Responsible for Occupational Health Essay

Responsible for Occupational Health Essay Free Online Research Papers Introduction In recent years, an increasing awareness has emerged of the potential for occupational and environmental exposure to safety and health issues that could lead to adverse effects in both males and females workers (Bohle and Quinlan, 2000). One of the areas of employment that received increased attention over recent years is occupational health and safety (OHS), which deals with the physiological and psychological conditions of an organization’s workforce that results from the work environment (Ritchie and Herscovitch, 1995). OHS involves in promotion and maintenance of well-being of workers and it seeks to prevent accidents and diseases by ensuring that workplaces are free from hazardous conditions (Bohle and Quinlan, 2000). The attention gained in this area in Australia is a result of unacceptably high incidence of accidents, injuries, and diseases occurring at the workplace. It ranges from occupational stress, workplace physical violence and verbal abuse, and drug substances abuse in the  workplace (Bohle and Quinlan, 2000). Efforts to improve the safety and health of workers in Australia has been increasingly recognized, and legislation has been introduced to improve health and safety, yet the number of occupational injuries and illnesses continues (Le Blanc and Kelloway, 2002). Many employers had been criticised for lack of success in reducing injury rates and failure to encourage for workplace health and safety. On the other hand, employees have also been identified as an essential factor to successful workplace safety and employee’s self-responsible is also important to OHS management (Le Blanc and Kelloway, 2002). Those who involved in managing the OHS must understand the key issues and central debates if they are to make any improvements in the workplace. To identify who is principally responsible for OHS, it is essential to first explore a number of issues happened seen as critical to manage the workplace health and safety. The aim of this essay is to discuss whether the employer, the employee or the government is principally responsible for occupational health and safety in the workplace through a brief review of a number of problems happened in the workplace that associated with poor OHS performance. Drug testing In today’s workplace, drug testing has become a controversial matter and it has sparked an ongoing debate among management. Many has suggests that substance abuse can cause overwhelming risks to the public and it is important to prevent this from happening by implementing drug testing in the workplace (Draper, 1998). However, it is also suggested that drug testing is not an effectively way to overcome substance abuse as it is high in costs and most importantly, it is an invasion of privacy (Holland, Pyman and Teicher, 2005). Moreover, there are people believe that in today’s workplace, drug testing may not be popular but it is vital to a successful business (Hadfield, 2006). These individuals have actually pointed out that when public and personal safety is concerned, the safety of the public supersedes any other issue (Hadfield, 2006). This holds true in the case of airline pilots, bus drivers and health care professionals. A person who uses drugs can be a huge liabili ty to themselves, the employer, co-workers, and the public. Drug users tend to have lower productivity compared to non-drug users and they tend to have higher work injuries compared to non-drug users (Draper, 1998). To overcome this problem, a proper drug testing is conducts to discourage drug use, and to ensure public and workplace safe from accidents. Drug testing may save people on the job by not having an intoxicated co-worker making careless mistakes. Not only it would save one’s self but it would also benefit the company or organisation by having employees who are of maximum productivity (Hadfield, 2006). That is, drug testing on employees can contribute to a safer working environment, increased productivity, and better product integrity so that the organisation may see greater financial profits and improve its reputation. However, the strongest reason for opposing drug testing is the invasion of privacy (Holland, Pyman and Teicher, 2005). This occurs primarily in urinalysis, the most common drug screening process (Hadfield, 2006). Not only does this violate a persons private life, it reveals a number of other ailments that employee may be suffering and where individual wishes to hi de and keep it to themselves. For example, it can also expose an employees heart condition, depression, epilepsy, diabetes, and for women the same test can also confirm whether she is pregnant or not. Although it is argued that employee’s right to privacy is being violated, yet drug testing is simply cannot be abolished in the workplace. To address the limitations of the testing, it is the employers’ responsibility to ensure drug testing can be carried out without hassle. In this case, an employee’s handbook is essential and it should outline the reasons of conducting drug testing, the ways for employees to file grievances, and positive results from drug testing may lead to termination or referral to an employee assistant program (Winfred and Doverspike, 1997). Moreover, employers must understand that by subjecting their employees to drug tests, without sound reasoning, they will be subject to federal and state laws. If employers fail to comply with the policies associated with drug testing, the result could prove costly for the organisation, potentially leading to hostile employee attitudes and behaviors (Hadfield, 2006). Thus, it is crucial that drug testing is conducted in a way that demonstrates the importance of safety in workplace and ensures that their drug testing policies are perceived as fair by applicants and employees. However, these reasons are not the only reasons for an organisation to conduct drug tests. It is the organisation and employer’s responsibility to provide a work environment as safe as possible for employees and for the greater good of the general public. In most cases, businesses do not care what one does in the privacy at their home. It only becomes an issue when it starts to affect job performance, the health and safety of the employee, co-workers, and the general public (Winfred and Doverspike, 1997). While it is suggested that the employers are principally responsible for the drug testing in workplace, yet the government has also put in effort to improve the drug testing policies by regulating the standard of the testing (Holland, Pyman and Teicher, 2005). Besides, the government has imposed on employers to ensure the health and safety of their