Prescription Drug Abuse: a Growing Epidemic in the United States

Prescription Drug Abuse: A Growing Epidemic in the United States Prescription drug abuse and related overdoses are a major public health issue that continues to grow each year. The National Institute on Drug Abuse explains prescription drug abuse as â€Å"the intentional use of a medication without a prescription. † (U. S. Health and Human Services, 2011) Since prescription drugs are legal and readily prescribed to alleviate pain and suffering, it poses a big challenge to control them. Many people, especially younger adults, feel that they are safer than illicit drugs because they can be found in their family medicine cabinet.Over the years, the number of people abusing these drugs has increased significantly. According to the Center of Disease Control (CDC), in 2007 there were â€Å"approximately 27,000 unintentional drug overdose deaths† in the United States. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012) The use of prescription drugs continues to be the number on e cause of these overdoses, more than heroin and cocaine combined. As part of the CDC’s study, they reported that over a ten-year period, between 1997 and 2007, the number of milligrams of prescription opioids prescribed per a person increased from 74 milligrams to 369 milligrams.In 2000, pharmacies dispensed 174-million opioid prescriptions and in 2009, it increased to 257 million prescriptions. These are both major contributors to prescription drug abuse and overdoses due to the fact that prescription drugs are so easily available. As a result of this study, the CDC has classified prescription drug abuse as an epidemic. (Executive Office of the President of the United States, 2011) Prescription drug abuse spans across a wide range of populations. The prevalence of prescription drug abuse is higher among men, individuals between the ages of 18-64, non-Hispanic whites, service members, and poor, rural populations.The highest rate of prescription drug abuse is by young adults between the ages of 18-25. (U. S. Health and Human Services, 2011)) Of the individuals who reported non-medical prescription drug abuse, 70 percent reported getting the prescription drugs from a friend or relative, 18 percent reported getting it from one doctor, and less than 5 percent reported buying it from a drug dealer or stranger. (Executive Office of the President of the United States, 2011) Younger adults are at higher risk for overdose because they have a higher tendency to mix prescription drugs with alcohol or other illicit drugs. Multiple studies have revealed associations between prescription drug abuse and higher rates of cigarette smoking, heavy episodic drinking, and marijuana, cocaine, and other illicit drug use among adolescents, young adults, and college students in the United States. † (U. S. Health and Human Services, 2011) This results in numerous emergency room visits for this particular population. Between 2004 and 2009, the number of emergency room visi ts related to non-medical use of prescription drugs nearly doubled. Executive Office of the President of the United States, 2011) Young adults are not the only population of prescription drug abusers that has continued to increase over the years. In 2008, the Department of Defense reported that one in nine active-duty service members reported prescription drug abuse. (Executive Office of the President of the United States, 2011) A study done by the Office of National Drug Control Policy found that â€Å"approximately two million adults age 50 and older used prescription-type drugs non-medically in the past year. (Executive Office of the President of the United States, 2011) As you can see, the prescription drug abuse problem is not limited to a specific population. It effects people throughout their lifetime. Newspaper Article A recent article in the Boston Globe called â€Å"Antidote offers addicts’ families sliver of comfort: Nasal spray credited with reversing more than 1,800 drug overdoses†, talked about the distribution of Naloxone in the community as a way to prevent an overdose. Naloxone is an opiate antidote that can be given to someone who you suspect has overdosed.It can be administered intranasally or by injection. Massachusetts is one of the few states that have implemented a Naloxone distribution program. Beginning in 2006, Massachusetts’s health officials have been distributing Naloxone to individuals who are most likely to witness an overdose such as outreach workers, homeless shelter employees, active drug users and family members. (Canaboy, 2013) The article goes on to talk about the effect the Naloxone programs have had in Massachusetts. In 2010, overdoses were responsible for 738 deaths in Massachusetts, which was twice the number of motor-vehicle deaths. Canaboy, 2013) Studies have showed that the Naloxone programs have had a positive effect in the communities where it is distributed. There were also positive results f ound in a study done in California by two agencies that implemented Overdose Prevention Programs using Naloxone. The rate of overdose deaths was reduced between 27 percent and 46 percent in the communities where Naloxone was distributed in 2009. (Canaboy, 2013) As shown by this article, drug overdoses continue to be a major public health issue in communities throughout Massachusetts.With the help of programs like the Naloxone discussed in this article, there is hope that health officials and communities can work together to fight against it using harm reduction programs in conjunction with other treatment programs. Healthy People 2020 One of the topics for Healthy People 2020 is substance abuse. The goal of this topic is to â€Å"reduce substance abuse to protect the health, safety, and quality of life for all, especially children. † (Healthy People 2020, 2012) Healthy People 2020 reported that 22 million Americans had drug or alcohol problems in 2005 and 95 percent of them w ere not even aware of their problem. Healthy People 2020, 2012) They also reported that 273,000 people who recognized they had a problem with drugs or alcohol were unsuccessful in obtaining treatment. It’s reasons like this that Healthy People 2020 felt that substance abuse was an important topic to focus on for the future. Under the substance abuse topic in Healthy People 2020 there are two specific objectives directly related to prescription drug use. They state the following: â€Å"objective SA-12 reduce drug-induced deaths† and â€Å"SA-19 reduce the past-year nonmedical use of prescription drugs. (Healthy People 2020, 2012) Both these objectives are directly related to the issues discussed in the Boston Globe article and other initiatives that the Federal Government has outlined as part of their plan. Nursing Diagnosis One of the NANDA diagnoses that relates to prescription drug abuse and overdoses is Ineffective Community Self-Health Management. Carpenito-Moyet describes this diagnosis as â€Å"a pattern in which the community experiences or is at high risk to experience difficulty integrating a program for prevention/treatment of illness and the sequelae of illness and reduction of risk situations. † (p. 28) This can be related to the Naloxone program discussed in the Boston Globe article and other treatment services in general. The article talks about how there are only a few states that have been willing to implement the Naloxone program. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) released a report on â€Å"Prescription Drug Overdoses – a U. S. Epidemic† which talked about the National agenda to combat prescription drug abuse. In the report, it talked about how the public health approach needs to include both secondary and tertiary prevention programs such as the Naloxone program discussed in the Boston Globe article. Executive Office of the President of the United States, 2011) There are current programs out there but in dividuals are not successful in accessing them for one reason or another. The CDC’s report discussed the need to remove barriers to make treatment programs more accessible in the communities. The report stated, â€Å"Office-based care can be less stigmatizing and more accessible to all patients, especially those residing in rural areas. † (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012) Another NANDA diagnosis that is related to prescription drug abuse and overdose is deficient knowledge.This is defined by Carpenito-Moyet as, â€Å"the state in which an individual or group experiences a deficiency in cognitive knowledge or psychomotor skills concerning the condition or treatment plan. † (p. 269) This is directly related to the prescription drug abuse and overdose problem in a number of ways. It applies to the individuals who are actively using drugs, the prescribers who are prescribing the drugs to individuals, and the community in general. The Office of Natio nal Drug Control Policy developed a plan to combat the prescription drug problem.In their report, Epidemic: Responding to America’s Prescription Drug Abuse Crisis, they developed four major areas of focus, the first being education. The report stated that â€Å"A crucial first step in tackling the problem of prescription drug abuse is to education parents, youth, and patients about the dangers of abusing prescription drugs while requiring prescribers to receive training in the safe and appropriate use of these drugs. † (Executive Office of the President of the United States, 2011)Educating individuals about the dangers of prescription drugs is just as important or even more important than illicit drugs. People feel that prescription drugs aren’t as bad because a doctor prescribes them. Education is also required for family members and community members to be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of drug abuse or an overdose. The Boston Globe article talks abo ut how part of the Naloxone program is to educate whomever it is getting the Naloxone how to recognize an overdose. It’s important for them to know what signs to look for. ConclusionAs evidence by the Boston Globe article and multiple reports put out by the federal government and different state agencies, prescription drug abuse is a major public health issue that needs to be addressed. It needs to be addressed at all levels, starting with the federal government’s drug policies and working down to the individuals who are abusing drugs. The population of individuals abusing prescription drugs varies for different reasons. There needs to be more treatment and prevention programs available to the different populations that address the specific needs of each.There are current programs established, like the Naloxone, that are shown to work. We need to keep moving in the right direction to implement and grow these types of programs in order to succeed in reducing the prescri ption drug abuse problem in the United States. Works Cited Canaboy, C. (2013, March 2). Antidote offers addicts' families sliver of comfort: Nasal spray credited with reversing more than 1,800 drug overdoses. Boston Globe , p. A. 1. Carpenito-Moyet, L. (2008). Handbook of Nursing Diagnosis (12th ed. ).Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012, January 13). CDC Grand Rounds: Prescription Drug Overdoses — a U. S. Epidemic:. Retrieved March 3, 2013, from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www. cdc. gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6101a3. htm Executive Office of the President of the United States. (2011, April). Prescription Drug Abuse | The White House:. Retrieved March 3, 2013, from The White House: http://www. whitehouse. gov/ondcp/prescription-drug-abuse Healthy People 2020. 2012, September 6). Substance Abuse – Healthy People:. (U. S. Health and Human Services) Retrieved March 3, 2013, from Healthy P eople 2020: http://www. healthypeople. gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/overview. aspx? topicid=40 Lankenau, S. E. , Wagner, K. D. , Silva, K. , Kecojevic, A. , Iverson, E. , McNeely, M. , et al. (2012). Injection Drug Users Trained by Overdose Prevention Programs: Responses to Witnessed Overdoses. Journal of Community Health , 38, 133-141. Stanhope, RN, DSN, FAAN, M. , & Lancaster, RN, Ph. D, FAAN, J. (2012).Public Health Nursing: Population-Centered Health Care in the Community (8th ed. ). Maryland Heights, MS: Elsevier, Inc. U. S. Health and Human Services. (2011, December). Prescription Drug Abuse. Retrieved March 3, 2013, from National Institute on Drug Abuse: http://www. drugabuse. gov/publications/topics-in-brief/prescription-drug-abuse U. S. Health and Human Services. (2011, October). Prescription Drugs: Abuse and Addiction. Retrieved March 3, 2013, from National Institute of Health: http://www. drugabuse. gov/publications/research-reports/prescription-drugs

