Comparison of Two Books Relevance to South Asian History Research Paper - 1

Comparison of Two Books Relevance to South Asian History - Research Paper Example When the selected personalities are world popular, one has to wade through various materials and details concerning their popularity. As their contributions to the nation as well as its people are invaluable, one should be very cautious in presenting even the minute details regarding them. This is quite applicable to the comparative study of Subhas Chandra Bose, the great Indian revolutionary, and Mother Theresa, the Nun Mother who taught the world the real values of love and kindness in human life. Attempting a comparative study of these two eminent personalities one should first of all focus on their background. The people of India keep everlasting memories about Subhas Chandra Bose even after fifty years of his death, but he is not much popular with many of the westerners. As the extremist leader of the Provisional Government of Free India after its establishment by the Axis powers during World War II, many regard him as the Asian Hitler or Quisling. But he was soon forgotten just after the Allies defeated his Indian National Army. For the Indians, he is still â€Å"Netaji† or "revered leader." Mother Theresa, the Nun Mother was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje, Macedonia, on August 26, 1910. She was born to Albanian descent parents and it is said that she had the call of God at the age of twelve. This prompted her in joining the sisters of Loreto, an Irish community of nuns with missions in India (The Nobel Peace Prize 1979). When Mother was assigned to India after her initial vows as a nun, she happened to meet the pathetic state of the poor people outside the convent wall and decided to uplift their dismal state. Though she was devoid of any funds to support them, she herself felt that she had the Divine Providence which helped her all through her life. This selfless and endless sympathy along with kindness for the fellow beings, make her different and it is the same that earned her The Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.

Paraphrasing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Paraphrasing - Essay Example The heat transfer resistances are determined by the feed flow rate and feed concentration, feed temperature and other operating parameters. The system heat transfer is controlled by the heat transfer in the membrane the resistance of which is 27-46 times higher than that of feed stream. 1. Heat Transfer The total heat flux (Q), across the membrane is expressed by the following equation: (1) Where, U is the overall heat transfer coefficient is bulk temperature difference among the feed and permeate sides J is the trans-membrane mass flux is the latent heat of vaporization Under steady state conditions, derived from the heat balance, the heat transfer in the individual compartments of system is represented by the following equation: (2) On the basis of equation 8, and, or the temperatures on both sides of the membrane can be estimated using the following equations: (3) (4) Further the heat transfer coefficient of the membrane (hm) can be determined on the basis of thermal conductivitie s of the membraneand of the vapor that fills the pores, using the equation 5. (5) The heat transfer coefficients of the boundary layer and can next be estimated experimentally or can be calculated using empirical correlations of dimensionless groups, namely Nussselt number (Nu), Reynolds number (Re) and Prandtl number (Pr). These numbers can be calculated directly from the data available for aqueous NaCl solutions and water, using the equation 6. ... The primary set up included pure water operated at four selected feed temperatures viz. 40, 50, 60 and 70?C. 3. Membrane distillation coefficient and pure water flux The vapor pressure differencewas calculated at the membrane surface temperaturesand, and plotted against the steady state fluxes obtained at selected feed temperatures as illustrated in Fig 4. On the basis of equation (1), it can be concluded that the slope of the straight line of the plot thus obtained gives the value of membrane distillation coefficient, (C= 0.0004 kg/m2.h.Pa or C= 1.11E-7 kg/m2.s.Pa). The membrane distillation coefficient remains constant for a specific membrane and vapor properties. The experimentally determined value of C was equivalent to the value reported in literature (C= 8.5E-7 kg/m2.s.Pa). 4. Effect of feed temperature on permeate flux Permeate flux is largely dependent on fee temperature. Fluxes of pure water and aqueous NaCl solution is represented in Fig. 6. Elevation of feed temperature le ads to a rise in permeate flux as a consequence of rise in vapor pressure of gas-liquid interface on liquid feed side, which causes a simultaneous increase in the driving force of mass transfer. 5. Effect of feed flow rate on permeate flux At a constant temperature the mass flux is dependent on feed flow rate as depicted in Fig. 7 showing the flux time curve at four feed flow rate at a constant temperature of 40?C. The mass flux rate is directly proportional to feed flow rate since a rise in feed flow rate causes a rise in turbulence, reduction of heat transfer resistance in the boundary layers and consequential rise in mass transfer rates. Moreover, the increase of feed boundary heat transfer coefficientwith Reynolds number lead to further rise

