Thursday, October 10, 2019

Nursing Board Examinations Scam: Impact to Practice

The â€Å"American Dream† is in the hands of all nurses around the globe as the U.S. is now facing a chronic nursing shortage with a projected RN shortage of more or less 800,000 in year 2020 (Buerhaus et al., 2000). The shortage of nurses that the U.S. healthcare industry needs to fill up hits hundreds of thousands as the shortage continues despite rising wages of nurses. The health care industry has bemoaned the nursing shortage for more than a decade, and that more will be needed for additional patients as the Baby Boom generation ages. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected in 2005 that more than 3.1 million registered nurse jobs would be available by 2014, which would add an additional 700,000 new jobs for nurses (Moore, 2007). The United States has ramped up its importation of foreign-trained nurses mainly sourced from Africa (mainly Nigeria and South Africa), India, Canada and the Philippines (Vujicic, 2004). U.S. hospitals and health care agencies choose the Philippines because the country is a former American colony with school curriculum based on the American education system, classes are taught in English and nurses earn a four-year bachelor's degree, sometimes more than what American nurses obtain. Thus, the learning curve for Philippine-trained nurses in the United States is minimal (Jenkins, 2003). The Filipino nurses’ work ethics is the primary reason why they comprise 83 percent of foreign nurses in America and are the most preferred by hospitals, doctors’ clinics and care homes according to U.S. National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) (Bondoc, 2007). The Philippine Nurses Association of America (PNAA) reported that there are around 90,000 Filipino nurses in the United States. Every year 12,000 to 14,000 Filipino nurses migrate to the U.S. (OPS, 2007). Nurses’ licensing examinations is offered abroad to bring more foreign-born nurses to the U.S. and help alleviate the acute nursing shortage that is crippling American health care. Most of the foreigners taking the mandatory U.S. licensing nursing exam came from the Philippines, India, Canada, Nigeria, Korea, United Kingdom and Commonwealth of States (formerly USSR) according to National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Of those, more than half were from the Philippines, which educate thousand more nurses than what the country needs (Friess, 2002). The U.S. is a net importer of medical and nursing professionals from the Philippines. The issue on the June 2006 nursing board exam leak in the Philippines has snowballed, settling on a query to Filipino nurses’ credibility and ability in the provision of health care and safety to American Community, not only to solve nursing shortage crisis in America. This paper discusses the important issue of irregularities in nursing board exams. After introducing the topic, a discussion on the essence of nursing ethics is made. The next section briefly presents the recent Philippine Nursing Board exam to the U.S. nursing practice, followed by a critical analysis on this issue. The summary, conclusions and recommendations are presented in the last section. In Respect to the Nursing Insignia The nursing insignia, although it disappears, the meaning still embarks the true identity of the nurse in the nursing practice as a health care provider with caring attitude possess knowledge symbolizes by the nursing cap, the crowning glory of intelligence and the uniform is a picture perfect of purity and cleanliness living with ethics and morale which are molded inside the nursing school. Although the profession of nursing is as ancient as medicine, and may have the greatest right to the Cup of Hygieia as its symbol, most of the nursing tradition use a lamp or candle, which is not only in memory of Florence Nightingale, but which represents the light of knowledge, the central emblem of quality health care. The level of knowledge of nursing graduates is measured by nursing board exams—a licensure examination to eligibly practice the nursing profession. The exam regulates the legal nursing practice as a profession by assessing the basic nursing level competency which considers the objectives of the nursing curriculum, the broad areas of nursing and other related disciplines and competencies. The integrity of foreign licensing systems ultimately affects the health and safety of patients in the United States, a primary consideration of CGFNS in its role in evaluating candidates under U.S. immigration law (The Manila Times, 2007). Impact of Philippine Nursing Board Exam Leakage to U.S. Nursing Practice The Philippines is the leading source of nurses to the United States, with several thousand Filipino nurses migrating there each year. However, the U.S. National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) and the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) delayed their approval for the Philippines’ accreditation as a testing center of the U.S. National Commission on Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for nurses. The shelved application is caused by the direct repercussion of the nursing board exam leak scandal. It capped two hours of grilling earlier on Philippine assurances of exam security and housecleaning after fraud marred its own nursing board tests last June 2006 (Bondoc, 2007). The United States Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) obliged all Filipino nurses with 2006 licenses, who wished to work in the US, to retake the two sets of tests that investigators said were leaked to several nursing review centers in Manila, the Philippine capital (Cabreza, 2007). The retake of the