Media Literacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Media Literacy - Essay Example And Im never the kind of person to base reality on the contents of a movie because, if that were the deal, the movie industry would be crap. I am genuinely interested in Jack and Rose, the main characters of Titanic. Their romance is not based on eternity and doesn’t consist of well-versed lines or cliches. They seem like real people brought together by difficult circumstances. Its refreshing to watch two people hawking loogies off the boat deck and having a great time together. There is sexual tension, but it doesnt dominate. It feels like one of those relationships that when the passion wears off you still have a deep, abiding friendship and love. And, above all, they dont assume they will love each other forever and dont let each other get in between living life to the fullest. They are just living day by day as are the rest of us. Trying to get by. Something that is so heartbreaking is the way the characters lose this innocence throughout the movie as the plot unravels. They change throughout the story and through their devastating experiences. We see Rose board the Titanic feeling trapped and bogged down by the superficial upper class society, and doesnt ever believe she can break free. But, by the end of the movie, she is free and goes on to live a very colorful life. On the other hand, we have Jack who is free and, well, a drifter. Hes gotten around a lot, but theres a very endearing innocence and good nature to his personality that casts a light-hearted feel on the first half of the show. Sadly, he doesnt live to see the day following the sinking and, while the ship is going down, its interesting to watch his facial expressions because I see pain, fear, and a sort of disillusionment. The special effects in this film are absolutely amazing. In the first half of the movie, our eyes are able to drink in the costumes and striking reconstruction of the actual ship. The second half always sends chills down my spine because it transports you to

Tthe difference between Chinese and British Consumer Behaviour on Essay

Tthe difference between Chinese and British Consumer Behaviour on coffee consumption - Essay Example The study also examines some of the beliefs, perceptions and causal effects that influence coffee consumption. Answering the ways in which coffee brands have affected the coffee consumption and the overall consumer behaviour will help identify the differences and similarities in consumer behaviour in coffee consumption in China and UK. This chapter discusses the techniques that are used to collect and analyse primary data that will assist in justifying the study conducted in secondary sources. Rationale of research approach The study is conducted by making use of both the primary and the secondary data. This research entails qualitative and quantitative data. The secondary data offers the qualitative data that helps to get more information concerning the coffee consumption and consumer behaviour in China and UK. The reason for choosing to research on literature review is due to the fact that there might be previous studies of the same subject that might help in the study. The seconda ry data will help to gather information that might be hard to gather from primary data. It is also very easy and cheap to use the secondary data as it is readily available and would help answer unanswered questions. Secondary data will offer information that explains the consumer behaviour and what affects it. ... Both the primary and secondary data will help to verify the research hypothesis. Description of the data collection instruments The secondary data that provides the qualitative information is retrieved from secondary sources search as books, research reports and journals. They can also be retrieved from wed portals and electronic journals. These sources provide data that helps to analyse information from the past. They contain literature that are reviewed and have summarized theories from a wide range of sources. The primary data is collected by the use of statistical survey. One of the statistical survey method used in this study is the Likert scale type of questionnaire. It is made up of open-ended type of questions. It is a scaling method of a five point scale that shows the level of agreement with the given statement. The respondents are given a simple task to choose one of the options that range from â€Å"strongly agree, agree, uncertain, disagree and strongly disagree† (Jackson, 2011). The questions which are more of statements are positively structured which means that if the respondents agree to all statements, it will prove that coffee culture has been fully adopted in both countries. Rationale for data collection instruments The Likert scale questionnaire was the best to collect primary data because it would be easy for the respondents to understand the questions and also to answer them. One of the advantages of the Likert scale type of questionnaire is that it is effective, very easy to construct and they are also reliable. They are also very efficient because they are not complicated thus no major errors when collecting the data and administering them is very easy. They help in studying the

Atonement By Ian McEwan | Summary