Evaluating Two Middle Range Theories Nursing Essay

Evaluating Two Middle Range Theories Nursing Essay The purpose of this paper is to evaluate two middle range theories abilities to test the concept of comfort for the practice question Do neonatal nurses who care for dying infants who attend an end of life care educational training program compared to neonatal nurses who do not attend the program experience a difference in comfort levels (Comfort Level for Caring for Dying Infants (CLCDI)) when caring for a dying infant? A summary of two middle range theories the Comfort Theory (Kolcaba, 1994) and the Theory of Self-Efficacy (Resnick, xxxx) will be summarized and then critiqued using Smith and Liehrs (xxxx) Framework for Evaluating Middle Range Theory. The discussion will conclude with a summary of strengths and weakness of the theories and a research hypothesis to reflect that reflects the most appropriate theories conceptual definitions and propositions. Introduction Background Despite nurses as frontline caregivers for dying patients and their families many nurses have identified that they struggle with the responding adequately to the emotional devastation to parents and siblings when caring for a neonate with an unresolved terminal condition (Frommet, 1991). With the advances in neonatal care and life sustaining treatments, sick and very preterm infants do not often die in utero, at birth, or shortly after birth, but instead they often live much longer in a healthcare paradigm of comfort care and dignified death. This relatively new emersion of the end of life model integrates a more holistic approach which considers a more comprehensive view of the patients needs (emotional, spiritual, and medical) (Mallory, 2002; Mallory, 2003; WHO, 2002). With this paradigm shift, health care professionals are obligated to assess the adequacy of their own knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about death and dying. Multiple studies regarding nurses preparation for dealing with death and dying have consistently found that nurses that nurses do not feel educationally prepared to care for dying patients and insist that healthcare professionals should receive additional education on end of life care to bridge the deficit gap (Frommet, 1991; Robinson, 2004; White, Coyne, Patel, 2001; Beckstrand, Callister, Kirchhoff, 2006). These findings have led to a further observation that nurses caring for these complex patients regularly experience moral distress from competing principles of their personal, collegial, organizational, and religious/spiritual ethics (Frommet, 1991). Practice Problem To help ease this moral distress an evidence based end-of -life educational training program for NICU nurses has been successfully implemented in several neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) to increase the nurses comfort level of caring for neonates and their families at the end of life (Bagbi, Rogers, Gomez, McMahon, 2008). To determine if an evidence based end of life educational program impacts nurses comfort levels in caring for dying infants and their families a question was developed using the population (P) intervention (I) compared to (C) outcome (O) format (Newhouse, Dearhold, 1997). The following discussion will focus on this PICO question Do neonatal nurses who care for dying infants who attend an end of life care educational training program compared to neonatal nurses who do not attend the program experience a difference in comfort levels (Comfort Level for Caring for Dying Infants (CLCDI)) when caring for a dying infant? During the intervention a monthly 1 hour, neo natal end of life education program will be conducted over a 6 month period of time based on research about what nurses would like to know about caring for a dying infant (Robinson, 2004). For the purpose of this problem, comfort is defined as the ability of the NICU nurse(s) to show adequate knowledge and skills in providing neonatal end of life care for dying babies and their families. For this problem comfort will be measured as a score on the ordinal scale of Comfort Level Caring for Dying Infants (CLCDI). The instrument consisting of 15 items, measured on a 5 point Likert type scale equates scores of 1=never; 2=rarely; 3=sometimes; 4=often, 5=always measures the level of comfort a NICU nurse has caring for dying infants as opposed to their perception toward pediatric or neonatal end of life care (Bagbi, Rogers, Gomez, and McMahon, 2008). In evaluating the score, the higher the reported score the greater level of comfort NICU nurses have in caring for dying babies. Testing the Concept of Comfort A portion of Kolbacas (1991) Theory of Comfort and Resnicks (2008) Theory of Self-Efficacy, two middle range theories, will be used to test the concept of comfort for providing an organizing structure. Based on previous studies about nurses comfort when caring for patients, propositions five and six of Kolbacas Theory of Comfort seem to be a promising fit for this problem (Kolbaca, 1991, Kolbaca, XXX). These propositions collectively propose that patients, nurses, and other members of the healthcare team agree upon desirable and realistic health seeking behaviors (HSBs) and if enhanced comfort is achieved, patients, family members, and/or nurses are strengthened to engage in HSBs, comfort is further enhanced (Kolbaca, 1991). However, comfort as defined conceptually in this case as knowledge and skill can alternatively be equated with a sense of competence or self-efficacy of the NICU nurse to care for a dying infant and their family. There are many examples in the nursing literature linking self-efficacy to knowledge and skill (xxxx, xxxxx).) Self-efficacy, knowledge, and skills are also central to Banduras theory, which is the basis for Resnicks (xxxx) Self-Efficacy theory. Self-efficacy as described in Resnicks (xxxx) Theory of Self-Efficacy for this context is described as the judgment about the nurses ability to organize and execute a course of action required to attain designated types of performances. The theory states that perceived self-efficacy, defined as the individuals judgment of his or her capabilities to organize and execute courses of action, is a determinant of performance (Resnick, xxxx). Self-efficacy beliefs provide the foundation for human motivation, well-being, and personal accomplishment (Resnick, xxxx). According to Resnick (XXXX) theory individuals with higher levels of self-efficacy for a specific behavior (caring for a dying infant) are more likely to attempt that behavior. There are many examples in the literature using the Theory o f Self-Efficacy to support nursing education interventions (xxxxx, xxxxx). For these reasons, Resnicks Theory of Self-Efficacy (xxx) will be used to test the concept of nurses comfort or knowledge and skill (self-efficacy) in caring for dying infants and their families. The purpose of the following discussion is to summarize, describe, analyze, and evaluate these theories using the Framework for the Evaluation of Middle Range Theories (Smith, 2008) and conclude with a synthesis and research hypothesis to reflect conceptual definitions and propositions of the theory with the best fit. Theory Summaries: Comfort and Self-Efficacy Kolcabas Comfort Theory The Comfort Theory is a humanistic, holistic, patient need based nursing derived middle range theory (Kolbaca, xxxx). The concept of comfort has had a historic and consistent presence in nursing. In the early 1900s , comfort was considered to be a goal for both nursing and medicine, as it was believed that comfort led to recovery (McIlveen Morse, 1995). Over time comfort has become an increasingly minor focus, at times reserved only for those patients for whom no further medical treatment options are available (McIlveen Morse, 1995). The term comfort is used as a noun (comforter), adjective (comforting), verb (to comfort), or adverb (comfort the patient) (xxx). It is also used as a negative (absence of discomfort), neutral (ease), or positive (hope inspiring). Webster (1990) defines comfort as relief from distress; to soothe in sorrow or distress; a person or thing that comforts; a state of ease and quiet enjoyment free from worry; anything that makes life easy; and the lessening of misery or grief by calming or inspiring with hope. The origin of comfort is confortrare which means to strengthen greatly(Kolcaba, 1992). Based on the diversity of these terms comfort is a complex term. Kolcabas (1991) concept analysis of comfort helped to clarify the role of comfort as a holistic concept for nursing. This review confirmed that comfort is a positive concept and is associated with activities that nurture and strengthen patients (David, 2002). Over a period of years and revisions Kolcaba (1994) developed the comfort the ory which continues to evolve and change with changes as recent as 2007 (Figure 2). Kolcaba (1994, 2001, 2003) has defined comfort as the immediate state of being strengthened through having the human needs for relief, ease, and transcendence addressed in four contexts of experience (physical, psychospiritual, sociocultural, and environmental). The terms relief, ease, and transcendence are types of comfort that occur physically and mentally (Figure 2). The terms are defined based on definitions from medicine, theology, ergonomics, psychology, and nursing (Kolcaba Kolcaba, 1991). Relief is the state of having a discomfort mitigated or alleviated. Ease is the absence of specific discomforts. Transcendence is the ability to rise above discomforts when they cannot be eradicated or avoided (e.g., the child feels confident about ambulation although (s)he knows it will exacerbate pain). Transcendence, as a type of comfort, accounts for its strengthening property and reminds nurses to never give up helping their children and family members feel comforted. Interventions for increasing transcendence can be targeted to improving the environment, increasing social support, or providing reassurance. The three types of comfort occur in four contexts of experience: physical, psychospiritual, sociocultural, and environmental. These contexts were derived from an extensive review of the nursing literature on holism (Kolcaba, 1992). When the three types of comfort are juxtaposed with the four contexts of experience, a 12-cell grid is created, which is called a taxonomic structure (TS) (Figure 1) . Taken together, these cells represent all relevant aspects (defining attributes) of comfort for nursing and demonstrate the holistic nature of comfort as an important goal of care. All comfort needs can be placed somewhere on the taxonomic structure, and the cells are not mutually exclusive. A sample pediatric case study using the TS as a guide for a holistic comfort assessment is demonstrated below (see Figure 1). The concepts for the middle range for Comfort Theory include comfort needs, comfort interventions, intervening variables, enhanced comfort, health-seeking behaviors, and institutional integrity (Kolcaba, 1994). All of these concepts are relative to patients, families, and nurses (Kolcaba, 2003; Kolcaba, Tilton, Drouin, 2006). There are eight propositions which link the above concepts together. All or parts of the Comfort Theory can be tested for research (Peterson Bredow, 2010). In the comfort theory, Kolcaba asserts that when healthcare needs of a patient are appropriately assessed and proper nursing interventions carried out to address those needs, taking into account variables intervening in the situation, the outcome is enhanced patient comfort over time (Kolcaba, 2007). Once comfort is enhanced, the patient is likely to increase health-seeking behaviors. These behaviors may be internal to the patient (eg, wound healing or improved oxygenation), external to the patient (eg, active participation in rehabilitation exercises), or a peaceful death. Furthermore, Kolcaba asserted that when a patient experiences health-seeking behaviors, the integrity of the institution is subsequently increased because the increase in health-seeking behaviors will result in improved outcomes. Increased institutional integrity lends itself to the development and implementation of best practices and best policies secondary to the positive outcomes experienced by patients (Kolcab a, 2007). To translate the concepts to practice the effectiveness of a holistic intervention can be targeted to the taxonomic structure for enhancing comfort in a specific patient, family, or nurse population over time. Holistic comfort is defined as the immediate experience of being strengthened through having the needs for relief, ease, and transcendence met in four contexts of experience (physical, psychospiritual, social, and environmental).The comfort theory has been operationalized in many research settings with a variety of patient and target populations ranging from end of life care to the comfort of nurses (xxxx). Resnick Theory of Self-Efficacy Self efficacy is described as a way to organize an individuals judgment of his or her capability to execute a course of action. The Theory of Self-efficacy states that self-efficacy expectations and outcome expectations are not only influenced by behavior, but also verbal encouragement, reflective thinking, physiological sensations and role or self-modeling (Bandura, 1995).. Through self evaluation an individual judges their capability to perform and established self expectations which is visually depicted in the conceptual model (Appendix 2) (Resnick, 2008). Resnicks Theory of Self Efficacy is based on Banduras social cognitive theory and conceptualizes person-behavior-environment as triadic reciprocity the foundation for reciprocal determinism (Bandura, 1977, 1986). Most of the research into self-efficacy beliefs among older adults has been quantitative and has consistently supported the influence of those beliefs on behavior. However, it has not been established how efficacy beliefs actually influence motivation in older adults, or what sources of efficacy-enhancing information help strengthen those beliefs. Kolcabas Comfort Theory: Description, Analysis, and Evaluation Theory Description Historical context. The Comfort Theory is a humanistic, holistic, patient need based nursing derived middle range theory (Kolbaca, xxxx). The concept of comfort has had a historic and consistent presence in nursing. In the early 1900s , comfort was considered to be a goal for both nursing and medicine, as it was believed that comfort led to recovery (McIlveen Morse, 1995). Over time comfort has become an increasingly minor focus, at times reserved only for those patients for whom no further medical treatment options are available (McIlveen Morse, 1995). The term comfort is used as a noun (comforter), adjective (comforting), verb (to comfort), or adverb (comfort the patient) (xxx). It is also used as a negative (absence of discomfort), neutral (ease), or positive (hope inspiring). Webster (1990) defines comfort as relief from distress; to soothe in sorrow or distress; a person or thing that comforts; a state of ease and quiet enjoyment free from worry; anything that makes life easy; and the lessening of misery or grief by calming or inspiring with hope. The origin of comfort is confortrare which means to strengthen greatly(Kolcaba, 1992). Based on the diversity of these terms comfort is a complex term. Kolcabas (1991) concept analysis of comfort helped to clarify the role of comfort as a holistic concept for nursing. This review confirmed that comfort is a positive concept and is associated with activities that nurture and strengthen patients (David, 2002). Over a period of years and revisions Kolcaba (1994) developed the comfort the ory which continues to evolve and change with changes as recent as 2007 (Figure 2). Structural Components. Assumptions. Kolcabas Theory of Comfort (1994) makes four basic assumptions about reality. She assumes that humans beings have holistic responses to complex