Malcolm X, Black Nationalist and Civil Rights Activist

Malcolm X, Black Nationalist and Civil Rights Activist Malcolm X (May 19, 1925–February 21, 1965) was a prominent figure during the Civil Rights era. Offering an alternative view to the mainstream Civil Rights movement, Malcolm X advocated for both the establishment of a separate black community (rather than integration) and the use of violence in self-defense (rather than non-violence). His forceful, uncompromising belief in the evils of the white man frightened the white community. After Malcolm X left the black Muslim Nation of Islam organization, for which he had been both a spokesperson and a leader, his views toward white people softened, but his core message of black pride endured. After Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965, his autobiography continued to spread his thoughts and passion. Fast Facts: Malcolm X Known For: Major figure in the African American Civil Rights movementAlso Known As: el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, Malcolm LittleBorn: May 19, 1925 in Omaha, NebraskaParents: Rev. Earl Little, Louise LittleDied: February 21, 1965 in New York, New YorkEducation: Through grade eightPublished Works: The Autobiography of Malcolm  XAwards and Honors:  Multiple historic markers and plaques; streets and schools named in his honor; stamp produced with his likenessSpouse: Betty SandersChildren: Attallah, Qubilah, Ilyasah, Gamilah, Malikah, MalaaknNotable Quote: â€Å"The white man is afraid of truth†¦ I’m the only black man they’ve ever been close to who they know speaks the truth to them. Its their guilt that upsets them, not me.† Early Life of Malcolm X Malcolm X was born as Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska to Earl and Louise Little (neà © Norton). Earl was a Baptist minister and also worked for Marcus Garveys Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), a pan-African movement in the 1920s. Louise, who had grown up in Grenada, was Earls second wife. Malcolm was the fourth of the six children Louise and Earl shared. (Earl also had three children from his first marriage.) As a kid, Malcolm would often attend UNIA meetings with his father, who was president of the Omaha chapter at one point, absorbing Garveys argument that the African-American community had the tools and resources to blossom without dependence on the white man. Earl Little challenged the social standards of the time. When he began to attract the attention of the Ku Klux Klan, he moved his family to a white neighborhood in Lansing, Michigan. Neighbors protested. On November 8, 1929, a group of white supremacists known as the Black Legion set fire to the Littles home with Malcolm and his family inside. Luckily, the Littles managed to escape but then watched their house burn to the ground while firemen did nothing to put out the flames. Despite the seriousness of the threats against him, Earl did not let intimidation silence his beliefs- and this almost certainly cost him his life. Malcolm X’s Father Is Murdered While the details of his death remain uncertain, what is known is that Earl was murdered on September 28, 1931 (Malcolm was only 6 years old). Earl had been savagely beaten and then left on trolley tracks, where he was run over by a trolley. Although those responsible were never found, the Littles always believed the Black Legion was responsible. Realizing he was likely to meet a violent end, Earl had purchased life insurance; however, the life insurance company ruled his death a suicide and refused to pay. These events plunged Malcolms family into poverty. Louise tried to work, but this was during the Great Depression and there weren’t many jobs for the widow of a black activist. Welfare was available, but Louise didn’t want to take charity. Things were tough in the Little home. There were six children and very little money or food. The strain of taking care of everyone by herself started to take its toll on Louise and by 1937, she was showing signs of becoming mentally ill. In January 1939, Louise was committed to the State Mental Hospital in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Malcolm and his siblings were divided up. Malcolm was one of the first to go, even before his mother was institutionalized. In October 1938, 13-year-old Malcolm was sent to a foster home, which was soon followed by a detention home. Despite his unstable home life, Malcolm was a success at school. Unlike the other kids at the detention home who were sent to a reform school, Malcolm was allowed to attend Mason Junior High School, the only regular junior high in town. While at junior high, Malcolm earned top grades even against his white classmates. However, when a white teacher told Malcolm that he couldn’t become a lawyer but should instead consider becoming a carpenter, Malcolm was so disturbed by the comment that he began withdrawing from those around him. When Malcolm met his half-sister Ella for the first time, he was ready for a change. Drugs and Crime Ella was a confident, successful young woman living in Boston at the time. When Malcolm asked to go live with her, she agreed. In 1941, having just finished the eighth grade, Malcolm moved from Lansing to Boston. While exploring the city, he befriended a hustler named â€Å"Shorty† Jarvis, who also happened to come from Lansing. Shorty got Malcolm a job shining shoes at the Roseland Ballroom, where top bands of the day played. Malcolm soon learned that his customers also hoped he could supply them with marijuana. It wasn’t long before Malcolm was selling drugs as well as