21st-century Organizations Face Different Challenges From Those of The Essay

21st-century Organizations Face Different Challenges From Those of The Past - Essay Example Environmental catastrophism is a result of changes in climate. Weather patterns keep changing and sea level keeps rising whenever there are changes in climate. It is estimated that gradual changes in weather could cause 40% of world population to fall into the risk of falling victims of limited natural resources like water, pasture, energy and cultivatable land (Easterling et al, 2000, p. 2070). The poor and the less influential people will have little or no control over resources thus likely to suffer due to lack. To be able to establish their position in the society, there is a high likelihood of eruptions of violence as more people fight for a share of the limited resources. To resolve the conflicts, governments will need to have negotiation traits if peaceful coexistence will be achieved once again. South America has already started facing the negative impact of globalization and climate change since there has been an increased threat to livelihoods of the poor. For instance, during the 2008 global recession, there was a significant increase in the use of food items in exchange for crude oils (Nazlioglu & Soytas, 2011, p. 490). That together with other global related issues led poor people in the south to suffer since most households could not afford the basics like food due to the high prices at the time. The blame was placed on the Northern governments who had failed to invest in alternative drivers of the economy like agriculture. This led to malnutrition among the poor hence causing a critical humanitarian crisis at least for the next few years. It is estimated that there are more than expected countries that have been exposed to political and economic conflicts that end up affecting accessibility to basic resources (Iqbal, 2006, p. 641). Developed countries have also imposed wars aimed at victimizing the poor countries hence leading to more devastation that influences the quality of life in poor countries.  

Software Requirements Specification Essay Example for Free

Software Requirements Specification Essay 1. Introduction 1.1 Purpose Online Shopping Software main purpose is to provide customers with the possibility to perform online purchases on products already on store. Customers are identified properly and are able to perform online transactions using three kind of methods: either using credit card or banking documents, but also through PayPal account. Online Customers are divided on two categories upon user account types: basic and business. Basic accounts beside other attributes contain a specific one named Fidelity which deals with the number of years the user has been joining the online shop. On the other hand is business plan which is characterized uniquely by the Volume attribute that is the total amount of transactions performed within the online shop. The customer is able to operate throughout the system after properly authenticated. He is able to create a cart and add products to it or delete them as well. Then he decides whether he might go on with the checkout operation and complete the purchase. Once the user decided upon the plan to use: basic or business, he is given the alternatives to pay through the previously mentioned methods accordingly. Once the purchase is confirmed by the customer and admitted by shop commission, customer details come into use in order to define the shipping address and other supplementary information. Customer is given the possibility to view and print some information regarding his activity on the shop. For instance he can print the number of purchases completed by him from eh beginning of the current year. He can print the status of previously performed purchases and decide whether to cancel or not a specific purchase if it is still in â€Å"Not available† status. During the process of product selection and addition to cart specifying correspond quantity the system automatically checks if the product is available within the quantity or not. In case of negative response the system generates a request to the product supplier. Stated in short terms this is the overall situation on hand. 1.2 Document Conventions Specific terminology is used throughout the specification of the system. User Profile: stands for the profile of the customer (person) opened in the software. One person can have multiple profiles using different emails. A profile can be linked to none or one account type. Person: defines an real person who has an identity defined by class attributes. A person can have multiple profiles and consequently multiple accounts. For instance a person can have a basic and a business account. Account: defines an entity that enables the user to operate throughout the system and perform purchases. It is the super class of two other classes respectively: Basic and Business which extend the super class. Payment: defines an entity that enables an account to perform a payment transaction using one of alternative methods. Purchase: defines an entity that encapsulates a purchase object. A purchase is specified by a unique number and status thus using the Status class. Cart: stands for a container that holds selected products during the session and is included by a purchase. Cart Products: as the name itself defines an entity that makes possible operations of addition, deletion, and selection of products in and from the cart. Bank Transfer: stands for a payment method when using a basic plan. Credit Card: stands for a payment method using a credit card when using a basic plan. PayPal: defines a payment method when using business plan. In this case it includes a PayPal service using a previously configured PayPal account. 1.3 Intended Audience and Reading Suggestions The system is worth using by an audience that is interested on buying online products and benefit from facilities offered in such a case. Facilities are: saving time, saving money by selecting the best offer, comfort circumstances, safety of money transactions etc 1.4 Project Scope The scope of this project is to design and develop a system that is necessary to shops when they need to operate online, sell products online. The shop can keep an electronic history of all purchases and transactions. This gives more control over the operations that the company offers. The system can be adapted to a range of shops from simple small ones to big markets. A shop can outsource the function of shipping to another external company or can handle it itself. Project scope also includes financial transactions that call for other third party services like PayPal. Project scope from customer perspective, limits the range of customers to only those who have internet connation on some form and have a bank account in hand. The aim of this project is to promote an efficient, user-friendly, time-fashionable, safe way for customers to bye and receive products without being physically at a shop thus using virtual money. 2. UML Diagrams 2.1 Use Case Diagrams Online Shop from user perspective use case Description: This use case provides the viewpoint for the whole process from user perspective. Customer sees only the necessary functions that the system must define. Actors: Online Customer Preconditions: Customer must have a bank account. Base Case: 1. Customer must log in and authenticate 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Customer must choose the type of purchase to perform Customer can view and select products Customer can perform a purchase Customer can cancel a purchase He can view additional information regarding the purchase Alternative Flows None Post conditions: Customer performs transactions based on defined accounts. Additional Info/Issues: None View Products Use Case Description: View products use case describes the whole operations a user can perform on a product currently on the store. It also describes an exceptional case when a product is not available on the quantity required. Preconditions: Customer must login and authenticate firstly Base Case: 1. Customer can view the products 2. he can select the products 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. he can add the products to cart he can define quantities on ordered products system checks whether the quantity is satisfied or not system responds to client with approving the purchase system generates an automatic order to products supplier Alternative Flows None Post conditions: Customer performs transactions based on defined accounts. Additional Info/Issues: None Make Purchase Use Case Description: This use case defines the cycle when customer makes a purchase. When deciding to perform a purchase the customer proceeds to the checkout operation and then to the payment method and according verifications. Preconditions: Customer must confirm the final form of the cart and products already in. Base Case: 1. Customer must complete with the cart 2. he is taken to the checkout step 3. he is forwarded to a payment method based on the purchase type that he decided beforehand. Alternative Flows The customer may cancel the purchase when it is in â€Å"Not Available yet† status. Post conditions: Customer performs transactions based on defined account. Additional Info/Issues: Includes third party accounts like PayPal or supporting bank documents. Payment Use Case Description: Payment use case deals with the cycle of performing a payment through on of the methods mentioned. Preconditions: Customer must authenticate and decide upon the type of purchase to commit. Base Case: 1. Customer decides on the type of method to pay using either credit card or providing bank documents in case of basic type of purchase. 2. he decides upon PayPal method to pay if he decides on business purchase type. 3. each of the methods forward the user to the corresponding sites where he can enter credit card info, or upload a document or confirm a PayPal account. Alternative Flows None Post conditions: Customer performs transactions based on defined account. Additional Info/Issues: Includes third party accounts like PayPal or supporting bank documents.

Inflation Rate and Economic Stability of Brazil

Inflation Rate and Economic Stability of Brazil Introduction This paper is concerned with the economic consideration of one of the South American countries and analyzes the impact of an economic concern on that particular South American country that has been chosen and identifies the trend of the economic concern with in specified region on the basis of data sets accumulate from the source. The south American countries has major impact on American economy and the economic concern of one of an important country raise our body of knowledge regarding the economic trend in that particular country and its impact on overall economy as well. South American Country The economy of South America consists of twelve nations with three territories and comprise of 6% of population in the world. I have choose Brazil among other South American countries as Brazil is the largest South American country and Brazil is one of the fastest growing economies of the world. It is ranked at fifth spot in the world regarding population and geographical region and fifth largest economy regarding GDP in the world. The economic concern of Brazil is effectively contributes to world economy and interesting trend of economy can be seen. (Abreu, 2005). Economic Concern Among four economic concern including GDP, quantities of specific Goods and services gross Domestic Product (GDP), and unemployment inflation I have selected inflation. Inflation is an important economic concern that will effect the economy in great extend and inflation rate of a country economy is an important indicator for a country growth prospective. Inflation means rise in the general price level of the country and loss the real value of money as fewer commodities will bought with each additional unit of currency. Inflation directly relate to the economic productivity and has positive and negative both effect on economy as it create economic uncertainty which may discourage saving and investment. High prices of general commodities and hoarding will be its largest disadvantage. In positive sense it may encourage non monetary investment. But the inflation rate needs to be control in order to sustain country economy. Inflation trend in Brazil The inflation rate in Brazil is fluctuating over the years. No consistent trend can be seen in the inflation rate ac past year data support this assumption. According to the data displayed by ( IPCA) in 2002 the inflation rate was 12.53% that is quite high rate. Then the decreasing trend of inflation rate can be seen in Brazil economy as 9.3% in 2003, 7.6% in 2004, 5.69% in 2005, and 3.14% in 2006 that is least in this decade. Then the slight increasing trend can be seen in rate of inflation. 4.46% can be seen in 2007 and 5.91 in 2008. The fluctuating trend can be seen in this range in coming years as well. (Inflation Statistical table) Statistical Table Inflation (IPCA) 2002 12.53% 2003 9.30% 2004 7.60% 2005 5.69% 2006 3.14% 2007 4.46% 2008 5.91% Past two years Inflation Trend Past two years monthly inflation rate trend can be seen from this graph that shows the monthly frequency of the inflation rate. The graph bars shows the trend of inflation from year 2011 that is 6.01%. The increasing slope can be seen from March, 2011 up to October, 2011. Inflation rate at the month of October is the highest that is 7.31%. Then the control implementation on inflation increasing trend can be seen from 7.31% to the deep low rate at 4.92% in July, 2012 that is complemented to Brazil economy. The upward Trent at semi annual bases can be seen in Brazil economy. The last recorded inflation rate of 6.15% that is quite high. Brazil government target inflation rate is 4.5% with the plus and minus tolerance margin of 2% in it. The high inflation trend is important consideration for the government as increasing inflation rate affect the economy in deep roots and make the investment and saving difficult. People purchasing power will be effected that will effect their standard of living and indulge the poverty level in the country as commodities will be difficult to purchase with even more money in hand because due to inflation country will lose its real money value. (De Paiva Abreu, 2005). According to IBGE report it is recorded from 1980 the Brazil inflation trend has gone through various fluctuations. Historical data shows average of 411.8 % Brazil inflation rate that reached at highest rate of inflation of 6821.3 % in April 1990 that was the highest rate for all time. The low inflation rate of 1.7 percent was found in December 1998. The measure used to calculate inflation is consumer price index. Brazil important contribution in consumer price index are tobacco, food and alcohol that covers 31% of total, 15 percent by transport sector and communication carries 5 %. . (Brazil Inflation Rate) Statistical Evidence comparing various countries inflation rate Inflation Rate of various countries is showing the Brazil high rate of inflation as compare to other countries except India that has the inflation Rate o f 6.62. An increasing trend is quite threatening for Brazilian government for economic growth and required close consideration to control the rate in future in order to stabilize the economy. Conclusion The Inflation rate and economic stability are closely related to one another and required close concern in order to stabilize the economy. Brazil increasing trend provide the threatening for its future concerns and shows that the government need to closely consider this regime in order to stabilize the economy and to achieve the economical growth in the world.

