The History Of Pi Essays - Pi, Approximations Of,

Pi The History of Pi A little known verse in the bible reads ?And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other; it was round all about, and his height was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it about(I Kings 7, 23).? This passage from the bible demonstrates the ancient nature of the irrational number pi. Pi in fact is mentioned in a number of verses throughout the bible. In II Chronicles 4,2, in the passage describing the building of the great temple of Solomon which was built around 950BC, pi is given as equal to three. This value is not very accurate at all and should not even be considered accurate for it's time, however it should be noted that precision was not needed for the task that was being performed and we should let the general concept of pi that the biblical characters posses impress us. Present knowledge suggests that the concept of pi first developed in 2000 BC in two separate cultures. The Babylonians used pi at a value of 25/8 while an entirely different culture, the ancient Egyptians used pi at a value of 256/81. While the biblical calculation of pi=3 most likely came from crude measurement, there is strong reason to believe, because of the relative accuracy of the values, that the Babylonians and Egyptians found pi by means of mathematical equations. In the Egyptian Rhind Papyrus, which is dated around 1650 BC, there is strong evidence supporting that the Egyptians used 4(8/9)2 =3.16 for their value of pi. At that point in history, and for the majority of modern history, pi was not seen as an irrational number as it is today. The next culture that investigated pi was the ancient Greeks. Starting in 434 BC Greeks were unraveling the mysteries of pi. The mathematician Anaxagoras made an unsuccessful attempt at finding pi, which he called squaring the circle and in 414 BC, 20 years after Anaxagoras failed in his attempt to square the circle, Aristophanes refers to the work of Anaxagoras in his comedy ?The Birds?. It took over 100 years for the Greeks to finally find a value for pi. In 240 BC Archimedes of Syracuse showed that 223/71*pi*22/7. Archimedes knew, what so many people today do not, that pi does not equal 22/7 and he made no claim to have discovered the exact value of pi. However if we take the average of his two bounds we obtain pi=3.1418, which was an error of about 0.0002. Archimedes found the most accurate value of pi up to that time and his value would be used exclusively until the next discovery in the world of pi. The next major finding concerning pi did not occur in the western world, but in China by Tsu Chung-chi'h who approximated pi at 355/113 in 480 AD. Next to nothing except for this work is known about Tsu Chung-chi'h's life but it is very unlikely that he had any awareness of Archimedes work. We shall now notice how during the dark ages of Europe, the lead in the research of pi is passed to the East. Aryabhata, working on his own in Persia without any outside information in 515 AD was able to approximate pi to 3 decimal places. A mathematician from Baghdad named Al'Khwarizimi worked with pi however the most accurate finding of pi to date was found even more east in Samarkand by Al-Khashi. In 1430 AD he approximated pi to 16 decimal places, the most to date. His work however, would be the last of note from the east as the European Renaissance brought about a whole new mathematical world. The first notable discovery in the approximation of pi from the European Renaissance was by Viete in 1593 AD. He expressed pi as an infinite product by using only 2's and square roots. In 1610 Ludolph van Ceulen demonstrated the new thought coming out of the Renaissance by calculating pi to 35 decimal places. Around the same time, Snell refined Archimedes's method of calculating pi, and Snell's work was used by Grienberger to calculate pi to 39 decimal places in 1630. In 1655 Wallis showed that pi/2=2/1*2/3*4/3*4/5*6/5*6/7*8/7*8/9..... The 18th centuary brought about great

