Interview With Laura Crain From The Mchenry County...

The content of this paper is an interview with Laura Crain from the McHenry County Substance Abuse Coalition. In the paper I touch on the history of the Coalition and how its evolved throughout the years. The coalition has a lot of involvement with the community in various counties. The work on a larger scheme rather than on a one to one basis. This interview covered the mission and goals set for the Coalition. Laura discussed with me the influences internal as well as external that affect the Coalition. Another thing we discussed was the struggles that come along with running an organization like this. I also touched on my personal experience and my thoughts regarding my internship. The process of finding an internship was very stressful for me. I honestly had no idea where to start or even what I was interested in. It took me many weeks to do research into different facilities that had internships available. After calling tons of organizations I finally interviewed at one that felt right for me. The interview took place with Laura Crain, who I also interviewed for this essay. The internship is at the McHenry County Substance Abuse Coalition. The McHenry County Substance Abuse Coalition is located in Woodstock, IL. It was started 16 years ago by a small group of treatment providers who recognized the growing danger presented by the rise in Heroin abuse in our communities. At the time, there was little awareness of this new trend of abuse of this dangerous drug. This

Swot Analysis Of Joubert Network Security - 993 Words

Joubert Network Security firm would like to thank you again for allowing us the time to provide exceptional and efficient security change to your network. We have conducted an assessment of the current network security and we will provide you with major recommendations for an optimum security and hardened network. The very purpose of this report is to find any vulnerability in your network and proposed sound and effective change to mitigate any breach and be as proactive as possible. A proactive approach will save money and keep your business running. Businesses with hardened systems succeed. As with any business ignorance will cost millions. The lack of a user education will innocently pave the way for vulnerabilities and hacking. The methodology used is a penetration testing in your defense system (firewall) and a thorough assessment that will pinpoint issues and find risks. Hackers use the same methodology to penetrate any back door left open by inexperienced and uneducated users that will open a way for hackers innocently and lead the way to malware and viruses. No system is safe from hacking. However, hardened your network against any potential attack will spare your business from breaches and catastrophes. As a result, we have evaluated and assessed the network security and have found the following results. First, the existing Smoothwall firewall is an effective open source firewall which provide services for web filtering, VPN, IPS and Email services. IT also

Professional Research and Communication Research Design and Methodolo

Question: Discuss about theProfessional Research and Communication for Research Design and Methodology. Answer: Introduction: 1. The table below shows the responses regarding perception of 100 customers towards the quality of food supplied by the retail food store. In this case, the score is obtained by multiplying the Rating on Likert Scale Number of Responses Responses 1. Strongly Disagree 14 14 2. Disagree 16 32 3. Unsure 26 52 4. Agree 14 28 5. Strongly Agree 30 15 Total 100 141 141/100=1.41 total number of respondents provided by the respondents with the assigned rating number of the Likert scale. This process of multiplying the number of responses to the rating is erroneous as it fails to represent the proportion of the respondents in favor of the statements. A better measure for evaluation of the perception of the customers towards the quality of the food products of the company can be central tendency (Weiss and Weiss 2012). The calculation of the mean of the responses of the customers can be calculated by adding up all the numbers and then dividing by the total number of responses. The can help in arriving at a certain middle value. Again, the median represents the appropriate middle value (Gentle et al. 2012). The median can be enumerated by list listing the figures in a numerical figure. The mode represents the data that occurs most frequently. The mean as a measure of the central tendency can be considered as a better dimension as it can appropriately summarize the data into a single index number (Andersen et al. 2012). This can represent the entre data as a whole. In addition to this, the central tendency can also help in comparison of the data that can identify the most appropriate single value that is representative of the entire frequency distribution (Weiss and Weiss 2012) Again, the mean can also provide an accurate description of the data (MacDonald 2012). 2. Yes, the results of the study can alter if the selected and the reprehensive sample of the study do not participate in the survey. The non-participation of the lower number of people in the online survey can lead to errors as the small, number of samples might not adequately represent the entire target population of the study. The chances of failing to include an unsatisfied customer are more or less 35%. Therefore, the participation of smaller number of samples can overlook many targeted population. In addition to this, the participation of lower number of respondents can also lead to biased results that can overlook the viewpoints of many participants. In addition to this, the variability that is determined by essentially the standard deviation of the selected sample are derived from the samples of the study. Therefore, the smaller size of the sample due to the non-participation of the respondents can lead to movements of the samples from the population. Furthermore, this can also affect the overall dependability of the project as this non-participation of the respondents can lead to smaller size of the samples and higher variability. This in turn can lead to biases that can occur due to lack of response.3. The data on the gender of the respondents are regarded as the nominal value or else observations that can assign a definite code in the form of a specific number and the numbers can be considered to be simply labels. One can count the nominal values but not place the data in order or else measure the overall nominal data (Berenson et al. 2012). The values in the Fahrenheit Thermometers that reflects the temperatures in Fahrenheit are essentially interval variables. The temperature enumerated in Fahrenheit can be regarded as the variables that can be enumerated in a continuum and can have different numerical value (Berenson et al. 2012). The Kelvin thermometers that collect values representing temperatures in Kelvin can be regarded as the ratio variables. The temperature measured in Kelvin is essentially a ratio variable as zero Kelvin reflects the fact that there is no temperature whatsoever (Andersen et al. 2012). The number of items a customer purchases in whole numbers can be regarded as the Bank account balance can be regarded as an interval as the people might have both zero balance or else negative balance in their account (Weiss and Weiss 2012). 4. Non-experimental research can be regarded as the research that is short of the handling of an independent variable and random assignment of different participants to diverse conditions or else orders of circumstances or both (Gentle et al. 2012). Experimental study can be conducted for examination of the effect of drinking orange juice on the performance of the players in the weekend. The learner can carry out the non-experimental quantitative research by making use of numerical or else he quantifiable data. The results of the experiment are mainly based on objectives as well as systematic observations (Pickard 2012). The variables of the research that includes performance of the players and many others can be identified that are quantifiable. However, the non-experimental studies can be descriptive, predictive, and explanatory (Marczyk et al. 2010). The descriptive study can track the changes in the behaviors and attitudes of the players and set different indicators for identific ation of responses of the participants towards a particular stimuli. The explanatory theory is essentially based on the attachment concept that offers a feeling of safety and can examine the associations between variables of attachments (Gall et al. 2010). Quasi-experimental studies are essentially the subjects to concerns concerning internal validity for that reason the treatment and control groups might not be comparable at the baseline (John Kuada 2012). In the case of random experiments, the participants of the study have equal opportunity of getting selected to a particular intervention group or else the comparison group. The quasi experimental design can be referred to as the process that takes into consideration three different designs that include uncontrolled before as well as after studies, diverse time series design and controlled before and after studies (Marczyk et al. 2010). Here, quasi experiments can also be carried out for testing the impact of drinking juices on the performances of the players in the weekend. Here, the uncontrolled studies both before and after specific intervention can be checked and the variances due to the interventions can also be evaluated to evaluate the effects of the drinking juices on perform ance of players. This is a simple study although is better than just the observational study. The sudden alterations in the trends can make it challenging as the observed alteration might possibly due to the alterations. The quasi experiments can also make use of the time series designs that recognize different interventions and affect the entire trend. A time series analysis can also be carried out for calculating the performance against time. Controlled before and after studies can be carried out where data can be gathered out both before and after interventions (MacDonald 2012). An experiment is essentially a study that incorporates a treatment, a method and a program that is intentionally introduced and an outcome can be observed (Mackey and Gass 2015). In case if an experimental study is conducted, then four essential elements need to be incorporated in the system. The process of the experimental study essentially includes the procedures of manipulation, control, process of random assignment as well as random selection. The researcher can change the circumstances as per the requirements of the study and manipulate the entire environment. Again, the experimental study can be both manipulated and controlled for the purpose of arriving at the outcomes (Graziano and Raulin 2010). Furthermore, experiments refer to the procedures that involve the efforts to minimize different errors as well as biases that can increase the confidence that in turn can manipulate the outcome. Moreover, the experimental study can also include the process of random assignments. A pro cedure is also employed to evaluate impacts of different alterations and treatment is essentially to make different measurements both before as well as after then treatment and carry out a comparative study after the assignment. In order to arrive at the conclusive results, statistical analysis can be out for the purpose of obtaining conclusive outcomes. The hypotheses testing procedure can be carried out where he null hypothesis can be stated as There is no difference between the players drinking the juices on their performance. The alternative hypothesis in this regard can be there exists a variance between the pre and post the situation of drinking juices on performance of the players. A paired t test can be carried out for testing the hypothesis. Here, two different paired variables expressed as the paired variable where the selection of the first variable primarily followed by the pre variable can be carried out. Again, the paired sample statistics can provide the mean, standar d deviation, numbers and standard errors for both before and after treatment (Leary 2011). The p value in the paired sample test can help in arriving at the results. References Andersen, P.K., Borgan, O., Gill, R.D. and Keiding, N., 2012.Statistical models based on counting processes. Springer Science Business Media. Berenson, M., Levine, D., Szabat, K.A. and Krehbiel, T.C., 2012.Basic business statistics: Concepts and applications. Pearson Higher Education AU. Gall, M.D., Borg, W.R. and Gall, J.P., 2010.Educational research: An introduction. Longman Publishing. Gentle, J.E., Hrdle, W.K. and Mori, Y. eds., 2012.Handbook of computational statistics: concepts and methods. Springer Science Business Media. Graziano, A.M. and Raulin, M.L., .2010Research methods: A process of inquiry. HarperCollins College Publishers. John Kuada, 2012.Research methodology: A project guide for university students. Samfundslitteratur. Leary, M.R., 2011.Introduction to behavioral research methods. Pearson Higher Ed. MacDonald, C., 2012. Understanding participatory action research: A qualitative research methodology option.The Canadian Journal of Action Research,13(2), pp.34-50. Mackey, A. and Gass, S.M., 2015.Second language research: Methodology and design. Routledge. Marczyk, G., DeMatteo, D. and Festinger, D., 2010.Essentials of research design and methodology. John Wiley Sons Inc. Pickard, A., 2012.Research methods in information. Facet publishing. Weiss, N.A. and Weiss, C.A., 2012.Introductory statistics. London: Pearson Education.