Antonio Vivaldi and the music of his time :: essays papers

Antonio Vivaldi and the music of his time Throughout history there have been many distinct periods of time. These various eras are all alike in a way because they all slowly flow into each other. One of these unique times was called the Baroque period. The Baroque time began during the 1600's and ended early during the early 1700's. The way Baroque music was looked at was varied depending on where you looked at it from. In Italy, it was largely energetic and spectacular. Yet, if you were to travel North, you would encounter the "gloom's of muted firelight." This, along with the "shadowy pales of another world," simply means that this music wasn't greatly appreciated in Southern Italy, as it was more towards the North. The people of the North were not as affectionate towards this type of music. Although, the more time that had passed in the 1600's, the more popular the baroque music became. It was greatly adored by the listeners. The beauty that this type of music contained was extremely astonishing. Also the drama in this type of music and theatre was what made this time stand out from the rest. The actual term "baroque" is extracted from "baroco" which is a name used by medieval philosophers to identify a reasoning that writers of the 16th century found absurd and pointless. On the contrary, Baroque music is far from being absurd or pointless. The word "baroque" is derived from that or from the word "barrochio" that is an Italian word used since the middle ages to indicate shifty or tricky procedures. Wherever it's beginnings, the word "baroque" had been used since the 18th century to indicate paintings, poems, architecture, literature, and all else that is dynamic, dramatic, and to some eyes, astonishing and incredibly even ugly. This really comes to a surprise to me because I've listened to baroque music like Antonio Vivaldi and Johann Sebastian Bach and none of the music struck me as being "ugly." The first word that came to mind when I was listening was "relaxing." Like all other music, there are some people that think higher of it then others. Sir Francis Bacon said, "^Ã…I cannot but be raised to this persuasion, that this third period of time will far surpass that of the Grecian and Roman learning^Ã…" After reading this quotation you can clearly see that Sir Francis Bacon thinks the Baroque time is far superior to the Grecian and Roman periods. Antonio Vivaldi and the music of his time :: essays papers Antonio Vivaldi and the music of his time Throughout history there have been many distinct periods of time. These various eras are all alike in a way because they all slowly flow into each other. One of these unique times was called the Baroque period. The Baroque time began during the 1600's and ended early during the early 1700's. The way Baroque music was looked at was varied depending on where you looked at it from. In Italy, it was largely energetic and spectacular. Yet, if you were to travel North, you would encounter the "gloom's of muted firelight." This, along with the "shadowy pales of another world," simply means that this music wasn't greatly appreciated in Southern Italy, as it was more towards the North. The people of the North were not as affectionate towards this type of music. Although, the more time that had passed in the 1600's, the more popular the baroque music became. It was greatly adored by the listeners. The beauty that this type of music contained was extremely astonishing. Also the drama in this type of music and theatre was what made this time stand out from the rest. The actual term "baroque" is extracted from "baroco" which is a name used by medieval philosophers to identify a reasoning that writers of the 16th century found absurd and pointless. On the contrary, Baroque music is far from being absurd or pointless. The word "baroque" is derived from that or from the word "barrochio" that is an Italian word used since the middle ages to indicate shifty or tricky procedures. Wherever it's beginnings, the word "baroque" had been used since the 18th century to indicate paintings, poems, architecture, literature, and all else that is dynamic, dramatic, and to some eyes, astonishing and incredibly even ugly. This really comes to a surprise to me because I've listened to baroque music like Antonio Vivaldi and Johann Sebastian Bach and none of the music struck me as being "ugly." The first word that came to mind when I was listening was "relaxing." Like all other music, there are some people that think higher of it then others. Sir Francis Bacon said, "^Ã…I cannot but be raised to this persuasion, that this third period of time will far surpass that of the Grecian and Roman learning^Ã…" After reading this quotation you can clearly see that Sir Francis Bacon thinks the Baroque time is far superior to the Grecian and Roman periods.

