Saturday, August 31, 2019
Changes to Stoke Bruerne between (1800 – 2001)
Stoke Bruerne was a small farming and market village. The main function of Stoke Bruerne changed because of transport. The Grand Junction canal got its act of parliament in 1793. (Canal side walk). The canal had a major impact on the village of Stoke Bruerne. The village of Stoke Bruerne developed around the canal. (Maps). Before the canal arrived, Stoke Bruerne was a very small-populated area with about 150 people living in, what was a very agricultural village. The first major canal was built between London and Birmingham, this runs through the village of Stoke Bruerne. (Visit). There was a major objection to this plan by the Rector, the two plans that were drawn up went straight through the middle of his garden cutting it in two. He lost his battle and the chosen plan went ahead. When the canal was built the canal company built the Rector a bridge so that he could walk from one side of his garden to the other. (Visit). When the canal was built many jobs were created and with it people to fill the vacancies. (Whittaker Minutes). Houses were built for the people who worked on the canal, this was the start of Stoke Bruerne becoming a busy area during the canal era. (Visit). The boats struggled to get across the canal and so pathways were made either side of the canal so horses could walk along pulling the boats behind them. The horses could not pull the barges through Blisworth Hill so ââ¬Ëlegers' would walk the barges through the tunnel, where the horses would again take over. The horses stayed in the tunnel stables when there were no barges to pull. While the legers were waiting to pull barges through, they would wait in the legers hut. This was a small shed in which they could keep warm and dry. (Visit). The barges also struggled up the hill of the canal, and so locks were put in. Evidence that the canal became more congested is that double locks were built in 1835, although only locks 14 and 15 affected Stoke Bruerne. (Canal Company Minutes) Many businesses were set up on the side of the canal this was because businessmen new it was a quick, easy and cheap way of transporting goods to many places like London using barges on the canal (Booklet). Many wharfs were set up so that goods could be loaded and unloaded. The goods being loaded on the barges would have been brought from local factories and people who made things that could be sold. The goods being unloaded from barges would have been taken to the local market and sold. (Visit/Booklet). A steam-powered Corn Mill was set up and this attracted many people to move to Stoke Bruerne because off the work on offer. Four Mill Cottages were built beside the mill so the workers could live there. So the canals arrival really gave the world of Stoke Bruerne a whole new way of life. In 1851 the double lock shut (Canal Company Minutes). Railways took over from canals as the main form of transport about 1851. The reasons why people started to use the railway more is because it was: * More direct and Quicker ââ¬â the trains could travel a lot faster than the boats, which meant they could get to their destinations more efficiently. * Easy to extend ââ¬â the trains were more direct, and a lot less hassle for companies that extend the track because unlike the canal no digging was required only a flat piece of land (Visit). * Transporting goods ââ¬â Transporting heavy goods and pottery was easier and safer because it was less likely to break because the ride was smoother than the barges had been. The best thing with trains and transporting goods was food. Food could finally be transported over large areas. It could get there quickly and so it would stay fresh for markets and stalls the following day. Between 1874 ââ¬â 1879 the Navigation Inn shut closed (Whittaker).The Corn Mill shut down at the start of the 1900's (Guide book). Work hours were cut in 1938 and so people had more leisure time. The railway had an impact on Stoke Bruerne because people could get there and go to various other places (Visit). One of the first motorways built was the M1.It is still very much used today by workers who commute to and from work. The roads in 1960 were not the same in quality as they are today. People did however prefer these to railways because their car was more convenient, they could leave there home when they wanted. Also people had more leisure time because they had paid holidays and worked fewer hours. So people looked for leisure pastimes. Tourism in Stoke Bruerne really started to flourish. Many of the old buildings were changed into businesses that would make money from tourism. The old corn Mill became a museum in 1963 and for many years previously a disused warehouse. The mill had its own docks, which has been made into the picnic area and car park (Canal side walk, booklet). The Boat Inn, a pub to go and have a drink in while visiting was a pub, a butcher, then a stable. It changed as the needs changed (Visit). The wharf office shop sells souvenirs, but was previously used to sign for documents, send letters. Etc. (visit) The mill cottages that were built for the workers to live in are now split in to two groups of two. Two are privately owned and two are rented out to tourists. The chapel tearooms used to be used as a dock to the toe path to bring coal to the steam engine to run the mill. The land cutaway known as the Blisworth tramway where the horses worked is being made in to a nature reserve by the British Waterway. As you can see Stoke Bruerne has changed dramatically in the last 250 years. Stoke Bruerne Sources. The best source I used was the visit because it gave a full picture of what Stoke Bruerne was like and the way it changed, for example: * The roofs on the buildings all had different styles e.g. slate, tile, etc. The visit also gave us a visual view, I picked up lots of little facts from our tour guide and the museum. Also the Whittaker Minutes and the Canal Side Walk were very useful for the certain information that I got for it although it was only 1 or 2 facts from each. The postcard disagreed with my visit because we saw quite dull boats, but the postcard showed bright boats, which we were also told, would not have been the case. Postcards are painted in the light of being sold and so make the village look a great place, this makes it bias. A historian could use the Whittaker Minutes and the Canal Side Walk to gain key information of what stoke Bruerne was like. These are documents from the time of the canal and so are likely to state the facts. This would be a reliable source as well as the land and its shape at Stoke Bruerne, for example you can see where the horses walked and so proves this did happen.
Friday, August 30, 2019
Biographical sketch of William.C. Morse
William C. Morse has worked all his life in promoting the teachings and ideals of Fritz Redl. Morseââ¬â¢s mentor was his Fritz Redl whose work has been all about children and their mental problems. Morse has done his best to make sure that people remember Redlââ¬â¢s work and its relevance in modern life. Areas of research that both Redl and Morse concentrated on were difficulties in the upbringing of distraught youth and in special education. According to McIntyre (2004), ââ¬Å"Dr. Morse met Redl while serving as director of ââ¬Å"The Fresh Air Campâ⬠where Redl's youth from the ââ¬Å"Pioneer Houseâ⬠residential facility went to summer camp.Dr. Morse later extended Redl's treatment strategies into the schools, and co-authored a classic textbook titled Conflict in the Classroom with his student Nicholas Long. â⬠McIntyre (2004) goes on to say that between 1940 and 1960, Redl and his student Wineman believed that children were good and wanted to help them in ove rcoming their negativities that would later go on to damage the emotioneal development. Redl and Wineman came up with ââ¬Å"caring, realistic, and sophisticated interventionsâ⬠during their interaction with troubled youth.Troubled youth are those who are reject ââ¬Å"verbally and physicallyâ⬠at people who want to help them. This area became of interest to Redl and Wineman, from which they learnt about life, ââ¬Å"self understandingâ⬠and ââ¬Å"self-regulation of one's behavior. â⬠They together write books such as ââ¬Å"Children Who Hateâ⬠in 1951 and ââ¬Å"Controls from Withinâ⬠in1952. Both of these books were then combined into a single book titled ââ¬Å"The Aggressive Childâ⬠. Both believed that children should have ââ¬Å"therapeutic environments staffed with skilled and supportive personnel.â⬠Now things have adopted to their views although in those times it was debatable. Supporting Redlââ¬â¢s work Morse emphasizes the need f or having a healthy environment for the development of disturbed children. William Morseââ¬â¢s opinion about Redlââ¬â¢s writing has always been praiseworthy this can be seen from the following quote (Morse, 1991), ââ¬Å"The fact is, many young professionals are struggling with difficult children without the advantage of Redlââ¬â¢s insights. Those who were long ago introduced to his wisdom will find rereading rewarding for there are always ideas that provide cues for tomorrowââ¬â¢s engagements.So let us again become aware of how much we can benefit from his teaching. â⬠Morse stresses on the fact that it is high time that teachers, students and all people who interact with disturbed children to actively follow the guidelines laid by Redl, because Redl in all his books has displayed a sense of vision and the power of description to one and all. According to Morse, Redl was a democrat, was fairly humorous, loved parties, loved learning and was a conscientious worker. Added to it, Redl was very creative in speech and in action, he thought logically which later, became amodel for anyone who dealt with children and their mental health. Commenting on the one of the therapies for troubled children that included summer camps (Smith, 2007) made Morse and Redl proposed that the camping environment was not ââ¬Å"naturalâ⬠according to many children. There were many adults that would not like the idea of spending time in a camp themselves but ââ¬Å"rashly suggest camp as the automatic remedy for the physical and mental health problems of children. The woods are categorically supposed to be wholesome and full of the enzymes of adjustmentâ⬠(Morse, 1947).According to Morse (1960), every teacher is concerned with learning in the classroom. The traditional three aspects teacher, student and the syllabus are now expanding horizons. The previously simple classroom process has been changed to a complicated process with more depth. The teachers now ar e for more capable of understanding individual students, although the task of teaching has not become simple but even more intense. This has left teachers stressful in handling situations in and out of class. Students also are changing they have become rebellious and resistant to teaching practices.This adds up to the stress of the teacher. There have been many people who have found the teachings of Redl very useful towards child psychology. Redl had done his best in putting forward ideas and views of children in classroom behavior and behavior of children in general. We need to learn from Redl and Morseââ¬â¢s teaching, this will help us in understanding and managing children much more appropriately. In Morse. W. C (2001), Morse felt that that was not the best time for growing up children. There was gradual decrease in resources and increase of disturbed children.Redl had made a presidential address in 1962 at the American Orthopsychiatric Association was titled ââ¬Å"Crisis in the Childrenââ¬â¢s fieldâ⬠. The presentation given then holds completely true with the kind of situation that has arisen, just like Redl had envisioned. The problems have always been there, but it was hidden but now the issue has increased in proportions. It is always easy to make healthy children all they need is some care and attention. Once they are influenced by the negative forces then there might be no turning back.If the individual is identified at the right stage then it is good, but the longer it takes to help an individual the more impossible the task at hand becomes. Teachers, institutions and organizations should all take care to follow and adapt approaches to child development similar to what Fritz Redl and William C. Morse have written and discussed. Their work has foreseen events and actions giving the solutions along with it. We need to research analyze and work to enhance their measures, so that all their research is not in vain.Their work is very beneficial to todayââ¬â¢s scenario and it is time we work up to accept the challenge that is ahead of us of making capable and positive children. By following in the footsteps of William C. Morse we can look forward to generations of healthy children both mentally and physically, thereby, keeping our world in better hands for generations to come by better methodologies, in the field of special education, classrooms and at campsites. References Morse, W. C. (1991). The Clinical Innovations of Fritz Redl: Crisis Intervention in Residential Treatment New York: The Haworth Press, pp.3-4. http://www. cyc-net. org/quote/quote-171. html Smith, M. B. (2007), ââ¬ËThe Ego Idea of the Good Camper' and the Nature of Summer Camp,. Environmental History 11. 1 (2006): 67 pars. 1 Dec. 2007 . Morse, W. C (1947), ââ¬Å"From the University of Michigan Fresh Air Camp: Some Problems of Therapeutic Camping,â⬠The Nervous Child (April 1947): 211ââ¬â12 Morse, W. C (1960), Diagnosing and Guiding Relat ionships between Group and Individual Class Members. CHAPTER XI The Dynamics of Instructional Groups. Book by Gale E. Jensen, Jack R.Gibb, Max R. Goodson, Willard C. Olson, Nelson B. Henry; University of Chicago Press. Grotjahn, M. (1944). Group Emotion and Leadership: Fritz Redl. Psychiatry, V, 1942, pp. 573ââ¬â596. Psychoanal Q. , 13:52. McIntyre. T (2004), at www. behavioradvisor. com http://maxweber. hunter. cuny. edu/pub/eres/EDSPC715_MCINTYRE/PsychoEdBio. html Morse. W. C (2001). Crisis Intervention in Residential Treatment: The Clinical Innovations of Fritz Redl (Hardcover). http://books. google. com/books? id=ot7hEpswsqUC&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=william+c+morse+and+children&source=web&ots=nyFtVxyC-F&sig=NeQ3N203tTl4ZFFDGD1vnJxlU8E
