Teaching Students with Special Needs - Basic Notes free essay sample

Studies show that â€Å"teaching with laughter† is an extremely effective way to teach students with special needs. This may include breaking up lessons with a short Youtube video or other non-related teaching activity, before regrouping and returning to teaching activities. Structure at home is incredibly important for students with special needs. Parents may need direction for strategies in the home so they can help the student progress in their learning and development. The â€Å"Learner Profile† document is a good one for the students to complete. This can help the teachers to understand the ways that students learn. Never give students with learning difficulties paper with blank spaces or dot-points. Everything needs to have lines drawn for them. Many students with learning difficulties may have Executive Functioning difficulties. Try not to give students paper that is photocopied back-to-back. All sheets need to be separated. Such students need incredibly explicit teaching and direct instruction. We will write a custom essay sample on Teaching Students with Special Needs Basic Notes or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page When covering sentences or words for students to be able to follow logically, cover the top of the sentence or word, not the bottom, so that the flow of reading is not disrupted. ODD – The four positive comments to the one negative is an important strategy for students with ODD. ADHD and other related behaviors need to be addressed in a positive way. For example, behavior cards need to say â€Å"listen carefully in class† as opposed to â€Å"calling out / disruptive†. Obeying these rules then need to be reinforced with rewards. There is a lot of research to show that students work well with music! Pop music with 60 beats per minute especially works!