Family Medicines: a Strategic Weakness Essay

Recently the trends of urbanization and fast population increase expose several problems to healthcare system in Vietnam like shortage of healthcare manpower, low quality of care, unreasonable distribution of healthcare manpower in different geographic areas, particularly the serious shortage of physicians in Mekong Delta and North-west highland areas as specialists tend to locate their practices in urban medical centers where they could have access to advanced technology, supportive services and consultations from other specialists while rural areas are underserved and patient care becomes highly technocratic, fragmented and episodic. Furthermore, the shortage of physicians in major cities results in a seriously permanent overload at Central level and some specialty hospitals like Oncology, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology .. etc.. In sustainable issues, deficit of Family medicine – a basic foundation of modern healthcare in the world, is identified as one of main causes of such problems in Vietnam healthcare system. The purpose of this Essay is to provide a theoretical discussion and analysis about the Family medicine weakness in Healthcare system and Family physician insufficiency in Vietnam to better understand about their impacts to the healthcare system at present and some proposed solutions and recommendations to improve these deficits. 2. Family Medicine and its roles in global healthcare system. In contemporary medicine, Family medicine remains the foundation stone of healthcare service in the community. As the most interesting and challenging of medical disciplines it is based on six fundamental principles: * primary care * family care * domiciliary care * continuing care All above principles are all designed to achieve: * preventive care * personal care (Pereira Gray, 1980). In the contemporary climate where medical services are fragmented and there are competing interests there is a greater need than ever for generalists. In those principles, primary care is the backbone of the health care system and encompasses the following functions: * It is first – contact care, serving as a point of entry for the patient into the healthcare system * It includes continuity by virtue of caring for patients in sickness and health over some period * It is comprehensive care, drawing from all the traditional major disciplines for its functional content. It serves a coordinative function for all the healthcare needs of the patient * It assumes continuing responsibility for individual patient follow-up and community health problems * It is a high personalized type of care (Rakel 2011) In the 2008 report, the World Health Organization (WHO) reaffirmed the importance of primary health care with its report â€Å"Primary health care now more than ever† and its emphasizes that primary care is the best way of coping with the illnesses of the 21st century, and that better use of existing preventive measures could reduce the global burden of disease by as much as 70%. The commentary emphasizes that ‘primary care brings promotion and prevention, cure and care together in a safe, effective and socially productive way at the interface between the population and the health system’. The key challenge is to â€Å"put people first since good care is about people† (WHO, 2008). Rather than drifting from one short-term priority to another, countries should make prevention equally important as cure and focus on the rise in chronic diseases that require long-term care and strong community support. Furthermore, at the 62nd World Health Assembly in 2009, WHO strongly reaffirmed the values and principles of primary health care as the basis for strengthening health care system worldwide. The essence of Family medicine is continuity of care and the evidence for its contribution to quality of care and better outcomes as follows: * Lower all cause morbidity * Better access to care * Less re-hospitalization * Fewer consultations with specialists * Less use of emergency service Better detective of adverse effects of medication interventions. Role definition of Family physician varies considerably both among family physicians and among people with whom they interact. Some individuals, particularly other medical specialists, see family medicine as merely another name of general practice. For others, family medicine is synonymous with primary care. A large proportion of family physicians further elaborate their role to include emphasis on personalized and humanized care. A smaller group adds a third component to their role: caring for families. The largest proportion who subscribes to this last notion refer to family physicians’ treating all members of a family (Cogswell, Sussman, 1982). In view of Family medicine, Family physicians are generalists who primarily draw their scientific medicine and technical expertise from five older specialties – internal medicines, pediatrics, surgery, obstetrics-gynecology and psychiatry-neurology. Compared to these specialties, family medicine is still a young field marked both by rapid expansion and by change, variety, ambiguity and conflict in the images and definition of the role of family physician. As the largest caring scope in healthcare services, the quality and quantity strengths of Family physician force play key roles to improve the health quality of national population. Globally the scope of Family medicine is extended with the recent view of global health care which is a field at the intersection of several disciplines: epidemiology, economics, demography and sociology. The term global health, as opposed to international health, implies consideration of the health needs of the people of the whole planet above the concerns of particular nations. That means global health has wide scope and reach to equity that the term of international health. The â€Å"global health† concept in Family medicine raises the changes in primary care nature as follows: * All population has to deal with the same risk of health due to the phenomena of traveling and immigration. Increase the gap between the poor & the rich globally. * The process of the urbanization/globalization. * Increase of the population in the world. * Decrease of the resources for health care. * Global warming phenomena. * Vaccination Era. * Evidence Based Medicine in daily practice. * Increase the bad behavior such as fast food, tobacco, stress, use alcohol†¦ * Primary health care change to Primary care concept  (Pham Le An, 2009). Such comprehensive changes upgrade the scale of Fami ly medicine in healthcare. In order to promote the global health support as well as strengthen the co-operation of national members, the World Organization of National colleges and Academies (WONCA), World Organization of Family physicians in WHO, was officially established and based in Singapore after the Fifth World Conference on General Practice in Melbourne in 1972. 3. Family medicine situation in Vietnam Although Family medicine basis had been established in the world for over 40 years, Family physicians, the most recently recognized specialists in Vietnam, are in the enigmatic situation of developing the occupational role which they simultaneously occupy. Family medicine had been only approved for establishment by Vietnam Ministry of Health since 2000. Until 2003, Family medicine specialty was established at 3 Medical Universities of Hanoi, HCMC City and Thai Nguyen province to train Family physicians and its specialists. However, its development was spontaneous with 7 Family medicine clinics (in both public and private sectors) nationwide and not strategically organized at all levels so far. There are only 59 post-graduated specialists and around 1,1 General practitioners who partly handle the roles of family physicians per 10,000 people averagely. The imbalance between Family medicine and other specialists can be seen by the ratio of 7,2 Medical doctors per 10,000 people in overall (Vietnam General Statistics Office – GSO – 2011) and the healthcare system only satisfies about 60- 70% of the demands and are lower than neighbor countries like Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines.. tc. In 2011 report, Vietnam Ministry of Health forecasted the demand of 34,000 General practitioners more to obtain 10 Medical doctors/10,000 people in 2020 and this is a significant challenge to all 19 Medical educational Universities/Colleges to educate Medical doctors and post-graduate levels in medicine which capacities supply 4,800 graduated Medical doctors every year to add around 3,500 physicians more a year. Not only the quantity of family physicians is seriously insufficient, but also their quality to fulfill the roles of a family physician does not meet the needs of the patients and social development. The General practitioner training programs don’t orient student to the WHO’s critical requirements of â€Å"good doctors† in Family medicine, even though the criteria are more and more demanding by time, for example, the newer criteria of John Murtagh in 2001 â€Å"What makes a good General Practitioner? : * Develop rapport and good communication skills * Ask the right questions * Be astute and observant * Develop optimal ethical and professional standards * Have a fail-safe diagnostic strategy * Develop supportive networks * Know essential therapeutics * Develop basic procedural skills * Be well prepared for emergencies * Know yourself and your limitations including own general practitioners. The importance of certain specific competences and soft-skills in family physician force are emphasized in many studies. An interesting survey on patient care by representative health consumers conducted at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne revealed that the most important attributes of good doctors were (in some order of importance) caring, responsibility, empathy, interest, concern, competence, knowledge, confidence, sensitivity, perceptiveness, diligence, availability and manual skills. Additionally, there are neither comprehensive residency programs for Family physicians at Medical Universities/ Colleges in Vietnam nor supporting policy to them and general practitioners practicing at remote or rural areas so far. With effort to resolve the overload situation of Central hospitals in major cities, Project 1816 of Vietnam Ministry of Health deployed in 2008 with the purpose of â€Å"Fielding rotated professionals from upper level hospitals to lower levels to improve the quality of medical care† achieved some initial results such as transferring some technologies and conducting on-site training to improve skills and qualifications for lower level health care professionals; initially improving the quality of medical care at lower levels, especially in the mountainous, remote areas with staff shortage†¦etc, but its couldn’t obtain one of basic goals to reduce overcrowding for upper level hospitals, especially central level hospitals because it made the shortage of central level and specialty hospital more serious by the rotation. 4. Impacts of Family Medicine weakness in Healthcare system & Family physician insufficiency in Vietnam. Due to low reliability and poorly structured family physician network, patients tend to bypass to specialists/ central level hospitals (Vietnam Ministry of Health – 2011 Report), opposite with the trend in the world in which healthcare activities for chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma†¦are moved from in-patient to out-patient services with comprehensive treatment protocol at each level (Dang Van Phuoc, 2012) The irregular bypass causes the overload at Central level and specialty hospitals and the overloading condition becomes more serious, i. e, bed using capacity at Central hospitals increase from 116% (2009) to 120% (2010) and 118% (2011). It’s extremely high in some specialty hospitals such as K (Cancer) Hospital: 249%, Bach Mai Hospital: 168%; Cho Ray hospital: 154%; Central Obstetric and Gynaecological hospital: 124% .. etc. High capacity occurs in some specialties such as Oncology, Cardio-vascular, Orthopaedics (at 100% of hospitals), Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatrics (at 70% of hospitals) while 36,8% of General hospitals are overloaded. The similar situation also happens in Consulting Departments with 80 exams/day/doctor while 60% – 80% of patients at Central level hospitals could be examined at local level and 40% of surgery cases at Central level hospital could be performed at local levels (Ministry of Health – Plan to decrease workload of Central level hospitals 2012- 2020) With the cost in health care, the deficit of Family medicine in Vietnam is one of reason making the medical expenses of patient higher. Total Expenditure on health as % of GDP (5. 1) is fairly high while General Government expenditure on health as % of total expenditure on health (28. 5) is so low to neighbor countries (Susan, 2005). The most cost-effective healthcare systems depend on a strong primary care base. This has been confirmed by a variety of studies comparing the care given by physicians in different specialties because primary care provided by physicians specifically trained to care for the problems presenting to personal physicians, who know their patients over time, is of higher quality than care provided by other physicians. When hospitalized patients with pneumonia are cared for by family physicians or full-time specialist hospitalists, the quality of care is comparable, but the hospitalist incur higher hospital charges, longer lengths of stay, and use more resources (Smith et al. , 2002). Similarly, the greater quantity of primary care physicians practicing in a nation, the lower is the cost of health care. The cost of healthcare is inversely proportional to the percentages of generalists practicing in that nation. According to OECD Health (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development – OECD Health Data, June 2005), United Kingdom has twice the percentage of family physicians but half the cost to U. S.. Administrative overhead accounts for a major part of the high overhead cost (31%) of U. S. health care (Woolhandler et al. 2003). Countries with strong primary care have lower overall health care costs, improved health care outcomes, and healthier populations (Starfield, 2001; Phillips and Starfield, 2004). The shortage of Family physicians and Family medicine deficits also cause other problems in health care as follows: * Incomplete or unsuccessful Primary health care performance. * The gap between urban care and rural care in the health care network. * The competition among specialties: lack of cooperation in chronic disease care, increase the cost of management. * Barrier in teaching ambulatory care and doing out-patient’s research in academies (Pham Le An, 2009). In society, Family medicine meets some resistances of patients such as family hysicians are unfairly treated as â€Å"general consultants†, â€Å"home caring doctors† and even in medical community, they are considered as â€Å"incompetent doctor†, â€Å"poor specialist†, â€Å"unfair competitive doctor†.. e tc. Many other specialists and hospitals’ managements list Family physicians as one of financial losing causes to their hospitals. Such unfair treatments make many Family physicians feel uncomfortable with the specialty and their roles of Family physician. The reliability of patients and society to them is fairly low and this specialty does not attract the general practitioners to study. 