Travelling Abroad Is a Waste of Money

TRAVELLING ABROAD IS A WASTE OF MONEY I strongly disagree that travelling abroad is a waste of money because we can learn history of civilizations, we can learn cultures of different peoples and we can witness the greatness of Allah. Firstly, in Surah Al- Ankabut: 20, Allah says : â€Å" Travel the earth then see how He makes the first creation, then Allah creates the latter creations†¦ † What this verse indicates is the disappearance of one nation to give place to another. For instance, the nation of the Pharaohs has been replaced by modern Egypt.Other nations which have disappeared include the people of Ad and Thamud in the Middle-East. Through travelling we can learn the history and witness the remains of these civilizations. Secondly, we can learn the cultures of different peoples around the world. In Surah Ruum: 22, Allah says : â€Å" And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your tongues and colours.. †. Hence, if we travel from China across to Europe, we will see peoples of different looks, colours, sizes, cultures, languages, and ways of living.They include Chinese, Japanese, Indians, Persians, Arabs, and Europeans. All look different from one another, speak different languages, and practise different cultures. Finally, in Surah Ibrahim : 32, Allah says : â€Å" Allah†¦ made ships subservient to you to run their course in the sea by His command ,and He has made the rivers subservient to you. † This verse tells us that Allah provides the facilities for mankind to travel( by sea or river ). In so doing one can appreciate the creations and greatness of Allah.For instance, sailing in the seas will give us the opportunity to see sharks, beautiful islands, and the huge waves. Sailing in the rivers will give us the opportunity to see the numerous floras and faunas, rapids, and waterfalls. Although travelling abroad does cost a lot of money, inconvenience and sometimes have to face some di fficulty, in my opinion, travelling abroad is not a waste of money because of the benefits we can get from it. [336 words]

A’ Minimum Of Two’ A Short Story

A Minimum Of Two A Short Story â€Å"Minimum of two† is a collection of short stories written by Australian writer Tim Winton. He writes his stories in different views such as first and third person, mainly for the reader to feel the story more in depth. The book features 14 short stories which are; Forest Winter, No Memory Comes, Gravity, The Water was Dark and it went forever down, Nislam’s Friend, Minimum of two, Distant Lands, Laps, Bay of Angels, The strong one. Holding, More, Death belongs to the dead his father told him and sadness to the sad and finally Blood and water. Throughout all of these stories there is relevant trauma for past events, coming to an outcome of growth in either a positive or negative way. The short story that in my opinion is the most powerful in regards to trauma and growth is the story â€Å"Minimum of two†. It’s written in first person view of the husband (Neil). This is a deep story about a married woman called Greta getting raped by a senior in her de partment by the name of Fred Blakey. He is taken to court by Greta and Neil and is sentenced to 5 years imprisonment but for Neil this is not enough because he went through ample suffering through the recovery of Greta in the way that she did not want to be intimate with him because she was sensitive as expected after being raped. With this issue, Neil decides to take matters in his own hands and contemplates killing Blakey when he gets released, he tells his friend Tony Mitchell that he will be doing this. Mitchell doesn’t agree with what Neil wants to do, but Neil doesn’t listen to him and ends up killing Blakey when he got out. His conscience then catches up with him and he then feels like the most horrible person, saying that he feels that he was a â€Å"dead man†. The main trauma in this story is the rape of Greta by Fred Blakey, this is mainly trauma from Greta as she becomes sensitive and doesn’t get intimate with Neil, this is also a traumatic for him, and this is shown in the way he writes about his feelings. It seems like her intimacy with him is a great thing for him making this story traumatic for both Neil and Greta. In the ending Neil kills Blakey and comes to a negative growth of feeling sorry for himself, as well as losing his best friend Tony Mitchell. The next story that showed trauma and growth is the story called â€Å"Distant Lands†. It’s written in the third person view. This short story is about an overweight woman working at her father’s newsagency. This woman is called â€Å"Fat Maz† she was teased and tormented through high school and also was not supported very well by her parents, they also treated her as if they didn’t know her or that she wasn’t their daughter. There was a day though that changed her life, a stranger Pakistani man comes into the newsagency, and opens the book â€Å"Distant Lands† has a glance and leaves. As she goes to inspect the book sh e realises the blurb saying â€Å"You will want this book never to finish†after she reads the blurb she is interested in reading the book, as she is reading it the Pakistani man comes into the newsagency once again and this time re-opening â€Å"Distant Lands† and smiling at Fat Maz, he gives her money and some confidence to leave her garbage job helping at her father’s newsagency

Belief in People and Team Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Belief in People and Team - Essay Example As a leader, one realizes that one has to focus on that common interest to make sure that the organization functioned effectively. As Dr. Bennis has pointed out in his writings, it is essential that the leader create a sense of mission (ASAE Foundation, 2004). That is exactly what one did to keep the organization to a good start. The group started out by defining the mission and vision statements. One had to make sure that everyone in the organization believed in the objectives that were set. One knew that as the leader of the group, one has to rally them towards the attainment of the goals. The next step was to engage and motivate the members (ASAE Foundation, 2004). The problem that one faced is how to motivate each one of them. One realized that to be able to motivate them it is essential that one gets acquainted with each individual and uncover what drives them into action. One has to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of each member to be able to assign them to jobs which wi ll put their talents and skills to their best use. This is a point which Dr. Bennis emphasized in his book, that is, a leader should determine the highest potential of each member (1994). One did this by letting each member fill out a questionnaire where they were asked their qualifications, interests, talents and hobbies. After going through the form, one got an idea which person may be appointed to do a certain duty. As a leader, one got to know his members better and identified the things that motivate them. Another unforgettable experience that one had about leading the organization was when one had to introduce changes in the previous system established by the past president. The past president required that each member report directly to him about the donations that were gathered for the projects of the group. One believed that the organization would function better if they were divided into groups which were

Assignment 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Assignment 1 - Essay Example In fulfillment of the National Training Framework’s purposes, Vocational Educational Training or VET now comes in various forms provided by employers, private training companies, community based organisations, secondary schools and higher education. These entities strive to serve students to prepare them for work in the real world. The â€Å"VET in Schools† program offers students to undertake one of three models of practical work-related activity. One is for full time students to participate in a training program offered by the school or a public or private training provider; another is for students to secure a trainee-ship or apprenticeship with a contract and paid employment while still a student in a school; or students may work part time out of school hours with a formal, structured training component. (ANTA, 1999) The move towards globalization includes the consideration of multicultural factors affecting learning and development. In Australia, many indigenous students (e.g. Aborigines) drop out of formal school to move towards vocationally-oriented school courses (Schwab, 2001) to enable them to secure jobs soon after compulsory education. This particular population may seek options that will optimize their learning potentials such as courses that appropriately fit their culture. It is important to understand that problems associated with indigenous education are unique. Indigenous culture is devalued and is prone to discrimination. Indigenous children, as a group, are assumed to be unequal to the general school population in terms of intelligence, and as a result, expectations are considerably lower (Reynolds, 2005). Gutman (1992) in the context of research involving students in two Brisbane school found that: â€Å"Teachers who have low expectations of what Aboriginal students can achieve academically are doing them a disservice† (p.

Business Plan for Camera Phone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business Plan for Camera Phone - Essay Example The detailed plan covers the techniques of marketing and promotional plan which can help the company to achieve its target market. Our product is exclusive and unique in its own way. Our cell phone is slider phone and its offer a 6.3 mega pixel camera. The camera automatically focuses and record videos as well. Following are the exclusive features of our cell phone: Our exclusive camera phone gives clients many opportunities to have some funny and amazing things as they have camera with themselves all the times. Our camera phone is designed to replace your digital camera because of its exclusive technology of 6.3 mega pixels. Another interesting feature is its applications. Now the customer can browse internet easily through our cam phone through GRPS which is very easy. It also includes calendar items, contacts, synchronizing notes etc which are very effective. The biggest benefit you gain while having our company cam phone is that you can email pictures from our cam phone. This is the convenient way to send copies of pictures from our cam phone. The clientele has not to bear any additional cost for hardware or software. However, the client might be charged for such message at very nominal rate. From the research and studies we come to know that's there is huge potential of our company to excel in the market. The sales of installed base of camera phone increases rapidly. And it's around one billion by the end of 2008. The emerging market of first digital camera, results in continuous increase in sales. We are also of the opinion that the launch of our camera phone will be huge success as camera phone sales rising in the

Biology1project2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Biology1project2 - Essay Example DNA molecules make individual copies of themselves by replication. Before a cell divides, each strand of genetic information makes a duplicate. During cell division the duplicates separate, so each cell has a complete set of genetic information. That single cell then divided many, many times to turn into the 50 trillion or so cells that make up a human being. Almost all of the cells in human body share the same DNA as was found in that first cell. DNA contains all of the information needed. This information is stored in the over 20,000 human genes found in almost all your cells. To get at the information, a gene must be turned on (expressed) and the information turned into something useful, a protein. Once made, that protein goes out into the cell and performs some set of specific tasks. For a cell to work, 1000s of these proteins must be made, each doing its particular job. The traits of a living thing depend on the complex mixture of interacting components inside it. Proteins do mu ch of the chemical work inside cells, so they largely determine what those traits are. But those proteins owe their existence to the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). DNA consists of four different sugars that interact with each other in specific ways. A much longer piece of DNA can therefore be the equivalent of different words connected to make a sentence, or gene that describes how to build a protein. And a still longer piece of DNA could contain information about when that protein should be made. The entire DNA in a cell gives us enough words and sentences to serve as a master description or blueprint for a human. Active stretches of DNA must be copied as a similar message molecule called RNA. The words in the RNA then need to be "read" to produce the proteins, which are they stretches of words made up of a different alphabet, the amino acid alphabet. "Central Dogma" of heredity--that the DNA code turns into RNA message that has the ability to organize 20

