Catullus One

Catullus was a Roman poet in the 1st century BCE. His poems were known for being differently written from what his contemporaries were writing at the time. While others were writing more â€Å"manly† poetry, about their sexual conquests, Catullus was less racy in his writings. In his â€Å"Poem 1†, Catullus is dedicating his new poetry to a man named Cornelius. While not a love poem like he usually wrote, â€Å"Poem 1† shows several aspects of Roman culture and gives us a glimpse of how Romans tried to make a lasting impression on the world of the future.In â€Å"Poem 1†, Catullus is simply dedicating his new poetry to Cornelius. He says that Cornelius â€Å"had the habit of making much of my poetic little†, which seems as if Catullus is saying that Cornelius made his poetry more of a big deal than it was worth. This may mean that Cornelius was very excited to be reading Catullus' poetry, implying that the two were friends, or that Cornelius was jus t an admirer of Catullus'. This is reinforced by the next line which states, â€Å"†¦ the first in Italy, were boldly unfolding all past ages in three volumes†¦ . In Rome, at this point in history, preserving one's legacy was a very important task to undertake. It was on the mind of most every notable Roman.Whether it was through great acts committed in the name of Rome or through great works of literature, everyone wanted to be remembered far down the line. What we see in Catullus' â€Å"Poem 1† is this notion of eternal preservation. Catullus says that he will give his new collection to Cornelius and that he hopes that, â€Å"for the sake of its patron may it survive a century or better. This shows the Roman preoccupation with the preservation of their legacy. Catullus' poem may also show the Roman idea of amicitia, or friendship. In Rome, friendship could be an actual friendship, where those involved have a sort of admiration and respect for each other, or a ci rcle of favors where one Roman would do a favor for another. It is possible that Catullus says that he will dedicate this poem to Cornelius as a return of a favor that Cornelius did for Catullus or in order for Cornelius to does him a favor later down the line.But it seems more likely, based on the way that he writes, that Cornelius and Catullus are good friends and Catullus is preserving his friend's name at the same time as he is trying preserve his own and to secure his legacy. The poem is ambiguous in the fact that it does not come right out and say whether Catullus is being sarcastic with his words. As stated earlier, it seems that the relationship between Catullus and Cornelius is one of friendship. However, there is room for interpretation towards the sarcastic side of Catullus' writing.It could be that Cornelius is a critic of Catullus, who tries to make little of his great works of literature. The dedication could actually be a jab at Cornelius if he is in fact a critic of Catullus' writing. Catullus has used his poems to attack his critics before, as in â€Å"Poem Sixteen†. He used his poetry to attack two critics, Aurelius and Furius, who were criticizing Catullus' less than masculine writing style. These aspects of Roman culture, the preservation of legacies and the concept of amicitia, are shown not only in Catullus' work, but also in other writings from the time.Many letters from Cicero to various correspondents show the value of amicitia, both the true friendship and the circle of favors that were both part of this friendship. When he writes to and about Tiro, it is shown that there will be an exchange of favors as Cicero has recently freed Tiro, who was his servant. In exchange, Tiro will be indebted to Cicero and will have to perform a service for him later to repay this favor. The preservation of legacies is apparent in other readings by Catullus as well. In â€Å"Poems 68 and 101†, Catullus uses his poetry to preserve the legac y of other men.He tells us of a friend of his named Allius and of his brother. This man, Allius, aided Catullus after the death of Catullus' brother. He offered him a home to stay under and the mistress of the house to take care of him. This poem also exemplifies the Roman favor system. In repayment for his aid to Catullus, Allius' legacy was preserved in â€Å"Poem 68†. Catullus' brother was also preserved in these poems. He tells us of the grief that he feels in the wake of his brother's death, and by doing so tells us of his brother. Catullus was a very strange writer to read.His poems could vary in subject matter from his obsession over Lesbia, to attacking his critics, to how he has writer's block after the death of his brother. However, his poems did accomplish one of the most important of Roman goals. He was remembered. And through our remembrance of Catullus, we are given a small glimpse into Roman society in his life and what was valued by that society. In addition t o this, we also remember many other Roman men who he preserved with his poetry. Without the efforts of Catullus and many others in their attempts to be remembered, we would not have the wealth of information that we do today about life in Rome.