Cockroaches and Human Health Essay Sample

Cockroaches and Human Health Essay Sample Effects of Cockroaches on Human Beings Essay Sample Effects of Cockroaches on Human Beings Essay Sample A cockroach is one of the oldest species on earth. They have not changed in the process of evolution. It is one of the groups of insects widespread around the globe. Cockroaches are among the most enduring insects on the planet. People have struggled with them for many centuries. Science describes 3,600 species. The insects are heat-loving and inhabit mainly heated buildings. They breed all year round actively. The insects are well-oriented in space. Cockroaches label their shelters and the way to them with trace pheromones. The insects are practically omnivorous (eat everything except glass and metal). They eat both fresh and spoiled food. Cockroaches can eat non-traditional products: pepper, ink, leather. A cockroach is an agent of more than 40 different kinds of pathogens (causing intestinal infections, urinary tract infections, hepatitis), as well as helminth eggs. In addition, cockroaches can provoke allergies and asthma attacks. When a cockroach dies, it leaves a skeleton, which consists of chitin. A mixture of chitin and house dust causes asthma. There have been cases when hungry insects bit babies’ ears, nose, and lips. History of Cockroaches A cockroach appeared when there was neither man nor birds and animals on the planet Earth. Cockroaches crept along wet warm forests. There were no wingless forms. â€Å"Once thought to have originated from Africa, the German cockroach probably spread from an area in East and South-East Asia† (Bonnefoy, Kampen, Sweeney, 2008, p. 54). The German cockroach and the Black-beetle are spread everywhere. The American Cockroach is widespread in Eastern Europe. Some people say that the German cockroach’s homeland was South Asia and that it was brought to Europe in the XVIII century. Others believe that it moved with people on ships from Africa. They moved to the north, settling with people. In Central European cities, the Black-beetle has been known for over 400 years (Bonnefoy et al., 2008). Cockroaches are very unpretentious. However, the main things for these migrants from the southern geographic areas are warmth, moisture, and, of course, food. Breadcrumbs on a kitchen table or even just a badly wiped surface are a magic tablecloth for them. Glue on the envelope will be enough for the cockroach to eat for a week. It can also eat soap, shoe polish, paper. Nevertheless, it has gastronomic preferences like white bread and beer. That is why, cockroaches choose kitchens, bakeries, and breweries most willingly. Like all arthropods, a cockroach’s body is segmented and covered with a chitinized cuticle, which is released by cells of the hypodermis. The segments are combined into three functionally distinct sections: a head, a thorax, and an abdomen. The head consists of five segments fused into a solid head capsule – epicranium. The head is triangular or heart-shaped, flat, covered by a shield-shaped pronotum. There are sensory organs and mouth adnexa on the head. There are two big eyes. They are of two types: complex and simple. However, they often atrophy. Sometimes, both are absent. Cockroaches have strong jaws. â€Å"The mouth parts are of the biting kind common to primitive† (Kemp, 1906). The first two pairs of jaws are mandible and maxillae. They are separate. The third pair is fused in the midline, forming the lower lip, the end parts of which remain divided. Tentacles are long and bristle. They are segmented and mainly olfactory organs. They are situated on the fr ont side of the head between eyes. Tentacles consist of a different number of segments. A clypeus is simple and has two parts. The body is flat and oval with a length from 1.7-2 cm to 9.5 cm. The pronotum is large, almost flat, and usually with transparent edges. Superior wings are dense, but with distinct venation. Underwings are webbed and are folded under superior wings. Superior wings and wings are often short or absent. Hips are flat and armed with spines; the armament is of three types. All tibias have strong spines. An abdomen is long, consists of 8-10 tergites and 8-9 (males) or 7 (females) sternites. The last tergite is an anal plate, which is very diverse, sometimes asymmetrical. A genital plate represents a male’s external genital apparatus; an external one is very diverse. A female’s ovipositor is completely hidden. The development occurs with incomplete metamorphosis. A cocoon shell covers mature eggs. Larvae are wingless and small. The development of an e mbryo lasts 17 days. Post-embryonic development lasts 40-41 days, followed by six molts. The lifespan of a female is up to 153 days. Popular Species German Cockroaches â€Å"The German cockroach, Blattella germanica, is the most common indoor species, especially in multiple-family dwellings† (UC IPM, 2007). The German cockroach or Croton-bug is an especially well-known species of synathrophic cockroaches. It is reddish-brown with two stripes on a pronotum. Its length is 10-13 mm. The cockroach’s homeland is South Asia. It was brought to Europe in the XVIII century. It lives in warm, heated rooms in winter, especially in old bathhouses, bakeries, and kitchens. The German cockroach is heat-loving and cannot stand cold weather. A temperature below 5 °C is lethal for it: at -5 °C it dies in 30 minutes and at -7 °C – in a minute. Living in premises, it can eat remnants of bread, vegetables, sugar, butter, and other products. In addition, it damages paper, books, as well as shoes and other leather items. Black-beetles The Black-beetle occurs outside a human’s accommodation in countries with warm climate. â€Å"The black roach is less active and wary than the others, and particularly to German roach, which is especially agile and shy† (Marlatt, 1915, p. 5). Now, the Black-beetle is rare, but it lives in Central Asia. The color of the Black-beetle is pitchy or blackish-brown. It is bigger than the German cockroach. A male is 20-25 mm long and a female is 18-30 mm. Males’ underwings are shorter than the abdomen. The underwings of females are undeveloped. Skin glands of this cockroach spread unpleasant smell. The female lays 5-8 cocoons before dying. The Black-beetle cockroach cocoon contains 16 eggs. Larvae go out of eggs after 2-3 months. Terms of an embryo development depend on temperature and humidity. They grow and develop rapidly: from 4 months to 4 years, depending on the temperature and habitats. Do Cockroaches Carry Diseases? Viral Fatigue It is a well-known fact that cockroaches carry millions of bacteria on their legs. These bacteria enter a body, causing dyspepsia and intoxication. Experts point out that cockroaches are vectors of the so-called viral fatigue. Doctors in the USA and France have concluded that cockroaches are guilty of a permanent prostration. Scientists have recently discovered a new species of cockroaches living in concrete buildings. They have found that they had viral fatigue, which appeared because of mutation. Doctors believe that a microbe can suck the life force from the body, which leads to a sort of premature aging. Contact with insects can transmit the virus to humans. For