork.It was also reported that the higher the skill mix the greater level of teamwork. Researcher notes that â€Å"the use of actual nurse staffing data adds substantial credibility and confidence to the previous findings† (Kalisch & Lee, 2011, p. 86). The interpretations of the study appear to uniformly flow with the results. The study does discuss the limitations of the study on that the sample was in only four Mid-Western hospitals. According to Kalisch and Lee (2011, p. 87), â€Å"team work is more difficult to achieve in larger hospitals. † The sample does not provide for generalizability of the findings.The study recommends further direct observation studies to measure actual teamwork. Implications The study does discuss the implications of the findings. The results suggest that ensuring adequate staffing is important but also increasing the efficiency of the deliver y of care by using staff more effectively. Summary Despite some identified limitations such as generalizability, the study findings appear to have validity and show confidence in the truthfulness of the results. The study does contribute to meaningful results and evidence applicable in nursing practice and hospital policies regarding staffing.Further study suggested would be to observe larger inner city hospitals with greater levels of skill mix for longer duration of time. References Brewer, B. B. (2006). Relationships among teams, culture, safety, and cost outcomes. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 28(6), 641-653 Kalisch, B. J. , & Lee, K. (2011). Nurse Staffing Levels and Teamwork: A Cross-Sectional Study of Patient Care Units in Acute Care Hospitals. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 43(1), 82-88. Salas, E. , Sims, D. E. , & Burke, C. S. (2005). Is there a ‘big five† in teamwork? Small Group Research, 36(5), 555-599.

Compare & Contrast “Mid Term break” by Seamus Heaney & “Treasure in the Heart” by Joolz Essay