Atonement By Ian McEwan | Summary The fourth novel that I chose was Atonement by Ian McEwan. In the introduction, a young girl name Briony is producing a play to put on for her brother. Brionys mother, sister, and three cousins are introduced as well as a family friend and employee Robbie Turner. Throughout the day Brionys attempts to put the play together fail, and she eventually gives up on the endeavor. She witnesses an interesting encounter between Robbie and her sister Cecelia that complicates the adults relationship and moves the plot forward. 2. Rising Action After the relationship between Robbie and Cecelia, and the curious and scheming nature of Briony, is established, chaos ensues. Briony intercepts an intimate letter from Robbie to Cecelia, and from then on thinks that he is crazy and wants to hurt her sister. To make matters worse, she witnesses them in a position that to her, looks like he attacked Cecelia. On a hunt for two of the cousins that ran away, someone rapes the eldest cousin. Briony finds the victim first and immediately assigns the blame to Robbie. Robbie and Cecelia are thus torn apart through the rest of the book, while Robbie gets sent to prison for a crime he didnt commit and then off to war. The book follows the two lovers and their letters to each other. It describes their brief meetings and their estrangement to Cecelias family following the betrayal. 3. Climax The climax of this book is when Briony goes to see her sister after the many years of conflict. Briony goes to see Cecelia without knowing whether Robbie is dead or alive, or if they have seen each other since he went to war. During their meeting the reader finds out that Robbie and Cecelia are living in her apartment and are finally together again. 4. Falling Action After the dramatic moments of Briony and Robbies meeting, the book slows down. Robbie and Cecelia make their demands of Briony and the rest of the family to make atonement. The rapist from the beginning is revealed, and their lives at that time are resolved. 5. Resolution In the resolution, Briony goes back to her familys estate many years later for her birthday. Some young relatives put on her old play for her at the birthday party. In the last chapter of the book, you find out that the previous chapters are the pages of Brionys book, her final atonement, and that the ending where Robbie and Cecelia end up together isnt what really happened. Robbie and Cecelia both died in the war in the same year, and Briony never confronted them. Reader Response Journal #6 Describe your reading of The Wifes Tale. Was this story confusing? Were you surprised by how it ended? What phrases or sentences did the author use as clues to help you understand the story and its plot twists? Was this a good story? Why or why not? At first, I thought that this story was confusing. I assumed at the beginning that they were already human, so when the husband started getting bigger the fear in the other characters didnt make sense. Then the wife described all of the hair coming off as he grew and that didnt make sense either, unless he was a very hairy man. The wife used various clues though to help me understand what was happening. She specified that he stood up on two legs, which would be insignificant if he were human before, and then she started howling, which kind of gave her away, as well as the snapping at the branch. Also before that the story said that the change only happens in the dark of the moon, which is significant of a type of curse or werewolf. She also talked about her sisters mane, and described her community as a pack. I had a feeling that the husband eventually died just from the context at the beginning, but it seemed a little sad when I read the ending that he died. I thought this was a goo d story because of the twist and because it made me reread to figure out what was going on. It definitely keeps your attention, but the ending is sad and kind of gross and typically I dont like endings like that. Reader Response Journal #7 Describe one or two of the themes in The Growin of Paul Bunyan. Use examples from the story to show how the author presented these themes. One of the themes that I got out of the story is the need for people to sympathize with each other. When overcoming differences or conflicts in life, trying to view things from the other persons standpoint is invaluable. In the story, Paul Bunyan assumes several things about Johnny Appleseed; one of them being that Johnny had challenged him. The author showed that by assuming, he did more harm than good. The affect that Paul Bunyans actions had on Johnny is expressed when Johnny said, All the rest o my dreams is so much kindlin wood, so why dont you take this an see if its so easy to make it grow. Only when Johnny challenged Paul Bunyan to grow a tree did he finally value the hard work and effort that Johnny had put into growing all of the other trees that he cut down. The author shows this when Paul Bunyans tree dies and you see how much it affected him; he yelled, Johnny! Johnny! Why didnt you tell me how much it could hurt? Now that Paul Bunyan had experienced what Johnny went thr ough, when he saw that Johnny had turned his axe into a giant tree, he appreciated the creation and he never cut down another tree again. If we put ourselves in the