Conference and Banqueting Management Essay

Introduction This report presents a research into the banqueting and conference sector of the hospitality industry, focusing on size and scope of banqueting in UK and the importance that has grown in the past years because of world-wide conference and meeting development as well as and the financial evolution that has brought the segment to the national economy Conference and banqueting is normally about putting together an event and it usually have as a scope different forms of get-together like a ceremony, or a celebration, small gatherings, seminars, family events, birthday party or weddings. The event industry is a truly global industry with events being held each day around the world in different exhibition centre that host numerous events attracting local and international delegates. www.studymode.com/†¦/size-and-scope-conference-and-banqueting.co.uk TASK A 1.1 What is the size and scope in Conference and Banqueting in UK Banqueting is mostly related to hotels or any other different ha lls that can provide the space for any type of event even if this kind of service is now being hired by various food service companies, like restaurants, due to its profitability. The traditional meaning of the banqueting business is â€Å"providing food and beverages to a group of people who will eat together at the same time†. The scope of banqueting is to accomplish and deliver good service focusing most on celebration, bringing together a group of people for a certain event and to emphasis on food and beverage which can last for several hour. 1 The scope of this events is to provide different types of benefits for destinations where we can include tourism, employment opportunities and financial growth. The market is estimated to be worth  £18.8 billion to the UK economy, including spend at different occasions and in the wider destination by representatives and organisers. There were an estimated 94 million attendances at events in 2009 (an estimated 1.32 million events with an average attendance of 71 people) There was an average of 379 per venue in 2009, down slightly on 2008 (an average of 391 events per venue). Hotels and conference/training centres typically hosted more events than other types of venue, with hotels accounting for 61% of all business events. Banquet food and beverages in some large convention hotels, can account for as much as 70% or more of the combined total food and beverage percentage from all other services in the hotel, such as restaurant, room service and bars. According to Cousin , Foskett , Gillespie , (2002) In the UK are approximately 6,650 conference and banqueting venues that works with all the major hotel brands such as Hilton, Marriott or Best Western and there are estimated around 9.001,053 meeting rooms across the UK.   A Conference can be described as a meeting for consultation, exchange of information and discussion. Some conferences have only a few delegates while others have several hundred. They may be held on behalf of a political party, to create a new image, launch a new product, communicate to employees or make some kind of public announcement. Venues vary and may include a hotel, dedicated conference venue, college or university campus. 2 In our days, conferences are thought to be one of the most important and essential aspects in  globalization as it bridge the openings of numerous industries from one nation to a different one and it is facilitating various economies of various nations to be accepted all over the world. www.bibliotecaregielive.co.uk Other types of conference Academic conferences. Professional association conferences. Training conference (http://www.capital.uk/details-article/news/in-event-industry) J ust a few minutes’ walk from either Old Street or Barbican tube station, LSO St Luke’s combines the accessibility of a City position with the good-element of a exclusive, lovely location that is excellent for both banqueting and conference. Inside the central Jerwood Hall, the 18th-century original architecture appear together with contemporary structures to generate a spectacular location, with normal bright flooding that could held up to 250 to 300 seats that could be moved on a side leaving the entire floor free for dancing or entertaining. www.hospitalityinfo.com 1.2How will Pestle affect Banqueting and Conference PESTEL stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal factors which may affect the business. 3 POLITICAL Political issues have a direct impact on conference and banqueting and it’s very important to maintain healthy political links with leading party leaders for goodwill of business. Some of the government mandates have a strong impact on hospitality industry that include, political stability or instability, tax policy, environmental law, trade restrictions. According to Cousin , Foskett , Gillespie , (2002) ECONOMICAL Economic aspects have a substantial control about how an organisation does business as well as how commercial they are. Major aspects consist of – economic increasing, interest rates, exchange rates, inflation, disposable income of consumers and businesses. SOCIAL Hospitality industry is one of the biggest employer institute in United Kingdom, around 20% of the workers in Britain are involved in hotel and catering employment. It is contain the public freedom of movement, earnings allocation, and providing skills acquired. These characteristics consist in – residents growing, age dissemination, health consciousness, and career attitudes. TECHNOLOGY The technology plays a vital role in business. Over the year the establishment is depends on the technology, the hospitality technology continues to provide a best and complete software solution to the hospitality sector. According to Cousin, Foskett , Gillespie , (2002) ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS The rising aspiration to care for the environment is to have a major control on numerous institute like hospitality or tourism and the general change regarding more ecologically, pleasant products and developments is affecting demand patterns and generating business opportunities. Legal Factors Legal factors involve – health and safety instruction, different prospects, customer civil rights and rules, product labelling and product safety. It is normal that all companies want to know what is and what is not legal if they want to have success in business. In current years in the UK there have been many important legal changes that have affected company’s behaviour. According to Cousin , Foskett , Gillespie , (2002) CONCLUSION As a personal conclusion I consider that to have success in this sector or any other from hospitality industry we need to always be one step ahead trying to know in advance what the clients want and need, paying a special attention to details and have great opportunity to make every event memorable . I consider that the progress of the conference and banqueting industry is a beneficial and supportive thing for the people by generating employment that leads to attracting visitors and also making revenue. It featured the UK’s change exclusively London in one of the most significant for events all over the world. 5 Bibliography (Cousin J., Foskett D., Gillespie C., (2002), Food and Beverage Management, second edition) www.studymode.com/†¦/size-and-scope-conference-and-banqueting.co.uk http://www.capital.uk/details-article/news/in-event-industry http://dommcg.hubpages.com/hub/whatis-pestel-analysis www.bournemouth.co.uk/London/conference.uk www.hospitalityinfo.com

The Emperor’s Club

The Emperor's Club IQ . Do you think Professor William Hundred did the right thing? What are the ethical and moral dilemmas would he have experienced? Did his choice help or hinder Sedgwick? A. I believe Professor William Hundred did not do the right thing. Selecting Sedgwick Bell over Martin Blithe, not on the bases of merit, was not only unfair to Blithe but can also be perceived as favoritism. It is true that he wished to see Sedgwick Bell succeed and wished to motivate him to work harder. However, the means to that end were wrong. Motivating a person is very important.It helps increase confidence and builds up self-esteem. Professor Hundred did his very best to encourage Sedgwick to apply himself more in class and at the school. He was quite successful as well. However, Just when it seemed he had finally realized his potential and was on track to make to the final of the Julius Caesar competition, it turned out that he would lose out to Martin Blithe by 1 mark. Professor Hundred thought that this would De-motivate him and further hamper his development. In order to keep him focused towards his goal, Professor Hundred decided to grade him higher than what he deserved.He thought about what would happen if he didn't select Sedgwick Bell. He, however, did not think of the repercussions of his actions on selecting Sedgwick. The implications of his actions on Martin Blithe were not perceived by him at all. The ethical dilemmas are quite clear. Was selecting Sedgwick Bell over Martin Blithe, by changing his grade, the right thing? Did he deserve to be in the final? Selection by any other way other than merit, was it acceptable? When realizing that Sedgwick was cheating, expose his lie or adhere to the headmaster and keep mum about it? The moral areas are a little bit more than lack and white.What would be the effect on Sedgwick if he wasn't selected? Given his relation with his father, would he be able to recover after that? Would he give up trying all together po st failure? And what about himself? Was he doing the right thing by keeping quiet about the cheating Just because Sedgwick father was the Senator? And had he failed as a professor, a mentor? Professor William Hundred believed his decision would help Sedgwick Bell, to grow, build up his esteem and most importantly, help him have belief in himself. On the contrary, as we could see, it did not aid him in any way.By increasing Sedgwick grade, though with the view of motivating him, was unfair as he did not deserve it. During the competition, on realizing that Sedgwick was cheating, Professor Hundred, on instructions from the headmaster, kept quiet about it. This was his second mistake. This was the second time Sedgwick was given a free pass without any repercussions. This led him to believe that he could get through life, doing what he wanted, in any manner desirable without facing the consequences for his actions. He had no respects for rules, regulations or authority. He continued tha t throughout his life with absolute Gerard to principles.And this holds true, as we see, that even after 25 years, he cheats in the competition. After being caught, he doesn't have even the slightest concern about exposure or, for that matter, any remorse. Q. What would you do as a teacher? What would you do as a student? A. Contrary to what Sedgwick Bell's father mentioned in the movie, I believe it is the Job of the teacher to mould the student and create structure in their life. Coming to SST. Benedict School for Boys, which is an organization of sorts, Sedgwick was an outsider. Professor William Hundred did his very best to welcome him into the origination.After considerable effort and time, Sedgwick was motivated to work hard towards his education. As a teacher, everything Professor Hundred did till then was absolutely correct, not unlike what I would have done. In my opinion, motivating students to apply themselves, giving them guidance, encouraging them to work harder, basica lly, mentor them are some of the very essential qualities of an excellent educator and Professor Hundred, definitely, was one. However, when it came to the Julius Caesar Competition, I would not have done any of the things that the professor id.He seemed to be a very ethical man most of them times. However, when it came to Sedgwick, his ethics seemed to be on a shaky ground. To start off, I would not have changed his grade. It would not only be unfair to Martin Blithe, who rightfully belonged to the final, but to Sedgwick as well. It was true that he tried very hard, his progress was tremendous and he had a difficult relationship with his father. However, none of these factors change the fact that he did not deserve to be in the final on the very grounds of merit. Also, when realizing that Sedgwick was cheating,Professor Hundred immediately told the headmaster. The headmaster refused to let Professor Hundred expose Sedgwick only on the grounds that Sedgwick was the Senator's son. If I were in Professor Hunter's shoes at that time, I would first try and convince the headmaster that covering up Sedgwick deceit was wrong and that he must be exposed. If even then the headmaster were to refuse to comply, I would have to call Sedgwick out on his dishonesty. The implications of such an action on my Job would surely hinder me, but I would expose him, Just because it was the right thing to do.If not then, in front of the whole school, then surely later. I would make sure Sedgwick deception did not go unpunished. As a student, my only real Job is to try and absorb everything around me, the lessons; the knowledge gained from them, in and outside the classrooms and evolve. Basically, all one needs to be is a sponge. Some of the things that help a student evolve are his peers, his friends. Sedgwick did not think much about them when his mind was set on something, be it disrupting someone's studies or Just having fun, even if it gets them into trouble. I would never take ad vantage of my friends.I would treat them exactly the way I would want to be treated by them. Most importantly, I would try to learn from them. Temptation is a strong emotion which deters everyone's path sometime or another. However, if one's principles are sound, one does not need to worry about straying from the right path. Cheating, whatever be the circumstances is wrong. It is not only unethical but it also goes against my beliefs of Just. The guilt of taking somebody else's position especially when I did not deserve it would be very strong. I would also not be as callous about my education as Sedgwick.A famous and powerful father may get me in any prestigious universities but my learning would be compromised. Most importantly, the guilt of cheating and getting away with it would surely keep me up at night. There has to be a sense of Justice. The repercussions of my actions must be known to me. Rules and regulations are the building blocks for the development of individual struct ure. As a teacher, I would work towards helping students realize their potential but within the framework of what is ethically correct. As a student, I would try and embrace the principles, learn and evolve. Q.How would behavior like Sedgwick impact organization behavior? How would Sedgwick like attitude and behavior impact his life? A. Sedgwick Bell had a very strong assertive personality. He had absolute disregard for rules, regulations, principles and authority. In any organizational setting, such behavior would be very disruptive. His lack of respect for authority would make working in a hierarchical environment very difficult. Carrying out assigned tasks and duties received from the directly above echelon would not be done effectively or otherwise if there is no everyone from whosoever it has been delegated.He was also very self righteous. Such behavioral individualist traits would make it hard to work efficiently within the organizational framework. There would be lack of comm unication, vertically as well as horizontally. Sedgwick failed to think about others as he did not have much concern for others. Such behavior in an organization would not help him function well with his colleagues. Interaction with people will help one gain knowledge and grow. Lack of concern for others feelings will not only restrict his development, it will make him a Uriah within the organization.All in all, it will affect his functioning capabilities. Within an organization, one functions with a set of goals, short term as well as long term. Sedgwick did not have any planned objectives. He did not know, nor did he wish to gain from his time at SST. Benedicts. Such behavior can lead to stagnancy within any organization. There will be no scope for growth. Sedgwick, however, when motivated was ready to apply himself and work. Such a quality would be very useful in an organization setting. When motivated enough, an individual would be much more productive.The individual and company goals would be met more quickly and efficiently. What one learns in his early life are some lessons which will shape him for the rest of his life. Sedgwick Bell learned that he could always get ahead without really applying himself and without facing any repercussions for his actions. His disregard for anyone other than himself will make it very difficult for him to lead a happy and successful life. To an outsider he would seem happy and satisfied, but without the respect of others, especially his own family, he will not really have accomplished anything.The first time he cheated in the Julius Caesar competition, he did that as he lacked the confidence to believe that he could actually win. That doesn't take away from the fact that was wrong. However, his attitude that even on being caught he wouldn't be exposed due to the clout his father had is even more troublesome. Such a laid back attitude to rules and a belief that he could get out of any situation will not help him in his li fe at all. Would he pass on these values to his children, the same way he received them from his own father? In his professional life, he might become very successful, which he does, but at what expense?We see it yet again, that even after 25 years he cheats in the competition. He does so with no remorse and completely discounts the repercussions. The only time he feels any guilt over what he has done is when his son finds out. For a second we are lead to believe, that maybe, there is some hope. Alas, that isn't true. There are ways to get ahead in life, but having an indifferent attitude towards rules and regulations is not one of them. He might become a Senator, but to really make a difference, he needs to understand people, follow the rules and mostly importantly, learn to value principles.

