Thursday, October 31, 2019

Organisational Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Organisational Leadership - Essay Example The scare coincided with the retirement of John Scott the long serving CEO and the new CEO'S initial months at the head of the organisation has been problematic. Media stores have suggested that he hasn't effectively managed the reputation damage to Retailco's brand and was not fully conversant with or effectively leading the international markets. In addition to that, the Executive Board is uncertain as to how to develop the China strategy and as a consequence its share price and ability to raise funds from investors is at risk.† Thus, the purpose of this part is to provide a solution to the challenges faced by Retailco Company. Reputation is often associated with damage and it’s never intentional. For instance, the Snow ball chocolate contamination has badly ruined the Retailco company reputation. No single organisation intends to temper with its perfect reputation on purpose. According to the reputation theory, reputation damage can be mitigated and managed. In additi on to that, reputation risks makes organisations not to meet expectations in terms of revenue and also give surprises that are unpleasant. To manage reputation risks, company’s managers should invest in trust as it is the principal currency. All in all, successful mitigation of reputation damage helps in achieving of high performance, activity and behaviour consistent alignment with the expectations of the stakeholder. For purposes of managing the company reputation risk, the CEO needs to identify and appreciate his stakeholders as vital ingredient for managing reputation. This is because; the primary stakeholders are vital organisation components without whom the organisation cannot function properly. The stakeholders are such as the customers, suppliers, employees and stakeholders. Even though secondary stakeholders are not that important, the loss of any of them or a substitute addition is not critical in any business environment. As such, the CEO of Retailco company shoul d identify 6-7 stakeholders whom he should closely watch. In addition to that, the CEO should comprehend that there is no way that is simple when it comes to managing reputation. He should aim at preventing the situation in which the company reputation can be damaged. As such, he should put in place a protection policy. Since Retailco Company is managing business internationally, he should have a clear understanding of the factors that might affect his business such as competitive, economic, environmental and market factors. In addition to that, he should ensure that his employees understand the language of the people that houses its foreign operations. Furthermore, they should comprehend the attitudes of the people in the foreign country and also the things that motivate them. Finally, the company should ensure product sustainability through building products that are perfect and do not cause harm that is unnecessary. In addition to that, the managers should use their business to i mplement and inspire solution to crisis that is environmental among others. If all the above measures are followed, the company will regain its reputation again. In the light of the above, the reigning CEO should gather his employees together his employees together for purposes of imposing his beliefs, values, vision, goals and assumptions. All these are aimed at solving the problem in the company which is brand reputation. This is a perfect way of developing leadership and organisation culture. The end result is equipping of organisation employees

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Library system Essay Example for Free

Library system Essay Most of the references used nowadays and never fades are books. People who need it purchase this reference material while some borrow from a public or private library. In a library where many transactions are being process, there are methods that the LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION used to make things work faster and easier. One of the methods used by the librarians and book keepers is the LIBRARY SYSTEM. It is an arrangement used to coordinate and manage library books, borrowers and users in the easiest way There were several libraries inquired and research by the researchers used a different kind of library system. In Toronto Public Library, the largest public library in Toronto, Canada, uses mechanics in the library system to track transactions (Toronto Public Library). While on the National Library, Philippines uses an on-line access for their transactions, (National Library). Some LIBRARY SYSTEM examples researched by the researchers is the LIBRARY CLASSIFICATION wherein it uses call numbers base on the books that they are classified (Wikipedia, 2014). Another example is the Dewey Decimal System founded by Mr. Dewey where it uses numbers and codes in book numbering for it to be easily found (Wikipedia, 2014). In lieu with the information given above, the researchers want to establish a new and systematic of a library system. This study aims to detailed and illustrate a way of putting up a computerized LIBRARY SYSTEM with the use of a simple programming language, VISUAL BASIC. AKNOWLEDGEMENT We would like to express our special thanks of gratitude to Saint Justine College of Asia and Fortunato F. Halili National Agricultural School as well as to Mr. Roger Ilejay, Mr. Emmanuel Valdez, Mr. Angelo Romulo Cruz, Mrs. Ma. Luz Bayani, Mrs. April Co, and also to our instructor Mrs. Jocelyn Gamo who gave us the opportunity to do this system and action Research entitled â€Å"Library System† which also helped us in doing a lot of research. We came to know about so many things that is why we are really thankful to them. DEDICATION This library System is made and develops for the School of Fortunato F. Halili National Agricultural School. This system helps to facilitate or to search the book easier and faster. We are committed to providing the library users with a positive experience that starts with a successful implementation. This system helps to facilitate or to search easier because it is a computerized, organize and moderate. It easy to provide step by step assistance export data from your existing system and upload your data. it easy to process and transferring data. Definition of Terms Computerized To equips with or automates by computers. Library system A computerized library system for a university keeps track of all books and periodicals in the library and their check-out status. Checkout and return are automated through a bar code reader (an external device). The library system also interfaces with an external relational database which stores information about the library users (students, faculty, and staff), including whether they have any library items checked out. . Library users can access the catalog and recall books and periodicals. Library employees have the same access as well as additional capabilities (e. g. , listing the status of an item). Data Factual information or information for computer processing, distinct pieces of information usually formatted in a special way. All software is divided into two general categories: data and programs. Programs are collections of instructions for manipulating data. Data can exist in a variety of forms as numbers or text on pieces of paper, as bits and by test stored in electronic memory, or as facts stored in a persons mind. Database A set of data that has a regular structure and that is organized in such a way that a computer can easily find the desired information.. LAN (Local Area Network ). This serves a local area (typically the area of a floor of a building, but in some cases spanning a distance of several kilometers). Records Data, details , documents, file, information, or reports. In the structure of a database, the part consisting of several uniquely named components called data fields. Several data records make up a data file, and several data files make up a database. Share Distributing or giving files, or a resource such as a file, folder or printer, that has been made sharable with other users on the network. Visual Basic – is a third – generation event – driven programming language and intergrated development environment (IDE) from Microsoft for its combasic to be relatively easy to learn and use. Command Button – A graphical button that appears in a computer user interface , allowing a user to trigger an event. Microsoft Access – Also known as Microsoft office access , is a database management system from Microsoft that combines the relational Microsoft database engine with a graphical user interface and software development tools. Related Literature Foreign  According to Robson (2001), usability is a key requirement for users, says Elisabeth Robson, Product manager for Online Computer Library Center. The catalogue has become a way to pull together disparate resources, including commercial resources and web links. management systems also allow circulation, including check in/check out and enable libraries to purchase materials and track where they are. According to Chad (2009), consulting is at a major point of change in the wider information economy within which library systems form part of a larger whole. He was writing in a briefing paper about the study in library management systems. This study examined the systems used in higher-education libraries across the UK and came up with some significant observations and recommendations. It noted that the LMS market in UK higher education is already mature and that four main vendors (Ex Libris, Innovative, Sirsi Dynix and Talis) have almost 90 per cent of the market. This market maturity means, according to the study authors, that the benefits to libraries of changing LMS provider are limited. Library users expect to find everything together says Stephen Abram, vice president for innovation at Sirsi Dynix, the leading provider of software solutions and associated services for libraries. According to her traditionally, the library management system or integrated library system (ILS) was responsible for running libraries efficiently and effectively. Over the last few years, the role of the ILS has been expanding from meeting library needs to delivering user experience. Botolan Community College http://www. scribd.com/doc/99431218/Computerized-Library-System Local According to Eden (2011), views that most libraries are forced to work with fewer staff because of the having a more improved and modernized system for their library . According also to the study, the library administration need to emphasize to their staff that the organization has a vested interest in providing them with the tools and training they need to assist the organization in the new information marketplace. These may include search engines, circulation systems, and the online public access catalog. According to Lopez (2002) , University of the Philippines Mindanao when UP in Mindanao accepted its first batch of students in 1996, the Main Library collection was integrated with the core collection of the School of Management (SOM) Library at the Stanfilco Bldg. , Ladislawa Avenue, Buhangin, Davao City. The Filipiniana and General References were housed together with the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) collection in Room 2 of the Philippine Coconut Authority. In the Second Semester AY 1996-1997,the CAS Library moved to its main campus in Bago Oshiro. Upon the recognition of UP in Mindanao by the Board of Regents (BOR) as a constituent unit (CU) of the UP System, the CAS was split into two (2), namely: College of Humanities and Social Botolan Community College http://www. scribd. com/doc/99431218/Computerized-Library-System Related Hypotesis Researcher’s hypothesize that their study on coming up of a library system will be helpful both the book keepers and to the students . Book keepers will already be having a stress free and convenient way of logging transactions in the library. Also, they will be able to help students to search book in a matter of second. The researcher hope that all of the possibilities and hypothesis they mentioned would be integrate in their mentioned study. Statement of the importance of the study This study will help the faculty staff and students of Fortunato F. Halili National Agricultural School to make Book Information easy thought in searching a book that they help of the library system made by the researcher for a hassle free transactions. 1. Helps in searching the book systematically and in a computerizes way? This objectives includes the researches of all kinds of the library system that will be applicable to the sponsored school. This will be the â€Å"trial and error† process of the researchers. 2. How to establish a library system using visual basic? With the use of the program language, visual basic and the back – ground of the researchers in programming, the researchers will set – up a library system using visual basic 3. To make a library system for Fortunato F. Halili National Agricultural School? The main goal is to set – up a library system that will fit for the Fortunato F. Halili National Agricultural School.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Imaging Hypoxia in Glioblastoma Multiforme with PET

