Contracts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Contracts - Essay Example Minors or persons with unsound mind lack the capacity to contract. Upon acceptance of the offer, the offeree must provide a specific compensation for the promise fulfilled, often referred to as a consideration. Additionally, agreements only amount to contracts when formed with a legal purpose and with the intent to create a legal obligation between the parties involved. For this reason agreements between family members, with the exception of commercial agreements do not create a valid contracts. Certainty of the subject matter is another essential requirement of a valid contract since contracts cannot be based on ambiguity or unclear subject matter. Finally, agreements forming contracts must be mutual, coercion or undue influence invalidates a contract. The parole evidence rule holds that when the contracting parties agree to record their content of their agreement in writing, they often intend that whatever is written down to be the only reliable source of reference to the agreement, which supersedes any other terms and conditions agreed to during the bargain but not written. The basis of the parole evidence rule is that what is reflected in writing should be taken as a true representation of the terms of the contract. The parole evidence rule bars any parole evidence presented in addition to the written evidence. Assignment of rights in contract refers to a situation where the beneficiary to a contractual agreement willfully relinquishes all the rights to receive the aforesaid benefits to a third party, not initially considered in the contractual agreement. For example, if J agrees to sell his house to W for $3000, and then J transfers his right under the contract to pay the $ 3000 to X, X becomes the assignee and the legal beneficiary to the contract. This does not however, give X authority to execute the terms of the contract. In this case, J will only have delegated his duty to receive the consideration of $ 3000 to

Crowd Dynamics & Management in an Event Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Crowd Dynamics & Management in an Event - Essay Example As the discussion outlines, major events have happened in the world where issues such as stampedes lead to death and injuries, or people suffocate due to congestion and commotion. This study will elaborate on effective crowd dynamics and event management by evaluating the Hajj, an annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca which attracts millions of people. In 2006, a stampede led to the death of over 340 people. Since the first events were organized about 2,000 years ago, they have been increasing in number by the day owing to the effect they have on our lives. They affect our political, environmental, economic, social, and cultural aspects. An event can have negative and positive impacts on the stakeholders and host communities, and that has made understanding of crowd dynamics and event management an important part of events. Today, events are increasingly researched and well documented to optimize their benefits and enhance their outcomes. One of the biggest challenges to crowd management is that minor factors such as bad behavior, substance abuse or criminal behavior can alter the agenda of an event and lead to unintended consequences. An event manager should therefore be equipped with skills to predict and come up with measures to mediate in the event that an unintended occurrence emerged before, during, and after an event. To elaborate how effective crowd management should be structured, the following study text will highlight the causes of fatalities and injuries at the 2006 Hajj where 340 people died and 1,000 injured. Following these, crowd reactions to situations and environments at public events will be discussed with regards to crowd management and control. In January 2006, pilgrims at the Mecca Hajj pilgrimage event numbering millions went rushing through the city streets towards al-Jamarat, three large stone walls made of stone which represent the devil.  

Gattaca Film Study Essay Example for Free

Gattaca Film Study Essay Gattaca is often portrayed as a quest film. A quest film is defined as â€Å"a character that is on a journey or adventure with an ultimate goal in mind of completing a task or to obtain an object of significance.† (Merriam-Webster, 2012) The quest often involves overcoming challenges and to do this the character learn something about him/her-self and this then aids them on their â€Å"quest†. Being a quest film, Gattaca shares many characteristics that are often found in other movies of a similar genre. Examples of these include – Pirates of the Caribbean and In Time. Pirates of the Caribbean, is told with the protagonist as Captain Jack Sparrow on a quest to help him obtain immortality. The characters in both Pirates of the Caribbean and Gattaca share many similar traits; they are both after a strongly desired goal and will take the necessary risks to succeed. Gattaca, being produced in 1997, had many cutting edge ideas with such vision leading directors of the time. It was set in what was though