Ammoco Caediz

On the morning of the 16 March 1978, the oil tanker Amoco Cadiz owned by Amoco Transport Co. suffered a technical failure of the steering system off the coast of Finistere in Brittany, France. The tanker was transporting 227,000 tonnes of crude oil from the Persian Gulf to Rotterdam (Netherlands) when the ship began to drift towards the coastline in a heavy storm. (Tides, 2008). The reason for the steering gear failure was seen to be because of the stormy weather conditions that the ship was facing.At 9:15 the Captain Pasquale Bandari hoisted the international signal for â€Å"Not Under Command. † But he did not request assistance until 11:20, when his engineer determined that the damage was irreparable. Two unsuccessful towing attempts the first a towrope, thrown at 1:30 am, this broke three hours later. Despite all the efforts made by the crews of both ships, the Amoco Cadiz started drifting to shore where touching the bottom ripped open the hull and storage tanks before sto pping on the Portsall Rocks on the Breton coast. cedre, 2008)The crew of the tanker was rescued by helicopter, but the ship broke in two releasing 230,000 tons of crude oil. This spread through the English Channel. The oil spill polluted approximately 300 kilometres of coastline, destroying fisheries, oysters and seaweed beds and also 76 beaches in the Breton community. (Lenntech, 2006) This was seen as the worst oil disaster the world had seen at that time. After the steering had failed the captain had made some unwise decisions that were made under pressure. It took 1 hour 45 minutes before the tug boat was called for.It also took 1 hour 30 minutes to negotiate a towing contract this did not help with the language problems with both parties. The second tow for the ship was very badly coordinated. All of these examples led to the ship splitting in half and losing all of the oil. (Kristiansen, 2005) Having a single propeller and also a single rudder the Amoco Cadiz was at risk of th e steering gear failing. This became a reality when it happened and the crew could do nothing to repair it. The fact was that the crew where ill prepared for the steering gear to fail.If they were more prepared or had two propellers this tragedy might not have happened. (Kristiansen, 2005) BIB http://www. cedre. fr/en/spill/amoco/amoco. php http://www. lenntech. com/environmental-disasters. htm#1. _Bhopal:_the_Union_Carbide_gas_leak http://www. kozacky. com/site/files/789/74616/284382/393597/matter_oil_spill_by. pdf http://www. itopf. com/information-services/data-and-statistics/case-histories/alist. html http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Amoco_Cadiz http://news. bbc. co. uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/24/newsid_2531000/2531211. stm

Companionship Essay

Companionship Have you ever had a companion? Well, George and Lennie were great companions! The short novel â€Å"Of Mice and Men† written by John Steinbeck is a novel that teaches you about companionship. The two main characters in this Novel are George and Lennie. This novel teaches you about having a companion in your life. I think comfort and companionship are profound human needs that, when unmet, can destroy the human spirit. George and Lennie are traveling together everywhere looking for jobs to work. This shows that George has Lennie as a companion. When Lennie's Aunt Clara died, Lennie just came along with George working with him all over places. George and Lennie have a good relationship because they have been traveling together for quite a long time. Also, in the novel Slim says â€Å"Maybe everybody in the whole damn world is scared of each other. † This shows that Slim is wondering why more people don't travel together more often instead of traveling alone. Slim is suggesting that people should travel together more often instead of traveling alone. This means, traveling ogether makes people feel more happy and satisfied with their life's. When George killed Lennie at the end of the story for the purpose to give him a peaceful death shows how much of a companion George and Lennie were. Having the guts to shoot your own companion for a good thing like that is a really good companion in my opinion. George new that Lennie made a huge mistake this time and it could not be dodged this time so he made his decision to shoot Lennie. Also during the novel, Curly tells George that he doesn't see many people traveling ogether and laughs at them for traveling together as an odd group. Because Lennie is big and George is small he thought it was odd for them to travel together. This shows he was jealous that he did not have a companion in his life. This shows that comfort and companionship are profound human needs that, when unmet, can destroy the human spirit and mind. There are many people out there who are traveling alone and are very sad and lonely in there life's because they do not have a companion. Most people would love to have companions in there life rather than traveling alone.