Helping the Less Fortunate Essay

If I were a president of an organization, that made millions of dollars each year; I would create an organization within my organization that caters to the less fortunate. My organization would help to remove people off of the streets and give them a place to live, feeding the homeless in soup kitchens while passing out clothing, and also funding the education of those who cannot afford it. I believe that taking random people off of the streets and giving them a place to live is very important. As president of a million dollar a year business, I would definitely give the homeless a place to live. For example, I would send people out into the streets to search for random homeless people. I would pay for motels for a single person for a month and two for families because there are much more people to provide for. I will not just give people a place to stay; I would also find jobs for them. The jobs may be low paying, but it will help the homeless to get off of the streets. This may not help everyone, but it will take many off of the streets. Opening a soup kitchen will definitely increase my interaction with the â€Å"little people†. I think that having actual former poor people serve the poor is what will set my organization apart from others. I would do this because I know that the servers will connect with the poor on a personal and emotional level. This will ensure that the servers are very passionate about what they are doing. As president of the organization, I would also personally serve the homeless food while interacting with them to make them feel comfortable. I would ensure that they have faith that one day things will get better. Also, I would collect clothing and give to the homeless while feeding them. This will give them food on their stomach and clothes on their back. The clothes may not be in the best condition, but something is always better than nothing. My organization would also stress the importance of education. I believe that education is everything. I would ensure that everyone that enters my program have a very fortunate future. I would go into high schools and find that are below the poverty line. I will not stress the GPA of an individual. The person may have had to leave school for a period of time to help provide for his or her family. Although finding these individuals may be difficult, I am sure the process will run smoothly with the help of the school staff. I would focus on students that have the drive to want to go to college. I may be funding the education, but I will need the student’s full cooperation. The individual’s will have to provide documents proving that he or she is has little income, or receiving no income at all. My organ will provide funding for everything that an individual needs to attend college. This will include tuition, books, meal plans, housing and anything else the child needs for school. These procedures will be taken to ensure that the students have no worries while pursuing an education. It is very important to give back to the â€Å"little people†. Providing, shelter, jobs, food, clothes and education; will decrease poverty. This may not benefit the majority, but it will at least help some people out. Every homeless person that receives help counts. A million dollar a year organization would definitely remove many people at least a step away from the poverty line.

Healthcare Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Healthcare Policy - Essay Example changes in accordance to providing an effective healthcare policy, and how it helps in the dimension of population health is included into the main body. The last section includes concluding response to this problem. The method is particularized examination of the literature together with the critical summarizing and personal inferences on the topic. Healthcare policy is considered to be a number of complexes concerning social and political processes that are directed on providing medical care to the population of the country (Barr, 2011). All factors and forces that provide an influence on the implementation of medical treatment for people are included to the dimension of the term healthcare policy. That is an essential branch concerning social stability and health of population. The United States of America is regarded as a country with highly developed and rather effective system of healthcare policy (Niles, 2014). The majority of population in this country is able to use medical services in order to be successfully treated with the health insurance suggested by the governmental institutions rules (Niles, 2014). Healthcare policy and regulations in USA are functioned to construct rather effective and prosperous conditions in the dimension of medicine for American population. Moreover, the quality of treatment and medical care in USA stays in a high level. Preparation of medical specialists together with modern equipment represents the basis of medical care in this country (Barr, 2011). We may stay the idea about highly developed and completely improved system of health care in the USA. The matter is that medical services in USA are provided by special insurance and this is what covers the cost of treatment for the population (Niles, 2014). People who are able to pay for the reliable insurance are pretended to be treated immediately and with the highest quality. People with low social status or with low income they are deprived from an appropriate free

What happens here, Stays here Las Vegas Campaign Essay

What happens here, Stays here Las Vegas Campaign - Essay Example epresents a tremendous revenue stream for the city of Las Vegas, requiring the city to put forth sizeable effort at attracting mass quantities of consumers to its nightlife and recreational facilities. Las Vegas, as a unique American destination, maintains a significant strategic advantage over traditional product brands, as the business does not have to rely on measuring market share against competitors. There are few destinations with the same quality of spectacle and recreation provided by the entire city of Las Vegas, thus the city can focus solely on its product features, benefits and services as a unique travel destination. Though other cities across the country require tourism dollars, Vegas is in a class by itself for adult entertainment. The marketing focus is also to encourage international consumers to visit the city as part of Las Vegas’ marketing focus (Fowler, B.1). Up until only recently, Las Vegas had been positioned as a family destination, with previous marketing efforts focusing on the theme park varieties and water-park recreation provided by the city to lure family revenue dollars. One notable author describes the previous Las Vegas marketing campaign, focused on family, as a conglomerate of â€Å"T-shirt packs of doughnut inhalers roaming the casinos like livestock† (Anderson, 1). This represented a marketing focus where the targeted consumer was the family demographic, potentially creating conflict between the more adult-oriented consumer who looked at Vegas as an escape for adult entertainment and exciting, casino recreation. The shift in marketing focus from family-oriented to a more risquà © campaign illustrates a total change in target market focus. Las Vegas marketers also maintain a very mass advertising philosophy where individual target consumers are not the focus, but appeals to the mass consumer audience comprised of business professionals, young adults, and any other age or background demographic available in the United States.

Literature review Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Literature review - Research Paper Example Based on various reports, it is suggested that in any kind of treatment for sleep apnea, a strict adherence to treatment methods is the key for prolonged AHI reduction among patients. Literature Review: Sleep Apnea Treatment Trials Sleep apnea is defined as the cessation of airflow through the nose or mouth for at least 10 seconds every sleeping hour, which decreases at least 3% oxyhemoglobin in the blood and a reduction of 50% in oxygen intake among patients (Noseda, et al., 2004). The total of apnea (due to obstruction) and hypopnea (airflow reduction) events during sleep is measured as the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), and the number is positively correlated to the severity of sleep apnea. Possible causes are multifactorial, ranging from abnormal cranial structures, relaxed airway muscles or problems with respiratory control during sleep (Barnes, et al., 2009). Effects can range from excessive daytime sleepiness, dysfunction in the patient’s metabolism and neurocognition, car diovascular disorders, and mood swings with a decreased quality of life (Ackel-D’Elia, et al., 2012; Kline, et al., 2012; Quan, et al., 2007). The most widely accepted methods to alleviate the symptoms of apnea are either surgery or the use of a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) mask, to increase the oxygen intake during sleep (Quan, et al., 2007; Sengul, et al., 2011). However, several researches have emerged that have significant or comparable results by using less-invasive procedures such as increasing physical activity levels or combining it with other methods, and while the issue of the low number of participants in some studies can be a hindrance to the acceptability of exercise as a way to reduce apnea effects, the number of trials that affirm positive effects must be looked upon to consider it as an effective and non-invasive alternative treatment for sleep apnea. Physical Activity Trials The increasing numbers of overweight and obesity triggered an increase in the number of patients suffering from sleep apnea, and one of the main reasons is that there is less physical activity that strengthens the muscles of the air passages and lungs, making the respiratory muscles weak and relaxed, preventing sufficient breathing of air (Barnes, et al., 2009; Giebelhaus, et al., 2000). In a study that compared a group of sleep apnea sufferers against a control-group, a simple six-minute walk test was used to assess breathing patterns, heart rate, blood pressure, and dyspnea (Alameri, Al-Kabab, & BaHammam, 2010). The study found out that while the physical activity did not cause drastic effects to the sleep apnea group, their hemodynamic responses were abnormal compared to the control group, concluding that a simple test can assess significant effects of mild physical activity otherwise unnoticeable by the patients. The study had limitations such as selection of low-risk participants for the control group, not investigating other contributing factors in exercise limitation, and conducting the study on a single ethnic group. However, further studies that are comprised by various ethnic groups may be studied and physical activity programs may be used in combination with their methods to establish the possibility of using the procedure for sleep apnea prognosis. The effects of exercise in sleep apnea on any kind of body-mass index (BMI),

Father Teilhard de Chardin, a Jesuit priest Research Paper

Father Teilhard de Chardin, a Jesuit priest - Research Paper Example Religion too opposes science, for example, by offering opposing explanations for occurrence. Despite this widely held view that science and religion oppose each other, there are scholars who believe that overall, science and religion have had a positive relationship between them(Sweet and Feist 2). According to this school of thought, the two complement each other. Promoters of this viewpoint claim that religion has made several contributions to science. They also point to the fact that, throughout history, several religious people have been involved in scientific research. One such person is Father Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a Jesuit priest. Many scholars regard Teilhard as a pioneer of integrating science and faith within the Catholic Church. This paper examines Teilhard’s thoughts and contribution toward getting the Catholic Church to embrace science. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a French Jesuit priest who also doubled up as a scientist(Delio 155). As a paleontologist, T eilhard took part in the discovery of the â€Å"Peking Man†. They also had the concept of the â€Å"Omega Point†, the highest degree of complexity and awareness they believed the universes was evolving toward. The Catholic Church censored many of Teilhard’s writing primarily because of their views on the original sin. Today, Teilhard’s paleontological work is widely accepted among scientists. However, their theorizing on evolution is disparaged. Fr. Teilhard died in 1955 at the age of seventy-four years. Teilhard was among the very few leaders of thought to successfully marry pure scientific research with a religious calling. Teilhard believed that there was a need to reconstruct the doctrines of the Catholic Church from the viewpoints of science while at the same time, rebuilding science from the perspectives of science(Delio 157). In other words, they believed that the two spheres complemented each other.