Fair Trade Coffee Industry in Britain Research Proposal

Fair Trade Coffee Industry in Britain - Research Proposal Example Coffee itself has a profound relationship with the British culture and economy. The industry has grown rapidly and in the recent years it is now almost impossible to walk down a British high street without being mesmerized by the scent of freshly roasted coffee beans. The coffee culture has created a new and unique social space in Britain. Neither work nor home, nor the pub, the coffee shop has survived criticism of being over- subscribed to become, at least for now, an integral part of everyday life. It is worth noting at the outset that Fair Trade is still considered a niche in the commercial world since as of the year 2002 it has only represented 0.24% of the coffee marketplace. The relations with customers under a Fair Trade approach establish channels of communications so that the producers can better understand the needs of its customer base .The two economic forces that coincide to create the FT marketplace is a two way relationship between developing and developed nation in w hich the emerging markets or developed entities act as the producers of the valuable commodity while the population in the developed worlds act as the consumers and distributors of FT coffee. During its inception FT coffee used to be specialty premium products whose availability was limited to specialty gourmet shops or special food item stores. (Plunkett Research. 2007) . The market structure of the FT segment of the coffee industry has change a lot in scope and the amount of opportunities for players that desired to capitalize by becoming a member of some part of the supply chain of the business which includes the farmers, international commodity distributors, or the final sales point distributor which may be involved in the business of selling pounds of coffee prepared or hot drinks that fit the needs of customer of consuming a great tasting coffee product. It is worth noting then the scope of Free trade coffee on this lucrative market and predicts a way ahead for marketers and corporate giants eyeing this segment of the market share. The nature of Fair Trade in coffee has been classified as"a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade.. Fair Trade organisations (backed by consumers) are engaged actively in supporting producers, awareness raising and in campaigning for changes in the rules and practice of conventional international trade". (official definition adopted by the European Fair Trade Association (EFTA)) This conception of the Fair Trade definition is thus meant to engulf the ambit of welfare objectives of higher incomes; improved working conditions; support for local craft traditions; and greater security through guaranteed prices (Hines, Charlotte and Ashley Ames. 2000.) The last factor relates to the economic aspect here as the high fluctuations in commodity prices cause problems for the growers by leading to incomes insufficient to repay loans and subsequent eviction from the land (Hines, Charlotte and Ashley Ames. 2000.) The coffee crisis dates back to the Coffee agreement of 1989.

Eczema Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Eczema - Essay Example Atopic eczema mostly begins at the stages of infancy and childhood. Among the children affected, about 65% developed the symptoms of Atopic eczema within their first year of life and 85% were affected with it before they were 5 years old (Atopic Dermatitis, 2011). Though Atopic eczema is found to be severe in infants and children, about 60 - 70% of the affected children are naturally cured of Atopic eczema by their early teens. Those children who inherited this atopic condition may suffer from its symptoms at any time, even in their teens, if triggered by environmental factors. Moreover, the atopic eczema patients are at an increased risk for asthma and allergic rhinitis. (Mandelin 2010).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nurses play a major role in the management of atopic eczema.   Since there is no cure for eczema, patients and their caregivers can become despondent over time (NICE 2007). However, if a good skin care routine can be maintained, the majority of eczema patients can cope wit h the condition without too much trouble (Ward 2008).   Educating the patient about eczema is essential but this must be accompanied by demonstrating how to apply treatments, listening to what patients and parents/ caregivers have to say and working together to devise a skin care routine that fits in with their lifestyle in a holistic manner (Ward 2008).   Therefore â€Å"both the theoretical and clinical experience of a nurse is vital to assist both family and child in the condition† (Anderson & Miller, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The primary aim in the treatment of atopic eczema is to heal the skin and to prevent the flare ups. For the treatment of the skin, the parents have to follow an assisted skin care routine, to prevent the worsening of the condition. However, the amount of help and guidance a parent will receive for the treatment of atopic eczema from their GP or nurse can often vary (Ward 2008).   It is, therefore, of great importance that children’s nurses are aware and up to date with evidence based practice (Lawston 2008).  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nurses, since frequently make informed care decisions based on evidence based practice and research (Thompson 2002), they can assist and guide the family of atopic eczema patients and plan and devise an appropriate treatment. Today, nurses are accountable for their own practice and are answerable for their own acts or omissions, regardless of any direct instructions received and are expected to take responsibility for delivering care supported by best practice, a sound evidence base and validated research (NMC 2004).     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The changes evolved in the field of Nursing is evident from the new roles of Nurses, such as a nurse practitioner running nurse led dermatology clinics, clinical nurse specialist at the forefront of a medical practicing field, etc. In the modern health care industry, Nurses need to be up-to-date with evidence based practice and it is th e responsibility of the nurse to maintain and implement research into practice (Polit & Beck, 2010).  Newell & Burnard (2011) reiterated this stating that one’s practice should always be evidence based and as being a health care professional, it is one’s ethical responsibility.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This paper focuses on the research studies conducted to find out the efficiency of prevailing treatments for

Good business writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Good business writing - Essay Example Good writing has been adopted not only as a requirement during interviews and hiring process but also in the promotion of the employees. This implies that potential employees should have adequate skills on how to communicate with the recruiters and managers through memo, proposals, letters and reports. This paper analyses key writing skills that an individual should posses in order to effectively communicate his or her ideas to the targeted audience. Begin with a major idea Without a proper planning, an individual may not achieve the objective of the writing. In this regard, it is imperative to identify the key idea before wring any business document. One of the primary steps is to jot the major idea on a piece of paper. In this way, a writer will be more focused on the topic that the he or she is aiming at. In most cases, the major idea becomes the headline of the writing. For example, sales executives who aim at explaining the benefits of new products to the consumers or its performance in the market may give their writing a headline of sales report. In the same way, managers who want to make an adjustment to the employees working hours may write a memo and place it on a notice board or give a copy to each of the employees. To avoid deviating from the main issues, it is fundamental for an individual to reread the headline as he or she continues with the writing.

Sure Thing Insurance Essay Example for Free

Sure Thing Insurance Essay Name: Yashasvi ram v.s Case Study The root problem in this case is that the company here has the decentralized autonomy of the business units, but there is a lack of coordination between operating groups. To compensate this, Al was appointed as CIO to coordinate different I/T approaches of the business units and to advise the executive committee on the strategic aspect of I/T. But another problem here apart from the lack of coordination is that Al had line of responsibility for I/T in his previous job but in the current job he is given any authority over I/T and is accountable for any changes in there. Also, his advices on the strategic aspects were rarely sought and were never followed. He is struggling to take decisions regarding staffing, budget and he is wondering how other senior staff is able to manage. The first solution would do nothing/maintain the status quo, if nothing is done in this scenario, it would result in the downfall of the company because; there would be no proper coordination between I/T and if the advice given by Al on strategic aspects are effective but are not followed then that would result in huge loss to that unit. The minimum solution would be to follow some of the advices given by Al to the personal lines division that corporate policy demands a package to be used instead of writing premium system in COBOL. A CEO should consider this decision on the business grounds and find out the pros and cons of implementing some of these decisions and to later implement them. The ideal solution would be to give authority of I/T and the right amount of funding for Al to implement his ideas. As he already has a good experience previously in this field, his ideas of funding, strategic agendas should be followed with some consideration. Also, he should be given a chance to interact with other senior supervisors to know how they are managing the funds, their staff and so on. The long lasting solution would be, CEO considers the experience and also a skill set of their senior staff so that they can be assigned to the exact positions. This makes them work effectively and would contribute to the positive growth of the company. I would recommend the long lasting solution because, the main failure of the company here is not to identify their employees potential in the particular field and also implementing some of the functionalities (using COBOL) without any research on that. If these problems are rectified then coordination of all the business units can be  done effectively and this minimizes failure risk of Surething Insurance company. Things that can be done to prevent future failures: 1. Rapid expansion. 2. Under-reserving. 3. Unforeseen claims. 4. Under-Pricing. 5. Gross Incompetence. 6. Expansion into new areas.

