Formal and Informal Testing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Formal and Informal Testing - Research Paper Example Let us discuss some formal and informal assessment techniques in order to know how they can help teachers assess the learning level of their students. Formal Assessment Techniques Weaver (n.d.) states, â€Å"Formal assessments have data which support the conclusions made from the test†. Such assessments provide ways to the teachers to assess their students’ performance using standardized measures. Two of the widely used formal assessment techniques include non-referenced tests and criterion referenced tests. Non-Referenced Tests Using norm-referenced tests, teachers compare performance of each student to a large number of other students. Teachers prepare one test for all students to compare the performance of each student with the performances of other students. Such tests make teachers know which students is the best performer among all other students. Another advantage is increase in the level of motivation for the students. Such tests provide motivation and appreciat ion to the best performer. When a student is told that his/her performance is the best in the class, it increases motivation of the student. Along with advantages, there also exist a couple disadvantages of using non-referenced tests. First one of those disadvantages is that scores do not show actual knowledge of the students, which students of a specific grade level must possess, rather they show the performance in relation to the individual performances of other students. Moreover, the goal of excellence in class performance cannot be achieved because there is no standard criterion set for exams. Teachers measure performances of students against each other instead of a specific criterion, which does not reflect actual learning of the students. Criterion Referenced Tests In these types of tests, performance of the students is compared to a standard criterion set by the teachers instead of comparing with other students. Such tests provide accurate assessment to the teachers. These t ests help teachers know whether there students have acquired the required amount of knowledge or they need to improve their learning skills. The results of such tests reflect actual skills of students instead of reflecting individual edge of students over other students. If a student meets the set criterion, it means that he/she is learning well in the classroom. Some of the concerns regarding use of these tests for assessment include criterion validity and individual rankings. For these tests, a proper criterion needs to be set. Sometimes teachers set improper criterion that does not properly measure what it should actually measure. Moreover, students like to know their individual rankings but in these tests, they cannot know it because their performances are not compared with others. Informal Assessment Techniques In informal assessment, teachers use multiple ways to assess students’ performance. Sawetch (2009) states, â€Å"An informal assessment can compromise of almost any teaching in the classroom that an individual student has to participate in†. Some of the widely used informal assessment techniques include checklists and oral interviews. Let us discuss both of these methods in some detail. Checklists A checklist is a list of skills, knowledge, and other qualities that teacher creates to know whether their students possess those qualities or not. If a student is short of any specific quality, the teacher can work to improve that quality of the student. Checklist method is not a very time consuming one. A teacher can

Literature Review On Inventory Control Management Finance Essay

Literature Review On Inventory Control Management Finance Essay The Assam Tea Corporation is a pioneer in producing high quality tea having its own processing plant with an excellent implication of inventory control. The main aim of this report is to conduct a literature review on the inventory control management and the operations in practice of the Assam Tea corporation processing plant where I was employed. The company has an efficient structure of inventory control and has set a standard for other companies in the same operation in that area .The company produces a high quality tea mostly meant for export in the form of CTC and Orthodox tea. The product of the company is world famous for its high quality taste. They offer state of the art infrastructure in the processing plant with a highly trained employee and efficient way if inventory control. They have various units in the processing plant i.e, starting from the picking up of green leaves which is the major part of raw material.The company has own plantation unit from where the raw material is readily available. Moreover they have tie ups with other local tea gardens to ensure a steady supply of tea leaves.The tea processing unit is a complex mechanical process works under the principle of operation management and inventory control.The function of it is a crucial one which has to deal with seasonal and cyclical fluctuations of demand persisting in the market .The inventory control has to deal with waste management in the unit by finding out the optimum level of demand .The seasonal fluctuations is mainly incorporated with the monsoon season where the production of tea leaves at the peak level.I was assigned with the responsibility of th e assistant manager operations in the processing unit. This report mainly encounters with the various concept of inventory control and its management undertaken by an organisation with stress on inventory and its effective control.It deals with the cost related with the inventory and its profile,Usage of probabilistic estimate of demand and overall role of the inventory control in a tea processing unit .There are various issues how to improvise the situations and improve the competitiveness related to the issues .The method applied to prepare this report with a high concentration on the textbooks and the web-source related to operations management .The information collected through all the experimentations observed and finally resorted to website and standard textbook of operations management. 2.Literature Review 2.1 What is inventory Inventory has a multilevel function in the process unit and the firms used to maintain mainly four level of inventories Raw material-This is the unprocessed form of the item which can be utilisied from varied number of suppliers .This form should be used to find out the superior form by removing the supply variability in quality,quanity or time of delivery. Work-in process(WIP) inventory-This is an intermediary form of inventory when the raw materials undergone a change but not completed. Maintanence/repair /operations(MRO) inventory- 2.2 INVENTORY CONTROL MANAGEMENT In this part of analysis importance should be given when to order and how much to order.The model which are based on independent demand can be divided into three. 1.Basic Economic Order quantity(EOQ) model 2.Production order quantity 3.The quantity discount model Basic Economic Order Quantity model This is the most common form of the inventory control technique .The technique is based upon following assumptions- Production order quantity model The model is applicable under two situations.Firstly,When the order is placed there is continuous flow of inventory.Secondly,the units are produced and sold simultaneously.In the case of Assam Tea Corporation processing unit both these situations are prevalent.In this model daily production rate is determined on the basis of daily rate of demand. It is useful when inventory build up is a continuous process over the time and assumption of traditional Economic Order conditions holds valid.It is the situation where the optimum order size Q* is estimated with an equality in set up cost to holding cost,The production order quantity model: Q=Number of pieces per order H=Holding cost per unit per year P=Daily production rate d=Daily demand rate or usage rate t=Length of the production run in days The final expression for optimal level of inventory Q* is- Probabilistic model with constant lead time Probailistic model with constant leadtime is highly relevant.In the presence of uncertain demand ,the management of the company faces challenges to maintain adequate service level.The service level can be complimented by the probability of a stock out isà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦To reduce stock out the company can hold inventory as safety stock. Whereas if Reorder point=ROP=dxL With the addition of safety stock,the expression becomes=ROP=dxL+SS However annual stock out costs=The sum of the unit shortxthe probabilityxThe stock out cost per unitxthe number of orders per year 2.2 COST OF INVENTORY In case inventory control analysis there are various costs involved in the overall process.The cost of inventory is calculated in the form of unit values.However major segment of the inventory cost can be discussed as follows- THE CARRYING COST OF INVENTORY In this segment of costs of carrying items of inventories are included.This is the cost of running a warehouse,cost that are incurred on handling and counting,costs involved in special storage ,damage and lost,insurance,tax and wornout costs. THE ORDERING OR SET UP COST This is the cost which is associated with placing an order and replenishment.This cost includes all the form of orders,establishment cost needed to ensure it,inspection and receiving cost,handling the vendor invoice and the cost necessary to meet unexpected situation. This may be a cost of skilled mechanic charged as per his technical specification.There are various arguments whether the cost of the skilled mechanic is a fixed cost .But Kaplan (1988),all the costs involved in the long term is virtually variable cost where in that period a person can be fired,a plant can come to shutdown. INSUFFICIENT CAPACITY COST The cost involved here is meant to avoid the stockout cost.In the case of production process ,it is the emergency cost needed for emergency replacement of the production equipment to enhance the output level,cost involved to speed up the process,rescheduling and assigned work in split up version. SYSTEM CONTROL COSTS This is the type of cost appeared in the operation process as per selection of decision system.This includes acquisition,storage,maintanence and computation of the data.The treaining instituted by the organization and employee verification is also falls in the category costs. In Assam Tea Corporation ,there are a number of costs involved in different level of operation processes .The green leaves are initially plucked from the plantation unit and allowed to undergo different processes like picking ,wilting ,bruishing ,oxidation/fermentation ,firing,yellowing,shaping,drying and curing to get the final product. In the processing unit ,one of the major cost incurred by the company is warehousing the tea product as well as the green leaves.If the fresh leaves are not stored properly there is a greater possibility of being dried up and becomes waste.The insurance cover and tax are also one of the component. The cost of placing an order is one of the significant part of the processing unit.There is an inspection unit in the company which takes account of quality control in the unit.There is the cost of technicians expertise in that specific line During the peak season as the production process is a complex mechanical one.During the peak season ,especially during monsoon,there is always extra cost of utilizing extra-capacity,expediate the process.In that situation temporary workers are employed on the basis of shift duty with overtime bonus has to be paid. The company has to bear the cost on information system and its maintanence as it uses a data warehousing software.With the present environment of rapid change in the technology the company has to provide training for skill enhancement training to its manpower.This has been done with Tocklai Tea Research Centre,one of the leading Tea research institute .The training cost and performance analysis cost is formed as one of the cost. KEY VARIABLES IN INVENTORY MANAGEMENT 1.REPLENISHMENT LEAD TIME It is the time between placing an order and to meet the final demand of the customer physically. 2.REORDER POINT It is the point of the inventory level where the replenishment of stocked item takes place. Where ROP=dxL where d is the demand per day,L is the leadtime for a new order in days 3.SAFETY STOCK A buffer stock to meet up an uneven demand. OPERATION PROCESS UNIT OF TEA The Assam Tea Corporation has its processing unit for production of CTC() and Orthodox tea in the form of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.which account for almost 80% of the main production whereas the other form of teas are produced at paltry 20%. The tea processing begins with flushing of tea from Camellia Sinensis(Botanical name of tea) and after that it is dried for brewing of tea,oxidization of leaves and ,stopping oxidization ,drying of leaves ,and oxidation has a main part to bring the final flavor of tea. The company produces variety of tea through different processes which can be visualised with the aid of flow-chart diagram. The process itself starts from the left hand side of the flow chart with the operation of stocking into raw material or fresh green leaves.The processing unit of the Assam Tea Corporation is highly engaged in production of black tea and green tea which constitutes 80% of the output whereas other constitutes 20% of the total production. For obtaining a black tea(the red coloured flow chart) as the final product it can be seen in the diagram that after getting the fresh leaves the process undergoes with indoor witting,the CTC with full oxidation rolled to the drying unit done through desiccation and finally drying at optimum temperature,the black tea can be obtained. While for green teaTthe green coloured flow chart) after steaming and panning it is rolled to get the desirable form and finally dried to get green tea.The whole system of operation can be divided into following important parts- 1.Picking A terminal bud and two leaves are plucked from Camelia Sinensis. 2.Wilting With an oxidation done in the presence of enzyme ,the tea leaves are wilted to remove the excess water from leaves. 3.Brushing To expediate oxidation ,the tea leaves are let to fall in buckets and rolled over by wheels. 4.Oxidation/Fermentation The major operation of oxidation was to break down the the chlorophil and relax the tannin,as the leaves are kept in a climate control room. 5.Kill green/Firing To stop the oxidation at desired level and restore the flavor this step is done. 6.Yellowing It is done in a close container after firing to obtain beverage of yellow tea. 7.Shaping After yellowing it is rolled into stripe wrinkles 8.Drying This is done to get the ultimate product or tea for sale. PROBLEMS RELATED WITH INVENTORY CONTROL IN TEA PROCESSING UNIT In the tea business it is the monsoon which has a direct effect on the production of the green tea leaves which is the main raw material for the processing .In case ,there is good rainfall the yield of the leaves goes up and supply becomes steady.In that season the production unit of the tea garden is at greater stress with low lead time which means shorter time gap in the production system to wait,move,que and set-up and run time for each component produced.On the contrary,if there is low rainfall,the production of green leaves drops and lead time is more as the supply flow is less. However ,risk factor is present during the time of high production ,the tea leaves needs extra care so that it should not expose to moisture and in that case extra manpower is needed on shift duty basis to expedite the process.In the Assam Tea Corporation processing unit ,the production and sales takes place within a day.In this situation production order quabtity model is relevant as the firm is receiving its raw material over a period of time within a day which directly comes from the plucking unit.An optimum level of Q* is calculated to control the inventory. Recommendations In the view of the above discussion an optimum level of inventory can be obtained by reducing the waste in the following steps. 1.Inventory Planning An ideal inventory planning can take place with the arrival of new one immediately after the last unit sold/dispatched. 2.Establish order cycles In case of business with seasonal cycles it is important to establish a relationship of demand between sellers and suppliers. 3.Balance Inventory level Inventory level should be balanced looking into the matters related to market and budget. 4.Review Stocks The stocks should be reviewed as the obsolete one is equivalent to a dead capital. 5.Follow up of stocks The management should take the key decision about disposal,replacement and discontinuance of different inventory base. INVENTORY PLANNING DECISION IN TABULAR FORMAT COST AND OTHER IMPORTANT FACTORS SERVICE REQUIREMENT CUSTOMER ORDERING CHARACTERISTICS In this category ,the most important part is customer expectations and competitive practices,time management and influence on customer. Order characteristics include order timing and size,information about large orders on the basis of standing orders. In the tea processing unit ,the customer always is in prompt mode as the order has to reach the market and meet the price fluctuation in the auction market. DEMAND PATTERNS SUPPLY SITUATION Demand pattern is always governed by variability and seasonality.Another important part is presence of substitutes and ability to forecast. The green tea leaves as an inventory effected by variability of the weather condition and effected by rainfall which determines yield of the tea leaves and it is the three quarter of the month the supply is streamlined and one quarter is without any production.The presence of substitute is low and as there is high fluctuation in the market forecasting is not an easy task. This a challenging part as to narrow down the lead time , the processing unit has to avoid any waste .At the same time reliability depends upon the flow of the inventory and at the same flexibility can be ensured with additional work force on call which can also expidiate the process. COST FACTOR NATURE OF THE PRODUCT Again the cost factor is governed by stock out cost which is also a probabilistic measure,there is also cost of carrying and space The nature of the product is perishable and moisture will make it obsolete OTHER ISSUES In the tea processing unit the crucial point is power supply and mechanical efficiency.

