Theodora Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Theodora - Essay Example She was a monophysite Christian while her husband was an orthodox Christian. The fact that law had to be changed proves that Theodora came from a lowly background but despite her background her influence on others was immense. Despite her background she could exert tremendous influence on her husband, on Byzantine politics and law. She first influenced Justinian with her wit, beauty and insight. There were difficulties in marrying her because of her background so he made her his mistress. She could influence the then emperor Justin in to changing the laws so that she could marry Justinian. Thus she earned the respect of her husband. She had tremendous influence on various people, issues and particularly workings of the state. She exerted significant influence on matters of law pertaining to women. She was treated as an intellectual partner and her suggestions had strong influence on the political decisions of the empire. For instance, when two factions came into existence and threatened to end Justinian’s rule, she influenced the generals and the officials to stay in the city and take strong action to suppress the rebellion. She was consulted when they wanted to introduce reforms to end corruption by public officials. She is even credited with supporting her husband in providing advice during the Nika revolt. She exerted influence by participating in making the laws and handling diplomatic functions usually reserved for the emperor. Several achievements and accomplishments show how powerful a woman Theodora was of her time. The Nika Revolt was the first incident that brought her to limelight. This full scale revolt almost toppled the regime. When there was debate whether to run away in ships or to remain where they were, Theodora rose to speak. Her speech was such that it could be compared to a speech made by the senator to the insurgents. She acknowledged

Role Of The Nurse In Safe Administration Of Oral Medication Nursing Essay

Role Of The Nurse In Safe Administration Of Oral Medication Nursing Essay Administration of medicines to adults who are physically ill or injured is part of the adult nurses responsibility to provide holistic care and promote health (Veitch Christie 2007). Medicines are manufactured in several forms and can be administered by different routes. According to the form of the medications there are different requirements and equipment for their administration and storage (Burton and Donaldson 2007). This essay will focus on the administration of oral medicines, the standards and the legal requirements for their safe administration. The essay will also look at areas where problems are most likely to arise and will describe the measures which nurses can take to ensure patients safety when administering oral medicines. The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) defines patient safety as a process which involves identification, analysis and management of risks and incidents, including medication errors so potential or actual harm to patients can be prevented or minimised. Medication errors have a significant impact on patients, their families and health professionals involved. They can compromise patients safety and result in actual harm to patients. A total of 72,482 medication errors of which 14,111 caused harm of various extents to patients and 37 resulted in death were reported to the NPSA (2009) in one year. The same report showed that nearly half of the incidents were concerned with administration of medicines. Another report by the Department of Health (2004) estimated the cost of medication errors in NHS hospitals between  £200-400 million per year. Therefore it is vital that nurses adopt safe, methodical and skilled approach to administration of medicines. LEGAL The management of all medicines in the United Kingdom is governed by several legislations, the Standards for Medicine Management (2008) and the Standards of conduct, performance and ethics issued by the NMC (2008). The Standards outline the nurses responsibilities in relation to the current UK legislations. Burton Donaldson (2007) summarise these legislations in the latest edition of the Foundations for Nursing Practice. The Medicines Act (1968) regulates the requirements by which medicines are manufactured, prescribed and administered. The Medicines Act (1968) also classifies medicines into four categories which are Prescription only medicines (POMs), Pharmacy only medicines (Ps), General sales medicines (GSLs) and Control drugs (CDs).The Misuse of Drugs Act (1971) and the Misuse of Drugs Regulations (1985) provide the legal framework for the management of the controlled drugs and differentiate medicines according to the level of harm they may cause. The Mental Capacity Act (2005) provides the foundations for care delivery including medicine administration to people who lack the ability to make informed decisions. For Scotland these foundations are contained within The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act (2003) and The Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act (2000). These regulations are in place to assist and guide nurses and are fundamental in protecting patient safety. Anex1 of the Standards for Medicine Management (NMC 2008) specifies the nurses responsibility to comply with these regulations. However the administration of medication is not solely a mechanistic task to be performed and requires more than just following written instructions (NMC 2004). In respect to oral medicines and their administration the nurse should take a person centred approach and assess and assist each patient individually according to patients general condition. Kelly and Wright (2009) draw attention on the high number of medication administration errors in patients with swallowing difficulties, where physiological abnormalities can lead to difficulties in swallowing of liquids or tablets. Griffith (2005) suggests that alternative form of medicines should be considered if patients have difficulties swallowing tablets. The nurses responsibility in this respect is to perform the initial and ongoing assessment of patients condition to establish the suitability of certain type of oral medicine and the ability of the patient to take this medicine (NMC 2008). Physical or mental health conditions could also have an impact on the medication compliance by patients leading to crushing, mixing or disguising medicines in food or drink (Kelly Wright 2009). The Department of Health (2010) and The National Prescribing Centre (2010) outline the parameters and principles for safe mixing of medicines and the nurses role in this relation. Following these principles when nurses consider mixing of medicines they should always act in line with local policies, consult a pharmacist and obtain written instructions and also obtain consent from patients. Crushing and mixing of medicines without a careful assessment and justification could present safety risks for patients and nurses (Paparella 2010) because of their chemical formulations. Examples of these are the enteric coated tablets, slow released formulations and products containing carcinogenic substances. Crushing or splitting of these medicines may lead to undesirable effects for example unintended rapid absorption. Griffith (2005) points out the legal consequences of crushing tablets. If crushing of oral formulation results in harm for the patient the nurse responsible will be liable for negligence. Paparella (2010) suggests simple steps such as careful consideration whether a tablet is safe to crush and consultations with pharmacist could significantly minimise the risk for patients and nurses. It is also essential that nurses have a sufficient level of knowledge of how medicines interact with the human body in order to be able to observe if they achieve the desired therape utic effect and to avoid any adverse reactions (NMC 2008). Covert administration of medicines represents not only safety risks to patients but also has legal and ethical aspects which nurses have to consider before making a decision for such action (Griffith 2007). Although most of the nurses do not prescribe medicines it has been found that the administration of a wrong dose of medicine causes the largest number of deaths and serious harm to patients, followed by the administration of wrong medicine and omitted or delayed medicine (NPSA 2009). Subsequently, administering wrong dose of medicines has been linked to poor mathematical skills (Pentin Smith 2010). The nurses responsibility in connection with administering correct doses of oral medicines is outlined in the Standards for medicine administration (NMC 2008) which states the nurses must be aware of the patients care plan, check prescription and dosage before administering medicines. Administering of a wrong oral medicine is often associated with similar medicine or patient names, packaging, labelling or poor storage systems (NPSA 2009). This is particularly common issue in nursing and care homes where no wrist bands for identification are used (Pountney 2010). CONCLUSION Safe administration of medicines requires a methodical approach that follows local policies (Burton,C Donaldson,J 2007).

Swot analysis of Tesco plc Essay -- essays research papers

Swot analysis of Tesco plc We all know Tesco as a food retailer, and we know that they are in constant competition with other retailers such as Sainsburys and Asda, yet we do not know much about what goes on beyond the shelves and the tills, the marketing plans and the day to day tactics that have to be devised to stay the number one food retailer in the United kingdom today. I am going to analyse Broughton Parks Tesco and their possible competitors Swot Analysis Firstly, four main goals, under which these particular four are Strengths: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tesco is about a strong UK core business. Last year the industry saw some very marginal growth as a whole, however Tesco continued to grow beyond the market by offering better value for money and through getting cheaper. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To be as strong in non-food as in food. The market for non foods (such as clothes entertainment cleaning products) is worth seventy five billion pounds in the UK today. You can see through the growth of their dot.com business which now has over four hundred and fifty thousand users and is the largest grocery online retailer in the world, and through the success of tescos personal finance with over 1,5 million customers that they are making some real in roads into non foods. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  International growth, Tesco have 30% of their stores outside the United Kingdom and plan to make it 45% by the end of next year, and will be approached through central Europe and trough Asia 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To have the most loyal and committed staff. Tesco as a company uses clear values to underpin what they do. Their core purpose is based on â€Å"Creating value for our customers to earn their life time loyalty?Tesco have invested one billion pounds Tesco believe that one of they offer the best quality on a broad range of products and believe that they offer the best value. They have invested one billion pounds since 1996 on the campaign to reduce prices to customers and that continues to build as they go in to 2004. They offer outstanding customer service, every customer is offered help at the checkout. Location and convenience is another reason to choose Tesco, they have introduced a staggering 200 in the last two years that stay open 24 hours a day and they plan another 1540 new express stores, which are Tesco mini sto... ...onsolidated balance sheet Fixed assets  £m Fixed assets Intangible Assets 154 Intangible Assets Tangible assets 11,032 Tangible assets Investments 317 Investments Total Fixed Assets 11,503 Total Fixed Assets Current assets Current assets Stock 929 Stock Debtors 454 Debtors due within one year Short term investments 225 Short-term investments Cash at bank and in hand 445 Cash at bank and in hand Total Current Assets 2,053 Total Current Assets Creditors -4,809 Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year Working Capital -2,756 Net current assets (liabilities) Total assets less current liabilities 8,747 Total assets less current liabilities Long Term Liabilities -2,741 Creditors: Amounts falling due after more than one year Provisions for liabilities and charges -440 Provisions for liabilities and charges Net assets 5,566 Net assets Represented by Capital and reserves Ordinary share capital 350 Called-up share capital Share premium 2,004 Share premium Other reserves 40 Other reserves Profit and loss account 3,136 Profit and loss account Ordinary shareholders' funds 5,530 Equity shareholders' funds Minority interests 36 Minority interests Capital Employed 5,566 Total capital employed