Imaging Hypoxia in Glioblastoma Multiforme with PET Hypoxia plays a crucial role in the progression of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) promoting angiogenesis, genetic mutations, switch to a more aggressive behaviour and ote important consequences. Many diagnostic methods have been investigated and today PET and MRI appear to be the more attractive for the evaluation of the heterogeneous hypoxia in GBM.(Mendichovszky and Jackson 2011, Vartanian, Singh et al. 2014) Hirata first documented the utility of hypoxic tracers ([18F]FMISO in this study) in patients with differentiating GBM from lower grade gliomas based on the level of tumour hypoxia.(Hirata, Terasaka et al. 2012) Hypoxia assessment by PET imaging seems to provide complementary information to MRI within the complex relationship existing between hypoxia and angiogenesis in GBM. This was confirmed in a study of Swanson et al, where the authors documented a strong correlation between the hypoxic burden, determined with [18F]FMISO, and altered vasculature documented on gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted MRI sequences.(Swanson, Chakraborty et al. 2009) As for other tumours, the prognostic capability of [18F]FMISO has been confirmed also in GBM, in a study evaluating the correlation between hypoxic volume, intensity of hypoxia an survival in 22 patients with GBM who underwent PET scan before biopsy or between resection and radiation therapy (RT).(Spence, Muzi et al. 2008) The heterogeneous distribution of hypoxia within GBM cannot be fully investigated by [18F]FMISO PET imaging, but the tumour–blood ratio provide acceptable data on the different levels of hypoxia within the tumour.(Padhani, Krohn et al. 2007) [18F]FAZA is another radiotracer tracer, which has showed promising results. The biggest study ever published, evaluating the utility of [18F]FAZA in 50 patients with different types of tumours, documented increased uptake of the tracer in all gliomas, with a tumour-to-background (T/B) ratio range of 1.9-15.6, which is higher compared to that of [18F]FMISO.(Postema, McEwan et al. 2009) However, as already said most of literature on the use of [18F]FAZA in the brain is based in preclinical setting (see Tab.X) According to the group of Wiebe, one important point in favour of [18F]FAZA for the evaluation of hypoxia in brain tumours is the absence of uptake in normal brain tissue, while [18F]FMISO shows, although limited, non-specific uptake in the brain.(Wiebe 2004) Recently, also Belloli and colleagues investigated the combined use of [18F]FAZA and [18F]FDG PET and MRI to follow the biological modification of specific line of glioma cells during the tumour progression in animal models of GBM (rats with implanted glioma F98 cells). The authors observed that [18F]FAZA and [18F]FDG were taken up respectively in the core and in external areas of the tumoyr, with partial overlap and remodelling during disease progression, suggesting that necrotic regions, defined on the basis of [18F]FDG uptake reduction, may include hypoxic clusters of vital tumour tissue identified with 18F]FAZA.(Belloli, Brioschi et al. 2013) BOLD-MRI is an advance MRI technique, particulary suitable for the evaluation of hypoxia, which evaluate the changes in oxygen concentration and ratio between oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin within vessels. In contrast to oxyhaemoglobin, deoxyhaemoglobin is paramagnetic and determines an increase of transverse relaxation rate (R2*) of water in blood and surrounding tissues.(Mendichovszky and Jackson 2011) Unfortunately BOLD-MRI signal is sensible also to other tissue factors, such as blood flow, carbon dioxide tension, haematocrit, pH. Decoupling the effects of flow from deoxyhaemoglobin and static components it is essential to measure R2* and be obtained using multi-echo GRE sequences.(Padhani, Krohn et al. 2007) T1-weighted oxygen-enhanced MRI (OE-MRI) has been proposed as an alternative imaging technique for the evaluation of hypoxia.(Zaharchuk, Busse et al. 2006) Dissolved oxygen in blood and plasma influences MRI signal by increasing the longitudinal relaxation rate of protons (R1). OE-MRI has already been employed in the evaluation of oxygen in healthy tissues and in tumours, but not in the evaluation of hypoxia in GBM, except in a preclinical study by Linnik et al. (Linnik, Scott et al. 2014) In an animal study, Wu et al. used a mechanically ventilation with 100% oxygen at the rate of 8 l/min to investigate hypoxia in brain of rats and showed close agreement between R2* and R1 changes in white and grey matter in response to oxygen inhalation.(Wu, Gao et al. 2012) In the study of Wu and colleagues, the T1 values decreased prominently in the cortical grey matter but also, with a lower extent, in the subcortical gray matter and in white matter, where the decrease was the least significant. Instead the T2 values showed an increase in response to the oxygen inhalation in all the regions examined in the following order: white matter>subcortical gray matter>cortical gray matter. Similarly, the T2* values increased with more evident change in the cortical gray matte and white matter and with a less extent in subcortical gray matter.(Wu, Gao et al. 2012) These observations support the use of oxygen-enhanced imaging as a biomarker for tumour oxygenation, although the relationship between the signal changes resulting from variations in dissolved oxygen pressure and true tumour hypoxaemia remain to be elucidated. DCE-MRI, using contrast agents of low molecular weight, has been proposed as an additional MRI method for identification and quantification of hypoxia in some types of tumour and some authors successfully demonstrated a correlation between perfusion parameters to oxygen tension. (Ceelen, Smeets et al. 2006) DCE-MRI parameters have been demonstrated also to indicate preoperatively areas with high hypoxia in glioma patients.In particularly Jensen et al. demonstrated that capillary transit time (tc) correlated with HIF-1 expression and VEGF expression in the histopathological examination of corresponding of active tumour regions. Other parameters, blood volume (Vb), capillary heterogeneity (a-1) and kep (washout rate) also showed a correlation with biomarkers of hypoxia.(Jensen, Mumert et al. 2014) O’ Connor, in a study evaluating ten patients with solid tumours, proposed that DCE may provide complementary information to OE-MRI regarding the tumour microenvironment, estimating lo cal perfusion and extracellular–extravascular volume,(OConnor, Naish et al. 2009) Subsequently, Linnik et al. validated the measurement of hypoxia validated OE-MRI using a murine glioma xenograft with histopathological confirmation. The study involved 5 patients, who underwent the same imaging protocol of the rats: OE-MRI and DCE-MRI and histological confirmation with reduced pimonidazole adducts and CD31 staining. Furthermore, the area under the curve (AUC) was also calculated for the R1 curve for OE-MRI and the gadolinium concentration curve for DCE-MRI. Whereas DCE-MRI did not relate to hypoxia in the xenograft model, the authors found a strong correlation between estimation of hypoxia by means OE-MRI and histology results, supporting further research to validate also the utility of OE-MRI in the evaluation of response to therapy and prediction of prognosis (Fig.).(Linnik, Scott et al. 2014) DWI-MRI instead has been used to clarify the mechanism of action of bevacizumab role, scanning patients with recurrent GBM before and after treatment with bevacizumab.(Rieger, Bahr et al. 2010) The mechanism of action of bevacizumab is still matter of debate. It is thought to produce damage to the endothelial cells, decreasing transport of nutrients and oxygen to the tumour cells,(Field, Jordan et al. 2014) but recently, it has been postulated an alternative theory: antiangiogenic therapy could stimulate a â€Å"vascular normalization†, which would allow improved chemotherapy delivery and radiation effects through enhanced oxygen delivery.(Jain 2005) The study showed that bevacizumab induced stroke-like lesions with diffusion restriction and corresponding ADC decrease in 13 out of 18 patients enrolled in the study. A biopsy, performed in ADC-decreased lesion in one patient, demonstrated and nuclear hypoxia with HIF-1ÃŽ ± up-regulation atypical necrosis but no tumour recurrence , supporting the hypothesis that bevacizumab-increases hypoxia in the tumour bed, expecially in case of prolonged treatment. Furthermore the imaging analysis revealed that regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and regional cerebral blood volume (rCBV) were decreased in responders with diffusion restricted lesions.(Rieger, Bahr et al. 2010) Recently the effect of anti-angiogenic therapy has been investigated by a new technique, called vessel architectural imaging (VAI) which analyses the temporal shift in the MR signal estimating the vessel calibre and provides additional information about the microcirculation and oxygen saturation levels. From preliminary investigations, VAI seems to be a reliable MRI method to demonstrate the effect of anti-angiogenic therapy.(Emblem, Mouridsen et al. 2013) Other authors suggested AVOL, a measure of arteriovenous overlap (voxels with both arteriosus and venous perfusion characteristics), as index of abnormal tumour microvasculature and as indicator o f bevacizumab therapy efficacy.(LaViolette, Cohen et al. 2013) Barajas and colleagues (Barajas, Phillips et al. 2012) investigated histopathological and physiologic MRI features using diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), dynamic susceptibility–weighted, and contrast enhanced perfusion imaging (DSC). Image-guided tissue specimens were taken from contrast enhanced (CE) and non-enhancing (NE) regions in GBM (93 CE and 26 NE regions from 51 patients with newly diagnosed GBM). The authors analysed variables of anatomic, imaging, and histopathological features (tumour score, cell density, proliferation, architectural disruption, hypoxia, and microvascular hyperplasia). Tissue samples from CE regions were found to have increased tumour score, cellular density, proliferation, and architectural disruption compared with NE regions.(Barajas, Phillips et al. 2012) MRI in the evaluation of perfusion Perfusion measurement of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) has been proposed as a method for identifying angiogenically active tumours. Increased angiogenesis in high-grade gliomas is correlated with higher cerebral blood volume (CBV) after contrast administration with dynamic MRI, relative to contralateral normal white matter rCBF and tumour aggressiveness. (Provenzale, York et al. 2006, Gruner, Paamand et al. 2012) Also microvascular density (MVD) of tumour tissue has been shown to relate to tumour behaviour and prognosis. Furthermore it has been demonstrated that abnormalities in contrast agent recirculation provide independent information concerning the microcirculation and may be of value as surrogate markers in trials of antiangiogenic therapy.(Alan Jackson 2002) Early changes of rCBV, evaluated by MRI before and at weeks 1-2 and 3-4 during radiotherapy, can indicate response to treatment and correlate with survival [Cao]. Also Galban investigated the predictive impact of MRI in this setting, suggesting the use of voxel-by-voxel parametric response maps at 3 weeks after radiotherapy to predict overall survival.(Galban, Chenevert et al. 2009) Another MRI technique which has shown promises in the assessment of the tumour microvascular environment is susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI), which aims to underline the susceptibility differences between tissues. Liu et al. demonstrated that R2*values are significantly different between high-grade gliomas, low-grade gliomas, postulating that these differences may be related to the different content of deoxyhaemoglobin.(Liu, Liao et al. 2014)