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Biological Anthropology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Biological Anthropology - Assignment Example H. Sapiens was able to outcompete and survive than the Neanderthals because the Neanderthals were not wise enough to adapt to cultural and physiological advancements. Although the Neanderthalsââ¬â¢ brains can be compared to that of H. Sapiens and of a modern man but their brains were solely focused on the needs of their massive bodies, leaving them unable to think logically on how they could innovate and survive as species. The case of the Neanderthal is more physiological than cultural: because they used their brains to identify the needs of their bodies, intercommunication was never part of their exercise and could have caused their extinction. During the Ice Age, H. Sapiens were more clever enough to speak complicated languages and build operations far from their locations but the Neanderthals were limited in these aspects. 2. According to the textbook, the biological definition of race is a population with individuals that have defining and measurable biological descriptions with an Fst of at least 0.25 virtual to other populations of the species. Among Humans, however, the Fst is only 0.17. This goes to say that Homo Sapiens do not have biological races. Furthermore, there is also no way to look at the genetic cards and identify race. Race, in my opinion, is just a matter of personal view. If you can certainly believe that you can categorize humans into groups based on their colors ââ¬â whether it is a shade of brown or black or white ââ¬â then that is a matter of personal standpoint. Nevertheless, categorization of humans based on color does not guarantee accuracy and uniformity among all people: how would you be able to distinguish an African person to an Australian aborigine? There is not enough variation in human population that could be used as basis for classifying humans into races or subspecies, much less, if
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Community Assessment- Forest Hills Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Community Assessment- Forest Hills - Assignment Example This has left the small entities with no option but to operate the hard away. For instance, the small businesses are forced to offer their services at lower prices compared to Forest Hills. Most sociologists who have studied health beliefs accept that public thoughts on illness and health vary depending on social circumstance and immediate material in which individuals are captured. These situations can limit the probabilities of actions to change lifestyle that is unhealthy. Moreover, strategies of health promotion have in a long time assumed persuading people to live a healthy life was aimed at transforming the attitudes of individuals. Nevertheless, opposing living standards to fatalism is misunderstanding the situation on the ground for most individuals. Reaches carried have it that: very few informants who believed in randomness made them ignore or deny the possibility of life change benefits. Relatively, a pervasive recognition in death and illness field exists with a logical approach of taking suitable care. (Davison et
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Multinational Enterprises and Global Capitalism Research Paper
Multinational Enterprises and Global Capitalism - Research Paper Example There are several reasons why a multinational may choose to undertake foreign direct investment. One of these reasons is that the company has been very successful in selling its product with success and efficiency, and has been successful on satisfying the demand for this product to a full extent in the area of its origin. After seeing its success in that area, perhaps the exhaustion of demand within the area, the company may be tempted to open up a second location in a different country. The main reason, in this case, would be that the company would be seeking to satisfy the demand of consumers elsewhere, at that point. It will see a profitable business investment to open up a new location near these new potential customers because it predicts a similar response from them as it got in the country it was originally operating in. This new group of customers would be an attractive basis for foreign direct investment for any company, and once it has evaluated the possible risks associat ed with the possible expansion, it will surely consider the expansion as feasible, profitable and the next logical step to their expansions and operations (Jones, pp. 74, 2005). A company will not expand to a county in which it does not perceive the demand for its product (Seymour, pp.104, 1987). For example, one can consider a company, which produces food products, which use ham as the main ingredient. This company may be extremely successful in a non-Muslim country like the United States. Here, consumers in all age groups, as well as several different socio-economic statuses, may love its product. This would logically mean that once the company finishes expanding within the areas of the US where it finds functioning feasible, it could expand to and invest in even the less developed countries because it knows by experience that its product is well accepted by people of lower-middle income statuses as well. This logic will not apply in those countries, however, which have a majority of Muslim population. This is because, even though the acceptance of the companyââ¬â¢s product has proven to be high amongst previous consumers, these new Muslim consumers would not warm up to them because their ingredients include pork, which they do not eat. In this regard, even when a product has been popular in several countries, the company will have to make several other inquiries before it can assume whether it is a good idea to undertake foreign direct investment in a newer area. In other words, the product needs to be tested in any region to where the multinational corporation (MNC) wishes to expand because, without that, the FDI will have very slight chances of yielding a successful result. Another reason is the political stability that is present in that country. Political stability is an important factor to consider for any MNC when it chooses to undertake foreign direct investment (Yoshitomi, & Graham, pp. 30, 1996). This is because it has a large bearing on how smo othly the company is able to operate in that area with hindrances, strikes and other interruptions, which often result in large losses, which make a large profit out of their daily operations. The political stability of the country is an important factor because it affects the consumer market of the country.
Monday, August 26, 2019
Corporate Governance and Ethical Responsibility Research Paper - 1
Corporate Governance and Ethical Responsibility - Research Paper Example Shareholders Firstly, with response to the key shareholders of the given case study, these can most easily be related in terms of patients, staff, vendors, and management. With relation to the patients and staff, these two shareholders are the most obvious ones with which the hospital president will come in contact with on a daily basis. However, beyond these shareholders, there are also those of the vendors with which the hospital necessarily does a healthy and continual level of business with. These vendors will be discussed at length further in the analysis as they exemplify a peculiar and dynamic shareholder within the level of seeking to ensure the hospital behaves in an ethically and morally expeditious manner. Finally, as with any level of position and/or responsibility ââ¬â no matter how high, the president of the hospital is ultimately responsible not only to the staff and patients of the hospital he presides over but also to the board of trustees, regional compliance ma nager, executive committees, and a litany of other shareholders that define the very upper reaches of oversight for the presidentââ¬â¢s position. ... thermore, this group is unique within the representation of the other groups that will be discussed as it is the only one that acts as that of the end consumer/customer. As such, this group is directly affected by any adjustment to the level, quality, or affordability that the health care exhibits. Secondarily, the next group of shareholders that have been mentioned are those of the staff that are employed by the hospital. These of course obviously include doctors and nurses as well as the full array of primary healthcare providers. However, this also includes the array of support staff, janitors, facility maintenance, HR departments, lab personnel, and pharmacists/technicians etc. Although it may be convenient for the reader/researcher to lump all of these individuals in with the ââ¬Å"responsibleâ⬠and/or ââ¬Å"guiltyâ⬠party with reference to the elevated level of patient deaths that have been occurring, the preceding analysis helps to point to the fact that this group itself is diverse and varied and thereby cannot be lumped together as a responsible entity for the patient losses that have been suffered. Moreover, the needs and wants of this particular group of shareholders are concentric upon retaining their position, whatever that might be, within the hospital, and ensuring that no disastrous revelations threaten the security that their livelihood provides. As such, the hospital staff have a strong vested interest in ensuring that no waves rock the boat so to speak. Although a vested interest does not necessarily correlate to an unethical action, it should nonetheless be noted by the reader that this vested interest is every bit as strong as any of those which will be or have been listed within this paper. Thirdly, the vendors themselves represent a powerful group of
Sunday, August 25, 2019
Revitalization & Tradition and Continuity & Perseverance and Essay
Revitalization & Tradition and Continuity & Perseverance and Transmutation - Essay Example Most religion see rebirth as a full membership to the religion. Rebirth can be done in so many ways; the first way is through initiation. When one undergoes some traditional methods of initiation he is considered to be mature and so moves from being a junior member of the religion to a senior member of the religion. By so doing the person is seen to have crossed the line from childhood to maturity and can do a lot of things including marriage. Some religions also baptize their members through fire and some through water and others through different methods. When this is done then the new member is now considered to be reborn and to have changed from the old self to the new self (Olupoà £na, 1991). A lot of traditions are still practiced by the modern African religions. Traditional activities such as circumcision that used to be done as an initiation process in the past are today done by the modern African religious sects as a religious activity and not as a traditional activity. Other activities such as worshiping objects have been turned into a religious practice whereas the same activities were done in the past as a cultural activity. Many activities that were done in the past as cultural activities have been replaced as religious activities. This shows that the African religion is in a way trying to preserve the traditional African culture by making them look as if the activities are religious. This is mainly done to make people to accept the culture and not consider the activities to be primitive as is always the case with most traditional African cultures (Olupoà £na, 1991). In most African traditional myths, death and suffering is as a result of sin that was caused by human disobedience. To them suffering is for all men and will only stop to the good people, the people who do good while they are still alive. When these people die they will be transformed into other people who will suffer no more. However to all those
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Why is knowledge of literary theory important for teachers in their Essay
Why is knowledge of literary theory important for teachers in their role of helping children to develop as readers - Essay Example Literacy theory provides a teacher many tools to enhance the students reading experience such as reading aloud, comprehension workshops and clubs which can substantially contribute to enhancing abilities. Literacy theory allows the teacher to experiment with greater confidence than otherwise, thereby providing a fresh impetus to knowledge. The expanded vision of the teacher develops more self-assurance and generates ability to reason for following a particular form of teaching thereby meeting the curiosity of the modern student. This will greatly enhance the value derived from reading by the students. Literacy theory also enables a teacher to take on the role of a mentor, supporter of the student, guardian, encourager and facilitator. This multi faceted role may seem dichotomous, however is highly essential. For the teacher has to segregate students based on their abilities thereby to some she is the mentor, while to others a guardian or a facilitator based on the reading needs of the student. This ability comes about through understanding of social constructivism which provides an understanding of a learner as an individual with a distinct identity and needs.