Week 5 Reflection

Week Five Reflection Paper Team B will reflect on why it is important for management as well as investors and creditors to understand the current and long-term liabilities. What makes it important to disclose contingencies as well as how do operating and capital leases relate to liabilities. It is important for managers to know what the company has as current or long-term liabilities because if they are not aware of what the funds look like they cannot affectively run the company. This knowledge helps a manager be more effective at planning and organizing what the companies priority are.Without taking time to learn this, managers could overdraft a company’s bank account just trying to order supplies. External vendors would want to obtain this kind of information for a few reasons. One, investors who want to invest in your company they want to make sure they are making a very sound decision on their investment. Investors would not invest in a company if it was on the verge of f iling for bankruptcy or going out of business. Creditor will also look at a company’s current and long-term liabilities.If a business has too much or too little debit this could be a sign of not being stable. So for a creditor this would also a high risk if they did not take the time to do some research and crunching of the numbers to see where the business or individual stands. The importance of disclosing any contingencies is really to keep companies honest about how their business is doing. Per FASB disclosing of this information gives financial statement users the ability to understand the nature of a loss contingency, potential magnitude as well as if known the potential timing.With a capital lease the liability relation would be equal, as you would list this lease on all financial statements, balance sheet, income statement as well as the cash flow statement. With operating leases the effect would be listed on the income statement and the cash flow statement but not the balance sheet. So team B has briefly reflected on the understanding of current and long-term liabilities, why is it important to disclose contingencies as well as how does operating and capital leases related to liabilities.

Fashion life

What you wear defines who you are. Fashion is an enormous icon in our society. It is practically the thing we can never go without. We make our very first impression by what we wear not by our personalities. They say you are what you eat but truly you are what you wear and fashion has provided us with a little something to define everyone. There are so many styles of fashion: Goth, Chic, Prep, Hippies etc. Every style has its own description so why would we not be classified into that style and its description that fits us perfectly.What we wear can also make it easy for us to identify people and whether they are ho we want to socialism with, I. E. An individual wearing all Goth (black colored clothing) would not befriend someone who wears preppy clothing (beige colored clothing). Fashion plays an even bigger role when it comes to uniforms; do you that think without uniforms we would be able to identify the authority on our streets? Do you think that we would have the same respect fo r a doctor in a Shares and t-shirt?A number of religions prescribed a specific clothing style aside for us. Our designers are creative geniuses in all aspects. There is no obvious reason as to why we buy the yep of wardrobes we do. It could be to make a statement to get noticed, I. E. Prostitutes are easy to spot with their provocative style of fashion. Others might Just be copying the current trend – this makes it hard for to prove the theory of â€Å"what you wear defines you† – but then we could Judge these individuals as those who have not found a style that defines them.We wear clothes to beautify ourselves to attract the attention we seek. We dress a certain way that mirrors the mood we are in, happy = bright colored clothing & sad = grey and baggy clothing, there are many seasons as to why we take hours Just deciding what to wear because it is essential in our lives to create the correct mood, persona, background, etc. Why wouldn't one agree with this sta tement?We choose the clothes we wear by the way we want to be perceived by others, fact. Several options about how could one not define ones self with it. They say don't Judge a book by its cover but in the end we still go ahead and judge this is the same for fashion which is why we make sure we always look good. We do not need loincloths anymore to Just cover up it is the 21st century! There is a whole new meaning to clothing ourselves.

David Levinsky essays

David Levinsky essays David Levinsky justifies his conclusion in both the introduction and the conclusion to his novel by complying with his misery. David Levinsky is happier being poor with goals than being rich. The only way for David to become a true American was to give up his Jewish religion, which was the basis of his whole identity. The result of Davids integration into the United States was that he spent the better part of his whole life comparing what he had to what he has achieved. He concludes that he was happier being a poor Talmud student not having a chance at success, than being a well-known, rich, cloak-manufacturer. In this essay I will talk about Davids misery in poverty, his material change from religion and his goals. Throughout the book, David goes through a complete material change from start to finish. Time and time again the reader sees David thrive off of his poverty or his horrible karma. He snags his chances at life by exaggerating his poverty. He is almost like a beggar. The quote, It seemed as if she were taking care of me from her grave, suggests that the mere fact that his murdered mother gave him a chance. He tells his sad miserable story about his mother several times in Russia and especially in America, and it always benefits him. David also tells of his first honest wages, suggesting that the begging that he did in the past was dishonest: He writes, And when I received my first wages-the first money I had ever earned by the work of my hands-it seemed as if it were the first money I had ever earned honestly. David was very alone after his mother died and lost an interest in his religious studies. He fills this hole and his hunger for knowledge by going to America. He grows so in a materialistic way, that it makes him a very educated man in America. He sees education as a way of power over people. He signifies this several times through h ...

Structure of cells essays

Structure of cells essays The cell theory forms a basis way for the way that biologists may now study living things. The cell theory states that all living things are made up of cells, cells are the smallest units of all living things, and all cells come from preexisting cells through cell division. The cell theory is an extremely popular method for biologists to observe organisms with. The cell theory applies to every single organism in the world. Whether an organism is made up of one cell or millions of cells, it is still made up of cells. Based on their cellular structures, all living cells can be divided into two groups: eukaryotic and prokaryotic. Eukaryotic cells are generally much larger and more complex than prokaryotic. Because of their larger size, they require a variety of specialized membrane organelles. These organelles are used to carry out metabolism, provide energy, and transport chemicals throughout the cell. Eukaryotic cells possess an internal membrane system that compartmentalizes the cell for various cellular functions. Prokaryotic cells differ significantly from eukaryotic cells. They lack a membrane- bound nucleus and instead of having chromosomal DNA, their genetic information is in a circular loop called plasmid. These cells have few internal structures that are distinguishable under a microscope. They are very small and they feature three main shapes: rod shaped, spherical, and spiral. Instead of going through an elaborate replication process like eukaryotes, bacterial cells divide by binary fission. There are also similiarities between the two types of cells. They both have DNA as their genetic material. Both are membrane bound and both have ribosomes. They have similar basic metabolism and they are both amazingly diverse in forms. ...

All About the Animals Belonging to Class Asteroidea

All About the Animals Belonging to Class Asteroidea While the classification name, Asteroidea, may not be familiar, the organisms it contains probably are. Asteroidea includes the sea stars, commonly called starfish. With about 1,800 known species, sea stars are a variety of sizes, colors and are a wide-ranging marine invertebrate. Description Organisms in the Class Asteroidea have several arms (usually between 5 and 40) arranged around a central disk. Asteroideas Water Vascular System The central disk contains the madreporite, an opening that lets water into the asteroids water vascular system. Having a water vascular system means that sea stars have no blood, but bring water in through their madreporite and move it through a series of canals, where it is then used to propel their tube feet. Classification Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: EchinodermataClass: Asteroidea The Asteroidea are known as the true stars, and are in a separate class from the brittle stars, which have a more defined separation between their arms and their central disk. Habitat and Distribution Asteroidea can be found in oceans around the world, inhabiting a wide range of water depths, from the intertidal zone to the deep sea. Feeding Asteroids feed on other, usually sessile organisms such as barnacles and mussels. The crown-of-thorns starfish, however, is causing extensive damage by predation on coral reefs. The mouth of an asteroid is located on its underside. Many asteroids feed by expelling their stomach and digesting their prey outside their body. Reproduction Asteroids may reproduce sexually or asexually. There are male and female sea stars, but they are indistinguishable from one another. These animals reproduce sexually by releasing sperm or eggs into the water, which, once fertilized, become free-swimming larvae that later settle to the ocean bottom. Asteroids reproduce asexually by regeneration. It is possible for a sea star to not only regenerate an arm but also nearly its entire body if at least a portion of the sea stars central disc remains.

Pick an international event (from any time period) and apply either Research Paper

Pick an international event (from any time period) and apply either the systemic or domestic level of analysis to that event. In - Research Paper Example The paper aims at providing an intensive review of the historical validity and impacts of the WWI on United States history. Discussion The First World War occurred between 1914 and 1919 and was an intensively bloody war with massive life losses and minimal ground lost. Mainly fighters in trenches fought the war, and it led to approximated ten million or more militants dead and approximately 21 million more wounded. While various nations hoped that the war would be crucial to put a stop to all other wars, in the real sense, the culminating peace agreement set the pace for the Second World War (Dutton 98). The First World War destroyed various empires and weakened others. For instance, the Russian Revolution of 1917 following the regime of Czarist collapse, which ended in the seizure of the authority by Bolsheviks. With the overthrow of the military group in 1918, the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman kingdoms declined, whereas Germany substituted the administration of Kaiser with the natio n of Weimar. New nation states including Poland, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia emerged from formers empires (Protess, Callaway and Vernon 234). Consequently, victory for the allies of the Europe nations came at an increased price. They owed more than $12 billion to the U.S, which was endorsed from a former net defaulter to a higher status (net creditor). In addition, New York City substituted London as the international economic headquarter. Additionally, the European allies experienced high demands for self-rule mainly from their colonies. Similarly, European allies lost control over sufficient economic and military resources to shape global affairs as before. Near the culmination of the WW1, Japan and USA joined the leading nations at the 1919 Unity charter, in Paris, together with other nations such as France, UK and Italy, with the president of the USA, Woodrow Wilson taking a central role. The president formed the League of Nations a fundamental part of the Versailles Treaty wi th Germany (Gracia 104). The U.S and the allies, failed to acknowledge the government of Bolsheviks in Russia, and consequently, exempted the Soviet Union from Paris. In addition, Wilson strived for maintenance of unity and cooperation that would preserve industrialist and democratic countries. Reinforcing the principle of self-determination at national level, Wilson summoned the post war (aftermath) league of nations to offer a collective security to all its members. Further, he expected the national league, under the leadership of Americans, to protect the political independence and territorial integrity of its members, against external hostility, and, therefore, preserve the peace (Keene 248). Americans reacted against Woodrow Wilson’s firm wartime leadership, for instance, the elections in 1918 reduced Democrats to the inferior (minority) in congress. Moreover, after the crisis, with the removal of policies and rules by wartime organizations, the U.S suffered intensive ec onomic upturn, inflation, and labor go-slows. The Expeditionary Forces of America returned from France and rapidly demoralized. In addition, the Congress, with the 1920 National Defense Act, reduced the American army to almost its pre-war level. Rapid disbursement and restructuring led to social strife in the U.S in early 1918 and 1921. Irrespective of the wartime loyalty, numerous Americans such as black American were mainly the critical victims of