Friday, October 25, 2019

Do Not Go Gentle IntoThat Good Night by Dylan Thomas Essay -- Not Go G

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas Many people get to the end of their lives and only then do they realize what they have missed. They realize that there is something that they just did not do in life and they try to do that thing before life's end. The poem, 'Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night' by Dylan Thomas, is based around five people. There is a wise man, a good man, a wild man, a grave man, and a father. For some reason, others more obvious than the ones before them, they have reached life's end. They are about to pass on into the next life; however, before they can pass on they each have some issue or loss in life that they must fix. The first example in poem is the wise man. Wisdom is often associated with age and maturity. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word wisdom means "the accumulated philosophic or scientific learning, the ability to discern inner qualities and relationships". It also means "good sense, generally accepted belief, a wise attitude or course of action and the teachings of the ancient wise men". If that is true then what does one so keen, so aware of how living things must cease to live, have to fix? Dylan Thomas appears to be telling us that wise men fear that they have not given their wisdom to others appropriately. It seems that wise men worry that all the wisdom they have accumulated over the many years of their existence was of no matter. Thomas has an eloquent way of phrasing things, ?Though wise men at their end know dark is right Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night? (Thomas ll. 1-6). To reiterate my point Thomas used the term of forked lightning this represents the wise men's words. Lightn... ... is even near being fought. No one enjoys the fact that soon there comes a life?s end, but it does. The problem is that people often try to find what they have not done in life instead of what they have. The past is a play, whether or not you as a character in the great play have a big part or little one it does not matter. What matters is that you appreciate what you did in life and what you have gained from being alive. Works Cited Kubler-Ross, Elizabeth. Living With Death and Dying. New York: MacMillan, 1981. Lucas, George. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Hollywood: 20th Century Fox, 1999. Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. London and Glasgow: Collins. 876. Thomas, Dylan. ?Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night.? Literature and Ourselves. Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers, 1997; 553.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Co-curricular Essay

Co-curricular is one of the activities being neglected in most schools in the past years. Our school being one of them had for long been emphasizing heavily in class work. By doing this, we could not realize our talents which are very basic in making us whole. Activity carried on 4th March last-term made each member of this school to change his or her mind. We witnessed how students have wonderful talents. Our school was among the top competing school in sports activities in this region. Sports has been one of the activity in school that that the administration has been overlooking. The school noted the need to change our strategies and came up with plans which will give students a chance to realize their talents. The school used to conduct classes from eight in the morning to four in the evening. After this, students moved to evening group discussions and thereafter they went back again to their classes for evening preps. These activities made us busy throughout the day before retiring to bed. The school has come up with a strategy that will ensure that students are trained both in class and in the co-curricular activities especially in sports. The School’s schedule is now flexible, as it will now allow students to get involved in these sports activities. Thanks to the students who participated in this event because due to their enthusiasm, passion and spirit in sports the administration made a sensible consideration and made sure that it has allocated time for these activities. I am grateful for this action as it will serve as an example to other learning institutions. Sincerely, References Cooperating School Districts. (2010). Programs and Services: Communications Crisis communication-Letters Assistance. Retrieved on 9 July 2010 from http://www. csd. org/vnews/display. v/ART/44abd0116f2d7

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

A review of the goals of conventions and principles related to the rights of children Essay

Numerous conventions and principles on the rights of the child, including the United Nations Convention of 1989 on the Rights of the Child, the United Nation`s Guidelines and Principles on Children Associated with Armed Groups or Armed Forces adopted in February 2007 (UNICEF), and resolution 64/290 of 2010 on the right of children to education in emergency situations, have been passed to protect children and safeguard their interests (General Assembly of the United Nations, 2010). Similarly, the general comment number 14 of 2013 of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child states that the best interest of a child should always be given the primary consideration (UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2013, p. 4). Despite the fact that plight of refugee children has caught the attention of the international community, many refugee children still lack access to basic education. The projections by the United Nations indicate that approximately one billion children live in areas affected by conflicts, with nearly 250 million being below 5 years of age and being deprived of their basic right to education, with about 65 million children between the ages of 3 and 15 being severely affected by prolonged crises and emergencies, which puts at risk their access to education, and with nearly 37 million children being forced out of primary or lower secondary schools due to crises in their countries. Furthermore, statistics show that about 50% of the globe`s out-of-school children are in areas prone to conflict. Child refugees number about 10 million globally, and an estimated 19 million children across the world have been displaced in their home countries as a result of conflict (Nikolau, 2016). Access to education is an essential human right and the right of each child and a prerequisite for him or her to enjoy all other economic, social, political, and cultural rights. Evidently, education lays the foundation for responsible citizenship, contributes to social, political, economic, and gender equality, empowers the girl child and women professionally, socially, and culturally, and helps to reduce violence against girls and women. Furthermore, education plays a significant role in achieving integration in the society and improving the living standards among children with disabilities and those with special education needs, who see their already dwindling prospects reduce even further in conflict-affected regions (Dryden-Peterson, 2011, p. 42). Although progress has been made in the developing countries concerning primary education, which is a fundamental right that all governments have pledged to provide under the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, this opportunity remains unachievable for millions of refugee children. More than 50% of the 65.3 million people who have been forcefully displaced, among whom 21.3 million are refugees, are below 18 years of age (UNHCR, 2016). The continuing persecution and conflict force an average of 34,000 people per day to leave their homeland and seek refuge elsewhere, either within their home countries or in foreign states (UNHCR, 2016). Due to the large number of refugees entering their boarders, the developing economies continue to host about 86% of the world`s refugee and displaced population regardless of the lack of sufficient financial resources and infrastructure required, including access to food, water, shelter, and clothing (UNHCR, 2016). In contexts where children are forced to flee from conflict, education is often regarded as a luxury and not considered as a priority to children displaced by conflict. Therefore, delegates from across the globe are being called to Geneva, Switzerland, to determine what should be done to ensure that refugee children have access to basic education. Leaders from both the developed and developing world have already agreed that more should be done to safeguard the interests of refugee children. In this regard, a number of questions will need to be answered during the conference including the role of industrialized economies in supporting the needs of refugee children and how the UNHCR, UN, and its humanitarian agencies can progressively incorporate education and protection of refugee children in their emergency response cycles. Delegates may also choose to increase their proportion of humanitarian funding dedicated to education in conflict regions; however, this should not be done at the expense of the refugees` other primary needs. Questions to Be Considered Which countries or agencies should be responsible for providing educational expertise in refugee education? How can developed countries assist host nations to ensure adequate funding and staffing for schools and hence access to quality education by all refugee children? Should developed countries and developing nations host a proportionate share of refugee population to avoid overburdening developing nations? 4. Should the same basic education curriculum in host countries be used for educating refugee children? Given that the host countries often fail to monitor the quality and safety of the education of the refugee children, which agency or organization should be charged with this responsibility? References Dryden-Peterson, S. (2011). Refugee education: A global review. UNHCR. Retrieved from http://www.unhcr.org/4fe317589.pdf General Assembly of the United Nations. (2010). Resolutions. Un.org. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/en/ga/64/resolutions.shtml. Nikolau, L.(2016). Getting 5 million refugee children into school must be ‘highest priority,’ advocates say. Humanosphere. Retrieved from http://www.humanosphere.org/basics/2016/09/getting-5-million-refugee-children-into-school-must-be-highest-priority-advocates-say/ UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. (2013, July 4). Convention on the Rights of the Child. CRC /C/ISR/CO/2-4. Retrieved from http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/docs/co/CRC-C-ISR-CO-2-4.pdf. UNHCR. (2016). Figures at a glance. UNHCR. Retrieved from http://www.unhcr.org/figures-at-a-glance.html UNICEF. (2007, February). The Paris Principles: Principles and guidelines on children associated with armed forces or armed groups. Retrieved from www.un.org/children/conflict/_documents/parisprinciples/ParisPrinciples_EN.pdf .

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Areas in which an employer may need to discipline its employees

Areas in which an employer may need to discipline its employees Illegal or Unethical Conduct If an employee is involved in any form of illegal or unethical conduct, then such an act would of necessity warrant a disciplinary measure from the employer. Whenever such allegation are made against an employee, it is incumbent on the employer to ensure that thorough investigations are carried out concerning the said allegations before any disciplinary measure is taken on the offender.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Areas in which an employer may need to discipline its employees specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The investigation must give sufficient accurate evidence to prove that the employee did really commit the infraction, as such, if the offence is contained in the code of ethics for the institution, the policies thereby must be adhered to the letter (Morris, 2010, p. 1). Examples of such unethical conducts include but are not limited to; insubordination, theft, fraud and dishonest y, habitual absence without leave, habitual late attendance etcetera. Under-performance or Incompetency Professional incompetency and under-performance on the part of the employee are some of the vices which can warrant a disciplinary action to be taken by the employer. For the employer to establish the validity of these kinds of allegations, it may take a short lived but timely investigation. Having ascertained the truth of the matter, it is incumbent upon the employer to make a documentation of the findings in anticipation of any disciplinary measure or follow up initiative within the immediate future. In a bid to establishing these facts, the employer may compare the said employee incompetency or under-performance with prior infractions associated with the employee in question, alternatively, the employer may consult the upper level of Human Resource management or any other supervisory organ of the institution for an impartial and objective opinion (Morris, 2010, p. 1). For insta nce, if an employee is involved in such vices as negligence, sleeps during working hours, bullies and harasses co-workers including sexual harassment etcetera.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Possible types of discipline that may be instituted by the employer In as much as the employer reserves the right to discipline its employee, the general code of ethics dictates that every disciplinary measure must be given in private, consistent, progressive and immediate. An employer may, on the grounds of misconduct inconsistent with the fulfillment of the expressed or implied conditions of his service, after due inquiry; dismiss the employee without notice, downgrade the employee or impose any other lesser punishment as he deems just and fit and in the event that a punishment of suspension without wages is imposed, it should not exceed a period of two weeks (Aminuddin, 200 9, p. 1). For investigation purposes, the employer may suspend the employee from work for a period not exceeding two weeks but shall pay him not less than half his wages for such period, with the condition that if the investigation does not disclose any misconduct on the part of the employee the employer should forthwith restore to the employee the full amount of wages so withheld. For minor offences, other disciplinary avenues may be explored by the employer which include; oral warning followed by counseling, warning formally in writing which should not exceed three occasions. The warning letters should describe clearly and specifically the employee misconduct. Only on those serious crimes and employee misconducts does an employer reserve the right of outright dismissal of its uncouth employee. Reference List Morris, M. etal. (2010). Documentation, Discipline, and Discharge. Web. Aminuddin, M. (2009). Industrial Discipline. Web.Advertising We will write a custom essay sampl e on Areas in which an employer may need to discipline its employees specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More