employees and making sure that the statutory regulations serve the needs of employees, and their rights in the workplace are not violated. One way of doing this is to provide workers with various forms of information on drug testing and rights in the workplace (Hadfield, 2006). For example, formal seminar can be conducted in the organisation by the representatives from the government as a way to communicate with the workers and to ensure they understand the importance of OHS and drug testing that could affect on them. Workplace violence Violence in the workplace emerged as an OHS issue in the past few decades and became a cultural and media phenomenon in many countries (Lord, 1998). It has gained increased attention as the awareness of its impact on workers and the workplace has grown where it often results in terrible consequences including bodily harm, stress and emotional strain (Boyd, 2002). There are increasing numbers of studies that examined workplace violence in the last decade and have focused on the factors associated as well as the consequences of it. One of the contributions to the literature has focused on determining the groups that will most likely to experience violence. For example, Boyd (2002) explains the situation that the airline companies and railway industries are currently experiencing. Millions of workers in Great Britain are suffering mild to severe level of violence at workplace where they are constantly being verbally or physically abused by customers. According to Lord (1998), workers in transportation occupations and service industry occupations accounted for 13.6 percent of the incidents of violence in their sample, and he found that verbal abuse was the most frequent type of violent act reported which accounted for 83.2%. Each of this data indicates that something is wrong at the management level of the organisation and appropriate action has to be taken immediately. It is clear that violence is a serious public health issue and employers are responsible to take proper action in preventing workplace violence results in terrible consequences on the workers. Employers must be able to recognize the risk prior to an incident occurring, educate all workers on procedures and enforce all policies to the letter (Lord, 1998). As a key to the prevention of the violence in workplace, employers need training to manage workers at risk of becoming perpetrators or victims of violent behaviour, both to protect themselves and to reduce violence in the organisation (Le Blanc and Kelloway, 2002). Training sessions conducted are particularly helpful, enabling workers to get to know who and how to get help when potentially violent situations arise (Le Blanc and Kelloway, 2002). One way to deal with aggressiveness customers or colleagues, it is important that listening skills, conflict negotiation and avoidance tactic are included in the training program (Le Blanc and Kelloway, 2002). Despite all the training and preparation the employers have made, workplace violence does happens occasionally, and therefore, workers have own responsibility to protect themselves of being harmed. Most of the time, workers have rely heavily on the law to prevent violence happening in the workplace. It is true that the government often find themselves needing to act on this issue before more and more workers are being victimized by workplace violence (Le Blanc and Kelloway, 2002). The government has used the legislative process to address workplace violence prevention, yet the numbers of workplace violence incidents remain high (Lord, 1998). It is argued that that legislation regulated by the government are not comprehensive enough to deal with workplace violence especially it is hard to define the â€Å"zone of tolerance†, and to what extent a verbal abuse is consider as illegal (Lord, 1998). In other words, more attention should be given to the role of employers, where they hold more responsibility towards the OHS of workers. One study conducted by Dupre and Barling (2006) have looked at the context of the confirmed and employers’ action. The findings suggest th at perceived injustice or unhappiness leads to workplace aggression or violence. However, this aggression and violence appear to be reduced when individuals believe that the origination will take action against people who act illegally aggressive or violently abusive to someone (Dupre and Barling, 2006). This suggests that workplace violence can be reduced or prevented, if proper actions are taken by the employers accordingly. Occupational stress Occupational stress is another factor that can negatively influence OHS and can have undesirable consequences for both the worker and the workplace. Stress includes any condition or circumstance at work that induce a negative emotional reaction such as frustration, anger, or anxiety (Peters and OConnor, 1980). There are several factors causing adverse stress within organisations, for example, pressures caused by changes in the organisation, task overload, job redesigns, personnel realignment, and changes of mission are a few of those (Peters and OConnor, 1980). In an article written in 2003, a study by the UK’s Health and Safety Executive estimates that work related stress accounts for more than a third of all new incidents of ill health, and that in the UK nearly thirteen million working days were lost due to stress, depression, and anxiety in the year of 2004 to 2005 (Teed, 2006). Furthermore, some of the researchers have also suggest that stress in work can contribute to in ability to concentrate, sleeping disorders, high blood pressure, and unexplained gastric problems such as ulcers, heart problems, and probably most troubling, associated substance abuse problems such as alcohol addiction (Peters and OConnor, 1980). Job overload is also one of the major contributors to workplace stress and it is often happen in the business world today. It is perceives as overload when workload required to be complete is greater than workers’ abilities (Teratanavat and Kleiner, 2001). Overload is certainly a stress multiplier but there are times when a business has no other alternatives than to overload if it is to survive and unfortunately, this reliance on compounding employees already over-burdened workloads seems to cause failure within the business more often than not (Teratanavat and Kleiner, 2001). From the organisations perspective, workload means productivity. Whereas from the individuals perspective, workload means time and energy (Leiter Maslach, 1997). Finding a compromise between the two perspectives is a fundamental challenge in maintaining a balanced relationship with work (Leiter Maslach, 1997). Another factor that significantly contributes to workplace stress is