Monday, September 30, 2019

How does Act 1, Scene 1 prepare the audience for the love theme of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”?

Act 1, Scene 1 prepares the audience for the rest of Shakespeare's â€Å"Twelfth Night† by introducing the central theme of love which runs throughout the play. Orsino, Duke of Illyria is immediately established as one of the protagonists, and it is clear that love is all he is willing to think about. Orsino is indulging himself thinking of love, but he is preoccupied with his own reactions, and doesn't take into account those of the object of his affections, Olivia. He has declared his love for Olivia, which sets up the storyline between them.Love Poem For Orsino it was love at first sight, which he explains through metaphor when one of his Lords, Curio, tries to change the subject to hunting. He explains by saying that when he first saw Olivia he was turned into a hart, and compares his desires for her to fell and cruel hounds that â€Å"E'er since pursue me†. Shakespeare has taken this idea from the Greek legend of Actaeon. In the legend, Actaeon was out hunting when he came across Diana, God of Hunting, bathing naked in the river. She turned him into a stag, and then his own hounds hunted him down and killed him. Shakespeare has used this idea to show Orsino's sense of self importance by how easily he can imagine himself in the role of Actaeon. Despite claiming to be this deeply in love, Orsino is sending his courtiers to woo Olivia on his behalf. As he is the Duke, he doesn't go himself because he doesn't want to risk the embarrassment of being rejected in person. In the first scene Valentine returns from Olivia's country estate with the response he received from her handmaid. He was not allowed in to talk to Olivia in person, as he was told Olivia was mourning the death of her brother by refusing to leave the house for seven years. He was told that for those seven years â€Å"like a cloistress she will veiled walk† and that once a day she would â€Å"water her chamber round with eye offending brine†. This means she was planning on wearing a veil as a closed order nun would, and cry in her bedroom every day. To do this for seven years seems to be a disproportionately long time, at that time the more normal period of grieving was six months or a year. Olivia has plunged into grieving with the same haste as Orsino has into love. The way in which Olivia grieves is in stark contrast to that of the other female protagonist, Viola. At the time the play is set, it would have been hard to be an independent women, as most women were looked after by their husband, family or employer. Both Olivia and Viola have been put into this situation by the death of their brothers, but they both cope with it in different ways. While Olivia becomes withdrawn, Viola, although initially devastated, immediately takes constructive action to get out in the world and take control of her own well being. She constructs a plan with the help of the Captain to become Cesario and disguise herself as a eunuch (a castrated male servant with a high pitched voice) to go to serve the Duke. You can read also Audience Adaptation Paper Olivia becomes dependant on the only remaining men in her life, but who are also the wrong sort of men. These men are Malvolio, her head servant, her uncle Sir Toby Belch, a drunkard, and Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Sir Toby's idiotic friend who he has brought to the household as a suitor for Olivia. She is letting her servants run the household for her and Sir Toby and Sir Andrew are getting away with the heavy drinking and irresponsible behaviour that would normally have got them thrown out the house. These are the only men she has seen since the death of her brother, so when she sees Viola/Cesario she falls for her, because compared to the men she has been with Viola/Cesario would seem to be perfect. One theme which is touched upon in the first scene and later recurs throughout the play is that love is seen to be destructive. While in the first scene Orsino claims that when he first saw Olivia he thought she â€Å"purged the air of pestilence†, Olivia talks of the plague in Act 1, Scene 5 as destructive. She says â€Å"even so quickly may one catch the plague?† to tell Viola/Cesario that she is falling in love. By comparing it to the plague she shows she does not want to fall in love, but is going to do nothing to stop it as she says â€Å"well, let it be†. Another comparison made to illustrate loves destructiveness is with the sea. Orsino again uses metaphors to make his point, comparing love to the sea. He says that the spirit of love â€Å"notwithstanding thy capacity, Receiveth as the sea†. What he means is that his love has the capacity of the sea, but nothing that enters retains its value, the sea and his love both destroying everything. He echoes this sentiment in Act 2, Scene 4 saying that his love is â€Å"all as hungry as the sea, and can digest as much†. In this scene, Shakespeare consciously echoes the words of his opening theme. In Act 2, Scene 4, Orsino continues to ponder the nature of love as he does in Act 1, Scene 1. He is questioning Viola/Cesario on who it is she has loved. She is trying to hint that it is him by saying they are of his complexion and his years. Orsino thinks that men are fickle and that Viola/Cesario shouldn't love a woman older than herself. He says â€Å"our fancies are more giddy and unfirm, more longing, wavering sooner lost and worn, than women's are†. He is saying that men are shallow, and that they will lose interest when a woman loses their looks, so men should always marry younger women. In Act 1, Scene 1, he shows how hard it is for him to keep interest, even when he is so in love it is all he can think about. The very first line of the play is â€Å"If music be the food of love, play on†. Orsino wants the music to stimulate thoughts of love, he wants more. In the last line of the scene this is also shown, when he says â€Å"away before me to sweet beds of flowers: love-thoughts lie rich when canopied with bowers†. He wants to maintain his heightened emotional state and he needs it to be artificially induced because eventually he will be doing it because he feels he has to, rather than because he wants to. He wants to continue in this state until â€Å"The appetite may sicken and so die†.

Referring to at Least Two Sources of Data, Critically Discuss How Crime Is Measured in Britain and Explain Why the Statistics Do Not Provide Us with a Full Picture of How Much Crime There Actually Is.