the not so distant future of today would look like. It gives us an insight into a world based around the genetically superior, where genes are all that matter. The main character Vincent Freeman has dreamt of becoming an astronaut his whole life but, due to being conceived naturally and receiving a life expectancy of 30 years. He is cast aside in society, labelled a â€Å"Degenerate† and â€Å"Invalid†. Vincent soon learns he will never be able to move ahead in life; to fulfil his dream Vincent uses a â€Å"Borrowed ladder† from a genius named Jerome Eugene Morrow, who is a paraplegic due to an accident overseas. The term a â€Å"Borrowed Ladder† comes as the protagonist Vincent impersonates the life of Jerome thus using his identity. After months of special care, training and changes to his looks, Vincent enters the Aerospace Corporation known as â€Å"Gattaca†. Impersonating Jerome, Freeman becomes the company’s top navigator with a perfect record and clean slate by working hard and working hard to keep his real identity a secret; he is chosen to go on a manned spaceflight to Saturn’s moon Titus, but complications arise. One week before departure, when one of the managing directors is bludgeoned to death. An â€Å"Invalids† profile; Vincent’s old identity, is uncovered by investigators and this threatens to jeopardise his chances of going to Titan. After managing to avoid being caught by using precautions such as placing samples of DNA supplied by Jerome around Gattaca and even receiving help from a young lady, Irene; with whom Vincent develops feelings for. He ends up finally leaving Earth on due course for Titan. Pirates of the Caribbean on Stranger Tides (2011) Pirates of the Caribbean on Stranger Tides (2011) The Pirates of the Caribbean series are another group of quest movies opened by introducing the goal of the main character, Captain Jack Sparrow. He is always on a quest in search for personal well fortune and benefits. He uses his friends throughout these many adventures, and alike Gattaca, the Protagonist is able to achieve his own desires. During Gattaca, Vincent is aided on several occasions, one being when Irene hides his true identity from the authorities to help him complete his goal/mission. Irene does this; I think because she can understand where he is coming from as she has personal experience suffering in a world where genes are everything. The movie ends with Vincent successfully making it onto the space craft headed to Titan; the ending adds a sense of success but subtly hints to deep sadness with two lines, â€Å"They say every atom in our bodies was once part of a star† and â€Å"Maybe I’m not leaving, maybe I’m going home†. The movie reaches a climax when Vincent is almost discovered by his brother (the leading detective on the case), but manages to get past this by telling his brother that â€Å"he always gave 110 percent†. The quest is completed, as shown in Pirates of the Caribbean, when Captain Jack Sparrow finally manages to overcome a final obstacle and regain ownership of his beloved ship, the Black Pearl. This is exactly the same in Gattaca with Vincent overcoming the final problem of his identity getting potentially exposed by a medical examiner giving him one last routine urine test. It is shown through a simple line that the examiner has known his real identity all along. He achieves his goal and boards the spacecraft without any further problems Vincent achieving this goal shows to us that no matter what ones, goal or dreams are, overcoming the problems you are faced with will ultimately help you in achieve it. Gattaca is a good example of a quest movie because it clearly explains what the goal of the protagonist is and once it has established this, it shows how he overcame his many problems to achieve an ultimate goal. There are many attractions for the audience with many special filming techniques and suspenseful moments utilizing a constant beat to add effect and drama. There is a specific scene in the movie where Vincent is meant to be at home sick but instead is unable to be there so he tells Jerome to impersonate him. There is a problem with this, as to open the door and greet the detective, Jerome must climb a stair case. Without the use of his legs Jerome finds this a challenge because he is a paraplegic. The suspense builds as Jerome struggles up the stairs, racing to get to the top before the detectives reach the door. As you would expect, one last moment effort from Jerome manages to keep the detectives from discovering who he really is. Irene plays a vital role in this scene by acting as if Jerome is Vincent, when she herself is only just finding out the truth. Overall, Gattaca is an excellent example of what a quest film should include. It has a strong story and the director utilizes many techniques with the music, lighting and even camera angles to top it off. The protagonist overcomes challenges; his genes as a place marker for him in society, almost becoming discovered as an â€Å"Invalid† and a brother who is close to exposing his secret. I think that the quest, his personal dream of travelling into space is worthwhile as he learns about himself while doing it.