organisation change. Organisational change refers to changes in business mission, redesign the structure of the organisation, layoffs, re-engineering and many more (Vakola, and Nikolaou, 2005). Most employees do not like to experience organisational change where it threatens stability and security of the workplace and hence it lead to increased in tensions. Reluctance of employees to accept and adapt to change within an organisation causes unnecessary stress on both, the company and the worker (Vakola, and Nikolaou, 2005). Inevitably, individuals who resist change within the organisation incur much greater stress than they would if they would have conformed in the beginning and in most cases, the changes will occur with or without their consent. To ensure workers are not negatively impact from workplace stress, employers have the responsibility to address stress-related problems. There are many things that an organisation can do to relieve stress on its employees, where health promotion and wellness program are ways to manage stress effectively (Jackson and Schuler, 1985). The goal of health promotion and wellness program is to assist people in adopting positive behaviors that could lead to healthier lives and integrate social, mental, emotional, spiritual and physical wellness (Jackson and Schuler, 1985). Implementing health and wellness program in the workplace will not only increase a company’s overall saving with health-related employee expenses but also increase participation with enticing incentives and benefits for employees (Jackson and Schuler, 1985). To adapt wellness programs effectively, it is essential for employers to determine what the needs of their workers are, and this information can be gathered thr ough a systematic review, assessments or other records (Jackson and Schuler, 1985). When conducting this information gathering, employers must be aware that employees may be apprehensive about sharing personal health information for various reasons. Furthermore, avoidance of the adverse outcomes of stress within organisations is dependent upon proactive interventions applied with careful planning and consideration. Landsbergis and Vivona-Vaughn (1995) have suggested that employers should avoid task repetitive while assigning task to its workers, and most importantly, role conflict and ambiguity must be avoided when designing the proactive interventions. Ambiguity or not knowing exactly what an employer or organisation expectations are, has also been a particularly troubling aspect for the workers in some organisation (Landsbergis and Vivona-Vaughn, 1995). Overall, the observant employers must be able to quickly identify and address these stress related issues before they become heal th factors among their employees. Based on the discussion on problems happened in the workplace associated with poor OHS performance, it indicates that employers are principally responsible to OHS performance, while the government and workers play only minor role in regard to this issue. It is clear that if any organisation is to be successful and maintaining a high level of employee satisfaction and high productivity, employers must be aggressive in applying any interventions necessary to achieve a harmonious work environment. Being aware of the initial and follow on interventions were equally important to the organisation (Dewe and ODriscoll, 2002). In other words, employers are the primary party that can control and manage any hazardous workplace as they have greater understanding on legislation for workplace, organisational changes, decision and policies, and are able to use their perspective to create alignment around the workplace. Indeed, there is no single prescriptive approach for successful OHS management, which means employers have to be aware of the present situation and they should have the ability to see the transition to the future proposed state (Landsbergis and Vivona-Vaughn, 1995). Nevertheless, for the role of workers, they are encouraged to actively participate in any OHS programs that organised by the employers where feedback provided by the workers during the program can be useful for qualitative check on OHS performance (Bohle Quinlan, 2000). As for the government, their role is to ensure that employers comply with their legal obligation and workers are protected by the law. Conclusion In conclusion, occupational health and safety issues remain crucial for workers, employers and governments where more and more people realized that poor managed OHS can result in a shift of adverse working conditions. Not only there is the legislation that outlines the responsibilities of employers and employees, yet employers and employees have become very conscious in regard of health and safety issues that they can see a real merit in reducing human, financial and productivity losses in the workplace. The participation of workers in health and safety matters is particularly crucial where there is a great need for health and safety information to be passed on to employees. Needless to say, employers are principally responsible for OHS issues and should develop a better performance measures on OHS as they introduce an improved systems of accountability and strive to show that the resources being allocated are used appropriately and the results demonstrate the best outcomes in produc ing safe workplaces for its employees. An organisation that successfully reduces its rates and severity of occupational accidents, diseases and work-related stress levels and improves the quality of work life becomes more effective, and sees beneficial results. Whereas, an unsafe and unhealthy work environment would adversely result in direct cost by way of workers’ compensation, indirect costs in terms of lost productivity and the wider community at large, and also in terms of human pain and suffering. Hence, the management performance on OHS will constantly remain crucial for the business world today. Word count: 2992 References Bohle, P Quinlan, M. 2000, Managing Occupational Health and Safety: A Multidisciplinary Approach, 2nd Ed. Melbourne: Macmillan. Boyd, C. 2002, ‘Customer violence and employee health and safety’, Work, Employment and Society, Vo. 16, no. 1, pp. 151-169. Dewe, P. ODriscoll, M. 2002, ‘Stress management interventions: What do managers actually do?’ Personnel Review, Vol. 31, pp. 143-165. Draper, E. 1998, ‘Drug Testing in the Workplace: The Allure of Management Technologies’, International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 18, pp.64 -106. Dupre, K. Barling, J. 2006, ‘Predicting and Preventing Supervisory Workplace Aggression’, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology 11, Vol.1, pp. 13–26. Hadfield, L. 2006, ‘Drug Tests’, Occupational Health, Vol.58 (5) pp. 17-38. Holland, P., Pyman, A. Teicher, J. 2005, ‘Negotiating the contested terrain of drug testing in the Australian workplace’, Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 47, no. 3, pp. 326-338. Jackson, S. Schuler, R. 1985, ‘A meta-analysis and conceptual critique of research on role ambiguity and role conflict in work settings’, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Vol. 36, pp. 16-78. Landsbergis, P. Vivona-Vaughn, E. 1995, ‘Evaluation of an occupational stress intervention in a public agency’, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 16, pp. 29-48. Le Blanc, M. Kelloway, E. 2002, ‘Predictors and outcomes of workplace violence and aggression’, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 87(3), pp. 444-453. Leiter, M. Maslach, C. 1997, The truth about burnout: How organizations cause personal stress and what to do about it. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Lord, V. 1998, ‘Characteristics of Violence in State Government’, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Vol. 13(4), pp. 489-503. Peters, L. OConnor, E. 1980, ‘Situational constraints and work outcomes: The influences of a frequently overlooked construct’, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 5, pp. 391-397. Ritchie, J. Herscovitch, F. 1995, ‘From Likert to Love it: Engaging blue collar workers in focus group inquiries’, Journal of Occupational Health Safety, Vol. 11(5), pp. 471-479. Teed, R. 2006, ‘Workplace Stress: Who Is Responsible’? Financial Times, 18 November. Teratanavat, R., Kleiner, B. 2001, ‘Stress reduction in small business’, Management Research News, Vol. 24, pp. 67-71. Vakola, M. Nikolaou, I. 2005, ‘Attitudes towards organizational Change: What is the role of employees’ stress and commitment?’, Employee Relations, Vol. 27, pp. 160-174. Winfred, A. Doverspike, D. 1997, ‘Employment-Related Drug Testing: Idiosyncratic Characteristics and Issues’, Public Personnel Management, Vol. 26(1), pp. 77-87. 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Medical errors Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

Medical errors - Research Paper Example Due to development in science and related ethical considerations in the western part of the world, patients and those related to them have more opportunities to be aware of mistakes and errors committed by their medical practitioners which further allows them to follow an appropriate course of action depending on the nature of MEs. Another significant factor that leads to formation of processes involved in disclosure of medical errors is Judeo-Christian traditions prevailing in western part of the world. Although these traditions are not universally applicable however secular western societies recognize them well. Some of the major Judeo-Christian expectations include confession, repentance and forgiveness. According to Berlinger and Wu (2003), When one misses the mark in terms of another person, Jewish and Christian traditions prescribe a series of concrete, reciprocal practices: confession, which includes disclosure and apology; repentance, which includes the actions that the person who has harmed another undertakes to compensate for the error; and forgiveness, through which the person who has been harmed signals that he or she has been adequately compensated. These practices may serve as a lifelong reference point for ethical conduct (106)i.† In order to devise a concrete mechanism of disclosure and apology by medical institutions to those directly affected by these medical errors, it is important to identify and understand expectations on part of patients and those related to them. Where apologies are the ultimate expectation of these parties, admitting fault and confessing them are the first step to resolutions of such situations. It is important to note that admitting fault may be sufficient enough to raise liability of medical practitioners and institutions in case patients and their relatives decide to enter into law suits. Another important element of accepting and disclosing medical errors is repentance on part of medical authorities involved

Bays by Rick Moody Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Bays by Rick Moody - Essay Example This set of teenage voices is heard from the very beginning of the story: â€Å"Boys enter the house, boys enter the house. Boys, and with them the ideas of boys (ideas leaden, reductive, inflexible), enter the house. Boys, two of them, wound into hospital packaging, boys with infant pattern baldness, slung in the arms of parents, boys dreaming of breasts, enter the house† (Moody, p. 196). On the one hand, it may seem that the story represents as set of actions taken by boys. There is a progress of a boy’s life: from his childhood to teenage years and adult years. â€Å"The boys enter the house† and this phrase becomes an integral element of the story. Relations between two brothers are rather challenging and it is interesting for the readers to follow the development of emotional and psychological inner worlds of the boys. Boys enter the house Moreover, the author manages to catch up the emotions of boys and transfers inner peculiarities of boys with the help of apt lexical expressions. There is a masterful transfer of the boys’ emotions. It can be seen on the example the boys change their attitude to their sister: from a cruel jockeying to sympathy. She is ill with cancer and it is very hard for them to support her. We can see the importance of imagery used by Rick Moody. His masterful technique is perfectly presented to the readers, because he manages to describe the whole life span of boys and finally â€Å"boys, no longer boys, exit† (Moody, p. 199). There is an interesting style of Moody and his language techniques, though simple, are appealing for the emotions of the readers. A simplistic and naturalistic narration of Moody can be compared with the manner of Hemingway’s manner of narration. Language is used by these writers for language. In reality, Moody shows to the reader the way a person is growing up, when a person is changing with the years and enters their house as another person. Boys in the process of th eir growing up are â€Å"ghostly afterimages of younger selves, fleeting images of sneakers dashing up a staircase; soggy towels on the floor of the bathroom; blue jeans coiled like asps in the basin of the washing machine† (Moody, p. 197). The only proof, which shows a writer’s transformation, is his usage of pronouns: at first, he uses â€Å"one† then he uses â€Å"you†. From a formal approach that represents vague relations among boys to a more tolerant approach, which describes definite relations among boys and their families? A sense of energy in human lives There is a sense of transformation and a spirit of energy and motion. It seems as if Moody follows the principle of successful story writing: from the very beginning the writers choose the theme they know and write about it from different points of view and thus these writers find out something new about a chosen topic in the process of their writing. Therefore, Moody wrote about the process more than about the consequences. For him a process of growing up is a process of an individual’s transformation, it is not a set of some static episodes; a process of growing up is a dynamical process and it is very interesting to focus on the ways this process happens and an individual is being subjected to inner transformations under the influence of the world or relations with other people. Rick Moody makes literary emphasis by using repetition. This technique implies the necessity to reiterate occurrence of some images. The characters of boys reflect both