humans, the virus is dangerous by the fact that the high-calorie diet and vitamins do not bring relief as it eats all useful substances contained in the food before they manage to enter the bloodstream. The person is slowly dying, not knowing that he or she has been the victim of a deadly disease. A new species of parasites was first found in France. Scientists have not found a way to cope with the virus of cockroach fatigue yet, but prevention may stop the disease. Allergies and Asthma In fact, human aversion to cockroaches comes from self-preservation. Cockroaches that eat garbage spread diseases by contact. It is true that these insects cause allergies and asthma. According to experts, a significant increase in the incidence of asthma in recent years, especially among children, is associated with allergy to cockroaches. Cancer Now, Japanese scientists have proven that they cause cancer. Actually, there is a clear correlation of cockroaches with cancer. Today, researchers from the Medical University of Kyoto Prefecture have found that cockroaches could be the cause of cancer. It is clear that cockroaches are vectors of all kinds of bacteria. Japanese scientists claim that the bacterium Helicobacter Pylori increases the risk of stomach cancer and spreads with cockroach droppings. According to scientists, if there are cockroaches in a house, then most likely an owner is infected with this bacterium. However, this bacterium does not cause cancer; it just increases the possibility of its occurrence. The main conclusion of Japanese scientists is that cockroaches are not only disgusting, but also terribly harmful. Exterminator specialists argue that the main method of controlling cockroaches is to cut their way to the water. One needs to fix all taps, wipe the sink at night, and close a drain with a plug. Flowers need watering only in the morning. Under these recommendations, the probability that cockroaches will breed in the house is almost zero. Control Measures Spray One of the most common misconceptions is that cockroaches can be killed forever. The first way to fight with cockroaches is spray (from 1-2 days to 2 weeks). Chemical compounds that include aerosols are so unstable that they are often decomposed in a couple of hours after application and do not cause any harm to insects. Besides, one should not forget about the problem of resistance, i.e. addiction of cockroaches to a particular type of chemical compounds. â€Å"Using these products can cause the roaches to hide deeper inside walls and be more difficult to control later† (Ogg, 2004). Cockroach Bait Cockroach bait is a quite popular and widely advertised insect control. It has no smell and no stains. However, these insecticides have one, but a significant drawback: a cockroach is required to noose. â€Å"Bait is more effective if it is attractive or neutral to cockroaches, or if they cannot escape it† (Rust, Owens, Reierson, 1995, p. 255). Insecticidal gels have become very popular in recent years. However, they frequently use ordinary chocolate paste (hence the brown color) as an attractant and the insecticide and sometimes bitter flavor are added to this paste to avoid eating gel by pets and small children. Fumigation There is another way of chemical control of insects – fumigation. â€Å"Fumigation is a category of a pest control in which gaseous pesticide (fumigant) is applied within a measured volume of space that is enclosed by tarpaulins or otherwise sealed† (Capinera, 2008, p. 3604). It means that an insecticide is placed in a special container and upon contact with water a reaction occurs, resulting in poisonous smoke. In some developed countries, this method is banned for residential use and is used only for disinfestation of storages, basements, and other commercial buildings. Biological effectiveness of this method is quite high because poison penetrates with smoke everywhere and settles on surfaces. However, people will have to live in a place where all things are covered with a thin layer of insecticide. Chalk Chalk is the most primitive method of controlling insects. It has gotten its spread only by price. Chalks are soaked in a weak solution of the insecticide and act as compressed powders. The term of such chalks is short enough (7-10 days). Sticky â€Å"Houses† The next way to control insects is sticky â€Å"houses†. In fact, it is not a means of insect control. It is a natural trap. Sticky traps are recommended to be used together with chemical methods of insect control in places where treatment with chemicals is undesirable or impossible (cabinets for food storage, appliances, etc.). Dust and Powder Talking about dust or powder in different packages, powder often clogs the spiracles of a cockroach. However, together with a low biological efficiency, powders have the most significant drawback as they raise dust, form suspension in the air, and are inhaled by humans and animals, causing attacks of allergy or asthma. Moreover, some powders, containing thiuram – a strong carcinogen, are very dangerous for health. Furthermore, cats and dogs breathe the air near the floor where the powder is scattered. It remains on their paws and hair. A cat licks its fur very often and the poison gets straight into its stomach. Disadvantages of Chemical Methods Most of these methods have a number of disadvantages. Firstly, cockroaches disappear only for a while. More often, cockroaches just become less numerous. Secondly, unpleasant smell can stay in the apartment (it applies to chemicals). Finally, chemicals used to control cockroaches are dangerous to human and animal health. Vapors of toxic chemicals are harmful to health. They lead to a weakening of the immune system and, consequently, to a decrease of the bodys ability to resist pathogenic and harmful effects. As a result, it may develop or aggravate almost any disease. Dry pesticides are dangerous if they enter a mouth or open wounds (scratches). Most often, it happens with children and pets. The presence of cockroaches indicates poor sanitary condition. The main thing in fighting against cockroaches is observance of sanitary-hygienic requirements, as well as elimination of food and water sources and hiding places. Although to find an effective remedy is quite difficult, it is necessary to fight for the eviction of these ill-fated red monsters and not just because they damp the spirits. The persistence of cockroaches is explained not only by unpretentiousness, but also by high fertility. The female cockroach is fertilized only once. However, over the six-month life of an adult insect, it lays eggs in the form of a baggage several times and drags them on the tip of the abdomen. Then, it unhooks the luggage from the abdomen and about forty white creatures appear. Consequences of a cockroach’s coexistence with a person have a negative result: synanthropic cockroaches are dangerous because they spoil products. Furthermore, they spread various bacteria and helminth eggs. The bacteria cause dysentery, typhoid, cholera, tuberculosis, and other diseases. There are whipworm and pinworms eggs in the rectum of a black cockroach. In addition, a German cockroach has broad tapeworm eggs. It could be concluded that cockroaches are troublesome neighbors.