other persons shoes when trying to solve a problem, overcoming it becomes easier and many potential trials are avoided in the process. I think that is one of the themes in the story. The Growin of Paul Bunyan The Growin of Paul Bunyan obviously has some very powerful themes. This assignment will help you work through the story, its characters, and its messages. In the Venn diagram below, describe the differences and similarities between Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed. Put the differences in the areas of the circles that dont overlap and the similarities in the area where they do overlap. Work hard Good at what they do. Like Trees Likes a Challenge Is Impulsive Likes to cut down trees Thinks Ahead Is Non-confrontational Likes to grow trees In the chart below, describe the physical characteristics of both Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed. (You must include at least five things about each character.) EMBED Word.Picture.8 When Paul thinks hes won the contest with Johnny, why is he so disappointed with Johnnys reaction? Paul gets upset because he wants Johnny to admit that he won the challenge and that hes stronger than Johnny. He thinks that growing them is as easy as cutting them down, thus he won the contest. Describe four things Paul does to help this little seed grow. a. Paul runs back and forth 200 miles to carry water in his hands for the tree. b. He moves the rabbits away from the tree and carries many of them to the stream with him so they wont get the seed. c. He protects it from the cold by covering it with his hands and breathing on it. d. He shields it from the sun during the day. What happens to Pauls ax? Johnny turns it into a giant evergreen tree. What do you think is the meaning of the title, The Growin of Paul Bunyan? I think that the title is symbolic of Paul Bunyans dynamic change that he makes in the story. It is used not only in the sense that Paul Bunyan grows something, but that he grows himself. He becomes a better person after he learns a lesson from Johnny Appleseed. Do you think that this title gives the readers clues about the themes of the story? If so, how? The title of the story allows the reader to make inferences about what the theme of the story is. The fact that Paul Bunyan is already huge and couldnt grow much bigger physically implies that it is a different kind of growth. You could infer that the play on words suggests that the theme is that physical strength or size is not what is important, but it is the size of the inner person. How do you think a person who relies on the lumber industry for a living would respond to The Growin of Paul Bunyan? Why? I think that there are certain parts of the story that theyd agree with, and certain parts that would seem unreasonable to them. Its easy to agree with Paul Bunyan when he said that without logging people wouldnt have houses and many other materials that people use every day. But there is a reality to what Johnny Appleseed said about eventually not having any more trees to cut down. I dont think that the story was so much against logging as it was against cutting trees down for fun or to prove something. What do you think is the main theme of this story? I think that the main theme of the story is that it isnt physical strength that makes someone better than another, but that the most important thing is a persons inner qualities and their ability to grown and improve. What clues in the story helped you determine this theme? The last sentence in the story helped me to determine the theme. It explained what Paul Bunyan learned from the whole experience: A little man who chops somethin down is still just a little man, but theres nobody bigger than a man who learns to grow. Johnny showed that growing on the inside counts for more than physical strength by saying, Its always easier to chop somethin down than to make it grow. 11. Are there any minor themes that you noticed in the story? I noticed several minor themes throughout the story, such as: Having a talent doesnt make you a hard worker or a good person. To solve problems you have to see things from other peoples perspective. Sometimes we take things for granted until theyre gone. Theme Paper #1 By Kelsey Davis One of the six novels that I read was The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. It is 229 pages and takes place in the late 1800s in London. One of the major themes in this book is: the pursuit of pleasures and beauty does not result in a successful and happy life. This novel is about a beautiful young man, Dorian Gray, who becomes friends with two men: Basil Hallward, an artist, and Lord Henry Wotton. Basil becomes infatuated with Dorian upon seeing him for the first time, feeling that Dorian Gray will forever change his art and become his muse. Dorian has a similar effect on Lord Henry, who immediately claims Dorian as a lifelong friend. Lord Henry and his opinions and philosophies on living life fascinate Dorian; and when Basil paints a portrait of him, he, like Narcissus, falls in love with his own beauty. Under the leadership of Lord Henry, and the giving of his soul for eternal youth and beauty, he lives a selfish and debauched life, creating the theme for this story. Throughout this novel, there is much dialogue between Lord Henry and