shining shoes. He also personally started to smoke cigarettes, drink liquor, gamble, and do drugs. Dressing in zoot suits and â€Å"conking† (straightening) his hair, Malcolm loved the fast life. He then moved to Harlem in New York and began getting involved in petty crimes and selling drugs. Soon, Malcolm himself developed a drug habit (cocaine) and his criminal behavior escalated. After several run-ins with the law, Malcolm was arrested in February 1946 for burglary and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was sent to the Charlestown State Prison in Boston. Prison Time and the Nation of Islam In late 1948, Malcolm was transferred to the Norfolk, Massachusetts Prison Colony. It was there that Malcolms brother Reginald introduced him to the Nation of Islam (NOI). Originally founded in 1930 by Wallace D. Fard, the Nation of Islam was a black Muslim organization that believed blacks were inherently superior to whites and predicted the destruction of the white race. After Fard mysteriously disappeared in 1934, Elijah Muhammad took over the organization, calling himself the â€Å"Messenger of Allah.† Malcolm believed in what his brother Reginald told him. Through personal visits and many letters from Malcolm’s siblings, Malcolm began to learn more about the NOI. Using Norfolk Prison Colony’s extensive library, Malcolm rediscovered education and began reading extensively. With his ever increasing knowledge, Malcolm began writing to Elijah Muhammad daily. By 1949, Malcolm had converted to the NOI, which required purity of body- eliminating Malcolms drug habit. In 1952, Malcolm emerged from prison a devoted follower of the NOI and a proficient writer, two essential factors in changing his life. Becoming an Activist Once out of prison, Malcolm moved to Detroit and began recruiting for the NOI. Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the NOI, became Malcolms mentor and hero, filling the void Earls death had left. In 1953, Malcolm adopted the NOI’s tradition of replacing one’s last name (which was thought to have been forced upon an ancestor by their white slave-owner) with the letter X, a reference to the unknown heritage complicating African-American identity. Charismatic and passionate, Malcolm X rose quickly in the NOI, becoming the minister of the groups Temple Seven in Harlem in June 1954. Malcolm X simultaneously was becoming an accomplished journalist; he wrote for several publications before he founded the NOIs newspaper, Muhammad Speaks. While working as the minister of Temple Seven, Malcolm X noticed that a young nurse named Betty Sanders had started attending his lectures. Without ever having gone on an individual date, Malcolm and Betty got married on January 14, 1958. The couple went on to have six daughters; the last two were twins who were born after Malcolm X’s assassination. America Encounters Malcolm X Malcolm X soon became a visible figure in the NOI, but it was the wonder of television that brought him national attention. When CBS aired the documentary Nation of Islam: The Hate That Hate Produced, in July of 1959, Malcolm Xs dynamic speech and obvious charm reached a national audience. Malcolm Xs radical claims of black superiority and refusal to accept non-violent strategies got him interviews across the social spectrum. Malcolm X had become a national figure and the de facto face of the NOI. While Malcolm X became well-known, he was not necessarily liked. His views unsettled much of America. Many in the white community feared that Malcolm Xs doctrine would incite mass violence against whites. Many in the black community were concerned that Malcolm X’s militancy would destroy the growing effectiveness of the non-violent, mainstream Civil Rights Movement. Malcolm X’s newfound fame also attracted the attention of the FBI, which soon began tapping his phone over concerns that some kind of racially based revolution was brewing. Malcolm Xs meetings with Cuban Communist leader Fidel Castro did little to alleviate these fears. Trouble Within the NOI By 1961, Malcolm Xs meteoric rise within the organization as well as his new celebrity status had become a problem within the NOI. Simply stated, other ministers and members of the NOI had become jealous. Many began insinuating that Malcolm X was financially profiting from his position and that he intended to take over the NOI from Muhammad. This jealousy and envy bothered Malcolm X, but he tried to put it out of his mind. In 1962, rumors about improprieties by Muhammad began to reach Malcolm X. To Malcolm X, Muhammad was not only a spiritual leader but also a moral example for all to follow. It was this moral example that had helped Malcolm X escape his drug addiction and keep him abstinent for 12 years (from the time of his prison sentence to his marriage). Thus, when it became obvious that Muhammad had engaged in immoral behavior, including fathering four illegitimate children, Malcolm X was devastated by his mentors deception. Things Get Worse After President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, Malcolm X, never one to shy away from conflict, publicly interpreted the event as the chickens coming home to roost. Malcolm X claimed that he meant the feelings of hate within America were so great that they had spilled over from the conflict between black and white and ended up causing the killing of the president. However, his comments were interpreted as support for the death of the  beloved Kennedy, a Democrat from Massachusetts. Muhammad, who had specifically ordered all his ministers to remain silent regarding Kennedy’s