Private Property and the Rule of the Middle Class in Aristotle’s Politi

Private Property and the Rule of the Middle Class in Aristotle’s Politics In his discussions of constitutions and cities in Politics, Aristotle makes it very clear that his top priority is to provide people with the opportunity to pursue and achieve the good life. An integral part of this is the stability of the constitution. Although Aristotle explicitly states that a kingship is the best system of rule for any given generation, its lack of stability from one generation to the next disqualifies it from being the best in reality. In his attempts to find a constitution with stability, Aristotle comes to the decision that the middle class would be the ruler of such a constitution. This, he says, will minimize the corruption that can easily take place within the rich or the poor, and will ensure lasting stability. In order to enable the middle class to take a role of power, Aristotle allows them to obtain wealth, and more specifically private property—a huge diversion from the opinion of Aristotle’s mentor, Plato put forth in th e Republic. Towards the beginning of Aristotle’s discussion about the different constitutions, he makes the claim that in certain situations, a kingship is the most virtuous of all types of government. â€Å"There may, however, be a particular sort of society in which absolute kingship ought to be instituted. This is the sort of society in which one family, or person, is of merit so outstanding as to surpass all the other members†¦there should be absolute kingship† (III.17). When Aristotle speaks about â€Å"virtue,† describes a constitution as â€Å"good,† or issues any other form of praise, he is almost always speaking about the ability of the constitution to provide its citizens with t... ...a luxury but a necessity for the stability of the just city, and the pursuit of the good life. Aristotle’s arguments for the rule of the middle class and the existence of private property are very convincing. He successfully shows that a government, which best allows its citizens to live the good life must necessarily be stable. To achieve that stability, those who rule should be chosen because of their ability to maintain control when other classes challenge them, and for their reluctance to corrupt and start ruling for their own self-interest. The middle class was the obvious choice—the poor and rich could never unite to mount an effective challenge. In order for the middle class to have the potential to rule, wealth, luxury, and specifically property must be allowed. Aristotle’s arguments for all of these things are solidly grounded and correct.