5. Some proposed solutions & recommendations to improve Family medicine. In order to improve the Family medicine in Vietnam, it requires a comprehensive strategy with strong supports of government, educational institutes and society. Within the limit of this essay, I would like to propose some solutions and recommendations as follows: a. Increasing the quantity of Family physicians with additionally trained General practitioners and using the retired medical doctors: The greater the number of primary care physicians in a country, the lower is the mortality rate and the lower cost (Rakel, 2011). In the United States, a 20% increase in the number of primary care physicians is associated with a 5% decrease in mortality (40 fewer death per 100,000 population), but the benefit is even greater if the primary care physician is a family physician. Adding one more family physician per 10,000 people is associated with 70 fewer death per 100,000 population, which is a 9 reduction in mortality (Rakel 2011). A study of the major determinants of health outcomes in all 50 U. S. states found that when the number of specialty physicians increases, outcomes are worse, whereas mortality rates are lower where there are more primary care physicians (Starfield et al. , 2005). Starfield (2000) states, â€Å"the higher the primary care physician-to-population ratio, the better most health outcomes are† (p. 485). Researches in England reveal that with each Family doctor more in 10,000 people (about 20%), adjusted mortality will reduced about 5% in chronic diseases (Gulliford 2002). The increase of Family physicians obviously reduces the workload at Central level and specialty hospitals (49. 3% of out-patient and 59% of in-patient totally) because with many researches in the world, over 90% of patients are taken care with better service by Family physicians in developed medical or developed countries (Didier, 2011). They can help patients and their relatives in 80% health problems: acute or chronic diseases without complications or no need to transfer to Specialty hospitals (Dang Van Phuoc, 2012). To compensate the continuing decline of the number of students entering primary care as a common trend in the world (Bodenheimer et al. 2009) and insufficiency of graduated general practitioners, a policy to support general practitioners and retired medical doctors to practice as Family physicians such as additional training about Family medicine, financial supports, incentive†¦should be prepared and implemented. Rather than other countries where Family physicians usually work at home or their private clinics, Vietnam has a wide network of local level medical centers at wards/hamlets and popularly private clinics/medical units. This advantage allows Family physicians to practice and deploy the primary care programs easily and popularly. b. Family physician residency training programs: Quality of care and the inadequacy of medical training are two major concerns of Family physicians. Eventually, medical schools and residency programs graduated more specialists and fewer physicians trained for primary care. To improve their quality of care in accordance with global health principles, proposed solution is to build emerging curricula of family practice residency programs to envisioning family physicians as â€Å"horizontal specialists† who can deal with the large majority of patients’ needs on a continuing basis (Rakel, 2011) and envisioning this role as integrating humanized care with a high level of competence in scientific medicine. In contrast to the training of the general practitioner, the additional training that family physicians receive is intended to make them more proficient generalists in scientific medicine through formal training in appropriate interpersonal skills and in the behavioral and social sciences. Implementation of this role, however, requires reorganization within the medical system (Folsom, 1966) for continuing, comprehensive care by primary physician is difficult if not impossible within the normative organizational structures of highly specialized medical centers. As Family physicians play the important role in primary care, the Global health awareness program should be combined into General practitioner and Family physician’s training curriculum for being sure about the quality of â€Å"primary care† as follows: (i) Clerkship: adding knowledge of burden global disease in the world such as: tuberculosis, malaria, Preventive care: vaccination; improving skills such as clinical making decision, communication. ii) Orientation: Adding knowledge of new   emerging infectious disease like SARS, non communicable diseases, traumatism care, HIV/AIDS; (iii) Residents: adding knowledge of prenatal care,   neonatal care,   chronic care, mental health care, adolescen t care;   Emergency care in disaster; improving skills such as: doing research and practice Emergency care in disaster, Behavioral care after disaster, Kangoroo’s program, Obs-Gyn care program; building up the relationship center care with WIN- WIN theory for both developed and developing countries to increase of cooperation and Team work. In addition, the cooperation among experts in different medical fields should be strengthened for teaching, managing, doing research to promote the concept â€Å"relationship center care† through many activities: * Establish Continue Medical Education, Patient’s clubs. * Build the bridge or integrate the teaching contents   in Family medicine   with the other specialties like Pediatrics, Traditional Medicine ( Oriental nutrition, Shiatsu), Cancerology (Palliative care), Multidiscipline (Disaster care, EBM, chronic care). Communication through Internet/ Video conference and Electronic medical: The WHO 2008 report emphasiz es the appropriate ‘use of information and communication technologies to improve access, quality and efficiency in primary care. The writer has made a small contribution to basic patient education (also known as doctor education) by the production of common patient handouts which are available for print out from General practitioners’ computers or for one page photocopying from the book ‘Patient Education’ (Murtagh J; 2008). Besides the residency training programs, on-going training courses to improve the competences and skills of Family physicians should be set for attributes considered most important for patient satisfaction (Stock Keister et al. , 2004a). Overall, people want their primary care doctor to meet five basic criteria: â€Å"to be their insurance plan, to be in a location that is convenient, to be able to schedule an appointment within a reasonable period of time, to have good communication skills, and to have a reasonable amount of experience in practice†. They especially want â€Å"a physician who listens to them, who takes the time to explain things to them, and who is able to effectively integrate their care† (Stock Keister et al. , 2004b, p. 2312). c. Others solutions and recommendations (i) Building an incentive scheme and financial supporting policy to Family physicians, especially whom working in remote and rural areas: The effectiveness of this model had been proved in many countries, particularly in Thailand and Malaysia where healthcare conditions are fairly similar to Vietnam. Contrarily, the recent P4P (Pay for Performance) policy of Thailand’s of Ministry of Health to replace the incentive scheme to Family physicians creates several problems to healthcare force and patients and is considered as a main cause leading the Family physicians moving to major cities. With relation between income and satisfaction, in an analysis of 33 specialties in U. S. , Leigh and associates (2002) found that physicians in high-income â€Å"procedural† specialties, such as Obs – Gyn, ENT, ophthalmology and orthopedics, were the most dissatisfied. Physicians in these specialties and those in internal medicine were more likely than family physicians to be dissatisfied with their careers. Among the specialty areas most satisfying was geriatrics. Because the population older than 65 years old in U. S. has doubled since 1960 and will double again by 2030, it is important to have sufficient primary care physician to care for them. The need for and the rewards of this type of practice must be communicated to students before they decide how to spend the rest of their professional lives. Patient satisfaction correlates strongly with physician satisfaction, and physicians satisfied with their careers are more likely to provide better health care than dissatisfied ones. Physician satisfaction is associated with quality of care, particularly as measured by patient satisfaction. The strongest factors associated with physician satisfaction are not personal income, but rather the ability to provide high-quality care to patients. Physicians are most satisfied with their practice when they can have an ongoing relationship with their patients, the freedom to make clinical decisions without financial conflicts of interest adequate time with patient and sufficient communication with specialist (DeVoe et al. , 2002). Landon& colleagues (2003) found that rather than declining income, the strongest predictor of decreasing satisfaction in practice is the loss of clinical autonomy. This includes the inability to obtain services for their patients, control their time with patients, and the freedom to provide high-quality care. ii) Compulsorily assigning General practitioners/ Family physicians to practice at local level hospitals, the servicing term at local level hospitals must be reasonable and acceptable. (iii) Improving facilitates of local level hospitals/clinic s, enforcing the lower level hospitals to implement modern technologies and quality control. This allows Family physicians to better serve patients as some achievements of Project 1816 of Vietnam Ministry of Health. (iv) Involving patients for private and family health care and prevention, structured information supporting treatment. (v) Improving the reputation of Family medicine and physicians in society through public media channels like television, newspaper.. etc, medical education programs and medical community. Even after the specialty is formally acknowledged by institutionalized medicine, family physicians have experienced a variety of negative responses from medical colleagues in other specialties. Carmichael (1978) perceived 3 stages in the reactions of those in medicine to Family medicine: first, the field was ignored; second, it was actively opposed; and then, family medicine is entering a third stage of possible co-optation by medicine. 6. Conclusion The weakness of Family medicine and insufficiency of family physicians cause many strategic consequences to the healthcare system in Vietnam. Their correction requires a long-term strategy to increase the quantity of Family physicians, quality of care, revise the residency training programs, improve its reputation in the society .. etc. In conclusion it seems appropriate to paraphrase Dr Robert Rakel in his keynote presentation to the 14th WONCA World Conference to reaffirm the Family medicine era in the contemporary medicine: â€Å"Regardless of how computer literate we are or how high our technology or whether the setting is urban or rural, good medical care in the future will continue to depend on patient care provided by a concerned and compassionate family physician. The physician will be governed by ethics, not economics, by a partnership with the patient, not politics; and by compassion and communication, and not by capitation. Good medical care in the future will depend, as it does now and always has, on the quality of our interaction with the patient† Dr Robert Rakel – 14th WONCA World Conference) REFERENCES 1. Alain J. Montegut, The Power of Primary Care for the Future of health care: Is Family Medicine the Answer? 1st International PHC Conference Doha, Qatar 1 – 4 November 2008 2. Bod enheimer et al. , 2009. Bodenheimer  T. ,  Grumbach  K. ,  Berenson  R. A. :  A lifeline for primary care. N Engl J Med  Ã‚  2009;  360:2693-2696. 3. Cogswell BE, Sussman MB, Family Medicine: A new Approach to Healthcare (Marriage & Family review, ISSN 0149-4929; v. 4, no. 1/2), The Haworth Press Inc. 1982. 4. Dang Van Phuoc : Plan to decrease workload of Central level hospitals 2012- 2020 – Vietnam Ministry of Health, 2012. 5. Didier L. Roles of Family medicine, Texbook of Family medicine for the co-operation between Liege University – Brussel and Vietnam, Medicine Publisher, 2009. 6. DeVoe et al. , 2002. DeVoe  J. ,  Fryer  G. E. ,  Hargraves  L. ,  et al:  Does career dissatisfaction affect the ability of family physicians to deliver high-quality patient care?. J  Fam Pract  Ã‚  2002;  51:223-228. 7. Gulliford, J Public Health Med 2002; 24:252-4, and personal communication 9/04. 8. Landon et al. , 2003. Landon  B. E. ,  Re schovsky  J. ,  Blumenthal  D. :  Changes in career satisfaction among primary care and specialist physicians, 1997–2001. JAMA  Ã‚  2003;  289:442-449. 9. Leigh et al. , 2002. Leigh  J. P. ,  Kravitz  R. L. ,  Schembri  M. ,  et al:  Physician career satisfaction across specialties. Arch Intern Med  Ã‚  2002;  162:1577-1584. 10. Murtagh J: The road to excellence. Australian doctor 3 2008, 46-8. 11. Murtagh J: Paradigms of Family medicine: bringing traditions with new concepts; meeting the challenge of being the good doctor from 2011, Asia Pacific Family Medicine, 2011, 10:9 12. Murtagh J: Patient education. 5 edition. Sydney: McGraw-Hill; 2008. 13. Pereira Gray DJ: Just a GP. J R Coll Gen Pract 1980, 30:231-239 14. Pham Le An, Integrate the issue of global health in FM curriculum: promising solution for improving the quality f Primary care in Hochiminh city, Vietnam  , Introducion FM concept: global healh, texbook of Family medicine, Vietnamese version, Medicine Publisher, 2009. 15. Pham Le An, Global health perspective in Vietnam, A â€Å"Train the Trainer’s Workshop†   WONCA   ASIAN PACIFIC Vietnam Ho Chi Minh city, 2008 16. Phillips and Starfield, 2004. Phillips  R. L. ,  Starfield  B. :  Why does a U. S. primary care physician workforce crisis matter?. Am Fam Physician  Ã‚  2004;  70:440-446. 17. Rakel RE: Family medicine-meeting new challenges. Australian Family Physician 1996, 25(9 Suppl 2):S91-6. 18. Rakel RE: The Family Physician, Textbook of Family Medicine, Eight Edition, Elsevier Saunders, 2011, pp4-15 19. Rivo et al. , 1994. Rivo  M. L. ,  Saultz  J. W. ,  Wartman  S. A.   et al:  Defining the generalist physician’s training. JAMA  Ã‚  1994;  271:1499-1504. 20. Smith et al. , 2002. Smith  P. C. ,  Westfall  J. M. ,  Nicholas  R. A. :  Primary care family physicians and 2 hospitalist models: comparison of outcomes, processes, and costs. J Fam Pract  Ã‚  2002;  51:1021-1027. 21. Starfield, 1994. Starfield  B. :  Is primary care essential?. Lancet  Ã‚  1994;  344:1129-1133. 22. Starfield, 2000. Starfield  B. :  Is U. S. hea lth really the best in the world?. JAMA  Ã‚  2000;  284:483-485. 23. Starfield, 2001. Starfield  B. :  New paradigms for quality in primary care. Br J Gen Pract  Ã‚  2001;  51:303-309. 24. Starfield et al. , 2002. Starfield  B. ,  Forrest  C. B. ,  Nutting  P. A.   et al:  Variability in physician referral decisions. J Am Board Fam Pract  Ã‚  2002;  15:473-480. 25. Starfield et al. , 2005. Starfield  B. ,  Shi  L. ,  Grover  A. ,  et al:  The effects of specialist supply on populations’ health: assessing the evidence. Health Aff (Millwood)  Ã‚  2005;  24:W5-97-W5-107 26. Stock Keister et al. , 2004a. Stock Keister  M. C. ,  Green  L. A. ,  Kahn  N. B. ,  et al:  What people want from their family physician. Am Fam Physician  Ã‚  2004;  69:2310. 27. Stock Keister et al. , 2004b. Stock Keister  M. C. ,  Green  L. A. ,  Kahn  N. B. ,  et al:  Few people in the United States can identify primary care physicians. Am Fam Physician  Ã‚  2004;  69:2312. 28. Susan JA, Vietnam’s Healthcare system: A Macroeconomic Perspective, Paper Prepared for the International Symposium on Health Care Systems in Asia Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo, 2005. 29. Vietnam Ministry of Health: Plan to decrease workload of Central level hospitals 2012- 2020, 2012. 30. Woolhandler et al. , 2003. Woolhandler  S. ,  Campbell  T. ,  Himmelstein  D. U. :  Costs of health care administration in the United States and Canada. N Engl J Med  Ã‚  2003;  349:768-775. 31. World Health Organisation: The World Health Report 2008: Primary Health Care now more than ever Geneva; 2008. 32. World Health Organisation: World Health Report 2009: Promoting health and development-closing the implement gap Geneva; 2009. -oOo-

