Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale ( Nbas ) - 1247 Words

After the birth of an infant, physical conditions are evaluated using the Apgar or Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS). The commonly used method is the Apgar, which measures five vital signs, including the infants breathing, heartbeat, reflexes, skin, and muscle tone. Each area is scored at 1 and 5 minutes and can have a score of 0-2 in each area. The maximum points is 10, which means a baby is in the best possible condition. The NBAS measures the same vitals as the Apgar and also evaluates vision, hearing, alertness, and irritability. The baby s birth weight is another important indicator of health. In general, small babies and very large babies are at greater risk or problems. Infant s weight is monitored daily in the nursery to assess growth, fluid, and nutritional needs. It is common for babies to lose 5-7%. Of their birth weight and usually gain it back by two weeks of age. The infant s measurements are also taken. These include the head circumference, abdominal circumfe rence, and length. During the physical exam of the newborn each body system is carefully examined for signs of health and normal function. Each of these exams are important ways to learn about an infant s well-being at birth. Infants are born with a number if reflexes that help them to adjust outside of the womb and serve as the foundation for future behavior. Reflexes are an indication of whether or not an infant s nervous system is functional. Some of these reflexes last for a few weeksShow MoreRelatedInfant Toddler Observation1282 Words   |  6 Pagesarticle went into how eighty full-term newborns were followed from 3 days until 6 years. Neonatal behavior was assessed by the Neonatal Behavior Assessment Scale at 3 days postpartum, infant mental and psychomotor development was assessed by the Bayley Scales for Infant Development at 4 and 12 months, and child intelligence was assessed by the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence at 6 years. Neonatal general irritability was the predictor of mental development at 12 months. Self-regulationRead MoreAssessments Early years1327 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Assessment in the Early Years Dr. A. Bakshi Brazelton Neonatal Assessment Scale (BNAS) Individual test For infants between 3 days and 8 weeks of age Index of a newborn’s competence Developed in 1973 by a Howard pediatrician, Dr. T. Berry Brazelton and his colleagues. Produces 47 scores: 27 behavioral items and 20 elicited responses BNAS: Special Contributions When the Scale was published in the early 1970s, people were just beginning to appreciate the infant s full breadth of capabilitiesRead MoreEssay on Child Birth743 Words   |  3 Pagesthe mother has the urge that she has to squeeze and let the baby get out. Finally with all the pushing the baby comes out. Stage three is the birth of the placenta, which takes around five to ten minutes. After the baby is all cleaned up, the Apgar Scale is used to tell the parents the new born babys physical condition. Even though many births are normal, some have very serious compilations. A major cause of cerebral palsy is not enough of oxygen during labor and delivery. The one most people knowRead MoreSkin to Skin Contact Immediately After Cesarean: Benefits to Mom and Baby2531 Words   |  11 Pagesthe standard care group. The data was collected from both groups via a tape-recording crying time for the infants and by naturalistic observations that evaluated the infants behavioral response which was recorded every 15 minutes centered on the scoring criteria described in the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS). This research information is helpful because it looks at how skin to skin contact can be done just as easily by the father and how it positively impacts the newborn and helps

Sarbanes-Oxley Paper - 723 Words

Sarbanes Oxley Paper The Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) act was passed into law in 2002. It was created in response to major financial scandals that largely shook the publics confidence in corporate accounting practices. It was a significant response to improper record handling techniques. Under the law, corporate managers must assess whether they have sufficient safeguards to catch fraud and bookkeeping errors. There are consequences for not complying with the provisions of the act and there are certainly advocates and opponents of it. Price Waterhouse Coopers says Without a doubt, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is the single most important piece of legislation affecting corporate governance, financial disclosure and the practice of public†¦show more content†¦This was considered an unprecedented level of accountability and would likely never have been possible without the public outcry from the scandals which made the act necessary. Sarbanes-Oxley is consistently called the broadest-sweeping legislation to affect corporations and public accounting since the 1933 and 1934 security acts, experts agree the resulting changes are just beginning (Fass, A. 2003). While The Sarbanes-Oxley act has a great deal of support, it is not a perfect solution. Alan Greenspan once called for changes to part of it and in fact called one of its provisions a nightmare. In addition, many companies have complained about what they consider to be the high cost and overhead needed to satisfy the SOX acts requirements. The main complaint about the act was the lack of specific details about what exactly was required. This along with the potential for fines and imprisonment led many companies to overspend on their SOX compliance initiatives. In response to these complaints, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved revised guidelines in 2007 that spelled out some of the rather vague requirements. The challenge has been to find th e right balance between financial reporting and efficiency in achieving it, the chairman of the SEC, Christopher Cox, said. TheShow MoreRelatedSarbanes-Oxley Act Research Paper1097 Words   |  5 PagesSarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 Karla Azcue ACC 120-09 Mr. Donald Senior The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is one of the most important legislations passed in the 21st century effecting financial practice and corporate governance. This act was passed on July 30, 2002 thanks to Representative Michael Oxley a republican from Ohio and Senator Paul Sarbanes a democrat from Maryland. They both passed two different bills that pertain to the same problem which had to do with corporations auditing accountabilityRead MoreSarbanes Oxley Act Research Paper1787 Words   |  8 Pagesï » ¿Sarbanes Oxley Act Research Project Brielle Lewis MBA 315 March 6, 2014 I. Abstract The purpose of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures made pursuant to the securities law, and for other purposes. (Lander, 2004) The Act created new standards for public companies and accounting firms to abide by. After multiple business failures due to fraudulent activities and embezzlement at companies such as Enron Sarbanes andRead MoreSarbanes Oxley Act Paper934 Words   |  4 PagesRunning Head: SARBANES OXLEY ACT Sarbanes Oxley Act Introduction Sarbanes Oxley Act is focused towards identifying accounting frauds in different public companies. This paper discusses about various reasons for the introduction of Sarbanes Oxley Act and causes that has been overlooked. Causes for Sarbanes-Oxley Act Sarbanes Oxley Act is US federal law, which is established in order to set out the some standards for accounting firms, public company boards and managementRead MoreSarbanes-Oxley Research Paper2807 Words   |  12 PagesSarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 Research Paper Imagine over $60 billion of shareholder value, almost $2.1 billion in pension plans, and initially 5,600 jobs - disappeared (Associated Press, 2006). One would have to wonder how that is possible. These are the consequences the investors and employees of Enron Corporation endured after the Enron scandal started to unravel. This paper will focus on the infamous accounting scandal of Enron Corporation. It will also discuss how the company wasRead MoreSarbanes Oxley Act : Government Policy Paper967 Words   |  4 PagesSarbanes-Oxley Act Government Policy Paper Kelly L. Privatte Cosumnes River College Author Note This paper was prepared for Economics 304, taught by Professor Nguyen Introduction The government formulates various laws to achieve optimum utilization of resources in the public sphere. Sarbanes-Oxley Act is one of the numerous laws drafted to optimize resources utilization in public companies (McNally, 2013). The act seeks to attain maximization utilization of resources by entrenching accountabilityRead MoreLjb Company Case1592 Words   |  7 PagesExternal Consultation to LJB Company EXTERNAL CONSULTATION TO LJB COMPANY Abstract A paper presented on the case study 2 review of LJB Company. The paper will address growing issues of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, and business ethics in regards to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and adherence to current regulatory federal mandates. Paper presents tools for consideration for tomorrow’s leaders and gives a general overview of internal control strategies corporationsRead MoreSarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 Essay1294 Words   |  6 PagesSarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 ACC/561 Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 Following a number of discovered fraud scandals committed by well-known corporations and in order to restore public confidence in the stock market and trading of securities, the United States congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the year 2002. As a result of the act endorsement by the New York Stock Exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission, among many other national overseeing committees, a number of rules and regulationsRead MoreSarbanes Oxley Act and the PCAOB Essay1661 Words   |  7 PagesThe Sarbanes-Oxley Act Overview: The development of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was a result of public company scandals. The Enron and Worldcom scandals, for example, helped investor confidence in entities traded on the public markets weaken during 2001 and 2002. Congress was quick to respond to the political crisis and enacted the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which was signed into law by President Bush on July 30 (Edward Jones, 1), to restore investor confidence. In reference to SOX, penaltiesRead MoreSarbanes Oxley Act of 2002: A Response to High-profile Corporate Failures1919 Words   |  8 PagesSurbanes Oxley Act 2002 Historical forces have a way of acting in concert, even when propelled by markedly different factors. In the United States, a spate of astonishing high-profile corporate failures have shaken investor confidence and placed corporate fraud and accounting abuses center stage before the public and its governmental representatives. The legislative response to these events was the rapid passage of the Sarbanes- Oxley Act (the Act) of 2002, which virtually overnight transformedRead MoreSarbanes Oxley Outline676 Words   |  3 PagesThe Ineffectiveness of the Sarbanes Oxley Act In Corporate Management and Accounting In the early 1990s, a young company named Enron was quickly moving up Fortune magazine’s chart of â€Å"America’s Most Innovative Company.† As the corporate world began to herald Enron as the next global leader in business, a dark secret loomed on the horizon of this great energy company. Aggressive entrepreneurs eager to push the company’s stock price higher and a series of fraudulent accounting procedures involving