Friday, August 23, 2019
Nanotechnology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Nanotechnology - Essay Example Synthesis techniques used for the production of carbon nanotubes have also been taken into consideration, which include arc discharge, laser ablation, electrolysis, chemical vapor deposition, ball milling, diffusion flame synthesis, polymer heat treatment, and low-temperature solid pyrolysis (Cheap Tubes Inc.). Techniques for the purification of these tubes, like oxidation, acid treatment, centrifugal concentration, annealing, sonication to break down carbon nanotubes, filtering and functionalization techniques, have also been discussed. The types of energy storage for which carbon nanotubes are used, their modeling aspects and storage features, have been taken into account. These types mainly include electrochemical hydrogen storage, electrochemical lithium storage, gas-phase intercalation, and charge storage in supercapacitors (Loyseau 530). Carbon nanotubesââ¬â¢ exclusive characteristics and matchless nanostructure makes them fundamental components of forthcoming energy storage devices (Luniya). Hence, special focus has been put on the use of carbon nanotubes in energy device industry to discover the limitations and opportunities that exist in this field. The report is accompanied by an extensive literature review to support the significance of the topic. Luniya, Robin. Technology Insight Report: Carbon Nanotubes in Energy Storage Devices. Andrà ¡s Paszternà ¡k, 04 Aug 2010. Web. 14 Sep 2010.
LIFE FROM THE INSIDE OUT Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
LIFE FROM THE INSIDE OUT - Article Example Stevens is also director of the Golden Apple Art Residency located in Harrington, Maine. The following paper seeks to describe one painting from these paintings, in addition to what the painting means. The painting chosen for this paper is Slipping into the Velvet Past. This painting is shown in the picture below. Slipping into the Velvet Past is a painting created in 2011 whose medium is an oil painting on canvas. The painting is a large-scale painting from the series of paintings Journey: Life from the Inside out, measuring a height of 48 inches and a width of 60 inches width. The painting is a visual metaphor that describes various psychological stages that happen in a journey that persons embark on. It is a unique narrative that is also figurative. A woman referred to as Annara, a female figure who depicts the hope experienced during a journey, is telling the story narrated in this painting. She is seen resting with a white mask on her face and wearing a white dress. She rests curled up in the middle of dried velvety fallen leaves in a jungle. She depicts a sweet, innocent girl. Annara is seen in this painting with her eyes closed, as she peacefully awaits the unfolding of her life (www.ferris.edu, 2012). The young girl describes youth and the anticipation of life as it unfolds, waiting to experience the endless possibilities that await her. As a young person, Annara has little personal history of her life or any past failures that could stand in her way or discourage her. She is also a young person with no sense of danger to warn her of her wonderful future. All she has is her imaginations to impel and propel her to her future ahead. She is, therefore, in a pure and clean state and surrounded by hope and promise. This is demonstrated by her surrounding, an environment of natural coexistence that is not polluted by modern technology. As she lies down curled up like a baby, Annara describes fragility and delicateness in
Thursday, August 22, 2019
The work-flow Essay Example for Free
The work-flow Essay In order to reduce the overtime, skipped breaks, late arrivals, and free time indulged in by my employees; I am going to implement several strategies. First, I will construct a work-flow chart to see exactly where the job responsibilities are being delegated. Then, I will redistribute the workload between Jack Snyder, and Ruth Disselkoen, if necessary. Next, since Jack has proven capable of handling his jobs professionally and expediently, I would also like to assign him to train Ruth in his methodology. There are several reasons these solutions will be effective. The work-flow chart will allow me to assess the work quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of Jack and Ruth. The chart will also make them aware of and accountable for their output. The redistribution of the workload will eliminate the skipped breaks and overtime, as well as, giving less time for late arrivals and extended breaks. This will result in a more efficient office while reducing cost to the company. I will continually monitor the situation to ensure the accountability of Jack and Ruth for their output. Having Jack train Ruth will benefit both of them; in that Ruth will learn better time management strategies and Jack will have something to do with his free time. Jack will also develop a stronger sense of worth. In fact, if he proves effective at this task, he could be considered for a promotion if Jessica Hilo does not return to work. Consequently, the resulting pride in a job well done will increase productivity, quality, and efficiency, also insuring the companyââ¬â¢s dollars are being economically spent.
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Clinical Patient Management System Information Technology Essay
Clinical Patient Management System Information Technology Essay Clinical Patient management is introduced to optimize clinics operation. Because of huge changes in management nowadays, management for clinic is important due to the widely spread of technology. This system is proposed for those clinics which are still using paper-based to record down patient record, disease history and etc. This system is to manage the clinics operation efficiently. The area consists of the user in clinic which is doctor and clinic assistant. Basically there are no such systems in the clinic. The traditional paper-based management method has caused a lot of problems to the user. This system will help out the user in the clinic in managing the work. 1.2 Problem Statement and Motivation Clinical Patient management system is enhanced from the traditional paper-based management system that has been using in the clinic. Based on the previous system, the patient who comes to the clinic for the first time is registered via the system. The assistant assist the patient by write down the personal detail in a form. The patient gets the treatment and information about the treatment is record in a file. The system manages the activities in the clinic but the previous system has cause problems to the user. Problems of using paper to record down the records of patient: Only one copy, emergent consult problem Waste time to search the record Easy to lost record or duplicate record Waste money on purchase paper Waste space for store record These problem are so important is because they will affect the operation of clinic cause decrease of patients visits, inefficiency and increase of cost. Clinical Patient management is developed to overcome the problems. The system has few modules such as patient registration, inventory module, medical certificate, disease history, patient record search, appointment, billing and reporting. Objectives The project aims to overcome the problem exists in the previous system. In order to overcome the problem exists in the previous system, we must determine the problems existing in previous system, find out the reason cause the problems in previous existing system and create a solution to solve the problems. Investigate on system/user request and define new requirements. To achieve this objective need to determine who the user is, understanding the user request, verify the request can be achieve or not. Make user easy to maintain record Determine what record is requiring in the system. All the records will be kept in database. Ensure the system useful to user as it help in daily activity in the clinic. Determine how will the system work/operate and understand daily activity in the clinic. Project scope There are nine modules in the system: Patient Registration Patient must register first. Patients IC number, name, address, age, gender, phone number, specified relative IC. Disease History This module manages data about patients treatment history and register for various type of disease. It allows doctor to add, edit and update the disease history. Medical certificate This module allow doctor to create the medical certificate to patients. Allow user to add, edit, delete. Inventory module This module manages all the medicine stock in the clinic. It allow user to add, edit and delete the medicine information. It will show current quantity of medicine in the clinic. It includes the record search. Backup Backup the system setting and database. 1.5 Project significance Clinical Patient Management System is used by the doctor and clinic assistant. The user will feel the system is useful because it has benefits to manage the clinics operation efficiently. The web-based Clinical Patient Management gives profit to user as the user can retrieve information regard to themselves through the internet. They can access the clinic system throughout the internet and those who have difficulties to go the clinic will find it practical. The system makes record keeping more efficient and secure from an unauthorized people. Only authorized user has the right to retrieve their own information. This will secure the patients information. This system has also overcome the problems in paper-based management system. Besides that, the system is easy for the management to maintain record about the patient and inventory. The time for retrieving the information needed will be less compare to the manual. This will help the clinic assistant in doing the job. The system also helps in minimize the loss of data. The clinic assistant can view and generate report for the specified data. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Web-based clinical patient management Medical services computerize is an irresistible general trend, this web site will provide medical information for the client, the user can find out a message they care. CMS provide on line appointment feature, which allow patients to make the appointment through Internet. Furthermore, doctors can manage the clinic daily work by using CMS. (Andrew Ho 2002, Louis Leong 2002, Onofre da Costa 2002). In journal article Clinics Management System (CMS) based on Patient Centered Process Ontology (Vissers J. M. H. 1998), conducted study and found one of the important trends in business managements is the focus on processes to create value added services for their ultimate customers. This is to get rid of unwanted, time consuming, unnecessarily repeated business activities of the processes and to monitor how value for customer is as efficiently as possible In the journal entitled, Best practice Clinic: The making of a good quality management system written by Dwyer, G. (2004), he said that to be manageable and effective, a quality management system should be easy to manage and involve minimal or no allocation of additional staff, and work in tandem with existing initiatives, systems and structures. In the case study of Lance Technologies LLC The web-based system kept track of all patient schedule information. Thus, patients could visit the web service at any later date and cancel or re-schedule their appointment based on Agho Clinic policies. A web-based administrative system provided password-protected access to patient scheduling data to Agho Clinic staff, allowing them to see schedules and patient contact information. The staff also used the same system to manage in-office scheduling as well. All provider schedules and office hours were also database-driven. (Lance Technologies LLC (2006). In Web Based Patient Scheduling with IVR Backend. Retrieved March 13, 2012) From article state in above they appears in nowadays all clinics are necessary to automate its daily functions. Furthermore, regardless of the type clinic, owning and operating it can be a lot of work. Web-based system is a technology important to clinic domain because it can help them face the problem of increasing diversity and differentiation by improve their competitiveness, efficiency and provide better convenient to patient. 