Online grading system Essay

Chapter I Nowadays, computers and other technology are very useful in the fields of education especially in our daily activities. The importance of computers cannot be denied in the fields of education because as we all know, computers are very significant in terms of learning and working. With those technologies, we can save time for other activities. Computers connected with internet also serve as useful tools for communication. Through this process various types of descriptive information and measures of students’ performance are converted into grades that summarize students’ accomplishment. Online Grading System is designed to provide incentive reward for achievement and assist in identifying problems of the student. Grading System is the most commonly used in computing and analyzing the performance, talent and skills of student? Grading system is an exercise in professional judgment on the part of the teachers. It involves the collection and evaluation of evidence on students’ achievement or performance over specified period of time. Parents can view and updated on the performance of their children. While teachers work load can be lessen through computing the grades automatically. Online Grading System of Cauayan South Central School (CSCS) is design to provide the system where in the parents of the students of Cauayan South Central School (CSCS) can access the grades of their children. Originally, the school was opened in the year 1953 through the initiation and encouragement of the late Teodoro Cariňo, who was at that time the Division Academic Supervisor from Pangasinan who resided here in Cauayan. The Teaching Staff welcomed and embraced the growing enrolment. Though their sincere and dedicated service to the community, they begged for more school buildings to house the school children hungry for formal education. From this point of view, the school will serve as a potent instrument because of the vast extent of outreach and of the size of the populace. To optimize this contribution to social, intellectual and cultural development, it has to maintain and accelerate its progress to be able to cope fully with changing world. It is believed that with the time tested, loyalty and cooperation of the school officials and teachers, the CSCS will surely be the best show window of the City Division. Thus, the above reasons drove the researcher to conduct a study regarding the Online Grading System, which aims to improve their present system. Statement of the Problem This study was conducted to assess the present of Cauayan South Central School Online grading system and aims to computerize the records of the students of Cauayan South Central School. Particularly the study attempted to answer the following questions: 1. To what extent are the problems encountered by the students and teachers in the present system in terms of: a. Security of records b. Efficiency of the present system c. Economics 2.What is the respondents’ evaluation on the advantages of the proposed Online Grading of the Students Record System in terms of: a. Security of records b. Efficiency of the present system c. Economics 3. Is there a significant difference in the evaluation on the problems encountered as perceived by the three groups of respondents in terms of: a. Security of Records b. Efficiency of the present system c. Economics SIGNIFICANT OF THE STUDY The result of this study â€Å"A proposed Online Grading System for Cauayan South Central School, Cauayan City, Isabela† are very important to the following: To the school – The result of this study will definitely help the Cauayan South Central School, Cauayan City, Isabela no longer have to re-compute the grades of each student to check on their accuracy. Reports such as grading sheets and class records can be submitted on time via online. To the faculty Teachers – Teachers would be able to record and compute for the grades of their students in any place or in any time with an internet connection and faster thereby lessening their workload and providing them with added time to attend to other functions. This in turn would improve their efficiency as teachers. To the Students – Students can now look forward to better lessons since their teachers would have added time to prepare for them their lesson plans. To the Parents of the Students – The parents can know the grade of their children through online. To the researchers – This study enhances the knowledge of the researcher in writing and programming. Furthermore, this study gave the opportunity to the researcher to learn and strive more to become competent in her field of interest. To the Future Researchers – this study will focus as an instrument for researcher related activities and will help them gain insights about the study and how to go about it. Definition of Terms Computer. It is any machine that does three things accept structure, process it according to prescribed rules and produce the result as output. Computer Program. In this study, it is a set of instruction in some computer language intended to be executed on a computer to perform a useful task. Data. In this study, it is the plural of the Latin datum, meaning an item of information following classical usage, one time of information. Input. In this study, it is the information entered in a computer for processing. Information System. In this study, in programming it is a collection of routines stored in a file. Each set of instruction in a library has a name and performs a different, often very specific task. System. In this study, it is a collection component elements that work together to perform a task Software. In this study, it is a computer program, instruction that cause the hardware the machine to do work. SCOPE AND LIMITATION This study was conducted at Cauayan South Central School involving the pupils, teachers and parents during the School Year 2014-2015 This study focused on the assessment of the student’s grades of Cauayan South Central School and the development of the Online grading System. This study is limited only to the student’s grade and does not cover the other transaction of the school. It cannot be used for conversation. If the instructor submitted wrong grades of student, the online system is not  reliable in human error. The grade encoding process relies on internet connection Chapter 2 Review of Related Literature and Studies To be familiar with the study, the researchers gathered some information through surfing the internet and scanning text book to improved their related literature and studies. Local Literature According to Torall (200) think with all the tough times were facing, having a website now is very important among small and medium enterprises and use it as medium to sell product and disseminate corporate information. Having a website communication where one can join. Foreign Studies According to Moreno (2000), School is now in their own website but they got to effectively utilize this technology to bring real benefits to their audience: students, parents, teachers, and school officials. The World Wide Web is one of the most effective communication technologies today. A school website can expand opportunities for parents to communicate with the school and become more informed about the education their children are getting. Teachers can use the school website to share ideas with other teacher and make them available even to everyone else. A school websites can also allow parents to voice out there concerns to school officials. Some parents avoid communicating with their children’s school because they do not feel comfortable talking to teachers or they think their concerns will not be heard while others are simply burned out by their work. When the need arises, many parents and teachers find themselves unable to contact each other. School websites can greatly eliminate barriers in involving parents in the school. Foreign Literature Castro(2000). The World Wide Web is the Gutenberg press of our time. Just above anyone can create their own web. Web site and then present it to the internet public. Some web page belongs to business with service to sell, other to individuals with information to share. Randall(1996) an English professor at the University of Waterloo Canada, heist the author of several books about the internet. Thousands upon thousands of companies, organization, and individuals are looking to the web as an important means disseminating information. If you’re not part of it, you’re already somewhat behind. Jumping onto the web is like jumping onto the biggest stage ever designed. When you put your page in the web, you’re inviting the world become take a look. Most internet user won’t bother, either because they’re not interested or, more likely, because they never get to know your contribution (it’s a huge stage). Realizing that the average person, when they begin to look into CCTV, has little way of knowing where to find expert advice at reasonable cost, we have set up this website to bring together some of the top people and organizations working in this field. The companies and individual found on this web site are those who do not just talk about excellence, but both believe in it, and make sure that it runs through every fibred of there organization and dealing with costumers. Local Studies Guidance for Government Webs site Issued (www.nee.edu.ph.com) The National Computer Center (NCC) recently issued memorandum curricular 2002-01, â€Å"Guidance on Creation of the agency’s official website and compliance to the E-commerce law and stage one of the UN-ASPA stage of E-Government†. The circular further states that the computer agency will coordinate and provide technical assistance to national government agencies (NGAs), Local Government Units (LGU) and state universities and collage (SUCs) to ensure that they have website that will provide basic public information. The basic information includes the following; organizational aims structure and responsibilities of each unit. Mangulit (2001) Book Store Inc. According to Mangulit, Website now number by the millions. There are personal Website, corporate website, small business Website, and so on. And the number of website just keeps on growing each day. Website provides two real value-adding services. Website allows companies to either make more money or save money. Business can make more money by selling their product and services through the website. The website also to save money allow business. According to Ducusin, Many Business School, Individual, and Government agencies at all levels have rushed to establish a presence on the internet. The attraction is the ability to quick and inexpensively provides information to a large number of people. The website can provides the public with information about government agencies also provide about agencies mission, service offered, office hour, and email add for correspondence. Eventually users of the WWW will be able to submit request to an agency for document or other inquires directly though the webpage. Also provide information about the government agencies and the service that they offer. Many of the interactions between citizens and government that require visit to government office could be handling through home page in the internet. Request for permits driver’s license record, documents and forms could all be handled through the internet. Chapter III Technical Background At present, Cauayan South Central School, Cauayan City, Isabela are using manual system in grading of student’s. They are using forms to track the student transaction in the school and then keep it in drawer or cabinet for safe keeping.! PHP platform was used in the development of the program. Since the project is designed as a client server program, two or more networked computers are needed in the school for the implementation of the project. The program will be used by the teachers. The teacher’s and student’s must registered if new and has no record yet in the website. Once the students is already registered in the website and wants to have their grade, the student or the parent will just search student’s record, and then input his or her findings and recommendation in the website for the  update of student’s record. Below are the technologies used in the development of computerized medical and dental record system. Software PHP Platform used in the development of program Microsoft Windows 7,8,XP Operating system (minimum requirement) SQL Server Database 2005 Database (minimum requirement) Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, RockMelt, and Safari Browsers (recommended use of Google Chrome) Hardware Computer Unit Specification (minimum requirement) 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor 1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit) 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit) DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver Internet Connection Ink Jet Printer (for report printing) Network Hub and UTP cables were used in networking the computers. Peopleware System user must be knowledgeable in using computer. Chapter IV Methodology The methodology chapter provides the details of the step by step procedures used in developing the Online Grading System. The project procedures will be explained in detail. Requirements Specification The proponent used the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) – a structured analysis concept in developing a system. Phase 1 – SYSTEM PLANNING The proponent performed preliminary investigation to the school where we able to identify the process and flow of manual grading. Phase 2 – SYSTEM ANALYSIS After the investigation, the proponent build logical model for the new system based from the user requirements. Phase 3 – SYSTEM DESIGN At this stage the proponent design the user-interface and identify all necessary outputs, inputs, and processes. In addition the proponent design internal and external controls including computer based and manual features to guarantee that the system will be reliable, accurate, maintainable and secure. Phase 4 – SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION I this phase the proponent constructed the new system. Program is written, tested and documented and system is installed. Phase 5 – SYSTEM OPERATION, SUPPORT AND SECURITY At this point, the clinic staff maintains and protects the system. Based on the phases and deliverables of the SDLC, Figure 1 shows the timeline of the researcher undergone. The entire study is accomplished in 2014 Figure 2? Data Gathering Procedures First, the researcher prepared a letter seeking for the approval from the principal name After seeking approval, the researcher prepared the questionnaires, have them checked and approved by the Research Instructor and then administer the questionnaires to the respondents. Data Gathering Instruments This study made use of the Questionnaires as its main instrument in gathering data. It also made use of interview to support the data and  information gathered from the questionnaires. This will also be supplemented by observations and documentary analysis. Questionnaire The researcher used the questionnaire method in collecting data in a large number of people. The questionnaire undergone different kind of approval; first, the questionnaire was checked by the adviser to make sure that is related to the statement of the problem. Second, the English Critic made sure that the grammar and spelling were ceorrect. Interview The researcher interviewed the principal to obtain pertinent data and accurate information that would help in improving their manual grading. Observation Observation was done by the researcher to get more information about the current process. Internet Researcher The researcher used the internet to collect additional information about Online Grading System. Library Reseacher Library research was done in defining terms in the study and served as a reference in making document analysis from similar studies and procedures. The method helped the researcher and served as a guide on how to organized data that is needed on the study. Figure 3: Input-Process-Output (IPO) model The proponent used the IPO model. In the input column is information or ideas used by the researcher. Processing column are the actions taken upon using input. Output is result of the processing, which is the development of the proposed system. Data and Process Modeling Figure 4: Proposed System Context Diagram The context diagram illustrates the structure of the Online Grading System of Cauayan South Central School. It shows the relationship among the Administrator, Teacher’s, Students. The system has inputs like the student information, teachers information, and user information. To access to the system, the user enters the correct username and password. After the username and password validation, the user can add, delete, edit and view depending of the transaction desired. The system output is the Grade of the Student’s. Data Flow Diagram The researcher used the Data Flow Diagram to understand the flow of the project and at the same for future study. DFD demonstrate the external entities, data storage and the to be performed. In the Lon in process, the user needs to enter his username and password. When the username and password were entered, the system will look for any information matched in the database. As soon as the system confirms that the information given is valid, the system will show the user’s interface. There are different views for the administrator, the student and the teacher. Figure 5: Log in Information of Online Grading System of Cauayan South Central School