The rise of online foodshopping Free Essays

The rise of online foodshopping BY beast4242 Using frameworks from the chapter analyse the strategic capabilities of Dyson. According to Johnson, Whittington, Scholes stated that the capabilities of an organisation that contribute to its long-term survival or competitive advantage. Here we can use VRIN framework to analysed Dyson’s strategic capabilities. We will write a custom essay sample on The rise of online foodshopping or any similar topic only for you Order Now The four key criteria of strategic capabilities are Value, Rarity, Inimitability and Non- substitutability. Strategic capabilities are of value when they provide potential competitive advantage in a market at a cost that allows an organisation to realise acceptable levels of return. Rare capabilities are those possessed uniquely by one organisation or by a few others. Inimitable capabilities are those that competitors find difficult to imitate or obtain. Non-substitutability refers to that the organisation is not at risk from substitution. In term of identifying whether a product has competitive advantages, VRIN is really a ood tool. As the product is manufactured by Dyson, that are attracted more people pay attention to and the founder are becoming their main signs, so that the products of Dyson also becoming more and more valuable. Since the products of Dyson have featured shaped and unique innovation. They spent a long time to developing and engineering prototypes special for household product. That seeks to provide a twist to the typical device. For example, vacuum cleaners that provide smooth turning round the corners, the Dyson air multiplier perform the same function as a conventional air, etc. The most important thing is that are 11 patents application in Dyson desk fan, so that the products of Dyson are able to avoid being imitating. On the other hand, Dyson also invest heavily in Chinese and Asian manufacturing in order to make their product cheaper and then to maintain profit margin benchmarks. This design of their organizational planning does not mean that many products can be manufactured. But they sell to the target†¦ How to cite The rise of online foodshopping, Papers

Communication Skills for Health Workers

Question: Write an essay onCommunication skills for Health Workers. Answer: Communication for Health Workers Government enactment legitimately ensures a man's entitlement to protection and classification of individual and wellbeing data. Human services bodies and experts are required to practice care in the gathering, use, and divulgence of personal and welfare data. The particular enactment that applies to the practice of nurses relies on upon the work setting and the way of the medical attendant's work. Nurses have a moral obligation to shield data got with regards to the attendant customer relationship. At the point when customers endow their human services and wellbeing data to a medical caretaker, they expect and depend on it being kept classified. Managers are in charge of giving fundamental frameworks and backings to meet enacted prerequisites for the accumulation, use, and divulgence of individual and wellbeing data. Standards Nurses comprehend what particular enactment applies to their practice and take after administered necessities. Nurture gather individual and wellbeing data on a need-to-know premise. Nurses guarantee that customers know about their rights concerning their own and wellbeing data and have agreed to the gathering, use and revelation of this data. Nurses share only significant individual and welfare data with the therapeutic services group. Medical attendants disclose to customers that this information will be shared and distinguish to them who is in the human services group (e.g., doctors, social specialists). Medical caretakers regard customers' rights to get to their particular well-being records and to demand remedy of the data. Attendants shield individual, and welfare data learned with regards to the medical caretaker customer relationship and unveil this data (outside of the therapeutic services group) just with customer assent or when there is a particular moral or legitimate commitment to do as such. Medical attendants have a moral commitment to uncover in circumstances that include a generous danger of noteworthy damage to the well-being or security of the customer or others. In these cases, medical caretakers utilize a procedure of primary moral leadership before unveiling secret data. At whatever point conceivable, this process includes counseling with knowledgeable associates. Medical attendants agree to any lawful commitment to uncover secret data that is forced by enactment or required under a warrant, court request or subpoena. In all situations where the revelation of classified data is fundamental, medical caretakers confine the measure of data unveiled and the quantity of individuals educated to the base essential to satisfy the legal and moral commitments. Nurses access personal and wellbeing data just for purposes that are reliable with their expert obligations. Medical caretakers make a move on the off chance that others improperly get to or unveil a customer's close to home or wellbeing data. (Evans, Stanley and Burrows, 2002) NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION Non-verbal communication incorporates outward appearances, the tone, and pitch of the voice, movements showed through non-verbal communication (kinesics) and the physical separation between the communicators (proxemics). These non-verbal signs can give pieces of information and extra data and significance well beyond talked (verbal) correspondence. Nonverbal communication signals can assume five parts: Reiteration: they can rehash the message the individual is making verbally. Disagreement: they can repudiate a message the person is attempting to pass on. Substitution: they can be used instead of non-verbal messages. Supplementing: they may enhance a verbal message.. Emphasizing: they may highlight or underline an oral message. Positive and Negative Aspects of Communication When we speak with each other, it sends messages straightforwardly to our mind. Extensively, the message will have either a positive or a negative impact. Without uncertainty, the words that we utilize can hugely affect the general importance of the message, in any case, what's considerably more compelling, is the tone which we employ when we talk and the non-verbal communication that we are showing at the time. In this way, if we are not cautious, our correspondence can be conveyed and got in two totally isolate ways, and we can have an unintended yet adverse effect on others. So what transpires when we get active and negative correspondence? When we get active and charming correspondence from others, our cerebrum discharges a decent vibe concoction called dopamine. It Gives a feeling of happiness, expands adrenaline and makes us feel extremely sure and positive around a given circumstance. When we get negative correspondence from others, our mind discharges a synthetic called cortisol. This concoction releases when we encounter uncomfortable situations or feel under danger. Its motivation is to caution us to circumstances which we have to expel ourselves from and like this, we get to be focused and restless, our heart rate rises, and here and there we even break into a sweat. The way we communicate is vital. We may mean to be sure, be that as it may, it might be gotten or saw by others in an utterly distinctive way. It can bring about an altogether unique result to the one proposed. Keeping in mind the end goal to convey adequately, we should be aware of the tone that we utilize, the non-verbal communication which we show and the outward appearances we anticipate. Reliable pioneers are bosses of this art. They impart extraordinarily well and motivate individuals along the way. Ask yourself this: Why convey a final message, when you can send a profitable one and still make the same point? Your objective ought to be to leave each you cooperate with feeling positive about themselves with dopamine flooding through their minds.. (Keir and Wilkinson, 2013) Barriers to Effective Listening Numerous things impede listening and you ought to know about these obstructions, a considerable lot of which are negative behavior patterns, so as to end up a more compelling audience. Boundaries and negative behavior patterns to viable listening can include: You are not keen on the subject/issue being examined and get to be exhausted. Getting diverted, playing with your hair, fingers, a pen and so forth or paying more attention towards other things. Feeling unwell or drained, ravenous, parched or expecting to utilize the latrine. Sympathizing as opposed to relating sensitivity is not the same as compassion, you sympathize when you feel frustrated about the encounters of another, to identify to place yourself in the position of the other individual. You are preferential or one-sided of race, sexual orientation, age, religion, accent, and past encounters. You have assumptions or predisposition - great listening incorporates being receptive to the thoughts and conclusions of others; this doesn't mean you need to concur yet ought to listen and endeavor to get it. You make judgments, considering, for instance that a man is not splendid or is under-qualified, so there is no point listening to what they need to say. Distraction - when we have a ton on our brains we can neglect to hear to what is being said as we're excessively bustling focusing on what we're considering. It is especially genuine when we feel focused or stressed over issues. (Kidd, 2000) Types of Questions Open Questions: Open questions require huge answers with creative information related. Closes Questions: Closed questions welcome a short engaged answer. Responses to closed inquiries can regularly (however not generally) be either right or off-base. They are usually simple to reply - as the decision of answer is set to the limit - they can be adequately utilized right on time as a part of discussions to empower cooperation and can be exceptionally helpful truth be told discovering situations, for example, research. (Passalacqua, 2009) Effective Communication Between Healthcare Professional and Recipient of care The capacity to convey data and thoughts viably progressively perceives as basic to the accomplishment of the human services framework. Compelling correspondence is required not just for active collaborations amongst people and their therapeutic services suppliers additionally between social insurance providers themselves. As examination and best practice activities keep on growing, the requirement for scientists to successfully speak with these gatherings is additionally vital. Nonetheless, there are numerous difficulties inalienable to wellbeing correspondence, including little welfare education, social differences, negating/befuddling wellbeing data and also an absence of preparing for therapeutic services experts in speaking with buyers. These difficulties further exacerbate by therapeutic services experts who may do not have the capacity to impart successfully crosswise over callings. The human services framework and science correspondence, by and large, can be made more available to people utilizing a scope of systems including fundamentally thinking about presumptions. In this article, a few underlying drivers of trouble in correspondence will be talked about, and viable recommendations are given to empower more important communication of thoughts between people with different foundations in the therapeutic services framework. For those working in therapeutic services and the sciences, attention to how best to empower compelling correspondence presents essential open doors for what's to come. (Reeves, 2015) REFERENCES Amin, A. (2012). Impact of apology on health care system; communication skills. Saudi Journal for Health Sciences, 1(1), p.38. Cegala, D. (2006). Emerging Trends and Future Directions in Patient Communication Skills Training. Health Communication, 20(2), pp.123-129. Drennan, V. (2015). Evidence-based communication skills. Primary Health Care, 25(10), pp.15-15. Evans, B., Stanley, R. and Burrows, G. (2002). Communication Skills Training and Patients' Satisfaction. Health Communication, 4(2), pp.155-170. Keir, A. and Wilkinson, D. (2013). Communication skills training in paediatrics. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 49(8), pp.624-628. Kidd, J. (2000). Clinical Communication Skills. Journal of Health Psychology, 5(1), pp.118-120. Passalacqua, S. (2009). Teaching and Learning Communication Skills in Medicine. Health Communication, 24(6), pp.572-574. Reeves, H. (2015). Communication Interpersonal Skills in Nursing Bach Shirley and Grant Alec Communication Interpersonal Skills in Nursing 208pp 19.99 Sage/Learning Matters 9781473902572 1473902576. Primary Health Care, 25(7), pp.12-12.