Platos the Republic Essay Example for Free

Platos the Republic Essay By the beginning of Book II of Plato’s The Republic, many questions have been brought upon the table involving the definition of justice. Polemarchus argues that justice is doing good to your friends and harm to your enemies. Thrasymachus argues that justice is the advantage of the stronger. Socrates finds flaws in both of these definitions, but discovers another important question about the nature of justice. Socrates wants to know whether the just life or the unjust life is better, or happier, but all arguments thus far have proved unsatisfactory. Book II aims to further outline this complicated question, and hopefully lead them closer to an answer. Glaucon isn’t satisfied by the previous explanations on the nature of justice and injustice. To satisfy his hunger for knowledge, he proposes a challenge to Socrates. Glaucon wants Socrates to explain how justice could be intrinsically good, or, in other words, how justice could be welcomed for its own sake, such as we welcome joy for its own sake. Glaucon expresses this challenge by defining to Socrates the three kinds of goods. Intrinsic goods, he says, are those that are welcomed for their own sake, and not for what rewards could possibly come from them. Mixed goods are those that we welcome for their own sake, but also for what possible rewards could come from them. Instrumental goods are those that we only welcome for the rewards that come from them. Glaucon believes that Socrates could prove that justice is a mixed good by proving exactly how it is instrinsic. Glaucon, in an attempt to reiterate Thrasymachus’s argument in Book I, goes on to present a three-part argument proving that injustice is better than justice. In his first point, Glaucon explains the common conception of justice and it’s origins. Essentially, the natural origin of justice comes from the fact that people like doing injustice, but it is worse to endure justice. Because of this, everyone comes to an agreement not to do injustice so they don’t have to suffer it. Since this story of the origins proves that justice is purely instrumental, if one was to accept this story they would also accept the next two points and, ultimately, accept Thrasymachus’s position. Glaucon’s second point is that justice is purely instrumental. He illustrates this point by using the example of the ring of Gyges. If two people both had the power to do whatever they wanted with no repercussions, as the ring of Gyges would allow them to do, Glaucon thinks that both would end up following the path of the unjust, and be better and happier for it. The just person wearing the ring could do unjust acts but still keep his reputation for justice. Glaucon says, â€Å"No one believes justice to be a good when it is kept private, since, wherever either person thinks he can do injustice with imputiny, he does it† (360c). This leads to his third point. Glaucon thinks that the completely unjust person is much happier than the just person. The ideal unjust person is able to attain everything they could ever want and need, while being honored and praised by those around him for seeming like a just person. Oppositely, the ideal just person is just but doesn’t care about seeming just, thus leading others to believe he is unjust, possibly for his whole life. When the two are compared side by side, it is clear how the unjust person is happy, but not how the just person is happy. Socrates must take certain steps to disprove Thrasymachus’s position on justice. Because the origin story is the key point of Glaucon’s argument, Socrates must show why this origin story seems right but is not. In order to do this, he needs to present a new origin story that shows exactly how justice is instrinsic. Socrates decides that in order to do this he must start by looking at justice in a large sense, then narrow it down to a smaller sense. To outline this process, he states, â€Å"We say, don’t we, that there is the justice of a single man and also the justice of a whole city? And a city is larger than a single man? Perhaps, then there is more justice in the larger thing, and it will be easier to learn what it is. So, if you’re willing, let’s first find out what sort of thing justice is in a city and afterwards look for it in the individual observing the ways in which the smaller is similar to the larger† (368d-369a). In order to look for justice in the city, Socrates must map out an ideal and perfectly just city. By showing the exact specifications of this perfect city, including the classes, functions, and virtues of the people, Socrates can undermine Thrasymachus’s argument and answer Glaucon’s challenge. To define justice and to answer the many questions surrounding justice is one of the main topics of Plato’s The Republic, and Socrates sets out to find these answers for the remainder of the book.

Reflective Analysis of personal Time Management and Nursing

Reflective Analysis of personal Time Management and Nursing An event that was meaningful to me as a nurse happened during my clinical time at St. Michaels Hospital when I did not wash my patient before 8:00 am in order to prepare her to go to a plastic surgery appointment later on that day. My patients 10:00 am Heparin administration was delayed by 45 minutes because she was being washed at that time. This event occurred because I did not prioritize the tasks I had to complete during the day properly, and therefore I learned the importance of time management while I work as a nurse on the clinical unit. Besides me, the people who were involved in the event were the registered nurse who I shadowed, my clinical instructor, and my student nurse buddy. At the beginning of the clinical day, while the events happened, I contacted my instructor, my nurse, and my student nurse buddy. The nurse and I sat down to look at the Kardex of patients and wrote down notes on our Personal Organizational Plan (P.O.P.). On the Kardex, my patients condition was the same as yesterday except she would have a plastic surgery appointment later on that day. Usually the patients husband would visit her daily around 9:30 am and provide care which including washing the patient and helping her to perform bowel elimination. My patient preferred that nurses leave them alone while her husband cares to her. On this particular day, the patients husband had an appointment and could not visit his wife in the morning, which meant it was my responsibility to wash my patient early so she could be ready for her appointment. I verbally informed my student nurse buddy that I would need her help to wash my patient but I thought my memory was good enough that I did not have to write down this specific task on my P.O.P. When I met with my patient, I concentrated on measuring her vital signs, completing the initial assessment, nursing activities, and interviewing my patient for the Roy Care Plan assignment as these tasks were originally listed on the P.O.P. I made sure I finished charting by 9:00 am. Once I finished charting, the nurse came up to me to see if I had bathed my patient and I replied no. From the nurses unsatisfied facial response, I realized I should have bathed my patient earlier in advance. My clinical instructor also asked my student nurse buddy and I the reason the patient had not been washed yet. I thought I could have washed my patient after I completed the charting as I knew the patient usually was washed around 10:00 am by her husband. I felt really bad and irresponsible because I did not wash my patient on time and prepare her for the appointment. My intuition told me there must be an essential task I had missed, but I just could not recall what it was since I did not write it down on the P.O.P. I thought my clinical instructor and the nurse must feel disappointed that I did not perform the task earlier as I remembered my clinical instructor stated clearly to check if any of our patients has special orders or tasks to be done at the beginning of the shift. I believe there are ethical and economic considerations to be taken into account about this event. If my patient was still in the process of getting ready while she received a call to go down to the plastic surgery unit, it would create unnecessary wait time for the plastic surgeon and other patients who would see the plastic surgeon later on. In order to compensate for the extra wait time, staffs at the plastic surgery unit may try to rush things and quality of treatment that patients receive may suffer. Staf fs may have to work overtime due to the delay and economic burden would be a result. In addition, delay of administering Heparin will increase patients risk of blood clotting and serious consequences such as pulmonary emboli, myocardial infarction, and deep vein thrombosis may be resulted. This will be considered as maleficence to the patient (Potter Perry, 2009). Moreover, I believe I should be accountable to my patient by providing safe and quality care to my patient which includes washing my patient on time. This belief arises from my nursing teachers constant reminders to us that it is very important to follow CNOs practice standards during practice. The key issue of the event is time management skills for clinical practice. If effective time management strategies were applied to my clinical practice, the chance of this event occurring would have been minimized and my performance of clinical practice will be improved. According to Chater and Litchfields study done on new graduate nurses who work in a neonatal unit at an Australian hospital (2007), five themes: knowing, planning, support, fulfillment, adapting and being flexible can be utilized to help student nurses and new graduate nurses to better manage their clinical time. Firstly, knowing is essential for nurses to manage time on the unit. The reason is if novice nurses do not know the condition of their patients, then they will not know what interventions they need to apply. More time will be spent looking up and learning about how to take care of the patients conditions. Therefore, obtaining nursing knowledge and familiarity with the daily routine care of the unit can help nurses handle their time on unit more efficiently. Having knowledge about the patients condition will also help novices feel less anxious, gain a sense of control, and raise their level of confidence (Chater Litchfield, 2007). Secondly, planning involves thinking about all the tasks which need to be completed as well as how much time each task requires. Proper planning can guide nurses through their day and ensure that important tasks will not be missed. Taking the time to think about required tasks also saves time because it allows the nurse to figure out what resources will be needed to complete a specific task and get everything ready in advance, rather than beginning a task and suddenly realizing something is missing and having to pause to figure it out. Thirdly, new nurses should not hesitate to obtain support from their preceptors and peers. Researching the right knowledge for a patients problem is time consuming but important, so nurses should not be afraid to ask for help since it is in the best interests of the patient. Also, talking to another new nurse peer will aid in continued development of time management skills. Moreover, when novice nurse are able to manage time and are able to complete all the routine care, they gain a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment (Chater Litchfield, 2007). Finally, adapting and being flexible is essential to mastering time management skills. There are always unexpected and unpredictable events that occur during clinical and being able to adapt and find alternative ways to deal with various situations will help nurses feel less stressed when managing their time on the unit (Chater Litchfield, 2007). Besides the five managing themes stated above, prioritizing is a necessary tool for effective time management. Nurses have to prioritize tasks on their route and finish tasks from high to low priority order. For example, when starting a shift, a nurse should decide which patient requires the most care. The nurse can do this by checking in with each patient briefly to say hello but at the same time to assess their needs. After an assessment is done, it can be explained to the patients who do not need immediate care that they will be taken care of shortly while the nurse attends to those with urgent needs (Waterworth, 2003). In addition, nurses should be careful of some priority setting traps. The first trap is whatever hits first which means a nurse responds to tasks that happen first instead of thinking twice and then responding. The second trap is the squeaky wheel, a patient who is able to gather the most attention from a nurse to hear his or her urgent request may not be the one w ho is the most in need. The last trap is waiting for inspiration, nurses should not be wait to be inspirited to complete a task and they should actively think about what tasks have to be done while on unit (Vaccaro, 2001). I learned effective time management strategies to handle my time on clinical and I will definitely utilize the time managing strategies step by step from knowing , planning , prioritizing tasks, gaining support from other nurses, and being flexible with my tasks. My thinking has changed after analyzing the key issue. It now makes more sense to me the reasons that our instructor requires us to finish all the paperwork on Tuesday night even when we feel tired after spending the whole day on unit. In fact, completing the Diagnostic Complications Sheet and Medication sheet correspond to the knowing phase by gaining knowledge about our patients so that we can provide specific care to our patients, feel less anxious, and better manage our time on unit. By filling the detailed P.O.P., this correspond to the planning theme which helps student nurses organize their day and ensure tasks to be performed will not be missed. In my point of view, I would preserve the action that the register nurse comes to check on me to see if I bathed my patient. With this action, she is being responsible to the patient and also she is offering me support to help me take care of the patient. On the other hand, I would definitely change the way I organize my P.O.P and I would follow my P.O.P. with flexibility and do not just focus on the original task I planned for my patient. For example, once I found out my patient has to be washed before 8:00 am, I will write it down immediately so that I will not forget to complete the task. If a similar situation arises again in my practice, I would inform my student nurse buddy that I require her help to wash my patient before a certain time and ask him or her to remind me to finish the specific task in case I forget or become occupied by some other tasks. In term of recommendations, I think there is no better way than to come to the unit with preparation. For example, student nurses can build their well of nursing knowledge by reading the nursing interventions related to a patients specific condition from the Canadian Fundamentals of Nursing and the Medical-surgical Nursing in Canada. Also, Pharmacology for Canadian Health Care Practice can help student nurses build up their knowledge in medication. The more a student nurse comes prepared for their clinical time, the less anxious he or she will be and can apply the five time managing strategies mentioned above to handle their time on unit more effectively.