BofA Mobile Banking case Essay

Introduction Bank of America (BofA) is the largest bank holding company in the United States, by assets, and the second largest bank by market capitalization. As a global Finance Service Institution, BofA serves clients in more than 150 countries and has a relationship with 99% of the U.S. The bank’s 2008 acquisition of Merrill Lynch made Bank of America the world’s largest wealth manager and a major player in the investment banking industry. BofA launched mobile banking in May 2007. Mobile Banking lets customers easily and securely access balance information, pay bills with optional Bill Pay service, transfer funds, and find nearby ATMs and banking centers through a mobile application on their smartphones, and through mobile web on their phone browser. Douglas, SVP of Mobile Product Development was quoted, â€Å"In less than 3 years we have four million mobile banking customers. That’s an adoption rate almost five to eight times that of our online banking several years ago.† Line-of-business managers are looking for leveraged mobile platforms with functionalities that can meet different needs and the different target groups such as: Merrill Lynch brokerage, mortgages, credit cards, consumer payments, etc†¦ The capabilities of mobile banking through the use of smartphones or mobile web have become popular with today’s bank customers. There are increasing overall growth in mobile banking in the financial services industry. In addition, the transaction cost1 of mobile banking and internet banking is much lower than the traditional channel (e.g. Branch, Call Center, ATMS and IVR). Due to the economic downturn, banks are looking for extend the service channels and aim to increase the profit via tradition core banking service, such as transaction fees. The system automation can reduce the operation cost; increase the transaction turnaround time and accuracy. With the popularity of smartphones and mobile data services, mobile banking can be the booming tools for banking industry profit engine. However, investing in the enhancement of the mobile banking is costly and will directly affecting the bank’s revenue and brand images. The worse scenarios, may encounter customer complain and regulatory comments and punishments. Therefore, the management of BofA have to decide how can they effectively utilize this technology as a new media to make banking services easier, faster and more convenient for customer, at the same time, how can the app can help for BofA marketing the banks new products, service and increase the customer loyalty. In the short run, what do BofA tell the line-of-business managers – should the app increase functionality, build new app or refuses to add complexity to the current app? In the long run, how do BofA position the bank in this fast changing industry? Analysis Mobile banking (app) is not a mandatory product (or say channel) for bank’s customer. It’s just an optional channel, based on the product itself, let’s analysis base on Porter’s 5 forces analysis. 1. New entrants are HIGH. There will not be any new large mass-market players or niche players bursting on the scene, but there will be new independent players like PayPal that will provide some similar functions app in the market. 2. Power of suppliers are from MEDIUM to LOW. The majority of the suppliers of mobile banking should be those technologies partners, technology consultants, outsource software house and marketing partners as alliance in some promotion campaigns. Bank has stronger power than those outsource software house in most situations. 3. Bargaining power of buyers is HIGH. Given the mobile banking is only an optional channel for customer. Customers still have other options to complete their transaction thru the bank and able to say NO to mobile banking. The switching cost of changing the channel is low but the switching cost of BANK may from LOW to MEDIUM. 4. Threat of substitution is HIGH. Currently customers still can utilize other channels to fulfill their needs via Branches, Call Center, ATMS, Internet banking and IVR. 5. Intensity of rivalry is HIGH. Many banks like Well Fargo, Citibank, JP Morgan are working on the mobile banking and each of these app have the same majority functions and include some differentiate functions. BofA Mobile Banking App functionalities To install the app and apply the mobile banking is free. As the mobile banking include 3 major segments of core function: Mobile Website, Text Banking and Mobile App2 . The BofA’s new app include below functions: †¢Check account balances for accounts and facilities lines held with BofA. †¢Pay bills. †¢Transfer funds between BofA accounts. †¢View transaction details for all BofA accounts or facilities lines, including posted, pending and scheduled transactions. BofA Mobile Banking App include the majority functions that customer requires and let’s talk about the Brand of BofA in the following section. The Brand of BofA & Competitors Bank of America ($30.6B) is the most valuable banking brand in the USA. Its brand value has increased by 18% and it has a brand rating of AAA-. Despite concerns of further mortgage-related write-downs, Bank of America was also the #1 most valuable banking brand in the world at 2011. The Designs The Bank and the Mobile Banking App Logo Given the icon of BofA can be shown in the Bank and the mobile banking logo, it can help the customers to connect the mobile banking app to BofA. The color use of the Bank is Red and Blue and the Mobile banking is single using Red only. Red color is a powerful color, symbolizing energy, passion or even danger. It works best for action-oriented products or brands, products associated with speed or power, or dominant or iconic brands. The mobile banking icon didn’t use the Red and Blue color which only using Red to show the passion and commitment of the bank to customer via mobile banking. Bank of America and Mobile Banking Slogans Bank Bank of America. Higher Standards Embracing ingenuity Think what we can do for you Mobile Banking Life is mobile, so is your bank The Slogan of Mobile Banking can directly identify the availability and accessibility of the apps that can provide the mobility banking services everywhere. However, it can’t strongly connect to the Bank’s core Slogans. Recommendations Given the increment of additional functions will slow down the performance of the mobile banking app; it does not recommend incorporating the additional business functions to the current app. From technologies risk and regulatory prospective, it will be too risky if pulling all business applications in one single platform. If on module down, it will totally affect the bank normal day to day operations. In short run, suggest developing new apps for extending the advance mortgages, credit cards service or investments service for different business functions. To leverage different branding to differentiate the different category of services that offered. Apart from leverage different brands3 own by the group, BofA can also cooperate with Smartphone and Telecom Services Providers to ingredient branding to provide the end to end mobile service. Bank customer can encounter discount on purchase latest smartphones, discount on data service plan and possible to issue mobile credit cards by offering promotions. BofA can consider consolidating all apps in one single platform when there are needs in future. In long run, BofA can cooperate with the Telecom Services Providers and sizeable Merchants, to provide addition information for customer when customer arriving the merchants and let them know what kinds of promotions or discounts are offer. This can uplift the service from singling banking service to mobile living yellow pages. This can help to increase the customer loyalty and build strong connections with bank customers. It can also attract more alliance (other merchants) to share the promotion and marketing cost to developing a new banking and living experience. Of cause, it is necessary to maintain the balance of utilizing the mobile banking app, customers segments for marketing promotion events, if over sell which may obtain opposite result. To differentiate BofA from other competitors, it is necessary to ensure the Bank can position the Bank with Stronger Branding and Images extend the services from â€Å"Banking† only to diversify the service to other related informational services in daily life and provide incredible services and experience for customers. This can help the bank to reposition the bank as a full around bank which can fulfill customer day to day activities that require of any payment or transactions. This can help to identify stronger alliance for the long term development. In conclusion, BofA must keep on investing in mobile banking apps, as it is a trend that smartphone or more innovative device (e.g. Google device) will become more popular, bank must utilize these new technologies by re-design the current channels to increase the bank traditional income (e.g. Transaction fees) and other new incomes (e.g. investments service, financial consultation service, etc.) and extend the service with alliance to promoting the daily service tools. This can help the bank to enlarge the customer groups, define new customer groups segments or sub-segments for better marketing and promotion campaigns and maintain the brand in the leading positions. Exhibit 1 Costs per Transaction by different channels The Pricing, when the apps developed to more advance, and able to customize and fully integrate full around service for customer, at that time, BofA can consider of charging customer for service charges after trial. If customers are satisfying with the full around services after the trial, the bank can also extend the income by promotion the comprehensive mobile banking and service apps. Exhibit 2 Mobile website Customers can pay bills whenever they want with optional online Bill Pay. Check balances on checking accounts, savings accounts and credit cards. Transfer funds immediately to any other Bank of America account. Locate banking centers or ATMs, along with maps and directions. Text banking Use text message banking to request information about self-own checking, savings and credit card accounts. Getting the answers you need is simple when it’s received within seconds on your phone. Mobile app Mobile Banking App, designed specifically for iPhone ®, iPad ®, Windows ® Phone, BlackBerry ®, HP ® webOSâ„ ¢ and Androidâ„ ¢ devices. Wherever you are, you’ll have easy access to your Bank of America accounts with their quick and convenient Mobile Banking App Exhibit 3 – BofA’s branding

Pedro Almodovar Paper

Christiaan Respeto Pedro Almodovar Analysis Paper Pedro Almodovar is a Spanish director that is arguably the most influential Spanish filmmaker of his generation. He is known for his bold and risky story plots and characters as well as his openness to sexuality. He is very influenced by the underground lifestyles of individuals and peoples sexuality. Almodovar’s influences and history undoubtedly show through his career. Pedro was born on September 25, 1949 in Calzada de Calatrava, Spain. He lived in poverty as a child with his mother, father, brother, and two sisters.Pedro spent a lot of his time going to a local theater watching movies from all over the world dubbed in Spanish, which was the mark of passion for film. When Pedro was eight he was put into a Catholic boarding school in Caceres, Extremadura, where there was hope that Pedro would become a priest. After his education Pedro decided to move to Madrid against his family’s wishes to pursue his dream of being a film director. Pedro Supported himself working at a Spain national phone company while making short films on the side.Pedro finally gained recognition with his films â€Å"Pepi, Luci, Bom† and â€Å"Other Girls Like Mom† for their humor and expressive sexuality. Pedro gained international recognition with his film â€Å"Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown† a movie that was widely accepted for its female centered style. Almodovar had many influences in his life especially by other film directors such as Luis Bunuel, Rainer Fassbinder, Alfred Hitchcock, John Waters, Ingmar Bergman, Edgar Neville, Federico Fellini, George Cukor, Luis Garcia Berlanga, and Marco Ferreri. He is very influenced of family and deep close relationships between individuals.Pedro is also influenced by sexuality since many of his stories contained characters that are gay, lesbian, trans-gender, and have strong sexual desire. Women also seem to be a big influence in Almodovar’s f ilms since there are strong female leads and characters in many of his films. The style Almodovar uses in his films is experimenting with elements that are not mainstream in the modern film world. Almodovar is known for films that are bold and risky for they’re expressive sexuality, complex mature narrative, and presenting the underground lifestyle of junkies and crime stricken areas.The narratives in his films are very complex and mature with dark story plots that push the edge of what is accepted in modern cinema. His use of editing in his films however are very mainstream and take the classical Hollywood approach with continuity editing but, at times uses fades and text. Almodovar uses strong female characters as well as characters that are homosexual and bi-sexual. Part 2 All About my Mother Critique ‘All about my Mother ‘ is a film that expresses the power of family and sisterhood. The film tells a very deep and dramatic story with complex characters that rea lly enhance the experience of the film.Through the films editing, cinematography, and character development the film is surely one of Almodovar’s best films. The editing in the film is very classical Hollywood style with the use of continuity editing although when a large amount of time passes large text is displayed on screen to tell the audience exactly how long time has passed. The film also plays around with fades in cool ways such as when Manuela goes to watch the performance of â€Å"A Streetcar Named Desire†, Esteban’s notebook is still on screen from the last scene faded in the background as the camera pans to Manuela.The cinematography in the film is very much like a soap opera with a lot of still shots and characters really being the main focus of every shot. The film does like to pan and track characters very often. The cinematography also reminds me of classic Hollywood style which helps push the story in a continuous and satisfying way. Character de velopment is a huge and well executed in this film. Manuela was a character that really developed through the movie. When Esteban dies Manuela is a wreck that couldn’t even speak about her son with others.Over time she starts to heal little by little and tell more about her sons death. For example a great scene where it shows that Manuela developed, as a character was when she meet up with Lola to show him his son from Rosa and talks about their son who passed away. She even goes as far as to show Lola Esteban’s notebook, which she was so protective of. She also parts ways with Esteban’s picture so that Lola may have it. Overall I think this is a great film by Almodovar that kept me compelled to the very end.The film had great use of editing, cinematography, and character development that really pushed the story and experience of the film. Through it’s deep storyline and complex characters this film is definitely something I will not forget. Citation http ://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Pedro_Almod%C3%B3var http://www. helium. com/items/310894-pedro-almodovars-influence-on-filmmaking-today http://www. rottentomatoes. com/celebrity/pedro_almodovar/biography. php http://movies. yahoo. com/person/pedro-almodovar/biography. html