Disaster Planning: Public Health Role

After working through the project â€Å"Disaster in Franklin County,† I will admit that I have a new appreciation for the role of the public health nurse in the event of an emergency. The simulation helped me to understand the important role that the public health team. The plays in assisting the community during a disaster. Role of the Major Public Health Personnel Each of the major public health personnel, including the public health nurse, play a key role in keeping a disaster organized flowing smoothly.The key roles are the medical health director, agency incident commander, public information officer, liaison officer, operations chief, planning chief, logistics chief, finance and administration chief, and public health nurse. With the exception of the public health nurse, the positions are often filled by people who may not be specifically trained for the roles, however, have a general overview of what the specific role requires.Agency Incident Commander – The agen cy incident commander is responsible for making the assignments of each of the other roles. She/he will have a familiarity with the specific skill sets of each person who is eligible for a role and be able to use these skill sets appropriately with in each role to obtain the highest amount of effectiveness. The incident commander will have a broad overview of what the different areas are working on, and know how each role will work to benefit other roles within the big picture.The AIC oversees the development of the incident mission and key goals, and from this comes the development of an Incident Action Plan (IAP). The AIC is responsible for ensuring that the public health agency incident mission and goals are synchronous with those of the other responding agencies and jurisdictions. The person in this position will have natural leadership qualities such as reliable critical thinking and problem solving skills, ability to make a quick decision, flexibility, adaptability, and a broa d understanding of the area affected.Public Information Officer – The public information officer is the communication coordinator or spokesperson. This individual is responsible for assuring that appropriate information is provided to the public, governmental officials and collaborating agencies. The Public Information Officer also assures that the required information is provided to the public health agency staff, so that the message of the agency is consistent, and in synchrony with other agencies.This person needs to be proficient in gathering the correct data for the situation, organizing facts, preparing appropriate releases for the press and the public, should have good communication skills, the ability to think quickly before responding, and have a good working knowledge of correct policy and procedure, standards, and laws in the public health realm. Liaison Officer – The liaison officer interfaces with and coordinates all activities with external agencies.The L iaison Officer assures that external agencies that are working with the department of health are provided with the resources that are required, as well as assure that agency policies, procedures and sovereignty are respected. She will be a point of contact for other agency representatives, and will coordinate assistance from other agencies such as hospitals, counties, EMS and federal emergency management.She will be responsible for creating and maintaining a list of cooperating agencies, their representatives, and point of contacts, and keeping other agencies aware of the public health status within the given situation. The liaison officer will have a functional working relationship with other agencies and have good communication and organizational skills. Operations Chief – The Operations Chief carries out the specific tasks and objectives that the public health agency needs to do in order to accomplish the goals of the incident.In this section, the Incident Action Plan is a ctually executed. This person will have a working knowledge of what needs to be done, how to get it done, and who to send to complete the task. He will also identify additional issues and resources needed and make those requests to the appropriate people. Examples of Operations activities include distribution of vaccines, water or soil sampling, delivery of risk communication messages to the public and case investigation, to name a few.The skill set appropriate for this person is someone with leadership qualities such as critical thinking, direct communication, and the ability to multitask. Planning Chief – The planning chief position is used to organize data, make projections and forecasts about the event and report the information to the AIC. Where required, this person may engage in intelligence activities – which for public health may be gathering, analyzing and sharing incident information (some of which may be sensitive) with other agencies.Examples of intelligen ce activities may include analysis and projections regarding  epidemiological data about a bioterrorist event, risk assessments based on information reported by law enforcement or determination of toxic contamination levels in an environmental incident is responsible for knowing the status of all resources available during a disaster both personnel and equipment. They will know how to obtain these resources, be able to determine current situation and status of the event, making a plan to provide the community with the things that are needed during a disaster, and have contingency plans in case the initial plans are unable to be carried out.This person will have strong contacts throughout the community, a working knowledge of resources available and strong planning skills. Logistics Chief – The Logistics Chief provides the support to all other sections that have been activated in the public health agency so that the work can be accomplished. Logistics acquires and sets up th e things that are needed for Operations to get the job done. A logistics chief will have excellent organizational skills and good ties with the community.Finance and Administration Chief – The finance and administration chief has an essential role including assuring that a contractual and financial process is in place for emergency procurement of supplies, equipment, space and personnel; interpretation of human resource policies; tracking of fiscal resources that are expended during the response (so that costs can be recovered by the agency during the recovery phase of the event) and in some cases, assurance of availability of resources to address the physiological and psychological needs of the paid and volunteer agency personnel who are engaged in the response.Diligent work done by the Finance / Administration Chief during an emergency can serve to prevent a financial or human resource disaster after the event. This person will have a skill set and background in finance or bookkeeping. Public Health Nurse – The public health nurse’s role in a disaster is to assess medical health and safety needs of the community and implement interventions as soon as safely possible after the event.This may include assessing individual needs of community members for things such as appropriate shelter, medications, basic provisions, such as food and water, and assessing for overall coping and stress management skills within a household. As these needs are assessed the public health nurse may refer to other agencies for resources in assisting these community members. The public health nurse will also be involved in vaccine delivery as appropriate and treating basic emergencies as needed. Chain of Command for the Community Health NurseIn the simulation â€Å"Disaster in Franklin County,† the chain of command for the community health nurse began with reporting to the agency incident commander who reported to the public health director, who reported to the medical health director, who then reported to the operations chief for the county incident command system, who reported to the emergency operation center commander. This clear-cut chain of command makes it easy to get information up the chain to the appropriate people without the public health nurse having to relay information to multiple people. Available ResourcesResources available to the community health nurse to deal with situations outside her scope of practice included environmental health specialists to assist with inspections of restaurants available to reopen and inspections of housing before people returned home and help educate the public regarding the use of generators; law enforcement to assist with volatile situations, security and safety needs; hazmat and fire crews to assure safety of homes and businesses, and assist with cleanup efforts; public works to assure water safety, electrical safety, and assess for gas leaks are just a few of the resources available t o the public health nurse to assure that the community is safe throughout the event and healthy upon returning to their homes.Actions Taken During the Door-to-Door Interviews During the door-to-door interviews in the simulation, the community health nurse encountered Mr. Fugate, who did not have his blood pressure medications. This had the potential to be an emergency, had Mr. Fugate’s blood pressure been high, or had he been symptomatic. The simulation stated that Mr. Fugate could have stayed at home or gone to the shelter, according to the community health nurse.In this situation, even though his blood pressure came back at a reasonable reading at the moment, I believe Mr. Fugate would be best served at the shelter where his blood pressure and his general safety could be monitored until events after the storm could be better stabilized. Should Mr. Fugate, choose to stay at home, there is a risk that his blood pressure would spike to a much higher level at a time when he is alone, and unable to receive appropriate medical treatment in a timely fashion. This also increases his risk for issues such as stroke and falls. While we must respect the wishes of the patient, as nurses, we also can make strong recommendations to our patients using basic health facts and logic that will sometimes change their decisions.In the case of Mrs. Alvarez, who spoke Spanish only, the enclosed generator had the potential to be lethal to Mrs. Alvarez and her son. The immediate education regarding the ventilation of the generator was necessary to prevent a buildup of deadly gases. Had there not been anyone at the Alvarez his residence who spoke English, not having access to a translator could have been detrimental to their health as they would not have been a way to discuss the risks with Mrs. Alvarez. Having a plan in place for access to a translator in a time of the disaster is very important as education, such as this, may be necessary on the spot, as opposed to at a later time.In the case of Susan Fuhr, my main concern would have been a lack of coping skills and an immediate danger to herself and her child. In a disaster, many things can happen to cause an increase in stress levels. In a person who is already stressed, any one of the stressors may cause an already overloaded person to be pushed beyond their breaking point. This puts at risk everyone in their path for physical and verbal abuse. Susan Fuhr had the stressors of a young child, as well as caring for her mother-in-law to deal with before the storm. While a recommendation to go to the shelter would have provided her with food, shelter and water, sometimes the stress of being away from your home, especially when caring for others is more difficult to deal with.Assuring that the family had the essentials that they needed and that follow-up was arranged was imperative in this situation. In a disaster, many people are afraid that they will be a burden to others if they ask for help. In the cas e of Mr. Westlund, the chemical spill and cleanup without being educated about the proper ways to do this could be detrimental to Mr. Westlund’s health. Putting him in touch with the appropriate resources, such as the hazmat team, was imperative to assuring that the chemical spill was cleaned up properly, both for Mr. Westlund and the community. Assisting the Community in Coping The community health nurse provided education to each of these families appropriate to their situations.She acted as a coordinator and advocate to put them in touch with the appropriate resources as well as a collaborator, by listening and respecting their needs and wishes. Using these techniques helps to calm the fears of the residents of the community by helping them feel more prepared through education, know that there needs and wishes are important and will be respected by those providing help to them, and by acting as an advocate, they are reassured that someone cares about their situation and wa nts to help them in this time of need. Disaster Nursing-How Can I Help As a nurse in the community, whether working in the public health realm or another sector, it is our instinct to go where they need is.One of the first things that you can do to help in the situation of the disaster is to be preregistered with an organization that is known to provide first responder assistance such as the Red Cross, Salvation Army, or local disaster teams. Even though the areas we are needed are rarely the areas of our expertise, extra bodies and extra hands are always welcome in a disaster. For those that work in areas such as hospitals, emergency rooms, and urgent care centers, checking in with your employer to see where help is needed is always appropriate. As a nurse, I worked through Hurricane Ike in September 2008 as it hit the Texas coastline and wreaked havoc on the city of Houston and surrounding communities. Even though I was in management at the time, I worked 58 hours straight through the hurricane coordinating nursing staff, caring for patients, and doing whatever needed done.This meant that, along with normal nursing duties, I made sandwiches, I cleaned beds, I removed red bags with patient waste inside, I assisted in putting out small fires, and I coordinated a move of the nursery when water started leaking through the ceiling. None of these was my regular duty, however, they were things that needed done at that moment. I believe the biggest service in any disaster for nursing personnel is to first be prepared for the disasters that can happen in your area; have a plan for your own family that can include being separated from them; know how you will get to the area you could be working in should a disaster occur in; and once you’re  there, be willing to do what needs to be done, even if it’s outside your comfort zone.Being a nurse during a disaster can be stressful and exciting all at the same time. It will make you think outside the box to so lve situations in new and different ways. Critical thinking and problem solving are taken to a whole new level during a disaster. Nursing of this type will boost confidence and test endurance as the nurse often works with little sleep, little food, and stress surrounding her. I will also say that nursing during a disaster is some of the most rewarding nursing I have ever done, and as crazy as it will sound to the rest of the world, nurses will always run in as everyone else runs out. It’s just who we are Disaster Planning: Public Health Role After working through the project â€Å"Disaster in Franklin County,† I will admit that I have a new appreciation for the role of the public health nurse in the event of an emergency. The simulation helped me to understand the important role that the public health team. The plays in assisting the community during a disaster. Role of the Major Public Health Personnel Each of the major public health personnel, including the public health nurse, play a key role in keeping a disaster organized flowing smoothly.The key roles are the medical health director, agency incident commander, public information officer, liaison officer, operations chief, planning chief, logistics chief, finance and administration chief, and public health nurse. With the exception of the public health nurse, the positions are often filled by people who may not be specifically trained for the roles, however, have a general overview of what the specific role requires.Agency Incident Commander – The agen cy incident commander is responsible for making the assignments of each of the other roles. She/he will have a familiarity with the specific skill sets of each person who is eligible for a role and be able to use these skill sets appropriately with in each role to obtain the highest amount of effectiveness. The incident commander will have a broad overview of what the different areas are working on, and know how each role will work to benefit other roles within the big picture.The AIC oversees the development of the incident mission and key goals, and from this comes the development of an Incident Action Plan (IAP). The AIC is responsible for ensuring that the public health agency incident mission and goals are synchronous with those of the other responding agencies and jurisdictions. The person in this position will have natural leadership qualities such as reliable critical thinking and problem solving skills, ability to make a quick decision, flexibility, adaptability, and a broa d understanding of the area affected.Public Information Officer – The public information officer is the communication coordinator or spokesperson. This individual is responsible for assuring that appropriate information is provided to the public, governmental officials and collaborating agencies. The Public Information Officer also assures that the required information is provided to the public health agency staff, so that the message of the agency is consistent, and in synchrony with other agencies.This person needs to be proficient in gathering the correct data for the situation, organizing facts, preparing appropriate releases for the press and the public, should have good communication skills, the ability to think quickly before responding, and have a good working knowledge of correct policy and procedure, standards, and laws in the public health realm. Liaison Officer – The liaison officer interfaces with and coordinates all activities with external agencies.The L iaison Officer assures that external agencies that are working with the department of health are provided with the resources that are required, as well as assure that agency policies, procedures and sovereignty are respected. She will be a point of contact for other agency representatives, and will coordinate assistance from other agencies such as hospitals, counties, EMS and federal emergency management.She will be responsible for creating and maintaining a list of cooperating agencies, their representatives, and point of contacts, and keeping other agencies aware of the public health status within the given situation. The liaison officer will have a functional working relationship with other agencies and have good communication and organizational skills. Operations Chief – The Operations Chief carries out the specific tasks and objectives that the public health agency needs to do in order to accomplish the goals of the incident.In this section, the Incident Action Plan is a ctually executed. This person will have a working knowledge of what needs to be done, how to get it done, and who to send to complete the task. He will also identify additional issues and resources needed and make those requests to the appropriate people. Examples of Operations activities include distribution of vaccines, water or soil sampling, delivery of risk communication messages to the public and case investigation, to name a few.The skill set appropriate for this person is someone with leadership qualities such as critical thinking, direct communication, and the ability to multitask. Planning Chief – The planning chief position is used to organize data, make projections and forecasts about the event and report the information to the AIC. Where required, this person may engage in intelligence activities – which for public health may be gathering, analyzing and sharing incident information (some of which may be sensitive) with other agencies.Examples of intelligen ce activities may include analysis and projections regarding  epidemiological data about a bioterrorist event, risk assessments based on information reported by law enforcement or determination of toxic contamination levels in an environmental incident is responsible for knowing the status of all resources available during a disaster both personnel and equipment. They will know how to obtain these resources, be able to determine current situation and status of the event, making a plan to provide the community with the things that are needed during a disaster, and have contingency plans in case the initial plans are unable to be carried out.This person will have strong contacts throughout the community, a working knowledge of resources available and strong planning skills. Logistics Chief – The Logistics Chief provides the support to all other sections that have been activated in the public health agency so that the work can be accomplished. Logistics acquires and sets up th e things that are needed for Operations to get the job done. A logistics chief will have excellent organizational skills and good ties with the community.Finance and Administration Chief – The finance and administration chief has an essential role including assuring that a contractual and financial process is in place for emergency procurement of supplies, equipment, space and personnel; interpretation of human resource policies; tracking of fiscal resources that are expended during the response (so that costs can be recovered by the agency during the recovery phase of the event) and in some cases, assurance of availability of resources to address the physiological and psychological needs of the paid and volunteer agency personnel who are engaged in the response.Diligent work done by the Finance / Administration Chief during an emergency can serve to prevent a financial or human resource disaster after the event. This person will have a skill set and background in finance or bookkeeping. Public Health Nurse – The public health nurse’s role in a disaster is to assess medical health and safety needs of the community and implement interventions as soon as safely possible after the event.This may include assessing individual needs of community members for things such as appropriate shelter, medications, basic provisions, such as food and water, and assessing for overall coping and stress management skills within a household. As these needs are assessed the public health nurse may refer to other agencies for resources in assisting these community members. The public health nurse will also be involved in vaccine delivery as appropriate and treating basic emergencies as needed.Chain of Command for the Community Health NurseIn the simulation â€Å"Disaster in Franklin County,† the chain of command for the community health nurse began with reporting to the agency incident commander who reported to the public health director, who reported to the medical health director, who then reported to the operations chief for the county incident command system, who reported to the emergency operation center commander. This clear-cut chain of command makes it easy to get information up the chain to the appropriate people without the public health nurse having to relay information to multiple people.Available ResourcesResources available to the community health nurse to deal with situations outside her scope of practice included environmental health specialists to assist with inspections of restaurants available to reopen and inspections of housing before people returned home and help educate the public regarding the use of generators; law enforcement to assist with volatile situations, security and safety needs; hazmat and fire crews to assure safety of homes and businesses, and assist with cleanup efforts; public works to assure water safety, electrical safety, and assess for gas leaks are just a few of the resources available to the public health nurse to assure that the community is safe throughout the event and healthy upon returning to their homes.Actions Taken During the Door-to-Door Interviews During the door-to-door interviews in the simulation, the community health nurse encountered Mr. Fugate, who did not have his blood pressure medications. This had the potential to be an emergency, had Mr. Fugate’s blood pressure been high, or had he been symptomatic. The simulation stated that Mr. Fugate could have stayed at home or gone to the shelter, according to the community health nurse.In this situation, even though his blood pressure came back at a reasonable reading at the moment, I believe Mr. Fugate would be best served at the shelter where his blood pressure and his general safety could be monitored until events after the storm could be better stabilized. Should Mr. Fugate, choose to stay at home, there is a risk that his blood pressure would spike to a much higher level at a time when he is al one, and unable to receive appropriate medical treatment in a timely fashion. This also increases his risk for issues such as stroke and falls. While we must respect the wishes of the patient, as nurses, we also can make strong recommendations to our patients using basic health facts and logic that will sometimes change their decisions.In the case of Mrs. Alvarez, who spoke Spanish only, the enclosed generator had the potential to be lethal to Mrs. Alvarez and her son. The immediate education regarding the ventilation of the generator was necessary to prevent a buildup of deadly gases. Had there not been anyone at the Alvarez his residence who spoke English, not having access to a translator could have been detrimental to their health as they would not have been a way to discuss the risks with Mrs. Alvarez. Having a plan in place for access to a translator in a time of the disaster is very important as education, such as this, may be necessary on the spot, as opposed to at a later t ime.In the case of Susan Fuhr, my main concern would have been a lack of coping skills and an immediate danger to herself and her child. In a disaster, many things can happen to cause an increase in stress levels. In a person who is already stressed, any one of the stressors may cause an already overloaded person to be pushed beyond their breaking point. This puts at risk everyone in their path for physical and verbal abuse. Susan Fuhr had the stressors of a young child, as well as caring for her mother-in-law to deal with before the storm. While a recommendation to go to the shelter would have provided her with food, shelter and water, sometimes the stress of being away from your home, especially when caring for others is more difficult to deal with.Assuring that the family had the essentials that they needed and that follow-up was arranged was imperative in this situation. In a disaster, many people are afraid that they will be a burden to others if they ask for help. In the case of Mr. Westlund, the chemical spill and cleanup without being educated about the proper ways to do this could be detrimental to Mr. Westlund’s health. Putting him in touch with the appropriate resources, such as the hazmat team, was imperative to assuring that the chemical spill was cleaned up properly, both for Mr. Westlund and the community. Assisting the Community in Coping The community health nurse provided education to each of these families appropriate to their situations.She acted as a coordinator and advocate to put them in touch with the appropriate resources as well as a collaborator, by listening and respecting their needs and wishes. Using these techniques helps to calm the fears of the residents of the community by helping them feel more prepared through education, know that there needs and wishes are important and will be respected by those providing help to them, and by acting as an advocate, they are reassured that someone cares about their situation and want s to help them in this time of need. Disaster Nursing-How Can I Help As a nurse in the community, whether working in the public health realm or another sector, it is our instinct to go where they need is.One of the first things that you can do to help in the situation of the disaster is to be preregistered with an organization that is known to provide first responder assistance such as the Red Cross, Salvation Army, or local disaster teams. Even though the areas we are needed are rarely the areas of our expertise, extra bodies and extra hands are always welcome in a disaster. For those that work in areas such as hospitals, emergency rooms, and urgent care centers, checking in with your employer to see where help is needed is always appropriate. As a nurse, I worked through Hurricane Ike in September 2008 as it hit the Texas coastline and wreaked havoc on the city of Houston and surrounding communities. Even though I was in management at the time, I worked 58 hours straight through t he hurricane coordinating nursing staff, caring for patients, and doing whatever needed done.This meant that, along with normal nursing duties, I made sandwiches, I cleaned beds, I removed red bags with patient waste inside, I assisted in putting out small fires, and I coordinated a move of the nursery when water started leaking through the ceiling. None of these was my regular duty, however, they were things that needed done at that moment. I believe the biggest service in any disaster for nursing personnel is to first be prepared for the disasters that can happen in your area; have a plan for your own family that can include being separated from them; know how you will get to the area you could be working in should a disaster occur in; and once you’rethere, be willing to do what needs to be done, even if it’s outside your comfort zone. Being a nurse during a disaster can be stressful and exciting all at the same time. It will make you think outside the box to solve s ituations in new and different ways. Critical thinking and problem solving are taken to a whole new level during a disaster. Nursing of this type will boost confidence and test endurance as the nurse often works with little sleep, little food, and stress surrounding her. I will also say that nursing during a disaster is some of the most rewarding nursing I have ever done, and as crazy as it will sound to the rest of the world, nurses will always run in as everyone else runs out. It’s just who we are.