A Critical Review of Leadership Research Development Essays

A Critical Review of Leadership Research Development Essays A Critical Review of Leadership Research Development Essay A Critical Review of Leadership Research Development Essay International Journal of Business and Management August, 2006 A Critical Review of Leadership Research Development Jun Liu Business School, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China Xiaoyu Liu School of Labor Relations Human Resources, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China Abstract Leadership research has gone through several phases of development in the past 80 years or so. The paper identifies the major theories in each phase, and investigates the strengths and weaknesses of the research. Among those theories, transformational/charismatic leadership and leader-member exchange (LMX) are heavily discussed. The paper also discusses the future trend of research in leadership areas. Keywords: Review, Transformational Leadership, LMX Leadership can be defined as a process that an individual influences a group of individuals to implement strategies and achieve the collective goals (Yukl, 2002). Research in the area seeks to find out what types of leaders are likely to be successful and what factors determine leadership effectiveness. Generally, leadership research has gone though four paradigms: trait approach, behavioral approach, situational approach, and the contemporary theories of leadership. The paradigms of leadership theories shift with the progress from static to dynamic view of leadership with the trait and behavioral theories reflecting a personal, the situational theories an interpersonal, and the contemporary theories a relational approach to conceptualizing leadership. That is to say leadership has been examined as intrapersonal competencies, interpersonal processes, and relational dynamics. More specifically, I review those approaches, their strengths and weaknesses as followed: The trait approach The trait theories assumed that leaders were born, not made. In the literature, Stogdill (1948, 1974) completed two comprehensive reviews by synthesizing more than 200 studies of the trait approach. His two surveys identified a group of traits that were positively associated with leadership such as intelligence, self-confidence, initiative, and persistence. However, Stogdill concluded that no combination of traits would guarantee leadership effectiveness. An individual does not become a leader solely because he or she possessed certain traits. Rather, the traits have to be relevant to situations in which the leader is functioning, thus situation should also be a part of leadership. Moreover, his studies showed that leadership was not a passive and static state but resulted from a working relationship between the leader and other group members. In essence, Stogdill’s research invoked the development of the later leadership approaches. The behavioral approach Behavioral theories focus on leader behaviors and assume that effective leaders are common in their behavior modes. Most of behavioral theories relied on the Ohio and Michigan’s studies (Stogdill, 1948), which described leadership styles based on the two dimensions of initiating structure (concern jobs and tasks, often called task-oriented behavior) and considerations (concern people and interpersonal relationships, often called relation-oriented behavior). The simple two-factor model provided a good starting point and basis for later researchers to conceptualize leadership. For example, Blake and Mouton (1964) joined the two dimensions in a model called â€Å"Leadership Grid† to describe various leadership styles. To enrich the two-factor model, later theorists also identified some supplementary leader 3 International Journal of Business and Management August, 2006 behaviors, for example, the participative behavior involving power sharing, delegating, and empowering (Lewin, Lippitt, and White, 1939; Miller and Monge, 1986). A key research issue in the behavioral approach is the influence of the two behavioral dimensions on organizational outcomes. Task-oriented behavior is found positively associated with subordinate performance, whereas relation-oriented behavior is related to subordinate satisfaction. Relation-oriented behavior has a moderating effect on the relationship between task-oriented behavior and performance. For example, Schriesheim and Murphy (1976) reported that task-oriented leadership without personal attention to group members might have negative effects on satisfaction and even on performance. Theorists generally agree that the two behavioral dimensions have additive effects on outcomes and â€Å"high-high† leaders who concern for both tasks and relations were expected to be more effective, though the statement has received support from only a few studies (e. . Misumi, 1985). Critique to the trait and behavioral approach The trait and behavioral approach are drawn from a personal construct perspective, which assumes that leadership occurs when a leader â€Å"express leadership† towards followers. The trait approach believes that leadership is mainly a personal attribute, better leadership results from developing the personal competencies of leaders (D ay, 2000). The behavioral approach extends the perspective by focusing on what leaders do rather than simply telling who the leaders are. The significance of the two approaches should not be underestimated because they are intuitively appealing and, with a great deal of research validating the bases of these perspectives, the approaches provide an in-depth understanding of the leader components in the leadership process (Bass, 1985). There are obvious limits with the two approaches. For example, trait approach is criticized to not provide very useful implications for training and developing leadership due to the nature of traits (Bass, 1985). Furthermore, as stated above, situation influences leadership. It is thus difficult to identify a universal set of leader traits for various contexts. Even some traits can help differentiate leaders from non-leaders, it is theoretically difficult to link traits to leadership outcomes such as follower motivation and group productivity (Yukl and Van Fleet, 1992). For the weaknesses of the behavioral approach, one criticism is that the two types of behaviors are too abstract to describe complex leadership styles; another refers to the inconsistent link between task- and relation-oriented behavior and outcomes such as morale, job satisfaction, and productivity. It is not clear how leaders’ styles are associated with performance outcomes (Bryman, 1992). The third criticism, being shared with the trait approach, is that the approaches pay too much attention to the leader perspective without considering followers and situations in which leaders exhibit their qualities and behaviors. It seems that leadership effectiveness can not be well understood unless interactions among leaders, followers and situations are studied. The situational approach Incorporating findings obtained from the previous studies, the situational approach assumes that there is no one best way that is transcendent across all situations, and further, the approach tries to discover the situational moderating variables that influence the effects of leader behaviors. The situational leadership model (Hersey and Blanchard, 1982), the contingency model (Fiedler, 1967), and the path-goal theory (House and Mitchell, 1974) are the representative situational theories. The theories have somewhat different emphases regarding their basic arguments. Specifically, situational theory emphasizes leadership flexibility – leaders should find out about their subordinates’ maturity (job and psychological) and task characteristic and then adapt their styles accordingly (Hersey and Blanchard, 1982). In the contingency model, however, leader behaviors are much more consistent and less flexible. Leadership effectiveness is 4 International Journal of Business and Management August, 2006 rimarily determined by selecting the right leader for a certain situation (characterized by assessing leader-member relations, task structure, and position power; Fiedler, 1967) or by changing the situation to fit the particular leader’s style. House’s path-goal model, being more complex than the other two, assumes that leadership styles vary not only with different subordinates but also with the same subordinates in different situations. On the other h and, the theories clearly share some common points. First, all the theories contain situational moderating variables. Second, they implicitly assume that leaders can properly assess pivotal follower and situational factors. Third, leaders make their behaviors contingent on the followers and the situation. Compared to the former approaches, situational models conceptualize leadership as an interpersonal process, concern with follower, task, and situational variables rather than focus only on the leader perspective. By addressing all the factors involving the leadership process, the approach provides a more comprehensive picture of the nature of effective leadership. The models share a number of weaknesses that limit their implications. First, the theories contain situational moderator variables, but the variables are often defined too ambiguously to operationalize. For example, in the situational leadership model, it is even unclear how â€Å"subordinate commitment† is combined with â€Å"competence† to form four distinct levels of â€Å"subordinate development† (Hughes, Ginnett, and Curphy, 1996). Similarly, task structure and task complexity have been ambiguously defined and measured in different ways. As a consequence, researchers could hardly generate specific and testable hypotheses. Second, the theories assume that leaders can properly identify the characteristics of followers and situation. However, the assumption is not realistic and it is very likely that different leaders in the same situation may conclude distinctively in regard to followers’ level of knowledge, maturity, leader-follower relationships, the degree of task structure, or the level of role ambiguity being experienced by followers (Vroom and Jago, 1995). These differences in leader perception could, in turn, cause the leaders to take very different actions in response to the same situation. Third, the approach tends to view leadership as an interpersonal process, but it lacks specific analyses on the dynamics of the influence process. Rather, they tend to view leadership as a â€Å"passive† process, leadership styles have to â€Å"fit† the followers and situations to obtain effectiveness. Leadership substitutes theory (Kerr and Jermier, 1978), being unique in its conceptualization, severely questions the conventional leadership wisdom by describing two types of variables (substitutes and neutralizers) that reduce the importance of formal leaders in organizations. Substitutes make formal leader unnecessary and redundant, and neutralizers prevent a leader from acting in a specified way or nullify the effects of the leader’s actions. Theorists tend to classify the theory into situational approach due to its focus on the factors (subordinate, task, and organizational characteristics) concerned by situational theories. On the other hand, Jermier and Kerr (1997) contend that the framework of leadership substitutes should be less viewed as a situational model, which calls for treating the traditional context as the independent variable to explain individual and group effectiveness. It can be believe that such efforts will complement our understanding of leadership functioning and its effectiveness. Contemporary leadership theories Unlike traditional approaches that view followers as unchanged or part of the situation, contemporary leadership theories treat followers as the counterpart of the leader and seek for positive transformation, dynamic relationships, and relational association with followers. The models try to provide insights into leadership effectiveness and implications to leadership development as well. Of the many contemporary theories, transformational/charismatic leadership and leader-member exchange (LMX) have been most heavily studied. 5 International Journal of Business and Management August, 2006 The transformational/charismatic theory Rather than concerns with all levels of supervisors in the organization, the transformational/charismatic theory shifts its concern to the upper leaders by separating transformational leadership (leaders) from transactional leadership (managers) (Burns, 1978). In the past twenty years, the stream of research generated large numbers of both conceptual and empirically studies with several major research issues having been addressed: First, specific leader behaviors reported by followers are used in this approach to define the transformational/charismatic leadership. In other words, the theories seem to rely heavily on the assumption of â€Å"one best way† by seeking transcendent leadership styles. For example, the four I’s (idealized influence, individualized consideration, inspirational motivation) have been most frequently examined in this stream of research. Furthermore, being different from traditional view, charisma is also conceptualized as one dimension of leader behavior, which is based on followers’ perceptions, although some dissenting opinions exist regarding the definition (Trice and Beyer, 1986). Second, the new approach argues that leaders, being different from managers, have to motivate followers rather than arbitrarily impose leader behaviors on followers or passively fit leadership styles to followers and situations. The new leadership seeks to achieve high level of motivational outcomes by transforming/changing follower self-concepts. For example, House and his colleagues (House and Shamir, 1993; Shamir, Zakay, Breinin, and Popper, 1998) proposed mechanisms that leaders use to transform follower self-concepts, which includes offering an appealing vision; making task and mission meaningful; developing a collective identity; and heightening both individual and collective self-efficacy. In the literature, the vision advocated by leaders received a large amount of attention (e. . , Bass, 1996; Shamir et al. , 1993). Third, compared to the above-mentioned approaches, the new approach better describes the underlying influence process. For example, Bass and Avolio (1993) proposed an influence process that transformational leaders evoke and meet followers’ high-order needs, which in turn promote commitment and performance. Shamir and associates’ (1993) research explained the reciprocal nat ure of mutual influence, in which leaders choose a vision that is congruent with followers’ values and identities. Reciprocally, followers select the individuals as their leaders who would like to espouse their values. Empirically, many studies have included psychological intervening variables (i. e. , psychological empowerment, social identification, role characteristics) between leader behaviors and outcome variables to examine the dynamics of influence (e. g. , Kark, Shamir, and Chen, 2003; Mackenzie et al. , 2001). Fourth, the new leadership is more change-oriented. Transformational/charismatic leaders are likely to emerge from crisis environment and they serve as change agents in organizations. Using data from 48 Fortune 500 firms, Waldman et al. (2001) illustrated a clear picture that charismatic leadership can predict performance under conditions with level of environmental uncertainty. Weaknesses and future directions of the approach Accordingly, the transformational/charismatic approach has some problems left for future research to resolve: First, the approach is criticized to regress back to the â€Å"one best way† of leadership with too much attention on leader behaviors (sometimes traits) but very little on contextual variables (Beyer, 1999). Although transformational/charismatic leadership has been examined to be applicable in various contexts, further attention should be paid to identify situational factors that facilitate or limit the effects of transformational/charismatic leadership. On the other hand, the consequences of transformational/charismatic leadership do not always appear positive; rather, some researchers have 6 International Journal of Business and Management August, 2006 identified the â€Å"dark side† of the new leadership (e. g. , Conger and Kanungo, 1998). For example, charismatic leadership tends to make more risky decisions that can result in serious failure. The future empirical studies should seek to identify more specific factors (i. e. , situations, leader qualities, task and follower characteristics) that induce the negative consequences. Second, the approach emphasizes the role the vision (articulated by the leader) plays in motivating followers. The underlying mechanism, however, is rather ambiguous (Conger, 1999). Simple identification and an attractive vision do not fully explain follower commitment and motivation. Moreover, the structure and content of leadership vision are also only partially understood (Conger, 1999). To resolve these problems, leadership values and the value interexchange between the leader and the follower should be incorporated in the models (Shamir et al. , 1993). Several recently emerged leadership theories (e. g. , Servant leadership, Graham, 1991; Ethical leadership, Ciulla, 1998; Value-based leadership, Fu et al. , 2002), though at the early stage of development and receiving little empirical support, provide solid rationale for remedying the deficiencies through the value viewpoint. For example, ethical leadership regards that values play a central role in the leadership process; servant leadership (Graham, 1991) argues that leadership values provide a system of rules or principles that guide the pondering, formulating, and communicating of the vision. Future studies should try to develop pragmatic models and empirically examine the effects of leadership values on leader behavior, leader-member relationship, influence process, follower behavioral and attitudinal outcomes, and leadership succession. Third, the approach has to extend its level of analysis for future development of the theories. As discussed above, transformational/charismatic leadership theories have specified the dynamic of influence process, but only at the individual or dyadic level. Although the specification helps to explain individual behavioral or attitudinal outcomes, it does not adequately address group and organizational processes (Yukl, 2002). The analysis also results in a less consideration of contextual factors involving the leadership process and the suggestion of a â€Å"universal† form of leadership. Future studies should seek to explain leadership’s effects on the interacting group including collective efficiency, group identification, etc. , and influence on the firm including culture, organizational change and so on. Finally, since the theories have addressed much about the role leaders play in organizational change, future models should include more change-related variables. For example, Yukl (2002) identifies a new behavioral dimension, change-oriented, to enrich the two factor model. Future studies should specify the real impact of the leader behavior on followers at the dyadic level, units at the group level, as well as companies at the organization level. Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory Being different from other leadership theories in which a leader treats followers in a collective way (Average Leadership Style, ALS), LMX theory takes a quite different approach and makes the dyadic relationship between the leader and each follower the focal point of the leadership process. Overall, the development of LMX theory has three stages: In the early studies of LMX, a leader’s relationship to the overall work unit comprises a series of vertical dyads categorized as being of in-group (high LMX relationship) and out-group (low LMX relationship). Subordinates who get well along with the leader and are willing to expand their role responsibilities become in-group members, whereas those who maintain only formal hierarchical relationships with their leader become out-group members. Subsequent studies of LMX concerned with the relationship between LMX and organizational outcomes. Researchers found that high-quality exchanges between leaders and followers produced multiple positive outcomes (e. g. , less employee turnover, greater organizational commitment, and more OCBs). In general, 7 International Journal of Business and Management August, 2006 researchers determined that good LMX resulted in followers feeling better, accomplishing more, and helping the organization prosper (Graen, Liden, and Hoel, 1982). The most recent emphasis in LMX research has been on leadership making, which emphasizes that leaders should try to transform the relationship into mutual trust, respect, and obligation to each other. Leadership making develops over time and involves different phases: a stranger phase, acquaintance phase, and partner phase, with the last phase generating the highest LMX quality. By taking on and fulfilling new role responsibilities, followers move through theses three phases to develop mature partnerships with their leaders. According to Graen and Uhl-Bien (1991), the third phase corresponds to transformational leadership, whereas the first phase corresponds to transactional leadership. Weaknesses and future directions of the approach In correspondence with the above three major stages of LMX theory, the following weaknesses are likely to exist in the literature and future directions emerge for addressing the inadequacies: First, by suggesting that some members of the work unit receive special attention and the others do not, LMX theory provide negative implications to organizational justice (McClane, 1991; Scandura, 1999). The perceived inequalities between in-group and out-group can have a devastating impact on the feelings, attitudes, and behavior of out-group members. For example, McClane (1991) pointed out the existence of in-group and out-group has undesirable effects on the group as a whole no matter whether the leader actually treats the members fairly or not. Scandura (1999) provided a comprehensive framework for future empirical examining the nature of the relationship through integrating organizational justice and LMX. Second, given a plethora of empirical studies on its antecedents and consequences, LMX is regarded as a universal theory with little concern for situational variables that may affect the exchange process (Green et al, 1996). An exception is Dunegan, Duchon, and Uhl-Bien’s (1992) work on the role of task analyzability and task variety as moderating the effects of LMX on subordinate performance. They found that the relationship between LMX and performance was significant when tasks have low analyzability/high variety and high analyzability/low variety, whereas the relationship became insignificant in the â€Å"low-low† and â€Å"high-high† situations. Such kinds of effort are still desired in LMX research in order to recognize the possible contingency. Third, LMX theory emphasizes the importance of leader-member exchanges, but fails to explain how high-quality relationship is established. Although the recent models highlighted the importance of role making (Graen and Uhl-Bien, 1991), mentoring (Scandura and Schriesheim, 1994), incremental influence, and type of reciprocity, the theory is still criticized for not explaining how the evolution of relationship actually occurred and how mature partnerships are built. On the other hand, the vertical relationships are likely to horizontally interact with each other. Future work needs to elaborate more about how the differentiated relationships and the interaction among LMXs evolve over time. Finally, there are questions regarding research methodologies, for instance, questions whether the principal measure of LMX theory is sufficiently refined to measure the complexities of the relationship (Garen and Uhl-Bien, 1995), and whether appropriate level of analysis and data-analytic techniques are specified and employed (Schriesheim, et al. 2002). Overall, more rigorous operationalization of the model is called for improving its validity. Conclusion Leadership is a complex process in which the leader, followers, and the situation interact with each other. Theorists have attempted to discover what traits, abilities, behaviors, relationships between leader and 8 International Journal of Business and Management August, 2006 follower, and/or aspects of the s ituation determine how well a leader is able to influence followers and accomplish collective goals. Based on my reviews, I have summarized the characteristics of the major theories in each of the four major paradigms and briefly discussed major findings, key research issues, strengths, weaknesses and possible future directions in regard to those theories. The two contemporary theories, namely transformational/charismatic leadership and LMX, are discussed in detail. Summarily, I would like to emphasize the following issues that should receive careful concerns in future studies: Clearly specifying the key components of theories. For transformational/charismatic leadership, theorists should clarify the nature of charisma, identify specific factors that induce possible negative consequences, set clear boundary for its behavioral dimensions, and the vision’s motivational influence on followers. LMX theory should minimize the inconsistence of defining leader-member relationship, offer clearly defined and reliable constructs, and clarify the exchange process. Extending theories by incorporating contextual factors. It has concluded that leadership is a complex process and there is no one best way to lead. Thus future studies should seek to adopt more contextual moderating variables and establish contingent model for providing specific implications for the particular situation. Effects of situational factors such as task, follower, work environment, and organizational variables should be systematically investigated in the leadership process. Clarifying the level of analysis. A good theory should include a clear and proper treatment of its level of analysis, which requires a valid and reliable measurement of the construct and choice of analytical methods. Leadership is a process involving multiple levels of factors and its effects occur at the all levels: individual, dyadic, group, and organization. Analyzing the phenomenon in a framework with clear levels and specification within- and cross-level relationships will definitely help us understand the influence process and the dynamics of leadership. The contemporary theories, however, appear to be rather obtuse to this issue. For example, transformational/charismatic leadership has not explicitly formulated its enquiring level with some appearing to be strictly at individual level (e. . , individualized consideration; Bass, 1985) while others being at higher levels (e. g. , leader behaviors that foster the acceptance of group goals; Podsakoff et al. , 1990). On the other hand, LMX research has been criticized to be fundamentally uninformative about the LMX process because its analysis is totally confused in terms of levels (Schriesheim, et al. , 2002). Future research on leadership sho uld pay special attention to the issue. References Bass, B. M. and B. Avolio, (1993), â€Å"Transformational leadership: a response to critiques,† In M. M. Chemers and R. Ayman (eds. ), Leadership Theory and Research: Perspectives and Directions (pp. 49-80), New York: Academic Press. Bass, B. M. , (1985), Leadership and performance beyond expectations. New York: Free Press. Bass, B. M. , (1996), A new paradigm of leadership: An inquiry into transformational leadership. Alexandria, VA: U. S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. Beyer, J. M. , (1999), â€Å"Taming and promoting charisma to change organizations,† Leadership Quarterly, 10(2), 307-330. Blake, R. R. and J. S. Mouton, (1964), The Managerial Grid. Houston: Golf Publishing. Bryman, A. , (1992), Charisma and Leadership in Organizations. London: SAGE. Burns, J. M. , (1978), Leadership. New York: Harper Row. Ciulla, J. B. , (1998), Ethics, the Heart of Leadership. Westport, CT: Greenwood. 9 International Journal of Business and Management August, 2006 Conger, J. A. , (1999), â€Å"Charismatic and transformational leadership in organizations: An insider’s perspective on these developing streams on research,† Leadership Quarterly, 10(2), 145-179. Conger, J. A. and R. N. Kanungo, (1998), Charismatic Leadership in Organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Day, D. V. , (2000), â€Å"Leadership development: A review in context,† Leadership Quarterly, 11(4), 581-613. Dunegan, K. J. , D. Duchon, and M. Uhl-Bien, (1992), â€Å"Examining the link between leader-member exchange and subordinate performance: The role of task analyzability and variety as moderators,† Journal of Man agement, 18(1), 59-79. Fiedler, F. E. , (1967), A theory of leadership effectiveness. New York: McGraw-Hill. Fu, P. P. , R. J. House, J. Liu, et al. (2002), â€Å"Study of Chinese business Executives: A value-based approach,† Paper presented at the 62nd annual meeting of the Academy of Management, Denver, Colorado, August 9-14, 2002. Graen, G. , R. C. Liden, and W. Hoel, (1982), â€Å"The role of leadership in the employee withdrawal process,† Journal of Applied Psychology, 67(6), 868–872. Graen, G. B. and M. Ulh-Bien, (1991), â€Å"The transformation of professionals into self-managing and partially self-designing contributions: Toward a theory of leader-making,† Journal of Management Systems, 3(3), 33-48. Graen, G. B. , and M. Ulh-Bien, (1995), â€Å"Relationship-based approach to leadership: Development of leader-member exchange (LMX) theory of leadership over 25 years: Applying a multi-level multi-domain perspective,† Leadership Quarterly, 6(2), 219-247. Graham, J. W. , (1991), â€Å"Servant-leadership in organizations: Inspirational and moral,† Leadership Quarterly, 2(2), 105-119. Green, S. G. , S. E. Anderson, and S. L. Shivers, (1996), â€Å"Demographic and organizational influences on leader-member exchange and related work attitudes,† Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 66(2), 203-214. Hersey, P. , and K. Blanchard, (1982), Management of organizational behavior: Utilizing human resources. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. House, R. J. , and B. Shamir, (1993), â€Å"Toward the integration of transformational, charismatic and visionary theories of leadership,† In M. C. R. Ayman (eds. ) Leadership Theory and Research: Perspectives and directions. New York: Academic Press. House, R. J. , and R. R. Mitchell, (1974), â€Å"Path-goal theory of leadership,† Journal of Contemporary Business, 3, 81-97. Hughes, R. L. , R. C. Ginnett, and G. J. Curphy, (1996), Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Experience. Chicago: Irwin. Jermier, J. M. , and S. Kerr, (1997), â€Å"Substitutes for leadership: their meaning and measurement contextual recollections and current observations,† Leadership Quarterly, 8(2), 95-101. Kark, R. , B. Shamir, and G. Chen, (2003), â€Å"The two faces of transformational leadership: Empowerment and dependence,† Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(2), 246-255. 10 International Journal of Business and Management August, 2006 Kerr, S. , and J. M. Jermier, (1978), â€Å"Substitutes for leadership: The meaning and measurement,† Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 22(3), 375–403. Lewin, K. , R. Lippitt, and R. K. White, (1939), â€Å"Patterns of aggressive behavior in experimentally created social climates,† Journal of Social Psychology, 10(3), 271-301. MacKenzie, S. B. , P. M. Podsakoff, and G. A. Rich, (2001), â€Å"Transformational and transactional leadership and salesperson performance,† Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 29(2), 115-134. McClane, W. E. , (1991), â€Å"Implications of member role differentiation: Analysis of a key concept in the LMX model of leadership,† Group Organization Studies, 16(1), 102-113. Miller, K. I. and P. R. Monge, (1986), â€Å"Participation, satisfaction, and productivity: A meta-analytic review,† Academy of Management Journal, 29(4), 727-753. Misumi, J. , (1985), The Behavioral Science of Leadership: An interdisciplinary Japanese Research Program. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Podsakoff, P. M. , S. B. MacKenzie, R. H. Moorman, and R. Fetter, (1990), â€Å"Transformational leader behaviors and their effects on followers trust in leader, satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behaviors,† Leadership Quarterly, 1(2), 107–142. Scandura, T. A. , (1999), â€Å"Rethinking leader-member exchange: An organizational justice perspective,† Leadership Quarterly, 10(1), 25-40. Scandura, T. A. , and C. A. Schriesheim, (1994), â€Å"Leader-member exchange and supervisor career mentoring as complementary constructs in leadership research,† Academy of Management Journal, 37(6), 1588–1602. Schriesheim, C. A. , and C. J. Murphy, (1976), â€Å"Relationships between leader behavior and subordinates satisfaction and performance: A test of some situational moderators,† Journal of Applied Psychology, 61(5), 634-641. Schriesheim, C. A. , S. L. Castro, X. T. Zhou, and F. J. Yammarino, (2002), â€Å"The folly of theorizing ‘A’ but testing ‘B’: A selective level-of-analysis review of the field and a detailed Leader–Member Exchange illustration,† Leadership Quarterly, 12(4), 515-551. Shamir, B. , E. Zakay, E. Breinin, and M. Popper, (1998), â€Å"Correlates of charismatic leader behavior in military units: Subordinates’ attitudes, unit characteristics, and superiors’ appraisals of leader performance,† Academy of Management Journal, 41(4), 387–409. Shamir, B. , R. J. House, and M. B. Arthur, (1993), â€Å"The motivational effects of charismatic leadership: A self-concept based theory,† Organization Science, 4(1), 1–17. Stogdill, R. M. , (1948), â€Å"Personal factors associated with leadership: A survey of the literature,† Journal of Psychology, 25(1), 35-71. Trice, H. M. , and J. M. Beyer, (1986), â€Å"Charisma and its routinization in two social movement organizations. † Research in Organizational Behavior, 8, 113–164. Vroom, V. H. , and A. G. Jago, (1995), â€Å"Situation effects and levels of analysis in the study of leader participation,† Leadership Quarterly, 6(2), 169–181. 11