Japanese Writing Systems

Japanese Writing Systems Kanji was introduced to Japan nearly 2,000 years ago. It is said that 50,000 kanji characters exist, though only about 5,000 to 10,000 are commonly used. After W.W.II, the Japanese government designated 1,945 basic characters as Joyo Kanji (commonly used kanji), which is used in textbooks and official writings. In Japan, one learns about the 1006 basic characters from Joyo Kanji, in elementary school. A lot of time is spent at school learning kanji. It would be very helpful for you to learn all the Joyo Kanji, but the basic 1,000 characters are sufficient to read about 90% of the kanji used in a newspaper (about 60% with 500 characters). Since childrens books use less kanji, they would be a good resource to practice your reading. There are other scripts to write Japanese beside kanji. They are hiragana and katakana. Japanese is commonly written with a combination of the all three. If you want to learn Japanese writing, start with hiragana and katakana, then kanji. Hiragana and katakana are simpler than kanji, and have only 46 characters each. It is possible to write an entire Japanese sentence in hiragana. Japanese children start to read and write in hiragana before making an attempt to learn some of the two thousand kanji commonly used. Here are some lessons about Japanese writing. Hiragana LessonsKatakana LessonsKanji Lessons

Human Genetic Diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human Genetic Diversity - Essay Example There are several stages of Meiosis. First one is prophase where homologous chromosomes start pairing and form synapses. Second stage is Metaphase where these pairs are situated on Metaphase plate. There are equal chances of receiving mother's or father's homologue for each chromosome. Independent assortment is a process where 2n daughter cells (combinations) is generated having maternal and paternal homologous pairs of chromosomes, where n being haploid number of the organism. In the case of humans, the haploid number (n) in the formula is 23. Thus, there is 223 (about 8 million) number of combination of maternal and paternal chromosomes possible. Crossing over is the process which happens in previous stage of prophase. In this process homologous chromosomes are paired together loosely along their length, resulting in generation of point of contact which is used for exchange of genetic information. This produces various combinations of maternal and paternal genes. Number of cross over events depends on size of chromosomes and position of their centromeres. In case of humans it is one to three on an average Fertilization is the process in which different gametes fuse together and form new organism of same spices.

Herbal supplements should be regulated as prescription drugs Essay

Herbal supplements should be regulated as prescription drugs - Essay Example This paper also stresses upon the need of providing more awareness to the people regarding the possible harmful effects of herbal supplements so that they could use these supplements only when suggested by their physicians or other healthcare experts. Discourse about the Regulation of Herbal Supplements An athlete came in the emergency of the hospital. He reported intense pain in his liver. The medical staff conducted all the tests and examinations to diagnose the root of the problem and it was unveiled from the test reports and examination that his lever was failed and was not working properly. The doctor diagnosed that the liver was failed mainly due to the use of illicit steroid. When asked from the athlete, he informed that has been using performance supplements that were considered legal with no side effects. However, his health conditions revealed that the use of the herbal supplement has destroyed his liver. He was admitted for treatment in the hospital and the doctor strictly instructed him to stop the use of the self-selected supplement. Also a Georgia woman took a memory booster herbal supplement and developed diarrhea, joint pain, hair loss and lung problem. These examples show the potential effects of herbal supplements upon the health of the human beings. Herbal supplements are the natural products that are made from the plant extracts. These could be used for the treatment and prevention of wide array of diseases and health problems. The trend of using the herbal medicines and supplements has considerably increased over the last few decades (Dennis 2009). People commonly take the herbal supplements as a measure of self-medication in case of any minor illness and health problem. ... People commonly take the herbal supplements as a measure of self-medication in case of any minor illness and health problem. This is because the herbal products have proved their significance and effectiveness in dealing with the health issues without causing negative side effects in the human body. As the interest of the people in the herbal medicines is growing, the concerns of the common people and health scientists are also increasing in identifying the potential side effects of the herbal supplements upon the human health. The evolving debate about the regulation of herbal drugs has also got momentum as the medical practitioners and health science experts are convincingly pointing towards the potential negative and adverse effects of herbal medicines and need to regulate them like other prescribed drugs. It is now widely demanded by the physicians and other healthcare experts that the herbal supplements should also be regulated like the other prescribed rungs. Currently, the Uni ted States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers the herbal supplements as food due to which these are not subjected to same regulations like the other prescribed drugs (Aronson, 2009). Herbal supplements are defined by the Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA) as products (other than tobacco) intended to supplement the diet containing one or more of the following: vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, or any combination of the above ingredients. Herbal supplements could be taken in form of tablet, capsule, powder, soft gel, cap, or liquid. They are not supposed to be used as conventional food or as a sole item of a meal or diet but these are just dietary

Ethical Issues in the Professions and Business Essay Example for Free

Ethical Issues in the Professions and Business Essay Professionals and other business personalities all share a common ground of responsibility towards that people that they particularly aim to serve. As individuals handling several procedures of servicing the society, it is undeniable that professionals follow a certain line of responsibilities that lead them towards the procedures of being able to complete the said tasks that they have towards the society that they are serving. To make the discussion concise, there are three major sets of responsibilities that each professional should give attention to. A) The Journalists Each member of the society has his or her own values in life that must be served by journalists. As for a fact, people are rightfully given the chance to know what is happening in the society around them. However, when they are involved in the issues presented by the media, whether they are from the local sectors of the society or that of the well-known personalities, they are entitled to having their own privacy and this too should be well guarded by journalists in their process of presenting the truth to the public. On the contrary, the aim of the institutions that journalists are serving such as media networks is to present as many credible facts as possible. To make the ends meet, it is important for the journalists to measure the impact of the society and their company as well towards their professional being. B) The Teachers Teachers are primarily expected to render service that is connected to sharing knowledge. It lies in their hands the wide possibilities of coming up with effective procedures of handling the needs of their students. The institutions that they are serving however aim for enrolling as many students that the institution could cater to. It is then in the discretion of the teacher on how he or she could be able to give the students the education that they need though applying a process that could cater to a huge number of students in an effective manner. C) The Lawyers It is the service of providing justice to all, that lawyers are particularly expected to render to the society.   Undeniably, the values of the society in this manner are to be highly considered. Serving the truth to those who need to know it and to those who need to be free is the key role that lawyers portray in the arena of justice provision. Once the lawyers are faced with a case that needs to be solved, whether they are in the defendants or the accused side, they must recognize the fact that they are there to render the truth to whoever is entitled to receive it.