Personal Statment Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Statment - Personal Statement Example I had the experience of selling and marketing various items and acting as a middle seller. Items like MP3 player, second hand bikes and fashion watches earned me a fair bit of profit, and I enjoyed doing this work too. This interest of mine led me to the Paldo Advertisement firm, where I learned the basic norms and structure of companies and how the business chain runs. Before starting to work in the Paldo Advertisement firm, I was in the military services. It might look a bit unusual, to switch from military and end up being a businessperson, but that is how my life goes. My time in the military service too, was quite fascinating, with many ups and downs every day. I learned the skills of dealing with the worst situation and predicting future circumstances. I think these skills will help me throughout my life, even in daily matters and systematic planning of my decisions. Later, my interest in business planning and finance developed further, due to my passion towards the stock market, and in learning factors, which affects the market share of a company. This was a decisive moment when I realized that I can trade effectively in stocks, and more importantly, I loved doing it. For those who have been in the stock market, would know the complexity and sensitivity in buying and selling stocks. There are various factors and figures that are needed to be considered before a person can predict the rise or fall of a stock (Alexandar). After my work at the Paldo Advertisement firm, I did some home trading in the stock market from my home. There was a significant difference in my feelings and emotions, when I was studying stock market and then when I started doing myself. The more I got into the stock market, trading stocks and predicting which to buy and which to sell, the more my interest in it kept on building. To be a master in the field, I needed to