tests is to allow nurses who passed the leak-tainted 2006 nursing board and are wishing to work in the United States to secure UV Visa-Screen certificates as required by the CGFNS (Rodis, 2007). The Philippines’ status as one of the world’s top producers of nurses could be threatened as it significantly tainted the credibility of Filipino nurses abroad due to the recent examinations irregularities. The scandal allegedly involved leakage materials of the June 2006 Philippine nursing board examinations of at least 200 questions. Some members of the nursing board were accused of receiving bribes from the owners of nursing review centers in exchange for leaking some test questions (Asian Pacific Post, 2007). Sometime after the board exam was held, the whistleblowers who exposed the said irregularity wrote to the PRC in June 2006 to report that handwritten copies of two sets of examination were circulated among examinees who took their review at a particular review center during the actual examination period (Cabreza, 2007). The initial charges were made by students who said that the president of the Philippine Nurses Association, who apparently is the owner and director of a nursing review center and a nursing school, had given the exam questions to students who had taken his coaching classes with the final coaching   at SM Cinema in Manila (The Filipino Express Newspaper, 2007). Many of the whistleblowers who exposed cheating have decided to take a new licensure test to remove the stigma of the scandal (Cabreza, 2007). Only 68.96% (9,198) have passed the nursing board retake out of 13,338 nurses who voluntarily retook, concluded that the quality of education is becoming a real issue, especially in light of the recent cheating/leak in the said board exams (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2007; Rodis, 2007). After the said disclosures were made, officials and industry experts cautioned that the country's status as one of the top sources in the world for nurses would inevitably be adversely affected (Conde, 2006). In fact, this scandal has already demonstrated far-reaching impact on Filipino nurses—aside from some untoward incidents regarding racial discrimination in primetime American shows—indicating that such scandal inevitably involved the entire Philippines. For one, one episode of the hit ABC series â€Å"Desperate Housewives† involved Teri Hatcher insulting the Filipino community when she malignly depicted that Philippine medical schools are producing substandard, inferior and—worse—inept medical practitioners. Another is Jay Leno’s similar remark on his late night show â€Å"The Tonight Show†. Unfortunately, the above incidents gave rise to some political humors across America. A Critical Analysis The nursing board exam leak scandal in the Philippines brought legal, ethical and political issues confronting professional nursing today, including in the U.S., as the Philippines is its prime source of manpower to address the ever-escalating shortage of nurses. Better compensation packages—or simply a better life for the nurse and her/his family—have been achieved notwithstanding ethical and moral of standards of nurses everywhere. The Philippines has had a long history of corruption and low standards of ethics especially in politics and business. The Philippine nursing schools’ â€Å"diploma mills† and review centers, for years, have been earning significantly, capitalizing on the nursing shorted in the developed world. In a country where cheating with impunity has become the norm rather than the exception and where remittances from â€Å"exported† skilled professionals literally keep the economy afloat, the leaks that marred the last nursing board exam and the desperate effort to preserve the examination's credibility in the aftermath were bound to happen. The issue of the scandal is the issue of pathetic dreamers who damage the long-untainted credibility of the nursing institutions in the new era in spare for some cheap dollars. That there was a leak in the Board of Nursing exams is nothing more than a symptom of the nation's deep cancers. However, the response of the academe, the Board of Nursing, the NCLEX, the CGFNS, the hospitals, the physicians and the other professionals abroad could form part of the cure. In fact, indications are that there is a collective effort of many quarters to do directly address the issue. For one, the resignation of the president and the vice president of the Philippine Nursing Association and the Board of Nursing would properly set the tone for reforms within the nursing practice as well as in the academe. The report that some prestigious hospitals, clinics and recruitment agencies around the globe would not accept Nursing graduates from 2006 unless steps were taken to ensure that they indeed are worthy of the title of ‘Registered Nurse’, and the battle being waged by deans of prestigious nursing schools to stop the Philippines’ Professional Regulation Commission from administering the professional oath to â€Å"successful examinees† until the issue is resolved, all provides some sense of hope that there are still many among who refuse to allow precious nursing institution from prostituting itself. This is not an accident that this resolve has come from those involved in caring for people's health. It reflects a sentiment now sweeping across the country and other concerned countries among health professionals. It has little to do with dollar remittances and the promise of a good life. Hence, this battle to preserve the integrity and credibility of the nursing board exam is much more than that. It goes beyond making sure that the nurses who assist in the operating room or administer medicines to patients don't