The Haunting Of Hill House Essay Example For Students

The Haunting Of Hill House Essay The Haunting of Hill House is considered a classic to many people. It has a certain sense of feeling missing from todays novels. The Haunting of Hill House has suspense, horror, a little bit of romance, and an ending that will leave you thinking for days. Shirley Jackson is well known for her twisted work. At the beginning of the book, you our introduced to a character that has a major impact on all of its guests. Hill House. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against the hills, holding darkness within. This is just one of the chilling sentences from the opening paragraph. The fear begins to set in. Shortly after, you are introduced to the strong yet cautious Dr. John Montague. He is a doctor of philosophy and has a new study up his sleeve. He is going to rent the haunted Hill House and document all that goes on. To accompany him and further the study, are three assistants. We will write a custom essay on The Haunting Of Hill House specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now After considerable research, three patients are chosen. Eleanor Vance, Luke Sanderson, and Theodora (Theo) are the chosen few. You are first brought into the life of Eleanor Vance. Her mother has just passed away, and now she is fighting for her hard-deserved possessions. Eleanor has never been accepted. She has always been on her own and liked it that way. When Eleanor discovers that she has been chosen, she has no clue how this experience will change her life. Next, we are introduced to Theodora. Her last name is never revealed which gives her a sense of mystery. Theo could be considered any mans dream. She is quite beautiful and has that certain something. Theo gladly accepts the invitation to Hill House, and nothing more is said. Luke Sanderson is the future inheritor of Hill House. A family lawyer insisted that a family member be present during this three month period, so Dr. Montague gladly chose Luke. Shortly after, Eleanor, Theodora, Luke, Dr. Montague, and his secretary arri ve at Hill House. They are introduced to the mysterious housekeepers, the Dudleys. Theo and Eleanor quickly form a bond and explore the home. They discover how elaborate and titanic Hill House is. The fireplace, walk out veranda, and library are just some of the things that the girls discover. Everyone loves the house for its beauty and extravagance. Later on in the evening, Dr. Montague tells the long history of Hill House. It was owned by Hugh Crain. He had two children, but their mother was killed in a carriage accident just before she arrived at the house. His second wife died from a fall, possible suicide. Crains third wife died of tuberculosis. Shortly after, Crain passed away in Europe. His two daughters were left with the house, but many fights occur over who should get it. The older sister dies, and the young sister ends up owning it. She commits suicide, and Hill House is left to the Sandersons. The first night was fine, but many things begin to happen. The following night, Theodora and Eleanor have a terrifying encounter. While sleeping, Eleanor hears a pounding sound. She wakes up. The sound continues, so she rushes to Theodoras room. The room becomes ice cold, and the pounding becomes louder. After an intense amount of time, Dr. Montague and Luke arrive. Another thing is discovered by the guests. Outside of the nursery, a cold spot occurs. Nothing can be explained about the cold feeling, but it occurs every time they walk passed it. Over time, Eleanor sees and feels the presence of a superior being. The following quotation comes from the chilling moment when Eleanor discovers no one is in her room: God God-whose hand was I holding? Over time, Eleanor becomes attached to the house. She feels like the house is talking to her. On one occasion, WELCOME HOME ELEANOR was written over Theos room and clothing. It was written in blood. Eleanor becomes furious, thinking her fellow spouses wrote the frightening message. Then again, she feels like the house is speaking to her. She feels like Hill House is part of her. Later on, this obsession goes one step too far. .u2ed79bb9c4080a1212424b309a1cd047 , .u2ed79bb9c4080a1212424b309a1cd047 .postImageUrl , .u2ed79bb9c4080a1212424b309a1cd047 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u2ed79bb9c4080a1212424b309a1cd047 , .u2ed79bb9c4080a1212424b309a1cd047:hover , .u2ed79bb9c4080a1212424b309a1cd047:visited , .u2ed79bb9c4080a1212424b309a1cd047:active { border:0!important; } .u2ed79bb9c4080a1212424b309a1cd047 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u2ed79bb9c4080a1212424b309a1cd047 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u2ed79bb9c4080a1212424b309a1cd047:active , .u2ed79bb9c4080a1212424b309a1cd047:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u2ed79bb9c4080a1212424b309a1cd047 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u2ed79bb9c4080a1212424b309a1cd047 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u2ed79bb9c4080a1212424b309a1cd047 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u2ed79bb9c4080a1212424b309a1cd047 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u2ed79bb9c4080a1212424b309a1cd047:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u2ed79bb9c4080a1212424b309a1cd047 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u2ed79bb9c4080a1212424b309a1cd047 .u2ed79bb9c4080a1212424b309a1cd047-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u2ed79bb9c4080a1212424b309a1cd047:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Sample Fund-Raising Letter EssayTowards the end of the book, Mrs. Montague arrives at Hill House. With her, she brings planchette. Planchette is a form of the ouija board. With planchette, Mrs. Montague can contact the spirits of the house. In her planchette sessions, the names Nellie, Nell, and Eleanor are brought up many times. This feeds the obsession of Eleanor and Hill House. After time, Eleanor begins to feel as if Hill House was her house. It has almost become a friend. The paranormal encounters and psychological effects of the house made her almost, insane. Dr. Montague and the others all agreed that she needed to be home. It was for her own safety. The morning that Eleanor was scheduled to leave was like any other. Mrs. Dudley set out their breakfast, and all in all, it seemed like a normal day. Everyone gave their good-byes, and Theo was especially sad to see Eleanor go. Eleanor got into her car, but something wasnt right. Her mind was telling her that Hill House belonged to her. How dare they tell me to leave, and what gives them the right to make the rules? Hill House was HER house. In an act to save her dignity, Eleanor presses the gas. She turns the wheel and crashes straight into a tree. Her life had ended. After an ending like this, you begin to think. Was Hill House really haunted? Or was it the psyche of Eleanor Vance that caused these encounters? All in all, Eleanor was never accepted, and she finally found someone that accepted her for what she was. That someone was Hill House. This story became one of my favorites after reading it. I would recommend this book to any person who has been the outcast. Book Reports

Camping during Orientation Week at Bowdoin College

After unloading bags, claiming beds and kissing parents goodbye, the first thing every Bowdoin first year student does upon arriving at the college is camp out in Farley field house. Walking into the enormous indoor track, I was taken aback by how many people had already set up sleeping bags and were already making friends. As scary as it was to be in a room without knowing anyone, the air of excitement was infectious. I set off to find my pre-Orientation group. Upon their arrival, Bowdoin sends new students on trips around Maine. Each trip has 8-10 people, along with two upperclassmen leaders, and range from kayaking to hiking to community service at a local town. I had opted to do an intensive backpacking trip, and looked around for the sign â€Å"Saddleback Hiking.† I found my group, and, bonded by our mutual wish to give off a good impression, we began chatting the night away. Sleeping in the field house was uncomfortable, but could do little to dampen our spirits, and before long we were off into the great outdoors. Over the next four days, we pushed ourselves mentally and physically traversing the beautiful Saddleback Mountains, all the while joking, laughing and discussing our previous lives. We were all from different cities, states (in my case, countries) and backgrounds, and we wiled many hours away learning more about each other. Eventually, after a grueling final day of hiking beginning at 3 AM, we made our way down to be picked up by the bus. Though I was glad to be going back in a real bed, I was also anxious. I had only met my four new roommates for a brief moment before being whisked away, and had no idea what they were like (despite much perusal of their Facebook feeds). I arrived back on campus and my floor mates filtered in one by one. Once we had all arrived, Orientation Week officially began. Orientation Week was a hectic series of functions designed to acclimate us to our new school. Between the seminars, plays, speeches and tours, we came back to the dorms everyday exhausted but exhilarated, as we were all becoming fast friends. The most important thing to come out of this period was registering for our fall semester courses, which would start the Monday of the next week. Shortly after starting classes, it became clear to me that college would be very different from high school. Though I am lucky to attend a school with wonderful professors and facilities, the workload and material were much harder than I was used to. However, I enjoyed the challenges presented in my new courses, and everyone I met seemed to love what they were learning. Before I knew it, the first month had passed. While it was several more months before I felt completely adjusted, Bowdoin had quickly become home. ​Written by Brendan Malley, a rising junior at Bowdoin College. Are you looking to apply to Bowdoinor just starting to build outyour college list? Make sure to search through profiles of students accepted to see essays, stats, and advice.Choosing where to go to college is an incredibly important decision. Make an informed choice by talking to current students on ourmentorship platform. Access 60,000+ successfulcollege application filesuploaded by college students. is a community of students helping students. See how they got in, and how you can too!