The Christian Position on Euthanasia :: Euthanasia Physician Assisted Suicide

     Ã‚   This essay has chosen to study the largest Christian denomination's attitude toward euthanasia, in order to determine the basic Christian position in the current debate on euthanasia. It is interesting to note that, even within one Christian church like this, there are a host of considerations on the euthanasia question. The rights and values pertaining to the human person occupy an important place among the questions discussed throughout the world today. In this regard, the largest Christian denomination, the Catholic Church, solemnly reaffirmed the lofty dignity of the human person, and in a special way his or her right to life. The Second Vatican Council therefore condemned crimes against life "such as any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, or willful suicide" (Pastoral) The progress of medical science in recent years has brought to the fore new aspects of the question of euthanasia, and these aspects, in the Church's view, call for further elucidation on the ethical level. In modern society, in which even the fundamental values of human life are often called into question, cultural change exercises an influence upon the way of looking at suffering and death; moreover, medicine has increased its capacity to cure and to prolong life in particular circumstances, which sometime give rise to moral problems. Thus people living in this situation experience no little anxiety about the meaning of advanced old age and death. They also begin to wonder whether they have the right to obtain for themselves or their fellowmen an "easy death," which would shorten suffering and which seems to them more in harmony with human dignity.    The considerations set forth here, concern in the first place all those who place their faith and hope in Christ, who, through His life, death and resurrection, has given a new meaning to existence and especially to the death of the Christian, as St. Paul says: "If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord" (Rom. 14:8; cf. Phil. 1:20). As for those who profess other religions, many will agree with us that faith in God the Creator, Provider and Lord of life--if they share this belief--confers a lofty dignity upon every human person and guarantees respect for him or her.    Human life is the basis of all goods, and is the necessary source and condition of every human activity and of all society.

PR Crisis Case Studies in Real Time

Open any public relations textbook and the section on crisis management will include examples of how organisations have demonstrated â€Å"best† or â€Å"worst† practice. And, it’s not just the textbooks, as recent incidents (eg Tiger Woods or Toyota) have seen plenty of advice from PR â€Å"experts† through online and social media. But, just as with the dead tree versions, these case studies are simplistic fictions. Heroes and villains are the main narrative, with a modernist approach reinforcing a recommended crisis management strategy. There’s just one way to communicate during a crisis – regardless of the organisation, the situation, the social context or the significance of the incident. This is the Tylenol way – presented as the right approach thanks to the swift action taken by Johnson & Johnson. The reality (as previously clarified at PR Conversations as a misleading myth) isn’t allowed to get in the way of the lesson. After all, it promotes a way that PR, and organisational management, can be in control and preserve reputation through a few simple steps. Every case study reinforces the mantra – Exxon Valdez is presented as the epitome of poor crisis management; too slow to respond. Likewise Coca Cola and the Belgium â€Å"mass hysteria† case. Whilst the Pepsi â€Å"needle in a can† crisis is hailed, Perrier’s benzene example is criticised. The nature of textbooks is that authors synthesise cases into easy to understand advice that students can repeat in assignments, and practitioners can recall if they ever find themselves handling a crisis. It’s a comfort blanket of how to†¦, what not to do†¦, common mistakes and miracle cures. In the social media world of 24:7 global connections, the right way is repeated – only at warp speed. Tell it fast becomes tell it before you know anything. Tell it all means let the media and its rent-a-quote experts speculate about worst case scenarios. Be open – means unlimited social media engagement (regardless of what the legal or other ramifications may be). Have the CEO (or celebrity if a personal faux pas has occurred) lead communications with mandatory appearances on chatshows, a tour of news stations, and a YouTube apology. Mea culpa – the universal panacea: â€Å"I’m sorry if†¦Ã¢â‚¬  – anyone resisting the calls is bullied until they comply. The pound of flesh must be paid. They have to apologise publicly even if what’s occurred is a matter of private relations or affects only a few people – who could be communicated with directly, where contrition would be far more sincere and genuine. Everyone is a critic – retweeting endlessly, without checking the veracity of any source. Citizen journalism enables individual examples to be retold and extrapolated, without any attempt at verification if used by journalists and treated as absolute fact by social media networks. Crisis case studies in real time seem little different to those that have been carefully crafted for retelling in the textbooks. There is little evidence of the public relations profession reflecting or considering how cases could be handled differently in a post-modernist, complex and chaotic world. A few authors, such as Dawn Gilpin and Priscilla Murphy (Crisis Communications in a Complex World), challenge the simplification of turbulent reality. Isn’t it time that their views were at least presented alongside the â€Å"only way† propaganda that is taught on PR courses and espoused in both academic and practitioner texts? And even more important – shouldn’t more of us be speaking out against those PR and media experts influencing public and client expectations with naive views based on an unrealistic belief that all crisis situations can be easily managed and controlled? Let’s have more real life PR case studies that actually reflect the real time nature of managing contemporary crises. And we all might learn something new.