The Human Anatomy and Possible Threats Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Human Anatomy and Possible Threats - Essay Example This section presents the systems of the human body and how they function in swift collaboration. The section aims to reveal how each of the various organ systems is equally important in enabling human beings to function as complete beings. The main systems of the human body are the cardiovascular system, the digestive system, the endocrine system, the urinary system, the immune system, the muscular system, the nervous system, the reproductive system, and the respiratory system (Schlossberg and Zuidema, 2007). Wolfsthal (2008) argues that all the mentioned systems work in harmony to ensure that the body maintains a steady state with sufficient nutrients and oxygen, as well as the correct temperature and the right pH level (level of acidity or basicity of the body) ((Steding, 2009). The circulatory system is responsible for the circulation of blood and lymph around the body (Swearingen, 2012). The circulation in turn transports oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrients, hormones, and other su bstances to and from the body (Wolfsthal, 2008). This phenomenon can also be referred as Cellular Metabolism (Waller and Lloyd, 2008). Cellular Metabolism can be defined as the cumulative sequence of biochemical reactions, which occur within a cell. The reaction is responsible for the production of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP-the molecule which stores all the energy derived from food). Cellular metabolism also enables processes like respiration and the disposal of waste products from the body.

Classroom management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Classroom management - Research Paper Example This article written by Simonsen et al focuses on classroom management as a â€Å"critical skill area† and asserts that elementary level teachers need to be taught â€Å"practices that are backed by evidence† (2008: 351). The article further seeks to provide an â€Å"update† on what is currently known about classroom management as well as provide necessary guidelines for translating this knowledge into â€Å"practical classroom practice† (352). The article thus presents the methodology used for literature search, the results of the search, a â€Å"self-assessment tool† as well as â€Å"implications for future research† (352). Thus in this light, the researchers thoroughly examined various literature related to classroom management and finally identified â€Å"20 practices† that could be effectively implemented.Furthermore, the 20 practices identified as a result of the literature search have been group into five, that is, maximising st ructure; posting, reviewing as well as emphasising expectations, making students engage in ways where they can be observed, using various strategies to encourage and appreciate appropriate behaviour and also developing proper responses to inappropriate behaviour. The researchers believe that these features can be enforced with proper planning before the term session begins as well as throughout the school year. However, the limitation in their study is that the literature they used for the research purpose is over twenty years old.

How the same economies of scale that work domestically also work Research Paper

How the same economies of scale that work domestically also work internationally - Research Paper Example Selling products cheaper enables the products to have ready market and are bought in large quantities than those that are expensive (Sowell, 2010). The term capitalism in the economic sense of view means that it is an economic system that has been accepted by economists as one which is the quick method to gaining wealth. It is based on the privately possessing merchandizes, and also the means of production which leads to the creation of products that serve as goods and services. All this is done with the intention of gaining profit. There are certain elements that are associated with capitalism such as the accumulation of capital, market competitiveness and a price system (Sowell, 2010). To the Biblical worldview individuals, capitalism is seen as a means to quick wealth and immoral since it brings about conflicts. Such individuals view capitalism as not looking out for the best interests and the common good of the people. With the passing on of capitalism in the economic market, it brings about inequality, waste, anti-socialism, lack of democracy, dictatorship, war and pollution. Biblical individuals see that as long as capitalism is present, then the above factors will continue to exist in society (Sowell,

With specific reference to the UK economy over the past 20 years, Essay

With specific reference to the UK economy over the past 20 years, critically discuss the relative advantages and disadvantages of operating a floating exchange rate regime - Essay Example In a floating exchange rate system, the market forces determine the value of the currency; that is, by the interactions of several of banks, firms and other institutions seeking to sell and buy currency for the purposes of clearing transactions, arbitrage, hedging, and speculation. In October 1990, the UK joined the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), where the Sterling Pound was fixed against other currencies. In September 1992, UK left the ERM when the pound experienced sustained selling pressure, and the monetary authorities could no longer justify extremely high interest rates to maintain the value of the pound, when the domestic economy was under a deep recession. Since 1992, UK has adopted a flexible exchange rate system; there is no official intervention by the Bank of England to the currency markets to attain the desired level of exchange rate (Roderick & Paul 2004, p.143). The following are the key arguments in favor of a flexible exchange rate. First, reduced necessity for currency reserves; there is no target for an exchange rate level meaning there is little necessity for the Bank of England to hold large scale reserves of foreign currency and gold to use in possible official intervention, in the currency markets. However, in the real world, for example, in UK, the government always has some currency reserves, in case of balance of payments crisis, or the sentiment that the Sterling Pound is getting a bit too low or too high (Karl 2010, p.182). Second, useful tool of macroeconomic adjustment; a floating exchange rate may act as a useful instrument of macroeconomic adjustment. For example, depreciation of the currency should provide a boost in demand of net exports and thereby stimulate growth. This assumes that the higher wage claims or export prices do not dissolve the achievements from a low exchange rate as noted

Phase 2 Discussion Board Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Phase 2 Discussion Board - Assignment Example Those that deal with the maintenance of motor engines such as retail shops cannot be considered part of the automotive industry. Since the development and upgrade of motor engines started from as long as 1890s, significant development and changes in the past years. For instance, the production of motor engines for use has greatly increased since today, the world population has grown and there is the growing need by consumers to have vehicles. With the upgrade of vehicles, there have been developments that have been mainly concentrated on the safety side of the vehicles (Weygandt, Kieso & Kimmel, 2010).   They have been ranked stricter on follow-ups than ever before, ranging from weight to security and to resilience, when it comes to today’s vehicles. This has come with the cost of new materials that have brought out new and advanced techniques for the construction and designing of vehicles. Before there was the knowledge that plastic could make vehicles, the sole material us ed at the time was metal. With the introduction of plastics, there has been advancement in the technology used for making newer vehicles. With the new technologies, manufactures have been able to answer to rising demands for advancements. Plastics have the ability to make vehicles to appear wonderful and attracting. Again with the introduction of plastic in vehicles, it has been known that they use current technology to make enhance vehicles. Another new development has been the introduction of new spark plugs that have been noted to endure more miles than those currently present. With the introduction of the new spark plugs, there have been concerns on the usage and cost of the spark plugs. From the design, development, manufacture, marketing and selling of the plug, there are concerns about how to design a more reliable method of choosing between the Job Order Cost System and the ‘Process Costing System’ (Crosson & Needles, 2011).   Compare and contrast between the Job Order Cost System and the Process Costing System. The Job Order Cost System is a system that is used when products are made with the basis on specific customer orders. With this system, every product that is manufactured is considered as a job, thus costs are made depending on the number of jobs done. With the production of these products, another thing that is considered is the services. Services rendered are also considered as a job and count in the overall costs. The system is designed to take into account and track by job the costs which are incurred while producing each job (Warren, Reeve & Duchac, 2012).  This includes materials used, labor, and overhead that are present in the environment where the manufacture is taking place. When it comes to the process of ‘job order costing system’, ‘the record keeping’ and ‘cost assignment problems’ are complex in the system particularly when a company sells many different products and services compared to when it only has a single product or service. With the different products, the costs become different. Again, cost records must be maintained for each specific product or job. In order to track data for the jobs produced, there are certain documents that are used namely; 1. Job cost sheet: This is a document that is applied to track the total job cost summary detailing from the job number, job and client data and cost that involves materials,