end up doing harm, although this is a big part of the issue. The battle is but a part of a bigger struggle to restore decency, integrity, and honor in country long-plagued by political instability and economic woes. The nursing insignia is being deprived of its cleanliness and purity of morale and intelligence. The white uniform is being stained with the filth of dishonesty and devious acts of betrayal to the nursing profession as the profession of cleanliness and purity. The light of knowledge taught by nursing schools has been diminished with darkness and blindness in the search for greener pastures. The real oppression is to the successful examinees who did not cheat, the hardships should not been paved with shame just because they are being called to participate in something beyond themselves. The only way cheating can be avoided in the future would be if those investigating the leak could pinpoint those who benefited from them and have only these persons retake the subjects. Needless to say, the perpetrators must be punished. It was Gandhi who said that â€Å"our values become our destiny.† What will happen to the destiny of those nurses with prejudiced values and what will happen if those nurses will hold the health of the American community? What will be the destiny of the American health care system if the healthcare provider’s credibility remains a big question? The nursing exam scandal is an opportunity to rediscover and reclaim the values that have been forced to be denied and even discarded—just for the sake of surviving. This unfortunate scandal can, however, prove to be one of the greatest blessings for this nation, because it might finally drive home the point that there can be no true progress and success unless they have their hearts in the right place. Call it a counterculture of sorts, or simply a natural reaction to anything in excess. But the fact is that all over the Philippines, doctors, nurses and other health professionals are starting to heed the call to be more than just healers. There is a growing realization that Filipino nurses must use their professions to help begin a revolution of the heart from the bottom up. It might be the only way to eventually force genuine change at the top. Summary, Conclusions & Recommendations The American Dream, the reverie of greener pasture in the land of milk and honey, has driven the perpetuators to commit the crime against nursing profession and the morality. The opportunities brought about by nursing shortage and nursing exodus has forced the nursing system failures. The quality of nursing education is becoming the real issue as there are 460 nursing schools in the Philippines and 50 of which have already been ordered by the Professional Regulation Commission of the Philippines to be closed down as nothing more than diploma mills (Rodis, 2007). The exam fraud was but a part of the bigger problem of nursing. And there is also the issue of poor education. Schools, cashing in on a surge of enrolments from news of a nurse shortage in America, were churning out around 80,000 graduates per year. But only 32,000 or so are able to pass the board test, and only 2,000 easily get jobs in top hospitals (Bondoc, 2007). The nursing shortage is not the number one problem in America, but if one takes a closer look, this may arise to a greater problem of hiring half-baked nurses. The illicit release of exam questions in the Philippines is an indication of deeper problems plaguing the Philippine health care system. Desperate to pass the nursing exam and work abroad, many students easily fall victim to such scams.   Diploma mill nursing schools and review centers have exploited this desperation and will do anything to compete for more students and more profits. In the end, the quality of nursing education, profession and the whole health care system suffers. Nurses in the United States involved directly or indirectly in the recruitment of nurses from the Philippines should consider only candidates with a minimum two- to three-year work experience and completely desist from hiring fresh graduates. By doing so, the Filipino nursing community in the United States would help ensure the continued flow of only qualified and well-trained professionals into the American healthcare system. References Asian Pacific Post. (2007). Filipino Nurses' Exam Scandal. Bondoc, J. (2007). NCLEX in Manila Open by Mid-Year. ABS-CBN Interactive. Buerhaus, P.I., Staiger, D.O. & Auerbach, D.I. (2000). Implications of an Aging Registered Nurse Workforce. Journal of the American Medical Association, 283, 2948–2954. Cabreza, V. (2007). Whistleblowers in 2006 Nursing Test Leak Take New Exams. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Conde, C.H. (2006). Cheating on Exam Taints Standing of Philippine nurses. International Herald Tribune – Asia Pacific. Philippine Daily Inquirer. (2007). Results of June 06 Nursing Board Retake Out. Friess, S. (2002). U.S. Looks Abroad for Nurses. USA Today. Jenkins, C. (2003). Filipino Nurses Make a New Life in a New Place. St. Petersburg Times. Moore, J.L. (2007). Nursing Wages Rise, Shortage Continues. The Morning News. Office of the Press Secretary, Philippines. (2007). Declaration of RP as NCLEX Testing Site Hailed as a Triumph for Filipino Nurses. Rodis, R. (2007). The Nursing Scandal. Philippinenews.com. The Filipino Express Newspaper. (2007). Court Asked: Stop Nurses’ Oath-taking. The Manila Times. (2007). U.S. Nixes VisaScreen Papers for June ’06 Nursing Board Passers. Manila: The Manila Times. Vujicic , M., Zurn, P., Diallo, K., Adams, O. &   and Dal Poz, M.R. (2004). The Role of Wages in the Migration of Health Care Professionals from Developing Countries. Human Resources for Health, 2, 3.

