Saturday, August 31, 2019

Book Reporter of Swim the Fly Essay

Their plan failed because Matt almost got recognized by Kelly in the girl’s changing room. However, Kelly and her best friends Valerie started to pay attention to Matt because his brave move of volunteering in the 100-m butterfly (or his appearance in the girl’s changing room? ). Ms. Luntz (their swimming couch) put Matt, a poor guy who can’t even manage a single lap, in the butterfly medley relay without even asking Matt. Sean and Coop came up with an idea to pretend having a stomachache in order to avoid the embarrassment. Matt’s grandpa sent a kitten to Mrs. Hoogenboom in order to get her attention which turned out Mrs. Hoogenboom almost found out he is the one who tried to suffocate the cat. Relate: T-S connection: I also have friends like Sean and Coop in my life that can not only have fun with but also share sadness with. T-T connection: Matt volunteered for the 100-m butterfly stroke championships so Ms. Luntz figured he wouldn’t mind doing another butterfly medley relay. However, Matt couldn’t even do one stroke and weren’t capable of swimming the fly. T-W connection: I saw a movie called American Pie which described similar situation in this book, a few guys fall in love with the hottest girls in their school and manage to date them out. Reflect: There are always some friends in your life who always make fun of you yet you never get angry with them. It is normal in the western culture for an old man to impress a widow who has just lost her husband? It is kind of unacceptable for me. This part of the book is the rising action because they hadn’t achieved their goal yet. The narrator is 1st person which is Matt himself. How does Matt’s grandpa’s relationship with Mrs. Hoogenboom relate to the story? Why did the author even mention it? Always be prepared, so when the opportunity comes you will be the one grabs it. ( If Matt can do butterfly stoke well enough, he will be able to join not only the medley relay but also the championships in order to impress the girl he likes. )

Friday, August 30, 2019

Rise of Modern Drama

The Rise Of Modern Drama It is known as one of theatre's greatest periods today. The modern drama period is shaped by world-changing forces, such as industrial-technological revolution, democratic revolutions, and an intellectual revolution that would disrupt earlier conceptions of time, space, the divine, human psychology, and social order. As a result, a theatre of challenge and experimentation emerged.Realism, the movement with the most pervasive and long-lived effect on modern theatre, was conceived as a laboratory in which the ills of society, familial problems, and the nature of relationships could be â€Å"objectively† presented for the judgment of impartial observers. Its goal, of likeness to life, demanded that settings resemble their prescribed locales precisely and seem like rooms from real life in which one wall have been removed. Related article: What Led to the Rise of Political Parties in the 1790sHenrik Ibsen, a playwright, initiated the realistic period with plays focused on contemporary, day-to-day themes that skillfully reveal both sides of a conflict through brilliantly capturing psychological detail. An independent but concurrent movement, naturalism, would be an even more extreme attempt to dramatize human reality without the appearance of dramaturgical shaping. While realist plays would address well-defined social issues, naturalist plays offered a simple â€Å"slice of life† free from dramatic convention.With the same reverence for nature, the human being was conceived as a mere biological phenomenon whose behavior was determined by heredity and environment. A counterforce to realism, initiated by symbolism, began in the late nineteenth century that would expand into what might be called antirealism theatre. Symbolism would contest realism's apparent spiritual bankruptcy with a form that wou ld explore, through images and metaphors, the inner realities of human experience that cannot be directly perceived.A focus on traditional aesthetic values, such as poetry, imagery, and profundity would reflect the importance of purity of vision over observation, abstraction and enlargement over the mundane and ordinary. The movement spread quickly and affected every aspect of theatrical production. Symbolism's contestation of realism gave rise to an era of â€Å"isms,† during which the aesthetics of dramatic art assumed a new social and political significance.Such â€Å"isms† became, in time, used consciously as stylization in new dramatic formats. Such antirealistic theatre does not discard reality but enhances it with symbol and metaphor, elucidates parable and allegory, deconstructs and reconstructs subjects through language, scenery, and lighting, and finally uses the theatre's own theatricality explicitly. Briefly examining eleven of these movements makes the div erse qualities and perspectives within naturalism theatre apparent.From the emotional and â€Å"irrational† perspectives of Theatre of Cruelty to the rational and thought-provoking nature of Intellectual Comedy, pre-World War II naturalism approaches such as Expressionism, Theatricalism, and the French Avant-Garde challenged and extended the limits of theatrical art. Through redefining the importance and function of language, extending the concept of character to include abstract forces or archetypes, reconstructing stage imagery through metaphoric scenery and lighting, and exploring themes often tinged with anxiety, such isms and stylizations have created much of the theatrical language used on today's stages.Following World War II, the modern Theatre would introduce new theatre practices and reawaken theatre's sense of social responsibility, while the Theatre of the Absurd would express the futility of all action and pointlessness of all direction. Philosophical Melodrama a ccepted the Absurd's premise that humans are alone in a silent universe, but takes it as a challenge to creating an effective life.The Comedy of Contemporary Manners would unmask the ridiculousness of social convention, while Political Satire ruthlessly reveals the hypocrisies and exploitations of political and economic systems within a comedic and often highly stylized framework. The Case Study uses, most often, medical problems as a perspective for philosophical investigations, frequently taking the audience into and back out of the â€Å"patient's† experience. By contrast, the ostensible realism of Surrealism is actually suffused with a menacing obscurity and mythic symbolism that seeks out

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Acting Under Pressure Essay

Some of the professionals or even not yet professionals may face many psychological pressures often without people or resources to turn to for support, or the knowledge and skills to effectively manage these pressures. A great mind being an optimistic can help you a lot in terms of handling these pressures for you to be able to work properly. In contrast with this, a pessimistic mind will lead you no way. Leaders who want to establish a practice of positive workplace within their organizations should develop written ethics standards, provide ethics training, and ensure resources are available for employees in need of some proper advice. According to the internet, Management accounting or managerial accounting is concerned with the provisions and use of accounting information to managers within organizations, to provide them with the basis to make informed business decisions that will allow them to be better equipped in their management and control functions. Those taking this specific subject may face different challenges along the way. In the given data of Institute of Management Accountants, enumerated countries have its own challenges yet it is included with solutions in order to minimize those given challenges. Below are the countries given together with its challenges in the workplace plus the way on how do they resolve those cases. UNITED KINGDOM. One of the challenges faced by the management accountants is limited funding of public money and potentially high penalties if a project failed to be delivered on time. In order to resolve this problem, management accountants should need to ponder how this was being allocated because it can be a threat to year end reporting and matching progress to the budget. To avoid penalties and to adopt with tight timelines, safety and quality issues and working hours should need to be kept in check. Moreover, another challenge faced by management accountants is intense pressure to win a contract. In line with this, management accountants need to confirm that no conflict of interest from the outset and that governance and checks for the awarding of contracts were in place. Also, there must be a regular review of relationships with contractors as well as offers and acceptance of hospitality. Management accountants should use not only her organization’s governance and ethical guidelines and policies but also be guided by the CIMA code of ethics and seek support from her reporting line and senior management. In line with this, management accountants should create relationships with his/her team as well as line managers to enable his/her to influence associates, and to become familiar with the key contacts in the audit or ethics committee to escalate issues by means of asking perceptive and examining questions, encouraging discussions and resolving issues. SRI LANKA. Another challenges faced by management accountants were issues related to the quality of supplies and raw materials in its strict deadlines and fixed budgets because there may be inadequate transparency in the supplier screening process and incentives used to keep things to time. As a management accountant, regular quality checks will help him/her to draw up a policy framework with expected issues with the team, like considering time plans for projects. Also, confidential whistleblowing line of that management will act on. SOUTH AFRICA. Most companies in South Africa are challenged by the pressure brought about by the competitive setting of the business world. Since companies were focused on being the one top, the workforce especially management accountants were pressured to meet the company’s objectives, mainly in meeting the deadlines. Without a proper application of managerial skills and having a harmonious relationship within the management it may be hard for the management accountants to provide accurate and well-articulated information to the managers. Building and strengthening the commitment of every employee is one good solution and it is done by having regular meetings, raising best practice, and sharing knowledge. Build relationship not only with legal departments but also with technical departments in order to extract every details or information needed to provide the best information and precise data for the managers to have an enhanced management of the company. PAKISTAN. In Pakistan, working on demanding deadlines and strict budgets are the main problems/challenges faced by many management accountants. Inducement is commonly observed in order to meet deadlines leading to falsifying records and providing unreliable valuations. For that reason, risk assessment should always be done and a â€Å"highlight to ETHICAL CONDUCT should be observed†. Management accountants should ensure that all requirements are met and have a healthy communication not only with the management but also with external stakeholders to engage them properly. MALAYSIA. In Malaysia, the problems or challenges faced by management accountants were related in the threats of breaching the confidentiality of information and interest of a company. Other problems that management accountants were facing include labor rights, safety and quality issue. Management accountants should keep the customer’s expectation to their product or service to meet up their company’s objectives and goals. To solve these problems management accountants should think about the risk if they were threatened to breach the confidentiality of information of a company. They should also investigate if there were hidden expenses, asset under/over valuation and improper profit recognition. Management accountants have a vital role to play of having a good company especially if they understand professional ethics. They should also give incentives to their employees so they can work harder and it is the key to maintain or improve customer relationship. Management accountant sh ould also go under training and seminars about ethical values of organization.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Drunk Driving Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Drunk Driving - Essay Example Research has also shown that an alcohol related death occurs in every thirty minutes and driving while drunk accounts for approximately 25% of the deaths. Drinking has been found to impair vision and hearing among drinkers, it also leads to a decline in terms of coordination of the body muscles and ultimately reaction times. This is a combination that may not be desired for people expected to drive on our roads. At a BAC of above ten percent for instance one to have a very poor reaction time, deteriorated motor control, poor vision, mood changes and over expression. There is no doubt such is not the status expected drive a car. As a result of the sensory impacts of drinking alcohol, driving while is responsible for the many accidents and deaths associated with alcohol. it would therefore be advisable that all drivers avoid drinking if they have to drive or wait until the end of the journey if they must drink. Laws have been put in place to punish those found to drive while drunk and therefore driving while drunk means violating state laws. DUI is a crime and may be classified as either a felony or misdemeanor depending on the circumstances in which the crime is committed. A misdemeanor is preferred when the drunk driver causes no injury to other persons or peoples’ properties. A felony on the other hand results when DUI results in injuries. The maximum jail term in case of a misdemeanor is six months whereas for felony it can extend unto three years. Punishment may also include revocation of one’s driving license. Research has also shown that peer pressure is a major case DUI; the youth would want to drink and drive in a quest to show off to peers, pretend to be strong, impress their friends or even just because they don’t want others to drive their car. This has the effect of exposing the teenagers and youth at a much higher risk of engaging in DUI and by extension related accidents as compared to the adults

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

HULSE CHRISTMAS WAR LETTER ANALYSIS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

HULSE CHRISTMAS WAR LETTER ANALYSIS - Essay Example The bullet use of the regiment was fatal and meant to kill all the targets. However, the emissaries were excited about how hearing the plans of Hamilton and his military men. The army was informed that Russia had developed better artillery than they had, but they did not relinquish. The English men were defeated by Hamilton’s army. However, Hamilton men disobeyed his orders and pursued their goals concerning the war. This situation compromised the authority of Hamilton, who was their commander. This notwithstanding, Hamilton managed to convince his group to obey his orders and retreat to launch a comprehensive attack on the German and the French troops to the trench. He ensured that his troops did not constitute of French and Germans given that the two groups were the main foes of Hamilton troops. Hamilton had to gather information on the German and the French. In this regard, he puts under siege two nationals of the two nations. He sought all the information he required. The opposing group was also composed of the 37th and 158th regiments2. The weather favored Hamilton, and the environment was serene and peaceful. The weather enhances their attack. The Germans sent an emissary to remind the English army that the Christmas was a crucial day and that the two nations should not engage in animosities. In fact, the emissary brought some rum drink to share with the officials of the great army in order to call a truce. Hamilton and his team stayed in the trenches during the entire period of the war. The army took their meals in the trenches. There were demonstrations in front of the Coy, which made Hamilton and his men in keeping vigil of the place. According to Westrow Hulse, Hamilton and his men were engaged in a burial exercise of 29 people3. The belongings of the late military men were collected by Giles and kept safely. Hamilton’s me n ordered their foes to release the men they captured in order to consider ending the devastating war between t two