Free Essays on Huckleberry Finn Themes

Mark Twain tells us of the adventures young Huckleberry Finn experiences in his book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Throughout Huck’s adventures, he learns to tell the moral people from the dishonest and finds where he stands on the issues of superstition, religion, slavery, and freedom. Even though several themes are sporadically mentioned, the themes of superstitions and immorality seem to be more frequently apparent in Huck’s life. Superstitions are brought up many times throughout the book, and were never taken lightly. For example, Huck was sleeping one night when he saw a spider crawling and said, â€Å" I didn’t need nobody to tell me that was an awful bad sign and would fetch me some bad luck (Twain 4).† True, spiders are disgusting and terrifying, but since when are they a cause of bad luck? Usually creepy crawly arachnids would fascinate a young boy, but Huck was fearful due to a mere superstition. Also, Huck tells us about Jim’s good-luck charm. He says, â€Å"...a hairball as big as a fist... used to do magic with, and knowed everything (Twain 23).† Sometimes people will look to anything to help them with troubles they may be having, some even resort to an ox’s hairball. This ball of regurgitated hair has some mystical powers and can help the boys when they seek answers, what else could you ask for? Finally, Huck reminds Jim what he had told him. He says,â₠¬  You said it was the worst luck in the world to touch a snake skin with my hand (Twain 68).† Touching a snake skin and getting bad luck seems similar to the spider incident, maybe creepy-crawly creatures are more than just gross. Possibly snakeskin can affect the mind in a horrible manner, or somehow make you ill, only one way to find out. Due to the frequent mention of superstitions, we can conclude they played a rather large role in the life of Huck. Throughout Huck’s life, he is surrounded by role models that often have a negative i... Free Essays on Huckleberry Finn Themes Free Essays on Huckleberry Finn Themes Mark Twain tells us of the adventures young Huckleberry Finn experiences in his book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Throughout Huck’s adventures, he learns to tell the moral people from the dishonest and finds where he stands on the issues of superstition, religion, slavery, and freedom. Even though several themes are sporadically mentioned, the themes of superstitions and immorality seem to be more frequently apparent in Huck’s life. Superstitions are brought up many times throughout the book, and were never taken lightly. For example, Huck was sleeping one night when he saw a spider crawling and said, â€Å" I didn’t need nobody to tell me that was an awful bad sign and would fetch me some bad luck (Twain 4).† True, spiders are disgusting and terrifying, but since when are they a cause of bad luck? Usually creepy crawly arachnids would fascinate a young boy, but Huck was fearful due to a mere superstition. Also, Huck tells us about Jim’s good-luck charm. He says, â€Å"...a hairball as big as a fist... used to do magic with, and knowed everything (Twain 23).† Sometimes people will look to anything to help them with troubles they may be having, some even resort to an ox’s hairball. This ball of regurgitated hair has some mystical powers and can help the boys when they seek answers, what else could you ask for? Finally, Huck reminds Jim what he had told him. He says,â₠¬  You said it was the worst luck in the world to touch a snake skin with my hand (Twain 68).† Touching a snake skin and getting bad luck seems similar to the spider incident, maybe creepy-crawly creatures are more than just gross. Possibly snakeskin can affect the mind in a horrible manner, or somehow make you ill, only one way to find out. Due to the frequent mention of superstitions, we can conclude they played a rather large role in the life of Huck. Throughout Huck’s life, he is surrounded by role models that often have a negative i...

T cellB cell collaboration in the immune response to infection Essay

T cellB cell collaboration in the immune response to infection - Essay Example It is referred to as "non-specific" because it generally attempts to stop the spread of all types of invaders. (Kuby, 1996) The latter type consists of two categories: cell-mediated immunity and antibody-mediated (humoral) immunity. It is the stronger one of the two types but takes several hours or even days to become fully activated. It is referred to as "specific" because it responds differently to every other foreign pathogen. (Hariharan, 2006) Lymphocytes, a class of White Blood Cells, are a vital part of the acquired immune system, being responsible for the whole reaction. They are produced in the primary lymphoid organs and then migrate to the secondary lymphoid organs where they recognize antigens of foreign bodies by the help of membrane receptors specific to the antigens. Two major classes of lymphocytes take part in the acquired immunity: B-Cells (B lymphocytes) and T-Cells (T lymphocytes). (Alberts, Bray, Lewis, Raff, Roberts, Watson, 1994), (Linnemeyer, 1993) Precursors of T-cells originate in the foetal liver and yolk sac during the embryonic life, and migrate to the bone marrow after birth. The stem cells then enter the thymus by chemo taxis and develop into T-cells which are later specialized into CD4+ (helper) cells or CD8+ (cytotoxic) cells. (UNC-SOM, 2004) Maturation On entering the thymus, T-cell precursors (prothymocytes) develop into T-cells that indicate both CD4 and CD8 molecules on their membranes and then later continue to indicate either CD4 or CD8 molecules. The cells having antigen receptors for self proteins are destroyed by aptosis (programmed cell death). This prevents autoimmunity. On the other hand, the cells having antigen receptors that do not react with self MHC proteins are also killed as this causes the definite selection of T-cells that do react with MHC proteins. (Stadnyk, 2007) Functions of the MHC proteins include positive selection of T-cells as well as presentation of foreign body antigens to them. (NIAID, 2003) General Function The Helper T-cells activate lymphocytes called macrophages and other T-cells involved in the immune response, and aid B-cells in producing antibodies by alerting them and determining the type of antibody to be produced. (NIAID, 2003) 2) B-Cells: Origin Precursors of B-cells migrate from the foetal liver to the bone marrow where they remain and undergo maturation throughout the adult life. They do not require thymus for their development. (Levinson, 2004) Maturation Development of B-cells takes place in two phases: antigen-independent phase & antigen-dependent phase. In the 1st phase, stem cells of the marrow differentiate into B-lineage and progenitor B-cells. The progenitor B-cells proliferate into precursor B-cells which requires the microenvironment supplied by the surrounding stroma. Cells of the stroma release numerous cytokines, most importantly IL-7, which help in the maturation process. Further

About culture(anthropology) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

About culture(anthropology) - Essay Example Pranzo was the mid- day meal was the most important meal of the day which consisted of grain products. Some of their specialties consisted of anchovies or tuna on bread, pickled vegetables (sott’acetti) and well preserved meats such as salami or prosciutto which was served along with fresh sliced cantaloupe or fresh figs. Most Florentines love the primo course the best which consists of a filling minestra – pasta or bread in soup. In the 1980’s, Polenta which is another well loved soup made of cornmeal mush which could be eaten either fried, or cooked with tomato sauce or even just plain. Traditionally meat played a minor role where Florentine cuisine was concerned because most people did not find it very tasty and used it mostly as toppings or flavorings. Now –a – days most of them eat vegetables cooked in either sauce or fried with eggs. Dinner was called cena and was eaten between 7.30 0r 8.00 pm. It was much lighter than pranzo and consisted of bread with butter, wine, sugar or olive oil. But in the 1980’s the merenda (snack) was made up of sweet cookies, bread and Nutella (processed chocolate hazelnut) By the fag end of the 20th century, the variety of snacks outside meals increased considerably. (Vercelloni 1998, 985) There was a strict separation between sweet and salt that the Florentines adhered to. Now – a – days I feel don’t have such a distinction and eat whatever they feel like eating. Sweets were rarely eaten and deserts were prepared only on special occasions. Every meal of pranzo or cena concluded with a fresh seasonal fruit. Sundays were special and special meals were cooked which usually included chicken. Christmas and Easter were special occasions where meals were elaborate- but not any more because people’s attitudes have changed and they feel – everyday is a holiday! The most important item in Florentine cuisine is

History of the Catholic Church on the Death Penalty Research Paper

History of the Catholic Church on the Death Penalty - Research Paper Example It is obvious that many within the Catholic church are against the death penalty. But the church as of today has not taken any official stance. History of the Catholic Church on the death penalty Introduction From the beginning there has been a battle within the Catholic Church on whether the Church should support the use of capital punishment or not. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it seems clear that the church's response should be to support the use of capital punishment, as long as it is done justly and all efforts are made to guarantee that an innocent man or woman is not put to death. Recently, popes and some of the bishops in the United States, have started to campaign against the use of the death penalty. It seems clear that these individuals are not denying the compatibility of capital punishment with Catholic teaching, but instead have just begun to argue against its use for a variety of personal reasons. This paper looks at the history of the Catholic Church on th e death penalty and notes how it has changed over time. Early History The first real testimony against the use of the death penalty can be found in the Montanist works of Tertullian. Tertullian writing sometime between 197 and 207 composed ‘De Idololatria’. In this, Tertullian states in chapter seventeen that even if the servant of God appeals to the power of the state, he should not pronounce capital sentences. Following up on Tertullian, Lactantius writing about 305 to 323, wrote Divinae Institutiones. In this Lactantius states that when God prohibited murder, this also refers to the men who administer the death penalty (Bockle & Pohier 46). Lantantius's position was clear: a man could not even charge or be charged with a capital offense. After Tertullian and Lantantius others began to write on the subject. Felix in his work ‘Octavius V’, written around 225, states that it is wrong for the church to assist in the killing of man, or even to listen to an ac count of it. In the Canons of Hippolytus II, 16, Hippolytus in a more ancient Egyptian tradition states that whoever holds the power of the sword, and the judge who proceeds over capital cases, should renounce their office or be excluded from the catechism (Bockle & Pohier 47). In the same vein, The Council of Elvira in 305 ordered that all the duumvirate magistrates should not enter a church during their years of office, even though they were not required to pronounce capital sentences (Bockle & Pohier 47). The church had a problem here as to how it could support the right of the state to execute the hardened criminal, but deny to those who enforce the law the rights and privileges of the church. Ambrose, a former imperial officer, saw this and in or about the year 385 wrote to the Magistrate Studius about just this issue. In this letter Ambrose stated that ‘Romans 13’ recognizes the state's power to take life, but he also goes on to say that we should imitate Christ i n his forgiveness of the adulteress. In Ambrose's mind he could not find a solution to the church's dilemma. Augustine was to follow Ambrose in his writings in his ‘De Libero Arbitrio’. In this Augustine stated that the death penalty is a commandment of God. However Augustine was to go on to say in the ‘