Spains Golden Age Essay Example

Spains Golden Age Essay Example Spains Golden Age Paper Spains Golden Age Paper The concept of Spains Golden Age apply more specifically to the reign of Philip II than to the whole period 1474-1598 Philip IIs reign as king of Spain is often referred to as the golden age. A time where government was further centralised, where the economy benefited from being the centre of increased trade with the New World and where according to Geoffrey Parker the Spanish empire was the largest and richest in the world. To an extent Philips reign was exclusively golden he was the first to set up administrative functions of government in a single capital, Madrid, gold bullion reached a record level and he was successful in defending his territory. However, it is difficult to view Philip as a great monarch due to the unsustainability of his empire, which undermined his reputation, yet in respect of the whole period it is arguable whether this period was golden either as there were great consistencies between the four rulers. The El Escorial in Madrid is a remnant from a time of great cultural prosperity where both the arts and literature flourished. This impressive facade of 16th century Spain constitutes a golden age and is, to an extent, more relevant in describing Philip than the other monarchs of the period. Contrary to popular thought, Spain, through Philip, enjoyed cultural prosperity. Jocelyn Hunt states that in comparison to the other rulers of this period Philip achieved much more as a builder as shown by his improvements of the old palaces and his new buildings constructed for the state archives in Simancas. Philip was also a great supporter of the arts, being a patron to Flemish artists Van der Weyden and Bosch. Evidently this supports the argument that Philips reign culturally flourished and can be perceived as golden. However, not all the credit should go to Philip for over the whole period as well, Spain prospered. Isabella like her European counterparts was committed to intellectual development. Reliance on the letrados increased the demand for educational establishments and Universities were set up at Alcale in 1508 and at Cuenea in 1510. The reputation of the Inquisition as an over-zealous and domineering institution is a fallacy as on many occasions it was impossible to deal with the amount of literature that crossed the borders (Andres Ruiz imported 1,012 bales of books alone). It was merely a judicial body, in fact as Kamen says, the censorship of books was erratic and often only symbolic. This reputation of cultural despondency, is on the whole unjustified as Spain was not only culturally golden during Philips reign, but also throughout the whole period What taints the golden nature of Spains cultural acheivements is the image that Spain was isolated and culturally distant from the rest of Europe. Dr Johnson explained No less country was known to Europe. It is true that Spain was quite poor for between 1530 and 1560 the proportion of people registered as poor in the towns was 23%, and poverty was deeper in comparison to other Western economies, due to the chronic and structural inefficiencies. Similarly in art, the empire was seen as dull as exposed by Charles Vs melting of the golden art he acquired due to their connection with heathen idolatry. The Inquisition also gave a negative image of arts in Spain throughout this period as seen when Philip adhered to the Papal Index of Prohibited books in 1559, and it is correctly thought that there was a dominance of Catholic and Castilian culture. Nevertheless, contrary to the illusion that Spain was culturally backward, all the rulers of this period should be applauded for cultural development similar to Western Europe. This imperial facade draws a veil over the Peninsula economic problems that were apparent due to the unsustainability of empire. Yet to a certain extent, the economy thrived throughout this whole period. Many historians think that Philip was the most successful in managing his economy due to the huge amount of gold bullion coming in to his empire during his reign. Between 1591-1594, 42,221,835 ducats came in to Spain. These figures gave the impression, especially to her European neighbours, that Spain had a golden economy. Despite this immense wealth, Philip was plagued with economical problems and you could argue that he was in a weaker position than his predecessors. His bankruptcies in 1557, 1560, 1575 and 1596 were brought on by his expensive defensive wars like the Dutch revolt, for not only did it cost 80 million ducats, but revenue was lost from decreased trade. However, both successes and failures of Philips economy owe more to the whole period. Trade that was flourishing under Philip started when Ferdinand and Isabella experienced a rising population and growth in the wool trade. Cities like Burgos grew from 8,000 to 21,000 and Seville became increasingly important as all American trade came through the city before entering or leaving Europe. The House of Trade on the Guadalquivir River represented a time of boom in the mid 15th century as merchants flocked to the area, which saw more gold added to the crowns coffers. Charles V continued with these successes and therefore benefited from the increased level of gold to finance his extensive wars. Philips failures were also a result of the previous monarchs of the period. The juros, which were set up by Ferdinand and Isabella to fund their wars, was responsible for Philips huge debt, just as Charles was responsible for Philips need for an expensive defensive war and inflation. Throughout the period Murphy describes Spanish economic policy as counter-productive. For example: Wool was exported to the textile factories of the Netherlands instead of supporting the domestic textile market and the huge amount of gold entering the country simply added to inflation that was apparent due to low food supply and a rising population. Ultimately both the successes and failures of Philips economy were due to his predecessors. According to Kamen the course of Spains economic history shows few significant divergences from the experience of other nations in Europe suggesting that, even if you perceive Spain as successful in terms of economy, before and during Philips reign, it was as golden as the rest of Europe. Like the economy, monarchical control was held back by the inability to maintain an expansive empire. The desperate state of finance, as well as the backward nature of contemporary communications, limited the extent of absolutism in Spain. In spite of this, Philip had a reputation as an absolute monarch that led many to believe that he reigned during a period of strong royal control. Geoffrey Woodward talks of Philip, saying that he came to control all clerical appointments, disposed of ecclesiastical wealth and mobilised the Inquisition as an instrument of royal authority. It is true that Philip insisted that all decisions were to be passed through him, he effectively centralised government in Madrid and he limited the power of the cortes. Similarly, royal authority was strong throughout the whole period. Referring to the government of Ferdinand and Isabella, Cellorigo wrote in 1600, there can be no monarchy in our Spain as there was then. Above all, it is Ferdinand and Isabella who should be applauded for their implementation of law and order through the reconquista, leaving their successors in an stronger position. Through the increasing importance of their own laws or pragmaticas, Ferdinand and Isabella were less reliant on the cortes. Royal control expressed itself through the use of various groups like the Santa Hamandad and the appointment of more letrados as town councillors. Charles V further enhanced government influence through the various councils he set up the most important being the Council of Finance which instituted tax rises throughout the 16th century. However there are inherent limitations, which inhibited all the rulers during this period like that of inefficient communications and constantly being indebted. Despite what Kamen calls a more sophisticated system under Charles, any increases in revenue would have to be allocated to the juros repayments. These repayments were also particularly awkward for all the monarchs had to further rely on the cortes to grant servicios. The cortes could then use this to exert influence over the monarchy showing how royal control was limited. In the provinces throughout the period the power of the monarchy was not apparent as shown by the fact that 2928 posts of city councillor were sold between the years 1543 and 1584. John Lynch effectively summarises Monarchy was absolute. But its absolutism was qualified by conditions and its powers were less imposing in practise than it was in theory. This was definitely true of Philip as seen by the disaster of the Armada, as 16th century communications were desperately slow especially as every decision had to go through the king. Theoretically the monarchy of Spain was absolute yet practically, there was the fundamental weakness of the backward nature of communications and the power of the cortes, which limited royal control. The Spanish language is one of the most widespread languages in our world today, due to the legacy of the immeasurably vast and diverse empire. Surely this is the benchmark for Spains golden status, but paradoxically it was also the reason why the imposing reputation was undermined. Traditionally the golden age of Spain is most specifically associated with the vast nature and diversity of Philips empire. Francisco Ugarte de Hermosa boasted in 1655 that Since God created the world there has been no empire in it as extensive of that of Spain. The acquisition of Portuguese territories in 1580, not only increased Spanish influence in the New World, but also united the Iberian Peninsula for the first time. From this evidence Philip can be justifiably described as a golden ruler. Nevertheless, the empire was built up from Ferdinands acquisitions in North Africa, Italy and the New World, discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1494. Ferdinand and Isabella arguably succeeded in managing a controllable empire and unified Castile and Aragon, completing the reconquista. Ferdinand, through a series of marriages, succeeded in ensuring a substantial empire for his grandson Charles V. Therefore Charles has an empire spanning from the territories of the New World to parts of Flanders, Italy and Germany reinforcing the argument that Spain was golden throughout the entire period. As Philips successes of empire could be attributed to his forebearers, so could the fundamental weaknesses. The financial crisis that Philip found himself in was started by the unsustainability of Isabella and Ferdinands foreign policy. Even though they had a comparatively small empire they could not sustain it as shown when Ferdinand had to transfer his resources from occupying North African ports to Naples in Italy which was of a greater priority for him. Charles Vs Habsburg connections, which gave him this vast empire, also meant he could never be considered as a King of the golden age of Spain. Charles himself spent only 7 years in Spain and the country was simply a part of his monarquia, rather than the most important. This can be seen in the Spanish victory at St Quentin in 1557 which was essentially a Dutch army commanded by the Duke of Savoy and the Earl of Egmont. Philip was successful in defending his empire, but only at a great cost, which even the huge imports of bullion could not cover. The costs of defending Spanish lands coupled with the inflation caused Philip to claim bankruptcy on four occasions in 1557,1560,1575 and 1596. The empire was the largest in the world but the lack of resources to sustain such a monarquia undermines the golden reputation. The Spanish Armada epitomises the state of Spain during this whole period. Like the Armada Spain appeared imposing and powerful and was feared by the rest of Europe. Yet no other enterprise could have been so mismanaged with a great lack of communication and innate structural weaknesses, which caused the ultimate failure. It was this paradox that tainted Spains golden reputation. The unsustainabilty of the countrys policies throughout the whole period undermined the reputation too, as Kamen says: Spain, with its small population and weak economy did not have the resources to create or sustain great-power status status. Despite the great facade of an impressive empire, Spain during the whole period from 1474-1598, can never be described as a golden age.