Designing a Reward System

Detailing the methods of determining what aspects of the work should be monitored and rewarded is what I plan to focus on when designing my reward system. Designing a well-integrated motivation and reward is arguably one of the most important functions of management in its quest to achieve excellence in organizational performance, according to University of Phoenix Achieving Excellence in the Management of Human Services Organizations (2002). I want to focus on getting my workers to work hard to the best of their ability and be as productive as possible, providing high quality and effective services. I have to follow the basic functions of a human service organization to meet the expectations of the organizations mission. These functions have much to do with my workers and not the management. How do I get my workers to be all they can be in this organization, to accomplish the organizations mission. The designing of a successful reward system should be the answer to that question.The re are many theories of motivation and has been explored from many perspectives. According to Montana and Charnov (1993), drawing on the work of previous studies, identified twenty-five factors that motivate employees. Out of those twenty-five factors, only nine factors by its respondents in all the studies were reviewed. The nine factors of motivation selected:1. Respect for me as a person 2. Good pay 3. Chance to turn out quality work 4. Chance for promotion 5. Opportunity to do interesting work 6. Feeling my job is important 7. Boss acknowledgment of my work 8. Opportunity for self-development and improvement 9. Large amount of freedom on the job The ways in which I will address the nine factors of motivation would be equally and reviewed individually among each employee. Respect; each employee being treated equally and this will help build a strong bond within the staff and organization. Good Pay; if paid more than originally expected, this automatically becomes a motivator. Cha nce to turn out quality of work; if an employee is given a chance to complete a certain task and show their creativeness, they are providing independency and earn recognition, leading to job satisfaction. Chance for promotion; an employee works hard and completes all asked and beyond their duties. Opportunity to do interesting work; motivation comes in to play when employees have more opportunities within the organization.Feeling my job is important; the more recognition and opportunities available, the more the employee feels motivated and the importance of their job. Being told by my boss when I do a good job; boss acknowledgment lets it employees feel more motivated and focused to do more. Opportunity for self-development and improvement; an employee takes steps to improve their skills and becomes more motivated. Large amounts of freedom on the job; leads to job satisfaction because providing independency and completing work tasks is a huge motivational factor. All these nine fac tors of motivation are important when designing a reward system.There are also several necessary reward system properties: Basic Needs Satisfied, Competitive Benefits, Equitable Distribution, and Employees as Individuals (Lawler, 1977). I can make sure the basic needs are met by trying to satisfy salary and job security within my organization. I can make sure the organization offers competitive benefits by trying to compare with other human services organizations between salaries and benefits. I can make sure benefits are equally distributed by ensuring the employees are aware of their performance levels and the rules. I can make sure all my employees are treated as individuals by taking into consideration each employee has different needs. All of these properties will help develop a  fair and successful reward system.Some benefits and incentives that will be offered to employees would be merit increases, lump-sum salary increases, paid time off, insurance and retirement benefits; just to name a few. Merit increases are increases in an employee’s wages based on their performance level. Lump-sum salary increases are merit payments that may be considered part of an employee’s normal pay. Paid time off is hours an employee can use for sick days, personal days or vacation days, which are paid hours. Insurance and retirement benefits can be a positive benefit for an employee. Healthy insurance is offered and retirement plans are offered after a certain amount of years. These benefits and incentives will help motivate its employees and keep a successful reward system.This is a performance review form for an employee to be evaluated by its employer. It evaluates the employee’s levels of performance and is a good tool to use, especially for designing a reward system for a human service organization. You can design this form to meet the basic needs and functions of the organizations standard requirements. This is just an example and I feel it is a functional form. By completing this form, the employer or manager as a better review of the employee and gets an idea of where they stand. This form may be filled out after an employee’s probation period, which is usually after 90 days from the time they were hired. A manager or supervisor may also complete a form every six months or yearly. This is also good when wanting to determine of the employee gets a raise or wants a different position within the organization. These can also be compared to other employees when making that determination. They may also be held in an employee’s file and compared to previous forms to see if they improved.

Big Picture Journal -Pshycology 200 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Big Picture Journal -Pshycology 200 - Essay Example Psychology entails the study of behavior and mind. Nursing, on the hand entails the care of the individual’s health. Psychology in nursing is very important because it enables the nurse to study and know the behavior of an individual and put appropriate measures in order to facilitate good health of the individual. During the development of the child and in most cases before the age of 1 year, majority of the babies are under the care of the nurse and other hospital staff members. This means that the nurse is responsible for the psychological care of the infant (Muller and Taylor, 1999). The class has helped me understand some concepts and theories in psychology. Although psychology and nursing are entirely different subjects, their interrelation at different levels is crucial for the understanding and care of an individual. At the end of my studies, I would love to focus my study of nursing in the child development and

Islamic Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Islamic Art - Essay Example This has made the artistic work easy to view on the display and it is also easy to read the contents. Ink, opaque watercolour and gold on paper have been used in the artistic work. This has impacted positively on the ability of the audience to view the writing. The material also appears to be durable and hence its ability to last for a long period of time. This means that the artistic work can be displayed in the museum over a long period of time without the texts being affected. The text is a page from the Quran which is an indication that it is targeting the Muslims. The style that has been used to write the text in Arabic is clear. This is an indication that the audience can easily understand the works. It is also important to note that the style that has been used in writing the Arabic words is unique which is essential in terms of making the texts unique. During the Mamluk Dynasty, the calligraphers who used this type of style in writing enjoyed the greatest prestige among the Muslim artists (Blair & Bloom, 2012). The use of these texts can be traced back to the 12th Century during the Mamluk Dynasty in Egypt (Blair & Bloom, 2012). It was a replacement of the Kufic writings which was popular before. The cursive writing style which has been used in the artistic work is clearer and it can be easily and clearly as they are characterized by tall, slender vertices and sweeping sublinear strokes. This is an indication that the writings have been used for a long period of time. The object has been framed in gold and vegetal ornamentation art the museum. The display is outstanding and the frame is fitting which makes it visible to the audience. However, the lighting is not good at the place that it has been displayed. This makes it a little dull considering that the writings are black and the material used is golden. The object could have been displayed in an area where there is more light so as to make it appear brighter and more