Mark Sheet: Leading and motivating a team effectively Essay

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ASSESSMENT AND USE OF MARK SHEET Assessment must be conducted with reference to the assessment criteria (AC). In order to pass the unit, every AC must be met. Assessors will normally award marks for every AC and then total them into a percentage. However, for greater simplicity, there is the option to not use marks at all and merely indicate with a ‘Pass’ or ‘Referral’ in the box (below right). In order to pass the unit every AC must receive a ‘Pass’. Where marks are awarded according to the degree to which the learner’s evidence in the submission meets each AC, every AC must be met, i.e. receive at least half marks (e.g. min 10/20). Any AC awarded less than the minimum produces an automatic referral for the submission (regardless of the overall mark achieved). Sufficiency descriptors are provided as guidance. If 20 marks are available for an AC and the evidence in the submission approximates to the ‘pass’ descriptor, that indicates it should attract 10 mark s out of 20, if a ‘good pass’ then ca. 15 out of 20. The descriptors are not comprehensive, and cannot be, as there are many ways in which a submission can exceed or fall short of the requirements. 1.Learner named above confirms authenticity of submission. 2.ILM uses learners’ submissions – on an anonymous basis – for assessment standardisation. By submitting, I agree that ILM may use this script on condition that all information which may identify me is removed. However, if you are unwilling to allow ILM use your script, please refuse by ticking the box: Learning Outcome / Section 1: Know how to communicate the organisations vision and strategy to the team Assessment Criteria (AC) Sufficiency Descriptors [Typical standard that , if replicated across the whole submission, would produce a referral, borderline pass or good pass result] Assessor feedback on AC AC 1.1 Explain the importance of the team having a common sense of purpose that supports the overall vision and strategy of the organisation Referral [ca. 4/16] Pass [8/16] Good Pass [ca. 12/16] An explanation of the importance of the team having a common sense of purpose is not given or, if given, the supporting of the overall vision and strategy of the organisation is not included The importance of the team having a common sense of purpose that supports the overall vision and strategy of the organisation is merely stated, as opposed to explained or, if explained, is incorrect, inappropriate or minimal The importance of the team having a common sense of purpose that supports the overall vision and strategy of the organisation is correctly and appropriately explained although the explanation may be limited and the link to organisational vision may be more implicit than explicit A thorough and detailed explanation is given of the importance of the team having a common sense of purpose and its link to the overall vision and strategy of the organisation is made explicitly clear / 16 (min. of 8) Pass or Referral AC 1.2 Explain the role that communication plays in establishing a common sense of purpose Referral [ca. 4/16] Pass [8/16] Good Pass [ca. 12/16] Assessor feedback on AC The role that communication plays in establishing a common sense of purpose is not explained or is merely outlined as opposed to explained The role that communication plays in establishing a common sense of purpose is explained but the explanation is incorrect or minimal The role that communication plays in establishing a common sense of purpose is explained although the explanation may be limited A thorough and detailed explanation is given of the role that communication plays in establishing a common sense of purpose and an outline of how, in contrast, inappropriate communication may damage a common sense of purpose AC 1.3 Assess the effectiveness of own communication skills on the basis of the above Referral [ca. 3/12] Pass [6/12] Good Pass [ca. 9/12] Assessor feedback on AC Own communication skills in establishing a common sense of purpose are not assessed against appropriate criteria or are merely listed or described Own communication skills in establishing a common sense of purpose are assessed against appropriate criteria although the criteria may be limited Own communication skills in establishing a common sense of purpose are thoroughly assessed in detail against a range of appropriate criteria and a judgement on self is made / 12 (min. of 6) Pass or Referral Section comments (optional): Verification comments (optional): Learning Outcome / Section 2: Know how to motivate and develop the team Assessment Criteria (AC) Sufficiency Descriptors [Typical standard that , if replicated across the whole submission, would produce a referral, borderline pass or good pass result] Assessor feedback on AC AC 2.1 Describe the main motivational factors in a work context and how these may apply to different situations, teams and individuals Referral [ca. 4/16] Pass [8/16] Good Pass [ca. 12/16] The main motivational factors in a work context are merely stated as opposed to described The main motivational factors in a work context are described but