Organisational behaviour case study Essay

Introduction The main goal for any business has always been to increase profit margins. In the past the companies focused only on the number of productions and other technical issues, whereas other aspects, such as human recourses management, were not valued as of high important. These days, business environment has changed dramatically. It is believed that organisational behaviour is one of the main areas for potential improvement in order to run a sustainable business (Robbins et al 2011, p.8). This case study will examine the internal management strategies of Westpac group (Westpac), one of the four main banks in Australia. It shows how Westpac uses organisational behaviour principles to increase job satisfaction to motivate its employees. It will also explain how the company supports its employees in conflict situations and analyse the leadership styles of the bank’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Gail Kelly. Studies have shown that using the appropriate organisational behavioural tech niques can promote a motivated, satisfied and conflict free work force, but how does Westpac motivate its staff and how satisfied are its employees in their job roles? Job satisfaction and motivation Westpac being a large, well established company is well aware of how finding, retaining and motivating its employees can be crucial for a successful business to prosper (Westpac 2006). The company is faced with motivating employees and, in turn, generating high job satisfaction throughout all levels of the organisation (Root 2014). It can also be deduced that if employees feel job satisfaction then this, consecutively, will filter through to create a positive experience for Westpac’s customers as well. However, in order to generate a motivated workforce, Westpac must offer its employees benefits, rewards and recognition, which are a few of the key causes of job satisfaction (Robbins et al 2013, p.59-74). These motivators come in many different forms and are sometimes, specific to an employee’s needs. When motivating a person with a benefit or reward, Westpac must understand that each individual person will value a reward differently (Root 2014). For example, an employee with a young family may value paid parental leave, or a shorter working day, over a promotion or a pay increase. Westpac shows that they understand that not all employees are the same and have  differing needs by ranking first in 2013 in the annual benchmarking survey ‘Work/Life Initiatives’ for their flexible work options, offering 12 weeks paid parental leave, access to child care as well as offering flexible working hours (‘Westpac leads in satisfaction poll’ 2013). However, for another employee, a valued reward may take the shape of opportunity to move up in the company. If an employee is promoted to a role they have been striving to obtain then that promotion is a means of recognising their hard work and determination and makes the employee more motivated in their job and the company, thus generating job satisfaction (Robbins et al 2013, p.59-74), while benefiting the company too. There are many ways that Westpac generates motivation and in turn job satisfaction, however, one of these is through job enrichment (Darling 1997). This is the practice of enhancing an employee’s individual jobs and increasing responsibility which, in turn makes the job more stimulating and rewarding for the employee, by giving them more control over their work and how they perform it, promoting increased job satisfaction (Robbins et al 2013, p. 171-190). By giving employees more responsibility and control of the work they are doing increased job satisfaction, as a lack of control or stimulation is often a cause of stress and boredom, which causes a decrease in motivation. It is hard to dispute that the correct employee motivation creates job satisfaction, and in turn customer satisfaction. In 2013, Westpac surveyed its employees and 70% said they were committed to their job, moreover, in the same year Westpac came out on top of the four main banks for customer satisfaction (Bennet 2014). Westpac places great emphasis on the prevention and resolution of potential conflicts between its employees. It can also be said that by creating a more comfortable workplace for employees this will in turn contribute to the efficiency of the company’s performance as a whole. Conflict management It is difficult to imagine any workplace to be completely conflict free. First of all, workplace brings together people with different values, personality traits and people of different ages. Moreover, when there is increased pressure on employees to meet targets, complete tasks faster often with a lack of resources, tensions can arise and the work environment becomes progressively more stressful for the employees. This means that  co-workers always need to seek an appropriate way to interact with each other at work. However, it is also an issue for managers as they are responsible for comfortable communication and conflict resolution between workers. According to Robbins et al (2012 p.450), there are three main causes or sources of conflict: communication, structural factors (such as size of a group and specialisation) and personal variables (including personality, emotions and values). Examining the conflict management system of Westpac, it is fair to conclude, that the company i s more focused on the prevention of conflicts that may arise from personal variables. As an example, the company pays great attention to the rights of employees to an equal employment opportunity. Indeed, today the recruitment practices of many companies indirectly discriminate potential employees because of their race, gender, age, sexual orientation or ethnic background. One of the main strategies of Westpac is to create a balanced work environment, free of harassment and discrimination. According to Westpac (People policies 2014), the handling claims about the events of discrimination applies to all employees, customers and partners working for the company. Westpac takes all reasonable steps to prevent potential conflicts caused by such events from occurring in the workplace. The company requires all employees to undertake special discrimination/harassment trainings and requires them to be familiarised with the current discrimination and harassment policies and procedures. Two other types of personality-based conflict in the workplace are emotional-based and values-based. The ability to balance emotions and reasons, understand the interests of each other as well as the ability to maintain good communication and stay reliable can help to prevent and manage a conflict (‘Managing Conflict’ 2007, pp. 46-47). In order to maintain a comfortable work environment for the employees Westpac has created the Employee Assistance Program, which provides employees with confidential counselling on a range of issues, such as family bereavements, lack of job satisfaction, outcomes of target oriented management, stress and trauma management. Another foundation, Critical Incident Management Program, helps employees after traumatic events: personal threats in the workplace, the death of work colleagues and threats from different external