Wonderful Health Benefits Essay Example for Free

Wonderful Health Benefits Essay As the world becomes aware of all the wonderful health benefits of malunggay plant, the next question for many is how to use malunggay or moringa. Fortunately, malunggay is very versatile because one can enjoy all its benefits in a variety of ways. One of the best ways to ensure that one’s body gets to absorb all the goodness of malunggay is by drinking it as a tea. Malunggay tea is a very healthy drink because it is abundant with polyphenols or flavonoids, an effective antioxidant. If you cannot find moringa or malunggay tea in the market, you can buy or harvest (if you have your own moringa tree) fresh malunggay leaves and try making your own malunggay tea. The malunggay leaves to use should be so fresh with no signs of yellowing. How to Make Malunggay Tea You will need: Fresh malunggay leaves with no signs of yellowing (2-3 compound leaves) Clean Tray Clean sheet of manila or bond paper Basket with 2-3 cm. fine mesh Tea bags Air tight containers Procedure: Put the fresh malunggay leaves in a tray. Clean the leaves by dusting and sorting out any unnecessary particles.   Then lay out the leaves in a clean sheet of manila or bond paper. Put the malunggay leaves in an indoor drying shade and left it there for 2-3 days. Be careful not to sun-dry the leaves as it will destroy the vitamins and minerals in malunggay and affect the quality of the tea. The malunggay leaves will only be air-dried to wilt and remove excess moisture and it only needs a very light amount of oxidation. After the air drying, the next process is pan-drying. In this method, heat will be applied to the dried malunggay leaves by dry cooking it in hot pans. Minimal oxidation will happen during this process. To do this, heat the leaves in a pan with a very low fire to remove excess moisture and to sanitize it. The leaves should be constantly stirred and turned over for 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to overcook it. Put the roasted leaves in a transparent plastic bag. Seal or tighten the plastic bag and then crush the leaves until it turned to tiny powder particles. Pack the tea leaves in air-tight containers and store it in a cool, dark and dry place to maintain freshness. Proper packaging is a must because the shelf life of malunggay tea depends on it packaging. It also has the tendency to lose its flavor when exposed to air. To brew malunggay tea, you can put  ½ teaspoon of malunggay tea leaves and place it in a tea bag. You can buy tea bags in some Chinese drug stores. Then submerge the tea bag in boiling water for a few seconds. After that, put the tea bag in a cup and pour just enough hot water. Let it steep for 1- 3 minutes. One can add honey or sugar if desired. Enjoy your healthy moringa tea!

Microsoft Antitrust Paper -- essays research papers fc

Viewed together, three main facts indicate that Microsoft enjoys monopoly power. First, Microsoft's share of the market for Intel-compatible Personal Computer (PC) operating systems is extremely large and stable. Second, Microsoft's dominant market share is protected by a high barrier to entry. Third, and largely as a result of that barrier, Microsoft's customers lack a commercially viable alternative to Windows, the operating system of all PC's. Microsoft enjoys so much power in the market for Intel-compatible PC operating systems that if it wished to exercise this power solely in terms of price, it could charge a price for Windows substantially above that which could be charged in a competitive market. Moreover, it could do so for a significant period of time without losing an unacceptable amount of business to competitors. In other words, Microsoft enjoys monopoly power in the relevant market. Microsoft possesses a dominant, persistent, and increasing share of the world-wide market for Intel-compatible PC operating systems. Every year for the last decade, Microsoft's share of the market for Intel-compatible PC operating systems has stood above ninety percent. For the last couple of years the figure has been at least ninety-five percent, and analysts project that the share will climb even higher over the next few years. Even if Apple's Mac OS were included in the relevant market, Microsoft's share would still stand well above eighty percent. Microsoft's dominant market share is protected by the same barrier that helps define the market for Intel-compatible PC operating systems. As explained above, the applications barrier would prevent an aspiring entrant into the relevant market from drawing a significant number of customers away from a dominant - 1 - incumbent even if the incumbent priced its products substantially above competitive levels for a significant period of time. Because Microsoft's market share is so dominant, the barrier has a similar effect within the market: It prevents Intel-compatible PC operating systems other than Windows from attracting significant consumer demand, and it would continue to do so even if Microsoft held its prices substantially above the competitive level. Microsof... ...-interest. - 4 - Bibliography New York Times: "How Microsoft Sought Friends In Washington." 7 November 1999: A33 "Microsoft's Horizon." 7 November 1999: A33A "A Breakup Of Microsoft? Possibly, but Investors Shrug It Off." 9 November 1999: C1-C16 "Prosecutors Seeking To Break The Grip Of Windows System." 10 November 1999: A1-C30 "Microsoft Faces A Class Action On 'Monopoly.'" 22 November 1999: A1-A16 USA Today: "Conservative judge at helm of Microsoft talks." 22 November 1999: B1-B2 "Microsoft findings spur lawsuit findings." 23 November 1999: B2 The Wall Street Journal: "Microsoft Hopes for GOP Savior, but States Are Problem." 