Monday, October 21, 2019

Trends changing how companies hire in 2018 and beyond -TheJobNetwork

Trends changing how companies hire in 2018 and beyond -TheJobNetwork The HR world has certainly changed over the past decade- after all, when was the last time you saw a resume or cover letter on thick, expensive paper that came via snail mail? (Or if it was recently, it was probably a rare sighting.) Like every other field, HR is susceptible to changes and trends. Some aren’t built to last (remember the video resume trend for a minute?), but others are geared toward making your job easier in the long term.Better interviews = better hiresIt’s possible that nothing will ever truly replace the good old â€Å"gut feeling† you get when you meet with a candidate. But as a rule, making the interview process more inclusive, less biased, and less time-consuming is a huge plus. Traditional interviews aren’t going anywhere, but they’re getting a bit of polishing this year and beyond. Having someone sit across from you and tell you what they know you want to hear isn’t always the most effective use of your hiring time. I f you’re looking to streamline or equalize the interview itself, there are HR software programs that essentially craft your interview script, standardizing interviews across a pool of candidates. (This has the added bonus of helping to eliminate personal bias or individual quirks if there are multiple interviewers.)Online skill assessments, designed to gauge a candidate’s soft skills, give you more data before a candidate ever walks through your doors in their best interview suit. Gaps and strengths are more apparent up front, allowing you to be more selective about who makes it to the next round, and bring in stronger candidates up front.â€Å"Job auditions† are also hot right now. These are less â€Å"tell me your five-year plan† interviews and more â€Å"show me how you’d do the job† interviews. This takes away some of the guesswork about how a candidate would likely perform the job. Nerves and novelty won’t always show you 100% of what a candidate’s potential is, but it gives you a chance to see how he or she thinks, whether the candidate can apply past experience and skills, etc.Prioritizing diversityDiversity is a priority in just about every industry right now, and for good reason. Lack of diversity is becoming a significant liability and can lead to issues with an ever-more-diverse public. Companies that don’t actively seek diversity in their hiring are likely to find themselves at a significant disadvantage as talent pools shrink. According to LinkedIn surveys, diversity is the top hiring trend for 78% of hiring managers.hbspt.cta.load(2785852, '9e52c197-5b5b-45e6-af34-d56403f973c5', {});Still, for all its trendiness, truly diverse hiring continues to be a challenge. Many companies are tackling this by branching out in their talent sourcing and using non-traditional recruitment methods (or venues) to find hot new talent.Bingeing on Big DataMetrics, metrics, metrics. With the increased use of hiring databases and HR software platforms capable of collecting information on employees from application to retirement, there’s no shortage of information that companies can use. The challenge here is using it in a smart, speedy way that allows for real-time employee engagement and development to help ensure that great hires stay great employees. According to LinkedIn’s annual global recruiting trends report, more than half of HR professionals say that employee retention is the most valuable use of employee data.The heart of this data trend is using the information to make hiring predictions, not just hiring decisions. HR departments are really starting to harness the power of this data by using increasingly sophisticated AI and automation platforms to create predictive models based on a candidate’s information, compared to information about past hires and current employees.The most important takeaway from this year’s hot trends in hiring is that com panies are moving toward a more efficient, better-rounded talent pool, with concrete data that can be offered up to support those gut decisions. This year, it’s all about streamlining and maximizing the resources we already have in place- not necessarily replacing them.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Brand Media Strategy for Integrated munications Planning