stimuli; comfort is a desirable holistic state that is germane to the discipline of nursing; human beings actively strive to meet, or to have met, their basic comfort needs, and that comfort is more than the absence of pain, anxiety, and other physical discomforts (Kolcaba , 2009). Concepts. Kolcaba defines six concepts of comfort which are relative to patients, families, and nurses (Table 1) . The term family, as defined by Kolcaba (2003) encompasses significant others as determined by the patient (Kolcaba, 2003; Kolcaba, Tilton Drouin, 2006). The first concept is of comfort needs which is the relief/ease/transcendence in physical, psychospiritual, sociocultural and environmental contexts of human experience. Comfort interventions in the model are defined as interventions of the health care team specifically targeting comfort of the patient, family and nurses. Intervening variables are positive or negative factors over which the health care team has little control, including physical limitations of the hospital or patients home, cultural influences, socioeconomic factors, prognosis, concurrent medical or psychological conditions. Health-seeking behaviors are those behaviors of patient, family or nurses (conscious or unconscious) which promote well-being; may b e internal, external or towards promoting a peaceful death. The final concept, institutional integrity, added in most recently, are values, financial stability and wholeness of health care facilities at the local state or national levels. Propositions. To help test the concept of nurses comfort caring for dying infants, propositions five and six of Kolcabas comfort theory are examined. These propositions state that patients, nurses, and other members of the healthcare team agree upon desirable and realistic health seeking behaviors (HSBs) (five) and if enhanced comfort is achieved, patients, family members, and/or nurses are strengthened to engage in HSBs, which further enhances comfort (six). These propositions provide rationale for why nurses and other health care professionals should focus on the patient, family, or in this case the nurses comfort beyond altruistic reasons. Because health seeking behaviors include internal and external behaviors almost any health-related outcome important in a healthcare setting can be classified as a health seeking behavior (Peterson Bredow, 2010). The desirable and realistic health seeking behavior (HSB) for this study is nurses comfort (knowledge and skills) to relieve moral di stress in caring for a dying infant and their family. Several studies support that moral and other types of distress are frequently observed in nurses who care for dying infants (Frommet, 1991) and most importantly indicate that nurses are seeking education regarding patient end of life issues (XXXXX). It is believed that reducing this distress and frustration can be affected through an effective end of life educational programs and is likely to improve the knowledge and skills nurses need to help increase their comfort level in caring for dying infants (xxxxx). Functional Components. Visualizing the concepts in the conceptual model, the Theory Analysis and Evaluation To analyze and evaluate Kolcabas Comfort Theory (1994) the substantive foundation, structural integrity, and functional adequacy of the theory using Smith and Liehrs (2008) Framework for the Evaluation of Middle Range Theories is discussed below (Appendix 1). Substantive foundations. Assessing the substantive foundation of a middle range theory is based on four criteria (Smith, 2003). The first criterion evaluates whether the theory is within the focus of the discipline of nursing. Kolcabas comfort theory successfully addresses four concepts comprising the metaparadigm of nursing, defining the concepts as they correspond to the theory (Dowd, 2002; Kolbaca, 2007) as well as presents a diagram of how the Comfort Theory relates theoretically to other nursing concepts (Figure 2) (Kolcaba, 1994) . Nursing is described as the process of assessing the patients comfort needs, developing and implementing appropriate nursing interventions, and evaluating patient comfort following nursing interventions. Person is described as the recipient of nursing care; the patient may be an individual, family, institution, or community. Environment is considered to be the external surroundings of the patient and can be manipulated to increase patient comfort. Fi nally, health is viewed as the optimum functioning of the patient as they define it. The ability of the framework to suggest interventions that help guide nursing interventions to increase comfort supports the discipline of nursing, and in doing so meeting the first criteria. The second criterion evaluates whether the assumptions are specified and congruent with the focus. The four assumptions in the Comfort Theory are explicitly stated and so meet the second criteria. Comfort theory (xxxx) assumes that humans beings have holistic responses to complex stimuli; comfort is a desirable holistic state that is germane to the discipline of nursing; human beings actively strive to meet, or to have met, their basic comfort needs, and that comfort is more than the absence of pain, anxiety, and other physical discomforts (Kolcaba , 2009). Because the Comfort Theory (XXXX) substantially describes the concept of comfort at the middle range level of discourse, the third criterion of the substantive foundation is met. Kolcabas (1991) concept analysis of comfort helped to clarify the role of comfort as a holistic concept for nursing. This review confirmed that comfort is a positive concept and is associated with activities that nurture and strengthen patients (David, 2002). The Comfort Theory provides an excellent description, explanation, and interpretation of the comfort concept in multiple domains and practice settings. Comfort theory is at the middle range level in that is defined in a measurable way and can be operationalized in both research and practice settings. The final criterion for this category evaluates if the origins are rooted in practice and research experience. The Comfort Theory has been used in numerous practice and research settings to provide a framework where patients have comfort needs and enhancing their comfort is valued. It has also been used to enhance working environments, especially for nurses, and most recently as a framework for working toward national institutional recognitions. More specifically parts are all of the theory have been used to test the effectiveness of holistic interventions for increasing comfort (xxxxxxx), to demonstrate the correlation between comfort and subsequent HSBs (xxxxx) and to relate HSBs to desirable institutional outcomes. It has also been used as a framework for helping families make difficult decisions about end of life (xxxxx). International and national healthcare institutions have also used Comfort Theory to enhance the work environment for nurses (xxxx). In these cases, nurses comfo rt is of interest and is theoretically related to the integrity of the institution. Summarize specific studies and tools used here. Structural integrity. There are four criterion for evaluating structural integrity. The first criterion is that the concepts are well defined. The concepts (defined above) of comfort needs, comfort interventions, intervening variables, enhanced comfort, health-seeking behaviors, and institutional integrity are clearly defined and easy to understand. There are numerous examples of applying the concepts in the literature for further clarification (xxxxx). The second criterion of structural integrity is that concepts within the theory are at the middle range level of abstraction. The concepts of the Comfort Theory-comfort needs, comfort interventions, intervening variables, enhanced comfort, health seeking behaviors, and institutional integrity are near the same level on the ladder of abstraction at the middle range level. They are more concrete because they can and have been operationalized and measured (xxxxx). The third criterion of structural integrity is that there are no more concepts than needed to explain the phenomena. Overall, the concepts adequately explain the phenomena of comfort. The theory is synthesized and organized in a simple manner. Lastly, the fourth criterion evaluates whether the concepts and relationships among the concepts are logically presented with a model. In the Comfort Theory (1994) model the ideas are integrated to create an understanding of the whole phenomenon of comfort in a model. The Comfort Theory (1994) model is a great example of presenting the concepts and statements in a linear logical order so the appreciation of the theory can be recognized (Smith, 2003). Functional adequacy. Because the criterion for functional adequacy overlap somewhat the five criterion will be discussed collectively. The five criterion include: theory can be applied to a variety of practice environments and clients; empirical indicators have been identified; published examples exist of research and theory in practice; and that the theory has evolved through scholarly inquiry. The Comfort Theory easily meets all of these criterions. For example, the Comfort Theory has been used widely in a variety of research in practice settings and patient and family populations. Even though the Comfort Theory has been used most widely with patients and families at the end of life and surrounding holistic palliative care nursing interventions, there has been a broad application of the theory in other populations as well including mothers in labor (xxxx), Alzheimer patients (xxxx), pediatric intensive care unit patients and families (xxxx), patients on bedrest (xxxx), those underg oing radiation therapy (xxxx) and for infants comfort and pain (xxxx). Most recently research of using the theory in practice has expanded to support institutional nursing recognition and comfort in the nursing working environment. In each of the populations mentioned above a psychometric comfort instrument has been developed as empirical indicators of concepts in the theory. However, the empirical indicators extend beyond empiricism and some include perceptions, self reports, observable behaviors and biological indicators (Ford-Gibloe, Campbell, Berman, 1995; Reed, 1995). The Comfort Theory (1994) has also been revised with the latest revision in 2007. The empirical adequacy of the Comfort Theory is evidence of the maturity of this theory (Smith, 2003). Summary The Comfort Theory (1994) is a well defined and well tested theory. Its strength lies in the versatility, adaptability, and testability of the concepts. The comfort theory clearly defines the concepts in the theory and the relationship between them. Because the comfort theory meets most of the substantitive foundations, structural integrity, and functional adequacy criteria the Comfort Theory (1994) is a strong middle range theory. An area that could increase the generalizability especially for nursing institutions is a change in the term in the model of nursing interventions to comfort interventions (xxxxx). Resnicks Self-Efficacy Theory: Description, Analysis, and Evaluation Theory Description Historical context. Resnicks Theory of Self Efficacy is based on Banduras social cognitive theory and conceptualizes person-behavior-environment as triadic reciprocity the foundation for reciprocal determinism (Bandura, 1977, 1986). The cognitive appraisal of these factors results in a perception of a level of confidence in the individuals ability to perform a certain behavior. The positive performance of this behavior reinforces self-efficacy expectations (Bandura, 1995). Structural Components. Although it is not explicitly stated, the core of this theory assumes that people can consciously change and develop or control their behavior. This is important to the proposition that self-efficacy also can be changed or enhanced through reflective thought, general knowledge, skills to perform a specific behavior, and self influence. This perspective is rooted in the model of triadic reciprocality (foundation for reciprocal determinism) in which personal determinants (self-efficacy), environmental conditions (treatment conditions) and action (practice) are mutually interactive influences. Therefore, improving performance depends on changing some of these influences (Bandura, 1977). In order to determine self-efficacy an individual must have the opportunity for self evaluation to evaluate how likely it is he or she can achieve a given level of performance. Concepts. The two major components of self efficacy include self-efficacy expectations and outcome expectations (Table 2). Self-efficacy expectations are judgments about the personal ability to accomplish a given task. Outcome expectations are judgments about what will happen if a given task is accomplished. These two components are differentiated because individuals can believe a certain behavior will result in a specific outcome, however, they may not believe they are capable of performing the behavior required for the outcome to occur (Bandura 1977, 1986). For example, a NICU nurse may believe attending an end of life education series will increase his/her knowledge and skill and ease moral distress, but may not believe that they could provide sensitive care for some ethical, religious, or moral reason. It is generally anticipated, but not always realistic that self-efficacy will have a positive impact on behavior. There are times when self-efficacy will have no or a negative impa ct on performance (Vancouver, Thomspon, Williams, 2001). Bandura (1977, 1986, 1997) suggests that outcome expectations are based largely on the individuals self-efficacy expectations, which generally depend on their judgment about how well they can perform the behavior; can be disassociated with self-efficacy expectations; and are partially separable from self-efficacy judgments when extrinsic outcomes are fixed. Because the outcomes an individual expects are the results of the judgments about what he or she can accomplish, they are unlikely to contribute to predictions of behavior (Bandura, 1977). Judgments about ones self-efficacy is based on four informational sources including enactive attainment, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion and physiological state. The first source, enactive attainment, or the actual performance of a behavior has been described as the most influential source of self-efficacy information (Bandura, 1986,; Bandura Adams, 1977). There has been repeated empirical evidence that actually performing an activity strengthens self-efficacy beliefs due to informational sources (Bandura, 1995). The second source, vicarious experience or visualizing other similar people perform a behavior, also influence self-efficacy (Bandura, Adams, Hardy, Howells, 1980). Conditions that impact vicarious experience include amount of exposure or experience to the behavior (least experience causes greater impact) and amount of instruction given (influence of others is greater with unclear guidelines) (Resnick Galik, 2006). Another source verbal persuasion or exhortation i nvolves telling an individual he or she has the capabilities to master the given behavior. Verbal encouragement from a trusted, credible source in counseling or education form has been used alone to strengthen efficacy expectations (Castro, King, Brassington, 2001; Hitunen et al. 2005; Moore et al., 2006; Resnick, Simpson, et al., 2006). The final information source physiological feedback or state during a behavior can be important in relation to coping with stressors, health functioning, and physical accomplishments. Interventions can be used to alter the interpretation of physiological feedback and help individuals cope with physical sensations, enhancing self efficacy and resulting in improved performance (Bandura Adams, 1977). Propositions. To help test the concept of nurses comfort caring for dying infants,