Recently I have been studying two similarly themed poems both concentrated upon the chilling reality of death. In the following essay I will to analyse & compare the similarities & contrasts between â€Å"Mid term break† Written by Seamus Heaney & â€Å"Treasure in the Heart† written by Joolz. I will attempt to delve & explore the subconscious meanings behind the structure and wording of these poems. I will attempt to give a brief overview of relevant background information concerning Heaney & Joolz which had a substantial effect on the poems written by both poets. Seamus Heaney was born in April nineteen thirty nine, the first of a closely knit family what would eventually turn out to be nine siblings. This ment Seamus felt a lot of responsibility to his family from a young age. This is surely a contributing factor to why he wrote this poem as he would have surely blamed himself in part for his brother’s death. This is very similar to one of the reason why Joolz would have written her poem both were very close to these people and felt a lot of anguish at there passing. Both would have wanted to be able to pay there respects in a more memorable & effective way for themselves. Seamus family was a mixture of â€Å"old Ireland† his father being a second generation cattle. But his mother was a descendant of the â€Å"new Ireland† a family with many Irish industrial ties. This surely gave Seamus a unique and very diverse view when it came to his surroundings. When Seamus was only twelve years old he was awarded a scholarship to St.Columb College. This gave him a real opportunity to do what he could with his life. Evidently family was a very important subject in Heaney’s life & I am sure that is why he found it so important to write a poem about this event. From studying the title of his poem â€Å"Mid term Break† you would expect a happy poem with children playing having fun. You would not expect the opposite and that is exactly what this poem really represents. The poem is about death and the wave of misery & destruction that affects the concerned people. Another way you could look at the title of the poem is that he wanted to make his last memory of his brother a fond one. As he was also older when he wrote this final reflection it would have ment it would be a more mature & reflective title, this however would surely of been different had he wrote it at the time of the death the title would have probably been more an angry outburst of sadness & hatred upon his part. The word â€Å"angry† in the title could first of all represent a break in the routine of everyone’s life, as if once the terrible accident happened everything halted to a stop as people took time to mourn. This word break could also symbolize a time of great time of sadness & grief just like â€Å"bells knelling†. The start of the poem starts slowly rather ambiguously like a sick joke slowly revealing the punch line. He begins the poem with slow & cagey vocabulary it signifies a young boys nervous, clammy state of mind. You can identify with how he would feel when he says: â€Å"I sat all morning† From this you can feel the tension in the air like a tightly pulled string about to snap. When you think of having to wait some-where for a long time alone it conjures up memories of boring and sad times. This really sets the theme and tone for the rest of the poem just in this one line a very effective way to begin. He leaves it very mysterious at the start but you know what the general flavour of the poem is going to be from this one taste. The whole poem is set in first person. This gives it a more immediate impact as if you are living the occasion right now. This is more of an effective style when trying to show the reader the circumstances of the writers anguish. Rather than being set in third person it is more in your face and this gives you the sense of almost viewing the whole scene as a bi-stander. The use of wording in the second line is a very significant & begins to give you an inkling of what has happened when he says: â€Å"Bells knelling† The way knelling is slotted into the poem is a useful indicator of what has happened, as seen by the actual definition of knelling which is: (verb) 1. To ring a bell slowly & solemnly, especially for a funeral. So as shown by the very descriptive use of wording used at this stage the bells were a very significant part his memory of this saddest of times. The bells would have also have been very significant to him at the time as I am sure time was going so slowly for him. He would have felt sick, agitated but the bells would re-assure him of the fact that time was still going & that no matter how bad he felt life goes on. Then he moves on to an even more awkward situation you can feel the cold sadness in the air of this journey, the tears streaming down his face when he moves onto: â€Å"Two O’clock our neighbours drove me home† The inclusion of time is very significant, as it shows how slow time really would have been going for Heaney right then. The way he describes the drive home in general give you a chill down your spine after all he says is: â€Å"The neighbours† He makes the whole experience feel very in-personal & foreign as if he was being taken home by some complete stranger like a police officer after doing something horrific. The whole of the first verse runs on as is then the theme for the rest of the poem. You would tend to believe this is down to the face that when he wrote this poem it was along time after and the memory had all become one jumbled up mess. So this would lead you to think these certain scenes are imprinted into him like a scar deeply running into his darkest parts. As if the memory will be with him for life so he has to get it down on to paper to lighten some of the weight of his pain. Then he moves onto a scene that was at the time almost as scaring to his conscious being as his brothers death was: â€Å"I met my father crying† This would have been a very shocking & and uncomfortable situation for Seamus at the time. Surely this one scene would have driven home to him how he must stay strong for his family as they needed him to. The use of such a miserable revelation as a parent crying over there lost son also shows the reader the effect it had on everyone & how much of a horrific and un-natural situation it is and that no one should have to suffer. But then just to finish you off he drops in this one really tiny piece of info that really gets to you: â€Å"He had always taken funerals in his stride† Just as if you didn’t feel for him and his family how terrible this was. When a grown man cries it really shows you how terrifying a fact it is that this one simple act of carelessness can rip a grown man to shreds. Moving on next you get one character that you will normally find at funerals trying to consol everyone with cheap words. But all everyone really longs for are those precious ties to be relived with the little boy who they all loved but was taken away from them in one â€Å"break†. You then get the sharp but beautiful contrast of something so special it really gives you that glimmer of hope. When you are reminded in your glum, unforgiving state that life is still growing & that there are still more happy memories to be lived. But also it would feel ignorant & rude to laugh at a funeral, but it feels right when a baby laughs. This gives you a reminder of the innocence of the young and how life will poison this if you do not die young. Next you move onto a totally different scene: â€Å"Old men standing up† This shows the respect they have for this boy as if for today he was a man & with that comes the pain of life. Heaney uses this situation to his advantage however. Every man has suffered this some time he does not know what is going on or how these men are here or who they are. But there is one thing he does know he should be nervous & embarrassed after all they are here paying respects for this brother and he doesn’t even know who they are. But even under all this you feel the character of a boy now a man shine though. You can feel the bitterness conveyed when he says: â€Å"Tell me they were sorry for my trouble† He understands even then when he was just a young boy the hypocritical vibe he feels from them. I mean how can they even know his brother he was only four he had barely even seen the world so what makes these men so special? You then get the other end of the spectrum another stage in the routine of mourning. Anger of course she’s angry who wouldn’t be if there son was tragically knocked over in some freak accident? But you know you never get the real impact of death concerning a little child until you realise how bad the mother is feeling. That is what really makes this part so personal and gripping: â€Å"Coughed out angry tearless sighs† It hits you the reader how bad she must be feeling. So sad & angry she can’t even face releasing her eyes to gush out the tears she so richly deserves to let go. No instead she locks away herself to the world & just grips to her son like a young girl clutching her comforting teddy. But no he still won’t release himself to mourn he must stay strong for the family. Even hours after the death the true tole of what has happened still doesn’t truly hit then young man still counting the time like the clock of death ticking away A prominent theme though out the poem of course from that solemn tolling bell. But still it hasn’t hit him as now his brother has gone not even a person just: â€Å"The corpse, stanched & bandaged† The memories are as if they have no left the body all that is left is the empty meaningless shell. Even though is written in first person the description is so in-personal it’s almost cruel. But then the final nine lines are like one big jumbled description more like a final saying goodbye. He describes such a simple but beautiful just as he would want his brother to have the best. Not an empty corpse this time this is as if his brother is only sleeping for a long time. The scene is the most beautiful & ironically happiest part of them poem. â€Å"Snowdrops & candles soothed the bedside† This gives the impression of it being a very tranquil & comfortable scene where finally he can mourn & try to come to terms with his brother’s death. The use of snowdrops describes a very beautiful & pure room as if angels are watching over his brother from above. As he would want now his brother is with them. He the goes on to use an intriguing word to describe the bruise on his temple: â€Å"Wearing a poppy bruise† It’s almost as if it is not a bruise on his head but a sign of remembrance not just for him but it also signifies the wasteful way so many young men & women lose their lives. It not a bruise on his head really it’s an emblem an icon never to be forgotten neither shall is brother be forgotten as he continues to remain young: â€Å"A four foot box a foot for every year† Really that is when it hits you the use of this simile is just enough to make you think what really is the point when people are dieing so young. I think in the reality the last line is there to create a memorable finish that will stick in your mind forever. In final analysis of the poem I find the poem to start off slow with a sort of dull boring way for effect. But then in the second stanza the poem reads through very quickly this continues until the sixth stanza, I believe this is to display how much a blur the whole memory is. Until he comes to the most significant last two stanzas: â€Å"Snowdrops & candles soothed the bedside† This is a beautiful & calm analogy unlike the previous few stanzas it is a more calm & thoughtful description. Throughout the last two stanzas he uses a lot more punctuation like commas and full-stops for example. This is because it was probably the most memorable part of the whole experience after all it’s the last time he saw his baby brother. I find this poem to be a very beautiful & realistic poem. He uses good effects such as descriptive words & an ever changing pace to keep the reader glued and keeps them thinking. He uses some very good similes such as: â€Å"He lay in his four foot box as in his cot† This sad but beautiful simile is a great way to finish off any poem and in all I think it is a great poem. Also the most interesting aspect of the middle stanzas he takes you though different people & there contrasting ways of dealing with bereavement Now moving onto Joolz and the information behind her life and why she would put what she has in her poem. Joolz born in Colchester in 1955 actually once said herself: â€Å"I was a difficult child† Brought up in Cosham near Portsmouth she would often spend lots of time with her Nan as her mother worked for the electricity board & her father would spend long periods away with the army. This is probably the main reason behind why she was angry at the death of her grand mother and the setting of her funeral. Joolz was a troubled youth, she hated school everything except art. She could make herself ill on demand, a weapon she surely used more than once. She moved to Harrogate, Yorkshire in her childhood where she would be based for many years. As an adolescent she was difficult to look after and was put on tranquilisers. When she was only sixteen years old talented at poetry she went along to a folk club at the time she was the only girl. When only 19 she married a maintenance fitter & motorbike kid. After that for a while she stopped writing poetry but after five years they split up and she moved to Bradford. This show how will full she was and independent she must have truly believed in being herself & obviously it must have been very hard for her at her Nan’s funeral evidently. From the title of Joolz poem: â€Å"Treasure in the Heart† You can tell this is going to be a very loving & beautiful portrayal of some ones life. Obviously to reflect on a true treasure in Joolz heart. The use of these words is a very poetic way to start. The title of Joolz poem is more to the point & gives you an idea of what the poem is going to be about. Unlike Heaney’s title which is rather misleading & elusive. Both ways are effective but in different aspects, Heaney’s for shocking you after such a normal & uninspiring title. But then there is Joolz title which is just so beautiful & really gives you the sense of passion from the start. This really sets the tone for the whole poem & you know from then on there is going to be a lot of regret & passion blazed on these stanzas. Her passion is displayed by the strong words she uses like â€Å"shouted† the wording shows how much she cared. Just like in Heaney’s poem Joolz sets hers in first person. This as I said is significant as it gets the reader more immersed & just like Heaney’s poem it means the emotions from the poem can shine through. All through the first three lines she begins them with â€Å"I should†. This shows how angry she was at herself and evidently she wish she could make it up to her Nan. But even more important she wishes she could go back & change everything. But crucially I think she is writing this poem as some sort of minor reprisal for the way she let her Nan down, but also for her to vent her anger the only constructive way she knows how. Also she wants to immerse the reader and by opening with this repetitive start it intrigues the reader and compels them to read on. But she’s not just angry at herself just like she has lived her life she is angry at the system: â€Å"In that sickly, stupid, hideous place† This really shows the root of her furious tone. She knows that the chapel was never good enough not for her Nan not for no ones. She knows that nothing but the best would be good enough & you know from the way she reacts she just wanted it to be perfect. What she did not want it to be was fake, un-respectful & thoughtless but that’s all it really was: â€Å"Full of fake fabric flowers†¦ taped organ music† This she knows should have been a happier occasion after all her nana had a long life†¦she was lucky when you think of Heaney’s brother & the way he was taken she would have known her nana was lucky too. But why such a fake terrible service to remember her after all was her Nan not good enough for some real beautiful flowers at some gorgeous antique church? Even then more insults seemed to sprout from every where for instance all ten people who turned up, after all those years her Nan had lived did she not deserve for a at least a few more people to pay there respects? A far cry from the hundreds of people who were there for Heaney and his family after his brother’s death, what a difference a few people make. But then the biggest insult of them all, this really seemed to push Joolz to breaking point but at the same time drew the writer in: â€Å"this fat, untidy†¦woman rolls out sonorously†¦imbecile clichà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s† Even then she knows no matter how bad the ceremony was still a great person: â€Å"her terrible strength & sword sharp truthfulness† This is why Joolz loves her Nan & why someone would not have loved her would have probably bewildered her. But how even her Nan had fallen from that once great person who she will always love and cherish but now she is just: â€Å"Shell thin and faded silvery† This must really hurt Joolz to see her Nan the most motherly figure she probably had, turned into nothing more than skin & bones. Overall her Nan was ten times better than that fat untidy Christian woman could ever be and that is what she hates most. She hates how she was at her funeral this is evident all the way from lines twenty five- thirty! â€Å"Snotty nosed†¦still a child† This is very important as it shows through all the anger & her thoughts that she was still only a child & must understand how is was not really her fault. In fact Heaney was at a very similar age he neither knew what to do but they dealt with it the same at the end of the day but in there own little ways. I understand totally after all when you are only a teenager you are fully aware of death but it still remains some one else’s problem till it hits you. But even then she knew very well that her nana deserved more time than she got: â€Å"Nine minutes that stupid ceremony took† Time is important to her after all the years her nana spent looking after her all the opportunity she has to pay her respects is nine pitiful minutes. Of course this is going to make her angry everyone deserves the chance to mourn for longer than nine minutes no matter who you are: â€Å"Listen to me!† The line she has probably rehearsed in her head a thousand times but she lets it pass. She would have been fierce like her nana would have wanted. This is the passion she really wants to show on that fateful day, or just to say how disgusted she really was. Then she could have rallied her ceremony to make it that little bit more perfect: â€Å"She deserved more than this†¦in the end† She would have said everything she needed to say then and she would never have needed to write this poem. But then you would never of had this ending of such sad proportions: â€Å"But I said nothing†¦im really sorry† These are really important words as then finally say what she has all along been longing to bellow. The whole poem is set out more like one whole paragraph for the majority. More of speech than a poem, in truth the lines are simple sectioned into groups ranting about different topics. The poem flows well all of it relating into the next part as it is very well though out. I personally find the poem to be good but it is a more personal topic. I find it harder to relate to this poem rather than Heaney’s however the use of description & the whole poem is very impressive. Finally I found Heaney’s poem to be the better & most effective. The fact that the poem was about a year olds death compels me more than Joolz topic.