With specific reference to the UK economy over the past 20 years, Essay

With specific reference to the UK economy over the past 20 years, critically discuss the relative advantages and disadvantages of operating a floating exchange rate regime - Essay Example In a floating exchange rate system, the market forces determine the value of the currency; that is, by the interactions of several of banks, firms and other institutions seeking to sell and buy currency for the purposes of clearing transactions, arbitrage, hedging, and speculation. In October 1990, the UK joined the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), where the Sterling Pound was fixed against other currencies. In September 1992, UK left the ERM when the pound experienced sustained selling pressure, and the monetary authorities could no longer justify extremely high interest rates to maintain the value of the pound, when the domestic economy was under a deep recession. Since 1992, UK has adopted a flexible exchange rate system; there is no official intervention by the Bank of England to the currency markets to attain the desired level of exchange rate (Roderick & Paul 2004, p.143). The following are the key arguments in favor of a flexible exchange rate. First, reduced necessity for currency reserves; there is no target for an exchange rate level meaning there is little necessity for the Bank of England to hold large scale reserves of foreign currency and gold to use in possible official intervention, in the currency markets. However, in the real world, for example, in UK, the government always has some currency reserves, in case of balance of payments crisis, or the sentiment that the Sterling Pound is getting a bit too low or too high (Karl 2010, p.182). Second, useful tool of macroeconomic adjustment; a floating exchange rate may act as a useful instrument of macroeconomic adjustment. For example, depreciation of the currency should provide a boost in demand of net exports and thereby stimulate growth. This assumes that the higher wage claims or export prices do not dissolve the achievements from a low exchange rate as noted

Core Competencies Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Core Competencies - Assignment Example This is accompanied by other roles such as promotion of health and ensuring that people are protected from diseases and infections as best as they can through offering of advice during treatment such as advice on sexually transmitted diseases and infections and on reducing obesity among others. Nurse practitioners also carry out counselling with the patients and the relatives and friends of a patient. This may be in preparation of the outcome of results of treatment and especially if the news are devastating. The most common cases are when breaking death news to the relatives and friends or news about terminal diseases. In all of these, a nurse practitioner has to build relationship in order to communicate effectively with the patient. The communication requires cultural competence as patients are culturally diversified and have various cultural beliefs and systems that need to be recognized beforehand and respected. Lastly, a nurse practitioner is supposed to prepare a plan of care for a patient and utilize it using evidence-based practice. The plan of care has to also be explained to both the patient and the relatives for decision making and implementation as well as evaluation (Department of Health and Human Services HRSA, 2002). A nurse administrator is in charge of the administration duties in a health care facility. The administration duties are similar to those of any other manager the only difference being that a nurse administrator is also a nurse and hence understands the medical field better. The most important of the role is the knowledge of the health care environment. This includes knowledge of the health care policies present, the delivery models that can be used, the risks that are anticipated and how to manage them as well as patient safety and case management. The nurse administrator should also exhibit communication and relationship building as one of the roles. This incorporates building and maintaining a working

