Wireless and Mobile Technologies Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Wireless and Mobile Technologies - Assignment Example Basically, one can develop a mobile technology on mobile technology on a mobile device or on a computer to develop another mobile technology. For example, WAP is a mobile technology, and so are the mobile applications and SMS and mobile websites etc. These technologies are utilized by organizations in different ways so as to improve their efficiency. They are utilized by organizations so as to realize an unprecedented connectivity level between employees, customers, and/or vendors. Employees are able to download applications on their phones that enable them to connect via social media like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, or the organization may utilize web-site based applications so as to facilitate for direct communication with their customers in different ways. Real-time communication in very important in realizing business benefits, like improved customer service, efficient use of staff time, and a range of products and services delivered (Smyth, et al. 2004). Because of the interactive nature of these technologies, organizations are able to get urgent feedback on products and services from their customers through sharing of information through this medium.Rapid development and business research are some of the results of efficient wireless communication technology. Besides, it offers a competitive advantage to firms in their different industries hence increased productivity and quality of output. In this respect, consumer community is also made to have a feeling of having a direct role in the development of a company. Mobile technology introduced fresh ways of product promotion and advertisements. There are apps incorporated in the mobile phones which enhance people’s awareness on various goods and services and market trends which effectively offer companies platform to promote diverse brands. Besides, prospective customers are able to read the required information by the individual on his/her mobile phone and it

ROLE OF INTERNAL AUDITORS IN RISK MANAGEMENT Essay Example for Free

ROLE OF INTERNAL AUDITORS IN RISK MANAGEMENT Essay Effectiveness of Internal Auditing of institutions and bodies formed under Acts of Parliament has been less studied and reported in the literature. The study is focused in examining the relationship between the employees’ attitude and perception and the internal Audit’s effectiveness in delivering on their roles in a rapidly evolving environment and public’s awareness of their roles. The main aim of this research study is to better understand  and measure the effect of employee’s attitude and perception on the effectiveness of internal audit in public institutions, with National Social Security Fund as a case study. A survey of sampled 425 employees will be undertaken and the results of the quantitative and qualitative survey findings will be reported. The research is designed to be conducted using both quantitative and qualitative approaches by use of literature review, survey, and case study. Data will be collected from the chosen sample through structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews as well as review of available documents and records targeting members of the Internal Audit. Data will be analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) version 11.0 tool, which is a computer based automated statistical tool and conclusions drawn; from the findings of the study, recommendations will be made which will help institutions to determine paradigm shift in attitude and perceptions by employees necessary to keep the internal audit as an effective critical function relevant in the future for robust public sector financial management and governance to assist organizations achieve their goals. CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.0 Background to the Study. Traditionally, internal auditing in the public sector served as a simple administrative procedure to ensure compliance and it comprised mainly of checking for accuracy of transactions, pre-payment verification and control, counting assets and reporting on past events to various levels of management. However, combinations of factors in the social-political and economic discourse globally have led to greater citizen awareness and participation in the public sector governance. As a result, public institutions are moving towards higher levels of transparency, efficiency, accountability and integrity in the use of public resources. Consequently, the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA, 1999a) redefined internal auditing as: †¦. an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organization’s operations. It helps an organization accomplish its objectives by  bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance processes. This definition signifies that internal audit has undergone a paradigm shift from an emphasis on accountability about the past to improving future outcomes to help auditees operate more effectively and efficiently (Nagy and Cenker, 2002; Stern, 1994; Goodwin, 2004). Since, the definition equally serves both the private and the public sectors (Goodwin, 2004), it is used in this study as a basis to analyze public sector internal audit effectiveness. Internal audit is effective if it meets the intended outcome it is supposed to bring about. Sawyer (1995) states, â€Å"†¦ internal auditors job is not done until defects are corrected and remain corrected.† Van Gansberghe (2005) explains that internal audit effectiveness in the public sector should be evaluated by the extent to which it contributes to the demonstration of effective and efficient service delivery, as this drives the demand for improved internal audit services. Traditionally, ineffectiveness of internal audit has been as a result of understaffing, unqualified and nonprofessional staff and underfunding. Despite invigorated internal audit function with sufficient well trained, qualified and professional staff topped up with adequate funding in the public sector institutions such as National Social Security Fund (NSSF), and being charged with responsibilities of advising management on issues of policy and compliance, accountability, financial reporting, safeguarding of assets, risk management, prevention of fraud and on economic and efficient use of resources (PFA, 2003): there are continued incidences of budget deficits, unpaid utilities, unremitted pensions, unproductive investments, irregular payments, unaccounted for funds, loss of pension cash, non compliance with policies and procedures and general mismanagement of funds. A report by the Auditor General tabled in Parliament in June, 2013 indicated savers could have lost billions of shill ings in dubious transactions and shady land deals (SNP, June 6, 2013). There is urgent need to identify critical success factors to enable the internal audit to perform effectively the roles for which it is intended in the public sector financial management and governance. 1.1Statement of the Problem Public sector institutions have functional well funded internal audit departments with well qualified and professional staff whose role is to provide the management with re-assurance that internal controls systems are adequate and that they are complied with, that risk exposures are identified and addressed, and that fraud is quickly identified and inherently deterred. However, internal auditors have continued to be ineffective as envisaged by continued incidences of fraud and corruption, abuse of authority and outright financial mismanagement of massive scale due to perception and attitude issues towards their work. This precipitates the increased risk of financial failure of the institutions, poor and compromised service delivery, public agitation and political disaffection towards the government of the day. Little has been researched on the effect of employee’s perception and attitude on the effectiveness of internal auditors. This study therefore is meant to bridge that ga p by finding out to what extent the employee’s perception and attitude is attributed to ineffectiveness of the internal auditors thus affecting the delivery of assurance services `central to organization achieving its objectives. 1.2Purpose of the Research To determine paradigm shift in employee’s perception and attitude necessary to keep the internal audit as an effective and critical function relevant in the future for robust public sector financial management and governance. 1.3Objectives of the Research The research will be guided by the following objectives: 1. To determine the effect of perception and attitudes on the effectiveness of internal audit in the public sector financial management and governance. 2. To identify value addition services required to enhance relevance and effectiveness of the internal audit function in the public sector. 3. To identify the measures that would enhance or maintain better perception and more positive attitude by employees towards internal auditors. 1.4Research Questions The research questions of this study shall be: 1. How does employee’s perception and attitudes towards internal auditors affect internal audit effectiveness in the public sector financial management and governance? 2. Which value addition services are required to enhance relevance and effectiveness of the internal auditors and in effect ensuring they are perceived well? 3. What steps can be taken to ensure the employees continually maintain a positive perception towards the internal auditors so as to achieve organizational goals? 1.5Significance of the Study This study seeks to generate useful insights on how managing employee’s attitude and perception affects internal auditor’s effectiveness which then can be used by the government and public institutions. This promotes effectiveness in the role of internal audit functions in the public sector financial management and governance by addressing the employee’s attitude and perception. It can also be used by researchers for further research as this is a new area to be studied. 1.6 Basic assumptions of the study It is assumed that the respondents would be co-operative and provide accurate information when responding to the research questions. It is also assumed that the sample size to be chosen will be adequate to enable the researcher draw valid conclusions about the population. 1.7Limitations of the study Time constraint is a limiting factor because the study has to be concluded within a short time. Availability of funds is also a limiting factor to the study since the researcher is self sponsored. There is also no assurance that the respondents would return all the questionnaires duly completed, neither is there a guarantee that the subjects would respond to all the questions put forward to them comprehensively. The answers of some respondents may not be representative of the whole population. The condition of the subjects may affect their responses as emotions may be involved thus affecting their accuracy in responding. 1.8Delimitation of the study The study shall be restricted to three Branches of National Social Security Fund, within Rift Valley region. The study shall focus on how effectiveness of internal audit functions in public sector financial management and governance are affected by employee’s perceptions and attitudes. Public sector may be defined to include the Central Government, the courts, the National Assembly, the Senate, Constitutional Commissions, County Governments and institutions and bodies formed under an Act of Parliament. For precision and focus, the purpose of this study shall be restricted to public sector institutions formed under an Act of Parliament and case study is NSSF. Literatures on other independent variables are not to be studied as this research is to be narrowed down to employee’s perceptions and attitudes only. Due to time constraints and the budget, population to be studied is only narrowed down to NSSF staff which is convenient to the researcher within the province. On the methodology to be used, Telephone interviews wouldn’t be applied as it is unreliable, the employees may not cooperate, and is expensive than a candid face to face interview where all staff may be met in the same place as per their convenience. 1.9Organization of the study Chapter one provides a background on internal audit effectiveness, statement of the problem, purpose and objectives of the research, research questions that the study looks forward to answering, significance of the study, basic assumptions of the study, limitations to the study and delimitations of the study. Chapter Two outlines the various schools of thought on what constitutes internal audit effectiveness and factors affecting it, as expounded in various literatures available. Chapter three outlines the research design and methodology used for purposes of completing the study. It also describes in details research design, target population, sample, sampling procedure and data collection instruments. Chapter four will contain data analysis, presentation and interpretation while chapter five shall provide a summary of findings, discussion, conclusions and recommendations. This is followed by references and appendices sections. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introduction This chapter is will cover critical review of literature by other scholars and writers in relation to and the implication of employee perception and attitude on internal audit function and its effectiveness in the public sector financial management and governance. 2.1 Internal Audit Function Internal auditing is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organizations operations (IIA, 2002). It helps an organization accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance processes (Collier, etal, 1991). With this description forming a foundation, the essential characteristics of an effective internal audit function can be framed. According to Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA, (1999), internal audit is an important part of the corporate governance structure within an organization. Corporate governance includes those oversight activities undertaken by the board of directors and audit committee to ensure the integrity of the financial reporting process. Three monitoring mechanisms have been identified in the corporate governance literature. They are external auditing, internal auditing and directorships (Anderson et al, 1997; William, 2000) as well as the audit Committee (IIA, 2003). 2.2Internal Audit Evaluation Evaluating the internal audit function is to examine how well it can detect errors within an organization as well as fraud that have received greater emphasis (Rittenberg Anderson, 2006). The internal audit function is an important function that has been shown to add value and reduce detected errors by external auditors (Godwin, 2003; Carcello, 2005). Farber (2005), observed that the objective of internal audit function is to improve on the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance. Nestor (2004)  observed that internal audit function is taken to be an important governance tool to protect corporations from internal criminal behavior. Further, the professional literature suggests that internal audit is a vital tool in fraud detection when assets are misappropriated by employees or outsiders (Carcello et al, 2005b; Rittenberg and Anderson, 2006). As a result of the increase in accounting scandals in recent years, the internal audit function has received impressive atte ntion as an important contributor to effective public sector financial management and governance. Furthermore, the issue of effectiveness of internal audit is indispensable because it will create improvement in the government ministries (Unegbu Kida, 2011). In line with this, consideration over the measurement of the effectiveness of internal audit function keep receiving significant challenges, consisting the finding of the best and relevant method for measuring the efficiency and effectiveness of internal audit (Bota Palfi, 2009; IIA, 2010; Spertus et al, 2010). In this vein, measurement of internal audit effectiveness should be considered because it has a role to play in achieving public sector objectives. Therefore, Arena and Azzone (2010), Chaveerug (2011) and Mihret et al, (2010) emphasize the need for future studies to examine the factors that influence internal audit effectiveness and the possible interactions among them. Equally, it is interesting to focus on the model that will lead to the strength of internal audit effectiveness (Aguolu, 2009). Consequently, many stu dies that have been conducted on internal audit effectiveness give more concern to private sector and the central government and its various ministries and departments. Internal Auditing of institutions and bodies formed under Acts of Parliament has been less studied and reported in the literature. 2.3Internal audit effectiveness: The word â€Å"effectiveness† have been defined by different researchers, for instance Arena and Azzone (2009) defined effectiveness â€Å"as the capacity to obtain results that are consistent with targets objective,† while, Dittenhofer (2001) view effectiveness as the ability toward the achievement of the objectives and goals. In the same context, a program can be seen as effective if its outcome goes along with its objectives (Ahmad et al, 2009; Mihret et al, 2010). In this situation, internal audit effectiveness means  the ability of the internal auditor to achieve the established objective within the public sector institution. This goes along that the objectives of an internal audit for every organization depend on the goals set out by the management of the organization (Pungas, 2003) as such, the objective of internal audit in public sector institutions should also go a long with the set up goals by the management of the particular institutions and Acts of Parliament that established them. With regard to that, the internal audit should be able to achieve the established objective in order improve the performance of the organization. Consequently, to determine whether the internal auditing function is operating effectively or not, some things have to be considered which include; identification of the basic objective of internal auditing; define the goals to be accomplished by the internal auditing and establish measures that will assist toward the achievement of those goals (Aguolu, 2009; Dittenhofer, 2001) while Cassandra et at (2008) argued that in order to achieve internal audit objective, three basic c onditions must be satisfied i.e. independence; organizational status; and objectivity, also (Feizizadeh, 2012) consideration was that, for an internal audit function to achieve high levels of effectiveness these four items must be consider; goes along with stakeholder needs; achieves best to his abilities; complies with relevant professional standards and; performance measures. Thus, Beckmerhagen et al (2004) also argued that the audit effectiveness should not be measured based on achievement of the audit objectives or on the number of findings of the internal auditor alone, but also more important is to determine the quality and suitability of the audit plan, execution and follow-up. Similarly, Shareholders have the power to remove any internal auditor that is ineffective (Dhamankar Khandewale, 2003). This should also be the case in public sector, where internal auditors that are not effective despite the provision of all necessary measures that might have improved their effectiveness, should be removed by the stakeholders. Generally, researchers have also indicated some of the reasons behind the ineffectiveness of internal audit to include; ineffective management controls, non clear definition of objectives by some organizations and inadequate support from top management (Ahmad et al, 2009; Dittenhofer 2001; Unegbu Kida, 2011). Therefore, in line with their findings, the implications of an ineffective internal audit in a public sector management can lead to; the possibility of the emergence of fraud; low or non compliance with internal policies and procedures; ineffective financial decision for successful operation (Unegbu Kida, 2011). Hence, the effective internal audits carry out an independent evaluation of the financial and operating information and systems and procedures with a view to provide good recommendations for improvements (Mihret Yismaw, 2007; New Delhi, 2006). That is why proper internal organization is also essential factor that lead to the achievement of internal audit effectiveness. Similarly, internal audit effectiveness can also be enhanced by ensuring consistency in the documentation of audit work, quality of reporting and proper implementation of their recommendation (Mihret Yismaw, 2007). Therefore, having such effective internal audit within organization, will automatically helps to achieve performance and profitability and prevent in loss of revenues particularly in public sectors (Vijayakumar Nagaraja, 2012), even though Pilcher Gilchrist and Singh (2011) observed that efficiency and effectiveness of audit in a public sectors context is more complex than in the private sectors. Several studies have been conducted on the internal audit effectiveness. For example the study carried out by Ahmad et al (2009) on the effectiveness of internal audit in Malaysian public sector, using simple percentage for data analysis found the lack of audit staff is ranked as the major problem faced by internal auditors in conducting an effective internal auditing. The study concluded by suggesting that future studies should adopt other methods such as field survey of wider groups of internal auditors both in public and the private sectors. Likewise, Theofanis, et al (2011) examine the relationship between element of internal control system and internal audit effectiveness and the result of the study reveal positive relationship between the two relationships. Even though the studies used only 52 Hotels in Greek as a sample and mail survey for data collection, but at conclusion they suggest that if future studies should carried out research on internal audit effectiveness with large sample, the result will be better than their own. Also Feizizadeh (2012) carried out study on strengthening internal audit  effectiveness and found that most of the companies measure and quantify the performance effectiveness of their business activities. Therefore, looking at the above studies, they consider the effectiveness of internal audit at company’s level, hotels and banks ignoring such effectiveness at local level. In this vein, this study extends the previous study through examining such effectiveness at public sector institutions and mainly on the employee perception and attitude which many did not cover. 3.4 Conceptual Framework Figure 1: Conceptual Framework of factors influencing Internal Audit CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.0Introduction This chapter will focus on the methodologies used for the study which will include: research design, study area, identification of the target population, sample selection method and size, data collection techniques, data analysis methods and the anticipated constraints. 3.1 Research design The study will adopt a cross sectional survey design where both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis will be used. The respondents will be selected from different departments within the branch; this includes; managers, Internal Audit, Human Resource, Information technology staff, Finance and Accounts staff of NSSF. 3.2Scope of the study The study will be carried out at NSSF Branches at Nandi Hills, Kericho and Sotik in Rift Valley Region. All information and respondents targeted to participate in the study are expected to be easily accessible in the offices situated in these places. Other variables will not be considered in this study. It is limited to the attitude and employees’ perception 3.3Population The public sector in Kenya constitutes the central government and the allied ministries and departments, the county governments and the related departments, the courts, constitutional commissions and institutions and bodies formed through Acts of Parliament. It is the single largest employer of internal auditors, but the target population for this study within the NSSF will include and be stratified as: Branch Managers, Accountants, and other staff, totaling 425 possible respondents. 3.4Sample Selection and Size A purposive sample is used. Accordingly a survey type of research will be adopted in which a sample from the target population will be used for the study. The total staff population in NSSF is 1455. To arrive at the sample size for the purpose of this research study, a sample size calculator is used. By putting the confidence level at 95% and a confidence interval of 4, the sample size needed to be selected is from the 1455 employees will be 425 which represent 29.2% of the sample target population. This represents an average of a third of the total number of members of staff and will be representative enough for this research. It is distributed as shown in the table below: Composition of staff with NSSF Kenya for the purpose of the research working. Category Target Population Target Sample Percentage of target population Managers