the description does not apply to different situations and teams and individuals and/or the description is incorrect, inappropriate or minimal The main motivational factors in a work context are described, although the description may be limited, and the description applies to different situations and teams and individuals although the emphasis placed on each of these factors may be imbalanced A thorough and detailed description of a range of the main motivational factors in a work context is given which  clearly applies to different situations and teams and individuals Examples may be provided to enhance the description given. / 16 (min. of 8) Pass or Referral AC 2.2 Explain the importance of a leader being able to motivate teams and individuals and gain their commitment to objectives Referral [ca. 5/20] Pass [10/20] Good Pass [ca. 15/20] Assessor feedback on AC The importance of a leader being able to motivate teams and individuals is merely stated as opposed to explained An explanation of the importance of a leader being able to motivate teams and individuals is given but does not explain how their commitment to objectives might be gained and/or the explanation is incorrect or minimal The importance of a leader being able to motivate teams and individuals and gain their commitment to objectives is explained although the explanation may be limited A thorough and detailed explanation of the importance of a leader being able to motivate both teams and individuals, outlining the different approach to teams and individuals, and gain their commitment to objectives is given and an outline of how, in contrast, a leader’s disregard of the importance motivation could undermine the gaining of team or individual commitment to objectives / 20 (min. of 10) Pass or Referral AC 2.3 Explain the role that the leader plays in supporting and developing the team and its members and give practical examples of when this will be necessary Referral [ca. 5/20] Pass [10/20] Good Pass [ca. 15/20] Assessor feedback on AC An explanation of the role that the leader plays in both supporting and developing the team and its members is merely stated as opposed to explained, or if explained, is incorrect, inappropriate or minimal No more than one practical example of when this will be necessary is given A correct and appropriate explanation of the role that the leader plays in both supporting and developing the team and its members is given although the explanation may be limited At least two practical examples of when this will be necessary is are given A thorough and detailed explanation of the role that the leader plays in both supporting and developing both the team and its members is given and is supported by several practical and relevant examples of when this will be necessary / 20 (min. of 10) Pass or Referral Section comments (optional): Verification comments (optional): / 100 TOTAL MARKS Assessor’s Decision Quality Assurance Use Outcome (delete as applicable): PASS / REFERRAL Signature of Assessor: Date: Outcome (delete as applicable): PASS / REFERRAL Signature of QA: Date of QA check:

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Standards in Police Selection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Standards in Police Selection - Essay Example Cases in the media where police officers are caught (on tape or otherwise) brutalizing segments of society only underscore the importance of careful police selection processes being in place. But how do police departments typically set the standards which recruits must pass and what methods are implemented during this crucial selection process? According to Doerner and Nowell (1999), "Most departments rely upon polygraphing, physical wellness standards, educational requirements, medical reviews, and background checks to screen out patently unqualified applicants." These methods are often augmented by "psychological testing, personality typologies, cognitive examinations, interest inventories, oral board interviews, assessment centers, and situational tests" (Doerner & Nowell 1999) in order to complete the selection process. In order to save time and cost in the police selection process, however, attempts to replace these traditional methods of police selection are continually being tested for reliability and validity. To this end, there are many new police selection tools that have come on the market recently. One of these newer methods of police selection is the behavioral-personnel assessment device test (B-PAD). In this test, recruits view a videotape of typical police crises and scenarios, and then their responses of how they would handle the situation as a police officer are recorded on tape, to be viewed by a panel of judges.(Doerner & Nowell 1999). The B-PAD is supposed to test a recruits interpersonal skills and judgment. There are some questions about whether such a test is biased against the demographic background factors of either the recruit or the judges, such as bias based on sex or race. Although preliminary studies show there is no bias in test, there is sure to be more research on this . One of the most typical ways that a police department in the U.S. selects recruits is