Free Essays on Welfare Reform

WELFARE REFORM: CHANGING FACES FROM COAST TO COAST HISTORY The welfare system began as a ‘local’ program. â€Å"When and where public relief was needed, it was left up to state and local officials to provide it.† Each town made up their own set of rules and regulations concerning who would be helped. â€Å"By the early 1900’s, a number of states were requiring cities and countries to offer some assistance to their neediest† (Weiss, 1990, p. 34). Because each town was responsible for their own poor, rules were often made to dissuade would-be users of the assistance programs. â€Å"Local authorities were clever about reducing the welfare price tag with strategies designed to discourage people from applying for relief. One popular tactic, used widely until the mid-twentieth century, was to list welfare recipients by name in the town’s annual written report† (Weiss, 1990, p. 35). Given today’s confidentiality policies, this would not be tolerated. Applicants and recipients are granted a great deal of privacy, protecting them from the public humiliation that was popular in historical times.  · PRESIDENTIAL INFLUENCE During, and following, the Great Depression, President Hoover was against a federally funded welfare programs. â€Å"Hoover was convinced that ‘socialistic’ welfare programs would wreck what remained of the nations’ economy† (Weiss, 1990, p. 38). However, the American people were ready and willing to make a change. During his election campaign, President Roosevelt proposed his creation known as the New Deal. This program â€Å"succeeded in relieving suffering and giving the nation renewed hope.† Job programs were created and millions of people were placed in these programs. While Roosevelt enjoyed the success of his idea, â€Å"he was uncomfortable with the thought that his programs might prove to be the first step toward U.S. adoption of federal welfare on a broad and permanent basis† (Weiss, 199... Free Essays on Welfare Reform Free Essays on Welfare Reform WELFARE REFORM: CHANGING FACES FROM COAST TO COAST HISTORY The welfare system began as a ‘local’ program. â€Å"When and where public relief was needed, it was left up to state and local officials to provide it.† Each town made up their own set of rules and regulations concerning who would be helped. â€Å"By the early 1900’s, a number of states were requiring cities and countries to offer some assistance to their neediest† (Weiss, 1990, p. 34). Because each town was responsible for their own poor, rules were often made to dissuade would-be users of the assistance programs. â€Å"Local authorities were clever about reducing the welfare price tag with strategies designed to discourage people from applying for relief. One popular tactic, used widely until the mid-twentieth century, was to list welfare recipients by name in the town’s annual written report† (Weiss, 1990, p. 35). Given today’s confidentiality policies, this would not be tolerated. Applicants and recipients are granted a great deal of privacy, protecting them from the public humiliation that was popular in historical times.  · PRESIDENTIAL INFLUENCE During, and following, the Great Depression, President Hoover was against a federally funded welfare programs. â€Å"Hoover was convinced that ‘socialistic’ welfare programs would wreck what remained of the nations’ economy† (Weiss, 1990, p. 38). However, the American people were ready and willing to make a change. During his election campaign, President Roosevelt proposed his creation known as the New Deal. This program â€Å"succeeded in relieving suffering and giving the nation renewed hope.† Job programs were created and millions of people were placed in these programs. While Roosevelt enjoyed the success of his idea, â€Å"he was uncomfortable with the thought that his programs might prove to be the first step toward U.S. adoption of federal welfare on a broad and permanent basis† (Weiss, 199...

Paper Editing Help

Paper Editing Help Paper Editing Help Paper Editing Help The first draft of your research paper is likely to be in need of editing, especially if you have let your ideas flow from paragraph to paragraph. Editing is your real opportunity to give your English research paper shape and emphasis. You will have little idea of the final shape of the final draft unless you read through the draft with an intention to edit it. Editing your writing is often a matter of emphasizing one part or one argument more than others. You will need to push some parts of your research paper into the background and pull others forward in the process of paper editing.  Not every college work lends itself to editing treatment; however, all research papers that have no impact are usually those which most resemble a list of points. Papers lacking shape flow one section to another giving equal emphasis to each part so that the impression given is that the paper could go on for ever. These papers need editing help. Paper Editing Tips The below checklist of questions for editing a research paper might look like this: Does description form part of a discussion or analysis? Are quotations linked with comment? What is the main point? (Try writing it in two sentences.) What evidence do you use to substantiate your viewpoint? Is there adequate justification for statements? Can some issues be pulled into the foreground? Is there sufficient interpretation/analysis? Is the choice of material biased? Do all paragraphs deal with one main idea? Do they link together? Are they relevant to the title? Do the points made lead to a logical conclusion? Are there any grammar, spelling, or punctuation mistakes? Research paper editing is not always a matter of erasing the text. While editing you should add explanation and justification to give your college work emphasis. While editing paper you will also check the relevancy of material. The most important editing task is to apply something similar to a 'DNA genetic test'. While editing, imagine that every paragraph carries its own genetic material derived from the work title. Editing help provided by is of high quality.   We will perfect your paper and make it perfect!   Your tutor will be impressed with relevancy of information and logical formatting. Not every doctor is gifted and not every student is able to edit his writing.   We offer an affordable solution - paper editing help.