“I do, I will, I have” Essay

Ogden Nash's poem, â€Å"I do, I will, I have† is about the formal union of a man and a women. It's usually recognized by the law in which they become husband and wife. In other words, it's a poem about a marriage. He's describing the way a marriage works. I think many people could agree or disagree with his views, however, he outlines the basics to a marriage.Without describing his poem line from line, the overall purpose of this poem is to point out that marriages are always different. Typically a marriage won't work out when the two people are exactly the same. When he wrote â€Å"just as I am unsure of the differnce between flora and fauna and flotsam and jetsam,† he's comparing two different words that have the same meaning. This can relate to marriage in which the meaning of a marriage will always be the same but always with two different lives. That phrase is considered to be an idiom. It's a metaphorical statement with a figurative meaning that's separate from i ts literal meaning.In line 13, the word â€Å"Quick† is capitalized. When I first read this, I thought she was telling him to quickly get up. Then I realized it was capitalized and the word actual could be used to describe what she's saying or as his name. The title of the poem â€Å"I do, I will, I Have† I think it's significant as well. It's showing that most marriages end in divorce. It would either be his experience or the experience of many others. Another observation I made is from lines 11 through 14.He's not only showing they have two different views but the differences in being optimistic and pessimistic. The guy is seen as being optimistic. He's very laid back, hopeful and confident about things. Shes very pessimistic and things the worst and always seems to be worrying. I think with this statement he's showing the stereotype between a man and a women. Most men and women are seen in the same way that he portrayed them.Now days marriages aren't as common as th ey used to be. Less people are getting married today rather than in the past. I think this stereotype has to do with both peoples views and experiences but also the fear of a heartbreak. When he wrote â€Å"that is why marriage is more interesting than divorce,† he's saying that there's more to a marriage than most people see. His poem views marriage in a good way in the beginning but then it leads to divorce. Now days I think it's always seen in both ways from the beginning and that's why there are less marriages.

The Importance of Memory

The importance of memory What will happen if all human lost their memory? What if we can’t remember anything anymore? Can our society keep running? Can we live? The answer is simple. We can’t live without memory and the modern society will be destroyed. Here I’ll explain to you one by one. Memory plays a big role in our life. It is the processes by which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved. Everything we see, we do, we think, will goes to memory and transform to implicit or explicit memory. Which will be saved in our brain.We could recall it anytime, even I’m using my implicit memory to type this report. Simply, our daily life is formed by memory, without it, we’re nothing. Why? If we don’t have memory, we can’t learn. Learning requires memory, if we’re unable to learn anything, we can only follow our basic instincts to live such as eating or having sexual intercourse. We’ll be worse than beasts if we live like that. Furthermore, we won’t be able to recognize anything. Somebody doubt that can we still learn from classical conditioning?The answer is no, because we can’t save the conditioned stimulus in brain, we don’t even remember we’re triggered by stimulus. Therefore, we won’t elicit by any conditioned stimulus. So if Pavlov’s dog don’t have memory, the whole theory won’t even exist. Without memory, we’ll lost many of our abilities and skills. Such as, languages, recognition. Unless we record everything we saw immediately and save it in a notebook. If human started with no memory, the modern society won’t be formed. Memory is an important part of what keeps society together, what shapes our culture, and what shapes us as individuals.We will be unable to develop anything. There won’t be revolution, human history can’t go further without memory. Therefore, It’s disastrous if human don’t have m emory at all. If we totally without implicit memory, human simply won’t exist. Breathing is an implicit memory. No one taught you to breathe, you just do it when you are born. If we don’t have implicit memory, no human will exist unless ape don’t have to breath. But it’s impossible that all human lost both his explicit and implicit memory, so the above parts is only a imagination.Let’s move on and talk about those people who have memory disorders such as Amnesia and Alzheimer’s disease. Memory disorders hinders the storage, retention and recollection of memories. That means their memory system are malfunctioned. The consequences could be very serious. Assume that i have Alzheimer’s disease, If i forget to lock my car, i i may lost it. If i forget to turn off my gas stove, it may cause explosion and I’ll die. As you can see, If we have memory disorders, we’ll face many troubles in our life, some are even life-threatening. Throw the with or without away, I’m now move on to next point. Which is how memory affect our personality and behaviour. Everyone got their own special personality. Memory has a deep influence on our personality, especially the early memories like your childhood. The best way to learn how early memories affect personality is to look at an example that analyzes someone's early memories. Here is one early memories of a middle aged man:â€Å"My little sister ate all the sweets in the box then when my mother asked her who did it she said that i am the one who ate them.I felt really angry†. Its clear that this guy has developed the belief that women are evil and that was perfectly aligned with his unexplained fear of the opposite sex. According to individual psychology all of the person's personality traits, beliefs, behaviour, thoughts and memories can be perfectly aligned to reflect the psychological goals he wants to reach. In the previous example one of the man's goals was to avoid women not to get harmed by them because he believed that they were evil.When we aligned his current psychological problems, his personality traits with his early memories we were able to see the full picture. Furthermore, there are some movies which can gives you more examples and perspectives, i recommend Frailty (2001), comprehensively explained how a religious fanatic father's visions lead to a series of murders by his son. To conclude, the importance of memory can’t be measure , a person needs proper memory or he can’t live normally and healthily, a society needs people like this to run or we’ll back to stone age.

Sarbanes Oxley Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Sarbanes Oxley Act - Essay Example porting, whistleblower policy, internal policies on executive loans and compensation and external auditor independence can have a positive impact on the nonprofit entity as it contrives to preserve and, even, enhance the trust and confidence the public and its community have on its nonprofit activities. Small businesses, on the other hand, have pointed out the prohibitive costs of implementing the SOX requirements and that the benefits derived from implementing these requirements are much less than these costs. However, there is also positive impact of SOX requirements on small businesses. Small business owners who adopt the SOX requirements may find their competitive advantage increasing, easier access to new capital or loans, more efficient handling of family-related governance issues and an increased opportunity to deter, discover and deal with fraud. With the various accounting and corporate scandals that surprised and shocked the whole business world, the regulators, the stakeholders and the private sector, in general, are all clamoring for more transparency and accountability, as well as a more ethical way of conducting businesses, for the various entities. The passing of the Sarbanes Oxley Act is viewed as an important step towards the improvement of these aspects. The SOX is geared towards the publicly-listed, oftentimes large, companies due to their large impact on the economy (in general) and their stakeholders (in particular). However, it is also worthwhile to note that, according to Cynthia Reaves (n.d.), a practitioner in the areas of tax-exempt organization law, the â€Å"inappropriate financial management practices† that were present in most of the companies embroiled in these scandals may also occur in nonprofit entities. McGladrey & Pullen, Certified Public Accountants (n.d.) also pointed out that nonprofit e ntities â€Å"interact with or impact a significant portion of the population†. Based on these, it can be inferred that the SOX also has an