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Summary and thesis development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Summary and thesis development - Essay Example As a result, people who frequently watch television shows tend to develop unbalance and unrealistic view of things in the real world. Presenting the ideas of Gerbner, Waters specifically criticises the depiction of characters as well as various ideas in terms of gender, race, sex, health, age, crime and work among other groupings. For example, Waters believes that crime is presented on television in a manner that it appears on the screen over ten times as it is in reality. He argues that presentation of crime on television has high propensity to promote aggression among the viewers. Crime featured in television shows inculcate certain lessons in social sphere by depicting what one person can do to another and go unpunished. While all the representation of characters on television shows are crucial for various reasons, Water’s critique, especially, of the way crime and race are depicted on prime television is very significant and relevant. The big questions are: does Waters’ criticism of crime and race presentation relevant to the modern society? Does it have a bearing on deviant behaviours witnessed in everyday life? Owing to the fact that the modern society is characterised by high crime rates and racially motivated actions, one can agree less that television shows can have a profound influence on the decisions that people make when confronted with certain issues in real life. The show Friday Night Lights is an epitome of a television show that can greatly influence the choices of its lovers. In particular, the episode of season two of the popular television drama features a gruesome murder of a man by a character who is a member of the show’s high school crew. The murderer pulls the trigger in response to an attempted rape on the girl he likes. Afterwards, he conspires with the girl to conceal the body of the victim so as to keep the crime under cover. Landry

Monday, October 7, 2019

Bonnie Raitt and the Boom Generation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Bonnie Raitt and the Boom Generation - Essay Example In 1945, the number was 2.8 million births; it marked the beginning of the Baby Boom. In 1946, the first year of the Baby Boom, new births in the U.S. skyrocketed to 3.47 million births! A contributing article on about.com further detailed that new births continued to grow throughout the 1940s and 1950s, leading to a peak in the late 1950s with 4.3 million births in 1957 and 1961. (There was a dip to 4.2 million births in 1958) By the mid-sixties, the birth rate began to slowly fall. In 1964 (the final year of the Baby Boom), 4 million babies were born in the U.S. and in 1965, there was a significant drop to 3.76 million births. From 1965 on, there was a plunge in the number of births to a low of 3.14 million births in 1973, lower than any year’s births since 1945! The Boom Generation produced children that would one day become leaders throughout their respective fields and leave long lasting impacts among all who they have come across. Such examples of these people include Ge orge W. Bush and Bonnie Raitt. Bonnie Raitt was born November 8 1949 in Burbank, California, and raised in Los Angeles, in a climate of respect for the arts, Quaker traditions, and a commitment to social activism. The daughter of John Raitt, a famous Broadway star who featured in productions of ‘Carousel’, ‘Oklahoma!’ and ‘The Pajama Game’, and Marge Goddard, a skilled pianist and singer, she was exposed to music from a very young age. As such, she took up playing guitar at the age of eight, when she received one as a Christmas present. (Helium.com, Biography: Bonnie Raitt) While growing up, though passionate about music from the start, she never considered that it would play a greater role than as one of her many growing interests. In the late '60s, restless in Los Angeles, she moved east to Cambridge, Massachusetts. As a Harvard/Radcliffe student majoring in Social Relations and African Studies, she attended classes and immersed herself in th e city's turbulent cultural and political activities. Raitt was already deeply involved with folk music and the blues at that time. Exposure to the album Blues at Newport 1963 at age 14 had kindled her interest in blues and slide guitar, and between classes at Harvard she explored these and other styles in local coffeehouse gigs. Three years after entering college, Bonnie left to commit herself full-time to music, and shortly afterward she found herself opening for surviving giants of the blues. From Mississippi Fred McDowell, Sippie Wallace, Son House, Muddy Waters, and John Lee Hooker she learned first-hand lessons of life as well as invaluable techniques of performance. Each generation views the world with a different perspective. This perspective is often shaped by key events (national catastrophes) in their lives as well as cultural influences (such as music) at the time. Understanding some of these viewpoints can greatly enhance successful communication and working relationshi ps. The Baby boomer generation grew up with the Vietnam War, the space race, and assassinations of Martin Luther King and President John F. Kennedy. Their childhood was typically modeled with very conservative mores. The civil rights movement, women’s liberation, the advent of television, rock ‘n’ roll, and the hippie movement caused them to question and rebel against the establishment. This constant