Analysis of Leda and the Swan Essay -- English Literature

Analysis of Leda and the Swan. Greek mythology. Analysis of Leda and the Swan. Greek mythology has, throughout history, been the subject of much debate and interpretation. Conjuring up images of bloody battles and crumbling cities, its descriptions of the epic battle between good and evil still have remarkable relevance and continue to resonate with poignancy in our bleak, war-torn society. The poem Leda and the Swan, written by William Butler Yeats, attempts to shed new light on what is arguably one of Ancient Greece's most controversial myths. In this essay I aim to study the poem in more depth, analysing what Yeats says and how he says it. Leda and the Swan is an interpretation of the Greek myth wherein Zeus, in the form of a swan, violated a young woman, who gave birth to Helen and Clytemnestra. Helen's flight with Paris to Troy, leaving her husband Menelaus (Agamemnon's brother) caused the war between the Greeks and the Trojans. Clytemnestra then murdered her husband Agamemnon on his return from victory at Troy. The poem begins with Yeats emphasising the brutality of Zeus' actions, describing the initial impact as a "sudden blow". The two words carry the connotation of brutality, urgency and forcefulness; the harshness of the word "sudden" consolidating the phrase's power. There is an implication that the action is unnaturally rapid, thus godlike and powerful. The power and forcefulness of Zeus' actions is reinforced as the line continues, with the word "great" used to describe the wings of the swan which represents him, while the harshness of harshness of the word "beating" re-emphasising the brutality of Zeus' actions. Furthermore, Yeat's use of the word "great" implies glory and majesty, ... ...self as a swan. It is also clear from the poem that Leda felt ambivalent while being raped - she was unsure of whether to submit or resist. The implication near the end of the poem is that she did attempt to resist (although the "shudder in the loins" and the "white rush" convey the fact that she was raped), yet the question is why this was so. Yeats causes the reader to ponder on whether Leda's fingers were "terrified" because of the act or because of her potential knowledge of the consequences, and he himself near the end of the poem ponders on whether she knew the consequences of the rape before it happened ("Did she put on his knowledge with his power?"). Yeats speaks, on a literal level, about the rape of a young woman, yet he also relates the events of Greek mythology to themes of fate, giving the poem meaning and resonance on a more universal level.

