Value at Risk (VaR)

Financial markets started to use the â€Å"Value at Risk† extensively since 1990’s. But the measures of Value at Risk (VaR) were active in different names since as early as 1920’s (Holton 2003). It is the measurement of the worst expected loss at a given confidence level under normal market conditions over a specific time interval. It can also be expressed as the lowest confidence level of the potential losses that can occur within a given portfolio during a specified time period. Value at Risk only presents the worst-case scenario (Harper n. d. ).The two major parameters to be chosen for risk measurement are the time period and the confidence level. The time period can vary from a few hours to a few years. For example it can be stated that when a portfolio manager has a daily VaR at $1 million at 1%, it means that there is only 1 chance in 100 to incur a daily loss of more than $1 million under normal market conditions. The commonly used methods to estimate Valu e at Risk are: Variance – Covariance Method, Historical Performance and Monte Carlo Simulation (Benninga & Wiener 1998). Variance – Covariance Method:This model was made popular by J. P. Morgan in early 1990’s. This approach is based on the assumption that the underlying market factors have a multivariate normal distribution. This assumption helps in determining the distribution of mark-to-market portfolio profits and losses. After finding the distribution of possible portfolio profits and losses, the standard mathematical properties of Normal distribution can be used to determine the loss that will be equaled or exceeded x percent of the time which is called Value at Risk (Linsmeier & Pearson 1996).The following example can be taken to discuss the theory. A U. S. company entered a FX forward contract in the past. The difference between current date and date of delivery is 91 days. The contract requires the company to deliver $15 million in 91 days and in exchan ge it will receive  £10 million. The facts taken into consideration are the spot exchange rate expressed in dollars per pound (S), 3 month pound interest rate (rGBP) and 3 month dollar interest rate (rUSD). The current mark to market values in dollars is calculated based on the following formula:USD mark to market value= S x GBP 10million – USD 15 million 1+ rGBP (91/360) 1+ rUSD (91/360) Here the holding period is one day and the probability is 5%. The distribution of possible profit and loss on this portfolio has the mean of zero as the expected change in portfolio value over a short holding period is almost always close to zero. A standard property of the Normal distribution is that if a probability of 5% is used in determination of the Value at Risk then it will be equal to 1. 65 times the standard deviation of changes in the portfolio value.Standard deviation is the measure of the spread or dispersion of the distribution and computing the value of the standard deviatio n of changes in the portfolio value is the main factor in this method (Linsmeier & Pearson 1996). Value at Risk = 1. 65 x standard deviation of change in portfolio value The first step in measurement of VaR through this method is to determine the basic market factors and standardized market positions through â€Å"Risk Mapping†. In this case the basic market factors are spot exchange rate and 3-month dollar and pound interest rates.The associated standardized positions are spot pounds, dollar dominated 3 month zero coupon bond and a 3 month zero-coupon bond exposed only to changes in the pound interest rate. The next step is to estimate the parameters of distribution assuming that the percentage changes in the basic market factors have a multivariate Normal distribution with means of zero and thus capturing the variability of market factors by standard deviation and co-movement by the correlation coefficients.The third step is to compute standard deviations and correlations o f the changes in the values of standardized positions using the covariance matrix of changes in the basic market factors. The final step is to calculate the value of variance and standard deviation of the portfolio using standard mathematical results about the distributions of sums of Normal random variables. Standard deviation is the square root of variance. In our case its value is $ 52500 approximately. Now as the probability was taken as 5%, the formula comes to Value at Risk = 1. 65 x standard deviation of change in portfolio value = 1. 65 x $ 52,500 = $ 86,625The benefit of this model is that it uses compact and maintainable data set often available from market and third parties and calculation is quite speedy using algebraic formulae. The drawback of this method is that it assumes the change of the portfolio value to be linearly dependent on all the changes in the values of assets and also that the asset returns normal distributed (Jorion 2006). Historical Performance: Histor ical Performance method is the simplest and most transparent method that takes into account relatively lesser number of assumptions about the statistical distribution of underlying market factors (Linsmeier & Pearson 1996).The method works by using historical changes in market rates and prices to estimate potential future loss or profit with the portfolio and thereby calculating the Value at Risk. This can be illustrated based on the above example. Here we assume the holding period as 1 day, probability of 5% and computation to be based on 100 preceding business days from the current date. The current day will be the 100th day. The method involves five steps. The first step is to identify the basic market factors and to determine the formula to express mark to market value.In our case the basic market factors are 3 month dollar interest rate, 3 month pound interest rate and spot exchange rate. The formula for mark to market value is derived as USD mark to market value= S x GBP 10mil lion – USD 15 million 1+ rGBP (91/360) 1+ rUSD (91/360) Next the values of the identified basic market factors for previous 100 days are to be obtained. Daily change in these rates will be able to set the base for constructions of hypothetical values of market factors useful in the calculation of hypothetical profit and loss.The daily Value at Risk number is a measure of the portfolio loss caused by such changes over a one day holding period. The next and most important step is to subject the current portfolio to the changes experienced in the previous 100 days to calculate daily hypothetical profits and losses. In this step 100 sets of hypothetical values for market factors are calculated based on daily historical percentage changes in the market factors combined with current market factors. These hypothetical values are then used to compute 100 hypothetical mark to market portfolio values.Subtraction of current day mark to market portfolio value from each of the 100 hypothe tical values gives 100 hypothetical daily profits and losses. Ordering mark to market profits and losses from the largest profit to the largest lost is the next step. Finally the loss, which equals or exceeds 5% of the time is selected. In the present example of 100 days calculation the fifth worst loss will be the value at risk. This method relies completely on the historical data. Thus it may not be able to predict most accurately if the period chosen is not a typical one and is posing any special market condition (Jorion 2006).Monte Carlo Simulation: This method is quite similar to the Historical Performance Method. The major difference is that this method uses statistical distribution to capture the possible changes in the market factors instead of observing historical changes in market factors to calculate hypothetical profit and loss. The method involves five steps to estimate Value at Risk. The same example of single forward contract can be considered in this respect. The fir st step here is to identify the basic market factors and to determine the formula to express mark to market value similar to the Historical Performance Method.The next step is to assume a specific distribution for changes in the basic market factors and to estimate the parameters of that distribution. For the present example the percentage change in the basic market factors having multivariate Normal distribution is assumed and estimates of standard deviation and correlates are used as in this case the parameters like means, standard deviations and correlations can be interpreted naturally and their estimation is easier. However, it can be said that Monte Carlo Simulation allows risk managers to choose the distribution according to their requirements.But this flexibility also runs a risk of a bad choice that may not be suitable for the particular case (Jorion, 2006). Pseudo-random generator is used in the following step to generate more than 1000 or sometimes 10000 hypothetical valu es of changes in market factors. These are then used to calculate hypothetical mark to market portfolio values. Actual mark to market portfolio value on the current date is subtracted from each of the hypothetical values to get the hypothetical daily profits and losses.The following step is to order the mark to market profits and losses from the largest profit to the largest loss and the Value at Risk is selected as the loss which equals or exceeds 5% of time. While comparing the different aspects of these three methods it can be said that Historical Performance is the simplest method for estimating Value at Risk. It is suitable for estimation for any kind of options of the portfolio. It is easy to compute and implement and can be explained without much effort.The drawbacks of the method are that it can be misleading if the data used is not typical and represents a specific condition quite similar to Monte Carlo Simulation and Variance-Covariance methods. It is too much dependent on historical data. It is not possible to analyze alternative assumptions through this method. Monte Carlo Simulation and Variance-Covariance methods on the other hand can easily analyze alternative assumptions. Variance-Covariance method though can not examine distribution of market factors other than normal. Both of these methods are easy to implement but tougher to explain.Variance-Covariance method is easy in computation but can not capture the risks of portfolio with options when the holding period is long. Monte Carlo Simulation on the other hand is not easy to compute but it can surely capture the risks regardless of any options (Linsmeier & Pearson 1996). Thus it can be said that all of the three methods have their own benefits and drawbacks and it is completely at the discretion of the risk manager to choose a method appropriate to the portfolio based on the factors to be considered and the holding time.