Homework Essay

Chapter 5 1. Describe how we measure the clinical performance of an HCO as a whole? For example, can you aggregate good performance in cardiology and poor performance in obstetrics, and say â€Å"overall, performance is average†? It depends on how measurement is being done. If a scorecard is used, yes the performance could be aggregated. However, the book mentions moving the departments off the scorecard that do not need improvements and focusing on the departments that aren’t doing well or need improvement in certain areas. Scorecards are beneficial in showing overall performance but can also be evaluated to see which departments are not meeting or exceeding the benchmark. If measurement was on a department basis and one was not doing well, that department would need to focus on the developmental areas in order to say that performance is good. â€Å"Overall† means an average or an overview. It’s not specific to one department but an average of all. One could fail a nd others exceed in which â€Å"overall performance† would be â€Å"average.† Chapter 6 1. Describe how an institution can ensure that its medical staff plan is realistic? List the specific steps you think would be important, and which would make a reassuring checklist when presented to physicians and to the governing board. An institution needs to measure input and output to effectively staff the facility. Input can be measured by patient arrivals and appointment requests (request for care). Output can be measured by patients treated, cost per case, quality and access. The physician organization also assists in providing excellent care by recruiting and retaining physicians necessary to provide this care. Physician supply should remain open to leave and come as the community demand raises and lowers. However, it is more effective to be strategic in planning the staffing needs. Too big leaves physicians underworked. Too small leaves physicians ­Ã‚ ­ overworked. A medical staff plan should be implemented to protect physicians  against new competitors. 2. Medical staff leadership: Why should medical staff leadership be appointed by and accountable to the governing board, as opposed to being selected entirely by the medical staff or by the executive? To avoid tax situations, the board must remain nonphysicians (pg 205). Also the board must vote for what is in the best interest of the community. If there were several physicians on the board or the medical staff or executive appointed this, it would be considered a conflict of interest because it’d be harder for the medical staff to do what’s in the best interest of the community rather than what’s in the best interest of the physicians. 3. What is the goal of communication with physicians? How is that goal attained in large organizations? The intent of the communication network is to identify potential conflicts in advance, analyze and understand them (pg 205). PITs, surveys and organizational guidelines and processes are implemented to help resolve these issues. Bylaws are also set and used to describe rights and obligations of each party. They are also used to encourage negotiations and conflict resolution (pg 206).

South African Apartheid-Era Identity Numbers

South African Apartheid-Era Identity Numbers The South African Identity Number of the 1970s and 80s enshrined the Apartheid era ideal of racial registration. It was brought in to effect by the 1950  Population Registration Act  which identified four different racial groups: White, Coloured, Bantu (Black) and others. Over the next two decades, the racial classification of both the Coloured and other groups were extended until by the early 80s there was a total of nine different racial groups being identified. Black Land Act Over the same period, the Apartheid government introduced legislation creating independent homelands for Blacks, effectively making them aliens in their own country. The initial legislation for this actually dated back to before the introduction of Apartheid- the 1913  Black (or Natives) Land Act, which had created reserves in the Transvaal, Orange Free State, and Natal provinces. The Cape province was excluded because Blacks still had a limited franchise (entrenched in the South Africa Act which created the  Union) and which required a two-thirds majority in parliament to remove. Seven percent of the land area of South Africa was dedicated to roughly 67% of the population. With the 1951  Bantu Authorities Act  the Apartheid government lead the way for the establishment of territorial authorities in the reserves. The 1963  Transkei Constitution Act  gave the first of the reserves self-government, and with the 1970  Bantu Homelands Citizenship Act  and 1971  Bantu Homelands Constitution Act  the process was finally legalised. QwaQwa was proclaimed the second self-governing territory in 1974 and two years later, through the Republic of Transkei Constitution Act, the first of the homelands became independent. Racial Categories By the early 80s, through the creation of independent homelands (or  Bantustans), Blacks were no longer considered true citizens of the Republic. The remaining citizens of South Africa were classified according to eight categories: White, Cape Colored, Malay, Griqua, Chinese, Indian, Other Asian, and Other Colored. The South African Identity Number was 13 digits long. The first six digits gave the birth date of the holder (year, month, and date). The next four digits acted as a serial number to distinguish people born on the same day, and to differentiate between the sexes: digits 0000 to 4999 were for females, 5000 to 9999 for males. The eleventh digit indicated whether the holder was ​an SA citizen (0) or not (1)- the latter for foreigners who had rights of residency. The penultimate digit recorded race, according to the above list- from Whites (0) to Other Coloured (7). The final digit of the ID number was an arithmetical control (like the last digit on ISBN numbers). Post-Apartheid The racial criteria for identity numbers was removed by the 1986  Identification Act  (which also repealed the 1952  Blacks (Abolition of Passes and Co-ordination of Documents) Act, otherwise known as the Pass Law) whilst the 1986  Restoration of South African Citizenship Act  returned citizenship rights to its Black population.

Free Essays on Neanderthals Portrayed In The Media

There are many movies in popular media that misrepresent Neanderthals. In the movie â€Å"Quest For Fire,† there are several aspects of Neanderthals that are accurately and inaccurately portrayed. These aspects include physical dimensions of the body, tool use, the capability of language, and, of course, the use of fire. Regarding the physical makeup of Neanderthals, there are some correct representations that Jean-Jacques Annaud tried to replicate (Scheib, 1990). But certain aspects of the Neanderthals physicality could not be fully realized, due to bone structures. In the movie, the Neanderthals have markedly developed brow ridges that accurately depict the shape of true Neanderthals (NOVA, 2002). However, there are certain physiological aspects that could not be properly represented. From discovered fossils, it has been shown that Neanderthals have longer, more slender pubic bones, specifically the crest of the pubis, than that of the modern human (Spilman, 2003). Since the actors naturally have the physical make up of today’s humans, the difference could not be accurately portrayed. Other aspects of the physicality of the Neanderthals that could not be represented precisely are the adaptations that made Neanderthals well fitted for terrestrial life. They had massive bones, and strong attachments to the joints. The hip joint was surrounded by powerful muscles and strong supportive ligaments that aided in mobility. The muscles of the thigh had different points of insertion on the femur than that of modern humans (Spilman, 2003). Unfortunately, these Neanderthal-specific features could not be depicted, because of the difficulty surrounding that kind of physical manipulation. There are still more physical aspects that are misrepresented in â€Å"Quest For Fire.† These include cranial features that could not be transformed. In Neanderthals, the skull was fairly large and the walls of the cranium were thick. In a few of the ch... Free Essays on Neanderthals Portrayed In The Media Free Essays on Neanderthals Portrayed In The Media There are many movies in popular media that misrepresent Neanderthals. In the movie â€Å"Quest For Fire,† there are several aspects of Neanderthals that are accurately and inaccurately portrayed. These aspects include physical dimensions of the body, tool use, the capability of language, and, of course, the use of fire. Regarding the physical makeup of Neanderthals, there are some correct representations that Jean-Jacques Annaud tried to replicate (Scheib, 1990). But certain aspects of the Neanderthals physicality could not be fully realized, due to bone structures. In the movie, the Neanderthals have markedly developed brow ridges that accurately depict the shape of true Neanderthals (NOVA, 2002). However, there are certain physiological aspects that could not be properly represented. From discovered fossils, it has been shown that Neanderthals have longer, more slender pubic bones, specifically the crest of the pubis, than that of the modern human (Spilman, 2003). Since the actors naturally have the physical make up of today’s humans, the difference could not be accurately portrayed. Other aspects of the physicality of the Neanderthals that could not be represented precisely are the adaptations that made Neanderthals well fitted for terrestrial life. They had massive bones, and strong attachments to the joints. The hip joint was surrounded by powerful muscles and strong supportive ligaments that aided in mobility. The muscles of the thigh had different points of insertion on the femur than that of modern humans (Spilman, 2003). Unfortunately, these Neanderthal-specific features could not be depicted, because of the difficulty surrounding that kind of physical manipulation. There are still more physical aspects that are misrepresented in â€Å"Quest For Fire.† These include cranial features that could not be transformed. In Neanderthals, the skull was fairly large and the walls of the cranium were thick. In a few of the ch...