events. Why is it important for the company to pay so much attention to such type of conflict? As Robbins et al (2012, p.448 ) state, relationship conflicts are  dysfunctional. It means that they have a negative impact on the work efficiency. This point of view was shared by Karim (2009, p.289), who argues that stress on the job causes lower productivity and poor performance in the organisation. As an example, managing traumatic incidents can significantly reduce employee’s absences after the event (‘Prompt trauma management can reduce employee absence’ 2007). The company aims to encourage staff members to report any wrongdoing in order to help managers to adequately manage risk and cultural issues. Examples of wrongdoing can be a breach of Westpac’s Policies and Codes, improper behaviour and safety issues. As a part of conflict management, the company has established the ‘Concern Reporting’ system (Westpac 2013). It includes an online and telephone service, which allows anonymous communication, which connects employees to trained specialists from an independent organisation. However, if the conflict has already occurred, Westpac has a number of processes to highlight issues between employees and their managers with further investigation with senior managers if the issue is not resolved. It is important to realise that the relationships between employees are very susceptible to the leadership style set in the group. Leadership styles Leadership plays an important role to maximise efficiency and to achieve organisational goals. Effective leaders have an ability to motivate and inspire employees and contribute to the great success of the company (Keskes 2014). Gail Kelly emphases the importance of setting a clear direction for an organisation and articulate all employees and other stakeholders (‘Leadership advice from the CEO of Westpac, Gail Kelly’ 2014). This style of leadership has been successful to achieve the company’s goals and visions. This achievement brought her as a charismatic leader and her charisma helps her to all employees commit to the firm and generate higher financial performance (Davidson et all 2009, pp. 386-387). Now she is ranked the 11th most powerful woman in the world and is Australian’s highest paid businesswomen. According to Goleman et all (2002), leaderships are divided by six types, namely visionary, coaching, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting and command ing.Each type of the leadership can be used apart, depending on situations. Companies spend a great deal of money on new  processes and efficiencies to increase one per cent of bottom-line profitability, but thirty per cent of the company’s bottom-line profitability is responsible by leadership style. Therefore, it is very important to use leadership styles to respond to different situations effectively. These days, dramatic changes can be seen across the financial services. Australian banks have competed for the biggest share of the home loans market. However, this competition has shifted to getting customers’ deposits. When the company pursue a new direction, visionary leadership style is the most appropriate. The objective of this style is to move people towards a new set of shared targets with clear explanation. Many companies end up with failure to changes due to slow response or when employees are not sure about the direction of the firm. One of the great successes of Westpac is that Gail Kelly uses this style effectively (‘Leader ship Styles’ 2011). Another style of leadership that is inherent to Gail Kelly is affinitive style. Affinitive style of leadership is also seen to achieve high employee satisfaction (Brook, K 2003). Westpac put the value on the importance of teamwork and the diversity of employees regardless of age, race and ability (People policies 2014). The company helps the employees’ to solve personal problems and encourages them to be more cohesive in order to create a comfortable work environment. This style of leadership is useful to enhance team harmony, increases the morale and the improvement of communication in employees, that is essential in current volatile situation in financial industry. However, affinitive leadership would be dangerous to use by itself since its emphasis’s on group work and it might promote poor performance or no future growth. For this reason, the need to combine different styles of leadership, that the company does successfully, is essential to reach the goals of the bus iness (Robbins et al 2011, p 357). Conclusion Organisational behaviour is more than just the principles of how people can work in the group together. It is a complex study that shows how the right interaction of employees can benefit the business’s effectiveness. The analysis of Westpac Group has revealed that the company endeavours to increase job satisfaction of the employees by rewarding each person correspondingly. Thus, in order, has a beneficial effect on the production  effectiveness, causing positive feelings among customers. The company appreciates the diversity among its employees and successfully manages the conflicts caused by personal problems as well as conflicts in relationships with others. The Westpac’s system of conflict management helps to prevent a potential decline in job performance and creates a comfortable work environment. The case study has also revealed that the company benefitted from the efficient use of different styles of leadership. The ability to quickly respond to the volatility in a finance sector by changing leadership styles helps Gail Kelly to lead the business successfully, enhancing team involvement and overall contribution. References Brooks, K 2003, ‘Primal Leadership: Realising the Power of Emotional Intelligence’, Human Resource Development Quarterly, 14, 2, pp. 235-238, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 6 September 2014. Darling, K & Arn, J 1997, ‘How to effectively reward employees’, Industrial Management, 39, no. 4, Masterfile Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 8 September 2014. Davidson, P, Simon, A, Woods, P & Griffin, R 2009, Gail Kelly, bank executive – outstanding leader and manager in Management: Core Concepts and Applications, John Wiley & Sons, Milton, Queensland. ‘Dealing with Workplace Conflict’ 2006, Point For Credit Union Research & Advice, p. 19, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 29 August 2014. Goleman, D, Boyatzis, R & McKee, A 2002, Primal leadership: Learning to lead with emotional intelligence, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, USA. Karim, N 2009, ‘Stress in Organsations: Management Strategies’, Dialogue (1819-6462) , 4, 2, pp. 286-300, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 25 August 2014. Keskes, I 2014, ‘Relationship between leadership styles and dimensions of employee organizational commitment: A critical review and discussion of future directions’, Intangible Capital, 10, 1, pp. 26-51, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 10 September 2014. ‘Leadership Styles 2011’, The Wall Street Journal, pp. 1-3, viewed 9 September 2014, . ‘Leadership advice from the CEO of Westpac, Gail Kelly’ 2014, Australia Business Review, viewed 30 August 2014,

Dont Blame the Americans for this One!