Visual Analysis

Visual Analysis of Mediated Images Though a visual may be analysed in many ways, of late a convention has been established to study under Six major schools of thought. 1. The personal perspective deals with an emotional subjective opinion. ‘What do I think of the picture’. It’s the first response or first thought that crosses your mind on viewing the picture. It bears personal bias and prejudices. 2. The historical perspective helps to determine the importance of the work based on the time period that it was created in. ‘When was this created?What was the social setup at that period of time? 3. The technical perspective tries to draw a relation b/w the medium and the message. ‘What medium has been used to create the message? How has the creator expressed himself through the medium chosen. 4. The ethical perspective looks at the moral and ethical responsibilities of the artist. ‘What are the moral responsibilities of the creator? Is his portrayal of the image ethical? 5. The cultural perspective relates the symbols used in the image to the society. ‘What symbols has the creator used?What is the message conveyed by them? 6. The critical perspective is a rational conclusion that the viewer draws from the image. It is a personal reaction though free of bias and prejudice. ‘What have I concluded after critically analyzing the picture? How different was my first opinion from the second? Aim of Critical analysis: A producer of messages must have an understanding of the culture of the audience and use symbols that are comprehensible by them. It helps a viewer understand, interpret and appreciate art. List all the  Objects and  ElementsOne must notice all the objects and elements in the picture and draw a distinction between the most important and the less important. The placements of elements gives a sense of movement within the picture hence the positioning of objects must be noted. Centre, left, right, top and bot tom. Shadows and lighting suggest what part is in focus and give a sense of depth. The location helps in interpretation of the message. One must categorize the purpose as news, art, personal, or any other. The List †¢ 4 girls †¢ Water †¢ Old building †¢ Small boys †¢ Road The Composition Placement of Objects Foreground: Girls in centre †¢ Background: Water + Kids (left) playing †¢ Background: Brightly lit Building on the right †¢ Background: High contrast / Darker building behind the boys The girls in the centre are the subject of the picture. The water in the background seems to be coming from a nearby hose pipe or fire hydrant. The girls seem drenched in water. One can see small boys still playing in the water in the background. Study visual cues Shadows and lighting †¢Illuminated building on right hand side †¢Light source is in front of the girls at an angle above them †¢Building behind the boys is in shady regionThe light an d shadow suggests its little after 15:00 hours. It sets the mood of summer and playful indulgence of kids by drenching themselves. There is a sense of innocence. Study visual cues†¦ Colour †¢Objective- perception of colour & its characteristics †¢Comparative- association of colour with objects, events, emotions †¢Subjective- Every different colour has different associations in different cultures and societies. †¢The girls dark complexion. †¢The light shades worn suggests summer season. †¢The dark shades suggests old and shanty town. Form The triangle shape of the girls is a dynamic shape. ts base gives a sense of stability. They are also in a group and seem like a whole unit. The buildings give a sense of serenity and form the base for the girls that seem in front of it. ‘Eight' depth Cues Many representational visual texts give a very strong feeling of depth despite the fact that they are painted on flat surfaces that lack any depth. In tryi ng to depict depth, there are several restrictions on the techniques that an artist can use. First, most visual texts, like paintings, drawings, illustrations, and photographs, are two-dimensional.There is no actual depth in the artwork so one must understand, at least intuitively, what information is in the environment that allow us to perceive depth. These sources of information are commonly called depth or distance cues. A consequence of the two-dimensional nature of painting and pictures is that we lose all the depth information that comes from the fact that we have two eyes. These binocular, or two-eye, depth cues require true depth and thus we will not discuss them in context with conventional visual texts. For example, there is the binocular depth cue called disparity.Disparity arises from the fact that our two eyes have a slightly different view of the world. To allow you to see disparity requires either real depth or two images developed as if from different positions like our eyes. The artist, in trying to paint or draw, is, therefore, limited to depth cues that (a) need no more than one eye to work, and (b) do not require a moving world. Fortunately there are a collection of such depth cues, a subset of monocular cues called pictorial cues by some authors (Goldstein, 1989). 1. Interposition 2. Space 3. Size 4. Colour 5. Lighting 6. Textural gradient 7. Time 8.Perspective 1. Interposition The first depth cue to be discussed here is interposition which is the partial blocking of a more distant object by a nearer object. Note how the the building is blocked by the girls. In fact, if you notice the kid behind the girls on your right is partially blocking the building too. But, it is the girls who land up blocking him too. Thus creating an illusion as to what is in the background and what is in the front. It is the interposition, overlap, that causes the sense of depth to arise. Usually the impression of depth caused by interposition alone is not very st rong.Notice the foreground figures of two girls with partially blocked figures of other two taking a piggy ride, which are all that are important for our present purposes. Here relative size and even relative height play little role in giving the depth order of the various figures (all the figures are roughly the same level and same size). Shadowing plays an important role in giving each of the figures their sense of three-dimensionality, but to tell who is in what position relative to another, the principle cue is interposition. 2. Space Space is the frame in which an image is located.With a natural scene, the space depends on how close you are to the subject. Standing in an open field gives the feeling of a large amount of space and enhances the feeling of depth. If an object is close to the eyes, depth perception is limited. Distance is related to space and helps in our perception of depth. There is a lot of space behind the girls suggesting they are far from the buildings. The w ater is in the background and the wet girls suggest they had been in the water previously. 3. Size Size can help create the illusion of the depth perception if the viewer is aware of the object’s actual size.A jumbo jet seen from a distance is a small bird sized object. If someone has no idea what the jumbo jets are, then the viewer does not react to this depth cue. Likewise, in this photograph we can guess average size (both height and size) and average size of two storied building in the backdrop we become aware of the depth (both in terms of space and distance) between the girls (foreground) and the building (background). Size, consequently, is closely related to our ability to determine an object’s distance. Distance is related to space and helps in our perception of depth. Size also is related to scale and mental attention.Without knowing an object’s size, we have to view it next to an object of known size in order to determine its size. 4. Colour Correct i nterpretation of colour, and especially lighting cues, allows the beholder to determine the shape of objects, and thus their arrangement in space. The colour of distant objects is also shifted towards the blue end of the spectrum. (e. g. distant mountains. ) Painters, notably Cezanne, employ â€Å"warm† pigments (red, yellow and orange) to bring features forward towards the viewer, and â€Å"cool† ones (blue, violet, and blue-green) to indicate the part of a form that curves away from the picture plane.High contrast pictures with great differences between light and dark tones seem closer than objects with more neutral tones colour. 5. Lighting The exact shape and description of the shadows changes depending on the direction of the light. There are certain general rules about shadows. First, in a place with only one source of light, e. g. outside, the shadows from all the objects in the area all go in the same direction. As a corollary of this rule, it is certainly true for all natural lights, and for most artificial lights, that the light comes from above to some degree.We do not usually experience getting illuminated from the floor. Second, for a solid object sticking up the side of the object in shadow is the side away from the light but for a hole in the ground, the shadow is on the side near the light. Shadow can play a very powerful role in defining form by giving the object a three-dimensional feel as in the title to this page. In addition, artists can take good advantage of shadow to define form by highlighting how different portions of an object are at different depths and herefore the object closer to the light will cast a shadow on the more distant object. Shadow can play a broader role in defining depth between objects since objects that are in shadow must be farther from the light than objects that are not in shadow. Differences in light intensities can communicate depth. Carefully crafted lighting design provides subject’s sep aration from background. If brightness level of the back light is slightly higher than the lights in front then this separation is more distinct. However, no backlight has been used in this photograph.Yet, the prevalence of shadows (largely in mid-space of the picture plane and the shows of the subject indicate subject’s volume and provides the viewer with reasonable illusion of depth perspective. 6. Textural gradient Related in a sense to relative size but a depth cue in its own right is what has been termed texture gradient. Most surfaces, such as walls and roads and a field of flowers in bloom, have a texture. As the surface gets farther away from us this texture gets finer and appears smoother (Gibson, 1950). A surface or field that recedes in depth has a texture that gets finer.That is very different from a wall where the surface is approximately the same distance from a person at all points. For example, imagine yourself standing and staring at a brick wall which, inste ad of receding in depth like a cobblestone road, rises up in front of you. Here the texture, in this case the brick alternating with the mortar, will have about the same roughness all over the surface and provide a clue that the surface does not recede in depth. In addition, texture may play a role in helping us determine the size of an object.Regardless of how far an object is away from us, it covers roughly the same amount of surface, and thus texture, which can help us determine the actual size of an object (Gibson, 1950). 7. Time Time and space are intricately related concepts that find expression in visual messages. In one sense, time as a depth cue refers to the first element a viewer sees in a frame. That picture will be in the foreground of the viewer’s mind, with other images seen later in the background. 8. Perspective It is a complex depth perception cue due to cultural factor which comes into play each time we try to interpret depth.However, Perspective, in the co ntext of vision and visual perception, is the way in which objects appear to the eye based on their spatial attributes, or their dimensions and the position of the eye relative to the objects. As objects become more distant, they appear smaller, because their angular diameter (visual angle) decreases. Perspective is also seen in the way the parallel lines of how railway tracks appear to be meeting at a distant point (the vanishing point) on the horizon. When used in this sense, the ‘horizon' is always at the level of the viewer's eye.Because the Earth is round, the true horizon (the line dividing the surface and the sky) is lower than this level. The difference is imperceptibly small when standing on the surface, but noticeable from great height (a person standing on a mountain can see further than someone at ground level). According to Evelyn Hatcher, there are three major forms of perspective which she details in her book Visual Metaphors: A Methodological Study in Visual Co mmunication. These are as follows: Illusionary Perspective: An illusionary perspective can be achieved through size, colour, lighting, interposition, and linear perspective.When you stand on a railroad track and look down the ties, the steel rails seem to converge into a single area, or vanishing point, in the distance. This trait of parallel lines when seen at a distance is called linear perspective. This aspect of illusionary perspective that provides the illusion of three dimensional depth in a painting or a photograph is what artists were trying to duplicate with the aid of Leonardo box and camera obscura. Geometrical Perspective: In geometrical perspective the artist shows near figures in the lower portion of the picture and objects farther away higher in the frame on a vertical line above the near object.This type of perspective is common among traditional Japanese and Mayan artwork. Children often exhibit this type of perspective in their drawings. Conceptual Perspective: Con ceptual perspective is compositional trait that relies on a more symbolic definition of depth perception than the other types of perspective. It can be divided into two types: multi-view and social. With the multi-view perspective, a viewer can see many different sides of an object at the same time. The picture is often an X-ray, or transparent, view of the object. Near objects overlap far objects only by the outside edges or lines that make up their shapes.Pablo Picasso liked to use this type of perspective. In social perspective the most important person in a group picture, a government or corporate leader, is larger in size than other, less important people. A viewer often assumes power relationships because of social perspective. In a picture of a couple the man’s dominance over the woman often is signified by the man being nearer and larger in the frame with his hand resting on or arm wrapped around the woman’s shoulder. Over the past three decades, the feminist m ovement has made advertisers and others more sensitive to nonverbal negative stereotypes such as these. Depth 8’ Depth cues 1. Interposition 2. Space 3. Size 4. Colour 5. Lighting 6. Textural gradient 7. Time 8. Perspective Many representational visual texts give a very strong feeling of depth despite the fact that they are painted on flat surfaces that lack any depth. In trying to depict depth, there are several restrictions on the techniques that an artist can use. First, most visual texts, like paintings, drawings, illustrations, and photographs, are two-dimensional. There is no actual depth in the artwork so one must understand, at least intuitively, what information is in the environment that allow us to perceive depth.These sources of information are commonly called