How to Use Agile Project Management to Organize Your Marketing

How to Use Agile Project Management to Organize Your Marketing Are you sick of emergencies, of last-minute deadlines, and the stress of messy workflows? If so, agile project management might be just the strategy you need to use. Chances are great that you’ve heard of it before, but do you know how to use agile methodologies in your marketing? Today we’re going to talk about just that with Andrea Fryrear, the president and lead trainer at Agile Sherpas. She’s going to talk to us about what agile marketing is and how you can use it to prioritize your projects. Sit back, relax, and get ready to learn some high-value information that will help your business succeed. Information about Agile Sherpas and what they do. What agile marketing is, what it focuses on, and what the most popular methodology is. The difference between Waterfall and agile marketing. How agile marketers prioritize their projects. The concept of boundaries and why multitasking doesn’t work. Andrea also talks about the importance of saying no. How agile marketers can focus on the projects that make the most impact. How to build obstacles and roadblocks into your workflow. Tips on using Scrum, Kanban, and Scrumban for agile marketing. What you can do first if you are a marketer who would like to start using agile project management as part of your marketing strategy. Links and Resources: Agile Sherpas Scrum Kanban Scrumban podcast@.com If you liked today’s show, please subscribe on iTunes to The Actionable Marketing Podcast! The podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Quotes by Andrea: â€Å"Limiting our work and focusing is the only way we’re gonna get to the point of doing really good, high-quality work that’s focused on the audience.† â€Å"Scrum has the best PR agency of any of the agile methodologies.† â€Å"I would say don’t try to eat this whole elephant in one big bite.†

Convicted felons in the workforce vs human resource management Research Paper

Convicted felons in the workforce vs human resource management - Research Paper Example This paper is about individuals who possess criminal records, and how their chance to work in the workforce is a notch more difficult than their other peers who have a clean record. In this paper, the researcher would like to focus on a certain type of individual who has been excluded from the rest of society because of their misbehaviour. In legal systems, a felon is someone who has been accused of performing a serious crime and has been legally condemned of doing so. There exist a long list of crimes that can brand a person a criminal, and the ones that are considered to be felonies are not restricted to the following- grand theft, tax evasion, robbery, rape, murder, fraud, kidnapping, violent assaults, treason, arson, illegal drug abuse and drug trafficking, and espionage. Felonies can be considered as a felony under various circumstances, and a convicted felon can only be convicted by a person of legal authority such as a judge (Eisenstein and Jacob, 1991). In this paper, the researcher would like to discuss the reasons regarding preferred characteristics of a potential employee. In the case of felons who decide to join the workforce after serving their time in prison, the researcher would like to investigate how the human resource department in organizations deal with such cases, should they decide to hire a felon. Naturally, hiring a previously convicted criminal can affect an organization’s operations, so companies must be extremely cautious in such cases. For instance, planning employee activities might have to be planned in a different way, or controlling such employees might have to be done in a different manner. The researcher would like to investigate social views on such a controversial topic, and also what can be done to help these felons find their own niche in the workforce. In 2007, reports were made that there are en estimate of 2 million convicted persons in prison serving their time.

The Passion Food Catering Parties Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Passion Food Catering Parties - Lab Report Example In the events and parties that will be organized by this business, the serving of items will be carried out under strict supervision to ensure that the clients get the best services from the service provider. Passion Food will rent space for the office and kitchen in the same region where it will be located. Renting the kitchen and the offices will be done in the industrial areas of the town. This is done to ensure that the cost of the rent is kept as low as possible. Due to the fact that space will be used to prepare and store food, there is no need of having a store that is aesthetically pleasing or stores that are in a classy or nice neighborhood. Passion Food d projected to generate annual revenue of about $ 100000.This revenue is expected to rise after the first three years of operation after the business is able to cut a niche for itself in the catering industry. For every business that wants to get into the markets and succeed, it is very important that a market research is carried outlaw market research entails studying and evaluating the current market in order to fully understand the dynamics of the market. Market research provides the business with the much need information that it will require in order to be able to operate efficiently and to be able to match and even outdoor the competitors in the market. It is due to this reason that a market research is required before the Food Passion business is rolled out. The market research, in this case, is done for three major goals and reasons. First of all, the market research is will be carried out in order to understand the dynamics of the catering industry. With this understanding, the business will be able to determine the best-operating ways that will enhance its efficiency and profitability.  

Economic Theory and Technological Change Term Paper

Economic Theory and Technological Change - Term Paper Example Commercialization is the process that turns an invention into innovation (Feldman, 2004). Innovation can be driven by new technological development or customer demand. Many new products arise from attempts to meet market demand than from new technologies. The technological breakthrough of the laser has led to various innovative applications of this technology, for example in keyhole surgery and laser-correction of poor eyesight. Windscreen-wipers used no new technology at all. They just met the market need for clean windows while driving (Different Kinds of Innovation). When most people think of corporate innovation, they think of product innovation which involves launching of a new product. Even a small improvement in a product can help keep a company one step ahead of its competitors. Process innovation may sound comparatively dull but is extremely important. In any large company, lots of people are involved in internal processes that allow the company to run smoothly and legally. These are the people in middle management, human resources, accounting, finance, administration, and the like. In general, they recognize processes that do not work well and have ideas about how to make those processes more efficient (The Four Kinds of Corporate Innovation). The economist Joseph Schumpeter’s major contribution of the economic vision of innovation has helped strengthen the theoretical base of one area of strategic management, that is, innovation strategy and innovation management within the enterprise. His theories are interesting also because they make a useful contribution to the multidisciplinary study (economics and management) of innovation.     

Why is the Earl of Moray's role in the Chaseabout Raid still debated Essay

Why is the Earl of Moray's role in the Chaseabout Raid still debated - Essay Example It will, however, validate the charge of Bothwells sexual violence. Scholars have debated whether Mary was born on 7 or 8 December 1542, even though she celebrated her birthday on the 8th. As her contemporaries were sometimes vague about dating events that occurred shortly after midnight, it is likely that she was born in the early hours of the 8th at Linlithgow Palace to Mary of Guise, the second wife of James V of Scotland, whose parents were James IV and Margaret Tudor, a sister of Henry VIII. As Marys father died a few days after her birth in despair because of the recent English victory at Solway Moss, she could not remember a time when she was not queen regnant. The immediate accession controversy was not over her sex but her age, for she required a regent. The heir presumptive, James Hamilton, second earl of Arran, gained the office with English aid but soon found that his arrangements for Mary to wed Henry VIIIs heir were extremely unpopular. Arrans major rival was Matthew Stewart, fourth earl of Lennox, who returned from exile as a French partisan and claimed to be the rightful heir presumptive and regent because of some irregularity in the marriage of Arrans parents. After Marys coronation in September 1543, Arran rejected the English alliance, and in 1548, having been promised the dukedom of Chatelherault, agreed to her removal to France as the betrothed of Francis, the dauphin, who was born in 1544. Meanwhile, the English invaded Scotland, attempting to seize Mary, a claimant to their throne as a grandchild of Margaret Tudor, in raids called the Rough Wooing. Lennox retreated to England and wed Margaret Douglas, the daughter of Margar et Tudor, who gave birth to Darnley in