Integrated Human Resource management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Integrated Human Resource management - Essay Example The growth towards centres of excellence has changed the system through which managers interrelate with HR experts who help them with all the core HR processes. Several businesses have outsourced HR work to large organisations, and line managers take help by means of a call centre system. Thus, from this issue, the changes of such occurrence can be explored. It also emphasised to examine the impact of the HR roles on HR professionals and line managers in the present organisation. It is required to find out the relationship between HR as well as line managers as their responsibilities have changed and has continued to evolve (Human Resource Management, 2010). The line managers in present organisational environment are gradually becoming responsible for performing human resource activities in order to develop, encourage and facilitate learning of the employees. A line manager is defined as a manager who is authorised to direct the work of subordinates and is responsible for accomplishi ng organisational goals. This paper examines the role of line manager in human resource development activities. In this paper, the current role of line manager in organisation and its great involvement in human resource development have been highlighted (Siugzdiniene, 2008). ... Before devolving HR responsibilities to the line managers it is required to provide training of practises and procedures of HR otherwise line managers will falter which results in inconsistent practices of HR. Thus, training should be provided to both local HR managers and the line managers in order to understand their HR responsibilities. HR manager may be unwilling to discard the familiarity of their traditional roles. Devolution may promote tension with line managers and the central personnel department. Though line managers are supportive of devolution, they are unwilling to take the responsibilities of people management due to the workload and their uncertainty in receiving sufficient training (Bach, 2000). The two distinct features of the present-day HRD approach are ‘the devolution of HRD practices to line managers’ and ‘the integration of HRD with business strategy’, or the emergence of Strategic Human Resource Development (SHRD). The delegation of H RD policies and practices to line managers is one of the key enabling characteristics of the SHRD system. The basic assumption is that line managers can make the policies and procedures of HRD. These are designed in order to achieve the strategic objectives through identifying, developing and supporting the appropriate knowledge, skills, commitment and performance in employees of organisation. Line managers are able to identify the communication problems and knowledge gap. They act as a vital link between the learning process within the organisation and a channel through which knowledge is transferred. The managers have a power to block or support the implementation of HRD strategies. The power of line manager may not appear from any hierarchical

Tin roof(bar)Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Tin roof(bar)Marketing - Essay Example Social media marketing does not face any hindrance concerning geographical setting hence customers from whatever geographical location can be reached. Social media builds brand, product awareness, a brand is a long-term picture of a given commodity, and it is that which makes a product be known for quite some time. The intensity of a brand has the implication of enabling individuals know a product more, it can be used to create new customers by letting them know about the business. Secondly, letting them be your friends, making of friends is something quite hard given its procedural; on the contrary, it is quite easier through the social media (Keillor pg. 13). This will enable them buy from Tin Roof (bar) as their brand of choice. Social media marketing is worth investing in because of several reasons, which include and is not restricted to the following. It is in social media where customers are easily found as everyone in the target market use social media in one way or another. F ace book, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and  mobile apps and games  have all become favorite pastimes across the world (Schepp and Debra pg. 112). ... ts the products and brands on a platform as well as the product messages to be shared; this leads to awareness hence many individuals would know the product. Interest is also developed on a product hence creating customer loyalty, and sales improvement, which leads to increased revenue, and hence the profit and company image will as well increase. (Keillor pg. 45). The company should therefore use this method to widen the operation base of the company. In the world of competition, the use of social media has the impact of leveling the playing field, as Tin Roof (Bar) Company will be in the position of receiving enquiries from big and small prospective clients alike. The company will be in the position of achieving the set marketing objectives using similar tools like the others and applying the same rules. This means social media sites are both less costly and easy to access irrespective of whether the company is a big one or a small one. This is despite the fact that such companies would still own a bigger chunk of the platform depending on their resource base. Another reason that Tin Roof (Bar) will find social media helpful in marketing is that social media is searchable and it would aid consumers to look for its products and services through online searches. This is because, through social media the company’s organic Google search results will be affected and hence provide entry to the website of the company. This form of interlinking the platform used whether, face book, twitter, Skype or any other platform has the impact of creating value for the company’s products (Schepp and Debra pg. 72-5). Furthermore, social media content is sharable. One of the major purposes of a social media platform is to find contents and share them irrespective of where they find

Situating convenience Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Situating convenience - Assignment Example This is because the stock of the product is moving fast as compared to the other products in the store. The target group for this product is almost everybody. This is because everyone, with the exception of the young ones who cannot eat by themselves, uses it. The product has a wide range of market in various countries worldwide. The product is promoted through almost all the media outlets. The product is promoted on the radio, television, and the social media. The television is the best mode of promoting a product because the consumers are shown how the product is cooked and served. This through demonstration by experienced cooking experts. Through this demonstration, the customers will be attracted to buy and use the product. In addition, the company producing a product is using their website and social media web pages like facebook and twitter to advertise and promote the product. This is because the digital media is applicable in all fields today. Everyone in the society is registered in one or all the social media web pages. The company will attract the attention of many customers through this kind of advertisement. Moreover, the accessibility of the internet in various ways like cybercafà ©s, phones, and computers will enable many people to access the websites of the company. In the website, the users or customers will be able to access various favorites of the products, how they are used and cooked. The customers will be going to the market after getting the knowledge of the product from the social media or other media outlets. The goal of the product is to satisfy all the users using the product. This is through the efforts of the company to produce as many products as possible to satisfy the needs of all customers worldwide. In addition, the product is making the consumers have a balanced diet in the meals. This is because the consumer cannot use type of food for some time as it can cause

Environmental regulations Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Environmental regulations - Research Paper Example Due to the fact, the following essay explains various regulations that have come of age. Development of standards that guide the proper usage of water has been the work of the department of the pollution control with the assistance of other agencies (Rerks-Ngarm, 2009). The institute together with other agencies provides the item, the pollution center of excellence in an attempt of improving the air situation in the country. Other works include the monitoring of the air and pollution, emission inventories, and air quality teaching as the others were studying in order to work alongside other partners. Another step is the provision of technical expertise for the provision of support for groups working to reduce contaminated soil, as well as water emissions. In addition, the Thailand government prohibits direct emissions of polluted water by manufacturing companies into the environment. Other enactments ensure the limited burning of waste products such as the burning of PVCs is in an open air. Some of the direct legislation includes the conservation and enhancement of the natural environment quality act of 1992. The standard of water quality act that ensures clean waters is a consistent provision to the citizens. The noise and air quality acts of 2007 that limit the extent of noise, as well as air pollution. In addition, there is the quality of soil act of 2004 that ensures the conservation of soil. The department of labor stipulates the working conditions that articulate the holidays, the minimum wage, the severance pay and the supreme working hours. The supreme number of working time is eight hours in a day that sums up to forty-eight hours a week. The enactments are an exception of work that the law defines as hazardous. In such scenarios, the working hours are seven or forty-two hours in a working week. Employees have thirteen holidays in a year. Besides, the employees are entitled to vacations of six days after a whole year of work that has no breaks. The