Comparing Clive Cusslers Sahara and Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe :: comparison compare contrast essays

Comparing Clive Cussler's Sahara and Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe The theme that will be explored in this essay will be survival   when times get tough, physically, mentally. The two books that will be involved in the discussion will be Clive Cussler's Sahara and Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe.   In both cases the leading characters show signs of breaking down and quitting because of physical, but also their mental stress.   Robinson Crusoe, and Sahara relate in many ways, as do the main characters, and will be two good books to compare the survival of both Dirk Pitt and Robinson Crusoe. The three criteria that will be talked about in this essay will be the survival physically. Did both characters have hard times to pull out of ? . The next type of survival is   mental survival, it comes a close second to physical survival and both characters show signs also of this type.   With mental survival the physical component must first be stable and accomplished, that is when you can then work your mind into better thoughts and ideas.   The third criteria that will be   looked at is, how the characters were changed at the end of the book looking at it through post-traumatic stress disorder.   Both characters show signs of physical survival and it is believed that physical is the most important type of survival because you must first be physically healthy and strong before you can even walk or talk or think. Mental survival is strongly needed and is required in tough times    Each type of survival is different in it's own way, but first physical stability must be achieved to be able to survive the elements and their challenges to then master the other type of survival such as mental survival.   In Robinson Crusoe the rain is pouring down and the wind is blowing strongly.   Robinson says that this is the strongest, fiercest storm that has ever blown in on him.   He is deathly ill and writes this in his diary.    The ague again so violent that I lay abed all day and neither ate nor drank.   I was ready to perish for thirst but so weak I had not strength to stand up or to get myself any water to drink.   (Defoe 96) Dirk Pitt also had some rough times in the book Sahara.   Crawling in the desert, he has had nothing to drink or eat days, or for days to come. This is what he remembers from that dreary day on dusty desert floor. Pitt found it odd that he couldn't remember when he last spit.   Though he sucked on small pebbles to relieve the relentless thirst, he could

Interpersonnel Communication Essay

I have interviewed two individuals namely, Ana G. and Cleavon I. with regards to my interpersonnel communication abilities. They will speak about my behavior/attitude towards the following: 1) comfort with other cultures; 2) listening style & ability; 3) non-verbal communication style; 4) communication gestures that I typically utilize; 5) comfort in personal relationship; 6) power displayed or conveyed in the personal relationship I am involved in. The following are excerpts from the actual interview: First Interview (Ana G. ) Interviewer (I): â€Å"Could you please briefly describe my attitude towards individuals who belong to other cultures? Do I appear to be comfortable around them? † Interviewee (Ana G. ): I have been with you for about a year already, and being a member of a cultural minority myself, I am happy to say that your treatment towards people like us is beyond belief. You have treated us fairly and you never showed bias making it obvious that you are comfortable being with people regardless of their race or culture (Ana G. , 2007). Interviewer (I): â€Å"Please comment on my listening skills and abilities†. Interviewee (Ana G. ). I appreciate the fact that you are an â€Å"active listener† (Landsberger, 2007). You focus and you listen for the sake of comprehending whatever it is that the person is talking about (Landsberger, 2007). Interviewer (I): â€Å"Do I possess any non-verbal ability? † â€Å"Do I exhibit such communication style? † â€Å"Could you please shed light on the communication gesture/s that I typically utilize? † Interviewee (Ana G. ): Yes. In fact, I have observed how you establish eye contact towards the people you speak to. Maybe that is the â€Å"flow of communication is regulated† (Stein et. al. , n. d. ). This is also why I feel your interest, concern, and tenderness towards me (Ana G., 2007). Interviewee: (I): â€Å"Did you ever feel any comfort in my personal relationship with you? † Interviewer (Ana G. ): Yes, indeed, I have felt reassurance as well that you could be trusted and can be relied upon in times of need (Ana G. , 2007). Interviewee (I): My final question is this, â€Å"did you ever see or experience a power displayed or conveyed in the personal relationship I am involved in? † Interviewer (Ana G. ): The fact that I am drawn to speak or listen to you shows the â€Å"power displayed or conveyed in the personal relationship† (Ana G. , 2007). This is the type of power that is not abusive; instead it is exceedingly helpful on my part (Ana G. , 2007). Second Interview (Cleavon I. ) Interviewer (I): â€Å"Could you please briefly describe my attitude towards individuals who belong to other cultures? Do I appear to be comfortable around them? † Interviewee (Cleavon I. ): We belong to the same culture, but I have observed how you deal with those who belong to other cultures. You go along with them very well as if you don’t feel any kind of discrimination or intolerance of prejudice towards them (Cleavon I. , 2007). Interviewer (I): â€Å"Please comment on my listening skills and abilities†. Interviewee (Cleavon I. ): Even if you do not always agree with what others tell you, I am happy that you still listen in spite of such fact (Cleavon I. , 2007). I am contented enough that you take the time to listen and understand someone else’s side just like what you have done to me in the past few months that we have been working together (Landsberger, 2007). Interviewer (I): â€Å"Do I possess any non-verbal ability? † â€Å"Do I exhibit such communication style? † â€Å"Could you please shed light on the communication gesture/s that I typically utilize? † Interviewee (Cleavon I. ): Of course, you possess such. In fact, you have shown me this countless times already (Cleavon I. , 2007). Your facial expressions which include smiling made me feel that you like me somehow, that you are a true person & friend to me, and that you are happy conversing with me (Stein et. al. , n. d. ). I know that this is why we always carry out better communication as compared with my conversation with others (Cleavon I. , 2007). Interviewee: (I): â€Å"Did you ever feel any comfort in my personal relationship with you? † Interviewer (Cleavon I. ): Yes, in fact speaking with you and just being with consoles/soothes/relieves me always (Cleavon I., 2007). There has never been a dull moment with you and I greatly appreciate that (Cleavon I, 2007). Interviewee (I): My final question is this, â€Å"did you ever see or experience a power displayed or conveyed in the personal relationship I am involved in? † Interviewer (Cleavon I. ): Yes, I felt that ‘power’ when you speak to me (Cleavon I. , 2007). You inspire me to great heights; that is the power that you have over me (Cleavon I. , 2007). References Ana G. (2007). Personal Interview. Cleavon I. (2007). Personal Interview. Landsberger, J. (2007). Active Listening. Retrieved December 10, 2007 from http://www.studygs.net/listening.htm