Popular Culture-Villains Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Popular Culture-Villains - Essay Example The source asserts that the movies where Lecter is not presented significantly i.e. Lambs and Manhunter are better in the series because more attention is deflected from the main character. The author rates other movies lowly due to the fact that Lecter is predominantly represented in the movies. The source even goes to extent of predicting the nature of the next movie in reference to the past trends. It is predicted that Lecter will still feature predominantly, â€Å"†¦the next Lecter film gets made (I’m quite certain it will, and probably sooner than later), it’s going to have to feature Lecter predominantly† (Lev 4). This is an assumption that the preceding movies in the series might be of low quality, which is not always the case. The first impression that the article presents to the reader is that the â€Å"totally overrated† status that is used to define Hannibal Lecter is due to the cheap price attached to the book (Lev 1). However, the low price of the material might not be necessarily because the product is of low quality. Other factors such as the economic stability of the readers could be at play. The source may dismiss the actor as overrated but the admission that the AFI named him the leading movie villain of all times. This creates doubts on the sincerity of the overrated claims. One of the source’s ratings of the main character is related to his role, â€Å"...guy with his tics and theatrical preening and eating people ...† (Lev 3). This is a personal confession of the author on the unpleasant things that the he identified after watching the movies. Although some character behaviors might not be attractive, the source should not have blamed all the weaknesses on the Lecter alon e because he serves to advance the theme of the film. Therefore, the failure to entertain should also be blamed on the general failure of thematic organization of the movie. The roles of the characters should be the same as that of the directors as they all work

Obesity as an emerging epidemic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Obesity as an emerging epidemic - Essay Example In this study, the authors describe the rising obesity rates and related increase in the healthcare costs, which have been highlighted in research and popular media over again. There is a need for action, and there is a considerable stigmatization of obese people, especially children. There is need for guidelines for public health managers in order to design and implement obesity prevention programmes, which can minimize stigma. This article discusses the social process involved in obesity stigmatisation, its consequences, and its manifestations in health service provision. Based on research, this study also suggests how to design nonstigmatising obesity prevention public health programmes. Management of overweight and obesity is an important public health agenda since these are associated with ill health. There is recognized gap between primary care activities and public health goals to reduce obesity and overweight. Based on systemic reviews and key literatures, the relationships between these have been explored. This study reveals that with sustained political support and investment, the primary care and public health sectors may work hand in hand to reduce obesity through both personal and social interventions, which ultimately may lead to reduction of cardiovascular events. This study examined the pub... itical support and investment, the primary care and public health sectors may work hand in hand to reduce obesity through both personal and social interventions, which ultimately may lead to reduction of cardiovascular events. 4. Goodman, E., Slap, GB., and Huang, B., (2003). The Public Health Impact of Socioeconomic Status on Adolescent Depression and Obesity. Am J Public Health; 93: 1844 - 1850. This study examined the public health impact of socioeconomic status gradient on adolescent obesity through calculation of population attributable risks for household income and parental education on a nationally representative sample of adolescents in terms of obesity to reveal that the population attributable risks for income and education were large. Across each gender and ethnic groups, the socioeconomic status is associated with an increased incidence of obesity disease burden within the total population. 5. Gordon, FK., Ferguson, EL., Toafa, V., Henry, T., Goulding, A., Grant, AM., and Guthrie, BE., (2003). High Levels of Childhood Obesity Observed among 3- to 7-Year-Old New Zealand Pacific Children Is a Public Health Concern. J. Nutr.; 133: 3456 - 3460. In this cross-sectional community based survey study, the attained growth and body composition of 3 to 7-year-old Pacific children were assessed to examine nondietary factors associated with the percentage of body fat. The factors examined were parent reported status of physical activities in these children. However, it was found that these young children have extremely high levels of obesity and truncal fat which could have major public health implications with advancement of age. 6. Reilly, JJ., (2006). Obesity in childhood and adolescence: evidence based clinical and public health perspectives. Postgrad. Med. J.;

Economic Concern in Pride and Prejudice Essay Example for Free

Economic Concern in Pride and Prejudice Essay Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice had a long and varied life before it finally saw publication on January 28, 1813. Austen began the book, originally titled First Impressions, in 1796. Economic concerns are all over the place in this novel. One of the things that Austen does so well is to poke fun of the whole social class mentality of England during that time. In the novel, the social and economic classes are drawn very clearly. For example, the Bennets are middle class and they are made to know it by their economic and social superiors the Bingleys and Darcys. There is a sense of entitlement among the wealth and a sense of subservience among the others. One of the clearest examples of this dynamic based on social class is Mr. Collins who acts like a slave to his cultural superiors, like Lady Catherine de Brourgh. Finally, what makes the story so great is that this tension is teased out until love wins. The marriage between Elizabeth and Darcy is the resolution, but for this to happen Darcy has to overcome his pride and Elizabeth her prejudice. Both are rooted in class consciousness. In Pride and Prejudice, there are many characters who do not have financial concerns, such as Mr. Darcy, Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Mr. Bingley. Therefore I will restrict myself to talking about the Bennet family, and in particular, Mrs. Bennet, in this response. Key to focus on is the way that, at least in part, it is economic reasons that are behind Mrs. Bennets frantic attempts to marry off as many of her daughters as possible. Note what we are told in the first paragraph of Chapter Seven about the brute realities of the existence of the Bennet girls: Mr.  Bennets property consisted almost entirely in an estate of two thousand a year, which , unfortunately for his daughters, was entailed in default of heirs male, on a distant relation; and their mothers fortune, though ample for her situation in life, could but ill supply the deficiency of his. Her father had been an attorney in Meryton, and had left her four thousand pounds. The exact details that we are given clearly indicate how important money is. The way in which the property of Longbourne is entailed away from the female line adds new understanding to Mrs. Bennets determination that Lizzie should mary Mr. Collins, no matter what her personal feelings are, as it would effectively provide for Mrs. Bennet and the rest of the sisters after the event of Mr. Bennet. Later comments made by Mrs. Bennet about the Mr. Collins and Charlotte turning them out onto the street when Mr. Bennet dies, although are clearly exaggerated, nonetheless accurately reflect the uncertain future of this family unless they can marry off some of their daughters well to provide for the rest. Economic forces are therefore shown to bear massively on the fortunes of this family.