assassination, was very unhappy over the negative publicity. As punishment, Muhammad ordered Malcolm X to be â€Å"silenced† for 90 days. Malcolm X accepted this punishment, but he soon discovered that Muhammad intended to push him out of the NOI. In March 1964, the internal and external pressure became too much and Malcolm X announced that he was leaving the Nation of Islam, an organization he had worked so hard to grow. Returning to Islam After leaving the NOI in 1964, Malcolm decided to found his own religious organization, Muslim Mosque, Inc. (MMI), which catered to former NOI members. Malcolm X turned to traditional Islam to inform his path. In April 1964, he began a pilgrimage (or hajj) to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. While in the Middle East, Malcolm X was amazed by the diversity of complexions represented there. Even before returning home, he began to rethink his earlier divisive positions and decided to prioritize faith over skin color. Malcolm X symbolized this shift by changing his name once again, becoming El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. Malcolm X then toured Africa, where the early influence of Marcus Garvey reemerged. In May 1964, Malcolm X began his own pan-African movement with the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU), a secular organization that advocated for human rights for all those of African descent. As head of the OAAU, Malcolm X met with world leaders to forward this mission, generating a far more diverse following than the NOI. Whereas once he had shunned all of white society, he now encouraged interested whites to teach about oppression. Running both the MMI and the OAAU exhausted Malcolm, but both spoke to passions that defined him- faith and advocacy. Death Malcolm Xs philosophies had changed dramatically, bringing him more in line with the mainstream Civil Rights movement. However, he still had enemies. Many in the NOI felt he had betrayed the movement when he publicly discussed Muhammads adultery. On February 14, 1965, Malcolm Xs New York home was firebombed. He believed the NOI was responsible. Still ever defiant, Malcolm X did not let this attack interrupt his schedule. He traveled to Selma, Alabama and returned to New York for a speaking engagement at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem on February 21, 1965. This was Malcolm Xs last speech. Once Malcolm was at the podium, a commotion in the middle of the crowd drew attention. While everyone was focused on the commotion, Talmadge Hayer and two other NOI members stood up and shot Malcolm X. Fifteen bullets hit their target, killing Malcolm X. He was dead before he reached the hospital. The chaos that broke out at the scene spilled into the streets of Harlem as mob violence and the firebombing of a Black Muslim mosque followed. Malcolms critics, including Elijah Muhammad, maintained that he died by the very violence he defended in his early career. Talmadge Hayer was arrested at the scene and two other men were taken into custody shortly after. All three would be convicted of the murder; however, many believe the other two men were not guilty. Many questions remain about the assassination; specifically, who really carried out the shooting and who ordered the assassination in the first place? Legacy In the month prior to his death, Malcolm X had been dictating his biography to noted African-American author Alex Haley. The Autobiography of Malcolm X was published in 1965, just months after Malcolm Xs murder. Through his autobiography, Malcolm X’s powerful voice continued to inspire the black community to advocate for their rights. The Black Panthers, for example, used Malcolm X’s teachings to found their own organization in 1966. Today, Malcolm X remains one of the more controversial figures of the Civil Rights era. He is generally respected for his passionate demand for change in one of historys most trying (and deadly) times for black leaders. Sources The Autobiography of Malcolm  X. With the assistance of Alex Haley. New York: Grove Press, 1965. Mamiya, Lawrence. XMalcom. Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, 1 February 2019. Remnick, David. â€Å"This American Life: The making and remaking of Malcolm X.† The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 19 June 2017.

Scutellosaurus - Facts and Figures

Scutellosaurus - Facts and Figures Name: Scutellosaurus (Greek for little shield lizard); pronounced SKOO-tell-oh-SORE-us Habitat: Woodlands of southern North America Historical Period: Early Jurassic (200-195 million years ago) Size and Weight: About four feet long and 25 pounds Diet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Small size; long tail; bony studs on back About Scutellosaurus One of the persistent themes of evolution is that large, imposing creatures descend from small, mouselike progenitors. Although no one would think of comparing Scutellosaurus to a mouse (it weighed about 25 pounds, for instance, and was covered with bony spikes), this dinosaur was certainly rodent-sized compared to its multi-ton armored descendants of the late Cretaceous period, such as Ankylosaurus and Euoplocephalus. Although its hind limbs were longer than its forelimbs, paleontologists believe Scutellosaurus was ambidextrous, posture-wise: it probably stayed on all fours while eating, but was capable of breaking into a two-legged gait when escaping predators. Like other early dinosaurs, Scutellosaurus was anatomically very similar to the prosauropods and small theropods that roamed the earth during the late Triassic and early Jurassic periods.