Full Day Kindergarten Essay

Full day kindergarten should be mandatory and of no extra cost for all of the elementary schools. This will boost the children’s academic achievement. The children that are exposed to full day kindergarten will learn more in literacy and mathematics than those in half-day kindergarten. The students that are in a full day program get to spend more time on their math, writing, and reading activities. The full day students also get the advantage of being able to participate in gym, art, and music classes. The half-day students do not get to experience gym, art, or music class. I have seen results first hand because I chose to put my son in a full day kindergarten versus the half-day. I chose to bring my son to a school that is located in Fridley so that he could receive the benefits of the full day kindergarten. The half-day program that Blaine offers has a very undesirable schedule for parents who work. The half-day schedule for Blaine elementary school is full days Mondays, Wednesdays, and every other Friday. I think that the earlier the educational intervention begins the higher the impact and the more likely the effects will be retained. Other than the health of a child, I think that nothing should be more important than their education. Giving children the opportunity to be in a full day kindergarten program gives them opportunities that the half-day students do not receive. One of the opportunities is being able to spend more time on reading, writing, and math. The teachers also have more time to sit one on one with each student one or in small groups and work on these skills. They also have a different theme for each month that they focus on. Some examples of the themes are the solar system, U. S. residents, maps, and the celebrations around the world. Children also absorb things more easily when they are younger. Being a mother of a full day kindergarten student, I see the results of the extra reading, writing, and math that the teacher does with him. My son is one of the youngest in his class and he is reading at a first grade level. As for his writing, he attempt to write big words using phonics. For example, I came home one day a few months ago and he had written on his dry erase board â€Å"I see a red ladebug†. He also brought home a worksheet that he had written about his favorite fruits. On this worksheet, he had written â€Å"watrmlon†. As far as his math goes, he is always measuring things in the house with a kid’s yard ruler. The themes that they work on each month give the students the ability to know what is going on in the world around them. My son came home from school one day and told me that there was a planet that was not considered a planet anymore. I did not know this and I was in complete awe. According to Debra Ackerman, â€Å"Children in full day kindergarten programs score higher on their achievement test than those in half-day programs. Full-day kindergarten advocates suggest that a longer school day provides educational support that ensures a productive beginning school experience and increases the chances of future school success. In both full-day and half-day programs, kindergartners spend most of their class time working on reading, language arts, and math activities, but the total number of minutes teachers devote to specific subjects differs. For example, 80 percent of full day but only about 50 percent of half-day programs devote more than 30 minutes each day to mathematics instruction. Sixty-eight percent of full day but only 37 percent of half-day classrooms dedicate at least 60 minutes to reading instruction each day. Perhaps most striking, 79 percent of full-day teachers read aloud to their students every day, compared to 62 percent of half-day teachers. Reading aloud is a critical activity in helping to develop children’s reading skills. Additional research shows children’s literacy learning is enhanced in full-day programs, as the full-day schedule provides a more intensive, ongoing, enriched language and literacy experience for the young child. (Ackerman) Children in full day kindergarten programs score higher on their achievement test than those in half-day programs. I asked my son’s kindergarten teacher, Ms. Janssen, what the average for reading was for her class. Ms. Janssen stated that the majority of her students are already in the first grade reading level as of the end of the second trimester. As said by the Indiana Association of Public School Super Intendants, â€Å"Full day kindergarten programs are associated with greater reading achievement gains during the kindergarten year than half day programs†. Plucker, 6) The students are graded on their writing and math abilities as well. According to the Kalamazoo Public Schools reports, â€Å"The group of kindergartners advanced in 2010 to first grade at Kalamazoo Public School, where 60 percent tested at or above the 50th percentile in reading on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills last April. That’s a 7-point increase compared to Kalamazoo Public School first-graders tested in April 2009, Rice said. On the Iowa Test Basic Skills math test, 52 percent of first-graders tested a t or above the 50th percentile last spring, a 12-point jump over spring 2009. The Iowa Test of Basic Skills are administered in schools nationwide and is a norm-referenced test, which means scores are based on how students perform compared to other test-takers. The Kalamazoo Public School results show that 60 percent of Kalamazoo students are in the top half of first-graders nationwide in reading and 52 percent are in the top half in math. † (Mack) Children who are in full day kindergarten have better social and behavioral effects than those who are in half-day kindergarten. When children are in school for the full day they have more time to get to know the other students. They get more time to interact together socially and they are learning while they are interacting. The students also get to go to specialists and they go with their classmates. Some of the specialists that Hayes Elementary offers are music, art, Spanish, and gym. Going to the specialist is something that the full day kindergarteners get to do and the half-day kindergarteners do not get to do. These students also get to spend more time with the teacher. This means that they will be less hesitant to approach their teacher. According to Clark, â€Å"Some researchers have examined social and behavioral effects. According to researchers, a clear relationship emerged between the kindergarten schedule and children’s behavior. Teachers rated children in all-day kindergarten programs higher on 9 of the 14 dimensions; there were no significant differences on the other 5 dimensions. Other researchers who have studied social and behavioral outcomes found that children in all-day kindergarten programs were engaged in more child-to-child interactions and they made significantly greater progress in learning social skills†. Clark) In the kindergarten classrooms of Hayes Elementary, the students get into groups called centers. During this center time, the teacher takes a group of five students to a table to do independent reading and the rest of the students go to a center. The centers are groups of three or four students and the students get to interact socially while doing something educational. Some examples of the centers are writing center, listening center, leapster center, and art center. The writing center is where the students can write freely. The listening center is where the students put on headphones, listen to directions, and write down what they hear. The leapster center is where the students get to play a handheld learning game that integrates math, reading, and spelling in the games. Finally, the art center is where the students get to draw and color what they want. When the time is up the students clean up as groups. A full day of learning offers many social and emotional benefits to kindergarteners. As stated by NEA, â€Å"They have more time to focus and reflect on activities, and they have more time to transition between activities. When children are taught by qualified teachers, using age-appropriate curricula in small classes they can take full advantage of the additional learning time—social, emotional, and intellectual— that a full day allows. Further, research finds that children adjust well to the full-day format. † (NEA) The full day kindergarten teachers plan and use the extra time in class well. The time in class is spent differently in both the full day kindergarten and the half-day kindergarten. According to the research that the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents, â€Å"The research provides evidence that time in full day kindergarten programs is different both quantitatively and qualitatively from how time is used in half day programs† (Plucker, ii). Full day kindergarten offers benefits to teachers. Teachers prefer the full day program to the half-day program. If there is a child that is struggling with something, the teacher has the ability to find time to help that student. There is also more time to finish activities. According to Ms. Janssen, â€Å"With the full day program I am able to get through four reading groups versus two reading groups in one day. With the full day program we are able to go more in depth on our unit that we focus on in class. † (Janssen) According to the NEA, â€Å"Switching to full-day kindergarten gave teachers more time to plan the curriculum, incorporate a greater number of thematic units into the school year, and offer more in-depth coverage of each unit. (NEA) In the half-day programs there is less time for multiple activities. According to Dr. Martinez, â€Å"Many kindergarten teachers favor full day kindergarten because they find it difficult to balance cognitive activities and affective social activities in the short kindergarten day. † (Martinez, 2) Teachers also prefer full day kindergarten because there is more instructional time than that of a half-day kindergarten program. As stated by the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents, â€Å" Across all of the schools in the Indiana sample, the proportion of instructional time is similar across program types, resulting in much greater instructional time in full day programs, representing approximately 40-50% more instruction in full day programs than half-day programs†. (Plucker, ii) Teachers also have the benefit of getting to know the students and their parents better. According to Dr. Martinez, â€Å"Teachers state that they have a chance to know children and parents better, to do more individualization of instruction, and to expand the curriculum horizontally. (Dr. Martinez) There are so many benefits for the children. A very important benefit is that the full day kindergarteners have the opportunity to an easier transition into the first grade because they are already used to the full day schedule. The time that the students get to spend with the teacher is a great benefit as well. The extra time that is spent with the teacher is as much beneficial for the teacher as it is for the students. According to the research from Dr. Martinez, â€Å"Teachers thought children developed closer relationships and were more relaxed in the full-day program and felt more a part of the school. Teachers indicated they were able to give more individual attention to students and that children had more time to develop both academic and socialization skills. Teachers noted they could work more on the continuing development of each child and felt children showed more advancement. Teachers indicated they felt closer to the children and that they got to know both child and family better. Some indicated in the full day they felt more flexible, were more relaxed and spontaneous, and felt better prepared to meet with parents. † (Dr. Martinez, 6) The time that the students get to spend on activities is another great benefit. According to NEA, â€Å"in a study evaluating teachers’ views on full-day kindergarten, teachers reported a number of benefits for themselves as well as children and parents. Participating in full day eased the transition to first grade, helping children adapt to the demand of a six-hour day. Having more time available in the school day offered more flexibility and more time to do activities during free choice times. Having more time actually made the kindergarten program less stressful and frustrating for children because they had time to fully develop an interest in activities. Participating in he full-day schedule allows more appropriate academic challenges for children at all developmental levels. Children with developmental delays or those at risk for school problems benefited from having more time to complete projects and more time for needed socialization with peers and teachers. † (NEA) Full day kindergarten offers more benefits to the students that are at risk and children that come from educational and economical disadvantaged homes. If the full day kindergarten programs cost money, as most do, they cost around 3000 dollars per child for the year. The 3000 dollars is charged to the parents of the child. The children that come from the educationally and economically disadvantaged homes would not be able to attend because of the cost. These children are the ones that benefit from the program the most. According to the Indiana Superintendents, â€Å"Students at or below the poverty level enrolled in full day kindergarten scored statistically significantly higher in math and reading than their half day counterparts. Poor children enrolled in full day kindergarten programs tested statistically significantly above half day pupils on reading, spatial, and verbal skills, naming colors and letters, and identifying numerals. (Plucker, 6) Parents prefer full day kindergarten as well. I as a mother prefer the full day kindergarten program to the half-day program. One of the advantages is that I do not have to figure out childcare and who would bring my son to the childcare. Trying to figure out childcare and school between my job schedule would be undesirable. As said by Dr. Martinez, â€Å"Full-day kindergarten saves parents day-care problems, while providing children a comprehensive, developmentally-appropriate program. Parents said that children often feel more stress when they have to go from a school situation to a day-care environment, where different rules and philosophies apply. Therefore, parents favor a full-day program, which reduces the number of transitions kindergartners experience in a typical day. † (Dr. Martinez) Full day kindergarten also takes a huge cost out of many parents’ monthly budget including mine. Even though some people would be against this and say, â€Å"Why would I have to pay for your childcare? † I would say that many parents including myself pay taxes too. Their parents wanted them to have the best education that they could have gotten. Most importantly, I know that my son and many other children are getting the best out of their day while they are in school. They are having fun while they are learning. My son enjoys being in school. If he had a choice, he would go on Saturdays and Sundays. Children attending full day kindergarten spend the day learning instead of watching television or playing video games. Full-day kindergarten provides parents with better support for their children. According to NEA, â€Å"For parents who work outside the home, full-day kindergarten means that children do not have to be shuffled between home, school, and childcare. For all parents, there is more continuity and less disruption in the child’s day and more time for focused and independent learning. One study of parent attitudes found that after the second year of a full-day kindergarten program, 100 percent of full-day parents, and 72 percent of half-day parents noted that, if given the opportunity again, they would have chosen full-day kindergarten for their child†. (NEA) In conclusion, having full day kindergarten should be mandatory. There are many benefits of the full day kindergarten program. The benefits are not limited to the students. Teachers and parents also get great benefits out of the full day program. According to MaryBeth, â€Å"Research has shown that it is important to begin learning early in life. School systems that have implemented the academically based full day kindergarten are finding it to be successful. If I had to choose again if a child of mine was going to go to full day or half-day kindergarten, I would not even have to think twice. A child’s education should be one of the most important things to think about. These children will be the future and they need a great education to get there.