Practices in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Practices in the Pharmaceutical Industry Several controversies have been hitting the pharmaceutical industry in the last few years. The larger percentage of the controversies ranges from Medicare fraud to high-priced medications that are marketed by these firms. From the researcher’s point of view, big pharmaceutical corporations are putting huge profits on top of patients, spiraling shammed public relations campaigns and more. Before the recent changes, Medicare CEOs and these companies had been reported to have involved in frauds worth billions of shillings.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Practices in the Pharmaceutical Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The indications are that the costs of the drugs are rising more rapidly than any other thing a patient can pay for. It has been found that medications are the most rapidly increasing part of the patient health care bill. It is argued that most of the patient’s expenditure on drugs ha s also risen. The reason is that the quantities of drugs that are being prescribed have increased. Moreover, the practitioners are prescribing new ineffective drugs that are more expensive than the old effective less costly drugs. More appalling is the fact that the prices of these consistently prescribed drugs are in a great deal jacked up, in most cases a number of times a year. The discounts as well as other incentives the medical practitioners such as the oncologists are receiving are used as a reason for hiking the prices. The government as well as other researchers has found that these benefits are unwarranted. The most shocking thing about these drug price controversies is that the trusted health care providers have an ulterior motive behind these prescriptions. Researchers found out that there is a correlation between the methods through which cancer doctors are being paid to the choice of drugs they use in a particular treatment of cancer such as chemotherapy (Abelson par.9 ). Once the oncologists have decided on the type of treatment, the mode of payment influences the type of drug prescription. As opposed to the expectations those who are fairly paid are likely to prescribe more expensive drugs. Reports indicate that most of the pharmaceutical firms’ representatives provide hand-outs to influence medical practitioners to recommend the drugs they represent. Going by analytic reviews of the articles on the diabetes drugs Avandia, it is true that drug manufacturers are paying medical experts to make positive conclusions about their drugs safety and effectiveness. In fact, Avandia case is one out of many (Bakalar par.1).Advertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More There are several cases where the medical expert opinions are influenced by the financial handouts. It is agreed among the medical professionals that the interaction between the pharm aceutical companies and the health providers are not in the best interest of the patient. Moreover, most of the doctors agree that solicitation of drugs directly from these companies compromises the ethical standards and impractical, most can be influenced by free gifts and hand outs from these companies. Some sections of the medical profession argue that their treatment decisions are for the best interest of the patients (Abelson par.7). The argument is that doctors only prescribe drugs that are clinically recommended. Moreover, quality health care must be more costly. However, in the case of cancer therapy, there is no any evidence that one type of chemotherapy drugs are working better than the others. In this case, the medical practitioners have the wide array of manufacturers or the pharmaceutical agents to choose from. Therefore, regardless of their persistence that their therapy decisions are based on what they feel is best for the patient; medical practitioners are influenced by other factors such as payment policies as well as other financial influences coming from the drug manufacturers. Abelson, Reed. Pay Method Said to Sway Drug Choices of Oncologists. 8 March, 2006. Web. https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/08/health/pay-method-said-to-sway-drug-choices-of-oncologists.html?mtrref=undefinedgwh=10D3E21F5F61FEE361D3E4D9E3C8AB76gwt=payassetType=REGIWALL. Bakalar, Nicholas. Study Sees a Slant in Articles on Drug. April 12, 2010. Web. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/health/13diab.html?ref=healthmtrref=undefinedgwh=F37B9DF9C8BF26E83D20C904000D78BFgwt=pay.

Eating Humble Pie

Eating Humble Pie Eating Humble Pie Eating Humble Pie By Maeve Maddox The old expression eating humble pie remains alive and well in cyberspace: From a father who had to cope with his wifes duties when she was ill: I am once again reminded of all the little things my wife manages so well and how I really should make a better effort not to take her for granted. Humble pie is definitely a dish I should eat on a regular basis. From a sports fan: And then we played Florida at Gainesville today and they beat us by the mercy rule with a score I am not going to report. Oh me. Oh my. Talk about eating humble pie. I am trying to digest it, but it does not taste good. From the host of a website dedicated to some esoteric subject: After a lengthy discussion with Peter Kriens and BJ Hargrave, I have to eat some humble pie and admit that I gave incorrect advice about concurrency in my latest OSGi book chapter. The expression eating humble pie conflates two words: humble not proud or haughty; ranking low in the social or political scale. The word humble entered English c1250 by way of an Old French word that derived from L. humilis lowly, humble, lit. on the ground, from humus earth. umbles the edible inner parts of an animal, from Middle English numbles, offal. From the 17th century onward, recipes for umble pie appeared in cookbooks. Many people, usually the poorer sort, literally did eat umble pie. During the 17th century scholars began messing with the pronunciation of English words beginning with the letter h. Up until then, the h in French borrowings, like humble, was silent. Initial h was pronounced in words that had been borrowed directly from Latin or Greek. Some scholars promoted the idea that the h should be pronounced in humble and other French borrowings. Not everyone went along with the improvements. The expression to eat humble pie came into the language about 1850 with the sense of: submission, apology, or retraction especially made under pressure or in humiliating circumstances Its a pun. The speaker or speakers with whom the expression originated had to pronounce umble and humble the same way for the pun to work. Eating umble pie was something that an upperclass person would not willingly do, just as a person whod made an ass of himself would be unwilling to admit it and apologize for it. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What is the Difference Between "These" and "Those"?45 Synonyms for â€Å"Old† and â€Å"Old-Fashioned†48 Writing Prompts for Middle School Kids

Performance Apprasial Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Performance Apprasial Management - Assignment Example Biasness must also be avoided and the necessary actions from the appraisal should be communicated effectively and efficiently to the concerned parties. Companies that have done appraisal well have always been associated with better performance and high employee motivation (Schuler 2006). To achieve the process, employees must be handled as rational people and should not be intimidated. Reasons for appraisal There are various reasons why organizations engage in employee performance. First, it is through evaluation that the organization and employees get to know of the feedback of their performance (Schermerhorn 1993). Research has shown that if employees obtain feedback on their performance, they get to feel appreciated and are therefore ready to continue with their positive performance or improve their efficiency through taking corrective actions. Appraisal also makes employees get motivated. Motivation is the urge of doing or not doing something. If appreciated through giving feedba ck and when employees are challenged of the gap that can be filled to increase efficiency, they get motivated and their commitment to the organization increases (Grote 1996). As a result, the employees’ turnover will reduce and organizational continuity will be enhanced. Another reason for appraisal s to help peg employee rewards. Organizations’ that undertake appraisal get to determine the rewards and bonus on performance. Promotions and retentions will always be based on the appraisal results (Smith & Hornsby 1966). Moreover, appraisals are aimed at identifying the employees training needs and the employees that need to be taken for further training. The employers will therefore be geared at matching the skills required in performance and those in possession by the employees. This will prevent organizations losses and breakages and increase output. In addition, employees’ appraisal is aimed at improving the interaction between the employee and the supervisor h ence creating team building (Lingham 2007). The employees interaction will be enhanced and strong relationship will be created between the employees and supervisors. Appraisal also helps in the revision of employee policies (Smith & Hornsby 1966). Companies like PepsiCo and diamond international that have employed performance appraisal have realized improvements in their performance and high employee morale. In PepsiCo for instance, employees who have achieved exceptional performance are rewarded with bonus and their promotion guaranteed (Armstrong & Appelbaum 2003). These employees are always retained and preferred in cases where the company needs to improve their production of their staff. The same applies in Diamond international where employees, efforts are recognized and rewarded (Schermerhorn 1993). In these companies, there has been increaseproduction and low employee turnover. Through performance appraisal, corrective actions are made and company’s’ products im proved (Alvi 2011). Performance appraisal is therefore value additive when properly done and implemented. Trends in Performance Appraisal Currently, the appraisal methods have tremendously changed to conform to the new organizational structures and objectives (Bhatia 1981). The first trend in employee evaluation is the linking of employees’ performance to the general organizational objectives (Lingham 2007).