Calvin Geneva and His Influence on European Reformation Essay

Calvin Geneva and His Influence on European Reformation - Essay Example According to George (pp. 23-25) in 1536, Calvin went to Geneva, where he was a reform led by Guillaume Farel well under way. In the light of the opinion of Cottret (pp. 78-81) Calvin was persuaded to stay in Geneva and helped manage the second major wave of Protestantism. In their ordinances of 1541, he gave a new organization to pastors, doctors, the elderly, and those who were deacons of the church. Its institutes of the Christian religion (1536) had great influence in France, Scotland (where John Knox led the reform of Calvinist), and among the Puritans in England. Geneva became the center of a large company that reached missionary in France, where the Huguenots became so influential that a synod met in Paris in 1559 for ordering a church at the national level of about 2,000 congregations reformed. As a result of the French wars of religion, the party of Huguenot was controlled and kept the French monarchy Catholic kingdom (Hpfl, pp. 90-98). It could be claimed that Calvin has exerted an enormous influence in the realms of economics and politics through his famous teaching on "predestination" (Kingdon, pp. 231-233) which he developed from the New Testament letters of Paul and writings of Augustine. This doctrine mentions that God has the complete right to choose whom he will for salvation, which, while ruling out human endeavor or goodness as a factor in the equation, can lead - as Max Weber notably argued - to concerned individuals seeking from God signs of their having been selected (McGrath, pp. 78-84). These most clearly take the form of economic success, rewards for tough graft and sound investment, and although Calvin himself aimed to be wary of commercial activity, placing in high regard the life of poverty, the great economic revolution of much of Europe and the United States in subsequent centuries was led by people claiming allegiance to his ideas. Prestwich (pp. 78-79) Calvin saw the world, including the realm of history, as "the theater of God's glory," and he urged Christian scholars to peruse the past in order to discover patterns of divine providence and spiritual blessing. Calvin advocated a kind of historical scholarship that was both critical and providentialist (Prestwich, pp. 78-79), one in which the line between sacred and secular history was intentionally blurred. He wrote: "It is not enough to have our eyes open and to note well and mark what God does during our lives, but we must profit from ancient histories. In fact, this is why our Lord has wanted us to have some notable judgments left in writing, so that the memory of them would remain forever. And we should not only profit from what is contained in Holy Scripture, but when we hear what is spoken by the histories written by the pagans, we should also have the prudence to apply to ourselves what God has done" (Badertscher, pp. 67-71). It appears that Calvin's reforming project in Geneva coincided almost exactly with the Council of Trent and reassertion of Catholicism after the blow dealt it by the popularity of Luther's ideas. Philosophy of religion the theological teaching and political views developed by the French theologian and church

Jonathan pollard Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Jonathan pollard - Research Paper Example Having completed his high school and scored well, he joined Stanford University to study political science where he graduated with a degree, and later joined several graduate schools but did not finish a post graduate degree (Olive, 2006). During his high school years, he was a trouble maker and when he transitioned to the university he developed more interest in the Israel history and the Holocaust seemed to form art of his major interest, owing to the fact that his immediate family had been adversely affected by it. Pollard developed much interest in the intelligence career after his university studies, and he consequently applied for intelligence jobs both in the CIA and the US Navy, but the CIA turned down his application since he tested positive for drug use for the several past years (Goldenberg, 1993). However, the Navy Intelligence Command (NIC) found him suitable for intelligence gathering due to his interest in intelligence issues, thus was hired as an intelligence specialist in 1979 (Taylor, 2014). Pollard had indicated signs of inappropriateness for the intelligence career earlier in his employment, when his immediate supervisor had requested the termination of his employment after he was found to lie about issues related with the CIA involvement of his family. However, rather than terminating his employment, he was simply deployed to a different department of the NIC (Olive, 2006). Thus, he was recommended for termination or deployment to non-sensitive area of the intelligence service where he could not be involved in direct intelligence collection, but kept evading the arm of the recommending officers while transferring to different departments. In 1984, he applied for promotion to the position of naval intelligence analyst, and was subsequently accepted after the departmen t was reorganized (Shaw, 2001). John Pollard’s espionage started after he met an Israel Air force officer on leave, who was seeking to earn a

Nike Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nike - Research Paper Example This helped the firm a lot because it enabled the company the ability to raise money for future expansion. In 1985 Nike made its best decision ever by signing rookie basketball star, Michael Jordan, to a sponsorship contract. Jordan was given signature shoes which became extremely popular among the youth. The success of the Air Jordan shoes made Nike the industry leader. Innovations such as the external air bags made Nike products unique from the competition. Nike used superior marketing campaigns to showcase its products. It’s slogan â€Å"Just do it† was created in 1988. A year later Nike signed another popular athlete, Bo Jackson, which helped the company increased its market share in the cross training product segment. In 1996 Nike signed another incredible athlete to become a sponsor in gulf superstar Tiger Woods. Today Nike has become the world’s leading innovator in footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessories (Nikeinc). In fiscal year 2013 Nike Corporation generated total revenues of $25.13 billion and a net income of $2.48 billion. The firm is very well managed led by its CEO and President Mark Parker. Phillip H. Knight is the Chairman of the board of directors. The company has many popular brands including Converse, Hurley International, Jordan brand, and Nike Gulf. Its branding strategy has helped the company obtain a tremendous customer retention rate. Based on Pareto’s 80/20 rule 80% of a company’s sales come from 20% of its customers. In the late 1990’s Nike was involved in a sweatshop scandal that hurt its reputation and depleted its sales by 50% a year after the revelation of the scandal, but since then the firm has cleaned up its act to become one of the most socially responsible companies in the world. â€Å"The Nike Foundation works to unleash the unique potential of adolescent girls to end poverty for themselves and for the world† (Nikeinc). Nike believes in the value of cultural diversity. It has several

Curriculum Foundations and Theory, Design, Development, and Essay

Curriculum Foundations and Theory, Design, Development, and Implementation - Essay Example tween instruction and curriculum is important in the design of any curriculum (Mooney & Mausbach, 2008).This paper will analyze the process of curriculum development and various educational philosophies that associate with it. The paper will also highlight the educational philosophy in the school that makes it stand out from the rest. Curriculum development and design borrows the analogy behind building strong buildings. A house will stand the tests of time only if the foundation thereof is strong. Similarly, improved school performance will occur when there is a proper ground on education and curriculum. There are two main approaches to curriculum development. The first method involves coming up with a sound and clear standards that merge with appropriate school assessments. Lack of well-defined curriculum impedes schools performance and results to a curriculum chaos. Next is the training of professional school personnel. Teachers need to undergo training that will enable them to meet periodically and review the curriculum and assessments (Mooney & Mausbach, 2008). Teachers have a high responsibility in continuous revision of curriculum that majors on instructions. Due attention must be placed on the â€Å"what† and â€Å"how† of the curriculum. Learn then Do is one important fundamental concept to curriculum development. Highly qualified professionals should oversee the development process of the curriculum. Proper strategies need to be in place to allow smooth curriculum development between the various stakeholders in curriculum development (Mooney & Mausbach, 2008). The love of wisdom is philosophy. Philosophy is instrumental in that it helps teachers to focus and reflect on the major educational concepts. The study of philosophy triggers questions such as what is to be educated, what knowledge is and the nature of learning to take place. Philosophical education deals with beliefs about what, why and how you teach and the mode of training. It acts as a

Health culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Health culture - Essay Example Defined medically, health refers to the absence of disease and disease causing organisms or conditions in human body. From biomedical model, disease is temporary organic condition that is curable through medical intervention. In addition, biomedical model views disease as a condition of a sick person who must undergo treatment. Furthermore, biomedical model argues that treatment of a disease is only possible after symptoms appear, and the treatment must be within a medical environment. The sociological understanding of health and illness concerns with the study of the social factors that lead to unhealthy conditions. This focus on the social origins of illness and effects guides to the concept of health inequalities. Health inequality refers to the difference in health conditions due to variation in access to health care facilities experienced by a given group of population within a country or between countries. Society is the main determinant of health inequalities experienced by particular group of people. Society contains various life factors such as ethnicity, economic prosperity, cultural beliefs, educational background, political affiliations and law, which have particular effects on health inequalities experienced within various societies and communities (Smith, 2003 pg. 9). Social gradient is the collective name for the highlighted factors of life within various societies. Social gradient acts as the test instrument for understanding the level of exposure of a certain group of people to experience health inequality. This is to mean that groups or individuals exhibiting most favorable social conditions or circumstances like good income or good education background have better access to be tter health care services and facilities. The better the access to better health care factors the longer the life of a given group or individual (Graham, 2009 pg. 52). The general implication of health inequality is that the poorer a group

Apartheid in South Africa and Segregation in America --Comparison Research Paper

Apartheid in South Africa and Segregation in America --Comparison - Research Paper Example It may also occur due to a belief that one group is inferior to the other. This was seen in recent history in which two major instances of oppression took place: Apartheid in South Africa and Segregation in America. Although, these countries are continents apart and had very different histories, they both practiced forms of oppression which led to the dehumanizing and harsh subjugation of the oppressed group. Apartheid and Segregation shared various aspects, but also demonstrated certain differences. The victims of oppression went about various ways to gain liberation in these countries. During this assignment it will be discovered how Apartheid and Segregation came into being. It will also be seen how these systems were implemented and what they entailed. Finally, the struggle for freedom will be looked at and how South Africa and America were turned into strong democratic countries. 2. BACKGROUND In April 1652 the first Europeans, the Dutch under the leadership of Jan van Riebeeck, landed in present day Cape Town and subsequently settled in South Africa. At first the plan was to set up a way station for ships that sailed from Europe to India. But later they wished to claim the land as their own; however, they discovered that there were local in habitants living on the land already, such as the Khoikhoi in the Cape region. For the most part these different groups coexisted; however, when the Dutch began expanding they began using the locals for slaves to aid in tilling farmland and tending to household duties. When the settlers began moving further into the country, annexing the land, they discovered more natives. Often these natives were reluctant to give up their land and several wars over land, water and grazing supplies broke out, such as the border wars against the Xhosa. This led to many deaths, bitterness and fear of one another1. The British were conducting the practice of Colonialism in various parts of the world and when it seemed as though Napoleon was taking interest in South Africa the British colonized the Cape in 1795. The first British settlers arrived in South Africa in 1820 and were given farmland by the colonialists. The Dutch, which were now known as the Boers, were forced to live under British rule. Their education was no longer in Dutch but only in English and they could only practice the Anglican form of religion and not their Neder Duitse form. The Boers were only involved in agricultural practices, making their financial standing far below that of the British and when slavery was abolished by Britain in 1834, the living standards of the Boers further declined. This led to the Groot Trek by the Boers. They embarked on a journey to find their own independent land. This led to the creation of the two Boer republics, the Orange Free State and Transvaal. The British also delegated certain land, which was known as reserves, for the black tribes to live in. Often these reserves were too small for all the people and the land was barren, making living conditions difficult. The British brought into being certain legislation which restricted the rights of Black and Indian people such as, the Natal Legislative Assembly Bill (1894), which deprived Indians of the right to vote; the General Pass Regulations Bill (1905), which prohibited blacks from voting, limited them to fixed areas and introduced the Pass System; the Asiatic Registration Act (1906) which required all Indians to register and carry passes; and the South Africa Act (1910) that enfranchised whites,