Impacts of Anti-social Working Hours on Nursing Staff

Impacts of Anti-social Working Hours on Nursing Staff Abstract The aim of this research proposal is to outline a research study that is designed to determine the effects, and impacts, of anti-social working hours on nursing staff, with a view to assessing the validity of three main hypotheses: H1: The greater the number of anti-social hours worked, the more serious will be the negative effects on the professional and personal lives of nursing staff; H2: Nursing staff who have high levels of workplace support are less likely to be affected by anti-social working hours; and H3: Nursing staff who receive adequate monetary compensation for the anti-social hours they work are less likely to be adversely affected, in terms of their professional lives, by these anti-social hours. It is proposed that these hypotheses be tested through sampling twenty nursing staff, gathering both qualitative and quantitative data through the use of the Work Ability Index, a questionnaire and a logbook containing various questions the participants will be asked to comple te each working day for one month. Introduction A previous review of the relevant literature showed that there are many facets to the effects of anti-social working hours on nursing staff that are not understood. The critical literature review revealed that there were many and various effects of anti-social hours on the professional lives of nursing staff, including negative effects on performance at work, an increase in the number of mistakes made, a decrease in the patience nursing staff had towards patients, a decrease in the levels of holistic care provided and that anti-social working hours could lead to strains being placed on the relationships nursing staff have with their colleagues, their patients and the families of their patients. In addition, it was shown that anti-social working hours had negative effects on the personal lives of nursing staff, including on their home life, their personal safety and their overall health and stress levels. Research questions and objectives As a result of the findings of this critical literature review, this research proposal suggests a dual quantitative and qualitative approach to assessing the actual effects of anti-social working hours and their impacts on nursing staff, with three main hypotheses to be explored: H1: The greater the number of anti-social hours worked, the more serious will be the negative effects on the professional and personal lives of nursing staff H2: Nursing staff who have high levels of workplace support are less likely to be affected by anti-social working hours H3: Nursing staff who receive adequate monetary compensation for the anti-social hours they work are less likely to be adversely affected, in terms of their professional lives, by these anti-social hours Perspective and methodology The methodology to be utilised is both qualitative and quantitative, incorporating two quantitative methods (the Work Ability Index and a logbook) and a qualitative method (a questionnaire). In order to test the effects of anti-social hours on nursing staff, it will be necessary to sample a number of nursing staff each of whom work different types/number of hours. Twenty nursing staff will be sampled in total, five who work only during the day, five who work only during the night, five who work shifts without committing to night shifts and five who work shifts and who do commit to working night shifts. Sampling such a diverse set of nursing staff, in terms of the number/type of hours worked will allow the effects of anti-social hours on different types of nursing staff to be assessed, It is proposed that the Work Ability Index (Ilmarinen, 2007) be used to assess how anti-social hours are impacting nursing staff, in terms of their ability to do their jobs, and their own health. The Work Ability Index (Ilmarinen, 2007) is basically a series of questions which take in to account the demands of the work, the workers health status and the resources available for work, and is a summary of the responses to seven items, including: 1) Current work ability compared with the lifetime best; 2) Work ability in relation to the demands of the job; 3) Number of current diseases diagnosed by a physician; 4) Estimated work impairment due to these diseases; 5) Sick leave during the past twelve months; 6) Own prognosis of work ability two years from now; and 7) Mental resources. In addition to the Work Ability Index, several supplementary questions will be asked of the sample of nursing staff, in the form of a questionnaire, in order to gauge their attitudes to work and their overall satisfaction with their work and pay, their motivation and their opinions regarding the support that is available in their workplace. In addition to the Work Ability Index, and the supplementary questionnaire, which will be used to assess how the sampled nursing staff are being impacted, in terms of the anti-social hours, the sampled nursing staff will be asked to keep a logbook of their activities over one month of work, in which they will be asked to record: their scheduled working hours; their actual working hours; how many of their overtime hours were paid; the amount of sleep they have; a rating of the quality of this sleep; whether they use any sleep aids, and what these are; a rating of their sleepiness levels; a rating of the fatigue they feel each day; a rating of their stress levels each day; a note of any errors they made whilst at work; a note of the type of error made; a note of any potential errors they would have made had another member of staff not intercepted them; and a note of any errors observed in other colleagues. Methods Sampling The target for this research is nursing staff, in the hospital in which the researcher is employed. Due to time restrictions with the research project, which needs to be completed in two semesters, the number of participants in this study will need to be kept low, so that their responses to the Work Ability Index, the questionnaire and their records in their logbooks will be manageable, in terms of the amount of data that will result. It is therefore suggested that twenty participants are selected for the study, divided in to nursing staff covering a variety of shifts and working hours: five who work full-time, only day shifts; five who work full-time, only night shifts; five