In this task, you will explore the process of selecting a research Assignment

In this task, you will explore the process of selecting a research topic. You may use journal articles, scholarly books, and dis - Assignment Example University of Southampton: Mathematical Sciences: databases & indexes Two additional keywords i. Teaching methods ii. Curriculum Key words that yielded the most useful searches i. Misconception ii. Area and perimeter D. Annotated bibliography for five sources identified in your search. Carle, S. (1993). Student Held Misconceptions Regarding Area and Perimeter of Rectangles. Boston: University of Massachusetts. This source focuses on the misconceptions of students in relation to area and perimeter of rectangles. Carle (1993) describes that students enter classroom with personal schemas, anchored in their ideas and experiences, which impact on their interpretation, reception, and recollection of new information. The author’s essentially recommends that the teachers should understand the impacts of such schemas. The author observes that the students manipulate and apply information without difficulties in class, only to forget the content after a while. Consequently, misconceptio ns are entangled into schemas, hence obstructing with the reception of information. Furthermore, the author discusses a framework including Anderson's theory of memory, taxonomy of critical thinking dispositions and abilities, Ennis' definition of critical thinking and cognitive psychology. ... The author has explained how the process of identification starts with pre-test analysis, which has five misconceptions including spatial bias, Equality Assumptions, Conversion Conclusion, Increase/Decrease assumption, and Fallacy of multiples. Disclosure of different types of misconceptions has a direct implication on the current study, which primarily deals with the way such misconceptions affect students’ understanding of area and perimeter formulas. Also useful from this source are the several theories that the author has explained which can help teachers in establishing the process of getting rid of misconception as well as initiating education change – this information can help in formulation the solution and recommendation in the current area of study. Although this source has some very relevant information that relates to the current topic, its usefulness is somewhat limited because it was published two decades ago, and many things have since changed. Therefore, its relevance is subject to further investigations on the more recent studies, to find out if any substantial changes have occurred in connection with the author’s findings. The author concludes the thesis by noting that the multi-faceted framework is very useful in investigating ways of building lessons, while focusing on elimination of particular misconceptions. Furthermore, the author makes suggestions on the manner in which the current innovative educational methods can be improved to aid students in understanding of formulas and mathematics in general. I reacted very positively to this source, because I found its multi-faced framework of investigating students’