The Discrimination Act | Analysis

The Discrimination Act | Analysis Discrimination referred to bad treatment against a certain group of people of a specific category or class. There are two types of discrimination: the direct and the indirect discrimination. Direct discrimination according to the European Commission (2003) defined as ‘when a person is treated less well, in comparison with someone else, because of his or her racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.Indirect discrimination occurs when a person want to get a job and for that job required special qualifications or criteria where challenge against a certain group of people and cannot be excused objective. The phenomenon of discrimination existed for many years ago and unfortunately still exist and sometimes in high degree. There are many examples of discrimination like the race, color or gender discrimination which are more popular and more often. Some examples of racism discrimination are Hitler and the American people who bad treated the b lack expatriates.   Also another popular and very often discrimination is about the gender of workers. In countries such as Afghanistan or Iran women are not manipulated equal as men thus have a sidetrack position in all areas culture. The face of discrimination in the employment is not such an easy problem, so the only factor that can stop those discriminations is the application of law in all areas and especially in the workplace. In this essay we are going to examine if the legislation is an effective mechanism for eliminating gender/ethnic discriminatory practices in employment. According to Crosby and Stockdale (2007) sex discrimination can be defined as ‘when a person is or people are treated unfairly in the work context because of gender. There exist, and always will, the huge gap between men and women as concerns the equality. Particularly, in the workplace, we can notice that women do not treated equally as men and thus we have the sex discrimination in employment. This unfair treatment against women leads to resort in Employment Tribunals and claim their rights. Taking in mind the Article 23, the equality between men and women must exist in all areas, including employment, work and pay. The principle of equality shall not embarrass the preservation or approval of measures providing for specific advantages in favor of the under-represented sex, all the employers have to respect and obey it. Many women claiming to earn the same reward opportunities as men, can get a promotion or decision-making roles, have the same employment benefits as men, to ha ve the chance of training and development opportunities, being protected by the law and having the chance for a convenience working. Some statistics show that the average hourly earnings for full-time working women are 82% of those of men and the part-time rate is 61% of that of men. Also the 20% of women which working full time earn less than  £200 per week compared with the 8% of men. Women have the 37% of managerial positions in businesses and it can be notice that women that working in the private sector earn better wages than those who are working in the public sector. As regards the flexible working 63% of women are likely to work flexibly, 78% of housework is doing by women and the 80% of women are becoming the victims of violent crimes. Occupational segregation is another barrier which prevent women accomplishment their obligation in the workplace. It is the distribution of jobs between men and women which require specific qualifications. For example masculine jobs which are engineers, electrical, pilots, firemen etc and the henpecked jobs which are nurses, teachers and stewardess. Although there are some exceptions like some women are being judges or senior police officers. ‘Glass ceiling represents the various barriers that women may face. ‘Glass ceiling prevent them from having an increased in their income or overall go on with their career unlikely with the efforts, achievements and qualifications that may have and offer. The consequences of the sex discrimination are the unfair dismissal for the following reasons: pregnancy, marital status and child care. It is very frequent for a woman to loss her job because of her pregnancy or because is divorced. According to Lockton (2006), ‘In the Courts view, the dismissal of a pregnant woman who had been appointed for an indefinite period, could not be justified on grounds relating to her inability to fulfill a condition of her employment contract temporarily. As a result we have to try and create new policies which include a much broader range of women e.g. black women, working-class women and single mothers, who suffer from discrimination and disadvantages. Furthermore women will tend to leave the workforce because of the child care, of not being as productive as job requires, or choose to earn less by staying in a friendly position or even to experience bias from her employer or her colleagues. Another form of discrimination is the race or ethnic discrimination which referrers to minority of groups in society which are less favorable treated from other groups such an example black and Asian people compared to white and English people. There is a law called Race Relation Act where established in 1976 where prohibits this type of discrimination on race, color, nationality and ethnic origin grounds. Sir Macpherson suggested that ‘the collective failure of an organization to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their color, and culture or ethnic origin. It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behavior which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping which disadvantage minority ethnic people. The black and Asian people face the discrimination by their employers in the workplace. They usual concentrated in particular jobs, have fewer opportunities to recruitment in j ob than white people, they work in lower jobs with very poor pay and the most of them are unemployed. Employers cannot discriminate against the job applicants because of the racial ground in terms of intention who should offer the job, which employment is offered or by denying employment. Also employers cannot discriminate on their current employees about the racial ground in terms of which is the employer, the way that can get opportunities for promotion, training and many other benefits or by unbind because they did not bow to their wishes (racial harassment). According to Bell (2002) ‘In the UK, during 1999/2000, the police recorded 47.814 racist incidents, most involving damage to property or verbal harassment. The International Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination has the Article 4(a) which says that to announce as a fast punishable by lawimpulse to racial discrimination, as well as all acts of violence or impulse to such acts against any race or group of persons of another color or ethnicity. As it mortgaged above, racial discrimination is prohibited by law so many people who had faced any type of discrimination can complaint to the Employment Tribunal. There is three month time limit for presenting in Employment Tribunal and the decision of the tribunal is sometimes further than compensation. The Employment Tribunal may recommend to the employer ways to reduce bad effects of the discrimination such as an apology.   Nowadays discrimination has reduced in very high levels because all the employers try to respect and obey the law. By the incorporation of black and Asian people in the workforce had been able to acquire successful jobs. Also women in the 20th century have more opportunities and are protected by law. They have made improvements on areas of politics, education, employment etc. In conclusion the gender and ethnic discrimination in the workplace is prohibited by law. Unfortunately some employers violate the law and discriminate against of their employees. Women, black and Asian people faced most recently the racism of their employers and many cases transferred to the Employment Tribunal. Nowadays this phenomenon has reduced and employers are training and have the knowledge to avoid any situation of discrimination not only from their side but also form the side of the workers. In recent years women and black people have very important positions all over the world and an example is the minister of USA Barack Obama who had competed with a woman, Hillary Clinton, for the chair of USA. This example shows us that men and women, black or white are equal, have the same opportunities and are protected by the law from any type of discrimination. Japanese Airlines: Strategic Human Resource Management Japanese Airlines: Strategic Human Resource Management This essay is going to discuss about the human resource management issues in Japanese airlines and also provide the way to solve the problem based on the human resource strategy that consist of various practices i.e. communication within an organization, human resource planning, recruitment and selection, learning and development, performance measurement, employee relations, and evaluation. Harvard Referencing Style is adopted for referencing in this essay. In 1992, Japanese airlines, JAL, declared its first loss at $100.2 million (Shrestha, 2008). Numbers of policies and plans were initiated and executed in order to combat with the loss. The key to combat with the loss was to reduce the expenses therefore downsizing the employee and cutting off the employee remuneration were included in its plans. Furthermore, the company turned to start hiring non-Japanese employees instead due to the lower payment on their wages. Consequently, these policies and plans led to another substantial loss for the company which was a lowering in productivity of its employee and had a notably impact on customer services and also customer relations. This substantial loss was engendered by the differences between Japanese and non-Japanese employees of JAL itself and this was considered to be the human resource management issue of the firm. According to the business strategy of Japanese airlines was to strive in the airline business and combat with its loss by the cost reduction and workforce productivity improvement (JAL, 2008). Thus, the human resource strategy had to be aligned to the business strategy in order to achieve the firms goal. HR strategy consists of a set of decisions and actions which involve with the management of all level of employee in the business and related to the implementation of strategy that led to creating and sustaining competitive advantage of the company (Tyson, 2006). The key HR strategy of JAL appeared to be the hiring non-Japanese employees at lower wages through the IASCO, global crew leasing company. This was possibly considered as an effective strategy to JAL as the labor costs of the firm was reduced by 40% in that period of time. However, afterwards, this strategy turned to be a loss of the firm in long run as a rift between Japanese employees who directly contracted with JAL and n on-Japanese employees who contracted with JAL through IASCO was created according to the differences between them. Differences were possibly stimulated in either difference in their personal culture of working and flawed HR policies that could not blend and treat them together equally; as a result, them and us culture was developed and made a loss to the firm. Apparently, the existed HR strategy of the firm did not cover this pitfall and should be reconstructed based on HR practices and fit with the business strategy in order to resolve the problem and sustain the competitive advantage of the company. The key determinant of human resource effectiveness is the fit between the business strategy and human resource strategy (Tyson, 2006). The business strategy and HR strategy are required to be communicated through all level of employees in the company to enhance the employee understanding and motivate them to pursue the firms goal. Communication in organization is the basic function that cannot be overlooked. It is the key for motivation that can improve the employee morale and productivity (Martin, 2005). Without the communication, it is impossible to create the human relations and thus difficult to success in the business (Thomson, 2007). Communication in organization can be categorized into 2 main types which are written communication such as internal newsletters, e-mails and another one is the oral communication that involves presentations, employee meetings. Both types are important in different ways depend on the situation but, generally, oral communications are much more meaningful and effective than written communications (Martin, 2005). As such, the HR strategy of JAL should be conducted through the employee meeting which involves entire level of employees by include how each individual employee can contribute to the firms goal, how employees will be supported and how the firm will be different in the future and make sure that it is a two-way communication to ensure that all employees will receive and understand the delivered messages. However, the Japanese culture tends to be the seniority system under a formal hierarchy that reflects the subordinates to acknowledge the supervisors commands with less comments and suggestions (Deresky, 2008). Therefore, this strict hierarchy should be mitigated in communication and replaced by the openness in order to obtain the feedback and perceive the existed and potential problems including human resource issues in the organization from all employees. It is important to gather the information of existed problems as well as potential problems in the future from the employees as they are the real one who facing the real problem and their opinions are useful to develop the problem solving plan (Robbins, 2008). HR practices such as human resource planning, recruitment and selection, learning and development, performance measurement, employee relations, and evaluation would be more effective by development with the joint of employees feedback. HR planning is the process of determining what job in the firm will need to be filled, how to fill them and what skills, experience and competencies will be required (Dessler, 2008). This process is significance to the firm in term of manpower management and certainly the benefit to the firm in term of financial as well. The goal of HR planning can be defined as to get the right quantify of employee with the right knowledge, skills, experiences and competencies in the right jobs at the right time and also at the appropriate cost in order to achieve the firms goal (Bacal, 2010). The HR planning is able to play an important role regarding the firms cost reduction strategy because it involves with the determining current existed employees and also forecasting the future employee turnover and requirement rate to balance the total headcounts that capable to sustain the achievement on business goal. Shortage of employee issue can make a loss in opportunities in business that leads to financial loss. Similarly, excessiveness of headcount issue can make a financial loss by the excess payment on unnecessary jobs and downsizing the employee which compensation payments are required. The downsizing does not create an impact on only employees who have been sacked but it also creates the negative impact on morale of remaining employees (?sthus, 2010). These issues are possibly mitigated by an effective HR planning (Dessler, 2008). Under a well-developed HR planning, JAL would tend to promote their existed employees to other required positions by training and developing them instead of hiring new employees which may cause financial loss in the future due to an excessive headcount. HR planning could provide both money saving and prevention of morale impact on firms employees. HR planning directly involves with the recruitment and selection process. Recruitment and selection process is the process of screening and choosing the right people into the right positions at the right time (Martin, 2005). This process can be done by the firm itself so called in-house recruitment or through the employment agencies i.e. headhunters, niche recruiters (Dessler, 2008). JAL decided to recruit their non-Japanese pilots and flight engineers through the IASCO, crew leasing company which is considered as employment agencies, due to the reason of lower wages. However, the cultural differences between Japanese and non-Japanese employees created a negative impact to the firm. To combat with this issue, JAL could work out with IASCO to screen and select non-Japanese employee by take following factors into account beyond the skills, experiences and competencies that are generally required in the position. These factors are culture adaptability and ability to learn other language of the candidates through the ability test of aptitude, test of personali ty and group situational test in the structured interview and selection process. Adaptability is a personality to handling uncertainty situation, and dealing with the working outside traditional culture and also geographical borders (OConnell, 2008). With the high adaptability of non-Japanese employees, they could tend to conform to JAL culture. Consequently, the cultural differences issues could be reduced. In the same way, this recruitment practice that takes the adaptability of candidates into account could provide more effective in problem solving related to the cultural differences by applying it to the recruitment of Japanese employee by JAL itself as well. As such, both Japanese and non-Japanese with high adaptability could easily blend together and provide better work performances. Alternatively, the JAL could save more money and, in the same time, avoid the cultural differences issues by in-house recruitment on both Japanese and non-Japanese employees with the focus on adaptability of candidates. Hiring people through the employment agencies normally cost more than in-house recruitment since the agencies get the fees (Dessler, 2008). Also, recruiting non-Japanese employees directly by JAL itself and make them to be permanent employees for the firm could prevent the negative impact on their morale and lead to maintain their productivities. Morale and employee relation problems can be created when the permanent and non-permanent employees working on the same work but not obtain the same benefits regarding their differences in permanent and non-permanent employment status (Schaefer, 2005). The productivity of employee is tended to worsen if the employees morale is lower (Mohanty, 2009). Recruiting and selecting the high potential employees does not assure that they will perform their work effectively. To guarantee that employees will work effectively, they are required to know what to do and how to do their jobs through the learning, training and development programs (Dessler, 2008). Firstly, the employees need to learn the basic background information of the firm such as company rules and policies in order to get them perform their jobs satisfactorily. Employees may perform their work performance lower than expectation of the company without knowing the basic information on things like rules and policies (Tyson, 2006). Secondly, in order to improve the work performance of employees, they are required to learn and acquire new skills and knowledge. As such, training and development process is essential. Training and development is a learning process to provide the skills and knowledge, required for employees to perform their jobs, to both new and current employees with an aim to bettering their work performances (Dessler, 2008). The process can be done both on and off the job. Group meetings, Projects and assignments are the samples of on the job training. On the other hand, samples of off the job training are seminars and workshops. To train and develop employees effectively, firm needs to identify who needs training and what do they want to learn. After that, establishing plan and implementation of the training to serve employee needs. Finally, the evaluation to check the effectiveness of the training is required (Martin, 2005). Regarding the JAL human resource issues, other than general training and development programs to improve the skills and knowledge of employees, the team building training should be adopted to glue the rift between Japanese and non-Japanese employees. Team building promotes the bonding between employees within the organization (Hikichi, 2010). It can be done in a various forms even activities like games and parties (Leland, 2010). By implementing the team building program, Japanese and non-Japanese employees could tend to learn, connect and blend to other cultures from their colleagues. Team building helps break the ice between employees and better understanding on each other (Leland, 2010). As such, the conflict issues of JAL due to the culture differences could be mitigated therefore JAL could improve productivity from its employees. The productivity and workflow in a team could be intensely damaged by the conflict or confusion (Grainger, 2010). Once the employees have been employed, trained and worked on their job for a period of time, the performance appraisal is required to measure their performances. Performance appraisal is one process of the performance management. Performance management is the way that company measures and determines how well its business and employee performs through all of the organizational processes by linked with the organizations goals and objectives (Martin, 2005). Its aim is to evaluate and develop the employees (Tyson, 2006). Under performance management, JAL is required to state the clearly defined business objectives, department objectives and individual employee objectives. Thus, those objectives have to be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time bound, exciting and reviewable to motivate its employee. By the clearly defined objectives, employees would know what to do and see how their individual, teamwork performance affect and contribute to the overall objectives of the firms ( Moore, 2010). Clearly defined objectives provide the directions and challenges to employees and lead to improve their motivation (Bauer, 2009). The performance appraisal is important to the JAL in order to determine, evaluate and develop the employees based on their past performances. The performance appraisal also provides a benefit to the firm by improve the motivation of its employees. Once the employees are appraised, the feedback of their strengths and weaknesses are returned to employees. Letting they know what areas they need to improve and develop based on their strengths and weaknesses could improving the motivation of employees and also increasing the organizational performance (Martin, 2005). The appraisal can be done both internally such as the self-evaluation, evaluation by their supervisors, peers and externally by customer feedbacks, evaluations. JAL should standardize the performance appraisal process among subsidiaries and also equally to both Japanese employees and non-Japanese employees from IASCO crews in order to prevent the unfair situation and negative impact due to the different treatment between them. Work performances of the employees tend to be poorer if they are experienced injustice in workplace (ScienceDaily, 2009). By standardization of appraisal on both Japanese and non-Japanese employees, the non-Japanese employees could be stimulated to improve their work performances and also distrust attitude of Japanese employees could be reduced as both of them are required to work hard and perform the well-performance to improve their bottom line profits. The employees who performed above and beyond the expected level of output regarding their job description and accomplished firm, department and individual objectives should be rewarded. Recognizing and respecting for employees contribution at work is the biggest motivator (Harrison, 2010). Plenty benefits would be returned to JAL by an adoption of appropriate reward system regarding employees performance such as improvement on employee productivity, increasing in retention of quality employee and lowering absenteeism. Awarding the desired work performance of employee increases the repetition of desired work performance therefore more productivity is created (Harrison, 2010). Employee relations is the another process that JAL could adopt in order to improve its employees motivation and productivity. Employee relations is the process that concerned with sustaining the relationship between the employer and employee that contribute to satisfactory morale, motivation and productivity (Dessler, 2008). Improving the relationships at work leads to an improvement on overall productivity and thus increasing the profit to the firm (Polman, 2010). To improve the relationship among employer and employee, the conflicts between them have to be prevented. JAL could have to state clearly, effectively and reasonably policies and rules such as disciplinary rules and procedures to prevent the conflicts within an organization. Rules and policies in workplace are mainly set to specify expectations for behavior, secure safety and health of employees, promote and protect employee rights, and promote harmony and reduce the conflicts in workplace (Cuma, 2010). JAL could also help non-Japanese employees, IASCO crews, to get the membership of labor union in order to enhance the employee relations. One of the ways to improve the employer-employee relationship is to dealing well of labor union (Van der Waldt, 2007). As such, non-Japanese employees could gain more benefit, consequently be motivated and perform more productivity of their works. Union members receive more payment, holidays, insurance plan benefit, and various other benefits than nonunion employees (Dessler, 2008). Moreover, the union member also can ask for a help from the union to guarantee that workers rights are put in place (James, 2009). In addition, this action could also provide the bargaining power back to the Japanese employees who have been being members of the union. Furthermore, the job security of non-Japanese employees has to be guaranteed in order to prevent the lowering in productivity according to employees morale. Lack of job security makes the employees feel stressful (MacLeod, 2010). If employees are at unhealthy stress level, there are high possibilities that employees work performances will be poorer and that will cause negative impact to the firm (Pearson, 2009). Last step to solve the JAL human resource issues effectively is to continually evaluate the effectiveness of all previously presented HR activities. The continual evaluation process is important in order to determine how successful HR activities are and how can firm develop and improve them to be more effective. Evaluation process is used to ensure that the plans and implementations are having an effect per expectation (Douglas, 2010). If there are any loopholes in the plans and activities, the evaluation process will show early signals therefore the plans and activities can be timely adjusted to improve the effectiveness (Douglas, 2010). This essay is attempted to solve the human resource issues in Japanese airlines through the HR areas. Hopefully, the problems can be solved by the presented strategic HR plans and activities with an aim to improve the productivity and motivation of the workforce, at the same time, enhance cost saving in various ways through the HR processes which are communication within an organization, human resource planning, recruitment and selection, learning and development, performance measurement, employee relations, and evaluation.