9 November 1999: A28 Financial Times: "Experts say Microsoft case will drag on." 9 November 1999: 11 - 5 - Microsoft Antitrust Paper -- essays research papers fc Viewed together, three main facts indicate that Microsoft enjoys monopoly power. First, Microsoft's share of the market for Intel-compatible Personal Computer (PC) operating systems is extremely large and stable. Second, Microsoft's dominant market share is protected by a high barrier to entry. Third, and largely as a result of that barrier, Microsoft's customers lack a commercially viable alternative to Windows, the operating system of all PC's. Microsoft enjoys so much power in the market for Intel-compatible PC operating systems that if it wished to exercise this power solely in terms of price, it could charge a price for Windows substantially above that which could be charged in a competitive market. Moreover, it could do so for a significant period of time without losing an unacceptable amount of business to competitors. In other words, Microsoft enjoys monopoly power in the relevant market. Microsoft possesses a dominant, persistent, and increasing share of the world-wide market for Intel-compatible PC operating systems. Every year for the last decade, Microsoft's share of the market for Intel-compatible PC operating systems has stood above ninety percent. For the last couple of years the figure has been at least ninety-five percent, and analysts project that the share will climb even higher over the next few years. Even if Apple's Mac OS were included in the relevant market, Microsoft's share would still stand well above eighty percent. Microsoft's dominant market share is protected by the same barrier that helps define the market for Intel-compatible PC operating systems. As explained above, the applications barrier would prevent an aspiring entrant into the relevant market from drawing a significant number of customers away from a dominant - 1 - incumbent even if the incumbent priced its products substantially above competitive levels for a significant period of time. Because Microsoft's market share is so dominant, the barrier has a similar effect within the market: It prevents Intel-compatible PC operating systems other than Windows from attracting significant consumer demand, and it would continue to do so even if Microsoft held its prices substantially above the competitive level. Microsof... ...-interest. - 4 - Bibliography New York Times: "How Microsoft Sought Friends In Washington." 7 November 1999: A33 "Microsoft's Horizon." 7 November 1999: A33A "A Breakup Of Microsoft? Possibly, but Investors Shrug It Off." 9 November 1999: C1-C16 "Prosecutors Seeking To Break The Grip Of Windows System." 10 November 1999: A1-C30 "Microsoft Faces A Class Action On 'Monopoly.'" 22 November 1999: A1-A16 USA Today: "Conservative judge at helm of Microsoft talks." 22 November 1999: B1-B2 "Microsoft findings spur lawsuit findings." 23 November 1999: B2 The Wall Street Journal: "Microsoft Hopes for GOP Savior, but States Are Problem." 9 November 1999: A28 Financial Times: "Experts say Microsoft case will drag on." 9 November 1999: 11 - 5 -

Nursing in the Community Essay

In this assignment the topics discussed is a nursing problem related to a medical diagnosis taking from an example of a patient dealt with while the nursing student was out on clinical placement. For this assignment the patient has a diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus. Kevin Brophy (pseudonym) is a 9 year old boy that had come into the Paediatric Unit. He is of the Roman Catholic religion. He lives with only his mother and she is educated about his disease of Diabetes. His mother’s sister is a nurse also and knew how to manage his Diabetes and looked after him if his mother was busy. The multidisciplinary team have been treating him for the condition for 4 years. He gets hospitalized often to regulate his blood sugar levels and monitor his insulin intake. The nursing problem associated with his diagnosis is related to his diet and nutritional status and being able to monitor these with caution and ease. The nurse had a form for filling out what had he eaten that day and wha t time this had happened at in the ‘end of bed’ chart which was with his other documentation such as his vital signs and also the fluid balance intake and output chat. There was also a section in this form for documenting what level his blood sugars were and was directed to take record of them after every meal. The nurse then had an idea  of what sort of food he was eating and also a report of his blood sugars which were monitored closely throughout the day. The nurses primary responsibility was to ensure this boy was eating correctly and following the dietary guidelines of a Diabetic patient. The model of assessment/care used to treat Kevin was devised from Roper, Logan and Tierney (1980). The Roper, Logan and Tierney’s’ activity of living (AL) model of nursing consists of twelve activities of living. According to Aggleton & Chalmers (2000 P46), â€Å"Each AL specifies a relatively distinct type of human behaviour related to meeting a particular need.† Information was obtained from a booklet containing facts and advice on Diabetes and Healthy Eating from the Department of Health and Dietetics in Waterford Regional Hospital. This has described diabetes as a condition where the body is unable to control the amount of glucose i.e. sugar in the blood. Everyone’s blood has some glucose in it because your body needs glucose for energy. Normally your body breaks food down into glucose and sends it to the bloodstream. Insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas, helps to get the glucose from the bloodstream into the cells to be used for energy. In people with Type 2 Diabetes, the pancreas is not making enough insulin or is unable to use the insulin properly, or both. In people with Type 1 Diabetes, the pancreas is unable to make insulin full stop. Without insulin in the body, the blood glucose rises (Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Waterford Regional Hospital 2006). To manage diabetes in paediatrics is primarily challenging and m uch more complicated than dealing with the diagnosis in adults with Diabetes (DH Diabetes Policy Team 2007, Christie et al 2009). Nurses have to educate and facilitate the self management of Diabetes and also introduce skills to gain the best possible control over the patient’s blood sugars i.e. glycaemic control. If these skills are not executed properly then diseases such as micro-vascular e.g. nephropathy or retinopathy or cardiovascular diseases (macro-vascular), which decreases the quality of life and a reduced life span (The Diabetes Control and Complications Study Group,1994). The nurses and patients responsibility is to monitor and control the intake of food and also be educated