Integrated marketing munication is important for irrespective of the kinds of panies such as small sized panies and the multinational panies. However, the mode of munication differs in some regards. This is because of the fact that every promotional mode does require high-end investments, which is not feasible to every organization. Another point is that different panies have different levels for the same promotional mode, which is mainly because of their global presence that pels them to approach the market differently. Irrespective of the kinds of the munication campaigns, all the panies have some similarities, which is the usability of some mon campaigning mediums such as traditional and non-traditional modes (Ang 2014). The chosen product for this assignment is â€Å"Samsung Galaxy S6†, which is set to be presented in this assignment as a product for undergoing the market munication planning. The reason to choose Samsung Galaxy S6 is the dominance of the previous offering of the same series. However, the overwhelming success, which the Samsung pany had ever fetched with the Galaxy S3, was never repeated. Some of the recent offerings of the series felt miserably in petition from some other petitors such as Sony and HTC. The recent offerings of the same series such as S4 and S5 could not sustain the same performance as done by the S3. This is because of the fact it b es important that the pany does overwhelming promotion of the product, so that, it catches the minds of users (Belch et al. 2014). The main purpose of this assignment is to analyze the existing market situation of galaxy S6. Moreover, this assignment is set to provide some effective medium of promotions to help the brand dominating and recapturing the minds of customers even more than before. After the launch of the product, it has already steered the market with a sheer selling of approximately around 55 millions of unit’s sales. During the first three month of the launch of the product, it has already boosted the market share of the pany; however, it is finding stiff petition from some other petitors such as Iphone6 and HTC. Samsung is facing a direct petition from the Apple’s Iphone6 in respect to the cost of the product. The pany has always performed exceptionally well on paper when it es to the power packed inbuilt features. However, it fell short of every Apple’s product of the same generation when it es to the overall performance of the product. This is one such reason, which has kept Samsung engaged for producing something bigger than before and outplays its biggest rival Apple’s Iphone. The parative study of Galaxy S6 does very well indicate towards a fact that the irrespective of the kinds of offerings of the product is unmatchable fr om other. However, rest depends on the actual market responses and the customer’s feedbacks. The market petition is fierce because of the fact that both the Samsung and Iphone do brig their flagship handsets every year on a regular basis. However, this is also an undeniable fact that the market share of Samsung Smartphones has witnessed a dip of 57% whereas Apple has witnessed a rise of approximately around 40% (Inquirer, 6, Latest, & read, 2017). The main objective behind integrated market munication is to grab a maximum awareness of customers. Moreover, these marketing munication modes have now b e widely used tools for the irrespective kinds of panies. Nevertheless, the quality of integrated marketing munication does produce a resonant effect on the market. This is done by means of several promotional modes, which are highly important for generating the spaces in the market. Nevertheless, the main objective behind the integrated marketing munication tool is to capitalize a pre-release dominance on the market and cash on the hyped curiosity. This is very effective in making huge unit sales in the initial few days after the venturing of the product (Blakeman 2014). Another objective behind the integrated munications modes is the enhancement of brand appeal, which helps in generating enough buzz in the market. This helps the brand in providing a stiff petition to the other petitors in the market. Samsung has the same objective with the Galaxy S6 as they want to capitalise the minds of consumers to give its product enough of spaces to fill this gap with some gigantic unit sales. The planning for the integrated marketing munication would be to pronounce the effect of the product by giving it some modification to receive the attention and support the brand with some good sales (Boone and Kurtz 2013). At present, the product is lagging behind to its biggest rival Iphone6 and Samsung is finding no solution to outclass the presence of Iphone in the market. This is indeed very difficult to re-establish the buzz among the customers about an existing product but this is how integrated marketing munication works. Integrated marketing munication is a good weapon for panies before the launch of the product; however, it continues to provide beneficial ou es to its inhibitors. The execution of integrated marketing munication is to support the launched product with some innovative ideas to support its growth before the ultimate fall in graph happens. Following are two most important objectives behind an Integrated Marketing munications (Lin 2012): The best way to conduct the planning of the integrated marketing munication would be to use the Percentage of Sales method, which is widely used across most of the big multinational panies. This method includes the usage of the percentage of the past sales, which is the generated revenue. However, it is entirely up to the pany that how they plan for the usage of percentage. They can take percentage from the profit generated by some other products or they can also take percentage of the past sales of the same product. Following are some of the considerations, which managers can make before making decisions on ways to take percentage from the generated past sales (Percy 2014): Following are some of the examples, which show the advantages of using the Percentage of Sales method for planning the budget for the integrated marketing munication (Rogala and Kaniewska-S?ba 2013): However, the method has some disadvantages as well, which are as follows (Schultz, Patti and Kitchen 2013): The chosen mode for the integrated marketing munication is the Advertising and the Public Relations. However, it is very important to appropriately allocate the budgeting to the different kinds of integrated marketing munication modes. The chosen method for the integrated marketing munication is the Percentage of Sales Method, which makes this important for the planning team that they allocate minimal budget to the advertisements. This is because of the fact that the proposed method for the integrated marketing munication is best productive with the lower expenditures on the advertisements costs. The advertisement itself contains several of domains, which needs the allocation of budget but to a minimal degree. The advertisement may include but not limited to the factors mentioned such as printing, direct mailing, broadcasting and outdoor expenses. The budget may include several factors such as media costs, ads creation costs and conducting research to evaluate the success of the plan ning. Some of the panies do often pay approximately 15% of the costs involved in the purchasing of media to the advertising agency; however, some pay a set free. Nevertheless, some might also plan the advertising internally by hiring some copywriters and graphic designers on a contractual basis. They can efficiently handle the advertisement works. Hiring graphic designers and copywriters on a contractual basis looks very preferable choices for the chosen method, as the chosen method does not allow any higher expenditure on the advertisements (Shimp and Andrews 2012). Allocation of budgeting in PR involves the expenditures on all the necessary ponents of the PR activities. It includes the relationship making with the member of media through different functionalities such as press releases, free samples and media days. Some PR may also include the running of promotion such as conduction of a cause-marketing campaign. Some other effective ways to generate PR is to donate some funding of the pany to some of the non-profit organizations in the name of charity works and sponsoring for different kinds of sports (Thorson and Moore 2013). To develop an integrated marketing munication for Samsung Galaxy S6, it is required to follow some necessary steps that are widely important for the program. Following are some of the steps; which can be used to develop the integrated marketing munications for Galaxy S6: There are different modes of marketing munications available; however, it is necessary to identify the best possible and feasible modes of marketing munications. Different kinds of marketing munications are such as advertising, social media and sales promotions. However, in the development of marketing munication for the galaxy S6, it is best feasible to stick to the two most widely used and effective tools such as advertising and PR for the marketing munication. The advertising mode is selected as it consumes less expenditures and best feasible to the Percentage Sales method of Budgeting. The advertising mode of munication is controllable and can be reduced to lower expenditures on hiring some copywriters and graphic designers on a contractual basis.  Ã‚   PR is another very important aspect in developing the marketing munication strategies for a product. This is nothing but a close interaction with the media personals. This is one of the easiest ways to interact with media and mu nicated indirectly to the targeted customers. This is also useful in promoting products in media shows, which is very useful for highlighting the newly added features in the existing product. This helps increase the curiosity level in customers to some extents as they are being promised to get more out of the box (Yeshin 2012). The development of advertising can be done by hiring some copywriters and graphic designers on a contractual basis. They are cost-effective, which is important, as the chosen method is Percentage of Sales method. Some of the panies do spend a lot of amount on the expenditures; however, to Samsung Galaxy S6, it is best suited to stick to the hiring of required personal. This is cost-effective as well as deeply controlled approach, which provides firm support to the development management team. The development of PR can be done by making some investments on scheduling some interactions with media personals. However, the interactions should be monitored at regular intervals to check the profitability of the implemented program. This is enormously important as the measurement saves from over budgeting and unnecessary expenditures (Percy 2014). This is very important as the campaigning of different programs and relevant expenditures would be only helpful if these stunts are relevant to the customer’s needs. This is also necessary in saving the over budgeting. The different kinds of integrated marketing munications do only provide some ways to interact with customers, it never guarantees of success, which entirely depend on the customer’s perceptions. This is why it is very important to know the requirements of customers to best utilize the different kinds of munication modes. For example, if customers are wanting something on the display part of the screen and the pany unanimously came to a conclusion without having any thorough research on the problem and presented some other new addition to the existing offerings. This would simply be wastage of money and constraints on the management team. The development program would also be affected. It would be a total loss of budgeting, physical labours and time (Lin 2 012). The implementation of the chosen modes of campaigning should be done in accordance to the actual requirement of the customers. The advertisement in particular needs to be attractive and full of useful messages conveying the flow of changes in the existing offerings. This is very important in saving the campaigning from any kinds of failure. The PR related activities does not need any charming presentation, as quality is more important than just the words. The interaction with the media personals would be to show the highly incremented gratitude to their requirements and the counter actions from the pany. The message needs to be clearly delivered at the time of interaction with the media personals (Percy 2014). The evaluation and monitoring of the proposed marketing munications is very important to help pany save from unnecessary expenditures and over budgeting. This is because of the fact that a continuous evaluation is mandate to bring the maximum profitability to the selected product by implementing chosen IMC. Following are some of the ways, which are extremely helpful in evaluating the ou e of the implemented IMC program (Young 2014): KPIs are extensively useful in measuring the ou e of the proposed campaigning for the enhancement of existing sales of the Galaxy S6. The evaluation can be made by measuring the success of both the program on a scoring scale to check the level of success such as customer feedbacks with numbers of positives or negatives responses and the publishing media news, which help check the reflection of campaign on the media personals Return on investments is another method to check the profitability of the campaigning as it is a long term evaluation method, which would give results only when the units sales of the product are increased The first point of r mendation is related to the pricing of the galaxy S6, which is very much manageable than incepting some new features in the product. This is probably has b e a popular trend among the different Smartphone panies. This help grab and turn the attention of customers into their favour. A high number of populations living in the world do prefer a reasonable pricing tagged to the top-end offerings. Samsung has also mitted the same thing but their price reduction is not that much low, which could pete with some other brands such as Lenovo. However, the highlighted problem was related to the severe petition with the Iphone6, which means that a price reduction would certainly influence and change the perceptions of a group of customers that has less priority to high-end pricing. However, it would not help pany in winning the hearts of premium customers, as they have more concerns for quality product and less regards to the pricing. Indeed, the quality of Galaxy S6 is not poor but it is not as good as Iphone6. Integrated marketing munication is helpful in making some useful revenues; however, it is only an alternate solution, which could enhance the profitability of a venture to some extent. Organizations need not depend entirely on the integrated marketing munication campaigning as the quality of the product matters the most. However, the importance of marketing munications can never be ignored as it adds some important values to the credibility of the products. Ang, L., 2014.  Principles of integrated marketing munications. Cambridge University Press. Belch, G.E., Belch, M.A., Kerr, G.F. and Powell, I., 2014.  Advertising: An integrated marketing munication perspective. McGraw-Hill Education. Blakeman, R., 2014.  Integrated marketing munication: creative strategy from idea to implementation. Rowman & Littlefield. Boone, L.E. and Kurtz, D.L., 2013.  Contemporary marketing. Cengage learning. Inquirer, T., 6, S., Latest, I., & read, M. 2017. Samsung sheds market share as the Galaxy S6 fails to challenge Apple's iPhone 6 | TheINQUIRER. https://www.theinquirer.net. Retrieved 1 May 2017, from https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2422775/samsung-sheds-market-share-as-galaxy-s6-fails-to-challenge-the-iphone-6 Lin, T.L., 2012. The Sparks When Integrated Marketing munications Meets Word-of-Mouth Marketing and Experience Marketing.  New York Science Journal,  5(5), pp.70-85. Percy, L., 2014.  Strategic integrated marketing munications. Routledge. Rogala, A. and Kaniewska-S?ba, A., 2013. Internal munication as a marketing munications tool. In  13th International Marketing Trends Conference, pod red. Franà §oise CONCHON-Pary?: ESCP-AEP European School of Management. Schultz, D., Patti, C.H. and Kitchen, P.J., 2013.  The evolution of integrated marketing munications: The customer-driven marketplace. Routledge. Shimp, T.A. and Andrews, J.C., 2012.  Advertising promotion and other aspects of integrated marketing munications. Cengage Learning. Thorson, E. and Moore, J., 2013.  Integrated munication: Synergy of persuasive voices. Psychology Press. Yeshin, T., 2012.  Integrated marketing munications. Routledge. Young, A., 2014.  Brand media strategy: integrated munications planning in the digital era. Springer. With a decade's experience in providing essay help,

Friday, October 18, 2019

Individual Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Individual Project - Essay Example It is due to the reason that the values and choices of different cultures are extensively unparallel and a single product or service with it common features are somewhat inefficient to satisfy the needs of these ethnic groups. For instance, the failure of Walt Disney’s marketing strategy adapted especially focussing on the Eastern Region comprising of Mainland China and Hong Kong was due to the company’s misinterpretations of the cultural diversities of these two economies. To be included, both the cultures enjoy vacations for two-three days during the Lunar New Year which was categorised as the special days by the company. In this case, the company issued large number of discount tickets to both the ethnic groups in 2006. This incidentally increased the number of eligible customers to an amount which was uncontrollable by the company and therefore headed to a dramatic failure of the company’s marketing scheme (Bradsher, 2006). Apart from Walt-Disney, there are n umerous companies operating in the multicultural market which have faced various issue related to the concept of multicultural marketing. ... Critical Issues Faced by Managers Evidences reveal that marketing is not the same as it was according to the traditional notions. Today, marketing has grown to be much wider and complex in its realistic practices accumulating numerous variables ranging from the customers’ income level to their needs and their cultures as well. It is due to the fact, that marketing at present is all about serving the customers according to their needs and choices in order to gain a certain amount of profit and achieve the optimum organisational goal. Therefore, it is quite essential for a marketer to know the targeted market, i.e. its cultural perceptions along with the economic values. It is in this context that managers, as marketers and leaders of an organisation face certain major issues while executing their marketing strategies focussing on a multicultural paradigm (Trompenaars & Woolliams, 2004). Ethical Issues Ethical challenges are one of the major issues faced by the managers in order to serve their ultimate customer group in a multicultural market. There are various influencing factors affecting the strategic philanthropy of multicultural marketing active in the given business environment of an organisation. Notably, globalisation is one such factor influencing the strategic decisions of marketers in virtue of multicultural dimensions. For instance, the total amount of world trade was recorded to grow more than six times from 1950 to 2000. As a result, the annual outflow of FDI increased to a record height of $1.3 trillion in the year 2000. This certain fact depicts the expansion of business in global terms and its long-lasting affect on the