Working with Youth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Working with Youth - Essay Example Without that belief, the young people will not be motivated enough to participate in challenges. Second, it is important to find useful positions for young people within the community. Providing meaningful contributions through such roles will help give young people the confidence they need. Third, groups must provide regular opportunities for young people to serve the community – at least one hour a week, but hopefully more. By providing an ongoing opportunity, these groups will build habits that will last a lifetime. Fourth, the group must provide a safe atmosphere where young people will feel the freedom to fail – and to get back up and succeed (Search Institute, 2011). The Tahoe SAFE Alliance is dedicated to eliminating violent behavior in teenagers. By focusing on such topics as mutual respect, self-esteem, and the traits of healthy relationships, this group seeks to undo much of the damage that has taken place in homes. There are several different elements to this groups curriculum, but the overriding theme is building an atmosphere of respect and dignity in which teens can reassemble their own self-concept and then move outward to work against violence wherever they find it (Tahoe SAFE Alliance,

Consumer Involvement in New Product Development Essay - 1

Consumer Involvement in New Product Development - Essay Example The paper tells that in the development of new products, customers participate to give new ideas to help create the products through communication. The process referred to as co-creation, employed by the developers, is important in the new product development sector. In this case, customers may come up with new goods or services or simply try to improve on what is already circulating in the market to fulfill their needs. These ideas shared by customers reach the intended producer through different avenues like the company website or through social media. Co-creation used this way is a symbiotic relationship in which the customers and the firms collude and make a product where the customer will enjoy interacting with the product and the producer will meet the customer’s needs. Producers nowadays use this mode of collaboration as a way to reduce time in the production process and ease their thinking and the uncertainty that comes with the new product, questioning whether the pro duct fits the market and carrying out surveys for gauging where most customers lie, either in favor or out of favor. The scope of co-creation is the extent to which an organization decides to involve the consumer in the development stages up to the post-launch stage. Threadless.com is a T-shirt manufacturing company high on the scope and they depend on co-creation for manufacturing their products. The consumers submit T-shirt designs online and the company employees and visitors to the site vote. The designer who wins gets a monetary compensation and retains the rights to the design. The co-creation process does not end there, but after launching the product. In the end, it serves as a marketing strategy.

Herborist on Their Next Step of International Expansion Essay

Herborist on Their Next Step of International Expansion - Essay Example Strategic Planning of global expansion of Herborist in the Russian market Foreign participation is increasing its share in the Russian market, and the personal care products which were imported in the past century is manufactured in the Russian territory as the companies are opening up their subsidiaries to grab the maximum opportunity in the Russian market. The consumer market is the key growth driver behind the growth in the Russian market. The large urban population base of the country is the factor that has led to such vast growth in the cosmetics and retail sector in the Russian market (Kumar and Steenkamp, 2013, pp.123-124). It is the ninth largest consumer market and is estimated to become the worlds fourth biggest and the Europe’s largest consumer economy by the end of 2020. The market has different income level consumer segments and comprises of sophisticated and changing consumer trends. The largest share of population belong to the elite class who spend lavishly and have exotic taste, this makes it a great opportunity for the foreign companies to directly export their products in the Russian market (Frey, 2004, pp.76-77). The cosmetics market has shown a sustained growth over the years in the Russian market and has not been impacted by the economic downturn of the country in 2008-09. There has been a considerable rise in the high quality product in the market with a 14% growth in the cosmetics and personal care market (Handlechner, 2008, pp. 45-46).