History of Frankincense, Ancient Aromatic Tree Resin

History of Frankincense, Ancient Aromatic Tree Resin Frankincense is an ancient and fabled aromatic tree resin, its use as a fragrant perfume reported from a multitude of historical sources at least as early as 1500 BC. Frankincense consists of the dried resin from the frankincense tree, and it is one of the most common and sought-after of aromatic tree resins in the world even today. Purposes Frankincense resin was used in the past for a variety of medicinal, religious and social purposes, and many of those purposes are still used today. Its perhaps best-known use is to create a permeating scent by burning crystalized pieces during rites of passages such as weddings, childbirth, and funerals. The incense is and was used to smooth and oil hair and sweeten the breath; soot from the incense burners is and was used for eye makeup and tattoos. More pragmatically, melted incense resin is and was used to mend cracked pots and jars: filling the cracks with frankincense makes a vessel watertight again. The bark of the tree is and was used as a red-brown dye for cotton and leather clothing. Some species of resins have a delightful flavor, which is sampled by adding it to coffee or by simply chewing it. Frankincense also is and was also used as a household medicine for dental problems, swellings, bronchitis, and coughs. Harvesting Frankincense has never been domesticated or even truly cultivated: the trees grow where they will and survive in place for very long periods. The trees have no central trunk but seem to grow up out of the bare rock to heights of about 2-2.5 meters or about 7 or 8 feet. The resin is harvested by scraping a 2 centimeter (3/4 of an inch) opening and allowing the resin to ooze out on its own, and harden on the tree trunk. After a few weeks, the resin has dried and can be taken to market. Tapping the resin is done two to three times a year, spaced out so the tree can recover. Frankincense trees can be overexploited: take away too much resin and the seeds wont germinate. The process was not easy: the trees grow in oases surrounded by harsh deserts, and overland routes to market were difficult at best. Nonetheless, the market for incense was so great the traders used myths and fables to keep rivals away. Historical Mentions The Egyptian Ebers Papyrus dated to 1500 BC is the oldest known reference to frankincense, and it prescribes the resin as a use for throat infections and asthmatic attacks. In the first century AD, the Roman writer Pliny mentioned it as an antidote to hemlock; the Islamic philosopher Ibn Sina (or Avicenna, 980-1037 AD) recommended it for tumors, ulcers, and fevers. Other historical references to frankincense appear in the 6th century AD in the  Chinese herbal manuscript Mingyi Bielu, and numerous mentions appear in both old and new testaments of the Judeo-Christian bible. The Periplus maris Erythraei (Periplus of the Erythryean Sea), a 1st century sailors travel guide to shipping lanes in the Mediterranean, Arabian gulf and Indian Ocean, describes several natural products, including frankincense; Periplus states that South Arabian frankincense was of a finer quality and more highly prized than that from East Africa. The Greek writer Herodotus reported in the 5th century BC that frankincense trees were guarded by winged serpents of small size and various colors: a myth promulgated to warn off rivals.   Five Species There are five species of frankincense tree which produce resins suitable for incense, although the two most commercial today are Boswellia carterii or B. freraeana. The resin harvested from the tree varies from species to species, but also within the same species, depending on local climatic conditions. B. carterii (or B. sacra, and called olibanum or dragons blood) is thought to be the tree mentioned in the bible. It grows in Somalia and the Dhofar valley of Oman. The Dhofar valley is a lush green oasis, watered by monsoonal rains in sharp contrast to its surrounding desert. That valley is still the leading source for frankincense in the world today, and the highest grade resins, called Silver and Hojari, are only found there.B. frereana and B. thurifera grow in northern Somalia and are the source of Coptic or Maydi frankincense, treasured by the Coptic church and Saudi Arabian Muslims. These resins have a lemony scent and today are manufactured into a popular chewing gum.B. papyrifera grows in Ethiopia and Sudan and produces a transparent, oily resin.B. serrata is Indian frankincense, golden brown in color and mainly burned as incense and used in Ayurvedic medicine. The International Spice Trade Frankincense, like many other aromatics and spices, was carried from its isolated origins to market along two international trade and commercial routes: the Incense Trade Route (or Incense Road) that carried the trade of Arabia, East Africa and India; and the  Silk Road  that passed through Parthia and Asia. Frankincense was extremely desired, and the demand for it, and the difficulty of getting it distributed to its Mediterranean customers was one of the reasons the Nabataean culture rose to prominence in the first century BC. The Nabataeans were able to monopolize the frankincense trade not at the source in modern Oman, but by controlling the Incense Trade Route that crossed Arabia, East Africa, and India. That trade sprang up during the classical period and had a huge impact on Nabataean architecture, culture, economy and urban development at Petra. Sources: Al Salameen Z. 2011.  The Nabataeans and Asia Minor.  Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry  11(2):55-78.Ben-Yehoshua S, Borowitz C, and HanuÃ… ¡ LO. 2011.  Frankincense, Myrrh, and Balm of Gilead: Ancient Spices of Southern Arabia and Judea.  Horticultural Reviews: John Wiley Sons, Inc. p 1-76. doi: 10.1002/9781118100592.ch1Erickson-Gini T, and Israel Y. 20113.  Excavating the Nabataean Incense Road.  Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies  1(1):24-53.Seland EH. 2014.Archaeology of Trade in the Western Indian Ocean, 300BC–AD700.  Journal of Archaeological Research  22(4):367-402. doi: 10.1007/s10814-014-9075-7Tomber R. 2012.  From the Roman Red Sea to beyond the Empire: Egyptian ports and their trading partners.  British Museum Studies in Ancient Egypt and Sudan  18:201-215.

John Marshal essays

John Marshal essays Did the Supreme Court Under John Marshal have a significant impact on American history? John Marshall was born in 1755. He was the 4th chief justice of the U.S Supreme Court of Virginia for 34 years. (encyclopedia.com/articles/08102.html) He was a federalist who believed that the U.S should have a powerful central government. Marshall defended the U.S. constitution, and did not trust the Jeffersonians because he felt it was his duty to protect the government. Many of his conclusions and decisions were drawn from three major cases, which were: Fletcher vs. Peck, Marbury vs. Madison and McCulloch vs. Maryland. (http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/B/jmarshal/marsh.htm) He had a great impact on getting the people to respect the Supreme Court, which later gave him the nickname Great Chief Justice. He had a great positive impact on the Supreme Court, but mostly on the judicial system. (http://history1700s.about/aa022198.htm?iam=ask The case Marbury vs. Madison was brought to attention by William Marbury. He ordered James Madison to give him his commission as justice of the peace. (Madison was the secretary of the state at the time.) In this case Marshall favored Marbury. Marshall argued that the court might rule an act of congress unenforceable if the act goes against the constitution. From this Marshall made the Doctrine of Judicial Power. (http://history1700s.about/aa022198.htm?iam=ask One of the significant cases Marshall dealt with was the case of McCulloch vs. Maryland. That case occurred in 1819, and showed that Marshall could use the constitution wisely and to his advantage. It is about how Maryland tried to force the Bank of the United States out of its territory by taxing it. Marshall favored McCulloch and backed him up with the statement that ...