2.2 Fact Finding In a personal interview with a clinic assistant, the clinic assistant had explained in detail about the clinic daily operation. Through the information provided by the clinic assistant, the following function has been listed out. 2.2.1 Functions of the System Patient Function Allow patients to view the doctors schedule. In order to supply a direct appointment way on web. The system require to show out the doctors schedule of working day. Making appointment is several simple steps. The patients can log in by using the User ID and Password. For the first time to log in, the patients can register on the web site and set their own ID and Password. Doctors can check and review the Medical history of a patient through patient ID. The Patients can check their own Medical history through the web browser, which include the patient info, such as Name, address, age, sex, record of diagnose, any allergic reaction. Doctor Clinic Assistant Function The system must provides the calendar for the doctors, to check the calendar and appointment on the day. The calendar allows the staff to apply different kind of leave. For instance, annual leave or non-paid leave, etc. By using the system, the medicine records can be checked. They can view the information of the medicines such as Medicines name, Expired date, Prices, Supplier info (Address and contact number) and Description. During the consultation, the doctor can store the patient treatment into the database, such as patient diagnosis, medicines, drug allergy, chronic disease. After the checking, the doctor will add the information and status in the system. Finally the system will calculate the total amount and print out the receipts. Through the functions state in above, a list of system module had been arranged out and already writes down in project scope, you can refer it on page 3. 2.3 Critical Remarks of previous works BioAXS Adastra Proposed system Patient registration Finger print verification Make appointment Scheduling Disease history Medical certificate management Billing Inventory management Reporting Backup Web-Based Figure 2.3 Existing system compare with proposed system From figure 2.3 above we can found that both of the existing system BioAXS and Adastra they dont have include most of the feature in proposed system. Many patients need to get medical certificate to rest at home, so the proposed system include the feature of medical certificate management to manage the record. Most of the clinic requires billing management feature in the management system to help them manage and record daily expense and revenue. The inventory in proposed system can help clinic manage the medicine stock, so the clinic assistant can always monitor on the quantity of various medicine. The backup feature in proposed system allow user to backup their data, this can prevent loss of data. If the system accidently down, user can through restore backup file to recover the data. CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 3.1 Prototyping The methodology I choose for develop the system is prototyping. Prototyping include 5 phases planning, analysis, design, implementation, delivery. A prototyping-based methodology performs the analysis, design and implementation phases concurrently, and all three phrases are performed repeatedly to build the first version, with user feedback, repeat these three phases a cycle until system complete. In figure 3.1 it shown how prototyping works. C:UsersKelvin GiottoDesktopprototype.png Figure 3.1 Prototyping 3.1.1 Planning The project planning starts in this phase. First, the information is gathered from the clinic staff. Then, the scope, objectives and the goals for the proposed system are set up. The tentative schedule consists of project work plan and Gantt chart is developed. 3.1.2 Analysis In this phase, we have to understand previous system problems and find out analysis existing system find out their pros and cons. We also have to realise clinic daily operation process to investigate and define new requirements. The problem statement of the system can be defined throughout the observation. It will become the objective for the system. The scope can be extracted from the objective to develop the system. 3.1.3 Design Database design, where a design for the database is form. It can support the Clinical Patient Management System operational and objective, as Microsoft Access is choose for the database management. The minimum requirement for the installation need to be confirmed first in order for the DBMS in the server to run smoothly. Moreover, the Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD), and data dictionary is create where it will explain the main basic workflow of the system. All relationship between the tables, define the storage structures and the access paths will be known. For interface design, we will regard to user request and make it more user-friendly. 3.1.4 Implementation In implementation phase is start working on programming, after complete the first version of prototype, we will delivery it to user to testing the prototype, test for performance, integrity, and concurrent access and security constraints. Other than that, testing and evaluate the system parallel with application programming is done. This phase involve all the users in Clinic Management system that will use this system. In this stage it can be define that the users meets their requirement. Once the data insert into the database, the processes such as tests and fine-tunes will be carried out for purposes of performance, integrity, and concurrent access and security constraints. The testing and evaluation phase occurs in parallel with applications programming. If the database implementation fails to meet the users requirement, several options will be consider in order enhancing the system. Implementation Issues and Challenges Many issues and challenges will be face In develop clinical patient management system. Develop this system can be say like start from zero, require to learning new programming language, new development software and make it operate on server. Unfamiliar Programming language C# The system is develop through Microsoft Sharepoint 2013, and it require using C# programming language to develop. Unfamiliar system area The web-based Clinical Patient Management system is a medical area system, this will cause negligence on the development of software features. Unfamiliar development tools Microsoft Sharepoint 2013 is a new development tools, many useful feature for developer, so require to take some time to learning how to use it. Blur on User Interface design Due to the user of the system are doctor and clinic assistant, difficult to design a user-friendly that is suitable for them. Timeline 3.3.1 Current Semester Figure 3.3.1 Current Semester In figure 3.3.1, meeting to discuss the process of the final year project is a recurring task, the task is execute on everyweek Wednesday. Took totally 12 days on choose project title. Totally 17 days use for create preliminary report, start from 16 Feb 2012 to 9 March 2012. For develop the comb-bound project proposal, this task totally used 21 days start from 12 Mar 2012 to 9 Apr 2012. 3.3.2 Next Semester Figure 3.3.2 Next Semester In figure 3.3.2, planning phase start from 28 May 2012, take 6 days to complete it. Due to using the prototyping methodology to develop the system, so Analysis, Design and Implementation should be recurring task and start from 13 Apr 2012 to 17 Aug 2012. The system should be delivery on 20 Aug 2012. Requirement Specification User Requirement Functional Patient Registration Disease History Medical certificate Inventory Inventory Backup Non-Functional User authentication Fast response time Maintainability Integrity 3.4.2 System Performance Definition Software Requirement Development tool Microsoft SharePoint Designer 2013 Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 Operating System Windows Server 2012 Database system Microsoft SQL Hardware Requirement Minimum Hardware Requirements Processor 64-bit, quad-core processor, 3 GHz RAM 8 GB for single server and multiple server farm installation for production use. Hard disk 80 GB Programming language C# C#, as part of the .NET framework, is compiled to Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL), which is a language similar to Javas bytecode. MSIL allows C# to be platform independent and runs using just in time compiling. Therefore programs running under .NET gain speed with repeated use. Furthermore, because the other languages that make up the .NET platform (including VB and Cobol) compile to MSIL, it is possible for classes to be inherited across languages. The MSIL, like bytecode, is what allows C# to be platform independent. Microsoft SharePoint 2013 In-alignment with SharePoints approach of doing more with no additional resources, investments like the integration with Visual Studio 2012 will enable our customers to rely on existing pools of programming expertise to enrich the SharePoint platform and increase the quality and ROI on their investments. Can be used to build any kind of web solution, including Internet publishing sites share contents, applications, and data to improve collaboration and provide a unique user experience CHAPTER 4 CONCLUSION Briefly this chapter describes on literature review and project methodology. Information for literature review is gathered from journals in library, online journal, magazines and article. All the information is useful to support the statement from the approaches that has been made. In project methodology, it described about methodology that will be develop for the system. It consists of 5 phases which has been explained in this section. Furthermore, in project requirements, it tell about the software and hardware that been choose to develop the project. Gantt chart attached is to help to manage project schedule so that this project will be finished on time. Managing time is the way to assuring the project can be finish according to the plan.