Dorian. The discussions that they have and how these affect Dorian establish a consistent theme throughout the book. Lord Henry continually gives Dorian the twisted advice to pursue the fulfillment of ones senses and to satisfy every whim. During their first meeting, Lord Henry says such things as: Youth is the one thing worth having. Be always searching for new sensations. But we never get back our youth . . . we degenerate into hideous puppets haunted by the memory of the passions of which we were too much afraid, and the exquisite temptations that we had not the courage to yield to. In response to this guidance, Dorian becomes less and less sensitive to others and more and more self-concerned and evil. He retains his beauty and youth while Basils portrait ages and becomes corrupt, bearing the sins of his soul. During the next twenty years, Dorians reputation gets worse, and his relations with others become scandal. Basil confronts Dorian about the things hes done and encourages him to change. After revealing the dreadful secret of his youthfulness, Dorian murders Basil. The sequence of events after Basils death reveal Dorians unhappiness and his dissatisfaction with the way his life has turned out. He tries to convince himself that he can change, but realizes, with the help of Lord Henry, that he cant and that his attempts would be out of vanity. He thus arrives at one conclusion: destroy the painting that had destroyed him and be rid of his last piece of conscience. As he does so the ugliness and age of the portrait go to where they belonged all along: to the living Dorian. Corrupt, ugly, and alone, Dorian kills himself. In this Hedonistic novel, Oscar Wilde shows how relying on superficial qualities leads to unhappiness. Dorians regrets are clear when he says, There is no one with whom I would not change places, . . . The wretched peasant who has just died is better off than I am. From personal experience, trying to pursue every sensation to the full may create a temporary happiness, but it is void of true fulfillment and satisfaction. Even in small actions, seeking self-gratification repels others and spoils good qualities. Theme Paper #2 By Kelsey Davis The fourth book that I read was Atonement by Ian McEwan, which is 351 pages. A major theme that I think the author was trying to get across is the gravity and significance of our actions. Atonement is about the consequences that came from a little girls accusation. One of the main characters, Briony, blames her sisters boyfriend for a terrible crime. Though she was a young girl and was relatively sincere in her accusation, she made a decision that affected the future of her family, and most importantly the accused. The novel follows the lives of three characters, Briony, Robbie (the accused), and her sister Cecelia. After Robbie gets accused of raping Brionys cousin, he gets sent to prison and then to war. Through the years, the love and relationship between Cecelia and Robbie is strained from their separation. Their intense pain and alienation from their family is described in the book vividly. The misery that Robbie goes through starts in chapter fifteen, which begins, There were horrors enough, but it was the unexpected detail that threw him and afterward would not let him go. Robbie later recalls the events before prison, before the war, before the sight of a corpse became a banality, and dreams of a future when he and Cecelia would no longer be isolated. In the book, Cecelia and Robbie are both killed in the war before they are able to fully reunite. In the last chapter, Briony is an old woman. She has written a book about her story, about Robbie and Cecelia, and offers it as her final atonement. In her book, she rewrites the ending of the lovers tale, so that they end up together and she is able to make her peace with them. Obviously from the way she wrote her book, she was never able to confront Robbie or Cecelia and thus somewhat absolve her guilt. She calls herself a coward for being unable to confront her sister after Robbies death. Her regrets are expressed at the end of the novel when she explains that in her lifetime she hasnt traveled very far. She says, Or rather, Ive made a huge digression and doubled back to my starting place. In the end, Briony can never be forgiven, and she takes her guilt with her to the grave. Her actions, even as a child, were very costly. She had to live with the fact that what happened to Robbie and Cecelia was because of her childish assumptions and her lies. I think this is the strongest theme of the book: that that we are all responsible for our actions, and, if our actions are bad, no one can take the blame or absolve the guilt for what we do but us. Anyone who has a healthy conscience knows that the bad things we do, intentional or not, are the hardest to forget. However unnatural and painful that is, it is the truth. Ian McEwan reminds his readers that our past and our decisions make us who we are. Theme Paper #3 By Kelsey Davis The book that I chose for my sixth reading was A Farewell to Arms, a 332-page book by Earnest Hemingway. This novel is semi-autobiographical and tells the story of an American ambulance driver in the Italian army during WWI, Lieutenant Henry. This story contains a lot of dialogue, so a prominent theme can be hard to