The Donner Party and the American Character :: essays research papers

According to the thesis of Fredrick Jackson Turner, the frontier changed America. Americans, from the earliest settlement, were always on the frontier, for they were always expanding to the west. It was Manifest Destiny; spreading American culture westward was so apparent and so powerful that it couldn’t be stopped. Turner’s Frontier Theory says that this continuous exposure to the frontier has shaped the American character. The frontier made the American settlers revert back to the primitive, stripping them from their European culture. They then created something brand new; it’s what we know today as the American character. Turner argues that we, as a culture, are a product of the frontier. The uniquely American personality includes such traits as individualism, futuristic, democratic, aggressiveness, inquisitiveness, materialistic, expedite, pragmatic, and optimistic. And perhaps what exemplifies this American personality the most is the story of the Donner Pa rty.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When their journey began in 1846, the members of the Donner and Reed families had high hopes of reaching California, and they would settle at nothing less. Their dream of making a new life for themselves represented great determination. When their packed wagons rolled out of Springfield, Missouri, they thought of their future lives in California. The Reed family’s two-story wagon was actually called the â€Å"pioneer palace car†, because it was full of everything imaginable including an iron stove and cushioned seats and bunks for sleeping. They didn’t want to leave their materialistic way of life at home.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  However, the Donner Party also possessed the American trait of expediency, which ultimately caused their party many deaths. Taking the advice of Lansford Hastings, the author of The Emigrants’ Guide to Oregon and California, the Donner Party took the supposed new and faster route that cut under the Great Salt Lake to California. However, even when they were trapped under several feet of Sierra Nevada snows, they didn’t give up; perseverance and optimism prevailed. Soon after many days trapped in makeshift shelters beneath the mountains, the emigrants ran out of food. With their pragmatic minds, they ate every bit of their oxen they could including boiled hides and charred bones. Being practical, they also ate bark, twigs, and leaves. They had to eat something; it was still survival of the fittest.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some members of the Donner Party were courageous and determined enough to venture over the mountains to California to get relief. A small group set out, along with two Indian guides.

Sintering in Fluidized Bed :: essays papers

Sintering in Fluidized Bed Processes for cleaner and more efficient energy generation from feed stocks such as coals, lignites, peats, and waste liquors use fluidized beds that are operated at high temperatures and pressures. These processes involve systems that are multi-phase and have complex chemical reactions. Research work has tackled a number of aspects, including mechanical engineering aspects of the reactors, reaction chemistry and products, characterization and physical properties of the ash, fouling by ash deposits and the phenomenon of defluidization by agglomeration or sintering of the ash particles. It is with this latter aspect, the phenomenon of defluidization, that this contribution is concerned. Defluidization is also a problem in a number of other elevated temperature fluidized bed production processes, including size enlargement by agglomeration, fluidized bed processes for poly-olefin production and metallurgical processes. Defluidization occurs when the particles in the bed adhere. When two particles touch, material at the point of contact migrates forming a neck that is strong enough to withstand the disruptive forces in the fluidized bed. Two categories of adhesion can be discerned. The first type is visco-plastic sintering and it occurs with glassy materials. With these materials, migration is limited by the ability of the material to flow. With increasing temperature the viscosity of the material is reduced and hence the material flows and the size of the neck is increased. At some point, the necks are sufficiently large and strong enough to cause defluidization. The second type occurs when a large quantity of liquid is formed by melting or by chemical reaction. With an increase in temperature, a phase boundary may be crossed bring about rapid defluidization. The liquid formed has a relatively low viscosity and defluidization is caused by the amount of liquid present. This section will primarily f ocus on visco-plastic sintering. Model systems, in which chemical reactions do not occur, have been used to investigate the relationship between process conditions and the tendency to defluidize due to visco-plastic sintering. Materials used have included low-density ploy-ethylene and poly-propylene, soda glasses, metals, and inorganic crystalline salts. Under sintering conditions, the fluidizing velocity has to be increased above the minimum fluidizing velocity, Umf, to a higher velocity, U; at which pronounced bubbling occurs. A fluidizing velocity, Umfs, may be defined as a velocity just sufficient to prevent sintering. This characterizes a different fluidization state from Umf, since the in the latter the bed is in an expanded but not bubbling state.

Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity and Strength Development of Fly Ash Concrete