Conceptual Models to Represent Relationships Essay

Conceptual Models to Represent Relationships - Essay Example Now that the project is concluded, we have edited it and made a digital copy. It is now necessary to make a decision on which is the best way to examine the information collected to best understand the interviewees and the issues that they reported about their experience at the restaurant. Â  Hypothesis: i/ Customers with two or more children are more likely to drive over three miles to the restaurant than customers with one child., are more likely to drive more than 3 miles to come to the Restaurant compared to those with only one child. Â  The best techniques to test the above hypothesis and relationships are ANOVA three to four means, CHI-SQUARE, and the T-TEST. These techniques were chosen after analyzing the types of data that we collected. Each technique analyzes data in a different way. Â  The ANOVA technique was selected because it is useful for finding statistical variation between three or more averages. For example, question twelve asks customers if they think Santa Fe Grill has friendly employees. The data is taken from single, married and divorced customers, so the statistical technique that can be used will be ANOVA. Â  The Chi-square was selected because it can be used to examine relationships involving nominally scaled data, unlike other statistical techniques. This technique was used for question number 32 where customers are supposed to classify their sexual orientation and other similar questions such as a question that asks the surveyed to indicate marital status. Â  

Monday, August 26, 2019

The efficiency of Wind Turbines Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The efficiency of Wind Turbines - Essay Example It turned into an obstacle on the way to prosperity for many states. Moreover, our environment is changed because of air pollution that leads to global warming. Thus, the problem needs an urgent solution. The solution should respond to all the needs connected with energy supply and environmental protection. Thus, it is essential to consider the types of energy, which are not harmful for our environment and renewable at the same time. This paper will discuss the wind power as a type of renewable and ecologically good energy. The main goal is to prove that wind power should be considered by the countries of the world as an alternative. The advantages of wind turbines Speaking about wind power, it is essential to mention that it is considered to be the one of the most perspective type of energy. The power is generated by means of wind going though the turbine motor. Wind turbines do not need any fuel to produce energy, thus there are no emissions. Actually, it is currently used in many fields as it is ecologically good and inexhaustible. There are many reasons why it attracts so much attention. Before, people used windmills to work with water, but now people already consider wind to get energy. A great number of states plan to use wind turbines as they start to trust wind energy. Wind power helps decrease the use of exhaustible resources such as oil and coal. The kinds of wind turbines There are two kinds of modern turbines that produce wind energy. They have different design: horizontal axis and vertical axis, while horizontal axis design is more widespread as it is considered to be more suitable. Horizontal axis wind turbines are highly developed and financially feasible. Their sizes and shapes may vary, but they have one common feature: they look like their ancestors – windmills. Now horizontal axis wind turbines are widely applied in the world to produce clean electricity that does not pollute the air we breath. Horizontal axis wind turbines are very ef fective â€Å"today these machines are proven: they are used throughout the world producing clean, affordable, and sustainable electricity. Modern horizontal axis wind turbines produce electricity 70-85% of the time (whenever the wind is over 7-8 mph)† (Types of electricity generating wind turbines). In contrast to horizontal axis wind turbines, vertical axis wind turbines are not widely used, notwithstanding that they have some advantages. They are not so reliable and very often work poorly, thus they are not so successful at the market as horizontal turbines. Many experts state that they are simply not ready for exploitation. However, scientists do their best to improve the characteristics of vertical axis wind turbines. Moreover, new technology is being currently invented: â€Å"To ensure  wind turbines  that are big in size work in a better manner, a new kind of air-flow technology may soon be introduced. Apart from other aspects, it will focus on efficiency of blade s used in the wind turbines. The technology will help in increasing the efficiency of these turbines under various wind conditions† (Increasing the Efficiency of Wind Turbine Blades). Wind turbines are also different by their capacity, they can be smaller and bigger. Big ones can produce energy for the whole cities, while small are mostly used for households, where there are problems with the access to electricity. Contra argument Despite all the advantages, wind power appears to be very expensive, thus many countries do not consider such opportunity. However, the technology is being improved and the opportunities to reduce the expenses grow. Now many countries consider the possibility to replace the exhaustible energy that is harmful for our environment with wind energy. The expenses on this kind of power are high,

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Leininger's Cultural Care Diversity and Universality Research Paper

Leininger's Cultural Care Diversity and Universality - Research Paper Example The paper also describes how research, empirical testing and knowledge development enables the modern and future nursing care to be culturally congruent and thus effective. a). Concepts And Subconcepts of The Theory Leininger’s theory focuses in explaining, describing and thus predicting the similarities and differences of nursing practice in relation to the conceptualization of the patient’s culture. Therefore it can be said that the main focus of the Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality is the care of patients and culture (McFarland and Eipperle, 2008, p. 48). Moreover, the theory demonstrates the methods of nursing approach which aims at taking care of patients with an understanding of their culture. The application of this theory in nursing is through the Trans-cultural Nursing Model where patient care by nurses is designed in a way that it is congruent to the beliefs, practices and values of the patients (Leininger and McFarland, 2006, p. 57). Leininge r’s theory illustrates that since culture shapes every individual, it becomes very important for a nurse especially during medical care. The Trans-cultural Nursing Model therefore enables nurses to view their patients in terms of their beliefs and practices so that they would understand them sufficiently and hence facilitate care (Vandenberg, 2010, p. 238). The nursing care outcome in a trans-cultural patient care is a high level of patient well being (Ekman and Emami, 2007, p. 417). Nurses are mandated to be aware that patients are different because of the unique cultures. The contemporary society which is characterized by globalization and enhanced communication technology has enhanced migration and as a result, societies are more diverse with people from various cultural backgrounds. This reveals that The Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality is very relevant in nursing practice throughout the world. Because patients and their families expect their beliefs and values to be respected it becomes compelling for nurses to apply a trans-cultural approach in nursing practice so that patients are cared for in the most appropriate way (Leininger and McFarland, 2006, p. 59). Therefore cultural competence among nurses is regarded as a very valuable skill which differentiates one form of nursing from another. Planning nursing care requires the understanding of the patient’s values and beliefs so that various cultural phenomena are taken into consideration. The cultural aspects which are described within the Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality include family, social groups, space, communication, genetic variations, spirituality, time orientation and health traditions. All these aspects must be understood by the nurse in order to provide relevant, appropriate and desirable care to the patient and as a result avoid misunderstanding, conflicts or law suits that would result from the dissatisfaction of the health consumers, families or friends. In trans-cultural nursing research, empirical testing and knowledge development is enabled by understanding individual cultures in relation to the social categories (Ekman and Emami, 2007, p. 418). Such research promotes the knowledge of nurses on cultures and thus enhanced current nursing practice and the future generation patient care. Additionally, knowledge develop

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Explain the legal powers and duties of local authorities in relation Essay

Explain the legal powers and duties of local authorities in relation to the protection of children. Consider whether any changes - Essay Example Researcher will likewise consider if there are still necessary legal amendments that should be undertaken to ensure that there is adequate protection given to children. The British government has accorded local government such powers and functions that encompassed direct, representative and consultative functions. In Northern Ireland, the councils work on policy legislation which bestowed power for local authorities and added ceremonial function that enable councils to provide a wide range of public services in areas which covered recreation, environmental health, ecological protection, tourism, economic development, and social services. Local authorities are also exercising representative functions that allowed the council to nominate representatives as members of various statutory bodies to establish and administer regional services that cover matters on education, health and social services, drainage and fire protection.1 Their consultative functions, which mandate council to repr esent the views of their population, on regional services operated within the district. Such power includes the power to be involved in developmental planning and for conservation.2 Their authorities are defined by statutes and agreements made in the interest of their district’s constituents.3 As leaders, performing elective or appointive functions, they lead the members of the community in safeguarding and promoting the welfare and protection of children. As such, they lead and work with statutory organisations performing functions on child rights and protection through laws, such as the duties enshrined under Section 11 of the Children Act 2004, an act that provide the establishment of a commission that mandates local authorities to provide services, legal supports, and enforce all statutes for children protection and care4. The policy described such functions, to wit: An Act to make provision for the establishment of a Children’s Commissioner; to make provision abou t services provided to and for children and young people by local authorities and other persons; to make provision in relation to Wales about advisory and support services relating to family proceedings; to make provision about private fostering, child minding and day care, adoption review panels, the defence of reasonable punishment, the making of grants as respects children and families, child safety orders, the Children’s Commissioner for Wales, the publication of material relating to children involved in certain legal proceedings and the disclosure by the Inland Revenue of information relating to children5 (Chapter 31, Children Act 2004; Legislation.gov.uk, 2013). Under this policy, the general function of the Children’s Commissioner involved (a) promotion of awareness on children’s views and interests in England; (b) encourage local authorities to conduct activities that uphold children’s right to express their views and their interests; (c) conduct research and publicize the operation of complaints

Friday, August 23, 2019

Speech Perception and Language Processing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Speech Perception and Language Processing - Essay Example WM has three systems with interactive mechanisms (Montgomery, Magimairai, & Maianisha, 2010). WM enables language comprehension in children of different ages. Though they are affected by the surrounding environment, WM plays an important role in processing of all incoming input on these children. Through the different systems that cooperate and coordinate with the working memory, language development is easily achieved in a normal child. However, the system has a fine attention to resources such as the mental energy that is always controlled in a flexible manner to achieve all bodily functions more easily. Children with specific language impairment normally do not have an impaired WM (Montgomery, Magimairai, & Maianisha, 2010). On the contrary, they also exhibit nonverbal intelligence unlike children with specific language impairment. Also, there are less or no developmental disabilities such as autism. From various researches that have been conducted by various institutions, children with specific language impairment rarely have limitations in working memory. In most cases, these kinds of children represent a heterogeneous population that has a language deficit depending on the surrounding nature. Most of them demonstrate working memory limitations according to these reports. Additionally, children with specific language impairment have a very slow vocabulary growth. Mostly, they have trouble in practicing and learning new words. The reason behind this is that they have a problem in encoding and storing new words in their memory. Hence, we can clearly affirm that children with specif ic language impairment have an impaired working memory. According to an article published by Montgomery, children with specific language impairment normally have a deficit in working memory especially in typically developing children (Montgomery, Magimairai, & Maianisha, 2010).

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Electronic Health Records Essay Example for Free

Electronic Health Records Essay Implementing a new electronic health records (EHR) system to replace manual records is an extremely complicated task. EHRs use complex algorithms to exchange patient data among different physicians and departments such as a pharmacy and laboratory. EHRs are becoming popular because employees and patients can access records anytime and anywhere. Patient drug alerts are also part of the system to warn emergency room and intensive care nurses about potential drug reactions. A needs assessment is a systematic procedure to determine what components are required for EHR implementation to prevent failure of the highly costly investment. Although EHR systems have been shown to dramatically reduce human error, proper assessment before undergoing the implementation process is critical or errors and costs could actually increase. An EHR assessment must be completed before the software packages can be selected to ensure it is conformed perfectly to the specialized needs of the hospital. According to the California Medical Association the assessment has two steps: 1.) Readiness Assessment; and 2.) Work Flow Analysis (Ginsberg et al., n.d.). The assessment should be done by a seasoned group of engineers, physicians, lab workers, billing staff, pharmacists, and nurses to collaborate so that each department increases patient safety and efficient care. The assessment should include a web-based demonstration that allows all stakeholders to identify gaps that would hinder their job responsibilities. Once the needs assessment has been done and vendors chosen as potential suppliers, the readiness assessment should begin. One of the most important data to collect is financial resources. Are more physicians going to be  hired that will increase training costs? Can the organization truly afford the upstart investment and ongoing computer support? Space considerations are also critical to evaluate because most closets are too small for the new EHR platforms that have huge servers. High-speed internet capabilities are a must for EHR data exchange between stakeholders. Moreover, are existing medical records planned to be thinned to put the data into the new system? If so, data needs to be destroyed according to HIPP protocol to protect patient confidentiality. The work flow analysis portion of the needs assessment looks at step-by-step procedures. Examples are scheduling, diagnostic tests, and reviewing tests, prescribing medication, clinical notes, and billing data (Ginsberg et al., n.d.). Other data to be analyzed for the EHR system should be medical history forms, lists of current medications vital signs, insurance, and referrals. The flow of steps in this planning process involves network upgrades, expanding server room space, a Medicare fraud plan, selection of three EHR vendors, visiting other hospitals using the systems, negotiating, and finally select the model that is best suited to all stakeholders. A 10-year study done by the Canada Health Info way about who should be consulted during adoption of an EHR system looked at 29 key stakeholders involved in establishing policy (Rozenblum et al., 2001). They found that stakeholders should be consulted from a bottom-up, clinical needs approach first because they will be the heaviest users of the system. This means physicians, nurses, certified nursing assistants, billers, lab workers, and pharmacy employees need to have significant input into selecting what aspects are most important. The number one reason for implementation failure is inadequate involvement of line-worker clinicians (Rozenblum et al., 2001). Therefore, the informatics team must work very closely with these stakeholders. Other critical stakeholders to consult are the finance department to ensure how much funding is available. Patients are also important stakeholders because no one wants their health information linked to a huge system that is insecure and prone to hacking confidential medical records. Policy makers at the executive organizational and governmental level also have powerful sway over which EHR is chosen. Lack of  collaboration among these diverse groups can delay implementation of the system for decades. Appropriate needs assessment provides relevant feedback to upper management. This helps these higher-ups make wise decisions based on financial resources, training needs for staff, vendor choice, and whether or not EHR is even necessary (Hartzler et al, 2013). Upper management is also provided with the ability to analyze which employees should have access to the system (or what parts of the system) to complete their designated tasks. Gaps between â€Å"wants† and â€Å"needs† can also be identified so that valuable resources are analyzed in cost-benefit analysis. Training needs or additional hiring of employees can also be anticipated to prevent glitches in the system due to human error. EHR systems can increase profit margins and protect patients from human error if assessed closely prior to purchase and implementation. References Ginsberg, D. (n.d.). Successful preparation and implementation of an electronic health records system. Best Practices: A guide for improving the efficiency and quality of your practice. Retrieved December 26, 2014 at https://www.cmanet.org/files/pdf/ehr/best-practices-7.pdf. Hartzler, A. et al. (2013). Stakeholder engagement: A key component of integrating genomic information into electronic health records. Genetics in Medicine, 15, 792-801. Rozenblum, R. (2001). A qualitative study of Canada’s experience with the implementation of electronic health information technology. CMAJ, 183(5), E281-E288.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Comparing Free