Total Hip Replacement Surgical Approach Health And Social Care Essay

Total Hip Replacement Surgical Approach Health And Social Care Essay The two most commonly used and described approaches to Total Hip Arthroplasty (THA) are the anterolateral and the posterior. The anterolateral or modified Hardinge approach involves a skin incision over the greater trochanter, over or parallel with the shaft of femur. The incision is often curved posteriorly at its proximal end. Dissection is then undertaken to take advantage of the intramuscular plane between the tensor fascia lata and the gluteus medius. In the direct lateral or Hardinge approach, the acetabulum is exposed by a partial or total release of the abductor muscles (gluteus medius and minimus). This was originally achieved by a trochanteric osteotomy or detachment at their greater trochanter insertion3 described by Watson-Jones 4 and then subsequently modified by Charnley.5 The anterolateral or modified Hardinge approach, as used in Tayside, involves detaching the anterior third of the gluteus medius and minimus. This minimises the risk to the superior gluteal nerve and limits damage to the abductors.6 This modification from the original technique was described by Harris7, and Muller.8 The posterior approach involves a skin incision over the posterior aspect of the greater trochanter, proximally following inline with the gluteus maximus and distally the lateral shaft of the femur. A blunt dissection of the gluteus maximus follows emerging posterior to the abductor muscles. The external rotators (piriformis, superior and inferior gemelli and obturator internus) are then detached at the femoral insertion and reflected exposing the capsule and acetabulum.3 It was originally described by Langenbeck, and subsequently Kocher9 and finally Gibson.10 There have been numerous studies but there is still professional disagreement about which approach is the most effective for primary total hip arthroplasty. Many of the studies that have been undertaken over recent years have been considered to be deficient in both quality of study design and quantity of patients in the study sample. The Cochrane review considered four studies sufficient but only one of these included functional outcomes with the Harris Hip score.11 The study in the Cochrane review was done by Barber et al, it was limited in size, 49 patients, with a relatively short follow-up.12 Dislocation rates between these approaches have been looked at in some depth. Many studies have found a difference, while others havent. The difference is often considered minimal if good tissue repair is used in the posterior approach.13,14,15 Where this is the case, the implant has been shown to have half the amount of internal rotation (anteversion) when placed using anterolateral approac h as opposed to the posterior approach.16 This is a retrospective study aiming to use large sample groups to answer the null hypothesis that there is no difference between an anterolateral approach and a posterior approach with regards to functional outcome scores (Harris Hip Score and Trendelenburg Test for primary total hip replacement surgery). It also aims to answer the null hypothesis that there is no difference functionally in patients that suffer post-operative dislocations. To do this it will look at the pre-operative scores and post-operative scores comparing any gain or loss in function for each patient. The reasoning behind using Harris Hip Score and Trendelenburg Test is that these are commonly used, meaning any conclusions can be easily related to clinical practice. Dislocation rates between the two approaches will also be compared. Materials and Methods: The data used within this project was collected under the Tayside Arthroplasty Audit Group (TAAG) database. The objective of the TAAG database is to evaluate the clinical performance of all hip arthroplasties or hip resurfacings in Tayside. Initially there were 8153 cases with data for primary hip arthroplasties (resurfacings were not included), of these 6350 cases had undergone either an anterolateral or a posterior approach to the surgery. For this data the aim was to look at pre-operative Harris Hip score results and Trendelenburg tests and again at 1-year post-operatively. Due to this, the data was further screened to ensure that each patient had a complete set of data for these tests. Some cases didnt have data correctly collected or alternatively were not followed up at 1-year post-operatively. The resulting number of cases was 3416 with 1001 having suffered a complication within the 1-year period after surgery. These complications were medical and surgical. Not all of these co mplications had a direct effect on the function or rehabilitation of the joint. The choice of Harris Hip score and Trendelenburg Testing to test functional ability has been shown to be clinically relevant as a reference tool for assessment of improvement or deterioration of the hip joint, particularly pre-operatively and at 1-year.17,18 The Harris Hip score assesses pain, ability to complete basic tasks, deformity of the joint, and range of movement out of 100. The functional score removes the subjective areas of the full score looking specifically at functional ability out of 47. Trendelenburgs test is specifically looking at abductor deficit, although it has its recognised disadvantages.19 The need for experienced interpretation of the Trendelenburgs test is its main disadvantage, otherwise you can get false-negatives and false-positives very easily. It was considered only relevant to look at results post-operatively at 1-year, as from a patients perspective this is often the expectation of relative normality. From a surgical point of view, secondary complicat ions such as loosening of the prosthesis and deep infection are less likely to be apparent at 1 year but will have presented at 5 years.20 The TAAG database is a rolling audit of all elective hip arthroplasties or resurfacings done in Tayside. Any patient who is undergoing either of these procedures will be considered for inclusion. Exclusion criteria for audit enrolment are a previous total or cemented/uncemented hemi-arthroplasty of the affected hip or inability/unwillingness to participate in the follow up programme. If a patient consents for involvement they will be assessed pre-operatively and post-operatively, this includes radiography to assess prosthesis positioning. Data for Harris Hip Scores and Trendelenburg Test are collected at each assessment. Post-operative follow-up is at 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10 years and then every 2 years thereafter until the prosthesis fails. Operative procedures, local practices, technique used, antibiotic coverage, theatre type, and any other regimes are all recorded. If a patient suffers a complication, details of it, management, and final outcome are all recorded. All data is collected in the same format, if any clinical issues for a patient are found that patient will be referred back to the supervising consultant for review. The data available had a large range of implants used and was also unspecific for consultant surgeon who undertook each procedure. Positive (2)On comparing the difference between pre-operative testing to post-operative testing the groups four possible results were seen. As the outcome for Trendelenburg is categorical, each result was given a value, the pre-operative result was simply added to the post-operative, as is shown in Table 2, giving an option of 1-4. For a negative to negative (1) result the anterolateral group was 59.89% and the posterior group was 51.38%. For a positive to negative result (2) the anterolateral group was 34.39% and the posterior group was 46.40%. This shows the posterior approach corrected a Trendelenburgs positive test in 12.01% more cases than the anterolateral approach. For a negative to positive (3) result the anterolateral group was 3.52% and the posterior group was 0.55%. This shows that the anterolateral approach caused a Trendelenburgs positive test in 2.97% more cases than the posterior approach. For a positive to positive (4) result the anterolateral group was 2.18% and the posterior group was 1.65%. When comparing the two groups as a whole, a statistical significance was found (p=

The Monk :: essays research papers fc

The Monk: A Rebellious Offspring of the Age of Reason Understanding the Gothic novel can be accomplished by obtaining a familiarity of the Augustan point of view, which helps to develop a reference point for comparing and contrasting the origin of Gothic literature. The thinking that was being questioned by the Gothic novel was Augustanism; and without some understanding of Augustan principles and their role in eighteenth-century thought it is difficult to understand the purposes of the Gothic revival, either in terms of history or in terms of the way in which it offered a new conception of the relations between man, nature and a supreme being. David punter describes the political relationship of the Augustan thinker to the literary world, â€Å" It is tempting to see in Augustanism the doctrine of a small cultural elite holding on to power and status under increasing pressure, and that pressure as precisely that exerted by the new reading public on the homogeneity of the old literary establishment (p 31 Punter). This small number of e lite would have included, but not limited to, Fielding, Johnson and especially Pope. However, Fielding and Johnson were slowly stepping outside of the realm of the Augustan limitations. Fielding was undoubtedly Augustan in his beliefs in the stability of social rules and the necessity of a social and psychological compromise, but his mocking attitude towards literary stipulation represents a more moderate Augustan replication. Johnson, on the other hand, was a firm believer in these literary rules and yet it was his ‘Preface to Shakespeare’ which became the first significant breach in these limitations. Alexander Pope’s ‘Essay on Man’ embodies the cosmological, theological and ethical beliefs of the Augustan age; while at the same time exemplifying submission to the rules of literary form. The Augustan approach was intellectual with formal restraint; while relying on reason and traditionalism to create literary works. These stipulations were very con trolled by their boundaries and could not be exaggerated with out being broken. The Augustan critical attitude condemned spontaneity for its chaotic qualities, imagination for its objection to reason and liberalism for its opposition to traditionalism. Gothic fiction appears as a specific response to the Age of Reason’s order. During the late eighteenth-century, several different kinds of new fiction arose to challenge the Augustan tradition; leading the way was the Gothic novel. An interest in those things, which cannot be understood, for example religion and the soul, results in an overwhelming expansion of what is accepted as art in the literary world.