Utilatarian, Deontology and Virtue Ethics Essay Example for Free

Utilatarian, Deontology and Virtue Ethics Essay Utilitarianism is defined as ethic based on consequences. An act, either it is morally wrong or good is acceptable as long as the end outcome is greater. In this essay on utilitarianism, I would argue Peter Singer’s calculus preferences, equality is for all living being but sacrificing one for greater good is plausible. Counter argument of Immanuel Kant’s moral deontology claim, it is immoral to consider a human being as a means to an end. John Mills’ actions are right as long they promote happiness, wrong if they produce the opposite of happiness as the reply for the counter argument. In conclusion, I would ethically rectify my claim in supporting utilitarian argument. Singer claimed that it is wrong to choose animals as research subjects in order to benefit human beings. Both humans and animals should be considered equally in the moral calculus, if it is morally permitted to use human being in research, then only, would it be permitted to use animal. And, if we were to consider the use of humans as well as animals and the research was considered to have great overall benefit for all, then the animals might be used since the general good is the most important thing. â€Å"Moral law should be universalized†. Kant stated that concept of a good will from morally proper motive is the base for considering any action. If it is the act from some hidden motive or for personal gain it is label immoral duty even if it is otherwise appears morally good. Cruelty to animals reduces the feeling of compassion in man, an immoral duty. Therefore, researching animal to gain cure for diseases is wrong, because it is immoral action to sacrifice another living being for the personal gain of humans, although the end results appear morally good. Kant’s theory is a strict morality. Universalize moral duty is good but some situations are exceptional. The outcome of the act is the reason the act was perform and if the outcome is general happiness then it is a morally right thing to do. Mill supported this as he stated actions are right as long they promote happiness, gaining a cure for incurable disease promotes happiness overall to general public. Therefore, researching on animals for cure will provide a plausible outcome which in this case a general happiness for the entire society. According to Mill, general happiness is the foundation of standard moral deed, overruling Kant’s concept of good will. In conclusion, I have to agree on utilitarian concept on judging the consequences than the action. Although it is immoral act to achieve the morally good, the final outcome is the most important objective in life. Deontology is defined as ethics based on duty or act. Moral value lies in the action, not in the consequences of the action. In this essay on non-consequentialism, I would argue Immanuel Kant’s deontology based on categorical imperative. Counter argument from Mill, general happiness is the foundation of standard moral deed. Replies based on Kantian views and conclusion on disagreeing non-consequentialism concept. â€Å"There is no if in moral action†. An action is considered moral only if one acts out of a sense of duty alone, without bearing in mind the consequences or self-interest. To understand Kant’s imperative, we need to know his description of inclinations and duty. Inclinations are based on desires, passions and emotions, whereas duties consist of reason alone. People are different, emotionally and rationally from animals as they make decisions based upon an inclination, a duty or a combination of the two. According to Kant, the source of moral justification is the categorical imperative and it must be based on reason or duty alone. In order for an act to be categorically imperative, it must be thought to be good in itself. As a categorical imperative, it asks us whether can we universalize our actions, that is, whether it would be the case that others would act in accordance with the same rule in a similar circumstance. If categorical imperative becomes the guiding principle of morality, therefore it becomes the judge for determining an act is moral or not. Mill criticises categorical imperative, stating that it is basically the same as utilitarianism, since it involves calculating the good or bad consequences of an action to determine the morality of that action. Mill argues that we should always aim at ensuring the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people and that, for instance, telling a lie in particular situation is good if telling that lie produces good consequences. As an example, lying to a rapist or a killer the location of the victim, an immoral action but for happier consequences for all. However, a Kantian would argue against this view, pointing out that we have full control only over our motives, not the consequences of our actions, so our autonomous will can only approve or disapprove of motives. An ethics that focuses on consequences, then, is not based in the autonomy of the will. In conclusion, although Kant shaped modern thought on moral decision-making, I’ve to disagree with his deontological system. Some circumstances are different as for my opinion consequence plays a major role in evaluating moral thoughts. A duty is not being ignored but, rather, outdone by the greater need. Virtue is ethics based on character. Theory in which depends solely on the individuals themselves. In this essay on virtue ethics, I would argue Macintyre’s individuals character as the key element of ethical thinking. The two counter arguments will be cultural relativism and self-centred theory. A reply for both counter argument and a conclusion supporting virtue ethics is the best way to go. Virtue ethics identifies the central question of morality in relation with the habits and knowledge about how to live a good life. Macintyre claims that good judgment comes from good character. Being a good person is not about following formal rules. For example, a virtuous person is someone who is kind across many situations over a lifetime because that is his/her character and not because he/she wants to simply perform he/her duty. Unlike deontological and utilitarian theories, virtue ethics do not aim to identify universal principles that can be applied in any moral situation. The first counter argument of the theory is the difficulty of establishing the nature of the virtues, especially as different people, cultures and societies often have very different opinions on what creates a virtue. Second, virtue ethics is self-centred because it’s mainly concern with the individuals own character, whereas morality is supposed to be about other people, and how our actions affect other people. Theory of ethics should require us to consider others for their own sake, and not because particular actions may benefit us. A reply for first counter argument is that any character quality defined as a virtue must be universally regarded as a virtue for all people in all times, so that such cultural relativism is not relevant. Replies on self-centred, virtues in themselves are concerned with how we respond to the needs of others, and that the good of the individual and the good of others are not two separate aims, but both result from the exercise of virtue. In conclusion, virtue ethics is the way to go and is more acceptable in our current society. The decision for each action lies within the individual, and the characteristic of the individual plays a major part in it. This is because certain action may be morally good for one but not for other, and certain consequence may be morally good for one but not another. The term virtue is meant strength or power. The idea of The Golden Mean is that in our actions we must seek the right measure and proportion. Excess or defect is a departure from virtue. For these reasons, the Four Cardinal Virtues exist. The four cardinal virtues of Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance are interconnected. This means that if you do not possess one of them, all the others are spoiled, and so you do not possess virtue at all. Prudence is the most important of the four cardinal virtues with knowledge being the importance of prudence. Thomas Aquinas lists many different components of prudence, but three main ideas exist. Memory is the order to know the meaning of the present. Docility states the willingness to remain open to reality and to learn as situations change. Lastly, prudence does not mean simply knowing what to do. Justice, we give to each person what is due to him, and we do this consistently, promptly and pleasurably. It concerns right relations with others in society. Divisions of justice can be broken down into legal justice, commutative justice, and distributive justice. Fortitude synonym with courage and bravery but must be based on justice. The purpose of fortitude is to remove obstacles to justice. In its extreme form, it is the willingness and readiness to risk ones life for the sake of that which is just. Aquinas stated that perseverance is undermined by a soft life. The person who pampers in pleasure and always avoids discomfort will be unwilling to put up with the sadness he must experience if he is to stand firm in difficulty. The virtue of temperance rules our appetites for pleasure. By nature we desire the pleasure that is suitable to us. Temperance does not restrain us from the pleasures that are reasonable, but from those that are opposing to our reason. Temperance does not act against our natural human feelings, but works with them. In conclusion, Aquinas thinks the cardinal virtues provide general templates for the most outstanding forms of moral activity.