Analysis of The Crucible Essays

Analysis of The Crucible Essays Analysis of The Crucible Paper Analysis of The Crucible Paper Matters are taken to court, and Proctor brings Mary Warren (his servant and a member of Abigails circle) to court and tells Judge Danforth that she will testify that the girls are lying. Danforth is suspicious of Proctors motives and tells him, truthfully that Elizabeth is pregnant, and will be spared for a while. When the girls are bought to court, they turn things around by accusing Mary of bewitching them. In rage, Proctor confesses his affair with Abigail. Danforth interrogates Elizabeth to test Proctors claim. Despite her honesty, she lies to protect her husband and Danforth denounced Proctor as a liar. Meanwhile, Abigail and the girls again pretend that Mary is bewitching them. As a result of this, Mary has a break down and accuses Proctor of being a witch. As the autumn arrives, we find that Abigail has run away. Reverend Hale, the expert on witchcraft, has lost faith in the court and begs the accused witches to confess in order to save their lives, but they refuse. However, Danforth has conjured a plan: he asks Elizabeth to persuade John into confessing, and she agrees to do this. Proctor agrees to confess but refuses to incriminate anyone else, and when the court insists that the confession must be made public, Proctor became resentful and retracts his statement. With that, the witch trials reach their awful conclusion, as Proctor is sent to the gallows with the others. Tragedy is a genre of drama, which stemmed from the Greeks; devised by the Greek philosopher Aristotle. Tragic plays always had a tragic hero, which in The Crucible is expressed through Proctor who is in conflict with the law and social drama, contending with the conflicts facing individuals within the conventions of society. As the play is set in 1692, this drama was based upon documented historical events. Miller does this is a number of ways by the use of compressing time, composite characters and conjecture events. This is called artistic license. John Proctor himself is husband to Elizabeth Proctor. He is a good father, and loyal to his friends. He is very passionate about having justice and doing what is right for the welfare of as many people as possible. This is seen at the end of the play when he makes a difficult decision, and this reflects Millers concern with the battle between the responsibilities of self and society. The relationship between Proctor and Elizabeth is very strong. Dramatic tension is built up by Elizabeth constantly mentioning the past and how they used to be; Proctor constantly feels guilty and apologises to Elizabeth. Elizabeth is constantly suspicious of what her husband is doing. What keeps you up so late? Its almost dark (Elizabeth) This suggests that their relationship is deceptive; there is no longer trust between them. This promotes the audience to question why? And why does Elizabeth stay with him? In spite of this, John is convinced to make amends. I mean to please you Elizabeth (Proctor) At this stage, the relationship is still together, but the audience may feel sorry for him. A contrast is seen when Proctor confesses in court about having an affair with Abigail, and Elizabeth denies it without knowing he had confessed to try and protect him. This made everyone question whether the affair actually took place. In the end, when John is hung, Elizabeth forgives him. However the relationship between Proctor and Abigail is very different, being based mainly around sex, creating sexual tension in the play. I know how you clutched my back behind your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I come near! (Abigail) Proctor commits adultery, and keeps secrets from Elizabeth. Abigail is not living in reality; she wants revenge, and uses the complicated relationship as a weapon. Abigail thinks that the relationship she had with Proctor was love and tries to make him believe that he is in love with her too by reminding him of the past. She becomes obsessed, and the relationship becomes complicated, and it becomes dangerous and she misjudges his morals and personality. We never touched, Abby. (Proctor) Aye, but we did. (Abigail) Aye, but we did not. (Proctor) Dramatic tension in this scene is created through the basic instinct of sex which is expressed through Abigail. She confronts Proctor about sex, and the conversation becomes very physical in its self, as she grabs him and begs him to come back to her. In reaction to this situation the audience would feel quite shocked, and would want to know whats going to happen next as a result of what she is saying and how it will affect the people of Salem if they find out. Salem is guided by Puritanism, influenced by the religious teachings of the Bible. The life of a Puritan has a dominant and constant force characters in the play are faced by the demands of their religion, which creates a lot of hysteria and witch hunts, which consequently results in trials and deaths, and the build up of tension. The characters have closed minds and abided by their religion but Proctor behaved differently making him be seen by others as the devil. When a society develops itself thinking that their way of life is the only acceptable way, there will be intolerance of all other ways of life. An example of this is Parris reaction to Bettys illness. It was seen as completely abhorrent and this triggered the condemnatory behaviour. The reaction to John and Abigails affair also reflects intolerance within the community. Intolerance is also provoked by the rules within a society, which may motivate rebellion it is inevitable in a world based on induction. This theory is meditated throughout the play through Proctor and Abigail. Abigail induces witchcraft, and Proctor fights against the court. Rebellion will build up excitement and tension in the audience as they ponder what will happen as a consequence, which in the end is death.