E Servicescapes On Hotel Website Information Technology Essay

E Servicescapes On Hotel Website Information Technology Essay Last chapter, the background research has been mention and present. This study is focus on testing the e-serviscapes dimension on a hotel website. Few studies on e-servicescapes have been noticed in industry and organization. One of the example is E-servicescapes of BB website . The reserch has attempted to examine the dimension of e-servicescapes as antecedents of perceived e-servicescape quality of BB website . Jeon Jeong (2009) are also attempt to measure e-servicescapes qualities of BB website and investigates dimensions of the e-servicescapes most influence customer decision making. Regarding to the research above, this study is testing the e-servicescapes dimension on the intention of using hotel website by applying the past research conceptual framework. The purpose of this literature review is to identify the related issues within the e-servicesapes on a hotel website. In order to gain a clearer and better understanding, it is definitely to explore the related literature reg arding the e-servicesape. Following that, the key aspects of this review is to measure the dependent variable which is the intention of internet browser to browse hotel website. The literature review is focused on the theoretical definition and empirical studies in regards to the areas. Servicescapes has used in the development of e-servicescapes framework. In this chapter, related theory and variables will be further explained. 2.2 Servicescapes For your information, servicescape is known as the physical environment of an organization in several different elements such as overall layout, design and dà ©cor . Bitner (1992) define servicescapes as a service packages by categorize it in three environmental dimensions, which are ambient conditions, space or function, and sign, symbols, and artifacts. First of all, ambient conditions are sensory elements which consist of temperature, air quality, noise, music, light, smell, color and so on . Next, space or function are refers to layout equipment, furnishings and others items arrangement and functionality . Sign, symbol and artifact are means to be signage, personal artifacts, style of decoration and so on . These environmental dimensions or we shall say physical elements will give impact on customers and employees. Hence leads to internal responses in cognitive, emotional, and physiological . Due to the impacts given by environmental dimensions, customers and employees behavior will be influence in order to approach or avoid certain product or service . Typology of service organizations based on variations in form and usage of the servicescape are able to categorize in three types, self service, interpersonal services, and remote services . Hotel is one of interpersonal services which include both customer and employee. As the standards of lifestyle increasing, applying servicescapes in hotel services is important. Hotel as a service organization who developing with servicescape, it is actually enhance customer satisfaction and increase in repeat business . According to Kandampully Suhartanoto (2000) research, companys image contributes value addition and increases the customer satisfaction towards the product and service provided by the company. Customer satisfaction and company image are positively related to customer loyalty . A positive perceived in cognition, emotion, and physiological will leads to positive approach behavior . Hence, an intention for customer to continuously utilize service and product of hotel will occur. 2.3 E-servicescapes on hotel website Nowadays, online retailing is steadily growth. Company or organization are adopting information technology to run business online as e-merchant . Base on the Jeon Jeong (2009) study research, a framework had been built in previous study on servicescapes and customer relationships in service organization in physical setting and on the website environment . Figure 1 depicts is the framework for environmental dimensions affecting perceived e-servicescapes: Adapted from: Jeon Jeong (2009) Figure 1: A framework for environmental dimensions affecting perceived e-servicescapes The framework shows that the four environmental dimensions of e-servicescapes are ambient conditions, design aspects, search aids slogans and functional aspects. In the context of e-servicescapes, these four dimensions will provide customers with communication cues . Perceived e-servicescapes quality and intention to use a BB website were affected by the environmental dimensions of e-servicescapes . The major vary between serviscapes and e-serviscapes is the physical and non-physical elements. Unlike servicescapes, e-servicescapes have no physical elements in Internet service environment . Dimensions between servicescapes and e-servicescapes might are similar in terms of definition, but is different in some characteristic in terms of environment . There were no physically interaction between customer and employees when service provided . In this modern area, service or sales that involve online or go through by website, the e-servicescapes may be the key factor in playing a role of representing company or organization to customers . By using internet, information provided from website is giving intangible benefits of interaction with websites . Internet also allow customer to have more choices in terms of service and product and giving opportunity to customer to compare price and features of relevant product and service through vary website . In order to survive in competitive environment, hotel companies are increasingly adopt on having an electronic distribution partner which know as online travel agencies . According to Sullivan (2005) report analysis, internet users are increasingly using search engine to get information. Besides that, demand towards usage of search engine from different websites are increase as well . No matters from organization perspective or consumer perspective, developing a hotel website has become a trend or a must in order to optimize organization revenue and fulfill customer demands . 2.4 Independent Variables 2.4.1 Ambient conditions Under servicescapes framework, ambient condition is one of the environmental dimension, it also known as one of the factor that affect human perception and respond towards environment . According to Bitner (1992), human five senses are mostly affected by ambient conditions which include background characteristic such as room temperature, lighting, noise, music, and scent. Sensory stimulation are greatly influence environments, enhance customer experience and change the nature behavior beyond human conscious . In e-servicescapes, ambient conditions influence customer perception by the website service environment . Background characteristic of website such as color, quality photos, virtual tour, music and animation effects are affecting people perceived towards the website . One of the characteristic of ambient conditions, music has be tested in research study on the role of cognition and emotions in the music approach and avoidance behavior relationship . It is found that the service quality of the organization is rated according to the preference of music . Organization which is often playing customer preferable music are offer with higher rating . Hence, a suitable music applies on hotel website might leads to intention to use the website. Rather than that, customers also use to perceive certain subject base on appearance . Website design are important in acting as website appearance . The clarity and readability of text and size of fonts use to be important for appropriate visual presentation on website . A relevant research has shown that customer perceived company or personnel base on appearance . This result shows that people are use to have a lousy perception with not appropriate appearance . By applying the result in H.Dean (2010) study, it is o bvious that quality photo and colors are playing an important role in hotel website to represent hotel image as well for the first good impression to have customers intention for further browse hotel website. Animation or virtual tour is effective in presenting information towards people . Byrne et al. (1999) state that use of picture and animations are commonly accepted. Animations appears better in presenting information . A research on dyslexia people on educating with animation has shoes that animation did a better job in presenting information . All the research above has one common which is the animation, high quality picture and website design are effective in presenting information. In short, all the background characteristic of ambient conditions is important in create intention of user to use hotel website. 2.4.2 Design Aspect Service environment are purposeful environments because it fulfill consumer needs through employee actions . Base on what have study by Bitner (1992), spatial layout are refers to the arrangement, size and shape of item such as machinery, equipment and furnishings. Functionality are the ability of the item to perform and accomplish goal . Design aspect of website is view as overall structure of the ages, layout, space and the navigational functions . Poorly design website are not able to hold customer intention to surf on it . It had been claims that website design is directly influence in turning a web browser to customer . Web users attention is hardly to get to hold on a webpage in longer time. In order to grab web users attention for longer period, it is suggested that home page should be relatively simple, clean and clear content, and hit to the point since users are not sure whether they are at the right website to obtain the information they wanted . Information overload in one page will lead to delay in viewing a home page and leads to dissatisfaction of web users . However, too little information or too simple in a web page might not able to include important content of the website . Therefore, website designer feels that it is important to be balance in website layout distribution and have to be self content in over all structure . Sum, design aspect of website in terms of layout and space usage is important in holding web users attention. 2.4.3 Search aids and Slogans According to Bitner (1992) research, sign, symbols, and artifacts are serving as explicit and implicit signal to communicate with users. They can also as labels for directional purposes and to communicate with the rule of behavior . Signage helps in playing an important part in communicating firm image to customer . For example, a well known hotel are usually been recognize by the customer with company logo or symbol. Under servicescapes perspective, these symbol and artifacts can be use to create awareness in customer mind . In online perspective, some of the features of Bitner (1992) are useful in creating awareness in company website, such as company logo and slogans. Geissler (2001) research is supporting Bitner (1992) that symbol and logo of the company manage to create customer awareness. However, due to the absence of physical environment in e-servicescape, keywords or slogan use in search aids are replace the function of signage to help customer to locate hotel website . In search engine, meta-tag are been use to help in locate website by using pop up technique . Meta-tag are useful when come to indexing, search engines use meta-tag to locate information . A past research evaluated the effectiveness of meta-tag on the improvement of data retrieval on the World Wide Web and the results shows that the keyword meta-tag did improve information retrieval . Meta-tag are also have improved the rank of the selected articles among retrieved results of information . Base on Geissler (2001) research study, it is believed that using keywords in search aids is speeding up customer in locate relevant website. Besides using keywords, catchy phrases will draw internet browsers attention on websites as well rather than using plain text . Keywords are use to locate website easily by using search engines and meta-tag. Therefore, search aids and slogan are important in hotel website in the purpose of explored itself widely in the internet for being easily located by customer. Awareness created by implementing search aids and slogan dimension will be able to grab customer intention in using website. 2.4.4 Functional Dimension The functional aspect of a website will affect customer perception towards website and intention on browsing it . Website is been recognize as a convenient, low cost and easy accessible by every medium . Accessibility 2.3.1 Intention to use website