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

Tissue Viability Nursing - Essay Example Besides of all these fields, a local and instantaneous help and prevention is of crucial importance for the disease treatment as well. Generally speaking, tissue viability implies protection and management of wounds (Ebersolle and Hess, 1998). Such important aspects as pressure ulcer prevention, leg ulcer prevention, chronic edema and infection control are integrative in the field of tissue viability treatment. In order to improve my nursing experience with taking care about patients with tissue viability, there is a need to improve the status of this disease in the healthcare system, especially, with regards to older patients. There are many drawbacks concerning the disease status on local and national levels: â€Å"It is useful to consider the amalgamation of tissue viability with related therapeutic areas for economy of scale, cost efficiency and improved delivery of care; †¦Services within the NHS have been too parochial, focusing on local issues rather than regional or nat ional ones† (Marshall, 2010). A high quality of tissue viability nursing depends not only on a nurse’s skills, but also implies a combination of many other external factors, which, if combined, would lead to a positive result. On the basis of my own experience, I would like to note that prevention is much more effective than tissue viability treatment. I have been engaged in tissue viability treatment at many different stages: from the process of the disease identification to the operational delivery of care. The following case happened to my patient with tissue viability and means a lot for me. One evening a patient with paraplegia has complained about septicaemia from a urinary infection. On my behalf, I performed caring actions, which I had to complete. Thus, I completed a pressure ulcer risk assessment that indicated the patient's high risk but he spent another night on a standard mattress overnight. As a result, a large sacral pressure ulcer was developed. In order to prevent such kind of incidents in my further practice, I had to communicate with my colleagues and to get support from a confidential counseling service. Moreover, in the institution where I am employed, such kind of incidents has shifted accents in the field of tissue viability, which has now been considered in the context of tissue damage prevention. Nurses are supposed to reduce infections they can bring to patients. For example, even if there are several sepses in wounds, efficient anti-microbial dressings of medical personnel can prevent further infection expansion (Spencer et al, 2001). With this regard, an efficient practical perfection in tissue viability nursing was introduced when our institution underlined that it is on behalf of all people involved in the treatment process to take a responsibility for infection level decrease and prevention. Anyone can bring germs into a nursing home and there is a need to prevent and take control over a potential hazardous level of infections. Therefore, I have been often involved in trainings devoted to infection level decrease and my knowledge has been constantly improved and modernized about the possible ways of protection against infection. Moreover, older people are not very attentive to their appearance; they have a lot of cognitive and mental problems, as well as

Impact of Music Education and Issues Stopping its Implementation Essay

Impact of Music Education and Issues Stopping its Implementation - Essay Example Therefore, through this research I would like to find the answers to the following two questions:What are the effects of music on overall development of the brain including academics? Why is music education not taken seriously by educators and what are the reasons withholding them from implementing music education permanently?To answer the first question, there is a lot of secondary research available. Many experts and researchers in the field have already addressed the issue. Some researchers have conducted studies that show that there is a link between music and brain functioning. â€Å"Mozart effect† is a result of one such study. Studies have been conducted to identify specific effects such as effects of music on learning, reading skills, standardized tests, grade-point averages, etc. Therefore to answer this and prove my thesis that music has positive effects, I will depend primarily on secondary research. The sources that I will use are mentioned in the bibliography. Thi s is based on initial research and new resources will be added as after detailed research.Therefore I will concentrate more on primary research. This will involve conducting surveys and interviews of scholars in the field, both from music and education. The administration in educational institutions will be contacted and requested to take part and assist in the research so as to get to the bottom of the issue. If necessary, the participant’s privacy will be respected and their identity will be kept anonymous.

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

Tissue Viability Nursing - Essay Example Besides of all these fields, a local and instantaneous help and prevention is of crucial importance for the disease treatment as well. Generally speaking, tissue viability implies protection and management of wounds (Ebersolle and Hess, 1998). Such important aspects as pressure ulcer prevention, leg ulcer prevention, chronic edema and infection control are integrative in the field of tissue viability treatment. In order to improve my nursing experience with taking care about patients with tissue viability, there is a need to improve the status of this disease in the healthcare system, especially, with regards to older patients. There are many drawbacks concerning the disease status on local and national levels: â€Å"It is useful to consider the amalgamation of tissue viability with related therapeutic areas for economy of scale, cost efficiency and improved delivery of care; †¦Services within the NHS have been too parochial, focusing on local issues rather than regional or nat ional ones† (Marshall, 2010). A high quality of tissue viability nursing depends not only on a nurse’s skills, but also implies a combination of many other external factors, which, if combined, would lead to a positive result. On the basis of my own experience, I would like to note that prevention is much more effective than tissue viability treatment. I have been engaged in tissue viability treatment at many different stages: from the process of the disease identification to the operational delivery of care. The following case happened to my patient with tissue viability and means a lot for me. One evening a patient with paraplegia has complained about septicaemia from a urinary infection. On my behalf, I performed caring actions, which I had to complete. Thus, I completed a pressure ulcer risk assessment that indicated the patient's high risk but he spent another night on a standard mattress overnight. As a result, a large sacral pressure ulcer was developed. In order to prevent such kind of incidents in my further practice, I had to communicate with my colleagues and to get support from a confidential counseling service. Moreover, in the institution where I am employed, such kind of incidents has shifted accents in the field of tissue viability, which has now been considered in the context of tissue damage prevention. Nurses are supposed to reduce infections they can bring to patients. For example, even if there are several sepses in wounds, efficient anti-microbial dressings of medical personnel can prevent further infection expansion (Spencer et al, 2001). With this regard, an efficient practical perfection in tissue viability nursing was introduced when our institution underlined that it is on behalf of all people involved in the treatment process to take a responsibility for infection level decrease and prevention. Anyone can bring germs into a nursing home and there is a need to prevent and take control over a potential hazardous level of infections. Therefore, I have been often involved in trainings devoted to infection level decrease and my knowledge has been constantly improved and modernized about the possible ways of protection against infection. Moreover, older people are not very attentive to their appearance; they have a lot of cognitive and mental problems, as well as