Abc-Clio - Continental System Essay Example for Free

Abc-Clio Continental System Essay Continental System One of Europes most storied leaders, Napoleon I is remembered for his dramatic victories as the leader of France, conquering large swathes of Europe until his ultimate downfall following the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Despite his military prowess, Napoleon was never able to conquer the United Kingdom, his archrival to the north. As Europes most successful economic power and the nation with the most powerful navy in the world, Britain relied on its trade with foreign nations to fuel its own economy. In an effort to undermine his rival, Napoleon initiated the Continental System, a wide-ranging system of tariffs and embargoes against Britain. The Continental System ultimately had a far more negative impact on France, however, much to the chagrin of its illustrious emperor. Origins of the Continental System Hostilities between France and Britain had boiled for many centuries, but the French Revolution, with its antimonarchical republican values and extreme violence, initiated a new low in relations between those two nations. Fearful of republican ideology spreading to its shores, Britain was staunchly opposed to the French Revolution from its inception, and as the French Army began its conquest of Europe, the island nation sought allies in its struggle against France. By 1799, Napoleon had used the support of the military to overthrow the French Directory and effectively take full control of the nation; the French coup dà ©tat of 1799 established the French Consulate as the new government of France, with Napoleon assuming the ultimate executive position of first consul. Meanwhile, French armies successfully conquered the Papal States, Sardinia-Piedmont, and Switzerland, and even occupied Ottoman Egypt for three years. Such conservative forces on the European continent as Austria and Russia shared Britains fears and quaked at the thought of French invasion. They knew that the French would not only bring occupying armies to their lands, but also displace their monarchies and establish republics, and that was something the ruling elite could not accept. With a successful general like Napoleon now at the helm of the government, the issue appeared more urgent than ever before. To counteract the threat of French invasion, monarchies across Europe banded together in a series of coalitions. In 1798, Austria, Britain, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, and Russia formed the Second Coalition, but their infighting prevented any effective concerted movement to stop the French war machine. By 1805, France had firmly established itself as an imperial power, having gained control over large portions of the Continent. In response, Britain and Russia, later joined by Austria and Sweden, formed the Third Coalition. This was a crucial move for the British; Napoleon had begun to amass troops in Boulogne—on the northern coast of France—in 1803 in preparation for invading Britain. The powerful British Royal Navy was able to prevent French invasion through a blockade, however, and with the decisive British naval victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805, Napoleon realized he would not be able to launch a successful land inv asion of Britain. A New Strategy Defeated, but not demoralized, Napoleon plotted a new way to attack the British. If he could not take them on militarily, the French emperor (Napoleon had proclaimed himself emperor of the First French Empire in May 1804) determined to attack their economy. Calling the British a nation of shopkeepers in a derogatory tone, Napoleon nevertheless knew that the Industrial Revolution, along with the riches flooding into the country from the burgeoning British Empire, had made the United Kingdom the most powerful economic power in the world. Because the nation was an island, it needed trade of its finished goods to buy enough raw materials and supplies for its population to live at a level that made it possible for them to be consumers and continue their rapidly expanding industrial output. He also knew that industrialization had ravaged the rural population of Britain, as well as its artisan crafts and cottage industries. As a consequence, he believed that a massive embargo of British goods throughout the European continent would destroy the British economy and incite a popular uprising that would bring down the government, as deprivation among the poor had done in France in the 1780s. Meanwhile, despite the loss of the French Navy at Trafalgar, the French Army (renamed the Grande Armà ©e in 1805) continued its domination of Europe. By the fall of 1806, nearly all of the Continent, from the Atlantic Coast to the borders of Russia, was either under French control, occupation, or allied to France. The only exceptions, most notably Portugal and Sweden, were unable to effectively take on French military might and stood waiting to see when they too might fall under French rule. With his power seemingly uncontested in Europe, Napoleon determined that it was time to strike at the British with his new strategy of economic embargo. Economic Warfare Begins On November 21, 1806, Napoleon issued the Berlin Decree, which declared that France would henceforth blockade all British ships and refuse them entry into any port under French control. In December 1807, Napoleon issued the Milan Decree as well, which stated that any ships coming into French waters that had previously docked in British ports would be confiscated, along with their cargo and crews, by French officials. That new policy was meant to include such neutral nations as the United States, which at that time was Britains most important trading partner; U.S. cotton in particular was essential for fueling the textile industry, Britains most important manufacturing base at the time. To counteract Napoleons moves, the British passed their own laws, known as the Orders in Council of 1807, forbidding their trading partners from dealing with France. As a consequence, the United States was forced to cease all trade with both Britain and France, a move passed into law by the Embargo Act of 1807. The U.S. withdrawal from international trade caused significant problems in the British economy and forced British industrialists to look elsewhere for cotton and other raw materials that had previously come from America. The expansion of the second wave of British colonization in the 19th century traces its origins to that period, as does the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom. Effects of the Continental System Napoleons attempts at economic warfare were shocking at first, but they did not fully cripple the British economy. Russia was not under French control in 1806, so in the beginning phase of the blockade, goods from Britain were still able to enter Europe through Russian-controlled Baltic ports. By July 1807, however, France and Russia concluded peace with the Treaty of Tilsit, and Russia—along with Prussia—joined the Continental System as a term of the treaty. By 1808, the value of British exports had fallen from  £40.8 million to  £35 million, and there was a visible decline in the import of grain. Moreover, industrialists, unable to get raw materials from abroad, began to lay off their industrial workers. At the same time, there were many crop failures in Britain, leading to extreme hunger for many of the poor who, without jobs or sufficient hours and pay, were unable to afford higher prices for rarer staples. Food riots resulted, but Napoleons hopes for a popular uprising that would overthrow the government never materialized. Though deeply affected, Britains economy was able to survive the blockade in the end, largely thanks to trade with its colonies and a marked growth in smuggling. While the consequences of the Continental System were dire for the United Kingdom, historians are adamant that the system actually had a far more punishing impact on France. Europeans, both in France and in its conquered and allied territories, were bitter that the system was denying them access to many of the consumer goods they relied on that originated from Britain and its colonies, like sugar, coffee, inexpensive textiles, and tobacco. Meanwhile, smugglers thrived in the environment of the embargo, and such goods that did get into Europe from Britain were far more expensive than they had ever been. Moreover, European nations conquered by the French resented the partner laws of the Continental System, which privileged French goods by placing high tariffs on other European goods. Prices throughout Europe skyrocketed under the Continental System, giving Europeans living under French rule new reasons to resent their imperial overlords. That resentment ultimately shook the foundations of support for Napoleons empire. Resentment, War, and Defeat The economic hardships wrought by the embargo led European nations that had not fallen under French rule to resist the Continental System. Portugal entirely refused to take part, forcing Napoleon to invade the nation and attempt to capture its fleet and depose its monarchy. However, King John VI of Portugal fled his home for Brazil, Portugals largest colony, and his naval fleet went with him. His people responded by revolting against the French invasion, and the British sent an expeditionary force to support them. This was the preliminary phase of the Peninsular War, a brutal struggle for independence from the French for Portugal and Spain, most famous in the United States today for its astonishing and heartbreaking war images captured by the master painter Francisco de Goya. The war was extremely costly for the French and played a significant role in Napoleons eventual downfall. The Swedish also decided to reject Napoleons demand that they join the Continental System, an act that resulted in that nation being invaded by Russia in 1808. The war that ensued—known today as the Russo-Swedish War of 1808–1809—raged from February 1808 until September 1809 and resulted in Finland being separated from Sweden and established as a semiautonomous entity closely tied to the Russian government. Also, the Russians forced the Swedes to join the Continental System, and all Swedish ports were closed to British shipping. Like other parts of Europe living under the Continental System, the Swedes were furious at the results of the embargo, namely higher prices and scarcity of goods. Anti-French sentiment increased, and Sweden subsequently took part in the final campaigns to overthrow Napoleons empire in 1813–1815. As prices skyrocketed, Napoleons Continental System was increasingly resented in France as well. Moreover, the human and financial costs of the wars in which the system played a causative role—like the Peninsular War—wore on the French public. Napoleons popularity began to plummet, and by 1812, the economy of all of Europe was collapsing. In that year, Russia decided to stop participating in the Continental System, and Napoleon responded by launching a massive land invasion of the vast country. Ill prepared for the elusive tactics employed by the Russian Army and the harsh nature of the Russian winter, Napoleon suffered the worst military defeat of his career during the Russian invasion; the human carnage was devastating for both sides, and Napoleons Grande Armà ©e was practically decimated. The resentful nations of Europe, including former allies of France, seized the opportunity and rose up in unison against Napoleons weakened regime. Within three years, the emperors fate would be sealed with his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, the final proof that his Continental System was, in the end, a failure. Continental System. World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 3 Mar. 2011. Chicago World History: The Modern Era, s.v. Continental System, accessed March 3, 2011. http://worldhistory.abc-clio.com/. APA Continental System. (2011). In World History: The Modern Era. Retrieved March 3, 2011, from http://worldhistory.abc-clio.com/