Explain Descartes skeptical argument according to a prompt Term Paper

Explain Descartes skeptical argument according to a prompt - Term Paper Example This lack of insight forms the basis of the argument as the mediator notices that there are certain instances when he is convinced he is awake and surrounded by real objects but he is in fact sleeping and dreaming. Descartes takes the lack of insight to be an outcome of sense perception and dreams being composed of the same content. This can be noted when the mediator argues that he is awake since everything is clear and distinct then he backtracks and reminds himself that the dreamscape can be deceiving as it always seems as clear and distinct during that moment in time (Descartes 33). The dream argument however accepts that although the present sensations and perceptions could be from a dream, they are however drawn from experiences when awake. The mediator compares this to a painter who creates a fantasy image of a mermaid, which at its basic level is composed of composite parts present in the real world, that is, a woman and a fish. Thus the final important aspect of the dream argument as noted by the mediator is that although he cannot trust composite things, he has to trust the simple and universal parts that make a whole such as size, quantity, shape and time (Descartes 34). This means that studies based on basic things such as geometry and arithmetic are trustworthy while those based on composite items such as medicine and astrology cannot be trusted. From the dream argument we can delineate two important facts. First is that dreams have an inexhaustible ability to mimic the real world and secondly, whether dreaming or awake, the clearest thoughts of intellect remain uncompromised. While Descartes dream argument may have been valid in the 21st century, the current conditions make its applicability suspect. Scientists have developed a sensory module that detects when our sense impressions are caused by objects and how accurately those impressions are.

Evolution--Creationism and Intelligent Design Essay

Evolution--Creationism and Intelligent Design - Essay Example This suggests that the knowledge imparted upon the students should reflect the ideals and ethos of all science theories that help humanity survive and prosper. On that aspect, a controversial theory, such as creationism, that insists on the existence of human life and the earth as the work of a supernatural being called Abrahamic God is paramount in within the framework of this research. Alternatively, there is also the intelligent design whereby some believe the creation of the universe should be questioned on the basis of a scientific and an intelligent cause rather than natural selection. In other words, parents or school boards should constantly review the syllabus of the science subject in order to ensure only the right material is fed to the students. In the account, the scientific theories presented in schools should improve the both analytical and research skills of the students in respect to discovering the truth about God and other elements of the universe (Dembski, 2002). Additionally, parents or the school boards can petition the government through the Ministry of Education on the type of scientific theories and ideas are valuable for students in schools. I think the views of creationism that are primarily based on a particular type of Christianity should be given special consideration based on certain factors. For example, this will have the effect on transforming the perceptions that students have on other religions, such as Islam and Hinduism among others. Additionally, creationism is a widely accepted doctrine because of its belief in the Abrahamic God and, hence, it is a yardstick for guiding other religions in knowledge enlightenment. Alternatively, it is fundamental to observe that Christianity is the largest religion in the world with one-quarter of Christians having residence in Europe alone. In other words, the influence of Christianity around the world should encourage

Using relevant theories and examples, explain how motivation can Essay - 2

Using relevant theories and examples, explain how motivation can affect employees commitment and performance at work - Essay Example Keeping valuable employees motivated in an organisation is not only intended to make them commit and perform but also to keep them over the long haul (Frasch 2010). There are many implements used by business organisations to motivate their employees. The most common notion about motivation is to shower them with fat paychecks but this proved to be inadequate in keeping employees motivated (Herzberg 1987). As what organisational theorists have reported, committing employees to perform towards a common goal involves an interplay of various factors that involves not only remuneration, but also the social and psychological dimensions of work that keep employees productive. Several business organisations even went as far as integrating play with work not only to keep their employees committed and productive, but also to induce creativity in the workplace which proved to be beneficial to a company’s diversification drive such as the case of Google (Lovewell 2005). These various motivation theories shall be discussed in this paper and we will also tackle how these theories affect performance in today’s competitive environment. The idea of the necessity to motivate employees to encourage commitment and performance among employees was first conceived by management classical theorists such as Taylor, Maslow, Mayo, McGregor, Vroom and Herzberg. While modern management and organisational theorists will argue that their concepts of motivating employees to commit and perform are inadequate, it cannot be denied that these classical theorists provided the basic building blocks of the know-how to motivate employees. From a simple idea of Taylor that adequate remuneration motivates employees, it later expanded to include the other dimension of human needs and aspects with the aim of fulfilling these needs that would enable employees to commit to the organisation better perform. Such, it would be necessary to cite and expound the ideas of these

Base Erosion and profit Shifting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Base Erosion and profit Shifting - Essay Example With the view of the OECD, the BEPS is not the main problem created by the companies in the respective countries instead, it is the rules in the taxation that is the problem. The OECD openly blames the countries for having the wrong rules for the business making the business to have difficulties. The OECD is majorly against the harmful taxation in the competition in the field of business. The BEPS has got a number of results in the business mostly in the combination of its strategies both at home and at the host countries hence this will make the domestic tax to be levied. This will also affect the domestic tax systems whereby the income will be taxed by more than one jurisdiction in the domestic level hence creating double taxation. As stated early, gaps will also be introduced by the BEPS making the income not to be taxed. In the process, there will be winners and losers whereby the developing countries will also face challenges in regard to the BEPS because of their poor national legal and business platforms concerning taxation. They will need supporting groups like the Global Fora on the treaties of tax to help them in developing the countries. With the BEPS action plan, there will be an improvement of the tax standards internationally in the principles of Coherence, Transparency, and Substance. We as citizens will benefit from the digital economy which will be improved by the BEPS. This will also lead to innovation in the developing countries making them to drastically improve with the help of the action plan.

Racial Harassment Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Racial Harassment - Article Example   According to the Giuffre and Williams study (1994), one of the four contexts in which the respondents identified actions as being examples of sexual harassment reinforces the idea of dominance as it refers to the exploitation of a powerful position for personal gain. In a situation in which the majority race controls many of the lucrative and influential social positions, racial harassment might be seen as being used to reinforce that dominant position. It highlights the fact that the harasser is in a position to get away with actions that are unfair because of his membership of the majority and powerful race. The psychological effect of this on the victim is great. Researchers have been examining the connection between post-traumatic stress disorder and the effects of racial harassment on the victim. Racial harassment has been considered by some of these psychologists as an injury that behaves like a disorder (Carter, 2003). When reinforcing words by a member of the powerful maj ority are used in a situation in which the subordinate position of the victim is already evident, the harassment has the violating effect of legitimizing the victim’s subordination and making him or she feel that the unjust relationship between the races is the correct one. In this way, racial harassment certainly exposes its usefulness in keeping the subordinate group in mental and physical subjection to the oppression of the dominant race. Another of the four contexts in the Giuffre and Williams study (1994) depicted racial harassment in which a member of a minority racial group harassed a member of the majority group. This offers a new perspective on the topic, because it seems to demonstrate a situation in which racial harassment occurs not as an attempt by the dominant race to keep the subordinate one submissive, but rather as a (possible) reaction by a member of the subordinate race to the oppressive nature of the race relations in his or her environment. This can be seen in the case of a minority man’s harassing a white woman.