Rfid Tags

RFID TAGS Introduction Over time, the ways products have been tracked through the supply chain have changed just as technology is constantly progressing. Yet, there are still constraints to improve the methods of tracking and shipping due to the lack of technology in these fields. Bar codes have helped but still need human interference. Many companies are starting to turn to radio frequency identification tags. RFID tags can help companies with tracking and shipment of any product and reduce time to improve customer satisfaction. Wolff, 2001) Companies such as IBM who are producing the tags have started to think of ideas to revolutionize this plan. The RFID tags can help track products as they enter and leave warehouses, and can speed up the shipping process. They can be put into different products and even use them in such ways as at the grocery store instead of having cashiers and cash registers. (Wolff, 2001) The superstore, JC Penney, is interested in taking advancements with the RFID tags. These tags are programmable and cannot get damaged like barcodes can.In the 21st century, we are constantly moving forward with such innovations. The RFID tags are currently in use by some companies already, and being modified by others for their particular needs. These tags could open doors for many new inventions and help us progress into a faster-moving and progressing world. Background Radio frequency identification has been said to go as far back as World War II. Countries were using it for tracking planes and other means of transportation by radar. The major super powers of World War II such as America, Japan, and Germany, all had been using this technology.Germany was the first to discover that the sound wave would change depending on how their pilots came back to base. This helped them determine whether enemies or their own pilots were coming into their territory. (Roberti) From this, scientists kept progressing with different types of radiofrequency tags to iden tify sole objects. From the advancement in this form of technology, anti-theft tags were created, which sends a signal when it is not paid for and someone tries to leave the store with this item. The US government has also been working with RFID tags with tracking nuclear supplies, along with rucks to help while delivering different things. (Roberti) The tags are being used today in major companies such as Wal-Mart, to track products throughout the supply chain. EZPASS is probably the best example of usage of the RFID tags. Mobil Exxon currently uses RFID tags with their â€Å"speed pass. † This speed pass allows customers to buy petrol without using any method of currency. The RFID transponder takes the identification number of the customer and then charges the amount to an existing credit card. Roberti) The RFID are in use majorly today and are going to keep advancing through time. Potential Benefits The expansion of the radiofrequency in and of itself is a huge accomplishm ent for society, and all around the world. These tags can help with tracking products, quicker payments, decrease waiting for customers, healthcare, medicine, and so much more. EZPASS uses these tags already and decreases travel time because they have â€Å"EZPASS only† lanes when paying tolls. The RFID tags can be smaller than someone’s fingernail but can still be tracker anywhere.Hopefully over time, these tags will take the place of all barcodes and will not need human interference. Grocery stores can use these tags in their products to just bill you through the scanner as you leave the store, which IBM suggests. You can see a commercial of this in an IBM commercial for their RFID tags and what they can bring. That would just be the beginning, since now they are suggesting injecting patients with RFID during their surgical implants to detect healing processes. Innovapaedics' long-term (approximately five-year) goal is to offer a ‘Smart Implant’ solution that would include RFID tags and sensors permanently attached to implants. After an item is implanted into a patient, its RFID sensors would detect pressure and temperature changes, among other events, in order to track a patient's healing process, as well as the device's condition, and transmit that information to a reader. † (Swedberg, 2003) Legal and Ethical Issues/Security Concerns Many of the problems with the RFID tags is the privacy issues and concerns that may come into play.These tags could be used to benefit everyone but could also be used to harm. If they are going to be used in more and more products and maybe even into people for health-related purposes, this raises concerns for governments across the globe, as well as their citizens. Such worries could be the fear of data being intercepted from a third party, or the rights of a person being violated by accessing private information. (Legal issues) The tags could be used to spread viruses, breaching confidential data, or to gain unfair advantages in business to get a lead on the competition. Legal issues) Tags could also be used to track people with the tagged items, which could lead them to credit accounts and help with fraud. (Legal issues) Also, the tags could help lead to corruption and destruction of one whole RFID network if it gains access to one tag and breaks in. If these RFID tags are injected into people for surgical purposes or for other things in the future, can they get viruses do to the computer chip? These are all issues that need to be resolved or find consequences for such things. Social Problems Many of the problems with the RFID tags all relate back to privacy.These tags can be tracked at great distances, while sometime the user of the product has no knowledge of the tag being there. These chips can be in phones, as well as other electrical items. With the knowledge of these tags, people can stalk other people if they gain access to the RFID network for that item and tag number on the item being utilized by someone else. As stated here, â€Å"The concern increases as information related to a variety of objects becomes linkable to the identity of their users thus adding data of a personal nature to the data that is being stored and exchanged.In addition, if such data is used to create profiles their use  may limit the freedom of choice of users and lead to opaque decision making about individuals. † (Royer) This shows that there is a way to access personal information which could create major problems with identity theft and other things alike. These tags, when implanted into a human’s body, could have a defect or change a person’s nervous system, or chemical balance. This could lead to different perception, different thought process, or could seriously injure a human or cause them to do something irrational which they wouldn’t normally do.Conclusion The radiofrequency identification tags can be used to benefit the way the world works through the supply chain, and much more. This could literally change the way we live day to day life if we allow it. The tags are already being used by EZPASS and at Mobil Exxon stations. If funded right, these could be used for products in our grocery stores so shoppers don’t have to wait on line to pay for groceries. These types of chips and tags are already being used for cows and pets when they go astray, so their owners can find them with a form of a transponder.There are also problems with these tags that someone could put a virus in place and manage to destroy the network and hack into people’s personal information. This could also be utilized for terrorism with different countries such as in the past with the transportation of the nuclear materials. A lot of work needs to be done but with the right resources and workers to put this into action, they can use the tags to help the world become a more convenient place. References Legal issues ; conc erns- rfid. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://ukrfid. innoware. o. uk/rfid_legal_issues_;_concerns I chose this source because it spoke of all the different legal issues and concerns of the RFID tags. It explained the different ways which I was unaware of that helped me further understand the severity of the things that could go wrong with the RFID tags. Pierce, A. (2004). Radio frequency identification tags. Tech Directions,  63(6), 11-11+. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/218522558? accountid=14541 I picked this source because it gave more information on the radio frequency identification tags.It helped show me the different benefits of the RFID tags and what they can be used for. Roberti, M. (n. d. ). The history of rfid technology. Retrieved from http://www. rfidjournal. com/article/view/1338 I chose this source because it told me all about the history of radar and how it progressed to become what we have today and all the different inventions along the way. I t showed how the radar started around World War II and how it came to where we are. Royer, D. (n. d. ). D7. 7: Rfid, profiling, and ami.Retrieved from http://www. fidis. net/resources/deliverables/profiling/d770/doc/24/ This source gave the information of how the RFID tags can have different negative effects and what they could be. It gave many examples of the different types of problems there can be. Swedberg, C. (2003, February 5). Retrieved from http://www. rfidjournal. com/article/view/10391 Wolff, J. A. (2001). Rfid tags – an intelligent bar code replacement. Retrieved from ftp://ftp. software. ibm. com/software/pervasive/info/tech/gsoee200. pdf