on what can have a negative or positive effect on the body. This is a major nursing problem associated with the Diabetic patient and  intervention by the nurse is necessary throughout. In doing so, the nurse must follow the Nursing Process in relation to their diet. Assessment Patients diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes are assessed for signs of Diabetic Ketoacidosis, including ketonuria, Kussmaul respirations, orthostatic hypotension, and lethargy. The patient is asked about symptoms of DKA, such as nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Laboratory results are monitored for metabolic acidosis (i.e. decreased pH and decreased bicarbonate level) and for electrolyte imbalance. If the patient exhibits signs and symptoms of DKA, the nursing care first focuses on treatment of these acute complications, as outlined earlier. Once these complications are resolving, nursing care then focuses on long-term management of diabetes. The patient’s emotional status is assessed by observing his or her general demeanour (e.g., withdrawn, anxious) and body language (e.g., avoids eye contact). The patient is asked about major concerns and fears about diabetes; this allows the nurse to assess for any misconceptions or misinformation regarding diabetes. The nurse is also asse ssing the vital signs of the patient such as temperature, respiration, blood pressure etc. and develops a baseline of these results. In this case the patients normal vital signs were as follows : Temperature- 36.4ââ€" ¦, Blood Pressure- 114/70, Respiration rate- 18 breaths per minute. Nursing Diagnosis Based on the assessment data, the main diagnoses the nurse must adhere to are as following: Risk for fluid volume deficit in relation to polyuria and dehydration, imbalanced nutrition related to imbalance of insulin, food, and physical activity. The main ones that are focussed on in this essay are the imbalance of insulin and the patient’s diet. Planning The major goals for the patient may include maintenance of fluid and electrolyte balance, optimal control of blood glucose levels. The nurse would plan suitable charts and regimes for the patient to follow. Intake and  output are measured. IV fluids and electrolytes are administered as prescribed, and oral fluid intake is encouraged when it is permitted. Vital signs are monitored hourly for signs of dehydration (tachycardia, orthostatic hypotension) along with assessment of breath sounds, level of consciousness, presence of oedema, and cardiac status. If the patient agrees with the diet plan and increases his fruit and vegetable intake this can highly optimise nutritional health, promote a healthy image and reduce the chances of obesity (Lock et al., 2005). In Diabetes, diet is a chief obstacle in the control of the condition (Watson et. al 1997). The patient’s goals in agreeing with a healthy diet for their Diabetes are as follows: 1) To regulate and sustain lipid levels an d blood glucose back to their normal state. 2) To avoid fluctuations in their blood glucose levels during the day. 3) To manage and control a desirable body weight. 4) To prevent or hinder the growth or advancement of renal, neurological or cardiovascular difficulties (Watson et. al 1997). The nurse should introduce a dietary plan for the patient with the Diabetes. This controls the amount of calories that are needed for each day and the magnitude of these calories to be assigned to carbohydrate, protein and lipids. This is determined by a person’s age, weight, gender, activity and their dietary intake before they discovered the disease. In general, the amount of targeted calories allocated to each food type is in the region of 50-60% carbohydrate, 10-15% protein and under 30% of fat (Rees and Williams,1995). In the diet, the concentrated sugars should be strictly limited e.g. sweets, jam, cake, and should only represent a minute part of a meal to prevent rapid increase in the blood sugar levels. The unrefined carbohydrates such as whole-meal bread, fruit and vegetables, and also fibre-rich f oods, should be consumed as an alternative to the refined carbohydrates as mentioned before. Implementation Meal planning is put into practice, with the control of glucose as the primary goal. The nurse must consider factors before beginning to intervene such as the patient’s lifestyle, cultural background, activity level, and their food preferences. A suitable caloric intake allows the patient to achieve and maintain the desired body weight. The nurse would encourage the  patient to eat complete and wholesome meals including snacks that have been prescribed in the diet that the team has devised for Kevin. The nurse needs to take into consideration of the fluid intake and keeps records of IV and other fluid intake, also record urine output measurements. Hypoglycaemia is the most dreaded acute difficulty in the disease of Diabetes, and can be a major factor in the hindering of the metabolic control in the body. Night-time hypoglycaemia states, more common in the paediatric side of Diabetes, places an immense worry for the child themselves but also the parents, as it more likely to go unnoticed and care for (Nordfeldt S, Ludvigsson J 2005). Hypoglycaemia may occur if the patient skips or delays meals, does not follow the prescribed meal plan, or greatly increases the amount of exercise without modifying food intake and insulin. In addition, hospitalized patients or outpatients who fast in preparation for diagnostic testing are at risk for hypoglycaemia. Juice, milk, or glucose tablets are used for treatment of hypoglycaemia. The patient is encouraged to eat full meals and snacks as prescribed in the meal plan. If hypoglycaemia is a recurring problem, the whole dietary plan must be looked over and improved if needed. The risk of hypoglycaemia with rigorous insulin routines, it is of the utmost importance for the nurse to review with the patient the signs and symptoms, possible causes, and measures for prevention and treatment of hypoglycaemia. The nurse should emphasise to the patient and family the importance of having information on diabetes at home for refer ence. Evaluation After putting this plan into practice, the nurse found that it helped in the treatment and care of Kevin Brophy in managing and controlling his Diabetes. After following the Roper Logan and Tierney model of Nursing it helped understand his Activities of Daily Living and how the patient could work his new dietary plan into these ADL’s and control his blood glucose to prevent hypoglycaemia. Kevin will also be able to be knowledgeable of and carry out duties in a way to control his diabetes mellitus and also maintain adequate fluid volume in the body. He will be able to monitor his blood glucose