who work shifts, with no night shifts, only day shifts; and five who work shifts but who can work night shifts. Sampling the nursing staff in this way will allow an assessment of the effects of the type of extra working hours has on nursing staff, for example whether working anti-social hours at night has a grea ter negative effect on nursing staff than working anti-social (i..e, longer) hours during the day, for example. Data collection As has been discussed, the objectives of this research, and the associated hypotheses, will be tested through a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods. The Work Ability Index will be utilised in order to gain an overall picture of the effect the work is having on the participants and the views the participants hold regarding their ability to do their jobs, and their own health (Ilmarinen, 2007). The Work Ability Index, as it requires participants to provide a numerical assessment of their responses to the various questions, will provide a quantitative assessment of the participants attitudes towards their work, their ability to do their work and their own health, as a function of the work they are required to do. The questionnaire that will be handed out to the participants aims to provide a snapshot of the participants’ attitudes to work and their overall satisfaction with their work and pay, their motivation and their opinions regarding the support that is available in their workplace. The responses to this questionnaire are intended to be open-ended and, as such, will constitute a qualitative approach to data gathering, with participants being free to respond, at will, to the questions asked. This qualitative approach will allow the participants to outline any concerns they have and to expand upon their feelings with regards to the impact of their working hours on their ability to do their work, on their professional lives, on their personal lives and on their health, amongst other factors. The logbook will, through the various questions it contains, allow both a qualitative and a quantitative approach to data gathering. Some of the questions will ask the participants to rate various things, with the responses being quantitative in nature, such as the quality of their sleep, the number of hours (scheduled and non-scheduled) that they worked, or their stress levels, for example. Other questions will allow for more open-ended responses, qualitative in nature, such as whether they use any sleep aids, and what these are, or whether any errors were made, with the opportunity to describe these errors. Analytical processes As the data that will be collected is both quantitative and qualitative in nature, various analyses will be necessary. For the quantitative data gathered, for example the responses to the Work Ability Index and the quantitative questions in the logbook, the data will be analysed with regards to determining any correlations between the responses, for example, whether longer hours, as recorded in the log book, correlates with lower satisfaction with their work, as recorded by the Work Ability Index. Such correlations can be performed using various statistical tests, via a statistical analysis software package, and will provide firm conclusions as to the relationships between the various variables being measured. The qualitative data that is collected will be voluminous in nature with a great deal of responses to view and analyse (Polit et al., 2007). As Thorne (2000) suggests, the analysis of qualitative data relies on some form of deductive reasoning in order to interpret and structure the meanings that can be derived from the data collected, within the framework of the objectives of the research and the hypotheses that are being tested. It is suggested that the data be analysed using content analysis (Pope et al., 2000; Miles and Huberman, 1984). Content analysis will allow the data to be analysed and to find emergent meanings from this data in order to find inferences from what has been said by the participants and to relate these inferences to the quantitative data that will be collected (Neuendorf, 2002). Analytical induction will be used to test and re-test the intuitive ideas the researcher has regarding the content of the responses, with regard to the objectives of the research and h ypotheses being addressed (Pope et al, 2000; Holloway, 1997). It is expected that the correlations found within the quantitative data will be supported by the qualitative data collected, and that the qualitative data will provide more of an in-depth understanding of the actual effects and impacts of anti-social working hours on nursing staff. This combination of quantitative and qualitative data is therefore expected to be a powerful tool in terms of gaining a full understanding of the impacts of anti-social working hours on nursing staff, in terms of the effects on both their professional and private lives, with regards to fulfilling the objectives of the research and determining the validity of the hypotheses being tested. Strategies to promote methodological rigour There is a risk, in this study, that the nature of the study, and implied pressure from managers and colleagues, may lead to bias in the results gained, in that nursing staff may not feel able to reveal their true feelings about these issues for fear of retribution. In order to minimise the chances of this happening, as has been seen, anonymity will be ensured at all times, minimising the chances of bias entering in to the data and maintaining methodological rigour. Access and Ethical issues In order to recruit twenty nursing staff, and to allow the research to be conducted, the Manager of the nursing staff will contacted and permission will be requested to contact the nursing staff to be able to recruit participants. As this research topic touches on a delicate subject, in that managers might be wary of addressing this subject with their staff, and because making recordings in the logbook will take time out of the working day of the nursing staff, the Manager will need to be approached with care. Appendix 1 provides a copy of the suggested letter, that will be sent to the Manager of the nursing staff, in order to recruit possible subjects for the research. All nursing staff on one floor of the hospital will be sent an introductory letter, given in Appendix 2, which will explain the purpose of the study, outline the aims and