Why Automation Projects Fail

Why Automation Projects Fail Free Online Research Papers Automation plays an increasingly important role in the global economy and in daily experience. Engineers strive to combine automated devices with mathematical and organizational tools to create complex systems for a rapidly expanding range of applications and human activities. Many roles for humans in industrial processes presently lie beyond the scope of automation. The problems related to automation system failure are discussed in this paper. Different features for building good automation systems are also highlighted in this paper. 1. Introduction Automation is the new mandate in today’s fast paced world of software development. Companies are hard-pressed to get their products out as quickly as possible. Traditionally testing has long been seen as the bottleneck to getting software releases out the door and software automation as the solution to removing that bottleneck. However, software automation more often than not fails to live up to expectations and in fact seldom returns the investment put forth. Although manual tests may find many defects in a software application, it is a laborious and time consuming process. In addition it may not be effective in finding certain classes of defects. Test automation is a process of writing a computer program to do testing that would otherwise need to be done manually. Once tests have been automated, they can be run quickly. This is often the most cost effective method for software products that have a long maintenance life, because even minor patches over the lifetime of the app lication can cause features to break which were working at an earlier point in time. 2. The Problems A majority of automation projects fail. In fact, most if not all automation projects fail to live up to peoples’ expectations and many automation projects are flat out abandoned. This fable illustrates several problems that plague test automation projects: 2.1 Spare time test automation. People are allowed to work on test automation on their own time or as a back burner project when the test schedule allows. This keeps it from getting the time and focuses it needs. 2.2 Lack of clear goals. There are many good reasons for doing test automation. It can save time, make testing easier and improve the testing coverage. It can also help keep testers motivated. But its not likely to do all these things at the same time. Different parties typically have different hopes. These need to be stated, or else disappointment is likely. 2.3 Lack of experience. Junior programmers trying to test their limits often tackle test automation projects. The results are often difficult to maintain. 2.4 High turnover. Test automation can take a while to learn. But when the turnover is high, you lose this experience. 2.5 Reaction to desperation. Problems are usually lurking in the software long before testing begins. But testing brings them to light. Testing is difficult enough in itself. When testing is followed by testing and retesting of the repaired software, people can get worn down. Will the testing ever end? This desperation can become particularly acute when the schedule has dictated that the software should be ready now. If only it werent for all the testing! In this environment, test automation may be a ready answer, but it may not be the best. It can be more of a wish than a realistic proposal. 2.6 Reluctance to think about testing. Many find automating a product more interesting than testing it. Some automation projects provide convenient cover stories for why their contributors arent more involved in the testing. Rarely does the outcome contribute much to the test effort. 2.7 Technology focus. How the software can be automated is a technologically interesting problem. But this can lose sight of whether the result meets the testing need. 3. Deciding what to automate Organizations sometimes jump into automation without carefully considering what to automate. For example, many decide to automate the most complicated items, such as a difficult test case, thinking that automation will free them of this headache. But soon they find themselves spending more time automating than testing. When deciding what to automate, organizations should consider the following questions: How often do these items get used? How many people use them or rely on them? Are these components part of a test that everyone has to use? Are they difficult to maintain? Which items do my customers add (or not add) value to? When building an automation strategy, teams must decide what to automate based on what will yield the greatest benefit overall, not simply aim for the most technically ambitious projects. As illustrated in Figure 1, organizations should put aside the desire to do the most difficult task first and focus on the tests that deliver immediate business value. 4. Evaluating technology against vendor claims In the past, vendors have asserted that their automation software allows organizations to create robust and maintainable test assets. As many organizations have discovered after making their purchases, the technology behind these products often does not stand up to the claims. Worse yet, without future-proofing technology, organizations are realizing only half of automations potential value. When evaluating automation software, organizations should add maintainability to their list of requirements. 5. Rethinking processes from a team perspective To realize the potential of automation and maximize its efficiencies, testers and developers need to think of themselves as part of an assembly line. If test engineers build test cases that they know will need to be automated, they can save the automation team a step by building in abstraction. Though it might require a little extra effort up front, this action can save the entire organization time throughout the testing process. With the right technology, testers can start to build and run tests in a way that makes it easier for the rest of the team to move those tests through automation, as well as maintain tests for future releases. More importantly, the test organization can build a scalable framework for communication and asset sharing. Organizations need to start taking an assembly-line approach to testing and development, with individuals focused on creating efficiencies that benefit the entire team. 6. Automation is akin to any Complex Software System Building Automation solutions is akin to building any (complex) Software system and requires the same effort (usually high effort) to implement effectively. You will be integrating a system with many parts as well as software (i.e. scripts and glue software). Therefore the same lessons learned in building systems and software should be applied to your automation project. Some items to consider are: 6.1 What are the high level goals of the automation system: performance testing, unit testing, feature testing? 6.2 What are the features you need in the automation system? Some examples are listed below. a. Logging capabilities b. Graphical automation scenario creator c. API for a remote procedure calls d. Reporting e. Resource Management of test/lab resources f. Concurrent scripts g. Capability to preparing or â€Å"clean up† the test environment h. Versioning of test scripts i.Documentation for administration/test script creation. 6.3 Design and document an automation architecture. An automation project needs a framework and the framework needs to be implemented and documented. The framework should lay the foundation and rules that everyone lives under. For example a shared software library for automation scripts should be implemented and used by all automation script writers. Some other items to consider are listed below: a.Automation Architecture must be extensible. Automation requirements will grow in step with the requirements of the software under test and the automation system must be able to cope with that growth. b.Must have instrumentation for debugging purposes. Running scripts is the easy part. Debugging scripts is what takes the most time. Be sure you have a system in place that quickly summarizes all the problems from a test execution run. c.Your scripts should be modularized. d.Keeping statistics on your executions. Identify test cases with a high false positive rate and either fix the root cause or remove from your executions. Conversely, identify tests that find real software defects. e.Can the automation scripts be re-used later for different purposes. For example you might develop scripts for feature testing and later re-use them for integration testing or performance testing. Will other groups repurpose your scripts? 6.4 Tool Selection (Open source vs. Commercial vs. In- House). Regardless of which direction you go (i.e. Open Source, Commercial, Home Grown) be sure you realize the risks/rewards you will have whichever path you choose. Ask yourself if the tool fits your specific requirements right now and in the future. Some other points for consideration: a. Is the tool well supported? b. What is the average time for a feature request or bug fix to be implemented? c. If using Open Source, is the said community active in developing features and fixing defects? Perhaps this is not an issue if you have people on staff that can maintain the software. d. If the software is home grown do you have developers inhouse to support the product? If so how likely is it these developers or development group will be available three to five years from now? 7. Consider the Long Term Implications of your Choices (i.e. don’t bite off more than you can chew) Every choice in building an automation platform has consequences. Some consequences seem fine in the short term but can be project killers in the long term. Be aware that you have scarce resources: time, computing, money, and people. Some issues to be aware of are as follows: a. Focusing on the low hanging fruit allows the automation architect to â€Å"prototype† the new system and easily make changes to his/her approach. This also allows the automation team to firmly establish and enforce the correct processes for running an effective automation program. b. Some scenarios are too much work to automate. For example if a scenario takes 1 hour to run manually but 40 hours to automate you don’t want to automate the scenario if it is run only once a year. That means it would take 40 years for a return on your labor investment. The average life-span of software is a mere 5 years. c. Some scenarios introduce a much greater level of complexity to the automation system. This complexity can affect the stability and the scalability of the automation system as a whole. There should be a very strong business case to justify the risk in automating in these situations. d. Don’t over-engineer your automation test cases. Just because it seems reasonable to perform certain â€Å"extra† steps when running test cases manually does not mean implementing the same checks in automation scripts is a good thing. Adding extra functionality in scripts unless absolutely needed adds a greater chance of test cases failing due to false-positives and obfuscates the real intent of the test cases. If you really need to check something not specifically listed in a test case then create a new test case for that specific scenario. 8. Full-Time Personnel must be qualified and fully committed to build and maintain an effective automation program As mentioned earlier an effective automation platform demands a disciplined focus. Some issues to consider when staffing up for your automation endeavor should include the following: a. Carefully vetting your team from a list of job requirements including but not limited to past work experience, industry certifications, and personal recommendations related to the job position. When staffing up for an automation project create a list of job requirements that will be required or desirable for the new team members. Be sure your team reflects the appropriate level of talent. b. If automation staff focus is divided between multiple complicated projects this will reduce the chance of success for your automation program. c. Staff for the project is transient. Staff for the automation project is cycled through without regard to the deleterious effects of the automation system. d. Don’t bother automating more test scenarios if you don’t have the staff to maintain the increased quantity. 9. The Test Tool Product you Buy is a â€Å"Product† not â€Å"Your Automation Solution† Don’t expect to purchase an automation system in a box. You will be required to do much of the work yourself when creating an automation platform. Purchasing/Obtaining a tool is just one of many steps along the way. 10. Defining a Successful Automation System Create a list of criteria for determining success/failure and revisit these criteria at specific intervals over the life-span of the automation project. Some possible criteria is listed below: a. Low rate of False Positives b. High rate of defects found c. Reducing or maintaining staff growth costs d. Reducing Manual testing time Summary Successful automation involves careful planning, disciplined execution, meticulous maintenance procedures, and a dedicated staff as well as a management with a willingness and patience to fully support (with money, time, and labor) an automation project. The first and most important step in building an automation system is realizing the complexities involved and the positive consequences of careful planning and execution of your automation system. REFERENCES http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automation embedded-computing.com/articles/id/?3533 automation.com/portals/building-automation www.testingautomation.com/ www.applabs.com/html/test-automation-services.html Research Papers on Why Automation Projects FailStandardized TestingBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfThe Project Managment Office SystemMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesResearch Process Part OneIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalOpen Architechture a white paperRiordan Manufacturing Production PlanInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesGenetic Engineering