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Fact Finding Techniques In System Investigation
Fact Finding Techniques In System Investigation Fact-finding is an important activity in system investigation. In this stage, the functioning of the system is to be understood by the system analyst to design the proposed system. Various methods are used for this and these are known as fact-finding techniques. The analyst needs to fully understand the current system. The analyst needs data about the requirements and demands of the project undertaken and the techniques employed to gather this data are known as fact-finding techniques. Various kinds of techniques are used and the most popular among them are interviews, questionnaires, record reviews, case tools and also the personal observations made by the analyst himself. Each of these techniques is further dealt in next pages. Two people can go into the same area to gather facts and experience entirely different results. One spends weeks and gets incomplete and misleading data. The other is finished in a few hours and has complete and solid facts. This session outlines some of the things a person can do to achieve the latter. Requirements analysis encompasses all of the tasks that go into the investigation, scoping and definition of a new or altered system. The first activity in analysis phase is to do the preliminary investigation. During the preliminary investigation data collecting is a very important and for this we can use the fact finding techniques. The following fact finding techniques can be used for collecting the data: Interviews Analysts can use interviews to collect information about the current system form the potential users. Here the analysts discover the areas of misunderstanding, unrealistic exception and descriptions of activities and problems along with resistance to the new proposed system. Interviews are time consuming. Questionnaires Here the analysts can collect data from large groups. Questionnaires could be Open-ended or Close questionnaires. Open-ended questionnaires are used to learn feelings, opinions, general experiences on process detail or problem. In it, questions are answered in their own words. Where as in closed questionnaires a set of prescribed answers are used and specific response have to be selected. This is a costly affair as the questions should be printed out. *Getting Cooperation in Fact Finding: The cooperation of operating people is crucial to fact gathering. However, if the operating people believe that the purpose of the fact gathering is to make changes in the work with the object of reducing staff, it is naÃÆ'à ¯ve to expect them to help. The key to obtaining cooperation is two-way loyalty and trust. We get this by commitment to developing improvements that simultaneously serve the interests of employees while they serve the interests of owners, managers and customers. Process improvement projects should be undertaken with the object of making the company as good as it can be, not reducing staff. Of course process improvements will change the work, often eliminating tasks. This is obvious. Not quite so obvious is the fact that eliminating tasks does not have to mean reducing staff. It can mean having resources available at no additional cost to do any number of things needed by the organization, not the least of which could be further improvement work. And, no one is in a better position to improve the work than the people who know it firsthand. When organizations are truly committed to their people and their people know this, their people can relax and enthusiastically commit themselves to continuous improvement. This article is written for companies that want to capture the enormous potential of enthusiastic employees embracing new technology. They cannot accomplish this with lip service. The employees of an organization are its most valuable resource. When executives say this sort of thing publicly but then treat their people as expenses to be gotten rid of at the first opportunity, that is lip service. Resources should be maintained and utilized, not dumped. When they are dumped, trust dissolves. Meanwhile the people and their society have changed significantly in the last few decades. The popularization of computers stands high among the factors that have contributed to recent social change. Young people are being exposed to computers early in their education. A sizeable portion of the work force is comfortable working with computers. This was certainly not so a generation ago. Another social change that is very important to process improvement is the increasing acceptance of involving operating level employees in the improvement process. It has become rather commonplace to form teams of operating people. Along with the increasing acceptance of employee involvement has come a dramatic change in the role of the internal consultant who is learning new skills for working with teams. This article addresses the role of the facilitator who gathers facts about work processes to use with an improvement team. The facilitator follows a work process as it passes through departmental boundaries and prepares an as-is Chart. Then an improvement team made up of people from the departments involved in the process studies the as-is Chart and develops a To-be Chart. Facilitators learn how to study work processes. Facilitators are a great help as they gather and organizing the facts of work processes and guide the study of those facts by improvement teams. *What Facts to Gather? Knowing what facts you want to gather is crucial to effective fact gathering. When a people do not know what they are looking for but attempt to learn everything they can, in effect to gather all of the facts, they embark on endless and often fruitless effort. Knowing what facts not to gather is just as important as knowing the facts that are needed. There is a pattern to fact gathering that is particularly helpful during process improvement. It makes use of the standard journalism questions: what, where, when, why, who and how. This pattern focuses on the information that is relevant for process improvement and avoids that which is not. How it accomplishes this is not completely obvious. It goes like this. *Distinguishing Between Facts and Skill: No matter how carefully facts are gathered, they will never match the understandings of people who have experienced the work first hand for years. Those people possess the organizational memory. They have accumulated detailed knowledge that is available to them alone. They access this knowledge intuitively, as they need it, in a fashion that has the feel of common sense. But, they cannot simply explain it to someone else. For instance, we could ask an experienced medical doctor what he does when he visits a patient and expect a general answer like, I examine the patient and enter a diagnosis on the patient record form. However, if we then asked How do you do that? How do you know what to write as the diagnosis? we would be asking for detail that took years to accumulate. During those years this detail has been transformed from myriads of individual facts to intuitively available skill. We simply cannot gather it. The information that the doctor and for that matter all employees can readily provide answers the question, What? The information that cannot be provided because it resides in the realm of skill answers the question, How? Rather than attempt to gather the skill and settling for simplistic/superficial data we acknowledge that that information is not accessible to the fact gatherer. However, this information is critical to effective improvement. In order to get at it, we must invite the people who have it to join in the improvement development activity. This is the fundamental strength of employee teams. They provide the organizational memory. And, dont think for a moment that medical doctors have skill but clerks dont. In all lines of work there are differences of skill levels. Our object in process improvement should be to incorporate into our changes the finest skills available. So we use teams of the best experienced employees we have. To do otherwise invites superficiality. *Using the Description Pattern: The description pattern provides facts, not skills. We organize these facts on charts as effective reminders of the steps in a process. When these charts are used by people who are skilled at performing those steps, we have the knowledge we need for improvement. Therefore: What Answer this question at every step. This tells us what the step is and provides the necessary reminder for the team. Where This question deals specifically with location. Answer it for the very first step of the process and then every time the location changes and you will always know location. When When dealing with processes, this question generally means how long. Ask it throughout the fact gathering, making note of all delays and particularly time-consuming steps. Who This question deals specifically with who is performing each step. The easiest way to collect and display this information is to note every time a new person takes over. How This question is important but it changes the fact gathering to skill gathering. We should rarely get into it. Instead we leave this information to be provided by the team, as needed. Why This question is different. It is evaluative rather than descriptive. It becomes most important when we study the process for improvement but while we are fact gathering, it is premature. Just gather facts. Later as a team we will question the why of each of them. http://www.freetutes.com/systemanalysis/images/decriptivepattern.gif Follow this pattern and: à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¢ You will always show what is happening. à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¢ You will always show where the work is happening. à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¢ You will show who is doing the work whenever a person is involved. à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¢ You will show when most of the processing time is occurring. à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¢ You wont bog your readers down with how the individual steps are done, non flow detail. à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¢ You wont bog your readers down with how the individual steps are done, non flow detail. *How to Initiate Fact Gathering Public Announcement: A public announcement can go a long way towards inspiring cooperation. It can also provide an opportunity to forestall the anxieties just discussed. The people working in the areas affected by the project are informed that a five or ten minute meeting will be held at the end of a work shift and that a senior executive has an important announcement. (This senior executive should be a person whose authority spans the entire project.) The meeting includes an announcement of the project, its objective, who is involved in it, a request for the support of all employees and an invitation for questions. It is conducted by the executive mentioned above because it is important that statements about the intent of the project be made by someone who has the authority to stand behind his or her words. It is also helpful for the executive to introduce the analyst and the team members who have been assigned to the project. The issue of staff cuts may be introduced by the executive or may surface as a question. (Or, it may not arise at all in organizations where loss of employment is a non-issue.) If it is addressed, it should be answered directly and forcefully. I guarantee there will be no loss of employment because of work improvement. This is not a difficult guarantee for executives who genuinely believe that their people are their most valuable resource. (Note, this is not a guarantee that there will be no loss of employment. If we fail to improve our work, there is a pretty certain guarantee that there will be loss of employment.) This meeting can also have constructive side effects. One is that the analyst gets a public introduction to the people from whom he or she will be gathering data. Simultaneously, everyone is informed of the reason for the project, making it unnecessary for the analyst to explain this at each interview. And, the explanation carries the assurances of the boss rather than an analyst. *Common Sense Protocol Where to Get the Facts? It is critical that the analyst go where the facts are to learn about them. This means going where the work is done and learning from the people who are doing it. If there are a number of people doing the same work, one who is particularly knowledgeable should be selected or several may be interviewed. Unfortunately, analysts often try to collect data in indirect ways. Occasionally this may be for no better reason than that the analyst is too lazy to go where the work is done. Or, the analyst may have been instructed to keep the project a secret because management wants to avoid stirring up concern about job loss. Unfortunately, when employees learn (and they will) that secret projects are underway in their areas, their anxiety levels will rise all the higher, encouraging more non-cooperation. Introverts tend to be attracted to research type work and they also tend to find excuses to avoid meeting people. They are often tempted to use written procedures as their source of data rather than going directly to the operating people. Or, they may simply assume data to avoid having to go after it. Sometimes an analyst arrives in the supervisors office (a proper practice when visiting a department for the first time) and the supervisor wants to provide the information rather than having the analyst bother the employee who does the work. This could be motivated by a sincere desire to help. The supervisor may also want to slant the data. Regardless of the motive, it separates the analyst from the work place and the person doing the work. Whatever the reasons, each time an analyst settles for collecting data at a distance from reality, the quality of the analysis suffers. Guesses replace facts. Fantasy replaces reality. Where the differences are small the analyst may slide by, but professionals should not try to slide by. Where the differences are large the analyst may be seriously embarrassed. Meanwhile, the quality of the work suffers and, in the worst cases, major commitments to work methods are made based on faulty premises. Introduction to the Employee at the Work Place When we are gathering data, everywhere you go people are accommodating you, interrupting their work to help you do your work. The least you can do is show that you are willing to return the favor. When the time is not convenient, agree to come back later. Occasionally an employee will suggest that it is an inconvenient time and ask that you come back later. Sometimes, however, the employee is seriously inconvenienced but for some reason does not speak up about it. A sensitive analyst may notice this. However, to be on the safe side it helps to ask, Is this a convenient time? Coming back later is usually a minor problem. Typically you have a number of places to visit. Pick a more convenient time and return. Dont be surprised if the employee appreciates it and is waiting for you with materials set out when you return. Whatever you do, dont start suspecting that every time a person puts you off that person is trying to scuttle your work or is a difficult employee. Assume the person is honestly inconvenienced and simply come back later. If someone puts you off repeatedly, it is still a minor inconvenience as long as you have data to collect elsewhere. Give the employees the benefit of the doubt, knowing that every time you accommodate them their debt to you grows. If you do in fact run into a genuinely uncooperative and eventually have to impose a time, it is nice to be able to remind that person of how many times you have rescheduled for his or her benefit. At such times you will also appreciate the project-announcement meeting when the senior executive brought everyone together, described the importance of the project and asked for support. As you are about to start the interview the employee may bring up a subject for idle conversation such as the weather, a sports event, a new building renovation, etc. People often do this when they first meet in order to size up one another (on a subject that doesnt matter) before opening up on subjects that are important. Since the purpose, on the part of the employee, is to find out what you are like you will do well to join in the conversation politely and respectfully. Then when it has continued for an appropriate amount of time, shift to the subject of the interview, perhaps with a comment about not wanting to take up too much of the employees time. *Respect: Most of the time analysts gather data from people at the operating levels who happen to be junior in status (i.e. file clerks, messengers, data entry clerks). Be careful not to act superior. One thing you can do to help with this is to set in your mind that wherever you gather data you are talking to the top authority in the organization. After all, if the top authority on filing in the organization is the CEO, the organization has serious trouble. Dont treat this subject lightly. We all receive a good deal of conditioning to treat people in superior positions with special respect. Unfortunately, the flip side of this conditioning leads to treating people in lesser positions with limited respect. Unintentionally, analysts frequently show disrespect for operating employees