SCS1007 ESSAY Referring to at least two sources of data, critically discuss how crime is measured in Britain and explain why the statistics do not provide us with a full picture of how much crime there actually is. If one were to ask how much crime there is in Britain, the judgement could differ depending on whom you were asking or their judgement on what they actually class as criminal behaviour. Society is ambivalent towards crime, which skews the analysis over the level of criminal activity in Britain.Maguire describes the area of crime numbers or trends as one of ‘shifting sands’ (Maguire 2002, p,322) in terms of the developments and creations in criminological process and thought which happens day to day. He also argues that finding the true level of crime bears very little significance in the study of criminology, but what bears greater significance is the critical approach by which the data is analysed.Nevertheless, there are official police-generated crime statis tics in Britain, made up of reported and recorded crimes, which still, to this day impact on how politicians and journalists view the government’s effectiveness in dealing with crime. The Official Crime Statistics in England are published annually and allow various sectors of society such as the media, politicians and the general public to assess the extent and the trends in criminal activity.These published tables of national crime statistics named ‘Criminal Statistics, England and Wales’ were first compiled in 1857 and were based on annual returns from the courts and the police which were then aggregated by government statisticians (Maguire 2002). Crimes recorded in police statistics are defined by the ‘Notifiable Offence List’ (ONS: Data sources – further information). This follows technological advances in recent times, which have grown the net number of police-recorded crimes, such as ‘common assaults’. Many minor crimes have been upgraded and are now regarded as ‘notifiable offences’ (Maguire 2002).However, there are significant shortcomings with the police-generated crime statistics, such as the fact that certain crimes are not included in this list, referred to by the ONS as ‘non-notifiable’ crimes. These crimes often include anti-social behaviour or minor crimes such as drunkenness, littering or begging. Whilst there is criminal activity occurring in Britain which does not come to police notice, and therefore is not recorded (discussed in detail later in this paper), there are crimes which the police are aware of, but use a great deal of discretion as to whether or not these crimes are recorded (Maguire 2002).The public are responsible for notifying around eighty per cent of recorded crimes to the police (McCabe and Sutcliffe 1978), however, the latter have the responsibility for deciding which crimes to deal with and which to ignore. Often they can regard some crimes as to o trivial or they dispute the legitimacy of others, which can lead to unreliable data. Moore, Aiken and Chapman (2000) see the police as filters, only recording some of the crimes reported to them. Furthermore, there are certain types of crime that are excluded totally from these statistics, seriously altering the extent to which the data can be classed as comprehensive.The term ‘notifiable’ offence essentially refers to one, which can be tried by the Crown Court. This leaves ‘summary offences’ (those which can only be tried in a Magistrate’s Court) excluded from the data (Maguire 2002). In addition to this, crimes which are not regarded as the responsibility of the Home Office, such as those recorded by the British Transport Police, Ministry of Defence Police, and UK Atomic Energy Authority Police (who between them record some 80,000 notifiable offences annually) (Kershaw et al . 2001, p91) are also excluded from ‘official crime figures. †™A further limitation with police recorded crime data is caused by the unpredictable fluctuations with the remaining 20 per cent of crimes which the police themselves discover, either through observation, patrols or through confessions by those arrested. This could be due to increased arrests from planned operations targeted against a certain type of crime. For example, following the London riots in 2011, many people were arrested due to the police focusing their resource and effort on finding the offenders. Similarly, at pop festivals many drug users have been found and arrested.On the other hand, numbers of recorded crimes may fall if police interest in a particular type of crime is withdrawn. This could be for a number of reasons such as in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s when the legalisation of homosexuality was imminent. At this time the police regularly ignored ‘indecency between males’ which resulted in a fall of recorded offences to half the le vel previously regarded as normal (Walker 1971). In criminology, the term ‘the dark figure of crime’ is often used to refer to the crimes that are not reported and therefore not recorded in official statistics.In theory, the ‘dark figure’ consists of offences brought to the justice system but not registered in judicial sources (perhaps because they were settled outside of the court), undiscovered offences or offences where the victim has chosen not to reveal details (Johnson and Monkkonen 1996). This loophole seriously alters the accuracy of the criminal justice disciplinary system. The underlying reasoning for certain crimes not being reported are based on people’s own judgement of the seriousness of the crime, police power, police diplomacy or simply because people see it as an inconvenience.It could be argued that if people don’t believe the reporting of their crime to be serious enough, then the justice system is not as accessible and tran sparent as it should be. This argument widens the issue of the dark figure of crime from a statistical one to an underlying and historical error creating much scope for debate. The police system is in place for the safety of citizens, but if citizens don’t feel the use of the justice system is necessary in certain instances, then what is the point in the justice system being in place for certain crimes?Furthermore, this hinders the reliability of criminologists’ theories where a legalistic stance is taken in the definition of crime. A secondary measure of crime in Britain, regarded by Maguire as a â€Å"directly comparable rival to the police-generated crime statistics† (Maguire 2002) is the British Crime Survey (BCS), now named the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) to reflect its geographical coverage. This measure attempts to combat the inaccuracy of the ‘dark figure of crime’ referred to above.The CSEW was first conducted in 1892 and is a n annual survey rather than a list of statistics. When the survey was first conducted, there were 11 million crimes reported; however, official statistics recorded by the police only counted less than three million (Hough and Mayhew 1983)– this gap is first hand evidence of the ‘dark figure of crime. ’ Forty six thousand households (ONS: Data sources – further information) were questioned in the year ending June 2012, with the CSEW focusing more on qualitative data rather than the quantitative data used in official statistics.The CSEW picks up on crime that doesn’t surface in official statistics, with households asked about their own personal experiences of crime in the past twelve months as well as taking into account any non-response bias. The measure has a consistent methodology and the results are not skewed by a percentage of the population failing to report their crime. The measure suggests the true level of crime to be twice the official crim e rate due to the proportion of people who admit to being victims or offenders of crime in a face-to-face interview, but do not report this to the police.Although the CSEW does now include a section on domestic violence, an area previously missed off the national figures, (particularly when victims are scared of their offenders) the real rate of crime is still substantially under-estimated. Corporate or workplace crime, homicide, drug possession or crimes against people under the age of 16 are still not included in the CSEW figures. In today’s society, this is a major drawback to the CSEW as corporate crime is growing in our increasingly globalised economy whilst crimes against children appear to be remaining constant with no breakthrough on prevention.In 2011, of the police recorded crime statistics on sexual abuse against children, it was found that 1 in 10 children (9. 4%) aged between eleven and seventeen years old had experienced sexual abuse (NSPCC 31/12/12). Some progr ess appears to have been made in the area of corporate crime following a recommendation contained in the National Statisticians’ Review of Crime Statistics (National Statistician, 2011 18/12/12) – there is now a survey of commercial victimisation which aims to provide statistics on corporate crime in the economy over the next three years and is planned to be incorporated into future quarterly releases in 2013.However, other drawbacks associated with the CSEW include the time lag on information collection – the survey records data from people’s experience 12 months prior. This is in comparison to police recorded crime in which the data is clearly more immediate. Furthermore, the CSEW is vulnerable to sampling errors and variation in results. One person may feel comfortable enough to admit criminal activity to one interviewer, but not to another. Therefore the reliability of the data can be challenged.When comparing both the CSEW and police recorded crime i n official statistics the most recent data from the Office of National Statistics can be analysed. The CSEW, based on interviews in the year ending June 2012, reveals a â€Å"statistically significant decrease of 6 per cent in the overall level of CSEW crime compared with the previous year’s survey (ONS: Overall level of crime 18/12/12). † Similarly, â€Å"the overall level of notifiable crime recorded by the police decreased by 6 per cent in the year ending June 2012, compared with the previous year (ONS: Overall level of crime 18/12/12). Nevertheless, whilst the CSEW estimates just over 9. 1 million incidents of crime for the year ending June 2012, the official figures only record 3. 9 million offences. This is heavily based on the ‘dark figure of crime’ – that proportion of crime in Britain which goes unnoticed by the police. In 2002, the CSEW (then named BCS) calculated that â€Å"40 per cent of crimes known to victims and reported to the poli ce do not end up in official statistics (Kershaw et al 2001, p992). It is evident that, whilst the CSEW does reveal a higher level of criminal activity in Britain, a majority of the crimes can regarded as not serious enough to be included in official statistics, and therefore should not alarm the population. Although the legalistic position attempts to simplify the scale of debate surrounding what crime actually is, stating ‘the most precise and least ambiguous definition of crime is that which defines it as behaviour which is prohibited by the criminal code’ Coleman (2000), this however creates a question on what is actually being regarded as illegal behaviour and ‘prohibited by the criminal code’.Analysing the methods used in Britain to measure crime establishes the fact that criminal statistics are a social construction, based not on a set of legal definitions and laws, which can be transferred between social groups and times, but on a product of social processes. The process of attrition between an act, regarded as criminal, to the same act being punished contains a number of stages that blur the answer to the question ‘How much crime is there in Britain? It appears that the term ‘official crime figures’ is somewhat paradoxical in the fact that if society is basing its justified opinion on these ‘official’ figures, then it must take into account several exclusions in order to get a more comprehensive perspective on what the data is actually showing. Although the figures summarise the most serious crimes in Britain they do not show the total picture.In this day and age more emphasis needs to be placed on the responsibility of the criminal justice system and the link back to the definition of criminals in the first place. In particular, if crime is viewed from a labelling perspective, then the role that the legal system plays in the creation of crime is of great significance when measuring the true le vel of criminal activity in Britain.In addition, consideration needs to be given to future prevention of crime and the measurement of how effective society is at removing or reducing certain categories of crime. In closing, I would argue that when answering the question ‘how much crime is there in Britain? ’ it would be naive to base any argument upon these official crime figures as they are simply ‘indices of organisational processes’ Kitsuse and Cicourel (1963).

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Max Hamburger Essay

History- Established in 1968, Max was the first burger fast food chain in Sweden. Their founders Curt Bergfors and Britta Anderson opened their first restaurant in Gallivare, high up in the northern part of Sweden. Max is a second generation family owned company run by the sons of founder Curt Bergfors. The name Max stems from founder’s nickname. The founder, Curt Bergfors is still active in the company as Chairman of Board, and family still owns 1000 percent of the company. Richard Bergfors is the company’s President and Christoffer Bergfors is the Vice President. Market Analysis 2007 was the year when Max took a good hard look at themselves, in terms of climate change. After hearing the reports of how global warming is affecting their planet, Max started thinking on how to make a change? Max realized that they were part of problem but they also want to be part of solution. Max conducted a climate inventory that also included their suppliers. In assistance with the Natural Step and U&W, Max analyzed the entire production chain. The direct climate impacts were analyzed using the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, which also forms the basis for international ISO standards, 14. 065. The analysis included energy consumption in buildings, transports, packaging, and the climate impacts from each respective ingredient. In food production the main contributors to the greenhouse effect are carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. They soon realized that that in their business, the meat in their hamburgers was the greatest source of the emissions.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Ethics of Euthanasia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics of Euthanasia - Essay Example This is because it defines the extent to which institutional leaders and the political class are trusted to act with the interest of the public. This trust defines the public expectations on its government. Therefore, the public form an attitude based on the values and expectations they have from their government. A government that operates without integrity will have its citizens have a negative attitude from it and as such decline their support for any programs intended by the government or even their policies will be suspected and feared. Additionally, Trust promotes development (Frederickson, & Ghere, 2013). This is because trust in the institutions is critical for the success of most government policies, programs and other regulations that the citizens should cooperate and comply with. Governments and institutional policies are thus supposed to be made in a process that is conducive to trust. The strength of the institutions is determined but the process of policy making and as such translates to the public trust in the governments. The public trust gives the government ease of policy making and enforcement because the public attitude is good about the government and it policies. Moreover, trust is very essential all for the key economic activities especially finance (Haggard, & Tiede, 2011). Trust will ensure an increased confidence of the investors as well as that of consumers. There is need for implementation of open government policies that involve partnerships with the private sector and even the civil societies. The increased investor confidence due to this openness will result in to good investments that would translate to the overall growth of the economy. Lack of integrity on the other hand will result in to the loss of public trust in the government and its institutions. This will scare away investors, consumers will not have the confidence in the same and this will result in stagnation of economic growth. Finally, the most important

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Critical Review C Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Critical Review C - Essay Example would have agreed that Johnson controlled the environment efficiently through his description of what makes a house a house and avoiding too much control of the outside environment, as he discussed in the article, â€Å"The Jacobs House.† Banham is right to argue that the glass house is not a controlled environment, but an un-house, but Wright would have stressed that Johnson controlled the environment to some extent when he made a house that serves as a house without rejecting the outside environment’s presence altogether. The glass house is an un-house because it has two basic elements, â€Å"a heated brick floor slab and standing unit which is a chimney/fireplace on one side and a bathroom on the other† (Banham 79). The house becomes a â€Å"service core set† (Banham 79). Banham means to say that this an un-house because it defies the traditional need for a visual enclosure and other gadgetries. The emphasis is not on control, but on living outside the European model of a monumental structure (Banham 79). Wright would note, nevertheless, that Johnson did control the house in terms of functionality and did not control it through its openness. The glass house is simple and cost-efficient in its design and remarkable for its openness. Wright would appreciate that nonexistence of windows, and that the glass walls are the windows. Wright says that: â€Å"The way windows are used is naturally the most useful resource to achieve the new characteristic sense of space† (262). Indeed, the glass house looks out to the space, which Banham calls the â€Å"Great Out There† (79). The effect is the absence of division between the inside and the outside. The un-houseness of the glass house removes many obstacles that separate it from its natural environment. The irony of the controlled environment is having less control of the visible space through the nearly seamless interaction between the outside space and the inside space. A house should serve its main purpose of sheltering