Blood Alcohol Level (Bal) Essay

The amount of alcohol in your blood stream is referred to as Blood Alcohol Level (BAL). It is recorded in milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood, or milligrams percent. For example, a BAL of . 10 means that 1/10 of 1 percent (or 1/1000) of your total blood content is alcohol. When you drink alcohol it goes directly from the stomach into the blood stream. This is why you typically feel the effects of alcohol quite quickly, especially if you haven’t eaten for a while. BAL depends on: 1. Amount of blood (which will increase with weight) and 2. The amount of alcohol you consume over time (the faster you drink, the higher your BAL, as the liver can only handle about a drink per hour–the rest builds up in your blood stream). Understanding the effects of a rising BAL can be very useful in controlling drinking. Below are the consequences of various Blood Alcohol Levels,from a book by William R. Miller and Ricardo F. Munoz called, â€Å"How to Control your Drinkling: A Practical Guide to Responsible Drinking (1982): .02 MELLOW FEELING. SLIGHT BODY WARMTH. LESS INHIBITED. .05 NOTICEABLE RELAXATION. LESS ALERT. LESS SELF-FOCUSED. COORDINATION IMPAIRMENT BEGINS. .08 DRUNK DRIVING LIMIT. DEFINITE IMPAIRMENT IN COORDINATION AND JUDGMENT. .10 NOISY. POSSIBLE EMBARRASSING BEHAVIOR. MOOD SWINGS. REDUCTION IN REACTION TIME. .15 IMPAIRED BALANCE AND MOVEMENT. CLEARLY DRUNK. .30 MANY PASS OUT. .40 MOST PASS OUT; SOME DIE. .50 BREATHING STOPS. MANY DIE. As can be seen, the most reliably pleasurable effects of alcohol occur when BAL rises to about . 03-. 05. Alcohol researchers have discovered that low levels of alcohol have a specific effect on thinking; alcohol results in a reduction of â€Å"self-monitoring. † (Hull & Reilly, 1986). What this means is that small quantities of alcohol enable you to take your mind off yourself and your worries. Not surprisingly, this effect reduces tension and enhances relaxation in many people. Some people find this effect so rewarding that they continue to drink. Unfortunately, these relaxing effects diminish as BAL rises above . 05. Instead emerge a host of negative effects, such as less emotional control, coordination and judgment impairment, hangovers and obnoxious behavior. One way of controlling alcohol is to learn to gauge BAL by internal sensations and to attend to the reinforcing signs of a low BAL. Doing so will enable you to be more in control of how much you drink and, by focusing your attention on the initial pleasurable effects, be able to enjoy alcohol with less negative consequences. Blood Alcohol Level Charts are available in a number of resources. For example, â€Å"How to Control your Drinking: A Practical Guide to Responsible Drinking† (Miller & Munoz, 1982) Contains tables which list BAL values by gender, weight, number of drinks consumed and number of hours drinking. THE FINAL CALL BREATHALYZER is a very useful tool in monitoring BAL. The one-time use breathalyzers are small glass tubes which contain yellow crystals that have been impregnated with a reactive chemical that turns green when alcohol is present. One must breath into the balloon provided and then let it deflate into the tube. The BAL reading appears in about a minute. Final Call assesses BAL with a margin of error of plus or minus . 02. The Final Call Breathalyzer is useful because your BAL can be quickly assessed so that you get immediate feedback.

Henry Moore Sculptures

Digging deeper into the meaning of Henry Moor's sculptures Moor's sculptures are exhibited all around the world. In Moor's homeland, the sculptures are exhibited in Eke Botanical Gardens, the natural surroundings of the gardens compliment the sculptures. It feels as if the sculptures are different during the different times of the day. In the morning, when the sculptures are wrapped in mist, or during midday when the blue sky and sunshine makes them shine, or in the evening, when the sculptures absorb the red evening sun.All these different interpretations and perspectives would not be possible to see if the sculptures were in a museum, where no natural light would compliment the sculptures. Moore always manages to draw a connection between the sculptures and the landscape. For example, in the following picture, there is a hole in the sculpture, and when you look through there is an abundance of green, if there was a white wall behind it, the sculpture would not be as impressive. Per sonally, I love the fact that the sculpture is almost one with nature, it really blends into the surroundings.The three main themes around Moor's work were the reclining figure, the mother- child relationship and the embryo-like ‘internal-external' forms idea. Moore was influenced by constructivism and surrealism, this is pulled through by the biomorphic forms that Moore produced and also suggested how the human figure could be fragmented into simple, essential forms. Many of Moor's sculptures have holes in them, either in the middle or symmetrically. To me it seems like the shapes come from the hollow space in the

Meaning Of Death Essays - Theatre Of The Absurd, Waiting For Godot

Meaning Of Death Essays - Theatre Of The Absurd, Waiting For Godot Meaning Of Death Death is a word that we know and fear, but what exactly does the word death mean to you? The end of life? The end of time? The end of hope? Wellmaybe. Some see Death as a messenger sent by god to take away people's lives. For some people, death is the worse of the worse thing of all, but for the protagonists in the plays Amadeus and Waiting for Godot death is something that they do not fear. They actually want to die or use death as a tool to achieve a certain goal. Although this might sound odd, there is a solid logic behind it. While death is a significant theme in both plays, the meaning of death between the two plays varies. In the play Waiting for Godot, Estragon and Vladimir were trapped in the days simply waiting for Godot. Throughout the two days of the play, most of the things that happened on the second day were identical to those happened on the first. The days always began with Estragon coming back from the ditch and meeting Vladimir; Estragon tries to take or takes off the boots; Pozzo and Lucky comes in; the idea of hanging themselves and leaving; the Boy comes in and tell them that Mr.Godot can't come but will come for sure tomorrow; Estragon tries to sleep; and then the day is over and Estragon goes back to the ditch. Their days were too boring and repetitive, and they were struggling to kill time by finding something to do: VLADIMIR: That passed the time. ESTRAGON: It ould have passed in any case. VLADIMIR: Yes, but not so rapidly. Pause. ESTRAGON: What do we do now? VLADIMIR: I don't know. (Beckette, P.32) On both days in the play, Estragon wanted to leave the country road and go somewhere else, but when Vladimir reminds him that they are Waiting for Godot, Estragon then changed his mind and stayed with Vladimir to wait for Godot: ESTRAGON: Let's go. VLADIMIR: We can't. ESTRAGON: Why not? VLADIMIR: We're waiting for Godot. ESTRAGON: (despairingly). Ah! Pause. (Beckette, P.31) In addition, the two bums wanted to hang themselves on both days, but on the first day they were afraid that if one died the other would be left alone, on the second day the rope broke while they were testing it to see if it was strong enough to hang them. This idea of hanging themselves was Estragon's: VLADIMIR: It's for the kidneys. (Silence. Estragon looks attentively at the tree.) What do we do now? ESTRAGON: Wait. VLADIMIR: Yes, but while waiting. ESTRAGON: What about hanging ourselves? VALDIMIR: Hmm. It'd give us an erection. ESTRAGON: (highly excited). An erection! (Beckette, P.12) This is because he couldn't stand the boredom and he wanted a form of change very badly. They seem to be trapped in the repetitive process of waiting for Godot, and they believe that they will be either happier when they hang themselves or when Godot eventually arrives to save them. Although Godot is referred to as a person in the play, we can certainly think of Godot as death itself, and that is what the two friends are waiting for. Still, death is considered to be a change and that's what Vladimir and Estragon wants. No matter what/who Godot is, Godot will still be the one who can give them this change that they so desperately need. Therefore, the result of both choices is death. In this case, death is considered to be a change or an escape from suffering in life, and both Estragon and Vladimir were not afraid of death, but rather they were hoping that death will come and end their suffer. The reason why Estragon and Vladimir have to wait for Godot (death) instead of killing themse lves is because they don't have the ability to die together. If only one of them dies, the other will be left alone and not be able to die. For example, if Estragon wants to hang himself and die, Vladimir had to lift him up so he could reach the tree and tie the rope; but after Estragon dies, there would be no one to lift Vladimir up the tree so he could hang himself. Although this reason is not mentioned in the play, this is the only

English 101 for Your Future Impossible is Nothing When You Ace Writing

English 101 for Your Future Impossible is Nothing When You Ace Writing English 101 course is inevitable, and it is better to get the most out of it, then to try ignoring its value and procrastinating with writing tasks. Ability to write concise, interesting and adequate regarding the audience papers is priceless in the modern world, and English 101 is a great place to start. Course Mission English 101 aims to make student understand all basics related to writing in English: content, grammar, research, references and even making reviews and adopting texts to the specific audiences. Curriculum Fundamentals English 101 syllabus might vary from college to college, but the basics stay the same. Reading and Researching Books. There will be several literary works during the course, which you will be obligated to read and analyze. The selection of books is mostly based on the combination of classic and literature close to the major field of study. Thus, if your major is history, the book choice for the course will reflect it. Online databases. Though the course covers writing, one of the basic principles of it is to teach students to express their thoughts based on the related materials. To write a strong and interesting paper and to give your story a solid basis, you will have to dig into the various online data storages. Specialized sources. Newspapers, magazines, Facebook pages anything related to your major field of study will come in handy. Some professors give even give a list of public figures, bloggers, groups and pages you have to subscribe to and follow. It will both give you new, up-to-date information and an insight on how successful people and projects express themselves. Analysis It may be hard to believe, but making an analysis and putting the outcomes into writing is the valuable part of the English 101 curriculum. If you pay attention to the assessment rubric for this course, you will find out that it is almost impossible to score more than C without backing up your essay with an in-depth analysis of some data or your personal experience. English 101 teaches you not just to express thoughts and describe facts or events, but to make the most out of them and dig deep. Writing The last but not the least on this list is the writing itself. You will have to produce more than 20 pages of material as the result of the semester and it will take the following forms: Reflective essays. The most famous task of the English 101 course. To score in it, don’t just describe your experience but show how it affected you. In-class writing exercises. Pay extra attention to them, as the final test or final writing task is often based on the. Blog entries. Even if you a techie, an ability to write simple, correct and engaging won’t harm your future, so don’t pull a lazy-bone with this task. Peer reviews. You will have to learn how to assess your classmates’ writings. You will make comments on grammar, style, conclusions and outcomes, the strength of topics, etc. Stay positive and polite, be constructive and never forget to mention what you liked about the paper. 5 Rules for Dealing with English 101 Course without a Flinch Even if you misstep some basic principles when writing one or two papers, it won’t be a big deal. But you should follow these rules to complete your English 101 course without getting into trouble. 1. Practice Makes Perfect If you were not an avid reader in high school, now it is time to immerse yourself in reading some of the classical literature you have always shunned. Also, create English essay 101 outlines and proceed to draft English 101 sample essays based on your experience that mirror the tone of the books you have read. This practice will serve you well for the tasks ahead. 2. Immerse Yourself into English Culture Attend college plays and programs developed by the creative art department. It is free and gives you an opportunity to make fun and useful connections, not only ace your perception of English classics. 3. Use Online Resources Intensely The world is a global village and this means your professor, as well as other reputable educationists, have online materials that extensively cover English 101. Many of these materials include English 101 essay samples and English 101 essay topics which can serve as directions or guidelines for your work. 4. Avoid Plagiarism like the Plague In literary circles, plagiarism is viewed as intellectual theft and should be avoided at all costs. This does not mean you shouldn’t be inspired by the essays or literary works of others. Therefore if you see a story that you like and would want your English 101 final exam essay to be as good as, note and follow the structure used and dont forget about such fine touches as idioms, metaphors and robust data background. 5. Always Ask Questions Generally, educators view students who ask questions as serious individuals who are dedicated to learning more about a subject matter. Well-crafted questions will endear you to your teacher. On the other hand, you can clarify any confusions you may have by simply lifting a finger. Consider English 101 course as a course for which many people would pay significant sums of money nowadays, but they don’t go to college already or yet. People pay hundreds if not thousands of dollars for writing courses which might help them to develop their blogs, write books or just find a better job. Invest yourself, and spoon off cream onwards. Additionally, you can get professional help with writing an essay from English 101 experts at our website.