Manliness, Hostility, and Aggression in A View From the Bridge Essay

Manliness, Hostility, and Aggression in A View From the Bridge Arthur Miller’s ‘A View from the Bridge’ represents the ideas of manliness and how the perception of certain individuals (Eddie) affects the lives of their fellow friends and family. The play is based around the views of the play’s protagonist, Eddie. His analysis of the male personality leads to conflict when other males, in this case Rodolpho, do not conform to his ideas of manliness. Hostility, aggression and masculinity are the main themes which influence the mood of the play and the way they are associated with each other allow an increase in tension in the minds of the reader. Eddie is the play’s main character who has very distinct views on what a man should be like. He feels it is necessary for a man to be aggressive and to use violence in order to state his authority and power. This is evident when he asks Catherine â€Å"What’s the high heels for, Garbo?† Eddie asks this in a very sarcastic manor, however, he is fully aware that he wants things his own way. Eddie also considers bravery and the reputation of the male to be vital in a man’s personality. This is shown by the way he battles Marco nearer the end of the play, not to make friends but to restore his reputation. The language in which Arthur Miller employs when Eddie is speaking tends to be fairly provocative for the person he is addressing, particularly with the way he has primarily been shown to ask or talk to other people in a challenging manner. This is evident when Eddie refers to Rodolpho as â€Å"fruit†; â€Å"aint right† and â€Å"no good†. These quotes show no manners what so ever and portray a very negative approach indicating confrontation to the reader. However the quote â€Å"sees the... ...is carefree personality shows us how life should be lived. Arthur Miller’s views on masculinity are introduced into the character of Alfieri, through this character he reveals how he feels â€Å"it is better to settle for half.† This means settling for what is available to you having worked out a compromise. With his perception on manliness he includes Eddie, Marco and Rodolpho. These three characters portray Miller’s views on masculinity on three different levels, showing that Marco being in between Eddie and Rodolpho is the real man as he enforces violence when need be and also being in touch with his feminine side shown by his family values. Miller has Eddie killed by Marco at the end; this is a metaphor and a sign of the real man winning in his eyes and believes that living the life of Eddie will not allow you to achieve everything you ever want in life.

Essay --

Introduction Before the inevitable fall of the mighty Third Reich, several Jewish prisoners were unwillingly forced into deadly, horrifying experiments orchestrated by the Nazis. These helpless individuals underwent what most would call gruesome and inhumane procedures for the benefit of Nazi research and development. Others would, perhaps surprisingly, call them not gruesome, but necessary. The Nazis simulated scenarios they might find their soldiers in during and between combat periods, and used the Jewish people as test dummies in place of their own. This way, they thought, they could acquire data that would help them in the long run without sacrificing their own soldiers, since the Jews were to be executed later anyway. There has been a long going debate over the ethical problems of using the acquired data for modern scientific applications. Description of View There are two main sides of the controversy, one being for the data's use, and the other against. The data was the result of many different experiments, some of which were †¢ measuring a person's response to exposure to...

Misery, by Stephen King - Annie Wilkes :: Misery Stephen King

Misery, by Stephen King - Annie Wilkes What does it take to frighten an author of best-selling horror novels?   In Misery, Stephen King embodies a writer's fears about himself as a writer and about the continuation of his creativity in a richly elaborated and horrifi-cally psychotic woman, Annie Wilkes.   In the novel, Annie represents a mother figure, a goddess, and a "constant reader".   In reality, however, An-nie merely represents a creative part of King's mind. Annie Wilkes is a proud mother of two children--a historical-romance novelist, Paul Sheldon, and his extremely popular heroine Misery Chastain.   Annie must nurse and educate Paul.   Gottschalk elaborates, "Annie views Paul in a madly maternal way.   Early in her custody of Paul, she brings him pills for his excruciating pain, but he must suck them off her fingers in a grotesque parody of a nursing child" (125).   If she leaves him untended too long, Paul wets his bed, and she must change his sheets and clothes. When he is tired or frustrated, he weeps like a small child.   Annie ensures his childlike dependence on her and an ""expression of maternal love" (King 159) with his addiction to pain killing-drugs.   Annie's disciplinary actions contribute to her mother figure, also.   Gottschalk writes, "When he has been bad, she disciplines him but in motherly fashion often comforts him while doing so" (127).   Annie punishes Sheldon's attempts to get free by ampu-tating h is foot and thumb with an ax, "exercising editorial authority over his body" (King 264).   Annie acts as a virginal and protective mother of the vir-gin Misery,   "Annie prevents Paul from letting Misery Chastain die in child-birth.   She must live and a novel must be born" (Gottschalk 126).   Annie nurtures Misery's return as well, "Nothing will interfere with [Misery's] safety or the birth of the book she is nurturing" (Gottschalk 127).   There are no doubts as to the significance of Annie's maternal image in the novel. Behind Annie's destructiveness lies a goddess figure--a goddess in charge of Paul's, as well as Misery's, life.   Paul is at the mercy of Annie.   He makes it through the days, but only in a complete fear of being murdered by Annie.   Gottschalk illustrates Annie's powerful grip over Paul, "Annie 'raped' Paul back into life, and she will hunt him down if he tries to escape" (127).   King compares Annie's powerful figure to a giant furnace, "That's what it would look like†¦If you built a furnace inside the mouth of one of those idols in the H.

Operations Management Exam 1 Review Notes

Basic info for Exam 1 Types of questions you can expect * Ones similar to assigned discussion questions, homework * How topics in assigned articles relate to key concepts below: test questions similar to these are fair game. * You will have the formula sheet handed out during forecasting section. The most important things to know from part 1 of this class 1) Chapter 1 a) How to measure performance of a process: financial measures, external measures, internal measures and why you would choose one over another. ) 4 product attributes and their corresponding process attributes i) This is something to memorize. c) Job shops vs flow shops: attributes of each and which products is each suited for? d) Will not cover product-process matrix. 2) Chapter 2 e) How process competencies support a firm’s strategic position. ii) Market-driven strategies (identify market needs and develop processes to support them) vs. rocess-driven strategies (Amazon hosting websites, cloud computing for othe r companies, G&H with financial aid call center branching out to other services) iii) Operational effectiveness vs. operational efficiency: low cost of operations does not necessarily support the business strategy iv) Focused strategies allow for competitive advantage (1) Plant-within-a-plant: why would companies do this and what makes this succeed or fail? ) Question about hypothetical company or companies we’ve analyzed in book, articles, class discussion—what are their business strategies/product competencies and how do their process competencies support them? g) Competitive product space 2-D graph: may ask you to interpret one but not to draw one v) Idea of operations frontier, that it represents the highest level of operational effectiveness (2) Effect of technology and improved management practices on the operations frontier. h) Order-qualifiers vs. rder winners (in slides, G&H discussion) i) Will not be tested on section 2. 7 j) Last 3 slides not covered: Disney and McDonalds 3) Forecasting k) Anything covered in book is fair game: Expect questions very similar to those in class, on HW. l) General categories: subjective, time-series, associative/causal m) What are key features of each forecasting method, why would you choose one over another? n) Trends, seasonality: know what these are, which methods account for these, and how they do it. ) Forecasting error and bias: why are these important to measure, what they mean, what are differences between methods for assessing them (MAD vs. MSE, for example) p) Use of control charts: how to make one and what are they used for. 4) Chapter 3 q) Takt time not covered but everything else is fair game. 5) Chapter 4: Flowcharting and network design r) Interpret or make a simple flow chart s) Using a flow chart to start to improve operations (esp. in conjunction with chap 3 and Little’s Law)

With reference to a case study on Brazil, explain what affects rural to urban migration