Management report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Management report - Essay Example Macdonald’s corporation is recognised as one of the most popular fast food organization, operating successfully in more than 111countires and 24000 restaurants in the entire globe. It offers varied types of dishes with ingredients such as chicken, fish, eggs, sausage, French fries, salads and many others1. Due to which, it is highly preferred by the individual of all castes, culture, race and creed thereby making it leading brand in the segment of fast foods. As a result it comprises of almost 50 percent of the market share in this segment among other competitors. Keeping this fact in mind, numerous individual owners are trying to open the franchise of McDonald’s that proved effective for the organization in enhancing its number of outlets and stores. Due to which, its ranking and revenue has increased to $ 350, 000. In order to retain the sustainable competitive position of the organization or brand within the minds of the customers, the employees or owners of Macdonald’s desired to offer high-quality of food products at a lowest possible time. This is because; the aim of the brand of Macdonald’s is to offer fast, friendly and perfect services to its target customers in the entire globe. This might help the organization in enhancement of the brand image and reliability of the brand thereby amplifying the rate of satisfaction of the customers as well. Not only this, such a strategy is used by the organization in order to increase its range of customers and reduce its business threats to a significant extent2. However, in order to fulfil such a dream, all the franchise owners in the entire globe desired to offer more concentration over three basic factors namely speed, affordability and standardization. Among them, speed is recognised as the vital factor of the operational strategy of Macdonald’s in order to offer the ordered dish to the customer in lowest possible time. However, in order to do so, the management desires to offer

Literal Analysis Of Vietnam War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Literal Analysis Of Vietnam War - Essay Example The items these soldiers carried were only the necessary things they required for their safety and survival in the battlefield. These include can openers, pocketknife, the certificate showing that they had gone through heavy military training; mosquito nets that protected them from diseases such as malaria, which was common in the area, and cigarettes. Other essential items they carried were middle size cans of water, chewing gums, a first aid box, and sewing kits. Surprisingly, these items were roughly fifteen to twenty pounds, which depended on the soldiers’ normal metabolism rate. All these stuff were supposed to be carried to every place the soldiers went. It was a person’s own mistake if he forgot the baggage behind, for he will face the challenges ahead alone. The items the soldiers carried were many, but everything in the bag was necessary and had a purpose. This shows that challenges the soldiers faced could not be reduced or stopped since each problem was †˜necessary’ and they had to face it whether they liked it or not. They had no choice of choosing which problem to face, similar to the items in the bags, which were all essential and missing one item could cause a weighty problem to a soldier. The metaphor for the items carried in the baggage is clearly seen. The soldiers accepted the challenges knowing that it was just for them to face them. Therefore, they had to prepare their mind and emotions for the future challenges that were yet to come, so that they will not be surprised.... This shows that challenges the soldiers faced could not be reduced or stopped, since each problem was ‘necessary’ and they had to face it whether they liked it or not. They had no choice of choosing which problem to face, similar to the items in the bags, which were all essential and missing one item could cause a weighty problem to a soldier. The metaphor for the items carried in the baggage is clearly seen. The soldiers accepted the challenges knowing that it was must for them to face them. Therefore, they had to prepare their mind and emotions for the future challenges that were yet to come, so that they will not be surprised. Analysis on the Act of Carrying the Bag When this bag was full of items they required, they carried it to any place they went, and during the wartime, they were placed at a secure place until the war had ended. The act of carrying the baggage, which was habitually heavy, shows the intensity of the challenges and difficulties they had to bear. Th e weight of the items in the baggage was the main challenge of those bags, and yet they had to carry them to all places. The burdens they went through were exceptionally heavy for a person to bear and they required some counseling and rest. Unfortunately, there was nobody to give them consoling piece of word, and provide time to relax. Most of the time, they were on their feet carrying the heavy baggage and fighting materials as they adverse towards the battlegrounds. The act of carrying this heavy baggage symbolizes the weight of the challenges they faced which at some point was unbearable to carry. Some of the soldiers decided to run away because of the amount and intensity of the war. Therefore, analyzing the weight of the baggage shows how

How far can it be argued that German Nazism was just one example of a Essay

How far can it be argued that German Nazism was just one example of a more general European fascism Discuss with particular r - Essay Example Fascism was a common in the early European community, which thrived on the use of hostility against liberal democracy, communism and sociology. While the different forms of fascism in the early European nations differed, they share a number of ideologies some of which validated the German Nazism as one of such. Nazism is an acronym referring to the National Socialism. It was an early political ideology largely practiced in Germany among other regions in the early European community. Despite its widespread practice, the German Nazism was more prominent owing to its radical form of governance and its conspicuous portrayal as a form of fascism movement2. Nazism in Germany evolved progressively from the Pan Germanism a radical political movement that sought to unify Germans under a common identity and shared a common dislike for communism. The movement therefore fought against the spread of communism in the post First World War Germany. It was a radical movement that openly used racism a s a means of unify the people of common interests compelling them to share a common goal and therefore strive for its attainment3. For such reasons and for the strategic management of the German Nazism, the movement therefore portrayed itself not just as a major political movement that resulted in the creation of the modern day Germany but a fascist movement that would use any amount of force for the attainment of its common interest4. The movement used far right racisms against people it did not consider legitimate Germans. The level of racism in Germany was far right implying the highest level of racism in any society5. It allowed for the domination of the society by a race commonly considered superior. The movement sought to defend the national interest through the effective protection of the interests of those it thought legitimate citizens. Those considered inferior therefore faced intense discrimination, which culminated in the mass murder of more than six million Jews in the society, the holocaust. The Nazi Germany led by its radical leader, Adolf Hitler authorized the development of more than four thousand facilities, which it used to hold concentrate, hold and kill the more than six million Jews. Id doing this, the state sponsored murder began by killing children and women an effective mechanism through which it could systematically eliminate an entire race. By eliminating the women and children first, the government ensured that it contained the population increase of the race since it is only through the women and the children that the race could safeguard its future. For the time being, the government permitted the use of the Jews men as slaves in the plantations and other facilities that belonged to the legitimate Germans, the Nazis. The Nazi government used the genocide as a means of consolidating the country’s resources to the Nazis. It was a perfect method of eliminating competition and conflict of interest thereby resulting in a country with common interest. The government termed the mass killings as a solution to the Jews problem6. Apparently, the Jews a religious grouping and therefore an ethnic community, which often opposed the authoritarian Nazi government. It therefore presented a substantial opposition to the effective governance of the country. With a population of more than seven million people, it was a minority group but occupied a sizable piece of land in the country that the government thought best befitted the Nazis7. Additionally, their