Dont Blame the Americans for this One! Dont Blame the Americans for this One! Dont Blame the Americans for this One! By Maeve Maddox Ever since the 17th century, our English cousins have been blaming Americans for distorting, weakening, or vulgarizing the English language. For many, the term Americanism next to a word in the dictionary is a warning to avoid using it. Well, a recent press release from the Old Country puts paid to the idea that the English language is more respected in its land of origin than it is in the New World. Heres the headline in the Telegraph: Councils ban elitist and discriminatory Latin phrases In a story that sounds more like an April Fools Day joke than a bona fide news story, we are informed that several English City Councils have forbidden their employees to use specific Latin words and phrases. What are some of these dreadful, incomprehensible, elitist horrors? Here are some examples: bona fide, e.g., ad lib, etc., i.e., per se, quid pro quo, vice versa, via, status quo If any of these elitist expressions are unfamiliar to you, do something outrageous: look them up in an English dictionary. (You may also wish to browse Daniels compendium of Latin expressions.) What is the reasoning behind this official purge of common Latin expressions in English? According to the Bournemouth Council, Not everyone knows Latin. Many readers do not have English as their first language so using Latin can be particularly difficult. I agree that not everyone knows Latin. Sadly, its no longer part of the general curriculum. But words and expressions of Latin origin are part of the English language. Some of these Latin borrowings have been more digested than others, but surely status quo is as English as spaghetti. George Orwell warned us this would happen. In his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, the English of the future is called Newspeak. It is the only language in the world whose vocabulary gets smaller every year One of the characters admires the way every new edition of the dictionary is smaller than the one before it: Its a beautiful thing, the destruction of words. Read the Telegraph article here. Discover the principles of Newspeak here. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Handy Expressions About HandsPeople versus Persons50+ Words That Describe Animals (Including Humans)

PRINCIPLES OF FINANCE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

PRINCIPLES OF FINANCE - Essay Example However, the yearly interest expense should be included in the cash flow table since it contributes to the net expenses which reduce the net income amount. c) The depreciation allowance should be included in the cash flow table since depreciation occurs yearly or continuously. The only difference is the rate of depreciation per year which should be taken into consideration. The $18,000,000 new investment, is only included in the cash flow table if the investment took place within the years whose cash flows were being determined, however, it should only be included in the very year it occurred. I would therefore recommend the board of working computers, under payback period, to invest the $18,000,000 in Bernoulli since the initial investment will be paid back only during the second year of operation where the net cash flow will be $20,385,808. Following the NPV calculations above, the NPV is $30,794,219/ the general criterion for NPV is that, a project is accepted if it has a positive NPV. A higher NPV is even more preferred. In this case, if working computers invest $18,000,000 in Bernoulli, the NPV is positive hence I would advise them to invest in the project. The general criterion on IRR is that, the project is accepted if the IRR is greater than the cost of capital. The cost of capital here is 14.5% and IRR is 66.98%. Therefore, I can recommend that the working computers should invest on the Bernoulli since the IRR is greater than the cost of capital. Working computers would use the sensitivity index to make a proper decision on whether to contribute $18,000,000 to the Bernoulli division. A part from the sensitivity calculated above, the Company can also use NPV, IRR and the payback period methods to make an informed decision on whether to contribute to the Bernoulli Division, $18,000,000 for the project. To begin with, a negative sensitivity always means that, the output (Net present Value) decreases with an increase in the cost of

Practicum Management Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Practicum Management Assignment - Essay Example Nurses are able to focus their attention on fewer patients. They are able to concentrate on their patients’ needs, safety, and individual care. In a study submitted to the Alabama Nurse Journal, it was established that the mandated nurse patient ratio has managed to improve patient safety and has also improved the quality of care given to patients. There has also been a decrease in mortality rates, lesser medical errors, and decreased rates in pneumonia, thrombosis, urinary tract infection, gastrointestinal bleeding, shock, and pressure ulcers. Hospital stay was also shorter for patients. Many hospitals in America argue that the mandated nurse-patient ratio cuts into a large part of the hospital budget. They argue that increasing staffing costs will eventually reduce patient access to healthcare. According to them, this mandate does not take into account the individual needs of the patient or the skills and characteristics of the nurse or the hospital. They also argue that hospitals are very much committed to providing quality patient care while still utilizing safe staffing levels, however, they feel that legally imposing nurse-patient ratios does not ‘allow for fluctuations in the supply of nurses and does not account for new technology’ introduced into healthcare (Lewis, 2005). Hospitals declare that mandated nurse-patient ratios are inflexible impositions on healthcare. Hospitals are forced to finance the obligatory increase in nursing staff and in the end, they may not be able to afford this cost. Hospital closures may follow. Nurses’ associations have a mixed reaction to this mandate. Some associations support the mandate, declaring that their lives have greatly improved. They are less stressed due to the decrease in their caseloads. Some unions have declared that this mandate has helped improve patient safety and has increased the job satisfaction of nurses. Nurses are now able to take