Analysis Of Contemporary Leadership Theories

Analysis Of Contemporary Leadership Theories Leadership is the ability to help and guide others to achieve their personal best. A good leader achieves this by managing the present station and planning for the future. Throughout history no clear definition has been adopted for leadership but it could be understood as process of influencing personnel toward achieving a common goal While leadership style is the behavior adopted by a leader or manger to direct followers to achieve the ultimate goal as cited by (Farag, McGuinness, Anthony, 2009). There are different leadership styles theories based on behavior like the autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire and bureaucratic leadership. Moreover because of the complex demands on the health organization contemporary leadership theories emerged. Contemporary leadership styles include quantum leadership, charismatic leadership, transactional leadership, transformational leadership, relational leadership, shared leadership and servant leadership. Effective nursing leadership nowadays cr eates healthy work environments that maintain nurses and allow them to deliver best quality care for the patients. Charismatic leadership according to (Roberson Strickland, 2010) is linked to leader with certain qualities such as intellectual and individual inspiration, charm, high self confidence, provide clarity when condition is vague and set needed calculated risky moves. This leader set example and do initial sacrifices. Therefore followers of charismatic leader try always to imitate him/her. This type of leadership influence the followers by logical stimulation about the quality of care provided. Charismatic leader often start by asking followers modern solution to improve them and the situation available as well. The followers experience optimistic effect toward the leader and any task they are dealing with, self assured, extremely motivated to show higher performance. It was noticed that employee were empowered by their charismatic leaders which in process affected their work engagement. Their sense of empowerment made a huge influence and great difference on the outcomes related to thei r tasks. Shared leadership means empowering all staff in decision making and is both practitioner owned and organizationally supported as stated by Scott Caress, 2005. It allow for health care professionals to join their forces and work together to expand multiprofessional care. The design of shared leadership work to answer individual inquires and assist with growth of professional independence. Shared leadership is based on the idea of decentralized style of management that creates an atmosphere of empowerment. The advantages of this style are to offer united responsibility and liability for the employee to be more involved in the course of decision making. This style support staff input, creativity, allow sense of worth, high self-esteem and boost job satisfaction. It utilizes employee skills to enhance delivery of excellent care, create the most suitable culture to reflect on the practice. On the other hand reports show mixed results as to offer any clue about the efficiency of this styl e. To apply it effectively this means to change all the structure, relationship, decisions on every level of the organization as much as possible to make it useful for everyone involved. This is the reason why it creates a great challenge to execute. It requires massive dedication and cautious preparation. The ends results will definitely show it deserve the great effort put into action. Servant leadership is the foundation where a leader get the desire to serve others and along the process to lead as described by Neil, Hayward Peterson, 2007. The leader in this style represents foresight, attentiveness, accountability, influence; listen thoughtfully to ideas and loyalty to staff members. The leader always provides ready professional assist for the staff and realizes the significance of staff contribution to the development of care. The incorporation of servant leadership ideals by putting into practice has less directing role and more with serving the needs of others and by use of shared power. Barriers to this style are lack of awareness and power struggles. There is a great connection how health care workers treat each other and how it affects customer care service eventually. As Garber, Madigan, ClickFitzpatrick, 2009 affirmed servant leadership style has more significance in complex healthcare today because of dynamic work setting and various teamwork relationsh ips. Moreover this style suggests from the name inherent servant nature thats why it is liked by nurses. The application of servant leadership has been shown in last 3 decades but unfortunately still further studies need to implemented to examine the effect of leadership on both health workers and patient as well. Another modern leadership styles include quantum leadership and relational leadership as Sullivan Decker 2009 reveals that relational leadership could be referred to as connective leadership and leader should have the skill to generate a relationship between care giving settings and various personal needs. Nurse Managers could make use of this style when dealing with a great group of administrations, doctors, nurses or any other heath care worker to prepare a new advanced patient care program .this style necessitate high process skills and content expertise. The leader will keep social communication, calm, classify and distribute roles, tasks, provide contribution and celebrate accomplishments at right time. A different leadership style is quantum leadership and as mentioned by Sullivan Decker (2009) it developed from chaos theory. This leader needs to think outside the box and have a look on the bigger picture at the end. As times revolutionize the role adjust to it. The leader fa ces various challenges from the ever changing practice. It is worth to mention in the past powerful information were not available to all involved staff but now everyone can share delivery of excellent patient care if they have needed skills. Last two important contemporary theories that are used internationally through most of health care management are transactional leadership and transformational leadership. As cited by Ford, (2009) in his study that transactional leader act on main social exchange. The leader works on established framework. Demands clarity on task to accomplish, utilizes incentives as required but when the ideal outcome not sustained uses the appropriate authority to interfere. There is continuity in the process of exchange between the leader and the followers. This process continues between involved personnel applying this style till no longer applicable or desirable. The leader main goal is to preserve balance and status by always act and refer to the organizational policies and procedure. This leader realizes the importance of personal reward to attract followers to put their greatest effort on the tasks but at the same time customizing regular known practice. The other equally important style is the transformational leadership which the majority of latest studies evaluated the success of its application. It is necessary to say that this style achieve past what transactional does. As Dierckx, Casterle, Williams, Verschuren Milisen (2008) refer to Transformational leadership means to empower followers to reach the best professional and personal development. This style is best adhere by hospital and nursing environments. This style aim to influence the followers by nurturing their desires and ideas, therefore followers will try to achieve higher than their expectations. Transformational leadership style base on the fact that not to be influenced by status of person but what the person can bring to the organization as a dramatic revolution. It was clearly documented the constructive effect of this style on the fulfillment of staff and their improved performance. In addition it results in patients satisfaction. According to Graham Jack (2008 ) reveal that transformational style is a process of searching insight of oneself to reach a state where a certain practice should change. The leader has the ability to change a situation with tension to a creative learning experience for everyone involved. Moreover this leader has all the potentials to break the ordinary limits and general restraints associated with other types of leadership styles. In 2008 a study done by Nielsen, Randall, YarkerBrenner conclude to same result and found that adopting this style enhance psychological well- being of the followers. As the leader raise awareness to the shared goal and the follower will think of the interest of the group rather his/her self only. The leader achieve this by forming inspirational motivation to followers by originating an attractive idea .furthermore the leader acts as a role model by using skills of charm ,persuasion and definitely as a mentor. It is noticed strong evidence for causal relationships between work character istics and employee health and well-being; work characteristics that could be greatly influenced by leaders. Several aspects of transformational leadership behavior may be associated with followers perceptions of their opportunities to develop. Transformational leaders are often described as constructing organizational framework that allow followers to train and develop their own cognitive abilities, and to become more capable of defining and perform their own visions independently of the leaders immediate control and supervision. Transformational leadership not another option but in fact it boosts the transactional style (Spinelli, 2006). To summarize the difference between the transactional and transformational style according to Farag et al.(2009) transactional style depends on the followers agreement to achieve a common goal in exchange of admire or reward. However transformational style result on the followers work toward the same goal of the organization and being motivated an d inspired by the leader. In my point of view what makes a great leader is the ability to choose to lead not to follow. Has to plan effectively for the present issues and to predict complexity of future themes. Most of people agree that leadership could be learned if right characteristics such as intelligence and personality are present. Followers of good leader will always emulate him/her and have the motivation to challenge themselves to be better. They are not afraid of giving continuous feedback on their situation. Therefore the leader should act as good role model and a mentor as well. A leader with an understandable objective of his/her style has less management crisis in contrast to another leader with vague vision. Nursing leader should be a strong advocate and fight for his/her followers rights and calculate the risk before taking them. The effective leadership will minimize stressors surrounding the staff. For any organization to succeed transformational and transactional style combined are best to implement. These styles both act on facilitating conflict resolution which has great impact on the organizational culture. These styles understand aspects affecting conflict management and when properly applied higher job satisfaction will result. Moreover better relationship between staff and constructive health care organization as well as society will be noticed. Lack of effective leadership as demonstrate by (Tomey,2008) direct to patient dissatisfaction, unnoticed contribution of hardworking staff, lack of learning chances with less staff inspiration and intellectual motivation lead to huge stress in the working field of the health organization. Therefore both styles have been found to provide positive atmosphere for the nurses to work whether they want be motivated for the benefit of the group as in transformational style or waiting for the praise, recognition or simple reward as in transactional leadership style. The result will be calmed, healthy workplace environment and we ll being of patient as well as staff. Finally excellent leaders from all styles are made by experience or born with natural talents. The goal of leader at the end is to assist others accomplish their finest role and always set realistic goals to be challenged. A leader who is inspiring others must be a role model before and an excellent mentor for his/her followers. A leader with great sense of charm and self confidence will naturally attract follower to reach for the best outcome. Therefore cost-effective, smart management should invest on those people with these qualities. Never forget the role of follower even how little their contribution might be maybe one day they become successful leader and affect nations.