interpret. However, the philosophy of life that Henry has throughout the story develops into its own theme. Through his beliefs and actions, Lieutenant Henry establishes a philosophy: life has no order, and no ultimate purpose. You have to make the most of it using your own personal values and find your own meaning. This is a major theme of the book. Henrys approach to life can be seen in his interactions with his friends and lovers. Also in his opinions of the war and of religion you can see evidence of his philosophy. Several times in the beginning chapters Henry shows his tendency towards instant gratification. When he takes his leave in chapter three, instead of taking a healthy vacation, he spends his days and nights drunk and in the company of prostitutes. In the beginning of his relationship with a nurse he states, I did not care what I was getting into . . .. I knew I did not love Catherine Barkley nor had any idea of loving her. This was a game, like bridge, in which you said things instead of playing cards . . .. Nobody had mentioned what the stakes were. It was all right with me. Henry didnt have a total lack of integrity or morality in the book; this is shown by his loyalty to Catherine and his care for the priest, Rinaldi, and the soldiers beneath him. In many instances though, he showed that he didnt care about or c onsider outcomes. His drinking, for example, eventually resulted in jaundice but he didnt decrease his habit much. Henry didnt believe in a God, in an established order, or in ensured justice. The tragic events in Henrys life reaffirm his convictions of the hostility of life and strengthen endurance when under trial. He establishes his own order by sticking to courage and love. When he faces death from his own army, he escapes and flees to Switzerland with Catherine where they find happiness within each other. In the book, the war and Catherines death help to shape Henrys attitude towards life, and thus, the theme. Parts of Henrys philosophy I agree with. I admire his endurance, and his value of life, especially in light of the fact that he felt no higher meaning or purpose. I like that when he fell in love with Catherine, though he still cared for his responsibilities, he always did what made them both happy. I pity Henry though. Catherine was the only thing that made him truly happy; he couldnt be happy and find purpose on his own. Once she died he was alone, left with the same unordered universe he had before. All the meaning he found in life was in things that could be taken away from him. In the end, what sense of hope does that leave?

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome: AIDS :: AIDS disease

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is a blood born disease that was first recognized in America in the early 1980’s, around the time Rock Hudson passed away. It is believed that it was first passed thru to humans by monkey’s in Africa. â€Å"The battle between humans and disease was nowhere more bitterly fought than here in the fetid equatorial climate, where heat and humidity fuel the generation of new life forms. One historian has suggested that humans, who first evolved in Africa eons ago migrated north to Asia and Europe simple to get to climates that were less hospitable to the deadly microbes the tropics so efficiently spread.† (Shilts, 5)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"HIV may already infect one to two million Americans and spreads to forty thousand more people each year.† (Klitzman, 7) This disease wreaks havoc in places like Africa, Europe, South America, Asia, and the United States, as well as countless other places around the world. â€Å"With Modern roads and jet travel, no corner of the earth was very remote anymore; never again could diseases linger undetected for centuries among a distant people without finding some route to fan out across the planet.† (Shilts, 5)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  AIDS is mainly a sexually transmitted disease, statistically attributed to the homosexual community, that is transferred by people who are unaware they are infected. It can also be transferred between people through tainted blood transfusions as well as the sharing of infected needles among users. AIDS is a devastating and debilitating disease that may not show up for a period of ten years or longer after the original contact. By this time it might be too late to do anything about it , although, there are various cocktails of drugs that could control the disease and extend life for a considerable length of time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Western society has been able to arrest the spread of AIDS with sexual education and early testing but where the disease first started, in Africa, almost one third of the population is now afflicted with the disease. In order to combat this problem in Africa, the governments of the western world have shown a concentrated effort by sending billions of dollars in aid to educate and treat people who are infected with this disease.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  AIDS has reached many people from all different cultures, ethnic backgrounds, and areas around the world. This is a scary fact considering many of those people could be unaware they are infected with HIV.