Comparing Freedom of Expression in the Statutory Law and the Sharia Law Essay Getting in touch with media law during the first semester of my Masters gave me a sense of the importance of law in general because it consists of acts and articles which organise most issues in the human’s life in a way that protects ethics and morals. Regardless of the hypocrisy and double-standards of the countries which raise high the slogan of Human Rights, I liked the Human Rights Conventions that were laid down by these countries. Therefore, I decided to research some points in these conventions that are related to my study in order to nurture my knowledge in this great field of the human sciences. Then, I thought deliberately about the benefit of exerting much effort to get such knowledge since it is existed, well-explained and well-organised, in handy books. But after looking by historical and religious study as far back as some centuries ago, I found that my own culture, Islam, had plenty of law provisions that helped its people not only to protect their ethics and morals, but also to spread them all over the world. Through deliberate and objective study, I found that many of the social reformers, whose thoughts led to the emergence of the modern criteria of human rights, were originally affected by the roots of the Islamic ulture. I also found a lot of those old and even modern reformers who praised the old provisions of the Sharia Law and they also praised the prosperity which was an outcome of implementing it. The Western writer Patricia Crone (2005: p. 218-219) said referring to how those old provisions of law were true bases of a moral society: â€Å"Medieval Muslims d id not write utopias in the sense of imaginary travel accounts or other descriptions of ideal societies which do not exist, †¦ they were not given to seeking ideals outside their own civilisation at all. But they did place a golden age right at the beginning of their own history, and their numerous accounts of this age add up to a detailed utopia of great emotive power†¦ It was a time when the Muslims had all the virtues of tribesmen and none of their vices, for thanks to Islam there was no feuding, no factionalism, and no disorder, just austerity, solidarity, and total devotion to the truth. Therefore, I decided to look for the provisions of that old law which are related to my study and compare them with their counterparts in the modern human rights’ conventions. In order to limit my research, I decided to take the articles related to my study, media law, in the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) of the British Law to represent the leading international human rights conventions. Part one: Preface Main Argument In this dissertation I am going to explain how both the HRA and the Sharia Law deal with the concept of freedom of expression. As long as such argument is new and uncommon because of the lack of references that studied it, which resulted in an ambiguous perception in the minds of people towards the Sharia Law and its sources, there must be a kind of primary definition of the Sharia Law, its sources and how the Sharia scholars (Sharia Jurists) deal with these sources to regulate law items. Sharia Law This expression is going to be referred to as a theological-historical concept since the Sharia was revealed through a prophet, this makes it a theological subject matter, and it is 15 centuries old, this gives it a historical background. Sharia (sari? ah) is all religious rituals that Allah (SWT) has imposed on Muslims, via his Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) regarding beliefs, rules and day-to-day life among Muslims themselves, and between Muslims and non-Muslims. It is â€Å"designed to govern the relations of Muslims with non-Muslims, whether inside or outside the territory of Islam. † Mahmoud Kamali says that Sharia is â€Å"the Islamic law as contained in the divine guidance of the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Yet, the expression Sharia Law is modern if compared with the word Fiqh, which historically used to mean â€Å"the awareness of Islamic rules from its sources by true inference. † Kamali defined the word Fiqh: â€Å"Islamic law as developed by Muslim Jurists. The term is often used synonymously with Sharia. † Therefore, like other contemporary researchers of similar topics, I am going to use the expression Sharia Law to mean the old word: Fiqh. Sources of the Sharia Law There is no difference between any of the Muslim scholars that the main sources of all information, not only about the details of the life of mankind, but also about the details of the whole universe are the Holy Qur’an, then, the Holy Sunnah. In addition, it is a matter of a universal belief among Muslims and many of non-Muslims that the Holy Qur’an in the hands of people is the real book revealed by Allah (SWT) to his Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) fourteen centuries ago. The same is the 100% authenticity of certain books of Hadith, i. e. Saheeh Al-Bukhari and Saheeh Muslim. These references are not considered comprehensive works; however, I feel that they could draw raw guidelines for me in my research in two ways: * They give me hints about how this issue is being taken by researchers who are not specialists in Sharia studies, but they are lawyers or journalists; like me. * They draw raw guidelines of the comparative methodology of research between articles of the Sharia Law and those of the statutory law. Throughout this dissertation, I am going to take articles of the British Media Law and compare them with the related provisions of the Sharia Law, giving enough examples in order to be able to make clear-cut conclusions about the main question of this dissertation which is: (The question of the dissertation) Can the modern Islamic movements, who are apparently going to rule the Arab countries after the Arab Spring, implement the Sharia Law and achieve the absolute justice which they raise as a slogan for their revolutions and electoral campaigns? Or would they worsen the already worsened situation of media law? Of course, regarding the other part of this dissertation, which is the statutory law, libraries are full of texts of law articles starting from the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in 1789, passing through the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ending with daily huge volumes of books, journals and articles studying new amendments and proposing new laws regarding recent details of the life of people in general and the work of media specifically. Terminology In order to have a good understanding for the real meaning and connotation of the Sharia Law concepts and cases, they have to be denoted by their names. Therefore, it is necessary here to have a list of the original names of the Sharia concepts and their definitions. The Holy Qur’an: defined previously. Surah: one complete chapter from the Holy Qur’an. Sowar: the plural of Surah. Sowar are different in length. Some are 1/3 a page and others exceed 40 pages. Aya: one verse from the Holy Qur’an. Ayat: a plural of aya. The Holy Sunnah: defined previously. Hadith: a verified saying for the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). Ahadith: a plural of Hadith. Tafseer: the interpretation of the Holy Qur’an and the Holy Sunnah by professional credible Muslim scholars. Fatwa: a certain judgement on a certain case by a Sahaba, Tabe’een or confident Muslim scholars in a certain time or place. Plural is Fatawa. Ibada: the act of worshiping Allah (SWT) whether by heart or body. Any act of heart or body needs to start with intention of solely worship for Allah in order to be a true Ibada. Da’wah: the flow of activities Muslims do in illuminating the teachings of Islam. Dhimmi: the name of a non-Muslim citizen in the Islamic State. Ahludhimmah or Dhimmiyeen: plural of Dhimmi. Jezyah: the name of the religious tax for non-Muslims in the Islamic State. It is equivalent to the religious tax taken from Muslims, but Jezyah is a lesser amount of money that has many exceptions. Part Two: The Situation of Freedom of Expression Historical Background It is very important, before starting writing about the situation of freedom of expression in the statutory and the Sharia Law, to explore the general historical climates which preceded the emergence of both laws. That will give a kind of understanding of how much the improvements on the situation of freedom of expression both laws have achieved. * A Glimpse on Freedom of Expression in the West before the Renaissance The period which preceded what is known in Europe as the Renaissance was full of conflicts among the different castes of the European communities in general. That conflict took several forms. A prime one was the conflict between the Church and scientists and that between authority and people. Howard Turner describes a side of such conflicts: â€Å"The Middle Ages in Europe had long been dominated by an unending conflict between Church dogma and a kind of humanistic and individual quest for intellectual liberation. † Church and authority used to be allies and each institution worked for the protection of the other at the expense of people’s lives. They used to impose restriction on freedom of expression and there used to be no respect for people’s privacy. There was also a kind of blackout on external knowledge, fearing that it might undermine their power or alliance. The Thirteenth century was an â€Å"age in which kings and barons reacted to an insult by lopping off the offending tongue- or head†¦ The crime of ‘scandalum magnatum’ expressly protected ‘the great men of the realm’ from any statements that might arouse the people against them. † In France, for example, the king used to say â€Å"I am the state† and gave no space for people to have control in running their own or private life. The Church used to control science. Therefore, knowledge it saw as right, used to be spread, and that it saw as wrong, used to be damaged. A blockage was imposed on scientists and thinkers. In 1614, Galileo was accused of heresy  by the Church for his scientific theories. Eighteen years later, in 1632, he was sentenced to life imprisonment which was reduced to permanent house arrest after he had been obliged to withdraw his theories before the public by the Church. That time was the worst for women’s freedom. Women were inferior to men, troubled with Eve’s sin. They were subject to the authority of their fathers or their husbands. Violence in marriage did occur and was even encouraged. † The dark life of that age pushed people to seek a kind of salvation through knowledge, especially, after the appearance of new thinkers affected by the Muslims’ civilisation. According to Turner, the â€Å"Christian West† inherited the â€Å"scientific legacy from Islam. Thanks to increasing cultural traffic with Muslim lands via the busy Spanish and Sicilian gateways, the thriving routes of Mediterr anean and overland commerce, and the contacts left over from the Crusades. People sought to reinforce the principles of freedom and justice, which was clear in the slogan of the French revolution which was: liberty, equality and fraternity. The revolution in real freedom of expression has been from the Renaissance until today. However, there are still some issues which emerge from time to time that necessitate amendments of the existing laws or constituting new ones. * Freedom of Expression in Arabia before the Sharia Law In Arabia, there used to be kind of freedom of expression, but there was no justice. For example, men used to sit with each other and think about issues related to their tribes. But that right to give an idea or express an opinion was only for masters. Societies there used to consist of three castes: masters, subjects or alliances and slaves. In addition, that right among the masters was only for men. Women used to be suppressed and were not allowed to share opinions either in public affairs or even in family affairs. Women were used in the same way as goods. There used to be a diversity of religions. Arabia included pagans, Jews and Christians. But the most common was paganism. Surely, that kind of diversity hints at a kind of freedom of religion, but the opposite was the norm. Paganism, represented in worshiping idols, was the religion of the mainstream Arabs in Arabia and they used to keep an eye on those who converted to other religions. If they were young, they used to be fought; if they were old, they used to be left free since they could not affect others. Of course, chiefs and masters of tribes used to be happy with that kind of life because it helped them keep strong control over their subjects. However, suppressed castes needed any kind of powerful justice to liberate them from the chains of the different forms of slavery. From amongst that darkness, the message of the Sharia was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) to spread the justice and freedom among people. It is widely known among historians that a reasonable number of the people who joined the Da’wah at the early stages were from the ordinary people or alliances and slaves. Some of the masters asked the Prophet (PBUH) to dismiss them from around him if he wanted them, the masters, to join the Da’wah. Of course, ordinary people always lead reforms. A group of Muslim emigrants fled the persecution of their relatives in Mecca to Abyssinia and there was a short dialogue in the court of Abyssinia’s king, who was a true Christian. Their representative described the situation of Arabs before the Sharia and what the Sharia came with: â€Å"O king! We were plunged in the depth of ignorance and barbarism; we adored idols; we lived in unchastity; we ate dead animals, and we spoke abomination. We disregarded every feeling of humanity, and the duties of hospitality and neighbourhood. We knew no law but that of the strong. At that time, God raised from among us a man of whose birth, truthfulness, honesty and purity we were aware, and he called us to the Unity of God and taught us not to associate anything with Him. He forbade us to worship idols and enjoined us to speak the truth, to be faithful to our trusts, to be merciful, and to regard the rights of neighbours. He forbade us to speak ill of women and to eat the substance of orphans. He ordered us to flee from vices, to abstain from evil, to offer prayers, to render alms, and to observe the fast. Constituted Rights to Freedom of Expression * Freedom of Expression in British Media Law As I have mentioned from the beginning, I am going to take the British law as an exemplar to represent the statutory law in this research. Therefore; I see that I have to propose an overall look at the British law and to see the situation of freedom of expression through it. British Law Unlike other countries, Britain does not have a written constitution. Referring to Britain, Tom Baistow says: â€Å"This country is the only one in the EEC without a written constitution and the only one without the press laws that form one of the most important guarantees of freedom of expression. However, it has a good record regarding the respect of freedom of expression. It got this reputation throughout historical fights of the British nation to attain freedom and adopt democracy. And as an ideal example of the fight to reach this situation, journalism in Britain â€Å"went through a brave battle against constitutional restrictions on publishing in the 19th century and could extract the right t o comment and publish. † Freedom of expression became one of the most respected freedoms as a kind of a social norm among the British people. It is believed in Britain that free speech is a significant pillar of a free democracy. The Royal Commission on the Press in 1977 defined freedom of expression â€Å"as that degree of freedom from restraint which is essential to enable proprietors, editors and journalists to advance the public interest by publishing the facts and opinions without which a democratic electorate cannot make responsible judgement. † This definition shows how the British believe in the vital role that freedom of expression plays in educating the public to be able to take right decisions in elections. It means that it is the main guarantor of a free democracy which is the main principle of a free State. Therefore, Solaiman Saleh described the situation of freedom of expression in Britain, despite the lack of a written constitution, saying: â€Å"The principle of a free press is reinforced in the collective conscience of the British. That forms a better protection which outweighs any written constitution. † Saleh continued explaining that it became a part of the British understanding of freedom of speech that the government does not have the right to interfere in the workflow of mass media. It cannot issue warrants, for example, to close any news platform, have pre-publishing restrictions/instructions or suggest amendments in the administrative systems or editorial policy. This is how James Curran portrayed the British press after the Second World War: â€Å"The press became fully independent of political parties and hence government. † The independence of the press gave it a great deal of space for free speech as well as unlimited power against governments. This was clear when the best wartime leader, British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, demanded an immediate closure of the Daily Mirror over its coverage of the conduct of war. That decision was followed by rough debates in the House of Commons and huge popular protests in Trafalgar Square and London’s Central Hall that pushed Churchill’s government to withdraw the decision against the Daily Mirror and, even, lift a ban previously imposed on the Daily Worker. Mass media regulation is only the role of the Parliament and Judiciary. In reply to the argument that the parliamentarian majority which forms the government may adopt any law suggested by it, Saleh argues that people who believe in the concept of freedom of expression will protest against the parliament and oblige it to stop the new law or to dissolve. The incident of the Daily Mirror mentioned above is a very clear example of that. The main pressure was represented by ‘organised protests’ in Trafalgar Square and London’s Central Hall. In addition, Hanna and Banks say in McNae’s Essential Law for Journalists: â€Å"Section 19 of the Human Rights Act created a requirement that a Minister introducing a Bill into Parliament must declare that its provisions are compatible with the European Convention, including thereby a commitment to freedom of expression. † Despite all the facts mentioned about the battles towards the freedom of expression in the English society, a sufficient protection for that freedom, which keeps up with the public-interest journalism, â€Å"from attacks for discomfiting the government or the judiciary or the wealthy private litigants† was not completely guaranteed. It is guaranteed by the adoption of international treaties, in which English writers and lawyers took a big part in constituting them, into the British law. Since then, clear articles of these treaties have become legal codes in the British law that guarantee a better freedom of expression. Throughout these facts, I can come to a conclusion that freedom of expression in Britain has certain principles that are clear. The main three principles could be summed up as following: 1. Government has no power against mass media. Robertson and Nicol explain how a government official does not have any privilege over the public in this regard. They say that if any official wanted to stop a news story, he has to go to the court the same as the public do. It means that government cannot control or suppress the voice of any single person directed to the public via any medium. It is believed that this is a sign of a free democratic State, but not in an arbitrary sense. Therefore, mass media have to be credible, and offenders should not escape punishment. John Whale quoted Sir William Blackstone, the eighteenth-century jurist, saying: The liberty of the press is indeed essential to the nature of a free State; but this consists in laying no previous restraints upon publication, and not in freedom from censure for criminal matter when published. † 2. Mass media are owned by the private sector and, therefore, it represents citizens before the government. However, citizens are stronger than the government in the democratic regimes; it means that mass media can publish any kind of opposite opinions without fearing suppression or oppression of the government. 3. Mass media turn to the public to face censorship. Robertson and Nicol say: â€Å"The best antidote to censorship is publicity. † When the government wishes to practice a kind of censorship, journalists can publicise that practice and the government does not have any power to punish them. The incident of the Daily Mirror mentioned above is a clear example on the three points mentioned. It shows how mass media are stronger than governments, how mass media speak on behalf of the public and how the public exerted pressure through protests that pushed the government to retreat from the closure warrant against the newspaper. Freedom of Expression in the Sharia Law The most prominent characteristic of the Sharia Law is that it is a religious law. It means that it has more emphasis, in all branches, on religious and moral values than other laws. Mohmmad Kamali says: â€Å"This can, perhaps, be clearly seen in reference to the Sharia rules pertaining to blasphemy, heresy and disbelief , where the dominant concern is to defend the dogma and belief-structure of Islam. † Muslim scholars and thinkers believe that this characteristic of the Sharia Law gives it a spiritual power, which is effective to keep stability of societies. Based on his understanding of the Islamic beliefs and to confirm that defending the dogma and belief-structure of Islam achieves social stability, 20th century Muslim thinker and reformer Sayyed Qutb, who interpreted the Holy Qur’an, says: â€Å"Social, economic and religious organisation goes side by side with a true ethical code and dogmatic belief†¦ in a complete, comprehensive, balanced and precise way. † Regarding freedom of expression and to show how much positive effect religion has on it, the Western writer, Patricia Crone, shed light on the way Muslim thinkers understand the relationship between freedom and religion. Patricia Crone reported Al-Ghazali, a famous medieval Muslim philosopher and reformer, explaining freedom in the Sharia as â€Å"no humans had the right to impose obligations on other humans, whether they were rulers, masters, fathers or husbands, or for that matter prophets; only God could do so. † Of course, Al-Ghazali’s understanding of that concept of freedom was based on the Holy Qur’an and the Holy Sunnah. Allah (SWT) asked his Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), in the Holy Qur’an, to tell people that he is a human like them.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Prevention of Adductor Muscle Contraction During TURBt