How to Implement a Marketing Workflow Management Process in 7 Steps

How to Implement a Marketing Workflow Management Process in 7 Steps The best marketing teams succeed with strong workflow management processes. Defined as a preset order of operations for getting stuff done, they’re essential for getting work right the first time, every time. Workflow management is also indispensable for building efficiencies into processes, so you can spend more time doing meaningful work, and less time feeling frustrated due to procedural roadblocks. In short, they allow you to plan your work, and work your plan. If you don’t have solid workflows in place, you’ve probably experienced the following problems: Disjointed workflows. No one knows who does what, or in which order. Communication breakdowns. And not like the Led Zeppelin song, either. Missed deadlines. Lack of process leads to inefficiency. In turn, that leads to nothing getting done on time. Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. That’s just a short list of potential issues you could face, too. How to Implement an Effective Marketing Workflow Management Process in 7 Simple Steps byDownload Your Marketing Workflow Management Template Bundle Fixing broken marketing processes isnt always easy. Having the right tools helps though, so this post includes the following free resources: Marketing Project Management Template (Word): Plan the efficient processes that youll execute. Marketing Project Checklist Template (Excel): Ensure every project and campaign gets completed with no missed steps. Marketing Calendar Template (Excel): Map out deadlines and make projects visible across your entire department. Together, this trio of templates will help you get started planning and managing processes that work. Download them below before continuing.Table of Contents: What is a Workflow? Why You Should Plan Marketing Workflows What Are Popular Workflow Management Tools For Marketers? Step 1: Determine How Your Team Will Communicate Step 2: Onboard Your Team Onto a New Tool Step 3: Define Everyone's Responsibilities Step 4: Map Out Task Checklists Step 5: Plan Your Marketing Calendar Step 6: Plan Your Workflow Execution Step 7: Measure Team PerformanceWhat’s a Workflow, Anyway? A lot of places make workflows sound unnecessarily complicated. Benjamin Brandall summed it up well on the Process Street blog: Workflows are the way people get work done, and can be illustrated as series of steps that need to be completed sequentially in a diagram or checklist. This video from PNM Soft offers a further explanation: Workflows are often visualized using charts or diagrams. They can also be as simple as checklists outlining the steps required to complete a task. Here’s an example of a typical content marketing workflow courtesy of Content Marketing Institute: Here’s what a workflow might look like as a checklist: Do This With : You can build workflow checklists (called Task Templates) in , the only marketing suite that helps you organize all of your marketing in one place. See how they work. Why Bother Planning Marketing Workflows? There’s no sense investing time in something that won’t produce a benefit. So, what’s the real benefit to planning out workflows and sticking to them? Here are seven. 1. Increased Efficiency Means Getting More Done If you’re like most marketers, you have too much to do, and not enough time to get it done. Mile-long to-do lists come with the territory. But, sometimes, that work is more achievable than it seems. While it’s easy to blame being overworked for lack of productivity, sometimes the real culprit is an inefficient workflow. By planning out workflows strategically, you can get more done in less time. By planning out workflows strategically, you can get more done in less time.2. They Make Responsibilities Clear to All Team Members How often have you heard someone say, â€Å"I didn’t know I was supposed to get that done†? Or, how often have you said that out loud yourself? It’s time to put a permanent stop to â€Å"not-my-jobism†. When workflows are clearly mapped out, there’s no ambiguity around who is responsible for which tasks and deadlines. You execute or you don’t. The result? Projects get done right the first time with more consistency. When workflows are clearly mapped out, projects get done right the first time with more consistency.3. Reducing the Need for Hand-Holding and Oversight This one is tied into point number two above. When people don’t quite know what to do, they’ll lean on management for guidance. There’s nothing wrong with that, unless they lean a little too hard, to the extent of having no initiative of their own. Workflows make it clear what team members are responsible for, so they don’t have to wonder whether they’re working on the right things. #Marketing workflows make it clear what people are responsible for.4. Building Consistency in Execution Consistency is key to marketing success. It’s a fundamental building block for constructing and executing processes that drive 10X results. But, if you don’t have a consistent set of steps to follow for every type of project, tasks are liable to fall through the cracks. Sometimes, the negative effects are small like a minor editing step gets missed. Other times, the consequences can be dramatically more significant, like a webinar not getting recorded (good luck publishing that recap video †¦ without the video). Sometimes things happen and can’t be prevented. That’s life. But, marketers should always be doing as much as possible to prevent major mishaps. #Marketers should always be doing as much as possible to prevent major mishaps.5. Enables Visibility Across Projects and Teams There’s a lot of value in teams being able to see what other teams or coworkers are doing. It helps achieve the following results: Managers can see what their staff is working on. Everyone can see the completion status of each project. Transparency improves communication. When workflows are mapped out and projects are placed onto a shared calendar, everyone stays in the loop and holds one another accountable. Agile marketing is a great way to increase visibility into your team's workload.   One of key ways to do this is via the daily stand-up. This meeting takes place during the first 15 mins of every work day. To start you gather every member of your team and ask them three questions. What did you do yesterday? What will you do today? What roadblock are you experiencing?   Daily stand-up meetings help managers stay up-to-date about everything their team is working on, and help facilitate better collaboration and communication amongst team members. has a feature called the Team Management Dashboard that is basically a daily stand-up visualized before your very eyes. You can see exactly what everyone on your team is working on for the day, and reshuffle tasks as needed. Recommended Reading: The Best Way to Get Organized With a Content Marketing Editorial Calendar (Free Template) 6. They Make It Easier to See Where Projects Go Wrong So, sometimes things go wrong. It happens. When they do, it’s important to have a retrospective and identify where the breakdown happened, so it doesn’t happen again. When workflows are well-documented, it’s easier to diagnose exactly where issues arise. When workflows are well-documented, it’s easier to diagnose exactly where issues arise.7. Managers Can Get Out of the Weeds Managers often get too involved in their team member’s work because they don’t trust they’ll get everything done. This is often the result of team members not knowing exactly what they should be doing. It’s a vicious and endless loop. Documenting workflows removes ambiguity so teams are empowered to just get their work done. That frees up manager’s time and headspace to focus on more important things. Everyone wins. What Are Popular Workflow Management Tools for Marketers? There are tons of different software options available, although most of them are not made specifically for marketers. Here are some common choices: Trello Asana Wrike Basecamp DID YOU KNOW: Trello, Asana, Wrike, and Basecamp integrate with using Zapier? See how all your project management tools can work together. Step 1. Determine How Your Team Will Communicate Strong team communication requires the right tools. Before getting too far along, assess whether you currently have the best technology to build collaborative workflows. Once you have a tool selected, you might also have other means of communication too, like email or a chat app. So, how do you enforce team members using the right communication tools for the right things? For internal communication and casual conversation, Slack and Stride are great. Honestly, so is good, old-fashioned walking across the office to talk to someone face-to-face. But, when it comes to project-based communication, it’s best to keep everything organized in one place. There’s nothing worse than forgetting a conversation you had last week or losing notes down an email inbox rabbit hole. solves this by building Discussion Threads into projects. This way, you can keep all team correspondence together, passing notes, trading files, and more, all in one place. Create a project on your calendar: Then, click the Contributors icon on the right: Add team members who will be working on this project: Next, use Discussion Threads to converse and collaborate: Step 2: Onboard the Team to Your Tool If you’re selecting a new tool, making sure everyone knows how to use it well is crucial. Most software providers offer training and in-app onboarding assistance. If they don’t, use something else. Even with vendor-provided training and onboarding, it’s also often worthwhile to host your own training sessions. To do this: Find a time on your company’s calendar that works for everyone who will use the tool. Include a short description in the meeting invite explaining what this tool will help the team achieve. Build a short slide presentation outlining how to use the tool. Make yourself available for questions. Taking the time to instruct the team on how to use the new tool, while also communicating why the tool is even necessary, can go a long way toward ensuring everyone is successful. Recommended Reading: Shorten the Learning Curve For Onboarding Your Team Onto (With Reals) Step 3: Define Everyone’s Responsibilities Next, determine each team member’s responsibilities for each type of project you execute regularly. For a content marketing team, this could include: Creating blog posts. Producing videos. Hosting webinars. Delivering email newsletters. Writing website copy. Each of these projects likely involves multiple team members: Writers to craft copy and content. Designers to create visual elements. Marketing specialists to host webinars. Analysts to measure performance and extract insights from data. Project managers to keep everyone on track. So, who does what, exactly? Sometimes, this answer will be obvious. In other cases, it may be less clear. Stick with one task per person to avoid duplication of effort. Start mapping out tasks logically: Writer Content Research Writing Content and Copy Analyzing Copy PerformanceDesigner Creating Blog Graphics Designing Website Graphics Producing Slide DecksStrategist Generating Ideas Directing Strategy Analyzing ResultsProject Manager Assigning Tasks Managing Client Communication Enforcing DeadlinesSEO Keyword Research On-Page Optimization Backlink OutreachThese are some (very) basic examples. Step 4: Map Out Task Checklists This is where you’ll answer the question posed above in more granular detail. For each project, list the following information: The tasks required to complete the project. Who is responsible for getting it done. How long each step should take. For example, here’s what this might look like for a blog post: Generate Ideas: Strategist - Due 21 Days Before Publish Map Ideas to Content Calendar: Strategist - Due 20 Days Before Publish Keyword Research: SEO Specialist - Due 18 Days Before Publish Write Outline: Writer - Due 17 Days Before Publish Finish Draft: Writer - Due 14 Days Before Publish Edit Draft: Manager/Editor - Due 12 Days Before Publish Create Graphics: Designer - 10 Days Before Publish Schedule Social Promotion: Writer/Social Strategist - 8 Days Before Publish Schedule Post to Publish: Editor - 7 Days Before Publish If this workflow is followed consistently, every blog post will be ready to publish a week in advance at a minimum. This allows room to work ahead, rather than scrambling to meet deadlines at the last minute. In , checklists can be built and reused indefinitely using Task Templates. Create a project on your calendar. Then, add each step to your checklist (Task Template): Next, determine who performs each step: Assign deadlines to each task: Here's what the completed template looks like: Now, each time an item is checked off, the completion percentage will increase: How Long Should Tasks Take? This is a good question, but one without an easy answer. The best way to determine how long things take is to track time. Every time a team member works on a task, have them use Toggl to track their time. It's a simple time-tracking app that makes it easy to quantify how long you're spending doing a given thing: Then, track your average completion time for that type of task (the total number of times the task was completed, divided by the sum of time spent on those tasks overall). Consider using a spreadsheet to track your time, adding the following fields pictured below: Step 5: Plan Your Marketing Calendar Use a marketing calendar to keep projects and campaigns organized. Calendars allow you to: Set and manage deadlines. View which projects are coming up. See what other team members are working on. Prioritize work based on how soon which projects need to be completed. Collaborate with your team in one place. Marketing calendars are often built using spreadsheets (like the free Excel template included in this post). A better option, however, is to use purpose-built software. Apps like help teams beat makeshift marketing (using non-marketing tools for marketing tasks) with a solution built for your specific needs. Recommended Reading: Marketing Calendar By : A Centralized View For All Your Marketing Efforts Mapping Projects and Campaigns to Every marketing task, project, and campaign your team works on can be organized on a marketing calendar like . As you add more pieces to the calendar, it'll start to look something like this: Now, if you'd like to make it easier to separate items visually, Color Labels make it easy to color-code projects: If you'd prefer to see your upcoming work in a list, rather than a traditional calendar view, click List View: You'll now see all the items on your calendar in a list: Step 6: Plan Your Execution and Collaboration Next, develop a plan for how the project will be executed. This includes: Determining the team members who will be on the project.   Defining which tools the team will use. Executing the project. Here’s how a blog post could be created using . First, make sure WordPress, your social networks, and email service provider are connected: Write your blog content using Google Docs, Evernote, ’s built-in text editor, or directly in WordPress: As you work through the post, share notes with your team using Discussion Threads. You can also manage version control if you choose to write content using Microsoft Word (or another word processor), attaching and exchanging files: Now, it's possible you'll need to create additional promotional content for social media and email. Add a Social Campaign and create social media promotion: You can now add and schedule social media posts: Next, if you’ll be promoting this blog post with email, add an email campaign on the same day: That’s your entire content creation workflow, managed and automated with . You can build and manage workflows for all other content and projects you execute as well. Step 7: Measure Team Performance How do you know your workflows are effective? By measuring your team’s output and comparing productivity levels to where they were before. ’s Team Performance Reports make it simple to quantify productivity. It tracks how often tasks on Task Templates are checked off on time, and delivers comprehensive reports on who’s getting their work done on time consistently, and who’s falling behind:Recommended Reading: How to Gain Powerful Insights + Improve Your Team's Productivity Master Workflow Management With This post has covered a lot of ground on how to succeed with proper workflow management. It’s also cited as the ideal tool to manage your entire marketing department’s workflows all in one place (though the free templates included will help you get started as well). What if you’re ready to dive in and see how can help you save at least 10 hours per team member a week? Start your free 14-day trial of schedule a demo call with an expert. You’ll be able to get your team up and running, and see exactly how you can overcome makeshift marketing, get organized, and improve the way your marketing department functions.