depth or distance cues. A consequence of the two-dimensional nature of painting and pictures is that we lose all the depth information that comes from the fact that we have two eyes. These binocular, or two- eye, depth cues require true depth and thus we will not discuss them in context with conventional visual texts. For example, there is the binocular depth cue called disparity. Disparity arises from the fact that our two eyes have a slightly different view of the world.To allow you to see disparity requires either real depth or two images developed as if from different positions like our eyes. The artist, in trying to paint or draw, is, therefore, limited to depth cues that (a) need no more than one eye to work, and (b) do not require a moving world. Fortunately there are a collection of such depth cues, a subset of monocular cues called pictorial cues by some authors (Goldstein, 1989). The first depth cue to be discussed here is interposition which is the partial blocking of a more distant object by a nearer object. Note how the the building is blocked by the girls.Infact, if you notice the kid behind the girls on your right is partially blocking the building too. But, it is the gir ls who land up blocking him too. Thus creating an illusion as to what is in the background and what is in the front. It is the interposition, overlap, that causes the sense of depth to arise. Usually the impression of depth caused by interposition alone is not very strong. Notice the foreground figures of two girls with partially blocked figures of other two taking a piggy ride, which are all that are important for our present purposes.Here relative size and even relative height play little role in giving the depth order of the various figures (all the figures are roughly the same level and same size). Shadowing plays an important role in giving each of the figures their sense of three-dimensionality, but to tell who is in what position relative to another, the principle cue is interposition. There is a lot of space behind the girls suggesting they are far from the buildings. The water is in the background and the wet girls suggest they had been in the water previously. Movement â⠂¬ ¢The girls have moved fro near the water to the position they are in now.Where was the picture made? What do u think was its purpose? * The picture seems to be clicked in some Afro-American suburb. * It could have been taken to accompany a feature article on the summer heat. Personal Perspective * What do I think of the visual? * Omniphasism â€Å"All in Balance† * Rick Williams philosopher, photographer ; educator at the University of Oregon * Theory that combines the rational and intuitive aspects of the mind. Omniphasism was thought of by Rick Williams, a philosopher, photographer, and educator at the University of Oregon develop the theory Omniphasism.It’s a theory that attempts to combine the rational and intuitive aspects of the mind into a balanced whole. William uses 8 steps for analyzing a visual message, using his Omniphasism tech called a â€Å"personal Impact Assessment† What is my first emotional response to the visual? Do I like it? Dislike it? How do I feel about the image? Its a picture of teenage girls who have just played in water. It’s pleasant to look at. Personal Impact Assessment â€Å"Part of the idea of going from primary words to associative words to significant words is to move away from Literal interpretation of the photo to a symbolic understanding of it. ~  Rich Williams Personal Impact Assessment 8 Steps: 1. Take time with the image 2. List Primary Words 3. List associative words 4. Select the most important associative words 5. Pair primary and associative words 6. Relate each pair to yourself 7. Review your inner symbolism 8. Write a story Take time with the Image * Does the story Stimulate or Alienate? Its an isolated moment that rests on composition. * What is the story or message? Some girls played in the water to beat the heat. List Primary Words * Visual Cues * Objects * Feelings Primary words * Group of 4 girls * Water * Sun Old buildings * Light shade clothes List Associative Words Observ e each primary word and link it to your thought. One must write down all words that come to ones mind on reading each of the primary words. Associative words * Group of 4 girls :  happy, wet, Afro American * Water:  Hose pipe, Fire hydrant * Sun:  Summer, heat, daytime * Old buildings:  poor neighbourhood * Happy :  cool, relaxed Select the most important associative words Among the associative words one word would be closest to its primary word underline or select that word. This is the most important associative word.Choose one word out of the associative words for each primary word. Pair Primary and Associative words Write the primary and most important associative word together. * Group of 4 girls :  Afro American * Water:  Fire hydrant * Sun:  Summer-heat * Old buildings:  poor neighbourhood * Happy :  cool Relate each pair to Yourself Make note of the thoughts that come to your mind on viewing each pair of words. What does each pair suggest? * Group of 4 gi rls :  Afro american  poor * Water:  Fire hydrant  wet, sultry * Sun:  Summer-heat scorcher * Old buildings:  poor neighborhood unaffordability of luxury * Happy   cool  relief Review your Inner Symbolism See if the conclusions drawn from the pairs link to any conflict, event, emotion, value or feeling. * List inner conflicts, emotions, values or feelings The summer heat is hard to bear . Water is natures boon to mankind Write a story Add up all your thoughts and write a summary or a story. What is the story in the image? A group of Afro-American girls decide to cool of in the summer heat by playing with some water from a fire hydrant. Historical Perspective * When do you think was the image made? In the 1980’s or after. Is there a specific style that the image imitates? The historical perspective helps to understand current trends in terms of their roots in technology and philosophies of the past. Where did the image come from? What was the setup at that time ? What is the background of the image? these questions help us to infer meanings. Technical Perspective One can evaluate the production techniques. Has the producer used the technology at hand to its best in generating the message? Has it aided in delivering the message as intended effectively. * What medium has been used? film * What techniques were employed?A street shot clicked without the subject noticing it been taken * How was it produced? With an SLR camera * Is it of good quality? yes (look at grain size, gama, composition, content, shutter speed etc. ) Ethical Perspective This is the moral and ethical analysis of the visual. It applies to both the viewer and the producer of the visual. Categorical Imperative * Immanuel Kant, German philosopher from the east principality of KOnisberg 18th Century * Categorical (unconditional / without exception) * â€Å"Right is Right† * Do your duty The right thing must be done under even the most extreme conditions.Once a rule is es tablished for a proposed action or idea, behavior and actions must be consistently applied and always in accordance with it. One does his/ her duty. In the ethics of the 18th-century German philosopher Immanuel Kant, founder of critical philosophy, a moral law that is unconditional or absolute for all agents, the validity or claim of which does not depend on any ulterior motive or end. â€Å"Thou shalt not steal,† for example, is categorical as distinct from the hypothetical imperatives associated with desire, such as â€Å"Do not steal if you want to be popular. For Kant there was only one such categorical imperative, which he formulated in various ways. â€Å"Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law† is a purely formal or logical statement and expresses the condition of the rationality of conduct rather than that of its morality, which is expressed in another Kantian formula: â€Å"So act as to tr eat humanity, whether in your own person or in another, always as an end, and never as only a means. † Utilitarianism Jeremy Bentham ; John Stuart Mill (British Philosophers) * Belief: â€Å"The greatest good for the greatest number of people† * Analysis of the consequence : Outcome must do good to most people In ethics, a tradition stemming from the late 18th- and 19th-century English philosophers and economists Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill that an action is right if it tends to promote happiness and wrong if it tends to produce the reverse of happiness—not just the happiness of the performer of the action but also that of everyone affected by it.Utilitarianism is an effort to provide an answer to the practical question â€Å"What ought a man to do? † Its answer is that he ought to act so as to produce the best consequences possible. Eg: A gruesome image must be published or printed only if it would evoke a positive reaction in maximum of the viewe rs. Hedonism Hedonism is the philosophy that pleasure is of ultimate importance, the most important pursuit. The name derives from the Greek word for â€Å"delight†. * A student of Socrates, Aristippus founded this ethical philosophy on the basis of pleasure. Aristippus believed that people should â€Å"act to maximize pleasure† now and not worry about the future. * He referred to intellectual pleasure not physical. * Pleasures of the mind * â€Å"I Possess I am not Possessed† * Aesthetic pleasure that we get out of a picture Golden Mean  (Finding a compromise b/w the two extreme points of an action or view. In philosophy, especially that of Aristotle, the golden mean is the desirable middle between two extremes, one of excess and the other of deficiency. To the Greek mentality, it was an attribute of beauty.Both ancients and moderns realized that â€Å"there is a close association in mathematics between beauty and truth†. The poet John Keats, in his Od e on a Grecian Urn, put it this way: Beauty is truth, truth beauty, that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. The Greeks believed there to be three concomitants of beauty: symmetry, proportion, and harmony. This triad of principles infused their life. They were very much attuned to beauty as an object of love and something that was to be imitated and reproduced in their lives, architecture, Paideia and politics.They judged life by this mentality. Golden Rule * â€Å"Love your neighbor as yourself† * Be humane do not harm others by your actions The Golden Rule which stems from ethic of reciprocity is a fundamental moral value which â€Å"refers to the balance in an interactive system such that each party has both rights and duties, and the subordinate norm of complementarity states that one's rights are the other's obligation. † In essence, it is an ethical code that states one has a right to just treatment, and a responsibility to ensure justice for others .Reciprocity is arguably the most essential basis for the modern concept of human rights, though it is not without its critics. Many assign the imperative commandment of Golden Rule as instruction for a positive only form of reciprocity. A key element of the golden rule is that a person attempting to live by this rule treats all people, not just members of his or her in-group with consideration. The golden rule, with roots in a wide range of world cultures, is well suited to be a standard to which different cultures could appeal in resolving conflicts.Principal philosophers and religious figures have stated it in different ways. Veil of Ignorance John Rawls (1971) â€Å"Put the shoe on the other foot. * All people are equal * Eliminating all prejudice and discrimination The original position is a hypothetical situation developed by American philosopher John Rawls as a thought experiment to replace the imagery of a savage state of nature of prior political philosophers like Thomas H obbes. In social contract theory, persons in the state of nature agree to the provisions of a contract that defines the basic rights and duties of citizens in a civil society.In Rawls's theory, Justice as Fairness, the original position plays the role that the state of nature does in the classical social contract tradition of Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and John Locke. The original position figures prominently in his book, A Theory of Justice, and it is one of the most influential ideas in twentieth-century philosophy. It has influenced a variety of thinkers from a broad spectrum of philosophical orientations.As a thought experiment, the original position is a hypothetical designed to accurately reflect what principles of justice would be manifest in a society premised on free and fair cooperation between citizens, including respect for liberty, and an interest in reciprocity. Questions to be asked while analysing a visual from Ethical / Moral Perspective†¦ as per Dr Demi Elliot Poynter Jamison, chair, Media Ethics & Press Policy at the University of South Florida at St. Petersberg. 1. Does the taking and displaying of the picture fit the social responsibility of the professional involved? 2.Has any ones rights been violated in taking and displaying the picture? 3. Does the display of the image meet the needs of the viewer? 4. Is the picture aesthetically appealing? 5. Does the picture choice reflect moderation? 6. Does the professional choice reflect empathy for the subjects experience? 7. Could a professional justify the choice if he/she didn’t know which of the parties (subject, shooter or viewer) he/ she would turn out to be? 8. Does the visual Image cause unjustified harm Cultural Perspective * Identify the Symbols used, and * Determine their Meaning for the society as a whole. What is the story and the symbolism involved with the elements in the visual message? * What do they say about current cultural values? (It is related to the semiotic process) The story revolves around the Afro-American people in the United States of America. Historically, the country has been dominated by a settler society of religiously and ethnically diverse Whites. The heaviest burdens of racism in the country have fallen upon Native Americans, Asian Americans, African Americans, Latin Americans and some other immigrant groups and their descendants.Major racially structured institutions include slavery, Indian reservations, segregation, residential schools (for Native Americans), and internment camps. Racial stratification has occurred in employment, housing, education and government. Formal racial discrimination was largely banned in the mid-20th century, and it came to be perceived as socially unacceptable and/or morally repugnant as well, yet racial politics remain a major phenomenon as witnessed during the 44th Presidential Elections. Racist attitudes, or prejudice, are still held by moderate portions of the U. S population.Membe rs of every American ethnic group have perceived racism in their dealings with other groups. Critical Perspective An analysis of a visual to arrive at a ‘Rational', ‘Objective' and ‘Thoughtful' Conclusion. What is my final opinion about the picture? How does my current view differ from the previous? Conclusion â€Å"Analysis is ego-driven. The main thing is that it always reveals the person making the analysis — not really the piece itself? ~  David Lodge It’s a cyclic process. You will find below four images. You may undertake a visual analysis, based on what you have learnt so far:

First Amendment to the United States Constitution Essay

We live in a society where we pride individuality and staying true to who we are, but contradictingly enough we have large numbers of minorities being discriminated for being who they are. Racism being a strongly relevant issue, even in our day and time, doesn’t get dealt with as seriously as it should. Charles R. Lawrence III takes a firm stand addressing this issue arguing that racist speech should be regulated in universities rather than be protected by the first amendment. He claims that universities need to regulate racist speech in order for their students to really receive the equal educational opportunity they deserve. Getting rid of racist speech would be the only way to give all students the equal opportunity to learn and participate in their university. Lawrence makes strong claims in his argument; however, a lot of his argument is supported through his writing techniques. Charles Lawrence in his argumentative essay â€Å"On Racist Speech,† implements emotion-provoking diction, subtle figurative language and a thoughtful use of detail in order to effectively dispute the need for the regulation of racist speech. In his essay, â€Å"On Racist Speech,† Lawrence argues that universities should regulate racist speech. He points out that when racist speech involves insults, catcalls or assaultive speech, it becomes â€Å"fighting words,† which have been declared by the Supreme Court to not be protected under the first amendment of free speech. Lawrnence argues that racial insults shouldn’t be protected by the first amendment anyway because, the speakers intentions aren’t to â€Å"discover the truth or to initiate dialogue, but to injure the victim†. He also says that the need for regulations on racism advocated under the university’s responsibility to offer equal educational opportunity. Students don’t have the equal opportunity to learn and participate when they are crippled by the fact that at any time they could be struck with verbal harassment or assault. Lawrence offers a counterargument saying how free speech is the lifehood of our democratic system and that it is impossible to outlaw racist speech without suppressing other kinds of speech necessary for our democratic society Using certain words with specific emotional appeal, Lawrence effectively draws emotion out of the reader and strengthens his argument putting the reader at an emotional, personal level with the argument. For example, he first mentions how â€Å"we will be forced to combat [bad speech]† (51). He specifically chooses to use â€Å"combat,† a word with a far more aggressiveconnotation and weight, rather than a more passive word such as address. By doing so Lawrence expresses to the reader the urgency and grave seriousness of the situation; how racist speech is an actual, reckonable force that nees to be contended with. Also, he depicts the matter to be a â€Å"cry† from â€Å"victims† with â€Å"injuries† and â€Å"burdens,† all words with implied emotional context (51, 54). Just by picking certain words, Lawrence successfully uses pathos, pulling the emotions out of the reader and making them feel pity for the minorities. Ultimately with the right words, Lawrence makes the minorities more than just demographics; they become a group of people pressed under injustice and in need of help. He essentially, uses diction to play the readers heartstrings in a manner to make them feel sympathy for the minorities and further sway the reader to support his argument. Lawrence implements figurative language providing material from which the reader can mentally draw an image or feeling from, by which he further intensifies his argument, and ultimately making it more real and relatable. For example, he describes racism to have â€Å"rising flames† in the beginning of his essay (51). He draws a parallel between the situation of racist speech and an out of control fire. By painting such a strong image, he expresses the severity of the issue as well as how it must be addressed urgently. Rising flames aren’t something to shilly shally around with; likewise, neither is the problem of racist speech. Another example is when he describes the â€Å"use of words as assault weapons† (54). By comparing words, simple means of expressions, to assault weapons, firearms meant to hurt, he suggests the brutality of the issue. By putting racist speech next to weapons of destruction, Lawrence effectively shows how racist speech has actual ramifications that hurt and damage others. Also by giving this comparison, he’s able to put a nasty, cruel feeling in the reader’s mind, a feeling that would really stick with them. Lawrence’s use of figurative language proves to be very effective in getting to the reader, because it puts images, and consequently feelings, in the readers mind. He manages to give actual substance to the argument, substance the reader can see or feel. Lawrence sensibly avoids expounding upon the particulars of â€Å"racist speech,† which would have added smaller, more complicated arguments, and ultimately added extra baggage that could turn away readers. Touching upon sensitive issues of racism and free speech, he already packs a heavy load of content for the reader to digest and reflect upon. If he were to add more with what he believes racist speech should be defined as, he would risk losing readers, and not just to an overload of content. By providing a set definition, Lawrence would basically just be throwing out one more thing for the reader to possibly disagree with. Would his definition be too strict, he’d lose some rather more lenient readers and vice versa. Asserting more of his opinion would have created more room for disagreement with the reader, especially when discussing such touchy subjects. Drawing boundaries of racist speech would have just made his controversial essay more controversial. Lawrence having already sensitized the reader talking about â€Å"racial violence† on â€Å"victims† with â€Å"injuries† and whatnot, portrays his argument to be more than just a cold expression of his opinion. Having evoked the reader’s emotions, he had to consider them, making sure not to say something too sensitive that would really strike the reader. By leaving the definition open to the reader, not only does he allow the reader to create their own stand on the issue, where they could personalize it and make it relatable to their lives, but he avoids coming off as overbearing which would have been a clear turn off to readers. Also, by steering clear of precarious details, Lawrence is able to really stick the nitty gritty to the reader and just get his argument out there and heard to a wider array of audiences. Lawrence effectively uses rhetorical devices such as diction, figurative language and details in favor of his argument to regulate racist speech. As serious and urgent Lawrence calls for the regulation of racist speech is, realistically it seems impossible. â€Å"Racist speech† is far too subjective of a matter to have any form of regulation. Plus, it would be impossible to outlaw racist speech without suppressing other speech. That however, does not dismiss the issue. We should rather confront the issue on smaller levels and address it from the source—ourselves. Simply if we were all to simply just stop making or encouraging racist remarks, whether that be indirectly or just for laughs, there would no need for racism to be regulated. If we all were to progress to be accepting of all races, racism would just plainly be a thing of the past.

Seth Godin and his impact on modern marketing practices Research Paper

Seth Godin and his impact on modern marketing practices - Research Paper Example In fact, Godin has introduced the concept that marketing can play two key roles – in addition to its existing functions worldwide. It is explained that marketing can be used in order to sell products/ services to people of quite low income – reference is made to the markets of the emerging countries where the average level of income is quite low, compared to the developed countries (Fawkes 2010). It is further emphasized that the exclusive use of marketing in developed countries cannot be considered as acceptable leading to the promotion of social exclusion and discrimination. Instead, marketing should be also used in emerging economies for promoting products that are aligned with local needs. Another characteristic of the views of Godin on marketing is the following one: Godin believes that marketing is not just a business activity; rather it is a framework that can ‘change the world’ (Fawkes 2010). This target is achieved, in accordance with Godin, in the following way: by improving the quality of products sold, entrepreneurs increase their chances for success; if the products offered in the market are of good quality, consumers are more likely to buy them developing a trend based on the increase of quality/demand, as a characteristic of modern market. The existing practice of low price/ low quality products would be then eliminated changing market values and trends. At the next level, Godin supports that the individual who wishes to develop his career in marketing should start working on the specific field independently; then, he can try to enter a firm that operates in the particular sector; as Godin states ‘if you get great at it, you’ll discover jobs find you’ (Sakas 2010). Also, Godin considers marketing as a responsibility, and not as a right... To the question of Rachelle Money how his involvement in marketing is explained, Godin refers to one of his key characteristics: he ‘enjoys watching his ideas spread’ (Money 2008). It is perhaps in this context that Godin has tried, successfully, to develop terms that represent key marketing functions and characteristics. Through the issues highlighted above it is made clear that the success of Godin in the area of marketing can be considered as resulted because of the interaction of many different factors: personal views, experiences and knowledge. In accordance with the issues discussed above, the main difference between Godin and the supporters of the traditional marketing theorists are their views on the role of consumer in the success of a marketing campaign. As Godin highlighted, the success of each marketing strategy is depended on its ability to address the needs of consumer – a fact that should be made clear to the customer, not just hypothesized. The success of Godin in the particular field is related with a series of facts: a) the level of his knowledge on marketing – Godin holds a Stanford MBA, b) his long term experience in marketing – referring to his work as ‘a marketing director of Whole Food Market and vice-president of the direct marketing department in Yahoo’ (Business Week 2008), c) his innovative ideas on marketing, as explained above, which have introduced the following trend: marketing campaigns are aligned with the preferences of customers and not with the need of busine sses for improving their performance. Moreover, Godin has helped towards the improvement of existing marketing concepts; indeed, the views of Godin, as reflected in his Permission Marketing concept, has been the basis for the update of common marketing policies, like the e-mail marketing and the content marketing, in the context described above.

Chapter 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Chapter 5 - Essay Example Then proceed to the actual purchase. The decision to purchase and the selection will be based on the features of the product, the perceived value and its capabilities. Then proceed with post purchase analysis. From the onset, the marketers should know that purchasing only exists because there exists are need. It therefore follows that the strategy to generate or reinforce a need in the consumers mind is absolutely significant in stimulating the consumer purchasing behaviour. This can be done through thorough marketing campaigns such as advertisements. The marketers should create brand awareness among consumers. Consumers normally select products that they know by name or those in their mind, this is called Top-of –mind awareness or TOPA. The marketers also need to improve customer relations and the general shopping experience for the consumers. This will go a long way in forging strong relations and improving reputation of the marketer’s product hence creating customer

Dred Scott Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Dred Scott - Research Paper Example who were forcibly taken from their homeland, transported under extremely harsh conditions and made to work under even worse conditions in the various rice, cotton and tobacco plantations spread all over the southern parts of America. These slaves once sold to their white owners, lost their freedom for ever. Often they were treated brutally by these owners resulting in deaths for many of these unfortunate black people. Such accounts of tortures and brutalities on the black slaves are well documented in the very famous book â€Å"Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl† by Harriet Jacob. â€Å"Uncle Toms cabin† by Harriet Beecher Stowe also deals with similar issues. Dred Scott is one such black African slave who fought a war against the legal and social system of nineteenth century America to get his freedom. Free slave was a concept almost unheard of in the pre-civil war America. At that time the slaves were the personal property of their owners and were treated as such. Dred Scott was another such slave born in the year 1799 in Virginia and was owned by the family of a white southern named Peter Blow. In 1830 when this family shifted base to St. Louis, Missouri they took Dred along with them and later sold him off to one Dr. John Emerson who was in the service with the army of the United States. Here there is some confusion as to who the real Dred Scott was. From old records it has been found that before his death, Peter Blow had one female and five male slaves. However after his death his estate inventory recorded only four male slaves. So it can be assumed that Blow before his death in 1832 had sold one of his male slaves. In 1833, records show that there was another sale of a male slave named Sam from the Blow family for 500$ to clear their outstanding credits and dues. When Dr. Eme rson came to Fort Armstrong in Illinois in 1833 with him was a slave who had previously been with the Blow family. The name of this slave was Dred Scott. There is much debate amongst