objectives of the study and outline what will be expected of participants, and which asks for any interested parties to come forward to volunteer themselves for the study. Participants will be selected on the basis of them being independent (i.e., not known to the researcher or any supervisors of the researcher) and will be contacted, within a few days of volunteering themselves and being selected, in order to sign a Consent Form (given in Appendix 3). Following the signing of the consent form, the study will be explained in more detail to the selected participants, with the letter in Appendix 2 being sent out to selected participants, with the various components, and how they will be presented to the participants, being explained within this letter. Following this, the questionnaire will be given to the participants and they will be asked to fill this in and to return it to the researcher within a week of it being sent to them. The Work Ability Index will also be passed to the participants, at the same time as the questionnaire, and the participants will be asked to complete this, within a week, and return the completed questionnaire with the completed Work Ability Index. At the same time, the logbook will be explained in detail, and passed out to each participant, for them to start recording their responses to the questions within this, every working day for one month. The actual Work Ability Index, questionnaire and logbook that will be sent out to participants are given in Appendix 4, 5 and 6, respectively. It is fundamental, at every stage of this process, that the responses of the participants are kept confidential, with only the researcher knowing which responses come from which person. This will be handled by allocating each participant a number and with the questionnaires, Work Ability Index and logbook being passed out, completed and returned, with only this number, not any names. This will ensure that only the researcher knows which participant provided which responses, ensuring that all responses will remain anonymous. Anonymity is fundamentally important in this study, given its delicate nature, dealing as it is with topics that are inflammatory within the workplace of nursing staff, and which could cause problems between nursing staff and their managers. In addition to the numbering system that will be used to protect the anonymity of participants, no personal data will be collected, other than the responses to the three tools, and the storage of all of the responses collected will be carried out in compliance with relevant data storage regulations, such as the Data Protection Act 1998. The data collected will be collected on the basis of anonymity being maintained, but, due to the nature of the study, in that the results are expected to be disseminated as widely as possible, although anonymity will be maintained, confidentiality of responses cannot be guaranteed, as it is these responses that will form the basis of the results, and conclusions of this research, which will be disseminated. The researcher could be affected by the conducting of this study, because, as has been stated, the research topic touches on sensitive matters that are often the cause of conflict within the workplace between managers and nursing staff. The very fact of conducting this study within the workplace may put the researcher at risk of reprisals of some sort, although it should be noted that the study will be introduced to the Head of Department and to managers as a research study, and that, as such, the researcher should be respected, without facing reprisals, and the research allowed to continue without problems. Timetable It is suggested that the work be conducted over the course of four months, January to April 2009. The nursing staff will be contacted, initially, and once the twenty nursing staff have been selected, the Work Ability Index and the questionnaire will be completed. Following this, the logbook will be handed out and the nursing staff will record their responses to the questions within that each working day for one month. Once the logbooks have been completed, all of the primary data will be collated and analysed, with the expectation that this process will require a further month. Once the results and conclusions have been gathered from the data, two further months will be required to write up this data in the form of the dissertation. The work would be more vigorous if a larger sample of nursing staff could be included, but this is not possible, unfortunately, given the time constraints, Budget and likely funding sources The researcher intends to apply for scholarships in order to cover the costs of the research materials needed, but, as the methodology is utilising reasonably priced materials, if a scholarship is not won, it is expected that the materials could be paid for out of the pocket of the researcher. The expected costs are as follows: Twenty notebooks (for the logbooks): 20 x  £1.50 = 30 Paper/pens/printer ink etc. for the questionnaire/Work Ability Index = 20 x  £1.00 =  £20 Small gift for each participant: 20 x  £2.00 =  £40 Binding of dissertation: 4 x  £10 =  £40 Total cost =  £130 Dissemination of results Given the intense interest in this subject in the nursing literature, it is intended that this study be written up for publication in a peer-reviewed nursing journal. In addition, the results of the study will be presented as nursing seminars and the abstract of the work will be sent out to various conferences, with a view to the work being presented at various nursing conferences. In addition, as with all dissertations completed at academic establishments, a copy of the dissertation will be deposited in the university library, so that the work is available for reference by other interested parties. References Holloway, I. (1997). Basic concepts for qualitative research. Blackwell Science. Ilmarinen, J. (2007). The Work Ability Index. Occupational Medicine 57(2), pp. 160. Miles, M. and Huberman, A. (1984). Qualitative data analysis. Sage. Neuendorf, K.A. (2002). The content analysis guidebook. Available from http://academic.csuohio.edu/kneuendorf/content/ [Accessed 27th November 2008]. Polit, D.F. et al. (2007). Nursing research: generating and assessing evidence for nursing practice. Wolters Kluwer Health. Pope, C. et al. (2000). Qualitative research in health care. BMJ 320, pp. 114-116. Thorne, S. (2000). Data