FOUNDATIONS FOR RESEARCH Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

FOUNDATIONS FOR RESEARCH - Essay Example To amend this gap in knowledge about mood disorders in adolescents, it has been claimed that theoretical perspectives should develop from adolescents’ understanding and experiences (Griez 2005: 47). If not, the theorising process will continue to be removed from the perspectives of individuals who have really experienced mood disorders (Wolfe & Mash 2008: 83). The objective of the aforementioned study was to generate a theoretical perspective that essentially represented the perceptions of adolescents who had experienced mood disorders. Lewis (1995:372) investigated, employing qualitative methods, how participants personally experienced mood disorders, how they reached and perceived the label of mood disorder, and how they understood their experiences. In addition, Karp (1996: 91), in Speaking of Sadness, explained the identity-changing process that participants experienced as they eventually viewed themselves as depressed and carried on theorising about their own selves and h ow they acquired their mood disorders. In this paper, a thorough discussion on the different features of the grounded theory method will be provided by presenting an original research article, Meadus’s (2007) study, which contains the grounded theory method. The Application of Grounded Theory in Mood Disorder Research The grounded theory method, according to Straus & Corbin (1990), the goal of which is to form a theory that is closely related to the reality of the adolescents studied was used in the study of Meadus (2007). Through the grounded theory method, theory arises from evaluating the actual statements given by the participants, and is hence genuinely ‘grounded’ in them (Strauss & Corbin 1990: 17). However, the problem in using an inductive research method for mood disorder research, according to Griez (2005: 72), is that it inevitably results in analyses that go beyond the statements given by the participants. Stiles (1993) suggests that participants give relevant information to the researcher, but that the researcher should analyse that data to form a reflective theory. Meanwhile, reflexivity obliges the researcher to thoroughly think about the research process, which involves probing how strongly the interpretations of the researcher fit with the perspectives of the participants (Rennie, Phillips, & Quartaro 1988: 143). The grounded theory method was employed in the study of Meadus (2007) because it allowed a methodical analysis that enabled the creation of a theoretical perspective that was strongly connected to, otherwise ideally representative of, the explanations of the participants. According to Merriam (2009: 30), data analysis in grounded theory is performed using the constant-comparative method in which bits and pieces of data are compared in terms of their similarities and differences. Merriam (2009: 31-32) furthers that part of the data analysis is the identification of a core category. The core category is the central c oncept where all data revolves around and this is used to develop the substantive theory. Emphasis is given on the importance of identifying categories, hypotheses, and theories from the patterns seen among the relationships formed from the data gathered. To better understand the features of a grounded theory, the research of

Financial crisis 2008 for corporate governance & ethics course Case Study

Financial crisis 2008 for corporate governance & ethics course - Case Study Example Moral hazard occurs when a party to a contract understanding that the consequences of their actions will be borne by a different party puts themselves under more risks. This paper aims at analyzing the characteristics that make the 2008 financial crisis an ethics and specifically moral hazard situation and the measures taken for effectively eradicating the recession. Reasons for the 2008 financial crisis include massive nationwide residential housing bubble, financial sector overleveraging, unregulated subprime lending growth at a large rate, and lack of transparency in new, complex, and more popular mortgage based funds. The other reasons for the global financial crisis in 2008 was resultant inability to measure risk, screening of borrowers and bank lending of precarious loans and lack of concern on ability to pay with main aim being origination of loans (Dowd, 143). These factors that resulted in the financial crisis shows the blatant disregard by the financial institutions of the needs of the stakeholders through taking on precarious loans depicting an example of the lack of ethics or moral hazard situation. Securitization and subprime mortgage origination rose until 2006 when household debt was 100% of US GDP, causing rising interest rates making refinancing difficult and drop of housing prices and 1.3 million housing projects were on forecl osure in 2007, the crash had began. The proceeding days would be so tough for banks and other financial institutions owing to bank runs and collapse including certain governments that depended so much on foreign market loans. The crisis could have been prevented through a reduction in the bailouts or the expectation of bailouts by firms since set precedence for firms to invest in risky activities. This is because when these activities are successful; the investors benefit, but in case of failure, there are bailout by the government. Having a law holding each person responsible for the risky actions that led to the

Boston Lyric Opera Essay Example for Free