Obesity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

Obesity - Essay Example Over the last centuries, research indicated that obesity was related to rich households where food was in plenty thus individuals could afford to overindulge. However, recent studies have shown a deviation from the traditional perspective where the findings indicate that households with higher risks of obesity were the poorest families in the United Kingdom (UK). This can be attributed to the fact that poor families are not in a position to afford adequate and nutritious diets. They instead tend to buy junk food, which is relatively cheaper and convenient because some nutritious diets require time to prepare and other accompaniments. This paper aims at discussing the title ‘In Western society, the poor are now for the first time in history, proportionately the most obese portion of the population’. Obesity generally translates to having too much body fat, which contributes to their being overweight. Obesity leads to reduced life expectancy because of the health risks it exposes people to like diabetes type 1 and 2, hypertension, heart disease and cancer. Obesity is caused by the consumption of excessive high-energy food intake, lack of physical activity and through genetic susceptibility although this is rare phenomena. Lack of physical exercise and adequate diets are leading causes of obesity. Consumption of low quality diets rich in energy and sugar content lead to accumulation of fat in tissues and consequent weight gain (Murphy 22). Lack of physical activity that is encouraged by a sedentary lifestyle contributes to lack of exercise. All of these factors combined, result in reduced morbidity of an obese individual because their weight becomes too much to bear. Their legs become swollen due accumulation of water caused by stress subjected to them by the excess weight. Obesity is a leading killer condition in the world, but it does not kill directly, it is the health risks that being obese one expose to, that cause death. The sad fact is that it is a preventable and treatable condition, but it continues to kill millions of people every year all over the world. The most effective mode of preventing obesity is leading a healthy lifestyle by consuming nutritious diets and maintaining proper physical health through exercise. Treatment of obesity follows the same principles applied in prevention, which are the most effective, and user friendly. There are other methods, which are considered extreme by some people, and they include surgery to remove excess body fat. Liposuction is such a surgical procedure where excess fat if sucked from an individual’s abdomen. The best way to manage obesity is by dieting which means consuming food that is low on high energy and sugars, and instead increase intake of vegetables and fruits. Physical health is also a vital component of managing obesity. Earlier research studies indicated that obesity was a condition associated with the rich, people of affluence. During the middle ages in Eur ope, rich people were revered for being obese, and it was an accepted norm, which represented their stature. In countries like Japan and China, obesity was referred to as the disease of the opulent in society. In more recent times, research studies have established a changing trend in the prevalence of obesity among rich households. The trend has changed from rich families having individuals who are obese to poor families having people who are obese. This

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Existentialism vs. Relativism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Existentialism vs. Relativism - Essay Example Existentialists believe that personal choices are unique and do not have to be based on an objective form of truth (Waugh, 2004: pp. 432). Relativism serves as the antagonist of absolutism. These are individuals who perceive every situation in life as having two different perspectives and understanding. Relativism personalities believe that the truth or falsity of a concept is relative to the social context from which the idea is generated. Their idea is that what is true for an age group, social class or tribe, might not be true for the same age group, social class and tribe in a different setting. They appreciate that there exists diversity in the norms that are upheld by various societies (McLachlan, 2005: pp. 92). Key Distinctions between Existentialism and Relativism Sartre used existentialism following the World War II as a basis of framing the political and social issues. Camus on the other hand assisted in the popularization of the philosophy, by focusing on personal freedom and individualism. It served as a justification to challenge the regimes at that time and the administrators and citizens embraced the philosophy as a solace to the frustrations they were encountering from domestic and foreign policies between 1960s and 1970s (Waugh, 2004: pp. 432). ... Unlike the existentialists who try to understand the events in their life after happening, the relativists expose the events of other people to research and gain knowledge that depict their future events (McLachlan, 2005: pp. 92). Existentialists believe in human free will. They believe that religion, law, society, and ethics do not indentify an individual. They believe that an individual is able to define himself if he violates the norms set by the society and challenges the preset standards. They believe that an individual is at his best when he is struggling against nature and struggling to maintain his life. They are excited by challenges and find pleasure in going against all the preset rules. Existentialists believe that in doing this, they are able to attach meaning to what they believe in and also attach meaning to their life since they just do not follow rules without understanding them (Waugh, 2004: pp. 432). However, relativists believe that an individual is defined by the society in which he exists. They believe that rules define the norms of a society and set apart what is right from what is wrong. Besides, they acknowledge the fact that different societies have different rules and regulations and hence respect the diversity that exists in individuals. Relativists do not struggle with life and they believe that life flows with nature and the life of others should be used as a specimen not to make the same mistakes. They have the notion that life should be programmed and should not be haphazard in bid to discover oneself (McLachlan, 2005: pp. 92). Relativists believe in having their own way and they do not have the â€Å"it is my fault† mentality. They have the rationale that what they are experiencing is better placed than what

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Personal Ways of Knowing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Personal Ways of Knowing - Essay Example Indeed, these early experiences almost certainly shaped and directed my interests towards a career in healthcare. In college, I took my first steps towards becoming a health care professional when I started a 4 year Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing. In my opinion the role of the nurse is not just performing set tasks to alleviate a clinical condition but rather to take a holistic approach and treating the individual as a whole and not just as a clinical case! With holistic care not only is the clinical condition treated but the patients’ general well-being and satisfaction is also optimized. As a nurse therefore all my efforts are directed toward helping and supporting the patient to recover and become capable of taking care of his/ her needs. Patient’s safety is, of course, a vital part of optimal care whereby critical thinking should be utilized to avoid any errors or mistakes in delivering care as well as solving any other work related problems. Indeed, being a nu rse involves much more than performing technical tasks. It requires a personal and professional commitment for effective delivery of goals and objectives. After I graduated and completed a one year internship I started my journey in nursing by working in King Faisal specialist hospital as RN in neuroscience ward for one year. As I was eager to learn new skills and gain more knowledge, I enrolled in one year Diploma in Critical Care accredited by Saudi council. The diploma equipped with necessary skills and knowledge to work successfully in the ICU for almost two years, providing care for critically ill patients. During this period I was occasionally assigned to teach the new staff and nursing students as a preceptorship. I enjoyed this teaching experience, finding myself capable to facilitate and pass on knowledge to others as well as having the ability to explain things to my students clearly. This was also a crucial period when I realized that acquisition of knowledge is an ongoin g process and needs to be adopted within the work culture. I realized that I like to teach and decided to move to academic field. I strongly believed that I have the potential to become an exceptional teacher. At the end of 2008, I was accepted to work as teaching assistant at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Nursing College (KSAU). I was responsible to facilitate the new knowledge, skills, and practice to the nursing students during their clinical day. Also, I was helping them in applying theory to practice. As a teacher, I understood the importance of ‘knowing’ and the process by which the personal knowledge accrued is used within the profession to improve and improvise the outcome. Porter (2010) emphasizes that evidence based practice greatly facilitates in decision making process in the care of individual patients. I support the view because individual patient’s needs are unique while the treatment could be similar to others. While work ing in KSAU, I was awarded a full scholarship to study abroad to help broaden the knowledge of academic and clinical nursing by the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I took the challenge that this opportunity had offered mainly because I am dedicated, motivated, and ambitious to continue my higher education. Mantzorou and Mastrogiannis (2011) assert that knowing the patients is vital ingredient of effective nursing practice that thrives on clinical learning, development of cognitive, intuitive and experiential and personal knowledge

Monday, September 23, 2019

Effects of Performance Evaluation Systems on Employee Morale Research Paper

Effects of Performance Evaluation Systems on Employee Morale - Research Paper Example In human resources management, morale is defined as â€Å"the extent to which an employee’s needs are met ant the extent to which the person perceives that satisfaction as stemming from his or her total job situation; (it is) synonymous with satisfaction†. Job satisfaction and employee motivation are two of the more important concerns of the human resource function in any organization as most of these recognize, that its people are its most important resources. Therefore it is to their ultimate advantage to take care and provide for the needs of their employees. People’s needs are of course determined by different sources and these needs variously control their motivations or the driving forces behind their behaviors. In the study of employee morale therefore, the theories on motivation could be useful to explain this psychological construct. One of the most influential theories upon which many managers base their performance management approach is Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory. As people engage in activities that increase their satisfaction, the study of Maslow’s theory becomes important as it explains what particular needs people are trying to gratify through their pursuits. The theory proposes that there are five levels of needs, namely, physiological or the need for food, shelter, water, clothing and other biological needs; security or the need to for protection and safety; belongingness or the need for affection and love; esteem or the need for recognition either from himself or from others; and the highest need of self-actualization which is the desire for self-fulfillment. Maslow emphasizes that the needs in the lower rungs of the hierarchy should be met first before an individual can satisfy the higher level needs. This theory has important implications to management as it points out cl early which needs are to be met and provided at which stage at work and which could be used to motivate them (Jones, 2007). The need for esteem in particular relates to the need of employees to be recognized for their accomplishments, expertise, or skills. If an employee is motivated by this particular need, then providing timely and constructive feedback on how he does at work may encourage him to give a better performance. Another prominent theory on employee motivation is Victor Vroom’s Expectancy Theory which argues that employees will be more motivated to work if they believe that their efforts will lead to higher performance and that this better performance will result to more rewards (Jones (2007). It means then that if an employee will be provided knowledge about his past performance, he can gauge the likeliness of his success or failure in a future or similar task. Performance evaluation systems should be sensitive then to detect low performance so that managers can provide encouragement and the necessary support like coaching or training to underperforming employees. In the same vein, if the evaluation results show that an employee is performing very well at work, then managers’ congratulatory notes can boost the employee’s morale and self-confidence in his abilities and success at work. Psychologists Henry Murray and David McClelland introduced the Acquired Needs Theory which posits that individuals obtain