A triangulation approach Essay

Thomas had heard the same devastating story before. He knew what to expect or so he thought. He had seen the shattered lives, lost youth and the trail of broken dreams that had divided families and friends. Often it was the innocent bystanders most affected by such behaviour. The collateral damage was often so costly. But it was Thomas who would end up as Daniel’s target that day. Introduction All researchers have different beliefs and ways of viewing and interacting within their surroundings. As a result, the way in which research studies are conducted vary. However, there are certain standards and rules that guide a researcher’s actions and beliefs. Such standards or principles can be referred to as a paradigm. To gain a better understanding of why and how the researcher chose the methodological approach in this study, an initial discussion will be completed about the paradigm that best fits the focus of this study. Following a discussion about the research paradigm, the aim of this chapter is to discuss the research design and methodology utilised in this study. In order to describe the variety of research activities undertaken during this study, the data collection activities and associated analysis methods will be systematically discussed under four phases. For ease of discussion, the study activities will be described in the order in which the researcher completed them. The order of the study activities have been outlined in Figure 3. Research Paradigm According to Taylor, Kermode, and Roberts (2007, p. 5), a paradigm is â€Å"a broad view or perspective of something†. Additionally, Weaver and Olson’s (2006, p. 460) definition of paradigm reveals how research could be affected and guided by a certain paradigm by stating, â€Å"paradigms are patterns of beliefs and practices that regulate inquiry within a discipline by providing lenses, frames and processes through which investigation is accomplished†. Therefore, to clarify the researcher’s structure of inquiry and methodological choices, an exploration of the paradigm adopted for this study will be discussed prior to any discussion about the specific methodologies utilized in this study. This study utilised a triangulation approach to explore and guide the development and evaluation of a clinical forensic nursing educational package. The use of both the qualitative and quantitative methodologies was necessary to encompass the different aspects of forensic science and nursing’s holistic approach to patient care. According to Lynch (2006), providing forensic patient care requires objectivity and neutrality while attending to the various human dimensions of health and well-being. To address the diversity and complexity of such nursing and forensic issues, a mixed methodology was necessary. According to Weaver and Olson (2006), the paradigms most commonly utilised in nursing research are positivist, postpositivist, interpretive, and critical social theory. The quantitative methodology shares its philosophical foundation with the positivist paradigm (Weaver and Olson). The positivist paradigm arose from the philosophy identified as logical positivism and is based on rigid rules of logic and measurement, truth, absolute principles and prediction (Halcomb and Andrew, 2005; Cole, 2006; Weaver and Olson). The positivist philosophy argues that there is one objective reality. Therefore, as a consequence, valid research is demonstrated only by the degree of proof that can be corresponded to the phenomena that study results stand for (Hope and Waterman, 2003). In this study, such rigid principles lend themselves more to the scientific forensic aspects such as scientific knowledge, logic and measurement incorporated into this study (Weaver and Olson, 2006; Lynch, 2006). However, such inflexible beliefs did not have the capacity to accommodate the investigatory aspects of this study that dealt with the social and human experiences. As a result, qualitative methodologies were also incorporated  into the research design (see Table 3.1). The qualitative methodology shares its philosophical foundation with the interpretive paradigm which supports the view that there are many truths and multiple realities. This type of paradigm focuses the holistic perspective of the person and environment which is more congruent with the nursing discipline (Weaver and Olson, 2006). Additionally, the interpretive paradigm is associated more with methodological approaches that provide an opportunity for the voice, concerns and practices of research participants to be heard (Cole, 2006; Weaver and Olson). Cole further argues that qualitative researchers are â€Å"more concerned about uncovering knowledge about how people feel and think in the circumstances in which they find themselves, than making judgements about whether those thoughts and feelings are valid† (p. 26). Due to the complex nature of the research study, there was no single paradigm that could satisfactorily deal with all of the required methodological aspects. Therefore, the researcher found it necessary to combine the quantitative/positivist paradigm with the qualitative/interpretive paradigm. The blending of both paradigms provided the researcher with the ability to statistically analyse the scientific data whilst also recognizing the complex psychosocial and emotional factors that influence patient care issues. The discussion that follows will further elaborate and describe in detail how each paradigm and methodological approach was implemented in this study. Research Design In this descriptive study, qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques were used including; semi-structured interviews, chart audits, pre and post-test questionnaires, focus group interviews, and the researcher’s field notes of personal observations and conversations. Additionally, to provide a more complete and  multidimensional understanding of the issues, a triangulation methodology design was employed (Taylor, Kermode, and Roberts, 2007). In the section below, the discussion will be divided into two main headings; that of descriptive research and triangulation. Descriptive Research In order for the researcher to gain different perspectives and draw attention to different factors that affect forensic practice in Western Australia, descriptive research methods were employed in this study. According to Polit, Beck, and Hungler (2001, p. 180), descriptive methods are used when the researcher seeks to â€Å"describe, observe, and document a naturally occurring phenomenon which cannot readily be ascribed an objective value†. In other words, descriptive research deals with questions that look to explain what things are like and describe relationships but do not predict relationships between variables or the direction of the relationship. Depending on what is to be described, descriptive research can be very concrete or more abstract (DeVaus, 2002). At a concrete level, data collected is often strongly quantitative in nature (Polit, Beck, and Hungler, 2001). In this study, data will be collected in the form of participant demographics, chart audit data, monitoring of implementation tools, and data collected from the pre and post-test questionnaires. In addition, more abstract descriptive research, in the form of stakeholder interviews, was also included. According to Morse and Richards (2002), qualitative descriptive approaches are extremely helpful because evidence of experience and knowledge can be easily missed when quantitative methods are used. In this study, semi-structured interviews were incorporated into the study design because the researcher believed that open ended questions would be the most efficient way to collect data from stakeholder participants. Open ended questions are thought to allow an individual time and scope to discuss their perception and knowledge (Morse and Richards, 2002). DeVaus (2002) believes that descriptive research can play a key role in highlighting the  existence and extent of problems which can stimulate interventions and actions that lead to policy change. The intent of stakeholder interviews was to investigate and describe current forensic practices occurring in Western Australia. According to Taylor, Kerrmode and Roberts (2007), qualitative interviews attempt to â€Å"make meanings† from individual accounts and experiences. Forensic patients are usually treated in partnership by medical and legal professionals (Lynch, 2006). Therefore forensic and healthcare stakeholders who work in the field have the best ability to contribute, enhance links and increase the successful integration of services (Haddow, O’Donnell, and Heaney, 2007). The incorporation of stakeholders in this study was to enhance the understanding of the current issues and experiences confronting forensic and healthcare professionals working with and providing care to forensic patients. Triangulation Multiple triangulation methods were utilised in this descriptive study. Triangulation involves the application and combination of several research methodologies in one study (Schneider, Elliott, Lo-Biondo-Wood, and Haber, 2003; Taylor, Kermode, and Roberts, 2007). There are four common types of triangulation discussed within the literature including: data triangulation that involves time, space, and persons; investigator triangulation which uses multiple observers; theory triangulation that uses more than one theoretical perspective to interpret the study phenomenon; and methodological triangulation that involves using more than one methodological strategy during data collection. According to Halcomb and Andrew (2005), the use of multiple data sources and methods to cross-check and validate findings increase the depth and quality of the results and also provides valuable guidance to nursing practice. Triangulation provides in-depth data, increases the confidence in the research results as well as enables different dimensions of the problem to be considered (Barbour, 2001; Jones and Bugge, 2006). A combination of methods is thought by some to improve the consistency and accuracy of data by providing a more complete picture of the phenomenon (Roberts and Taylor,  2002; Halcomb and Andrew, 2005; Williams, Rittman, Boylstein, Faircloth, and Haijing, 2005; Jones and Bugge, 2006). Morse (1991) cited in Minichiello, Sullivan, Greenwood, and Axford, (1999, p. 258) believes that triangulation is a means by which the researcher is able to â€Å"capture a more complete and holistic portrait of the phenomena under study†. In this study, the researcher employed methodological, data, and unit of analysis triangulation. Each of these aspects of triangulation will be discussed individually below and study examples provided to help illustrate the concepts. Firstly, methodological triangulation will be explored which can be sub-divided into within and across-method triangulation (Schneider, et al., 2003; Halcomb and Andrew, 2005). Methodological triangulation Methodological triangulation, according to Taylor, Kermode, and Roberts (2007), involves using two or more research methods in one study at the level of data collection or design. Across-method triangulation involves combining research strategies usually qualitative and quantitative methods. Such an approach is common in nursing studies (Jones and Bugge, 2006; Halcomb and Andrew, 2005). In this study, for example, data from stakeholders interviews were utilised to reinforce and complement the data from quantitative chart audits because concepts mentioned by the stakeholders were checked during the chart audits. Complementary findings in a study make a more valid contribution to theory and knowledge development, enhance diversity, and enrich the understanding surrounding the study’s objectives and goals (Schneider, et al., 2003; Macnee and McCabe, 2008). Data triangulation Data triangulation can be described as the use of multiple sources of data to obtain differing views about a situation in a single study (Roberts and Taylor, 2002). For example, in this study, data was collected from various interviews, pre and post-test questionnaires and by reviewing nurse participant’s documentation within patient medical records. Multiple data  sources help validate the findings by exploring different views of the situation under investigation (Taylor, Kermode, and Roberts, 2007). Data triangulation can be divided into categories of time, space, and person (Roberts and Taylor). Time triangulation involves researchers collecting data at different points in time such as time of day; at different days of the week, or at different months of the year (Rinaldi, Carpenter, and Speziale, 2006). In this study, however, the goal was not to compare participant knowledge between shifts or from one month to the next. 46 Instead, the researcher was interested in evaluating an educational intervention over time. Therefore, for this study, only two types of data triangulation were utilised: space and person.  Space triangulation involves the collection of data from multiple sites (Roberts and Taylor, 2002). In this study, for example, data was collected from two hospitals emergency departments. Analysis from both sites helped evaluate the effectiveness of Phase III activities of this research and also increased the validity and strengthened the study (Begley, 1996; Halcomb and Andrew, 2005). Person triangulation implies that data was collected from more than one category of person (Roberts and Taylor, 2002; Taylor, Kermode, and Roberts, 2007). For example, in this study, participants included ED nurses as well as key forensic and healthcare stakeholders. The use of various legal and healthcare professionals provided greater insight into a variety of issues including: hospital administration, staffing, costing concerns; medical practices; Western Australian legal requirements and governmental policies; current evidentiary processes; as well as existing investigatory practices. Such data was utilised to support, supplement, and validate the information gained from published forensic material as well as the research data.