Prevention of Adductor Muscle Contraction During TURBt Effectiveness of Spinal anesthesia combined with Obturator nerve block in the prevention of adductor muscle contraction during Trans-Urethral Resection of Bladder tumor (TURBt) in Razy University Hospital in Rasht (2012-2013) Cyrus Emir Alavi MD[1], Siavash Falahatkar MD2, Siamak Rimaz MD4, Mohammadreza Naghipour MD3, Mehdi Jafari MD5, Koshrang Hossein MD1, Alaeddin Asgari MD2Ç‚ Nadia Rastjou Herfeh B.S6 Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology Research Center, Guilan University of Medical Sciences Professor of Urology, Urology Research Center, Guilan University of Medical Sciences Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Guilan University of Medical Sciences Anesthesiologist, Anesthesiology Research Center, Guilan University of Medical Sciences Anesthesiology Resident, Anesthesiology Research Center, Guilan University of Medical Sciences Urology Research Center, Guilan University of Medical Sciences Ç‚Co-responder Author Introduction (final) Bladder cancer is the fifth most common human malignancy and after prostate cancer. It is the second most frequent genitourinary tumor. (1) Spinal anesthesia is the technique of choice for Transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT), since it enables early recognition of symptoms caused by over hydration, transurethral resection of prostate (TURP) syndrome, and bladder perforation. (2)Since the patients are diagnosed with bladder cancer, aged 65 and over, due to long-term smoking, these patients have underlying pulmonary disease, coronary artery disease and diabetes(3,4) ,so choosing General anesthesia for preventing complications such as Obturator nerve stimulation and bladder perforation is a significant risk factor for this mentioned group.Although spinal anesthesia provides optimal anesthesia, pelvic floor relaxation and perineal laxity, Jerking of Obturator nerve motor would not be prevented by spinal anesthesia(5).So for the urologic surgeries, Obturator nerve block (ONB) for suppressing the Obturator reflex during transurethral resection of lateral bladder wall has been prevalently used(6) .in the case of direct stimulation of resectors, there would be a sudden , tempestuous adductor muscle contraction.This is potentially risky, which can cause an increase in the risk of serious complications for example Bladder wall perforation, incomplete tumor resection, vessel laceration, and Obturator hematomas.(7,8,9) Although this procedure is not morbidity-free, the reports of potential complications are few. (10 ,11,12) While hemorrhage is common, bladder perforation is perhaps one of the scariest complications with an incidence of 0.9% to 5%. (12,13) the most important symptoms are disability in bladder distension, abdominal distension and tachycardia. (14) Significant bladder perforation during TURBT for various reasons should be concerned. First, if prior to completion of resection, the perforation would be discovered, retained cancer in the bladder would be the consequence of such imposed termination of surgery. Second, cancer cells can distribute by means of the opening in the detrusor, and the risk of pelvic or remote disease recurrence would be increased. And the last one, immediate intravesical chemotherapy after TURBT for lessening the risk of recurrence is recommended by the updated European Association of Urology and American Urological Association guidelines. (15) Since Obturator nerve (ON) stimulation during resection of tumors is located in the inferior portion of the bladder and lateral wall of the urinary bladder would Increase the risk of bladder rupture. (14) There are different strategic options for avoiding these complications during transurethral resection of bladder tumors (TURBT) such as adopting general anesthesia with muscle relaxants, lessening the intensity of the current of the resectoscope, using laser resistors, Obturator nerve blockade (ONB), etc. Selective ONB along with regional anesthesia may be efficient to avert adductor spasm (16,17) As few studies adopted Obturator nerve block in Preventing Adductor muscle Contraction, which confirmed this method was effective. (18,19) This double-blind, randomized study was undertaken to investigate further and provide more accurate results about Spinal anesthesia combined with Obturator nerve block in Preventing Adductor muscle Contraction and bladder perforation during TUR-BT. Material and method: After the approval of the Guilan university of medical science ethics committees and obtaining written informed consent, 30 patients aged between 60-85 years belonging to ASA physical status III –IV, having inferolateral tumors of the bladder who were scheduled for transurethral resection of bladder tumor were divided into spinal anesthesia (SP) and spinal anesthesia combined with Obturator nerve block (SOB). The exclusion criteria included, patient refusal, advanced cardiac disease, allergy to local anesthetics, pregnancy, patients on anticoagulants or anti-platelet drugs, neurological diseases affecting the central nervous system. In the first group of patients, Spinal anesthesia was performed at L4-L5 interspace with the patients in the sitting position using a 25- gauge needle and 2.5cc of 0.5% Marcaine was injected then the patients were placed in the Trendelenburg position at an angle of 15à ¢- ¦for 5 or 10 minutes. After being sure about the right amount of anesthesia, the patients were placed in a lithotomy position and Transurethral resection of the bladder tumor was carried out. In the second group after placing the patients under the same method of spinal anesthesia, Obturator nerve block was performed using the classical approach in the supine position by an experienced anesthesiologist. For Obturator nerve block, the initial insertion point was determined 1-2 cm caudal and 1-2 cm lateral to the pubic tubercle. A 22-gauge 10-cm nerve stimulator needle was inserted perpendicular from the puncture site in a slightly medial direction until the tip of the needle made contact with the inferior border of the superior pubic ramus and then the needle was redirected further lateral and caudal to be put in the Obturator-channel. The obturator nerve is located 2 to 3 cm of the initial point of contact with the pubic ramus. Nerve stimulation delivered a constant current with a frequency of 1 Hz and a current of 1mA which is maintained throughout the stimulation. After Twitching in the tight adductor muscles, amperage was reduced and the stimulation needle advanced towards the nerve until the first contraction in the adductor muscles with electrical stimulation of (0.3-0.4 mA) occurred. Then after aspiration (to confirm the needle is not in the vessel) 15cc 1% Lidocaine was injected and the patients were placed in the lithotomy position and Transurethral resection of the bladder tumor started. We monitored NIBP, pulse, Spo2, ECG intraoperatively and the patient was observed specially for adductor spasm, bladder perforation during TURBT in both groups. Findings: The subjects of the two groups were comparable with respect to age, sex ratio, location of tumor, ASA class. Since the patients were diagnosed with bladder cancer, aged 65 and over, due to long-term smoking, suffer underlying pulmonary diseases, coronary artery diseases and diabetes, so for preventing complications such as Obturator nerve stimulation and bladder perforation, General anesthesia could not be used. Fishers exact test demonstrated that, there is no significant correlation between sex, Patient Age Group, Location of bladder tumor, ASA class in the two mentioned groups of patients suffering from bladder tumor. (table1). However jerking and surgeon‘s satisfaction with patients’ status in two groups were statistically significant.(P=0. 006) (table1). The obturator nerve block was done in two patients of the spinal anesthesia (SA) group due to severe adductor muscle jerking and severe underlying diseases (asthma or a history of cardiovascular disease). Due to sev ere adductor muscle jerking and not having underlying diseases, general anesthesia was done in two other patients. In three patients in the spinal anesthesia group (SA) leg jerking was slight and during cauterization the problem was resolved by controlling the leg movement.Also, there was no significant correlation between using general anesthesia due to ineffectiveness of regional anesthesia in two groups (P=0.1). (Table 1) Discussion: The endpoints of the current study were to investigate the effectiveness of Obturator nerve block in preventing the Adductor spasms and also to investigate surgeon satisfaction. Spinal anesthesia combined with Obturator nerve block in the prevention of adductor contraction and its related complications during TUR-BT is effective. Spinal anesthesia (SA) combined with Obturator nerve block (SOB) would increase surgeon satisfaction during TURBT surgical procedures. In a study done by Patel et al., he reported that Adductor spasm caused bladder perforation in 2 TUR-BT patients, which spinal anesthesia was applied and one patient was in the need of emergency laparotomy. (19) Interestingly, in our study there was no bladder perforation, which is considered as a result of being very precise and careful about the patients’ Obturator spasm and in the case of observing any sign of spasms the patient ‘s position was changed to Supine and after blocking the Obturator nerve the patie nt would be placed to the previous Lithotomy position. The obturator nerve block can be performed using various methods and techniques. And in our study Obturator nerve block was carried out using the technique described by Labat because the proximal nerve would be blocked and blocking was more effective compared to the inguinal nerve blocking. It should be mentioned that in our study there was no bladder perforation, which can be considered as a result of cautious and meticulous monitoring during the surgery. In a study which TURBT was performed on 50 patients, the patients were divided into two groups, The first group of 25 patients underwent spinal anesthesia, and the second group of 25 patients underwent spinal anesthesia (SA) combined with Obturator nerve block (SOB). In the (SA) group, almost all the patients of group (SA) suffered contraction of the adductor muscles and disturbed the surgeon. But in the spinal anesthesia (SA) combined with Obturator nerve block (SOB) group contraction of the adductor muscles did not occur in most patients. Bladder perforation occurred in two patients in the spinal anesthesia (SA) which lead to Emergency laparoscopic surgery in one patient. The results of the study demonstrated that Obturator nerve blockage is an effective way to prevent adductor muscle spasms and its related complications in patients who are undergoing TUR-BT which is similar to our study.(19) In another study which bladder tumor resection was done on 60 patients aged 18_80 years old with ASA I III ,30 patients were randomized into the spinal anesthesia group (SA) and 30 patients were randomized into the spinal anesthesia (SA) combined with Obturator nerve block (SOB) group. The regional anesthesia was done with 5cc of Levobupivacaine and 5 cc of 0.5% Nacl When the level of sensory block reached T10, adductor muscle spasms were recorded during the surgery.The frequency of adductor muscle spasms and the surgeon satisfactory were assessed. Surgeon satisfaction in the spinal anesthesia (SA) combined with Obtur ator nerve block (SOB) group compared to the spinal anesthesia (SA) was significantly higher (P One of the limitations of our study was a relatively small sample size, caution needs to be applied concerning the generalizability of the research findings and further comprehensive work with larger sample size is suggested. The conclusion of this study showed that Obturator nerve blockage is effective in preventing adductor muscle contractions and its related complications during TURBT surgery and also using spinal anesthesia (SA) combined with Obturator nerve block (SOB) during TURBT surgical procedures would increase the surgeon satisfaction. P value (Number) % of Spinal anesthesia and obturator nerve block (Number) % of spinal anesthesia Variables P=0.83 80%(n=12) 86.7%( 13) Tumor location 6.7%(n=1) 6.7%( 1) 13.3%(n=2) 6.7%( 1) P=1 6.7%(1) 6.7% ASA class 53.3%(8) 53.3%(8) 40%(6) 30%(6) P=0.006 100%(15) 53.3%(8) Surgeon’s satisfaction 0% 46.7%(7) P=0.006 0%(0) 46.7%(7) Movement during operation 100%(15) 53.3%(8) P=0.483 0%(0) 13.3%(2) General anesthesia 100%(15) 86.7%(13) REFERENCES Acute T, Murakami, J, Yoshinaga A. Life-threatening hemorrhage following obturator artery injury during transurethral bladder surgery: a sequel of an unsuccessful obturator nerve block. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand. 1999;43(7):784-8. Badrinath R. Konety, MD, MBA Peter R. Carroll, MD. Urothelial carcinoma: Cancers of the Bladder, Ureter Renal Pelvis. In: E M I L A. Tango, Jack W.Mc An Inch. Smith’s General Urology. Seventeenth Edition.New York: Mc Graw Hill Inc; 2008:308-327. Castillo-Martin M1, Domingo-Domenech J, Karni-Schmidt O, Matos T, Cordon-Cardo C. Molecular pathways of epithelial development and bladder tumorigenesis. Urol Oncol. 2010;28(4):401-8. Çimentepe E, ÃÅ"nsal A, Bayrak Ãâ€", Koà § A, Akbulut Z. The actual incidence of bladder perforation following transurethral bladder surgery. JUrol 2005;174(6):2260–2263 Collado A, Chechile GE, Salvador J, Vicente J. Early complications of endoscopic treatment for superficial bladder tumors. J Urol 2000;164 (5): 1529–1532 Cuvas O, Basar H , yeygel A , TurkyÄ ±lmaz E, melÄ ±H sunay M. Spinal anesthesia for transurethral resection operations: levobupivacaine with or without fentanylM. E. J. ANESTH 2010; 20(4):547-52. Deliveliotis C, Alexopoulou K, Picramenos D, Econornacos G, Goulandris N, Kostakopoulos A. The contribution of the obturator nerve blocks in the transurethral resection of bladder tumors. Acta Urol Belg. 1995;63:51–4. Edward M. Messing. Urothelial Tumors of the Bladder. In: Campbell –Walsh. Urology. 10th Edition. Philadelphia: SUNDERS ELSEVIER; 2012: 2407-2446. Herkommer K, Hofer C, Gschwend JE, Kron M, Treiber U. Gender and body Mass index as risk factor for bladder perforation during primary Transuretral resection of bladder Tumor. J Urol 2012;187: 1566-70. Jo YY, Choi E, Kil HK. Comparison of the success rate of inguinal approach with a classical pubic approach for obturator nerve block in patients undergoing TURB. Korean J Anesthesiol. 2011;61(2):143-7. Jo YY, Choi E, Kil HK. Comparison of the success rate of inguinal approach with a classical pubic approach for obturator nerve block in patients undergoing TURB. Korean J Anesthesiol. 2011 61(2):143-7. Mydlo JH, Weinstein R, Shah S, Solliday M, MacchiaRJ. Long-term consequences from bladder perforation and/or violation in the presence of transitional cell carcinoma: results of a small series and a review of the literature. J Urol 1999;161:1128-32 Patel D, Shah B, Patel BM. Contribution of the obturator Nerve Block in the Trans – Urethral resection of Bladder tumors. Indian J. Anesthesia. 2004; 48(1): 47-49. Ploeg M, Aben KK, Kiemeney LA. The Present and Future burden of urinary bladder cancer in the world. World j Urol. 2009; 27: 289-93. Shapiro O, Jones K, Wang C, Landas S, Haas GP. Risk of post-operative intravesical mitomycin C instillation following transurethral bladder tumor resection. Can J Urol. 2006;13(6):3317-20. Shulman MS, Vellayappan U, Monaghan TG, Coukos WJ, Krenis LJ. Simultaneous bilateral obturator nerve stimulation during transurethral electrovaporization of the prostate. . J Clin Anesth. 1998;10(6):518-21 Tatlisen A, Sofikerim M. Obturator nerve block and transurethral surgery for bladder cancer. Minerva Urol Nefrol. 2007;59:137–41. Traxer O, Pasqui F, Gattegno B, Pearle MS. Technique and complications of transurethral surgery for bladder tumors. BJU Int 2004;94:492–6 Vinod Malhotra, et al. Anesthesia and the Renal and Genitourinary system. In: Ronald D. Miller. Miller’s Anesthesia. 7th Edition. Philadelphia: CHURCHILL LIVINGSTONE; 2105-2134