How to Appeal a Dismissal From College

How to Appeal a Dismissal From College No one has ever entered college with the goal of being suspended or dismissed. Unfortunately, life happens.  Perhaps you simply werent quite ready for the challenges of college or the freedom of living on your own. Or maybe you encountered factors outside of your control - illness, injury, a family crisis, depression, death of a friend, or some other distraction that made college a lower priority than it needed to be. Whatever the situation, the good news is that an academic dismissal is rarely the last word on the matter. Nearly all colleges allow students to appeal a dismissal. Schools realize that your GPA doesnt tell the whole story and that there are always factors that contributed to your poor academic performance. An appeal gives you the opportunity to put your grades into context, explain what went wrong, and convince the appeals committee that you have a plan for future success. If Possible, Appeal in Person Some colleges allow written appeals only, but if you have the option of appealing in person, you should take advantage of the opportunity.  The members of the appeals committee will think you are more committed to being readmitted if you take the trouble to travel back to college to make your case. Even if the thought of appearing in front of the committee terrifies you, it is still usually a good idea. In fact, genuine nervousness and tears can sometimes make the committee more sympathetic to you. You will want to be well prepared for your meeting and follow strategies for a successful in-person appeal. Show up on time, well dressed, and by yourself (you dont want it to look as tho your parents are dragging you to your appeal). Also, be sure to think about the types of questions youre likely to be asked during an appeal. The committee will certainly want to know what went wrong, and theyll want to know what your plan is for future success. Be painfully honest when youre speaking with the committee members. They will have received information from your professors and advisors as well as student life personnel, so theyre going to know if youre holding back information. Make the Most of a Written Appeal Often in-person appeals require a written statement, and in other situations, an appeal letter is your only option for pleading your case. In either situation, your appeal letter needs to be crafted effectively.   To write a successful appeal letter, you need to be polite, humble, and honest. Make your letter personal, and address it to the Dean or the members of the committee who will be considering your appeal. Be respectful, and always keep in mind that you are asking for a favor. The appeal letter is no place to express anger or entitlement. For an example of a good letter by a student who was overwhelmed by problems at home, be sure to read Emmas appeal letter. Emma owns up to mistakes she made, summarizes the situation that led to the bad grades, and explains how she will avoid similar problems in the future. Her letter focuses on a single and serious distraction from school, and she remembers to thank the committee in her closing. Many appeals are based on situations that are more embarrassing and less sympathetic than a family crisis. When you read Jasons appeal letter, youll learn that his failing grades were the result of problems with alcohol. Jason approaches this situation the only way that is likely to be successful in an appeal: he owns up to it. His letter is honest about what went wrong and just as important, it is clear in the steps that Jason has taken that he has plans to get his problems with alcohol under control. His polite and honest approach to his situation is likely to win the sympathy of the appeals committee. Avoid Common Mistakes When Writing Your Appeal If the best appeal letters own up to the students failures in a polite and honest way, it shouldnt be a surprise that unsuccessful appeals do just the opposite. Bretts appeal letter  makes some serious mistakes beginning in the very first paragraph. Brett is quick to blame others for his problems, and rather than look in the mirror, he points to his professors as the source of his low grades. We clearly arent getting the full story in Bretts letter, and he doesnt convince anyone that he is putting in the hard work that he claims he is. What exactly has Brett been doing with his time that has led to his academic failure? The committee doesnt know, and the appeal is likely to fail for that reason. A Final Word on Appealing a Dismissal If youre reading this, youre most likely in the unenviable position of being dismissed from college. Dont lose hope of returning to school just yet. Colleges are learning environments, and the faculty and staff members on the appeals committee are fully aware that students make mistakes and have bad semesters. Your job is to show that you have the maturity to own up to your mistakes and that you have the ability to learn from your missteps and devise a plan for future success. If you can do both of these things, you have a good chance of appealing successfully. Finally, even if your appeal is not successful, realize that dismissal doesnt need to be the end of your college aspirations. Many dismissed students enroll in a community college, prove that they are capable of succeeding in college coursework, and then reapply to either their original institution or another four-year college.

Social networks and the internet shrink our understanding of the Essay - 1

Social networks and the internet shrink our understanding of the world. Argue your position on this statement - Essay Example At the initial stages, the excitement and hype involved in the development of new technology prevent to outlook the negative consequences. It becomes hard to find any people who are not connected to any forms of social media. The prime purpose of the report is to argue on the statement the internet and the social networks can shrink the people’s understanding of the world. The emergence of social media is a perfect intermediate for individual to connect with each other via internet. The introduction of social media has completely altered the human relationship dynamics in to new perspective. The pivotal cause of drastic growth of this new technology is the ability of creating user-generated content. The downside of the causal connection in electronic surroundings can shrink the understanding of the world. Recent survey states that, more than 90% of the total world population is some way or another connected to social media and internet (Giuffre, 2013, p.18). This resembles the massive growth of social media has encouraged people to provide power in their hand and can act as a communication tool. Social media has become an inevitable part of human lives as it created a global reach for human beings to share information, knowledge and communicate. In today’s society, routines and daily patterns of internet and social media has become more popular due to the upsurge of number of internet users (Lyron, 2010, p.8). According to Georgetown University, â€Å"the rise of social media and internet means that everyone is critic and publisher†. According to Ethan Zuckerman, the enormous amount of information can be acquired from social media and internet but problem arises when people do not necessarily know about the information and knowledge that are required to know about the world (Johnson, 2010, p.78). It is true that, the wider expansion of social media has benefited people to gain knowledge and discover

Discuss Augustines understanding of the relation between human loves Essay

Discuss Augustines understanding of the relation between human loves and the love of God, with particular focus on his experience of the death of his friend (described in Book IV of the Confessions) - Essay Example He emphasized loving the earthling and the immortal was same. God resided in the very heart of humans which stirred love. â€Å"Self love and love of others coincide with love of God when inserted into the ordered hierarchy of loves† (Cavadini and Fitzgerald, 29) Augustine opposed self love and termed it as evil, which misguides humans taking them in the opposite direction of the eternal power. For him human existence was a struggle where one copes with sin and salvation. The triumph over salvation could be achieved only through divine grace. For Augustine the concept of proper love was always directed to God as he believed that the very thought of love was incited by God himself. â€Å"All we can do is to love God, who is love, for God’s sake.†(Boeve, Schrijvers, Stoker and Vroom, 279) Loving fellow human beings in the right spirit was equal to loving God with full dedication of soul, heart and mind. Augustine implied the desire to find one’s inner self was synonym to the desire of attaining proximity with the Almighty. Yearning to love one’s fellow being was equal to the desire to love God. Augustine’s theory of love was inspired by Neo-Platonist tradition which encouraged the thought that love was a creation of God in which human participation was very essential for the welfare of humanity. God was the ultimate finishing point and love provided the path to reach that goal. â€Å"The ultimate vocation of the Christian then is grow in his or her relationship to God. The self must learn how to abandon itself for the sake of participating more and more in God’s love.† (Boeve, Schrijvers, Stoker and Vroom, 279) This understanding of love is called kenotic view. Augustine perceived love as the rescue boat which transports the fallen human beings to God’s grace. The underline of this thought was the relation shared between a human and God was a central relation,

Mothering and Child Death Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Mothering and Child Death - Essay Example The region has experienced child deaths due to a variety of reasons. For example, Nations and Rebhun (1988) assert that it is caused by failure to obtain medical care for severely ill children. Other reasons such as the bureaucratic and geographic barriers also play a factor. The following paper seeks to examine the situation according to two different points of view. The two different points of view are brought forward by two sets of authors through the writing and research that was undertaken in the region. The paper looks at the key arguments that are made by each set of authors. Secondly, an analysis of the political, economic concerns that factor in each of the author’s reasons for the child death. Finally, the biggest points of contention between the two works as well as any points to which the two sets of authors. More than 1 million Brazilian children under the age of 5 years die each year mostly as a result of parasitic infections interacting with infectious disease and a chronic case of under nutrition. According to Scheper-Hughes (1985), infant and childhood mortality in the region and other third world countries is a problem of political economy. However, he asserts and brings out another point to the table. Scheper-Hughes (1985) states that maternal detachment and an indifference towards the infants and the babies that are judged to be too weak or too vulnerable to survive the unhealthy and bad conditions of the shanty town living. The author tries to show the link between the economic and the maternal deprivation between the maternal and the emotional scarcity. The author also brings forward the social and the economic context shaping the expression of maternal sentiments and the cultural meaning or implications of mother love and child death. The author also describes the experiences of attachment, separation, and loss. The author undertakes a research study with 72 women who have a

International strategy operation Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

International strategy operation - Coursework Example As a small-scale company in Austria, AGRANA had to compete with other larger and similar companies. Prior to 1989, AGRANA encountered a lot of business challenges before it was able to successfully compete in the global markets. Regional integration is referring to the process in which companies located in different regional states are actively interacting with one another in order to promote both economic and political security1, 2 whereas global integration is pertaining to the process in which the company is able to benefit from the act of combining the different business activities that are located in different countries around the world3. Through regional and global integration, AGRANA was not only able to gain benefits from economies-of-scale but also created more competitive advantage. Ever since the CEE decided to open its market to other regions and in the world market, the scope of AGRANA’s target market also increased significantly. Through foreign direct investment (FDI), AGRANA took the opportunity to expand its manufacturing plants in different regional and international sites4. Since AGRANA was selling homogenous products, its target buyers can easily purchase the same item from other companies. Back when the scale of AGRANA was small, the bargaining power of its buyers was high. Therefore, the company was determined in searching for ways on how they can effectively cut down its operational costs without sacrificing the quality of the products. To compete in the market, the company had no other choice but to improve its marketing and production strategies to create cost and differetiation advantages5. It means that through product differentiation, market segmentaion, the use of generic strategies, and continuous reduction in the actual fixed costs of the busienss6, AGRANA was able to keep up with the tight market competition. For example, instead of

Management Seminar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Management Seminar - Essay Example SOX ensure accurate financial statements by eliminating unethical acts in organizations hence increasing the public’s confidence in investment. Therefore, employees are required to report any wrongdoing for the organization to be punished by the federal government. The enforcement of the Act actually resulted to decline in financial scandals. However, 2008 financial crisis proved that any regulation is unable to reduce or control risks. Additionally, due to the cunning nature of organizations, the Act has been greatly challenged. A good number of companies have refused to go public in order, not to comply with the SOX Act. SOX are not necessary for companies because it just limits flexibility of financial management despite the stiff global competition. It also raises costs to organizations in the form of monetary expenses associated with SOX compliance. Since companies are more concerned with public image, they need no strict regulation for them to act ethically. They often have internal controls necessary to maintain the required ethical