progeria essays

progeria essays Progeria is a rare and fatal genetic condition that causes rapid aging in children. Progeria comes from the Greek and it means "prematurely old." While there are many different types of this disease the classic type is Hutchinson Gilford Progeria Syndrome named for Dr. Jonathan Hutchinson, who first described the disease in 1886, and Dr. Hastings Gilford who followed in 1904. Progeria affects bout 1 in 8 million children. Around the world there are only about 30 to 40 known cases. Although children with the disease are born looking normal they start to show many characteristics at around 18 to 24 months. Some symptoms include dry papery skin, loss of hair and fat, fluid retention, growth failure, stiffness of joints , cardiovascular diseases and strokes. The most common cause of death is heart disease. As any elderly person suffering from heart disease, the children may experience high blood pressure, chest pain due to poor flow of blood to the heart, enlarged heart and heart failure. Progeria is caused the mutation in the gene called LMNA, which produces the Lamin A protein. Researches believe that the protein makes the nucleus of the cell unstable and this leads to the process of premature aging. In October 2002, the Progeria gene was found at The Pogeria Research Foundation in Florida. The Sunshine Foundation is a wish granting organization founded in1976 by a former Philadelphia police officer. The Sunshine Foundation has provided children with Progeria with a reunion. The reunions give these children a week to enjoy with other children like themselves. The time they spend together is not only fun, but it is something that gives them strength and a sense of anticipation in looking forward to the next year. ...

Auditing - report on the audit of Perfect Pies Lmt Essay

Auditing - report on the audit of Perfect Pies Lmt - Essay Example The company’s reserves have also increased during the current financial year which shows that its investors are considering the company lucrative and are planning to have a long term association with it. The company’s current ratio is also very much stable and presents the fact that the company is utilizing its resources prudently. We have been appointed as the statutory auditor of the company, for the financial year ended March 31, 2012, in order to express an opinion whether the financial statement of the company are free from any misstatement and represent a true and fair view of the affairs of the company. By analyzing the financial performance of the company in the prior year, and considering the asset base, the company has been classified as SME (small and medium sized entity). The audit methodology, risk coverage and materiality have all been considered and devised which are relevant for the audit of a SME. The materiality has been calculated by averaging out the profit of the current year and prior year and applying a haircut of 5% which is suitable for SMEs. After the completion of the interim audit, no such event was identified which could question that the financial statements of the company are materially misstated. ... Due to uncontrollable circumstances, appropriate test of details could not be performed on the closing stock balance, whereas, the result of the test of details on debtor balance has also highlighted few grey areas. Certain discrepancy has also been observed in the carrying value of the non-current assets. Stocks The period from December to May is the busy season, during which our limited number of staff tries to cater a diverse and complex array of client, it becomes difficult sometimes to provide sufficient number of individual in an audit team to carry out the audit as planned. Due to the mentioned issue, the stock count of Perfect Pies Limited at its Wolverhampton site could not be performed. Audit procedure in such situation was only curtailed to management’s enquiry and placing reliance on the client provided schedule. During the visit to the Wolverhampton site, the audit team acquired the detailed report of the stock from the stock keeper and reconciled the total balanc e as of the report with the carrying value of the stock as reported in the financial statement. The previously mentioned audit procedure is quite successful to acquire comfort over the completeness and valuation of the stock balance. As per the applicable financial reporting framework, stock balance is valued at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Without actually assessing the physical condition of the stock it is not possible to identify he stock item over which the NRV testing should be performed. There’s also a chance that the stock item mentioned in the stock list might not be present at all, thus it is important to count the stock as either ‘tag to floor’ or ‘floor to tag’. Since all of the above procedure could

Summary of a biology article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summary of a biology article - Essay Example ver specimens of the species have been preserved and a recent analysis carried out, in four places namely London, Liverpool, Philadelphia and New Zealand, on the mitochondrial genome have given new insights regarding the origins of this mammal. Through this researchers have discovered that the closest living relative to the Falkland wolf is the South-American maned wolf. While Darwin had observed certain striking differences between these two animals, genetic analysis however show that species divergence might have taken place about 6.7 million years ago resulting in the migration of the species. Scientists believe that the Falkland wolves might have used large icebergs along with sufficient as means of transportation to the island. Darwin had made a special mention about the differences between the mainland and island wolves in his notes and also mentioned that if answers be found for these differences it would really help to ascertain the stability of species. Darwin’s theory of evolution asserts that variation within the same species is a random phenomenon and survival or extinction of an organism is based on its ability to adapt to its environment in which it exists. If an organism adapts well to its environment by imbibing favorable variations it would thus be able to survive and reproduce at a higher rate. Such a state would determine the stability of the species within that particular environment. His study includes both plants and animals and the specimens analyzed by Darwin include plants, birds and animals and in addition he also collected different types of fossils during his expedition in the Beagle to South America. According to his evolution theory changes in the environment might result in divergence of species based on which environment they best adapt. A similar phenomenon has also occurred in the case of the Falkland wolves. According to the genetic analysis report divergence of the two species from a common ancestor has taken place even