LEACH protocol in Wireless Sensor Networks Research Paper - 1

LEACH protocol in Wireless Sensor Networks - Research Paper Example Low energy adaptive clustering hierarchy (LEACH) is a communications protocol that has overcome some of the limitations of various routing protocols on wireless sensor networks. It is mainly meant for wireless sensor networks where an end user intends to remotely monitor and control his/her environment. To achieve this, data obtained from various nodes is sent to a focal base station in the sensor networks; which enables the end user to access the network. Wireless sensor networks have found use in the economy of late and therefore the need to manage the energy constraints. Localization, fusion, and routing have been the areas of interests especially in dealing with the constraints of energy in the wireless sensor networks. Energy is determinant in the duration and lifetime of the system. Many studies and advancements have been carried out to solve energy management in various wireless sensor nodes. Cluster routing protocols have also been improved to increase energy management in WS Ns. It is undeniable that clustering is one of the most proven ways of prolonging the lifetime of networks for the wireless sensor networks which are energy constrained .The dissipation of energy in networks has been at the Centre stage for the effective functioning and lifetime of systems. Wireless distribution microsensor systems enable many networks found in the military and public domain. The dissipation of energy is therefore important in the wireless networks since it determines their effectiveness and reliability. The discussion in the below paper will analyze five reviewed academic journals to analyze the thesis statement that; the low energy adaptive clustering hierarchy protocol (LEACH) detects the faults on the network by transmitting and analyzing the periodical queries from the centralized node and increases the life span of the sensor nodes by

Electroanalytical Technique (Voltammetric techniques) critical review Literature

Electroanalytical Technique (Voltammetric techniques) critical - Literature review Example When compared to methods such as chromatography which uses relatively large amounts of sample with low sensitivity, voltammetry techniques will require few amounts of sample while affording high sensitivity. In addition, wide range of concentration can be used in voltammetry. Voltammetric techniques reduces ions at the electrodes which are usually three the working electrode, auxiliary electrode and reference electrode. Given such wide capabilities, voltametric techniques have been amenable to use in biochemical analyses, environmental studies, plating analysis, pharmaceuticals as well as waste water analyses among other useful applications. Instrumentation In voltammetry basic instruments include the electrochemical cell composed of a three electrodes configuration; a voltamperomeric analyser formed by the potentiostat coupled to a computer system. Working electrode provides the response of the analyte response due to the applied potential. Examples of electrode include mercury electrodes such as Hanging drop mercury electrode (HDME), static drop mercury electrode (DME) and rotating disk electrodes (RDE).Auxiliary electrode is tasked with completing the circuit between the potentiostat and working electrode and examples include platinum and glassy carbon electrodes. Reference potential to the auxiliary and working electrodes is provided by the reference electrodes e.g. Ag/AgCl in KCl and Hg/HgCl in KCl(l). Drugs analysis applies various separation-based techniques such as chromatography and electrophoresis. These techniques are important when following-up metabolism of the drug in complex samples such as urine. However, electroanalytical methods such as voltammetry become vital when samples being analysed contain a single physiologically active component such as the active ingredient in a particular drug. Electroanalytical methods offer advantages such as simple handling of the procedures, high sensitivity, better accuracy and faster speed relative to separation techniques – chromatography and electrophoresis. They also utilise cheaper instrumentation and low cost chemicals. Two electroanalytical techniques exist with the first one being where the surfaces of electrodes are continuously renewed for instance in the dropping mercury electrode. Techniques employing this type of electrode are called polarography and they mainly differ in the approach of application of voltage to the dropping mercury electrode (DME). The second class of techniques belong to techniques which use electrodes whose surfaces are not renewed. Common electrodes in this group include the hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE). Techniques that record current-voltage curves with these electrodes are referred to voltammetry. Voltammetric Techniques Voltammetric methods have been used in the determination of trace levels of platinum group metals which have traditional employed spectroscopic methods in their determination (Locateli, 2007). Such metals include Osmium, Ruthenium and Iridium. One of the approaches used in determination of these metals is the differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The electrodic processes associated with platinum group metals (PGMs); however, present challenges such as the low reversibility degree thereby limiting detection of these trace metals (Kritsotakis et al., 1985). Presented with such challenge of detection limits, some methods have been worked out to con centrate these trace metals onto the working electrode. One technique which has been developed is the adsorptive

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Data wharehousing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Data wharehousing - Essay Example This is a concept of OLAP mainly used when it’s being related to data mining. This is possible through pre-aggregation, an aspect of relational databases in that they not only facilitate the creation of tables, but also can manipulate them together with the data they contain. Pre-aggregation in connection with OLAP basically explains how factual information, in this sense data that has been collected can be used to come up with probability estimations used for distribution (Kozielski & Wrembel, 2009). Data mining is a concept that has been confused with OLAP for a while. These two terms, though different have been used synonymously to refer to the other. However, these are two similar but different terms when viewed critically. Data mining is a data knowledge discovery mechanism that aims at identifying, from a pool of data, sets of useful and important data that may have been ignored, classifies the data in relation to the whole set and associates it to its class. This data a nalysis concept focuses mainly on dividing the existing data into small manageable sets, as regards their relationship. On the other hand, OLAP focuses on addition of more data to a pool that is already in existence. This is made possible since OLAP gives data a multi-dimensional approach, creating summaries in different dimensions that are then added up to the original data, making it more comprehensive A general definition associated with OLAP is that which describes it as software put in place to create a platform in which the user interacts easily with a complex database accessed online and is able to prompt the database for a service which n return provides a report in a form understandable to him/her. However, there are many other definitions attached to this concept. It’s amazing that some people even used the full name of the acronym as a definition, but this is entirely questionable since it does not give gist of what the concept is or what it refers to. The most com monly used definitions are listed below (Becker, 2002). First, there is what we can call the popular definition. It’s a precise and interesting definition of OLAP as set of many spreadsheets in a package. This is just but a typical meaning, mainly used to people who have little or no knowledge in information technology. Its true OLAP is used in spreadsheets to enhance the view of data, but it’s certainly not a set or group of spreadsheets. Secondly, OLAP has been popularly defined as a report given or presented with some extra information attached to it. This is adopted from the way OLAP works, by presenting data from different dimensions with diverse interpretations. In this case, OLAP allows the database users to scan through different perspectives of an issue. Lastly, there is the technical definition attached to OLAP. It describes on-line analytical processing as enhanced, friendly browsing of similar, multidimensional data. When a user prompts a query to the softw are, it may take up to less than a minute to give an output, hence its attribution as a fast software. It also does this in levels with a set of new data for each level. MegaSave uses data marts, tools used in presenting data and facts in multi-dimensions. The best definition, therefore, for such a scenario is the last one. This is so because so far,

EasyJet - A 'No Frills' Airline Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

EasyJet - A 'No Frills' Airline - Assignment Example only takes direct deals as opposed to through operators from different air transport organisations is that EasyJet does not give free drinks and beverages, ticketless and just acknowledge direct booking (Business Teacher 2001). The start of EasyJet depended on two leased planes. Whats more, the first destination was Glasgow and dispatched with ultra-ease flights, the publicizing motto is "London to Glasgow, less expensive than a pair of pants!" (Jones 2007). Nowadays, EasyJet has the flight destination all through Europe. EasyJet started being profitable towards the end of the second year. In 1997, the EasyJet was a stable business entity, marked an agreement with Boeing contributing $500 million to purchase new airplane. At first, EasyJet worked with a solitary kind of Boeing 737 (Gronroos 2008). In 2004, EasyJet requested 120 Airbus A319, EasyJet turned into the organisation that using Airbus A319 as principle model in minimal effort carrier organisations. In 2010, the number of travellers using EasyJet reached 49 million, positioned second place in air transport in Europe (Jones 2007). Strategic Business Unit (SBU) have to be focused on fulfilling customers’ needs with a particular end goal to attain to above normal returns, and this is carried out through Business-level strategy (Aaker 2001). Business level methods are elements provide quality to customers and increase a competitive advantage by exploiting SBU, in single market or industry (Aaker 2007). Business-level strategy is concerned with a companys position in an industry, in respect to competitors and the five forces of rivalry (Gronroos 2007). Customers are the central to a company’s business level strategy. Who will be served, what needs must be addressed, and how those needs will be fulfilled by the organisation (Holt 1998). The strategies by porter describe which strategy a company uses in order to gain a competitive advantage over the competitors in the market. The strategies are the cost

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Electroanalytical Technique (Voltammetric techniques) critical review Literature

Electroanalytical Technique (Voltammetric techniques) critical - Literature review Example When compared to methods such as chromatography which uses relatively large amounts of sample with low sensitivity, voltammetry techniques will require few amounts of sample while affording high sensitivity. In addition, wide range of concentration can be used in voltammetry. Voltammetric techniques reduces ions at the electrodes which are usually three the working electrode, auxiliary electrode and reference electrode. Given such wide capabilities, voltametric techniques have been amenable to use in biochemical analyses, environmental studies, plating analysis, pharmaceuticals as well as waste water analyses among other useful applications. Instrumentation In voltammetry basic instruments include the electrochemical cell composed of a three electrodes configuration; a voltamperomeric analyser formed by the potentiostat coupled to a computer system. Working electrode provides the response of the analyte response due to the applied potential. Examples of electrode include mercury electrodes such as Hanging drop mercury electrode (HDME), static drop mercury electrode (DME) and rotating disk electrodes (RDE).Auxiliary electrode is tasked with completing the circuit between the potentiostat and working electrode and examples include platinum and glassy carbon electrodes. Reference potential to the auxiliary and working electrodes is provided by the reference electrodes e.g. Ag/AgCl in KCl and Hg/HgCl in KCl(l). Drugs analysis applies various separation-based techniques such as chromatography and electrophoresis. These techniques are important when following-up metabolism of the drug in complex samples such as urine. However, electroanalytical methods such as voltammetry become vital when samples being analysed contain a single physiologically active component such as the active ingredient in a particular drug. Electroanalytical methods offer advantages such as simple handling of the procedures, high sensitivity, better accuracy and faster speed relative to separation techniques – chromatography and electrophoresis. They also utilise cheaper instrumentation and low cost chemicals. Two electroanalytical techniques exist with the first one being where the surfaces of electrodes are continuously renewed for instance in the dropping mercury electrode. Techniques employing this type of electrode are called polarography and they mainly differ in the approach of application of voltage to the dropping mercury electrode (DME). The second class of techniques belong to techniques which use electrodes whose surfaces are not renewed. Common electrodes in this group include the hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE). Techniques that record current-voltage curves with these electrodes are referred to voltammetry. Voltammetric Techniques Voltammetric methods have been used in the determination of trace levels of platinum group metals which have traditional employed spectroscopic methods in their determination (Locateli, 2007). Such metals include Osmium, Ruthenium and Iridium. One of the approaches used in determination of these metals is the differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The electrodic processes associated with platinum group metals (PGMs); however, present challenges such as the low reversibility degree thereby limiting detection of these trace metals (Kritsotakis et al., 1985). Presented with such challenge of detection limits, some methods have been worked out to con centrate these trace metals onto the working electrode. One technique which has been developed is the adsorptive

EasyJet - A 'No Frills' Airline Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

EasyJet - A 'No Frills' Airline - Assignment Example only takes direct deals as opposed to through operators from different air transport organisations is that EasyJet does not give free drinks and beverages, ticketless and just acknowledge direct booking (Business Teacher 2001). The start of EasyJet depended on two leased planes. Whats more, the first destination was Glasgow and dispatched with ultra-ease flights, the publicizing motto is "London to Glasgow, less expensive than a pair of pants!" (Jones 2007). Nowadays, EasyJet has the flight destination all through Europe. EasyJet started being profitable towards the end of the second year. In 1997, the EasyJet was a stable business entity, marked an agreement with Boeing contributing $500 million to purchase new airplane. At first, EasyJet worked with a solitary kind of Boeing 737 (Gronroos 2008). In 2004, EasyJet requested 120 Airbus A319, EasyJet turned into the organisation that using Airbus A319 as principle model in minimal effort carrier organisations. In 2010, the number of travellers using EasyJet reached 49 million, positioned second place in air transport in Europe (Jones 2007). Strategic Business Unit (SBU) have to be focused on fulfilling customers’ needs with a particular end goal to attain to above normal returns, and this is carried out through Business-level strategy (Aaker 2001). Business level methods are elements provide quality to customers and increase a competitive advantage by exploiting SBU, in single market or industry (Aaker 2007). Business-level strategy is concerned with a companys position in an industry, in respect to competitors and the five forces of rivalry (Gronroos 2007). Customers are the central to a company’s business level strategy. Who will be served, what needs must be addressed, and how those needs will be fulfilled by the organisation (Holt 1998). The strategies by porter describe which strategy a company uses in order to gain a competitive advantage over the competitors in the market. The strategies are the cost

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Administration Effectiveness Essay Example for Free

Administration Effectiveness Essay The organizations must put up realistic and attainable objectives . This is something that can be understood by way of saying that goals of the unit must be made accordance with the support in terms of personnel , resources and equipment available to the unit . It is no right to put up goals that could not be supported by current logistics and personnel available within the unit. This study aimed to determine the administrative effectiveness of the Bureau of Jail Management and penology in the province of Albay in order to recommend measures for improvement to enhance a better system of jail management . Specifically , it sought answers to the following questions : 1. What is the status of Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in the Province of Albay in terms of : a.) Administration b.) Manpower c.) Physical Facilities d.) Services e.) Inmates 2. What is the level of effectiveness of the Bureau of Jail Management And Penology in the Province Of Albay in terms of : a.) Administrative Services b.) Security and Custodial Services c.)Rehabilitation Services 3. What are the problems encountered and solutions offered ? 4. What action plan may be proposed to effect a better system of jail management ? The study utilized the descriptive research method using the 5-point Likert scale to assess the perceptions of the respondents . A total of fourteen (14) officers , one hundred ten (110) non officers rank and thirty- six (36) inmates were considered respondents in this study. See more:Â  The Story of an Hour Literary Analysis Essay FINDINGS The following are the findings in this study . 1. The status of the Bureau of Jail Management and penology are presented in terms of its administration, manpower ,physical facilities , services and inmates. The services were more of the rehabilitation programs provided in different jails . A total of 124 BJMP personnel comprised the entire Albay BJMP. 2. The perceptions of the three groups of respondents o the level of effectiveness of its administrative services , security and custodial services and rehabilitation services are the following : the personnel and budget assessed to be as very effective with average mean of 3.41 inmates welfare with 3.20 also as very effective , mess and supply with 2.81 also as effective as general services with 3.28 as effective . The security and custodial services with the following average mean 3.88 or very effective and escort team with 3.84 also as very effective. Rehabilitation services in terms of the following components : Religious and guidance counseling with 3.24 or very effective livelihood with 2.69 or effective and health services with 2.80 or effective. 3. Most pressing problems were focused on insufficient office supplies , lighting , water and communication facilities as perceived by the non-officers and inmates while the officers viewed no capital outlay and lack of office equipment bunks ,mats and prisoners van as their most pressing problems . The solutions offered : funds for repair and procurement as perceived by the non-officer and inmates is budget for construction of jail facilities / transportation and funds for traveling expenses while the officers perceived on the jail extension . 4. Proposed action plan is prepared in order to address the pressing problems in jail administration and management . CONCLUSIONS From the foregoing findings , the following conclusions are drawn . 1. The services as rendered for rehabilitation by the administration were : conducting religious counseling and guidance ; establishing livelihood programs and activities ; and providing health services to the inmates . 2. Health services and livelihood projects were the only vital needs of inmates to make them productive while incarcerated. 3. Insufficient office supplies and materials and physical facilities were noted as the most pressing problems of proper physical facilities will be install , it will probably ensure safety and security of both inmates and the BJMP personnel . 4. Activities proposed in the action plan are implementable and can be easily achieved by the Albay BJMP. RECOMMENDATIONS 1. The BJMP Central Office should Increase the funds allocated for the different jail Station/ offices. They should make intense representations to the DBM for them to release the immediate needed funds . Investigation of the physical condition and evaluation of the funds requested to ensure the viability of the programs presented. 2. The programs for rehabilitation services are more anchored on the health services to ensure the physical condition of the inmates . Likewise, livelihood projects should be provided to make the inmates more productive while they were incarcerated . Moreover, they should established linkages with other non-governmental agencies to help them in improving their undertakings particularly in the conduct of religious services and other viable programs. 3. Require the administration to adhere to the most and pressing problems of the jail offices and stations . install and give priority to the additional physical facilities such as lighting , water units , mattresses , and other office equipment . The office may not be able to supplement the needed supplies and materials but they could possibly solicit them from other local government agencies . 4. Immediate implementation of the proposed action plan. Areas for further study : a. Evaluation of on-going rehabilitation programs and projects for the Albay Provincial Jail . b. inmates plight in Legaspi City Jail. c. Perceptions on Jail Breaks in Legaspi City. d. Construction Of Conjugal Rooms For Inmates . e. Immediate Evaluation and Judgment of various cases.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Medical Device Regulations in the European Union