Human Resource Management Plan Essay

As a startup healthcare staffing agency for per diem, temporary and travel healthcare employment, human resources are our product; as such, a Human Resource Management Plan is vital to the success of this agency. This plan has been put together with input of management/ recruitment, sales and employee representatives. This is tool to aid in the building of this company, clearly defining roles and job responsibilities of the administrative staff; stressing the laws with which this company will comply; adding clear cut job descriptions for the labor force; and includes information on staffing, employee development/training and compensation strategies. Roles and Responsibilities Manager – Is responsible for the overall success of the human resource department. The manager will implement and define job descriptions; the training program; and contracts. The manager will procure all insurance, will assure compliance with JCAHO regulations and make sure that all state and federal statues are met as well as that all relevant laws and regulations are adhered to. The manager is responsible for acquiring human resources as well as being the final decision maker as to the hiring and termination of all employees. The manager must possess the following skills: leadership/management, budgeting, compliance will all legal binds, and effective communication. Sales Manager- the SM will be responsible for: initiating all contact with clients; following up on these contacts; negotiating for a contract between this company and client; ensuring that all contractual agreements are complied with; and developing a working relationship with client’s HR departments. The SM must possess the following skills: leadership, compliance with all legal binds, effective communication, the autonomy to make decisions and the ability to project respect of client and engender the appearance of trust, integrity and a positive image of the company. Support Personnel – the SP will be responsible for: all coding and billing; answering phones; requesting all background searches (criminal as well as credit); light booking such as time sheets and payroll; keeping track of all licenses, certification, contract and insurance expiration dates; scheduling of all employees; sending and sorting all correspondence; placing advertisements; and updating the website as needed. The SP must have the following skills: organization, trustworthiness, ability to comply with all reasonable requests by management and sales, keep a consistent and reliable work schedule, have the ability to keep all information private, and have a good work ethic and personality that reflects the image this company wants to convey. Legal Requirements The sales product of our company is its human resources. As such, there is a myriad of laws and statutes that require total attention to address HR legal compliance. Adhering to these regulations is tantamount to success for this company. The Equal Employment Opportunity Act is the chief statute that this company must adhere to. Every attempt will be made to reduce/avoid violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act that protects against discrimination of race, color, sex (including pregnancy), religion and national origin (EEOC, 2012). Nor will there be violations of the Age Discrimination Act of 1967 and its’ amendments. There will be training in and awareness of disparate treatment of applicants including the EEOC’s new regulations on not hiring based on criminal background so that these laws are not violated (EEOC, 2012). It is our responsibility to give our clients the best candidate to fit their requirements so the job description should reflect clearly and without any ambiguity, the limitations of each position. However, records will be kept in accordance with EEOC regulations of all applicants as well as ensuring that all accommodations are made for any disabilities Punitive and compensatory damages can be levied against this company for violations of these acts. Benefits Required Until this company acquires 20+ employees it is not required to offer certain benefits (EEOC, 2012). The majority of its’ employees will be contract workers and as such, they are required to possess their own liability insurance, will not have access to company provided health insurance, disability or retirement benefits. Government required assistances such as COBRA, FMLA and ERIS plans will not be included in any benefit package until such time as this company hires salaried employees at the required minimum (EEOC, Disabilities 2012). At that time this policy will be revisited. OSHA regulations will be strictly enforced at the company’s geographical location and the appropriate information will be posted. Violations can be subject to penalties of up to $500,000. 00 and up to six months in jail (U. S. Legal, 2010-2013). Job Description of Contract Staff Attached is a sample job description for a RN with a psych component and psych experience. (See addendum 1). This description has been carefully analyzed and developed in accordance with all laws and regulations and will be give to our clients for comparison so that their HR department’s job escriptions are legally within all perimeters required and reflect essential job functions. This description was designed with help from the O*Net Online website and the Uniform Guidelines for Employee Selection Procedures. This company’s mission is to supply RNs’, LPNs’, CNAs’, NAs’, Social service, therapeutic, as well as any other healthcare related staff on temporary need basis for hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities, including home care. Our job descriptions must reflect this clearly and include the requirements given us in the contract with our clients. Any limitations are those supplied to us by our client’s HR department and do not represent limitations on hiring by this company or any employees of this company. Each individual HR department will provide NOLA Nursing Agency with their job descriptions but we reserve the right to change any