Advertising- the seven sins of memory Essay Example for Free

Advertising- the seven sins of memory Essay INTRODUCTION As if effective marketing communication were not hard enough to achieve, even if we succeed in getting our message attended to and processed, and a positive intention formed, the very nature of memory may step in and upset everything. Memory distortion and plain old forgetting are unfortunate facts of life. The important question, however, is: can we do anything about it? As with most things, if we are to have any hope of dealing with memory problems and their impact upon advertising and other marketing communications, we must first understand what is going on. In this paper we will be looking at what Daniel Schacter (2001) has called the seven sins of memory: transcience, absent-mindedness, blocking, misattribution, suggestibility, bias and persistence. Most of what Schacter is dealing with involves declarative memory and not procedural memory, and as a result is highly dependent upon activity in the hippocampus. Although other brain structures are involved in mediating declarative memory, the hippocampus is critical, especially for tasks emphasising the representational as opposed to temporal properties of declarative memory. The hippocampus is always active in encoding new information for declarative memory. Nondeclarative emotional memory is also involved here, especially in the cases of bias and persistence, which means activity in the amygdala as well. There is compelling evidence that the amygdala is critical to emotional learning and memory (cf. Griffiths 1997). Imperfections in memory have obvious implications for the successful processing of advertising. Even if a positive intention is formed as a result of exposure to an advert, if a memory malfunction interferes with that intention, the advertising will be ineffective. The problems associated with these seven sins of memory, and what advertisers can do about it, are discussed below. THE SIN OF TRANSIENCE Forgetting that naturally occurs over time may be thought of as transcience. While the memory of what one did yesterday may be all but perfect, over time those memories tend to become more a generic description of what one expects to happen under those circumstances rather than what actually did happen. †¢Advertising implication: The sin of transience implies that what people recall from advertising is much more likely to reflect a generic description of what is expected about a brand rather than the specific benefits that are part of the message. This has clear implications for interpreting recall measures of advertising messages. But, more importantly, it also suggests that the specific content of marketing communication should be consistent with, or carefully integrated with, prior understandings of the brand. A recent advert for Reynolds Wrap illustrates this can be done with a headline Sticky Foods Wont Stic spelled out in cheese on a pan of lasagne, with a portion cut out of the corner cutting off the last letter of stick, revealing the aluminium foil, clean, beneath. Transcience increases with age. While older adults those over 50 years of age have the same ability to remember in the short term as younger people, over time, memory of specific detail deteriorates more rap idly. As a result, older adults tend to rely upon a general sense of knowing rather than specific recall. The problem of memory transience can be mediated by more elaborative encoding, essentially by stimulating the lower left frontal cortex. One popular way of trying to encourage more elaborate encoding is by using visual imagery mnemonics to facilitate memory. In fact, this idea goes back to the early Greeks. Unfortunately for marketing communication, not only does using visual mnemonics require a great deal of concentration and effort (and there is no easy way to encourage such effort), but for most people there is really very little evidence of general memory improvement using such techniques. †¢Advertising implication: However, one way to encourage more elaborative encoding to help reduce transcience is to relate information the target audience is interested in remembering with something they already know. In advertising, this could be encouraged with questions in the copy to stimulate elaboration: for example, in a recent advert for the Dodge Caravan with the headline What Idiot Coined the Phrase Stay at Home Mom? THE SIN OF ABSENT-MINDEDNESS When one fails to pay proper attention to something and as a result does not encode it properly, or when the information is actually in memory, but overlooked when needed to be retrieved, one experiences the sin of absent-mindedness. Absent-mindedness manifests itself both in failing to  remember past experiences as well as in failing to remember to do something in the future. Both, of course, can prove troublesome for marketing communication. Also, the fact that absentmindedness is more likely for routine experiences that do not in and of themselves require elaborative encoding (e.g. exposure to advertising) adds to the problem. Unfortunately, routine behaviour (which certainly includes such things as reading magazines and watching television) is associated with low levels of prefrontal cortex activity in the left inferior area, which makes it difficult to form vivid memories. Such automatic or superficial levels of encoding can also lead to something known as change blindness (Si mons Levin 1998), where people fail to detect changes over time, because of an inability to recall details. This has obvious implications for the introduction of new benefits over time in advertising campaigns, or for repositioning. Memories for past experiences may be classified as either recollections or familiarity. Recalling specific details from memory (e.g. remembering specific benefit claims from an advert) is defined as recollection. Familiarity is when one has a sense of simply being aware of something without recalling specific details (e.g. remembering seeing an advert, but not particular content). This difference is important, because when there is divided attention during exposure, there is a significant effect upon recollection, but little or no effect upon familiarity (cf. studies by Craik et al. 1996). †¢Advertising implication: Because one is more likely to pay partial attention rather than full attention to advertising, familiarity with advertising is more likely than recollection of specifics from the advertisement. This underscores the importance of maintaining a consistent look and feel over time (Percy et al. 2001), encouraging familiarity, and utilising imagery that will elicit a positive benefit (associated with the brand) even at low or even sub-cognitive levels of attention. Additionally, too much exposure, especially massed exposure, could lead to lower levels of specific recollection (as we understand from as long ago as Ebbinghaus 1885). Spaced exposures generally result in better memory, a finding demonstrated in Strongs simulations (1974) of various media schedules based upon Zielskes work, and more recently in fMRI studies conducted by Wagner et al. (1998). Remembering to do something in the future (e.g. buying an advertised brand the next time you are shopping) is described by psychologists as  prospective memory. Einstein and McDaniel (1990, 1997 with Shaw) have offered a useful way of looking at this idea of prospective memory, distinguishing between what they call event-based prospective memory, where we want to remember to do something at a specific event, and time-based prospective memory, when one wishes to remember to do something at a specific time in the future. An example of event-based prospective memory would be wanting to buy a new brand the next time you are at the store. An example of time-based prospective memory would be making sure you are home at 3p.m. to meet the delivery man. Why people experience prospective memory failure is that they are usually so preoccupied with other things in their lives that when the event occurs, or the time arrives when it is necessary to remember to do something, the correct associations in memory are not activated. †¢Advertising implication: Prospective memory failure may be minimised in advertising by using distinctive cues that are unlikely to be associated with other long-term memories (especially for competitive brands). It is important to establish links in memory with the appropriate category need in such a way that when a purchase or usage occasion occurs, it will trigger a memory of the intention to act. This is especially true for recognition-driven brand awareness, which means for most package goods products. In the store point-of-purchase material as well as packaging must be both sufficiently informative to trigger the stored memory of an intention to buy, and be distinctive enough to minimise confusion with other brand memories. Shoppers are almost always in a hurry and preoccupied with other things when they are in a store, and this may get in the way of attending to the appropriate prospective memory cue. This is just the sort of thing that goes on when a salesman creates a distraction, hoping you will forget all about your initial good intentions not to be influenced by his pitch, as we know from the literature on compliant behaviour (cf. Cialdini 2001). THE SIN OF BLOCKING We are all familiar with the sin of blocking, that all-too-familiar experience of recognising someone but not being able to remember their name. According to Schacter (2001), blocking is not the same thing as absent-mindedness or transience. In the case of blocking, the memory has been encoded and stored, unlike absent-mindedness. In fact, an appropriate  retrieval cue could be in place, but the association is just not made. Unlike transience, with blocking, the information is still in memory, but remains just out of reach when required. Because blocking generally occurs when trying to remember names, it potentially can be a problem for brand names. Blocking seems to originate in the left temporal pole, where there is a breakdown in the link made between the characteristics associated with something