Legal Diligence Checklist Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Legal Diligence Checklist - Essay Example Has Joe’s company made adequate provision for removal of debris and other objects from lawns before starting work? The answer to that is yes. This is important because it will demonstrate from a legal point of view that Joe’s company has exercised due diligence in ensuring that the workers are acquainted with safety procedures and know to operate in a safe manner. Therefore, it will negate any charges of reckless endangerment caused by the employer and allegations of disregard for employee safety or non compliance with Government regulations on worker safety and training. In addition to training, Joe’s Company also has provision for appropriate protective gear for the workers in order to ensure their safety at the workplace. 4. Does the employer have an accident investigating and reporting system in place? This ensures that a written record is maintained of all the potentially dangerous accidents that have endangered workers[www.ccohs.ca, n.d.] The answer to that question is a no. This could prove to be a legal liability in the event of a lawsuit for reckless endangerment. 5. Have any arrangements been made by the employer to monitor the workplace? This is important, so that legal allegations made later can be redressed through hard evidence from film. The answer to that is yes, since he has installed motion lights and cameras to monitor workplace activity. 6. Does Joe’s Company have any written documentation of action that was taken against employees violating safety procedures and rules? This is important from a legal standpoint, because it helps to protect against legal liability for worker injury. If a worker has erred and been corrected but repeats the risky action, the employer will not be liable. But the answer to this question is

Base Erosion and profit Shifting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Base Erosion and profit Shifting - Essay Example With the view of the OECD, the BEPS is not the main problem created by the companies in the respective countries instead, it is the rules in the taxation that is the problem. The OECD openly blames the countries for having the wrong rules for the business making the business to have difficulties. The OECD is majorly against the harmful taxation in the competition in the field of business. The BEPS has got a number of results in the business mostly in the combination of its strategies both at home and at the host countries hence this will make the domestic tax to be levied. This will also affect the domestic tax systems whereby the income will be taxed by more than one jurisdiction in the domestic level hence creating double taxation. As stated early, gaps will also be introduced by the BEPS making the income not to be taxed. In the process, there will be winners and losers whereby the developing countries will also face challenges in regard to the BEPS because of their poor national legal and business platforms concerning taxation. They will need supporting groups like the Global Fora on the treaties of tax to help them in developing the countries. With the BEPS action plan, there will be an improvement of the tax standards internationally in the principles of Coherence, Transparency, and Substance. We as citizens will benefit from the digital economy which will be improved by the BEPS. This will also lead to innovation in the developing countries making them to drastically improve with the help of the action plan.

Legal Diligence Checklist Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Legal Diligence Checklist - Essay Example Has Joe’s company made adequate provision for removal of debris and other objects from lawns before starting work? The answer to that is yes. This is important because it will demonstrate from a legal point of view that Joe’s company has exercised due diligence in ensuring that the workers are acquainted with safety procedures and know to operate in a safe manner. Therefore, it will negate any charges of reckless endangerment caused by the employer and allegations of disregard for employee safety or non compliance with Government regulations on worker safety and training. In addition to training, Joe’s Company also has provision for appropriate protective gear for the workers in order to ensure their safety at the workplace. 4. Does the employer have an accident investigating and reporting system in place? This ensures that a written record is maintained of all the potentially dangerous accidents that have endangered workers[www.ccohs.ca, n.d.] The answer to that question is a no. This could prove to be a legal liability in the event of a lawsuit for reckless endangerment. 5. Have any arrangements been made by the employer to monitor the workplace? This is important, so that legal allegations made later can be redressed through hard evidence from film. The answer to that is yes, since he has installed motion lights and cameras to monitor workplace activity. 6. Does Joe’s Company have any written documentation of action that was taken against employees violating safety procedures and rules? This is important from a legal standpoint, because it helps to protect against legal liability for worker injury. If a worker has erred and been corrected but repeats the risky action, the employer will not be liable. But the answer to this question is

Consumer Decision Making Process for Purchasing Property in Spain Essay Example for Free

Consumer Decision Making Process for Purchasing Property in Spain Essay This study has investigated the decision process of consumers purchasing property in Spain. The report focused on the underlying reasons for purchasing a property in Spain, the methods used by the purchaser to gather information and the overall satisfaction with the purchase process. The intention of the report was to link current theories on consumer purchasing behaviour to the purchase of property abroad. The methodology used was deductive research using a survey approach. The questionnaire was analysed by a means of Chi square and variable comparisons. The results were collected using a postal and an email questionnaire. The investigation revealed a clear link between the level of satisfaction of the purchase process and the level of information and advice sought. The report concluded that the majority of respondents from the questionnaire purchased their property abroad as a holiday home and purchased from an estate agent. The gathering of information and the seeking of advice was prevalent among most respondents; this was reflected in satisfaction levels and the overall purchase experience. The majority of consumers were overall, satisfied with their purchase. However, if given the opportunity to repeat the purchase, most stated they would change something about the process they followed. Many stated they would not use a Spanish agent again due to experiencing communication problems. This area gives scope for future research in order to establish why communication weaknesses are present in the supply of Spanish properties to British citizens.

Does Liberalism Promote Or Undermine Democracy Politics Essay

Does Liberalism Promote Or Undermine Democracy Politics Essay In a world of ideologies, liberalism and democracy have long coexisted. Liberalism in essence advocates for liberty and equal rights and the importance of the role they play in the development of individuals (liberalism. 1/1). Democracy takes a step further and most types of democracies aim to bring this into execution by the subsequent granting of these rights and liberties i.e. providing a platform for the individuals to grow via equal participation in the realm of economic, social and political affairs, and thus enabling them to decide their own destiny (What Is a Liberal Democracy? 1/1). At times, the two have managed to complement and supplement each other when either the liberals in their attempt to liberate themselves de-democratized or the democrats in their attempt to democratize de-liberated. The purpose of this paper is to explore the role, if any; liberalism plays in the democratization of systems that govern the modern political ideologies. The correlation between libera lism and democracy has been one where liberalism has both strengthened and destabilized democracy at different times, in different ways. It is not merely the explicit merger or clash of the two ideologies that provides the basis for liberalism to promote or undermine democracy, as the case may be. The problem is one of a more complex nature, which upon closer look, can be rooted to several democratizing and de-democratization practices of the liberal democrats in their attempt to liberate themselves. The subsequent advent of Neoliberalism did not help much and by aiming to promote a market driven approach to politics and economics by maximizing the role of the private sector in determining the political and economic policies of the state (McChesney 1/1). The liberal ideology that voices for liberty and equal rights help in the running of democracies where people are granted these rights and liberties and are subsequently entitled to freedom of speech, equal right to vote and tolerance towards religions. Liberalism emphasizes on individual freedom and the protection of that freedom (Liberal Ideas 1/1). The origin of democracy can be traced back in history to the liberal ideology of capitalism which won against fascism and led to the democratization of the state, as advocated by John Locke (Uzgalis 1/1). It was the principle that not only liberated people but granted them fundamental rights laying the basis for democratization (Uzgalis 1/1). It was the individual economic power of the business class that allowed them to liberate themselves from the tyranny of dictators after they had started to get irritated by the thought of having to follow someone according to Charles Tilly, besides having the means to rule themselves and subsequently led to a more representative form of government (Tilly 1/1). The liberal idea of individual freedom and social equality as put forward by John Stuart Mill, laid the basis for granting of civil rights to people, subsequently leading to the democratization of the state where the role of civil society is considered to be one of great significance (Wils on 1/1). A major characteristic of liberal democracies is the existence of pluralism i.e. the coexistence of different political parties that allow people with opposing views to join together and be able to pursue their own agendas (liberal democracy 1/1). While free media, another brainchild of liberalism, enables people to voice their opinions, debate, analyze and critique the performance of the state thereby ensuring transparency thus strengthening democracy as the rule of the majority (Charlton 1/1). Another feature of liberal ideology i.e. capitalism argues for markets to operate freely (Capitalism and democracy take two 1/1). This provides people with increased choice and opportunity to grow and consequently protect individual wellbeing. Governments, in order to gain popular support, aim to benefit the majority and thus regulate this idea of capitalism to an extent only to make sure that the freedom to earn and grow is not concentrated and rather benefits the community at large (Capital ism and democracy take two 1/1). Liberalism has also been one of the major reasons for the demise of the democratic order in states over the years. Although liberalism provides the basis following which most democracies aim to flourish, the same at times has been guilty of promoting anti-democratic practices such as use of influence by elite to stay in power, more commonly known as Marxs idea of dictatorship of the bourgeoisie (MIA: Encyclopedia of Marxism: Glossary of Terms. 1/1), use of media to propagate against opposition (Charlton 1/1) and bureaucracys promotion of self-interest (Clarke, and Foweraker). It has been debated that media while playing a significant role in the strengthening of democracy can also be used to derail the democratic order (Charlton 1/1). The theory put forward is that liberalism promotes the role of media and considering the magnitude of importance attached, concentration of media i.e. ownership and control by a specific group or class (elite) can lead to its abuse (Charlton 1/1). These undesirable practices only contribute towards weakening of democracies. The existence of many political parties and the right to decide whether to vote or not granted to people by liberalism at times leads to the problems of promotion of self interests and not everyone voting; subsequently undermining the legitimacy of the electoral process as the choice of the majority (Compulsory Voting. 1/1). One such example is of Pakistan where the voter turnout was merely 44.91 percent in the 2008 elections (Pakistan voter turnout put at 44.9 percent 1/1). Moreover, many socialists argue that as liberalism promotes capitalism, the resulting democracy is not one of equality but rather one biased towards the influential elite (MIA: Encyclopedia of Marxism: Glossary of Terms. 1/1). They further argue that policies aimed at helping the elite for personal interests lead to increased disparity between rich and poor and thus are considered anti-democratic (MIA: Encyclopedia of Marxism: Glossary of Terms. 1/1). Bureaucracy also occupies great importance in the political and economic affairs of democratic states. Arguably, these bureaucrats in their desire to obtain individual benefits toy with laws to not only mend them in their favor but also ensure that their stay in power is both prosperous and long lasting (Clarke, and Foweraker). Such corrupt practices hamper the democratic order. Majoritarianism aims to again highlight the problem of the selected few (a minority) who have the means and power via self liberation through capitalism and con centration of media, to not only influence the political process but subsequently rule the majority while falsely proclaiming to be the voice of the majority (What Is a Liberal Democracy? 1/1). Another argument that highlights how liberalism undermines democracy is one of equal participation and the attainment of economic, social and cultural equality to go with the granted political equality (Carter and Stokes 8-12). Liberal democrats argue that as everyone has a right to vote thus the political system is democratic in essence, however the argument is that unless economic, social and cultural equality is also granted to marginalized groups such as feminists and gay right liberalists, democratization cannot be achieved in essence (Carter and Stokes 8-12). First wave feminists although did get a right to vote (West 1/1), it still did not ensure equality as the men who dominated society formed policies promoting self interests leaving them worse off. It was not until the second and third waves of feminism that women got more rights but still not equal to those enjoyed by men (West 1/1). Similarly gay right activists, Afro-Americans/blacks and ethnic minority liberalists argue that although they do have a say in the political sphere, they still have to bear several inequalities in terms of social, cultural and economic rights (Carter and Stokes 8-12). They also argue that the fact that women or blacks are given jobs it doesnt mean they are equal in all spheres (Carter and Stokes 8-12). The influential class not only is able to implement policies which benefit themselves but also ensure that these groups of people remain subservient to them (Carter and Stokes 8-12). The advent of Neoliberalism, however, has been the defining moment in this complex relationship between liberalism and democracy. Neoliberalism has managed to affect democracy in more explicit terms as it à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦neoliberalism has strengthened the sustainability of democracy in Latin America but limited its quality. (Weyland 1/1). Implying that globalization has led to the forced maintenance of democratic order while also increasing social inequality (Weyland 1/1). Neoliberals, the advocates of a market driven mechanism with no scope for government intervention, aim to maximize the role of private sector in the formation of all economic and political policies (McChesney 1/1). The shift of focus from the society to the individual has led to several extreme policy changes regarding privatization of public institutions, redistribution of wealth through taxation, and provision of welfare facilities including basic necessities such as health, education, food, clothing and shelter ( McChesney 1/1). Neoliberalism has become the dominating political ideology in recent times. Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan gave neo-liberalism a big boost in the 1980s. (Neoliberalism 1/1). The parties that follow neoliberal ideology and the policies implemented tend to have a clear bias in favor of a wealthy few and many multi/trans-national corporations (McChesney 1/1). Everything that seems to be in contradiction with the operations of the free market mechanism is subsequently suppressed by using even unfair means or undemocratic practices (McChesney 1/1). Business forces face little or no opposition and the primary objective of the state is not welfare and equality and rather profit making and economic growth even at the cost of increased disparity (McChesney 1/1). Democracy is only seen acceptable as long as it is in line with the objectives of the business class (McChesney 1/1). Any anti-democratic measures that promote business environment are considered to be acceptable and democratic t o a great extent (McChesney 1/1). Neoliberalism leads to complete alienation of the non business class from the political process (McChesney 1/1) as it can be seen in Pakistani politics where the political system is one that is either hereditary or elitist. The consequences of such an ideology range from low voter turnout to wide spread depression as while some are playing in billions, the others are even deprived of food for survival due to the nonexistence of public institutions that would otherwise aim to address the issue of social welfare which can and will never be addressed by corporations driven by profit motive (McChesney 1/1). Neoliberal democracy, with its notion of the market uber alles [sic], takes dead aim at this sector. Instead of citizens, it produces consumers. Instead of communities, it produces shopping malls. The net result is an atomized society of disengaged individuals who feel demoralized and socially powerless. (McChesney 1/1). According to Ha-Joon Chang (2004), a professor at the University of Cambridge, global neo-liberalism threatens democracy by granting global investors and corporations veto power over domestic policy choices that they oppose. He also argues that neoliberal policies have granted excessive power to monetary bodies such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund over domestic policies of recipient countries (Manurung 1/1). The influential capitalists, with their monopoly over property, media and political institutions amongst others, use coercive measures to suppress this opposition, a practice completely against the norms of democracy (McChesney 1/1). Those in favor of Neoliberalism, however argue that the idea of free market mechanism has provided people with choice and freedom (McChesney 1/1). They argue that it is a merit based system that promotes competition and provides equal opportunity to everyone who is good enough. Projects such as micro financing have emancipated women economically, who have been deprived otherwise (Mayoux 1/1). They argue that feminists have long fought for economic rights which have in turn been granted by Neoliberalism; the only condition is that one has to be good enough to attain (Mayoux 1/1). Liberalism, democracy and Neoliberalism have shared a strange relation since the time they have started to interact. Although liberalism and democracy do tend to complement each other as long as there is no misuse of power, Neoliberalism, has contributed mostly to the de-democratization while also contributing to democracy in the sense of increased participation. It mostly undermines the basic characteristics that define democracies and also goes on to contradict itself at times with regards to the liberation of every individual. The use of coercion to suppress opposition, that arises due to the increasing inequalities resulting from the market driven approach of Neoliberalism has done nothing but deprived the states of democratic order. Anti democratic policies of promoting self centered agendas through misuse of authority i.e. exercising economic and political influence via media and bureaucratic structures etc to stay in power have led both, liberalism to an extent and Neoliberali sm to almost completely, undermining democracy.