Marketing and Supply Chain Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing and Supply Chain Management - Essay Example It is in this particular instance that each of the individual companies shows their prowess and showcases what type of management they have and how stable that management is. Adversities always call for the greatest minds to work out the best management cues that will definitely allow the company to withstand any turbulent moment and engage the stakeholders in every aspect of the decision-making pyramid. Relationship management is the main source of relief for any company that is seeking leverage in economic hardships (Goldberg 2001, p. 11). However, these relationship management strategies may come with even worse effects if not handled properly. Thus, understanding what the company requires and how this can be achieved with minimal changes is an essential step towards meeting the goals of the company. The maximum is expected but this has to be approached in a slow but sure manner (Bowersox, Closs and Cooper 2002, p. 33). As will be witnessed in this report, the case of ChemCo indus tries is one significant study that will help us understand the importance of key accounting management, the relevance of relationship management and how a mishap in implementing either can lead to total disaster. The case study will also be used to investigate the impact of KAM as applied by the company and what impact it had on its stakeholder sin the long run. The report will also explore the different ways and means through which internal and external relationships can be harmonized to create a company that has better and stronger economic outlook despite the challenges they face. Supply Chain Management and Business-to-Business Marketing Business –to-Business marketing can be defined under the notion of the changing relationships between the organisations engaging in either supplying or distribution of products amongst each other. They may be defined as the continuing interactions between the two parties rather than a sequence of encounters where manipulation of prices o r demand is done by the supplier as they engage with suspicious customers (Hoegh 2008, p. 302). This can be related to the fact that those given the chance to deal with the marketing strategies may have competing interests in the business which may hinder rational decision making when the company is in question this may be witnessed and confirmed by the fact that ChemCo’s KAM manager decided what prices were to be set for certain clients while neglecting others in a bid to win over clients during their downhill financial trend. When dealing with the market and the organisation, there is something called marketing logistics that needs to be reconsidered to help understand what is expected in any setting. The market logistics are aimed at critically analysing the relationships between the two parties. This is where theories such as the 4P’s, Porter’s five force analysis and PCDA model of quality control come into focus. The company looks at the best ways through w hich their products can be attractive, how their prices and processes can be maintained or altered to improve their appeal to their clients or how they can analyze their processes and improve them to meet the demands of the clients (Hines 2004, p. 66). As such, any supply chain manager will seek to use even broader logistics to come up with a strategy that suits the entire chain and works at meeting the goals of the company whether by including the subsidiaries or delegating duties and targets for each of the subsidiaries to achieve (Mentzer et. al. 2001, p. 3). However, it is crucial to understand that chain management does not exclude even the smallest retailers in the chain. Instead, as a manager, considering the benefits of

The Classification of People or Individual on the Face of Law Essay

The Classification of People or Individual on the Face of Law - Essay Example Congress has been given big latitude to regulate commerce with any foreign nations and among other of its several states. Constitution, in this case, confers power and legal justification for the federal governments to control the commerce of the state. Commerce regulation involves a wide range of control that includes the exchange of goods and services. However, the definitions of commerce have been a very controversial one. The very constitutions that have given latitude to the Congress to regulate commerce do not explicitly define the commerce that it intends the Congress to be regulated. In its inadequacies, the constitution does not clearly describe the social intercourses between citizens of different states. Consequently, the constitution leaves a huge gap in identifying the commerce and the dividing line between the state power and those of the federal government. Wherefore, with this wide gap of the inadequacy and incompleteness of the clause, there is a legal problem in its application. In particular are the cyberspace and the federal power in regulating it while excising the commerce clause. Considering the case of American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan vs. the federal government, the association complained against the application of the commercial clause because they termed it criminalizing online communication and termed it as violation of the freedom of speech and a violation of the commerce clause that is provided in the constitution of United States of America.

Marketing plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 7

Marketing plan - Essay Example The strength of this product is that it is waterproof, has a display styled with dots, it is waterproof and comes in a variety of colours. Other strengths include the capability to mute cell phone calls and vibration alerts. The weakness is that it is only compatible with Android smart phones using the Android 4.4 software and above. The wristband also operates only with Bluetooth 4.4 and above only (Mcdannald, 2015). According to market researchers, the competitions strengths is that almost all wearable devices emanate from the same idea. Hence, customers are only easily swayed by the brand name. The weakness of the competition is its inability to work with other software like IOS or older versions of the software it is compatible with. This has a big impact on the sale of the wristband (Boxall, 2014). According to market analysts, the Sony wristband has lived up to 75% of its real ability. Thus the market sale trends and forecasts are doing well. A price history of the product on amazon shows the fluctuations it has gone through from $77 to $49. Perhaps, it is an indication of the demand pattern for the product, which has affected the pricing. However, in spite of the volatile nature of wearable technology, the forecast remains strong as the field is still green with opportunities for better products (Trew,

M6 and 7 policy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

M6 and 7 policy - Assignment Example Second, management of the implementation of core project functions such as monitoring the burden of disease and preventive services, supporting of public health research, identification and facilitation of project partnerships, building of capacity and infrastructure for sustainable implementation, program evaluation and policy development (Bob & Ron, 2010). Second, review of public health priorities in relation to dental health. Third, draw project work plan with phases, tasks, and milestones to track progress over time. Forth, monitor costs and progress of projects in relations to oral health budgets and project modifications of work plan, strategic goals and timelines. Managers strategize by focusing on energy investment as a critical ingredient of growth and productivity. For example by establishing what consumes the energy of a company and what replenishes it in respect to operations, people resources and financials. Managers also strategize by focusing on conversations in meetings. According to Bob & Ron (2010), managers are responsible for the quality of each conversations made in every company meeting. They are bound to paraphrase the questions to be of thought provoking nature for purposes of creating ideal outcome for instance a manager can pose a question like â€Å"how can we best increase our monthly sales turnover by 15 per cent† in a meeting with sales teams . In addition managers strategize by aligning organizational goals with the organization’s vision and mission. Situational analysis is the logical gathering and evaluation of past and present data relating to social, economic, political and technology for purposes of identifying external and internal forces that may impact on company’s performance and choice of strategies(Linda, Jack & Peter, 2012). It also aims at assessing future and current organization’s opportunities, strengths and weaknesses. A situational analysis in the implementation of oral health

Marketing Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

Marketing Plan - Assignment Example organization in terms of generating value to the customers along with ensuring proper communication and delivery of the products and/or services to manage a feasible relationship with the clients in ways that offer profit assistance for both the organization and its stakeholders (McLeish 10-18). Human Behavior Academy (HBA) Ltd is a voluntary organization that seeks to provide education with regard to developing the human value, knowledge and attitudes. The organization intends to deal with attitude and behavior that intersects with the business, psychology, communication, social work along with other crucial aspects of all businesses and industries in the present scenario. Moreover, HBA aims to develop professionalism creating values and morals of the working individuals. With respect to the organizational structure of HBA, the organization deals with book publication, chartered programs along with providing chartered, attitude and behavior consulting facilities for the professionals in order to build a healthy community at the individual level within the fiercely competitive business world. With due consideration to the organization’s mission and vision statements, HBA can be identified to follow a holistic approach to identify the measures of attitude and behavior in order to shape the prime objectives of the organization. The organization in this regard possesses a belief that in the current phenomenon, it is becoming increasingly crucial to analyze the behavior and the attitudes deciphered by other community members in order to secure their survival. Based on this philosophy, the organizations’ mission statement has been significantly focused on the importance of awareness of human attitude and behavior which can be considered as the major influential aspects of mental health. Furthermore, the organizational mission has been envisioned with the concept of maintaining a balanced and healthy community by means of educating people regarding their and their

M6 and 7 policy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

M6 and 7 policy - Assignment Example Second, management of the implementation of core project functions such as monitoring the burden of disease and preventive services, supporting of public health research, identification and facilitation of project partnerships, building of capacity and infrastructure for sustainable implementation, program evaluation and policy development (Bob & Ron, 2010). Second, review of public health priorities in relation to dental health. Third, draw project work plan with phases, tasks, and milestones to track progress over time. Forth, monitor costs and progress of projects in relations to oral health budgets and project modifications of work plan, strategic goals and timelines. Managers strategize by focusing on energy investment as a critical ingredient of growth and productivity. For example by establishing what consumes the energy of a company and what replenishes it in respect to operations, people resources and financials. Managers also strategize by focusing on conversations in meetings. According to Bob & Ron (2010), managers are responsible for the quality of each conversations made in every company meeting. They are bound to paraphrase the questions to be of thought provoking nature for purposes of creating ideal outcome for instance a manager can pose a question like â€Å"how can we best increase our monthly sales turnover by 15 per cent† in a meeting with sales teams . In addition managers strategize by aligning organizational goals with the organization’s vision and mission. Situational analysis is the logical gathering and evaluation of past and present data relating to social, economic, political and technology for purposes of identifying external and internal forces that may impact on company’s performance and choice of strategies(Linda, Jack & Peter, 2012). It also aims at assessing future and current organization’s opportunities, strengths and weaknesses. A situational analysis in the implementation of oral health

Expatriate Selection, Training and Support Essay

Expatriate Selection, Training and Support - Essay Example Global HRM specialists assert that it is important for MNCs (Multinational Companies) to attract, recruit and retain employees who can work and live successfully in other countries. Various models are used to determine traits of good expatriate managers (Camilleri, 2011:35). The choice of models of characteristics of good expatriate managers for international assignments has been a long and complex affair (Chew, 2004:15). Past models indicated that functional or technical expertise has been the basis of choosing expatriate managers for various assignments (Sonja, 2003:555). Intensified attempts aimed at identifying appropriate expatriate managers were based on recognising personal characteristics of candidates that could enable them serve as better expatriate managers (Fajana, 2011:58). In other words, training improved their survival during the assignments (Camilleri, 2011:35). Though the models selection may vary according different nations, they are all based on potential characte ristics and functional capabilities of prospective candidates (Huang and Lawler, 2005:1670). It can observed that early studies made out specific issues that could influence the success or failure of expatriate managers, originally very little was done to come up with a systemic approach to the expatriate selection process.It is clear that systemic, organisational and environmental issues impact on an expatriate’s success or failure that were observed from research done on expatriate selection  ... On the other hand, the explanatory approach has been recently adjusted to a predictive approach that takes into account a study of personality characteristics of potential expatriate managers (Budhwar and Sparrow, 2002:377). Specifically, researchers pay more attention to the predictive approach using the big five personality characteristics (Jens, 2007:25). The five characteristics for expatriate success include extroversion, agreeableness, emotional stability, conscientiousness, openness, and intellect. Despite the fact that personality characteristics are said to have predictive power in relation to the success of expatriate managers, the practical research to support this position is insufficient (Semerae et al., 2007:71). An all-inclusive study conducted on the big five characteristics found that conscientiousness was concluded to be the best predictor for individual performance (Jackson, 2002:14). In addition to, the link to organisational performance using this approach as the primary selection is somewhat uncertain. Moreover, the big five attributes the development of classification of soft skills that have been used in expatriate manager selection (Azolukwam and Perkins, 2009:23). Various skill classification schemes have been used to demonstrate the objective of practitioners to set up multiple means to forecast the success of expatriate managers (Price, 2000:45). The Ashridge Management Research Centre stated five skill categories with different items in each classification (Harvey and Novicevic, 2001:71). These include language capabilities, openness to different cultures, strategic awareness and adaptability environmental situations. Other studies that support the soft skill model have increased the number of