Academic and Professional Statement Personal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Academic and Professional - Personal Statement Example The program will truly be helpful in providing me with an understanding about the academic and professional discipline of helping others in an efficient manner and assist me to gain the rewarding outcome of enhancing their quality of life. I graduated from Hagerstown Community College as a Human Service Technician in 2010. Currently I am completing my Bachelor of Social Work from Shippensburg University along with a minor in Criminal Justice. My most conspicuous and memorable experience was with the United States Army as a Staff Sergeant from 1991 to 2001. Working as a Staff Sergeant, I had the opportunity to work with my fellow soldiers, supervisors and officers of higher posts. As a Staff Sergeant I was able to help others and also gain knowledge about human rights and social justice at the same time. Dealing with my colleagues gave me excellent communication skills which are of utmost importance in the field of social services. I had to deal with programs of different varieties and areas of human resources within the different military organizations. I can very competently handle different types of communication equipment because of my training as a member of the signal corp. Hence, the time of my affiliation with the US Armed Forces helped me enhance my knowledge, experience various military organizations, build up my medication administration procedures and improve my understanding with regard to medical terminology and abbreviations. My experience with the military services helped me in improving my understanding about the area of resources and it has served to polish my written, verbal and communication skills as well. Working as a federal work study candidate with Geriatrics and Palliative Care in the Department of Veterans Affairs, I was able to pursue my career as a social worker and human right activist. My work with the VA Palliative Care Community Living Center holds great importance in my professional life. This Center

Management Seminar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Management Seminar - Essay Example SOX ensure accurate financial statements by eliminating unethical acts in organizations hence increasing the public’s confidence in investment. Therefore, employees are required to report any wrongdoing for the organization to be punished by the federal government. The enforcement of the Act actually resulted to decline in financial scandals. However, 2008 financial crisis proved that any regulation is unable to reduce or control risks. Additionally, due to the cunning nature of organizations, the Act has been greatly challenged. A good number of companies have refused to go public in order, not to comply with the SOX Act. SOX are not necessary for companies because it just limits flexibility of financial management despite the stiff global competition. It also raises costs to organizations in the form of monetary expenses associated with SOX compliance. Since companies are more concerned with public image, they need no strict regulation for them to act ethically. They often have internal controls necessary to maintain the required ethical

Best Practices for School Principals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Best Practices for School Principals - Essay Example This essay declares that principals are the chief executives of schools. In the absence of a competent principal, a school may face lot of problems. In other words, a principal can make or break a school. Scholars often talk about the importance of teaching and the skills necessary for teachers. They speak less about the importance of principals in controlling or managing school resources. In fact principal is the person who is managing the school resources, including teachers and infrastructure facilities in the school compound. This paper analyses the importance and best practices of school principals in general and school principals in Texas in particular. This paper stresses that democratic way of functioning by the principal is always welcomed by the students, parents and teachers. However, it is not necessary that democracy may bring intended results in schools. For example, teachers and students may consider the liberal attitudes of the principal as a weakness and they may try to exploit it. In order to avoid that it is better for the principal to implement situational leadership in his functioning. In other words, the principal should change his way of functioning based on the situations. There are situations in which the principal forced to use his power and authority to punish the students and teachers. Teachers may come late and students may not attend the classes regularly, if the principal fails to punish the culprits. School is a place from which the students lean discipline. In the absence of a competent principal, students may learn crazy life styles from school campuses instead of discipline. It should be noted that in ma ny of the Texas school campuses, drug addiction and alcoholism are big problems. Moreover sexual exploitation is also taking place in many of the Texas school campuses. If the principal fails to take necessary actions to punish the culprits, such unacceptable behaviors may increase in school compounds. In short, an effective principal should be the one who implements

Physician Assisted Suicide Essay Example for Free

Physician Assisted Suicide Essay Physician assisted suicide is one of those moral and ethical questions that are destined to remain as controversial and contested as abortion. It is often easy to make moral judgments on aspects of humanity when one is not in the situation themselves. It has to be taken into account that a number of variables are present in the argument then merely whether or not someone has the right to their own lives. It is an issue that is beyond legal parameters and extends to the philosophical. We are able to argue that life is not our own, that it is a God given purpose, until we are beset with burdening pain and suffering. One cannot argue that it is simply a religious or moral standpoint, and one cannot argue it as a legal issue either. Many physicians themselves stand for the rights of individuals to choose a dignified and unlabored death and this is where the crux lies: the fact that they see far more than the average ignoramus has the right to contribute. In this case, far more evidence weights for the legal right to choose physician assisted suicide, than it does to deny the right. Physician assisted suicide is defined as the â€Å"voluntary termination of one’s own life by the administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician. †(Medterms, 2008). University of Washington School of Medicine offers us two examples of the moral case for suicide: Skip and Angela. Skip is 50 years of age, male and suffers from metastatic nonsmall cell lung cancer. He has had complications with the chemotherapy to the point where he is not sure it is worth having, but is also afraid not to have it (UWSM, 2008). Angela is 72 years of age and is in the final stages of congestive heart failure, having suffered to heart attacks. She is exhausted simply from living and her condition is unpredictable (UWSM, 2008). In these cases we have to take into account that there are more than one issue we are dealing with. In Skip’s case, he is destined for almost certain death while Angela may have one year or ten years ahead of her and we are never certain when she will die. In this case we have to evaluate what the quality of life will be like for each of them in the event that they do, by some miracle, live for another ten years. Granted, the outsider may argue that Angela should not give up on life especially if her time is indeterminate, but will her quality of life be such that she wishes to continue? Skip on the other hand is terminally ill, he knows he is going to die and again, the medication makes him so uncomfortable that one wonders if he wants to suffer through it. The University of Washington School of Medicine determines three types of physician assisted suicide: terminal sedation (sedation until unconsciousness and allowing them to die during this constant sedation); withholding of life-support or sustaining treatments (the patient decides not to take the treatments necessary to keep them alive) and pain medication that hastens death (doses of pain drugs that decrease respiration or speed up the dying process) (UWSM, 2008). We have discussed what physician assisted suicide is and seen possible cases where it may be augmented, but now the argument is whether or not it is legal and whether or not the law really has a right to an opinion on it. A cat is ill and even though it is beloved of the family, it is taken to the veterinarian and put ‘to sleep’. This is seen as merciful. However, if a human is suffering unbearably, they do not have the same luxury of hastening their death. The difference is, of course, that the cat did not have a choice. In the one case where a person is capable of understanding death and their condition and capable of voicing what they want, they are unable to do so. Eleven years ago, Oregon State became the first to initiate the choice to a dignified death. Last year 341 terminally ill took advantage of the option. On the 4th November Washington will decide whether they will implement their own Death with Dignity Act (Yardley, 2008). Prior to this attempt to secure the law, they had failed to implement it because voters refused to vote in favour of the movement (Yardley, 2008). The truth of the matter is that the voters were not those who were going to make use of it. Strangely enough, a democratic society should by definition allow the rights of all people, not just those who are healthy. We could describe the situation as follows: Martin Luther King fought for equal rights to all citizens of the United States and so the liberated African American came into being. Susan B Anthony and Emiline Pankhurst became women’s rights activists fighting for the rights of women to be treated as equals and today we have the liberated woman. The Battle of Little Bighorn and several others fought for the rights of Native Americans to lands and equal rights and to an extent (only an extent), they have their freedom too. Now, place in the equation, the dying man or woman: cast into the same bracket as women, African Americans and Natives. Included in this bracket is the homosexual. The comparison here is that the choice to live or die is actually more morally decent that gay marriages are in the religious sector. Despite this, more emphasis is placed on homosexual rights than the right to die with dignity. Legality or merely creating an argument where there needn’t be one? Dr David Stolinksy considers the legal wrangle to be indecent. â€Å"An ethical question must be answered by reference to ethical standards such as the Hippocratic Oath. This oath has been taken by young physicians for 2400 years. †(Stolinsky, 2006). Stolinksy voraciously attacked articles he read about the essence of physician assisted suicide, saying that what is often read about the issue is packed to exploding with references to court cases, legal procedures and rulings, but that their never an ounce of ‘ethical wisdom’ contained in them. In his view, it is an ethical issue and never has been a legal one (Stolinksy, 2006). Stolinsky does not himself defend the physician assisted suicide, but makes a crucial point in saying that the law really has no idea what they are talking about (given that they have little to do with emaciated and uncomfortable terminally ill people). Dr Jack Kevorkian is a Parkinson’s sufferer and an activist for the right to die with dignity. In his case, he knows that one day he will be in an unbearable state and hopes that the choices he can make will help others to make similar decisions (Ferguson, 2007). Dr Ferguson believes that â€Å"Working at HospiceCare, where honoring every patients end-of-life choices is a core value, I have no dispute with Governor Gardners desire to make his own decisions as life draws to an end. †(Ferguson, 2007). Indeed seeing the dying on a daily basis, her argument is to allow as many choices as possible for the patient, not deny them any. Although she believes that proper pain management can be accomplished and that patients need not die in unbearable pain, she does believe the ultimate choice should be theirs. Let us be certain here of one thing and that is the difference between normal suicidal ideation and physician assisted suicide. Suicide due to self-mutilating circumstances (drugs and self hate), or even pure depression are situations that can be reversed and treated and there is the potential for the person to live a happy, healthy and full life. Physician assisted suicide is where the light at the end of the tunnel has been blocked off and the future is not so bright. Perhaps the most controversial and least comfortable argument is that of the death sentence. Simply put, if the death penalty is considered humane, then why is not humane to allow the choice to die with dignity. Furthermore, we have to look at the ethical argument that has been applied to the death sentence: by some rather twisted logical inception, the ability to take a life has been granted to a few people who believe it is their right to decide a criminal should die. If we are to use this as a comparative argument for physician assisted suicide then we can use the following example: A man rapes and murders several women. He is tried and found guilty with the sentence of death. The argument is that he is likely, by psychological profiling, to commit further atrocities and due to the severity of his crime, deserves to die. The question is, what if he never commits another crime and completely reforms himself? In the same light, a patient given 6 months to live and chooses the suicide route. He could very well have lived another ten years but who can say that he would have? In both cases there is a shadow of doubt – a risk. Lawrence Hinman of University of San Diego puts forward the awkward question too that the death penalty follows the lex talionis principle of an ‘eye for an eye’ and by extension a ‘life for a life’. He asks why then it is not applied to torturers (Hinman, 2008: 5). Evidently the principle does not work. By logic, this makes the lex talionis not only unfair but also impractical. A cancer sufferer is not a criminal, although they are not exempt from the disease, but if it appears to be ethical to take a life-for-a-life, then surely it is even more ethical to take ones own? You have more right to your own body then the judge on the podium does. So what the argument therefore entails is that if it is both legal and ethical (doubtful) to sentence someone to death, then it should be legal and ethical to let someone choose to die if they are ill. With regards to the argument that the patient may actually live, the same could be said for the rapist who may actually be able to donate blood or stem-cells for a leukaemia patient if he is given the right to live. Neither case can be proved or disproved. Are we left at square one again? It depends very much on which side of the proverbial fence you fall. A person can only really decide if something is ethical or moral really when they have experienced it themselves. The right to physician assisted suicide should be given. It is no more or less ethical than any other moralistic standpoint. Consider the debacle that still descends on gay marriages, abortion, and even forced prostitution: are they any more morally sound then physician assisted suicide? Consider if prostitution is legalised and the countless women held under torturous circumstances under that very law? Is that any more ethical? Given that the majority of voters in the United States are those that are not in the position where they have to face their death, the intentions are a little selfish. They are concerned for their own loss, not for the suffering of those who are about to die. The loved ones are more fearful of losing those close to them then they are concerned for the dignity and suffering of those who are dying.