Fasciola Hepatica: Treatment and Prevention

Fasciola Hepatica: Treatment and Prevention INTRODUCTION   Fascioliasis is a helminthic disease caused by Fasciola Hepatica (liver fluke), which spans worldwide, affecting livestock such as cattle and sheep, which become infected by ingesting water or plants such as watercress, lettuce and spinach (Alatoom et al, 2008). The life cycle of Facisola Hepatica begins when eggs are excreted in the feces of an animal which has been infected. Facisola Hepatica Miricidia move on to its intermediate host (freshwater Lymnaea snail), where it develops into the cercarial form. The Cercariae then leave the snail and encyst on the vegetation of fresh water, until developing into its metacercarial stage. Grazing sheep or cattle ingest the metacercariae, the infective form excyst in the intestine, passing through the peritoneum, later gaining access to the live and bilary tree (Alatoom et al, 2008). Due to migration of the liver flukes, the liver is left necrotized which compromises the function of the liver in animals. These complications may include change in the component of blood, hepatic pathogenesis, liver trauma, decreased lactation, and death (Brennan et al, 2008). Fascioliasis has resulted in a significant loss to farmers and inturn affects the economy as a whole. To control the parasites which cause this disease, treatments such as anthelmintic drugs have been employed in some areas. But as with most drugs problems have arisen, most importantly the development of resistant in parasites to the chemical drugs (Anandaraj et al). This review paper will cover different treatments available for fasciola hepatica, how the parasites have developed a resistance to the available treatment, and new methods in which researchers are trying to combat the drug resistant parasites. Citronella oil and Neem oil For Treatment Anthelmintic drugs have been used to control fasicoliasis disease, but there has been concern over parasites and developing resistance to the drugs. Citronella oil which is collected from dried grass of the species Cymbopogan nardus, and Neem oil which is also collect from dried seeds of the species Azadirachta indic (Anandaraj et al). Experiment were conducted in vitro, exposing the liver flukes to Citronella oil, neem oil, oxyclozanide drug powder treated control and normal RPMI-1640 control at room temperature, in separate petri-dishes. After staining of the dead flukes, flukes were observed under a microscope. Results demonstrated that citronella oil demonstrate flukicidal effect which is very similar to that of oxyclozanide, which affects the tegument, intestinal caeca and uterus of the flukes. But due to no previous study of the effects of these oils on endoparasites , the mechanism by which these oils react to the parasites in not understood (Anandaraj et al). Triclabendazole Drug Treatment Triclabendazole is a drug derived of benzimidazole and is the current drug of choice in the treatment of fascioliasis. Triclabendazole has shown to target Fasciola Hepatica (liver flukes) from as early as 3 days old to fully mature stage, and more importantly, this drug has been shown to successfully eradicate liver fluke infections in humans. (Brennan et al, 2008). For this experiment Eight indoor-reared Dorset X Suffolk sheep approximately 8 to 10 months of age, with no prior liver fluke infection were collected. Sheep stool was examined for fluke eggs to ensure no prior infection to the Fasciola hepatica. The sheep were then artificially infected by oral gavage with metacercarial cysts, which have previously shown to be susceptible to the Triclabendazole drug. Dividing the sheep into two groups, two sheep were used as a control received no treatment, while six were treated with Triclabendazole four weeks after artificial infection. (Brennan et al, 2008). At each time interval 48, 72, and 96 hours, two sheep were euthanized and livers removed for examination and collection of liver flukes, this was also done for control sheep, which were euthanized after 48 hour post treatment. Visual observation demonstrated that liver flukes in the untreated sheep very active with their guts full of contents. Flukes recovered from the treated sheep after 48 hours of treatment were active and clear sign of visible contents in the gut of the liver flukes. When compared to the liver flukes of the control, these showed no differences in appearance and activity. Liver flukes recovered from sheep after 72 hours of treatment were all dead with no gut contents, except for one which displayed minimal activity and little contents in the gut. Liver flukes recovered 96 hours from sheep post-treatment were all dead, displaying a very pale grey color, with no contents within the gut (Brennan et al, 2008) It was observed that the effects of the drug progressive overtime time, affecting the flukes more severely as time passed. On observation of the liver flukes recovered 48 hours post treatment, normal morphology was noted, there was some minor swelling of the parasites tegument. On examination of the surface morphology of the dead liver flukes from sheep treated at 96 hours post-treatment, the surface of the parasites were very serve and extensive. This Included massive loss of tegument in all flukes, the basal lamina of the fluke was exposed as the entire syncytical layer had been decorticated. Lesions exposing the inner tissues of the fluke were also observed in the basal lamina. (Brennan et al, 2008) Researchers therefore concluded that treatment with Triclabendazole is effective in eradicating a vast majority of liver flukes in sheepwithin a three to four day period after treatment. The severity of the disruption of the parasites tegument increased over time, resulting in the total loss of tegumental syncytium and lesions as deep as the basal lamina (Brennan et al, 2008). One draw back of this drug is that is is prohibited in the use of animals that produce cheese intended for feeding humans (Cringoli et al, 2006). Parasite Drug Resistance and Development of New Treatment With Triciabendazole being the drug of choice for the treatment of fasciola hepatia in vetenary medicine, due to the drugs ability to fight against both juvenile and adult stages of fasciola hepatica. Over time concerns have stirred up over Triciabendazole resistant fasciola hepatia, which were first observed in Australian livestock though the mid-1990à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s, and has now spread across Europe and most recently, Spain. The need to develop new drugs to treat fascioliasis has become a pressing issue. Some researchers have experimented with OZ78 and Artemether for the reactivity against adult fasciola hepatia resistant to Triciabendazole (Keiser et al, 2007). 30 rats were infected with 20-25 metacercarial cyst of Oberon. Oberon was reported to have low cure rates in sheep treated with Triciabendazole. 10 rats were then infected with 20-25 metacercarial cyst of cullompton isolates. Cullompton isolates were previously identified as Triciabendazole-sensitive. 12-15 weeks after infection, rats infected with Oberon isolate were treated with Artemether and OZ78. Two groups of rats were treated with triciabenazole in different dosages, and six treated with artemether and OZ78, with untreated rats as a control. Four of the rats infected with cullompton isolate were treated with triclabenazole, and six of the rats treated with cullompton isolate remained untreated with no drugs, serving as a control. 17 days after treatment, rats were euthanized and bile ducts were harvested for observation (Keiser et al, 2007). Collected results demonstrates that Triclabendazole was not suffiecient against Triclabendazole-resistant Oberon isolate of Fasiola hepatica. Though at higher dosage there was a significant worm burden reduction observed. Both Artemether and OZ78 were very effective in treating Triclabendazole-resistant isolate of Fasiola hepatica, both resulting in worm burden reduction by 100%. (Keiser et al, 2007). Efficacy and safety of New Treatment Due to promising action of artemether against liver flukes in rat models, researchers have found it necessary to study the efficacy and safety of this drug in which have been naturally unfected with fasciola hepatica (Keiser et al, 2008). Using Dairy sheep from farms in southern italy, stool samples were collect from 100 sheep, which were randomly selected. All sheep tested positive for fasciola hepatica were used in the study, with an overall collection and examination of 5 stool samples. Sheep were separated in groups depending on their weight and mean eggs count. Group one containing seven sheep remain untreated, groups two and three, containing six sheep each where orally treated with one dose of arthemether at 40 and 80 mg/kg, the last three groups four, five and six, each containing 5 sheep received 40, 80 and 160 mg/kg respectively intramuscular injections of artemether. The sheep were observed for any signs of adverse effects for a period of 8 hours, and once daily after treatment. On days 10 and 27 three to four stool samples were collected for examination for egg burden. All sheep were then slaughtered, removing livers and harvesting and counting fasciola hepatica present. Sheep exhibited no physical or clinical signs of toxicity after being treated orally or intramuscularly 8 hours post treatment. Researchers found that statistically there was no significant reduction in egg count in either oral or intermuscular drug administration, except for administration of 160 mg/kg, where a significant egg count reduction was noted and 64.9%.