Kate Chopin Essay -- Essays Papers

Kate Chopin Kate Chopin is an American writer of the late nineteenth century. She is known for her depictions of southern culture and of women's struggles for freedom. At this time in American history, women did not have a voice of their own and according to custom, they were to obey their father and husband. Generally, many women agreed to accept this customary way of life. Kate Chopin thought quite differently. The boldness Kate Chopin takes in portraying women in the late nineteenth century can be seen throughout The Awakening and other short stories. The following is an overview of her dramatic writing style. Elaine Showalter states, "Chopin went boldly beyond the work of her precursors in writing about women's longing for sexual and personal emancipation." (170). Chopin said that she was not a feminist of a suffragist. She was not an activist and she never joined the women's suffrage movement or belonged to a female literary community. Chopin saw freedom as a matter of your won spirit or soul without constraints. She did not try to encourage the women's movement in her writing; rather, she wrote what she felt. In writing what she felt, Chopin came to believe that " a true artist defied tradition and rejected respectable morality and the conventions and formulas to literary success." (Showalter 171). It could be said Chopin had a "literary awakening." In the early stages of Chopin's career, she tried to follow the literary advice and examples of others of her time. These efforts proved to be worthless. Chopin translated "Solitude", a story by Guy de Maupassant, in which Maupassant "escaped from tradition and authority†¦had entered into himself and looked out upon life though his own being and with his own eyes." (Seyested 701). Chopin did not want to imitate Maupassant; she just wanted to express herself in her writing the way he had done so in his. In The Awakening Chopin seems to tell her story through the main character Edna Pontellier. Her breaking away from the conventions of literary domesticity is shown through Edna breaking away from the conventional feminine roles of wife and mother (Showalter 170). Kate Chopin shows boldness by taking the main characters and having them completely change their views on life. Edna is a young woman who discovers that her pampered married life is not what she wants. ... ...ory in such a way that Edna has come to know herself, her true self, and does not need to continue living and searching. Kate Chopin's success as a writer plummeted after the release of The Awakening. It has been noted that contemporary critics were shocked at the way Chopin portrayed Edna Pontellier. Edna's character violated the codes of the behavior of nineteenth-century American women. The criticism became so bad the The Awakening was banned and dropped out of sight for many generations. It was not until the 1960's that Kate Chopin was recognized as a writer with her own views. Elaine Showalter states "Kate Chopin's literary evolution took her progressively through the three phases of the nineteenth-century American women's culture and women's writing." (176). Works Cited Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. New York: Dover, 1993. Night in Acadie. The American Short Story Series. Vol. 8. New York: Garrett, 1968. Seysrsted, Per, ed. Kate Chopin: A Critical Biography. New York: Octagon, 1980. Showalter, Elaine. "Tradition and the Female Talent: The Awakening and a Solitary Book." The Awakening. Ed. Nancy A. Walker. Boston: Bedford, 1993. 169-89.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Essay --

How Seizures affect Brain Activity A seizure is a short occurrence of symptoms that is caused by a burst of abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Customarily, a seizure lasts from a few seconds to a few minutes. There are different types of seizures not just one. Depending on which part and how much of the brain is affected by the electrical disturbance will determine which type of seizure will occur. Experts divide seizures into five generalized seizures, these include: partial seizures, epileptic/non-epileptic seizures, status epilepticus, gelastic seizures and dacrystic seizures. Partial seizures occur when a strong surge of electrical activity affects only a specific area of one cerebral hemisphere. This kind of seizure is subdivided into two categories: Simple Partial Seizures and Complex Seizures. In a simple partial seizure, the effected person will still be conscious and his/her awareness will be retained. In a Complex Partial Seizure however, the subjects’ consciousness is impaired and in some cases maybe even lost. Even though Partial Seizures are mild, they may progress to a much more severe seizure. More people suffer from partial seizures than any other kind. Literally any kind of sensory, movement or emotional action can be altered, including intricate optical hallucinations. Typically in a Simple Partial Seizure, the episode of sudden jerking, sensory phenomena, and transient lethargy would only last half to a full minute. In a Complex Partial, the episode may last up to two full minutes and no less than one. Also in a Complex Partial, the affected may be unaware of setting (surrounding environment), amnesia and confusion may occur and may begin to wander about. Although Partial Seizures affect different emoti... ...y medication used to treat people with epilepsy. One of the studies I went over portrayed that over 10% of patients attending clinics for Epilepsy encounter themselves having suicidal thoughts within the first two weeks. Mild-to-threatening behavior, loss in cognitive skills, amnesia, loss of control, felling fatigued, depression, anxiety, and irrevocably suicidal thoughts are (but not limited to) the affects of Epilepsy on the brain. I personally do not know anyone that suffers from Epilepsy and I am truly grateful for that because after doing all this research I had a life changing epiphany. There is an abundance of people who do not deserve to suffer from epilepsy and there is not ever enough help going on for them. I will definitely be seeing how I can help our fellow brothers and sisters and be a true benefactor for the all, for is this not the ultimate goal?