Unethical Act Among Contractors: Class F in Selangor

Unethical Act Among Contractors: Class F in Selangor 1.0 INTRODUCTION Contractors are the independent entity that agree to construct certain number or quantity of goods, material, equipment personnel ,or services that meet the requirement of specifications at a mutually price with a specific timeframe with another independent entity call contractee or project owner (Oxford Times). All contractors are rated Class F are Bumiputera. According to Article (160(2)) the concept of a bumiputra ethnic group in Malaysia was coined by activist Tunku Abdul Rahman. It recognized the special position of the Malays provided in the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, in particular Article 153. But, the constitution does not use the term bumiputra; it defines only Malay and aborigine (Article 160(2)).This means that the contractor is Class F Bumiputera contractors and do not need to apply for Recognition of Bumiputera. According to PKK (Pusat Khidmat Kontractor) until 26th June 2010 there are 4210 registered class F contractors in Selangor. A countrys economic system, irrespective construction industry plays a role in, construction industry plays a substantial role in a countrys national economic system (Zantanidis Tsiotras, 1998). Indeed, this sector is an important employer of a nations workforce as it employs between 2% to 10% of total workforce of most countries (Abdul Rashid Hassan, 2005). Malaysia has gained an impressive economic growth during the last three decades (Abdul Rahman et al, 2005) and this sector has employed an estimated 798,200 workforce nationwide in 2004 (CIDB, 2006). The Malaysian Government has given a much needed boost to the countrys construction industry under the 9th Malaysian Plan where a total of 880 projects worth RM15billion is to be tendered (The Star, 2006). It should be foregrounded that the issue of poor quality in the construction sector has, nevertheless. been identified as a major concern even as far back as the mid 1980s (The Star, 2006). Generally, it is a rule that constructi on projects must be completed within the planned cost, scheduled time and required quality. Quality may sometimes be ignored in this industry to cut the costs or to shorten the project time (Turk, 2006). To deal with the low quality problem faced by the industry, quality management is seen as an approach to achieve the required level of quality of the end product and has been given great attention worldwide over the past three decades (Hiyassat, 2000; Berawi and Woodhead, 2005). However, there is a perception that majority of quality related issues are caused by human factor. In response to that perception, a study was performed to look into the relationship between professional ethics among participants of construction sector and the quality related issues in Malaysian construction sector. It should be noted that for this purpose of survey, contractors and clients are regarded as professions and they are required to demonstrate a high degree of professionalism in performing their t ask, in response to the Governments effort who has introduced the National Integrity Plan to enhance integrity and ethics in the nation. Unethical acts of fraud, waste, abuse, and corrupt practices are what receive prominent treatment in the media worldwide. Such as inappropriate gifts, unauthorized payments, and fiscal infractions are the unethical act problems most noted. The Conference Board in New York reported that the above issues have widespread agreement on each of these issues as being a serious concern among the leaders of the free world, including those in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Australia. Due to the increased of public awareness toward the contractor unethical acts and also decreased of public tolerance for wrong-doing, it is important for contractor to focus specifically on the question of how professional ethics should be incorporated into awareness of individual to make sure every projects should be completed as standard. The ethical statement can describe the act was right or wrong, or act with a right or wrong which it can provide a line of distinction between good and evil of the act or the tendency of a person or at least it can develop guidelines that can be made with various moral considerations(J.L Mackie, 1971). Ethical act are very important because it use to determine the thoughts, actions and behavior of members of the organization to fulfill their responsibility and trust as an employee. It is also to create statements and coordination between the contractors as a key institution for national development. Ethical act also important to maintain and improve client confidence in the organization, 84% of FMIs respondents said that theyve seen an unethical act committed in the construction industry in the past year is an alarming statistic. Contractors, can take little comfort in the probability that incidence of unethical behavior is just as high in other industries these days. FMI had offer f our solution and one of the solutions is to stiffer the penalties for those caught in unethical or illegal acts is the least likely to succeed. Secondly, the FMI had suggest to develop an industry-wide code of ethics which these codes of ethics need to be enforced in every country. A less formal but corollary solution would hit closer to home. Companies should place more emphasis on social responsibility in their dealings with other firms. This approach is easier said than done, of course, although a few respondents in the survey say they have walked away from projects or companies and suffered short-term consequences as a result. They did not indicate, however, that they regretted their decisions in the long term. Training in ethical conduct is the fourth solution, and its the one that holds the most promise as long as it is coupled with commitment to these practices from the top ranks of any construction company. The FMI report states that unethical acts can signal a failure of management to know how to get the job done the right way. 1.2 Problem statement Due to many issues in our country regarding construction industry that lead to the unethical act by the contractors in running the projects such as the issue on the Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 2( MRR2 ), Matrade building and also the issue on the Navy Recruit Center. If this ethical issue still going on in our construction industry, it will affect our construction quality. According to the Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, more than 18,000 contractors and sub-contractors were either paid late or have yet to receive payment for completed work totaling RM23.7billion since 2000. This is a very huge sum, about 14% of the allocation for development projects under the 9th Malaysia Plan. The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) had carried out a six-month survey on 330 contractors, in which 273 cases of payment problems involving RM877.8mil were reported. Another example for the issue in Malaysian construction industry is the Plaza Rakyats project. The government will iss ue a warning notice to the Plaza Rakyat project contractors to continue the project as early as next week, initially, and if defaults, the tender will be forfeited. Minister of Federal Territory and Welfare Commissioner, Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin said, a notice will be given to contractors in a week or two so that they continue construction work. 1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH. The aim of this research as far as the unethical act among contractors class F in Selangor is concerned, is to identify the effect in the construction quality. These main objectives are broken down to more specific objectives in order to better understand the topic at hand. To achieve the desired aim of the research, there are some of the objectives had been choose for this research. Objectives for this research are: Assess the level of professional ethical standards and its practice in the Selangor construction industry, To identify the problems associated to unethical acts in construction industry Determine the role of professional ethics in improving quality management in construction industry. 1.4 Organization of Study Chapter 1 introduces the research topic. It discussed about the unethical acts, definition of contractor, definition of bumiputera, issue related to unethical acts in construction industry problem statement and the objectives that initiated this study. Chapter 2 involves the extensive review of literature relating to the relevant topic of the subject matter of research including the professional ethic and relationship between ethic and construction. Chapter 3 discussed the methodology used in this study. It includes the developed hypothesis and data collection methods. It also includes a brief explanation on the data analysis methods. Chapter 4 reports data analysis and findings of the survey obtained from the findings. Chapter 5 involves detail finding and discussion on the result of survey base on the analysis. Chapter 6 present conclusions and recommendation based on the findings of the study. Key recommendation and their future prospect have been outlined which may assist in future plans to facilitate knowledge sharing plan in school. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introduction In this chapter a great extent of literature of relevant concepts are being reviewed in order to get insight of and identify variables which have impact on the objectives of this research. The researches which are done by different scholars and researches will be reviewed. 2.1 Quality In Construction Industry Quality is a measure of excellence or a state of being free from defects, deficiencies, and significant variations, brought about by the strict and consistent adherence to measurable and verifiable standards to achieve uniformity of output that satisfies specific customer or user requirements. ISO 8402-1986 standard defines quality as the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bears its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs Since tribal chiefs, kings, and pharaohs ruled the issues of quality have already existed (Gitlow, 2005). In a project scenario, quality can be defined as meeting the legal, aesthetic (Arditi Gunaydin, 1997) and functional requirements of a project (Berawi, 2006). Customers nowadays place more emphasis on the quality of products rather than the price which was the major concern in the past. Hence, a rapid expansion of international competition in quality has occurred (Tsiotras Gotzamani, 1996; Abdul Rahman Berawi, 2002). In America, the professional societies have prepared codes of ethics since before early twentieth century. These have been incorporated to a greater or lesser degree into the regulatory laws of various countries. Such as The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) in the UK, they have a code of ethics incorporated into its standards of conduct and as for Canadian societies of professional engineers likewise have such codes of conduct as well (Bowen, P., R. Pearl and A. Akintoye. 2007). Mainly for practical and professional use, codes of ethics are developed for supplementing the building codes and other acts of law. These ethical aspects were considered based on mans natural morals (Darabarek Symotink, 1999). In terms of quality in construction industry, Turk (2006), citing Arditi Gunaydin (1999), mentioned that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"high quality building project includes factors like the design being easily understandable and applicable, conformity of design with specifications, economics of construction, ease of operation, ease of maintenance and energy efficiency. According to S. Fryer, Buro Happold, UK (2007), no matter how clever or elaborate the design of a structure is, any construction project will ultimately be judged on the quality of the finished product. Zantanidis Tsiotras (1998) and Abdul Rahman Berawi (2002) mentioned the expectations for quality construction projects will continue to grow rapidly as the number of affluent, educated and quality conscious customers are increasing. With the globalization of economy, construction firms worldwide are actively engaged to achieve internationally accepted quality levels to ensure their position in the emerging international market especially in those developing economies. Thus, the need to have a proper system that ensures quality is critical, coupled with high level of attention paid to quality management in construction industry (Abdul Rahman, Berawi, et al, 2006). Scholars indicate that quality management has been adopted by many countries in their construction industry including Hong Kong (Leung et al, 1999; Au Yu, 1999 and Tang Kam, 1999), Singapore (Low Omar, 1999 and Low Yeo, 1997), Greece (Tsiotras Gotzamani, 1996 and Zantanidis Tsiotras, 1998), Turkey (Turk, 2006), Jordan (Hiyassat, 2000), Saudi Arabia (Bubshait Al Atiq, 1999), Sweeden (Landin, 2000), United States (Chini Valdez, 2003), South Africa (Rwelamilla, 1995) and Malaysia (Chew Chai, 1996). As for Malaysia,we have the code of ethics for co ntractor which need to be followed by the contractors. In that code of ethic it emphasizes more about the level of professionalism, productivity, and quality. Excellence in the construction industry is very much determined by the level of efficiency, productivity, quality and professionalism in the delivery services. The delivery of construction services is connected directly or closely related integrity of the construction contractors in the performance responsibilities. This aspect has been dealt with when Construction Industry Master Plan (CIMP): 2006-2015 enacted. CIMP has given special emphasis on increasing productivity, image and professionalism in the construction industry as the strategic thrusts of this industry to greater high. For this purpose CIMP also has proposed legislation Code of ethics to further strengthen the practice of values and moral ethics among contractors in the country in implementation of construction works. Many developers were also fined for not confo rming to the Housing Development Act, including not preparing reports on schedule, especially work progress reports every six months (NST, 2010). This quality in our construction industry can be improved if everybody doing their part. For every developer, starting a new housing project is a new business. So, if they understand their responsibility as a developer and follow the agreement, they must complete the projects according to the dates set. According to Michael S. Poles, the quality of the construction can be control by competence supervision. It is the duty of the contractor to complete the work covered by his or her contract, in accordance with the approved plans and specifications. The contractor must carefully study the approved plans and specifications and should plan their schedule of operations well ahead of time. If at any time it is discovered that the work which is being done is not in accordance with the approved plans and specifications, the contractor should immed iately correct the work. In order to assure that the work being done is in accordance with the approved plans and specifications, the contractor must always supervise, and coordinate of all of the work that need to be completed. 2.2 Professional Ethic in Construction Industry Profession is an occupation that requires both advanced study and mastery of a specialized body of knowledge and undertaken to promote, ensure or safeguard some matter that significantly affects others well being (Vee Skitmore, 2003). Almost every profession has its codes of ethics to provide a framework for arriving at good ethical choices. Therefore, professional ethics is a system of norms to deal with both the morality and behavior of professionals in their day to day practice, and ascribes moral responsibility not to an individual, but to all professionals practicing in a particular profession. For the building and designing professions, the incalculable value of human life demands nothing less than the highest moral considerations from those who might risk it otherwise (Mason, 1998, cited in Vee Skitmore,2003). Professional ethics concerns the moral issues that arise because of the specialist knowledge that professionals attain, and how the use of this knowledge should be governed when providing a service to the public (Ruth Chadwick, 1998). The construction industry is a perfect environment for ethical dilemmas, with its low price mentality, fierce competition, and paper thin margin (FMI, 2006). Jordan (2005) stated that unethical behavior is taking a growing toll on the reputation of the industry. From a survey conducted by FMI, 63% of the respondents whom are the construction players feel that construction sector is tainted by unethical conducts (FMI, 2006). Surveys conducted by researchers in Australia (Vee Skitmore, 2003) and South Africa (Pearl et al, 2005) identified several unethical conducts and ethical dilemmas in the construction industry such as corruption, negligence, bribery, conflict of interest, bid cutting, under bidding, collusive tendering, cover pricing, frontloading, b id shopping, withdrawal of tender, and payment game. It is evident that there exist significant areas of concern pertaining to the ethical conducts practiced by the construction professionals. There are many other efforts taken to increase the ethical standards and integrity among the professionals in construction sectors worldwide. According to Pearl et al (2005), the regulatory professional Acts relating to the built environment professional sector in South Africa were totally overhauled in the late 1990s and a new suite of professional Acts were promulgated in 2000 to enhance the professionalism. Meanwhile, in America, the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) has updated its code of ethics to include a wider range of professional services as well as professional services among construction players (CMAA, 2006). A Standard of Professional Conduct to govern the ethical practices in the American civil engineering profession was published by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE, 2007). On the other  hand, Australia has their own codes of tendering to enhance fairness and transparency (Ray, 1997). In Malaysia, the government is very serious about improving ethics in both public and private sector. For instance, the construction industry has introduced codes of ethics for contractors to encourage self regulation among the contractor in this sector (The Star, 2006). Stakeholders of construction projects were asked to enforce the existing code of ethics to safeguard the engineers good name (The Star, 2006). The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) of Malaysia also host integrity courses for contractors to promote the importance of integrity and plans to make the course as a pre9requisite for contractors when renewing their registration (The Star, 2006). Finally, the launching of the Construction Industry Master Plan (CIMP) by CIDB in 2004 also had in the master plan an objective to enhance professional ethics in the local construction industry (Construction Industry Master Plan 2006 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" 2015). According to Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha, 1,345 developers and more than 5,000 directors of such companies involved in problematic projects have been blacklisted because they abandoned housing projects and also those that were not completed on schedule. They are not only been blacklisted, they also fined for not conforming to the Housing Development Act, including not preparing reports on schedule, especially work progress reports every six months(NST 2010). 2.3 Relationship between Professional Ethic and Quality Related Issues Besterfield et al (2003) mentioned quality is dependent on ethical behavior, whereby quality and ethics have a common care premise which is to do right things right and it is a proven way to reduce costs, improve competitiveness, and create customer satisfaction. It is evident that low  ethical standards among construction professional will lead to quality problem. These issues were highlighted in the media and received great concern of public (Fleddermann, 2004; NST, 2004; and RTM, 2006). As an example, the ethical related case in the construction industry was the collapse of the Hyatt Regency Kansas City walkways (Fleddermann, 2004). It is a hotel project in 1970s with walkways suspended over the large atrium. With the intention to save the cost, the subcontractor for the fabrication and erection of atrium steel suggested changes in the structure and it was approved by the consulting structural engineer. During the construction, part of the atrium collapsed and the engineer came out with the report saying that the design was safe and ready to be opened for business in 1980. The tragedy happened one year after the completion of the project during a dancing party in the atrium lobby. Some of the walkways on which people were dancing collapsed onto the crowded atrium floor, leaving more than a hundred people died and almost two hundred injuries. Investigation was then conducted by the Missouri Board of Architects, Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors reported that the original design was only marginally acceptable to the Kansas City building code where the walkways would only have had approximately 60% of the capacity required by the code. The situation was even worse in the new design proposed by the steel subcontractor and approved by the engineer. The consultant was found negligence in its investigation of the atrium collapse and places too much reliance on the subcontractor. Therefore, the engineer has been charged for negligence, incompetence, and misconduct. Both the engineer and the consultant firm lose license of practicing. This case strongly indicates that unethical behaviour will lead to quality problems and structural failures. In Malaysia, as an example, a newly opened specialist hospital in Johor Bahru was closed due to fungi attack on the equipments and walls (RTM 2006). It was found that many of the hospitals equipments such as oxygen piping and sewerage system are not according to the specifications. This clearly shows the poor ethics of the contractor who failed to do right things right. The contractor was given three months to rectify problems including leaking pipes, broken ceilings and faulty air conditioning ducts (NST, 2004). Another substandard quality of construction project in Malaysia is the RM238 million Middle Ring Road Two (MRR2) flyover which was closed to traffic after cracks were found in 31 pillars and structural movements were detected (The Sun, 2004). The Government engaged an independent consultant from the United Kingdom to investigate the defects. The independent consultant identified that design deficiencies and improper anchoring of the columns to the crossbeam were the main cau se of the cracks (NST, 2004). Design deficiency is found to be a negligence on the design team and the repair works was then carried out at an estimated cost of RM20 million. Contractors confront dozens of issues, many of which have substantial impact on their own self or organization, as well as others involved in the project. Many decisions have a straight forward answer determined by contract language or budget. Some, however, require entering an indistinct gray zone where the contractor must use best judgment to devise a course of action. Ethical questions raised include: what happens when professional codes and regulations lag behind technological innovations; what precautions must engineers take when trying to balance the benefits, new technologies bring against risks to public safety, often associated with engineering innovation and what are engineering and corporate responsibilities to the public for failed innovation; and should he hold then payments for the benefit of his organization. Often these challenges are managed with little or no preparation or formal guidelines and sometimes with negative results. Engineering ethics is attracting interest in colleges of engineering throughout the world. Therefore, the new technology must address the human being as its central subject and has to be introduced by ethics (Cywinski, Z. 2001). The construction of the new national palace at Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur has doubled in a period of four years from RM400 million to RM 811 million. Contracts for the construction were awarded to three companies through direct negotiations instead of open tenders ( NST 2003). Government will focus on overcoming the problem `leakage of tenders in the Ninth Malaysia Plan (RMK-9) are exploring the possibility of tightening conditions of the application to the contractor class F. Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development Minister Datuk Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the conditions were studied for class F contractors license applican t is to ensure that applicants undergo interview, examination, has offices and operations background of the net. The number of contractors has increased dramatically recently that 46.983 of the contractors registered with the Contractor Service Centre (PKK) in the country. Of the total, 35,544 are Class F contractors. The contractors will face intense competition in seeking jobs or contracts, and more disturbing is the number of contractors that own more than the number of contracts offered, especially from the government. CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.0 Introduction This section describes the methodology used in conducting this research. It starts by describing the sample selection, research design, variables and hypothesis and continues with the description of the methods of data collection and data analysis. Finally, some of the limitations and key assumption of the findings are described. Primary source were used to collect data from the sample to assess the perception of respondents toward knowledge management and knowledge sharing, the school culture and work environment, individual barriers and organization barriers toward knowledge sharing. The selected data was tested and conclusions were drawn. There are 6 procedures used in completing this study. First, a review of literature was conducted. The review was focused on the emergence of knowledge economy and knowledge management. Then the roles of knowledge sharing were discussed. A further potential barrier toward knowledge sharing was reviewed. Variable which has affected on knowledge sharing was also discussed. The review of literature served as a frame work for the study, and offered contrasting opinions of the authors. Second, a rough draft of the survey instrument and possible methods of testing and assessment of variables was done. A questionnaire was tested and validated before implementation reviewed for preventing any bias and avoiding errors. Questionnaire survey is the main research methodology used to achieve the research objectives. Five hundred (500) sets of questionnaires were distributed to targeted respondents in Selangor state by post ,via the internet , by hand. Targeted respondents ranging from consultant firms and contractor personnel within Selangor area .To ensure the reliability of the questionnaire survey, the sample size taken was then compared to match with the sample size recommended by Krejcie and Morgan (Sekaran, 2000: 295). Third, a survey was implemented. Questionnaire was sent to the list of all class F contractors which registered under PKK within Selangor area. Fourth, the result of the survey was assessed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 15.0 software. The result were tested and presented with illustration. Scores were converted into percentage rating and presented in graphical format using excel 2003. Fifth, the conclusion was driven from data analysis and findings. Important points were highlighted and recommendations were given. Research Design The research was designed to explore the unethical acts among contractors regarding the issue on the construction quality in Selangor. The data produced from the research was then analyzed so that the following objective could be achieved. The stated hypothesis could be tested and further recommendations could be made with regard to specific focus of this research. To identify areas for further, and more specific areas of research Quantitative method utilizing survey method is used for gathering information. Variables Variables are classified into three groups including dependent variables, moderate variables and independent variables. Dependent Variable Unethical act is considered as dependent variable Independent Variable Contractors and construction quality are considered as independent variables. Data Collection A comprehensive literature review and self administered questionnaire were used to provide an insight to the study. These instruments provide informative ideas on the possible issued experienced by factors affecting perception of respondents about unethical acts will effected the construction quality The survey aimed is to target contractor class F in Selangor. The aimed was chosen because of two reasons. Firstly, there are too many contractors class F in Selangor. Secondly, the issues that involved contractor class F are more major in our construction industry and this give the author the possibility to sent the questionnaires to some contractor firm on one to one basis. The author would have preferred a larger sample of respondents to participate in the research, but due to limitation of time, this was not possible. The survey was aimed at the contractors class F in Selangor area. Data were collected from 500 contractors selected randomly from different firm and background. Questionnaire was send through mail and respondents were given three weeks to respond before they were send back to the author. 3. 4 Research Assumptions When conducting this study a number of assumptions have been made with regards to the literature reviewed and the respondent sample selected. These assumptions are identified as below. The secondary data collected from various resources have been assumed to be valid and based on the research done by authors. The secondary data has been assumed to present public interest as a whole and without any biases. The respondents have responded to the questionnaire without any biasness and to the best of their abilities. Instrumental Biases In administrating the questionnaire, there has been a significant degree of biasness that was exercised by researcher. The questionnaire was developed based on the respondents. This minimizes the respondent biasness to a certain level. Various scaling methods were utilized where appropriate to minimize biasness. Sample size Approximately 500 contractors were randomly selected from the target population of different firms. The simple random sampling method was utilized in this situation. This was to deter any sample biasness that could have distorted the result. The respondents samples of contractors were surveyed in the Selangor area. The contractors who responded came from various hierarchy levels of different firms. Scaling of Questionnaire In order in measure the operationally defined and elements of a variable, the rating scale has been used to elicit responses with regard to the person studied. A number of rating scales techniques and measurements were utilized when administrating questionnaire involving Category scale and Likert scale. Example: Category Scale What is your highest educational qualification? PHD degree Bs degree Ms degree Diploma/STPM Knowledge sharing is fully supported by school administrator. Extremely disagree/ Strongly disagree/ Disagree /Agree /Strongly Agree/Extremely A