Queen Elizabeth I in Love Essay -- History Expository Essays

Queen Elizabeth I in Love A huge obstacle that women only in the near past have been able to conquer is their status in society. Women today have the freedom to take up any profession they desire, attend any school they desire, and most importantly marry anyone they desire. In the 16th-18th centuries, the time of the Renaissance, rebirth, and discovery of grand new worlds, women possessed the status of children in many ways; women were considered minors dependent on their fathers until marriage when that dependency transferred to their husbands. They could not own land, they could not be educated, and they most importantly could not marry whom they chose. The poor could possibly marry for love, but the new wealthy merchant class and the nobility married for political reasons: to increase the fortunes of husbands, for women to enter nobility, or vise versa. This reasoning affected every facet of women’s lives. One of the most important women it affected was Queen Elizabeth I. However, it affected her in a less direct way, as she did not have a father arranging a marriage for her. The lowly status of women is clearly illustrated in the movie Shakespeare in Love. In this movie, Viola, the heroine, is married off to Wessex, deliciously horrible and broke. Viola’s father is a wealthy merchant; her dowry is 5000 pounds. Wessex, a member of the nobility, wishes to marry Viola as an investment in order to recover his fortune. Viola expresses her feelings on this matter on the morning of her wedding day, saying to her father: "I see you are open for business, so let’s to church." She has absolutely no say in this "business transaction." Her father knows, Wessex knows, and even Queen Elizabeth I knows that Viola does not love him. Sh... ...ribed in her poem "On Monsieur’s Departure." In it she describes her love for the Duke and her misery in being forced to deny this love. "I love and yet am forced to seem to hate, / I do, yet dare not say I ever meant†¦" She loves him passionately, but denies that love in order to protect her position as Queen of England. Queen Elizabeth loved a man passionately, but also loved her country and the running of it passionately. She would not give up that responsibility for love. This is illustrated in various works, young and old, from 16th century poems to present day movies. These works also illustrate the status women held during Queen Elizabeth’s time and the attitude held toward marriage. One last thing these works illustrate is how far society has come in increasing the status of women and bestowing on women the rights of love and the freedoms they have today. Queen Elizabeth I in Love Essay -- History Expository Essays Queen Elizabeth I in Love A huge obstacle that women only in the near past have been able to conquer is their status in society. Women today have the freedom to take up any profession they desire, attend any school they desire, and most importantly marry anyone they desire. In the 16th-18th centuries, the time of the Renaissance, rebirth, and discovery of grand new worlds, women possessed the status of children in many ways; women were considered minors dependent on their fathers until marriage when that dependency transferred to their husbands. They could not own land, they could not be educated, and they most importantly could not marry whom they chose. The poor could possibly marry for love, but the new wealthy merchant class and the nobility married for political reasons: to increase the fortunes of husbands, for women to enter nobility, or vise versa. This reasoning affected every facet of women’s lives. One of the most important women it affected was Queen Elizabeth I. However, it affected her in a less direct way, as she did not have a father arranging a marriage for her. The lowly status of women is clearly illustrated in the movie Shakespeare in Love. In this movie, Viola, the heroine, is married off to Wessex, deliciously horrible and broke. Viola’s father is a wealthy merchant; her dowry is 5000 pounds. Wessex, a member of the nobility, wishes to marry Viola as an investment in order to recover his fortune. Viola expresses her feelings on this matter on the morning of her wedding day, saying to her father: "I see you are open for business, so let’s to church." She has absolutely no say in this "business transaction." Her father knows, Wessex knows, and even Queen Elizabeth I knows that Viola does not love him. Sh... ...ribed in her poem "On Monsieur’s Departure." In it she describes her love for the Duke and her misery in being forced to deny this love. "I love and yet am forced to seem to hate, / I do, yet dare not say I ever meant†¦" She loves him passionately, but denies that love in order to protect her position as Queen of England. Queen Elizabeth loved a man passionately, but also loved her country and the running of it passionately. She would not give up that responsibility for love. This is illustrated in various works, young and old, from 16th century poems to present day movies. These works also illustrate the status women held during Queen Elizabeth’s time and the attitude held toward marriage. One last thing these works illustrate is how far society has come in increasing the status of women and bestowing on women the rights of love and the freedoms they have today.