Upon this survey it is shown that the UPV and strength development, severally, with the age of the concrete havingdifferent fly ash. Both increase their strength with age. At the same age, both UPV and the strength of concrete with low per centum fly ash are higher than those with high per centum fly ashmainly because of the denser construction of concrete with lower fly ash, thisindicates that concrete with high fly ash at the age of 1 yearss has a UPV of approximately 89 % of that of 30 yearss, but the strength is merely approximately 60 % concrete becomes ill-defined when age and mixture proportion is taken into consideration at the same time. This observation suggests that it is be better to individually see the consequence of age and mixture proportion on UPV and strength relationship It was concluded that the relationship between the Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity ( UPV ) and compressive strength of concrete every bit good as to understand the influence of the mixture proportion and the age of concrete on the relationship between UPV and compressive strength. Specific decisions are as follows: The UPV and strength growing rates of high and low per centum offly ash concrete have a important difference at an early age. As a consequence, to clearly specify the relationship between UPV and the strength of concrete with different mixture proportions, it is necessary to extinguish the intervention caused by the different UPV and strength growing rates of concrete at early ages. The equations obtained from the simulation curves can be used to find the mortar strengths of the howitzer mix proportions.1.1 Sorptivity TestBased on the ASTN C 1585-04 criterion sorptivity trial is concerned with measuring of the rate of soaking up of H2O by hydraulic- cement concrete. Therefore this trial is focused on measuring the lastingness and strength of fly ash howitzer relation to sorptivity. Research shows that in civil technology quality howitzer or concrete is associated with good compaction strength every bit good as reduced degrees of sorptivity obtained through efficient casting and harde ning. ( Ho et al. 1989 ; Ho & A ; Lewis, 1988 ) .With most building stuffs being porous, suction of wet and motion belongingss of such stuffs have been established to be the primary cause of many civil technology jobs such as corrosion, procedure of wetting and drying etc. this prompted research focussing on the undermentioned critical parametric quantities: capillary action potency, H2O diffusivity and hydraulic conduction. To accomplish the aim, sorptivity proving method that involves a uni-directional H2O soaking up from the samples was adopted. Based on this method, specimen cumulative sum of H2O absorbed is related to the square root of the clip consumed therefore set uping the following relationship ( Hall, 1981 ) ; I = S* T0.5 where S = sorptivity T0.5= clip taken ( elapsed ) Therefore sorptivity can be assessed and evaluated through capillary action measurings. This is achieved through finding the rate of stuff soaking up topic to its homogeneousness constituents. During the experimental procedure, both H2O and superplasticizer were utilized as trial fluids. Therefore, the casted regular hexahedron samples were so placed or immersed in H2O for a period of 30 yearss bring arounding after which the specimens ( sized 50 mm * 50 millimeter ) were dried in an oven for over 72 hours in temperatures of 85 Â °C. The measure of H2O gripped by the samples ( specimens ) in a clip frame of 30 proceedingss was determined through the procedure of weighing the specimens utilizing a top pan balance weighing up to 0.1 milligram. The truth of the consequence obtained is ensured by pass overing off surface H2O on the specimen utilizing a dampened tissue and each deliberation operation for single specimen was done within 30 seconds. The consequence obtained is evaluated utilizing sorptivity relationship equation illustrated below ( Hall & A ; Tse, 1986 ) ; I = S* T0.5 Therefore S=i/ t? Where ; S= rate of sorptivity ( in millimetres ) t= clip taken ( in proceedingss ) I = ?w/Ad ?w = difference in weight obtained = Wi-Wd Wd = the dry weight of the oven prohibitionist ( in gms ) Wi = weight of the regular hexahedron submergence specimen after 30 proceedingss soaking up of H2O ( in gm ) . Figure 13: Sorptivity1.2 Water AbsorptionFigures ( 11, 12, and 13 ) identifies and presents the waterabsorption values for 1, 7, and 30 yearss for assorted mixtures. It is shown that when the fly ash is acquiring finer, the rate of H2O soaking up is lower. Furthermore, the higher the fly ash/ cement ratio, the no nothingnesss for the H2O to sip through to increase the weight of the regular hexahedrons ( Prinyaet al. , 2005 ) . Lower the rate of H2O soaking up. This is because when the volume of fly ash is increasing, it will make full the nothingnesss, increasing the denseness and hence be forestalling H2O soaking up ( Prinyaet al. , 2007 ) . Figure 14: Hardening age One twenty-four hours Figure 15: Curing age Seven yearss Figure 16: Curing age 30 yearss Due to there being a limited experimental probe refering the H2O soaking up andsorptivityof howitzer, the undermentioned observations are made sing the opposition of partly replaced Pozzocrete1:3 proportion howitzer.1.3 Variation of residuary compressive strength with UPVResidual compressive strength of specimens lessenings with addition in UPV. Variation of residuary compressive strength with UPV is shown in Figure 18 0 % specimen which recorded a residuary strength of 12.62 ( MPa ) corresponds to maximum UPV 2381 % ( m/s ) among the three series. In contrast, 45 % specimen with 3132 ( m/s ) UPV maximal residuary compressive strength of 34.02 ( MPa ) . A multinomial tendency line for the relationship curve with corresponding equation gave a value of arrested development coefficient ( R2 ) of 0.9091. Table 4: Relationship between compressive strength and UPV Figure 18: Compaction Strength with UPV1.4 Residual compressive strength with H2O soaking upA Digital compaction proving machine was employed to find the compressive strength of the specimen at regular intervals. The inside informations of howitzer specimens are given in Table 4 ( below ) Table 5: Water soaking up, compressive strength Increase in H2O soaking up with residuary compressive strength of specimen’s lessenings. Variation of residuary compressive strength with H2O soaking up is show in Figure 19 ( below ) 0 % specimen which recorded a residuary strength of 34.02 corresponds to minimal H2O soaking up 6.30 % among the three series. In contrast, 45 % specimen with 13.57 % H2O soaking up retained minimal residuary compressive strength of 10.47 % . A multinomial tendency line for the relationship curve with corresponding equation gave a value of arrested development coefficient ( R2 ) of 0.9999. Figure 19: Relationship between compressive strength and H2O soaking up.1.5 Materials1.5.1 SuperplasticizerIn concrete mixtures superplasticizer sums with high C fly ash add-on in the sum of 15, 30, and 45 % by weight of the cement content, it is possible to cut down the sum of H2O by 50 % , while utilizing mixtures superplasticizer. The find and innovation of concrete alloies has witnessed enormous development in the building industry. In civil technology, alloies are used to better the belongingss and quality of building concrete in assorted ways ( Ramachandran, 2001 ) . This usually occurs during the blending procedure therefore impacting the building howitzer in the undermentioned positive ways ;Promoting workability of concreteBettering strength and lastingness of the howitzerEnhance opposition against jobs such as corrosion, freezing and thaw actionIncrease H2O proofing characteristic in the concreteSuperplasticizer is an ingredient alloy used in concrete for assorted intents. The ingredient can be defined as the stuff advancing high degree of cut downing H2O in the concrete ( Csetenyi, Dhir & A ; Hewlett, 2002 ) . As a consequence, this stuff enhances the belongingss of building howitzer hence enabling the followers ;It enhances workability rate through increased placing features of concrete during buildin gIt minimizes the measure of H2O used in readying of howitzer at assorted ratios therefore advancing strength and lastingnessThe stuff is environmental friendly as it minimizes on the cement use every bit good as thermic strain ensuing from the procedure of hydration.In this trial, the adoptive superplasticizer is fly ash stuff ( polymer ) which has the belongingss necessary to heighten concrete strength and lastingness ( Spiratos, 2003 ) . Some of the two basic features that this superplasticizer ( fly ash ) stuff has are ;There are high H2O reducing agents in building howitzerThey have a self-compacting capableness in concrete1.5.2 Fly AshComposed of a non-combustible component of coal compounds, fly ash grains are characterized by glassy spherical ball bearing finer atoms compared to ordinary Portland cement atoms. The atoms are micro-sized mensurating between 0.1Â µm-150 Â µm. The stuff is a pozzolanic and reacts with free calcium hydroxide in the presence of H2O therefore bri ng forthing Ca silicate hydrate ( C-S-H ) . CSH is the critical constituent that enables bonding of atoms and heightening strength every bit good as guaranting lastingness of gluing in concrete. As a byproduct, wing ash can be obtained assorted beginnings particularly power coevals workss such as Maize Products ( A division of Sayaji Industries Ltd ) Power works. Figure 20: High Carbon Fly Ash ( HCFA )1.5.3 CementFor the controlled experiment in this survey, Ordinary Portland Cement ( OPC ) is utilised to enable and help proper comparing consequences. Through the comparing the survey will be able to avail proper grounds on the effects that fly ash has on the building howitzer or concrete as used in civil technology. The OPC used is categorized as of 53 class which conforms to Be: 8112-1989 criterion. A assortment of experimental trials were performed on cement to specify its pertinence in assorted Fieldss such as ecology, environment, economic system, engineering, etc. some of the trials include ; specific gravitation, consistence trials, puting clip trials, compressive strengths, etc.1.5.4 WaterBing a multi-usable constituent, H2O is a important ingredient of concrete readying in civil technology. Besides enabling possible and proper commixture of the concrete stuffs, it triggers and catalyses chemical reactions between stuffs. However, H2O is composed of chemical substances that may impact the concluding quality of howitzer or concrete used in a building. This is particularly when it reacts with other stuffs bring forthing other compounds that will negatively act upon the quality of howitzer in footings of strength and lastingness among others. In add-on to this the ratio used will besides find the result of the concluding concrete compound. Thus the ratio of H2O cement used is 0.25 and 0.25 for superplasticizer of howitzer. In respect, a mixture of class M25 and M40 conforming to IS 10262:2009 were designed and implemented in the experiment to fix the trial samples. After undergoing casting and H2O soaking up for 30 yearss bring arounding, the 50 millimeter * 50 millimeter cubed specimens were dried for a period of 36 hours at the temperatures of110Â °C until the mass became changeless suggestion for the deliberation procedure. The resulted weight obtained was recorded as dry weight ( Wd ) for specimens. The samples were so placed in H2O at room temperatures for a clip frame of 36 hours after which the specimens were once more weighed and noted as submergence weight ( WI ) . Therefore the per centum of H2O soaking up is given by the formu

Article Review Essay

The article, School Counseling Outcome: A Meta-Analytic Explanation of Interventions, written by Whiston, S., Tai, W., Rahardja, D., and Eder, K. is research done to show if certain interventions and techniques used by school counselors are effective. The article discussed two types of studies, one with controlled comparisons and another involving pre and posttest differences. The article began with the history of counseling and the model counselors are using. Campbell and Dahir’s (as cited in Whiston, Tai, Rahardja, & Eder, 2011), â€Å"specified that school counselors should coordinate a program that facilitates academic, career, and personal social development†. Many schools and counselors have been following Gysber’s and Henderson’s model which has four program components supported by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA). They include guidance curriculum, individual planning, responsive services, and system support. There has been limited research done on these components to conclude if the interventions are effective. â€Å"A major problem with the reviews of school counseling is that they are not able to indicate the degree to which school counseling interventions influence student outcome† (Whiston, Tai, Rahardja, & Eder (2011). In the article there were some major strengths and gains. There was evidence that specific interventions work with certain groups. The research also supports the need for school counselor to be more involved with all students, since there is a positive effect when students have been working with a guidance counselor. Yet, we still need more  research in the elementary level to see how we can support the younger students more effectively. There were also some major limitations noted about the study. This included not having enough supported information on how the interventions or treatments were conducted, missing valuable information, not having reliable standardized assessments, not following up to see how the interventions helped, and the study was done with only specific interventions. They also concluded that there were specific gains in certain areas, but could not identify how they got those results. The conclusions of the studies indicate that students who receive services from a counselor scored higher on standardized test. Counseling also helped with discipline, problem solving, and career knowledge compared to students not receiving any interventions. This shows the importance of having a school counselor and the role they play in making a difference in the lives they touch. Both studies indicated the â€Å"effectiveness of a balance approach to school counseling that provides a guidance curriculum to all students and responsive services that respond to students’ issues† (Whiston, Tai, Rahardja, & Eder, 2011). In this study we can see how important a school counselor is to students facing difficult issues. It is noted how some interventions can help a student be successful with academics, social interactions, and behavior. After reading this article I can see how effective counseling can be for all students. As an elementary teacher I will try to use a strategic comprehensive guidance program and data to guide my instruction. Using information from teachers, parents and administration I can plan my lessons to better meet the needs of students. Following up with students and keeping data on interventions will be a priority. References: Whiston, S. C., Tai, W., Rahardja, D., & Eder, K. (2011). School counseling outcome: A meta†analytic examination of interventions. Journal Of Counseling & Development, 89(1), 37-55. doi:10.1002/j.1556-6678.2011.tb00059.x

