Digital investigation in the organisation Essay

Digital investigation in the organisation - Essay Example Different models of operation used depend on the complexity of the situation (Marshall, 2009). Digital investigations arise as a result of an occurrence suspected, attempted or actual in an organization. The occurrences can be triggered by internal and external factors and can cause considerable damage or loss to an organization directly or indirectly. For instance a. Abuse of the organizations resources such as internet b. Fraud and distortion c. Unauthorized access by employees d. Sexual harassment or display of indecent or pornographic material e. Breach of contracts f. Departmental misuse g. Security breach A contingency plan should be devised to mitigate such incidences. A framework formulated will prepare for both low frequency/high impact as well as high frequency/low impact events in the organization. This paper details investigation procedure at Salford university school of computing science and Engineering. Our case study will focus on server intrusion in the university sch ool department. An incident of server intrusion to the university system occurred, and a contingency plan formulated to authenticate the suspicion, respond and analyze the incident. Due to the delicate nature of digital evidence improper handling may lead to damaged or compromised data. The idea of having to start an investigation in this department can lead to a crisis. Proper procedures need to be laid down to manage the crisis. There are general questions, which the CFA will need to address in order to carry out the investigation successfully. a) Who should the initial suspicions or observations be reported? b) Access of quality evidence? c) Identification and acquisition of relevant digital evidence? d) How the university can operate effectively during the period of investigation without creating a crisis which might be worse than the one investigated? e) The legal obligations of the university needed during the investigation and association with external law enforcement agencie s f) The role of management in determining the direction of the investigation and the possible incidence of biasness. A digital investigation divided into different stages according to the model adopted. Researchers at the U. S. Air Force studied various models and came up with common characteristics that characterize these models. They then incorporated them in a single model known as Abstract Process Model. It contains different phases; this model has 17 phases classified into 5 major groups (Gilbert Peterson, 2009). a. Preparation b. Deployment c. Physical crime scene d. Digital crime scene e. Analysis The data flow diagram above show a simplified process of forensic investigation. The first stage involves a number of activities. First, the computer or the system to be investigated should be on. If the student uses password, then the CFA has to look for a way to open it. There is a universal password that opens locked computers without tempering with the files. The second stage i nvolves application of different forensic tools to retrieve data from the computer memory. The tools used should enable the CFA to retrieve deleted data from the recycle bin. During this process, the computer being investigated should be cordoned. The third stage involves application of different physical investigation models to the computer. These include taking the finger prints on the keyboard and mouse. Any other information that may help the CFA is taken. Before the information is analyzed, the forensic expert should check the accuracy, integrity and

Strategy and the Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Strategy and the Strategic Management - Essay Example Knowing the firm’s external environment is important in the strategic management process because it affects how value is generated and how activities could be carried out under the influence of technological change, demographic trends, cultural trends, the economic climate, legal and political conditions, and other global events. Using the structure-conduct-performance (S-C-P) model allows a systematic analysis of the firm and its environment. This model: (1) helps a firm identify the attributes of its industry’s structure that constrains the firm’s strategic alternatives and performance, (2) helps it decide how to conduct itself by crafting the most appropriate strategies, and (3) take into account the performance of the firm, the industry, or the economy. The S-C-P model helps a firm develop the tools it can use to analyze threats in its competitive environment. The â€Å"five forces framework† is a tool that looks at five threats to the firm.These threats affect the firm, its performance, and how its competitors would react, thereby helping the firm determine what strategies it needs to develop and execute to overcome problems arising from each of these forces. Complementors are another important force that a firm has to contend with because these firms add value to the firm’s products. A firm can use compliments as a means of gaining an advantage over other competitors, e.g. Microsoft encouraging software companies to develop games for its X-box game player instead of developing games for its competitors. The S-C-P model can also help firms analyze strategic opportunities by identifying generic industry structures and available strategic opport

The Internet Addiction Media Essay

The Internet Addiction Media Essay In recent years, internet addiction has been a world-wide problem among the youth. Many of them may sit in front of the computer to play online game; chat with others for the whole day without resting. Those prolonged activities bring a lot of destructive effect to them both Internet can be very constructive, but we must be conscious how much time we spend on it on a daily basis. People are addicted to the internet since they do not control the amount of time they spend on it. It is important to have other interests apart from the internet. Today, surfing the Web has become a hobby as social and marketable as bar hopping or going to the movies. As the web has become a part of mainstream life, some mental health professionals have noted that a percentage of people using the web do so in a compulsive and out-of-control manner. In Japan (Aril 2010), a 30-year-old man who is addicted to internet killed his father and his 1 year-old niece because of his father terminated the contract of internet broadband. He then set up a fire and burnt his house. In this case, 2 people died and 3 people injured. This phenomenon of obsessive Internet use has been termed Internet Addiction based on its similarity to common addictions such as smoking, drinking, and gambling. Internet Addiction has even been championed as an actual disorder, notably by some psychologists. Nevertheless, at this time the true nature of Internet Addiction is not yet determined. Because the Internet is used by many people as a normal part of their career or education, knowing how to separate excessive from normal use becomes difficult and cannot using simple measures such as amount of time spent online in a given period. Most fundamental in distinguishing normal from problem Internet use is the experience of compulsion to use the net. Normal users, no matter how heavy their usage, do not need to get online and do not neglect their occupational duties or their relationships with family and friends to get online. Mental health professionals are split as to whether Internet addiction is real or not. No one disputes that some people use the Internet in an obsessive manner even to a point where it interferes with their ability to function at work and in social relationships. What is doubtful is whether people can become addicted to the Internet itself, or rather to the stimulation and information that the web provides. The argument surrounding Internet Addiction is precisely whether people become addicted to the net itself, or to the stimulation to be had via the net, such as online gambling, pornography or even simple communication with others via chat and blogs. Some psychologists do not consider in addiction to the Internet itself, but rather in addiction to stimulation that the Internet provides. They propose that new Internet users often show an initial fascination with the innovation of the Web, but eventually lose interest and reduce their time spent online back to a normal, healthy amount. Those abuser who do go on to show obsessive Internet utilization, for the most part become compulsive only with considering to particular types of information to be had online, mainly often gambling, pornography, chat room or shopping sites. This is not an addiction to the Internet itself, but rather to risk-taking, sex, socializing or shopping. In real meaning, the main addictive characteristic of the Internet is its capability to enable instant and relatively social stimulation. Addicted Internet users are addicted to a favored kind of social stimulation and not to the Internet itself, although it is also true that the Internet has made it easier a nd more convenient for someone to develop such a compulsion. Why peoples especially youth have internet addition? There are some reasons to explain it. By Internal Factors-The background of growth, the family is believed to have a fundamental influence on the developing child. A caregiver who is emotionally and physically available is essential for healthy child and adolescent development. Besides, dysfunctional caregiving, lack of positive parenting skills, and poor family management are strongly associated with substance use and delinquency in youth. Therefore, the youth growth up in poor family will seek alternative to fulfil their psychological needs, it is compensation. The level of compensation is depending on the individual factors such as the degree of self control, emotional control, ability of problem solving, anxiety management. When over compensation, addition will occur. There are some reasons that people choose internet for compensation. From social learning, when adolescents strong developmental needs, such as personal identity, autonomy, and relationships with peers may not be fulfilled through physical activities, t hey may then shed social inhibitions, which leads to Internet addiction (Lin Tsai, 2002), also when they are dissatisfied with their leisure time, they may be motivated to seek excitement and pleasure from cyberspace and therefore raise their level of Internet addiction. Besides, encourage of society and the common use of Internet activities raise the level of Internet addiction. Furthermore, the traditional activities are perceived to be boring and fails to satisfy expected optimal experience, the youth may be motivated to seek another alternative-the Internet. Internet not only fulfills youths psychological needs but also entertainment needs. Lastly, Internet dependency was burden and the youth become habituated by using. Internet addiction is not recognized as a formal mental health disorder. However, mental health professionals who have written about the subject note symptoms or behaviors that, when present in sufficient numbers, may indicate problematic use. These include: Obsession with the Internet: User often thinks about the Internet while he or she is offline.   Loss of control: Addicted users feel unable or unwilling to get up from the computer and walk away. They sit down to check e-mail or look up a bit of information, and end up staying online for hours. Inexplicable sadness or moodiness when not online: Reliance on any substance often causes mood-altering side effects when the addicted user is separated from the substance on which he or she depends. Distraction (Using the Internet as an anti-depressant): One common symptom of many Internet addicts is the compulsion to cheer ones self up by surfing the Web. Dishonesty in regard to Internet use: Addicts may end up lying to employers or family members about the amount of time they spend online, or find other ways to conceal the depth of their involvement with the Internet. Loss of boundaries or inhibitions: While this often pertains to romantic or sexual boundaries, such as sharing sexual fantasies online or participating in cyber sex, inhibitions can also be financial or social. Online gambling sites can cause addicts to blow more money than they would in a real-life casino because users never actually see their money won or lost, so it is easier to believe the money is not real. Chat rooms can incite users to reveal secrets they would not reveal in face-to-face or phone conversations because of the same separation from reality. Also, addicted users are much more likely to commit crimes while online (e.g., hacking) than non-addicts. Creation of virtual intimate relationships with other Internet users: Web-based relationships often cause those involved to spend excessive amounts of time online, attempting to make connections and date around the Net. Loss of a significant relationship due to Internet use: When users spend too much time on the Web, they often neglect their personal relationships. Over time, such relationships may fail as partners simply refuse to be treated badly and break off from relations with the addicted individual. Internet Addiction is not an official disorder, and many mental health professionals are not certain if it ever should be considered a real disorder. Nevertheless, compulsive Internet use is a serious problem for some people, and there are methods that can be helpful in alleviating this problem. Discussion below will describe some of these methods. Internet addiction is a problem of compulsive stimulation, much like drug addiction. Because of this similarity, well studied treatment procedures known to be useful for helping drug addicts towards recovery are adapted for use with Internet addicts when the need arises. The techniques we describe below are drawn from a popular school of therapy known as cognitive-behavioral therapy. Cognitive behavioral forms of therapy are well studied and known to be helpful as applied to many different mental and behavioral difficulties. They are also very practical and focus directly on reducing out of control addict behaviors, and preventing relapse. They are not the only valid forms of therapy, however. In treating drug addiction, frequently the goal of therapy is abstainence. An alcoholic, for example, is often best off if he or she ceases to drink alcohol entirely and to maintain a sober lifestyle. While this makes sense for a drug like alcohol which we might argue is a at best a luxury recreational indulgence and not a necessity, but it doesnt necessarily make sense for Internet over-usage. Much like the telephone, the Internet has become an essential part of modern business. To ask people to not use the Internet at all could be a significant burden for them. Instead of abstainence, then, a reasonable goal for Internet addiction therapy is a reduction in total use of the net. Because Internet addicts by definition will have difficulty moderating their use on their own, therapy techniques can be employed to help them to become more motivated to reduce their use, and to become more conscious of how they get into trouble with the Internet. Motivational Interviewing may be employed to assess how motivated Internet addict may be to change their behavior and to help addicts to increase their motivation to make a lasting change. To accomplish the latter, a therapist may help addicts to develop genuine empathy for the people who are hurt by their addiction (e.g., family and friends, employers, etc.). By helping addicts to see how their actions affect others they care about or are dependent on economically, therapists can help increase addicts motivation to change. Therapists will also generally help addicts to identify triggers that lead to episodes of uncontrolled Internet use. Naive addicts of any type typically believe that their indulgences just happen and that they played little or no role in an episode happening. A more realistic appraisal of an addicts true situation will often reveal that a particular unconscious set of events occurred involving triggers that prompted an addict to binge. Like a noun, a trigger is a person, place or thing that is a step in a chain of events that leads towards a relapse into addict behavior. To provide a fictitious but realistic example, a first trigger might be boredom, or horniness, or even a bad mood brought on by a fight. Addicts seek out their stimulation of choice in response to these triggers, most of the time without ever being all that aware of why they are acting as they do. Therapists will often discuss in detail episodes of indulgence with addicts so that they become conscious of their trigge rs and can choose to act in an alternative fashion when they next become vulnerable. They will also help addicts to generate lists of safer, more functional alternative behaviors they can engage in when they realize they are in danger so that they do not default to their addictive behavior. Part and parcel with identifying triggers, is helping addicts to set realistic goals for their Internet use. It may be that Internet use is important at use, but needs to be restricted at home. It may be that particular websites need to be avoided, but other uses of the Internet are okay. Therapists work with their patients to set realistic and measurable goals for their Internet usage. Patients are then asked to actually record their Internet usage in a log which is used in therapy to track progress. For example, to help reduce the amount of time spent of the Internet, or one specific portion thereof, a user will set a maximum allowed time per day or week. The goal is to keep under this maximumthe farther under, the better. To ensure this goal is met, users can rely on timers or alarms, to monitor how long they have spent online. For example, if an Internet user feels he is spending too much time in chat rooms, he may set a goal to spend no more than two hours per week using the Int ernet for this purpose. He sets a thirty-minute timer for each of the four times per week he wants to use the Internet for chat rooms, and as soon as his timer goes off he exits the chat room. He also records his actual usage on the log so as to see how well he is able to conform to his goal. As anyone can quickly surmise, conforming to goals and logging your behavior is hard, disciplined work that is difficult for many people to sustain on their own. Therapists help patients to sustain this disciplined work by having them give weekly progress reports (either in individual or group therapy settings), or setting up (healthy) rewards that patients can earn when goals have been met for an agreed upon amount of time. Since one of the main draws of the Internet is the secrecy it appears to give, sharing online experiences in the context of offline relationships may discourages a user from hiding in the Internet. Sharing progress in a group therapy session, with a therapist, or with a family member can help motivation to cut back on Internet time. Even with the best intentions, it is easy for an addict to forget to record a lapse, or to simply not bring it up in sessions. Denial and peoples desire to please can be powerful forces to overcome. Objective monitoring can be useful when self-discipline and self-reporting are not enough to keep an addict on the straight and narrow. Regular urine, blood and hair samples are used for this purpose when dealing with drug addicts. With regard to Internet addiction, it is possible to install computer programs designed to monitor where someone surfs and how long they spend there to provide an accurate and objective report of someones surfing behavior. PC software will monitor the kinds and number of websites a person uses and the amount of time spent Web surfing or checking e-mail. Such programs can help compulsive Internet users supervise their own Internet use, but only if they are installed so as to be hard to tamper with. The therapy techniques described above are best delivered by a trained mental health professional in the context of a therapy relationship. A fair amount of self-help literature in the form of books and websites are available for those whose problems are not so demanding, or those who simply wish to be more educated about this problem. See the reading suggestions below, or the Links section of this topic center for suggestions. The bottom line when dealing with Internet Addiction is to identify triggers that lead to problematic use, to set realistic goals for reducing use, and to then stick to and monitor conformance with those goals, sharing this conformity data with someone else to encourage honesty and sticking to the plan.

Artificial Intelligence :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Artificial intelligence is the study of how to makes computers do things which, at the moment, people do better. This definition is vague because of its reference to the current state of computer science. Artificial intelligence is a combination of computer science, physiology and philosophy. AI is a broad topic including many different fields, from machine vision to expert systems. AI can be described as the attempt to build machines that think and act like humans, that are able to learn and to use their knowledge to solve problems on their own. The element that is common in the fields of AI is the creation of machines that can â€Å"think†. Artificial intelligence has come a long way form its early roots, driven by dedicated researches. AI really began to fascinate researches with the invention of the computers in 1943. The technology was finally available, or so it seemed to stimulate intelligent behavior. Over the next four decades, despite many stumbli ng blocks, AI has grown from a dozen researches, to thousands of engineers and specialists; and from programs capable of playing checkers, to system designed to diagnose disease.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The ability to solve any problem no matter how big or small, it measures the intelligence in many different contexts. Intelligent machines cannot really serve any practical purpose unless the computers could cope with the big problem, which people overcome as a matter of routine. AI is a new step that is very helpful to the society. Machines can do jobs that require detailed instructions followed and mental alertness. AI with its learning capabilities can accomplish those tasks but only if the world’s conservatives are ready to change and allow this to be a possibility. There are many capabilities of AI. The more use we get out of the machines he less work is required by us. There would be less injuries and stress to human beings. Human beings learn by trying so we must be prepared to give a chance to AI. There is always that fear if AI is learning based, will machines learn that being rich and successful is a good thing? There are so many things that can g o wrong with a new system so we must be as prepared as we can for this new technology. Research into the areas of learning, of language and of sensory perception has aided scientists in building intelligent machines.

Meno’s Dialogue

I have always been fascinated at the idea of the saying: â€Å"if at first you don’t succeed, try try again. † Learning to me has always been upon the idea of problem solving, that we must attempt to figure out the truth while stumbling upon questions and false answers. In Meno’s dialogue with Socrates, Meno attempts to ask Socrates if virtue can be acquired. Expecting a bold and grand statement as heard upon by his sophist peers from Thessaly, Meno was amazed to hear that Socrates had no clue to his question, even going further by stating that Socrates hasn’t met anyone who knows what virtue is. While in their quest to find out if virtue can be acquired by teaching, they struggle through the logic behind it. Meno points out by defining virtue as a list: â€Å"there will be no difficulty, Socrates, in answering your question. Let us take first the virtue of a man-he should know how to administer the state, and in the administration of it to benefit his friends and harm his enemies. A woman’s virtue, if you wish to know about that, may also be easily described her duty is to order her house, and keep what is indoors, and obey her husband. Every age, every condition of life, young or old, male or female, bond or free, has a different virtue: there are virtues numberless, and no lack of definitions of them; for virtue is relative to the actions and ages of each of us in all that we do†. But Socrates manages to debunk this error with his example of Meno’s list of virtues being like a swarm of bees. A second attempt by Meno makes the same mistake as the first, as Meno manages to say that health is a virtue: â€Å"I should say that health is the same, both in man and woman. A third attempt at defining what virtue also comes up empty handed. After coming up with no luck, Meno states that he feels numb and confused, and this is known in the story as paradox of inquiry. The paradox states that learning isn’t possible, because you either know what you’re looking for or you do not. But rather than being arrogant or simply giving up, Meno manages to listen to what Socrates is about to teach him, unlike the old and conceited politician Anytus, who is insulted after Socrates debunks his theory of â€Å"talking to any gentleman on the streets of Athens to see true irtue† by explaining that not all the sons of well-respected Athenian men turned out to be perfect and well off. Thus, both Socrates and Meno are problem solving to find out if virtue can be taught to an individual by using one of Meno’s slaveboy as an example. Socrates then manages to draw a square with four equal sections and asks the slave to find the length of the side of a square that has an area that’s double in size. As the slave incorrectly attempts to answer time after time the correct answer, it proves to us something about how learning proceeds. The slaveboy manages to figure out the correct answer with Socrates only telling him hints to figure out the problem. We ultimately are not stuck in a paradox and learning is possible by constantly using the dialectic method, that is, constantly questioning oneself. What does all this mean for the nature of reasoning or logos and its importance in coming to know things? It ultimately shows us that mankind wonders for things and are willing to learn, even if they are unknown to them. Even in the ancient days of Athens, people were curious to learn and obtain new knowledge. The way people learn is by through dialectic method, as I mentioned earlier, to have back and forth discussion with your arguer or yourself until you have come to right conclusion or answer. As we have with the slaveboy, he repeatedly wondered and questioned himself until he manages to stumble upon the correct answer, rather than being spoonfed by Socrates. A common analogy to this story I grew up with that’s common to me is the education system I went through in Indonesia and here in the United States. In Indonesia, learning and being spoonfed are both intertwined, as teachers would give you the answer to the questions ahead of time and students are supposed to regurgitate the information back. Here in the United States, more critical thinking comes into play into the education I got here, I was forced to think through for my answers rather than the teacher giving me the answer. As in the story of Meno, such dialectic reasoning or critical thinking is prevalent in trying to find out the truth.

Facebook: Social Network or Social Disaster

Facebook: Social Network or Social Disaster Your busy day is done. You head home open up your laptop or head over to your desktop and turn it on. After impatiently waiting for everything to load on your computer you open up your web browser. You go to the top of the page and type in www. face and arrow down in the drop box to http://www. facebook. com/. As the website loads you wait in anticipation. When the blue bar at the top of the page loads you immediately look to the left hand corner of that bar.You glance over the first icon which is a silhouette of two people. Any friend requests? You then skim over to the next icon, a picture of two message bubbles. They remind you of the ones you would see in a cartoon. Any messages? You then proceed to direct your eyes over to the last icon, the world icon. Any Notifications? You click on these icons and with that click you begin a social interaction with someone. For many people, what I described above is an action they do everyday. Over 500 million people worldwide live their lives on Facebook. † (Fletcher and Ford, 32) After reading this quote I asked myself one question, â€Å"Is it the communication aspect of facebook that causes everyone to be addicted to facebook or is there more to this addiction? † I know I go on Facebook almost everyday without fail but why? Do I go on to communicate and use Facebook as a social network or do I go on it mainly to get the dirt on others and what is going on in their lives?I came to the conclusion that Facebook is definitely a good place to keep in communication with people, however, in many ways, Facebook has definitely been misused and become gossip central. When you think about Facebook what is the first thing that comes to your mind? The first thing for me is friends. Right now I have 933 friends on Facebook and friends are a very important part of everyone’s lives. Facebook, like any other social network, gives you the ability to communicate with frie nds, coworkers, family members, and people from all over the world.You request to be their friend and wait for them to accept that request. There are so many people on Facebook today it would be rare to turn next to the person that sits next to you in math class and for them not to have a Facebook account. It is a very easy way to get in contact with those whom you may not have seen in a while. Old friends that over the years have become acquaintances or even friends that you can’t talk to on a regular basis because they live in a completely different country then you.For many of my high school years I went on missions trips to Mexico to help out at an orphanage down there. I met many different people and as the years went by I looked forward to seeing my long lost friends. Because of Facebook, I no longer have to call them my long lost friends because I can keep in contact with them through Facebook. I think it is great that so many of my friends are on Facebook and this is another way that I can communicate with them. However, one danger of having friends on Facebook is that some of the friends you accept may be quite superficial. Muise, Christofides, Desmarais, 442). I have almost a thousand friends on Facebook do you really think that I am as close to all of them as I am with my best friend? No, that is ridiculous. However, because Facebook is such an open social network and give us many different ways to communicate with others it has a tendency to give us a more open look at life so people tend to share more intimate aspects on life over their facebook status’. It has changed our social DNA, and made us more accustom to openness (Fletcher and Ford, 33).When we share these intimate aspects we are not necessarily thinking, â€Å"I hope everyone sees this. † We are just thinking about the friends we usually interact with on facebook, but the problem is anyone that you have accepted as a friend can see that status change. For example, I am friends with my mother on Facebook and when I asked her what her favorite thing about Facebook was she replied, â€Å"My favorite part about Facebook is that I can look on my kids profile and see what they have been up to. I got a similar response from a friend that said she likes Facebook because it keeps her in on the latest gossip. This is why we need to be careful when on facebook. Not everyone’s intent while on Facebook is to enhance communication. Some people use Facebook as their center for gossip and you never know who has this outlook while interacting over Facebook. Facebook offers many different ways to communicate with others. Status updates is just one of the many different services facebook offers. Status updates are a nice way to communicate what you are doing from a day to day asis or share short quotes that you found interesting. These status updates definitely help communication between people. Another service Facebook offers to communicate with others i s the message service. If you want to have a private conversation with one or more people you can use the message service. This message service is somewhat like an email in the sense that you can send and receive messages that no one but the intended recipient can see. This is helpful if you want to plan a surprise party for some one and only want certain people to know about it.This service is a very good way to have an intimate conversation with others, and I think that it is a very good service. However, many people don’t use the message box as much as they should. This creates problems over Facebook. Another conversation method that is used on facebook is posting on others wall. The only problem with this is that everyone can see your wall. This can create many social mishaps. â€Å"While social networks sites provide the opportunity to reunite with long lost friends, they also allow people to make their information public within their circle of friends. (Muise, Christof ides, Desmarais, 442) Anyone that is your friend can look at your wall posts and read into it wrong and start a huge rumor about you that ruins your reputation. It is that easy for a simple post on Facebook to be turned into a rumor and soon enough it will be all over your wall and all your friends will see it, making Facebook a center for gossip. That is why I believe if the wall posting service is used unwisely it can turn Facebook into a social disaster waiting to happen. Facebook makes it easy to see what is going on in everyone lives.It gives you notifications when anyone does something such as post on your wall or make a comment on your status or pictures. On your home page it gives you a play by play of what everyone of your friends are doing over Facebook. It tells you when they are online so if you wanted to have a brief conversation with them you could just click on their picture icon and a little chat box will pop up. Also on the home page all your friend’s status changes will be listed on it and you can freely comment or like them whenever you would like.I think these notifications are very helpful ways to quickly send out a conversation to someone so you can keep up a relationship with someone even when our lives are hectic and we don’t have time to sit down with them for coffee. However, Facebook is very addicting. Tynee Seno from the Philippines quotes, â€Å"On average, I spend about four hours a day on Facebook- more time then I spend outside. † (Facebook and You, 34) From personal experience, I can suspect that Tynee is not just conversing with others over facebook for the whole four hours he is on Facebook everyday.When I spend an overwhelming amount of time on Facebook I’m usually looking for an â€Å"in†. I don’t know how many times I have read something over Facebook and went immediately to my phone to text someone about what I had read over facebook. â€Å"Did you see what she posted on his wall ? † And as simple as that, another gossip chain has begun. For many, it is not intentional to start this gossip chain. As humans, we are just very curious beings and sometime I even believe that jealousy can get involved. â€Å"Facebook may expose an individual to potentially jealousy-provoking information. (Muise, Christofides, and Desmarais, 443) Like I said before, we don’t do this on purpose. It is just in our human nature to do this. However, I want to encourage you that next time you read something on Facebook that wasn’t meant for you to read, instead of going and sharing it with the world, try to look past it. Just think how you would feel if you posted something without thinking who all would see your post and it ended up getting spread around in a nasty rumor. If we can avoid this we can avoid making Facebook a place where simple socialization can turn into a disaster.So my advice is, next time you sit down at that computer and go straight to Facebook be careful because you wouldn’t want a simple post to be the start of a social disaster. I think that overall Facebook has great potential in helping people communicate with others. It helps me communicate with people from Mexico by allowing me to be friends with whomever I want, as well as helping me keep in touch with people through its different venues for communicating with people. I think that Facebook is a great social network, however, I believe that it can be made into a social disaster if it were to be misused.Works Cited â€Å"Facebook and You. (Cover story). † Time 175. 21 (2010): 34-35. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 2 Nov. 2010. Fletcher, Dan, and Andrea Ford. â€Å"Friends Without Borders. (Cover story). † Time 175. 21 . (2010): 32-38. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 2 Nov. 2010. Muise, Amy, Emily Christofides, and Serge Desmarais. â€Å"More Information than You Ever Wanted: Does Facebook Bring Out the Green-Eyed Monster of Jealousy?. † CyberPsychology & Behavior 12. 4 (2009): 441-444. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 2 Nov. 2010

class differences in WW2 lit essays

class differences in WW2 lit essays In nearly every culture, certain distinctions exist which elevate particular members of society above others. These distinctions may be based upon age, wisdom, ancestry, gender or profession, but more often than not, class lines seem to be drawn on the basis of wealth. While the existence of these status groups may be harmless, when prejudice prevents the movement of individuals or social groups between and within classes, valuable human resources are being put to waste. This issue was of concern during the First World War. While the class system in place in Western Europe did allow for a certain amount of social mobility, distinctions among classes were nonetheless evident and well defined. Both Erich Maria Remarques All Quiet on the Western Front and Evadne Prices Not So Quiet... call attention to the idea that social position should be of little or no significance in the face of wartimes human pain, suffering and death. In All Quiet, the main character, a young German named Paul Baumer, enlists in the army. Initially, in his company, two distinct classes of individuals exist. Paul and his four schoolmates are well educated and of a higher station in life. They are still teenagers, fresh from school, and have volunteered for the war. The other group consists of peasants and common laborers. In the beginning of the novel the reader is made keenly aware of the differences between the two groups as Paul introduces the characters. Paul mentions his fellow classmates first. This ordering lends the idea that Paul thinks more highly of his classmates than he does of the other less-educated soldiers. The differentiation is further heightened by the syntax used. The common soldiers are described in an entirely different paragraph from the educated boys. Standing in the mess line, Paul says that close behind us were our friends (Remarque 3). Not only are these men physically behind in the line, the...

Hewitt Packard Business Overview

Hewitt Packard Business Overview Free Online Research Papers Discuss the three most serious problems you have identified in the case. Defend why you think they are the most serious. One of the Hewlett-Packard’s most serious problems is its lack of management. CEO Carly Fiorina didn’t provide enough direction. The strategic vision she was using to guide the company was unclear, and nobody in the company has any idea if it was being carried-out or not. Without a well-defined strategic vision for the company, employees had no motivation and no sense of organizational purpose. As a result it can lead to a number of symptoms such as poor image, slow growth and a decline in sales, which is a direct connection to lack of leadership and imprecise strategic vision. The second of the H-P’s most serious problems was its confusing matrix structure, which blurred accountability lines and slowed decision-making. A matrix structure focuses on integrated teams and involves reporting to multiple managers. It can be highly effective, but it can be confusing to work within and it can also create conflict between project bosses in different parts of the matrix. According to Williams (2011), some of the common problems are disagreements or misunderstandings about schedules, budgets, available resources, and the availability of employees with particular functional expertise. A matrix structure requires a high level of coordination to manage complexity involved with running large, ongoing projects at various levels of completion and it also requires much more management skill than the other forms of organizational structure. The third of the most serious problem was the H-P’s reward system because it was so complicated and no one understood how performance affected his or her bonuses. A reward system does not have to be complex; it should be clear and simple in order to get the best results. Leonard (1994) refers to Jerry McAdams notations, which state as follows: â€Å"an employer needs to keep performance measures simple and select only whats important. A complicated and convoluted measurement system will lead to a complicated and convoluted reward system Describe how the company should attempt to correct each of the three most serious problems. In order to correct the under management problem, Hewlett-Packard has already taken the first step, which was to replace the current CEO, Carly Fiorina, with Mark Hurd. In order to succeed, the company needed a leader like Mike Hurd with a different leadership style, someone who focuses on a clear strategic vision, mission, goals, and objectives. A leader who could be able to turn H-P’s vague strategic vision it into something more precise and also make sure the company’s strategy is being properly executed. With respect to the confusing matrix structure, I agree with the tactic CEO Mark Hurd implemented to correct this type of operational issue, which had H-P’s single sales division reporting to four or five division heads at once. Hurd divided up the sales division, so that each of the major H-P product divisions had its own dedicated sales division. It seems that the matrix structure was not working for Hewlett-Packard; therefore it needed an immediate corrective action in order to appoint clear accountability lines and speed up decision-making. Hewlett-Packard should attempt to correct its complex reward system problem by implementing simplifications to it. Because of this complex bonus system, talented executives were leaving and the company was having trouble attracting new ones. A reward system should be intended to attract and retain suitable employees, to maintain and improve performance, and to maintain commitment to the organization. It should be a method of motivating employees to change work habits and key behaviors and it should be simple and easy to understand by them. Mark Hurd solved this issue by linking the bonuses directly to divisional and company performance, which I think was the best way of solving this issue. Recommend a leadership style or combination of initiating structure and consideration the CEO should adopt to address the problems of distrust and declining morale. Explain your answer. In order to address the problems of distrust and declining morale, CEO Mark Hurd should adopt a combination of leadership styles such as the relationship-oriented leadership style and the supportive leadership style. According to Fiedler theory, leaders under the relationship-oriented leadership style must be people-oriented. In other words, they need to focus more on the needs of the people and the organization they are guiding and focus less on their own needs. Fiedler points out that the effectiveness of a leader depends on a range of situational factors such as leader-member relations, task structure, and position power. Leader-member relations are the most important situational factor. â€Å"It refers to how well followers respect, trust, and like their leaders. When leader-member relations are good, followers will trust the leader and there is a friendly work atmosphere.† (Williams, 2011). Murray (2009) suggests that leadership should be adapted to the particular dema nds of the situation, the particular requirements of the people involved and the particular challenges facing the organization. One way of addressing the problems of distrust and declining morale should be adopting the supportive leadership style, suggested by the path-goal theory. The path-goal theory states that a leaders behavior is contingent to the satisfaction, motivation and performance of his/her followers. Leaders who show the way and help followers along a path are effectively leading. Leaders need to provide coaching, guidance, support, rewards necessary for effective work performance, and they must complement and not duplicate the characteristics of followers’ work environments. (Williams,2011). The CEO should also adopt the supportive leadership by considering the needs of the follower, showing concern for their welfare and creating a friendly working environment. This includes increasing the followers self-esteem and making the job more interesting. This approach is best when the work is stressful, boring or hazardous. (House Mitchell, 1974). The results of adopting this leadership style would be performance improvement and job stress reduction. It would also improve relations and trust between employees and leaders. By implementing or adopting these leadership styles, employees at Hewlett-Packard will no longer feel that they are working for the leader, but with the leader. After having examined all of the issues facing HP, recommend whether the CEO should focus on the approach to the current strategy or on implementation and execution. Defend your decision. I would definitely recommend that the CEO should focus on implementation and execution. Execution Management is essentially defined as translating your strategy into reality. It is not just accomplishing a task or a goal, but also to achieve the underlying business objectives. It has to enable a constant review and fine-tuning of your strategy. A good execution management will focus on WHAT as well as HOW of an achievement. The main reason the board hired the new CEO was because of his focus on execution (management). By focusing on implementation and execution, the CEO was able to successfully transform the company from a struggling, dysfunctional corporation into a well-structured and profitable corporation. Under his work style, Mark Hurd was able to work with the lower divisional levels to make sure operations were running smoothly. He was able to recast the CEO Fiorina’s strategy vision into something more concrete, offering specific visionary purposes. He tackled the confusing matrix structure by dividing up the sales division, so that each of the major H-P product divisions had its own dedicated sales division. He simplified the complex reward system by linking bonuses directly to divisional and company performance. He proved to match more closely to the traditional â€Å"H-P Way†, which was friendly, approachable, and supportive of its employees. Finally, within two years of Hurd t aking the CEO position, sales increased by $10 billion, and the stock price rose 80 percent. Research Papers on Hewitt Packard Business OverviewThe Project Managment Office SystemIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesOpen Architechture a white paperBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfResearch Process Part OneRiordan Manufacturing Production PlanAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductEffects of Television Violence on Children

Long and Short Vowel Sounds

Long and Short Vowel Sounds Vowels and consonants are two types of letters in the English alphabet. A vowel sound is created when air flows smoothly, without interruption, through the throat and mouth. Different vowel  sounds are produced as a speaker changes the shape and placement of articulators (parts of the throat and mouth). In contrast, consonant sounds happen when the flow of air is obstructed or interrupted. If this sounds confusing, try making the â€Å"p† sound and the â€Å"k† sound. You will notice that in creating the sound you have manipulated your mouth and tongue to briefly interrupt airflow from your throat. Consonant sounds have a distinct beginning and end, while vowel sounds flow. The pronunciation of each vowel is determined by the position of the vowel in a syllable, and by the letters that follow it. Vowel sounds can be short, long, or silent. Short Vowels If a word contains only one vowel, and that vowel appears in the middle of the word, the vowel is usually pronounced as a short vowel. This is especially true if the word is very short. Examples of short vowels in one-syllable words include the following: AtBatMatBetWetLedRedHitFixRobLotCupBut This rule can also apply to one-syllable words that are a bit longer: RantChantSleptFledChipStripFlopChug When a short word with one vowel ends in s, l, or f, the end consonant is doubled, as in: BillSellMissPassJiffCuff If there are two vowels in a word, but the first vowel is followed by a double consonant, the vowels sound is short, such as: MatterCannonRibbonWobbleBunny If there are two vowels in a word and the vowels are separated by two or more letters, the first vowels is usually short, for example: LanternBasketTicketBucket Long Vowels The long vowel sound is the same as the name of the vowel itself. Follow these rules: Long A sound is AY as in cake.Long E sound is EE an in sheet.Long I sound is AHY as in like.Long O sound is OH as in bone.Long U sound is YOO as in human or OO as in crude. Long vowel sounds are often created when two vowels appear side by side in a syllable. When vowels work as a team to make a long vowel sound, the second vowel is silent. Examples are: RainSeizeBoatToadHeap A double â€Å"e† also makes the long vowel sound: KeepFeelMeek The vowel â€Å"i† often makes a long sound in a one-syllable word if the vowel is followed by two consonants: BlightHighMindWildPint This rule does not apply when the â€Å"i† is followed by the consonants th, ch, or sh, as in: FishWishRichWith A long vowel sound is created when a vowel is followed by a consonant and a silent â€Å"e† in a syllable, as in: StripeStakeConcedeBiteSizeRodeCute The long â€Å"u† sound can sound like yoo or oo, such as: CuteFluteLutePruneFumePerfume Most often, the letter â€Å"o† will be pronounced as a long vowel sound when it appears in a one-syllable word and is followed by two consonants, as in these examples: MostPostRollFoldSold A few exceptions occur when the â€Å"o† appears in a single syllable word that ends in th or sh: PoshGoshMoth Weird Vowel Sounds Sometimes, combinations of vowels and consonants (like Y and W) create unique sounds. The letters oi can make an OY sound when they appear in the middle of a syllable: BoilCoinOink The same sound is made with the letters â€Å"oy† when they appear at the end of a syllable: AhoyBoyAnnoySoy Similarly, the letters â€Å"ou† make a distinct sound when they appear in the middle of a syllable: CouchRoutPoutAboutAloud The same sound can be made by the letters ow when they appear at the end of a syllable: AllowPlowEndow The long â€Å"o† sound is also created by the letters â€Å"ow† when they appear at the end of a syllable: RowBlowSlowBelow The letters ay make the long â€Å"a† sound: StayPlayQuay The letter Y can make a long â€Å"i† sound if it appears at the end of a one-syllable word: ShyPlyTryFly The letters ie can make a long â€Å"e† sound (except after c): BeliefThiefFiend The letters ei can make the long â€Å"e† sound when they follow a â€Å"c†: ReceiveDeceiveReceipt The letter â€Å"y† can make a long e sound if it appears at the end of a word and it follows one or more consonants: BonyHolyRosySassyFieryToastyMostly

Land Securities Property Group Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Land Securities Property Group - Essay Example Investors often went for choosing commercial properties in place of bonds as investments because it offered very good return. Soon after 2007, this lucrative area of investment really became a nightmare zone for investors. The real estate industry faced setbacks due to globalisation, change in the economic scenario, recession, and sub-prime mortgage crisis. The property prices fell up to 50 percent. The commercial property industry revived by 2009 but the revival was not constant. There no stability in this industry anymore. The profits and losses in the real estate industry have become unpredictable. Moreover, the risk involved in investing in commercial property also pulled back the investors from such investments (Pickup & Derbyshire, 2010, p. 259-263). The economic downturn affected all the countries round the world. The intensity may be different but the dropping sales figures and decreasing revenue has been the scenario for most of the countries. The shops remained empty and th is further affected the property owners dealing in commercial property business. Many banks and companies declared themselves insolvent and filed for bankruptcy. In the backdrop of such economic scenario, we will analyse the position of the Commercial real-estate industry. Land Securities Group is one of the major players in the commercial property Industry in United Kingdom. Though the balance sheet of the company is showing positive results, but the market is not. The company is big and the capital base of the company is strong. The retail industry is facing huge losses And Retail giants such as Game, HMV or other super markets are have empty shops. In the study the analysis of the company Land Securities Group, is done keeping in mind the objectives behind the analysis: To study the competitive advantages and Strategies of Land Securities To analyse the complete external and internal environmental condition of the company. To see the status of its competitors To make projections regarding the future prospects of the commercial property Industry. Company Profile Land Securities Group is one of the largest commercial property companies in United Kingdom. It came into existence in the year 1944. Their main area of business is to develop shopping centres, retail shops and warehouses, offices and other commercial buildings. They are into maintenance, development, repairing of the property in both public and private sectors. Land Securities group is also into development of the urban community. For this purpose it has planned a multi-billion development program. Land Securities has a total of ? 4.9 billion of retail portfolio value. It owns more than 24 shopping centres and 19 retail parks. About ? 20.6 million sq. ft. of retail accommodation is developed by land securities group. The company is listed in London stock exchange. It has an operating income of ? 1244.1 million in 2011. Land Securities group also provides employment to more than 700 people. The compa ny has received several awards. It has received the Landlord of the year award, BCSC Gold Awards for retail Town Scheme and also National Property Company of the year award in 2011 (Landsecurities, 2012). Environmental Analysis PEST ANALYSIS PEST Analysis is mainly done to study the external environment for the company. Land Securities group is a company mainly situated in UK, which is going through its longest

Petro-geology, petro-politics,and frontiers for Iraq(2005onward) Term Paper

Petro-geology, petro-politics,and frontiers for Iraq(2005onward) - Term Paper Example All these elements were already identifiable by the initial exploration geologists; thus a general procedure of exploration was to conduct drilling of the peak of the anticlines. Kirkuk is renown, very lengthy anticline, which was amongst the first sites to be drilled (Benko, 2008). The extensive reserves revealed in the carbonate basins gave a constructive response to the above mentioned discovery tactic, and in the preceding years a huge number of topographically articulate anticlines were bored. Even though a majority of these structures had a very huge amount of hydrocarbons, impenetrable exemptions do exist, or different explanations concerning reservoir rocks and their efficacy (Hips, 2008). In some oil mine fields of varying eminence, or gas and condensate was revealed in the matching reservoirs. It came to be noticed later on that cretaceous fonts are slightly established. The oil kept in the Cretaceous is obtained from a Cretaceous font. It is decayed in the open parts and n on-biodegraded in the deeper parts; though still at depth the tar is unaffected. In agreement with other regional research, the Jurassic foundation rocks are affluent and are in the oil window (Jassim & Goff, 2006). The carbonate font may give an explanation for the high quantity of sulphur and the considerably high viscosity, but the resultant oils must be of better quality than what is actually established. It was initially presumed that a sediment or gravitational division took place (Sarbazheri, Ghafor & Muhammed, 2009). All in all, more unstable divisions tend to be missing from these oil deposits. The system of Triassic must be late oil to damp gas established, and the petroleum established there keep up a correspondence to the proposed maturity of the origin (Pitman, Steinshouer & Lewan, 2005). Oil Frontiers in Iraq Iraqi Kurdistan region, celebrated by intercontinental petroleum firms as the final frontier for ashore gas and oil discovery, is making efforts to improve its en ergy infrastructure. Greeters at Erbil’s international airport have a sign that sums it all: Weatherford, General Electric, and Reliance-the forerunner of a wave of important new entrance prepared to bore wells or construct pipelines, energy factories and oil refineries (Navabpour, Angelier & Barrier, 2007). The main point of reference of the location’s gas and oil producers is that aid is within reach. This was the main motivation given the fact that in recent times the Kurdistan’s revolutionary oil and gas manufacturers had to be their own drilling and hauling service providers, engineers, repair men, and even mine cleaners. One of the founders of oil and gas exploration is the UAE that found Crescent Petroleum, which started manufacturing gas in Kurdistan in the late 2008. The Corporation’s CEO recounts the major challenges experienced in transporting over 60,000 metric tons of steel and marshalling numerous truckloads over the Turkish border in effort to establish their plant for oil and gas production. This was during the construction of the pipeline. They had to cross the rivers, construct bridges and clear the mines according to the report released by (Robert, 2006). The current situation is very different as power generation plant has been installed, facilitating a transition from the 185 MW supply of power to the current supply of 2,200 MW by use of a twin 50-year old hydroelectric power plant

Conflict Management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Conflict Management - Case Study Example The said colleague therefore started showing signs of resentment towards our supervisor, and continually expressed his dissatisfaction by blurting at me regarding the same whenever his output fell short of expectation. However, the management soon realized that the conflict was not only affecting the daily output from our department, but that it was slowly becoming malignant as the said worker started imputing improper motives into the minds of other workers. It therefore became imperative for the management through the supervisor and the overall coordinator to institute a resolution process in order to restore normalcy. To that effect, this paper presents an analysis of the resolution process adopted, its efficacy under the given circumstance, and the probable alternative approach that in my personal view could provide equally good or even better results. Practical conflict resolution strategies are those that amicably settle the fracas by addressing the core issues underlying the situation. Hynes (2011) notes that such a method should entail an in-depth understanding of the usually implicit, theoretical presupposition framework that is characteristic of conflicts. To this end, the resolution of the management to first explore the underlying issues behind the conflict, followed by convening an inclusive meeting to discuss the way forward proved effectual. The management set the stage towards resolution by acknowledging that the emergence of a conflict implies the existence of interdependence, hence the need to restore normalcy for the benefit of the organization. More specifically, this is also important for the success of the individuals involved, psychologically and career wise, a fact that Deutsch, Coleman and Marcus (2011) espouse as being critical to conflict resolution. During the meeting, the panel understood the necessity for

Does diet have an impact on breast cancer recurrence Literature review

Does diet have an impact on breast cancer recurrence - Literature review Example These factors then influence the recurrence of breast cancer. Therefore, improved diet and increased physical activity lead to reduced risk of breast cancer recurrence. Pathophysiology is the study of the changes that occur in the body as a result of the presence of a given disease. One of the diseases that need to be described using through pathophysiology is the breast cancer. The pathophysiology of breast cancer uncovers the development of breast cancer in the body of a human being so that the necessary treatment and prevention strategies can be enhanced (Nelson et al, 2012). Breast cancer results from various personal, environmental and hereditary factors. Pathophysiology on breast cancer indicates that the disease develops due to some damages on the DNA including lesions which often occur as a result of genetic mutations. The immune system may also fail to act on cancerous cells, and lead to the development of the disease. Another cause of the disease is the malfunctioning of a growth factor during cell division and growth of the breast. Breast cancer may also be caused by inherited genetic damages on the DNA (Panjari et al, 2012). Receptors a nd hormones also play a crucial role in the development of breast cancer. Breast cancer cells have some receptors which may bind hormones and trigger changes in the cell compositions. Some of the receptors include estrogen receptor, HER2 and progesterone receptor. According to the World Cancer Research Fund International (WCRF), cancer is the leading type of cancer affecting women in the world and the most common cancer overall in terms of prevalence. There were nearly 1.7 million new cases of breast cancer diagnosis in 2012 (World Cancer Research Fund International 2012). The leading country in terms of diagnosed cases is Belgium. United Kingdom was seventh while United States was ninth. About 3.2 million people with cancer in developed countries still

Senator Michael F. Nozzolio Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Senator Michael F. Nozzolio - Article Example He also serves in the Senate finance and Senate Rules Committees, meaning that he and his colleagues have power over the budget of the State (Nozzolio) . Senator Nozzolio has over the past years been an active participant in the House of Senate, proposing bills and being involved in passing of these bills. For Example, in January 2014, he voted against the bill to implement and enforce a secure ammunition and firearms team. This bill was passed by the house. In May 30th 2013, Senator Nozzolio proposed a bill to the Senate House, the bill proposed an act to amend the law on environmental conservation. The motion brought forward touched on the authorization of hunting in the Wayne County (United state snate). He proposed that the Senate should revoke such an authorization once it expires in 2015 so that that part of the law is not renewed. Senator Nozzolio and other 61 members of the house voted yes to such an amendment and the bill was passed. Senator Nozzolio during elections made a commitment that he would enhance the job-producing small businesses project. He is now encouraging citizens to involve themselves in the small businesses and promote the already established ones by shopping at local businesses. He thus designated a Saturday called, â€Å"Small Business Saturday† where the locals and their leaders come together to acknowledge and appreciate the small enterprises that have been established locally to encourage people to shop locally (Nozzolio). He had also promised that he would try and reduce the burden tax payers have to carry to keep the country running. Therefore he has over the years been committed strongly to fulfilling this election promise. The previous the senator stated that there has been formation of a new move by the Senate to create jobs and mitigate the burden taxpayers have to carry. Senator Nozzolio was born and bred in Seneca County, and served in the senate for quite a long time.

Explain statistical power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Explain statistical power - Essay Example According to Ellis (71), statisticians conduct power analysis prior to experiments in order to anticipate the possibility of a study outlaying accurate results. The objective is estimating the effects of the larger sample size in relation to its significance on the study. The less the power, the higher the chances of the occurrence type II error and vice verse. The two possibilities results from the likeness of an error in data collection (Ellis 60). Consequently, statistical power is the retention of null with accuracy, hence the reason, researchers strive to attain more statistical power when conducting studies. The components that determine statistical powers in a research are the sample size, the effect size, the alpha level and the power. Sample size refers to the units available for the study. Alpha levels are the chances of possibilities. Power is the odd that will result from the treatment of the sample (Rubin 148). Lastly, effect size balances the strength of a research by eliminating errors in power analyses. Indeed, an analysis of the components prior to the collection of data is essential to facilitating accuracy in power

Senator Michael F. Nozzolio Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Senator Michael F. Nozzolio - Article Example He also serves in the Senate finance and Senate Rules Committees, meaning that he and his colleagues have power over the budget of the State (Nozzolio) . Senator Nozzolio has over the past years been an active participant in the House of Senate, proposing bills and being involved in passing of these bills. For Example, in January 2014, he voted against the bill to implement and enforce a secure ammunition and firearms team. This bill was passed by the house. In May 30th 2013, Senator Nozzolio proposed a bill to the Senate House, the bill proposed an act to amend the law on environmental conservation. The motion brought forward touched on the authorization of hunting in the Wayne County (United state snate). He proposed that the Senate should revoke such an authorization once it expires in 2015 so that that part of the law is not renewed. Senator Nozzolio and other 61 members of the house voted yes to such an amendment and the bill was passed. Senator Nozzolio during elections made a commitment that he would enhance the job-producing small businesses project. He is now encouraging citizens to involve themselves in the small businesses and promote the already established ones by shopping at local businesses. He thus designated a Saturday called, â€Å"Small Business Saturday† where the locals and their leaders come together to acknowledge and appreciate the small enterprises that have been established locally to encourage people to shop locally (Nozzolio). He had also promised that he would try and reduce the burden tax payers have to carry to keep the country running. Therefore he has over the years been committed strongly to fulfilling this election promise. The previous the senator stated that there has been formation of a new move by the Senate to create jobs and mitigate the burden taxpayers have to carry. Senator Nozzolio was born and bred in Seneca County, and served in the senate for quite a long time.

Dementia in UK Essay Example for Free

Dementia in UK Essay There are currently 800,000 people withdementia in the UK. There are over 17,000 younger people with dementia in the UK. There are over 25,000 people with dementia from black and minority ethnic groupsin the UK. There will be over a million people with dementia by 2021. Two thirds of people with dementia are women. The proportion of people with dementia doubles for every 5 year age group. One third of people over 95 have dementia. 60,000 deaths a year are directly attributable to dementia. Delaying the onset of dementia by 5 years would reduce deaths directly attributable to dementia by 30,000 a year. The financial cost of dementia to the UK will be over ? 23 billion in 2012. There are 670,000 carers of people with dementia in the UK Family carers of people with dementia save the UK over ? 8 billion a year. 80% of people living in care homes have a form of dementia or severe memory problems. Two thirds of people with dementia live in the community while one third live in a care home. Only 44% of people with dementia in England, Wales and Northern Ireland receive a diagnosis UK dementia statistics Affects 820,000 people in the UK Financial cost is over ? 23bn pa, that is twice that of cancer, three times the impact of heart disease and four times that of stroke Two thirds (425,000) of people live in the community, one third (244,000) in a care home Two thirds of people with dementia are women (446k) and one third men (223,000) Affects 1 in 100 people aged 65-69, 1 in 25 aged 70-79 and 1 in 6 people aged over 80 Key risks from assessment are falls and walking about (60% experience walking about) 25 million people, or 42% of the UK population, are affected by dementia through knowing a close friend or family member with the condition. (Source: Alzheimers Research Trust / YouGov poll, 2008) 163,000 new cases of dementia occur in England and Wales each year one every 3. 2 minutes The number of people in UK with dementia is expected to double in the next 40 years to 1. 7million people Statistics courtesy Alzheimers Research Trust and www. alzheimers. org. uk Government Policy The National Dementia Strategy The objectives of the project are to develop a national dementia strategy and implementation plan for publication in October 2008. The strategy will address three key themes raising awareness, early diagnosis and intervention and improving the quality of care. For more information: visit National Dementia Strategy Dementia affects 820,000 people in the UK. 25 million of the UK population have a close friend orfamily member with dementia. As well as the huge personal cost, dementia costs the UK economy ? 23 billion a year, more than cancer and heart disease combined. Despite these figures, dementia researchis desperately underfunded. Impact of dementia in the UK There are over 820,000 people living with dementia in the UK today, a number forecast to rise rapidly as the population ages. Just 2. 5% of the government’s medical research budget is spent on dementia research, while a quarter is spent on cancer research. One in three people aged over 65 will die with a form of dementia. Dementia costs the UK economy ? 23 billion per year. That is twice that of cancer, three times the impact of heart disease and four times that of stroke. Combined government and charitable investment in dementia research is 12 times lower than spending on cancer research. ?590 million is spent on cancer research each year, while just ? 50 million is invested in dementia research. Heart disease receives ? 169 million per year and stroke research ? 23 million. 1. What is dementia? The term ‘dementia’ is used to describe a collection of symptoms, including a decline in memory, reasoning and communication skills, and a gradual loss of skills needed to carry out daily activities. These symptoms are caused by structural and chemical changes in the brain as a result of physical diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. Dementia can affect people of any age, but is most common in older people. One in ? ve people over 80 has a form of dementia and one in 20 people over 65 has a form of dementia. Researchers are still working to ? nd out more about the different types of dementia, and whether any have a genetic link. It is thought that many factors, including age, genetic background, medical history and lifestyle, can combine to lead to the onset of dementia. Dementia is a progressive condition. This means that the symptoms become more severe over time. Understanding how this progression happens can be useful in helping someone with dementia anticipate and plan for change. The way each person experiences dementia, and the rate of their decline, will depend on many factors – not just on which type of dementia they have, but also on their physical make-up, their emotional resilience and the support that is available to them. Typically symptoms will include: †¢ Loss of memory – for example, forgetting the way home from the shops, or being unable to remember names and places. †¢ Mood changes – these happen particularly when the parts of the brain which control emotion are affected by disease. People with dementia may feel sad, angry or frightened as a result. †¢ Communication problems – a decline in the ability to talk, read and write. There are different types of dementia caused by different diseases of the brain. Because these diseases affect the brain in different ways, they produce different symptoms. Some of the most common forms of dementia are listed below: 1. 2 Who is affected and how? Dementia can affect anyone regardless of gender, ethnicity, socio-economic situation and residential status. Nearly two-thirds of people with the disorder live in the community, while the other third reside in a residential home. A small number of people with dementia are from black and minority ethnic (BME) groups. This is due to the current younger age profile in London’s BME communities. As this population ages, with a higher prevalence of physical conditions which may contribute to dementia, the rate of dementia is expected to increase. A detailed analysis of the London population segments affected by dementia is available in appendix 1. This highlights that most cases of dementia are late-onset and therefore affect people aged 65 and over. Approximately one in 40 cases is early-onset dementia and occurs before the age of 65. Many factors, including age, genetic background, medical history and lifestyle can combine to lead to the onset of the disorder. Key points to emerge from recent studies and consultations with people with dementia and their carers showed: †¢ Dementia is poorly understood, it remains a stigmatised condition and those affected often experience social exclusion and discrimination. †¢ Seeking help is frustrating; access to services typically includes contact with the NHS, local councils and the third sector; sometimes being referred elsewhere and often duplicating activities. †¢ Current services do not meet the needs of people with dementia. †¢ Services are fragmented and lack robust integration and strong partnership working. †¢ There are gaps in provision and the quality of specialist services remains inconsistent. †¢ Reliability and continuity of services are compromised because many staff lack the requisite knowledge and skills to respond appropriately to those affected. †¢ Most health and social care services are not delivering the outcomes that are important to people with dementia: early diagnosis and treatment, easily accessible services, information and advice and high quality support. 8 Healthcare for London IntroductionDementia services guide 9 3 Source: Based on Dementia UK prevalence rates applied to GLA populations Introduction THE DIFFICULTY OF DIAGNOSING ALZHEIMERS Most diagnoses of Alzheimers are delayed until more than two years after symptoms first appear because patients and families ignore, deny, or dont recognize common signs of early Alzheimers, according to a 2006 Alzheimers Foundation of America survey. Fifty-seven percent of caregivers who answered the poll said they put off seeking diagnosis for symptoms of memory loss, confusion, and language difficulties because they — or the person they cared for — were in denial about having the disease, or because they feared the social stigma associated with AD. Another 40 percent didnt seek a diagnosis because they knew little about Alzheimers or its symptoms, they said. 38 percent of those surveyed said it was the patient who resisted going to see a doctor; 19 percent of caregivers admitted they themselves didnt want to face the possibility that something was wrong. Spouses were three times less likely than children of people with Alzheimers to delay seeking diagnosis, the survey found. What Is Dementia? by Maureen Dezell with Carrie Hill, Ph. D. Dementia itself is not a disease but a term that describes different brain disorders that cause memory loss and other symptoms of cognitive decline. While various kinds of dementia are more common the longer we live, none is a part of normal aging. Dementia specialists recommend you see a doctor to evaluate any of these problems or symptoms, which may point to dementia: Problems retaining recent memories and learning new information, losing and misplacing objects, regularly forgetting appointments or recent conversations, or asking the same question over and over. Problems handling complex tasks; trouble balancing a checkbook, following a recipe, or performing routine tasks that involve a complextrain of thought. Trouble reasoning. Difficulty dealing with everyday problems, such as a flat tire. Uncharacteristic rash behavior, including poor financial or social judgment. Difficulty with spatial ability and orientation. Driving and navigating familiar surroundings becomes difficult; trouble recognizing local landmarks. Difficulty with language. Problems speaking, listening, and following or participating in conversations. Behavioral or personality changes. An active, engaged person seems listless and unresponsive. Trusting people become suspicious. What Is Dementia? by Maureen Dezell with Carrie Hill, Ph. D. . While various kinds of dementia are more common the longer we live, none is a part of normal aging. Dementia specialists recommend you see a doctor to evaluate any of these problems or symptoms, which may point to dementia: Problems retaining recent memories and learning new information, losing and misplacing objects, regularly forgetting appointments or recent conversations, or asking the same question over and over. Problems handling complex tasks; trouble balancing a checkbook, following a recipe, or performing routine tasks that involve a complextrain of thought. Trouble reasoning. Difficulty dealing with everyday problems, such as a flat tire. Uncharacteristic rash behavior, including poor financial or social judgment. Difficulty with spatial ability and orientation. Driving and navigating familiar surroundings becomes difficult; trouble recognizing local landmarks. Difficulty with language. Problems speaking, listening, and following or participating in conversations. Behavioral or personality changes. An active, engaged person seems listless and unresponsive. Trusting people become suspicious. Who gets dementia? . Rarely, dementia affects younger people. Dementia is said to be early-onset (or young-onset) if it comes on before the age of 65. There are some groups of people who are known to have a higher risk of developing dementia. These include people with: Downs syndrome or other learning disabilities. People with Downs syndrome are more likely to develop Alzheimers disease. Parkinsons disease. Risk factors for cardiovascular disease (angina, heart attack, stroke and peripheral vascular disease). The risk factors for cardiovascular disease (high blood pressure, smoking, high cholesterol level, lack of exercise, etc) are risk factors for all types of dementia, not just vascular dementia. Severe psychiatric problems such as schizophrenia or severe depression. It is not clear why this is the case. Lower intelligence. Some studies have shown that people with a lower IQ and also people who do not have very high educational achievement are more likely to develop dementia. A limited social support network. Low physical activity levels. A lack of physical activity can increase your risk of dementia. (See separate leaflet called Physical Activity for Health for more details. ) Dementia also seems to run in some families so there may be some genetic factors that can make someone more likely to develop dementia. We do know that a few of the more rare causes of dementia can be inherited (can be passed on through genes in your family). Can medication help people with dementia? There is no cure for dementia and no medicine that will reverse dementia. However, there are some medicines that may be used to help in some causes of dementia. Medication is generally used for two different reasons. Firstly, as treatment to help with symptoms that affect thinking and memory (cognitive symptoms). Secondly, as treatment to help with symptoms that affect mood and how someone behaves (non-cognitive symptoms). With improved nursing care and more widespread use of antibiotics to treat intercurrent infections, individuals now commonly survive 10 years or longer with dementia. This was not always the case – in the 1950s, the pioneering geriatric psychiatrist Sir Martin Roth and colleagues used distinctions in duration of illness to show that dementia differed from other severe psychiatric syndromes, notably depression, in the elderly. At that time, most elderly people hospitalized with dementia in the UK survived for approximately 2 years; Sex. All prevalence studies show that women are more often affected by dementia than are men. Typically, health services treat twice as many women as men with dementia. This contrast is explained only partly by the longer life expectancy of women because, even when this is taken into account, a slight excess of incidence is still evident in women. 2009 Health Press Ltd. Fast Facts:Dementia Lawrence J Whalley and John CS Breitner SOCIAL MODEL OF DEMENTIA While the clinical model of dementia presented above describes the changes occurring within the brain, the way that dementia affects a person in day-to-day life will vary from one individual to the next. For many years, people with dementia were written off as incapable, regarded as little more than ‘vegetables’ and often hidden from society at large. During the 1980s and 1990s, there was a move away from regarding people with dementia as incapable and excluding them from society, and towards a ‘new culture of dementia care’, which encouraged looking for the person behind the dementia (Gilleard, 1984; Kitwood ; Benson, 1995; Kitwood,1997). People with dementia could now be treated as individuals with a unique identity and biography and cared for with greater understanding. Building on this work, others (notably Marshall, 2004) have advocated that dementia should be regarded as a disability and framed within a social model. The social model, as developed in relation to disability, understands disability not as an intrinsic characteristic of the individual, but as an outcome produced by social processes of exclusion. Thus, disability is not something that exists purely at the level of individual psychology, but is a condition created by a combination of social and material factors including income and financial support, employment, housing, transport and the built environment (Barnes et al. , 1999). From the perspective of the social model, people with dementia may have an impairment (perhaps of cognitive function) but their disability results from the way they are treated by, or excluded from, society. For people with dementia, this model carries important implications, for example: ? the condition is not the ‘fault’ of the individual ? the focus is on the skills and capacities the person retains rather than loses ? the individual can be fully understood (his or her history, likes/dislikes, and so on) ? the influence is recognised of an enabling or supportive environment ? the key value is endorsed of appropriate communication ? opportunities should be taken for rehabilitation or re-enablement ? the responsibility to reach out to people with dementia lies with people who do not (yet) have dementia (Gilliard et al. , 2005). The social model of care seeks to understand the emotions and behaviours of the person with dementia by placing him or her within the context of his or her social circumstances and biography. By learning about each person with dementia as an individual, with his or her own history and background, care and support can be designed to be more appropriate to individual needs. If, for example, it is known that a man with dementia was once a prisoner of war, it can be understood why he becomes very distressed when admitted to a locked ward. If care providers have learned that a person with dementia has a strong dislike for a certain food, it can be understood why the person might spit it out. Without this background knowledge and understanding, the man who rattles the door may be labelled a ‘wanderer’ because he tries to escape and cowers when approached, or the person who spits out food is labelled as ‘antisocial’. Moreover, a variety of aspects of care may affect a person as the dementia progresses. Some extrinsic factors in the care environment can be modified, for instance noise levels can be highly irritating but are controllable. Other intrinsic factors, such as the cultural or ethnic identity of the person with dementia, may also have a bearing on how needs are assessed and care is delivered. Some aspects will be more important or relevant to one person than to another. The social model of care asserts that dementia is more than, but inclusive of, the clinical damage to the brain. ), and while we do not know what precise forms of training are effective, it is reported to lead to better identification of abuse (a random controlled trial by Richardson and colleagues (2002) provides good evidence of this). Agreed multi-agency policy and practice guidance is available at local level and identifies the approaches to be taken when abuse or neglect are suspected. A national recording system for referrals of adult abuse has been piloted (Department of Health, 2005b), which found that older people with mental health problems were among those referred to local authorities’ adult protection systems; a variety of interventions were adopted, although information on the outcomes is not available. Recommendations from a series of high-profile inquiries into care settings in hospitals (for example, Rowan Ward, Department of Health/Care Services Improvement Partnership, 2005) are relevant to commissioners, regulatory bodies and practitioners in seeking to lower the risk of abuse. The law in this area is developing and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 introduces a new criminal offence of ill treatment or neglect of a person who lacks capacity. DISCLOSURE/STIGMA Assessment and reaching a conclusion about the diagnosis leads to a point where this information should be shared with the person with dementia. This is especially challenging in dementia for a number of reasons: ? the difficulty of accurate diagnosis ? the challenge of imparting ‘bad news’ ? uncertainty about whether or not the person will understand what is being said ? uncertainty about whether or not the person will retain what is said ? lack of follow-up support. Studies, in which people with dementia have been invited to tell the story of how they reached a memory assessment service and what the assessment process felt like, indicate that this is not an easy journey for them (Keady ; Gilliard, 2002). Often, they have been aware of their memory difficulties for some time before sharing this information with others (usually, but not always, their close family). This awareness may occur in quite private activities, like doing crossword puzzles. In the meantime, those who are closest to the person may also have been aware of the difficulties but have fought shy of sharing their concerns. Disclosing their concerns to each other is often what triggers a visit to the GP and referral to a memory assessment service (Keady ; Gilliard, 2002). People have reported that their visits to the memory assessment service can also be quite an ordeal (Keady ; Gilliard, 2002). This is often like no other outpatient clinic. The doctor may speak to the carer separately from the person being assessed, leading to suspicion about what is being said. The assessment process itself may prove embarrassing, even humiliating. People report that they are aware that some of the questions are simple and feel foolish that they are unable to answer. They may establish strategies for managing this (Keady ; Gilliard, 2002). Whilst recognising that most people are seeking to make sense of what is happening to them, it is important to acknowledge that some will find it hard to listen to their diagnosis and there will be some who will not want to be told at all. They know they have a problem with their memory and that they are not able to function as they once did or as their peers do. They want to know what is wrong with them, and they need the clinician to be honest with them. Telling someone that he or she has a memory problem is only telling him or her what he or she already knows. People should be told their diagnosis as clearly and honestly as possible. The moment of sharing the diagnosis may not be comfortable for any of those concerned – neither the clinician, nor the person with dementia, nor his or her carer (Friel McGowan, 1993). Without this knowledge, people cannot begin to make sense of what is happening, nor can they plan effectively for their future. They should be given a choice of treatments and need information about practical support and entitlements, like Lasting Powers of Attorney and advance decisions to refuse treatment (more information can be found in Section 4. 9. 4 and in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 [The Stationery Office, 2005]). They will want to make decisions about how they spend their time before life becomes more difficult for them (for example, visiting family abroad). Following the disclosure of the diagnosis, people with dementia and their families may want further support and opportunities for talking. Pre- and post-assessment counselling services should be part of the specialist memory assessment service. Recent work (Cheston et al. , 2003a) has shown the value of psychotherapeutic support groups for people with dementia, allowing them space to share their feelings with others. Joint interventions with the person with dementia and family carers, such as family therapy, recognise the fact that the diagnosis does not impact on just one person but on a whole family system (Gilleard, 1996). Other services have used volunteer ‘befrienders’ to maintain contact with people who are newly diagnosed and who can offer both practical support and information together with a ‘listening ear’. People with early dementia are also taking responsibility for their own support by forming groups, which may meet regularly or may be virtual networks using the internet (see, for example, www. dasninternational. org). Sensitivity is required in ensuring that information about the diagnosis is given in a way that is easily understood by the person concerned and acceptable to the family. Gentle questioning at an early stage will help to ascertain what people can, and want, to be told. There is much we can learn from earlier work on sharing the diagnosis with people with cancer (for example, Buckman, 1996). It is especially important to be aware of different cultural sensitivities and the stigma that dementia holds for many people. This can range from subjective feelings of shame to a real exclusion from community and family life. Age and ethnicity are both factors in the sense of stigma associated with a diagnosis of dementia (Patel et al. , 1998). 4. 9 BASIC LEGAL AND ETHICAL CONCEPTS IN CONNECTION WITH DEMENTIA CARE 4. 9. 1 Introduction The ethical problems that arise in the context of dementia mainly relate to autonomy, which is compromised in dementia to varying degrees. Respect for autonomy is recognised as a key principle in health and social care (Beauchamp ; Childress, 2001). Many of the ethical tensions that arise in looking after people with dementia do so because of, on the one hand, the requirement that autonomy ought to be respected and, on the other, the reality of increasing dependency, where this entails a loss of personal freedom. Person-centred care is a means of respecting personal autonomy wherever it is threatened (Kitwood, 1997). As Agich has stated, ‘Autonomy fundamentally importantly involves the way individuals live their daily lives; it is found in the nooks and crannies of everyday experience’ (Agich, 2003). Hence, respecting the person’s autonomy will involve day-to-day interactions and will be achieved if the person with dementia is not positioned in such a way as to impede his or her remaining abilities. Such ‘malignant positioning’ can be the result of inappropriate psychosocial structures. The fundamental way to combat this tendency, which undermines the person’s selfhood, is to encourage good-quality communication (Kitwood, 1997; Sabat, 2001). Another way in which selfhood might be undermined is through structural or procedural barriers to good-quality care, and service providers should take an active role in promoting the individual’s autonomy and his or her legal and human rights. Furthermore, services may discriminate against people with dementia if eligibility criteria are drawn up in such a way as to exclude them or because of an assumption that people with dementia cannot benefit from a service because staff lack confidence and skills in working with this group. Discrimination may also occur if a service does not offer people with dementia the support they may need in order for them to be able to make use of the service. The Disability Discrimination Acts (1995 and 2005), which include dementia within the definition of disability, aim to end the discrimination that many disabled people face in their everyday lives by making direct or indirect discrimination against disabled people unlawful in a range of areas including access to facilities and services and buying or renting property. The discussion that follows will briefly focus on human rights, consent, capacity and confidentiality. 4. 9. 2 Human rights Human rights are enshrined, as far as the United Kingdom is concerned, in the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (Council of Europe, 2003). The relevant UK legislation is the Human Rights Act 1998, which came into force in 2000. The principle of respect for autonomy is implicit throughout the Convention. A number of the articles of the Convention are potentially relevant to people with dementia. For example, Article 2 asserts that everyone has a right to life, Article 3 prohibits torture, but also â€Å"inhuman or degrading treatment†, and Article 8 concerns the right to respect for the person’s private and family life. Article 5 asserts the right of people to liberty and security. It states that â€Å"No one should be deprived of his liberty†, except in very specific circumstances. It also asserts that if someone is deprived of his or her liberty, there should be recourse to a court. Article 5 was central to the ‘Bournewood’ case. The European Court declared, amongst other things, that the man concerned (who had a learning disability) had been deprived of his liberty, in contravention of Article 5 (see Department of Health, 2004, for further information). The crucial distinction to emerge from the case was that between deprivation of liberty and restriction of liberty. Whilst the former is illegal, except insofar as there are legal safeguards of the sort provided by the Mental Health Act 1983 (HMSO, 1983), the latter may be permissible under the sort of circumstances envisaged by Section 6 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (TSO, 2005). This discusses using restraint as a proportionate response to the possibility of the person suffering harm. Guidance on the distinction between ‘restriction’ and ‘deprivation’ of liberty has been provided by the Department of Health and the National Assembly for Wales (Department of Health, 2004). 4. 9. 3 Consent In brief, for consent to be valid it must be: ? informed ? competent ? uncoerced ? continuing. Each of these concepts requires interpretation and judgement, as none of them is entirely unproblematic (Department of Health, 2001a). For instance, people can be more or less informed. The ‘Sidaway’ case (1984) established that the legal standard as regards informing a patient was the same as for negligence (see the ‘Bolam case’, 1957). In other words, the person should be given as much information as a ‘responsible body’ of medical opinion would deem appropriate. However, since then, there has been a shift away from a professional-centred standard towards a patient-centred standard. In the ‘Pearce’ case (1998), one of the Law Lords declared that information should be given where there exists ‘a significant risk which would affect the judgement of a reasonable patient’. Department of Health guidelines (Department of Health, 2001c) have pointed out that, although informing patients about the nature and purpose of procedures may be enough to avoid a claim of battery, it may not be sufficient to fulfill the legal duty of care. There may be other pieces of information relevant to the individual patient that it would be negligent not to mention. Hence the General Medical Council (GMC)’s insistence that doctors should do their best ‘to find out about patients’ individual needs and priorities’ (GMC, 1998). The GMC guidance goes on to say: ‘You should not make assumptions about patients’ views’. These points are very relevant when it comes to consent in the context of dementia. It should be kept in mind that consent is not solely an issue as regards medical procedures. The ‘nooks and crannies of everyday experience’ (Agich, 2003) – what to wear or to eat, whether to go out or participate in an activity and whether to accept extra home or respite care – are all aspects of life to which the person with dementia may or may not wish to consent. If the person has capacity with respect to the particular decision, but does not wish to consent, he or she should be supported in making an autonomous decision. 4. 9. 4 Decision-making capacity In England and Wales, a lack of capacity has been defined thus: ‘. . . a person lacks capacity in relation to a matter if at the material time he is unable to make a decision for himself in relation to the matter because of an impairment of, or a disturbance in the functioning of, the mind or brain’ (Mental Capacity Act 2005 [TSO, 2005, Section 2]). A person is further defined as unable to make a decision if he or she is unable: ‘(a) to understand the information relevant to the decision, (b) to retain this information, (c) to use or weigh that information as part of the process of making the decision, or (d) to communicate his decision (whether by talking, using sign language or any other means)’ (Mental Capacity Act 2005 [TSO, 2005, Section 3(1)]). The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (TSO, 2005), which will apply in England and Wales31, sets out a framework for making decisions for people who are unable to make decisions for themselves. Its detailed provisions, along with its Code of Practice (currently in draft form [DCA, 2005]), should be referred to by all those involved in such decision making. In outline, the main provisions of the Act: ? offer a definition of lack of capacity (Sections 2–3) ? outline a process for the determination of a person’s best interests (Section 4) ? create Lasting Powers of Attorney, which allow a person to appoint a donee to make decisions about his or her health and welfare (Sections 9–14) ? establish the Court of Protection in a new form, with powers to make declarations and appoint deputies in difficult cases or where there are disputes concerning decisions about a person’s health and welfare (Sections 15–23) ? bring under statute and clarify the law regarding advance decisions to refuse treatment (Sections 24–26) ? set out safeguards co