Sunday, August 18, 2019

The Diesel Hybrid Combustion Engine Essay -- Auto Cars Automobiles Mec

The Diesel Hybrid Combustion Engine Two main types of engines powering everyday machinery are diesel and gasoline internal combustion engines. Both vary on efficiency levels, but are still effective. Diesel engines have high efficiency levels, such as producing great amount of torque at very low rpms. They are also known for their fuel-efficient behavior and capability to produce low emissions. Their capability to produce power at an efficient rate with little wear on the engine, this makes these engines ideal for hybrid integration. Hybrid integration takes a typical engine and combines it with an electric generator and motor, with the application of other electrical systems applied. Allowing the machinery to generate energy, with lower fuel consumption and cleaner emissions. Toyota is one of the leaders in the automobile hybrid design. The design goes as follows, â€Å"a VVT-I gas engine with an advanced electric motor to not only power the Prius, but also recharge the vehicle's batteries thanks to an ingenious generator and regenerative braking system†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Toyota). This regenerative braking system allows absorption of the heat energy used to brake and uses that energy to recharge the cars batteries. This system makes the car self-reliant. Even though this engine uses gasoline, the development of diesel hybrids will be the next step in innovation. Comparison: One of the main areas is the on-board fuel combustion of these engines. In tests performed by MIT, the relative consumption of on-board fuel energy for a typical gasoline internal combustion engine measured about 88%, while the Diesel-Hybrid was at 52% (Weiss 27). These tests demonstrate how much more ene... .... Design News (19 August 2002): 1-5. Peckham, Jack. â€Å"Diesel Hybrids Come Out Best In Energy, Greenhouse Gases†. Diesel Fuel News (16 April 2001): 1-2. Peckham, Jack. â€Å"Diesel Hybrids Bus Beats CNG On Key Criteria†. Diesel Fuel News (29 October 2001): 1-2. Siuru, Bill. â€Å"Hybrid’s working on the railroad: Green Goat electric switching locomotive shows promise of hybrids for rail; can be powered by diesels or microturbines†. Diesel Progress North American Edition (December 2002): 1-3 Toyota Prius. Toyota Corporation (multiple locations). http://129.33.47.206/html/shop/vehicles/prius/technology/prius_technology.html Weiss, Malcolm A., Heywood, John B., Schafer, Andreas., Natarajan, Vinod K. â€Å"Comparative Assessment of Fuel Cell Cars†. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Laboratory for Energy and the Environment (February 2003): 1-29.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Beh 225 Appendix D

Associate Level Material Appendix D TV Character Evaluation Part I Write a summary of 350-700 words identifying the contributions of Freud, Jung, and Rogers. Sigmund Freud, is often described as the most famous figure in psychology. He's written books on Hysteria; commonly being referred to as the â€Å"father of psychoanalysis†. His most popular works being highly influential on others that study psychology. unconscious, – Psychosexual development (stages), Neurosis, transference and trauma are theories that Freud has developed over the years.One of Freud's theories was, that the personality is three structures. Another theory of Freud's was that our personality is rooted in the dynamics of the unconscious. He determined that the aggressive and sexual instincts were primarily unconscious drives which could determine our human behavior. Carl Jung is a psychologist that mostly studied the human psyche, dream analysis, and the collective unconscious. Cowgil (1997) refers, He proposed and developed the concepts of the extroverted and introverted personality, archetypes, and the collective unconscious.The issues that he dealt with arose from his personal experiences. For many years Jung felt as if he had two separate personalities. One introverted and other extroverted. This interplay resulted in his study of integration and wholeness. His work has been influential not only in psychology, but in religion and literature as well. She also believed that the unconscious mind had two separate components; the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious. Hall (1997) refers, Carl R.Rogers is known as the father of client-centered therapy. Throughout his career he dedicated himself to humanistic psychology and is well known for his theory of personality development. He began developing his humanistic concept while working with abused children. Rogers attempted to change the world of psychotherapy when he boldly claimed that psychoanalytic, experimental , and behavioral therapists were preventing their clients from ever reaching self-realization and self-growth due to their authoritive analysis.He argued that therapists should allow patients to discover the solution for themselves. Rogers received wide acclaim for his theory and was awarded various high honors . Through Rogers extensive efforts in expressing his theory of personality through the publishing of books and lectures he gained a lot of attention and followers as well as those who strongly disagree with his theory of personality development. Reference Cowgil, Charles. Carl Jung, 1997. Part II Choose three of your favorite television characters; past or present.Complete the following matrix describing the characters’ personalities from the point of view of the three theorists, Jung, Freud, and Rogers. |TV Character |Jung |Rogers |Freud | |1. | | | | |2. | | | | |3. | | | |

Friday, August 16, 2019

History of Art Forgery

University of Central Missouri The Art of Forgery History of Art Forgery 4/15/2012| Abstract The purpose of this paper is to examine the history of Art Forgery and the history of one of the greatest art forgers of our time, Tom Keating. The paper will go into the basic history of art forgery from the first recorded art forgery all the way up to the ways forgeries are made today. It will also go into the changes of how forgeries were detected and how forgers are prosecuted. The history of art forgery is not as sinister as some people may believe.In the past, and in some art schools today, students were/are made to copy the works of the master artists, such as Leonardo, Michelangelo, Van Gogh, Monet, and countless others, to hone their skills and practice. In years long past the masters would create their originals and then many copies would be made to make it visible to many people all over the world and to enhance the likelihood that the art would survive the ages. (Dutton, 1983) Thi s went on for years without any thought but as time went on more and more of the masters art started to surface the need for experts were needed to make sure the art in question was the real thing.In the past a person would have to spend years if not a lifetime researching and studying the way an artist would paint by looking at brush strokes, type of paint and canvas used, and other distinctive characteristics of the artist. As time progressed those same experts became some of the most accomplished art forgers. One such forger was French artist Jean-Pierre Schecroun. Before he was arrested and found guilty of forgery in 1962, Schecroun is said to had produced somewhere around eighty forgeries of artists’ works like Picasso and other modern masters. The pictures were said to have brought in ? 5,000 in two years (Dolice, 2003). Forgeries have become such a common practice that any work that surfaces that is allegedly a work done by a modern master such as Van Gogh, Picasso, Da li, Miro, and Chagall is put under great scrutiny. Along with art experts, art restores make good forgers. In 1970 at an auction house in Europe auctioneers noticed that of all the paintings they were getting ready to auction off that there were thirteen paintings of the famous British painter Samuel Palmer but all of them had the same theme, the town of Shoreham, England.After an article was released revealing their suspicions an art restorer named Thomas Patrick Keating claimed that all thirteen were of his making. Keating was born in 1918 Lewisham, a borough of London to poor un-noteworthy parents. From a young age Keating was a gifted painter and have of love art. After World War II he became an art restorer. (Keating, Norman, & Norman, 1977) After not being able to support himself and his family he became a house painter to make extra money to make ends meet. He did all he could to break into the art market by exhibiting his paintings at numerous galleries but he never got much recognition.In his own eyes Keating believed that the whole gallery system was â€Å"rotten. † He stated that the system was â€Å"dominated by American â€Å"avant-garde fashion, with critics and dealers often conniving to line their own pockets at the expense both of naive collectors and impoverished artists. † (Keating, Norman, & Norman, 1977) Keating had have enough and decided to get revenge on the broken system. He formed a plan to destabilize the gallery and auction system by flooding the market with forgeries. By the time he was caught he allegedly produced over 2,000 forgeries and copied over 100 different artists.In an article to the Guardian, a British news network a friend of Keating’s, John Brandler said that â€Å"He thought, ‘I'm as good as Rembrandt, Palmer, Renoir and all the rest of the classic painters, and I'm going to prove it',† and many think that he did. Known as a forger with a cause he would leave tell-tale markin gs that would one day reveal that the work was a fake. Known to sometimes write on the canvas with lead before he painted, Keating knew that an x-ray would reveal the message underneath. It was also not unknown of him to purposefully add miniscule flaws or to use materials not available in the time of the original painter.One of the more devious things that were done to ensure the fallacy of his works was done to a few of his oil painting forgeries. Keating knowing that one day all oil paintings will need to be cleaned put a layer of glycerol under his painting. When the restorer would go to clean the painting the chemical reaction would cause the glycerol to dissolve and then the layer of paint would disintegrate leaving the whole work a ruin and revealing that it was a forgery (Keating, Norman, & Norman, 1977). He also had specific techniques he would use on forgeries of certain artists.When it came to Rembrandt’s works he would boil nuts for hours to make the paint fad e in the future where true paints from the era of Rembrandt would not. In 1977 after an extensive investigation Tom Keating was finally arrested, not for forgery per-say but for conspiracy to defraud. That same year his autobiography, The Fake’s Progress: The Tom Keating Story was published. The years had not been kind to Keating. Years of smoking and inhaling the chemicals that are used in art restoration; turpentine, ammonia and methyl alcohol had taken a toll on his life. The case was dropped due to his poor health.The case was just what was needed to launch him to the fame that has eluded him when he first started to break into the art market. In 1982 through 1983 he had a television program where he talked about the old masters of painting and the techniques that they and he had used to become famous. The following year in 1984, Thomas Keating passed away from a heart attack. After his passing his works have become even more collectable and many find that his forgeries a re worth just as much, if no more, than his originals (Keating, Norman, & Norman, 1977). Tom Keating was in no fashion one of the first art forgers.As stated above forgery has been around as long as art has. People will always want to replicate something that they find pleasing or today that they can make some money. The concept of forgery has not really changed that much over the years. If you want to forge a famous painting or sculpture you study the original artist, try to copy the style that they use, and use materials as close to those used by the artist as possible. Unlike the process, the methods of detection have made great strides. In the beginning the only way to spot a fake was through examination.Some of the few things beside style that are looked at when determining the authenticity of a piece are frames, signatures on the art, stretch bars, and nail holes. (Fleming, 1975) All of these have possibilities of being originals because all of the following, minus the sig natures can be changed when an art restorer works on a painting but a true expert can tell. As technology advanced so did the ways of detecting forgeries. The development of the use of x-rays has brought about the use of x-ray diffraction and fluorescence. Both are used to determine the omposition of the materials used. In x-ray diffraction, used in the authentication of paintings, not only analyzes the components but also to detect pentimento, the alteration of a painting. Carbon and â€Å"White lead† dating are used to measure the age of a painting, Dendrochronology used to date wooden objects and Thermoluminescence is used to date pottery. (Fleming, 1975) One of the newest forms of authentication is digital authentication. Wavelet decomposition is when the picture is broken down into smaller pictures and then the texture is analyzed by the stroke of the paint.The United States has many laws against counterfeiting and fraud but when it comes to prosecuting forgers they have a hard time proving the burden of proof. Just like the forgers changing with the times, prosecutors have adapted. It has become standard practice for prosecutors to go after forgers under Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). This has worked because it is very seldom that a forger works alone. They usually have someone they trust that helps them find a buyer or get the forgeries into an auction.In going after all of the people prosecutors have been successful against art forgers such as the case United States v. Amiel. (Dolice, 2003) Forgers and the sellers of counterfeit art can also be held accountable through civil actions. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) protects against unfair trade practices in the art market. In 1993 the FTC brought a case against Magui Publishers, Inc. In FTC v. Magui Publishers, Inc. , the court found Magui guilty of and made them pay $1. 96 million in restitution. (Federal Trade Commision , 1993) Art Forgery has been around since a rt was first made.Though it started as nothing but a simple exercise to better ones skill, it has become a crime that is hard to fight. With the discovery that one can make money just by copying an artist’s style art forgers started selling their own paintings as the work of the masters and they haven’t stopped. This brought about such forgers as Thomas Keating, the forger with a cause. As the forgers themselves changed, the ways they were caught have changed to. The introduction of using x-rays was a great advance in the detection of pentimento, the alteration of the original painting.When going after the forgers prosecutors must rely on other means than just federal statutes against forgery. RICO has made it easier for federal prosecutions to go farther. As art continues to flourish, so will the ways that people try to copy that art. In the years to come, forgers will become more and more skilled at the art of copying. That being the case, all who work against forger s must be vigil and work as hard as the forgers themselves to stay one step ahead of them. If not, one day forgers may be making forgeries of the master forgers of today. Works Cited Dolice, J. 2003). Fabulous Fakes and a History of Art forgery. Dutton, D. (1983). The Forger's Art. Berkeley: University of California Press. Federal Trade Commision . (1993). 9 F. 3d 1551: Federal Trade Commission, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Magui Publishers, Inc. ; Pierre Marcand, Defendants-appellants. Retrieved April 2012, from FTC. gov. Fleming, S. J. (1975). Authenticity in Art: The scientific Detection of Forgery. New York: Crane, Russak ;amp; Co Inc. Keating, T. , Norman, G. , ;amp; Norman, F. (1977). The Fake's Progress: The Tom Keating Story. London: Hutchinson and Company.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Ocean Park Brand Equity Essay