by implying that the way they do their work is foolish. The analyst is usually eager to discover opportunities for improvement. When something appears awkward or unnecessarily time-consuming the analyst is likely to frown, smile, act surprised, etc. In various ways, an analyst can suggest criticism or even ridicule of the way the work is being done. The bottom line is that the analyst, with only a few minutes observing the work, is implying that he or she knows how to do it better than a person who has been doing it for years. This is unacceptable behavior. Dont do it! Go to people to find out what is happening, not to judge what is happening. First get the facts. Later we can search out better ways and invite knowledgeable operating people to join us in that effort. *A Caution about Instant Improvements: While the analyst cannot match the employees detailed knowledge of what happens at their workplaces, it is not at all difficult to discover some things that those people are unaware of, things that involve multiple workplaces. During data collection, opportunities for improvement of a certain type surface immediately. Some of them are outstanding. The analyst discovers, for instance, that records and reports are being maintained that are destroyed without ever being used. Time-consuming duplication of unneeded records is found. Information is delivered through roundabout channels creating costly delays. The only reason these opportunities were not discovered earlier by the employees is that the records had never been followed through the several work areas. These instant improvements simply werent visible from the limited perspective of one office. The people preparing the reports had no idea that the people receiving them had no use for them and were destroying them. The people proc essing redundant records had no idea that other people were doing the same thing. These discoveries can be clearly beneficial to the organization. However, they can be devastating for the relationship between the analyst and the operating employees. The problem lies in the fact that the analyst discovers them. This may delude the analyst into believing that he or she is really capable of redesigning the procedure without the help of the employees. After all, they have been doing this work all these years and never made these discoveries. I found them so quickly. I must be very bright. Most people spend a great deal of their lives seeking confirmation of their worth. When something like this presents itself, an analyst is likely to treasure it. It becomes a personal accomplishment. It is perceived as support for two judgments, I am a lot better at this than those employees. and Employees in general are not capable of seeing these kinds of things. Both of these judgments are wrong. The credit goes to the fact that the analyst was the first person with the opportunity to follow the records through their flow. If any one of those employees had done the same thing, the odds are that the results would have been the same. The analyst is apt to alienate the employees if he or she grabs the credit for these discoveries. If this prompts the analyst to proceed with the entire redesign of the procedure without the help of the employees, he or she will be cut off from hundreds of finer details, any one of which could seriously compromise the effort. Taking credit for these early discoveries can also alienate employees even if they are invited into the improvement activity. For instance, it is not uncommon for an analyst who is about to go over a new process chart with a group of users to start by telling them about the discoveries made while preparing the chart. This can appear very innocent, but the fact is, the analyst does this in order to get the credit for the discoveries before the team members spot them. Instinctively, the analyst knows that as soon as the employees see the chart those discoveries will be obvious to them as well. An analyst who realizes that the enthusiastic involvement of the team members is much more important than the credit for one idea or another will want to keep quiet about early discoveries until after the employees get a chance to study the chart. In doing this the analyst positions himself or herself to provide professional support to knowledgeable employees. Soon they make these obvious discoveries for themselves and this encourages them to become involved and excited about the project. It makes it theirs. In the end the analyst shares the credit for a successful project, rather than grabbing the credit for the first few ideas in a project that fails for lack of support. *Recording Technique: Recording Data The keys to effective data recording are a reverence for facts and knowing how to look for them. You do not go into data collection with a preconceived notion of the design of the final procedure. You let the facts tell you what shape the procedure should take. But, you must be able to find facts and know how to record them. This is done by breaking down the procedure into steps and listing them in proper sequence, without leaving things out. The analyst keeps his or her attention on the subject being charted, follows its flow, step by step, and is not distracted by other subjects that could easily lead off onto tangents. The analyst becomes immersed in the data collection, one flow at a time. Record what is actually happening, not what should happen or could happen. Record without a preference. Wash the wishes from your eyes and let the facts speak for themselves. When later you have them neatly organized and present them for study the facts will assert their authority as they tell their story. *The Authority of the Facts: There are two authority systems in every organization. One is a social authority set up for the convenience of arranging people and desks and telephones, dividing up the work and making decisions. The other authority system is reality itself. Too often the former is revered and feared and attended to constantly, while the latter is attended to when time permits. Yet, whether we come to grips with the facts or not, they enforce themselves with an unyielding will of steel. Reality is whether we are in touch with it or not. And, it is indifferent to us. It is not hurt when we ignore it. It is not pleased or flattered or thankful when we discover it. Reality simply does not care, but it enforces its will continuously. We are the ones who care. We care when reality rewards us. We care when reality crushes us. The better we are able to organize our methods of work in harmony with reality, the more we prosper. When we are unable to discover reality, or deny reality we are hurt. Period! So we enter into data collection with respect for reality. We demonstrate respect for the people who are closest to reality. And, we do our best to carefully record the unvarnished truth. *Observation: A person who has been doing a job for years will have an understanding of the work that goes well beyond his or her ability to describe it. Dont expect operating people to describe perfectly and dont credit yourself with hearing perfectly. Sometimes it is a lot easier for a person to show you what he or she does than to describe it. A demonstration may save a good deal of time. A person might be able to show you how the task is done in minutes but could talk about it for hours. Most people are able to speak more comfortably to a human being than to a machine. Furthermore, a tape recorder doesnt capture what is seen. If you are going to use a tape recorder, use it after you have left the interview site. It can help you capture a lot of detail while it is fresh in your mind without causing the employee to be ill at ease. *Level of Detail: As covered earlier while explaining the Description Pattern, you can gather facts but not skill. If you attempt to gather enough information to redesign a procedure without the help of experienced employees, your data collection will be interminably delayed. For instance, if you are studying a procedure that crosses five desks, and the five people who do the work each have five years of experience, together they have a quarter of a century of first-hand experience. There is no way to match that experience by interviewing. No matter how many times you go back, there will still be new things coming up. Then, if you redesign the procedure based solely on your scanty information, your results will be deficient in the eyes of these more experienced people. It doesnt do any good to complain that they didnt tell you about that after you have designed a defective procedure. Save yourself a lot of time and grief by not bothering to record the details of the individual steps and concentrate on the flow of the work. It goes here. They do this. It sits. It is copied. This part goes there. That one goes to them. Never mind the detail of how they do the different steps. Just note the steps in their proper sequence. Then, when it comes time to analyze and you invite in those five people, they bring with them their twenty-five years of detailed experience. Voila! You have the big picture and you have the detail. You have all that you need to discover the opportunities that are there. *Defused resentment: When people who have been doing work for years are ignored while their work is being improved, there is a clear statement that their experience is not considered of value. These people tend to feel slighted. When the organization then pays consultants who have never done the work to develop improvements, this slight becomes an insult. When the consultants arrive at the workplace trying to glean information from the employees so that they can use it to develop their own answers, how do you expect the employees to react? Do you think they will be enthusiastic about providing the best of their inside knowledge to these consultants? Here, let me help you show my boss how much better you can figure out my work than I can? Really! We dont have to get into this kind of disagreeable competition. Instead we honestly accept the cardinal principle of employee empowerment which is, The person doing the job knows far more than anyone else about the best way of doing that job and therefore is the one person best fitted to improve it. Allan H. Mogensen, 1901-1989, the father of Work Simplification. By involving operating people in the improvement process, you also reduce the risk of getting distorted or misleading data. Their experience is brought into improvement meetings, unaltered. If they get excited about helping to develop the best possible process they will have little reason to distort or withhold the data. *How to Keep the Data Organized: One important characteristic of professional performance is the ability to work effectively on many assignments simultaneously. Professionals have to be able to leave a project frequently and pick it up again without losing ground. The keys to doing this well are: 1. Knowing the tools of the profession and using them in a disciplined manner. 2. Working quickly. 3. Capturing data the same day that it is gathered *Using the Tools of the Profession with Discipline: In this respect, there is more professionalism in a well conceived set of file names and directories than there is in a wall full of certificates belonging to a disorganized person. For that matter, a three-ring binder may do more good than another certificate. A professional simply keeps track of the information that he or she gathers. Perhaps the worst enemy of data organization is the tendency on the part of intelligent people, who are for the moment intensely involved in some activity, to assume that the clear picture of it that they have today will be available to them tomorrow or a week later or months later. One way of avoiding this is to label and assemble data as if it will be worked on by someone who has never seen it before. Believe it or not, that person may turn out to be you. A word about absentmindedness may be appropriate. When people are goal-oriented and extremely busy they frequently find themselves looking for something they had just moments before. The reason is that when they put it down their mind was on something else and they did not make a record of where they put it. To find it again they must think back to the last time they used it and then look around where they were at that time. Two things we can do to avoid this are: 1. Develop the discipline of closure so that activities are wrapped up. 2. Select certain places to put tools and materials and do so consistently. *Working Quickly: An analyst should take notes quickly. Speed in recording is important in order to keep up with the flow of information as the employee describes the work. It also shortens the interview, making the interruption less burdensome to the employee, and it reduces the probability that something will come up those forces the interview to be terminated prematurely. At the close of the interview it is a good idea to review the notes with the employee, holding them in clear view for the employee to see and then, of course, thank the employee for his or her help. Skill in rapid note-taking can be developed over time. This does not mean that you rush the interview. Quite the contrary. Address the person from whom you are gathering information calmly and patiently. But, when you are actually recording data you do it quickly and keep your attention on the person. For process analysis data gathering, you dont have to write tedious sentences. The charting technique provides you with specialized shorthand (using the symbols and conventions of process charting in rough form). See the rough notes following. *Same Day Capture of Data: The analyst then returns to his or her office with sketchy notes, hastily written. These notes serve as reminders of what has been seen and heard. Their value as reminders deteriorates rapidly. While the interview is fresh in mind these notes can bring forth vivid recall. As time passes they lose this power
Monday, August 19, 2019
The Hope Bill Essay -- essays research papers
The HOPE Bill In the year 2024, the world has grown to increase its size to 24 billion people worldwide. The increase in the population has caused the destruction of most farmland in the world, causing it to look underwater for a supply of food. Private enterprises are currently farming and selling food that comes from underwater regions of the world. However, a vast majority of the world is still not being fed. On a percentage basis, though, we have fewer people unemployed than in 1996. However, that still means that over a hundred million people are unemployed and double that are on welfare or homeless. As a result, I am sponsoring a bill to the senate that will address this problem. The HOPE program, Helping Others acquire Pride and Emancipation, will help the unfortunate people gain pride in what they do. The HOPE will give back the pride that people need and deserve. It will put people into a more productive and rewarding job by emancipating them out of the life each person is leading. Twenty years ago, in the year 2004, the world implemented a youth program that was the exact opposite of Hitler's Youth. For example, the program gives kids a feeling of self-confidence, and they become more tolerant of others and their views. The program places all kids in situations to learn of other cultures and to gain a caring and understanding in all situations, people caring for the plight of others. In the fourth through the sixth grade, all kids are required to complete at least 5 hours of community service each week; in high school, they are required to complete ten hours a week. This program has caused the world to gain a more caring, empathetic attitude towards the well-being of others. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one." This was the groundbreaking program that people had been waiting for so that a program like mine could enter the senate. To solve the problem of the unemployed, the homeless, and the welfare recipients, I will propose a new bill, talk about the arguments against my bill, and present solutions to the arguments. The first part of the plan is to have a world-wide benefit to raise money to help pay for the program. Jerry Lewis raised millions of dollars for muscular dystrophy. In the year 2000, a cure for this debilitating disease was found as a result of these "telethons". People will donate... ... and adding to the budget of the world. As incomes of individuals increase, they will spend more money. Corporations will increase their revenues because of these expenditures. When companies make more money, they have the ability to expand their capacity. Thus, new jobs will be created, jobs that the newly trained and educated workers can fill. In conclusion, the world has had numerous depressions. The most devastating of these were in the 1930's and 2010's. For more than two centuries, the United States has argued and fought over welfare and unemployment. Many people today still want to do away with both programs. We need to remake the Declaration of Independence where all men have certain unalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This bill provides the atmosphere and environment for those less fortunate to pursue these rights. The lagniappe of this bill, the world receives much needed food and gets to encompass additional productive grateful citizens. Look to your heart before you vote on this bill. Only one conclusion is possible: why has it taken us so long to adopt such measures? I thank you for your understanding and sponsorship of this HOPE program.