and the name by which it is known. The reason people often have trouble remembering someones name is that a persons name tends to be isolated in memory from any conceptual knowledge about that person and, as a result, difficult to retrieve. Most models of name retrieval hold that activation of phonological representations in memory occur only after activation of conceptual and visual representations. This is why it is easier to recall something about a person than to recall their name. It is also what can lead to remembering something about a product without being able to recall the brand name. Interestingly, names that are most likely to be blocked are familiar ones which have not recently been encountered (Burke et al. 1991. †¢Advertising implication: Brand names that are not well integrated or related to obvious associations with category need will be highly susceptible to blocking. If there are no logical and immediate links in memory between a brand name and the category need, there is the risk of occasional blocking. Arbitrary or more abstract brand names will be blocked more often than descriptive brand names, even when those names are equally familiar to people (cf. Brdant Valentine 1998). Brand names such as Vitalegs (a herbal gel that relieves tired legs) and Soft Scrub (a cleanser that enables you to clean without harsh scratching) illustrate good descriptive brand names that are less likely to be susceptible to blocking. To minimise blocking, it is necessary to suppress the retrieval of recently encountered information that is related to a recall cue so that the mind is not cluttered with irrelevancies that could interfere with the desired memory. †¢Advertising implication: When a brand possesses identical or similar benefits as the leading brand in its category, it will be that much harder to build an association for those benefits with the brand because of learned interference from advertising for the leading brand. This again suggests the need to have copy (and packaging as well as other marketing communication) unique to a brand in order to avoid multiple connections in  memory that could minimise or override the desired brand-related memory. Certain retrieval inhibitions that lead to blocking can be released if we encounter a sufficiently powerful cue (e.g. nondeclarative emotional memories) that helps us re-experience something in the same way in which it was initially experienced. Appropriate triggers in advertising or other marketing communication that elicit the correct emotional memories may help overcome retrieval inhibitions, and release positive memories for a brand. A wonderful advert for Nestls Toll House chocolate chips showing a mother with a pan of chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven with a little girl looking on in anticipation perfectly illustrates this point. THE SIN OF MISATTRIBUTION If one correctly remembers something learned, but attributes it to the wrong source, this is misattribution. Often referred to as unconscioustransference, it causes real problems with eyewitness identification. The problem stems from a strong sense of general familiarity, coupled with an absence of specific recollection. While the consequences of misattribution in advertising are obviously not as serious as they are with eyewitness identification, it can nevertheless cause marketers real problems. †¢Advertising implication: Avoiding misattribution requires more than simply retrieving appropriate benefits from memory. The benefit must be linked together in memory in such a way that you make the correct association of the brand with its benefit claim. This linking process is known as memory binding. All of the important brandbenefit associations in advertising must be bound together by the receiver into a unifying whole at the time of encoding. When advertising for different brands is visually or verbally similar, this memory binding is unlikely to occur, leading to memory conjunction error. Memory conjunction errors occur because people misattribute strong familiarity with similar (even if not identical) things from more than one source as coming from a single source; brand advertising in our case. Interestingly, a strong visualverbal congruence can help minimise misattribution (cf. Schacter et al. 1999). A recent series of adverts for Good Humor-Breyers uses the exact format and headline (Less fat, fewer calories, no guilt) for three brands: Popsicle, Breyers and Klondike. This would seem to almost encourage misattribution. THE SIN OF SUGGESTIBILITY Suggestibility in memory occurs because one tends to include information that has been learned from an outside source as something personally experienced. This information may come from any external source, including advertising or other marketing communication. While suggestibility is similar to the sin of misattribution, misattribution does not require suggestions from outside sources. But when the two combine, it is quite possible for us to develop memories of something which in fact never occurred. †¢Advertising implication: Interestingly, while suggestibility may be a sin of memory, in the world of marketing communication this sin may often become a blessing. For example, suggestive questions may produce memory distortions by creating source memory problems. As a result, advertising that utilises questions that remind people of a favourable brand association could occasion a memory for that positive experience, even if it never occurred, e.g.: Remember how easy it is to remove those nasty stains when you use our brand? Schacter has suggested that if you embellish a fake memory with vivid mental images it should make it look and feel like a true memory. This is based upon work done by Hyman and Pentland (1996) in successfully creating false childhood memories via suggestion, simply by asking subjects about things that never occurred. One of the important conclusions they drew from their work is that these false memories produce vivid visual images. †¢Advertising implication: The application to advertising is obvious. If a suggested favourable experience with a brand is reinforced with a strong visual image of such an experience, it should help seed a memory of a positive experience. In an extension of these ideas, we know that one of the best ways to elicit early childhood memories is to ask someone to visualise themselves as children. While there is no evidence that anyone can remember anything much earlier than about two years of age, because the areas of the brain needed for episodic memory are not fully mature until that age, with suggestive visualisation techniques one can create false memories for events going back almost to birth (cf. Spanos et al. 1999). The key here, as in all suggestibility, is expectancy. If one is instructed to expect something, and it seems plausible, it is possible to create rather strong false memories. †¢Advertising implication: It is very difficult to  suggest a false memory for something that runs counter to a recent or strong existing memory. If you dont like a brand, advertising is not likely to create a false memory that you do; nor should you try. But if a brand is one of a set of brands used by the receiver, it is certainly possible to suggest more positive experiences with that brand. And if it is a brand they have not used, if the advertising can relate it to a posit ive experience from childhood, it is quite possible to suggest positive memories for the benefit, and then link it to the brand. THE SIN OF BIAS The sin of bias reflects how current understandings, beliefs and feelings have the ability to distort how one interprets new experiences and the memory of them. Biases that are associated with memory of past experiences will greatly influence how one perceives and understands new information or situations. Schacter talks about five major types of bias: consistency, change, hindsight, egocentric and stereotypical biases. Gazzaniga (1998) has identified something in the left brain that he calls an interpreter that continuously draws upon peoples experiences and understanding of things in order to provide some stability to their psychological world. This would seem to be the neurological source of biases, and utilises such things as inferences, rationalisations and generalisations in relating the past with the present, enabling people to justify their present attitudes with past experiences and feelings. The left brain interpreter, however, is mediated by systems in the right brain that are more attuned to actual representations of what is going on in the world around us. Consistency and change bias Consistency bias reflects a tendency to behave (or believe) today in a fashion consistent with how one remembers similar previous experiences. When this happens, current experiences and feelings are filtered through and made to match memories of those past experiences and feelings. Because memories are not exact, people tend to infer their past beliefs, attitudes and feelings from what they are experiencing today. †¢Advertising implication: This suggests that for people who hold current positive attitudes toward a brand, advertising could imply they are of long standing. For brand switchers who include a particular brand in their purchase set, advertising  could imply a long standing preference for that brand: You know you have always liked this brand, why not buy more? Something similar occurs with change bias, where one remembers something being worse than it actually was, making what they feel now an improvement by comparison. Both consistency and change bias can occur beca use they help reduce cognitive dissonance, even when someone is not really aware of the source of the inconsistency they are trying to manage (Lieberman et al. 2000). Hindsight bias Hindsight bias is that familiar feeling that one has always known something would happen after becoming aware of the outcome. One is reconstructing the past to make it consistent with the present. The key here seems to be an activation of general knowledge. The new information is integrated with other general knowledge in semantic memory, and is not distinguished as