Sunday, October 6, 2019

Outline and critically examine the procedural and substantive changes Essay

Outline and critically examine the procedural and substantive changes in the law on land registration brought about by the Land Registration Act 2002. Is land r - Essay Example that the ostensibly restricted paradigm for land registration under the LRA 2002 narrows the extent and enforceability of third party proprietary rights, which in turn strengthens the position of a third party purchaser under the LRA 2002. Furthermore, one of the main objectives of the LRA 2002 was â€Å"to reduce the number of overriding interests which are binding upon a purchaser of a registered title†3. Conversely, Sexton comments that the â€Å"2002 Act achieves this purpose only to a very limited degree†4. Accordingly, whilst central driver of the LRA 2002 of the 2002 Act is to limit the scope of third party overriding interests, it the degree to which this objective has been achieved remains questionable. The focus of this analysis is to critically evaluate the procedural and substantive changes in the law on land registration as brought in by the LRA 2002. To this end, it is submitted that a central issue in the evaluation of the LRA 2002 is whether property purchase post 2002 has become easier as intended by the extrapolations of the Law Commission Report5. A central issue of concern in contemporary conveyancing is the applicability of any third party proprietary rights and to this end I shall undertake a contextual and comparative analysis with the unregistered system for enforceability of third party rights. Moreover, I shall further evaluate the system for enforceability of third party equitable rights under the registered land system post 2002. It is submitted at the outset that such an evaluation is imperative to the overall consideration of the substantive and procedural changes brought about by the LRA 2002. In assessing the extent of changes introduced by the LRA 2002, it is necessary to consider the essential objectives of the Law Commission Report, particularly in terms of its hailing the LRA bill as a revolution for conveyancing practice. Firstly, the Law Commission argued that the â€Å"Bill is a bold and striking one†¦.. The move from a paper

Friday, October 4, 2019

Capstone and Case Studies in Energy Technology Term Paper

Capstone and Case Studies in Energy Technology - Term Paper Example Human Performance and Anatomy of an Event In its simple definition, human performance is a string of actions and behaviors implemented to achieve definite task objectives and milestones (Department of Energy, 2007). In mathematical terms, human performance is behavior plus results. Behavior can be defined as the aggregate responses to internal and external stimuli (Dictionary, 2011). The study of behavior and its causes are exceedingly valuable as the indication for development efforts to foresee, prevent, and recover from human errors and events. A range of studies by the nuclear industry, the aircraft industry, and the National Safety Council synonymously found that: †¢ About 80% of all events are caused by human errors. 20% are the result of equipment failures. In some industries, the numbers are closer to 90% human error and 10% equipment failures. And, †¢ When we break down human errors, we find that 70% of all human error is the result of latent organizational weaknesses or errors within the organization, whereas about 30% are individual errors. Anatomy of an Event: Events or Accidents are unwelcome, undesirable variation in the systems that often result in severe degradation or annihilation of equipment’s capacity to perform its normal function. The course of an event usually revolves around initiating action, error precursors, latent organizational weaknesses and flawed defenses. The starting point of an accident is an initiating action that is done unintentionally or intentionally (violation), causing active errors that have immediate, undesirable outcomes to the whole process. This initiating action is scaled up with error precursors that are basically unfavorable pre-existing conditions at the event site hence increasing the vulnerability of the accident risk. Further more, the management of an accident or event are demented by latent organizational weaknesses such as inefficient management control, ineffective engineering design and control and other system level weaknesses. Flawed