portion of this design to reflect current laws in agreement with the client’s HR department (Fried and Fottler, 2012, pp. 171,173,174, 176). Staffing and Employee Development Staffing will be guided by each individual job description. Jobs will be filled with the applicants who best fit with the requirements of our clients, suitability of the position and expectations of NOLA Nursing. Our hiring motto is â€Å"Best Person, Best Fit, equals Best Care. † To ensure excellence in training of our per diem staff by NNA before additional training is undertaken after hire, we will use the COPA model by Lenburg. The COPA model of assessment of competency by Lenburg provides for a framework to ensure that teaching and learning of skills by nurses are interactive and student focused. NNA will use this framework to prepare per diem nurses/healthcare staff for employment. Below are the four major questions complied in this model: 1. What are the essential competencies and outcomes for contemporary practice? 2. What are the indicators that define those competencies? 3. What are the most effective ways to learn those competencies? And, 4. What are the most effective ways to document that learners and/or practioners have achieved the required competencies? To further prepare our healthcare staff will use Lenburg’s eight core practice competencies with sub skill to grade new staff and use the data collected to fill out each individual’s skill set. See Addendum 2) It will also be incumbent upon NOLA Nursing Agency: * To recruit the best applicants to fulfill the specified job qualifications for our clients. This will include the initial structured interview which will test job-competency and access the applicant’s suitability for the position. A realistic job preview will be given to the chosen applicant before selection to increase th e success of the person-job/organization fit. (Fried et al, 2012, pp. 209, 211-212) * An employment agreement will be drafted and signed by NNA along the candidate and will be enforced by NNA. A separation agreement will also be initiated by NNA after receiving information by client and if necessary, an exit interview will be performed by same. * Preform all background checks including: job and education histories, criminal and civil backgrounds, validation of licenses/certifications/credentials, and checks of personal and professional references. A report will be made available to clients with signed permission of the applicant and adhering to required laws. Drug screening and physical abilities confirmed if required on job description, * Current individual liability insurance validated: copies kept on file as well as expiration dates of the insurance for each contract employee. * Protected class applications will be cataloged and statistics will be submitted to the appropriate government regulation agencies * CEUs for each applicant will be kept up to date and appropriate to the job description * Each applicant will be tested in a skills inventory and given necessary instruction in weak skills. A web bank of nursing skills will be made available so contract applicants can improve on their skill base. * Compensation and any benefits will be negotiated between NOLA Nursing and the applicant * Any issues that arise in the working environment will be mediated by NOLA Nursing and our client. * NOLA Nursing will monitor their contract employee’s job performances and any deficits will be addressed. * A critical incidents analysis will be kept on each contract employee to better select quality candidates for our clients Recruitment will be through advertisements in web based Job Boards, newspapers and participation in job fairs. An active bank of all applicants will be kept updated with a surplus of personnel available for each potential position. All necessary legal regulations and statutes will be considered in job placement and all information given on a particular candidate will be considered on a need to know basis. Our focus should be on giving our client a smooth, issue-free solution to their staffing deficits. While all attempts will be made to make a right person/right fit for each job description, voluntary and involuntary terminations will occur. To this end, the employment agreement between NNA and the applicant will include a section to negotiate issues resulting in a voluntary termination in an attempt to stay the dissolution of the contract. In case of a non-voluntary termination, NNA will act as representative of the employee to mediate any solutions that could result in the fulfillment of the contractual period. With due diligence performed by our company, turnover rates of temporary staff should be above the rate of regular employees. We make all efforts to satisfy our clients and our most important resource, our employees. Evidence based research by Cummins, J. in the online article, Nurse retention strategies: A growing priority, and Perrine, J, in Recruitment and retention report: Strategies to boost RN retention, have shown that the following strategies have improved retention rates, increasing motivation, satisfaction and performance: 1. Promote an environment where RN’s actively participate in the decision making processes that occur at the unit on the institutional level 2. Improve the perception of respect 3. Improve access between RNs’ and the organizational leadership 4.  