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Hinduism And The Sacred Cow Essay Example for Free

Hinduism And The Sacred Cow Essay A look at the various cultures in the world indicates that each community has its unique practices. Most of those cultural practices are divinely inspired. Some traditional tribes for example worship the mountains believing they are the abode of the Gods. Others may revere snakes seeing them as angels sent to guard the earth. Such beliefs are not mere practices but owe their basis to the core of such a community’s origin. For the Hindus, their veneration of cows is well chronicled and has been studied over time. An in-depth analysis reveals interesting aspects of this community and creates a better understanding of why not even the prospects of death can compel starving adherents to slaughter cows for meat. A close analysis of the sanctity of cows in Hinduism reveals that beyond religion, there are economic factors at play that makes cows to be sources of great reverence. A look at Hinduism reveals a religion that has remained adamant to the changes brought forth by the Christianity civilization. It reveals a population that holds unique doctrines and cultural practices that have defied odds, being reinforced year after year and cutting across individuals in all walks of life. It is such uniqueness and resistance that continues to be exhibited today and reinforces the reluctance to embrace the idea that cows could be a source of food as opposed to an object of worship. Though there exist scanty details that link the worship of cows to the Hindu scriptures, the raging belief is that such a belief owes its origin to Hinduism and is considered to be a core element to this belief. The extent of this reverence can be discerned from the religions tensions that have existed over time between Indian Muslims and Hindus, over the latter’s beef eating practices and the Hindus bid to have beef eating banned nationwide . With a religion that has been closely associated with vegetarianism, it is important to examine the roots of Hinduism, its reverence for cows and the ban of cows as a preferred delicacy. A look at Hinduism and its insistence on the banning of cow meet presents an interesting contrast. History reveals â€Å"that cow protection was not always the central fact of Hinduism.† Although Vedic scriptures advocated for vegetarianism, they did not mention the protection of cows. Such practice became prevalent after the inception of Buddhism. Scholarly excerpts on this topic claim that the practice of cow protection was brought by Jainism which strictly forbids meat eating. The highest of the four castes in India, the Brahman, which is seen as the custodian of religions doctrines, did not initially agitate against cow eating in fact as Harris mentions â€Å"the Brahman caste’s religions duties centered not on protecting cows but on slaughtering them† Cow meat in those early times could be distributed to the adherents’ and a means of paying off loyalty. It was also used to signify wealth. It has to be noted however that even then cow meat eating was only restricted to sacrifices. Meat eating was associated with religious rituals and ceremonies after successful battles. Vedic scriptures had provided for specification on the type of animals that could be feasted upon but as Claus et al (2003, 125) observes â€Å"there is little to indicate that cows were worshipped during the Vedic period.† Instead, such practices can be traced to what has been referred to as the Upanishadic Era. A number of factors have been identified by Brown (1957) as leading to the start of this practice. These are â€Å"the importance of the cow and its products in Vedic sacrificial ritual, the literal interpretation of figurative uses of the word cow in the Vedas†, the insistence on the sanctity of the Brahman’s cow and the identification of the cow with the mother of the gods . Since then, Hindus have considered cows to be sacred. This can be discerned by looking at the available literature or the description of cows. Hindu religious scholars offer saintly description of cows portraying a reverence which equates them to deities. A look around India reveals that immense care is exercised when handling cows. Hindus pamper them with concern and accord them respect and respect that befits that of a higher being, they even â€Å"try to place them in animal shelters when they become sick or old and can no longer be cared for at home.† Hindu scriptures claim that cows are protected by the gods (Shira Krishna) and hence each and every product that comes from cows is seen as possessing mystic powers. This can even be discerned from the way cow dung, which in the western world is considered as filth, is revered and used in various religious rituals. Cow dung, milk and urine are used to prepare holy liquids for blessing the worshippers. Such perception of animal droppings as possessing mystic power is extended to the village doctors who use it in their trade. In addition, this reverence is also inspired by the Hindus belief in reincarnation. According to Ken reincarnation simply insinuates â€Å"that one’s actions here on earth have a direct bearing on the form one will take in the next life, the highest form being a cow. † This is also referred to as transmigration and the belief that cows are spiritual beings can be used to explain the reluctance of the hunger stricken Hindus to slaughter the animals. The widely held belief is that gods resides in cows and hence anyone who dares slay or mistreat them will reincarnate into a lower being. With cows hence being held in such a high stature among the Hindus and the common belief in their spirituality, they have become a common property with estimates placing their numbers to around 330 millions. This is roughly a cow per homestead. It is a common property even amongst the paupers as no one wants to be left behind from owning such an object of spiritual pleasure. It is hard then for such people to contemplate slaughtering cows even on the blink of death. The cow is seen as an object of providence whose milk flows to quench and nourish the world. Many just watch helplessly as cows die either of hunger or old age and cannot play a role in the hastening of their deaths. Pictures of fattened cows among wizened and emaciated Hindus have been circulated in the west with a purpose probably of belittling one of the religions that has refused to die. The cradle of the matter however remains Hindus out of their religious beliefs would rather die of hunger than slaughter a cow, for this is considered to an act of great abomination. Not all however share the belief that religion alone has helped perpetuate the culture of cow protection. Though the origin of this practice is heavily engendered in the historical rituals conducted in the early times, the economic angle has helped this culture transcend years of western onslaught. To understand this aspect of thinking, it is important to analyze the economic foundation of the Hindus and how it has sustained the practice of cow protection. The economic complacency behind the rearing of cows is by the Hindus may not be easily grasped by western scholars, but the truth of the matter is that cows are seen as the source of livelihood to a community whose income barely allows anything beyond mere existence. India may be the 12th biggest in the world in terms of the GDP closely behind the developed nation but its economic background is characterized by huge inequalities. Agriculture has played a big role in the economy in addition to the manufacturing sector. However, the low productivity in the agricultural sector has been exacerbated by a number of factors key to them the inefficient small scale farming and the unwillingness or the inability to embrace modern methods of farming. The peasant farmers still practice century’s old methods of farming which greatly depends on the monsoon providence. This is a fact that has helped sustain the practice of cow protection. The centrality of agriculture as the backbone of the Indian economy is undeniable; core to this is cow breeding which has become a source of national pride. Unlike in the western nations where majority of the people reside in the urban areas the reverse is the case in India with reliable estimations putting the percentage of Indians living in the rural areas to 75. A further interesting fact about India’s peasantry farming is the use of cattle driven plows instead of tractors as is the case in modern farming. This reluctance probably emanates from the limitations in the size of the pieces of land available to each household making it uneconomical to switch to tractors. An analysis of the situation on the ground for the peasant farmers reveals that the high stature through which cows is unlikely to wane any time soon. This is because there is always a huge demand for traction animals. According to Harris â€Å"there is indeed a shortage rather than a surplus of animals.† The amounts of land that require plowing far outstretch the available traction animals. In addition to cows, oxen are highly valued for farming. This may explain the obsession for cows in the belief that a large number of cows will lead to more oxen. For those that may not exceptionally view cows as being much of spiritual beings, their reliance on farming as the only source of livelihood hence means that one must be preoccupied with the need to preserve and protect cows in the belief that they will keep on multiplying the number of oxen. This hence is a self preservation measure as the death of cows and oxen will hence undeniably mean the end of the small farms. Harris also examines further the issue of oxen and the inexplicable Hindus attachment to cows. A shortage of oxen is likely to result to debts to the farmers as they are likely to turn to renting to cover for the shortfall before the monsoon season is over. Sharing of oxen for example has being an unwise idea as most of the farmers during this period are busy preparing their farms. To avoid this each and every homestead ensures an adequate supply of cows and oxen. India is home to a population that goes beyond 700 million people, as aforementioned, 70% live in the rural areas but that still leaves a sizeable chunk of people scurrying the urban center for jobs. For the 70% portion of the population cows are seen as a source of livelihood that must be protected at all costs, this is because the urban centers offer no respite. As Harris notes, the suffering caused by unemployment and homelessness in India cities is already intolerable and hence any influx towards the urban centers will create an imbalance and outstretch the available resources leading â€Å"to unprecedented upheavals and catastrophes.† In comparison to the developed nations where agriculture is carried out in large scale, India’s agricultural sector can only be regarded as cottage and has exhibited the reluctance to embrace modernism; this extends too to the farm inputs. Westerners long ago neglected the idea that animal droppings could be used to nourish the lands and instead have resorted to organic inputs. This is not the case in India where farmers rely on manure for farming in addition to other uses. To Hindus, economic profitability of a cow is not a factor, what matters is such a cow continues to meet the purposes that it has been set out for. This explains why even barren cows are still valued despite the urgent need for milk. This is because the economic viability of a cow is not only measured through the quantity of the milk that it produces but also its other products such as cow dung that bear agricultural, cultural and spiritual purposes. The aspects of cow worship aside, cows in India are not viewed from an angle similar to that of the western world. The benefits accrued too the Hindus are not only limited to milk, in fact they are rarely kept for milk; water buffalos are reared instead. Harris agrees with this noting that â€Å"the ox is the Indian peasant’s tractor, thresher and family car combined; the cow is the factory that produces the ox. † It is important to explore the importance if cow dung to add to the spiritual importance that had been mentioned before. Where western nations do not have a current experience with cow dung as a source of heat, Hindus prefer it for a variety of reasons. To the Indian women, cow dung is not only a representation of simplicity and an experience of spiritual pleasures but it is also seen â€Å"as a superior cooking fuel because it is finely adjusted to their domestic routines. † Indeed economic importance of cow dung to the lower caste Hindus cannot be over-emphasized. It is used in all manner of places and there are people that make a living out of it. In addition to being used as a floor finishing providing a smooth surface, it supports households that make a living by collecting the animal droppings in the urban centers. To understand how feasible this is, it is important to look at the nature of the existing public policies in regard to cows. It is hence worthy noting that due to the revered status of cows, they have been allowed freedom of movement that can only be equated to that of human beings. In fact they are a major cause of traffic snarl ups in some of the urban centers in India. Their droppings hence have to be collected by the street sweepers. The huge demand placed by the house wives for cow dung makes it a feasible economic commodity.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Overview Of Strategic Sourcing Initiative Management Essay