Identity Creation through Body Modification

Identity Creation through Body Modification Body modification  of one sort or another has always been practiced new technologies have opened up the possibility for radical change. This has meant that we can now change fundamental aspects of our bodies most obviously our biological sex, but also racial characteristics, signs of ageing and apparent physical imperfections. Basically will be looking at what it means to want to radically alter the body to believe indeed that we have the wrong body CASE STUDY: NIP TUCK Throughout the dissertation will be exploring the meanings acquired by the body in modern, western societies. In doing so the dissertation will examine the ways in which bodies are shaped, acted upon, represented and experienced. Therefore explore various ways in which the body has been seen as an object (the body we have), as a subject (the body we are) and as a project (the body that we become) and will explore how these processes are intimately linked to regimes of power and knowledge. For example, recent years have seen the increased prominence and significance of various body projects health and fitness, dieting, cosmetic surgery and body modification- alongside many contemporary problems associated with the body new reproductive technologies, genetic engineering, cybernetics, etc. As these examples show, the body in contemporary culture has become a malleable object crucial for the articulation of identities of race’, gender, and sub cultural affiliation. This dissertation will critically examine some of these contemporary trends whilst simultaneously focusing on their social and historical contexts to give us a broader understanding of their meanings and implications. Introduction Body modification has been practiced in many ways and for a variety of reasons since ancient times; it has existed on some level for thousands of years. Historical evidence suggests that red dye extracted from hematite was used to paint the body as many as 20,000 years ago. Archaeological evidence proves that as many as 10,000 years ago, parts of animal bones, animal teeth, and colourful stones were used to decorate the body. Hair combs date back to nearly 5,000 years ago. Water served ancient peoples as mirrors until 4,500, when the first mirror is believed to have been invented (Ehsan, 1999, 49-52). Society has progressed since those early days. One need only turn on the television or leaf through a magazine to be bombarded with all kinds of advertisements for body modification. Chemical treatments can straighten hair and change skin tone and texture. Surgical procedures can decrease or (more often) augment breast size. Penile implants claim to enhance sexual performance. Unwanted fat can be removed in any number ways, ranging from dietary changes to liposuction. Some signs of ageing can be temporarily reversed with injections of Botox; others can be permanently altered, again through surgery. Today in the western world, body modification is widely practiced in all classes of society. Often it is the result of societal pressure to achieve perfection. At times it is a ritual or rite of initiation within a group or social hierarchy. Less often, although this is steadily increasing, the body is modified to change its gender; this is done through surgical procedures supplemented by hormonal and similar supplementary treatments. Women are considered the most frequent targets of this pressure to achieve somatic perfection, and therefore they are the most frequent practitioners of body modification. However, this pressure affects means well. This paper will examine four specific types of body modification: tattooing and scarification; piercing; diet and exercise; and aesthetic surgery. Although these are by no means the only methods of body modification, they are among the most widespread and they cover a wide spectrum. Still, whether it takes the form of a minor dietary modification or an extreme makeover, most individuals in the western world practice some sort of body modification. For this reason, it is a practice which merits close study and consideration. How far will some individuals go in this pursuit for perfection? How much of this will society sanction? What are the implications for our future and that of future generations? These are the questions to be explored throughout the course of this research. Tattoos and Scarification The word â€Å"tattoo† is derived from a Tahitian word meaning â€Å"to mark. â€Å"The act of tattooing is believed to be over ten thousand years old, and it has had a variety of uses throughout history. Tattoos have played an important role in various tribal and cultural rituals. For example, ancient Greeks used them as part of a sophisticated espionage system. Romans used tattoos to clearly mark criminals and slaves. In Borneo, women would have symbols of special skills or talents tattooed on their forearms, thus alerting potential marriage partners of their marketability. Although tattooing has flourished consistently in many cultures, its popularity in western civilization has fluctuated widely. After waning for several centuries, it was reintroduced in the late seventeenth century, but it was not until the late eighteenth century that it once again became widespread, even so, it often had negative associations and tattooed individuals were mostly relegated to the fringes of society, such as freak show oddities and carnival workers. In the 20th century, the art of tattooing waxed and waned as society rapidly changed with the proliferation of new and better technologies. By the late sixties it was still primarily an underground operation, often the provenance of biker groups and criminals. From the late twentieth century until today, however, tattooing has enjoyed renewed popularity as body decoration, and is seen in a much more positive light, often as an art itself. In addition to the more traditional ink tattoos, there are those caused by puncturing and/or burning the skin. In this process, known as scarification, scalpels or cauterizing tools are applied to selected areas of the skin, and the resulting scar tissue is the desired result. Better technology has improved technique and ease of application for all kinds of tattooing; in addition, more sanitary conditions have lessened the risk of diseases such as hepatitis. These two points have no doubt contributed to the revival and renewed respect for the practice of tattooing. However, as it will be discussed, changes in attitudes toward the body have also played a part in its reawakened popularity. Body piercing also has a long and varied history, dating back to ancient times. There are mentions of body piercing in the Bible. In addition, it was a frequent practice of ancient Romans. Roman warriors often pierced their nipples, considering this to be a sign of strength and masculinity; it was also a practical measure, a way of attaching cloaks to the body.   Roman gladiators, who usually held the status of slaves, also underwent body-piercing, though as slaves they had little choice. Often gladiators would be subjected to genital piercing, primarily through the head of the penis. This was partially a protective measure, allowing the ringed penile tip to be tied close to the body during battle, protecting it from injury. But it was also a territorial measure, since they were considered property of their owners. Placement of a larger ring through the penile tip could also prevent sex, making it essentially a male chastity belt, to be removed at the discretion of the gladiator’s owner. Aztec and Mayan Indians were known to have pierced their lips as part of religious ritual, believing this brought them closer to their god. They also pierced the septum, believing this gave them a fierce, intimidating appearance during battle. Aztecs and Mayans were also fond of lip labrets, which were often made of precious metals and served highly decorative purposes. During medieval times the art of body piercing lost favour, regaining popularity during the Renaissance period. It enjoyed unprecedented popularity during the Victorian Era, due to the sexual pleasures it was known to enhance. Until recently, body-piercing, like tattooing, was primarily associated with fringe groups in western society. However, today it no longer exists solely in the realm of punk rock and fetish scenes. Nose-, nipple-, and navel- piercing is now common in contemporary western society, alongside the more traditional pierced ears and the less visible genital piercings. Diet and exercise—often used together—are another form of body modification. The diet industry is huge in western countries. Appetite suppressants, both prescription and over-the-counter types, are extremely popular. Fad diets such as the South Beach Diet or the Atkins Program attract and retain large numbers of followers. Health clubs and gyms are another large part of this industry, selling memberships which promise buyers a new way of life and a fit—and thin—future. To members of a society who desire this more than anything else, it is not a hard sell.   Excessive dieting can lead to life-threatening eating disorders. The primary disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia, and they primarily afflict women, mostly in their teens and twenties. Although â€Å"anorexia â€Å"itself literally means â€Å"loss of appetite,† this disease often has more to do with a denial of appetite rather than loss of desire for food. Its sufferers will go for extended periods of time without eating, or will eat just the barest amounts of food, to become an/or remain thin. The most tragic aspect of anorexia is that often the sufferer loses a sense of her own body, refusing to acknowledge that she has gone way beyond â€Å"thin†Ã¢â‚¬â€anorexics are often emaciated. Bulimia is a disorder which is characterized by ingestions of large amounts of food—binging—followed by a period of purging, to rid the body of the unwanted calories. Purging may be achieved by vomiting, either self-induced or through chemicals such as syrup of Ipecac. Excessive laxative use is also associated with this disorder. Often bulimics will have a low-to-normal body weight as compared to anorexics, but sufferers of both disorders face similar health problems due to electrolyte imbalance, nutritional deficiencies, and related complications. Susan Bordon sees eating disorders as complex, multi-layered disorders in which the sufferer sees her body as alien, as a threat to control, as an enemy. She also sees it as a gender/power issue and a protest the confines of femininity.   Exercise, on the other hand, be a way of actively asserting control instead of passively denying oneself. It can be argued that exercise is taken by some for the sake of exercise, but there is no doubt that it is also an activity that is undertaken to combat corporeal excesses and to exert control over the body. Some forms of exercise—for example, body-building and weight-lifting, can also be a form of exerting control without the concomitant existence of an eating disorder, and are more commonly undertaken by men, though women are involved in this as well. Surgical modification can be called many names, among them: plastic surgery; reconstructive surgery; or, as Sander Gilman prefers to refer to it: aesthetic surgery. Indeed, this type of surgery includes a wide variety of procedures, from surgically correcting a birth deform such as a cleft palate, to disfigurements due to accident or injuryor from a subtle removal of â€Å"crows’ lines† or other signs of age, to more dramatic adjustments to a too-large nose or an unacceptably sharp chin. The most extreme result of this type of surgery involves gender modification. Surgical body modification is different from most other forms in that it generally implies a level of secrecy that the others do not. The procedure and the recuperation period that follows both take place behind closed doors, sometimes even in foreign lands. Furthermore, the reappearance of the individual after the procedure is not accompanied by any sort of fanfare; there is an implicit assumption that the individual has always appeared thus, or if the change is dramatic, that it is not to be spoken of. Discussions of surgical body modification in this paper will focus primarily on elective surgery undertaken for purely cosmetic purposes, so that it may be explored and assessed as part of the larger societal trend towards achievement of physical perfection at any cost. Sander Gilman’s comprehensive body of research is well worth exploring, particularly two of his books: Creating Beauty to Cure the Soul: Raceland Psychology in the Shaping of Aesthetic Surgery and Making the Body Beautiful: A Cultural History of Aesthetic Surgery. His works provide abroad and thorough base for any study of body modification, though his primary focus is on surgical enhancements. Yet while Gilman thoroughly addresses the subject of aesthetic surgery, the focus is on the surgery itself, as well as upon the need for it and what that need signifies. Discussion of the body itself is limited in Gilman’s work; it is seen only in terms of its potential for surgical alteration. In addition, other types of body modification—such as piercing, tattoos, weight-loss regimens, exercise—are only briefly covered in his work. While he speculates on the significance of aesthetic surgery thoughtfully and articulately, his ideas do not go beyond surgical issues (though, to be fair, they do not pretend to; heist very clear about the scope and limitations of his research). For broader looks at the concept of the body and the various modes of modification now prevalent in society, we can turn to other researchers. Much of the current literature seeks to approach the concept of the body from a different angle, focusing on the body itself. Many of these researchers find significance in the fact that focus on the body seems to be missing in much of the earlier literature, or, if not missing, submerged. Bryan Turner begins his book The Body and Society by immediately introducing the duality of the body, opening with what is at once seemingly simple yet very complex statement: â€Å"There is an obvious and prominent fact about human beings: they have bodies and they are bodies (Turner 1996, 37). He goes on to point out that despite this very obvious fact, there is a seeming lack of information about the body in sociology; he explains that beyond a wealth of historical and mathematical data, there is really no actual investigation of the bodying and of itself—or, rather, that this information is there, but deeply encoded: â€Å"in writing about sociology’s neglect of the body, it may be more exact to refer to this negligence as submergence rather than absence, since the body in sociological theory has had a furtive, secret history rather than no history at all (Turner 1996, 63). Joanne Entwisted cites Turner several times in her own work, though her perspective is clearly focused on the significance of clothing and fashion. In â€Å"The Dressed Body,† she addresses, as the title of her essay suggests, the symbolic meaning of clothing. She points out that there is an abundance of straightforward description concerning the of style: colours, hemlines, cut, accessories—but this rarely goes beyond details of style. There is very little literature that looks at the very subtle and complex relationship between the body and clothing. Since social norms demand that bodies must (almost)always be dressed, she finds this lack telling: â€Å"dress is fundamental to micro social order and the exposure of naked flesh is, potentially at least, disruptive of social order† (Entwisted 2001, 33-34). In fact, Entwisted, like many of her contemporaries, views the body as an entity in and of itself, asserting that â€Å"we experience our bodies as separate from others and increasingly we identify with our bodies as containers of our identities and places of personal expression. (Entwisted 2000, 138). Chris Shilling