Evaluation of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Experience

Evaluation of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Experience Critically analyse and evaluate your experience of using a cognitive behavioural approach to work on a project of a personal challenge or change, integrating commentary on theory, research and practice. Introduction This work discusses in an analytical and evaluative way my experience of the use of a cognitive behavioural approach towards addressing the personal challenge of being extremely anxious when using personal computers. Firstly, a project summary provides an overview of the situation with references to relevant theory and research. Then the process of cognitive behavioural assessment is illustrated. Next is a discussion of the rationale of the planned interventions and an overall evaluation of the approach. Finally, the application of cognitive behavioural approaches in my work as a psychologist at an NHS psychology centre for adults is provided with some concluding remarks. Project summary My personal challenge is to control my anxiety and dread whenever I have to use a computer. I tend to think of myself as a generally relaxed person unless I have to use a computer, then I become anxious with clammy hands and feel my heart throbbing in my chest. Although I understand that the use of computers is world wide and that using the computer is essential at most workplaces I feel anxious and sometimes sheer panic if I have to use a computer therefore at most times I avoid using a computer. This problem is affecting negatively my work and it is embarrassing to feel computer anxiety in a world full of computers. Literature review Howard Smith (1986) defined computer anxiety as the fear felt towards interacting with a computer that is disproportionate to the actual threat presented by a computer. Tseng, Tiplady, Macleod Wright (1997) observed that approximately 30% 40% of the population is too anxious to use a computer. Recent research by Smith Caputi (2001) emphasises that there is a link between computer anxiety in undergraduate psychology students and debilitating thoughts suggesting further research is needed in order to develop more thorough cognitive models of anxiety. What is anxiety or stress? There is a growing body of knowledge about stress, which has been accumulating since Dr. Hans Selye (Szabo, 1985) who has spent most of his life in anxiety stress research first developed a theory of stress. Many other physicians and psychologists are conducting research on stress, contributing to our understanding and developing promising methods of stress management. The stress researchers are beginning to provide insights into how mind and body work together to produce psychosomatic illness and how this knowledge can be used for prevention. Definition of Stress the General Adaptation Syndrome (in relation to my computer anxiety) As a result of his stress research (Szabo, 1985), Selye developed a definition of stress suggesting that stress is the bodys non-specific response to any demand placed on it whether that demand is pleasant or not and this definition is relevant to my personal challenge of being stressed about using computers. This definition means that the body has a three-stage reaction to stress: (1) alarm, (2) resistance and (3) exhaustion. This three ­-stage response is the stress syndrome called the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS). (1) In the alarm stage, the body recognises the stressor, which for me is the computer and prepares for fight or flight. My body achieves this state by sending messages from the hypothalamus section of the brain, which stimulates the pituitary gland to release its hormones, which then trigger the adrenal glands to pour out adrenaline. As a result, the rate of my breathing and my heartbeat are quickened, my blood sugar level is raised, my rate of perspiration is increased, my pupils become dilated, and the digestive processes are slowed down. These factors create a huge burst of energy, an increase in muscular strength, and a heightening of vision and hearing natural aids to fight or flight. (2) In the resistance stage, the body must remain alert, leading to the stage of exhaustion. (3) The exhaustion stage means much more than being physically and mentally tired out. When somebody is tired in body and mind, a little extra rest or a change of scene will often quickly restore the person to full vigour; then the person has not reached physiological depletion. When somebody is physiologically exhausted, the body has lost its ability to continue to resist the continuing stress. It has used up its supply of adaptive energy and its defence mechanisms, such as its immune response, are no longer functional. The body is now vulnerable to the stress diseases, including high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, migraine headaches, gastrointestinal disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, and asthma. The body may even give up during this stage and die. Most physical or emotional stressors do not last long and produce changes in somebody from being in the first and second stage. Usually people go through the first two stages frequently during the course of our lives, as part of our successful adaptation to the many demands of living. I tend to feel alarmed and pressurised to not use a computer being anxious about using the computer and sometimes I get headaches thinking that I should be using computers like everybody else. Positive Stress Versus Distress From what has been outlined above one might think that stress of any king is bad, but that is not the case. According to Selye (1974) there is a need to experience some stress all the time. Even when somebody is asleep our dreams produce stress. I have woken up from nightmares being in front of a huge computer unable to go back to sleep. Thinking about stressors (the computer) and situations I have experienced when my father tried to teach me how to use a computer made me realise that those were the first times I experienced stress to use a computer. This type of stressor is classified by Selye (Szabo, 1985) as damaging and liable to distress, while other stressors such as horse riding I find pleasurable. Situations then are subject to different interpretations. For example using computers is stressful for me, but a delight for others. A key idea that Selye (1974) presents is that what matters is not so much what happens to us, but the way we take it. Herein lays the key to stress ma nagement, which will be considered further later on. Selye (1974) calls the stress that we need for our survival and well-being positive stress. Examples of positive stress include those times when our bodies stress-response mechanisms stimulate us enough to produce a peak performance for an important job or to come through despite a bad cold or a lack of energy. At times, we have performed feats of strength in emergency situations even the seemingly impossible, like single handily moving a huge weight, such as getting a stalled car to the side of the road. Other examples of life situations generating positive stress are going on a first date, taking an examination, and when we are infants, learning to walk. We also get excited and enjoy watching our favourite team in a match. Pleasurable emotions produce positive feelings of exhilaration. For reasons not yet understood, these positive stresses energise us produce healthy relaxation. I would like to be able to feel positive stress and enjoy using computers instead of being distressed. A medium level of pressure and stress leads to peak performance. The performance curve (please see next page) shows that as tension and pressure increase, so our performance increases to a certain point. If pressure continues to increase to a level that is beyond our ability to cope then it soon becomes unhealthy and it can lead to exhaustion and breakdown. It is important to recognise that stress and pressure are different. Pressure is the demands that are placed upon an individual. Pressure itself is not a bad thing and can help to motivate individuals. Stress is the negative experience that results when individuals feel unable to meet the demands upon them. Performance anxiety curve The kind of stress that is bad for us and can be harmful is called distress. Distress results when the stress continues so that we need to keep adapting to it. If the distress continues long enough, it can result in exhaustion. Exhaustion usually affects only parts of the body, a runner in a marathon produces severe stress on her muscles and cardiovascular system which leads to the exhaustion stage, but after a good rest she is back to normal and looking forward to the next race (Malmo, 1959). Computer anxiety Having reviewed the types of stress and the stage responses to stress in terms of neurophysiologic responses, behaviours, thoughts and feelings I find Selye’s (1974) description of the negative stressors best describes my reaction towards using computers. Furthermore, Rosen and Weil claim that one third of college student population feel some anxiety towards using computers (DeLoughry, 1993). Although the literature suggests that I’m not the only one being anxious towards the use of computers I often feel anxious about it and this has a negative influence on how I feel about myself. Assessment What is CBT in relation to assessment and therapy of computer anxiety or stress? Cognitive behavioural assessment is a continuous process of evaluation and monitoring during the length of therapy. According to Kirk (1994) there is a clearly set process to follow aiming to reach agreement with the client about what is the target problem; then to obtain enough detailed information about what factors are responsible for the continuity of the problem and then a process of change with high client involvement. Often clients come for a CBT assessment without any prior knowledge and it is useful to illustrate the main aspects of CBT. Primarily cognitive behavioural therapy assumes that a person’s feelings and behaviour are influenced by his thinking therefore emotional problems are the outcome of debilitating, negative and unrealistic thinking and therapy starts by increasing the person’s awareness of their debilitating thoughts and changing them. CBT is a combination of cognitive therapy, behaviour therapy and learning in way that explains thoughts, feelings and behaviours as the outcome of learning. This learning can be changed so people can change their old learning and gain new ways of thinking, feeling and behaving. Social learning is one approach to learning that postulates people learn by observing what others (role models) do and say (Bandura, 1986). Social learning theory attributes my computer anxiety and stress to when my father was teaching me how to use a computer and he wasn’t patient with my progress. Taking into account that in social learning theory rewards reinforce behaviou r for me then the absence of rewards and the punishment received for not learning by my father to use the computer made me computer averse and anxious. Datttilio Padesky (1990) showed how CBT is a holistic approach because it considers thoughts, feelings, behaviour, social environment, personal history and physiology that influence my computer anxiety – stress. Further, Beck (1995) described CBT as a procedure of guided discovery where the client discovers methods and techniques that will help them to identify and address their debilitating thoughts. The guided discovery works by the client