Kosovo And Milosevic Essay example -- essays research papers

“I wouldn’t mind if they needed to take [Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic] out,'; said Chris Walter, 23, a college student living in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. I felt the same way about Saddam Hussein. I think the longer you keep the problem around, the sooner it is going to come back and bite you.'; From the Washington Post April 18th, 1999 The horrors of the atrocities committed against Kosovo such as the targeted attacks on civilians, “ethnic cleansing';, and most certainly mass murder have a greater impact globally than what may appear on the surface. On a humanitarian level, all these situations are marked by the same killing mixture of hope and despair – frightened women, terrified children, despondent old men and women, and helpless adults looking towards the corner of the street and gazing at the sky hoping for a miracle that does not happen – until they are driven out of their homes at gunpoint, and their houses looted and put to torch in front of their eyes – and they still thank God for sparing the lives of those who survived to face the next ordeal. This story is being repeated in the Balkans for the umpteenth time. Almost a month after the most powerful military grouping in history launched air attacks on rump Yugoslavia to compel adherence to a peace accord, a human tragedy of grotesque proportions continues to unfold in Kosovo. Nearly 50 per cent of its Albanian population has been forced to flee the country under the relentless assault of the Yugoslav army and police, amid unbelievably cruel carnage of human lives and burning of villages and towns. Kenneth Waltz’s first-image theory rests on the assumption that the causes of war are to be found in the nature and behavior of man and on the role of specific individuals, as in this case Slobodan Milosevic. If you ask the question "Why is a war taking place in Kosovo?" a large part of the reply must be "Because of Slobodan Milosevic." In an interview with Newsweek’s Lally Weymouth, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer bluntly linked Milosevic with the two names whose shadows still linger over modern Europe. Milosevic, said Fischer, "was ready to act like Stalin and Hitler—to fight a war against the existence of a whole people." It is Milosevic who has lit the flame of evil;... ...le of double standards, and credit must be given to President Clinton for using US power and influence to hammer out the Dayton Accords that brought the nightmare in Bosnia-Herzegovina to an end in 1996. But what can be said about the current situation? NATO’s Secretary general Javier Solana wants to see Milosevic indicted: “We think that at a political level President Milosevic clearly bears responsibility for what’s going on in Kosovo,'; State Department spokesman James Rubin said in Washington last week. Yugoslavia was once a vibrant, multicultural society with one of the highest living standards and the greatest degrees of openness in the Soviet bloc, a country of extraordinary natural and historical beauty. Today it is a bombed out, fanatic-ridden shell. The real problem that should receive urgent attention is that massive human rights violations be stopped and the refugees extended every assistance to enable them to return to their homes, most of which will have to be rebuilt. Apart from a political solution that respects the rights of the Kosovars, those guilty of massacres and ethnic cleansing must be brought to book through war crimes trials.

Holmes Is Made Possible By Watson. :: Free Essay Writer

Holmes Is Made Possible By Watson. Sherlock Holmes is one of the most popular characters in literature. I read the three stories; ‘The Speckled Band,’ ‘The Engineer’s Thumb’ and ‘The Beryl Coronet.’ I have looked at; how the stories were structured, Dr Watson as the narrator, language used in the stories and the difference between Dr Watson and Sherlock Holmes as characters in the stories. Most crime fiction stories are structured in the same way. Sherlock Holmes stories usually employ this structure; the crime is committed, an investigation is launched, a solution is thought up and an explanation is given. This structure is used to build up suspense and keep you guessing what happened until the end, when it is revealed. An example of this is in ‘The Engineer’s Thumb,’ where the crime was reported to Holmes, Holmes then investigated the crime, by making observations and deducing he reveals the solution and finally explains his solution to the characters and readers. Dr Watson is vital in the structure of the stories because he is an eye-witness throughout all the cases. Holmes explains his theories and methods to him, so Watson is in the reader’s position. This is because he obtains information from Holmes and writes it as the narrator for the readers. As the narrator, Watson eye-witnesses the investigations and tells us every development in the cases. Watson also enables Holmes to explain his methods, the explanation to each case and how he solved it. For example where it says in ‘The Speckled Band’, â€Å"There is no mystery, my dear madam†, said he, smiling. â€Å"The left arm of your jacket is splattered with mud in no less than seven places. The marks are perfectly fresh. There is no vehicle save a dig-cart which throws up mud in that way and then only when you sit on the left-hand side of the driver.† Holmes makes a deduction from the fresh mud on her left arm that she had come in a dog-cart. This is achieved by Watson allowing Holmes to convey his method. Every time that Holmes explains something to Watson, another clue is revealed to the reader. He does this by explaining in detail to Watson and the readers in detail. An example of this is in ‘The Engineer’s Thumb,’ â€Å"†¦as fast as the horse could go.† â€Å"One horse?† Interjected Holmes. â€Å"Yes, only one.† â€Å"Did you observe the colour?† â€Å"Yes †¦ It was a chestnut.† Watson makes all this possible, just by narrating ‘The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.’ Holmes and Watson are two very different characters, Holmes is the detective and Watson is his sidekick. This makes Sherlock look