A summary of Amazon’s business Essay

I’ve used Amazon in my books for over 10 years now since many companies, from startups and small businesses to large international businesses, can learn from their focus on the customer and the approach of using technology and analysis to improve results. It consistently outperforms other companies in its ACSI customer satisfaction rating too. I aim to keep the case study up-to-date for readers of the books and Smart Insights readers who may be interested. In it we look at Amazon’s background, revenue model and sources for the latest business results. I recommend anyone studying Amazon checks the latest Amazon revenue and business strategies from their SEC filings / Investor relations. The annual filings to give a great summary of eBay business and revenue models. A good summary of the latest business model initiatives is available in this Amazon annual report summary for 2011. For Q4, 2010: North America segment sales, representing the Company’s U.S. and Canadian sites, were $7.21 billion, up 45% from fourth quarter 2009. International segment sales, representing the Company’s U.K., German, Japanese, French, Chinese and new Italian sites, were $5.74 billion, up 26% from fourth quarter 2009. Excluding the unfavorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, sales grew 29%. Amazon has come a long way since it launched in 1995: From: and it’s offices†¦ to it’s current Seattle headquarters: Amazon performs exceptionally efficiently measured against revenue per visitor, which is one of the key measures for any commercial website, whether it’s a media site, search engine, social network or a transactional retailer or offers travel or financial services. Of course profit per user would be quite different due to the significantly lower costs of other .coms like Facebook and Google. Note: SEC is the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which is a government agency for which companies have to submit an open evaluation of their business models and marketplace conditions. Further Amazon case information This case study created by FaberNovel â€Å"Amazon.com: The Hidden Empire† one of five â€Å"Most Favorited† slideshows and one of the five â€Å"Most Popular Technology Presentations† of 2011. Recommended: Amazon Case Study Context Why a case study on Amazon? Surely everyone knows about who Amazon are and what they do? Yes, well that’s maybe true, but this case goes beyond the surface toreview some of the ‘insider secrets’ of Amazon’s success. Like eBay, Amazon.com was born in 1995. The name reflected the vision of Jeff Bezos, to produce a large scale phenomenon like the Amazon river. This ambition has proved justified since just 8 years later, Amazon passed the $5 billion sales mark – it took Wal-Mart 20 years to achieve this. By 2008 Amazon was a global brand with other 76 million active customers accounts and order fulfillment to more than 200 countries. Despite this volume of sales, at December 31, 2007 Amazon employed approximately 17,000 full-time and part-time employees. In September 2007, it launched Amazon MP3, a la carte DRM-free MP3 music downloads, which now includes over 3.1 million songs from more than 270,000 artists. Amazon Vision & strategy In their 2008 SEC filing, Amazon describe the vision of their business as to: â€Å"Relentlessly focus on customer experience by offering our customers low prices, convenience, and a wide selection of merchandise.† The vision is still to offer â€Å"Earth’s biggest selection and to be Earth’s most customer-centric company. Consider how these core marketing messages summarising the Amazon online value proposition are communicated both on-site and through offline communications. Of course, achieving customer loyalty and repeat purchases has been key to Amazon’s success. Many dot-coms failed because they succeeded in achieving awareness, but not loyalty. Amazon achieved both. In their SEC filing they stress how they seek to achieve this. They say: â€Å"We work to earn repeat purchases by providing easy-to-use functionality, fast and reliable fulfillment, timely customer service, feature rich content, and a trusted transaction environment. Key features of our websites include editorial and customer reviews;  manufacturer product information; Web pages tailored to individual preferences, such as recommendations and notifications; 1-Click ® technology; secure payment systems; image uploads; searching on our websites as well as the Internet; browsing; and the ability to view selected interior pages and citations, and search the entire contents of many of the books we offer with our â€Å"Look Inside the Book† and â€Å"Search Inside the Book† features. Our community of online customers also creates feature-rich content, including product reviews, online recommendation lists, wish lists, buying guides, and wedding and baby registries.† In practice, as is the practice for many online retailers, the lowest prices are for the most popular products, with less popular products commanding higher prices and a greater margin for Amazon. Free shipping offers are used to encourage increase in basket size since customers have to spend over a certain amount to receive free shipping. The level at which free-shipping is set is critical to profitability and Amazon has changed it as competition has changed and for promotional reasons. Amazon communicate the fulfillment promise in several ways including presentation of latest inventory availability information, delivery date estimates, and options for expedited delivery, as well as delivery shipment notifications and update facilities. This focus on customer has translated to excellence in service with the 2004 American Customer Satisfaction Index giving Amazon.com a score of 88 which was at the time, the highest customer satisfaction score ever recorded in any service industry, online or offline. Round (2004) notes that Amazon focuses on customer satisfaction metrics. Each site is closely monitored with standard service availability monitoring (for example, using Keynote or Mercury Interactive) site availability and download speed. Interestingly it also monitors per minute site revenue upper/lower bounds – Round describes an alarm system rather like a power plant where if revenue on a site falls below $10,000 per minute, alarms go off! There are also internal performance service-level-agreements for web services where T% of the time, different pages must return in X seconds. 2011 update on vision and importance of technology According to founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos, technology is very important to supporting this focus on the customer. In their 2010 Annual Report (Amazon,  2011) he said: â€Å"Look inside a current textbook on software architecture, and you’ll find few patterns that we don’t apply at Amazon. We use high-performance transactions systems, complex rendering and object caching, workflow and queuing systems, business intelligence and data analytics, machine learning and pattern recognition, neural networks and probabilistic decision making, and a wide variety of other techniques.And while many of our systems are based on the latest in computer science research, this often hasn’t been sufficient: our architects and engineers have had to advance research in directions that no academic had yet taken. Many of the problems we face have no textbook solutions, and so we — happily — invent new approaches†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ All the effort we put into technology might not matter that much if we kept technology off to the side in some sort of R&D department, but we don’t take that approach. Technology infuses all of our teams, all of our processes, our decision-making, and our approach to innovation in each of our businesses. It is deeply integrated into everything we do†. The quote shows how applying new technologies is used to give Amazon a competitive edge. A good recent example of this is providing the infrastructure to deliver the Kindle â€Å"Whispersync† update to ebook readers. Amazon reported in 2011 that Amazon.com is now selling more Kindle books than paperback books. For every 100 paperback books Amazon has sold, the Company sold 115 Kindle books. Kindle apps are now available on Apple iOS, Android devices and on PCs as part of a â€Å"Buy Once, Read Anywhere† proposition which Amazon has developed. Amazon Customers Amazon defines what it refers to as three consumer sets customers, seller customers and developer customers. There are over 76 million customer accounts, but just 1.3 million active seller customers in it’s marketplaces and Amazon is seeking to increase this. Amazon is unusual for a retailer in that it identifies â€Å"developer customers† who use its Amazon Web Services, which provides access to technology infrastructure such as hosting that developers can use to develop their own web services. Members are also encouraged to join a loyalty programme, Amazon Prime, a fee-based membership program in which members receive free or discounted express shipping, in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan. Competition In its SEC (2005) filing Amazon describes the environment for our products and services as ‘intensely competitive’. It views its main current and potential competitors as: 1) physical-world retailers, catalog retailers, publishers, vendors, distributors and manufacturers of our products, many of which possess significant brand awareness, sales volume, and customer bases, and some of which currently sell, or may sell, products or services through the Internet, mail order, or direct marketing; (2) Other online E-commerce sites; (3) A number of indirect competitors, including media companies, Web portals, comparison shopping websites, and Web search engines, either directly or in collaboration with other retailers; and (4) Companies that provide e-commerce services, including website development; third-party fulfillment and customer-service. It believes the main competitive factors in its market segments include â€Å"selection, price, availability, convenience, information, discovery, brand recognition, personalized services, accessibility, customer service, reliability, speed of fulfillment, ease of use, and ability to adapt to changing conditions, as well as our customers’ overall experience and trust in transactions with us and facilitated by us on behalf of