periodically throughout the day, administer his own insulin, increase his own fluid balance and monitor his urine output. He should demonstrate a participation in activities that include having a proper diet, exercise and  lifestyle (Palandri, M.K. 1993). He also should be wary of and identify community, outpatient resources for obtaining further diabetes education. Conclusion To conclude, Kevin will need continuous assessment and advice on managing and controlling his Diabetes diagnosis. He will need support from his mother and also help from the multidisciplinary team that works with him and his mother in the hospital. In following the Roper Logan and Tierney model he will then be able to manage his ADL’s better and be more understanding with the condition of Diabetes. He will be able to control his dietary intake and follow a routine throughout life to deal with his diagnosis. References Aggleton, P., Chalmers, H. (2000)Nursing Models and Nursing Practice. (2nd edn). London: Macmillan. Lock, K., Pomerleau, J., Causer, L., Altmann, D.R. & McKee, M. (2005) The global burden of disease attributable to low consumption of fruit and vegetables. Bull. World. Health. Organ. 83, 100–8. Nordfeldt S, Ludvigsson J. Fear and other disturbances of severe Hypoglycaemia in Children and Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes. J. Pediatr. Endocrinol. Metab. 2005; 18: 83–91. Palandri, M.K. and Sorrentino, C.R. (1993). Black and Matassarin – Jacobs, Pocket Companion for Luckmann and Sorensen’s Medical – Surgical Nursing: A Psychophysiologic Approach. 4th Edition. W.B. Saunders. The Diabetes Control and complications Study Group (1994) Effect of intensive diabetes treatment on the development and progression of long-term complications in adolescents with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus: Diabetes Control and Complications Trial Research Group. J. Pediatr. 125, 177–188. Waterford Regional Hospital (2006) Department of Nutrition and Dietetics Watson et. al (1997) Clinical Nursing and Related Sciences 5th edn. Bailliere Tindall, 24-28 Oval Road, London NW1 7DX. Patricia Power Sorcha Dineen Miriam Cass 20053881 Patricia Chesser Smyth Nursing in the Community Module Leaders

Ohms Law - Voltage and Current relationship

Ohms Law is a key rule for analyzing electrical circuits, describing the relationship between three key physical quantities: voltage, current, and resistance. It represents that the current is proportional to the voltage across two points, with the constant of proportionality being the resistance. Using Ohms Law The relationship defined by Ohms law is generally expressed in three equivalent forms: I VÂ  /Â  RR V / IV IR with these variables defined across a conductor between two points in the following way: I represents the electrical current, in units of amperes. V represents the voltage measured across the conductor in volts, and R represents the resistance of the conductor in ohms. One way to think of this conceptually is that as a current, I, flows across a resistor (or even across a non-perfect conductor, which has some resistance), R, then the current is losing energy. The energy before it crosses the conductor is therefore going to be higher than the energy after it crosses the conductor, and this difference in electrical is represented in the voltage difference, V, across the conductor. The voltage difference and current between two points can be measured, which means that resistance itself is a derived quantity that cannot be directly measured experimentally. However, when we insert some element into a circuit that has a known resistance value, then you are able to use that resistance along with a measured voltage or current to identify the other unknown quantity. History of Ohms Law German physicist and mathematician Georg Simon Ohm (March 16, 1789 - July 6, 1854 C.E.) conducted research in electricity in 1826 and 1827, publishing the results that came to be known as Ohms Law in 1827. He was able to measure the current with a galvanometer, and tried a couple of different set-ups to establish his voltage difference. The first was a voltaic pile, similar to the original batteries created in 1800 by Alessandro Volta. In looking for a more stable voltage source, he later switched to thermocouples, which create a voltage difference based to a temperature difference. What he actually directly measured was that the current was proportional to the temperature difference between the two electrical junctures, but since the voltage difference was directly related to the temperature, this means that the current was proportional to the voltage difference. In simple terms, if you doubled the temperature difference, you doubled the voltage and also doubled the current. (Assuming, of course, that your thermocouple doesnt melt or something. There are practical limits where this would break down.) Ohm wasnt actually the first to have investigated this sort of relationship, despite publishing first. Previous work by British scientist Henry Cavendish (October 10, 1731 - February 24, 1810 C.E.) in the 1780s had resulted in him making comments in his journals that seemed to indicate the same relationship. Without this being published or otherwise communicated to other scientists of his day, Cavendishs results werent known, leaving the opening for Ohm to make the discovery. Thats why this article isnt entitled Cavendishs Law. These results were later published in 1879 by James Clerk Maxwell, but by that point the credit was already established for Ohm. Other Forms of Ohms Law Another way of representing Ohms Law was developed by Gustav Kirchhoff (of Kirchoffs Laws fame), and takes the form of: J ÏÆ'E where these variables stand for: J represents the current density (or electrical current per unit area of cross section) of the material. This is a vector quantity representing a value in a vector field, meaning it contains both a magnitude and a direction.sigma represents the conductivity of the material, which is dependent upon the physical properties of the individual material. The conductivity is the reciprocal of the resistivity of the material. E represents the electric field at that location. It is also a vector field. The original formulation of Ohms Law is basically an idealized model, which doesnt take into account the individual physical variations within the wires or the electric field moving through it. For most basic circuit applications, this simplification is perfectly fine, but when going into more detail, or working with more precise circuitry elements, it may be important to consider how the current relationship is different within different parts of the material, and thats where this more general version of the equation comes into play.