Overview Of Strategic Sourcing Initiative Management Essay 1. Gillet and the 7 Step Methodology The Gillette Company launched a Strategic Sourcing Initiative to create savings to invest in company brands, fund research and development. They employed a formal 7-step strategic sourcing methodology to competive source and evaluate suppliers on cost, quality and services provided. Enabled by a strong commitment from Senior Management and cross-functional global teams, this strategy produced savings and improved the quality of the products and services procured.   Step 1 Develop the Category Profile. Teams are formed to develop a comprehensive understanding of their category profile. They must understand what we buy, who we buy it from, what are the product/service characteristics/specifications, what is the current cost, and who and how the spend is managed internally. They must understand market trends and economics that impact these purchases as well as our current negotiation leverage with suppliers. This comprehensive understanding of the Category also enables to break down spend into subcategories, components, services, transportation costs, administrative costs or other divisions to be either be consolidated with one supplier or divided among several suppliers. Indeed, this sourcing step facilitates procurement managers in setting supplier diversity targets and strategies. Step 2 Generate the Supplier Portfolio. Teams must include minority suppliers as well as non-traditional suppliers. They must look at companies that provide total outsourcing capabilities and suppliers who are best in class in specialized spend categories. Then through a rigorous process of researching suppliers, evaluating and prioritizing capabilities, the list of suppliers is converted to a manageable list. This step reduces the workload of reviewing RFPs and negotiating with suppliers later in the strategic sourcing process. Step 3 Develop sourcing strategies. The sourcing team develops a supplier survey for both incumbent and potential alternative suppliers. The survey helps evaluate the suppliers capabilities to serve as well as their costs to serve. At this time, the team will also verify spend information with the data that incumbent suppliers may have from their sales systems. Category should be assesed in a Category Position Matrix. This process aids teams in developing their sourcing strategies. Teams must evaluate the complexity of the market, the competitiveness, the ability to switch suppliers, and the number of suppliers in the market. They must also position their Category in terms of business impact, how much total spend and how does this category impact core business operations. In doing so, teams will find their category falls into one or two of the following boxes: Leverage Category, Strategic Category, Non-critical Category or Bottleneck Category. From this positioning matrix, teams can determine which of the sourcing strategies are most appropriate.   Typically, teams who find themselves in the Leverage or Non-critical Categories will use the left side of the Sourcing Gemstone: Volume Concentration, Best Price Evaluation or Global Sourcing. Teams who confront more complex markets, may want to consider Product Specification Improvements, Joint Process Improvements or Relationship Restructuring strategies. In a Volume Concentration strategy, teams will often look to reduce cost by consolidating volumes from different facilities, regions, or business units. This strategy encourages suppliers to lower their costs in anticipation of greater volumes.   Teams may also consider a Best Price Evaluation strategy, where they select various suppliers who have the best offering for each segment of the spend. Best Price Evaluation allows yousegment and optimize your spend. Step 4- Select implementation path. The combination of the first three steps provides important input to developing a sourcing strategy and applying it in this step. The sourcing team has two sets of constituencies: 1) the people who use the things that are bought, and 2) the executives who manage overall costs. The people who use the spend category accept cost reductions as long as they a) start in another department; b) dont change suppliers; and c) dont create any complaints from the supply base that might affect any part of the relationship. For users, all change is bad. For executives, cost and service competitiveness is a key objective, but they too are users of various corporate services, so they often have a split personality between executive pursuit of cost improvement and being users who resist change. In order to mobilize users and executives to support the category sourcing strategy, it is necessary to communicate benefits and overcome potential risks. Step 5- Negotiate and select suppliers.   Preparing a request for proposal and preparing and soliciting bids. This will define the basis for competition to the prequalified suppliers. It includes product or service specifications, delivery and service requirements, evaluation criteria, pricing structure and financial terms and conditions. Also a communication plan will be executed that will attract maximum supplier interest. The RFP is then sent out to all suppliers and they are given enough time to respond completely, with follow-up messages sent to encourage supplier response and field questions. The sourcing team applies its evaluation criteria to the supplier responses. If more information beyond the RFP response is needed, its requested. The negotiation process is conducted first with a larger set of suppliers then narrowed to a few finalists, if it is done manually. Step 6 Implement agreements. Finally, the winning suppliers are notified and invited to participate in implementing recommendations. Implementation plans vary depending on the degree of supplier switches. For new suppliers, a communication plan has to be developed that manages the transition from old to new supplier at every point in the companys process that is touched by the spend category. Step 7- Continuos improvement. It is particularly important to measure the new supplier closely in the first several weeks of performance. Being able to demonstrate performance equal to or better than the former incumbent one will be particularly important during that sensitive time. Gillette Companys Strategic Sourcing Initiative has not only produced significant cost savings, but has enabled and advanced Gillettes Supplier Diversity Initiative. 2. Nestlà © and its mix of purchasing strategies To leverage Nestlà ©s purchasing volume as a strength in a business environment where the impact and importance on many spend categories is increasing, it requires planning and strategy determination, It is necessary to understand that supply markets are not and will not always be in surplus or excess, so the assurance of long term competitive supply through purchasing planning and strategy implementation is key to the realisation of Nestlà ©s growth and profitability objectives. The evaluation of different purchasing strategies can only take place once a detailed spend analysis has been completed. Strategic options must take into account: business sector objectives; total cost of ownership; supply market and its evolution; appropriate purchasing approach (e-Auctions, tenders, negotiations); value creation opportunities; emphasis on price management through competitive bidding; key stakeholders involvement and their support. Rationalisation and Standardisation This strategy is based on working with suppliers to have fewer and standardised specifications. Specification rationalisation will not only allow higher volume price leverage but also expose efficiencies throughout the supply chain, resulting in lower costs. Subcontracting/Outsourcing A key strategy in sourcing products and services is Subcontracting/Outsourcing. The responsibility of subcontracting activities rests with Technical and Production. Normally a Strategic Buyer will lead this process and manage crossfunctional teams to monitor the commercial relationship as well as to ensure optimum terms and conditions for Nestlà ©. Subcontractors are required to adhere to Nestlà ©s Corporate Business Principles. Cross-Functional Teamwork Purchasing must continue to work within and expand the use of cross-functional teams. Depending on the scope of the project, such teams may also involve suppliers and third-party expertise. Nestlà © acknowledges and encourages the role suppliers can play in innovation, creativity and the identification of new business proposals, which will improve and add value and growth to both companies. Nestlà © also considers suppliers as an important information source and relies on their objectivity and expertise. As the relationship progresses, it may well evolve into that of a preferred supplier. Purchasing wil retain the overall responsibility for the relationship and interface with suppliers. Supplier Management To better manage the supplier base and reduce transactional costs, Nestlà © may request suppliers to: offer their products or services via e-Requisitioning (catalogues), accept payment by P-card, deliver materials through a vendor managed inventory (VMI) or consignment stock initiative and collaborate using e-Supply Chain tools. Approval/Accreditation The extent or degree of approval/accre ditation as a supplier to Nestlà © depends on the sophistication or sensitivity of the material, product or service, the suppliers reputation and record with Nestlà ©, as well as their ability to offer competitive terms and conditions. Quality Management To achieve Nestlà ©s objective of offering consumers high quality nutritional products, they expect suppliers to guarantee the quality of the goods they supply or the service they provide. Nestlà ©s goal is to be able to rely on our suppliers competence and ability to implement jointly their quality programmes. Suppliers must be fully aware of Nestlà ©s quality and safety standards, understand their quality policy; share their objectives and work together to achieve them. In particular they consider their suppliers responsibility to ensure the traceability of all materials used in their own production or process. Supplier Audit Suppliers of raw and packaging materials must be incorporated into a formal assessment covering audits and inspectionsof their quality records. Formal audits of the suppliers quality assurance system and technical capabilities must be carried out. Suppliers need to be open and responsive to Nestlà ©s requirements and provide all necessary information on the composition and manufacture of their products. E-Procurement Nestlà © encourages and promotes the use of electronic tools to optimise the value chain to lower costs, create efficiencies, drive product availability and enhance customer service.   Purchasing evaluates and promotes the use of e-Procurement tools both within the company and within the supplier base. Benchmarking With the trend towards closer relationship with suppliers, benchmarking becomes an essential tool for measuring performance and highlighting opportunities. The concept of benchmarking should be seen as a continuous process of evaluation to ensure that results are quantifiable and actionable; it must be supported by a direct management commitment and should be clearly defined in terms of what is to be compared. 3. Procter Gamble sourcing networks and expressive competition Procter Gamble put into practice an approach to build sourcing networks, called expressive competition. It is a vision that looks past lowest-price reverse auctions and combinatorial packagebidding toward a highly expressive business relationship with suppliers. It enables suppliers to make electronicoffers that express rich forms of capabilities and efficiencies. As the buyer, PG also uses an expressive languageto state constraints and preferences. The detailed expressions of supply and demand are brought together viaan advanced optimization engine to decide the optimal allocation of business to the suppliers. In the process, PGs suppliers benefited from the winwinapproach: expressive competition matched demand to the most efficient means of production- rather thansqueezing suppliers profit margins- and removed the exposure risks in making offers. Beyond direct monetarysavings, the benefits included the re-design of supply networks with quantitative understanding of the trade-offs. The relationships between companies that purchase materials, goods, and services and their suppliers can be viewed as a network, because many companies both purchase and supply. Traditionally, the buyer configures the network and then asks offers from suppliers. This approach produces suboptimal results because it ignores suppliers alternative capabilities. With the new process this will be reversed by first collecting offers and then using optimization to configure the optimal network based on those offers. CombineNets (software currently used) approach is particularly relevant in transportation sourcing. By considering the most efficient routings that carriers can offer, both individually and collectively, it develops more efficient networks than the current networks. Buyers can construct supply chains in light of supplier capabilities as expressed in their offers. Companies can now make decisions on large baskets of items to be procured, rather than in a number of submarkets, naturally improving the allocation decisions. PGs use of expressive competition enables it to manage and exploit complexity and rich data to obtain the best value. In short, PG is now faster, more rigorous, and better able to leverage its purchasing experts than it was. It obtains greater savings with every analysis than it could before it adopted this process. 