Medical Device Regulations in the European Union INTRODUCTION TO MEDICAL DEVICE REGULATIONS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: A Medical Device under the jurisdiction of the European Union is defined as â€Å"an instrument, apparatus, appliance, material or other article, whether used alone or in combination, together with any software necessary for its proper application, which a) is intended by the manufacturer to be used for human beings for the purpose of i. diagnosis, prevention, monitoring, treatment or alleviation of disease, ii. diagnosis, monitoring, treatment, alleviation of or compensation for an injury or handicap, iii. investigation, replacement or modification of the anatomy or of a physiological process, or iv. control of conception; and b) does not achieve its principal intended action in or on the human body by pharmacological, immunological or metabolic means†.1 The clinical investigation and the subsequent introduction of a medical device in the European market is primarily regulated and governed by the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) with the assistance of competent regulatory institutions called the Notified Bodies. â€Å"A Notified Body is a certification organization which the national authority (the Competent Authority) of a Member State designates to carry out one or more of the conformity assessment procedures described in the annexes of the Directives.†3 The MHRA regulates with the help of two sets of medical device regulations viz. the Statutory Instruments 2002 No.618 (Consolidated legislation) and 2003 No.1697. These legislations employ the three device directives issued by the competent authority into the european law. The directives help the manufacture in better understanding of the manufacturing and the requirments for inroduction into the market of the devices. These directives are: Directive 90/385/EEC: Active Implantable Medical Devices directive Directive 93/42/EEC: Medical Devices directive Directive 98/79/EC: In vitro Diagnostic Medical Device directive Directive 90/385/EEC: Active Implantable Medical Devices directive: This directive encompasses medical devices that are active(i.e powered) and implanted(i.e left in the human body). These include pacemakers, implantable defibrillators, implantable infusion pumps, cochlear implants and implantable neuromuscular stimulators etc. Regulations realizing the Directive came entirely into force in the United Kingdom on January 01 1995. Directive 93/42/EEC: Medical Devices directive: This directive covers an extensive array of devices from uncomplicated bandages to orthopaedic implants and high-end radiology apparatus. Regulations realizing the Directive came entirely into force in the United Kingdom on June 13 1998. Directive 98/79/EC: In vitro Diagnostic Medical Device directive: â€Å"This Directive covers any medical device, reagent, reagent product, kit, instrument, apparatus or system which is intended to be used for the invitro examination of substances derived from the human body, such as blood grouping reagents, pregnancy testing and Hepatitis B test kits. Regulations implementing the Directive came into force in the UK on 7th June 2000 with a transitional period until 7th December 2003. There is no clinical investigation system for in-vitro diagnostic medical devices. Performance evaluations of in vitro diagnostic devices that are performed outside the manufacturers premises should be notified to the UK Competent Authority in accordance with the Medical Devices Regulations 2002: Section 44.†2 The rationale backing these directives is to permit easy movement of the medical devices throughout the European Union whilst upholding high standards of device safety and up-to-the-mark quality. Classification of medical devices: Devices are classified purely based on risk associated with their use. Ranging from low risk to high risk, they are Class I, IIa, IIb and III. A classic example of a class III medical device is a cochlear implant, which is both active and implantable and thus comes under the purview of Directive 90/385/EEC: Active Implantable Medical Devices directive. Let us discuss in detail the regulatory requirments specified as per the MHRA to bring an active implantable cochlear implant into the market designated bt the European Union as the EFTA(European Free Trade Area). â€Å"Examples of AIMDs include: implantable cardiac pacemakers implantable defibrillators leads, electrodes, adaptors for 1) and 2) implantable nerve stimulators bladder stimulators sphincter stimulators diaphragm stimulators cochlear implants implantable active drug administration device catheters, sensors for 9) implantable active monitoring devices programmers, software, transmitters.†4 Cochlear Implants: â€Å"Cochlear implants are electronic hearing prostheses that bypass the damaged hearing components by providing electrical stimulation directly to the auditory nerve fibres in the cochlea. The electrical stimulation is interpreted by the brain as sound. Cochlear implants consist of an external microphone, speech processor and transmitter coil, and an internal stimulator (implanted under the skin just behind the ear) attached to a stimulation electrode which passes into the cochlea. A variation of the cochlear implant is the auditory brainstem implant where electrodes are implanted directly into the auditory area of the brainstem. This can be used in patients who do not have a functional auditory nerve.†5 The regulatory process of bringing a cochlear implant in the European market: It is mandated by law that the manufacturer who intends to bring the device into the EFTA abides by the Essential Requirments stated in the Directive 90/385/EEC: Active Implantable Medical Devices directive and demonstrate the compliance of the device with the safety and efficacy standards set forth in the directive. There are essentially two ways to do it viz. â€Å"either a compilation of the relevant scientific literature currently available on the intended purpose of the device and the techniques employed, together with, if appropriate, a written report containing a critical evaluation of the compilation; or the results and conclusions of a specifically designed clinical investigation†2 Product launch on the basis of evaluation and review of scientific literature can be considered as acceptable if equivalence can be scientifically demonstrated with a device existant in the market and routinely used in clinical practice. Equivalence has to be demonstrated w.r.t technology, critical performance, design, principles of operation, biological safety, population involved, conditions of use and clinical purpose. However, unless satisfactory evidence can be collected by means of scientific literature review, the use of a well-planned clinical trial/investigation should be considered as the best way to attest permissible levels of safety and efficacy. In case of scientific review or pre-clinical assessment, the following fees apply: Class I, IIa, or IIb other than implantable or long-term invasive:  £3,000 (Re-notification incase of objection by MHRA  £2,100). Class IIb implantable or long-term invasive, Class III, and active implantable:  £4,100 (Re-notification incase of objection by MHRA  £2,700). Applications for a proposed clinical investigation of the medical device should be made by filling the forms PCA1 and PCA2 along with the necessary information required by the clauses in the forms. Applications should be labeled clearly as â€Å"documentation only†. The use of English language is mandatory. Documentation should be clear and legible and remain so after reproduction. Electronic applications should be discussed with the MHRA. The manufacturer, for scrutiny by the MHRA should make a total of eight full submission copies available. The charges for the scrutiny of applications are laid out in the Medical Devices Regulations 2002: section 56. They are as follows: â€Å"Fees for Group A (low risk) devices are  £2,700 (initial application) or  £1,800 (resubmission). Increasing to  £3,000 and  £2,100 on 1st April 2008. Fees for Group B (high-risk) devices are  £3,800 (initial application) or  £2,400 (resubmission). Increasing to  £4,100 and  £2,700 on 1 st April 2008.†2 Applications should be forwarded to: Mrs Daniella Smolenska, Medicines Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), European and Regulatory Affairs, Market Towers, 1 Nine Elms Lane, London, SW8 5NQ, Tel: 020 7084 3363, Email [emailprotected]. Approval from the MREC (Multi-centre Research Ethics Committee)/LREC (Local Research Ethics Committee) can be obtained along with the notification to the Competent Authority. However, a clinical investigation can begin only after approval has been obtained from the MREC/LREC and the Competent Authority has not raised an objection to the investigation within the 60 days time constraint period; or approval has been obtained from both the authoritative bodies. General Requirements: A well-defined clinical plan whose methodology and ethical considerations conforms to the standards set forth in the Medical Devices Regulations 2002: section 16 and section 29, the Active Implantable Medical Devices Directive, Annexes 6 and 7, and the Medical Devices Directive, Annexes VIII and X. Supplementary standards are set forth in Standard BS EN ISO 14155-1; 2002, â€Å"Clinical Investigation of Medical Devices for Human Subjects-part 1: General Requirements†, and BS EN ISO 14155-2:2002, â€Å"Clinical Investigation of Medical Devices for Human Subjects-part 2: Clinical Plan†. The CA should be notified incase of differences in the EU and non-EU protocols and the reasons for the same. â€Å"All applications must contain a statement (Active Implantable Medical Devices Directive: Annex 6,2.2; Medical Devices Directive: Annex VIII, 2.2): that the device in question conforms to the Essential Requirements except with regard to those aspects of the device that are to be investigated and that in respect of those aspects, every precaution has been taken to protect the health and safety of the patient. By signing this statement, the manufacturer is declaring that the device meets all of the relevant Essential Requirements, other than those subject to the investigation. Manufacturers must therefore ensure that at the time a notification is made to the Competent Authority, they have all documentation required to demonstrate conformity with the relevant Essential Requirements available for submission to the Competent Authority when requested.†2 Device information like name, model, materials used and sterilization standards etc must be provided as set forth in the directive. Pertinent information about the clinical investigation plan, investigation parameters and design, data collection and analysis methods etc. should be made available to the CA. It is strongly advised that Class III devices follow a well-designed post-marketing plan under the Medical Devices Vigilance. Extra care should be taken when labeling devices meant for clinical investigations. â€Å"All devices intended for clinical investigation must bear the wording exclusively for clinical investigation (Medical Devices Directive: annex 1, para 13.3(H) and the Active Implantable Medical Devices Directive: annex 1, 14.1).†2 Reporting of adverse incidents: â€Å"A serious adverse incident is one which: led to a death led to a serious deterioration in the health of the patient, user or others and includes: a life threatening illness or injury a permanent impairment to a body structure or function a condition requiring hospitalisation or increased length of existing hospitalisation a condition requiring otherwise unnecessary medical or surgical intervention and which might have led to death or serious deterioration in health had suitable action or intervention not taken place. This includes a malfunction of the device such that it has to be monitored more closely or temporarily or permanently taken out of service led to foetal distress, foetal death or a congenital abnormality or birth defect might have led to any of the above†2 All such incidents should be recorded and reported to the CA as set forth in the Regulation 16(10)(a) of the Medical Devices Regulations 2002 (SI 618) and Annex X of the Medical Devices Directive 93/42. Final written report: A report in conjunction with the Medical Devices Directive (Medical Devices Regulations 2002: Section 16(10) and Section 29(9)) should be submitted to the CA for devices undergoing investigation for a CE marking. However, Class III devices need to be highly regulated, before, after and during the clinical investigation. Owing to the high risks associated with their use, some say the risk can be quantified only as social and not scientific. â€Å"Risks, rather than being inherent within these implant devices, may be seen as socially derived, in processes of negotiation and conflict such as those in the case of hip and breast implants†¦.most recently, in the wake of the controversies surrounding breast implants and the 3M Capital hip, attention has been drawn to the uneven performance of notified bodies in the EU, which approve new products. This has led to the setting up of a new European Notified Bodies Operations Group (NEBOG) and calls by the MDA for all implants to be reclassified as high risk, Class III. A review of the operation of EU EMDD is also about to begin (MDA, 2001b). It thus appears that increased political scrutiny is being focused on this sector.†6 BIBLIOGRAPHY: THE MEDICAL DEVICES REGULATIONS: IMPLICATIONS ON HEALTHCARE AND OTHER RELATED ESTABLISHMENTS, BULLETIN No. 18, COMPETENT AUTHORITY (UK), Amended January 2006 EC MEDICAL DEVICES DIRECTIVES GUIDANCE FOR MANUFACTURERS ON CLINICAL INVESTIGATIONS TO BE CARRIED OUT IN THE UK, COMPETENT AUTHORITY (UK), Updated November 2007 THE NOTIFIED BODY, BULLETIN No. 6, COMPETENT AUTHORITY(UK), Amended January 2006 http://www.mhra.gov.uk/Howweregulate/Devices/ActiveImplantableMedicalDevicesDirective/index.htm, Last Date Accessed: April 08 2008 http://www.mhra.gov.uk/Safetyinformation/Generalsafetyinformationandadvice/Product-specificinformationandadvice/Cochlearimplants/index.htm, Last Date Accessed: April 08 2008 Kent, Julie and Faulkner, Alex (2002) Regulating human implant technologies in Europeunderstanding the new era in medical device regulation, Health, Risk Society, 4:2, 189 209 Medical Device Development: From Prototype to Regulatory Approval, Aaron V. Kaplan, Donald S. Baim, John J. Smith, David A. Feigal, Michael Simons, David Jefferys, Thomas J. Fogarty, Richard E. Kuntz and Martin B. Leon, 2004;109;3068-3072 Circulation, DOI: 10.1161/01.CIR.0000134695.65733.64,Circulation is published by the American Heart Association. 7272 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, TX, 72514, Copyright 2004 American Heart Association. All rights reserved. Print ISSN: 0009-7322. Online, ISSN: 1524-4539.