Sunday, August 18, 2019
Essay on Symbolism in Kafkas Metamorphosis -- Kafka Metamorphosis Ess
Symbolism in Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis à Kafka uses symbolism in his short story, Metamorphosis.à He uses this technique to make the reader try and figure out what was going on in his head.à He brought out in this story many things about his life, including his father/family, love life, and his future.à He used metaphors to show his love for people in his life.à This story is autobiographical about the forces that control Franz Kafka's life.à In this paper I will explain how Kafka relates his life to the readers through the story in Metamorphosis.à à à à à à à à à à à à Franz Kafka had trouble at home with his father.à His father wanted him to become a lawyer, but Franz did not want to be a lawyer, he wanted to be a writer.à He went to law school against his will, because his father wanted him to go there.à He then took a high paying position with the government of Czechoslovakia in an insurance post.à In the story, Gregor?s father had very little respect for him, and Gregor had to work to pay off the family debts.à That is an example of Gregor?s father?s control over his life and Kafka?s situation was similar.à He eventually was forced to become a lawyer, whereas what Kafka wanted was a literary degree.à à à à à à à à à à à à Franz Kafka made his character, Gregor, transform into an insect in the story.à Nobody wants to associate themselves with an insect, which is a lowly creature, a pest, or nuisance.à This symbolizes Kafka?s depression and his poor self image.à Since his family treats the insect like an outcast, that must be how Franz felt about the treatment that his own family gave him.à It showed the control that his father put on him.à He was not allowed to leave his room.à Gregor?s parents were so afraid to take... ...à After Gregor dies, at the end of the story, his parents notice that his sister has grown up into a beautiful woman and they feel that it is time for her to get married.à This means that they used Gregor as the pawn who went out and supported them.à Now that his sister is grown up they can force her into marrying a rich man.à Then they would be well off for a long time to come.à They can now control the daughter like they did Gregor.à Grete?s new husband can support the whole family.à Once she is married, she too will then become a pawn, a victim of her parents control.à à à à à à à à à à à à à The main theme of the story is the effect of other?s control on a person such as his relationship with his father, and how his father for controlled his life.à He realized that he was his own person when he could escape from his father?s control, even if the only escape was death.
Use of International Law to Protect Human Rights Essay -- Enforcing In
1. Introduction Treaties are the highest source of international law besides jus cogens norms that have binding effect on the parties that ratify them.2 International human rights treaties rely on the ââ¬Å"name and shameâ⬠mechanisms to pressure states to improve practices.3 However with ââ¬Å"toothlessâ⬠international human rights norms, moral coercion is not always effective. An empirical study conducted by Professor Oona Hathaway assessing the effect of human rights treaty ratification on human rights compliance, maintains in its findings that ratification of human rights treaties has little effect on state practices.4 States do not feel pressured to comply and change their practices, rather, signing treaties is ââ¬Å"more likely to offset the pressure rather than augment it.â⬠5 So, is it time to abandon human rights treaties and remit protection of human right to domestic institutions. Hathaway posits elsewhere that despite this treaties ââ¬Å"remain an indispen sable tool for the promotion of human rights.â⬠6 Instead of getting rid of the treaty system, it is necessary to enhance the monitoring and enforcements mechanism to strengthen the human rights regime to ensure compliance.7 This article evaluates the extent to which international law serves as a useful tool for protection of human rights. 2. Development of Human Rights Protection States ratify human right treaties to enter into agreements and commit each other to respect, protect and fulfill human rights obligations. However, the adherence to human rights treaties is not ensured by the same principle of reciprocity instead to ensure compliance, collective monitoring and enforcement mechanisms were introduced.8 International organizations and treaty ... ... Berkeley Journal of International Law 256 44 Ann Janette Rosga and Margaret L. Satterthwaite, ââ¬ËThe Trust in Indicators: Measuring Human Rightsââ¬â¢ (2009) 27 Berkeley Journal of International Law 253, 257 45 Oona Hathaway, ââ¬ËDo Human Rights Treaties Make a Difference?ââ¬â¢ (2003) 112 Yale Law Journal 1935, 2025 46 Allan Rosas, ââ¬ËStates Sovereignty and Human Rights: towards a Global Constitutional Projectââ¬â¢ in David Beetham, Politics and Human Rights (OUP 19995), 62 47 Justin Conlon, ââ¬ËSovereignty vs. human rights or sovereignty and human rights?ââ¬â¢ (2004) 46 Race and Class 75, 48 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (adopted 10 December 1948 UNGA Res 217 A(III) (UDHR), Art 1 49 Robert McCorquodale, ââ¬ËA Future for Human Rights Lawââ¬â¢ in Mashood A Baderin and Manisuli Ssenyonjo, International Human Rights Law: Six Decades after the UDHR and Beyond (Ashgate 2010), 544
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Why Is Media Effects Important
16 CHAPTER 1 paradigmâ⬠(Gitlin, 1978), more powerful, yet subtle effects, such as social control, manufacturing of consent, and reluctance to challenge the status quo, are unable to be studied; so they are ignored. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO STUDY MEDIA EFFECTS With all these questions about the existence and substance of media effects, why is it important to continue to study them? Students in introductory mass communication courses are often reminded that mass communication is functional in society (Wright, 1986) and an important field of study because of its role as a major societal institution.Mass communication is an important economic force in the United States. In 1993, the entertainment industry alone (movies, music, cable television, and home video) brought an estimated $50 billion into the U. S. economy. Network television advertising added an additional $30 billion (Warner, 1993). Mass communication is also an important political force, acting as a watchdog over official actions and as the platform for political information and activity. The Watergate scandal, for example, was brought to light by the Washington Post and the Pentagon papers were first published by the New York Times.Political campaigns are now built around television. In 1992, the Republicans spent two-thirds of their budget on television advertisements for George Bush. Talk shows and news program coverage are crucial to campaigns. Our political leaders contact the public primarily through the mass mediaââ¬âpress conferences, political talks. Ronald Reagan noticed that there was little political news that was made during the weekends, so he (an old radio announcer, himself) began to make radio addresses about various issues on Saturday mornings.These addresses got so much news coverage (Martin, 1984), in part because there was so little else happening, that Saturday morning radio talks are a current presidential practice. At the same time, mass media are a major source of entert ainment and the main source for news for most people. In 1995, a majority of people in the United States turned to media for news: 70. 3% were regular viewers of local television news, 67. 3% were regular viewers of network television news, and 59. 3% read a daily newspaper. In INTRODUCTION 17 addition, 48. % listened regularly to radio news and 31. 4% read a news magazine regularly (Stempel & Hargrove, 1996). Beyond the importance of mass communication in society, there are two main reasons for continuing to study media effects. The first reason is theoretical. Although most scholars acknowledge that mass media effects can occur, we still donââ¬â¢t know the magnitude and inevitability of the effects. That is, we donââ¬â¢t know how powerful the media are among the range of other forces in society. And, we donââ¬â¢t know all the conditions that enhance or mitigate various effects.Most importantly, we donââ¬â¢t understand all the processes by which mass communication can l ead to various effects. Research in media effects must continue to add to our knowledge. A second reason for studying media effects is practical and policy oriented. If we can elaborate the conditions and understand the various processes of media effectsââ¬âhow media effects occurââ¬âwe can use that knowledge. At a practical level, understanding the processes of media effects will allow media practitioners to create effective messages to achieve political, advertising, and public relations-oriented goals.Additionally, agencies will be able to formulate media campaigns to promote prosocial aims and benefit society as a whole. That is, understanding the processes of media effects will allow media practitioners to increase the likelihood of prosocial media effects. Most importantly, understanding how media effects occur will give parents, educators, and public officials other tools to fight negative media effects. If we understand the processes of media effects, we will also un derstand how to mitigate negative effects.No longer will changing or restricting media content be the only methods to stop media effects. We will be able to mitigate negative media effects by also targeting aspects of the process of impact. WAYS TO CONCEPTUALIZE MEDIA EFFECTS: DIMENSIONS OF MEDIA EFFECTS Over the years, scholars have suggested that it is useful to analyze media effects along specific dimensions (Anderson & Meyer, 1988; Chaffee, 1977; McGuire, 1986; J. M. McLeod, Kosicki, & Pan, 1991; J. M. McLeod & Reeves, 1980; Roberts & Maccoby, 1985).Some of the dimensions delineate the type of effect; other dimensions elaborate the conditions of media impact. 