Points Against And In Favour F :: essays research papers

The trial scene in the Merchant of Venice is the climax of the play as Shylock has taken Antonio to court, as he has not paid back the money he borrowed. Shylock wants the pound of flesh that is the forfeit of the bond concerning the money Antonio borrowed from him. Shylock’s main motivation for wanting this forfeit is as his daughter has stolen his money and run away, he is taking out his spite on Antonio and this blinds him as he does not watch what he is getting into during this scene From the point where Shylock enters the courtroom everyone opposing him is appealing for mercy for Antonio and this is what the scene demonstrates, a need for mercy. Portia says shortly after she has entered the scene ‘Then the Jew must be merciful’ she is not saying that this is what the law says he must be, but that he should do this because it is the only thing he can do morally. The mercy theme runs all the way through the scene and many opportunities were offered by the Duke, Bassanio and Portia for Shylock to take the moral course of action, but he constantly refuses saying he should get what he deserves not by moral justice but by the law. Shylock does have the right to the forfeit of his bond and it is Antonio’s fault that he is in this situation because he signed the bond of his own free will. He knew the consequences if he couldn’t pay it back as Shylock made it clear from the start. This is shown by when at the start of the court scene when he says ‘Make no more offers use no farther means, but with all brief and plain conveniency let me have judgement, and the Jew his will’. When he didn’t pay Shylock the money he owed him, Shylock had a right to Antonio’s forfeit by law. The problem was he didn’t choose the moral path where he probably could have gotten a lot of money and become a very rich man, but chose the forfeit out of spite over his daughter. This theme is also repeated through the scene that Shylock deserves his justice by the letter of the law and the forfeit of his bond. This is shown when he says phrases like ‘My deeds upon my head I crave the law, the penalty and forfeit of my bond’.

Death of a Salesman: Tragic but Not a Tragedy Essay -- Death Salesman

Death of a Salesman: Tragic but Not a Tragedy Though a more modern version of tragedy in its’ classical sense, Death of a Salesman in many ways is very much like an ancient Greek play. In his ‘Poetics’ Aristotle tries to set out the common ideas throughout tragedy, attempting to demystify the necessary elements for such plays. One of his main ideas was that of the ‘Three Unities’ - that of Space, that of Time and that of Action. He stated that all the action of a tragedy must occur in the place, which was often the front of a palace, which allowed the poet to have many characters coming and going, and allowed random meetings to occur easily, rather than having to ‘explain’ the reason why any meeting should occur. It was, however, possible for the poet to bring in events occurring in other places through the use of messengers, who could talk about the events without the audience seeing them. All the action would have to unfold in one day, and must be played out in ‘real time’ - the time would pass as fast for the characters in the play as for the actors and the audience watching. This prevented the use of act and scene breaks, as time could not jump forward, it had to pass normally. Again references to the past often came in the form of speech from characters whom often had not been seen for a very long time, such as the shepherd in Oedipus Rex who explains how he had come by Oedipus as a baby whilst attending his flock. The entire play had to revolve around a single plot, and subplots, such as you see in many of Shakespeare’s comedies, were not allowed. Aristotle reasoned that if there were other plots interfering with and infringing upon the main plot we could not concentrate entirely on Antigony’s plight, ... ...ccept his refusal to act rationally. An audience can accept that ‘true’ tragic heroes are often irrational, and driven by very different feelings from those of normal human beings, but in the end, Willy Loman does not evoke tragic emotion because he is, simply, a dime a dozen. Works Cited and Consulted Aristotle. Poetics. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1997. Baym, Franklin, Gottesman, Holland, et al., eds. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 4th ed. New York: Norton, 1994. Costello, Donald P. â€Å"Arthur Miller’s Circles of Responsibility: A View From a Bridge and Beyond.† Modern Drama. 36 (1993): 443-453 Florio, Thomas A., ed. â€Å"Miller’s Tales.† The New Yorker. 70 (1994): 35-36. Martin, Robert A., ed. Arthur Miller. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1982. Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. New York: Viking, 1965.

An Analysis of Touching Bottom by Kari Strutt

â€Å"Touching Bottom† In the story, â€Å"Touching Bottom† by Kari Strut, the theme is to not give even when one hits rock bottom. This is demonstrated in the story when, Ian is drowning in the ocean because the current is dragging him down and he is unable to swim due to a cramp development in his leg. Saving Ian is very challenging for the narrator because at one point Ian is struggling to keep his head above water and while doing so he accidental pushes the narrator below, deep in to the ocean and now she is having difficulty breathing and striving to survive.In order to save herself from drowning, the narrator pushes herself further down into the ocean and realizes that the bottom was not actually as far as she had assumed. After she resurfaces, the narrator has to swim with Ian on top of her to get him back to safety all while fighting against a current. At one moment the narrator thought she could not continue and she asks Ian to swim for himself but he is unable to do so. At that moment she feels like she has hit rock bottom because she Is not able to swim much longer due to her aching joints and emerging injuries such as; big bleeding welts on her arms and back, and a plundered shoulder.Throughout the course of this life changing experience the narrator has to watch her much older husband flirt with another woman on the beach without caring about their life threatening situation. However, she has a flashback, that motivates her to keep swimming to save her step son and eventually she finds a human willing to lend her his board to help bring Ian back to shore. In conclusion, while struggling to stay alive and rescue Ian, the narrator felt that she had hit rock bottom at the beach and In life but she fought through It all and moved.