relgion 101 papal states :: essays research papers

There were mixed reactions among Arab states to a contentious Jordanian proposal, which aims to revise the long-standing Arab strategy to normalise relations with Israel by sidestepping direct reference to the Jewish state's return of occupied Arab territories. But, Syria is expectedly raising concerns over the Jordanian plan, which drops specific references to Israel's return of Arab land seized during the 1967 Middle East war - including Syria's Golan Heights - as part of any full normalisation with the Arab state. The proposal by Jordanian King Abd Allah II is expected to dominate the two-day Arab League summit starting on Monday as it aims to amend a Saudi Arabian-crafted strategy, which was endorsed by Arab leaders at a 2002 summit in Beirut. The Saudi plan, known as the "Arab initiative," offered Israel full ties with Arab states in return for the handover of Arab territories, including the Palestinian West Bank and Syria's Golan Heights. Reservations Arab foreign ministers convened on Saturday for official talks to finalize the two-day summit's agenda, which Abd Allah's proposal is expected to feature prominently on. Damascus has reservations over Jordan's proposal An Arab delegate, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that 13 of the Arab League's 22 members are showing implicit support for the Jordanian proposal, which some see as a way to compel Israel to meet its requirements under the US-backed road map for regional peace. Nine Arab states, including Syria, have reservations over the current draft. Diplomats have asked the Jordanian and Palestinian foreign ministers to come up with a new drafting for Abd Allah's proposal in an apparent bid to make it acceptable to all sides. Reword Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu al-Ghait said on Saturday that Jordan wants to reword, not change, the 2002 Arab initiative to make it more easily understood by the international community. Syria is worried the draft effects their right to the Golan Heights †The Jordanians are saying that through their consultations with the international community they heard them saying that the Arab initiative is too long and has too many details," Abu al-Ghait told The Associated Press. â€Å"This means that many of the international sides couldn't grasp the content of this initiative because of its length and its details.† Abu al-Ghait said any â€Å"rewording of the initiative ... will need a new Arab consensus. We might succeed in this.† The Saudi-crafted Arab initiative calls for the Israeli withdrawal from East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Syria's Golan Heights, as well as the creation of a Palestinian state and right of return of refugees.

Kingstons China Men :: Maxine Hong Kingston China Men

Kingston's China Men Maxine Hong Kingston's China Men contains many fables and parables from the Chinese Culture. In "On Mortality" Kingston reveals the story of human mortality and the reason for this mortality. The story focuses largely on human emotions and reactions towards the situations that people find themselves in. It also raises questions about the role of women in the Chinese culture and the attitudes of the culture towards them. The main character, Tu Tzu-chun, is forced to go through a series of tortures that are all illusions. He can not speak or react to the events that he witnesses, which he believes he can do. It is only at the last of the nine hells that he cries out in horror at the sight that he encounters. As he cries out, Tu is removed from the hells he is in and informed by the Taoist that he has ruined the chance for all humans to be immortal. The Taoist informs Tu that "[Tu] overcame joy and sorrow, anger, fear, and evil desire, but not love..."(121). hat, though, constitutes this idea of love? During the illusions, Tu could not "overcome love" when he was reincarnated as a woman and faced with the murder of her young child, yet when he was still himself he quietly watched his wife be ground into bloodmeal. He did not cry out at that sight, reminding himself that it was only an illusion. How could he not react to this incident to his own wife, yet react to the death of a child he does not yet know? Both incidents were illusions and both would seem to involve love but Tu only reacted to one of them. Is it because he was a woman that he cried out at the sight of a child being harmed? Did he not cry out at the death of his wife because she was a woman? The role of the female in this story reveals a sense of inferiority towards women. These questions that the story raises show how women were viewed as inferior and weak in the eyes of the Chinese culture. Kingston's China Men :: Maxine Hong Kingston China Men Kingston's China Men Maxine Hong Kingston's China Men contains many fables and parables from the Chinese Culture. In "On Mortality" Kingston reveals the story of human mortality and the reason for this mortality. The story focuses largely on human emotions and reactions towards the situations that people find themselves in. It also raises questions about the role of women in the Chinese culture and the attitudes of the culture towards them. The main character, Tu Tzu-chun, is forced to go through a series of tortures that are all illusions. He can not speak or react to the events that he witnesses, which he believes he can do. It is only at the last of the nine hells that he cries out in horror at the sight that he encounters. As he cries out, Tu is removed from the hells he is in and informed by the Taoist that he has ruined the chance for all humans to be immortal. The Taoist informs Tu that "[Tu] overcame joy and sorrow, anger, fear, and evil desire, but not love..."(121). hat, though, constitutes this idea of love? During the illusions, Tu could not "overcome love" when he was reincarnated as a woman and faced with the murder of her young child, yet when he was still himself he quietly watched his wife be ground into bloodmeal. He did not cry out at that sight, reminding himself that it was only an illusion. How could he not react to this incident to his own wife, yet react to the death of a child he does not yet know? Both incidents were illusions and both would seem to involve love but Tu only reacted to one of them. Is it because he was a woman that he cried out at the sight of a child being harmed? Did he not cry out at the death of his wife because she was a woman? The role of the female in this story reveals a sense of inferiority towards women. These questions that the story raises show how women were viewed as inferior and weak in the eyes of the Chinese culture.

Protecting staff through legislation Essay

Understand how equal pay and minimum wage laws affect business Understand the laws against discrimination at work and during recruitment Understand employment rights of workers Understand health and safety laws A minority of small businesses will treat staff unfairly; to protect them is the legislation Act. Equal Pay Act – Created in 1970 the equal pay act means a person of a different sex cannot be paid less simply because they are a girl/boy. An example of this is football; premiership football players get paid well over à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½500,000 yet the players on the girl’s team only get paid a fraction of it. If the owner of a company is doing this he/she would be breaking the laws. Minimum Wage Act – Only enforced 11 years ago, the minimum wage act was made as many companies were taking advantage of people needing jobs and paying them a tiny amount of money. Discrimination Legislation – First introduced in 1976 and then again in 1996 the discrimination act prevents candidates skin colours, backgrounds, religions or even disabilities to be a factor in the owner deciding weather he/she gets the job. Employment Rights – To give employees the right to take sick pay, maternity/paternity leave and holidays. Health And Safety Acts – The right to be safe in the working environment. If this was not a law then if someone is injured for example because someone forgot to wipe water off a keyboard after spilling water onto it and it giving the employee an electric shock then the company could get away with it and blame the employee. Legislation acts are laws enforced by the government. Without them there would be complete kayos. Companies would immediately cut costs and thousands of people would suffer. For example if a company could get a hold of a person to do something for à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1 an hour when they are currently paying à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½6 an hour they would happily take the other person onboard.