analysis in qualitative research. Evidence-Based Nursing 3, pp. 68-70. Appendix 1: Access letter Address Date Dear XXXXX, Re: Msc dissertation An exploration of the impacts of anti-social working hours on nursing staff I am writing to ask permission for this research to be conducted within your section. As part of this request, I am asking for permission to be granted to make contact with staff under your management, and for these staff to be asked if they will participate in my research project. I hope to be able to select a total of twenty nursing staff to be able to participate in this research project. The research project consists of three separate sections: a survey of the participants using a Work Ability Index, a questionnaire of the participants and a logbook, which the participants will need to complete each working day for one month. I would like the opportunity to present the research project to all of the nursing staff under your management and to select twenty participants from the staff who volunteered their participation. The research project will require the participants to volunteer their own time and any and all research costs will be covered by myself. By the time of the study, the necessary ethical approval for the study will have been given by the relevant committee. I do hope you can consider my request for access to your staff and look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely, XXXXXX Appendix 2: Participant information sheet Address Date Dear XXXXX, Re: Msc dissertation An exploration of the impacts of anti-social working hours on nursing staff I am writing to you now to request your participation in a research study I am conducting, looking at the effects and impacts of anti-social working hours on nursing staff. A literature review I previously worked on showed that there are many facets to the effects of anti-social working hours on nursing staff that are not well understood and that, as anti-social working hours have many negative effects on nursing staff, in terms of their professional and personal lives, I am interested in looking in to this issue in further detail. The main aims of the research are to test three hypotheses: H1: The greater the number of anti-social hours worked, the more serious will be the negative effects on the professional and personal lives of nursing staff H2: Nursing staff who have high levels of workplace support are less likely to be affected by anti-social working hours H3: Nursing staff who receive adequate monetary compensation for the anti-social hours they work are less likely to be adversely affected, in terms of their professional lives, by these anti-social hours The research project will consist of three main tools, a Work Ability Index, a questionnaire and a logbook, to be filled in by participants every working day for one month. It is expected that the initial assessment, via the Work Ability Index and the questionnaire, would take around one hour of your time to complete, with the logbook taking around twenty minutes to complete each day. If you have any questions or concerns about your participation, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will address these. If you decide you would like to be part of this research project, I would be grateful if you could sign and return the attached consent form and return it to me in the attached stamped addressed envelope. Yours sincerely, XXXXX Appendix 3: Consent form Research title: An exploration of the impacts of anti-social working hours on nursing staff Name of researcher: XXXXXX Please tick the boxes I can confirm that I have read the participant information sheet and that I understand the aims and objectives of the proposed research _____ I have been given the opportunity to ask questions and to have these questions answered by the researcher ______ I understand that my participation in this research is voluntary and I have fully understood the amount of time my participation in this research will require ____ I understand that I will be able to withdraw from the research at any stage without any retribution  ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­_____ I consent to my responses being used in the dissemination of the results of this research, under the proviso that my responses will remain anonymous at all times _____ I agree to keep the research study confidential in that I should not discuss this with my colleagues or managers ____ I agree to take part in the above study ____ Name of participant: Signature: Date: Name of Researcher: Signature: Date: Appendix 4: Work Ability Index The Work Ability Index (Ilmarinen, 2007) will be used to assess how anti-social hours are impacting nursing staff, in terms of their ability to do their jobs, and their own health. The Work Ability Index for each participant will be calculated as a summary of the responses to seven items, scored over a variety of ranges, giving a total possible maximum score of 49: Current work ability compared with the lifetime best (scored from 0-10) Work ability in relation to the demands of the job (scored from 2-10) Number of current diseases diagnosed by a physician (scored from 1-7) Estimated work impairment due to these diseases (scored from 1-6) Sick leave during the past twelve months (scored from 1-5) Own prognosis of work ability two years from now (scored from 1-7) Mental resources (scored from 1-4) As has been seen, in addition to the Work Ability Index, which will give a possible score out of 49, according to the status of the participants regarding their ability to work, several supplementary questions will be asked of the sample of nursing staff, in the form of a questionnaire, in order to gauge their attitudes to work and their overall satisfaction with their work and pay, their motivation and their opinions regarding the support that is available in their workplace. The actual questionnaire is given below: 1. What are your overall feelings towards your job? 2. What is your attitude towards your work? 3. How do you feel about your pay? 4. Do you work anti-social hours? 5. Are you compensated adequately for these anti-social hours? 6. Do you feel you are forced to work anti-social hours? 7. Do you feel motivated to do your work? 8. If not, please specify the reasons behind you lack of motivation 9. Do you feel you receive enough support in your workplace? 