The following essay is based on a case study of Brazil. I will describe and show the problems of rural to urban migration. The two locations we will be studying are the Caatinga and a city called Belo Horizonte, both located in Brazil (see map below). Rural areas are areas isolated from city centers with very little communication and transport to them. They are very poor areas with little agriculture. Urban areas are city like places where communication, transport and living conditions are acceptable. The Caatinga is one of the most remote areas of Brazil. It is a dry and poor area. It is the largest dry region in South America. The vegetation in this area is very pitiable. Population Pressure happens a lot here. Many people are born and are forced to live in such disgraceful conditions. It is situated in the North-eastern part of Brazil. The Caatinga has serious problems including health and, the most important one, there is a lack of jobs. Another major problem are droughts. Approximately once every ten years, a drought occurs causing large disasters in matters of agriculture and health. Climate also plays a big role in the daily life of the Caatinga inhabitants. The other location we are going to study is Belo Horizonte. It is a town located in the south-eastern part of Brazil. I'm going to concentrate on the surroundings (suburbs) of the town known as the Favelas. These are groups of houses, now changed into neighborhoods where people that migrate from the Caatinga and other rural areas of Brazil move too. Here the houses are mostly wooden shacks or the better ones are made with cement and bricks. Here there is little electricity and water. Living conditions are much better than in the Caatinga. There are more job opportunities for migrated people with no money. People that migrate to these places, in most cases leave the Caatinga with no money at all and will have to live under cardboard boxes until they can afford to build there own shack. You can read also Classifications of Restaurants The most important factor that affects migration are the Push and the Pull factors. Push factors are negative factors. These could include such things as health, education, general living conditions etc. The Pull factors are positive factors. These include things like electricity provided, clean water, better health etc. In this case study, the push factors will be about the rural areas (Caatinga). The pull factors will be about the urban area (Favelas). Migration is affected by these factors. In this study the most important ones are health, climate, job opportunities, education and living conditions. The problems that people face in the Caatinga are very serious. This is why people want to migrate or even are forced to migrate to urban places and Favelas. They do this to try and gain some money and to give better future for their children. Droughts are very common in the Caatinga. When these occur, rivers can dry up and there is no water to drink and to use for agricultural reasons. This brings every time famine, starvation and disease. People can only drink from dirty ponds formed when the last rain had fallen. Illiteracy is another great problem. There are no schools for people to go to. Most of the population cannot read nor write. Children cannot learn how to write and this is why when they migrate, they will have very underprivileged jobs with very little pay. When droughts occur, agricultural land is destroyed along side with all of the crops grown during the year. This brings long periods of time with no one working on the land which means no jobs. With no jobs, people have no money and cannot buy food nor medicines for their family. When the harvesting fails, people can only eat lamb and beans throughout the year until the next harvest is ready. There is no medical care in these areas. Diseases such as Malaria strike young children and elder people causing death rates to increase drastically. This also is connected with transport. Ill and sick people cannot be transported to cities to be taken care of. No food can be imported to the Caatinga. The population of the Caatinga can only live on what they produce, this is called subsistence farming. The climate has also a very important job in the Caatinga and is one of the biggest factors causing migration. All through out the year there is little or no rain at all in some areas of the Caatinga. The temperatures are very high in the summer (reaching over 30à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½) and in the winter are very cold (approximately 10à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½). You can read also Costco Case Study Families in the Caatinga are very large. Some families have up to 15 children and in some cases can reach 20. This is because people want to have more children so that they can be maintained when they reach an older age. Another reason is that diseases can easily kill many children. On average out of 10 children, 5 die of illnesses or starvation. In the Caatinga child labor is also a big concern for the government. Many children are used to farm on the land which isn't of their property. People from the Caatinga decide to migrate to urban cities like Belo Horizonte. They have to walk for hundreds of kilometers with all of their belongings and no money. When they arrive in the Favelas, they have to set up a new life. The Favelas are situated just outside cities. These are groups of houses built by migrates coming in from the rural part of the country. Here their children can receive an education from proper schools. They learn how to read and write so that in the future they will be able to have a better job. Once they reach an older age, children will have to start working to try and get some money for their numerous family. In a case we saw, the money that the father and her daughter earned was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½12 a month, just enough to maintain their big family. They cannot spend any of it on leisure and entertainment. With the money they can buy proper food from markets and are able to feed the whole family. They can also buy medicines and with time, they can improve their household. The birth rate here is also much lower than in the Caatinga. This is because health is much more advanced and people don't need as many children to maintain them. The death rate is also much lower than in the Caatinga. Medicines to cure diseases are introduced and hospitals are nearby. Electricity and sometime running water in houses is introduced. This is a necessity for many families. The transport and communication is good here. The only problem is that there is no entertainment in these Favelas (no cinema, shops, restaurants etc†¦). The climate here is much better. The temperatures are quite high throughout the year and the rainfall is balanced. In conclusion to my essay, the urban environment is a much better place to live in because of all its pull factors. Urban population is increasing rapidly, 78% of Brazilian population lives in Urban population whilst the other 22% is spread out between rural and Amazonian. I would prefer to live in an urban environment because of all the comforts it can provide compared to the Caatinga. Still people don't have power over their actions. People living in the Caatinga cannot decide weather to move or not. It is a risk they have to take and only some families can take it. It would be hard to help the population of the Caatinga. Brazil, being in some parts a developed country and in others, not developed at all, would find it difficult to provide the funds to help this population. It would need to build a new transport system, including a railway and more roads. It could also build hospital facilities and refugee camps for homeless people. It should improve agricultural facilities adding irrigating systems and it should bring, using aqueducts, water to remote villages. This could also bring problems because people living in the Caatinga might not want their land to be industrialized. Also the funds to help could be received from the population of urban cities which might disapprove. Rio de Janeiro has tried to improve living conditions of the Favelas by expanding its land and becoming the second largest city in the world. It has built on a flat piece of land tall buildings for rich people to move in. It is a much safer place for people to live in. It is actually become a new city called Barra. Barra is one of the safest cities in South America. It has the largest shopping mall in all of South America. The criminality is very low. By building this city, Rio de Janeiro has stopped growing because people move out to Barra more. Soon Barra will become as large as Rio and suffer the same problems if migration doesn't stop.