Knowledge, Attitude and Breast Cancer Screening Practices in Ghana Essay

INTRODUCTION   Ã‚   Breast cancer in its simplest definition is the cancer of breast tissue. It is the most common nonskin cancer that affects women in the United States and the highest fatality rates of cancer deaths among women in low-resource countries (Anderson et al 2006). Severity of breast cancer differs based on its level of tissue invasion. Ductal carcinoma in situ is the most common noninvasive breast cancer while infiltrating or invasive ductal carcinoma is the most common breast cancer that accounts for about 80% of invasive breast cancer. Breast lumps presentation is the commonest form of presentation regardless of the breast cancer type (ACS 2005). Epidemiologic factors are attributed to dietary and environmental risk factors, although association of diet and breast cancer had varied results. Environmental risk factors involve the exposure to several toxic elements which accounts for the increased incidence of breast cancer in Western countries. Alcohol intake is also considered to effect in the increase of the number of cases in the US population. Age is also considered as cancer risk factor and can be attributed to hormonal change. Genetic variation and ethnicity are not out of scope for the investigation of breast cancer risk factors (Barton 2005). Diagnosis and Pathology of Breast Cancer: In 2002, Breast Health Global Initiative (BHGI) together with panel of breast cancer experts and patient advocates develop a consensus of recommendations for the diagnosis of breast cancer in limited-resource countries (Shyyan 2006). Histopathologic diagnosis included fine-needle aspiration biopsy which was recognized as the least expensive, core needle biopsy and surgical biopsy and had a consensus of choosing the method based on the availability of tools and expertise. They gave emphasis on the correlation of histopathology, clinical and imaging findings. They agreed on the need of histopathologic diagnosis before breast cancer treatment. In 2005, BHGI panel recommended an additional strategy of breast cancer management. They stratify diagnostic procedure and histopathology methods into – â€Å"basic, limited, enhanced, and maximal—from lowest to highest resources†. Basic level includes medical history of the patient, clinical breast examination, tissue diagnosis and medical record keeping. Limited level includes the increasing resources that enable diagnostic imaging utilization such as ultrasound with or without mammography, tests that can evaluate metastasis, use of image-guided sampling and hormone receptor sampling. Enhanced level includes diagnostic mammography, bone scanning and an onsite cytologist. Maximal level includes mass screening mammography (Shyyan 2006). Treatment of Breast Cancer: Treatment includes surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy or combinations of these three treatment modalities. According to American Cancer Society (2005), treatment can be local or systemic. Local treatment of the tumor is done without affecting the rest of the body. Surgery and radiation are examples of this treatment. On the other hand, systemic treatment which includes chemotherapy, hormone therapy and immunotherapy, is given into the bloodstream or by mouth to reach the cancer cells that may have spread the beyond the breast.    Radiotherapy is a treatment of breast cancer with high-energy rays to help shrink the cancer cells. It can be given outside of the body (external radiation) or can be placed directly into the tumor as radioactive materials (ACS 2005). It may be given external to the body.   Radiotherapy requires safe and effective application requiring appropriate facilities, staff and equipment. Radiotherapy should be applied without delay, should be accessible to all but without prolongation of the overall treatment time exposure. It is part of an integral part of breast-conserving treatment. It is required in almost all women with the breast cancer, and therefore should be available (Bese 2006).   Ã‚  Chemotherapy is the use of anticancer drugs that are administered through injection in the vein or taken orally as a pill. It may be given before breast cancer surgery to reduce the size of the tumor or may be given after the surgery to reduce the chance of   recurrence (ACS 2005). This treatment is done in cycle the most common of which is 3-6 months. Most common side effects of these drugs usually stop   once the treatment is over such as in hair falling. Some of   drugs used as chemotherapy     are tamoxifen, cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, 5-fluorouracil doxorubicin, epirubicin, taxane and aromatase . These are usually prescribed in combination, and treatment is done with adjuvant therapy such as radiotherapy and pre- and post operation ( Eniu 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Surgical management in breast cancer is very common. This is done to remove as much as the cancer as possible and to find out whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm. Surgery can also restore the appearance of the breast and relieve the symptoms of advanced cancer. ACS (2005) released some of the common surgical procedures in breast cancer. These are lumpectomy, partial or segmental mastectomy, simple or total mastectomy, modified radical mastectomy and radical mastectomy. RESULTS    Breast cancer patients in Ghana. The present study which included women with mean age population of 48 years   revealed an almost consistent perception with regards to breast cancer.  Ã‚   They were aware that breast cancer is highly increasing in their place but not informed of the cause of disease. All of the responders were not aware of family breast cancer history except one. Information about breast cancer was acquired through television and radio programs. Only after   consultation with doctors due to lumps or   pains in their breast and some due to liquid coming out of their breast, that they were informed that they have breast cancer. Most of them underwent breast tissue exam for confirmation of the disease. Afterwards, they were advised to undergo surgery with medical treatment. The responders were ignorant of the breast cancer screening and prevention. In fact, out of 10 responders, only 2 (20%) of them were aware of breast self examination and clinical breast examination and admitted that they occasionally practice BSE. None of the responders knew about mammogram except for one (10%) of them who has heard of it but never had tried one. The feeling towards the knowledge of acquiring the disease was also the same; the feeling of being a burden in the family was common. They were afraid to face the reality but have realized that they have to fight the disease through the encouragement and support of family members and   help of medical professionals. The sample population was aware of the herbalist and faith healers but they did not submit themselves into that kind of treatment because herbalist have not   proven cure for breast cancer.   The most common complaint of the responders was the high cost of therapies, hospitalization and doctor fees. The treatment cost ranged to    ¢250,000- ¢24 million except to one of them who received a free treatment for being enrolled to a clinical trial. Sentiments of the participants were the same. Delay of treatment was attributed to their distant place from the health clinics; some facilities like x-ray were not available in the clinics and   high cost of treatment. These people asked for the betterment of breast cancer management through education dissemination to the community by health care providers and a help from the government to provide financial support to those who cannot afford to submit themselves for treatment. Patients in breast cancer clinic. In this part of the study, women with mean age of 42 years who were in breast cancer clinic were included. Most common medical complaint was lump and pain in the breast while others submit themselves for screening because they have just heard it from the radio/TV.   The study revealed that women who were attending the clinic were not actually informed of the cause breast cancer but aware of its increasing rate of mortality. Misconception about the cause of breast cancer such as exposure to coins was not common but did not exclude the form of trauma due to manipulation of the breast. Others correlate breast cancer with smoking and taking alcoholic beverages. They were not aware of their family history of breast cancer.   Information regarding breast cancer was acquired through television and radio programs and others were through their friends and family members. Most of the respondents believed that early detection and prompt treatment of the disease can prevent the unfavorable outcome of breast cancer such as removal of their breast or the worst would be cancer death. Only one out of   10 participants (10%) actually practice breast self examination (BSE). Most of them were informed of BSE but not actually practicing it. They were also aware of healers and herbalist but they did not believe that they can cure breast cancer but did not disagree of the possibility that herbalist and healers could treat other diseases or illnesses like hypertension. The participants suggested that it would be better if the government would provide or establish more health care clinics for breast cancer screening and provide free screening programs especially to those who cannot afford to   pay for high cost of treatment of the disease and for an open-easy access to all especially to those in rural areas. One of the participants suggested   that doctors should study further about the treatment of breast cancer instead of resorting to breast surgery. Healers involved in breast cancer management. Many of the population of Ghana are still patronizing healers and herbalist as a resort   of treatment. Two healers from Ghana were interviewed regarding their management of breast cancer. The healers have been into this practice for about 20-50 years. According to them, breast cancer is very common in Ghana and they are aware of the increasing incidence of   the disease. They described breast cancer as an â€Å"obosam† disease and the other was a supernatural disease. Healers believed that their ability to cure   the disease inherited from their forefathers who taught them how to prepare herbs and provide them with dwarfs. They believed that doctors have no right treatment towards breast cancer because according to them they just remove the breasts of women   and subsequently die. According to the healers they do not promote breast   examinations to their patients because these are useless and cannot stop women from getting the disease. Despite the big machines available in the hospitals, women with breast cancer still die, according to them. Healers charge their patients with as much as  ¢200,000- ¢1( £15-60) million depending on the patients’ condition. The healers admitted that there were cases of recurrence of the disease due to lost to follow up and missed spiritual sessions. Healers do not refer patients to hospitals rather, they encourage hospital doctors to refer their patients to healers because they are more capable of treating breast cancer. Breast cancer consultants.   Medical health professionals play a significant role in the awareness of breast cancer. They have the power to influence their patients toward right management of the disease. In the present study, surgeon/breast cancer consultants were interviewed. Consultants as expected were aware of the increasing incidence of breast cancer but they cannot give an exact figure due to absence of cancer registry in the place however they were able to attend to 200-300 new cases of breast cancer annually with age range starting from 20 years and above. They revealed that women in Ghana associate breast cancer to death because after undergoing breast caner surgery they usually die. People in Ghana link medical intervention and death which made the women in this place afraid of   the disease and lead them to negative attitude towards the disease. Consultants believed that there were several misconceptions about the disease. They were also aware that healers and herbalist delay the   presentation of patients to   hospital which accounted for the late stage of diagnosis. National Screening Program would benefit the people in Ghana for early detection of breast cancer and prompt treatment, however, they did not deny the fact it would be difficult to establish such program due to lack of funds by the government at present time. Consultants were aware of the limited resources of the needed for the implementation of the program. They believe that it is much easier and feasible to educate the women on simple screening methods such as regular breast self examination and encourage practitioners to take advantage of examining the breasts of their patients. There are also NGOs who are engaged in some activities like providing health care assistance. Consultants revealed that they receive referrals from district regions and from private practitioners. All patients with breast cancer are candidates for surgery. There are just some procedures that lead to untoward incident which cause the people to blame the doctors. According to consultants, one big problem that they encounter is the delay of the result of tissue exam from the pathologists which sometimes lead them to acquire the high cost of private laboratory. According to consultants the 5-year survival rate in Ghan is 25% which is disappointing. According to radiology consultant, patients present themselves to treatment once they are already in advanced stage, most at stage 3 and 4. They revealed the common factors that influence the delay of treatment among Ghana women. Most of the patients were scared of the procedure of   breast cancer treatment like in breast surgery which have many social and marriage implications. The high cost of the procedure hinders the patient to go to the doctors. Consultants revealed that surgical procedure may cost    ¢2-3million   ( £ 150-200), radiotherapy is about    ¢3-4 million (  £ 200-300) and chemotherapy is around  ¢6 million ( £400). Although surgical treatment cost is covered in National Health Insurance, the cost of radiotherapy and chemotherapy are excluded. Mammography which is an effective tool in breast cancer screening costs  ¢400,000 ( £30) in private health institution and around  ¢250,000 ( £20). DISCUSSION WITH REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURES   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The present study aimed to increase the awareness of the women in Ghana to breast cancer and the benefits that can be gained from breast cancer screening. The knowledge, attitude, behavior and practices of the women regarding early detection of breast cancer were analyzed. The ultimate aim of the study was to reduce the mortality rate of   breast cancer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The study revealed that there were still misconceptions about breast cancer despite the information gathered from televisions and radio programs. Attendance of Ghanaian women in breast clinic did not mean that they were informed of the nature of their disease. Only few of them were also aware of preventive procedure in detecting breast cancer. Local healers and spiritualists also delayed the presentation of the patients to the hospital which contributed to the late diagnosis of the disease. Difference in the disease management of health professionals can be attributed to the location of practice and availability of resources. Several factors   thought to affect the breast cancer screening program were the poor education of the Ghanaian towards prevention awareness against breast cancer; lack of initiative of the people to spread the knowledge of   breast cancer screening such as simple breast self examination and clinical breast examination; the inaccessibility of the of primary health care and the organizers; the unavailability of the appropriate screening tools like x-ray and mammography in the community and its high cost   and the lack of support from the government.   The following   review of related literatures will help in the understanding of breast cancer and breast cancer screening. Because of the continuous increasing prevalence of breast cancer and high cost of treatment, breast cancer screening remains the most cost effective way of cancer management (Parkin and Fernandez 2006).   