such in making judgements. There is evidence that this selective recall is a function of the general knowledge that influences perception and comprehension, and a vulnerability to misattribution. †¢Advertising implication: Hindsight bias would seem to indicate that when exposed to advertising or other marketing communication one will recall benefit claims that are not actually made, but which would have been expected to be there because of the claims that actually were made. Work by Carli (1999) tends to support this idea. Recent adverts for Infusium 23 set up a beforeafter case, but leave out the before picture, wit h the headline You really think I would let them publish the before picture? This clever execution encourages hindsight bias as you imagine the before hair problem. Egocentric bias The self plays an important role in ones ongoing mental life, and is at the root of egocentric bias. When encoding new information by relating it to the self, memory for that information will be better than other types of encoding. This is because people are more likely to value their own understanding of things, among other reasons because the self-concept plays a key role in regulating mental activity. As Taylor (1989) and her colleagues have pointed out, individuals do not see themselves objectively. †¢Advertising implication: The implication is obvious: include personal references in advertising and other marketing communication. Moreover, given  our tendency to see ourselves in a positive light, it follows that memories related to ourselves will be seen in a self-enhancing light. This suggests that copy asking people to remember a situation in a positive light should encourage an egocentric memory bias, e.g.: remember when you . In the same way, egocentric bias can resul t from exaggerating the difficulty of past experiences: remember how hard it was to . This idea is well illustrated in a campaign for National Rails Senior Railcard, where a dated-looking picture of a young child is featured, with headlines like Remember what it was like to go somewhere for the first time and Remember how it felt just to let yourself go. THE SIN OF PERSISTENCE Research has shown that emotionally charged experiences are better remembered than less emotional occasions. The sin of persistence involves remembering things you wish you would forget, and it is strongly associated with ones emotional experiences. †¢Advertising implication: Emotionally-charged information automatically attracts attention; and even in the briefest exposure, the emotional significance of it will be retrieved from nondeclarative emotional memory, and evaluated as to how that information will be encoded. Understanding the emotional associations generated by specific advertising is critical. Because people are more likely to remember the central focus of emotionally arousing information rather than peripheral details, it is essential to tie the brand in marketing communication to the appropriate emotion. Otherwise, it will become peripheral to the information conveyed (a problem with a lot of highly entertaining advertising). There is evidence that persistence thri ves in negative emotional situations such as disappointment, sadness and regret. Ones memory of traumatic experiences is persistent, and while these unwanted memories may occur in any of the senses, visual memories are by far the most common. Research reported by Ochsner (2000) supports this idea. He found that when people recognise a positive visual image they tend to just say it is familiar to them. But when they recognise negative visual images, people relate detailed, specific memories of what they thought and felt when they were originally exposed to the picture. †¢Advertising implication: All of this underscores the importance of the visual images in advertising and other forms of marketing communication. Because persistence thrives in a negative emotional climate,  if advertising illustrates disappointment or problems dealing with a situation, which is resolved by using the brand, this should tap into any persistent memories of product dissatisfaction (always assuming such dissatisfaction). It also suggests that for appropriate product categories (especially those reflecting high-involvement informational decisions such as medical or other insurance, financial planning, and so forth) visual reminders of past problems which could be avoided with a brand should be an effective strategy. Such a strategy should also be equally effective in situations where there is strong psychological risk involved, e.g. reminding young people of a social disaster which would never occur if they used our brand. The root of much of this kind of activity is centred within the amygdala, the source of nondeclarative emotional memory. It is the amygdala that regulates memory storage, and can release hormones that can force us to remember an experience vividly (LeDoux 1996). And as we have already noted, this response by the amygdala is much more likely to occur for negative than positive experience. †¢Advertising implication: For appropriate product categories, it could make sense to create situations in advertising that suggest possible threats to the receivers wellbeing. This threat may then well intrude upon active memory when thinking about the category, with our brand linked to avoiding the trouble. This is well illustrated in a recent advert for Imitrex, an ethical drug for migraine, that uses the headline I cant let a migraine call the shots thats why I use Imitrex. SUMMARY Schacter has provided us with an extremely useful framework for looking at memory problems: his seven sins of memory. Each of these imperfections (in his words) has the potential for interfering with the successful processing of advertising and other marketing communication. Recent work in neurobiology, utilising the recent technology of fMRIs (functional magnetic resonance imaging) and PET scans (positron emission tomography), has shown us that our earlier understanding of memories as snapshots stored away in the mind ready to be recalled is not how the brain works. Memories for objects and experiences are decomposed into a number of different parts and those parts are stored in various areas of the brain, waiting to be reassembled and remembered. This underscores why memories are rarely  perfect, and why they can be potentially unreliable. As this discussion makes clear, effective communication faces a number of formidable hurdles in memory. However, forewarned with this knowledg e, we are in a better position to avoid or at least minimise some of these potential problems. To help advertising communication overcome the seven sins of memory, advertisers should: †¢ensure the message is carefully integrated with how a brand is understood (transcience) †¢encourage elaboration of points the target is interested in remembering (transcience) †¢use personal references, especially to positive memories (bias) †¢imply current positive brand attitudes are of long standing (bias) †¢tie brands to appropriate emotions (blocking, persistence) †¢use distinctive cues not likely to be associated with other longterm memories (absent-mindedness) †¢create a unique brandbenefit claim link (misattribution) †¢establish links in memory to appropriate category need (absentmindedness) †¢make sure those links are well integrated with obvious associations to the category need (blocking) †¢ensure a consistent look and feel over time to encourage familiarity (absent-mindedness) †¢use strong visual images to create or reinforce positive memories associated with the brand (suggestibility) †¢utilise reminders of past problems that could be avoided or solved by the brand (persistence). If these points are considered in the creation of advertising executions, one is well on the way to avoiding, or at least minimising, problems inherent in how memory works. REFERENCES Brdant, S. Valentine, T. (1998) Descriptiveness and proper name retrieval. Memory, 6, pp. 199206. Burke, A., Mackay, D.G., Worthley, J.S. E. Wade (1991) On the tip of the tongue: what causes word failure in young and older adults? Journal of Memory and Language, 30, pp. 237246. Carli, I.L.L. (1999) Cognitive reconstruction, hindsight, and reactions to victims and perpetrators. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, pp. 966979. Cialdini, R. (2001) Influence: Science and Practice (4th edn). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Craik, F.I.M., Govoni, R., Naveh-Benjamin, M. Anderson, N.D. (1996) The effects of divided attention on encoding and retrieval processes in human memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 125, pp. 159180. Ebbinghaus, H. (1885/1964) Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology. New York: Dover. Einstein, G.O. McDaniel, M.A. (1990) Normal  aging and prospective memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 16, pp. 7 17726. Einstein, G.O., McDaniel, M.A. Shaw, P. (1997) Aging and prospective memory: the influence of increased task demands at encoding and retrieval. Psychology and Aging, 12, pp. 479488. Gazzaniga, M.S. (1998) The split brain revisited. Scientific American, 279, pp. 5055. Griffiths, R.E. (1997) What Emotions Really Are. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Hyman, I.E. Jr. Pentland, J. (1996) The role of mental imagery in the creation of false childhood memories. Journal of Memory and Language, 35, pp. 101117. LeDoux, J.E. (1996) The Emotional Brain. New York: Simon and Schuster. Lieberman, M.D., Ochsner, K.N., Gilbert, D.T. Schacter, D.L. (2000) Do amnesiacs exhibit cognitive dissonance reduction? 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Applied Cognitive Psychology, 13, pp. 201218. Strong, E.C. (1974) The use of field experiment al observations in estimating advertising recall. Journal of Marketing Research, 11, pp. 369378. Taylor, S.E. (1989) Positive Illusions. New York: Basic Books. Wagner, A.D., Schacter, D.L., Rolfe, M., Koutstaal, W., Maril, A., Dale, A.M., Rosen, B.R. Buckner, R.L. (1998) Building memories: remembering and forgetting of verbal experiences as predicted by brain activity. Science, 281, pp. 11881191.