10. If not, what could be done to improve the support available to nursing staff in your workplace? 11. How satisfied are you, overall, with your work? 12. Have you ever considered giving up the nursing profession? 13. If yes, please expand upon your reasons behind this. 14. What do you feel could be done to make your job easier? 15. What do you think managers ought to be doing to minimise the impacts of anti-social hours on you and your colleagues? Appendix 6: Logbook The logbook is intended to be completed every working day for one month, and consists of the following questions, repeated every day: Date: Please note your scheduled working hours for today Please note your actual working hours for today Please note how many of your overtime hours will be paid Please note the amount of sleep you had last night Please provide a rating of the quality of the sleep you had last night (from 1 to 10, with 1 being the poorest quality) Please note whether you used any sleep aids If you used an aid to get to sleep, please note what the nature of this sleep aid Please provide a rating of their sleepiness levels (from 1 to 10 with 1 being very sleepy) Please provide a rating of the fatigue you feel today (from 1 to 10 with 1 being very fatigued) Please provide a rating of your stress levels today (from 1 to 10, with 1 being very stressed) Please make a note of any errors you made whilst at work Please make a note of the type of error made Please make a note of any potential errors you would have made had another member of staff not intercepted this error Please make a note of any errors observed in other colleagues Please make any other comments you would like to record here Appendix 7: Ethics form (NEEDS TO BE INCLUDED)

The Versatility of the Hemp Plant :: Hemp

The Versatility of the Hemp Plant The hemp plant shows its unique versatility by having many uses in industry. Hemp has many distinct benefits over its counterparts in industry today. Hemp usage would result in a cleaner and more efficient industry. One use of hemp in industry is as a fiber. The process of converting hemp into a fiber is quite simple, and is easy to do. The stalk of the hemp plant has two parts, called the bast and the hurd. Workers can weave the fiber (bast) of the hemp plant into almost any kind of cloth. It is very durable. In fact, the first Levi's blue jeans were made out of hemp for just this reason. Compared with all the other natural fibers available, hemp is more suitable for a large number of applications. It is easy to harvest hemp for fiber. A field of closely spaced hemp is allowed to grow until the leaves fall off. They then cut down the hemp and it lies in the field for some time washed by the rain. They turn it over once to expose both sides of the stalk evenly. During this time, the hurd softens up and it returns many minerals to the soil. They call this process `retting,' and after this step is complete, they bring the stalks to a machine that separates the bast and the hurd. They can then weave the bast. The cloth that hemp makes may be a little less soft than cotton, (though there are also special kinds of hemp, or ways to grow or treat hemp, that can produce a soft cloth) but it is much stronger and longer lasting. Hemp requires little fertilizer, and grows well almost everywhere. It also resists pests, so it uses little pesticides. Hemp puts down deep roots, which is good for the soil. When the leaves drop off the hemp plant, it returns minerals and nitrogen to the soil. Hemp has been grown on the same soil for twenty years in a row without any noticeable depletion of the soil. Using less fertilizer and agricultural chemicals is good for two reasons. First, it costs less and requires less effort. Second, many agricultural chemicals are dangerous and can co ntaminate the environment-the less we have to use, the better. Another industrial use for hemp is in victuals. Hemp seed is a highly nutritious source of protein and essential fatty oils.

Compassion and God’s Self-Revelation

Compassion is a compound word, formed by putting up the words â€Å"co† and â€Å"passion† together, which literally means â€Å"together† and â€Å"strong feeling,† respectively. As such, the word â€Å"compassion† literally mans having a strong feeling about the other. It may be considered feeling a strong emotion over the predicaments of others, feeling for their pain, or their loss. It may also call for works that may eliminate or at least decrease the pain. Compassion is mostly manifested by acts of kindness like sharing, giving comfort or consolation, and extending sympathy and genuine concern (Dhammika). Compassion may be considered as the best thing one can extend to another person as all its manifestations are the best in human beings. It leads to the presentation of aspects of man that may be considered as God’s likeness. As such, it may be considered as a way for God’s self-revelation to his people (Dhammika). Different to God’s self revelation to Moses during the olden days, where the Israelites were committing idolatry while Moses was talking to God at Mt. Sinai, God’s modern day self revelation may not happen on the spiritual low points in mankind’s history. It may actually happen when man’s spirituality is at its all-time high (Laney 37). As compassion leads to actions that are based on the teachings of Jesus and other prophets of Gods, it may then be considered as the manifestations of the existence of God. An existence that is although different from the great burning bush in the time of Moses, still brings warmth to the hearts of his people especially to those who badly needs them (Laney 37). In addition, since compassion brings all the kindness of humanity and as man is told to be created from God’s likeness, then it may prove that through compassion extended by an individual to another man shows, ultimately, he may be showing that facet of humanity that is that of God’s as well. This may be God’s self-revelation through his own people towards some of his people who may not yet be believers of his existence. Therefore, it may be concluded that compassion or that strong feeling towards another’s suffering leads to acts that are considered righteous even by other religions. It may show man’s true nature. As he was created from God’s likeness and God is considered to be the kindest God, then man must show God’s existence through his kind acts. As such, God uses his people’s compassion as a key to his self-revelation.