Chinas Geography, Agriculture, and Industry Distribution Assignment

Chinas Geography, Agriculture, and Industry Distribution - Assignment Example The western part of China, the Frontier consists mainly of mountain ranges and deserts, and the quantity of rainfall it receives is low (Fairbank and Goldman, 14). China’s physical geography has very large extremes, but the land is divided into three tiers. The two highest tiers are in the Frontier, whereas the lowest tier makes up China Proper. The highest tier in west China consists of high mountain ranges. The land in West China has an elevation ranging from 6,000 to 29,029 feet (1,829 to 8,848 meters). At the southern end of this mountain system is the Himalaya range, made up of the world’s highest mountains, including Mount Everest. The mountains ranges of west China serve as the source of all of China’s principal rivers, including the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers (Gamer, 16). The eastern parts of the west China contain the second highest tier which consists of broad basins, plateaus, and hills, with an elevation ranging from 600 to 6,000 feet (183 to 1,829 met ers). The Mongolian Plateau, Tarim and Junggar basins, occupy most of the northern part of this tier. The population here is low because the amount of rainfall is very little. Agricultural output is low also low, and the main agricultural produce is potatoes, yak, and raisin. The southern part of the tier consists of the Loess Plateau, the Yunnan Plateau, and the Sichuan Basin, with relatively higher rainfall and, consequently, a dense population. Here, potatoes and rice are produced extensively. Cotton is the main cash crop of west China (LaFleur, 8). The people of west China were traditionally nomads, who undertook little farming in oases. As a result, livestock farming is a key component of western China’s agriculture. The main animals reared are pigs, goats, sheep, fowls, cattle and yak. East China or China Proper consists mainly of the lowest tier and a small portion of the middle tier. The land here consists mainly of lowlands and floodplains with the lowest elevation i n the country, which lies below 600 feet (Gamer, 17). The rainfall here is very high, and the land supports roughly three-quarters of China’s population of 1.3 billion people. Therefore, the population density is also high. The North China Plain, which contains the Yellow river, is in this region. These lowland plains form the heart of China’s agricultural and industrial output. China’s climate is monsoon-controlled. East China is warm and wet, whereas west China is cold and dry. This is because the summer monsoon blows hot and warm air masses over east China from the East and South China seas. On the other hand, most of west China is under the influence of the winter monsoon which blows dry, cold air masses from the northern Siberian steppe resulting in a cold and dry climate (Zhao, 45). China Proper consists of northern and southern regions demarcated by a line running just north of the Yangtze River. Significant agricultural and industrial difference exists b etween the northeastern and the southeastern regions of China Proper. The geography is generally similar since both regions occur within the lowest tier of China’s geography, which is characterized by low-lying plains, but southeastern China Proper has a slightly higher elevation and rainfall than northeastern China Proper. The Yellow River waters the plains of northeastern China Proper and the rainfall is quite high leading to a prosperous agriculture. Wheat is the staple food in this region, where it is grown in small scale on small tracts of land. The people eat it in the form of steamed bread or noodles. China’s heavy industry occurs mostly in northeastern China Proper because of the availability of large reserves of oil and coil in

Complexity of dual diagnosis treatment Case Study

Complexity of dual diagnosis treatment - Case Study Example osis: Because of an amalgamation of two diagnoses, it is often difficult to establish whether the problem is majorly due to substance abuse, mental illness, or both (Australian Drug Foundation, 2013). 3) Complex treatment: The treatment of dual diagnosis consists of multiple steps, namely, engagement of patient in a health care service, keeping him/her in service, intervention, and finally relapse preclusion and rehabilitation (Watson & Hawkings, 2002). Major issues with treatment are resistance to treatment/non-compliance, relapse of one illness leading to subsequent relapse of the other, and pharmaco-dynamics and pharmacokinetics of the prescribed medication and alcohol/drug affecting each other. Even normal dosages prescribed by the doctor can lead to adverse effects in such scenarios (Australian Drug Foundation, 2013). Lack of support from society and health care staff is also a problem (Graham, 2013).   Unfortunately, most regular health facilities are incapable of dealing with multi-problems like these. Health practitioners and nurses do not have the training or the expertise to recognize, investigate, and treat these disorders Stigma is a social construction that demarcates people on the basis of a certain property, and then isolates and humiliates them because of that demarcation (Bos et al, 2013). Stigma leads to inhumane behaviour towards the victim (Goffman, 1963). The phenomenon of stigmatization is very common in the field of psychiatry. Since time immemorial both mental ailment and substance abuse have individually been regarded worthy of contempt. Stigma is of many different forms and manifests itself in many ways. It can hinder delivery of proper treatment by health care staff, socially isolate a person, or stall him/her from disclosing his/her true problems (stigma article). All these effects result in delayed treatment when disease has become advanced or relapses, resulting in increased costs (Biernat & Dovidio, 2000) Since dual diagnosis is

History of chinese calligraphy and its chatracteristics Essay

History of chinese calligraphy and its chatracteristics - Essay Example This was followed by the Zhou Dynasty (1100-256 B.C.) during which Chinese wrote on bronze vessels and variety of styles was created on greater seals. During the Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.) the use of lesser seal scripts, also known as xiao zhuan, was made standardizing the characters used for writing. Stone inscriptions were used during this time and scripts for clerical uses were also prepared. Clerical scripts developed more during the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. - A.D. 220). Such writings could be obtained from Stele Vessels, Stele for Zhang Qian and Stele for Cao Quan. Also, the cursive style of writing was developed during this period of time characterized by inscriptions on strips or silks. The regular script, cursive script and running scripts were developed during the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties (220-580), the characteristics of which were represented by Stelae style from Northern Dynasty and Manuscript style from Southern Dynasty. The regular script developed to maturity during the Sui (581-618), Tang (618-907) and Five Dynasties (907-960). During these periods, seal, regular, cursive as well as clerical scripts were used. Personal Creative Styles emerged during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) where regular and cursive scripts were mostly used in the development of creative writings like poetry. During the Yuan (1271-1368) and Ming Dynasties (1368-1644), the ancient styles of writing in seal, clerical, regular and cursive scripts revived with further advancements. Several learning from the original works took place during these times. The Stelae school of calligraphy advanced during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) during which writers used their learning o n seal scripts and clerical scripts to create new writings unique from the past. Regular and cursive writings also flourished more during this period. The 20th century has witnessed radical development in Chinese calligraphy with

Management - Web Activity Speech or Presentation

Management - Web Activity - Speech or Presentation Example Also anger gets generated when somebody feels that the opposite party has intentionally done something wrong. Anger is always perceived as a negative mannerism in the society. However in some situations anger can be a good thing. It helps an individual to express his/her negative feelings in a stronger way. In order to cite an instance anger assists to motivate individuals in the process of finding possible solutions of the problems. While on the other hand extreme and unnecessary anger can generate various kind of problems. It hugely impacts in the physical and mental health of a person. It leads to increased blood pressure, muscle tension, headaches, increased heart rate, higher sugar levels and also other associated mental and physical issues. Extreme anger also makes it complicated for a person to think simple and straight, thereby harming the mental and physical health (â€Å"Anger†). Recent studies portray that anger hugely increases the chance of heart disease and can e ven be a cause of certain nervous breakdown. A study in this aspect was conducted with a sample of around 12,986 adults for 3 years. The research revealed that persons with high anger trait are hugely prone to coronary diseases. Also another study with 4,083 adults conducted for over a period of 10 years revealed that, those who have the lowest level of anger control, holds the highest risk towards non fatal and fatal cardio vascular diseases. Nonetheless it also revealed that when the level of anger is moderate and also uttered assertively, the intensity of disruptiveness is less as compared to intense and frequent anger. Aggression: A Brief Overview Aggression is a deeper sense is the action or the behavior which is antagonistic, vigorous and energetic in nature. Aggression can generate either out of retribution, retaliation or through provocation. Nonetheless in the narrower definition that are being used in the behavioral science or social science, aggression is a rationale or i ntention in order to cause harm or in simple words is an action that intends to boost the comparative social supremacy. Defensive or predatory behavior among the members of various genuses however is not considered as aggression. Aggression can take various forms that can be either physical or can be conversed non-verbally or verbally. Aggression behavior is however not assertive in nature. It can be described as the way by which an individual portrays what he/she believes and anybody contradicts it is wrong from his/her point of view (â€Å"Aggressive behavior†). For example words such as ‘You're so stupid. Just do as I say and don't ask questions’, clearly justify the meaning of aggression. Aggression can be depicted by shoving, punching, hitting or even defacement another person, and it can occur in child or elder abuse, marital violence, and criminal activities. Anger and Aggression: Differences in Perspectives While studying about the concepts of anger and a ggression, I mainly found the difference between the two actions lies in their occurrences. The causes of anger and aggression depend upon different situations. I believe anger and aggression are the two different dimensions of human psychology. Since anger is usually uttered only through deafening verbalizations, it is the cases of hostility that coil up in the illegal justice system. I found in a recent study conducted by

Passing by Nella Larsen Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Passing by Nella Larsen - Essay Example The selection and the portrayal of the thematic issues in the novel just as is the case with many other types of literature relies on the selection of the literary elements as the below analysis of Passing portrays. Key among the literary elements is the use of first person narration in the novel. A voice is always essential in a novel since the author adopts a particular voice in conveying his or her message through the plot. In the Passing, the author adopts the first person narration technique. The author narrates the story through the experiences of the lead character, Irene Redfield. Living in the Harlem area of New York, Irene Redfield is a mixed race woman who strives to integrate in the racial discriminate American society at the time. The story in the novel thus recounts he life and experiences of Irene Redfield and her numerous white and African American friends as they face numerous challenges. The action in the novel opens up with Irene receiving a letter from her long lost friend, Clare Kendry. The letter reminds her of their times together and the experiences they had in the city. The author of the novel therefore stylistically transfers her audience back into the history of the characters through a literary device known as flash back. Irene remembers her relationship with Clare the two women are both of mixed ancestry. They therefore underwent similar treatments by the society. Their passionate friendship broke soon after Clare’s father died since she went to live with her aunt in a different state. The separation implied that the two would grow up differently (Wall 101). As such, they became two different women a feature in the novel that validates the tension that Irene experiences once she receives the letter. The flashback is a strategic literary device that the author employs deliberately with the view of providing an adequate platform for comparison. Just as the name suggests and the plot of the novel portrays,

The strategy of e-business Annotated Bibliography

The strategy of e-business - Annotated Bibliography Example Because of the nature of these networks, there is then the recognition that the very framework of e-business strategy must be reimagined in conjunction with this new landscape. In this way the article argues that businesses must reimagine strategy based on a more dynamic business environment. The traditional business environment examined strategy in terms of specific goals and long-term visions. The nature of this new paradigm in e-business, however, is such that business must constantly assess their strategic approach in regards to the shifting nature of connectivity. For Li (2004, p. 46) then then this is accomplished through establishing a holistic framework. Within the holistic framework the business will consider all inputs – supply chain management, sales, general business strategy – in a systematic and dynamic process. No longer will business establish a simple long-term vision, but instead will establish a dynamic and agile business strategy for to function within this new paradigm. In pursuit of this new paradigm the article established seven key points. Among these points include the pursuit of margin size and volume rate, and the p ursuit of low cost and high value. The fundamental recognition is that these concerns involve different levels of strategic concerns than the traditional environment had posited. After these theoretical considerations the article examines a case study with a Chinese business. The case study functions to demonstrate the importance of developing a holistic business strategy. Additionally the case study indicates the importance of developed countries establishing effective strategies in its business model when dealing with developing countries. In this way the concept of strategic alliance emerges as a prominent strategic approach. This text relates to the key concepts in the course in a variety of ways. From an overarching perspective it considers the very

Mangment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Mangment - Essay Example Managers find it difficult to budget the money for pay increase of the employees. They also know that employees would be demotivated to know that their hard work would not be rewarded with pay increase or addition of privileges and perks. I think that the greatest challenge for a manager in performance management is to track down and record employees’ performance throughout the year or interval. Some wrong areas that managers focus on while managing performance include long gaps between performance appraisals, highlighting only the deficiencies of employees with no mention of their good points, establish performance as the only criterion for pay increase. Managers are also misled in their decisions by the power and age of an employee. I think about managing performance annually, but believe that this should be conducted much more often, like monthly. The biggest concern is to be able to justify the decisions without demotivating the employees. This is a concern for me because I am poor at collecting daily records of performance. Most important skill in performance management, for me, is accordingly to be able to keep track of employees performance because this is tedious work and seems so unrelated to the organizational tasks at

Destiny, Fate and Free

Destiny, Fate and Free Will Essay Really an entity such as destiny or fate that exists? Does each and â€Å"everyone† of us have a destiny, â€Å" A set of predetermined events within our lives that we take an active course in shaping† Or a fate, â€Å"The preordained course of your life that will occur because of or in spite of your actions,† and as you/one would expect, the obvious existence of our own free will, â€Å"The power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one’s own discretion. † Here, in a conversation between Forrest Gump and his Momma, we get an authentic and ordinary question about destiny and fate that most of us in all likelihood would ask. Not only in the question, â€Å"What’s my destiny,† but also in the statement, â€Å"Death is just a part of life,† it illustrates that the two are connected with each other. The choices you make are your destiny, and will ultimately lead you through the path to meet your death, (fate). As Forrest stands there looking down, wondering how sick his Momma is. He queries. â€Å"Why are you dying momma? † She looks up at him, and with a great expression of love. She expresses. â€Å" It’s my time. It’s just my time. Oh now, don’t you be afraid, sweetheart. Death is just a part of life. It’s 2 something we’re all destined to do. I didn’t know it, but I was destined to be your momma. I did the best I could. † As he responds with an acceptable assertion. â€Å" You did good, Momma. † â€Å" Well, I happened to believe you make your own destiny. † â€Å" What’s my destiny, Momma? † â€Å" Life is like a box of chocolates, Forrest. You never know what your going to get. † (Winston Groom) Destiny is more complex to come by than fate, because it involves the inner working’s of ones psyche. We advance on the road to our destiny when we tread the path of individuation. Destiny can involve choices that make no sense; risks that we’d rather not take; challenges that make us want to squirrel away under a rock; and certain moments in time that push us past our limits. Just as in the comment that Momma say’s to Forrest, â€Å"Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what your going to get,† Is a good paradigm of the choices that we must all make. As we delve into the conversation between Forrest and his Momma. We begin to understand that the choices we make are part of our destiny which leads us to our fate’s end. Most of us believe in a higher power greater than ourselves; that something else is in control of our lives, and as we explore into the undeniable emergence of our fate. â€Å"The inescapable destiny of man. † We are compelled to go back millennia, to the times of mythological gods, and look at the Moirai. The Moirai were the three mythological goddesses of fate, They directed the symbolic thread of life of every mortal from birth to death. Clotho, â€Å"The spinner† spun the thread of life from her distaff onto her spindle. Lachesis, â€Å"The allotter† or drawer of lots, measured the thread 3 of life allotted to each person with her measuring rod. Atropos, â€Å"The inevitable† was the cutter of the thread of life. She chose the manner of each persons death; and when their time was come, she cut their life-thread with, Her abhorred shears. † The Moirai were autonomous, even though they had command of one’s fate appointed to them by the perpetual laws. They were responsible for making sure that fate would take it’s sequence in life without hindrance. They did not abruptly interfere in the matters of man, even man himself, in his freedom was allowed to exercise a certain amount of influence in his fate by the choices he makes. As a man’s fate end’s with his death, the goddesses of fate essentially become the goddesses of death. â€Å"Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her. But once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game. † (Voltaire) Within this quote made prominent by the prolific writer Voltaire. It conveys to us that this game of life is full of choice’s, and how we make the decision’s of witch path to follow define’s the measurement of our success in the game of life. Just as the Moirai do not interfere with our life, but allow us to make our own choice’s. Even though the two words are used in similar manners, fate and destiny can be distinguished. Paradoxically when the two words are used to mean the same thing, fate often assumes a negative association as is emphasized by the similar words â€Å"fatal,† â€Å"fateful,† and â€Å"fatalism. † Destiny traditionally suggests a more positive conclusion, such as people being more in control of their destinies. As we take in the considerations of destiny and fate; now we must consider the aspect of free will, â€Å"The power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at 4 one’s own discretion. † What free will tries to account for, is our introverted belief that we are in control of many of our choices, and thus our destiny-that we are free to think and choose for ourselves. We consciously make choices and decisions that are far more independent than that of nature and nurture than any animals. We have the conscious ability to think of the consequences of our choices, whether good or bad. These are the meaningful differences that lead to the idea of free will. I wear the chain I forged in life. I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it. (Charles Dickens) In conclusion, fate is predestined. Everyone’s life is fated to it’s termination; to meet his maker; to finally be judged; and even though we cannot conquer fate, we can accept the fact that our future lies within our own selves and not within the hands of fate. We do not let fate decide our future. We have the power to make choices by being the creator and writer of our own destiny. We have the power of free will. The way you wear the chain that you have forged link by link, and yard by yard is completely up to you. Just remember that you girded it of your own free will, and it is you solely that will have to wear it.

Impacts of Mergers Acquisitions on Shareholder Wealth

Impacts of Mergers Acquisitions on Shareholder Wealth This dissertation attempts to investigate, the impact of Mergers Acquisition (MA) on shareholder wealth in the European banking industry from 2003-2007 and explains in depth detail of the literature reviewed by the author to provide the basis of the successful achievement of the project. MA has been a popular research topic in finance with broad literature exists on MA. For this review to be achievable, a broad search for information was undertaken by means of the internet and library. The research question will examine the wealth effects (abnormal returns) of MA involving European banks using `event study` methodology over the period of 2003-2007 in both the announcement period and long run post acquisition period. In other words, can MA improves or destroy shareholder wealth of the targets, bidders and combined firms. 1.2 Introduction The decade of 1990 saw the biggest increase in European MA activity. Merger Acquisitions (MA) have been a significant phenomenon in the Europe. and the world economy which symbolizes one of the most important strategic decisions made by managers and shareholders of the engaged firm. Sudarsanam (2003,para1,p.1) argues shareholders and managers may be the most important stakeholders in MA but other groups such as workers, competitors, lenders, customers all have a collective interest in this activity. MA may be undertaken in order to replace an inefficient management, but sometimes two businesses may be more valuable together than apart. Motivation behind the mergers is to maximise the shareholders wealth. However, according to Jensen and Ruback (1983) and Sirower and O`byrne (1998), in almost two third of cases, mergers produce wealth gains for target shareholders and more or less zero gains to acquirers. Various studies have found that, usually the announcement of bank mergers neither create nor destroy shareholders value Pilloff and Santomero (1998). Also, some studies indicates that the announcement of certain types of bank mergers do create value, if that merger reduce costs. Berger, Demsetz, Strahan (1999) identified five fundamental dynamic factors that motivate corporate takeovers i.e. an increase of globalization, technological progress, financial deregulation, changes in customer demand and the integration of financial markets. Arnold (2005, para2, p.1041), defined mergers as the combining of two business entities under common ownership whereas Bruner (2005) states it as consolidation of two firms that creates a new entity in the eyes of the law. According to Investorwords.com acquisition is a acquiring control of a corporation, called a target, by stock purchase or exchange, either `hostile` or `friendly` which also be called takeover. E.g. in October 2007, Royal bank of Scotland (RBS) merged with Dutch bank ABN Amro to clinch Europes biggest ever banking takeover with 86% of ABN Amros shareholders accepting a 71bn euro (Ft.com). Bruner (2005) argues takeover activities are strategic transactions that could turn out to be an excellent investment of capital and resources. 1.3Merger waves Nowadays, MA is well known fact that comes in waves according to evidence from Bruner (2005), Gorton, Kahl Rosen (2005), Martynova Renneboog (2006). Five individual merger waves were observed in the UK economy in the last century i.e. 1900`s, the 1960`s, the 1970`s, the 1980`s and the 1990`s. (Kastrinaki, Stoneman 2007) Brankman, Garretsen, Van Marrewijk (2008) argues that, in terms of economic importance, the dominant merger wave unpredictable is the positive global outcome, suggesting that MA waves are an economy wide global phenomenon. The wave of bank mergers has been established to explain the diverse theories e.g. the `efficiency hypothesis` expect that mergers improve efficiency and help poor banks to survive as competition becomes increasingly rigorous in the banking industry. Gugler, Mueller, Yurtoglu (2004) finds that merger waves can be implicit if one identify that MA do not boost efficiency and doesnt increase shareholders` wealth but instead sited that MA waves are best come across as the answer of overvalued shares and managerial opinion. 1.4Why do MA occur? In various European countries, mergers have allowed banks to increase efficiency by assisting the coordination of the closing of branches. Banks shareholders and managers need to recognize the potential sources of economic gain emerged from MA. Banks can reduce costs and increase value in different ways e.g. diversification. I.e. if mergers generate cost synergies such as economies of scale, banks can reduce expenses. According to evidence from Berkovitch Narayanan (1993), Sudarsanam, Holl Salami (1996), Hannan Pilloff (2006), Martynova Renneboog (2006), the motives for MA have been categorised into the three main groups i.e. economic motive or synergy, managerial or agency problems and hubris. The actual distribution of merger gains between target and bidder shareholders will depend on their individual negotiating strengths. Therefore, following table shows the impact of mergers on shareholders wealth: Merger Motive Total Gains Target Gains Bidder Gains Synergy + + + Agency problems + Hubris 0 + 1.4.1 Synergy Motive The first key group that accounts for MA is an economic or synergy motive which means that two companies can achieve together which they cant achieve single-handedly. Siems (1996) argued that synergy theory projected that the acquiring bank can efficiently create synergies via economies of scale and scope by reducing costs and eliminating redundancies and duplication. Economies of scale occurs when the average unit cost of production declines as volume increases e.g. banking mergers in the UK of Bank of Scotland and Halifax of 30bn merger in May 2001, to create HBOS fifth major force in UK banking sector. The idea was that the Bank of Scotland was operating in north of the country and Halifax was in south by merging these two banks, were trying to reduce cost of processing banking transactions. Economies of scope occurs when the cost of producing several products in a multi product firm is lower than the cost of producing the same products by individual firms e.g. Banc assurance model, British banking and issuance giant Lloyds TSB acquired Scottish Widows in June 1999 for 7bn. Sudarsanam et al (1996) identified the sources of value creation into three main types i.e. operational synergy, managerial synergy and financial synergy. Operational synergy occurs during the recognition of economies of scale and scope, vertical integration, the elimination of duplicate activities, the transfer of knowledge or skills by the bidders management team and a reduction in agency costs by bringing organization precise assets underneath common ownership (Ravenscraft Scherer 1987, 1989 cited in Martynova Renneboog 2006). Sources of value in vertical mergers includes reducing transaction costs in which combining different stages of the production chain can reduce costs of communication and bargaining i.e. one companys output is other companys input and by putting together will make the business efficient. E.g. Microsoft bid for Yahoo in January 2008, worth $42bn that will create more powerful browser or have a better chance of tackling the internet search leader. Having said that, current trends towards outsourcing suggest that, the benefits from vertical mergers are limited. According to Martynova Renneboog (2006), establishments of operating synergies reduce production distribution costs and yielding an incremental cash flow accruing to the companys post-merger shareholders. Sudarsanam et al (1996) argues managerial synergy could occur if the bidder has a competent managerial team and takes over a target with fewer competent managers. Such takeover is disciplinary and likely to improve the wealth gain for both bidder and target shareholders. Having said that, there is a considerable risk of agency problems where the managers do not operate in the interest of shareholders. Martynova Renneboog (2006) argues that diversifying takeovers are likely to gain from financial synergies in which financial synergies may incorporate improved cash flow stability, cheaper access to capital, an internal capital market as well as contracting efficiencies created by a reduction in managers employment risk. Conglomerate mergers allow risk diversification by spreading the income stream of the holding company over a wide variety of products and markets. Sudarsanam et al (1996) finds that financial synergy materialize from three likely sources i.e. the tax advantage of unused debt, the growth opportunities and financial resources of the emerging companies and the coinsurance of debt of the two companies which result in lower costs of capital. 1.4.2 Agency factor The second main motive for MA is managerial or agency factor. Shareholders are Principals i.e. owners of companys assets and managers are employed as shareholders Agents to manage these assets on their behalf. Managers should make decisions that are consistent with the objective of maximize the shareholder wealth, but managers do not share this objective necessarily. Managers will have their own personal objectives which will be mainly concerned with maximizing their own welfare (Sudarsanam et al 1996). Therefore, managerial decisions in acquisitions may result in agent costs that reduce the total value of the joint firm as they do not maximise but weaken shareholders return. Berger, Demsetz, Strahan (1999) argues that one managerial intention may be empire-building. Executive compensation leads to increase with companys size, so managers may wish to accomplish personal financial gains by engaging in MA, although at least in part the higher observed compensation of the managers of larger institutions rewards greater skill and effort. To protect their firm-specific human capital, some managers may also try to reduce insolvency risk below the level i.e. in shareholders interest possibly by diversifying risk through MA movement. Arnold (2005) observes that the managers may enjoy the thrill of the merger process itself and as a result push for such deals to take place. 1.4.3 Hubris The third and final main motive for MA is Hubris which was specified by Richard Roll in 1986. Arnold (2005, para2, p.1055), define hubris as over weaning self confidence or, less kindly, arrogance. The hubris hypothesis states that the valuation of target by the bidder management is over optimistic and per se the bidding firms management overpays for the target. This perhaps for a number of bases such as decisions makers believing themselves, that the value exists when it does not or that their valuation is correct and that the market is not shimmering the full economic value of the combined firm. These managers may perhaps be overconfident or have misplaced faith in their ability to develop the profit performance of the target firm. Berkovitch Narayanan (1993) argues that the hubris maintains that decision makers in the bidding firms simply pay too much for their targets as a result of mistakes in overestimating the value of the targets. 1.5 Factors influencing shareholder returns Shareholders returns are not just affected by MA announcements, but they are also influenced by bid characteristics e.g. method of payment, cross border MA, friendly vs. hostile bids etc. 1.5.1 Method of payment The method of payment is one of the key variables that must be agreed between the buyer and seller to determine the firms` abnormal returns and overall outcome of the bid. According to Huang and Walkling (1989), The form of payment will influence bidding strategy if it affects the anticipated NPVs of an acquisition. Huang and Walkling found that when method of payment and degree of conflict were taken into account statistically, abnormal returns were no higher in tender offers than in mergers. Payment methods can affect NPVs through interrelations with either acquisition cost or the probability of success or both whereas Dube, Glascock Romero (2007) argues that the different stages of benefit growing to the target and acquiring firms shareholders is attributed to the alternative methods of payments. Arnold (2005, para1, p.1059) states that cash payment has been the most popular and most valued method of payment which offers higher return than equity. For example, bidding firm is expected to carry out stock financed merger if the management of bidding firm has better-quality inside information that the existing assets of the firm are overvalued. However, if the bidder firm has confidential information about the target company and trusts it to be undervalued, then it probably offer cash financed merger. Therefore, merger financed with stocks are a negative signal because the use of stocks as a method of payment is more likely to occur when the stock is overvalued, while the use of cash is taken as the firm being overvalued. Alternatively, if target shareholders consider that their bank is overvalued, they will prefer to receive cash. This theory is supported by empirical literature and it demonstrates that at the time of the bid announcement acquirers who propose cash, tend to practice higher abnormal returns than those who offer stock financed merger. The advantage of cash is that the acquirer shareholders hold the same level of control over their company because their proportion of ownership has not been diluted by giving target shareholders stock options in the merged company. Therefore, the returns to the shareholders of a bidding firm will be higher in cash financed merger than the stock. Brealey, Myers Marcus (2004, para1, p.599) states if cash is offered, the cost of the merger is not affected by the size of the merger gains. And if stock is offered, the cost depends on the gains because the gains show up in the post merger share price, and these shares are used to pay for the acquired firm. 1.5.2 Cross border MA The combination of worldwide financial markets has been going together with, increases in the number and tiny proportion of firms that operate in the global market and the globalization process has been to a rational extent encouraged by cross border MA. According to Brankman, Garretsen, Van Marrewijk (2005, 2008) cross border MA are the main medium for foreign direct investment. MA provides fundamental but also limited understanding of this form of takeover, as cross-border MA are most likely related to economy-wide shocks such as economic integration, changes in the legal and regulatory environment or likely asymmetric business cycles. Based on past empirical evidence, though the majority of the domestic MA create significant wealth gains for the targets and negative or zero returns for bidders, cross border MA could have different impact on related firms. Kang (1993) stated that cross border MA are expected to create more wealth than domestic ones because of existence of market imperfections which leads to guide multinational firms (MNC) having a competitive advantage over local firms. Foreign banks have to act in accordance with with both regulations at home and abroad; domestic credit establishments have cost advantages, since fulfilling two diverse sets of regulation enforce additional costs on foreign banks. Also, different regulations reduce the amount of related fixed costs. This decreases the possibility for banks to collect benefits from economies of scale and scope. Economies of scale propose that bank is able to reduce its costs by growing the volume of output of products and services it already produces. As a result of developing into new country, a bank increases its potential client base and benefits from economies of scale. According to economies of scope, banks that diversify activities could reduce costs by providing more services. 1.5.3 Friendly vs. hostile bids Analysis regarding the impact of hostile takeovers has been arguable, varying from the benefits of market discipline for maximizing efficient utilization of resources to the damage of market shortsightedness on the economy, on the society and on value built over years. Dube, Glascock Romero (2007) argues such debates can impact financial marketsand can be expected to expand as developing markets open up to foreign corporations and as economic power is redistributed amongst countries. Hostile takeovers occur, when the management of a firm resists the takeover attempt by bidders. Lambrecht and Myers (2007) state that in some cases a potentially hostile acquirer could be better off negotiating with the target management for a merger and that such a situation reduces the power of the target shareholder to extract value from the bidder. Hostile acquisitions also involve swifter and more drastic changes in target. In both friendly and hostile acquisitions, overpayment can arise due to age ncy reflection of managerial objective maximization by the acquirer management. Goergen and Renneboog (2003) analyzed the market reactions to the different types of takeovers i.e. friendly, hostile and bids with multiple bidders. They found that hostile bids created the largest abnormal returns for the target i.e. 13% on the announcement day. When a hostile bid is made, the share price of the target straight away reflects the expectation that opposition to the bid will guide to upward revisions of the offer price. Various empirical studies have found that the returns to bidders in hostile takeovers are negative; resulting in low possibility of success of a hostile bid. 1.6 Impact of MA on shareholders Almost all of the studies of MA in banking industry are based on US data. As we know, one of the main objectives of mergers is to maximise the shareholders value by the means of increase in dividends and increase in share prices, so the shareholders can enjoy the capital gains. The two most important methods which can be used to assess the impact of MA were explained by Firth in 1980. In the first method, accounting information is used to determine the firms` financial performance profitability. The second method believes in efficient market which can be used in share price movements to estimate the economic impact of the event. The second method, direct measures any increase or reduction in shareholders wealth but also experience from the reality that no market is really efficient which results to mislead conclusions due to movement in share price. In this project, author chose the second method i.e. an event study in which the focal point will be on three different sets e.g. the target, the bidder and the impact of MA on combined firm in the long run. Various empirical studies on MA have concentrated on establishing stock market reaction around the announcement of a deal and whether a merger creates value for the shareholders of target and bidding firm. Delong (2001) examined 56 banks between 1991 and 1995, for focusing mergers that create positive abnormal returns whereas diversifying mergers produce negative abnormal returns. DeLong (2001) has point out that upon announcement the market responds positively to mergers that focus both on the activities and geography, which is consistent with Siems (1996). Delong finds that the cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) of target firm has been increased to 14.8% after merger and the bidding firm loose a significant 2.2%, whereas the combined firm neither created nor destroyed the shareholders value. The result also shows that the long term performance is improved when mergers involve inefficient bidders, payment not just made by cash and earnings are not diversified. Cybo ottone and Murgia (2000) analysed 54 largest MA deals with CARs at +3,41% between 1988 and 1997 on the European banking sector in 14 European markets. They have found that at the time of announcement, there was a positive and an important increase in the market value of the banks engaged in these deals. They have found positive abnormal returns for both buyers and the sellers using the general market index in the short period of eleven days, but found negative market reaction to acquiring bank. In other words, European bank mergers generate value for the combined firms including the target and the bidders do not lose. Various studies have shown that in Europe and the USA, target shareholders earn positive abnormal returns from mergers. Cyboottone and Murgia (2000) stated that bidding firm shareholders earn positive abnormal returns in European studies whereas in USA studies bidding firm shareholders earn negative abnormal returns from the mergers. Shareholders of target European banks achieve more than the bidding bank shareholders, however, the difference is very tiny indeed. So in other words, we can say that Cyboottone and Murgia (2000) results are not consistent with the USA banking literature which shows that no value creation effects are usually found. Martynova and Renneboog (2006) examined the short term wealth effects of 2,419 European MA announcements between 1993 and 2001 in twenty eight European countries. They found that UK target created higher returns (9%) and UK bidders experienced lower wealth losses (0.5%) in comparison to the total European average result. They also identified the share price reaction of bidding firms; on a hostile merger i.e. it generated a negative abnormal return of -0.4%, on the other hand, a friendly acquisition created a positive abnormal return of 0.8%. Therefore, Martynova and Renneboog (2006) have concluded that MA do create value for the bidding and the target shareholders in which target shareholders enjoy majority of gains as they collect large premiums. Beitel (2001) look at 98 large MA of European banks between 1985 and 2000 using the event study in which he found out, the shareholders of the target firm enjoy positive cumulative abnormal returns (CAR), whereas the shareholders of the bidding firm doesnt earn any CARs. However, the combined analysis of bidding and target European bank merger do create the shareholders value significantly. They also notice a change in the results after 1998 that European bidding banks in large deals experienced negative CARs and especially cross border mergers of European banks appeared to have destroyed shareholders value. Table 1: Summary of bank mergers using event studies of previous Abnormal Returns to shareholders MA studies Sample period Sample size Event Window Target CARs (%) Bidder CARs (%) Antoniou, Arbour Zhao (2006) 1985-2004 396 -2 to +2 17.37 -3.32 Cybo-ottone Murgia (2000) 1988-1997 54 -10 to 0 16.1 Not significant DeLong (2001) 1988-1995 280 -10 to 1 16.61 -1.68 Sudarasanam, Holl Salami (1996) 1980-1990 429 -20to+40 days 29 -4 Becher (2000) 1980-1997 553 -30 to +5 22.64 -0.1 Siems (1996) 1995 19 -1 to +1 13 -2 Houston Ryngaert (1997) 1985-1991 184 -2 to +2 20.40 -2.40 Ismail and Davidson (2005) studied 102 merger announcements in European banking industry between 1987 and 1999. They found positive abnormal returns for targets and the return to bidders differs across the deal type, also the merger deals earn higher returns than acquisition deals. They reported that the high competition in the market and reduction in the profitability in the banking industry in Europe is extending a depressing picture of performance of the future. They also reported low positive abnormal returns to target shareholders compared to other findings in the banking industry in Europe. The reason behind is that the bidder not ready to pay higher premiums in a competitive environment in which level of profits are decreasing. Ismail and Davidson (2005) pointed out that if equity is used as a method of payment instead of cash, then merger deals earn lower returns because of the fact is that equity signal to the market that the equity is overvalued which is consistent with fin dings of Huang and Walkling (1987). 1.7 Conclusion A bank acquires another bank because of number of reasons e.g. diversification, market power, managers preference etc. This literature review looks at the motives of MA based on the past academic studies i.e. Berkovitch Narayanan (1993), Sudarsanam et al (1996), Hannan Pilloff (2006), Martynova Renneboog (2006). Having said that, it is still not clear whether synergy gains or personal quest of managers is behind motivating majority of MAs. Evidence suggests that the managers may use the free cash flow for mergers that may produce negative NPV investments, because managers pursue their own interests rather than those of shareholders, resulting in mergers to not create value for shareholders. Whereas hubris, which supports the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) suggests that any bid for the target at premium overpays and it is result of the hubris. Arnold (2005) state it is similar to `winners curse` where the highest bidder will bid typically higher than the expected value of the purpose. However, most of the evidence suggests that the target shareholders gain positive abnormal returns while the cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) to the bidders are significantly negative and the combined banking firms seems to improve the shareholders value. Various studies also supports the fact that target shareholders gain at the expense of bidder shareholders and bank mergers do not create value for the combined firm in stock market reaction to bank mergers. Also, evidence shows that shareholders returns are not only affected by the MA announcements but they are also influenced by bid characteristics. 2.0 Methodology 2.1 Introduction Choosing appropriate research methods are clearly vital. According to Veal (1997) it is important for the researcher to be aware of the range of methods available and not to make claims that cannot be justified on the basis of the methods used. This part of this dissertation gives an outline how information was collected, the sample design statistics and which methodology is used by concentrating on European banking sector mergers between 2003 and 2007. Firstly, we have to decide the philosophy underlying this research, which involves choosing a paradigm. Collis and Hussey, 2003, p. 352 define paradi

Reflection on Critical Care of COPD Patient

Reflection on Critical Care of COPD Patient Foundations of critical care. Introduction The aim of this essay is to present a situation in describing my experiences caring for am identified female patient, and reflecting upon the issues which arose during one shift in a Critical Care unit. The reflective analysis will be carried out using Johns model of reflection (1995) which incorporates Carpers fundamental ways of knowing. This includes aesthetic, personal, ethical and empirical knowing and re flexibility. The purpose of the reflection is to understand better the ways of knowing applied to the situation, and to build upon this knowledge to improve future practice. Case Description. The chosen patient is a 59 year old female with a history of COPD and asthma. For the purposes of this essay, she will be called Jane. Jane had a severe infective exacerbation of COPD, which resulted in PEA Cardiac arrest in the admission medical unit secondary to type 2 respiratory failure, although it was a brief period of output loss only. Jane was intubated and transferred to the critical care unit, and since then she has had difficulty being ventilated due to bronchospasm/air trapping. At the time that I took over care for this patient, she had been on the critical care unit, on ventilatory support, for 12 days. Reflection (based on John’s Model and Carper’s Fundamental Ways of Knowing). AESTHETIC KNOWING: As I came on shift, the ventilation mode was on BIPAP, ASB 15, PEEP 10, I:E 1:3, FIO2 .65 via tracheostomy tube. Upon assessment at the beginning of the shift her BP 110/40, map was 60mmhg despite of noradreanline, and core temperature was 38.6 with improving markers of inflammation. The CVP had fallen to 8, but there was good urine output, 45-70 mls per hour over the previous four hours, with hourly urine measurements continuing. There was an intercostal drain in situ for a pneumothorax which developed post subclavian line insertion. Jane was sedated on midazolam and morphine sulphate infusion. She wass also paralysed with Vecuronium infusion to optimise ventilation, in the light of the previous difficulties. Jane was also on noradrenaline and actrapid insulin infusion, both of which aimed to maintain homeostasis. She was fed via nasogastric tube with Osmolite 60mls/hr with water 50 mls/hr, the latter because her sodium level had been rising when the serial U+Es were reviewed. I als o noted also her heart rate rising up to 148b/m, and was aware that she had had an episode of SVT on the previous day, with a loading dose of amiodarone having been given on that day. Having noted these findings, I reported to the Doctor that the patient may be dehydrated and need significantly increased fluids, perhaps an IV fluid challenge, as it had been noted that her CVP was declining, that she was hypotensive, and that urine output had started to tail off . This finding was supported by the fact that the patient was tachycardic. In response, the doctor prescribed 500mls of Gelofusin and an amiodarone infusion for 24 hours to be restarted. The care of this patient involved frequent, close observations, and these were what initially alerted me to the changes in the patient’s condition. The reduced central venous pressure was the first indicator, which was accompanied by consistently low blood pressure readings. This was despite the patient being medicated with noradrenaline, which should have brought about an increase in blood pressure and CVP. These, accompanied by the tachycardia, made me wonder whether the patient might be dehydrated, quite severely. The plan for the shift then became to give the patient a fluid challenge, in the form of the Gelofusin infusion, and to optimise her electrolyte levels, monitor and correct her pc02, and improve her positioning to improve V/Q mismatch. It was my responsiblity to report to the doctor or nurse co-ordinator if there were any untoward changes with the patients observations. There were a lot of issues surrounding the care of such a patient, and I believed that I was making decisions based upon previous experiences, a degree of previously developed innate knowledge, and other knowledge, including empirical knowledge. However, I also felt that it was hard to combine all the observations, results, care plans, orders and the like into an overall consciousness of the patient’s current condition. This leads into the next section of the reflection, that of personal knowing. PERSONAL KNOWING: The personal knowing relates to some innate knowledge, and this is based on experience. I have in past practice previously looked after patients who were haemodymically unstable and needed prompt intervention. In fact, I felt a degree of confidence with this kind of patient. However, this was different to having to look after a long term complicated case, a woman who had demonstrated such difficulty to ventilate (due to broncho- spasm/air trapping), was challenging. The fact that the patient was paralysed, with a vecuronium infusion was something entirely new to me, which caused concern and a little distress. However, from my previous experience I felt very strongly that thei patient might require fluid challenge due to the observations already discussed. I was concerned that day if it was left untreated for much longer, Jane patient might develop metabolic acidosis, and potentially acute renal failure due to hypoperfusion and hypovolaemic shock due to the decrease in circulating volume. I identified this as an opportunity to be proactive, and although everyone around me seemed more concerned with oxygen pressures and ventilation, I felt that it was important to consider other aspects of the patient’s condition as well. ETHICAL KNOWING Ethical knowing in this case was very acute, because of the level of dependence of the patient, who was dependent on nursing and medical staff for every one of her activities of daily living. Addressing one of these needs that I sensed other staff may have overlooked meant that I was able to be proactive. Discussing with the doctor that the patient might need a fluid challenge made me feel that I had acted as an advocate for my patient, but also that I had made good use of the knowledge I already had, even if I did not feel I had enough specialist knowledge to address some of the patient needs. The patient’s social and emotional needs were also an important part of ethical knowing. Jane lives alone, and her sister is her next of kin. Her sister kept calling the unit for any changes, although she was already updated by the medical team every day, and talking with the sister helped to ensure that I was aware of Jane as a person, and also able to make sure that those who needed t o know were involved as much as possible in her care. EMPIRICAL KNOWING. I was aware that institution of high level of PEEP in the ventilator decreases blood return to the heart and cardiac output as the PEEP ventilation generates positive intrathoracic pressure. However, the symptoms persistently suggested hypovolaemia (Kelly, 2005). I was also aware of other issues, such as the need to increase oxygen pressure, but the ABG tests carried out every six hours demonstrated good oxygen pressures. However, I had to learn about the implications of ventilation on the cardiovascular system. â€Å"Ventilation can profoundly alter cardiovascular function via complex, conflicting, and often opposite processes. These processes reflect the interaction between myocardial reserve, ventricular pump function, circulating blood volume, blood flow distribution, autonomic tone, endocrinologic responses, lung volume, intrathoracic pressure (ITP), and the surrounding pressures for the remainder of the circulation†. (Pinsky, 2005 p 592s). One of the most significant issues surrounding empirical knowing in this case was the need to understand all the potential complications of having a patient in such a condition, paralysed and receiving the high levels of PEEP in order to maintain ventilation. The literature shows that there are a number of issues surrounding mechanical ventilation. For example, Putenson et al 2006) state that mechanical ventilation generates an increase in airway pressure and, therefore, an increase in intrathoracic pressure, which may decrease systemic and intra-abdominal organ perfusion, which may have significant effects on homeostasis an organ function. Critically ill patients can therefore develop a systemic inflammatory response that culminates in multiple-organ dysfunction syndrome and death, which suggests that the symptoms that Jane was displaying, and the findings from the electrolyte levels, could have been related to a more serious bodily response to mechanical ventilation. I did not know about this possible response to mechanical ventilation, until I carried out a literature search, and so would not have been aware that the findings were possibly linked to this kind of serious response. Kollef (2004) suggests that for all patients who are intubated/ventilated, there are a number evidence-based interventions which focus on the prevention of aerodigestive tract colonization which can result in one of the serious complications of ventilation, that of ventilator-associated pneumonia. These include avoidance of unnecessary antibiotics, stress ulcer prophylaxis, chlorhexidine oral rinse, selective digestive decontamination, short-course parenteral prophylactic antibiotics in high-risk patients, and the prevention of aspiration of contaminated secretions, with preferred oral intubation, appropriate intensive care unit staffing, avoidance of tracheal intubation with the use of mask ventilation, application of weaning protocols and optimal use of sedation to shorten the duration of mechanical ventilation, semirecumbent positioning, minimization of gastric distension, subglottic suctioning, avoidance of ventilator circuit changes/manipulation, and routine drainage of ventilat or circuit condensate (Kollef, 2004). Obviously a key element of empirical knowing for me in this situation is about the haemodynamic monitoring, which has been so important in assessing this patient (Pinsky, 2003). The literature says that ongoing and dynamic haemodynamic monitoring is important in judging the response to the treatment, including the fluid challenge (Hadian and Pinsky, 2007). Michard (2005) states that â€Å"mechanical ventilation induces cyclic changes in vena cava blood flow, pulmonary artery blood flow, and aortic blood flow. At the bedside, respiratory changes in aortic blood flow are reflected by â€Å"swings† in blood pressure whose magnitude is highly dependent on volume status.† ( p 419). Another element however that is very important is the administration of the fluid challenge. Fluid challenges are common in a range of nursing situations (Vincent and Weil, 2006). According to Michard (2005), â€Å"the expected hemodynamic response to a fluid challenge is an increase in cardiac preload and, according to the Frank-Starling mechanism, an increase in stroke volume and cardiac output† (p 423). This should be evident in a blood pressure increase and a reduced heart rate. However, there is the danger of fluid overload, and therefore administering a fluid challenge must be carried out carefully. Vincent and Weil (2006) propose that fluid challenges should follow a protocol should include four variables: the type of fluid administered; the rate of fluid administration; the critical end points; and the safety limits. The choice of fluid was gelofusine, which is a colloidal fluid useful for volume replacement because of its unique properties (Vincent and Weil, 2006), Vincent and Weil (2006) state that using a structured approach to fluid challenges would be best, in order to correct fluid deficits and minimize the risks associated with fluid overload. It is important to monitor patient response closely (Vincent and Weil, 2006). When gelofusine was given her CVP increased and blood pressure and urine output improved. Her potassium, magnesium sulphate and Phosphate were topped up during my shift, and electrolyte levels were stable. Her heart rate went down to 110bpm since amiodarone infusion was restarted. She was on a few other medications, which potentially affect the potassium levels such as hydrocortisone, insulin actrapid infusion, salbutamol nebuliser and theophyline via NGT, which in addition can also cause arrrhythmias. REFLEXIBILITY. I learned a lot about basic nursing care activities, and in particular, the importance of time management. Time management is an important element of managing such a complex case, because it requires specific measurements, observations and recordings at specific times, whilst also managing emergent issues, maintaining records, and liaison with other members of the multidisciplinary team. Good patient assessment also emerged as a key learning point, and promoting a safe working environment, particularly in relation to all the aspects of care that posed challenges, such as managing drains, lines, infusion machines, monitoring morphine as a controlled substance, and also keeping contemporaneous records. These were all very challenging and made me feel under pressure to somehow keep juggling all the different tasks and demands, and still have time to reflect and think about the overall picture. Record keeping helped with this, but it seemed that critical care of such a patient requires t he development of specific capabilities, which must mean that such multi-tasking and multi-awareness gets easier over time. The level of vigilance required in order to anticipate and be ready for any emergent changes in Jane’s condition was significant, and required a great deal of concentration and focus. I also learned that it was important to work with confidence and collaborate with the multidisciplinary team. However, maintaining communication with the team was very difficult given all the demands on my time. One of the issues here was also whether or not Jane still needed mechanical ventilation, and during this shift, there was no discussion of when or whether she would be weaned off the ventilator. As she was paralysed, there was no indication of whether or not she would be trying to breathe with the ventilator, and how good her respiratory function might be. 12 days on the ventilator is a significant amount of time, and some literature suggests that earlier weaning from ventilator support may be possible in a lot of cases (Dasta et al, 2005). However, there was no indication of this, but similarly, there was no indication that this was a palliative care case (Mularski et al, 2006). If I had had more knowledge and understanding of this kind of nursing, and in particular, of the details and implications of Jane’s condition, I might have considered whether or not, as her advocate, I should be asking about the continued need for ventilation, particularly in the light of other possible approaches, such as non-invasive ventilation (Don et al, 2007). My discussions with other, more experienced members of staff, however, showed that the kinds of knowledge that most informed their care in this situation were experiential knowledge developed over a significant period of time. Therefore, it seemed to me that the empirical knowledge discusses above needed to be tempered with experience, which includes the experiences that come from working with more experienced and knowledgeable colleagues. Another issue which arose was about learning how much of my nursing practice is based upon good communication skills and developing a relationship with the patient, neither of which were useful or appropriate in this case. Although communication with ventilated patients is a focus of critical care nursing (Bergbom-Engberg, and Haljam, 1993), in this case I found it strange to work without including the patient in my care, whilst I also realised that the patient needed my advocacy more than any other, because they could not be involved or speak for themselves. However, the role of the critical care nurse in managing mechanical ventilation is something which became very apparent during this experience. The literature shows that critical care nurses have high levels of autonomy and responsibility in relation to mechanical ventilation, and that â€Å"critical care nurses were responsible for the majority of the decision episodes that resulted in a change to ventilator settings, ranging in complexity from the simple titration of FIO2 to a decision to commence weaning† (Rose et al, 2007 p 440). CONCLUSION This reflection has looked at the care of a client in the critical care nursing sector, who, after an infective exacerbation of COPD had to have a tracheostomy and be ventilated. I identified potential markers of dehydratrion, and presented these conclusions to the doctor in charge, who prescribed regulatory medication and a fluid challenge with Gelofusine. I administered the fluid challenge, infusing at the prescribed rate of 500 mls over 2 hours, and noted an improvement in central venous pressure, blood pressure and mean arterial pressure. An improvement in hourly urine output was also noted. It was also important to monitor electrolyte balance, and arterial blood gases, all of which improved with therapeutic intervention. The care of the client highlighted a number of issues for me as a nurse. The first is the value of this kind of reflection in highlighting my knowledge and my learning processes. Gustafson and Fagerberg (2004) highlight how important structured reflection is to professional development, and in this case, using a structured process of reflection has highlighted my knowledge base, learning needs, learning process, and the application of nursing knowledge which is more than empirical knowledge, to a specific clinical scenario. Jones (1995) suggests that reflection is a part of the development of true nursing expertise. This has proved to be correct in relation to the learning that has occurred during this reflection. It has shown that understanding the effects of mechanical ventilation required more than simply monitoring observations and test values, but understanding that ventilation can affect cardiovascular function, and that this can be affected by haemodynamic status. Although pre vious knowledge and experience indicated that the patient’s condition was likely due to hypovolaemia (potentially secondary to dehydration), there were a number of other mechanisms that might have affected this. It also became apparent that the role of the nurse in this situation is more than to simply monitor vital signs and infusions, ventilator functions, urine output and general wellbeing, attending to the activities of daily living. When a patient is paralysed and ventilated, unconscious due to sedation, the role of the nurse is to act in their stead, in their best interests, to be their advocate and to ensure plans of care are implemented which not only meet patient needs but anticipate them. Rolfe (2005) describes reflective practice as a deconstructive process, which allows nurses to question practice and ways of working. This process has identified a range of nursing issues related to this case, and shown that nothing is a simple matter of managing one condition in critical care nursing, it is part of an overall focus on patient-centred care. References Bergbom-Engberg, I. and Haljam, H. (1993) The communication process with ventilator patients in the ICU as perceived by the nursing staff. Intensive and Critical Care Nursing 9 (1) 40-59. Bridges, E.J. (2008) Arterial Pressure-Based Stroke Volume and Functional Hemodynamic Monitoring. Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing. 23(2):105-112. This article is not included in your organizations subscription. However, you may be able to access this article under your organizations agreement with Elsevier. Dasta, J.F., McLaughlin, T.P., Mody, S.H. and Piech, C.T. (2005) Daily cost of an intensive care unit day: The contribution of mechanical ventilation. Critical Care Medicine. 33(6):1266-1271. Don, D.S., Wong, E., Mayers, I. et al (2007) Effects of nocturnal non-invasive mechanical ventilation on heart rate variability of patients with advanced COPD. Chest 131 156-163. Gustafsson, C. and Fagerberg, I. (2004) Reflection: the way to professional development? Journal of Clinical Nursing 13 271-280. Hadian, M. and Pinksy, M.R. (2007) Functional hemodynamic monitoring. Current Opinion in Critical Care. 13(3):318-323. Jones, P.R. (1995) Hindsight bias in reflective practice: an empirical investigation. Journal of Advanced Nursing 21 (4) 783–788. Kelley, D. (205) Hypovolemic Shock: An Overview. Critical Care Nursing Quarterly. 28(1):2-19. Kollef, M.H. (2004) Prevention of hospital-associated pneumonia and ventilator-associated pneumonia. Critical Care Medicine. 32(6):1396-1405. Michard, F. (2005) Changes in arterial pressure during mechanical ventilation. Anesthesiology 103 419-428. Mularski, R.A., Curtis, J.R., Billings, J.A. et al (2006) Proposed quality measures for palliative care in the critically ill: A consensus from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Critical Care Workgroup. Critical Care Medicine. Improving the Quality of End-of-Life Care in the ICU. 34(11) Suppl:S404-S411. Pinsky, M.R. (2005) Cardiovascular Issues in Respiratory Care. Chest 2005;128 592-597. Pinsky, M.R. (2003) Hemodynamic monitoring in the intensive care unit Clinics in Chest Medicine 24 (4) Pages 549-560 Polanco, P.M. and Pinsky, M.R. (2006) Practical Issues of Hemodynamic Monitoring at the Bedside Surgical Clinics of North America 86 (6) 1431-1456 This article is not included in your organizations subscription. However, you may be able to access this article under your organizations agreement with Elsevier. Putensen, C., Wrigge, H. and Herin, R. (2006) The effects of mechanical ventilation on the gut and abdomen. Current Opinion in Critical Care. 12(2):160-165. Rolfe, G. (2005) The deconstructing angel: nursing, reflection and evidence-based practice Nursing Inquiry 12 (2), 78–86. Rose, L, Nelson, S., Johnston, L. and Presneill, J.J. (2007) Decisions made by critical care nurses during mechanical ventilation andweaning in an australian intensive care unit. American Journal Of Critical Care, 16 (5) 43-54. Vincent, J-L. and Weil, M.H. (2006) Fluid challenge revisited. Critical Care Medicine. 34(5):1333-1337.

Atomic Bomb Essay -- essays research papers

The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, on August 6, 1945. The world would never be the same. This paper will discuss the significance of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and how they led to the success of the Allied forces. It will also discuss how the United States developed the atomic bomb, the decision to drop the bomb, the weakening of Japan, the actual bombing an destruction of both cities, the surrender of Japan and the impact the atomic bomb would have in the future. During World War II, the United States was afraid that Germany would develop the atomic bomb first. Germany had taken over Norway, which was a heavy water supply and Czechoslovakia, which was a uranium supply. Both of these, water and uranium, were needed to make the atomic bomb. Therefore, the United States initiated a top secret program called the Manhattan Project. Even the Vice President didn't know about this project. The Manhattan Project cost over 2 billion dollars. Yet, Congress never voted to fund this program (Hoare, 1987, 10-14). Roosevelt authorized scientists to find out if an atomic bomb could be built. On December 2, 1942, scientists working in a secret laboratory under the bleachers of a football field in Chicago achieved the first man-made nuclear reaction. An atomic bomb could now be developed. Many scientists and other skilled workers participated in the making of the first atomic bomb. However, only few knew what they were making. In 1944, after D-Day, the Alsos (a troop sent to find how far the Germans had come in the building of the atomic bomb) radioed back that they had given up in their attempt to make it. Still, despite scientists' pleas with the President to discontinue it, the U.S. maintained the work on their atomic bomb (Conrad, 1982, 12-16). In Alamogordo, New Mexico, on July 16, 1945, the first atomic bomb was detonated in the desert. The bomb was much more explosive than scientists thought it would be. The 100 foot tower which housed the bomb was totally destroyed by the blast. ("World War II", 1997, 1-2). After the bomb exploded, Robert Oppenheimer, the head of the Manhattan Project, said, "Behold. I have become death, destroyer of worlds." (Hoare, 1987, 18) When Harry Trum... ...p; The United States, as well as the Allied forces, saved many lives by dropping the atomic bomb. The dropping of the atomic bomb, even though it killed hundreds of thousands Japanese people, saved more Americans and other Allied soldiers that would have been killed in battle. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki may not have been exciting battles, but they may have been the most important weapons used in World War II. If Japan had not surrendered, more atomic bombs may have been dropped and it would be very significant that the United States had made them. Even though only two were dropped, they killed many Japanese, making the government fearful that more would be dropped if they did not surrender (Conrad, 1982, 20-22). When looking back upon the six years of World War II, the three days surrounding the dropping of the bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki had far greater impact than all of the battles preceding them. The destruction they wrought far surpassed anything ever seen before. As cited in this paper, the atomic bombs, Fat Man and Little Boy, were pivotal to the success of the Allied forces.