Assist staff with education and training to meet the changing market needs 5. Lead by Example Compensation Contracts between job applicants and NOLA Nursing will be finalized after compensatory benefits are agreed upon and contracted by NNA and our client. Compensation will be on an hourly and per diem basis. HR will be cognizant of the market pay scale for each job description and compensation will stay above market value to attract competent candidates. Special attention will be given to equal pay for equal opportunities (Equal Pay Act). Diversity Evidence based research by Singleton, K and Krause, E (Sept 2009) in the Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, has found a correlation between the improving health of a patient and the nurse being of the same culture as the patient. Within legal limits, considerations will be given to the population climate of the institution where the deficit of nurses is occurring. We are an equal opportunity employer so anyone who applies will have the same opportunity to be placed in a position per the job description perimeters. Selection will not be determined by race, age, gender, sexual preference, color, religion or national origin. Realities are that nationwide, 90% of U. S. nurses are Caucasian, and blacks and Hispanics are underrepresented per the US population (Aiken, 2007). All applicants will be looked at equally and attempts will be made to place any qualified applicant. Historical Perspective and Current Trends With the cycles of supply and demand on nursing labor market, the opening of the 21st century found healthcare systems trying to catch up with demand (Fried, et al, pp. 90). Many foreign nurses were brought into the States to meet the demand; nearly 15,000 passed the Nclex in 2005 according Aiken, however at the time, â€Å"American nursing schools were turning away applicants because of capacity limitations. † (Aiken, 2007) Projections are that the shortage in 2020 could reach 800,000 to 1. 1 million with a large block of nurses looking to retire from the labor force by 2020. Aiken quotes that graduation of nurses fell from over 95,000 in 1994 to below 70,000 by 2001 with a false increase from 2002-2005 being older nurses reentering the workforce and foreign educated nurses. Current trends have been to raise salaries, provide scholarships and give other incentives to retain and gain nursing staff. However with the lack of nursing teachers, and facilities, there will be again a nursing shortage of graduate nurses and on the other end of the spectrum; retiring nurses. Per Fried and Fottler (pp. 90), more than 30,000 qualified applicants were not accepted into baccalaureate nursing programs in 2007. With the increase in Magnate policies and the increase in associate nursing programs, there will be a shortage of 4 year nurses in the near future. Per Aiken, increases and shortages of nurses into the labor market is contingent upon federal subsidies. When there was a trend toward nursing layoffs in the period between 1995 to 2000 graduations fell causing the latest shortage of nurses. Wages grew 12. 8 % between 2000 -2004. This caused an upsurge in nursing school applicants and many were turned away. Aiken feels that graduations of nurses into the labor pool seem to be keeping up with demand. However the Affordable Care Act will open up primary care to an additional 40 million Americans with a rise in the market for additional nurses (Wakefield, 2010). Government subsidies have changed per the HRSA scholarship opportunities in the last two years. Where concentration was on increasing RN subsidies, now HRSA is concentrating on grants for nurse practitioners and nursing educators and has significantly reduced the monies offered to two and four year RNs. Once again the cycle of reduced enrollments in nursing school should follow the trend of reduced federal subsidies less nursing candidates. This bodes well for our job market niche and should be the basis for growth in this company

Dehumanization in Night Essay

Night is a heart pulling memoir of its young Jewish author, Ellie Weasel, and his experiences in the Holocaust. The book begins with him living in the town of Sighet. He had a very sheltered life, with no accounts of negativity in the world. He and his family were also raised heavily on Jewish beliefs. One day a man by the name of Moshe the beadle comes to warn the people of the dangers of the Nazis. Unfortunately the people did not heed this and Sighet was invaded by Nazis. Weasel and his family are taken and separated. He only had his father now and they braved much torture and mal treatment by the kapos in the camps. At the end of it all only weasel himself made it out alive, though a brutal scar was marked upon his soul. He’d lost his family and his faith at those camps. But through all his sorrow and loss he wanted to share his accounts in this dark volume of his life, so that people understand what the Jews went through all those years ago. This led him to write Night, where in which Weasel points out the inhumanity towards other humans during the holocaust as one of the themes of his chilling story. One of the major factors that contribute to this theme is actually one of the first cruel things he encountered was the Nazis. At first on the other had he didn’t see them for the monstrous people that they were. In the book Eliezer, Weasels character, even recalls, â€Å"Our first impressions of the Germans were most reassuring†¦. Their attitude toward their hosts was distant, but polite.† But this is just one of the many aspects of the holocaust that was tremendously misunderstood. But even more so unthinkable was the cold-blooded butchery of millions of innocent people. As the memoir progresses you will see how Weasel puts a spotlight of the actions of the Nazis by first seeing them as humans beings but then later on reveals the evil deeds that they commit upon innocent Jews. Night also exhibits how inhumanity can spread to others who have been shown inhumanity. This is shown when the Jews start to turn on each other, instead of braving their harsh treatment together. It is even said by a Kapo: â€Å"Here, every man has to fight for himself and not think of anyone else. . . . Here, there are no fathers, no brothers, no friends. Everyone lives and dies for himself alone.† Because the Kapo are also just prisoners that are in control of the other prisoners, this is a very significant message. They were happy to help the Nazis in their plans for genocide. This led them to act really ruthlessly towards those under their command. In the fifth section of the book Eliezer mentions them as being, â€Å"functionaries of death.† The perspective of the Kapos show how those effected by the Holocaust can use inhumanity to infect other people like it as a virus.