Air Quality and Climate Change as Integrated Policy – 1

Environmental policies largely influence the way humans interact with the environment. Policies targeting air quality, namely the Clean Air Act, have been effective in lowering the emissions of pollutants; however climate change is still something that concerns some scientists, citizens, and policymakers. As such, the need for further progress is necessary. In order to make such progress policymakers may need to develop air quality and climate change policies through an integrative approach. Doing this, however, does not come without political, social, and scientific obstacles.Although there are obstacles to recognizing integrative approaches for policymaking, air quality and climate change may be addressed simultaneously, less costly, and more effectively by using such an approach. Air quality and climate change are interrelated and, as such, policies should be developed through an integrative approach. The federal government’s approach to climate change policy has included o nly voluntary measures thus far. This conservative approach has failed to address climate change effectively (Dale, 2011).Policy making is both time- and cost-extensive. Therefore addressing air quality and climate change separately prolongs the policymaking process and increases the costs associated with that process. As greenhouse gas emissions affect air quality and climate change, an integrative approach to developing policies may result in timelier, less cost extensive policies that better address both issues. Air quality and climate change are interrelated, thus policies that address both issues simultaneously may provide better health, economic, and environmental benefits.Air quality and climate change are influenced by common air pollutants. As such, focusing on one pollutant to improve air quality may increase or decrease other pollutants that affect climate change (Thambiran & Diab, 2011). The complex interaction between air quality and climate change makes it nearly impos sible to create a win-win situation. If a policy addresses air quality, but the impacts of the policy on climate change is overlooked, the desired benefits may vanish.Air quality management emission standards are designed to decrease anthropogenic sources of air pollutants, and it is expected that the emission decreases will lead to better air quality. Such policies are aimed at improving air quality, assuming that climate will remain constant. But scientists suggest future climate change is likely to impact meteorological factors that affect air quality, thus making it necessary to consider air quality and climate change to avoid unexpected outcomes (Thambiran & Diab, 2011).An integrative approach to air quality and climate change policy making may generate better health, economic, and environmental benefits. The benefits of an integrative approach to air quality and climate change may seem obvious, but realizing such an approach does not come without political, social, and scienti fic obstacles. Politicians hold differing views about how to manage air quality and climate change. Not all politicians believe that climate change is an issue, despite scientific evidence, but most agree that air quality is an issue.Socially, citizens are divided much like politicians, but often rely on the media for information about the reality of climate change. To further complicate the issue, scientists are in disagreement about the validity of climate change. In every layer of society, agendas and motivations heavily influence the support or opposition to a given piece of legislation. The many political, social, and scientific obstacles come as a result of such a controversial issue, which makes it difficult to develop an integrative approach to air quality and climate change.Maintaining a fragmented approach to air quality and to climate change causes problems for everyone. As with any successful system, all parts must function properly and simultaneously in order to achieve maximum performance. Fragmented is defined as existing or functioning as though broken into separate parts; disorganized; disunified (IAC Companies, 2012). Maintaining a fragmented approach to air quality has delivered successes, but a united effort is necessary to ensure everyone is equally protected from air pollutants.Climate change, however, cannot be maintained with a fragmented approach. Global uniformity is imperative to mitigate climate change, and if cannot be addressed globally, it cannot be managed at all. Attempts locally will not provide adequate results, thus anything less than a global effort creates a problem. Because air quality and climate change are interconnected, maintaining a fragmented approach to either issue creates problems for everyone. Policies that target individual behaviors can be effective in addressing climate change and air quality.Incentives provided by local, state, and government actors are good examples of how policies influencing individual be havior can help mitigate climate change. Individuals are beginning to voluntarily change behaviors that contribute to poor air quality and climate change. These changes are making a difference, so it is rational to believe that policies targeting individual behaviors will effectively address air quality and climate change. Air quality and climate change policies should be developed through an integrative approach.The benefits of this approach include saving money and providing timelier, more effective results. Political, social, and scientific obstacles must be dealt with to realize an integrative approach to managing air quality and climate change. Fragmented approaches to air quality and climate change pose problems for everyone. Voluntary measures being taken by individuals are yielding positive results. It is therefore rational to develop policies that target individual behaviors.Although there are obstacles to recognizing integrative approaches for policymaking, air quality and climate change may be addressed simultaneously, less costly, and more effectively by using such an approach. Reference Dale, L. (2011). Environmental Policy. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. IAC Companies. (2012). Retrieved from Dictionary. com, LLC: http://dictionary. reference. com/ Thambiran, T. , & Diab, R. D. (2011). The case for integrated air quality and climate change policies. Elsevier Environmental Science & Policy, 1008-1017.

Project Management Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Project Management Paper - Essay Example Project management possesses great importance in the business world because it is widely believed that the successful operations of every scale and type of business organization depend upon the successful accomplishment of its defined targets that can be met through proper project management (Means and Adams, 2005). The following discussion aims to provide a complete understanding of different phases of project management. Moreover, the essay also explains the importance of project management to attain the business tasks and the significance and contribution of proper project management for the success of an organization. The complexity and scope of each project depends upon the nature of the business and the industry and sector in which the business operates, however the management of a project is equally important for the businesses operating in each sector and scale. In order to ensure the proper management of project, it has been divided in different stages that are referred as the phases of project life cycle. These four phases are the logical sequence of the activities associated with the commencement of a project (Means and Adams, 2005). These phases are â€Å"initiation, planning, execution and closure†. Following is a brief description of each of these phases of project life cycle. The first phase of the project life cycle is called â€Å"Initiation† that is also known as the birth phase of the project. As the name tells itself, in the first phase, the management decides the scope of the project and makes the key decisions about the selection of the appropriate approaches that can help in attaining the desired output. The role of the project managers plays a crucial role because keeping in view the human resource requirements of the firms; he has to manage a team that possesses the skills and qualification required

The changes in medieval italian society and the papacy Essay

The changes in medieval italian society and the papacy - Essay Example He spent most of his time working the land, and trying to grow enough food to survive another year. Social activities were important also, every citizen in a medieval town were expected to attend fairs in the town square (Life during the Middle Ages). Medieval weddings, also one of the important events, were a whole town activity. Women were largely confined to household tasks such as cooking, baking bread, sewing, weaving, and spinning. But some medieval women held other occupations such as blacksmiths, merchants, and apothecaries (Life during the Middle Ages). Medieval diets lacked vitamins A, C and D and were not high in calories. The only positive part of these diets, were that they were somewhat "heart-smart;" low in fat and high in fiber. But the medieval world was usually a very hungry one. (Life during the Middle Ages). The Catholic Church was the main source of education. Every cathedral and monastery established a school to provide free education to every boy who had the intelligence and the perseverance to follow a demanding course of study. Medieval students often sat together on the floor, scrawling notes from lessons using a bone or ivory stylus on wooden tablets coated with green or black wax (Life during the Middle Ages). ... The political instability brought about by the barbarian invasion, made the Church as the only sought institution that provide good guidance and learning source. During that period, the popes have the two very effective tools to consolidate power in their office: excommunication and interdict. Excommunication was the first weapon. Catholics believe salvation depends on perpetual sacramental observance. Cutting a communicant off from the sacraments means one loses salvation. When the pope excommunicated a believer there was really "no hope" (Church History). The Interdict served as the pope's second weapon. What excommunication was to individuals, the interdict was to an entire nation. A papal interdict would suspend all public worship and withdrew the sacraments. After the interdict went into effect, Citizens usually pressured their rulers to repent or abdicate (Church History). Changes in the Medieval Italian Society and their Causes The Rise of Feudalism. The barbarian invasions of Italy and the rest of Europe left a power vacuum. The power vacuum is then filled by feudalism. In the feudal system, the king awarded land grants or "fiefs" to his most important nobles, his barons, and his bishops, in return for their contribution of soldiers for the king's armies. At the lowest echelon of society were the peasants, also called "serfs" or "villeins." In exchange for living and working on his land, known as the "demesne," the lord offered his peasants protection (What was it really like).Changes in Attitudes Towards Women. During the period, Women were usually treated as property. Passion was considered sinful to 11th and 12th century moralists, but these ideals were slowly being worn away with the rituals