Google Innovation and New Product Management Essay

In this report, researcher will be answering two different questions from the assignment. First, the researcher will discuss and suggest some feasible application considerations when developing a new product development strategy for Google Glass. The information which included will be elaborated and discuss with examples. Next question, researcher will illustrate how Google Glass better manage innovation within the organization to stay ahead of its competitor in the industry? The information in question related will be discussed and elaborated in paragraph form. For conclusion, the researcher will be made after the two questions completely done. Final conclusion will be conducted with ways to improve and ideas to put into Google glass. Question 1 Discuss and suggest some feasible application considerations when developing a new product development strategy for Google Glass. Market Analysis The new product development strategy is the strategies in spite of evidence of its success. In new product development, researcher found that many managers hesitate to establish a policy for new product development said by (C.M.Crawford, 1972). The new product development strategy is the first stage need to be done on a company before they launch a new product to the market. In the other hand, there are basic steps need to include in the new product development steps there are concept, ideation, design, test, and release. Due to the research, the benefit after implement those steps to a new product development lead the company to the profits increasing. For Google glass, first the concept need to be define clearly and considerations need to be concern for the new product development. Next market strategy will be market analysis because there are several points need to be analyzing in the market analysis such as target market, market opportunity, and market segmentation. Target market is the main group of user that been targeted who will be using the product which is the Google Glass. In this step, researcher need to understand how to target and what should him/her putting inside new product development strategy. Market segmentation is to differentiate the different type of market and identify which market is  having the most potential customer for the new developing product. The company then will target on that market and work on the new developing product. Other than that, market segmentation also ensure researcher know the market trends, size and growth. Researcher need to understand what the market needs first in the new product development. For example, Google glass provides questionnaire and interview questions to the public before them implements functions in the Google glass development. This is to ensure the product will be accepted by public after it launch. The market segmentation method is a must for every product development because it clearly identifies the target users for the new developing product and the correct marketing plan can be run on that particular target users group. Market size and growth needed to identify current sales that made and also the potential sales that will be made can be estimated based on the analysis. Besides, the surveys that done on the customer will be using as one of the methods to identify the size of the market. This strategy is considered important because it may help to estimate the number of potential users that will use the product. On the other hands, it also means that the greater the size of market, there will be more profit that able to make by the Google Glass Company by introducing the product to the public. Lastly, market trend strategy need to be implemented because it shows the response from the public in the new product development (Google glass). Targeted market will be done in this strategy and how it will be affected the market. For example, Google glass will provide new functions and it will beat its competitor similar product development. Customer Needs After market analysis done, customer needs will be follow up to developing product that based on customer needs. There are six basic needs of customers for a new product; there are friendliness, understanding and empathy, fairness, control, options and alternatives, lastly information. Said by Rosa. (2013). All these steps can be identifying by using several methods such as investigation and survey. The survey that done can determine what actually does the customers or potential customers needs and what they actually wish to have in future in terms of the technology or the functionality of the new developing product. This product development strategy is to ensure customer understand all the functionalities of the new  product (Google glass) before they purchasing it. It is helps in keeping the customers instead of other competitors. As a nutshell, it also will gain the profitable of the company because the customers are already well known from the product and it will help on boosti ng the sales of the new product. Ongoing Corporate Planning In ongoing corporate planning consideration, it will help to set up future direction for the product. The most important consideration for Google glass are the technology and innovation set up. In now a day’s technology, almost every individual own a smartphone or tablet in their lifestyle. Google Company needs to implement something better and interesting to attract more customers to purchase their new product. Technology and innovation need to be in the ongoing corporate planning to ensure the product will success in the future market. Due to the survey online, there are many company produce products that have many competitors such as smartphone and tablet. In the other hand, Google Company is the first company which produces Google glass which has the technology and innovation other does not have it. It will helps on produce profits and leading with the new product development. Besides that, there will be customers aiming the new product developed by Google indeed others do not produce any similar product yet. Ongoing Technology Management The other consideration will be the ongoing technology management. It will be competitors if the company keeps producing products like smartphone and tablet. Google company come with new idea which is introducing Google glass which other company still do not have any similar product development yet. It is a smart idea and creative idea which other companies do not have yet. So, it will be a hot product if it came with latest technology and innovation. They need to compete with other competitors by introducing their new technology and functionalities to launch in the market. Google glass is the product that does not have any competitor yet and it will be the first product that will be introduce to the public with such technologies. Multi-Dimensional Concept Multi-Dimensional concept product is the development of new product such as  brand name, quality specifications, pricing, packaging, featuring, technology, and level of services. For Google Company, there will be technology and innovation focusing in a product development. â€Å"Google† is a well-known branding in the world that most of people know, it using multi-dimensional product development concept before they introduce the product to the market. They are well-gained company and have good reputation in the information technology market that enables their products are trusted and safe to use. Google glass named by Google Company itself because it made up of fiber glass and it has multiple functions and specifications that proved itself is a unique with all its functions. Google glass describe as multi-dimensional concept product because of it special features and quality specifications. It have has a 640 x 360 display, 5 Mega Pixel camera and able to record video with 720p HD function. Besides that, it also built-in with a 16GB flash memory which enables the users to save data into it such as video and photo. Other than that, it also builds in WIFI and Bluetooth adapter so it able to communicate with everyone while there are web-services available. In addition, pricing is also one of the concept of multi-dimensional product because the product must be in reasonable and affordable price so most of the users able to purchase it and boost the sales and profit of the company. The price will be around $ 1500 and even lower a little bit so it will be more attractive for users to purchasing it. The features of Google glass are capturing video and photos and it can send it online. Other than that, GPS also build in so user can easily see the direction while travelling or driving. It also allows users to messaging and it have charger to recharge while there is low battery. It is a smart device that is user friendly. Conclusion, the technology that used in Google Glass is the virtual reality. The users able to view the animation that been released by the glass and also the reality world through the glass. It brings many features that enable user to interact with the devices. Besides that, user can off the functionality of Google glass in case they don’t need any services and they can use it as a normal glass. Google glass is a direct interact device, user just need to activate or select services that they wanted so it can perform the task directly and efficiency. Conclusion As the researcher of this report, I would like to implements few considerations so it can helps on increase the sales and profit for Google Company. In the other hand, Google Company need considerate more on new product development before it launch to the market so users can give good reflection and opinions on Google’s product in future. To increasing the rate of successful of new product, it need implement more considerations to make it successful. Google Innovation And New Product Management Google products do not fair well on the market or do not reach the market at all as they would have failed during the trial stages because they hardly follow the proper steps in new product development. Therefore the question Google needs to ask itself before embarking on a project is whether or not a product is what the customer needs because what the engineers want to develop is not necessarily what people need. Therefore structured and analytic approaches to innovation have been proven valuable in new product development. It is important to highlight the need for customer’s input as they function as a fresh set of eyes. Google should continue to encourage a steady stream of new product possibilities from their engineers while social networks could be used to dialogue with customers and get new ideas. Google needs to have Innovation management in which there is the discipline of managing processes in innovation which in turn can be used in the development of both product and organizational innovation. Innovation processes can either be pushed or pulled through development. Instead of just having some creative ideas and launching them, Google could also adopt some innovation styles as part of their innovation management. Discuss and suggest some feasible application considerations when developing  a new product development strategy for Google. In general, developing new products is usually expensive and risky. The majority of new product inventions are not successful. In Australia for instance, 95% of private inventions never reach the market (Walker, 2004). Google is evidently aware of this fact because most of its products do not fair well on the market or do not reach the market at all as they would have failed during the trial stages. It is needless to say that the high failure rate should not discourage companies from introducing new products because customers eventually lose interest in once popular products, particularly if competitors introduce more attractive products. Google is evidently aware of this fact due to the high rate of new products that they introduce onto the internet hence providing a vast diversity of products with the hope that one of them will succeed. This, however, says a lot about Google’s new product development strategy even though they have a lot of products. Looking at Google products and the way they do things it is apparent that Google hardly follows the proper steps in new product development this is why some of their products do not succeed. Companies often introduce new services on the basis of employees’ subjective opinions on whether the product will be successful (Zeithaml et al, 2009), which is the case with Google as mentioned by Marissa Mayer. This is not good as it only incorporates the views and needs of what the employees think the customers want and not exactly what the customer needs. (Image1 source: http://answers.google.com/answers/answers-logo-sm.gif) For example Google had a product called Google Answers in which a person would ask a question for a specified amount of money and experts in the field would answer the question. This service was of course terminated in 2006, but was it necessary in the first place to have such a product? No it was not especially when one had to pay for it. There are so many other services online where you can get expert help for free. Therefore the question Google needs to ask itself before embarking on a project is whether or not a product is what the customer needs because what the employees want to develop is not necessarily what people need. Structured and analytic approaches to innovation have been proven valuable in new product development (Zeithaml et al, 2009). According to Elliot and  colleagues, (2008), there are seven recognised phases of the new product development process, namely; idea generation, screening, concept testing, business analysis, product development, test marketing and commercialisation. These should be considered by Google for its product development strategy because this will ensure that their products do not end up being null and void or being removed or thrown out. (Image 2 source: http://lostgarden.com/uploaded_images/StageGate-GreenLight-Diagram-708507.jpg) Google likes to have a lot of products thrown into the market and hope for the best (Image 2). With this notion in mind Google can still do that because some of the phases in product development can be conducted simultaneously since products evolve very fast hence they can have many products that succeed as opposed to having one or two that make it (Image 3). (Image 3 source: http://lostgarden.com/uploaded_images/StageGate-Gate-Diagram-717771.jpg) Idea generation refers to the process of seeking product ideas. The ideas may emanate from internal or external sources. Internal sources include employees of the organisation while external sources are usually customers, competitors, advertising agencies, research organisations etc. The interview reveals that Google uses a lot of internal sources for their idea generation. These are important because they can identify organisational issues necessary for the development of the product. It is however, important to include customers in idea generation, ‘particularly in situations in which the customer personally carries out part of the service process.’ (Zeithaml et al, 2009). This is something that Google has turned a blind eye on. They fail to realise that in as much as they want to have cutting edge products, customers are the driving force to making the product cutting edge. Customers, hence, need to be part of the idea generation of a product not after the product has already been made public (as shown by the customer feedback system on the products in question). Therefore Google should continue to encourage a steady stream of new product possibilities from their engineers (internal source) while social networks could be used to dialogue with customers and get new ideas that way they do not neglect the external sources. In as much as Google’s product releases seems random, Haqlund et al (1995) would approve of the apparent confusion at Google as they believe that creativity involves improvisation, anarchy and internal  competition, which results in ‘both a planned process and a happening.’ Google does need a bit of organisation b y implementing the new product development process so as to keep their product development and releases in check. Idea screening refers to the analysis of product ideas in which the nature and wants of buyers are assessed. No idea screening is done by Google they just do it, the engineers just give suggestions around a particular idea and they take the suggestion and incorporate it into the given idea and start working on it without top management approval and without proper screening of the idea to see if it is indeed feasible and or appropriate and whether or not it will be accepted on the market after it has been lunched. This increases the probability of developing something that the customer does not need. They might want it and go for it as soon as it is launched but after a short period of time the user realises that they do not need the product and hence the life span of that product is shortened. (Image 4 source: http://www.accelerantresearch.com/images/product-dev/product-dev1.jpg) Some of the products need to go through the screening process so as to know whether or not the product will be maintainable or upgradable. Now if Google had to screen their ideas before hand (as shown in Image 4) then some of their products would have been successful or would not have been launched at all because there are some products that Google has that are just not necessary. Now judging from what the interviewee said about some engineers who get tired of working on the same task, it is of paramount importance to once again highlight the need for customer’s input as they function as a fresh set of eyes. Customers will look at the same product in a different way and be able to suggest something new that can be done. Concept testing involves presenting the idea to a sample of potential customers which enables the company to test potential customers’ reactions before the product can be launched on a large scale. Where Beta Testing and Market Testing is concerned Google does; however, use this strategy on some of its products. (Imagesource: http://i.zdnet.com/blogs/rockmelt_browser_facebook_logo.pngand http://cogadget.com/cogadget/photos/logo/google_chrome_logo.jpg ) For example in the case of RockMelt, it is a Google product that looks like  Google chrome but caters to facebook fans who are able to see what is going on with their friends in real time and all the time. Google has decided to test the product by sending it to a few people and allowing those people to invite their friends to use it by giving the user a certain number of invites and with each person that installs it the invites issued are increased. This is a good strategy because not only does Google get feedback on how to improve RockMelt but they also know by the number of people that install it and invite others whether or not it will be a success if launched officially. If Google were to implement this strategy on a substantial amount of products then it would be easier to know which products to keep and launch on a larger scale as well as which products to scrap off. According to the interview with Marissa Mayer, they did the same thing with Gmail by sending invites to people to use Gmail and because of that Gmail is now widely used by many and hence became and still is a success. It now competes with other email services such as Hotmail and Yahoo! RockMelt now has the chance to become better than Google Chrome as well as other internet browsers since it is still in its testing phase. At the test marketing stage, the product is released in limited quantities, to test customer reactions while reducing the risk of product failure. Product failure could lead to the company’s loss of credibility which is not the case with Google since it is well known that people still try out Google products regardless of their failure. At the commercialisation phase modifications are made based on the test marketing findings. Full scale marketing is then done. In the internet industry, gradual marketing may allow competitors to quickly enter the same target market with similar products. Google is apparently not too concerned about this prospect hence Google Labs. Therefore in as much as Google has employed the strategy of just dumping their products with the hope of at least one success, they can have a more organised strategy whereby there is guarantee of at least majority success rather than minority success. Question II In this highly competitive online environment, illustrate how Google better manage innovation within the organization to stay ahead of its competitor in the internet industry? Google needs to have Innovation management in which  there is the discipline of managing processes in innovation which in turn can be used in the development of both product and organizational innovation. Google will need to allow managers and engineers to cooperate together knowing the goals and the processes of the development of a new product. Google can make sure that the main focus of innovation management is to allow response to external as well as internal opportunities in which creative efforts to introduce new ideas are used (Kelly, and Kranzburg, 1978). (Image 6 source: http://www.ucd.ie/nitm/images/graph1.gif ) Google already understands that innovation management involves workers at every level in contributing creatively to a company’s development and hence do not stop the creativity of engineers who have input on a new product. What Google needs to do now is to trigger and deploy the creative juices of the engineers towards the continuous development of the products. The process that they can adopt can be that of an evolutionary integration of strategy, technology and operations (Tidd et al, 2009) because successful innovation management is naturally multi-functional and matches a deep understanding of user needs and wants to a unique technical ability hence the integration of customer ideas as well as engineer’s ideas (as seen in Image 6). Innovation processes can either be pushed or pulled through development. A pushed process is based on existing or newly invented technology, that the organization has access to, and tries to find profitable applications to use this technology (Trott and Paul, 2005). It is evident that Google does adopt the push concept but not for all products. If Google is to be ahead in the internet industry they are to make sure that the products that have made it are continuously developed one of the ways in which Google can do this is to go ahead with the idea of merging some products together to make one product. A pulled process tries to find areas where customers’ needs are not met, and then focus development efforts to find solutions to those needs (Trott and Paul, 2005). Instead of trying to compete with existing products in the industry by deploying a new product that is identical or has similar functions, Google must use their customer feedback system to get ideas on what the customers need so that they bridge the gap and hence their products become more successful. In order to achieve this Google also needs to have a team that has both engineers as well as  marketers who are in touch with the customer needs so that both the technically creative things can work hand in hand with the customer requirements hence producing a successful product which inturn places Google ahead of its competitors. In order to stay ahead of its competitors in the internet industry Google needs to make sure that the products that they are offering online are valuable and meet the need of the customer. If the customer has a better alternative to that being offered by Google they will leave the Google product and go the product offered by the competitor and hence the failure of a Google product. With the encouragement of new products at Google, they should make sure that the new products are indeed new and relevant, such as Google Docs where people can create spreadsheets as well as develop surveys, etc. This is a need for anyone who goes online and it is very convenient and hence in that area Google will probably remain the lead. Therefore the product characteristics meet the customer needs and are an advantage over competing products with technological sophistication (Zeithaml et al, 2009). Even though their engineers may feel tired of doing the same thing they should still maintain the existing products that have been successful so that they remain successful. This is because innovation is a continuous process. It does not end at the market acceptance but the product has to be continuously improved. Therefore Google should have strategy characteristics in which there are dedicated human resources to support the initiative as well as dedicated research and development focused on the new product initiative (Zeithaml et al, 2009). Just as they continue to improve the search engine, they should also seek to improve Gmail so that it does not just compete with Hotmail and Yahoo but should actually be better than them. (Image 7 source: http://emekaeme.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/innovartis001-001.png ) The more Google has products that are relevant the more they become less of a follower in the industry hence becoming leaders (as illustrated in image7). Instead of just having some creative ideas and launching them, Google could also adopt some innovation styles as part of their innovation management. Google must have people who like to imagine what a product must entail and should idealise (Visioning). They should also have people who test out the