The Bauhaus Essay Example for Free

The Bauhaus Essay The Bauhaus is an institute for education of German architecture, industrial art and handicraft. The architect Walter Gropius founded it in Weimar in 1919. In 1925 the Bauhaus moved to Dessau, into a radically modern building, for the time, designed by Gropius. The New Bauhaus Art Institute was opened on 4th December 1926. The building complex was made of steel and glass. It was considered an architectural masterpiece. The Bauhaus was influenced by the term Truth To Materials because one its main principal is functionality. The rejection of principles is also an important influence. The designers tried to look at design completely differently than the status quo. They tried to look at things purely and simply. The Bauhaus designers did not use extravagant materials this made their designs affordable and available to the general public. The term form follows function means that if you design something, purely thinking about the function, a form will follow that meets the original function. The Idea comes from the American architect Louis Sullivan. Most of the designs from the Bauhaus follow this idea. The teaching methods of the Bauhaus are still used today. One year is spent in the university doing a variety of subjects before the pupils spend three more years studying one of the topics that they studied the first year. Marianne Brandt is an important figure in the history of modern design. Her metal designs such as the Kandem flexible bedside light (1928) and the 1924 ashtray revolutionised the design of metal ware she is also important because she was one of the first successful women designers. Here products are still made today by the Italian giants Alessi. Marcel Breuer was a master of creating simple, light and functional furniture. He was an innovator and he introduced new technological advances to design. Designs such as the 1925 Wassily Chair and the Table Laccio demonstrate his talent. Normally a prototype was as far as a design went in the Bauhaus, this is because students didnt have much money and so they couldnt afford to fund the mass production of their designs. Another reason is that this happened is because many of the designs werent desired enough by the public, to be mass-produced. I think that the Bauhaus is a very important part in the history of art. It deserves the prestige it receives as the centre of a revolution in art and design education It has produced some of the most memorable pieces of design in history and you can see how much it has inspired the designers of today just by looking at the functionality and simplicity of their work. I am sure that the Bauhaus will continue to inspire the designers of the future. The term less is more is applied to pieces of work from the Bauhaus because of the simplicity and lack of extravagance of most of the pieces creates a bigger impact that a fancy and complicated design. This is because most of the design during the time of the Bauhaus was lavish and complicated. Modern design centres on functionality and simplicity. Minimalism has a very important role to play in modern design. For me this movement plus a lot of other ideas, such as ease of mass production, started at the Bauhaus.