having certain ‘homework’ to complete between CBT sessions in order that he understands which of his thoughts are based on reality he experiments by behaving in different ways that test the reality of his thoughts and he can discover which thoughts are true based on experience instead of mere assumptions. While discovering true thoughts based on his experiential learning the client is encouraged to learn new skills and behave differently in order that his behaviour matches his true thoughts. The assessment of my computer anxiety and stress was done by a behavioural interview and a stress assessment questionnaire (see appendix 1) followed by self-monitoring information. According to Kirk’s (1989) cognitive behavioural assessment framework during the first stage of assessment in the interview the questions I was asked aimed to capture exactly what I feel, think and how I behave when I suffer from computer anxiety – stress. A list of typical situations in which I became anxious and stressed at various degrees was made (see appendix 2). Having discussed my problem then the onset of my anxiety and my stress towards using computers was investigated taking into account the first time I remember being anxious towards using the computer, how it continued and the predisposition to anxiety. My anxiety was measured as a general anxiety – stress concept on Selye’s (1974) classic questionnaire (see appendix 1). I said how my anxiety to use computers started since my father tried to teach me as a teenager with strict rules and impatience. Since then I always felt apprehensive, anxious and sometimes stressed out when having to use a computer especially of others are looking to see how I’m getting on. Aiming to gain enough detail about the content of a problem, cognitive behavioural assessment focuses on the interaction of four ways of responding to a situation: cognitive; emotional; behavioural and physiological (Kirk, 1989). I was asked to remember a recent situation that I felt anxious and/or stressed when having to use a computer and describe what I was thinking (cognitive), feeling (emotional), did or said (behavioural) and any changes on how my body felt. I remember how two days ago I was asked by my tutor to attend a computer class because he thinks if I get to practice using computers I will feel less anxious about them. I became stressed out when the whole class looked at me because my computer was making a loud noise tha t wouldn’t stop because I pressed something. I discovered that although I could remember what I felt (emotional) what I did (behavioural) and how sweaty my hands were (physiological) it was difficult to remember what I was thinking. Because of that my ‘homework’ was to start using a self-monitoring anxiety diary. Self-monitoring information is often used to enhance the effect of behavioural interviewing because it provides the opportunity to describe a problem (my computer anxiety) over time getting specific information about every time I experienced computer anxiety. That makes it also possible to see how often I have computer anxiety. I was asked to record the situation that provoked my anxiety, when it happened and my response using the four systems (thoughts; emotions; behaviour; physiology) as soon as possible after the event for a week. A 0-10 rating scale was also used to measure the intensity of my anxiety (see appendix 3). Beck (1995) describes homework as an essential part of cognitive behavioural therapy and as a way to emphasise its collaborative and self-help principles. This anxiety diary was useful in examining my problem with sufficient detail becoming able to point out what might be holding my problem in place using two ways: a cognitive ABC (Antecedent-Belief-Consequence) model and a behavioural ABC (Antecedent-Behaviour-Consequence) model. Trower et al., (1988) illustrated the cognitive ABC model explaining behaviour in terms of processes that take place between an environmental stimulus and behaviour. According to this model something happens and then the client focuses his attention on it and this is called Antecedent (A). Then the interpretation of what happened occurs in the form of a belief (B) and a consequence (C) which may involve a behaviour and feeling(s) (see appendix 4). On appendix 3 a number of trigger situations are listed during the week of self-monitoring. The analysis of these situations using a cognitive ABC model identified a pattern of common thought processes linking the triggering event and my anxious-stressful consequence (see appendix 4). I also used the behavioural ABC model, based on operant conditioning (Skinner 1974 in Glassman, 2000) to examine why I repeatedly get computer anxiety (see appendix 5). Similarly to the cognitive model there is an antecedent (A) then the behaviour (B) response to the event and the consequence (C) is the outcome of the behaviour. The negative reinforcer I noticed is avoiding the use of computers when asked to use them which then follow negative self-talk about not being able to master the use of a computer. I found this model less useful because of its superficially descriptive nature it does not account for thoughts. Motivation to change Miller (1983) claims that a clients motivation to change is represented as a comparison between the advantages and the disadvantages of changing because both continuing and changing a behaviour is a choice having pros and cons. I’ve done that (see appendix 6). Then I considered Prochaska. DiClemente’s (1986) model of behavioural change where the client develops from an initial precontemplation stage (with no thoughts of change) to contemplation (where the client evaluates advantages and disadvantages of changing); to preparation (where planning and commitment occur) leading to taking action towards behavioural change. If the client takes action(s) to change their behaviour then they progress to maintenance (where efforts focus on long-term change). I discovered that I’m in the contemplation stage having done the comparison between the advantages and the disadvantages of eliminating my computer anxiety it is obvious that advantages are more than the disadvantages. Plan of interventions for eliminating computer anxiety I considered several possible solutions to eliminate my computer anxiety and have discussed with my doctor the possibility of taking medication to free myself from anxiety symptoms (e.g. palpitations) when thinking of computers and when addressing them. I will do: 1. Controlled breathing technique 2. Deep muscle relaxation 3. Set smart goals in order that I get one-to-one help with learning to use computers 4. Progressive relaxation 5. Self-monitoring Evaluation CBT is a very useful approach for dealing with stress because it offers clear methods to support clients by observing, analysing and learning coping skills to deal with anxiety. The use of medication to provide relief from anxiety symptoms can be combined with CBT in order to maximise the short-term outcome. Essential for CBT is the therapeutic relationship to have empathy, trust and respect so that the client does homework between sessions and feels empowered to help themselves. It is beyond the scope of this project to evaluate the therapeutic relationship. However, I certainly developed a self-help attitude and became more aware of my thought, behaviours, feelings and physiology during computer anxiety events having progressed through the Cycle for Change. I need to develop further my motivation in terms of smart goal setting with times, milestone, have a support network and reward myself for achieving milestones and the goal of eliminating computer anxiety. Conclusion Having implemented self-monitoring I discovered that by dominant behaviour is to avoid the use of computers but that does not eliminate my computer anxiety. This is a valuable insight also about the key role my thought processes have in suffering from computer anxiety. The plan to use relaxation techniques; design of smart goals and have one-to-one supportive advice when dealing with computers is what I’ll do in addition to self-monitoring in order to conquer my challenge of computer anxiety. This project provided me with more thorough understanding of CBT assessment and therapy which I will use in my life and at my clinical practice. References Bandura, A. (1986). Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Beck, J. S. (1995). Cognitive Therapy: Basics and Beyond. New York: Guildford Press. Datttilio, F.M. Padesky, C. (1990). Cognitive Therapy With Couples. New York: Guilford Press. DeLoughry, T. J. (1993). Researchers Say ‘Technophobia May Afflict Millions of Students’, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 28 April, 25-26. Howard, G. S. Smith, R. D. (1986). Computer Anxiety in Management: Myth or Reality? Communications of the ACM, 29, 611-615. Kirk J. (1989). Cognitive behavioural assessment. In Hawton, K. Salkovskis, P. M. Kirk, J. and Clarke, D. M. (1989) editors. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Psychiatric Problems. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 13-51. Kirk J. (1994). Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Psychiatric Problems. Oxford: Oxford medical publications. Malmo, R. B. (1959). Activation: a Neurophysiological Dimension. Psychological Review, 66, 367-386. Miller, W. R. (1983). Motivational Interviewing with Problem Drinkers. Behavioural Psychotherapy, 11, 147-172. Prochaska, J. O. DiClemente, C. C. (1986). Towards a comprehensive model of change. In Miller, W. R. Rollnick, S. Motivational Interviewing: Preparing People for Change. New York: Guilford Press. Selye, H. (1974). The Stress of Life. New York: McGraw-Hill. Skinner, B. F. (1974). About Behaviourism. London: Cape. In Glassman, (2000) Approaches to Psychology. London: Open University Press, 25-47. Smith, B. Caputi, P. (2001). Behaviour and Information Technology, 20,Number 4, 1 July, 9, 265-273. Szabo, S. (1985). The Creative and Productive Life of Hans Selye: a Review of his Major Scientific Discoveries, Experientia, 41, 564–567. Tseng, H. M., Macleod, H. A. Wright, P. (1997). Computer Anxiety and Computerised Versus Paper and Pencil Assessment of Induced Mood Change. Computers and Human Behaviour 13, 305-316. Appendices Contents Appendix 1: Danger Signs and Symptoms of Stress, Selye (1974) Appendix 2: Typical situations that I’m anxious – stressed when using a computer Appendix 3: Anxiety diary Appendix 4: Cognitive ABC model Appendix 5: Behavioural ABC model Appendix 6: Motivational change – advantages disadvantages Appendix 1: Danger Signs and Symptoms of Stress, Selye (1974) The following checklists are not precise enough to provide an accurate assessment of you but they can be a beginning point for reflection. If you have more than two of these physical signs, you may be placing your body under high risk from excessive stress. More than four of the following mental symptoms (or a total of four physical and mental symptoms) also indicate that you are a high-risk candidate from excessive stress. Summary scores Appendix 2: Typical situations that I’m anxious – stressed when using a computer When I: Try to navigate through different programs Have to do something (I don’t know what) because the computer crashes Try to use the keyboard Place the cursor on a program icon to open it Should write an essay on Word Have to use the computer in front of others Attend a class to learn to use the computer Appendix 3: Anxiety diary Appendix 4: Cognitive ABC model Appendix 5: Behavioural ABC model Appendix 6: Motivational change – advantages disadva