Psychology †Biological Explanation of Eating Disorders Essay

The biological approach suggests that AN is due a physical cause, suggesting it could be due to something within the body or brain; such as hypothalamus dysfunction or an imbalance of neurotransmitters. The hypothalamus dysfunction theory would suggest that animals have a â€Å"set weight† which is correct for their body, if this weight should increase or decrease then the body should make adjustments to regulate food intake to their â€Å"set weight†. The hypothalamus is thought to have quite a lot of control over our eating behaviour, the lateral hypothalamus (LH) is considered to be the feeding switch that makes an individual begin to feed whereas the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) is the satiety switch that makes an individual stop feeding. Garfinkel and Gardner (1982) suggested that a disturbed hypothalamus may be the cause of AN, they proposed that any disturbance could lead to either the LH or VMH to be constantly activated. In order to explain AN it is most likely that when the LH is damaged and that the individual never receives a signal (feeling hungry) to begin feeding, if the VMH were damaged then the individual would receive a constant signal to eat so they would never stop feeding. This supports the idea that AN might have a biological explanation, specifically brain dysfunction. Anand and Brobeck conducted an experiment involving the rats, they found that if the LH was damaged it could lead to aphagia (this is a failure to eat when hungry), this provides support for the idea that damage to the hypothalamus can lead to reduced eating which is support for the biological approach of AN. However, there are some concerns with this as the test was conducted with the use of animals so it’s hard to generalise the findings to humans. This is because humans and animals are biologically different so it’s hard to know if humans would respond in the same way if their LH was damaged. Additional research has shown us that when the VMH in rats is stimulated that it stops feeding, which again supports the suggestion that possible over activation of the VMH could result in reduced feeding. This research would also support the biological explanation of AN as if an individual has damage to their hypothalamus then it could result in reduced feeding which would then result in dramatic weight loss, as seen in sufferers of AN. However, this theory is reductionist as it suggests that the only explanation of AN is a biological reason, and it ignores other factors; like things such as stress or sexual abuse which can both lead to AN. Another biological explanation of AN would be that there is an imbalance of serotonin, which is usually associated with depression and anxiety; as disturbed levels of serotonin have been found in AN sufferers. It is also likely that eating disorders arise due to high levels of anxiety which is linked with high levels of serotonin in the body. Bailer et al (1970) compared serotonin activity in recovering anorexia suffers and healthy controls. They found significantly higher activity in the women that were recovering from anorexia, the highest levels found in those women with the highest anxiety levels. This also provides support for AN having a biological cause, in this case an imbalance of neurotransmitters. However, it’s difficult to establish cause and effect in Bailer’s research, this is because the women studied were already recovering from an eating disorder and so it’s impossible to know whether the imbalance of serotonin was the cause of the women’s AN or whether the AN causes an imbalance of serotonin, so it’s hard to know whether or not there is a biological cause of AN with these findings. In addition to this the research is also gender biased, in this case it’s alpha biased as only women were used in this study but it’s generalising the study to men as well. Bailer’s research also raises the debate of determinism vs.free will. The biological approach is deterministic so if an individual has an imbalance of serotonin they will then develop an eating disorder, however this is ignoring our free will as an individual that exercises regularly will over their eating; this is noted in individuals who suffer from anxiety but don’t develop AN. Finally there is the evolutionary approach which suggests that all our behaviours are adaptive, which means that the reason we do certain things is to help us survive in a certain way; according to this theory AN is a behaviour which helps them survive. The evolutionary approach focuses on our ancestors, when weight loss and eating disorders weren’t a consideration and any weight loss would be a lack of food rather than a desire for â€Å"thinness†. Usually when an individual begins to love weight physiological mechanisms activate in order to conserve energy and increase desires for food, however it would not have been adaptive for our ancestors to feel hunger as there may not have been much food available to them, so instead it would be adaptive to â€Å"switch off† the desire so that they could then find food; in order to help our survival. Therefore many characteristics of AN can be considered adaptive to enable our ancestors to move to areas where there was more food rather than being preoccupied by looking for food in their current location. However, this theory doesn’t explain the differences of AN between genders, as girls are more affected by AN than boys; so if the behaviour was adapted then both men and women would be equally effected by this as both genders would have had to search for more food in other areas. An alternative approach to explaining how AN would come from the behaviour approach, which suggests AN is the result of learning rather than a biological explanation. This approach suggests that individuals suffer from AN because of reinforcement, so they have witnessed slim people (who become their role models) being rewarded for their behaviour so they imitate their behaviour in expectation of the same reward.