Statistics for Managers Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Statistics for Managers - Assignment Example Managers are frequently exposed to large masses of data but before the data can be put into use, must be organized, summarized and critically interpreted. Therefore this is one of a very important aspect of statistics. Research has clearly shown that top managers reach to a consensus 25% more quickly when responding to graphical presentations. This importance of descriptive statistics is thus a key strategy for managers. It is advisable for the management to posses analytical skills necessary to interpret graphs and computations on the same. Inferential statistics It can also be defined as making inferences about a population from a random sample. On the other inference refers to the art of reasoning involved in making conclusions and logical judgement based on the evidence from the collected data. Management revolves around decision making and thus inferential statistics come into place because the manager has to analyze the trend of the business operation (Broster, 1972). Based on the competitors or generally the market fluctuations such as change in consumer demands, the management is able to observe clearly the trend and from the given observations, logical judgements or inferences are made on the same. This is a very important aspect for a successive manager hence a better understanding of inferential statistics is important because it is a driving force to a positive growth of a business. Hypothesis development and testing A hypothesis is some testable believe or opinion while hypothesis is the process of formulating and coming up with hypothesis. On the contrary, hypothesis testing is the process by which they believe is tested through statistical means (Levin, 1987). This aspect of... The main objective of this essay is to critically analyze the different aspects of statistics, learnt by the researcher throughout the course in relation to management. It is an in depth explanation of ethical and managerial traits one has to possess through acquiring statistical knowledge. This essay is also important in helping students aspiring to be future managers to take the study of statistics seriously, so as to avoid future dilemma when it come to making and implementing decisions. Generally statistics improve the quality of data through the use of specific sample surveys and experimental designs It provides the tools necessary for making predictions based on the data collected through statistical models. There are two types of statistics basically qualitative and quantitative or inferential and descriptive statistics. Statistics for managers is of significance since it is the foundation on which precise, accurate and informed decisions are made. The researcher states that a manager has to apply different aspects of statistical knowledge in order to make informed decisions and continue to prosper. The role of statistics cannot be replaced, neither can it be underestimated because it is very useful to managers and improving their analytical and interpretive skills based on data collected. Moreover, the researcher concluds his study on the topic and gives statement that no manager can be successful without statistical knowledge thus a very important aspect in the art of management.

Urban Design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Urban Design - Essay Example Nowadays the suburbs can supply the full variety of urbanity conventionally belonging to compact cities. At their perimeters, at the overlap with the perimeters of other suburbs inside the appearing metropolitan districts, we can find agency reserves, buying hubs, spacious, well equipped and glowing financial undertakings that are inclined to advance their gaze in alignment to effectively contend with the customary stores of the built-up hubs (La Greca, 2009, 102). The chosen locality is Ashland. Ashland is a little community in northeastern Wisconsin, established on Chequamegon Bay on the southwest shore of Lake Superior. Endowed with an plenty of natural assets (timber, water, metal ore, and brownstone) and get access to to the Great Lakes, the town of Ashland flourished as a dock in the 1800s were raw and processed natural components where transported to built-up localities in another location in the Great Lakes region. At that time, Ashland’s beachfront was evolved to assist the commerce that sustained the processing and transport of natural assets, for example, sawmills, lumberyards, and metal docks. Supporting financial development increased up south of the beachfront, while residential development appeared still south of the financial area. (Martinico 2005 123) With comprehensive and beachfront designs in location, the town of Ashland is starting to leverage its natural assets to change its beachfront and downtown. Various components of intelligent development are starting to emerge. Ashland’s characteristic feature was evolved in part by its isolated geography (6 hours going by car expanse from the state capital) and its function as dock and local hub of financial activity. This feature seems in its architecture.  

Jails and Prisons Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Jails and Prisons - Essay Example (Champion, 151) The defendants who are kept in jails are individuals who have to serve a sentence for misdemeanor offenses, felons who have to do jail time as a condition of their probation and people who are awaiting trial and cannot make bail .(Bergman & Berman, 2008 ). Jails are also used to temporarily detain juveniles pending transfer to juvenile authorities. They are also used to retain mentally ill patients until they are sent to appropriate mental health institutions. .( Carlson and Garrett, 2007) Jails sometimes run community programs as alternatives to incarceration. Jails also hold offenders who are in contempt of court, are crime witnesses and are in protective custody. They also hold convicted felons who are going to be sent to state prisons.(Carlson and Garrett, 2007). Jails generally do not give emphasis to how inmates behave following release. There are exceptions e.g. alcoholic treatment programs and domestic violence programs that seek to reduce the likelihood of repeated domestic violence. However their prime focus is on safely managing people. (Goldstein, 2006). Prisons are long term confinement facilities housing felony offenders and parole violators serving sentences greater than one year. The federal and state government run such establishments and nowadays even private companies are allowed to take up the contracts for running prisons. (Caputo, 2004). Compared to jails, prisons are typically larger and range in custody level from minimum security to maximum security where the nation's most dangerous criminals are confined. (Caputo, 2004). Prisons are self sufficient and self contained. These self contained facilities have recreational yards, workout rooms, auditoriums for viewing feature films and small stores for the purchase of toiletries and other goods. (Champion, 2007) The functions of a prison according to Champion are to provide societal protection, punish offenders, rehabilitate offenders and reintegrate offenders by preparing them for reentry into society through vocational and educational training ,counseling and other institutional measures.(Champion , 2007) Provisions for death penalty are in place in state and federal prisons .Federal prisons may be minimum or maximum security. Maximum security prisons hold 52 percent of all state of all state prisoners .These are built to house dangerous criminals and to prevent them from harming security guards are one another. Minimum security prisons on the other hand have more freedom of movement, privileges and contact with the outside world . However it is the medium security prisons that hold 37 percent of all state prisoners. (Sellers, 1993) References: Bergman, P and Berman, S.( 2008). The Criminal Law Handbook: Know Your Rights, Survive the System. Berkeley, CA: NOLO Carlson. M. and Garrett, J. S. (2007) Prison and Jail Administration: Practice and Theory . Gaithersburg, MD: 2nd ed : Aspen Publishers. Caputo , G. (Oct 2004) Intermediate Sanctions in Corrections. USA: University Of North Texas Press

Risk Management & Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Risk Management & Project Management - Essay Example Threats are specific events that drive the project in the direction of outcomes viewed as unfavorable (for example, schedule delays, cost overruns, and inferior product performance (Heerkens, 2001). Risk management is an activity that occurs throughout the life of the project. It begins in the planning process and continues until the closing process is completed (Heldman, 2003). Many approaches can be used to address risk and the threats it produces. However, most processes for managing risk tend to follow some variation of a basic four-step approach. The first step is identification, that is, determining what threats exist. In this step, identify all significant uncertainties (sources of risk), including specific threats (also called potential problems or risk events) that could occur throughout the life of the project (Heerkens, 2001). In Project X, the areas of risk are scope, time, cost, and technology. The company would like the AMDS to be able to operate while it is being moved, while it was not included in the design accepted by the DoD. The risk is present in the project scope. Also, the project should take 5 years to complete at a cost of $1.5 billion. Is the team able to complete the project within 5 years within the budget of $1.5 billion There are also risks in the technology. The AMDS may be successful in a demonstration environment.

Project Communication Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Project Communication Plan - Assignment Example Project managers should use the available tools of communication such as; letters, telephones, and video conferencing. A good communication plan is the most effective way of letting different end users of a project knows the effects a particular project to them. Project managers who have the responsibility of developing a communication plan should take into account a number of key components to ensure that they have a good communication plan. This will ensure that all the parties who are interested in a project are well served with the relevant information regarding the project. Audience forms a major component of a good communication. Campbell (2012) refers to this as the Stakeholder analysis. Different persons who are interested in the project cycle such as sponsors, stakeholders, and team members will require different information. A good communication plan should identify each audience with the aim of providing relevant information to them. The purpose of identifying audience is to see if we can determine how each audience is concerned. In addition to Audience, Content is the second component of a good communication plan.This component describes the kind of information that each audience needs. Such information may include the details about accomplishments and progress of the project. This information may be very relevant to the high level stakeholders (Biafore, & Stover, 2012). All these audience groups have unique interest in the whole project which the project manager will reflect up on when developing a communication plan. Method of communication is another important aspect of a good communication plan which project management should take into account. With a lot of technological advancements in the methods of communication, project managers have numerous methods of communication to the relevant audience (Heldman, 2011). Means of communication include; in person meetings, videoconferencing, telephone calls, email, and written