Boston Lyric Opera Essay 1. BLO’s eight customer objectives The first objective is to gain generous contributions. The amount per donator, ration between new donators and new contacts (collection rate) and the total amount of the donators and contributions are ways to measure how this aspect is doing. Incentives for the staff should also be incorporated into these objectives, especially ones that steer the process towards multi-year support programs. To measure the board involvement and recruitment, it is important that the reputation of the new board member is blameless and since operating in Boston, a local person with strong ties to the community would be better. To measure involvement the easiest way is to look the member’s activity, how many times they’ve been in meetings and how they’ve acted to build strategy. For example number of new initiatives. Also hours spent educating the board members about strategy and vision could be one measurement. Building an artistic reputation is hard and so is measuring it. Reviews on papers give a sight how the opera is doing, but the best way to know is to make a consumer survey for example once a month. Also comparing the growth in visitors between BLO and other operas gives an idea. Rating different aspects is another way to measure the artistic view. Giving value for example to the lead singer or the orchestra will help to understand how the opera is doing on its main field. These measures aren’t very proactive though, but helpful anyway. One objective is to launch a residency program. Its success can be measured by the amount of acceptances to invites and by comparing the audience amounts to normal. Like when measuring artistic reputation, the best way to measure how exciting and diverse opera’s repertories are is to see reviews and audience amounts. The grading system works when the given grades are compared to the rivals’ same grades and the shows are compared. These are of course not proactive measures. BLO wants to collaborate with other major artistic institutions like museums and theatres. Also other operas and specially talents working in them are important. One way to measure collaboration is the amount of tickets to opera that our associates sell. How many per cent of the total amount of sold tickets is it and have these collaborations brought new visitors to BLO. Community support and focus on community programs can be measured with the amount of local donators and specially the amount of new supporters. Has the PR-campaign been affective? Have local companies supported the opera? This can be measured with the amount of companies. Measurements that measure processes in line with the strategy are not always easy to find and it usually takes a lot of time to find the right ways to use them. Often they need to be adjusted or reset to fit the strategy. The main challenge is to find measures that are pro-active and directive instead of controlling. 2. Boston Lyric Opera had not really measured their organizational performance before. This had ultimately caused lack of focus and limited accountability. Boston Lyric Opera was mainly led by qualitative values as quantitative measures and financials were not the topmost factors in decision making. The new general director Janice Del Sesto and BLO’s board acknowledged that there was a history of expensive opera productions and large losses in Boston’s opera scene and they had to adapt a new business philosophy in order to operate fiscally. Non-profit organizations often have a lack of focus and their strategy concentrates to too many things at the same time. Ken Freed, a BLO board member, acknowledged that a more formal strategic planning process was essential for BLO in order to avoid mistakes that several arts organizations had made in the past. They decided to adapt the Balanced Scorecard to focus their strategic planning process. Using the Balanced Scorecard, BLO and its employees could see their day-to-day activities within a bigger and more strategic context. They started the change by defining BLO’s mission, strategy, competitive advantages, and distinguishing characteristics that would make it unique. The biggest change here was BLO reshaping its strategy. They acknowledged that their most important â€Å"customers† in this situation are the people who resourced their organization. BLO received nearly 70 percent of their operating budget from sources other than ticket sales, mostly from donors and supporters. BLO decided to place donors and supporters as their main interest group in the Balanced Scorecard. They were the body that enabled BLO to carry out their mission and strategy. Even though Boston Lyric Opera is a non-profit organization and its output is intangible, its organizational performance can be measured by quantitative measures. The Balanced Scorecard would bring quantitative measures alongside the qualitative measures. The Balanced Scorecard required BLO to quantify their activities. BLO acknowledged that and they for example created a database where they linked quantifiable donor data to qualitative information about donor meetings etc. Basically, the Balanced Scorecard required BLO to be managed like a business. 3. Lyric Opera had a new question ahead of them. They had to figure out what they wanted to become. BLO’s existing strategy was not valid anymore as their operating expenses rose and revenues from ticket sales were limited. BLO decided to adapt the Balance Scorecard in order to set new strategic objectives and measure their performance against those objectives in order to overcome to challenges they were facing. Adapting the Balanced Scorecard, BLO was able to compose a clear and precise strategy. Actually, the strategy itself was quite complex and multidimensional but the Balanced Scorecard gave it a framework that presented the new strategy clearly. BLO set three strategic themes that they felt were important in reaching their goals and they had objectives and measures of success for all of the themes. Using the Balanced Scorecard and the strategy map, BLO was also able to communicate the new strategy clearly to their staff, stakeholders, and other associates. The fact that BLO now had sufficient information of their organization and operations, it could draw new donors to them. By using the Balanced Scorecard, BLO recognized their key success drivers and they started to focus on the activities that had the greatest impact on their goals. They all had a clear common goal and BLO’s staff worked cross-departmentally, motivationally to reach the goal of providing unique, uality opera in Boston. However Jessica Del Sesto and Sue Dahling-Sullivan faced some difficult challenges and barriers to capture the above-mentioned benefits. There was some opposition from a few board-members of changing the organization’s governance structure, adapting the Balance Scorecard and managing an art organization by quantitative measures. These â€Å"old school† members did not under stand that BLO could not compete with the great opera houses and they could not standout from the crow without differentiating in some way. Del Sesto and Dahling-Sullivan were still able to carry out the new strategy and capture the