4. HONDA Global and Local Sourcing Traditionally, the standard metrics used by Japanese automakers in choosing suppliers wee quality, cost, delivery and technology. In the case of Honda, three other factors drive their spurchasing strategy. They depend on suppliers for more than 80% of components in their cars. They procure components from an estimated 400 tier one suppliers in Japan. Globally, Hondas supplier total number is close to 1,000 including more than 600 in North America. The main reason for this large number of North American suppliers: the distance between Hondas main assembly plants in North America is sufficiently long to make logistics a critical cost issue for suppliers wishing to serve all six Honda plants from a single location. Three of four Honda vehicles sold today are global models. Where possible, they prefer to use global suppliers forthese global cars. Honda defines group suppliers as affiliated companies in which it holds a larger than 20% equity stake or which depend on them for 70% or more of their sales; or the other way around: which Honda turns to for more than 70% of purchases of a particular system or component. That is the case of Denso Corp., Toyotas leading group supplier, is also a Honda group supplier as it manufactures an estimated 95% share of their heater requirements in Japan and 60% of air-conditioners. There seems to be no set rule on whether Honda doubles or triples sources or what even constitutes double or triple sourcing. For most components, Honda relies on multiple suppliers. But on a model base, it tends to single source. Hondas core suppliers have largely followed the OEM into North America and Asia. Keihin, Hondas main group supplier of car electronics, has set up 16 plants outside Japan including four in the US, while Stanley Electric has lighting plants in London, OH, and Battle Creek, MI. In general, there is a feeling that Honda depends more on non-Japanese suppliers at its overseas plant. Meanwhile, they continue to make steady progress in expanding local content at plants outside Japan. 5. Hewlett-Packard Total Cost Management Strategies HP recognized that it could leverage advances in Total Cost Management strategies, processes and technology to improve its overall financial performance. Over a five-year period the company put together an impressive record of cost savings, transforming its Indirect Procurement function into a strategic asset for the company. The significant cost reduction results came from an evolution and maturation of HPs Total Cost Management also called Spend Management, strategies, processes, and technologies as the company itself evolved. Like many companies, HP started with the traditional spend consolidation and price negotiations strategies of the late 90s. With the Compaq merger, HP had both a challenge and opportunity to advance its Total Cost Management strategies. Going forward, the role of HPs Indirect Procurement has evolved to a broader perspective as a strategic asset in driving down the total cost of procurement to achieve world-class cost structures. HP knew that companies like itself were leveraging new spend management tools to drive procurement decisions and wanted to take advantage of the new selling channel to increase revenue. With a strategy of being an early supporter of the Ariba Supplier Network and working to make it easy for customers to integrate and do business with HP, it has been able to generate $1 billion in revenue, making it the largest IT supplier to Total Cost Management customers using the Ariba Supplier Network. They realized that increased growth would be very hard if the company did not restructure to take advantage of its economy of scale. They decided that indirect procurement was a good candidate for centralization, as the existing decentralized model with fragmented local organizations provided little leverage. Indirect Procurement was given responsibility for managing nonproduction spend categories: information technology, human resources, marketing, travel, real estate and workplace solutions, finance, and labor. Its scope was to manage the strategic, tactical, and operational aspects of procurement, including global and regional sourcing, local buying and order fulfillment, and deployment of e-procurement programs. They deployed a standardized purchasing platform, Ariba, to reduce cost of transactions and develop and implement new policies, practices, and standards. Later, they were able to identify the â€Å"low-hanging fruit† in a centralized model and redefined their procurement areas and strategies as shown in the figures below. New Structure 6. International Clothing Retailers main sourcing strategies Marks and Spencer (United Kingdom) Is one of the UKs leading retailers of clothing, foods, homeware and financial services, serving 10 million customers a week in over 350 UK stores. They rationalized its supplier base, with efforts for sourcing and the accelaration of the design to store lead time. MS now manages a complex international supply chain involving 650 factories worldwide. Their priority is to maintain the quality of fabrics and clothes wherever they are manufactured. To support this objective, MS has established quality audit teams in Morocco and Sri Lanka, and will introduce them over the coming year in China and Turkey and all their main centres of manufacturing. Hennes and Maurizt (Sweden) HM is an expansive Swedish company. Over the past three years, HM has increased the number of stores by nearly 40 per cent.   HM has 21 production offices: ten in Europe, ten in Asia and one in Africa. Around 700 people work at the production offices, by far the majority of whom are drawn from the local population. They are responsible for contracts with the approximatly 750 suppliers (primarily Bangladesh, China, Turkey) that manufacture HMs products. The production offices ensure that the buyer places his order with the right supplier, that the goods are produced at the right price and with good quality and controls that production takes place under good working conditions. Ensuring the safety and quality of the goods largely takes place at the production offices and is the result of extensive testing, including checking for shrinkage, twisting, colourfastness and dry rubbing. In HM lead times vary from two to three weeks up to six months, depending on the nature of the goods. In recent years HM has reduced the average lead time by 15-20 per cent through developments in the buying process. Inditex (Spain) The Inditex Group comprises mainly companies engaging in the manufacturing and marketing of textiles and footwear, managed on a centralised basis by applying policies and strategies at group level. A significant proportion of the production takes place in the factories belonging to Inditex, which fundamentally carry out the manufacture of the garments containing a greater element of fashion and through external suppliers. In the case of in-house production -between 40 and 50 percent of the total- Inditex directly carries out the supply of fabrics, the marking and cutting and the final finishing of the garments, subcontracting the garment-making stage to specialised companies located mainly in the north-west of the Iberian peninsula. As regards external suppliers, a high percentage of which are European, in many cases they are also supplied by Inditex with the fabric and other elements needed for the production of the garments. For Inditex, time is the main factor to be considered, a bove and beyond production costs. Mix of sourcing: external fabrics sourcing 60%; internal fabrics sourcing 40%; in-house manufacturing 50%; external manufacturing 50%. Gap (Usa) Gap is a leading international specialty retailer offering clothing, accessories and personal care products. It operates with more than 4,200 stores worldwide. Gap has world headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area, product development offices in New York City and distribution operations and offices coordinating sourcing activities around the globe. Design and merchandising teams are working more closely from the beginning of the product development cycle, resulting in a more efficient process and, over time, faster speed to market. Gap will be building more strategic relationships with suppliers, including sharing more planning and forecasting information, to further leverage sourcing capabilities. Located around the globe, employees in Gaps sourcing and logistics group, along with buying agents, draw up production schedules and place orders with approved third-party factories in the more than 50 countries that produce goods. Third-party manufacturers ship merchandise to Gap distr ibution centers, which sort and redistribute it to the stores. Gap has a list of countries approved for product sourcing, located in five main areas: Africa/MiddleEast, Europe/Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, East Asia, Americas. CA (Holland) CA was founded in 1841. Over 100 Stylists work together with 360 buyers. The European headoffice is located in the north of Brussels. It has 1.200 suppliers, monitored by Socam. The name Socam reflects the concept â€Å"Service Organisation for Compliance Audit Management† and its purpose is to oversee and monitor responsible business standards in merchandise buying on behalf of the CA retail companies, which operate in Europe. An audit is performed in a total of 40 countries. Because the Far East is a significant supply market and because many of the key issues tend to be more prevalent in that part of the world, Socam also operates through a subsidiary company Socam Services Pte. Ltd located in Singapore. Socam has full and independent authority to monitor the standards which are defined by the CA Code of Conduct for the Supply Merchandise. To sum up, retailers prefer to choose the cheapest sources worldwide in order to maximize gross margin. Or, in order to decrease time to market, retailers may choose sourcing alternatives that may not bring the cost advantage of a cheaper supplier but do offer the advantage of diminishing logistics costs and lost sales. 7. IKEA selectivity strategy Under increasing pressures to reduce costs, companies have shifted, and continue to shift, sourcing from local suppliers to low cost country-based suppliers. Furthermore, the lower prices offered by low-cost country suppliers rarely translate into significantly lower total costs of ownership. Despite the popularity of global sourcing across both service and manufacturing industries, research into global sourcing is still playing catch-up and remains poorly conceptualized, for example in comparison with research on buyer-supplier relationships or industrial networks. The trend towards global sourcing is likely to fundamentally change the dynamics of buyer-supplier relationships and networks, but little research to date has examined the implications of this trend. Affordability through low cost is the core of the companys business idea. For IKEA, growth is a core and explicit objective.A key component in the low cost strategy at IKEA has been to own only a small proportion of the means of production. Therefore, the products that are sold in IKEA stores are sourced from a global network of suppliers. Well functioning and close relationships with suppliers is an important but sometimes seemingly ignored driver of the success of IKEA. In the mid- 1990s, IKEA had more than 2,000 suppliers, but in 2009 its supply base had been reduced to less than 1,400 despite increasing sales volumes. The background to the supply base reduction during recent years is the increasing need to secure and build capacity for continued growth. In 2008, IKEA sourced furniture from 54 different countriesm through 30 purchasing offices distributed over strategic locations all over the world. In 2009, IKEA had around 1400 suppliers. Almost two-thirds of its products (64%) were sourced from European countries; the largest single supply market was China with a 22% share of the supply, and the second largest supply market was Poland with a 16% share. Coordination and communication with suppliers was channelled through trading offices situated strategically around the world. Without close collaboration with suppliers, the balancing act between stock costs and avoiding the risk of stock-outs would not be possible. In addition, IKEA seems to conce ntrate on as few suppliers and as few supply markets as possible. This selectivity means that IKEA is effective in balancing its market choices; concentrating its sourcing activities in certain geographic areas by committing to and investing in some markets, whilst having to decide to forego opportunities in others For IKEA, cost reductions were the principal driver towards, initially, international purchasing and, later, global sourcing. The search for lower costs in new sourcing markets creates pressure on the supplier network of IKEA to source internationally or to develop global sourcing through world-wide coordination and integration of sourcing operations. A main reason for IKEA to preserve relationship with swedishs suppliers is to secure capacity if, or when, problems were met in the Chinese sourcing market. 8. Conclusions The Strategic Sourcing methodology is used to identify, evaluate, select and implement sourcing alternatives for specific sourcing groups.   It emphasizes the process for evaluating, selecting and aligning with suppliers to achieve improvements and support strategic objectives. It focuses on total costs and not just on the purchase price. This process enables the company to obtain a good understanding of its requirements, mapping the existing supply market and develop a plan for short andlong-term objectives. Sourcing strategies should be reviewed and updated periodically by supply managers. Suppliers should be invited to be part of the process depending on the class of category or market dynamics. Strategic sourcing results should be tracked in terms of performance metrics and cost savings. The process should be regularly reviewed to incorporate new sourcing tools and approaches, new supplier market opportunities and developments in benchmarking and best practices. Supply managers must collaborate internally with a multifunctional team on new supply opportunities. Collaboration demonstrates the value of supply management. Besides the traditional competitive approach to sourcing, there are more alternatives depending on the category or business trends. Some could be, collaborating with suppliers to reduce complexity and build productivity into their process, or create joint process improvements that reduce the cost of doing business, or set up a partnership where a company invests in supplier operations to guarantee access to supply, new technology or process improvements. Another option could be strategic alliances which decrease the total cost of ownership, increase quality, have a faster response and enable new product development with supplier involvement, among other benefits. Or even, e-procurement which can decrease the unit cost as well as the cost of transactions and processes. Overall, not only a right sourcing strategy or model of management is enough; it is also a matter of being aligned with the companys key obkectives and to have the right methodology, the right metrics and the right team of people.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Musculosketal Systems and Physiology of Exercise