The effect of different factors on egg white Essay Example for Free

The effect of different factors on egg white Essay As the title suggests I am going to investigate the effect of various factors in egg white. And as all of us know that egg meals are rich in proteins and that why we feed them to small children. But not all the parts of the egg have the same amount of proteins in them and as we know that there is the yellow part which has fairly less amount of protein compared to the white part and that is why I chose the white part to test the effect various external factors on the protein which it contains and it is called albumen. And to understand what I am going to do in my coursework I am going first to give a small explanation on the nature of the proteins and their structure in general and albumen in special. Proteins are in general made of small particles called amino acids. And this is achieved by when many amino acids combine together to form polypeptides in a condensation reaction. Those polypeptides join together also by a condensation reaction to form a protein. And this is in short how albumen is also formed. And thus we could say that amino acids are the basic units from which proteins are formed of and below is a structure of an amino acid. R H O N C C H H OH As we see above this is a simplified structure of an amino acid and from the diagram we could see that structure has in its center a carbon atom which is called the alpha carbon and to this alpha carbon there are four different groups attached to it and they are as follow. The first one is a hydrogen atom the second is a basic amino group and the third is the carboxyl group (COOH) which is usually acidic in most cases and in the end the fourth group is the R group which is variable in length and plays an important role in determining and deciding the nature of the amino acid. Therefore any amino acid, which has in its place a carboxyl group, which is an additional one would be an acidic one and if in its place it has an additional amino group it, would be a basic. That was in summary a brief explanation of the structure of an amino acid but for each structure should be held by bonds which keep them in shape and in my experiment I am going investigate how the effect various factors like acids and alkalis have on maintaining those bonds and that why we should take a look on the bonds holding the structure of amino acids. The bonds holding the amino acids are hydrogen bonds, which are founded between CO and NH groups. The second type is the ionic bonds, which occurs when the R group exits in an ionic form. The third type is the disulphide bond, which occurs between the sulphur groups of the amino acid cytosine. The last type is the hydrophobic bond and which is the most important in maintaining the structure of a protein and that is because the exclude water molecules in an aqueous environment. Moreover there are two types of proteins one is the fibrous proteins and the other is the globular proteins which albumen belong to this group and the most important characteristics of this group are that they are soluble in water and its chains are folded to form spherical shapes as shown below. Now any change in the structure due to any external factors, which affect the protein, will cause a change in its shape leading the protein not to carry its proper function. This process is called denaturation. When this process occurs in the protein albumen the albumen reverse to become a fibrous protein causing a white insoluble curd to form called the coagulation of the albumen. For denaturation to occur there are several factors which helps it to happen and this what I am going to investigate. One of those factors and which we know since lower classes is heating. Heating causes the atoms within the protein to gain kinetic energy and breaking the bonds. Other factors are like adding acids, alkalis, heavy metals etc.. . Those chemicals combine with the COO groups in the protein leading to a change in the structure and the denaturation of the protein. Those chemicals also form coagulated albumen when added to albumen. After going through what I wrote above I came to a personal conclusion which I am going to make it as my hypothesis is that the amount of coagulated protein formed increases or proportional to the concentration of the chemicals used which are external factors and physical factors it was exposed to. Now after mentioning my hypothesis I am going now to test the truthfulness of this hypothesis I am going to carry out an experiment to prove it and below is how I am going to plan my experiment and what chemicals I am going to use and etc.. . And below is a graph, which shows what I mean: At the beginning when I decided to start my experiment I decided to investigate a physical factor along with using chemicals. And the physical factor I decided upon was freezing that is because we know the effect of heating so I was interested to observe what freezing would do to egg albumen. This was for the physical factor, for the chemicals I decided to observe the effect o f acids, alkalis and heavy metals and for the acids I decided to use hydrochloric acid (HCl) and for the alkali I decided to use sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and for the heavy metals I decided to use either mercury chloride or silver chloride depending on the availability. And for each chemical I decided to use three different concentrations for each and they are going to be . 0. 25M, 0. 5M, 0. 75M and 1M for the acid, alkali and the heavy metal. To carry out the experiment I got to use some materials and apparatus and below is a list of them followed by the use of each in brief: Silver chloride Each of the materials and apparatus above has specific uses as shown below: Beakers: are going to hold the whole amount of the egg white and acids, alkalis and the heavy metals. Test tubes: are going to be used to pour the contents together in it for the reaction to take place. Measuring cylinders: are going to be used to measure the contents of the chemicals I am going to use. Droppers: these are going to be used to adjust small amounts when I pour the chemicals in the measuring cylinders like taking on ml off. Test tube holders: are going to hold the test tubes used for the reaction. Lab stickers: are going to be used to label the test tubes to know which is which. Glass rod: are going to be used to stir the contents of the test tubes and skim off the amount of coagulated protein formed. Freezer: is going to be used to place in it the test tube, which is going to test the effect of freezing on egg albumen. Eggs: are of course going to be used to get from them the egg white or egg albumen for the experiment. Hydrochloric acid: it is what I chose from all the ranges of acids to test the effect of acid on egg albumen. Sodium hydroxide: it is what I chose from all the ranges of alkalis to test the effect of alkali on egg albumen. Silver chloride: it is the heavy metal, which I choose to test the effect of heavy metals on egg albumen. And that was in brief the use of each material and the purpose for what I am going to use them. The experimental procedure to be carried:Now I am going to explain how I am going to carry out my experiment. First of all I will get some eggs, separate the egg white from the yellow part of it, and pour them in a beaker. Then I am going to get 30 cmi of the acid for each concentration and pour them in four different beakers, which means that for 1 M I will get 30 cmi of it in a beaker and the same for the other three concentrations. I will then repeat the same procedure for the sodium hydroxide and the silver chloride. Then I will take a measuring cylinder and pour in it 10 cmi of egg white in it. Then I will take the acid and pour in it in another measuring cylinder also 10 cmi of it. After that I take the egg white, pour it in a test tube and above it the acid, and wait until the reaction finishes. The time for which the reaction to finish will depend on how many days would I leave it there fore I decided to leave the mixture of acid and egg white for four days to give it the maximum time for it to finish its reaction. After that I will measure the volume of coagulation formed for example if the coagulation formed was the full 20 cmi then I am going to give it a symbol which will be 5 and so on depending on the volume formed. This procedure, which I used for the acid, is going to be the same for the sodium hydroxide and the heavy metal used thus guarantying a fair test. Precautions to be taken: When carrying the experiment one should be careful and below is the list of the precautions I took:   Wearing gloves: this important because it would protect my hands in case the acid, alkali and the heavy metal I am going to use can fall on the and burn my hands.   Lab coat: same as above but for the protection of the rest of my body. Not breaking glass apparatus: so as not injure my hands by glass shards caused by the breaking of the glass thus I should be careful.   Electric points: as I am going to test the effect of freezing it would be normally that I am going to use a freezer that is why I got to check the electric points so as not to get an electric shock   Eye protection: I am going to wear eye goggles to protect my eyes in case a splash of acid reaches my eyes.   Protection against salmonella: as all of us know that the surface of the egg, which means the eggshell, contains the bacteria salmonella thus one should Take care to wipe the eggshell first before the experiment and to wash his hands thoroughly after finishing his experiment. Factors to be controlled: For a fair test to be carried there are various factors to be controlled to ensure that fair test to be carried and below are the list of factors that should be controlled:   Maintaining a constant temperature: to make sure that the experiment goes smoothly one should maintain a constant temperature preferably a room temperature and that is because it the temperature was raised the rate of reaction will change. To leave all the test tubes for the same time so as none of them will have an advantage on the other.   Same amount of egg white to be used in all as the same amount of acid, alkali and heavy metal to be same through out the whole experiment.   To ensure accuracy one should repeat each experiment at least twice and take the mean of the values recorded.   I will try to make the reaction go by itself and prevent shaking any of the test tubes to give a fair chance to all the other test tubes.

Moral and Ethical Role of Government

Moral and Ethical Role of Government Ethics and morality form a central position in the functioning of the government. Under normal circumstances, it is the role of the government to ensure a just society where order and harmony exist. As a result the government has to establish and enforce ethical and moral standards so as to ensure that the society functions well. Decision making is the governments chief role. Therefore it must make ethical and moral considerations in order to make decisions that are in line with the welfare of the society. Ethics and morality are used interchangeably. The two terms are related in several ways. Nonetheless, there is an inconsequential dissimilarity linking the two. Most commonly is the fact that morality goes deeper than ethics in defining human behavior and conduct. Ethics refer to the standards that make the society a better place of all while morality provide for more deeper considerations that amount to religion and spirituality. In order for the government to ensure that ethical standards are adhered to, ethics and aspects of morality are entrenched into the law. This makes it conveniently possible to enforce ethical standards and ensure that all people conform to the law. However, certain aspects of ethics and morality cannot be made legal. This will make the society more complicated since certain morality aspects and ethics are perceptive. This brings into perspective the facet of belief and religion which formulates different people to hold diverse views on the concept of ethics and morality. The upshot is that, the government plays a significant role in enforcing ethics and morality. As a result it is expected that the leaders ensure that the society is just and orderly for all. The aim of this paper is to critically examine the role of the government in morality an ethics. To succeed in this endeavor, the paper will discuss different aspects of morality and