The Role Of Brand Extension

The Role Of Brand Extension In over two decades, the business strategy of introducing new products as extensions has become popular (Maoz and Tybout, 2002; Hou, 2003). Similarly, brand extension is considered as a key to develop brand. In details, it is widely used as eight out of ten new products are introduced as a brand extension in the market (Keller 2003; Simms, 2005; Volckner and Sattler, 2006). Brand extension strategies are broadly applied in order to reduce marketing expense in launching new product, enhance well-known and quality of core brand, and lessen risk for companies (Keller and Aaker, 1992; Taylor and Bearden, 2002). On the other hand, exploiting valuable core brand to built up for the brand extensions are an obvious strategy for growth (Keller and Aaker, 1992) but it is not without risks for firms (Swaminathan, Fox, and Reddy, 2001; Hem, Chernatory and Iversen, 2003) in the new economic environment. Prior studies on brand extension have indicated that a successful brand extension depends a lot on firm characteristics (Hou, 2003), core brand characteristics (Keller and Aaker, 1992; Park and Kim, 2001; Hou, 2003), customer characteristics (Keller, 1993; Swaminathan, et al., 2001), extended brand characteristics (Hou, 2003), and marketing strategies (Desai and Keller, 2002; K.L Washburn, Till and Priluck, 2000; Park and Kim, 2001; Hou, 2003). Brand extensions offer many potential benefits but also can pose many problems (Keller, 2003, p.623). As a result, understanding brand extension evaluation in terms of its core brand, its characteristics and customer behaviors are very important for marketers and firms in order to expand and increase sales revenue. Thus, this paper is designed to additionally examine the relationship between parent and extended brand and its influence on customer. Furthermore, this paper will study the impact of brand extension characteristic on customer purchase intention. 2. The role of brand extension 2.1. Definition and types of brand extension As an interesting research topic, brand extension can be defined and classified into many types as well as many researchers have done about this topic. The need to differ clearly brand substitutions and changes in brand design had led to define brand name extension as the replacement of at least one of the verbal denominations of a product by another, accompanied by the disappearance of the former denomination (Collange, 2008). Brand extension is also defined as a product whose nature and function differ from those of products currently commercialized under the brand name (Cegarra and Merunka, 1993 cited in Collange, 2008). In other words, brand extension is defined as using an established brand name so-called parent brand or core brand (Volckner and Sattler, 2006) to introduce a new product (Keller, 2003). As one of the most frequently tool branding development (Volckner and Sattler, 2006) brand extension is classified into two categories: depth and width of parent brand (Keller, 2003). Keller (2003, p.581) claimed that brand extensions can come in all forms. A core brand is replaced by sub-brand (Collange, 2008) or using new feature added to the host product (Densai and Keller, 2002). In another research, Edward classified brand extension into some categories, what he calls a franchise-extension based on the brand extension characteristics and its correlation to the parent brand. Those are introduction new product as a different form with the core product, or as a component of parent product, or as a compassion product, or as a relevant product for the brand (Tauber, 2004). 2.2. The advantages of brand extension strategy As the efficient strategy, brand extension have become a usually occurrence over the last fifteen years. There are a lot of firm like Apple, which has succeeded with the extension of Apple iPod digital music player. It is concerned as a tool for firm to improve brand image when consumers inferences to the performance of new product based on what they really know about the brand itself. These inferences are noted by Keller (2003) that can improve the strength and uniqueness of the core brand. Sony is the great example for this point, when a new personal computer for multimedia application is introduced consumers may have been more likely to feel comfortable with its anticipated performance because of their experience of other Sony products than if the product had been branded by Sony as something totally new. This extension is one of factors that are seen to create and enhance the competitive advantages of Company in order to develop their product line. As competitive economic environment, extending brand is often seen as a popular (Maoz and Tybout, 2002) and beneficial strategy to introduce different product into market in order to reduce costs, risks of failure and to increase successful opportunity (Taylor and Bearden, 2002). In addition, a lot of firms are using this way expected to generate quicker positive reciprocal effects and heavier purchase by consumers (Swaminathan, et al., 2001). Moreover, another potential benefit is to facilitate the acceptance of extended brand (Keller and Aaker, 1992). Extending brands both within and beyond the original product category is deemed to be profitable. In over fifteen years, these extensions are usually motivated by the need to decrease a portfolio of brands due to the increasingly in advertising expenditure (Cegarra, 1994; Villemus, 1996 cited in Colange, 2008) or price promotions (Volckner and Sattler, 2006). For example, McDonalds has expanded broadly around the world especially in A sia, Europe and Middle-Earth with extended brands. They were successful with McNuggets in England, Maharaja Mac in India even with new product categories such as McCafe, McTreat, or non-food brand extension Golden Arch Hotel in Switzerland (Studer and Ordonez, 2000). 2.3. The risk of brand extension As the cost of opportunity, the success of brand extensions is uncertain (Nkwocha, Bao, Johnson, and Brotspies, 2005). As an innovation can be very risk (Kotler and Amstrong, 2001, pp.337), a brand extension can create negative reciprocal consequences that enhance or diminish the equity of the parent brand (Swaminathan, et al., 2001). In some specific circumstances, it is an extremely risk for firms or would be doubted (Collange, 2008). As a result, these extensions may not be successful (Martin and Stewart, 2001) and it could lead to a tangible drop in sales and market share. Extending brand in marketplace today seems to be more challenging (Hansen and Hem, 2004) and needs to select and manage very carefully (Park, Kim K., and Kim J., 2002). Besides, it requires companies to have knowledge and understanding how customer evaluate brand extensions (Bottomley and Holden, 2001) and research further how customer react upon brand extensions in order to maximize profit. In some cases, extended brand cause consumer feel unappreciated, this confusion may lead consumer to question the integrity and competence of the brand. It is noted as one of the most popular reason for the failure of brand extension (Park, Milberg and Lawson, 1991). Besides, the worst possible consequence with an extension brand is that not only does it fail, but it also diminishes the parent brand. Audi is classic example, its sales declined from USD $ 74,000 in 1985 to 21,000 in 1989 as the result of failure of Audi 5000 had launched in 1986. Each of brands created its own image and associations and introduced into the markets absolutely different from those that currently placed in the market by the Company. As the research, Keller (2003) claimed that introduction a new brand as brand extension always have significant and potentially hidden costs, it requires a new brand should be introduced and updated in the most competitively advantageous way possible. Similarly, brand name ex tended is extremely risk for firms because consumer may no longer recognize it on the shelf or doubt its quality. As the result, this could lead to a drop in sales and market share of core brand (Kapferer, 2007). Moreover, understanding unsuccessful brand extensions may harm the parent brands is very important. It also leads to research and address in this topic, when the role of brand extension and its evaluation have been finding for a long time. Therefore, before extend brand image, company must find out and measure the potential impact on brand evaluation and purchase intention (Changeur, 2004). 3. Components of the literature 3.1. Parent brand and brand extension evaluation Core brand equity According to previous researchers, the parent brand characteristics have influenced on brand extension evaluation (Hou, 2003) and play an important role in successful brand extension (Keller and Aaker, 1992). Specially, the relationship between core and extended brand is linked to the dominant and nature of the core brand (Bridges, Keller and Sood, 2000). As most of new products are extended brands from the core brand (Keller 2003; Simms, 2005; Volckner and Sattler, 2006), previous researchers have shown the positive effect of parent brand on brand extension evaluation. One of these reveals that extended brands from the high equity core brands will be shaped more favorable attitudes (Washburn, Till and Priluck, 2000). On the other hand, the core brand image is not affected negatively by brand extension failure (Keller and Aaker, 2000) and has a low risk relation with brand extension (Maoz and Tybout, 2002). The literatures on brand extension have shown the essential role of brand equity in shaping consumer attitudes about an extension (Collange, 2008). Later researches have revealed that stronger parent brand equity is, whether formed by the brands quality (Keller and Aaker, 2000) or its awareness (Reddy, Holak and Bhat, 1994) the more brand extension is appreciated and to be successful. The core brand equity has not disappeared, and it remains engraved in customers mind even though it is replaced by the extended brand. This is demonstrated by the fact that many companies continue to refer a new product by its former name (Collange, 2008) as the warranty of success. Quality of parent brand Moreover, brand extensions are perceived by customers perceive about the quality of the core brands (Densai and Keller, 2002; Taylor and Bearden, 2002). An existing brand name provides an assurance of quality, thereby reducing the risks involved in purchasing a new product (Swamanithan, et al., 2001). Extension brands from high quality parent brands are perceived as substitutes tend to be less favorably received than those from lower quality brands (Bottomley and Holden, 2001). As the importance of quality, brand extensions which are from strong quality brand are benefited more than those from the weak brands (Park, et al., 2002). Also, in the later research, those effects should depend on the level of perceived quality of the core brand and a high level of both perceived core brand quality between the original and extension product categories was necessary for favorable extension evaluations (Keller and Aaker, 1992). Customer-brand relationship The customer-brand relationship quality interacts significantly and positively with brand extension evaluation (Park, et al., 2002). In the context of introduction new brand extensions, this strong relationship helps to obtain customers acceptance on the new extensions (Park, et al., 2002) and extended brand will be formed better in customers mind (Densai and Keller, 2002). Besides, the greater customers beliefs about the core brand, the better brand extension will be evaluated (Swamanithan, et al., 2001). In addition, customer with greater perception of core brand will accept the proposed extension more favorable (Keller and Aaker, 1992). 3.2. Brand extension characteristics are most concerned in evaluating brand extension There are some brand extension characteristics which are considered by customer in evaluating brand extension (Hou, 2003). Brand attachment Due to the limitation of knowledge about new offering (Taylor and Bearden, 2002), customer may evaluate extended brand by their experience about the core brand (Swamanithan, et al., 2001). As a definition above, firstly, brand extension is integrated the variable of attachment to the initial brand (Collange, 2008). Furthermore, brand attachment is defined as an emotional relationship of consumer with the parent brand (Lacoeuilhe, 2001 cited in Collange, 2008). It means consumer who is emotionally attached to the core brand will be unhappy if it disappears, regardless of the qualities of the substitution brand. It was claimed that the stronger the consumers attachment of extended brand to the initial the more purchase intention will deteriorate. Indeed, the third condition for extended brand to be a success is that consumers must not be too attached to the brand that will eventually disappear (Collange, 2008). On the other hand, the evaluation of brand extension seems to be difficult because consumers have an established relationship to the parent brand in the extension category (Hansen and Hem, 2004). Perceived fit Another characteristic of brand extension, which is recognized as one of the key success of brand extension is perceived fit of the extended brand to the core brand (Hou, 2003). According to previous researches, perceived fit can impact brand extension evaluations in some ways. First, it affects the extension to which consumers transfer their core brand awareness to an extension (Densai and Keller, 2002). Second, consumer may fit as a cue to make their inferences about an extension (Hou, 2003). Besides, perceived fit of brand extension is an important component of extension evaluations (Bridges, et al., 2000). In other words, brand extension must fit with the core brand is considered as the first condition (Collange, 2008). It leads to evaluate brand extension more positive (Michel and Cegarra, 2002; Collange, 2008). Otherwise, lack of category fit can cause the failure of brand extension (Park, et al., 2002; Yeo and Park, 2006). An earlier research has shown that perceived fit betwe en a brand and an extension is high; consumers are more likely to base their evaluations of the new product on their attitudes toward the parent brand (Bridges, et al., 2000). Therefore, as one of the key success factor of brand extension, it is needed to manage and emphasize carefully the transfer of the brand in terms of customer perspective (Collange, 2008). In prior researches, transfer has been examined as the greatest impact on extension evaluations among these dimensions (Hou, 2003), which are complement, substitute and transfer (Keller, 2003). Moreover, these types of features involved in fit judgments (Keller, 2002) have suited. Perceived fit is not only the extensions functional similarity to the brand category but also its relevance to abstract brand benefits (Broniarczyk and Alba, 1994). Furthermore, consumers may evaluate brand extension perceived fit on deep features or surface features (Zhang and Sood, 2002). It might be the main reason leaded to the mixed results above. Perceived similarity Furthermore, perceived similarity is characterized as a factor which influence consumers acceptance of extensions (Hem and Iversen, 2008). An important reason, also, is that similarity has been found to be a major determinant of brand extension evaluations (Hansen and Hem, 2004). It is defined in terms of the features shared by the core product and extension product (Keller and Aaker, 2000). Historically, similarity is understood in terms of internal operating synergies that arise when a new product can leverage on existing market (Hem, Gronhaug, and Lines, 2002). Perceived similarity is found to be the most relevant variable that can influence on the successful result of extensions (Volckner and Sattler, 2006; Hem and Iversen, 2008). The similarity between parent and extended brand might influence on perceptions of customer to brand extension and a similar extension of a brand is evaluated more favorably than a dissimilar one (Yeo and Park, 2006). Besides, a customer perception of new brand extensions is related to similarity (Taylor and Bearden, 2002). In addition, the extension information must be deemed relevant in the parent category and the similarity between the extension and parent brand is necessary for the extension information to be considered relevant (Swaminathan, et al., 2001). In the last ten years, researchers have concerned about brand extensions. The higher similarity between the extension and the core brand, the more favorable brand extensions are assessed (Taylor and Bearden, 2002; Park, et al., 2002), the higher purchase intension will be (Collange, 2008). This result was also found in the research of Sony and Nike about extension and new brands, when perceived similarity is a positive effect on brand extension evaluation (McCarthy, Health and Milberg, 2001). Otherwise, when the extension is seen as unrelated to the core brand, extension will not be evaluated favorably this association will not be seen as relevant to judging the extension (Boush and Loken, 2003). In contrast, a number of successful extensions that lack an overall perceived similarity with the parent brand have been launched into the market (Maoz Tybout, 2002). For example, the Virgin brand has been extended to a huge range of products, such as magazines, a music retailing chain, music label, airlines, trains, holidays, personal computers, wine, cola, financial services, radio stations, bridal services, movie theatres, perfume and cellular phones (Keller, 2003). The role of similarity is to influence both positive and negative reciprocal effects (Swaminathan, et al., 2001). As these researches, thus, perceived similarity should be focused deeper on further research in order to evaluate it important role in terms of customer purchase intention (Volckner and Sattler, 2006). 3.3. Customer attitudes towards brand extension Attitudes and purchase intention Customer attitudes towards brand extension may be affected and varied in terms of age, mood and culture (Hou, 2003). As consumer is heterogeneous, they may evaluate differently brand extension (Fu, Ding and Qu, 2009). This difference is the main reason caused to the mixed results in the prior studies. For example, Zhang and Sood (2002) measure the brand extension in terms of customers age groups and they found that teens evaluate brand extensions by relying more on surface cues and less on deep cues. Similarly, the difference in culture can lead customers to uncommon response to brand extensions. Customers from Eastern culture, characterized by holistic thinking, perceive higher brand extension fit and evaluate brand extension more favorably than those in Western culture, characterized by analytic attitudes (Monga and John, 2007). Customer purchase products to obtain benefits and products deliver benefits to customers (Osselaer and Alba, 2003). In terms of customer intent to purchase extended brand, there are some opinions about the dependent on customer relationship and satisfaction in the core brand (Park, et al., 2002). An important factor that leads to customer purchase intention is a lower affective commitment to parent brand (Hansen and Hem, 2004). This means the parent brand experience has no impact on repeat purchase of the brand extension (Swaminathan, et al., 2001). In the same way, the evolution of product purchase intention corresponds to the difference in the degree of purchase intention between the product with the substitution brand and the one with the initial brand (Michel and Cegarra, 2002; Collange, 2008).On the other hand, consumers willingness to buy is influenced by perceived value of the core brand (Taylor and Bearden, 2002). Similarly, purchase decision to buy extended brand is depended on consumer level of involvement in core brand (Hansen and Hem, 2004). Customer knowledge Besides, consumer knowledge is considered as the most important factors that might influence on their attitudes towards brand extension (Hou, 2003). In a research, Brucks (1985) had described three categories of consumer knowledge: subjective knowledge, objective knowledge and prior experiences with the product category. And in the further research, subject knowledge that is what consumer think they know is considered as the strongest motivation of purchase intention for extended product (Hem, et al., 2002). Also, when consumers encounter a new product in the marketplace, they are unlikely to engage in extension cognitive deliberation. This means they might base their evaluations of an extended brand on their subjective to the core brand without considering any specific or different features that the extended brand might have (Yeung and Wyer, 2005). However, in the past research of brand extension show the mixed results for the effects of consumer knowledge on extension brand. For in stant, perceived subjective knowledge about the extension category was found that it has negative effect on brand extension evaluation, it means the evaluation of brand extensions are more positive when perceived subjective knowledge of consumer is low than when it is high (Park and Smith, 1992). In the other hand, the positive effect was found in further research (Dacin and Smith, 1994) or there is no effect on extension evaluations (Keller and Aaker, 1992). As mentioned in the research, this conflicting finding could be explained by the limited number of items used to evaluate consumer knowledge (Hem and Iversen, 2008). Therefore, the effect of subjective knowledge on evaluation brand extension is required to research further (Czellar, 2003). Customer attitudes and the characteristics of brand extension Also, as the strong relationship between the extended brand and the core brand, customer attitudes brand extension might transfer from parent brand (Keller and Aaker, 1992; Volckner and Sattler, 2006). However, customer awareness of brand extension may cause a negative effect on customer attitudes towards the core brand except the high quality of core brand and perceived fit between the core and extension brand (Hou, 2003). Besides, brand extension characteristics have the most weight in the evolution of purchase intention for the brand that has changed name (Collange, 2008). Purchase intention toward the extension is directly influenced by the perceived similarity (Swaminathan, et al., 2001). However, this influence of perceived similarity will be mediated by a categorization construct, called brand meaning (Martin and Stewart, 2001). This minor conflict is needed to research further and provided more evidence to understand customer purchase intension in relationship (Collange, 2008 ) with core brand characteristics and brand extension characteristics as well. Along with the importance of perceived similarly in the studies of brand extension, researchers have suggested that explain how and why similarly is important for successful brand extension is necessary as well. Consumers first consider there is a match between what they know and experience about the parent brand and what they believe to be true about the parent brand in a new product category (Hem, et al., 2002). If the match is perceived good, consumers might expect to transfer their attitudes to the extended brand. Hem and his co-authors (2002) have noted that consumers may also evaluate the extended brand in a more piecemeal fashion. 4. Brand extension evaluation in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry Brand extension is used widely in many industries (Hou, 2003) and in order to evaluate brand extension effectiveness, this research scope will be narrowed down to one of the most popular and typical area industry of brand extension, FMCG. In FMCG industry, brands are viewed as the key assets of the company, and all investments will be made to create brands. The focus of the organization is on brands and all departments work together towards the brand development. Using new brand name and cooperating brand names are two of three basic brand development strategies for FMCG industry (Schuiling and Moss, 2004). The success and high rank of Procter Gamble (PG) or Nestle in this industry are the great examples for the importance of brand extension in brand development strategies. Moreover, due to very high cost needed to launch a new product and difficult marketing approaches, the use of brand extension approaches in FMCG companies is increasing for the last few years (Juda, 2007) and as the result of globalization, FMCG companies tend to take an existing brand name and then extending it to other product categories has been applied increasingly (Schuiling, 2001). Therefore, FMCG is seen as the most typical industry where required study further and deeper about brand extension. 5. Conclusion In the competitive environment, the use of brand extension is the efficient tool for many firms in order to place higher position in the market. To achieve this goal, brand extensions have been evaluated for a long time. These studies have provided the understanding of the importance of brand extension and the need to address brand extension evaluation in this paper. Also, the relationship between the core brand and the extended brand is shown clearly, especially in terms of brand extension characteristics and customer attitudes towards brand extensions. However, to date, the conflicts in the literatures have existed and deeper understanding brand extension evaluation and its relation to customer purchase intention require researching further (Collange, 2008). Moreover, the limitation in number of items used to measure is reason that cause to the irrelevant results in the past researches. There are still some mixed results about the impact of perceived similarity and perceived fit on customer purchase intension, the lack of information about the correlation between the parent brand and the extended brand. These confusions need to re-solve in further research. As mentioned in the background and literature review, the extended brand is strongly affected by the parent brand. When an extended brand is being created, it would be necessary for marketers to understand how customers look at the brand extension and how it will impact on their purchase intention. In order to have further understanding this issue in the FMCG industry in Vietnam, the below questions and hypotheses have been developed: Q1: What are the factors of parent brand affect on brand extension evaluation? H1: High equity of parent brand will provide more favorable effects on extended brand. H2: Perceived quality of parent brand correlates to extended brand perceived quality. H3: Customers relationship of the parent brand positively correlates to the acceptance of extended brand. H4: Customer attitude toward parent brand will relatively affects on the extended brand. Q2: How brand extension characteristics influence on customer purchase intention? H5: The more similarity to the parent brand, the higher level of customer purchase intention of extended brand. H6: The higher of perceived fit of extended brand to the parent brand will positively impact on the customer purchase intention of extended brand. H7: Customers attachment to the parent brand is correlated to the customer purchase intention of extended brand. H8: Customer awareness of the extended brand is correlated to the level of their purchase intention of extended brand.