Musculosketal Systems and Physiology of Exercise The growth of the skeleton determines the growth and proportion of the body, the skeleton begins to form 6 weeks after fertilisation, bone growth goes through rapid growth through adolescents however genrally the skeleton does not stop growing up to the age of 25. Ossification is the formation of bone. The process of calcification – the deposition of calcium salts-occurs during ossification, but it can also occur in other tissues. When calcification occurs in tissues other than bone, the result is a calcified tissue (calcified cartilage) that does not resemble bone. Two major forms of ossification exist: endochondral and intramembranous. In endochondral ossification, bone replaces existing cartilage. In intramembranous ossification, bone develops directly from mesenchyme or fibrous connective tissue. (fundamentals of A and P) Word count 119 The human skeleton consists of 206 bone. When together the skeletal system provides the framework which all other tissues and organs attach giving the body shape. The skeletal system is divided into two parts the axial which is made up of the spine, skull, ribs and sternum. The appendicularskeleton which is made up of the pelvis, arm and leg bones. The skeleton has 5 main functions. Shape- The shape of the bone structure changes as the body grows. The skeletal system determines the height and width of a person, body shape is heredity. The three main body shapes are ectomorphs (tall and thin), mesomorphs (short and muscular), endomorphs (apple shape) Support- the skeleton provides support to the body and keeps the internal organs in place. The vertebral column allows someone to stand erect. The pelvis and leg bones are strong enough to carry the weight of the whole body. Movement- The bones are held together by ligaments. Tendons attach the muscles to the bones. Combined the muscular and skeletal system carry out movement, when muscles contract bones move. Protection- The skeleton protects vital organs from damage. The skull houses the brain, while the vertebral column protects the spinal cord which controls all bodily functions through communication with the brain. The thorax and sternum protect the heart and lungs. (livestrong.com) Words 280 The Pivot joint- In a pivot joint, the rounded or pointed surface of one bone articulates with a ring formed partly by another bone and partly by a ligament. A pivot joint is monoaxial because it allows rotation around its own longitudinal axis only. Ball and socket- Consists of a bonelike surface of one bone fitting into a cuplike depression of another bone. Examples of functional ball and socket are the shoulders. Hinge Joint- The convex surface of one bone fits into the concave surface of another bone. Hinge joints are in the knee, elbow, ankle and interphalangeal joints. Ellipsoid Joint- The convex oval-shaped projection of one bone fits into the oval shaped depression of another bone. Examples are the wrist and metacarpophalangeal joints. Saddle Joint- The articular surface of one bone is saddle shaped and the articular surface of the other bone fits into the saddle as a rider would sit. The most common saddle joint is the trapezius Gliding Joint- The articulating surfaces of bones in a planar joint are flat or slightly curved. Some examples are the intertarsal joints between tarsal bones at the ankle joints. Sternocostal joints sternum ends of the costal cartilages at the tips of the second through seventh pairs of ribs. Gliding joints primarly permit side to side and back to back movements. (words 220) The bones at a synovial joint are covered by articular cartilage, which is typically hyaline cartilage and occasionally fibrocartilage. The cartilage covers the surface of the bones with a smooth surface but does not bind them together. Articular cartilage reduces friction between bones in the joint during movement and helps to absorb shock. Articular capsule- A sleeve like capsule l surrounds a synovial joint, encloses the synovial cavity, and unites the articulating bones. This is composed of two layers, an outer fibrous capsule and an inner synovial membrane. The FC, usually consists of dense, irregular connective tissue that attaches to the periosteal of the articulating bones. The flexibility of the FC permits considerable movement at a joints while tensile strength helps prevent bones from dislocating. The fibres of some FC’s are arranged in parrelel bundles that adapted for resisting strains (ligaments). The mechanical structure of ligaments helps to hold bones together in a SJ. The SM, is composed of areolar connective tissue. Synovail Fluid- The SM secretes SF, which forms a thin film over the surfaces within the articular capsule. This clear/yellow fluid consists of hydrochloric acid and interstitial fluid filtered from blood plasma. The functions of this fluid are reducing friction by lubricating the joint and supplying nutrients to and removing metabolic wastes within articular cartilage. (Grabowski and tortora 2003) (220 words) TAQ 2 Three layers of connective tissue are part of each muscle; epimysium, perimysium and endomysium. The entire muscle is surrounded by epimysium a dense layer of collagen fibres. The epimysium separates the muscle from surrounding tissues and organs. It is connected to the deep fascia, a dense connective tissue layer. The connective tissue fibres of the perimysium divide the skeletal muscle into a series of compartments, each containing a bundle of fibres called a fascicle. Possessing collagen and elastic fibres, the perimysium contains blood vessels and nerves that maintain blood flow and innervate the muscle fibres within the fascicles. Each fascicle receives branches of these blood vessels and nerves. At each end of the muscle, the collagen fibres of the perimysium, perimysium and endomysium come together to form a bundle known as the tendon or aponeurosis. Tendons and aponeurosis usually attach skeletal muscles to bones. Where they contact the bone, the collagen fibres extend into t he bone matrix, providing a firm attachment. Any contraction of the muscle will exert a pull on the attached bone. Muscle contraction huge quantities of energy. An extensive vascular network delivers the necessary oxygen and nutrients and carries away metabolic wastes generated by active skeletal muscles. (Martini2006) words 200 The primary cell types of tendons are the tenoblasts and tenocytes. Tenocytes are mature tendon cells that are found throughout the tendon structure, connected to collagen fibres. Tenocytes are mature tendon cells that are found throughout the tendon structure. Tendon tissue is the tissue which connects muscles to bones. Tendons are the connective tissues that transmit the mechanical force of muscle contraction to the bones; the tendon is firmly connected to muscle fibres at one end and components of the one at its other end. The tendons are the strongest amongst the soft tissues. They require great strength is necessary for withstanding the stresses generating muscular contraction. A tendon is composed of dense fibrous connective tissue made up primary fibres are bunched together into subfasicles. Multiple secondary fibre bundles form tertiary fibre bundles, groups of which in turn form the tendon unit. Primary, secondary and tertiary bundles are surrounded by a sheath of connective tissue (endotenon) which facilitates the gliding of bundles against one another during movement. (Britannica.com) (words 160) Skeletal muscle adaptations to extend to underwater time despite selective vasoconstriction include elevated myoglobin concentration, high acid buffering ability and high aerobic and anaerobic enzyme activities. Because cardiac muscle is perfused during dives, it will rely less heavily on MB and anaerobic pathways to support contractile activity even before birth, it may be more physiolically mature at birth and develop faster than skeletal muscles. (jeb.biologists.org) The energy for muscle contraction comes from ATP, which in turn comes from the metabolism of glucose and fatty acids. But not much ATP is stored in the muscles that just a few twitches could quickly exhaust the supply. Creatine phosphate cannot be used directly to power muscle contraction but phosphate can transfer its phosphate group to ADP to form ATP: Creatine phosphate + ADP += creatine + ATP. Two types of skeletal muscle Red (Slow twitch) White (Fast twitch). Red has a rich blood supply, numerous mitochondria and myglobin, that forms a loose combination with oxygen and stores it in the muscle. Although it contracts rather slowly it is capable of long term activity without fatigue. White Muscle has a limited blood supply, few mitochondria and a low myoglobin content. It depends entirely on anaerobic breakdown of glycogen for its energy supply is capable of very strong rapid contractions for a short period of time. Because these fibres have fewer mitochondria and capillaries than red fibres, their ability to resynthesize ATP through oxidative phosphorylation is limited and they fatigue rapidly. Muscle fibre types also differ between the sexes. Women tend to have more red fibres and less white fibres so a female will have less strength than a male but has more endurance. Men with more white fibre depend more on storing carbohydrate for fuel, therefore they have less endurance. Smooth muscle has some differences to skeletal muscles they are a pplied slowly and smoothly- contractions of the digestive system can occasionally rapid. In smooth muscle Ca ions activate the myosin, through two intermediate enzymes before the ATP becomes involved. Although smooth muscle contraction is slow it is efficient it uses 10% of the ATP required by skeletal muscle to produce the same strength contraction. Cardiac muscle is unique to the heart. It is able to beat incessantly because it never maintains a contraction. It contracts and promptly relaxes