benefits to make BLO a highly successful arts organization. One of the most crucial parts of the adapting a new strategy was to communicate the strategy clearly to their staff, board members and other stakeholders. It is an unconditional requirement that people understand the new strategy and its benefits in order it to succeed. Del Sesto and Dahling-Sullivan used the strategy map in communicating the new strategy and it clearly presented the reasons and benefits of the new strategy and it lighten opposition substantially. . The departmental managers and the employees of BLO are more empowered after the BSC but the artistic leaders are less. The managers are now more empowered because every department now gets to plan its own scorecard, and describe the ways how the department would meet the high level strategic goals. The employees are with the scorecard more empowered, as they can see the w ork in a more strategic context and therefore set priorities more effectively themselves. However the artistic leaders felt that the scorecard and specially the repertory planning template could limit their opportunities in designing productions. . Del Sesto uses the BSC as a managerial system. The BSC purely concentrates on the big picture; everything is based to support strategy. Del Sesto believes that the BSC helps her to steer board members’ attention to proper tasks. Also, she thanks BSC for helping employees to think more strategically, and with greater clarity towards their objectives. All in all, Del Sesto is clearly more interested on the management aspect of the BSC. One explanation to this is that BLO is a nonprofit organization. Its reason to exist is not to make profit to its owners but to offer culture to the community. All the objectives connected to the three main points are easier to measure with controlling measurements. 6. Kaplan and Norton have studied the success of BSC implementations in different organizations. They have concluded five principals that contribute greatly to the success. These principals can also be found on BLO’s BSC implementation. The process started with planning. Group consisting members from all functions thought in several meeting how the BSC should be made and what BLO is now and what it wants to be. All possible views were brought to conversations and the members were challenged to use their imagination. As a result the group made three strategic themes which determined the main points to BLO’s future strategy. These three big themes were divided to smaller parts and brought to a form that is clear to everyone in the organization. This is similar to Kaplan’s and Norton’s principal 1, where the strategy is translated in to operational terms. The BSC was completed by determining the actions to be made so that the strategy can be fulfilled. After this all parts of the organization got to make scorecards of their own and were so committed to the strategy. The whole organization was aligned to meet the strategy (Principle 2). The project succeeded because BLO was able to find the crucial processes and finish them through. The personnel were part of the developing strongly. During the process of creating the BSC, the role of the entire staff in overall success was emphasized. This made them easier to adapt the new way of doing things and easier to understand the strategy and how it can be fulfilled (Principle 3). Often when BSC implementation fails it is because the scorecard is considered to be only management’s project, just a top-level adjustment. As always with large scale organizational changes, also this project faced some resistance. Some board members and artistic staff were unsure about the motives for changing the old customs. This problem however was solved, as the need for change was successfully communicated through various levels of the organization (Principle 5). Other crucial point which was done well was the targeting. The mission was announced clearly and the goals were easy to understand. The three major themes were chosen wisely and chopped in to smaller pieces well.

lighthod A Dark Heart in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness :: Heart Darkness essays

The Heart of Darkness The Heart of Darkness has two storytellers: Joseph Conrad, the author, and the other being Marlow the story's narrator. The narration that takes place is conceived mostly from Conrad's opinions. Conrad is using Marlow as the embodiment of all the goodness that he represents. "But Marlow was not typical...His remark did not seem at all surprising. It was just like Marlow. It was accepted in silence" (p. 68). "Marlow sat cross-legged right aft, leaning against the mizzen-mast. He had sunken cheeks, a yellow complexion, a straight back, an ascetic aspect, and with his arms dropped, the palms of his outwards, resembled an idol" (p. 66). By doing this not only is Conrad implicates (or accuses) society of its terrible actions but he is also excluding himself. Throughout Marlow's narrative there is no place where he ponders whether or not he has the right idea or even if his opinion is biased to his own liking. There is no way that any that we can verify the validity of his story but yet Marlow assumes his listeners and readers will believe his account. Strangely enough, after such a tale on the shameful acts of society, Marlow (or Conrad) expects us to believe his tale and maybe even attempt to change our actions. Ironically, we can assume Marlow's listeners and readers have been touched by this account. The story and it's teller seem sincere but yet there is more than that. Marlow in this way has become like Kurtz, a voice that craves to be heard by its listeners. It is in this way that Kurtz and Marlow are both mouth pieces for Conrad's voice. Conrad is questioning society for its flaws but while doing so he must also question himself. After all the crimes he's accusing society for he must prove himself a worthy judge. Society nurtures the recognition of these crimes but it does not encourage the correction of these problems. Both in Africa and in London, Marlow sees corruption and the paths to chaos but yet it is so much easier for him to condem the events that take place in both places than to hold someone accountable for the injustices. There is no way to finish reading The Heart of Darkness and not wonder why Marlow did not tell his tale to the owner's of the company.