The Great Debaters: The Wiley College Debate Team Essay -- Film, Movie

Introduction Conflict is inevitable in any personal relationship or among members of any group. While we encounter many types of conflict in our lifetime, we often look for ways to avoid conflict. So, why do we run away from dealing with our conflict? It is often because many of us fear the conflict will escalate into a situation we will not be able to sustain. â€Å"As conflicts escalate, they go through certain incremental transformations. Although these transformations occur separately on each side, they affect the conflict as a whole because they are usually mirrored by the other side. As a result of these transformations, the conflict is intensified in ways that are sometimes exceedingly difficult to undo† (Pruitt, and Kim 89). We see many of these intense moments of escalating conflict throughout the story of The Great Debaters. The Great Debaters is based on a true story of three African-American students faced with the escalating conflict of racism in the 1930’s, w ith their English College Professor, Melvin B. Tolson bringing them together to create the first African-American debate team. â€Å"An outspoken Wiley College professor who boldly challenged the discriminatory Jim Crow laws of the 1930s, Tolson's recognizes that his young debate students possess the spark of a new generation. Convinced that they could invoke great change if given the confidence and tools needed to do so, the tireless educator implores his students to take responsibility for the future while furtively attempting to protect them from his clandestine role as an organizer for the Southern Tenant Farmers Union. Chief among Tolson's promising young students is a 14-year-old prodigy named James Farmer, Jr. Farmer's father, James Sr., is a renown... ...y successful in eliminating the escalating conflict they were faced with; they were also given an opportunity to address the racism and oppression they had experienced over the years. Works Cited Buchanan, Jason. "The Great Debaters Plot & Synopsis." Rev. of The Great Debaters. Moviefone. AOL Inc., 13 May 2008. Web. 11 July 2010. . Pruitt, Dean G, and Sung Hee Kim. Social Conflict: Escalation, Stalemate, and Settlement. 3rd ed. 2004. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2004. Print. The Great Debaters - Negroes should be admitted to the same college as whites. Denzel Washington. MGM, 2007. YouTube. Web. 11 July 2010. . Watkins, Karen. â€Å"When Co-Workers Clash.† Training and Development Journal, 2003: 26-27. Web. 11 July 2010.

The American Dream in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry Essay

â€Å"Check coming today?† The Life Insurance check that Mama will soon be receiving is the source of all the dreams in the Younger family. A major argument that Lorraine Hansberry makes in her play A Raisin in the Sun is the importance of dreams. Dreams are what each member of the Younger family is driven by. Mama wants to have her own home in a nice part of town; she does not want her children growing up in a place with rats. Walter wants to have a successful business so he can surpass the poverty that has plagued his family. And Beneatha wants to get a good education, become a doctor, and marry a nice man. Dreams are especially important to the Younger family as they come from a poverty laden family and desire to live the â€Å"American Dream.† Every member of the Younger family has a dream but each one is different with a different view on what the true â€Å"American Dream† really is.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Youngers are a very poor family, and this shows in the setting of a tiny Chicago apartment with several people living in close proximity of each other. Hansberry also shows how the Youngers are a proud family by the way everything is arranged in the little apartment. Everything throughout the apartment was â€Å"selected with care and love and even hope – and brought to this apartment and arranged with taste and pride.† This shows that even though the Youngers do not have much, they are still proud of what they have. In a sense their pride is coming from the fact that they al...