echoes both Turner and Entwisted about the seeming lack of focus on the body itself. However, Shilling points out that this is now changing, and that academic interest in the body itself is steadily growing: â€Å"the sociology of the body has emerged as a distinct area of study, and it has even been suggested that the body should serve as inorganizing principle for sociology (Shilling 1993, 1). As for what has brought about this new and much-needed shift in perspective, Shilling and others agree that it seems based on conflict. It is perhaps Shilling who best describes the paradox at the core of this change: â€Å"We now have the means to exert an unprecedented degree of control over bodies, yet we are also living in an age which has thrown into radical doubt our knowledge of what bodies are and how we should control them (Shilling 1993, 3). This paradox is a recurring theme in the literature, both in the writings about the body as well as the multitudinous passages about the various procedures to which it is subjected to in today’s world. There is, however, a consensus that surgery is the most dramatic form of body modification—in particular, cosmetic surgery (Gilman consistently refers to it as â€Å"aesthetic surgery,† which seems much softer and much more positive term). Cosmetic surgery for most of these researchers includes any kind of surgical enhancement that is performed solely for aesthetic ends, although the definition of â€Å"aesthetic† can vary widely. Other types of surgeries are considered as well, including those involving gender modification. However, most of the literature studied for this paper has tended to focus on the more mainstream applications of aesthetic surgery. Transsexual operations, and the many issues therein, are acknowledged by virtually all researchers, but they are not explored in any depth in the sources considered for this paper. Considering the many procedural and ethical issues involved in transgender procedures, this is not surprising. It is a rapidly changing surgical sub-specialty, and one with wide-ranging sociological and psychological issues, none of which can be adequately dealt with in footnote to a more general piece of research. Indeed, the body seems to have become a thing separate from the self, continual work-in-progress with a growing number of options and â€Å"enhancements† to choose from. The theme of body-as-object is echoed throughout the current sociological literature and in other disciplines as well. Speaking of the body as art, Lea Vergie posits that The body is being used as an art language by an ever-greater number of contemporary painters and sculptors. It always involves, for example loss of personal identity, a refusal to allow the sense of reality to invade and control the sphere of the emotions, and a romantic rebellion against dependence upon both people and things (Vergie 2000, 1). Entwisted explores the relationship between the body and societal pressures, asserting that there are â€Å"two bodies: the physical body and the social body† (2001, 37). To understand the role of dress, she further notes, â€Å"requires adopting an approach which acknowledges the body as a social entity and dress as the outcome of both social factors and individual actions† (2001, 48). Entwistle explains that in contemporary culture, the body has become the â€Å"site of identity†: â€Å"We experience our bodies as separate from others and increasingly we identify with our bodies as containers of our identities and places of personal expression† (Entwistle 2000,138). However, when we consider that society pressures us to achieve a single, consistent ideal of perfection, it seems a contradiction to accept the concept of body as a vehicle for personal expression. What personal expression is there in sameness? Vergine reconciles this seeming contradiction by perceiving the body as a vehicle for art and language: The use of the body as a language has returned to the scene of the world around us in new and different forms, and it speaks through altered declinations. By way of tattoos, piercings, and citations of tribalism. Through manipulations of its organs. The instrument that speaks and communicates without the word, or sounds, or drawings. The body as a vehicle, once again, for declaring opposition to the dominant culture, but also of desperate conformism. (Vergine 2001, 289). Shilling explores the concept of the body as machine, particularly in the world of sports: â€Å"The ‘body as machine’ is not merely a medical image, however; one of the areas in which the body is most commonly perceived and treated in this way is in the sphere of sport† (Shilling1993, 37). He explains that the vocabulary used in the field of sports serves to depersonalize the body, to transform it into an object whose sole purpose is optimum performance: â€Å"the body has come to be seen ‘as a means to an enda factor of output and production†¦as a machine with the job of producing the maximum work and energy’ (Shilling 1993, 37). Turner also addresses the concept of body mutilation as an attempt to assert control in a chaotic world, relating it back to Christianity. He describes the body as â€Å"a genuine object of a sociology of knowledge.† (Turner 1996, 64). He explains that the Western world customarily treats the body as â€Å"the seat of unreason, passion and desire,† and goes on to discuss the battle of the flesh with the spirit: â€Å"flesh was the symbol of moral corruption which threatened the order of the world: the flesh had to be subdued by disciplines, especially by the regimen of diet and abstinence† (Turner 1996, 64). The concept of chaos is another recurrent theme in recent discourse nobody modification. Entwistle sees fashion as one way in which individuals attempt to assert control over the ever-increasing chaos of today’s world† â€Å"If nakedness is unruly and disruptive, this would seem to indicate that dress is a fundamental aspect of micro social order â€Å"she asserts (2001, 35). This is echoed by Armando Favazza in Bodies Under Siege: Self-mutilation and Body Modification in Culture and Psychiatry. â€Å"Chaos is the greatest threat to the stability of the universe,† he writes (1996, 231). He goes on to explain how we need social stability taco-exist, that it gives us the framework for appropriate sexual behaviour, the ability to recognize and negotiate among various social hierarchies, and the tools necessary to successfully make the transition from childhood into mature adulthood. â€Å"The alteration or destruction of body tissue† asserts Favazza, â€Å"helps to establish control of things and to preserve the social order† (1996, 231). Favazza sees self-mutilation as an attempt on the part of the self-mutilator to control the chaotic world around him or her. He also points out that self-mutilation is often culturally sanctioned. Whether or not a practice falls under the category of â€Å"mutilation,† according to Favazza, depends on whether there is a change to or eradication of body tissue. Clearly tattooing, scarification, body-piercing and surgery meet this criterion. This focus on the body is particularly significant, as Shilling points out, questioning why, â€Å"at a time when our health is threatened increasingly by global dangers, we are exhorted ever more to take individual responsibility for our bodies by engaging in strict self-care regimes† (Shilling 1993, 5). As he and other researchers point out, our inability to control outer chaos seems to have resulted in our focusing on our bodies as disparate parts of ourselves and of our universe: this is one small way we can assert control, or at least feel as though we are. Surgical modification can be called many names, among them: plastic surgery; reconstructive surgery; or, as Sander Gilman prefers to refer to it: aesthetic surgery. Indeed, this type of surgery includes a wide variety of procedures, from surgically correcting a birth deform such as a cleft palate, to disfigurements due to accident or injuryor from a subtle removal of â€Å"crows’ lines† or other signs of age, to more dramatic adjustments to a too-large nose or an unacceptably sharp chin. The most extreme result of this type of surgery involves gender modification. One point that should be reiterated here is that surgical body modification is unique. It is different from most other forms in that it generally implies a level of secrecy that the others do not. Both the procedure and the recuperation period that follows both take place behind closed doors, sometimes even in foreign lands. Furthermore, the reappearance of the individual after the procedure is not accompanied by any sort of fanfare; there is an implicit assumption that the individual has always appeared thus, or if the change is dramatic, that it is not to be spoken of. Sander Gilman offers the most comprehensive history of aesthetic surgery, along with a broad and varied perspective. In his books Creating Beauty to Cure the Soul: Race and Psychology in the Shaping of Aesthetic Surgery and Making the Body Beautiful: A Cultural History of Aesthetic Surgery, he addresses the complex reasons behind the growth of aesthetic surgery and explores its significance and complexity. Ianthe first volume, he clearly focuses on it primarily as a form of psychotherapy. The second work is rich in historical detail and thoroughly traces the development of aesthetic surgery from its earliest days to modern times. Gilman follows the development of aesthetic surgery over the course of the nineteenth century, and notes that during this time â€Å"the idea that one: could cure the illness of the character or of the psyche through the altering of the body is introduced within specific ideas of what is beautiful or ugly (1998, 7). He also asserts that the lessening of the stigma of mental illness is directly related to the fact that today, the view of aesthetic surgery as a type of psychotherapy is gradually becoming accepted. According to Gilman, â€Å"psychotherapy and aesthetic surgery are closely intertwined in terms of their explanatory models† (1998, 11). He explains that the lessening of the stigma of mental illness has resulted in healthier attitudes towards psychotherapeutic interventions well as a growing acceptance of aesthetic surgery, and he discusses the issue from a variety of viewpoints: the patient, the physician, society at large. Addressing the concept that â€Å"happiness† is the primary motivation that spurs individuals to pursue this avenue of change, he is careful to study the various definitions people offer for â€Å"happiness† and discusses these within the larger societal context. â€Å"Aesthetic surgeons operate on the body to heal the psyche,† asserts Gilman. â€Å"Being unhappy is identified in Western culture with being sick. In our estimation only, the physician can truly ‘cure’ our spirits and our souls’ â€Å"(1998, 25). According to Gilman, it was during the Enlightenment that the concept of happiness ceased to be one of a collective morality. During this period, he writes, â€Å"the hygiene of the body became the hygiene of the spirit and that of the state† (1999, 21). Today, he asserts, the â€Å"pursuit of happiness† is no longer a collective goal but an individual desire† (1998, 27). This equating of unhappiness with pain is a concept that began to be formulated in the second half of the nineteenth century and is closely tied to social and cultural attitudes toward the body and the blurring of the distinction between â€Å"somatic and mental pain,† as he phrases it. Indeed, it is remarkable how often aesthetic surgeons cite â€Å"happiness â€Å"as the goal of the surgery. â€Å"Happiness† for aesthetic surgeons is utilitarian notion of happiness, like that espoused by John Stuart Mill, who placed the idea of happiness within the definition of individual autonomy Happiness, the central goal of aesthetic surgery, is defined in terms of the autonomy of the individual to transform him- or herself (Gilman 1999, 18). In Making the Body Beautiful: A Cultural History of Aesthetic Surgery, he states that â€Å"body imagery follows the lines of political and cultural power,† and he offers a clear, in-depth history of aesthetic surgery in the western world, carefully noting its connection to social, political and technological changes (Gilman 1999, 105). He also carefully traces the history of aesthetic surgery, explaining its strong affiliation with syphilis. Apparently, one of the results of syphilitic infection was damage to the nose, and that attempts to surgically reconstruct the nose were therefore strongly and inextricably tied to venereal disease and the concomitant loose morality. The association made between nose surgery and syphilis was so deeply ingrained that it continued to taint aesthetic nose surgery for many years: â€Å"The rise of aesthetic surgery at the end of the sixteenth century is rooted in the appearance of epidemic syphilis. Syphilis was a highly stigmatizing disease from its initial appearance at the close of the fifteenth century† (Gilman 1999, 10). Gilman also discusses the impact of important historical events on the development of surgery in general and on reconstructive surgery in particular; he describes the effect of the American and French Revolution and the American Civil War on body image and on the role of aesthetic surgery in restructuring it. Significant changes in aesthetic surgery took place following the upheaval that resulted from these political revolutions. In a society thus destabilized after years of repression, radical changes in thinking occurred, including changing concepts of the body: â€Å"It is not that the reconstructed body was invented at the end of the nineteenth century,† explains Gilman, â€Å"but rather that questions about the ability of the individual to be transformed, which had been articulated as social or political in the context of the state, came to be defined as biological and medical†(1999, 19). Later developments, such as globalization, have had a huge impact on aesthetic surgery. For reasons of privacy, availability, and/or cost, many people will travel to foreign surgery sites. Since they often spend considerable amounts of time in these locations, they often end up bolstering the economy as tourists, hence spurring an entirely new and thriving industry of medical tourism. Gilman describes medical tourism as a thriving business due to the widespread and increasing popularity of elective aesthetic surgery. â€Å"You can become someone new and better by altering the body,† Gilman tells us as he plunges into a lengthy examination of the role body modification has played in society. He begins by discussing the assimilation of foreigners into society, and the steps to which people will go to achieve the goal of â€Å"fitting in† or â€Å"passing† for something they are not: â€Å"the transformation of the individual, such as the immigrant, into a healthy member of the new polis† (Gilman 1999, 20). According to Gilman, happiness may be sought through aesthetic surgery because it offers individuals the opportunity to redefine themselves. Categories of inclusion and exclusion, whether tacit or broadly delineated, impact strongly on societal hierarchies. â€Å"Happiness in this instance exists in crossing the boundary separating one category from another,† explains Gilman. â€Å"It is rooted in the necessary creation of arbitrary demarcations between the perceived reality of the self and the ideal category into which one desires to move† (Gilman 1999, 22). The categories are defined so that there is no question about which category is most beneficial. Of course, the advantages of each constructed category are subject to change as society changes. The ideal is to be to move from the negative category to the positive category; the â€Å"catch† is that categories are subject to frequent change. Gilman and other researchers refer to â€Å"the discourse of ‘passing.’ â€Å"This discourse came into existence during the racially charged nineteenth century, and is, according to Gilman, â€Å"the ver