third-party sellers†. For services offered to business and individual sellers, additional competitive factors include the quality of our services and tools, their ability to generate sales for third parties we serve, and the speed of pe rformance for our services. From Auctions to marketplaces Amazon auctions (known as zShops) were launched in March 1999, in large part as a response to the success of eBay. They were promoted heavily from the home page, category pages and individual product pages. Despite this, a year after its launch it had only achieved a 3.2% share of the online auction compared to 58% for eBay and it only declined from this point. Today, competitive prices of products are available through third-party sellers in the ‘Amazon Marketplace’ which are integrated within the standard product listings. The strategy to offer such an auction facility was initially driven by the need to compete with eBay, but now the strategy has been adjusted such that Amazon describe it as part of the approach of low-pricing. Although it might be thought that Amazon would lose out on  enabling its merchants to sell products at lower prices, in fact Amazon makes greater margin on these sales since merchants are charged a commission on each sale and it is the merchant who bears the cost of storing inventory and fulfilling the product to customers. As with eBay, Amazon is just facilitating the exchange of bits and bytes between buyers and sellers without the need to distribute physical products. Amazon Media sales You may have noticed that unlike some retailers, Amazon displays relevant Google text ads and banner ads from brands. This seems in conflict with the strategy of focus on experience since it leads to a more cluttered store. However in 2011 Amazon revealed that worldwide media sales accounted for approximately 17% of revenue! Amazon marketing Amazon does not reveal much about its marketing approach in its annual reports, but there seems to be a focus on online marketing channels. Amazon (2011) states â€Å"we direct customers to our websites primarily through a number of targeted online marketing channels, such as our Associates program, sponsored search, portal advertising, email marketing campaigns, and other initiatives†. These other initiatives may include outdoor and TV advertising, but they are not mentioned specifically. In this statement they also highlight the importance of customer loyalty tools. They say: â€Å"while costs associated with free shipping are not included in marketing expense, we view free shipping offers and Amazon Prime as effective worldwide marketing tools, and intend to continue offering them indefinitely†. How ‘The Culture of Metrics’ started A common theme in Amazon’s development is the drive to use a measured approach to all aspects of the business, beyond the finance. Marcus (2004) describes an occasion at a corporate ‘boot-camp’ in January 1997 when Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos ‘saw the light’. ‘At Amazon, we will have a Culture of Metrics’, he said while addressing his senior staff. He went on to explain how web-based business gave Amazon an ‘amazing window into human behaviour’. Marcus says: ‘Gone were the fuzzy approximations of focus groups, the anecdotal fudging and smoke blowing from the marketing department. A company  like Amazon could (and did) record every move a visitor made, every last click and twitch of the mouse. As the data piled up into virtual heaps, hummocks and mountain ranges, you could draw all sorts of conclusions about their chimerical nature, the consumer. In this sense, Amazon was not merely a store, but an immense repository of fact s. All we needed were the right equations to plug into them’. James Marcus then goes on to give a fascinating insight into a breakout group discussion of how Amazon could better use measures to improve its performance. Marcus was in the Bezos group, brainstorming customer-centric metrics. Marcus (2004) summarises the dialogue, led by Bezos: â€Å"First, we figure out which things we’d like to measure on the site†, he said. â€Å"For example, let’s say we want a metric for customer enjoyment. How could we calculate that?† â€Å"There was silence. Then somebody ventured: â€Å"How much time each customer spends on the site?† â€Å"Not specific enough†, Jeff said. â€Å"How about the average number of minutes each customer spends on the site per session† someone else suggested. â€Å"If that goes up, they’re having a blast†. â€Å"But how do we factor in purchase?† I [Marcus] said feeling proud of myself. â€Å"Is that a measure of enjoyment†? â€Å"I think we need to consider frequency of visits, too†, said a dark-haired woman I didn’t recognise. â€Å"Lot of folks are still accessing the web with those creepy-crawly modems. Four short visits from them might be just as good as one visit from a guy with a T-1. Maybe better’. â€Å"Good point†, Jeff said. â€Å"And anyway, enjoyment is just the start. In the end, we should be measuring customer ecstasy† It is interesting that Amazon was having this debate in about the elements of RFM analysis (described in Chapter 6 of Internet Marketing), 1997, after already having achieved $16 million of revenue in the previous year. Of course, this is a miniscule amount compared with today’s billions of dollar turnover. The important point was that this was the start of a focus on metrics which can be seen through the description of Matt Pounds work later in this case study. From human to software-based recommendations Amazon has developed internal tools to support this ‘Culture of Metrics’.  Marcus (2004) describes how the ‘Creator Metrics’ tool shows content creators how well their product listings and product copy are working. For each content editor such as Marcus, it retrieves all recently posted documents including articles, interviews, booklists and features. For each one it then gives a conversion rate to sale plus the number of page views, adds (added to basket) and repels (content requested, but the back button then used). In time, the work of editorial reviewers such as Marcus was marginalised since Amazon found that the majority of visitors used the search tools rather than read editorial and they responded to the personalised recommendations as the matching technology improved (Marcus likens early recommendations techniques to ‘going shopping with the village idiot’). Experimentation and testing at Amazon The ‘Culture of Metrics’ also led to a test-driven approach to improving results at Amazon. Matt Round, speaking at E-metrics 2004 when he was director of personalisation at Amazon describes the philosophy as ‘Data Trumps Intuitions’. He explained how Amazon used to have a lot of arguments about which content and promotion should go on the all important home page or category pages. He described how every category VP wanted top-center and how the Friday meetings about placements for next week were getting ‘too long, too loud, and lacked performance data’. But today ‘automation replaces intuitions’ and real-time experimentation tests are always run to answer these questions since actual consumer behaviour is the best way to decide upon tactics. Marcus (2004) also notes that Amazon has a culture of experiments of which A/B tests are key components. Examples where A/B tests are used include new home page design, moving features around the page, different algorithms for recommendations, changing search relevance rankings. These involve testing a new treatment against a previous control for a limited time of a few days or a week. The system will randomly show one or more treatments to visitors and measure a range of parameters such as units sold and revenue by category (and total), session time, session length, etc. The new features will usually be launched if the desired metrics are statistically significantly better. Statistical tests are a challenge though as distributions are not normal (they have a large mass at zero for example of no purchase) There are other challenges since multiple  A/B tests are running every day and A/B tests may overlap and so conflict. There are also longer-term effects where some features are ‘cool’ for the first two weeks and the opposite effect where changing navigation may degrade performance temporarily. Amazon also finds that as its users evolve in their online experience the way they act online has changed. This means that Amazon has to constantly test and evolve its features. Amazon.com Technology It follows that the Amazon technology infrastructure must readily support this culture of experimentation and this can be difficult to achieved with standardised content management. Amazon has achieved its competitive advantage through developing its technology internally and with a significant investment in this which may not be available to other organisations without the right focus on the online channels. As Amazon explains in SEC (2005) ‘using primarily our own proprietary technologies, as well as technology licensed from third parties, we have implemented numerous features and functionality that simplify and improve the customer shopping experience, enable third parties to sell on our platform, and facilitate our fulfillment and customer service operations. Our current strategy is to focus our development efforts on continuous innovation by creating and enhancing the specialized, proprietary software that is unique to our business, and to license or acquire commercially-developed technology for other applications where available and appropriate. We continually invest in several areas of technology, including our seller platform; A9.com, our wholly-owned subsidiary focused on search technology on www.A9.com and other Amazon sites; web services; and digital initiatives.’ Round (2004) describes the technology approach as ‘distributed development and deployment’. Pages such as the home page have a number of content ‘pods’ or ‘slots’ which call web services for features. This makes it relatively easy to change the content in these pods and even change the location of the pods on-screen. Amazon uses a flowable or fluid page design unlike many sites which enables it to make the most of real-estate on-screen. Technology also supports more standard e-retail facilities. SEC (2005) states: ‘We use a set of applications for accepting and validating customer orders, placing and tracking orders with suppliers, managing and assigning inventory to customer  orders, and ensuring proper shipment of products to customers. Our transaction-processing systems handle millions of items, a number of different status inquiries, multiple shipping addresses, gift-wrapping requests, and multiple shipment methods. These systems allow the customer to choose whether to receive single or several shipments based on availability and to track the progress of each order. These applications also manage the process of accepting, authorizing, and charging customer credit cards.’ Data Driven Automation Round (2004) said that ‘Data is king at Amazon’. He gave many examples of data driven automation including customer channel preferences; managing the way content is displayed to different user types such as new releases and top-sellers, merchandising and recommendation (showing related products and promotions) and also advertising through paid search (automatic ad generation and bidding). The automated search advertising and bidding system for paid search has had a big impact at Amazon. Sponsored links initially done by humans, but this was unsustainable due to range of products at Amazon. The automated programme generates keywords, writes ad creative, determines best landing page, manages bids, measure conversion rates, profit per converted visitor and updates bids. Again the problem of volume is there, Matt Round described how the book ‘How to Make Love Like a Porn Star’ by Jenna Jameson received tens of thousands of clicks from pornography-related searches, but few actually purchased the book. So the update cycle must be quick to avoid large losses. There is also an automated email measurement and optimization system. The campaign calendar used to be manually managed with relatively weak measurement and it was costly to schedule and use. A new system: Automatically optimizes content to improve customer experience Avoids sending an e-mail campaign that has low clickthrough or high unsubscribe rate Includes inbox management (avoid sending multiple emails/week) Has growing library of automated email programs covering new releases and recommendations But there are challenges if promotions are too successful if inventory isn’t available. Your Recommendations Customers Who Bought X†¦, also bought Y is Amazon’s signature feature. Round  (2004) describes how Amazon relies on acquiring and then crunching a massive amount of data. Every purchase, every page viewed and every search is recorded. So there are now to new version, customers who shopped for X also shopped for†¦ and Customers who searched for X also bought†¦ They also have a system codenamed ‘Goldbox’ which is a cross-sell and awareness raising tool. Items are discounted to encourage purchases in new categories! I have a more detailed article on Amazon personalisation / recommendation system He also describes the challenge of techniques for sifting patterns from noise (sensitivity filtering) and clothing and toy catalogues change frequently so recommendations become out of date. The main challenges though are the massive data size arising from millions of customers, millions of items and recommendations made in real time. Amazon Partnership strategy As Amazon grew, its share price growth enabled partnership or acquisition with a range of companies in different sectors. Marcus (2004) describes how Amazon partnered with Drugstore.com (pharmacy), Living.com (furniture), Pets.com (pet supplies), Wineshopper.com (wines), HomeGrocer.com (groceries), Sothebys.com (auctions) and Kozmo.com (urban home delivery). In most cases, Amazon purchased an equity stake in these partners, so that it would share in their prosperity. It also charged them fees for placements on the Amazon site to promote and drive traffic to their sites. Similarly, Amazon charged publishers for prime-position to promote books on its site which caused an initial hue-and-cry, but this abated when it was realised that paying for prominent placements was widespread in traditional booksellers and supermarkets. Many of these new online companies failed in 1999 and 2000, but Amazon had covered the potential for growth and was not pulled down by these partners, even though for some such as Pets.com it had an investment of 50%. Analysts sometimes refer to ‘Amazoning a sector’ meaning that one company becomes dominant in an online sector such as book retail such that it becomes very difficult for others to achieve market share. In addition to developing, communicating and delivering a very strong proposition, Amazon has been able to consolidate its strength in different sectors through its partnership arrangements and through using technology to facilitate product promotion and distribution via these partnerships. The Amazon retail platform enables other retailers to sell products online using  the Amazon user interface and infrastructure through their ‘Syndicated Stores’ programme. For example, in the UK, Waterstones (www.waterstones.co.uk) is one of the largest traditional bookstores. It found competition with online so expensive and challenging, that eventually it entered a partnership arrangement where Amazon markets and distributes its books online in return for a commission online. Similarly, in the US, Borders a large book retailer uses the Amazon merchant platform for distributing its products. Toy retailer Toys R’ Us have a similar arrangement. Such partnerships help Amazon extends its reach into the customer-base of other suppliers, and of course, customers who buy in one category such as books can be encouraged to purchase into other areas such as clothing or electronics. Another form of partnership referred to above is the Amazon Marketplace which enables Amazon customers and other retailers to sell their new and used books and other goods alongside the regular retail listings. A similar partnership approach is the Amazon ‘Merchants@’ program which enables third party merchants (typically larger than those who sell via the Amazon Marketplace) to sell their products via Amazon. Amazon earn fees either through fixed fees or sales commissions per-unit. This arrangement can help customers who get a wider choice of products from a range of suppliers with the convenience of purchasing them through a single checkout process. Finally, Amazon has also facilitated formation of partnerships with smaller companies through its affiliates programme. Internet legend records that Jeff Bezos, the creator of Amazon was chatting to someone at a cocktail party who wanted to sell books about divorce via her web site. Subsequently, Amazon.com launched its Associates Program in July 1996 and it is still going strong. Googling http://www.google.com/search?q=www.amazon.com+-site%3Awww.amazon.com for sites that link to the US site, shows over 4 million pages, many of which will be affiliates. Amazon does not use an affiliate network which would take commissions from sale, but thanks to the strength of its brand has developed its own affiliate programme. Amazon has created a tiered performance-based incentives to encourage affiliates to sell more Amazon products. Amazon Marketing communications In their SEC filings Amazon state that the aims of their communications  strategy are (unsurprisingly) to: Increase customer traffic to our websites Create awareness of our products and services Promote repeat purchases Develop incremental product and service revenue opportunities Strengthen and broaden the Amazon.com brand name. Amazon also believe that their most effective marketing communications are a consequence of their focus on continuously improving the customer experience. This then creates word-of-mouth promotion which is effective in acquiring new customers and may also encourage repeat customer visits. As well as this Marcus (2004) describes how Amazon used the personalisation enabled through technology to reach out to a difficult to reach market which Bezos originally called ‘the hard middle’. Bezos’s view was that it was easy to reach 10 people (you called them on the phone) or the ten million people who bought the most popular products (you placed a superbowl ad), but more difficult to reach those in between. The search facilities in the search engine and on the Amazon site, together with its product recommendation features meant that Amazon could connect its products with the interests of these people. Online advertising techniques include paid search marketing, interactive ads on portals, e-mail campaigns and search engine optimisation. These are automated as far as possible as described earlier in the case study. As previously mentioned, the affiliate programme is also important in driving visitors to Amazon and Amazon offers a wide range of methods of linking to its site to help improve conversion. For example, affiliates can use straight text links leading direct to a product page and they also offer a range of dynamic banners which feature different content such as books about Internet marketing or a search box.Amazon also use cooperative advertising arrangements, better known as ‘contra-deals’ with some vendors and other third parties. For example, a print advertisement in 2005 for a particular product such as a wireless router with a free wireless laptop card promotion will feature a specific Amazon URL in the ad. In product fulfilment packs, Amazon may include a leaflet for a non-competing online company such as Figleaves.com (lingerie) or Expedia (travel). In return, Amazon leaflets may be included in customer communications from the partner brands. Our Associates program directs customers to our websites by enabling independent websites to make millions of products available to their  audiences with fulfillment performed by us or third parties. We pay commissions to hundreds of thousands of participants in our Associates program when their customer referrals result in product sales. In addition, we offer everyday free shipping options worldwide and recently announced Amazon.com Prime in the U.S., our first membership program in which members receive free two-day shipping and discounted overnight shipping. Although marketing expenses do not include the costs of our free shipping or promotional offers, we view such offers as effective marketing tools. Marcus, J. (2004) Amazonia. Five years at the epicentre of the dot-com juggernaut, The New Press, New York, NY. Round, M. (2004) Presentation to E-metrics, London, May 2005. www.emetrics.org.