Nb Assessment

Table 21-2 SUMMARY OF NEWBORN ASSESSMENT *MCH pages 479-473| NORMAL| ABNORMAL (POSSIBLE CAUSES)| NURSING CONSIDERATIONS| Initial AssessmentAssess for obvious problems first. If infant is stable and has no problems that require immediate attention, continue with complete assessment. | Vital Signs| TemperatureAxillary: 36. 5– 37. 5 °C (97. 7 – 99. 5 °F). Axilla is preferred site. | Decreased (cold environment, hypoglycemia, infection, CNS problem). Increased (infection, environment to warm). | Decreased: Institute warming measures and check in 30 minutes. Check blood glucose. Increased: the excessive clothing.Check for dehydration. Decreased or increased: look for signs of infection. Check radiant warmer or incubator temperature setting. Check thermometer for accuracy if skin is warm or cool to touch. Report abnormal temperature to physician. | PulsesHeart rate 120 – 160 BPM. (100 sleeping, 180 crying). Rhythm regular. PMI at 3rd-4th intercostal space lateral t o mid-clavicular line. Brachial, femoral, and pedal pulses present and equal bilaterally. | Tachycardia (respiratory problems, anemia, infection, cardiac conditions). Bradycardia (asphyxia, increased intracranial pressure).PMI to right (dextrocardia-heart situated to right of body, pneumothorax). Murmurs (normal or congenital heart defects). Dysrhythmias. Absent or unequal pulses (coarctation of the aorta). | Note location of murmurs. Refer abnormal rates, rhythms and sounds, pulses. | RespirationsRate 30 -60 (AVG 40 -49) BrPM. Respirations irregular, shallow, unlabored. Chest movements symmetric. Breath sounds present and clear bilaterally. | Tachypnea, especially after the first hour (respiratory distress). Slow respirations (maternal medications). Nasal flaring (respiratory distress). Grunting (respiratory distress syndrome).Gasping (respiratory depression). Periods of apnea more than 20 seconds or with change in heart rate or color (respiratory depression, sepsis, cold stress). Asymmetry or decreased chest expansion (pneumothorax). Intercostal, xiphoid, supraclavicular retractions or see-saw (paradoxical) respirations (respiratory distress). Moist, coarse breath sounds (crackles, rhonchi) (fluid in the lungs). Bowel sounds in chest (diaphragmatic hernia). | Mild variations require continued monitoring and usually clear early hours after birth. If persistent or more than mild, suction, give oxygen, call physician, and initiate more intensive care. Blood Pressure Varies with age, weight, activity, and gestational age. Average systolic 65-95 mm Hg, average diastolic 30-60 mm Hg. | Hypotension (hypovolemia, shock, sepsis). BP 20 mm Hg or higher in arms than legs (coarctation of the aorta). | Refer abnormal blood pressures. Prepare for intensive care and very low. | Measurements| Weight2500-4000 g (5 lbs. 8 oz. to 8 lbs. 13 oz. ). Weight loss up to 10% in early days. | High (low gestational age LGA, maternal diabetes). Low (small for gestational age SGA, preter m, multifetal pregnancy, medical conditions and mother that affected fetal growth).Weight loss above 10% (dehydration, feeding problems). | Determine causeMonitor for complications common to cause. | Length48-53 cm (19-21 inches)| Below normal (SGA, congenital dwarfism). Above normal (LGA, maternal diabetes). | Determine causeMonitor for complications common to cause. | Head Circumference32-38 cm (12. 5-15 inches). Head and neck are approximately ? of infants body surface. | Small (SGA, microcephaly, anencephaly-absence of large part of brain or skull). Large (LGA, hydrocephalus, increased intracranial pressure). | Determine causeMonitor for complications common to cause. | Chest Circumference30-36 cm (12-14 inches).Is 2 cm less than head circumference. | Large (LGA). Small (SGA). | Determine causeMonitor for complications common to cause. | Posture Flexed extremities move freely, resist extension, return quickly to flexed state. Hands usually clenched. Movements symmetric. Slight t remors on crying. Breech: extended, stiff legs. â€Å"Molds† body to caretaker’s body when held, responds by quieting when needs met. | Limp, flaccid, floppy, or rigid extremities (preterm, hypoxia, medications, CNS trauma). Hypertonic (neonatal abstinence syndrome, CNS injury). Jitteriness or tremors (low glucose for calcium level).Opisthotonos- extreme hyperextension of body, seizures, stiff when held (CNS injury). | Seek cause, refer abnormalities. | CryLusty, strong. | High-pitched (increased intracranial pressure). Week, absent, irritable, cat-like â€Å"mewing† (neurologic problems). Hoarse or crowing (laryngeal irritation). | Observe for changes in report abnormalities. | Skincolor pink or tan with acrocyanosis (cyanotic discoloration of extremities). Vernix caseosa in creases. Small amounts of lanugo (fine,soft downy hair) over shoulders, sides of face, forehead, upper back. Skin turgor good with quick recoil. Some cracking and peeling of skin.Normal var iations: Milia (tiny white bumps). Skin tags. Erythema toxicum (flea bite† rash). Puncture on scalp (from electrode). Mongolian spots. | Color: cyanosis of mouth and central areas (hypoxia). Facial bruising (nuchal cord). Pallor (anemia, hypoxia). Gray (hypoxia, hypotension). Red, sticky, transparent skin (very preterm). Greenish brown discoloration of skin, nails, cord (possible fetal compromise, postterm). Harlequin color (normal transient autonomic imbalance). Mottling (normal or cold stress, hypovolemia, sepsis). Jaundice (pathologic if first 24h). Yellow vernix (blood incompatibilities). Thick vernix (preterm).Delivery Marks: bruises on body (pressure), scalp (vacuum extractor), or face (cord around neck). Petechiae (pressure, low platelet count, infection). Forceps marks. Birthmarks: Mongolian spots. Nevus simplex (salmon patch,† stork bite†). Nevus flammeus (port-wine stain). Nevus vasculosus (strawberry hemangioma). Cafe au lait spots (6+) larger than 0. 5c m in size (neurofibromatosis). Other: excessive lanugo (preterm). Excessive peeling, cracking (postterm). Pustules or other rashes (infection). â€Å"Tenting† of skin (dehydration). | Differentiate patient bruising from cyanosis. Central cyanosis requires suction, oxygen and further treatment.Refer jaundice in first 24 hours or more extensive than expected for age. Watch for respiratory problems in infants with meconium staining. Look for signs and complications of preterm or postterm birth. Record location, size, shape, color, type of rashes and marks. Differentiate Mongolian spots from bruises. Check for facial movement with forceps marks. Watch for jaundice with bruising. Point out and explain normal skin variations to parents. | Head Sutures palpable with small separation between each. Anterior fontanel diamond shaped, 4-5 cm, soft and flat. Many bulge slightly with crying. Posterior fontanel triangular, 0. 5-1 cm.Hair silky and soft with individual hair strands. Normal v ariations: overriding sutures (molding). Caput succedaneum or cephalohematoma (pressure during birth). | Head large (hydrocephalus, increased intracranial pressure) or small (microcephaly). Widely separated sutures (hydrocephalus) or hard, ridged area at sutures (craniosynostosis- birth defect that causes one or more sutures on a baby's head to close earlier than normal). Anterior fontanel depressed (dehydration, molding), full or bulging at rest (increased intracranial pressure). Woolly, bunchy hair (preterm). Unusual hair growth (genetic abnormalities). | Seek cause of variations.Observe for signs of dehydration with depressed fontanel; increased intracranial pressure with bulging of fontanel and wide separation of sutures. Refer for treatment. Differentiate Caput succedaneum from cephalohematoma, and reassure parents of normal outcome. Observe for jaundice with cephalohematoma. | Ears Ears well-formed and complete. Area where upper ear meets head even with imaginary line drawn fr om outer canthus of eye. Startle response to loud noises. Alerts to high-pitched voices. | Low set ears (chromosomal disorders). Skin tags, pre-auricular sinuses, dimples (may be associated with kidney or other abnormalities).No response to sound (deafness). | Check voiding if ears abnormal Look for signs of chromosomal abnormality if position abnormal. Refer for evaluation if no response to sound. | FaceSymmetric and appearance and movement. Parts proportional and appropriately placed. | Asymmetry (pressure imposition in utero). Drooping of mouth or one side of face,† one-sided cry† (facial nerve injury). Abnormal appearance (chromosomal abnormalities). | Seek cause of variations. Check delivery history for possible cause of injury to facial nerve. | Eyes Symmetric. Eyes clear. Transient strabismus. Scant or absent tears.Pupils equal, react to light. Alerts to interesting sights. Doll’s eye sign- reflex movement of the eyes in the opposite direction to that which the head is moved, the eyes being lowered as the head is raised, and the reverse (Cantelli sign); an indication of functional integrity of the brainstem tegmental pathways and cranial nerves involved in eye movement. Red reflex present- reddish-orange reflection of light from the  eye's  retina. May have subconjunctival hemorrhage or edema of eyelids from pressure during birth. | Inflammation or drainage (chemical or infectious conjunctivitis). Constant tearing (plugged lacrimal duct).Unequal pupils. Failure to follow objects (blindness). White areas over pupils (cataracts). Setting sun sign- downward deviation of the eyes so that each iris appears to â€Å"set† beneath the lower lid, with white sclera exposed between it and the upper lid; indicative of increased intracranial pressure or irritation of the brain stem. (hydrocephalus). Yellow sclera (jaundice). Blue sclera (osteogenesis imperfecta- condition causing extremely fragile bones). | Clean and monitor any drainag e; seek cause. Reassure parents that subconjunctival hemorrhage and edema will clear. Refer other abnormalities. NoseBoth nostrils open to air flow. May have slight flattening from pressure during birth. | Blockage of one or both nasal passages (choanal atresia). Malformations (congenital conditions). Flaring, mucus (respiratory distress). | Observe for respiratory distress. Report malformations. | Mouth Mouth, gums, tongue pink. Tongue normal in size and movement. Lips and palate intact. Sucking pads. Sucking, rooting, swallowing, gag reflexes present. Normal variations: precocious teeth, Epstein’s pearls-Multiple small white epithelial inclusion cysts found in the midline of the palate in most newborns. Cyanosis (hypoxia). White patches on cheek or tongue (candidiasis). Protruding tongue (Down syndrome). Diminished movement of tongue, drooping mouth (facial nerve paralysis). Cleft lip, palate or both. Absent or weak reflexes (preterm, neurologic problem). Excessive drooling (tracheoesophageal atresia). | Oxygen for cyanosis. Expect loose teeth to be removed. Obtain order for antifungal medication for candidiasis. Check mother for vaginal or breast infection. Refer anomalies. | Feeding Good suck/swallow coordination. Retains feedings. | Poorly coordinated suck and swallow (prematurity).Duskiness or cyanosis during feeding (cardiac defects). Choking, gagging, excessive drooling (tracheoesophageal fistula, esophageal atresia). | Feed slowly. Stop frequently if difficulty occurs. Suction and stimulate if necessary. Refer infants with continued difficulty. | Neck/Clavicles Short neck turns head easily side to side. Infant raises head when prone. Clavicles intact. | Weakness, contractures, or ridgidity (muscle abnormalities). Webbing of neck, large fat pad at back of neck (chromosomal disorders). Crepitus, lump, or crying when clavicle or other bones palpated, diminished or absent arm movement (fractures). Fracture of clavicle more frequent in large infants with shoulder dystocia at birth. Immobilize arm. Look for other injuries. Refer abnormalities. | Chest Cylinder shape. Xiphoid process may be prominent. Symmetric. Nipples present and located properly. May have engorgement, white nipple discharge (maternal hormone withdrawal). | Asymmetry (diaphragmatic hernia, pneumothorax). Supernumerary nipples. Redness (infection). | Report abnormalities. | Abdomen Rounded, soft. Bowel sounds present within first hour after birth. Liver palpable 1-2cm below right costal margin. Skin intact. 3 vessels in cord. Clamp tight and cord drying.Meconium passed within 12-48hr. Urine generally passed within 12-24h. Normal variation: â€Å"Brick dust† staining of diaper (uric acid crystals). | Sunken abdomen (diaphragmatic hernia). Distended abdomen or loops of bowel visible (obstruction, infection, and large organs). Absent bowel sounds after first hour (paralytic ileus). Masses palpated (kidney tumors, distended bladder). Enlarged liver (infectio n, heart failure, hemolytic disease). Abdominal wall defects (umbilical or inguinal hernia, omphalocele, gastroschisis, exstrophy of bladder). Two vessels in cord (other anomalies). Bleeding (loose clamp). Redness, drainage from cord (infection).No passage of meconium (imperforate anus, obstruction). Lack of urinary output (kidney anomalies) or inadequate amounts (dehydration). | Refer abnormalities. Assess for other anomalies if only two vessels in cord. Tighten or replace loose cord clamp. If stool and urine output abnormal, look for missed recording, increase feedings, report. | Genitals| Female Labia majora dark, cover clitoris and labia minora. Small amount of white mucus vaginal discharge. Urinary meatus and vagina present. Normal variations: Vaginal bleeding (pseudomenstruation). Hymenal tags. | Clitoris and labia minora larger than labia majora (preterm).Large clitoris (ambiguous genitalia). Edematous labia (breech birth). | Check gestational age for immature genitalia. Refe r anomalies. | Male Testes within scrotal sac, rugae on scrotum, prepuce nonretractable. Meatus at tip of penis. | Testes in inguinal canal or abdomen (preterm, cryptorchidism). Lack of rugae on scrotum (preterm). Edema of scrotum (pressure in breech birth). Enlarged scrotal sac (hydrocele). Small penis, scrotum (preterm, ambiguous genitalia). Empty scrotal sac (cryptorchidism). Urinary meatus located on upper side of penis (epispadias), underside of penis (hypospadias, or perineum.Ventral curvature of the penis (chordee). | Check gestational age for immature genitalia. Refer anomalies. Explain to parents why no circumcision can be performed with abnormal placement of meatus. | Extremities| Upper and Lower ExtremitiesEqual and bilateral movement of extremities, Correct number and formation of fingers and toes. Nails to ends of digits or slightly beyond. Felxion, good muscle tone. | Crepitus, redness, lumps, swelling (fracture). Diminished or absent movement, especially during Moro r eflex (fracture, nerve injury, paralysis). Polydactyly (extra digits). Syndactyly (webbing) Fused or absent digits.Poor muscle tone (preterm, neurologic injury, hypoglycemia, and hypoxia). | Refer all anomalies, look for others. | Upper ExtremitiesTwo transverse palm creases. | Simian crease (normal or Down syndrome). Diminished movement (injury). Diminished movement of arm with extension and forearm prone (Erb-Duchenne paralysis). | Refer all anomalies, look for others. | Lower Extremities Legs equal in length, abduct equally, gluteal and thigh creases and knee height equal, no hip â€Å"clunk†. Normal position of feet. | Ortolani and Barlow tests abnormal, unequal leg length, unequal thigh or gluteal creases (developmental dysplasia of the hip).Malposition of feet (position in utero, talipes equinovarus). | Refer all anomalies, look for others. Check malpositioned feet to see if they can be gently manipulated back to normal position. | BackNo openings observed or felt in ve rtebral column. Anus patent. Sphincter tightly closed. | Failure of one or more vertebrae to close (spina bifida), with or without sac with spinal fluid and meninges (meningocele) or spinal fluid, meninges, and cord (myelomeningocele), enclosed. Tuft of hair over spina bifida occulta. Pilondial dimple or sinus. Imperforate anus. | Refer abnormalities.Observe for movement below level of defect. If sac, cover with sterile dressing wet with sterile saline. Protect from injury. | Reflexes See table 21-3. | Absent, asymmetric or weak reflexes. | Observe for signs of fractures, nerve injury, or injury to CNS. | TABLE 21-3 SUMMARY OF NEONATAL REFLEXES *MCH page 493| REFLEX| METHOD OF TESTING| EXPECTED RESPONSE| ABNORMAL RESPONSE/POSSIBLE CAUSE| TIME REFLEX DISAPPEARS| Babinski| Stroke lateral sole of foot from heel to across base of toes. | Toes flare with dorsiflexion of the big toe. | No response. Bilateral: CNS deficit. Unilateral; local nerve injury. 8-9 mos| Gallant (trunk incurvation )| With infant prone, lightly stroke along the side of the vertebral column. | Entire trunk flexes toward side stimulated. | No response: CNS deficit. | 4 mos| Grasp reflex (palmar and plantar)| Press finger against of infant’s fingers or toes. | Fingers curl tightly; toes curl forward. | Weak or absent: neurologic deficit or muscle injury. | Palmar grasp: 2-3 mos. Plantar grasp: 8-9 mos| Moro| Let infant’s head drop back approx. 30?. | Sharp extension and abduction of arms followed by flexion and adduction to â€Å"embrace† position. | Absent: CNS dysfunction.Assymetry: brachial plexus injury, paralysis, or fractured bone of extremity. Exaggerated: maternal drug use. | 5-6 mos| Rooting| Touch or stroke from side of mouth toward cheek. | Infant turns head to side touched. Difficult to illicit if infant is sleeping or just fed. | Weak or absent: prematurity, neurologic deficit, depression from maternal drug use. | 3-4 mos| Stepping| Hold infant so feet touch soli d surface. | Infant lifts alternate feet as if walking. | Asymmetry: fracture of extremity, neurologic deficit. | 3-4 mos| Sucking| Place nipple or gloved finger in mouth, rub against palate. | Infant begins to suck.May be weak if recently fed. | Weak or absent: prematurity, neurologic deficit, maternal drug use. | 1 yr| Swallowing| Place fluid on the back of the tongue. | Infant swallows fluid. Should be coordinated with sucking. | Coughing, gagging, choking, cyanosis: tracheoesophageal fistula, esophageal fistula, esophageal atresia, neurologic deficit. | Present throughout life. | Tonic neck reflex| Gently turn head to one side while infant is supine. | Infant extends extremities on side to which head is turned, with flexion on opposite side. | Prolonged period in position: neurologic deficit. | May be weak at birth; disappears at 4 mos|