Prevention Postoperative Vision Loss Study Health And Social Care Essay

Postoperative ocular loss ( POVL ) after non-ocular surgery is a rare, but lay waste toing complication that has been associated legion types of surgeries and patient hazard factors. Stoelting and Miller ( 2007 ) estimate the incidence of POVL from 1 in 60,965 to 1 in 125,234 for patients undergoing noncardiac, nonocular surgeries, from 0.06 % to 0.113 % in cardiac surgery patients with cardiorespiratory beltway and 0.09 % of prone spinal column surgeries. The demand to understand the causes of POVL and the preventive steps that can be taken to decrease the likeliness of vision loss happening are deductions for anaesthesia suppliers and patients likewise. Consequences of POVL non merely affect the enfeebling impact on the patient ‘s quality of life, but besides the legion medical and legal branchings for the anaesthesia suppliers. Although POVL is considered a comparatively uncommon complication, the demand to understand the frequence of POVL and related hazards and causes are of import issues. In 1999, the American Society of Anesthesiologists ‘ ( ASA ) Committee on Professional Liability established the ASA Postoperative Visual Loss Registry to better understand the job ( Stoelting & A ; Miller ) . Reports of loss of vision have occurred after assorted non-ocular related surgical processs. Some illustrations of these are cardiorespiratory beltway, spinal surgery, hip arthroplasty, abdominal processs, craniotomies and processs of the caput and cervix ( Morgan, Mikhail & A ; Murray, 2006 ) . The three recognized causes of postoperative ocular loss are ischaemic ocular neuropathy ( ION ) either anterior ( AION ) or posterior ( PION ) , cardinal retinal arteria occlusion ( CRAO ) , cardinal retinal vena occlusion ( CRVO ) and cortical sightlessness. Ischemic ocular neuropathy is the most often cited cause of postoperative ocular loss following general anaesthesia with cardinal retinal arteria occlusion from direct retinal force per unit area as a lesser cause. ( Stoelting & A ; Miller, 2007 ) . Factors that have been identified as possible perioperative factors for ION include drawn-out hypotension, extended continuance of surgery, prone placement, inordinate blood loss, unneeded crystalloid usage, anaemia, and increased intraocular force per unit area from prone placement. Patient related hazard factors associated with ION include diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, morbid fleshiness, coronary artery disease, and smoke. ( Stoelting & A ; Miller, 2007 ) . Literature Review Several retrospective surveies have examined the natural history of POVL after nonocular surgery in an effort to place patients at hazard for POVL and cut down surgical hazard factors. The first, from 1996, Roth, Thisted, Erickson, Black, and Schreider reviewed oculus hurts in 60,985 patients undergoing anaesthesia between 1988 and 1992. The overall incidence of oculus hurt in this survey was 0.56 % . Duration of anaesthesia was found to be an independent hazard factor for oculus hurt. The hazard was further increased with general anaesthesia and endotracheal cannulation and in patients undergoing surgery of the caput or cervix. The bulk of the patients with oculus hurts had corneal scratchs or pinkeye. Merely one patient was found to hold POVL as a consequence of ION. This patient underwent lumbar spinal merger and the writers noted that calculated hypotension and hemodilution were used. In 1997, Stevens, Glazer, Kelley, Lietman and Bradford focused on ophthalmic complications specifically after spinal surgery. Of 3450 spinal column surgeries that the writers reviewed, seven ( 0.2 % ) instances of ocular loss were identified. Four ( 57 % ) of the seven patients suffered ION of which three had PION. Two of the seven patients had occipital infarcts, both of which were embolic. The 7th patient had a CRVO without associated periorbital hydrops or force per unit area mortification. The surgical times ranged from 3-8 hours in these patients. The estimated blood loss ranged from minimum to 8.5 litres. A 3rd survey, besides conducted in 1997, by Myers, Hamilton, Bogoosia, Smith and Wagner, collected patients by beging studies from the Scoliosis Research Study of POVL after spinal surgery every bit good as 10 good documented instances from the spinal literature. They found that longer surgical times and important blood loss were positively correlated with POVL. However, the haematocrit and blood force per unit area degrees were no different than in age matched controls without POVL. Twenty-three of the 37 ( 62.2 % ) patients had ION, 9 ( 24.3 % ) had CRAO, 3 ( 8.1 % ) had occipital infarcts and the staying three did non hold clear diagnosings. The writers concluded that reduced blood force per unit area is by and large good tolerated by patients, but that consideration should be given to set uping a minimal systolic blood force per unit area for each patient. In add-on, the writers recommended presenting long processs and protecting oculus place. More late the American Society of Anesthesiologists POVL register analyzed 93 instances of POVL happening after spinal surgery. The instances were collected via voluntary entry from1999 through June 2005. Eighty three ( 89.2 % ) of the patients had ION and the staying 10 ( 10.8 % ) patients had CRAO. All of the patients were placed prone. Surgical clip exceeded 6 hours in 94 % of the instances. In 34 % of instances the average arterial force per unit area or systolic blood force per unit area ( SBP ) was reduced to 40 % or more below baseline. The average haematocrit was 26 % with 82 % of patients losing one or more litres of blood. All of the patients with CRAO used