Effect of Positive and Negitive Thinking Essay

When life gives you lemons, make grape juice, and leave the world wondering how you did it. The effects of both positive and negative thinking affects the world in the same sense, to have been given the different options to see the world and deciding which path to take. With each decision and action is the same as Newton’s law of gravity what goes up must come down, it’s a natural accordance that will continue on in the never ending circle of life. The processes of these thoughts pass from person to person, place to place, and with every situation it changes and grows with life. Throughout life someone somewhere has heard, be it through friends or family, things such as â€Å"If you think bad thoughts, then you’ll jinx it† or â€Å"If you think the worst, the worst will happen.† Sadly now the world is slowly becoming consumed by more negativity then ever before, making these more then just little wives’ tales and they all start in the mind. When people are negative, either to ones’ self or others, it expands and jumps out. Think of a school environment, on a day-to-day basis, all those people are moving together, all those different personalities are clicking or crashing with one another, and all range of emotions are swirling around, one individual in the group could be having a bad day for a number of reasons, they might unintentionally do or say something that could in turn ruin another individual’s day. In some cases permitting for so many of the negative thoughts that come and go over time can turn from exciting just mentally in the mind, outward to the physical being itself. People who worry or overstress about all the little things that can go wrong or might happen, these are the â€Å"what if† thinkers, have been known to unwillingly force the body to become sick, in order to slow down the thoughts; that is a form of negative thinking attacking the body. In Greek mythology Pandora’s Box was said to have contained all the horrible and negative things of man, Envy, Crime, Hate, and Disease. When Pandora opened the box all of it escaped but the last thing to leave was Hope, the one thing that was meant to go against the darkness, negativity, the hatred of the humans’ lives. There have been quite a number of cases over the years that have reporting’s of people fighting diseases, such as cancer or childhood leukemia, where there have been quotes saying that staying positive and not letting this dieses get them down has helped, along with treatment, to rid the body of the nasty infection causing the unwanted pain and trouble. It can be a challenging and often long battle that tests the person’s ability and desire to live in a way that others will never feel. Those with a positive outlook that have the strength to fight all that comes at them with a smile, strong will, telling them selves â€Å"I can beat this.† have a higher chance of beating the bad blood that runs through the veins and can stay in remission for many years to follow. There have been quite a few cases that the upkeep of positive thinking in one’s daily life as lead to less depression, more immunity toward the common cold, as shown in tests involving students rec eiving an injection that made skin bumps appear and become enlarged or smaller depending upon their level of germ immunity. Highly optimistic students experienced higher immunity levels, and less chance of a cardiovascular disease. Religions use this power of thinking to touch people and to bring, what some call, a light into their worlds. Each person perceives it in a way specific to the individual often calling it what may best befit with their life. The major religion that focuses on the mind set with positive negative comparison is considered the most taboo, Wiccan and Paganism. A law of Wiccans’ is send the positive energy step taken and breath inhaled, which means send the good engery, karma, whatever name chosen, to the children of the world, to other adults, to the families you know and strangers not yet met. It is believed that by doing this the positive energy that gets sent out can come right back ten fold, most call this way of thinking Karma. Christians call it the light of God, a warm sensation that engulfs the body and fills it with joy and most pass the feeling on with the word of God. For every positive there is a negative in the world, just like from the Disney movie Merlin â€Å"for every up there is a down, for every flat there is a round.† it is a never ending cycle that will repeat even once the human race evolves beyond life now. Some people have been known to refer to these as storm clouds, which does fit because of the fact that they bring darkness and destruction when they come, but what they leave behind is not always seen so quickly, like the new life the rain brings, a fire from lightning is natures way of removing the dry and dead plant life and provides space for the new life to come through with more room to grow and expand. It is all a circle and without the negative there is no positive. The human race all around the world is controlled, both knowingly and unknowingly to the individuals of earth, by their mental state of mind, because in the end that’s all it is. The power of the mind has been traced through centuries of cultures and religious views, from the Far East to the New West. Daisaku Ikeda president of the world’s largest Buddhist community, once said â€Å"As soon as you think you can’t possibly succeed, every cell in your being will be deflated and give up the fight [and] everything really will move in the direction of failure.† Cultures use the power of the mind to breathe life, to live life to the fullest humans can. The processes of these thoughts pass from person to person, place to place, and with every situation it changes and grows with life. Citations Positive Thinking Principles http://www.positive-thinking-principles.com/effects-of-positive-thinking.html Health Effects of Positive Thinking http://www.livestrong.com/article/137643-health-effects-positive-thinking/ Effects of Positive Thinking http://www.the-benefits-of-positive-thinking.com/effects-of-positive-thinking.html Phycology Today http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-source-healing/201202/the-long-lasting-effects-negative-information Welcome to WritePoint, the automated review system that recognizes errors most commonly made by university students in academic essays. The system embeds comments into your paper and suggests possible changes in grammar and style. Please evaluate each comment carefully to ensure that the suggested change is appropriate for your paper, but remember that your instructor’s preferences for style and format prevail. You will also need to review your own citations and references since WritePoint capability in this area is limited. Thank you for using WritePoint. When life gives you lemons— Adora Pallisco February 2, 2013 Com/155 Compare & Contrast Essay When life gives you lemons, make grape juice, and leave the world wondering how you did it. The effects of both positive and negative thinking affects the world in the same sense, to have been given the different options to see the world and deciding which path to take. With each decision and action is the same as Newton’s law of gravity what goes up must come down, it’s a natural accordance that will continue on in the never ending circle of life. The processes of these thoughts pass from person to person, place to place, and with every situation it changes and grows with life. Throughout life someone somewhere has heard, be it through friends or family, things such as â€Å"If you think bad thoughts, then you’ll jinx it† or â€Å"If you think the worst, the worst will happen.† Sadly now the world is slowly becoming consumed by more negativity then ever before, making these more then just little wives’ tales and they all start in the mind. When people are negative, either to ones’ self or others, it expands and jumps out. Think of a school environment, on a day-to-day basis, all those people are moving together, all those different personalities are clicking or crashing with one another, and all range of emotions are swirling around, one individual in the group could be having a bad day for a number of reasons, they might unintentionally do or say something that could in turn ruin another individual’s day. In some cases permitting for so many of the negative thoughts that come and go over time can turn from exciting just mentally in the mind, outward to the physical being [Doctoral rule (but good advice for any academic writer)–If not a noun (as in â€Å"human being†), the word â€Å"Being† is hard to imagine; it means â€Å"existing.† Try to rewrite this without using â€Å"being†Ã¢â‚¬â€œwith action words like â€Å"attending,† â€Å"working,† â€Å"living,† â€Å"experiencing,† simply â€Å"as†Ã¢â‚¬â€œor even removing â€Å"being† completely] itself. People who worry or overstress about all the little things that can go wrong or might happen, these are the â€Å"what if† thinkers, have been known to unwillingly force the body to become sick, in order to slow down the thoughts; that is a form of negative thinking attacking the body. In Greek mythology Pandora’s Box was said to have contained all the horrible and negative things of man, Envy, Crime, Hate, and Disease. When Pandora opened the box all of it escaped but the last thing to leave was Hope, the one thing that was meant to go against the darkness, negativity, the hatred of the humans’ lives. There have been quite a number of cases over the years that have reporting’s of people fighting diseases, such as cancer or childhood leukemia, where there have been quotes saying that staying positive and not letting this dieses get them down has helped, along with treatment, to rid the body of the nasty infection causing the unwanted pain and trouble. It can be a challenging and often long battle that tests the person’s ability and desire to live in a way that others will never feel. Those with a positive outlook that have the strength to fight all that comes at them with a smile, strong will, telling them selves â€Å"I can beat this.† have a higher chance of beating the bad blood that runs through the veins and can stay in remission for many years to follow. There have been quite a few cases that the upkeep of positive thinking in one’s daily life as lead to less depression, more immunity toward the common cold, as shown in tests involving students receiving an injection that made skin bumps appear and become enlarged or smaller depending upon their level of germ immunity. Highly optimistic students experienced higher immunity levels, and less chance of a cardiovascular disease. Religions use this power of thinking to touch people and to bring, what some call, a light into their worlds. Each person perceives it in a way specific to the individual often calling it what may best befit with their life. The major religion that focuses on the mind set with positive negative comparison is considered the most taboo, Wiccan and Paganism. A law of Wiccans’ is send the positive energy step taken and breath inhaled, which means send the good engery, karma, whatever name chosen, to the children of the world, to other adults, to the families you know and strangers not yet met. It is believed that by doing this the positive energy that gets sent out can come right back ten fold, most call this way of thinking Karma. Christians call it the light of God, a warm sensation that engulfs the body and fills it with joy and most pass the feeling on with the word of God. For every positive there is a negative in the world, just like from the Disney movie Merlin â€Å"for every up there is a down, for every flat there is a round.† it is a never ending cycle that will repeat even once the human race evolves beyond life now. Some people have been known to refer to these as storm clouds, which does fit because of the fact that they bring darkness and destruction when they come, but what they leave behind is not always seen so quickly, like the new life the rain brings, a fire from lightning is natures way of removing the dry and dead plant life and provides space for the new life to come through with more room to grow and expand. It is all a circle and without the negative there is no positive. The human race all around the world is controlled, both knowingly and unknowingly to the individuals of earth, by their mental state of mind, because in the end that’s all it is. The power of the mind has been traced through centuries of cultures and religious views, from the Far East to the New West. Daisaku Ikeda president of the world’s largest Buddhist community, once said â€Å"As soon as you think you can’t possibly succeed, every cell in your being will be deflated and give up the fight [and] everything really will move in the direction of failure.† Cultures use the power of the mind to breathe life, to live life to the fullest humans can. The processes of these thoughts pass from person to person, place to place, and with every situation it changes and grows with life.

Health watchers at school Essays

Health watchers at school Essays Health watchers at school Paper Health watchers at school Paper Bladen Healthwatch is a non-profit organization concerned with public health that provides health education and outreach services to the public in collaboration with other organizations. Some of the other organizations that work in close association with Bladen Health watch include Bladen Community College, Bladen County Heatlh Department, Bladen County Mental Health center, Bladen Schools, Bladen County Hospitals, Bladen social service organizations, Bladen County library, Cooperative Extension Service, Division of Aging and Town of Elizabethtown, etc. These organizations would be providing the funds and the infrastructure required to operate various public health programs.   The main aim of this non-governmental organization is to improve the public health status of those residing in the country of Bladen and also ensures that people become more accountable for their health. One of the main sections of the population that Bladen Health-watch concentrates on school children.   The organizations works in collaboration with several county schools in Bladen to ensure health of the students.   It provides health education, consultative and preventive services and would make the school students and the family members more accountable for their health. The organization also emphasis on providing healthcare services to the students of rural areas.   Various human resources including the school staff, medical personnel, encouragers, volunteers, etc, are utilized in providing the public health services in the schools.   Some of the methods that the organization encourages to improve the status of the health include following a healthy lifestyle, eating a healthy food, giving up tobacco use and performing regular exercises. These measures would certainly reduce the chances of developing chronic disease.   The organization targets schools due to many reasons including: Not only the children would be gaining awareness of the disease, but also the family members and the relatives.   This would certainly help them reduce the chances of developing chronic disease and developing healthy lifestyle behaviors. The organization finds school-based health programs motivating for the students and the family members. As the school is a congenial environment for teaching and learning, the student is in a better position to follow the instructions suggested and developing healthy practices. The students can develop new skills, knowledge and behaviors to ensure health promotion and disease prevention. Ensure that the environment that the individual survives, would promote health and healthy practices. Concentrating on the implementation of guidelines that may be required to bring about health. Developing standards and policies that would be supportive of incorporating healthy practices in lifestyle. The organization would train people belonging to various fields such as teachers, parents, students, corporates, human services, healthcare organizations, religious organizations, businesses, etc.   These people in turn would help to develop strategies and ensure that the policies are modified so that the people can take better care of themselves.   The organization concentrates the chronic diseases, as these are one of the major public health problems. It provides education on the risks of developing chronic diseases and the manner in which it could be reduced.   Education may be provided to the students, family members, etc, through several means such as lectures, educational programs, events, media items, campaigns, etc.   The organization would also train some school children, who would be acting as guides for other students. These children would educate the others of the skills required to develop healthy practices.   Such children are also motivated and guided into taking up health careers in the future.   The organization also stresses upon the importance of maintaining drug-free and tobacco-free lifestyles.   In the schools, students may often take up to these noxious habits, and the programs would ensure that the students are made aware of their ill effects. Besides, the organization would also be operating programs for encouraging exercises and consumption of healthy food.   One of the programs arranged by the organization is an incentive program, which provides encouragement for people who exercise well, take active part in health programs, consume a healthy diet and encourage other to also do so.   Such an incentive program is meant for the students and the family members. More than 5000 students belonging to Bladen schools and colleges belong to these programs.   They are also provided opportunities to visit health clubs in the region.   The organization has a special interest in training teachers to become school liaisons.   They would be playing a leadership role in managing various health programs arranged in the schools. Retrieved: KBR (2002), Self Improvement Program, Retrieved on October 17, 2007, from KBR Web site: http://kbrselfimprove.mc.duke.edu/community_sub1.html