18 CHAPTER 1 Cognitive-Affective-Behavioral Dimension Media effects are commonly described along a cognitive-affectivebehavioral dimension, which marks a distinction between acquisition of knowledge about an action and performance of the action. Mass communication scholars have been greatly influenced by persuasion models t hat see human action as logical and driven by cognition (e. g. , McGuire, 1985).This dimension is important in keeping scholars from assuming that knowledge and attitudes translate directly into action. Persuasion research during World War II, for example, found that although media content may be quite effective at teaching information, it had less influence on attitude formation and motivation to act (Hovland, Lumsdaine, & Sheffield, 1949). The Theory of Reasoned Action (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975) posits that, although knowledge and attitudes have some impact on behavior, their influence is mediated (or eliminated) by social constraints.Micro- Versus Macrolevel Another dimension that describes the type of effect is one that focuses on the level of media influence: micro- versus macrolevel. Most concern about media effects focuses on impressionable audiences and has been grounded in psychological approaches. So, there is a wealth of research on media effects at the individual, or micro level. It is a fallacy, however, to assume that all media effects are accumulations of individual-level effects.Scholars recognize that a focus solely on individual-level media effects can obscure more subtle societal-level effects. Research on the effects of Sesame Street, for example, showed that children of all socioecomic status (SES) classes learned from the program. But, that learning led to another, unintended effect: a widening gap in knowledge between higher and lower SES groups. Although all children learned from the program, children from higher SES families learned at a faster rate (Cook et al. , 1975).So, individual knowledge gain may lead to greater inequities in society. Another area in which an accumulation of individual-level effects might conceal more macrolevel effects is news learning. Although many researchers have uncovered various media-related influences on public-affairs knowledge (e. g. , J. P. Robinson & Levy, 1986, 1996), these studies cannot assess the c ompleteness, accuracy, or objectivity of mediaââ¬â¢s presentations about public affairs. Several scholars argue that larger influences on news gathering and reporting may make INTRODUCTION 19 ndividual-level knowledge effects inconsequential because news sources and practices present only limited public affairs information to the public (e. g. , Gitlin, 1980; Herman & Chomsky, 1988; Tuchman, 1978). So, knowledge gain by individuals may not necessarily be functional for society. Several important effects of mass media maybe at the societal, institutional, or cultural level. Over the years, for example, the expanding telecommunications revolution has changed, and no doubt will continue to affect how political campaigns and the workings of govern-ment are conducted.Clearly, scholars need to consider various levels of media impact. Intentional Versus Unintentional Another dimension of media effects directs scholars to consider whether the effects are intended versus unintendedââ¬â planned for or accidental. Although this dimension is a descriptive one, it also offers some insights in the processes of media impact. For example, the development of knowledge gaps between high and lower SES children who watched Sesame Street is generally considered an unintended effect of the flow of media information. So, cholars and media policymakers study ways to close accidental knowledge gaps by increasing access to a variety of sources of information, by making information more relevant to lower SES groups, or by increasing the motivation of lower SES audience members to seek additional information. The identification of these knowledge-gap effects as accidental, then, has led scholars to focus on how knowledge is carried by the mass media, how audiences access that knowledge, and how people use media-delivered information. Another example of the relevance of the intended versus unintended dimension is one effect of television violence.The cultivation hypothesis suggests that one, often overlooked, effect of television violence is that it affects social perceptions of heavy viewers and leads those groups who are victimized in television drama to feel fearful, alienated from society, and distrusting of others (Gerbner & Gross, 1976; Gerbner et al. , 1994). If scholars believe that these effects are unintentional due to the conventions of television drama production, they might advocate certain remedies to help mitigate these effects, such as television program ratings to help fearful people avoid certain programs or to help parents screen what their children watch.If, on the other 20 CHAPTER 1 hand, scholars believe that cultivation is an intentional effect designed to reinforce the existing power structure in society by structuring reality for women and minorities so that they avoid involvement in political affairs, possible solutions would be quite different. Those scholars (at the very least) would be less trusting of television program ratings af fixed by television producers and probably not advocate that sort of solution to cultivation effects. Studying unintended effects can be a way of increasing media effectiveness.Dramatic story lines in soap operas and telenovelas have been found to not only captivate their audiences but bring about knowledge gain and some prosocial attitudinal effects (e. g. , Singhal & Rogers, 1989). So this dimension of media effects directs scholars to search for a range of effects, beyond those planned for the media producers. Content-Dependent Versus Content-Irrelevant The content-dependent versus a content- irrelevant distinction reflects the impact of specific classes of media content as opposed to the impact of media use itself.The most visible media effects research has focused on the effects of specific media content, such as stereotypes, violence, and pornography. This research assumes that specific content is linked to specific effects. As J. M. McLeod and Reeves (1980) paraphrase the nut ritional analogy, ââ¬Å"We are what we eatâ⬠: We are what we watch. So, one way to reduce aggressive behavior in children would be to reduce the amount of violent media content that they read or watch.Or, one way to reduce sexual aggression against women would be to reduce access to media content that depicts violence against women. Although there is a good deal of evidence of the effects of specific media content, scholars should also be aware that some effects are due less to specific media content, and more to the form of the content or the act of media use. Displacement effects are a commonly identified content-irrelevant effect. Lazarsfeld and Merton (1948) suggested that political involvement could suffer if people become politically ââ¬Å"narcotized. That is, public affairs media use might replace real political action and some people might be informed, but politically apathetic. Watching television has been attributed with lower academic achievement because children a re replacing homework and study with television watching (Armstrong & Greenberg, 1990; Hornik, 1978). INTRODUCTION 21 Other content-irrelevant effects maybe due to the form of the media presentation. Tavris (1988) is one writer who has suggested that televisionââ¬â¢s regular commercial interruptions has led to shorter attention spans.Scholars (Shannon & Weaver, 1949) investigating how information theory is relevant to media effects have found that the randomness of televisionââ¬â¢s formal features are connected to aggressive responses (Watt & Krull, 1977). Kozma (1991) speculated how the form and use of different media lead to different learning styles and outcomes. And there is a good deal of evidence that arousing media content, whether it is violent, pornographic, or suspenseful, can lead to similar excitation effects (Zillmann, 1980, 1982).In order to understand how media effects occur, we need to uncover, first, if they are content-relevant or content-irrelevant. Short Te rm Versus Long Term Media effects can be long or short term. This dimension is not only a descriptive one, but also helps describe the process of media effects. When we examine media effects, we need to question how long the effect is theoretically expected to last. Some effects, such as increased arousal (or relaxation) are relatively short term, and disappear quickly. Others, such as agenda setting, may last somewhat longer, but may disappear as the media agenda changes.Still other effects, such as the social learning of aggressive behavior, are expected to be fairly enduring, especially if the aggressive behavior, once performed, is rewarded. Some theories do not specify the persistence of their effects. Do the stereotypes that children learn from television persist even as children watch less and less television as they get older? How long do the effects of televised political ads (and their associated voting intentions) last? What are the possibilities that new ads (and new inf ormation) will change voting intentions?And what are the implications of differing periods of influence? Clearly, short-term effects can have a profound impact. If, for example, a short-term arousal effect of a violent film leads someone to get involved in a fight, permanent injury could result. But, if agenda-setting effects last only as long as an issue stays near the top of the media agenda, what long-lasting impacts can result? Media effects scholars should be clear in specifying the duration of the effects that they study. 22 CHAPTER 1 Reinforcement Versus Change A final dimension of media effects is that of reinforcement versus change.Does media exposure alter or stabilize? The most visible media effects studies focus on how media content or exposure changes the audience (or society or culture). For example, we are concerned how placid children might be changed into aggressive ones by watching violent cartoons. Or that respectful men will change into uncaring desensitized oafs through exposure to pornography. Or that voters might have their political values adjusted through exposure to political ads. Or that ignorant citizens will become knowledgeable through exposure to public affairs news.And so on. There is evidence, though, that communicationââ¬â¢s strongest effect, overall, is reinforcement and stabilization. Selective exposure leads people to prefer media messages that reinforce their preexisting views. Selective perception points out that people interpret media content to reinforce their attitudes. Because it is often easier to observe change than reinforcement, we often neglect mediaââ¬â¢s power to stabilize. Advertisements that keep supporters active in a political campaign and keep them from wavering in support yield important effects.Media content that reinforces the already existing aggressive tendencies of a young boy may be an even more important influence than prosocial messages that have little impact. We must be careful not to equa te reinforcement effects with null effects. CONCLUSION The study of media effects is grounded in the belief that mass communication has noticeable effects on individuals, society, and culture. Evidence for these effects, though, is problematic. On one hand, despite consistence findings of effects, the variance accounted for is typically small.Moreover, the strongest effects are usually relegated to laboratory settings, which are highly artificial settings. There are, however, several reasons to expect that research underestimates media effects. Our models, theories, and methods are still imprecise; we still cannot offer complete explanations for media effects. The study of media effects remains important so that we can increase understanding of the role mass communication plays in shaping our lives. Awareness of the process of media effects will allow us to use mass communication effectivelyââ¬âto maximize desirable outcomes and minimize negative effects.
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