I am genuinely tank to Mr. Nicholas Tam for supporting me all the time and spending many hours on my final year project. This was totally appreciated that he provided many professional and useful advices and recommendations to me. Otherwise, I would also like to thanks Mr. C. N. Lo as my second marker and give me suggestion to improve my project. ABSTRACT Ocean Park Hong Kong is a home-grown treasure. It is also one of the most popular amusement parks in the world, providing educational, conservation and entertainment. Ocean Park Hong Kong has brought joy to local and overseas visitors throughout her 30-year history. She lets everyone in Hong Kong has a special and memorable experiences. In these 30 years, it experienced many impacts that are occurred by outside and inside of the organization. They also recorded a deficit for a certain years. But it was carried out the revolutions continually. Afterwards, the business is still running. Recently, some information indicated that the ranking of the most popular amusement park of the world, which is the Ocean Park Hong Kong higher than Hong Kong Disneyland. Finally, through survey, focus group interview and brands performance measures, to conclude that the brand equity of Ocean Park was better. Better leadership, better quality, builds up customer loyalty. CHAPTER I – INTRODUCTION Ocean Park is one of the theme parks in Hong Kong. â€Å"Marine† is the majority theme of the park. It is located at the Southern District of Hong Kong, and it was opened on 10 January 1977. It was constructed at a land granted by the government, and then the funding of construction is granted by the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), and it also operated by HKJC. In January 1979, Ocean Park introduced a Killer Whale for the visitors. It becomes a one of the selling points of the park. In the inception stage, there is not enough amusement rides for the public. But, there was expanded their scale of the park, and increased much more amusement rides into the park. The operating capital of Ocean Park was depends on the revenue from tickets and donation from HKJC in earlier stage. It also has a significant deficit for a long time because the price is set on the low side. In 1 July 1987, the â€Å"Ocean Park Ordinance† is constituted by the government. HKJC will granted that they are established the trust with $200M funding. In this time, Ocean Park becomes a non-profit making organization and needs to self-finance. The park changed their business to commercial-oriented, and increasing its ticket price. Thus, the park enhanced its financial conditions to be positive. In 1998, the park recorded deficit again caused by some factors, such as East Asian Financial Crisis. Although it received 2 pandas from China, it still could not increase the visitor’s attraction of the park. The park also closed the water attractions and the Middle Kingdom. And then, it introduced more amusement rises for visitors especially for the teenagers such as the Abyss Turbo Drop and the Mine Train. In Fiscal Year 2004/2005, there are more than 4 million visitors during a year. This is renewing the record since the park is opened. It is caused that PRC government implemented the â€Å"Individual Visit Scheme† under CEPA. Ocean Park revealed its redevelopment plan in 2005, which will upgrades the quality and availability of features at the park. This is response the impacts from the opening of Disneyland. Ocean Park is also held a groundbreaking ceremony for its redevelopment project in November of 2006. According to the Attraction Attendance 2008 releases by Economics Research Associates (ERA) and Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) on 16 April, Ocean Park is the world’s number 15 theme park, Asia’s 5th theme park (Judith Rubin, 2009). (Appendix 1b) 1. Industry Background The tourism industry is one of the four key industries in the Hong Kong economy. There were two types of tourism which were inbound tourism and outbound. For inbound tourism, there were 5 groups of sub-industries which included retail trade, hotels and boarding houses, Restaurants, Cross-boundary passenger transport services and others. The value added of tourism in 2006 and 2007 were HK$45,300 Million and HK$52,300 Million. There was increased around 14% from 2006 to 2007. And the employment in this industry in 2006 and 2007 was 176,300 and 193,800. There was increased around more than 8% from 2006 to 2007 (Census and Statistics Department, HKSAR, 2009). (Appendix 9) In order to support the poor economic condition, Hong Kong government was provided some supporting projects to the tourism industry such as â€Å"the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA)† and â€Å"Individual Visit Scheme†. These projects both were cooperated with PRC. Ocean Park is one of the participators in the amusement park market. Its major competitor is Hong Kong Disneyland. Before Disneyland involved its business in Hong Kong, Ocean Park was the only one participator in this market during the other amusement parks were closed their business such as Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park. On the other hand, the amusement park from neighbor country should also be the major competitors for Ocean Park such as Happy Valley from Shenzhen, PRC. As a famous landmark of Hong Kong, Ocean Park was a successful company in this industry. In accordance with the Attraction Attendance 2008, the 2008 attendance was equal to 5. 03 Million. It was a leading brand of the amusement park market (Judith Rubin, 2009) (Appendix 1b). In conclusion, Ocean Park should be capturing the opportunity derived from increasing attendance and the supporting from government, and focus its competence for facing the threat generated by intensive competition from the neighbor country. 2. Statement of issue In past certain years, Ocean Park faced impacts in different period of time, for example, East Asian Financial Crisis, SARS, and external environment. For the financial issue, Ocean Park was faced the financial distress on past certain years especially for the East Asian financial crisis. Besides, for the external environmental issue, Ocean Park should also be faced to the new entrants of Hong Kong amusement park market that was Disneyland. Ocean Park was a domestic famous brand in Hong Kong. On the other hand, Disneyland was an international famous brand. The overall size of organization of Ocean Park should be smaller than Disneyland. 3. Purpose of the study Propose of this study is to understand customer’s brand equity of Ocean Park. A result of questionnaire survey is to ascertain the sources (Brand Equity Ten) of brand equity of Ocean Park. Base on the findings of the survey, propose that the critical success factor of the theme park. CHAPTER II – LITERATURE REVIEW The Brand Equity Ten will be applying in this study, which is an effective method to evaluate brand equity. Ten sets of measures grouped into five categories, are shown in Table 1. The first four categories are to measure customer perceptions of the brand. The four categories of brand equity are including loyalty, perceived quality, associations, and awareness. The last category is to collect information from the market based information rather than directly from customers (D. Aaker, 1996). 1. Loyalty Measures Since it is now widely recognized that it is much less costly and much more profitable to keep existing customers than to win new ones, customer retention become an important goal for most organizations. In principle it’s simple: you just have to keep your existing customer (N. Hill, J. Alexander, 2006). The Hong Kong amusement park industry was created a monopoly loyalty during there was only two participators in the market, such as Ocean Park and Disneyland. The loyalty of these two amusement parks might be generated by devotion of its customers, for instance, the customer would be sought some adventure experiences at Ocean park during there was provided many thrill rides. Besides, if the customer would be found some story of fairy tales, they would go to Disneyland, it is because customer can be met many famous characters like Mickey Mouse. 1. Price Premium â€Å"A basic indicator of loyalty is the amount a customer will pay for the brand in comparison with another brand (or set of comparison brands) offering similar benefits†(D.Aaker, 1996). For the admission fees of both Ocean Park and Disneyland, there was a large difference between parks. For instance, in the adult’s general admission fees, Ocean Park was HK$208, and Disneyland was HK$350. Therefore, the price premium should be HK$142. 1. Perceived Quality/Leadership Measures â€Å"Perceived quality is often the key positioning dimension for corporate brands (such as Toshiba or Ford) and other brands that range over product classes (such as Weight Watchers, Kraft, and store brands such as Safeway Select). Because these brands span product classes, they are less likely to be driven by functional benefits, and perceived quality is likely to play a larger role. (D. Aaker, 2009) For Ocean Park, it provided different amusement facilities to visitors. Besides, Disneyland provided the story of fairy tales to visitors. Visitors could earn the different experiences during they are visiting these two parks. They would use the last experience to evaluate the perceived quality of the parks. â€Å"Leading brands are perceived to be relevant, unique and compelling. They inspire customer loyalty and enable organizations to charge price premiums. They increase bargaining power with business partners, make it easier to hire and retain talented employees and provide organizations with clear strategic direction and platforms for future growth. †(B. VanAuken, 2007) Both Ocean Park and Disneyland were performed their services at a unique and compelling ways. For example, Ocean Park provides a lot of amusement facilities for visitors; some facilities were very unique in Hong Kong such as Giant Panda Habitat. On the other hand, Disneyland arranges many owned international famous characters that visitors may take some photos with them. 2. Associations/ Differentiation Measures â€Å"The key associations/differentiation component of brand equity usually involves image dimensions that are unique to a product class or to a brand. The challenge, then, is to generate general measures that will work across product classes. † (D. Aaker, 1996) Since Ocean Park was opened, it was established a personal image for visitors that it was provided some messages like ocean protection and education, exciting experience. Visitors had no doubtful that the meaning of Ocean Park, and they was knew that it was not an amusement park only. Also, Disneyland was generated a dreaming place for visitors to enjoy a childlike and entertaining tour for their each visit. But it was not provided other functional characters to the public such as educational activities. 3. Awareness Measures â€Å"Brand awareness measures the accessibility of the brand in memory. Brand awareness can measured through brand recall or brand recognition. Brand recall reflects the ability of consumers to retrieve the brand from memory when given the product category. † (P. Chandon, 2003) Both Ocean Park and Disneyland were achieved to brand awareness. For Ocean Park, visitors may be bethought its owned characters when they were went to it such as Dolphin, Giant Panda, thrill rides and etc. On the other hand, also, Disneyland was gained the high level of international attention. Visitors were recall its owned characters like Winnie the Pooh, Stitch, and they can be got this memory outside it such as TV and other side-products of its owned characters. The dimension of differentiation in the association category is a summary of brand associations (D.Aaker, 1996). 4. Market Behavior Measures 1. Market Share â€Å"The performance of a brand as measured by market share (and/or sales) often provides a valid and sensitive reflection of the brand’s standing with customers. When the brand has a relative advantage in the minds of customers, its market share should increase or at least not decrease. † (D. Aaker, 1996) The performance of an amusement park can be measured by some elements such as its functions, service level, customer relationship management and etc. It can be grew its admission income during the higher service performance that it can be performed. 2. Price and Distribution Indices â€Å"Market share can be a particularly deceptive brand equity measure when it increases as a result of reduced prices or price promotions. Thus, it is important to measure the relative market price at which the brand is being sold. † (D. Aaker, 1996). â€Å"Market share or sales data are also extremely sensitive to distribution coverage. Sales may be dramatically affected when a brand gains or loses a major market or expands into another geographic region. A measure of distribution coverage is thus a second logical companion measure to market share. † (D. Aaker, 1996). As an amusement park, the market price data was equal to the admission income of a year, because this was majority source for capturing its operating resources. Besides, it indicated that the admission income might be affected by the change in attendance directly. On the other hand, the price and distribution indices should be reflected the market share that can be evaluated by admission attendance during a year. This may be found out the true picture of the growth of admission attendance rather than depends on admission income. CHAPTER III – METHODOLOGY 1. Sample Design Data will be collected by using a questionnaire. It is use to measure customer perceptions of the brand along with the four categories (D. Aaker, 1996). The questionnaire is use to survey those people who are visited Hong Kong Ocean Park and Hong Kong Disneyland before. It is to ensure that the data from respondents are effective and reliable. The questionnaire will be distributed to them through e-mail, and the respondents are classmates, teachers, familiars, friends, and colleagues. 100 samples were collected through this survey. 2. Questionnaire Design First, questionnaire is used to measure the four categories, which are Loyalty Measures (price premium and satisfaction/loyalty), Perceived Quality/Leadership Measures (perceived quality, and leadership), Associations/Differentiation Measures (perceived value, brand personality, organizational associations, and differentiation), and Awareness Measures (brand awareness). Second, setting demographic factors, respondents were required to answer their personal information, including gender, age, monthly income, occupation and education. It is in order to compare the general information with the 25 items, and find out the critical success factor of Ocean Park. Nine dimensions including 25 items, plus 5 items of general information, there are totally 30 questions. Third, this study will compare with Disneyland because it is the mainly competitor in Hong Kong. The questionnaire format is Part A is Ocean Park, Part B is Disneyland, and Part C is the general information. â€Å"5-point Likert Scale† is usually used in questionnaires, and is the most widely used scale in survey research. †. There were used 5 choices of answer question for respondents to answer their questionnaire except general information. It was included â€Å"Strongly Disagree†, â€Å"Disagree†, â€Å"Neutral†, â€Å"Agree† and â€Å"Strongly agree†. (Answers. com, 2009) Fourth, set â€Å"Missing Data†. It is to reduce or ignore the answer of unclear, ambiguous or answer more than one choice, etc. The questionnaire format could refer to Appendix 7. 