Most of the world faces resource constraints that hinder the capacity to improve early detection, prompt diagnosis and sufficient treatment of the breast cancer. Every country finds its way to develop evidenced based, economically feasible and culturally appropriate guidelines that can be utilized by countries of limited health care resources to improve breast cancer outcomes (Anderson 2006). Adaptive strategies should be applied to ease the growing burden of breast cancer. In 2005, according to Smith and his colleagues (2006), the Breast Health Global Initiative (BHGI) held its second summit in Bethesda, MD with the intention of reaffirming the principle of requiring all women of all resource levels to support in seeking health care and assuring the access to affordable and appropriate diagnostic tests and treatment intervention against breast cancer. They recommended breast health awareness to all women including the basic resources. They enhanced the basic facilities for effective training of relevant staff in clinical breast examination (CBE) or breast self examination and even the feasibility of mammography. MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging is one of the breast cancer screening procedures. It has been increasingly used as tool for early diagnosis of breast cancer. This screening tool has shown to detect cancers even they are small and potentially proven to be more curable than mammography alone. However, MRI is more costly than mammography and can lead to unnecessary breast biopsies, thus causing anxiety and discomfort to patient. On the other hand, a research study about the cost-effectiveness of breast MRI screening by cancer risk where they included the cancer detection ability of MRI, characteristics of women with dense breast tissue and women with high inherited breast cancer risk, revealed mortality reduction and cost effectiveness of breast MRI screening added to mammography in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers (Kurian 2006).    The hallmark of morality and morbidity of breast cancer can be attributed to the late presentation of the patients at an advanced stage of breast cancer. It is when there is no or little benefit that can be derived from any treatment modality. In a study conducted by Okobia and colleagues (2006), the knowledge, attitude and practice of community dwellers of Nigeria towards breast cancer were analyzed. They recruited urban-dwelling women with conducted an interviewer-administered questionnaires to elicit sociodemographic information regarding knowledge, attitude and practice towards breast cancer. It was found out that the participants had poor knowledge of breast cancer. Only 214 out of 1000 participants knew that breast cancer is presented initially with breast lumps. Breast cancer examination practices were low. Only 432 participants were able carry out breast self examination while only 91 participants had clinical breast examination. This study revealed that participants with higher level of education were significantly more knowledgeable about breast cancer. Ethnicity or race-related culture and beliefs are factors that affect the increase in prevalence of breast cancer mortality. Paterniti (2006) investigated how ethnically diverse women who are eligible for tamoxifen prophylaxis because of their breast cancer risk decide about tamoxifen use for risk reduction. Prior to the study, there was discussion of the benefits and risks of tamoxifen as prophylaxis. The study which included African-American, White, and Latina women, of 61–78 years, revealed that fear of breast cancer was not prominent and they were not inclined to take tamoxifen as preventive therapy after receiving the information. Participants showed limited unwillingness to take the medication with potential adverse effects. This study revealed that women felt that they had other options other than taking the risk of tamoxifen to reduce their risk of breast cancer, including early detection, diet, faith and other alternative therapies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Graham (2002) conducted a research about   the relationship between beliefs and practice of breast self examination (BSE in a black women population of 20-49 years of age. It was found out that health beliefs were much stronger in determining BSE performance for a given individual than were demographic characteristics. Breast self examination was related to increased perceived seriousness of breast cancer, benefit of the procedure and health motivation and was noted to have inverse relationship with perceived barriers. A related study was reported by Mitchell and colleagues (2002), about the effects of religious beliefs with other variables on breast cancer screening and the intended presentation of self-discovered breast lump. This study included women aging 40 years and above and were interviewed in their homes. Most of the interviewees believed that doctors cure breast cancer with God’s intervention which was labeled as â€Å"religious intervention with treatment†. This dimension was found out to be correlated with self-reported mammography but no clinical breast examination or intention to delay presentation of self-discovered breast lump. Minority of them believed treatment of breast cancer was unnecessary because only God could cure the disease which was labeled as â€Å"religious intervention in place of treatment†, and was significantly more common among African-American women who   are less educated and older. This was correlated with the strong intention of delaying the presentation of self-discovered breast lump. It was concluded that   religious intervention in place of treatment contributes significantly the delay presentation of breast cancer among African-American that contribute largely to the advanced-stage cancer diagnosis. The cause of breast cancer is still unclear. Adjei (2006) who grew up in Ghan and had some work about breast cancer. In his letter, he revealed his sentiments about the genetic differences in breast cancer. He had been aware of the incidence of breast cancer in Ghana since 1974 to 1999. He noted that the peak incidence of breast cancer in Ghana is in younger women with age range of 40-45 years while in United States and Caucasians, the peak incidence is in older age groups. Adjei (2006) pointed out that women of different places and environments, with different diets have similar epidemiology of breast cancer. In an argument which revealed number of breast cancer in African-Americans but rare in native African has been used to suggest that ethnicity is one factor of acquiring the disease, however, according to Adjei (2006), this information is leading because cancer has not been well-studied in Africa. Researchers are still finding their ways to fully disclose the correlation of genetic signature in breast tumors that are presently noted   to be a powerful predictor of cancer spread and cancer death. In a limited study conducted by Kolata (2002), she included few patients who are relatively. As she stated in her report, scientists said that the activity of a collection of 70 genes appear to predict cancer mortality   better than traditional measures like tumor size, cancer stage or lymph node spread to the axilla of women. She revealed in her study that 5.5% of women with good genetic signature died within the next decade while 45% of women are those of with bad genetic signatures. Adherence to the treatment regimen of breast cancer plays a big role in the improvement of disease outcome. There are no much literature about the factors associated to the behavior that influence the patient to delay or cause an incomplete adherence to the recommended follow up in patients with breast cancer. In a study conducted by Kaplan (2006), race/ethnicity, country of birth, financial issues fear of pain and difficulty of communicating with the healthcare providers are the barriers to seek follow up consultation Breast Cancer Screening: There was decline in breast cancer mortality rate of 0.9% in African American women while 2.1% was the decline in breast cancer mortality rate in non-Hispanic White women (Stewart et al 2004 as stated by Settersten , Dopp, and Tjoe, (2005).    On the contrary, De Koning (2000), questioned in his study the cost effectiveness of breast cancer screening. His idea came out when he analyzed his expectations of the reduction of breast cancer mortality after breast cancer screening. He stated in his study that the Dutch program of 2-yearly screening for women aged 50-70 would produce a 16% reduction in the total population. As stated in his research paper, the actual benefit that can be achieved from breast cancer screening programs is overstated. According to him breast cancer screening need to be carefully balanced against the burden to women and health care system. De Koning (2000) stated that â€Å"effects of breast cancer screening program depend on many factors such as epidemiology of the disease, the health care system, costs of health care, quality of the screening program and the attendance rate†. Groot, M. T. et al (2006) estimated the costs and health effects of breast cancer interventions in epidemiologically different regions of Africa, North America and Asia. They developed a mathematical simulation model of breast cancer using the different stages of cancer, its distribution and case fatality rates in the absence and presence of treatment as predictors of survival. The study resulted to a conclusion that untreated patients were the most sensitive to case fatality rates. This study suggest that treating breast cancer at stage 1 and introduction of an extensive breast cancer program are the most cost effective breast cancer interventions.   Ã‚   This study is supported by the research done by Aylin and colleagues (2005). They recruited women at the mammography clinic to evaluate the knowledge about breast cancer and mammography as breast cancer screening procedure. The striking result of this study is that most of the participants (95.3% of the total participants) were aware that women should have mammography screening periodically. They were informed of the fact that breast cancer screening such as mammography could help in the early detection of breast cancer. However, less than 50% of them admitted that they had never had mammography screening. Majority of the respondents (71.1%) were practicing breast self-examination. Another related study was conducted by Dundar and colleagues (2006), since breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in Turkey , they determined the t the knowledge and attitudes of women in a rural area in western Turkey about breast self examination and mammography. They recruited women with age ranging from 20-64 years. Although majority of the participants have heard or read about breast cancer only 56.1% of them had sufficient knowledge about breast cancer and some admitted that they acquired the information from their health care professionals. Those with information of beast cancer were also those who practice breast self examination. This study revealed that health care professionals play a big role in information dissemination about breast cancer. Table 1. Recommendations for routine mammographic screening in North American women aged 40 years or older who are at average risk for breast cancer* Group (date of recommendations) Frequency of screening (yr) Included ages (yr)       40-49 50-69 >70 Government-sponsored and private groups US Preventive Services Task Force (2002)** 1-2 Yes Yes Yes*** Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care (1998, 1999, 2001) 1-2 No Yes No National Institutes of Health consensus conference (1997)    No+ — — American Cancer Society (1997) 1 Yes Yes Yes National Cancer Institute (2002) 1-2 Yes Yes Yes Medical societies American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (2000) 1-2 if aged 40-49 yr 1 if aged >50 yr Yes Yes Yes American Medical Association (1999) 1 Yes Yes Yes American College of Radiology (1998) 1 Yes Yes Yes American College of Preventive Medicine (1996) 1-2 No|| Yes Yes American Academy of Family Physicians (2001) 1-2 No+|| Yes No American Geriatrics Society (1999) 1-2 — — Yes*** Advocacy groups National Breast Cancer Coalition (2000)    No –+ No National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations (2002) 1 Yes Yes Yes Susan B. Komen Foundation (2002) 1 Yes Yes Yes The above table   was taken from the study conducted by Barton (2005) There are several ways presented and studied for breast cancer screening. Its concern is to reduce the prevalence of cancer mortality and to improve the quality of life as a result of early detection, however, there are still people that are not aware of breast cancer screening In response to increase the worldwide awareness of breast cancer, breast cancer advocacy movement has been analyzing the common experiences of women with breast cancer around the world especially those with limited resources. They found out that although there are language barriers, sentiments were consistent across cultures; cancer survivors have the same experiences and fears. The beliefs and taboos about breast cancer hinder the awareness programs and treatment. There are also limited resources for public education and awareness. Difficulty in understanding and translating the concept of the disease into English also hinders them in the public awareness of breast cancer (Errico and Rowden 2006). In accordance with this, sociological review of the barriers experienced by the women from different traditional cultures is essential not just to understand patterns of late breast cancer diagnosis but also the importance of interventions and programs. This is necessary for them to understand the preventive health care, specifically in breast cancer. This is because many are still ignorant of the breast cancer. According to Remennick (2006), health care providers and policymakers should try to understand and influence women especially those who are cancer risk to be aware of the disease to detect and treat breast cancer early. There are many structural barriers that hinder women especially those living in rural areas. Socioeconomic factors include poor health insurance, distance to medical facilities and inability to take time off work. Organizational barriers include difficulty in navigating complex health care systems and interacting with medical staff. Psychological and sociocultural barriers are poor health motivation, denial of personal risk, fatalism mistrust of cancer treatments and fear of becoming a burden on the family members. Still in other cultural behavior, especially in Muslims, women are strongly controlled by men and therefore may prohibit women in breast cancer screening. Remennick (2006) includes in his study the different approaches that lower the mentioned barriers, including implementation of uplifting the educational programs that would enlighten people regarding cancer myths and fallacies. He suggests that health care professional must outreach to their co ethnics. Primary health care providers play a critical role in   determining the compliance with treatment and preventive practices through direct recommendations to their patients. Family physicians and general internists showed that 70% of women who received a provider referral completed a screening mammography within one year versus only 18% of self-referred women (Grady   et al 1997 as stated by Santora 2003). However, Over 90% of rural women report that a doctor’s recommendation to have breast cancer screening is â€Å"important† (Sparks et al 1996 as stated by Santora 2003). It should be noted that clinician compliance is contributed by several factors such as relation with provider, guideline of the treatment, patient’s behavior and environmental factors. Several studies have been conducted to report the   differences of health services in rural, urban and suburban areas with regards to their   health care services in the family practice clinics. It has been pointed out that lower utilization has been a significant factor. Those rural health practitioners have less access to health care services.   In a study done by   Pol and his colleagues (2001), suggested that rural health services do not lag for patients with access after revealing that 9 out of 16 services examined were as high or higher in rural areas. Another   study to examine the variations in breast cancer screening among primary care clinicians by geographic location of   clinical practice was done by Santora (2003). Physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants were included in the study and were classified into urban, rural and suburban categories based upon practice location. The study revealed that although there was no significant difference in the practice location, there was evident variation in the practice of   breast screening. It was reported that urban and suburban health practitioners were less compliant with the use of breast cancer guidelines as compared to clinicians in rural areas.   Primary care clinicians, including physicians, nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants lack a consistent. This study revealed   that geographical location is not the main factor of inconsistent medical approach to breast cancer screening. Although the difference in the approaches to the procedure is uncertain in this study. A related study about General Practitioners’ (GP’s) knowledge, beliefs and attitudes toward breast screening, and their association with practice based-organizations of breast cancer screening, was conducted by Bekker, Morrisona and Marteau (1999). This study revealed that women’s attendance for breast cancer screening may be increased due to raising GP’s perceptions of the   threat of breast cancer. 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