head restraints alternatively of Mayfield pins and were somewhat younger than the ION patients ( 46 vs. 50 old ages ) . In add-on, 66 % of the ION patients had bilateral ocular loss and none of the CRAO patients did. Ipsilateral periocular injury was more often seen in the CRAO patients ( 70 % vs. 1 % ) than in ION patie nts. They once more identified the hazard of prone placement, blood loss and long surgical times. However, they were unable to definitively delegate a function to hypotension in POVL ( Lee, Roth, Posner, Cheney & A ; Caplan, 2006 ) . Another survey examined the published instance studies of ION after spinal surgery in the prone place. The writers found that PION was more often reported than AION ( n = 17 vs. n = 5 ) .3 In the bulk of the instances, some degree of hypotension and anaemia was reported. However, the writers note that the degree of blood force per unit area and anaemia sustained by these patients would be considered acceptable in most anesthesia patterns. Furthermore, the writers observed that average surgical clip was over 7.5 hours. Strategies the writers suggested to avoid postoperative ION included careful usage of deliberate hypotension tailored to the patient ‘s hazard degree and theatrical production of long, complex processs ( Ho, Newman, Song, Ksiazek & A ; Roth, 2005 ) . Case Study A 62 twelvemonth old male was scheduled for a three degree lumbosacral laminectomy and diskectomy ( L2 through L4 ) . He had a history of high blood pressure, fleshiness, stomachic reflux disease, myocardial infarction 5 old ages antecedently with two stents placed in the LAD, and a 50-pack-year smoke history. The patient had a surgical history of bilateral carpal tunnel release and ventral hernia fix with mesh. No old anaesthetic complications were noted. Current medicines included omeprazole, and Lopressor. He had no known drug allergic reactions. The patient ‘s physical scrutiny revealed an afebrile patient, pulse 67, respirations 16, blood force per unit area 162/92, SpO2 of 95 % on room air. The patient ‘s general visual aspect was a reasonably corpulent adult male in no evident hurt. Airway appraisal revealed a category 2 Malampatti, natural teething and normal cervix scope of gesture. Laboratory findings were hemoglobin 14.4 and hematocrit 40 % . All other haematol ogy, curdling profiles were normal. EKG was normal sinus beat and Chest X ray was normal. The patient underwent a criterions initiation and cannulation. He was turned prone, appendages were good padded and airing and critical marks were satisfactory. The process lasted for 3 hours and during a period of moderate blood loss, the patient had a period of hypotension enduring for about seven proceedingss. His blood force per unit area averaged 95/55 for about 30 proceedingss and for five proceedingss blood force per unit area averaged 80/45. Fluid resuscitation totaled 3 litres of crystalloid. Estimated blood loss was 550ml with a postoperative haematocrit of 29 % . On waking up, the patient did non exhibit any marks of orbital hydrops or POVL. The patient stated that vision was present in both eyes and his neurologic scrutiny was normal. Schemes for bar of POVL ION is the most common cause of POVL and may be designated as anterior ( AION ) or posterior ( PION ) depending on the location of the ocular nervus lesion. Ocular loss of AION is due to infarction at watershed zones within the ciliary arterias of the choroid bed of the ocular disc which flows into the choriocapillaris. The choriocapillaris is an end-arterial circulation with small transverse circulation and may be prone to ischemia. The posterior ocular nervus is served by subdivisions of the ocular arteria and the cardinal retinal arteria ; blood flow to the posterior ocular nervus is significantly less than the anterior ocular nervus ( Lee, et Al, 2006 ) . Many interventions have been attempted to change by reversal POVL, including anticoagulation, antiplatelet therapy, retrobulbar steroid injections, norepinepherine extracts ( to better perfusion force per unit area ) , diphenylhydantoin, osmotic water pills, blood replacing, carbonaceous anhydrase inhibitors, steroids and ocular nervus decompression. The most common forecast of POVL is small return of ocular map ( Lee, et al 2006 ) . ION should be suspected if a patient complains of painless ocular loss during the first postoperative hebdomad and may be noticed foremost on rousing from slumber, when intraocular force per unit area is highest. Pressing opthamologic audience should be sought to analyze the patient comprehensively, set up the diagnosing, and urge farther rating and therapy. Even though forecast tends to be hapless, prompt intervention may be the lone opportunity at retrieving vision ( Ho, Newman, Song, Ksiazek, & A ; Roth, 2005 ) . Obvious turning away of force per unit area on the oculus is a primary scheme to avoid ION. However, POVL has been noted in patients besides in the supine place. Current anaesthesia supplier instruction refering turning away of compaction of a patient ‘s eyes has made it a rare intraoperative event. Possibly nore good is keeping acceptable blood force per unit area and haematocrit, particularly in patients with multiple hazard factors. More than one-half of the patients entered in the ASA POVL database were positioned prone and were noted as holding important facial puffiness. When associated with systemic hypotension, optic perfusion force per unit area is diminished. Decreased haematocrit in the presence of other hazard factors seems to patients at hazard for ocular loss. Induced hypotension and hemodilution during prone spinal column instances should be avoided when patients have risk factors for POVL ( Lee, et Al, 2006 ) .