ethics. Role of Government One of the central purposes of the government is to enforce the law. The law represents the will of the people who have their own cultural and ethical perceptions of reality. As a result the government enforces the ethical and moral values of the people it governs. In other words it can be rightly said that the government serves to accomplish the peoples perceptions of reality as represented in their ethical and moral values. This makes the role of the government more complex not forgetting that not all values of ethical and moral consideration can be enforced by the government. However, the government remains the prime custodian of peoples values. Ethics and moral values have a great influence on the operation of the society. It is therefore true that the government exercises control over the society. This is true in light of the task of enforcing laws. In order to get a better understanding of the role of the government as far as ethics and morality is concerned; more focus should be on the law (Preston Bishop 2000). The law is the governments instrument of power. To perform its functions, the government relies majorly on the law. On the other hand the law is perceived as being representative of the ethical, cultural and moral values of the people. Therefore as much as the law might not be the perfect tool of enforcing ethical and moral values, it remains the governments chief weapon against unprincipled practices and immorality. The law describes what is right and acceptable in society and therefore provides a blue print towards an ethical and just society. In order to affirm their quest for a just society, citizens are expected to adhere to the provisions of the law. Therefore, the law binds the society together bringing harmony among different people. Failure to conform to the law is perceived as breaking ethical standards established and is thus punishable. Therefore, the law is perceived as the peoples will to be enforced by the government. There are a lot of challenges the government faces in its ethical and moral roles. First and foremost are the different perceptions of ethics and morality. This is coupled by the practical reality that the law does not fully represent ethical and moral standards. Perceptions are a great threat to the governments role. This is due to the fact that certain parameters which are legal are sometimes perceived as violating ethical and moral standards. A good example is the issue of abortion. As much as abortion might be legalized, it still remains a debatable ethical issue. This is due to the fact that it is seen by some members in society as unethical. Other issues include divorce and promiscuity. These conflicts underline the fact that the law is not a sufficient tool of enforcing ethical and moral values. It underscores the failure of the government to ensure a just society through enforcing the law. Ethical and Social Obligations Ethics and a society are inseparable, due to the fact that ethical standards are the adhesive of a healthy society. Therefore there can never be a society without standards that define behavior and conduct. A just society can only exist in line with a set of values that represent the ethical and moral values of the people. A society on the other hand is governed by a group of leaders through the institution of government (Kizza, 2010). Therefore, it is obvious that it is the role of the government to ensure that the society is just and orderly. This is what is referred to as social obligations of the government. In essence the government is a tool of the society. It is established by the society to govern it and enforce laws that are deemed to represent the wishes, values and convictions of the people. The governments social obligations are nothing but the functions of ensuring that ethical and moral standards are adhered to accordingly. This involves the task of ensuring that the laws set represent the ethical and moral values of the people. Conversely, the government needs to go beyond the institutional role of enforcing laws to more welfare operations. This is line with the fact that the law in itself is inefficient as far as ensuring the enforcement of ethical and moral obligations is concerned. Decision Making A critical look at the origin of government points at the true essence of the institution. Several theories outline the origin of politics or government. Nevertheless, the contract of social theory is much relevance to the governments decision making role. Under the social contract theory, members of the society came together and surrendered their freedoms in exchange for order. In order to achieve this objective, the people established a government which was to govern the state on their behalf. Among the principal roles given of this institution was that of making decisions on behalf of the people (Cremer 2009). Therefore the governments most significant role is that of decision making. The role of making a decision is supposed to be in line with the interests and values of the society. This underscores the big role played by the government in ensuring a just society for all. Therefore in making a decision the government plays an important part in enforcing ethical and moral standards. Apart from enforcing the law which is perceived as the will of the people, the government has the authority to make decision that affect the functioning of the society. Therefore in making these decisions the government ought to put ethical and moral obligations in prime focus. In this role the aspect of public trust emanates. The government has been given the public trust which must be reflected in every decision it makes. Therefore public officials must make decisions that not only promote ethics and morality but also represent the same. In making decisions the government needs to be guided by two principal aspects. First and foremost is respect of the law. The law is the supreme guarantor of morality, ethics and justice. Therefore due importance should be granted to the law in the process of making decisions. Decisions that are contrary to the provisions of the law should be discouraged. The law should be the common denominator of all government decisions. This will protect the people from leaders with evil intentions. Another critical aspect of consideration is that of ethical consideration beyond the law. This should be interpreted in a positive manner to mean that the law should be upheld in high esteem but should not be the end of ethics. Certain aspects of morality and ethics are not entrenched in the law but should be upheld in decision making. This regards appointments and other aspects of governance. This calls for integrity on the part of state officials in the discharge of their duties. Need For Appropriate Actions Leadership is a delicate affair which involves a lot of aspects. Since leadership involves the tasks of vision, direction and governance a lot of care must be made to ensure that ethical and moral; standards do not take a back seat. The government is bestowed with a daunting task of ensuring order and justice in the society. This is to be achieved through the enforcement of laws that represent the ethical and moral values of the society. This is also done through the making of legal and ethical decisions. The government therefore plays a primary role in the whole concept of ethics and morality. Through its actions, decisions and operations the government has a lot of impact on the functioning of the society. There is need for appropriate actions on the part of the government so as not to undermine ethics and morality (Kiel Lennick, 2007). Since the success of a society depends on the manner in which ethical standards are adhered to, the government officials ought to be careful in th eir actions so as to promote a just and orderly society. It is against this background that governments need to put several measures in place so as to ensure that the aspect of ethics and morality plays an important role in its functions. This will result in a justly moral and ethical society which is what will make life better for the people. As far as the governments role in achieving justice and order in society is concerned, a number of considerations are necessary. Caution must be exercised in the process discharging the functions of the government. State officers ought to conduct their activities in manner that does not undermine ethical and moral values. To start with, it will be necessary to vet people before appointment to such positions. This will ensure that all those who get these positions are people of integrity. This will go a long way in ensuring that the role of the government in guaranteeing ethics and justice is not undermined by the quality of personnel in its ranks. Suggestions The ethical and moral role of the government is instrumental in ensuring justice and order in the society. Therefore it is upon the officials in the government to ensure that their actions and activities go in line which fostering harmony among the people. This will be achieved if all the laws are enforced in line with the peoples ethical and moral values as envisaged in the law. On top of these, the decision making arm of the government must be fully used to enhance ethical and moral values in the society. It will be against the purpose of ethics should state officials make illegal and unethical decisions. Apart from that state officials must be men and women of integrity so as not to compromise the values of the society. In order to succeed in this endeavor it will be appropriate for the government to classify its moral obligations into two. These are institutional duties and the social responsibilities. The former refers to the use of laws and structures of governance to enforce total adherence to moral and ethical values. This will call for the enactment of laws that represent the ethical and moral values of the people (Fisher 2003). Through the law, the government will ensure that there is justice and order in the society. Those who break the law should be liable for punishment. These will dissuade offenders and make society orderly and harmonious. Social responsibilities refer to those roles that affirm ethical values in the cultural set up. Through this arm, the government will set up and fund several organizations and commissions to cultivate tolerance, orderliness and ethics among the society. This will call for equity and equality so that all sections of the society feels taken care of. On to p of this is the decision making role f the government. The government should use its authority to make decisions in promoting justice, order and ethics. Conclusion The government is the chief custodian of morality and ethical values in the society. It is the role of the government to ensure that moral and ethical standards are maintained in the society so as to assure order and justice. The political system gives government the sole responsibility of ensuring stability, harmony and conformity in the society. It is along this line that the government plays an immense role in guaranteeing ethical and moral values. This role can be performed in many ways. Most commonly the enforcement focuses on the enactment of laws that represent the cultural and ethical values of the people. These laws are enforced so as to ensure conformity. Those who break the law are liable to punishment in accordance to the law. Through exercising the provisions of the law, the government achieves its objective of creating a just and orderly society. However, since ethics and morality are relative terms, not all aspects of ethics and morality can be entrenched into the law. This poses a challenge to the governments role of fulfilling ethical obligations. Therefore, it vital for the government to come up with other means of achieving justice and orderliness through ethics. Through its social obligations the government enforces ethical and moral standards in the society. This can be through its decision making arm and also through the establishment and funding of agencies and organizations that cultivate a culture of ethical values. The government also guarantees ethical values by granting freedom to the people to exercise their spiritual and religious convictions. Moral and ethical as pects have spiritual and cultural connotations, therefore through equality and freedom the government ensures justice in the society. The government plays a central role in ensuring ethics and morality in the society.