Pips Shadow Parents in Charles Dickens Great Expectations Essay

Pip's Shadow Parents in Charles Dickens' Great Expectations Both Miss Havisham and Magwitch are powerful influences on Pip's life, in a psychological, and to some extent physical, manner. In this essay, I hope to explore these influences, and investigate what affects they have on Pip's development. Naturally, the fact that Pip is an orphan, and never knew his parents, means there is space for characters to come in and exact a definite, parental control. The novel echoes many of Dickens's own life experiences- he had a strained relationship with his parents when they were condemned to imprisonment for debt difficulties. The sense of abandonment and sudden awareness of the fragility of class distinctions he experienced during this time was to haunt him for the rest of his life, and this is mirrored by the great contrast in, "shadow parents." On the one hand we have the wealthy Miss Havisham, inhabiting a decaying yet grand mansion, and on the other we have a hardened criminal emerging from the gloomy marshes. The opening chapter gives the reader a powerful idea of how Pip is suffering from having no identity, as Pip seeks to find his role in an inhospitable world. The windswept, barren place of mud, mist and water provides the perfect setting for a frantic convict to emerge. In his search for his origins, Pip seems to have created "a second father" in Magwitch, who turns him upside down metaphorically as well as literally, and places him on his parents' tombstone. In the short term, the introduction of Magwitch gives Pip a sudden responsibility, which makes him confront the violent methods of discipline employed by Mrs Joe as h... ... criminal, violent attributes, and return to menace Pip, and Miss Havisham to be his saviour and helper in his quest to become a gentleman. In a journal format, Dickens needed to employ many plot twists, as Magwitch turns out to be the mysterious benefactor, and Miss Havisham the manipulative monster who psychologically hurts and confuses Pip in so many ways. It is difficult to say who is the "best" shadow parent, because although Magwitch supplies the money which sees Pip through becoming a gentleman, in his own mind Pip is motivated by Miss Havisham and has visions of achieving great wealth and wedding Estella. If we look at the novel in hindsight, we can conclude that Magwitch is the superior "shadow parent" as he is clearly dedicated to helping Pip, where as Miss Havisham does nothing but psychologically twist him.