Ethical Issues with Termination

At-will employment means that the employee or employer has the right â€Å"to end the employment relationship at any time with or without notice or cause. † (FedEx Office: AllBusiness, 1999-2009) Involuntary termination is a touchy subject for employers and it can happen for numerous reasons: specific cause, such as stealing, poor performance, and layoffs due to lack of work. Even though most companies have an â€Å"at-will† relationship with their employees, it is still arguably illegal to terminate an employee for no reason.When it comes to termination, managers are faced with current moral and ethical issues. In a lot of companies, in addition to professional relationships, managers develop personal relationships with their employees. In most cases, employees spend a majority of their week (40+ hours) with their â€Å"work family. † Co-workers learn about each other's families, extra-curricular activities, and personal problems. Even if managers try to separat e themselves from their employees on a personal level, it is difficult to ignore new school pictures being displayed on their desks or avoid a discussion about a recent weekend vacation.When legitimate problems arise in a company which requires involuntary termination, the manager faces a dilemma. They must fire an employee because it is best for the company and ignore the thoughts of how it will affect their family and personal life. Often times, employees take the involuntary termination harder because they feel betrayed by someone they considered their â€Å"friend†. When an employee is terminated, in more cases than not, they feel blind-sided; most of them â€Å"never saw it coming†.It is essential that employers set and follow standard documentation procedures that will provide a timeline of disciplinary action and performance reviews that will serve as proof of legitimate termination if necessary. A disgruntled employee may question the validity of their terminat ion and in some cases seek legal counsel to help them determine if there was just cause. The current social issues in the United States may make it more difficult for a manager to terminate an employee while at the same time it is more than necessary.The financial state of the country is  causing businesses to struggle which results in less profits; less profits mean that a company's productions will be lowered so they cannot afford and do not need the same number of employees. In this case, an employee may not have given any cause for termination but managers must choose which employee they are willing to lose. They may choose the last hired, the highest paid, or the employee that is least valuable.Knowing that the rate of unemployment is at an all time high and the possibility of finding other employment may take longer than usual, the manager faces a tough a decision when thinking of how their decision will negatively each person they must terminate. Severance packages may be o ffered in exchange for â€Å"a full release of all claims† that may be filed against the company for wrongful termination. Tough economical times may cause disgruntled employees to take whatever measures necessary to generate income for their family. I have been a victim of wrongful termination.In 2002,  I started working as an assistant to the Office Manager  of a small financial company. There were only two other people above the Office Manager and that was a person in sales position and then the President of the company. I quickly caught on and was given more responsibilities as well as a pretty healthy increase in pay. Working in a small office allows for unconventional relationships between managers and employees; we shared the same interests, shared a similar sense of humor which resulted in a workplace friendship between all of us.Lunch trips and shopping breaks turned into personal Christmas party invitations and summer beach house vacations. We were all very clos e and business was increasing so more employees were hired to work under me. My supervisor and I became almost interchangeable. If she was not there, I took over and performed her duties, although she could not perform mine. I sensed animosity building and tension rising, but overall I knew I was there as her assistant and was careful to never overstep my boundaries.Business slowed and our sales structure changed, so cuts were being made. The sales person was let go and I think she felt that one of us would be next; even though she had been there longer I know she felt threatened that I could perform her job as well as mine. She started targeting me; purposefully changing my changing after my school schedule had been approved, moving my desk unnecessarily, and creating an overall hostile work environment by addressing everyone in a room except for me.I knew what she was doing; being a part of the â€Å"inside upper management†, I had witnessed her do it to others before. Her strategy was to make employees quit in order to avoid the expense of paying unemployment wages. One week, she called me into an office to discuss my work performance and stated that she was giving me a warning. I knew that she was now trying to create a paper trail of disciplinary problems, even though nothing had changed in my performance.The following week she requested another meeting and said that she was writing me up for personal internet usage. Previously, it was acceptable for us to check our personal email, and she and I would collectively read news and gossip and exchange stories across the room. I refused to sign the disciplinary notice because I had not been informed of any policy changes, so that was then considered insubordination. I was asked to leave; I immediately went to the Department of Labor to file for unemployment due to wrongful termination.I explained to them that my termination was not legitimate. I waited for them to contact my employer and of course they provided a copy of the form that I refused to sign. The Department of Labor declined my request for unemployment compensation, so I appealed their decision and wrote a very long letter explaining everything I knew about how my supervisor â€Å"set up† previous employees to keep them from receiving unemployment. I also requested a phone interview in which both I and my supervisor would be present with a Department of Labor representative.My supervisor declined the request; I assume because she knew she was wrong and did not want to be faced with questions regarding what I wrote. Nine months later, I was contacted by the President of the company stating that they had tried to hire several people to take my place and he realized that he should have never allowed her to terminate me. He offered me a large salary increase and a promise that my employment status will never be in her hands. She still works with me, and we are â€Å"friends† again, but I have definitely learne d to keep office friendships to a minimum.Today we are able to laugh at the situation; deep down I think she respects me for standing up for myself and she knows that I am a great asset to the company. Termination is not something that anyone ever looks forward to, be it the employee or the employer. Unfortunately it has to be done, and employers must take steps to protect themselves from lawsuits and disgruntled employees. Employees must learn that although there may be a â€Å"relationship† with their manager, the manager must first look out for the business's best interest and it may ot always include them as an employee.References Butler, B. (2009). Right-to-Work and At-Will Employee. Today’s Workplace: A Workplace Fairness Blog. Retrieved on December 7, 2009. Farr, . (2000,  November). Terminations Require Careful Study, Planning. Small Business, (), 15. FedEx Office: AllBusiness. (1999-2009). Decreasing the Legal Risks of Employee Termination.