and the relaxation period is twice as long as its contraction period. The relaxation periods and contraction periods are strictly programmed; the muscle rests, then it must contract before it can rest again. Cardiac muscle is unlike smooth or skeletal muscle, it cannot rely on anaerobic metabolic pathways to provide its energy; it must never fail to get all the oxygen it needs. Cardiac muscle is the muscle in our bodies that is unable, except in disease states, to achieve a state of sustained contraction. (biog1445.org) (Martini 2006) Words 506 TAQ 3 The Impact of exercise on the Cardiovascular system: At rest the average cardiac output is 5.8 litres per minute, this changes significantly during exercise, the pattern of blood distribution changes. Light exercise: before you begin to exercise, the heart rate will increases slightly because of the rise in sympathetic activity. Extensive vasodilation occurs as the rate of oxygen consumption in skeletal muscles increases. Peripheral resistance drops, the blood flow through the capillaries increases and blood enters the venous system at a fast rate. The venus return increases as skeletal muscle contractions squeeze blood along the peripheral veins and increased breathing rate pulls blood into the venae cavae via respiratory pump. Cardiac output rises, primarily in response to the rise Respiratory System As the cardiac output rises the blood flow to the lungs ( pulmonary perfusion) increases. The oxygen diffusing capacity a measurement of the rate the avelor air into the blood increases during maximal exercise because more pulmonary capillaries become perfused. There becomes a greater surface area available for diffusion of oxygen into the pulmonary blood capillaries. During vigorous exercise, oxygen consumption and pulmonary ventilation both increase dramatically. With moderate exercise the increase is due to an increase in the depth of ventilation rather than the increased breathing rate. The abrupt increase in ventilation at the beginning of exercise is due to neural changes that send impulses to inspiratory area. The gradual increase in ventilation is due to chemical and physical changes in the blood stream Decreased hypophosphite due to increased oxygen Slightly increased Pc02 due to CO2 production contracting muscle fibres Increased temperature, due to the release of more heat as more oxygen is utilized. Smoking lowers respiratory effiency during exercise even with moderate exercise because several factors effect the respiratory system Nicotine constricts terminal bronchioles Carbon monoxide binds to haemoglobin reducing oxygen carrying capability Irritants in smoke cause muscus secretion to increase Muscular People with a higher proportion of fast glycolytic fibres often participate in activities which require periods of intense activity such as weight lifting. People with higher percentages of slow oxidative fibres are better at activities that require endurance ( long distance running). The total number of skeletal muscle fibres do not increase, the characteristics can alter to some extent. Aerobic exercises cause gradual transformation of FG fibres into FOG fibres. The transformed muscle fibres show slight increases in diameter. Exercise require great strengths for short periods of time to produce an increase in the size and strength of FG fibres. The increase is due to increased synthesis of thick and thin filaments. The result of muscle enlargement is evidence by the buldging muslces of body builders. Anabolic steroids are hormones similar to testosterone which increase muscles and strength during exercise. The large doses required have damging effects such as aggression, heart dise ase, kidney damage and stunted growth. Skeleton Bones have the ability to alter their strength in response to changes in mechanical stress. When placed under stress the bone tissue adapts by becoming stronger through increased deposition of mineral salts and production of collagen fibres. Another effect of stress is to increase the production of calcitonin. Without mechanical stress, the bones are unable to remodel normally because bone resorption outstrips bone formation. Removal mechanical stress weakens the bones through demineralisation and decreased collagen fibres. The most common of mechanical stress on the bones is from the the pull of skeletal muscles and the pull of gravity. The bones of an athletic person become thicker and stronger, weight bearing activities help build and retain bone mass. Astronauts and people which have fractured bones can lose up to 1% of bone mass per week. Words 560 (tortora grabowski 2003) TAQ 4 Osteoarthritis This is a degenerative non- inflammatory disease where over a period of time the cartilage is gradually lost. This will result in painful and restricted movement of the affected joints. This disease is a result of aging, irritation of the joints. This disease is the cause of disability in the elderly. The articular cartilage becomes thinner because its renewal does not keep in unison with its repair. Eventually the bony articular surfaces come in contact and the bones beings to degenerate. Some abnormal bone repair does take place and the articular surfaces become misshapen. Chronic inflammation develops with the effusion into the joints, due to the irritation caused by the tissue debris not removed by phagocytes. In some cases there is abnormal outgrowth of the cartilage at the edges of the bones which becomes ossified. Primary Osteoarthritis- Is the most common type, the cause of this disease is unknown. The changes may be due to acceleration of the normal aging process within the joints which have had excessive use over the years due to plenty of physical activity. This usually begins to develop in the late stage of middle age and affects large weight bearing joints; the hips, knees, cervical and lumbar spine. In most cases of primary osteoarthritis only affects one joint. Secondary osteoarthritis- This tends to occur in the joints where the cartilage has already been damaged due to Congential deformity of bones such as dislocation Trauma, intracapsular fracture of the bone and injury to intracapsuel structures. Other conditions, inflammatory diseases, haemophilia following repeated haemorrhages into the joints, peripheral nerve lesions, gout, acromegaly, diabetic neuropathy. Osteoarthritis of the spine This condition is more common within the elderly. Degenerative changes cause narrowing of intervertebral discs and osteophytes may develop around the margins of joints of the vertebral column, commonly in the cervical region. This may cause damage to the nervous system, varying from compression of the individual spinal nerves to spinal cord injury ( the main cause of paralysis). (340) (Grabowski and tortora 2003) Cruciate Knee This is where the ligament in the knee is torn which may result in reconstructive surgery. The anterior cruciate ligament is a tough band of tissue joining the thigh bone to the shin bone at the knee joint. (nhs.com). This condition tends to affect people which are more athletic. The cruciate ligaments are found inside the knee joint. They cross each other to form an x with the anterior cruciate ligament in front and the posterior cruciate ligament in the back and forth motion of the knee. The anterior cruciate ligament runs diagonally in the middle of the knee, it prevents the tibia from sliding out in front of the femur and this provides rotational stability for the knee. There are 3 different grades of sprains which occur to the knee Grade 1 sprain is where the ligament has been slightly stretched and the knee is still stable. This will result in discomfort whilst walking and inability to participate in strenuous activity. Grade 2 This stretches the ligament to the point where it becomes loose. This is often referred to as a partial tear. Grade 3 This is referred to as a complete tear of the ligament. The ligament has been split in two pieces and the knee joint is unstable. The cruciate anterior is often injured by stopping suddenly, changing direction instantly, slowing down whilst running, landing from jumping incorrectly, direct collision’s in contacts sports such as football and rugby. When the anterior cruciate is injured often the patient will hear a popping sound and will feel their knee giving way underneath them. The most common symptoms are; The knee will swell within 24 hours. The pain and swelling may resolve naturally. However if the patient choses to attempt returning back to sports they may cause further damage to the meniscus of the knee. Loss of a range of movement in the knee Tenderness along the joint line When a person does not have the adequate muscles strength coordination or balance to quickly react to the demands of sports there is an increased risk for a serious knee injury. Glute weakness and instability lead to excessive strain being placed on the ALC. (coreperformance.com) Words 365 (orthoinfo.aaos.org) References Martini F.H, 2006, Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology, seventh edition, San Fracisco, Pearson education.inc Grabowski Sandra.Tortora Gerard, 2003, Principles of Anatomy and Physiology, tenth edition, Hoboken, John Wiley and sons,inc Waugh.A,Grant. A.2001, Ross and Wilson Anatomy and Physiology in health and illness, ninth edition,London, Harcourt Publishers Tortora Gerard, Grabowski Sandra, principle of Anotomy and physiology. New York. Harper Collins college. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00549 (9/10/2014) http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/587180/tendon-organ (15/05/2015) http://www.neuroanatomy.wisc.edu/virtualbrain/Brainstem/01pyramid.html (26/05/2015) http://www.biog1445.org/demo/10/muscles.html#smooth (1/06/2015) http://www.livestrong.com/article/115165-function-skeleton (1/06/2015) http:www.coreperformance.com/knowledge/injury-pain/acl-injuries.html (2/06/2015)