Playworkers' Responsibilities with Regard to Common Forms of Abuse Essay

Playworkers' Responsibilities with Regard to Common Forms of Abuse - Essay Example They should be able to make full and correct records of everything and also know the laws which demand the required action (e.g. Children Act 1989) Finally, their greatest responsibility is to the child first, so the attitudes of caring kindness, empathy, and support must be present. They need to listen, question appropriately (for age), offer help and support. Thus a knowledge of support systems and services is necessary. Identification, Consultation, Referral, Initial Assessment, Planning, Strategy Planning Meetings, and after all these, either of two strategies may be put in place: 1. Services offered to child and family to ensure its future welfare is secured, or 2. Child's name is placed on the Child Protection Register and further assessments, meetings and reviews of progress will continue. Flowcharts 1 5 The playworker will have input, as someone who knows the child and its circumstances. If they have raised the concerns, they should make clear and correct records, consult with managers and colleagues, and those in other child protection roles, usually beginning with Social Services.

Concept Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Concept Paper - Assignment Example This results in a gap in their performance as they attempt to perform their role as a leader. (Boak, 2001) The context of my study is to evaluate the need for the restructuring of leadership training in retail management. The need for competent leaders is a bare necessity in the modern retail industry and an essential pre-requisite for its sustenance and growth. The need for able leadership in the retail sector was upheld in the ‘Retail Davos’- the Retail Leadership Forum held on the 13th and14th of September 2011. This event hosted by the global business advisory giants like Goldman Sachs, Korn/Ferry International and OC&C Strategy Consultants, discussed the role of leadership in the modern era of retailing. According to the speakers at the forum, the retail leaders in future will require â€Å"a new set of leadership skills in order to adapt to the changing dynamics in the fact paced industry.† (Harrison, 2011) This has become a pressing issue on the regional as well as global level. And this is what makes this research problem a matter of substantial business interest. In the present business era marked by fierce competition, many global and local retailers are awakening to realize their most critical survival challenge in the forthcoming years. Already caught in the cobweb of competition, pricing, consumer preferences and global extension, the new challenge that has baffled the retail industry is the need for competent leaders. (Florida, 2006; Higgs, 2001; Stalk, 1992) The retail heads across the world have understood that in order to achieve successful organizational growth, it is vital to find and engage the right leadership. (Lengnick-Hall, 2003; Shim, 2002) Studies in retail leadership conducted by Korn/Ferry in collaboration with the World Retail Congress have shown that the lack of right leadership talent can severely affect the development and expansion of retailers, thereby hampering their business growth. (Morel-Curran, 2008) My study

Hilton Hotel Corporation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Hilton Hotel Corporation - Case Study Example (Maxwell et al, 2004: p. 168). Hilton International is spread over four global regions including: UK and Ireland; Africa and the Middle East, Europe, Asia Pacific; and the Americas. According to Maxwell and Lyle (2002: p. 251), the strategic objectives central to the business plan include: The above objectives are drilled down to tactical actions on delivery, which in turn demand good people practices in recruitment and assessment, reward and remuneration, career tracking, and discipline and competencies in the Human Resource function. (Maxwell and Lyle, 2002: p. 251). The main objective for the existence of any business like the Hilton Group is to generate superior shareholder value. It was at first believed that the business should do everything possible to satisfy the shareholders and no body else since shareholders are the ones who take maximum business and financial risk by contributing capital to the business. While we agree with this central idea, it must also be noted that the success of every business is dependent on how the business satisfies its customers. The satisfaction of the customer and the shareholder appears to be in conflict but it turns out that shareholder value can only be created if customers are satisfied. Satisfying customers means providing them with the right goods and services at the right prices at the right time and at the right place. Therefore to satisfy the shareholders, the business must begin by satisfying customers. Put in other words, shareholder value can only be created through the creation of customer value . Stemming from a decreasing number of customers, and considering the current competitive marketplace, hotel companies now find it necessary to win the loyalty of the limited number of customers. (Gilbert et al, 1999: p. 25). Following from this we would try to examine how Hilton Hotel International attempts to increase its market share in the existing market given that the customers are limited in number and that their demands are continually changing. The Hilton Hotel has its major focus on the customer. The major assumptions that one can make for the current five years are as follows: that the business wishes to maintain constant growth by 5% annually as measured by Return on equity, Return on Assets, Return on Capital employed, growth in dividends and other important financial ratios. The business also wishes to attract and retain more customers as measured by its market share in the in hotel industry. It also wishes to maintain the most profitable customers providing them with the highest possible value for their money. Another important assumption is that the business wants to maintain a very good relationship with shareholders and other lenders so as to ensure that its cost of borrowing funds (cost of capital) remains at the lowest possible level. This will enable it reduce its business and financial risk as measured by the debt-to-equity ratio, the current ratio and quick ratios as well as the creditor's payment period and retain earnings. Based

Management Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Management Accounting - Essay Example The ability of an organization to identify these competitive forces and understand their nature helps them in developing a differentiation strategy to survive in the market (Fleisher & Bensoussan, 2007) Therefore, it is crucial to identify the competitive forces to which H is subject to. H is experiencing competition in acquiring hauling contracts. Since hauling is the main business that the organization depends on, the organization is under a big threat. One of the reasons why the organization is experiencing competition is due to the existence of many contractors and subcontractors. Resultantly, the organization is experiencing shortage of contracts in the market. In a business environment, when customers reduce, the organization is expected to face profit reduction in the long run. In the recent past, J contractor has lost about a third of its contract since the J Company changed its management. This competition has affected the organization in terms of profit margins. Contracting companies in this market operate at very low profit margins as part of their pricing strategies. The price competition is giving pressure to H Company to reduce its prices to win tenders in the business environment. Usually, when there are many investors in the business environment, the customers gain a higher market bargaining power, and the investors lose their bargaining power. This market pressure forces the organization to lower their prices and consequently reduce their prices. Another problem in this market environment is the seasonal nature of labour. This implies that the organization will have no work to do during the low seasons. This is a big threat to the organization’s survival. Given that the organization has permanent workers that need to be paid during this period of time, it is a big threat to the survival of the organization. In addition, the organization has

Integration of Public Schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Integration of Public Schools - Essay Example This paper approves that social change, and such a drastic change at that, takes time and effort to come into place, and prove fruitful. To expect people to redesign their thinking patterns to incorporate new social laws and ideals overnight is close to a fantasy; indeed, with time, the African American population was eventually integrated into the white society, starting with the denouncement of slavery, and extending to the desegregation of the educational system. This paper analyzes the sudden movement of the African American population from the southern states into states like Wisconsin, who’s percentage of the African American population increased by six hundred percent in a span of twenty years, caused unforeseen circumstances for the white population, which often reacted violently against the integration protests. These movements were considered a matter of the southern states, and suddenly the northern states were exposed to them as well. This paper tells that the late 1900s and especially the decades of 1960s and 1970s witnessed a great upheaval in the social set up of the United States in the form of the great Civil Rights movement. Although this movement had been picking up pace since the late 1800s and the early 1900s, it wasn’t till the late twentieth century that the general public and the legal bodies of the states started considering it a poignant issue.... in the northern states at that time, as compared to the political uprisings in the south; indeed, the Civil Rights movements for the rights of the African American population commenced from the southern states, which witnessed repeated protests, movements, walks, and boycotts (â€Å"Desegregation†). The northern states provided a much more peaceful and politically tranquil environment for the African American families to settle. There was also the attraction of better educational opportunities for their children (â€Å"Desegregation†). Although the constitution had afforded ‘separate but equal’ (Riley) laws, this segregation posed a lot of hindrances in the advancement of education for the students, especially the African American students, who could only attend schools in their own neighborhoods that were secluded from the white majority areas (Riley). There was a need for integration of both communities, so that education, both in the classroom and in the playground, could be properly imparted (Riley). In light of several amendments in the constitution (â€Å"Desegregation†), the government was also beginning to view the segregation as an unconstitutional act (â€Å"New Orleans†). It was no surprise, then, that the Civil Rights movement would address the desegregation of public schools. On the other hand, there were the anti-desegregation groups, which were largely formed by the white supremacist members (â€Å"Desegregation†). It was no surprise that the white community would react against such rulings by the court. It was largely accepted as law to discriminate on the basis of color and ethnicity, as there was no constitutional ruling as yet to mark such actions as unlawful (â€Å"Desegregation†). Indeed, it was stated in the constitution of South Carolina: