Augustus de Morgan and George Boole s Contribution to Digital Electronics Essay Example for Free

Augustus de Morgan and George Boole s Contribution to Digital Electronics Essay Augustus De Morgan English mathematician and logician, was born in June 1806, at Madura, in the Madras presidency. His father, Colonel John De Morgan, was employed in the East India Companys service, and his grand father and great-grandfather had served under Warren Hastings. On the mothers side he was descended from JamesDodson,F. R. S. , author of the Anti-logarithmic Canon and other mathematical works of merit, and a friend of Abraham Demoivre. Seven months after the birth of Augustus, Colonel De Morgan brought his wife, daughter and infant son to England, where he left them during a subsequent period of service in India, dying in 1816 on his way home. Augustus De Morgan received his early education in several private schools, and before the age of fourteen years had learned Latin, Greek and some Hebrew, in addition to acquiring much general knowledge. At the age of sixteen years and a half he entered Trinity College, Cambridge, and studied mathematics, partly under the tuition of Sir G.  B. Airy. In 1825 he gained a Trinity scholarship. De Morgans love of wide reading somewhat interfered with his success in the mathematical tripos, in which he took the fourth place in 1827. He was prevented from taking his M. A. degree, or from obtaining a fellowship, by his conscientious objection to signing the theological tests then required from masters of arts and fellows at Cambridge. As a teacher of mathematics De Morgan was unrivalled. He gave instruction in the form of continuous lectures delivered extempore from brief notes. The most prolonged mathematical reasoning, and the most intricate formulae, were given with almost infallible accuracy from the resources of his extraordinary memory. De Morgans writings, however excellent, give little idea of the perspicuity and elegance of his viva voce expositions, which never failed to fix the attention of all who were worthy of hearing him. Many of his pupils have distinguished themselves, and, through Isaac Todhunter and E. J. Routh, he had an important influence on the later Cambridge school. I. n spite, however, of the excellence and extent of his mathematical writings, it is probably as a logical reformer that De Morgan will be best remembered. In this respect he stands alongside of his great contemporaries Sir W. R. Hamilton and George Boole, as one of several independent discoverers of the all-important principle of the quantification of the predicate. Unlike most mathematicians, De Morgan always laid much stress upon the importance of logical training. In his admirable papers upon the modes of teaching arithmetic and geometry, originally published in the Quarterly Journal of Education (reprinted in The Schoolmaster, vol ii. ), he remonstrated against the neglect of logical doctrine. In 1839 he produced a small work called First Notions of Logic, giving what he had found by experience to be much wanted by students commencing with [[Euclid]]. In October 1846 he completed the first of his investigations, in the form of a paper printed in the Transactions of the Cambridge Philosophical Society (vol. iii. No. 29). In this paper the principle of the quantified predicate was referred to, and there immediately ensued a memorable controversy with Sir W. R. Hamilton regarding the independence of De Morgans discovery, some communications having passed between them in the autumn of 1846. The details of this dispute will be found in the original pamphlets, in the [[Athenaeum]] and in the appendix to De Morgans Formal Logic. Suffice it to say that the independence of De Morgans discovery was subsequently recognized by Hamilton. The eight forms of proposition adopted by De Morgan as the basis of his system partially differ from those which Hamilton derived from the quantified predicate. The general character of De Morgans development of logical forms was wholly peculiar and original on his part. Late in 1847 De Morgan published his principal logical treatise, called Formal Logic, or the Calculus of Inference, Necessary and Probable. This contains a reprint of the First Notions, an elaborate development of his doctrine of the syllogism, and of the numerical definite syllogism, together with chapters of great interest on probability, induction, old logical terms and fallacies. The severity of the treatise is relieved by characteristic touches of humour, and by quaint anecdotes and allusions furnished from his wide reading and perfect memory. There followed at intervals, in the years 1850, 1858,1860 and 1863, a series of four elaborate memoirs on the Syllogism, printed in volumes ix. nd x. of the Cambridge Philosophical Transactions. These papers taken together constitute a great treatise on logic, in which he substituted improved systems of notation, and developed a new logic of relations, and a new onymatic system of logical expression. In 1860 De Morgan endeavoured to render their contents better known by publishing a [[Syllabus]] of a Proposed System of Logic, from which may be obtained a good idea of his symbolic system, but the more readable and interesting discussions contained in the memoirs are of necessity omitted. The article Logic in the English Cyclopaedia (1860) completes the list of his logical publications. Throughout his logical writings De Morgan was led by the idea that the followers of the two great branches of exact science, logic and mathematics, had made blunders, the logicians in neglecting mathematics, and the mathematicians in neglecting logic. He endeavoured to reconcile them, and in the attempt showed how many errors an acute mathematician could detect in logical writings, and how large a field there was for discovery. But it may be doubted whether De Morgans own system, horrent with mysterious spiculae, as Hamilton aptly described it, is fitted to exhibit the real analogy between quantitative and qualitative reasoning, which is rather to be sought in the logical works of Boole. Perhaps the largest part, in volume, of De Morgans writings remains still to be briefly mentioned; it consists of detached articles contributed to various periodical or composite works. During the years 1833-1843 he contributed very largely to the first edition of the [[Penny]] Cyclopaedia, writing chiefly on mathematics, astronomy, physics and biography. His articles of various length cannot be less in number than 850, and they have been estimated to constitute a sixth part of the whole Cyclopaedia, of which they formed perhaps the most valuable portion. He also wrote biographies of Sir Isaac Newton and Edmund Halley for Knights British Worthies, various notices of scientific men for the [[Gallery]] of Portraits, and for the uncompleted Biographical Dictionary of the Useful Knowledge Society, and at least seven articles in Smiths Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography. Some of De Morgans most interesting and useful minor writings are to be found in the Companions to the British Almanack, to which he contributed without fail one article each year from 1831 up to 1857 inclusive. In these carefully written papers he treats a great variety of topics relating to astronomy, chronology, decimal coinage, life assurance, bibliography and the history of science. Most of them are as valuable now as when written. Among De Morgans miscellaneous writings may be mentioned his Explanation of the Gnomonic Projection of the Sphere, 1836, including a description of the maps of the stars, published by the Useful Know ledge Society; his Treatise on the Globes, Celestial and Terrestrial,1845, and his remarkable [[Book]] of Almanacks (2nd edition, 1871), which contains a series of thirty-five almanacs, so arranged with indices of reference, that the almanac for any year, whether in old style or new, from any epoch, ancient or modern, up to A.  D. 2000, may be found without difficulty, means being added for verifying the almanac and also for discovering the days of new and full moon from 2000 B. c. up to A. D. 2000. De Morgan expressly draws attention to the fact that the plan of this book was that of L. B. Francoeur and J. Ferguson, but the plan was developed by one who was an unrivalled master of all the intricacies of chronology. The two best tables of logarithms, the small five-figure tables of the Useful Knowledge Society 1839 and 1857), and Shroens Seven Figure-Table (5th ed. , 1865), were printed under De Morgans superintendence. Several works edited by him will be found mentioned in the British Museum Catalogue. He made numerous anonymous contributions through a long series of years to the Athenaeum, and to Notes and Queries, and occasionally to The North British Review, Macmillans Magazine, c.  Considerable labour was spent by De Morgan upon the subject of decimal coinage. He was a great advocate of the pound and mil scheme. His evidence on this subject was sought by the Royal Commission, and, besides constantly supporting the Decimal Association in periodical publications, he published several separate pamphlets on the subject. In 1866 his life became clouded by the circumstances which led him to abandon the institution so long the scene of his labours. The refusal of the council to accept the recommendation of the senate, that they should appoint an eminent Unitarian minister to the professorship of logic and mental philosophy, revived all De Morgans sensitiveness on the subject of sectarian freedom; and, though his feelings were doubtless excessive, there is no doubt that gloom was thrown over his life, intensified in 1867 by the loss of his son George Campbell De Morgan, a young man of the highest scientific promise, whose name, as De Morgan expressly wished, will long be connected with the London Mathematical Society, of which he was one of the founders. From this time De Morgan rapidly fell into ill-health, previously almost unknown to him, dying on the 18th of March 1871. An interesting and truthful sketch of his life will be found in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society for the 9th of February 1872, vol. xxii. p. 112, written by A. C. Ranyard, who says, He was the kindliest, as well as the most learned of men benignant to every one who approached him, never forgetting the claims which weakness has on strength. De Morgan left no published indications of his opinions on religious questions, in regard to which he was extremely reticent. He seldom or never entered a place of worship, and declared that he could not listen to a sermon, a circumstance perhaps due to the extremely strict religious discipline under which he was brought up. Nevertheless there is reason to believe that he VIII. 1 a was of a deeply religious disposition. Like M. Faraday and Sir I.  Newton he entertained a confident belief in Providence, founded not on any tenuous inference, but on personal feeling. His hope of a future life also was vivid to the last. George Boole George Booles father, John Boole (1779–1848), was a tradesman of limited means, but of studious character and active mind. Being especially interested in mathematical science and logic, the father gave his son his first lessons; but the extraordinary mathematical talents of George Boole did not manifest themselves in early life. At first, his favorite subject was classics. It was not until his successful establishment of a school at Lincoln, its removal to Waddington, and later his appointment in 1849 as the first professor of mathematics of then Queens College, Cork in Ireland (now University College Cork, where the library, underground lecture theatre complex and the Boole Centre for Research in Informatics are named in his honour) that his mathematical skills were fully realized. In 1855 he married Mary Everest (niece of George Everest), who later, as Mrs. Boole, wrote several useful educational works on her husbands principles. To the broader public Boole was known only as the author of numerous abstruse papers on mathematical topics, and of three or four distinct publications that have become standard works. His earliest published paper was the Researches in the theory of analytical transformations, with a special application to the reduction of the general equation of the second order. printed in the Cambridge Mathematical Journal in February 1840 , and it led to a friendship between Boole and D. F. Gregory, the editor of the journal, which lasted until the premature death of the latter in 1844. A long list of Booles memoirs and detached papers, both on logical and mathematical topics, are found in the Catalogue of Scientific Memoirs published by the Royal Society, and in the supplementary volume on Differential Equations, edited by Isaac Todhunter. To the Cambridge Mathematical Journal and its successor, the Cambridge and Dublin Mathematical Journal, Boole contributed twenty-two articles in all. In the third and fourth series of the Philosophical Magazine are found sixteen papers. The Royal Society printed six important memoirs in the Philosophical Transactions, and a few other memoirs are to be found in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and of the Royal Irish Academy, in the Bulletin de lAcademie de St-Petersbourg for 1862 (under the name G Boldt, vol. iv. pp. 198–215), and in Crelles Journal. Also included is a paper on the mathematical basis of logic, published in the Mechanics Magazine in 1848. The works of Boole are thus contained in about fifty scattered articles and a few separate publications. Only two systematic treatises on mathematical subjects were completed by Boole during his lifetime. The well-known Treatise on Differential Equations appeared in 1859, and was followed, the next year, by a Treatise on the Calculus of Finite Differences, designed to serve as a sequel to the former work. These treatises are valuable contributions to the important branches of mathematics in question. To a certain extent these works embody the more important discoveries of their author. In the sixteenth and seventeenth chapters of the Differential Equations we find, for instance, an account of the general symbolic method, the bold and skilful employment of which led to Booles chief discoveries, and of a general method in analysis, originally described in his famous memoir printed in the Philosophical Transactions for 1844. Boole was one of the most eminent of those who perceived that the symbols of operation could be separated from those of quantity and treated as distinct objects of calculation. His principal characteristic was perfect confidence in any result obtained by the treatment of symbols in accordance with their primary laws and conditions, and an almost unrivalled skill and power in tracing out these results. During the last few years of his life Boole was constantly engaged in extending his researches with the object of producing a second edition of his Differential Equations much more complete than the first edition, and part of his last vacation was spent in the libraries of the Royal Society and the British Museum; but this new edition was never completed. Even the manuscripts left at his death were so incomplete that Todhunter, into whose hands they were put, found it impossible to use them in the publication of a second edition of the original treatise, and printed them, in 1865, in a supplementary volume. With the exception of Augustus de Morgan, Boole was probably the first English mathematician since the time of John Wallis who had also written upon logic. His novel views of logical method were due to the same profound confidence in symbolic reasoning to which he had successfully trusted in mathematical investigation. Speculations concerning a calculus of reasoning had at different times occupied Booles thoughts, but it was not till the spring of 1847 that he put his ideas into the pamphlet called Mathematical Analysis of Logic. Boole afterwards regarded this as a hasty and imperfect exposition of his logical system, and he desired that his much larger work, An Investigation of the Laws of Thought, on Which are Founded the Mathematical Theories of Logic and Probabilities (1854), should alone be considered as containing a mature statement of his views. Nevertheless, there is a charm of originality about his earlier logical work that is easy to appreciate.

McDonalds wishes to rework on its restaurant interiors Essay Example for Free

McDonalds wishes to rework on its restaurant interiors Essay McDonalds is the worlds leading global foodservice retailer with more than 33,000 locations in 118 countries. McDonald’s has several company owned stores, but uses Franchising for both domestic and international expansion. McDonalds India was set up as a 50:50 joint-venture between McDonalds at a global level and regional Indian partners such as Hardcastle Restaurants Private Limited in western India, and Connaught Plaza Restaurants Private Limited in northern India. McDonald’s currently has over 220 restaurants in the country. McDonalds doesn’t provide any financial assistance and absentee ownership of finance is not allowed. Also, the financial requirements are quite steep. MFY- for implementing the MFY (Made for You) option for customers, the franchises are required to upgrade their equipment at their own expense. This caused some problem with maintaining standard service across all outlets. Pricing and menu may also be a point of difficulty for the franchiser and franchisee as prices vary between companies owned and franchised stores. Inconsistent standards- There are several instances of poor service or disgruntled customers complaining about the quality of food served. This is because it is difficult to enforce the exact same standards in all franchised stores. McDonald’s aims to provide 100 percent total customer satisfaction. In order to achieve this goal , McDonald’s relies on its operating philosophy based on QSC V – Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value. McDonald’s believes that customer satisfaction is crucial to the success of the brand and all Restaurants must perform to the standards. These standards are used in both company owned and franchised restaurants. QUALITY Best ingredients: This is achieved by its commitment to sourcing all its requirements from local farmers and suppliers. Before entering India, the company spent six years and Rs. 450 crore toset up its supply chain. In India McDonalds pioneered the cold chain management which helpskeep vegetables and processed products safe for a longer time. Preparation Standards: Best quality standardized ingredients ensure standardized preparation standards can be followed. Every product has a fixed procedure of preparation. However, newer McDonald’s stores offer MFY (Made for You) where the product is made only after the order is placed. Other standards: * FIFO: (First in first out) for all inventories. * Reverse osmosis water treatment plant: Best technology for water purification at every outlet to provide water. Strict standards for vegetarian products including eggless mayonnaise and eggless ice-cream. SERVICE * Soft standards: * Welcome every customer with a smile and are genuinely friendly at all times * Deliver consistent standards of hospitality Seize opportunities to interact with customers in a personal and positive way * Be well informed about product contents and nutritional information * Always appear clean and well groomed. * Hard standards: * Serve fresh and hot * Serve within one minute of receiving order or give a free coke. This is implemented in a few outlets and is not applicable during peak hours. * Cleanliness and Hygiene * The counters, tables, floor area are to be kept clean at all times. * All staff required to cover their heads and wear gloves when within preparation area. * All these standards are evaluated by mystery shoppers and rated. This is called a RVR Restaurant Visitation Report) which provides a snapshot of the stores performance over a period of a few hours. The stores are graded either A, B, C or F. Facility Exterior: Exterior Design: McDonalds design exhibits a sense of â€Å"Forever Young† look with bright red and yellow colours appealing to the children and establishing its family restaurant positioning. The building provides a practical, contemporary design that aligns with the McDonalds brand essence while accommodating the latest operational and consumer experience standards. Their mascot Ronald Mcdonald is also present outside each of their restaurants. McDonalds always have all glass restaurants. McDonalds has always clearly identified and managed the various clues that customers use to form the impressions and feeling about their company. In addition to this, McDonalds has separate take away counters in order to save time of their patrons. Signage: All of McDonalds external signage reads as, â€Å"McDonalds-Family restaurant. Also keeping in mind with the local language, all McDonalds restaurant have their name boards in Hindi. McDonalds strongly believes in adhering to the local sentiments and hence none of the outlets in India sell Beef products and every restaurant has this mentioned. Also McDonalds, strongly believes in glass branding for any new products or services they offer. Most of the communication is designed to cater to local tastes and preferences. Parking/Landscape/Surrounding Environment: All McDonald outlets are located are accessible and present everywhere thus capitalizing on brand recognition. Most of the McDonalds have their own restaurants and hence the seating space available is exclusive to McDonald’s patrons. Also McDonalds offers proper parking facilities for its highway restaurants. Facility Interior All McDonalds outlet are standardized in terms of layout and have proper in-store branding. The â€Å"Young and Cheerful† design concept is a progressive, youthful, and energetic environment with open views for social interaction. All McDonald outlets are huge with proper aisles and passages with appropriate signage for seating arena, lavatories, wet floor and food counters. McDonalds has a Made for You food preparation platform.MFY is a unique concept (cooking method) where the food is prepared as the customer places its order. This cooking method has helped McDonald’s further strengthen its food safety, hygiene and quality standards. McDonalds also has illuminated Menu boards that offer a mix of both vegetarian and non vegetarian burgers along with other savories and drinks. McDonalds also has proper queues for placing order and often there is a executive who assists you in order placing. Also McDonalds gives toys for children thus making them wanting to come back. The other visible cues are color, lighting, in-store music, employee uniforms and trays with literary. McDonalds has ample in store lighting and directly inï ¬â€šuences an individual’s perception of the deï ¬ nition and quality of the space, inï ¬â€šuencing his or her awareness of physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual aspects of the space. The bright McDonald stores ensure prompt handling and evaluation of products. In all McDonald stores the lighting is perceived as more pleasant than other fast food environments. The color scheme that McDonalds uses exhumes cheerfulness and warmth. Red depicts vibrance, cheerfulness while yellow depicts friendliness and brightness. At McDonalds, music is a positive auditory cue stimulating specific consumer behaviour and emotions. Music appears to influence buyer-seller interaction. There is audio played about the latest offers and products. Also a balance and constant sound creates a pleasant sound environment. All employees at McDonald are provided with uniforms and name badges along with caps with McDonald signature â€Å"M† arch. Employees are also trained with appropriate soft skills to address customers. Every employee or front line executive greets the customer and exchanges pleasantries, which makes them happy. Service quality gap: The five gaps that organizations should measure manage and minimize: Gap 1 (Listening gap) is the distance between what customers expect and what managers think they expect Clearly survey research is a key way to narrow this gap. Gap 2 (standard and specification gap) is between management perception and the actual specification of the customer experience Managers need to make sure the organization is defining the level of service they believe is needed. 29 Gap 3 (performance gap)is from the experience specification to the delivery of the experience -Managers need to audit the customer experience that their organization currently delivers in order to make sure it lives up to the specification Gap 4 (communication gap) is the gap between the delivery of the customer experience and what is communicated to customers All too often organizations exaggerate what will be provided to customers, or discuss the best case rather than the likely case, raising customer expectations and harming customer perceptions Gap 5 is the gap between a customers perception of the experience and the customers expectation of the service Customers expectations have been shaped by word of mouth, their personal needs and their own past experiences. Routine transactional surveys after delivering the customer experience are important for an organization to measure customer perceptions of service Service Quality dimensions Tangibles : Physical evidence of service Reliability : Consistency of performance and dependability Responsiveness : Willingness/readiness of employees to provide service in timely manner Credibility : Trustworthiness, believability, honesty Security : Freedom from danger, risk, doubt, assurance guarantee, Certification Competence : Possession of required skills to perform service Access : Approachability and ease of contact Empathy Courtesy : Politeness, respect, consideration, friendliness Values: They place customer experience at the core of all they do: They believe customers are the reason for their existence. They demonstrate their appreciation by providing them with high quality food and superior service in a clean, welcoming environment, at a great value. Their goal is quality, service, cleanliness and value (QSCV) for each and every customer, each and every time. They are committed to their people. They provide opportunity, nurture talent, develop leaders and reward achievement. They believe that a team of well-trained individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences, working together in an environment that fosters respect and drives high levels of engagement, is essential to their continued success. They believe in the McDonald’s System. McDonald’s business model, depicted by their â€Å"three-legged stool† of owner/operators, suppliers, and company employees, is their foundation, and balancing the interests of all three groups is the key. They operate their business ethically. Sound ethics is good business. At McDonald’s, they hold themselves and conduct their business to high standards of fairness, honesty, and integrity. They are individually accountable and collectively responsible. They give back to their communities. They take seriously the responsibilities that come with being a leader. They help their customers in building better communities, support Ronald McDonald House Charities, and leverage their size, scope and resources to help make the world a better place. They grow their business profitably. McDonald’s is a publicly traded company. As such, they work to provide sustained profitable growth for their shareholders. This requires continuous focus on their customers and the health of their system. They strive continually to improve. They are a learning organization that aims to anticipate and respond to changing customer, employee and system needs through constant evolution and innovation. McDonald’s is committed to providing the highest quality food and superior service, at a great value, in a clean and welcoming environment. That’s why we work with their employees, franchisees, and suppliers to serve a balanced array of food choices and provide the nutrition informa tion needed for customers to make sound decisions. At the restaurant level, McDonald’s is focused on energy conservation, sustainable packaging, and waste management. They are dedicated to innovate and improve their operations in order to build an even more sustainable, environment friendly and profitable business. And will continue to re optimize their menu, modernize the customer experience, and broaden accessibility to their brand, so that consumers will always enjoy the maximum McDonald’s experience. Service Blueprint: Loopholes in service operations: A research report released Thursday by Dunnhumby, highlighted by The Wall Street Journal, elucidates that in reality the customer eating experience is becoming more and more important to consumers. With so many fast-food options available, they make their decisions based on loyalty — and a significant portion of this support is garnered through a chain’s friendly customer service and good eating experience. It is without doubt that McDonald’s is still winning over Americans with its cheap Dollar Menu offerings and convenient drive thru service. But its poor customer-service scores are ultimately hurting its sales– a certainty supported by the Dunnhumby report that demonstrates that restaurants with higher customer-service scores tend to show higher comparable sales growth over a two-year period. Thus, if the world’s largest restaurant chain wants to maintain its edge over competitors, it must not only focus on price and promotions, but also the expe rience it offers to customers every day. And McDonald’s executives agree. The Wall Street Journal explains that in a webcast these executives held with franchise owners in March, they called its service â€Å"broken.† The number of customer complaints related to friendliness issues have only increased, and complaints about speed of service also â€Å"have increased significantly over the past six months.† Is it then perhaps possible that customers are becoming more accustomed to the friendly service and loyalty rewards they receive at other growing chains like and then less tolerating of the subpar services they encounter at other fast food chains? With respect to the services provided by McDonalds, the following management issues were observed McDonalds wishes to rework on its restaurant interiors and match up to those of its self owned restaurants, However the problem that they have encountered is that franchisee owners are unwilling to invest in interior design. McDonald’s has introduced MFY (Made for You) whereby the burgers are made after the order is placed. However, the franchises are required to upgrade their equipment in order to follow this. The franchisees are not willing to incur such expenditure which poses a problem to McDonald’s. We normally observe the customary trend of people queuing outside McDonalds especially during the weekends. This is due to the limited capacity space in the restaurants. This has been a persistent management problem for McDonalds. Even though the management at McDonalds has been trying to search for a solution for the same, it fears doing so pertaining to cost issues.

Compliance Between The Patient And Medication

Compliance Between The Patient And Medication Introduction Medication compliance is a significant issue in the care of people with mental health conditions, particularly if the mental health condition is of an enduring and severe nature. The reason for this is that there is an increased likelihood of symptoms returning without the individual maintaining adherence to a prescribed medication regime. Conditions such as schizophrenia, psychosis and bi polar disorder fall under the remit of severe and enduring mental illness and it is reported that medication non compliance is likely to have severe implications to an individuals psychological health and wellbeing (Le Page, 2010). Leahy (2006) estimates that up to 70% of recurrent depression patients and around one half of schizophrenia patients are noncompliant with their prescribed medication and there is also a direct relation between medication noncompliance and an increased need for hospitalisation. This in turn has a whole range of implications in terms of the impact this has on employment, relationships, income, and parental responsibility and of course the impact on resources provided by health providers such as the NHS should also be acknowledged. This assignment will examine and reflect on the case of a 40 year old gentleman with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. The gentleman, who shall be referred to as Mr Smith for the purpose of this assignment (names have been changed to ensure client confidentiality as per NMC guidelines) has been receiving neuroleptic depot medication (Flupenthixol) to treat the symptoms of a schizophrenic condition, however Mr Smith has stated that he no longer was willing to accept the administration of the depot injection because he felt better. The assignment will start by briefly exploring the concept of compliance and the consequences of Mr Smith declining to take the prescribed medication and the potential impact this will have on his mental health. The second part of this assignment will reflect on how the practitioner responsible for the care of Mr Smith addressed the issue of facilitating the ongoing adherence to prescribed medication by focusing on theoretical frameworks that supported and encouraged Mr Smith to review his decision and continue to accept his depot injection. Consideration will also be made to legal and ethical frameworks that should be adopted in clinical practice when addressing the issue of medication compliance. Defining Compliance in Mental Health Care The term compliance is defined by the Cambridge dictionary (2010) as being a process where people obey an order, rule or request and that individuals become willing to do what others want, particularly if the other person is a figure of authority. A core definition of compliance provided by Harvey (2004-09) suggests that compliance is the undertaking of activities or establishing practices or policies in accordance with the requirements or expectations of an external authority. Compliance has been defined as the extent to which a persons behaviour coincides with medical or health advice (Haynes, 1974) and although this is an outdated definition the term compliance persists in mental health care today. In contemporary mental health care there are suggestions that the term compliance has negative connotations and it infers that an individual who does not comply is not doing as they are told by the mental health professional (Gray, 2002). Language and communication is an important tool in mental health and it is important to place the individual with mental health problems first by using terminology that is widely acceptable to both service providers and service users (Manzi, 2008). Repper Perkins (1998) support this point of view and indicate that the use of words like compliance infers that patients are passive recipients of health care who should obey instructions from professionals. As modern mental health care is concerned with developing therapeutic alliances to improve outcomes (Hakan and Jan-Ake, 2010) consequently it has been proposed that the term concordance (Gray, 2002) or the phrase medication adherence (Velligan et al., 2009) should replace the use of the word compliance in an attempt to remove the unequal and passive tone the word compliance has. For the purpose of this assignment the word compliance will be substituted by the term adherence as this implies a more collaborative approach between service providers and service users to approach the issue of medication and treatment. Consequences of Medication Non Adherence in Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a complex condition and diagnosis is made on the evidence of an individuals reported experiences (symptoms) and observable behaviours (signs) which commonly may include; delusional thinking; hallucinations, thought interference; ideas of reference, thought disorder; social withdrawal; anxiety and depression (Keen, 2003). Psychiatric treatment for individuals almost always involves drug therapy to stabilise psychotic symptoms and to reduce the individuals risk of relapse (Barker, 2003). There are many different pharmacological preparations available for the treatment of symptoms experienced by an individual diagnosed with schizophrenia and they may include preparations that are taken orally or delivered by intramuscular depot injection. Our Client Mr Smith had been having a depot injection called Flupenthixol to treat the symptoms he experienced following his diagnosis of schizophrenia; as a result it is reported that he had felt better and therefore did not want to have the depot any more. Mr Smith had made a decision not to accept his depot medication any longer however it is well documented in the research and evidence base that this course of action and decision will have a significant impact on his health and global well being. Novick et al. (2010) indicates that non adherence with anti psychotic medications, such as Flupenthixol for patients with schizophrenia and psychosis, is significantly associated with an increased risk of relapse, hospitalization and suicide attempts. There is a significant body of evidence that highlights that the symptoms of schizophrenia return without pharmacological treatment and medication adherence and that there are potentially devastating consequences to the individual with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia if this behaviour of non adherence is adopted (Velligan et al., 2010). Therapeutic Interventions to Promote Adherence As a mental health practitioner it would not be uncommon at some point to experience a clinical interaction with a patient who has made a decision not to continue with their prescribed medication, however the practitioner has the responsibility to understand the reasons behind the patients decision making process and to provide the patient with the biggest opportunity to make an informed and educated decision about declining treatment for a chronic and enduring mental health condition such as schizophrenia. It is important for the mental health practitioner to obtain an understanding of the reasons behind Mr Smiths decision to discontinue his depot medication and to do this the modality of cognitive behavioural therapy can be implemented. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a form of psychological therapy and aims to help understand the link between thoughts, emotions and behaviour. It teaches individuals skills to overcome problematic thoughts, emotions and behaviour and to find ways of overcoming negative thinking and challenging unhelpful and inaccurate thoughts or beliefs (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2008). The most favourable outcome from CBT is for the individual to develop skills and techniques that enables them to approach situations in a more reasoned and balanced manner which supports problem solving and increases the feelings of being in more control (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2008). An important consideration in relation to implementing CBT and for that matter other therapeutic interventions is that there needs to be an established therapeutic relationship between the client and the mental health practitioner to increase the opportunity for success and for both parties to engage in working towards a common goal; for example for Mr Smith and the mental health practitioner to work towards exploring the issues surrounding medication adherence. NICE (2010) recommends that managing the process of engagement requires professionals to have sensitivity to the perspective of the individual and to understand that the condition can have a profound effect on the persons judgment, their capacity to understand their situation and their capacity to consent to specific interventions. The process of engaging successfully with individuals with schizophrenia may at times require considerable persistence and flexibility from professionals and the establishment of trust is crucial. Both parties may have differing views on what the main problem is and how it should be addressed, however the professional can help with finding common ground and this common ground can establish trust and collaboration (NICE, 2010). To address the issue regarding Mr Smiths decision to no longer adhere to his treatment plan and accept his depot medication for the symptoms of schizophrenia the mental health professional will need to enter into conversations to gain understanding of the patients perspective. One way of achieving this is for the mental health practitioner to adopt motivational interviewing so that the two parties can explore the decision (stopping of the depot injection) and negotiate behaviour change (acceptance of the depot) through the individual (Mr Smith) being able to identify, understand and articulate the benefits (remaining mentally well and symptom free) and costs involved (physical, emotional, family, employment for example will all be impacted upon greatly if symptoms return). Rollnick et al. (2010) indicate that simply giving patients advice to change decisions or behaviour is often unrewarding and ineffective and by adopting motivational interviewing a guiding style helps to engage with patients, helps clarify strengths and aspirations, evoke their own motivations for change and promote autonomy of decision making. The four central principles of motivational interviewing are described by Treasure (2004) as being; the use of reflective listening in an empathetic manner to convey understanding of the patients point of view; tease out ways the behaviour or choice conflicts with the wish to be good or viewed as good; respond with empathy and understanding rather that confrontation and finally support the patient in confidence building to understand change is possible. For Mr Smith and his decision to decline any further depot injections of Flupenthixol it may be very easy for the mental health practitioner and Mr Smith to become embroiled in conflict as the practitioner has the evidence base and clinical knowledge to know that a relapse is somewhat inevitable and the impact on Mr Smiths global wellbeing and function would be significant; however Mr Smith believes that he is now well and therefore no longer needs treatment. By using motivational interviewing techniques the mental health practitioner can actively listen to Mr Smiths reasoning behind the decision he has made in relation to medication adherence; support Mr Smith to see the pros and cons of his decision; assess his confidence and elicit a view on his feelings fears and aspirations; exchange information; support with decision making and goal setting. To give an example of how motivational interviewing may be implemented the practitioner may ask questions such as; I want to try and understand Mr Smith about your decision not to have your depot anymore; can you give me your perspective on why you want to stop taking it? So Mr Smith if you were to stop taking your depot, where do you think that would leave you in terms of remaining well? How important is taking this medication for you right now? Would you mind if I shared with you some information and evidence I have about how the depot injection helps people with schizophrenia remain well and symptom free? And; Okay, can I check with you your understanding of the risks of not accepting the depot anymore? This approach to supporting adherence to medication is reported to be beneficial and it is suggested that the body of evidence continues to grow in support of its effectiveness (Rollnick et al., 2010) and with the many applications in psychiatry it is particularly helpful for use in settings where there is resistance to change (Treasure, 2004). However there are some considerations that need to be identified that may impact on the efficacy of motivational interviewing as a technique to support medication adherence. Firstly one issue to consider is that motivational interviewing is a skill that mental health practitioners need to develop and practice and although the principles are described as easy (Treasure, 2004) putting these principles into practice may not be that simple. There potentially could be many different variables as to why adopting motivational interviewing may not be effective in supporting medication adherence. Barriers that may impact on the success of motivational interviewing in supporting Mr Smith to maintain his medication adherence may include; there not being a therapeutic alliance established between the mental health practitioner and Mr Smith. The reasons for this can be numerous, for example Mr Smith may only recently have been discharged from hospital and the mental health practitioner is his new community psychiatric nurse that he has only met a couple of times; Mr Smith may prefer male workers to female workers and vice versa or even Mr Smith may not feel comfortable having mental health practitioners come to his home and feel unable to engage or discuss issues of importance. Another reason that may impact on the efficacy of the motivational interviewing process to support Mr Smiths adherence to medication is that the mental h ealth practitioner may be constrained by time and resources and therefore not able to deliver the therapeutic process accurately or in a timely. Another issue to consider is that Mr Smiths adherence to medication and decision not to continue to accept the depot may actually be based on the schizophrenic condition relapsing and the decision to withdraw from treatment is being made due to reduced insight and understanding. It is suggested that there are potentially a large range of risk factors that can be present and that are related to the patients individual behaviour and understanding of the impact of schizophrenia and psychosis. These variables are classified as patient related and include poor insight, negative attitude towards medication, symptom severity, history of previous non adherence, substance misuse and cognitive impairment. Other variables may also include treatment, environmental and societal issues such as side effects and complexity of medication regimes family support, side effects, financial problems and lack of access to treatment (Citrome, 2010). Legal and Ethical Considerations It is important for mental health practitioners to understand that there are occasions where more assertive and restrictive approaches such as treatment orders or inpatient hospital care are the only way for adherence to medication to be sustained (Chaplin, 2007). The Mental Capacity Act (2005) provides a framework for the making of decisions for people who lack capacity in England and Wales. Under the Capacity Act healthcare professionals are advised that they must work on the presumption that every adult patient has the capacity to make decisions about their care, and to decide whether to agree to, or refuse, an examination, and investigation or in this instance treatment. A patient is regarded as lacking capacity once it is clear that, having been given all appropriate help and support, they cannot understand, retain, use or weigh-up the information needed to make that decision, or communicate their wishes. Therefore in this instance Mr Smith must be presumed to have capacity to make the decision not to adhere to the treatment plan unless there is evidence that he is no longer able to provide reasoned information to support his decision due to the presence of severe mental illness. It would be at this juncture that the mental health practitioner would look to ensuring Mr Smiths best interests are explored and this may result in an assessment under the Mental Health Act (1983), however until this time the mental health practitioner may continue to use the therapeutic alliance and CBT and motivational interviewing techniques to support the adherence process. The success of a therapeutic alliance is often based on trust and to establish trust the mental health practitioner must respect the patients ethical right to autonomy. Autonomy for Mr Smith would be the right to decide and determine whether or not to accept or decline his depot injection even if the refusal meant that his mental health would deteriorate and the consequences to his global wellbeing become severely impaired. It would be unethical for the mental health practitioner to coerce, threaten or manipulate Mr Smith into having the depot injection particularly if he has the mental capacity to make the decision to decline further treatment. For the mental health practitioner to behave in this manner would not only be a breach of professional and ethical conduct it would also potentially jeopardize any therapeutic alliance that had been developed. Addressing Risk Mr Smiths decision to become non adherent to prescribed medication presents a requirement for detailed risk planning and assessment to ensure the well being of Mr Smith, his family and friends and those providing care to him is sustained. Mental health practitioners have a duty of care to assess risk using a formulated tool that has been adopted by their employer and mental health service. The calculation of risk must be based on the practitioners knowledge, skills and competence and value should be placed on the process of risk taking, following assessment and in the context of appropriate management, as it will increase the practitioners ability to help clients to achieve their potential. However, there should be awareness that there may be conflicts between professional accountability and the autonomy of the client (UKCC, 1998). Risk issues that may be identified for Mr Smith are individual and related to the course and nature of his experience of Schizophrenia, this is why it is important for the practitioner to have established a therapeutic alliance with him so that discussions can be held about risk issues and care planning can be done collaboratively to reduce the risk impact. Conclusion Medication adherence in schizophrenia is a complex issue with the consequences of non adherence impacting significantly on the global function and mental well being of individuals who make the decision to not adhere to their medication treatment plan. Through the process of collaboration and the development of therapeutic alliances between mental health professionals and patients it is suggested that adherence can be improved and sustained and that interventions such as CBT and motivational interviewing makes psychoeducation a cornerstone of many adherence interventions (Zygmunt et al., 2002). Mental health practitioners should have an understanding that medication adherence is less likely to occur in patients with severe mental illness who are not engaged with mental health services and who are not exposed to a good therapeutic relationship. One of the most common themes that have been identified throughout this assignment and in the evidence base is that the therapeutic alliance between a patient and mental health professional should never be underestimated particularly when it comes to supporting medication adherence in the treatment of schizophrenia.

Chaucers The Franklins Tale from the Canterbury Tales Essay -- Chauc

Chaucer's The Franklin's Tale from the Canterbury Tales The Franklin’s Tale, one of the many stories comprising the Canterbury Tales, is one of Chaucer’s most celebrated and most contradictory works. This tale set in medieval Brittany narrates the uncanny marriage of the knight Arveragus and his lady Dorigen. This unlikely union was based on mutual trust, love and truthfulness and knew neither the rule of the lady that was typical of courtly love, nor the domination by the husband that was expected of a traditional marriage. In the controversial scene that will be discussed here, Arveragus orders Dorigen to give herself to a man to whom she had made the reckless promise of giving her love if he could accomplish an impossible deed. Critics have argued back and forth for centuries on the topic of knowing whether this scene (and the tale’s outcome) showed the validity of the marriage agreement or, on the contrary, its total utopia. Indeed, how should Arveragus’ reaction be interpreted? Does he stay true to his mar riage vow by sending his wife to a forced adultery? And what does it say about the couples’ values and the validity of their engagement? In my opinion, Arveragus violated the marriage agreement because he valued trouthe to others and knightly honor before trouthe to his wife and to his own promise. His actions were motivated not by the mutual promise the loving couple had made to each other but by the desire to save the couple’s honor in the face of society and to abide by the principle of trouthe, not truthfulness. In order to answer the question of whether Arveragus violates his marriage vows by ordering his wife to Aurelius, one must first carefully analyze said vows and determine exactly what kind of marr... ...2. Chaucer, Geoffrey. â€Å"The Franklin’s Tale†. The Canterbury Tales. Pages 337-358. Flake, Timothy H. â€Å"Love, Trouthe, and the Happy Ending of the Franklin’s Tale†. English Studies. 1996, 3. Pages 209-226. Kaske R.E. â€Å"Chaucer’s Marriage Group†. Chaucer the Love Poet. Edited by Jerome Mitchell and William Provost. University of Georgia Press, 1973. Lawler, Traugott. â€Å"Delicacy vs. Truth†. New Readings of Chaucer’s Poetry. Edited by Robert G. Benson and Susan J. Ridyard. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, 2003. Schwartz, Debora B. â€Å"Backgrounds to Romance: Courtly Love†. Medieval Literature class. California Polytechnic State University, March 2001. http://cla.calpoly.edu/~dschwart/engl513/courtly/courtly.htm Severs, J. Burke. â€Å"The Tales of Romance†. Companion to Chaucer Studies. Edited by Beryl Rowland. Toronto: New York University Press, 1968. Pages 229-246.

Media and Gender Stereotyping :: Media Stereotyping of Men and Women

1 ABSTRACT Past research found that media culture, particularly magazines, present stereotypical notions of gender. Gender stereotypes are not inflexible, like a barometer stereotypes change to reflect both societal and cultural values. This research set out to study current gender stereotypes types in four popular magazines (Marie Claire, GQ, Shape and Men's Health). The advertisements were categorised into gender specific and gender neutral adverts. The results found that the mode for gender specific adverts for both men and women's magazines related to female specific related adverts. Although the findings did not support the prediction of stereotypical gender specific advertising, the research itself was characterised by a number of weaknesses. 2 INTRODUCTION Advertisements have appeared in print media since the invention of the printing press in the 1500s. The usage of the term magazine itself first came about with the publication of 'The Gentlemen's Magazine' and 'The Lady's Magazine' in the 1730s by Edward Cave (1691-1754) (Connor, G 2001). Different types of magazines exist for just about every age and social group, for any interest, hobby and lifestyle. Advertisers make use of information gathered by agencies like ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulation) and the NRS (National Readership Survey), who categorise consumers by age, gender, occupation and socio-economic status. This knowledge enables advertisers to design ad campaigns specific to their target audience through the types of magazines they read (cited in Magazines and Gender, 2004). Even though adverts are designed with a specific audience in mind, they are still developed to appeal to the vast majority within that target audience; there is no resource, finance or capability to market each unique individual. Advertisers exploit stereotypical gender types to produce advertisement to have the widest appeal. Societies have always had ways of differentiating between both men and women, between masculinity and femininity through the assertion of different attitudes and behaviour patterns onto each gender (as cited in Gender and Identity, 2004). It is therefore essential to distinguish between sex, gender and

West Nile: Its Not Just a River In Egypt Essay -- West Nile Viruses

West Nile: It's Not Just a River In Egypt These Americans will go mad over just about anything. Lately there has been so much news coverage about "the West Nile Virus" my head is spinning. What I don't understand is why they are finally becoming concerned with it now! The news reports on the television say that it has been present in animals and humans on other continents for years though it was only documented in 1999.[1] It has taken what seems like a long time to spread across the continent to California. However, being a student of history myself I know that usually epidemics in the past have taken much, much longer to spread such distances. Seeing as this disease was present on all other continents but this one for so long it makes it difficult to track its entrance into the U.S., but the American scientists say the strain of West Nile they have here most closely identifies with strains from the Middle East.[1] Every time I turn on the telly there is some well groomed reporter standing near an area deemed "high risk" such as ponds in parks. In her clear harsh American tone she warns to stay indoors at dusk, to avoid areas with standing water, and use plenty of insect repellent.[2] You see they have found that this virus is transmitted by mosquitoes, and those conditions tend to make people come in close contact with them. She then lists warning signs for the fever that accompanies contraction of the virus, rattling on about things that could just as easily be something else. Fever, head and body aches, nausea[2]--all things that could accompany any illness; the flu, a cold, food poisoning or even a hard days work. Why must all sicknesses exhibit the same symptoms? They say that the infection of the body c... ...ted for this year in California. Being so young I'm not as concerned about this as the older population is, but I am just as affected by the sensationalist news reports, "WEST NILE WATCH 2003," that interrupt programs every fifteen minutes. There really is a feeling of impending sickness that will sweep over us all, but luckily it doesn't seem to strike. It is definitely something that the populace here has been educated about, and warned about, but has yet to affect a widespread group of people negatively. On the contrary, I'm sure bug repellant sales are up, as well as doctor visits for flu-like symptoms. We are all more aware, many are frightened and hopefully few will ever have reason to be. Sources: 1. www.bayeradvanced.com/garden/west-nile-virus/ 2. Hitti, Miranda. "West Nile Fever Worse Than Expected," 3. www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/

International Student Life Essay

I am a international student who are studying in America. My goals are improving my English and enter a collage. Studying in America has a lot of advantages, such as we can learn new cultures. But Studying in different country is a difficult thing for teenager, for example, we need to adapt to new surroundings. First, studying in America, it is a good thing for me. For example, I can improve English faster, because I have to communicate with teachers, students and my homestay in English every day, I can more practice my spoken. But in China, even though I studied in English school, I spoke Chinese most of the time in my life. The second, I can study a lot of new cultures. For instance, I can study ways of greetings in America. When people get back home, they will say â€Å"Did you have a good day? † then, people will talk about their life. When my homestay ask me, †Did you have a good day? † I am feeling very warm. But in china, when I got back home, I just said† Dad, Mum, I am coming back! † So in my opinion, American greetings could promote sentiment between the parents and friend’s. Finally, I can make friends who can speak English. Such as my friend who name is Myahri. She is from Turkmenistan. She is very nice to me. She taught me how to stay with American family, how to make American friends and how to write essay. She often encourages me. I had a lot of benefit from her. I really cherish this friend. Everything has two handles. Studying in America also has a lot of disadvantages. we need to adapt to new surroundings. For instance, American schools have different school system. In China, students take their all the classes in the same classroom, and the student locker is in their own classroom. But in America , I need take next period book and find next period classroom in five minutes. Sometimes I even have not time to go to bathroom. Then because of cultural differences, for example, American like using Email, but Chinese do not like using Email such as me. I hardly use Email in China. At beginning, because of my regular habit, I missed lots of important information. The last point is language problem. For instance, my English is not good. So some of the classes is very difficult to me. Sometimes I need spent many times doing my homework. Because I need translate questions and handouts. It is hard to keep grade for international student. Studying in America is a difficult thing, but if you try to make America friends, it is very helpful to you. American friends will make your like more colorful. You need spend more time staying with homestay, it will develop relationship between you and your homestay. It is helpful for your daily life. Finally, I think that football is good to know. Everyone in America likes football game. This is a good topic to talk with people. In general, also studying in America is difficult thing to me, but I think that studying in America has more good than bad. This is good chance to improve myself. And studying America , I can have more chance to enter famous university.