Carrying a Heavy Load

Carrying a Heavy Load The word carry means to hold, contain, or support something and to take that something you are holding or supporting to another place. In many cases when people talk about carrying things they speak about physically carrying an object with some amount of weight from one place to another. Many times however people carry things with them throughout life that have no physical weight, weighing themselves down with the â€Å"heavy† burdens that life brings.Both Wideman and Obrien’s short stories exemplify a common theme of persevering through struggles and relieving oneself of the weight of life’s struggles. The soldiers in O’Brien’s short story â€Å"The Things They Carried† carry heavy physical loads necessary for them to survive out in war, but they also carry heavy emotional loads which will be with them for the rest of their lives if they are unable to let them go. Some things the men carry are universal, like a compress in case of fatal injuries and a two-pound poncho that can be used as a raincoat, groundsheet, or tent.Most of the men are common, low-ranking soldiers and carry a standard M-16 assault rifle and several magazines of ammunition. Several men carry grenade launchers. All men carry the figurative weight of memory and the literal weight of one another. They carry Vietnam itself, in the heavy weather and the dusty soil. The things they carry are also determined by their rank or specialty. Each mans physical burden consisted of weapons, cigarettes, C rations, and packets of Kool-Aid, and the more intangible things, such as fear and silent awe, that weigh these soldiers down.As leader, for example, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carries the maps, the compasses, and the responsibility for his men’s lives. The medic, Rat Kiley, carries morphine, malaria tablets, and supplies for serious wounds, and the responsibility to save lives. The things they carry depend on several factors, including th e men’s priorities and their constitutions. Because the machine gunner Henry Dobbins is exceptionally large, for example, he carries extra rations; because he is superstitious, he carries his girlfriend’s pantyhose around his neck.Nervous Ted Lavender carries marijuana and tranquilizers to calm himself down, and the religious Kiowa carries an illustrated New Testament, a gift from his father. With the amount of space that the author gives to enumerating the weight of these objects, one might assume that these objects are what are really important to these soldiers, but in reality it is the incalculable weight of their burdens that truly weigh them down. The â€Å"things† of the title that O’Brien’s characters carry are both literal and figurative.While they all carry heavy physical loads, they also all carry heavy emotional loads, composed of grief, terror, love, and longing. Each man’s physical burden underscores his emotional burden. Henry Dobbins, for example, carries his girlfriend’s pantyhose and, with them, the longing for love and comfort. Similarly, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, of the Alpha Company, carries various reminders of his love for Martha, a girl from his college in New Jersey. Cross carries her letters in his backpack and her good-luck pebble in his mouth.He carries her photographs, including one of her playing volleyball, but closer to his heart still are his memories. Lavender, one of the soldiers in the story, gets shot on his way back from going to the bathroom. That night the soldiers sit in the darkness discussing the short span between life and death in an attempt to make sense of the situation. The morning after Lavender’s death, in the steady rain, Cross crouches in his foxhole and burns Martha’s letters and two photographs.By burning the physical reminders of Martha Cross believes that he will be able to forget about his past with her, and stop fantasizing about their future. O’Brien wrote â€Å"Besides, the letters were in his head. And even now, without photographs, Lieutenant Cross could see Martha playing volleyball in her white gym shorts and yellow T-shirt. He could see her moving in the rain. † Even without the pictures and the letters he was still carrying Martha. These emotional burdens are the heaviest because they are intangibles and therefore cannot be disposed of.Physical burdens are no more than that; if necessary they can be discarded. Emotional burdens, on the other hand, must be endured. O’Brien, speaking of cowardice in particular, says, â€Å"in many respects this was the heaviest burden of all, for it could never be put down. † The soldiers know there is no easy way to rid themselves of their fears because of their abstract nature, but they dream escapist dreams of flying away in a plane and â€Å"falling higher and higher,† free of weight.Jimmy Cross tries to rid himself of intangible burdens by di sposing of tangible ones that, to him, represent intangible qualities. He does this by burning his letters from Martha. He knows, though, that this simple act cannot rid him of his memories. â€Å"He realized it was only a gesture†¦ Besides, the letters were in his head. † His love for Martha is also represented by the small pebble, which she gave him, but the easily disposable pebble, which weighs merely an ounce, represents a much heavier emotional burden that he cannot rid himself of.Though in Wideman’s short story â€Å"Newborn Thrown in Trash and Dies† a tiny baby is cast down a rubbish chute with no tools to survive, no physical load except for her own weight, she carries a heavy emotional load and reflects on what her life might have been had she lived on each floor of the tenement building where her 19-year-old mother lives. In the first paragraph of the story Wideman quickly expresses the theme of carrying burdens. Wideman writes, â€Å"Your life rolled into a ball so dense, so super heavy it would drag the universe down to hell if this tiny tiny lump of whatever didn’t dissipate as quickly as its formed.Quicker. The weight of it is what you recall some infinitesimal fraction of when you stumble and crawl through your worst days on earth. † Here the newborn speaks about burdens and mishaps that come about in life. She explains to the reader that she will not be able to receive much of a life but that people would have nothing to live for if they did not forget about the struggles and problems that were flashed before their eyes before they were born into this world. The rest of the short story tells a complete play-by-play of the flash of life she had before she was brought into the world.Each floor represents another stage or point in her short life. The floors of this story disguise the days of life, and the newborn that will have no chance to experience them explains the days of life perfectly in these words; â€Å"I believe all floors are not equally interesting. Less reason to notice some then others. Equality would become boring, predictable. Though we may slight some and rattle on about others, that does not change the fact that each floor exists and the life on it is real, whether we pause to notice or not. †People cannot have a good day everyday or everyday would become boring and predictable. In many instances of life people are put into situations such as the war that the soldiers in â€Å"The Things They Carried†, that they have no control over, and that they could not even begin to explain to people for the mere fact that the situation that they are in no one should ever have to think about let alone experience. On the other end of the spectrum good days and good experiences are most often remembered and reminisced about for the rest of peoples lives, which they should be.The thing that people don’t realize is that very often people carry around the burden s of their pasts and the bad days that they have had which make the rest of their lives less enjoyable. After the war, the psychological burdens the men carried during the war will continue to define them. Those who survive will carry guilt, grief, and confusion, although the heavy backpack filled with tools to survive will be gone. In both stories the characters carried emotional burdens, the soldiers carried fear and hope as well as the newborn baby.The soldiers hoped to see another day, and were scared that the opportunity might not come. They had lived lives before the war and feared that they might never get the opportunity to live happily with their loved ones again so they carried belongings of their loved ones physically trying to keep their loved ones close and not forgotten. The same holds true with the newborn girl. She never gets the opportunity to experience her family, or to even establish a connection with anyone before she dies. Still she fantasizes about what it mig ht have been like, what might have happen.The emotional burdens of fear of death seem to be unbearable for the soldiers mainly because they know that they are losing the opportunity of life. The newborn however doesn’t seem bitter about dying, she feels sympathy for the mother who put her in the trash and accepts her life as being â€Å"how it is,† as she doesn’t know any better. All in all the characters of both the stories carry their emotional loads till death, or until they go back home which even then the psychological affects of the war will still haunt them until they learn to let them go.So as the newborn surrenders to her death she lets go of her emotional burdens floor by floor never looking back, so to should the soldiers realize that their days are numbered and tomorrow is never promised so just as Wideman wrote at the end of his second paragraphs about how people try to forget the flash of their life that occurs before they are born people should al so try to forget the bad days and the burdens of life as they happen and, â€Å"live your life as if it hasn’t happened before, as if the tape has not been punched full of holes, the die cast. †