Triage Tool for Sepsis Recognition

Triage Tool for Sepsis Recognition â€Å"Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection.   Sepsis and septic shock are major healthcare problems, affecting millions of people around the world each year.   Early identification and appropriate management in the initial hours after sepsis develops improves outcomes,† (Rhodes, et al., 2017). According to the National Institute of Health Statistics, more than a million Americans develop severe sepsis every year.   Between 28 and 50 percent of these people die.   This high mortality rate creates a clinical problem and generates interest in improving the care of septic patients. The systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria served as the original definition of sepsis.   SIRS definition contains two or more of the following: temperature greater than 38 degrees Celsius or less than 36 degrees Celsius, heart rate greater than 90 beats per minute, respiratory rate greater than 20 breaths per minutes or PaCO2 less than 32mmHg, and white blood cell count greater than 12,000/mm3 or less than 4,000/mm3 or greater than 10% immature bands.   Another tool to identify organ dysfunction is the quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA). Two points is a positive qSOFA, with increasing points patient outcomes are associated with higher mortality rates (Bhattacharjee, Edelson, & Churpek, 2017). Quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) criteria contains: respiratory rate greater than or equal to 22 breaths per minutes, altered mentation, and systolic blood pressure less than 100mmHg. These two, SIRS and qSOFA, are sepsis recognition tools. Emergency departments play a vital role in identifying, treating, and managing septic patients.   The problem with SIRS criteria as a screening tool for sepsis is patients presenting to an emergency department do not have these laboratory tests, white blood cell and PaCO2, drawn hours prior to arrival.   This is one component that cannot be incorporated into a triage screening tool but updated throughout the stay in an emergency department.   Unless two other vital signs are abnormal there is potential to fail at recognizing a septic patient initially presenting to an emergency department.   Similarly, the qSOFA criteria has shown high specificity to sepsis and poorer outcomes (Bhattacharjee, Edelson, & Churpek, 2017). Sepsis recognition is not enough to decrease risk of mortality in septic patients. Kumar, et al. (2006) discovered an association between effective antimicrobial administration within the first hour of documented hypotension increased survival in adults with septic shock. The 2016 International Sepsis Guidelines strongly recommends administration of IV antimicrobials initiation within one hour of sepsis recognition. The best way to improve patient outcomes for septic patients is to identify those with sepsis. The second way is to manage the septic patient, which includes initiation of antibiotics. To assess this clinical problem, the PICO question formulated is, in adult septic patients, how does a sepsis triage screening tool based on qSOFA, compared to the current 2+SIRS criteria, affect door to antibiotic time? Methods An electronic literature search was conducted using the CINAHL database. The search included 4 keywords: sepsis, antibiotic administration, SIRS, and qSOFA. All searches conducted were restricted to adults, 2010-2017-time frame, and articles in English. My first search resulted in 3,527 articles. A focus on articles that used SIRS or qSOFA for identification took priority. These terms, SIRS and qSOFA, were searched title specific.   This resulted in a final 289 articles. A secondary electronic literature search with the keyword of ‘nursing intervention and sepsis’ showed a few hundred articles. The research question was assessed using four journal articles that were peer reviewed. The independent variables were qSOFA and SIRS. Summary of Evidence Tromp, Hulscher, Bleeker-Rovers et al. (2010) researched the effects of a nurse driven implementation of a sepsis protocol care bundle. A prospective before and after intervention study at an emergency department of a university hospital in the Netherlands was conducted using three different five month increments. Period 1, July 1, 2006 – November 6, 2006, occurred before introducing the new care bundle based sepsis protocol. Period 2, November 6, 2006 – June 25, 2007, occurred after the sepsis protocol was put into place and before training. Period 3, June 25, 2007 – October 1, 2007, was after training and performance feedback. The sepsis care bundle consisted of seven elements. Six elements were required, the seventh was not required unless the patient was hypotensive or had an elevated serum lactate. The bundle included: measuring serum lactate concentration within six hours, obtaining two blood cultures before starting antibiotics, taking a chest radiograph, taking a urine sample for urinalysis and culture, starting antibiotics within three hours, hospitalize or discharge the patient within three hours, and volume resuscitation for serum lactate >4.0mmol/L or hypotension. The researchers used 2+ SIRS criteria to identify septic patients entering the emergency department. The sample size included 825 people, 16 years of age or older (Tromp, Hulscher, Bleeker-Rovers et al., 2010). The findings showed that implementing a nurse-driven sepsis care bundle provided an increase in early recognition of sepsis in patients presenting to the emergency department. Additionally, when staff received education and training on this intervention, compliance to the bundle improved early recognition and treatment of patients with sepsis. Compliance to the complete sepsis care bundle increased from 3.5% to 12.4%. This study measured antibiotics started within three hours after staff training. Antibiotic administration increased from which increased from 38% to 56%. These results are statistically and clinically significant. Evidence exists that delay in care for septic patients leads to worse outcomes (Bhattacharjee, Edelson, & Churpek, 2017). This intervention study provides level IV (Melnyk & Fineout-Overhold, 2015) evidence for an increased compliance to implementing a sepsis care bundle after training. Some limitations to the study include that is was an uncontrolled study at a single center and only one year in length. Having a broader understanding of this disease across multiple countries and over extended periods of time would improve the validity of the results. Strengths of this study include the large sample size, nurse driven implementation, and SIRS criteria for sepsis screening. Another strength is that this study, like other studies, reveal education improves sepsis recognition and sepsis care. From this study, it can be determined that the training and implementation of a sepsis care bundle increases sepsis recognition and improves adherence to the bundle, improving patient outcomes. Yousefi, Nahidian, and Sabouhi (2012) conducted a study to review the effects of an educational program about sepsis care of intensive care unit (ICU) nurses.   This study was a quasi-experimental interventional study with two groups over three time periods: before, immediately after, and three weeks after.   Nurses with a bachelor’s degree or higher level of education and one year ICU experience were included in the study. Infection control committee or members that participated in a similar study were excluded.   The sample size included thirty-two nurses randomly enrolled into each of the test and control groups.   The data collection tool was a four-part questionnaire to measure knowledge, attitude, and practice of ICU nurses.   The results obtained earn Level III evidence (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2015). The findings revealed there was no significant difference between the control (c) and test (t) groups in terms of age, sex, education, experience, and employment status. Mean scores of knowledge (t=62.5, c=63.7), attitude (t=73, c=72.8), and practice (t=81.8, c=82.2) of ICU nurses in the test and control groups had no significant difference before the intervention. In the test group, attitude (t=79.7, c=73.3) and practice (t=90.5, c=82.2) increased immediately after and attitude (t=83.3, c=73.2) continued to trend up at the three weeks later mark. Education was found to be effective and have a positive impact on attitude, knowledge, and practice on sepsis care of ICU nurses, like other studies. The study did have some limitations which included the ability of the nurses to utilize books, media, and articles on the subject which could influence the study.   This study is limited due to the small sample size.   A larger sample size in various departments and facilities would strengthen the evidence and improve clinical significance. One important thing to consider with this article is that the nurses observed were bachelor’s degree nurses.   Associate degree nurses are the majority of the nursing workforce.   This could be a weakness for the article in that they fail to capture the majority education of nurses. The strength of this study provides evidence supporting training statistically improved levels of attitude, knowledge, and practice of ICU nurses in sepsis care.   Findings of this article are like other studies. Tarrant, O’Donnell, Martin, Bion, Hunter, & Rooney (2016), conducted a qualitative design-grounded theory study using focused ethnography to gain an understanding of the barriers to implementing the sepsis six bundle components within an hour of recognition of sepsis.   Data collection occurred through various ways including: over three hundred hours of observations, 43 staff members interviewed, and shadowing multiple units and staff members across six pilot hospitals in Scotland from March 2013 – May 2014. The results of this study provide Level VI evidence (Melnyk, & Fineout-Overholt, 2015).   The main findings include that the Sepsis Six clinical bundle is not six simple tasks but a series of complex processes. Gaining a better understanding of the problems of interruptions and operational failures that get in the way of task completion is ideal to improve compliance for Sepsis Six within one hour. The researchers suggest focusing on individual behavior change to improve compliance to Sepsis Six with a combination of reducing barriers and challenges in the everyday workflow that are responsible for the delays in Sepsis Six. The research hypothesizes that there would be greater compliance to Sepsis Six within one hour window if the everyday barriers and challenges were reduced. This study is limited to one country, Scotland.   Additionally, the length of study could have missed problems and barriers associated with night shift.   Night shift tends to run with fewer resources and less access to providers. Night shift is also associated with less experience providers. These barriers need to be assessed to gain a better understanding of delays in compliance to sepsis six bundle.   The strengths of this study lie in the qualitative perspective to gain a better understanding of barriers to implementing sepsis six bundle. The study highlights that a focus on education and knowledge of sepsis is not enough, and emphasize the importance to reducing barriers to promote ultimate compliance.   Gunn,  Haigh,  and Thomson (2016) conducted a retrospective study, over a six-month period, on patients presenting to the ED who had a sepsis six form completed.   The emergency department currently uses SIRS criteria to identify septic patients.   The purpose of the study was to determine if qSOFA would reliably identify septic patients within the emergency department population.   The sample size was two hundred patients with sepsis diagnosis.   One hundred and ninety-five were positive for SIRS.   Twenty-nine were positive for qSOFA. SIRS and qSOFA were compared to determine specificity and sensitivity to identifying septic patients. This article is rated Level IV evidence (Melnyk & Fineout-Overhold, 2015).   SIRS had a higher sensitivity at 97%, and a 2.4% specificity. qSOFA showed a 90% specificity and a 48% sensitivity.   SIRS was reliable in identifying sepsis and qSOFA was reliable with detecting those required higher levels of care and mortality. These finding show clinical and statistical significance.   The researchers conclude that SIRS criteria serves as a useful triage tool in identifying septic patients.   The researchers further conclude that once positive SIRS criteria is established qSOFA should be conducted to assess severity and critical care need. Limitations of this study include the sample size, location, and length of time where the study took place.  Ã‚   Increasing the sample size over a longer period of time to gain a broader population would increase the strength of this article.   This study would be strengthened if an observation of a larger sample size took place, over a longer period, and over multiple facilities.   The strength of this study is the results that provide evidence for SIRS criteria as the better septic recognition tool.   The results indicate SIRS is best at identifying sepsis.   These results are statistically and clinically important.   If qSOFA was used instead of SIRS, many people would not have been included in a sepsis workup and could potentially have worse outcomes due to delay in recognition and sepsis care.   From this article, keeping SIRS criteria is vital for sepsis recognition.   However, including a qSOFA could benefit those critically ill in identifying those at higher risk for worse outcomes.   Raith et. al (2017) published a retrospective cohort analysis study on the prognostic accuracy of the SOFA score, SIRS criteria, and a qSOFA within the first 24 hours of admission in discriminating in-hospital mortality among patients with suspected infection admitted to the ICUs. This study began in 2000 and continued to 2015. The sample size included 184,875 adults with infection-related primary admission diagnosis. The study took place in 182 ICUs in Australia and New Zealand. This study was rate a Level IV using Melnyk & Fineout-Overhold, (2015) evidence appraisal guidelines. The results of this study showed SOFA had significantly greater discrimination for in-hospital mortality than SIRS criteria or qSOFA.   A SOFA of 2 or more points showed a 90.1% accuracy in mortality or ICU length of stay of three days or more.   The SIRS score of 2 or more points had a 86.7% accuracy, while a qSOFA score of 2 or more points revealed 54.4% accuracy.   The overall results favored a SOFA score over qSOFA and SIRS, showing greater accuracy for in-hospital mortality.   The strengths of this study include the duration, sample size, and location. Having this much diversity in the study decreases variables or outliers altering results. Additionally, the information gathered utilized a quality-surveillance data collection process reducing bias. One limitation the researchers address is the inability to apply this study to emergency department patients. This study used patients in the ICU. The statistical significance and clinical significance could be applied to an ICU setting, but for the clinical problem stated earlier this would not hold clinical significance in an emergency department setting.   Like the previous study, the use of SOFA in conjunction with SIRS criteria would be beneficial in determining those with greater critical care needs for proper placement and to identify those at higher mortality risk.   Discussion and Conclusions Sepsis is a terrible disease with poor outcomes.   Understanding the best recognition tool and management are key to surviving sepsis.   The overall articles bring collective information on improving sepsis recognition and decreasing door-to-antibiotic time.   The studies described range from Level III to Level VI according to Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt’s (2015) level of evidence guide.   Having meta-analysis, randomized control trials, or even well-designed controlled trials without randomization would increase the validity of the results.   As previously stated, education is found effective in increasing knowledge and recognition on sepsis care.   Implementing an educational program on sepsis recognition and care is clinically significant to improve sepsis outcomes. Education should be incorporated into a sepsis care bundle to improve compliance and sepsis recognition. Additionally, if qSOFA or SOFA were used after SIRS criteria to determine critical care status this would increase results and provide knowledge on patient outcomes. The overall evidence in the studies is not enough to make changes in clinical practice.   There is not enough collective strength of evidence to make a change in clinical practice. However, the articles did support SIRS criteria for greatest sensitivity to sepsis recognition with qSOFA showing higher sensitivity to mortality. The sources of evidence support the continuing use of SIRS criteria for a sepsis triage screening tool. Recognizing sepsis and reducing barriers are key to improving antibiotic administration. The results of the study showed the importance of education and reducing barriers to improving sepsis recognition and management. According to the evidence, SIRS criteria is providing better recognition for sepsis. The evidence leads to septic patients benefiting from an additional screening tool, the qSOFA, if they have 2+ SIRS criteria to rule out higher mortality and critical care needs. Further evidence is needed on qSOFA replacing SIRS for sepsis identification prior to implementing in the clinical setting. It appears most evidence conducted is from retrospective studies. Randomized control trials or meta-analysis would strengthen this claim for SIRS over qSOFA in emergency department triage screening tool for sepsis recognition.   References Bhattacharjee, P., Edelson, D. P., & Churpek, M. M. (2017). Identifying Patients With Sepsis on the Hospital Wards.  Chest,  151(4), 898-907. doi:10.1016/j.chest.2016.06.020 Gunn  N,  Haigh  C,  Thomson  J. (2016) Triage of Sepsis Patients: SIRS or qSOFA – Which is best? Emergency Medicine Journal  ;33:909-910. Kumar, A., Roberts, D., Wood, K. E., Light, B., Parrillo, J. E., Sharma, S., . . . Cheang, M. (2006). Duration of hypotension before initiation of effective antimicrobial therapy is the critical determinant of survival in human septic shock.  Critical Care Medicine,  34(6), 1589-1596. doi:10.1097/01.ccm.0000217961.75225.e9 Rhodes, A., Evans, L. E., Alhazzani, W., Levy, M. M., Antonelli, M., Ferrer, R., . . . Dellinger, R. P. (2017). Surviving Sepsis Campaign.  Critical Care Medicine,  45(3), 486-552. doi:10.1097/ccm.0000000000002255 Melnyk, B. M., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2015).  Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare: a guide to best practice. Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer. (n.d.). Sepsis Fact Sheet. Retrieved March 22, 2017, from https://www.nigms.nih.gov/education/pages/factsheet_sepsis.aspx Raith, E., Udy, A., Bailey, M., Mcgloughlin, S., Macisaac, C., Bellomo, R., & Pilcher, D. V. (2017). Prognostic Accuracy of the SOFA Score, SIRS Criteria, and qSOFA Score for In-Hospital Mortality Among Adults With Suspected Infection Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.  Jama,  317(3), 290. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.20328 Tarrant, C., O’Donnell, B., Martin, G., Bion, J., Hunter, A., & Rooney, K. D. (2016). A complex endeavour: an ethnographic study of the implementation of the Sepsis Six clinical care bundle.  Implementation Science,  11(1). doi:10.1186/s13012-016-0518-z Tromp, M., Hulscher, M., Bleeker-Rovers, C. P., Peters, L., Berg, D. T., Borm, G. F., Pickkers, P. (2010). The role of nurses in the recognition and treatment of patients with sepsis in the emergency department: A prospective before-and-after intervention study.  International Journal of Nursing Studies,  47(12), 1464-1473. doi:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2010.04.007 Yousefi H, Nahidian M, Sabouhi F. Reviewing the effects of an educational program about sepsis care on knowledge, attitude, and practice of nurses in intensive care units. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research 2012; 17(2): S91-S95.