3. Statistical Package for the Social Science(SPSS) SPSS was established in 1968 by Norman H. Nie, C. Hadlai (Tex) Hull and Dale H. Bent. They want developed a revolutionary software system in order to turn raw data into representative information in an easily way. According to the SPSS’s website, â€Å"This revolutionary statistical software system was called SPSS, which stood for the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Nie, Hull and Bent developed SPSS out of the need to quickly analyze volumes of social science data gathered through various methods of research. † (SPSS INC. , 2009). In addition to statistics analysis, the features of the base software, which are included Descriptive statistics (Cross tabulation, Frequencies, Descriptives, Explore, Descriptive Ratio Statistics), Bivariate statistics (Means, t-test, ANOVA, Correlation (bivariate, partial, distances), Nonparametric tests), Prediction for numerical outcomes (Linear regression), and Prediction for identifying groups (Factor analysis, cluster analysis (two-step, K-means, hierarchical), Discriminant) (Wikipedia, 2009). In this report, there was using SPSS to analyze the statistical information, there are included Cronbach Alpha Reliability Analysis, Mean and Standard Deviation, Crosstab Test. 1. Reverse Scoring In order to calculate some opposite data in one dimension, there should be rescored the negative data to turn into positive data. This can be increasing the reliability and correlation among data in one dimension. â€Å"Items that are negatively worded in a scale must be rescored in a positive direction in order to match the other items in a scale† (S. Stark, et. al. , 2001). In the questionnaire, Question 22 & 25 of Part A and B was used this function that in order to find out the reliable and correlated data, and these sets of data should be opposite to other data in same dimension. 2. Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability Analysis â€Å"Cronbach’s alpha measures how well a set of items (or variables) measures a single unidimensional latent construct. When data have a multidimensional structure, Cronbach’s alpha will usually be low. Technically speaking, Cronbach’s alpha is not a statistical test – it is a coefficient of reliability (or consistency). † (UCLA Academic Technology Services) There were used the Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability Analysis to find out the reliability. The output table will then be displayed the Cronbach’s Alpha of the dimension. 3. Mean and Standard Deviation â€Å"The mean, indicated by ? (a lower case Greek mu), is the statistician’s jargon for the average value of a signal. It is found just as you would expect: add all of the samples together, and divide by N. † (S. Smith, 2007) It is the use to find out the average in a group of population. There were calculated the means by all of the scoring of each question. Afterwards, added up the separate mean from all dimensions which were found out the total mean of each category. â€Å"The standard deviation is one of several indices of variability that statisticians use to characterize the dispersion among the measures in a given population. To calculate the standard deviation of a population it is first necessary to calculate that population’s variance. Numerically, the standard deviation is the square root of the variance. Unlike the variance, which is a somewhat abstract measure of variability, the standard deviation can be readily conceptualized as a distance along the scale of measurement. † (R. Hoffman, 2002) Besides, the standard deviation was displayed on the output table of SPSS in order to analyze the dispersion of the result of nine dimensions. 4. Crosstab Test â€Å"Cross-tabulations give us much more insight into the data than do simple profiles or frequency distributions. Cross-tabulations are an example of bivariate analysis (i. e. , examining the relationship between two variables). However, cross-tabulations are of limited value, too, because we are realistically restricted to examining the relationship between only two variables at a time (e. g. , customer status and age; customer status and income; etc.). If we try to examine a cross-tabulation of more than two variables at a time, the results are very difficult to visualize and interpret meaningfully. † (SmartDrill, 2008) There was used the crosstabulation to compare the variability of general information. This can be easily found out the difference between two set of data. 4. Focus Group â€Å"Focus groups are a powerful means to evaluate services or test new ideas. Basically, focus groups are interviews, but of 6-10 people at the same time in the same group. One can get a great deal of information during a focus group session. † (C. McNamara, 2006) 5. Data Analysis. 1. Calculated the mean and standard deviation for all of 9 dimensions in order to find out the overall performance of both Ocean Park and Disneyland. 2. Used SPSS reverse scoring function in order to make some conflict data that reversed into same way. This can make that the reliability must higher than origin data. Besides, Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability Analysis can be found out the reliability of all of the dimensions, and ignored some irrelative items in the dimensions. This can improve the reliability for each dimensions that if deleted the items. 3. Calculate the mean with both Ocean Park and Disneyland. 4. Used crosstabulation to compare which the general information of both Ocean Park and Disneyland such as age, gender and income, 5. After used of SPSS, there were formed a focus group that was invited 7 interviewees in order to discuss the issues that occurred in the result from SPSS. 6. Besides, found some corporate information of Ocean Park and Disneyland which how to performed the market behavior. 7. Match the result of mean analysis and the result of crosstabutaion analysis, in order to find out the source of brand equity and the critical successful factor of the theme park. CHAPTER IV – RESULTS. 4 Sample and Descriptive Statistics This survey totally collected 100 samples, 57 respondents are male and 43 respondents are female. The majority respondents aged between 20 to 24 years olds (83%). In the monthly income group, nearly 50% of respondents their salaries were $5,001 to $10,000 per month. Monthly income was â€Å"less than $5,000† which had 41% of respondents. Many of respondents were students and workers (80%). Over a half of respondents had education level at diploma levels or associate degree, and 37% of respondents had education level at undergraduate or postgraduate. (Appendix 2) 2. Cronbach Alpha Reliability Analysis. This research has nine dimensions which are belong to the four categories. The dimensions are including 25 items. Use the Cronbach Alpha Reliability Analysis to find out the reliabilities between the 25 items and the nine dimensions. The reliability test in order to define questions whether it is fit/relative to the nine dimensions. This can find out which items can be more significant and which are the insignificant. The existence of the items was whether or not to affect the result of the dimensions such as completion, reliability and accuracy. (Appendix 3) 3. Mean and Standard Deviations Table 2: Comparison of Mean and S. D. of dimensions with Ocean Park and Disneyland |Categories |Dimensions |Ocean Park |Disneyland |Mean Differences |Ranking | | | |Mean |Std. Deviation |Mean |Std. Deviation | | | |Loyalty Measures | |Dimensions |Ocean Park |Disneyland | |Price Premium |Medium |High (Negative) | |Satisfaction/ Loyalty |High (Positive) |High (Negative) | |Perceived Quality |High (Positive) |High (Negative) | |Leadership |High (Positive) |High (Negative) | |Perceived Value |Medium |High (Negative) | |Brand Personality |High (Positive) |Medium | |Organizational Associations |Medium |Medium | |Brand Awareness |High (Positive) |High (Negative). | |Market Share |- |- | |Price and Distribution Indices |Medium |Medium | 1. Loyalty According to the result after crosstab the items, it found that in the loyalty category, the effect of price premium for Ocean Park was medium. The acceptability of the admission price for Ocean Park was relatively higher than the Disneyland. Its admission price was cheaper than Disneyland. Comparatively speaking, the effect of price premium for Disneyland was high. The acceptability of the admission price was low, that was relatively expensive. The influence of price premium on Disneyland is negative. Besides, the result reflected that price was not the determining factor for respondents to switch brand. On the other hands, the effect of satisfaction for Ocean Park was high. The park was better than Disneyland in satisfied customers needs and wants. Loyalty was built by a cumulative result, which were the customers’ past visit experiences with the brands. The result indicated that the opportunity of respondents’ revisit the parks was based on their last visit experiences. Ocean Park was better than Disneyland, respondents were willing to recommend Ocean Park to others rather than Disneyland. The influence of satisfaction on Ocean Park is positive. However, the effect of satisfaction for Disneyland was high. It brings a negative influence on the park. In satisfied customers needs and wants, Disneyland was worse than Ocean Park. Respondents were unsatisfied with their last visit experience. Only seldom of respondents would revisit the park on the next opportunity and recommend the park to others. During the result of satisfaction was negative, the management from Disneyland would improve the quality for satisfying customers’ needs and wants. 2. Perceived Quality/Leadership. The result reflected that there was a linkage between perceived quality and leadership, Compare with Disneyland, Ocean Park was popular and more innovative, it was the leading brand in Hong Kong, and overall Ocean Park was better in quality. It implied that better leadership, better quality. It helps Ocean Park to keep closer relationship with loyal customers and less of switchers. The effect of perceived quality/leadership for Ocean Park was medium. Oppositely, Disneyland was worse, it was not innovative enough and not much popular than Ocean Park, and therefore Disneyland was not the leading brand in Hong Kong. One of reasons might cause by the negative news about the park. The effect of perceives quality/leadership for Disneyland was high and negative. 3. Associations/Differentiation Ocean Park could provide good value for the money. The effect of perceived value for Ocean Park was medium. Disneyland could not provide good value for the money. The effect of perceived value for the park was high and negative. Ocean Park had its own personality and it was interesting. Respondents had a clear image of the type of person who would visit the park. The effect of personality for Ocean Park was high and positive. Disneyland also had its own personality. However, seldom of respondents were agreed the park was interesting. Normally, respondents had a clear image for what type of person would visit the park. The personality of Disneyland was medium. The personality of Disneyland was indistinct. It could reflect the respondents’ imagery, which was a key driver of brand personality. About the organization management of Ocean Park, the results reflected that respondents were answered â€Å"neutral† about the organization trust and admire the Ocean Park Company. But the respondents thought that the organization association with Ocean Park had credibility. The effect of organization for the park was medium. On the other hand, many respondents were answered â€Å"neutral† about the organization trust with Disneyland, and admire the Disneyland Company, and the credibility of organization association. The results implied that the respondents were lack of knowledge about the organization management beheld Disneyland. The effect of organization for the park was medium. Organization management back of the theme parks is usually ignored by the visitors. It is because its lack of attractive for the visitors associated with its services. Therefore, the effect of this dimension with both companies was medium. Overall, Ocean Park and Disneyland were different. 4. Awareness Recognition of Ocean Park and Disneyland were high. Respondents had heard of the two parks, it was important for the exist brands. Moreover, respondents were knew what the parks stand for, it reflected that customers had a level of brand knowledge. Besides, respondents were no opinion about Ocean Park, but respondents had opinion with Disneyland. The result of brand opinion implied that respondents were less confidence with Disneyland. The effect of awareness for Ocean Park was high and positive, and for Disneyland was high and negative. . 5. Market Behavior For the market share measure, there was lack of information to compare the sales performance between Ocean Park and Disneyland. Therefore, the effect of market for both Ocean and Disneyland would not be evaluated. As the result, the market price was not compared between Ocean Park and Disneyland, because Disneyland’s admission income was not being provided in the Annual Report individually. The financial information of Hong Kong Disneyland was combined with European Disneyland. In the distribution coverage, the result of Attraction Attendance 2007 and 2008 (Appendix 1a & b) indicated that Ocean Park had higher indicated that Ocean Park had recorded higher attendance rather than Disneyland. It is implied that Ocean Park should be more successful on the admission income, and gained a large number of visitors rather than Disneyland. On the other hand, Disneyland had higher distribution coverage on the world, because it involved that its operations were involved 5 countries in the world. Besides, Ocean Park had lower distribution coverage in the market, because it only had one amusement in the world. As a result, both of Ocean Park and Disneyland were medium in the effect of market price/ distribution indices. To conclude that after use high/low method to compare with the two parks, it found that the brand equity of Ocean Park was better. Table 3 shown each category has a key driver of influence. Loyalty, the key driver is satisfaction. Perceived quality and leadership measures, leadership variable in this category should be considered. The key component of associations and differentiation measures is including the personality. In the category of awareness measures, brand awareness is the important component. Attendance of distribution coverage in market behavior is the most important. Matching mean analysis with crosstab test analysis, it found out that the loyalty is the most influence category among the brand equity of Ocean Park. The dimension of satisfaction in the loyalty category is the critical success factor of Ocean Park. CHAPTER VI – DISCUSSION During the study, there were faced such problems. This part of discussion would point out the problems, in order to share the editor’s opinions with those people who would having study or survey in the future. 1. Questionnaire Setting 1. Sample of the survey is not many, only collected 100 samples, representation of the result is low. 2. The method of collecting the data is not good enough. It is because through e-mail, which is inconvenience, low efficiency, and usually will ignore by addressees. E-mail is a passive method, and the respondents their replies are also passive. 3. Questionnaire is distributed to visitors through e-mail. Some respondents had their feedback about the questionnaire, such as wrong words, the questionnaire format, etc. 4. Focus on the questionnaire design, it could be improved. For example, in the price premium, the questionnaire did not ask respondents some questions about the â€Å"dollar metric†, and market research approach (conjoint/ â€Å"trade-off† analysis). Therefore, the dimension of price premium can not be accurately and clearly to analysis whether it can build up customer loyalty and whether it is important part of loyalty measures. 2. Information Collection 1. In the category of Market Behavior, there were not found some accurate information about the â€Å"Market Share† and â€Å"Market Price†. That is the admission price of Disneyland. According to the Disneyland Annual Report 2008, the financial information about Hong Kong Disneyland was displayed that it was combined the financial information associated with European Disneyland. This is indicated that the financial information should not be compared with Ocean Park directly, because any changes of the financial information may be occurred by both Hong Kong and European one. Therefore, the related information should not be really reflected the true information especially for Hong Kong Disneyland. 3. SPSS – Data Entry and Output 1. When setting the questionnaires, sometimes, may need to set some reverse questions. For example, asking respondents that â€Å"Ocean Park is different from Disneyland† and â€Å"Ocean Park is basically the same as Disneyland†, that is reverse question.