Joan Miró Essay -- Visual Arts Paintings Art

Joan Mirà ³ Spanish painter, whose surrealist works, with their subject matter drawn from the realm of memory and imaginative fantasy, are some of the most original of the 20th century. Mirà ³ was born April 20, 1893, in Barcelona and studied at the Barcelona School of Fine Arts and the Academia Galà ­. His work before 1920 shows wide-ranging influences, including the bright colors of the Fauves, the broken forms of cubism, and the powerful, flat two-dimensionality of Catalan folk art and Romanesque church frescoes of his native Spain. He moved to Paris in 1920, where, under the influence of surrealist poets and writers, he evolved his mature style. Mirà ³ drew on memory, fantasy, and the irrational to create works of art that are visual analogues of surrealist poetry. These dreamlike visions, such as Harlequin's Carnival or Dutch Interior, often have a whimsical or humorous quality, containing images of playfully distorted animal forms, twisted organic shapes, and odd geometric constructions. The forms of his paintings are organized against flat neutral backgrounds and are painted in a limited range of bright colors, especially blue, red, yellow, green, and black. Amorphous amoebic shapes alternate with sharply drawn lines, spots, and curlicues, all positioned on the canvas with seeming nonchalance. Mirà ³ later produced highly generalized, ethereal works in which his organic forms and figures are reduced to abstract spots, lines, and bursts of colors. ...

Stock Analysis Essay -- essays research papers

Stock Picks and Analysis Choosing two profitable stocks amongst a myriad of potential alternatives is a daunting task to say the least. In order to narrow my choices from thousands to two, I examined several aspects of companies I was interested in. Among these were, company overview, alpha and beta ratings, price ratios, price charts, and company headlines. After evaluating this information, I chose Intuit INC (INTU) listed on the NASDAQ and Johnson and Johnson (JNJ) listed on the NYSE. Intuit, Inc. Intuit, Inc. is a provider of small business, tax preparation and personal finance software products and Web-based services that simplify complex financial tasks for consumers, small businesses and accounting professionals. The Company's principal products and services include Quicken, QuickBooks, Quicken TurboTax, ProSeries, Lacerte and Quicken Loans. Intuit offers products and services in five principal business divisions which include Small Business, Tax, Personal Finance, Quicken Loans and Global Business (Market Guide). Intuit develops, sells and supports small business accounting, tax preparation and consumer finance desktop software products, financial supplies, and Internet-based products and services for individuals and small businesses. This past fiscal year ended on 7/31/02 and revenues rose 18% to $1.36 billion. Net income from continuing operations totaled $69.8 million vs. a loss of $118.1 million. â€Å"Results reflected higher quicken loans division sales and lower acquisition-related charges.† (Market Guide) Inuit has continually met or surpassed previous financial estimates in a time when most companies are barely staying out of the red. On 9/8/02 Inuit, Inc had an Alpha rating of .0084 indicating it was performing better than previously estimated. Intuit also had a Beta rating of .24 indicating its volatility had decreased. This beta indicates that the company could possibly increase or decrease .76% less than the index. Due to this small Beta, Intuit is of relatively low risk as it is independent of the motion of the index. Inuit has a Relative Performance Rating of 53.81. This stock overperforms the NASDAQ 100 INDEX by 53.81 %. Intuit has gained 7.29% since December 31. The current price of Inuit was $45.900 with a P/E of 29.61. The stock’s fair value using its P/E Ratio was dismal at $24.58. From a fundamentalist view the stock should be sol... ...On September 25, it announced a large clinical trial showed its experimental devices to treat clogged heart arteries performed significantly better than current technology. Doctors and analysts expect the new technology to revolutionize the treatment of coronary artery disease. Although many analysts downgraded Johnson and Johnson from a strong buy to outperform Monday, they still site it as a good buy. Johnson and Johnson has been trading above both its 50 and 200 day averages and is promising. Its current market position is very attractive as it may become a market leader when the DOW turns around. Johnson and Johnson’s undervalued price, market position, and earnings make it a good pick in a sea of ambiguity. After considering the market position I have decided to take a moderate risk approach. I will allocate 40% of my resources to Johnson and Johnson and 30% to Intuit, Inc. The remaining 30% I will hold in cash. Although the saying â€Å"Cash is trash,† applies to a bull market, I am still apprehensive as to when this turnaround will occur. For now I will benefit by holding cash, but if the market turns at the end of our two month period as many analysts believe, I will lose out.

When a Man Loves a Woman – Case Study

Movie Blog week 4 When a Man Loves a Woman Alice is married to Michael who is an airplane pilot and they have two daughters the older daughter Jess is Alice's from a previous relationship and the younger daughter Casey is theirs together. Alice is a junior high guidance counselor and also an alcoholic. The movie goes through their life together and shows how Alice's addiction affects the family. Alice goes to rehab and gets sober and her and Michael have a hard time adjusting to sober Alice and they break up but at the end of the movie they get back together.The main character in crisis is Alice because of her alcohol addiction. The precipitating events that triggered the crisis are her drinking and her relationship with her husband who seems to belittle her often. The factors that exacerbated the crisis are when Alice got into an accident because she was drunk. The coping skills she used were when she entered rehab to get sober. Using the Crisis in Context Theory the crisis is Alice as an alcoholic and when she falls out of the shower her daughter Jess thinks she is dead.The system is Alice and the community is the town that she lives and works in and the stakeholders are her husband Michael and two girls Jess and Casey. The layers of the crisis involve Alice and her family when dealing with her alcoholism. The family of Alice is close in physical proximity to the crisis and also has reactions to the crisis. The reciprocal effect with Alice and Michael is they have to learn to be a couple when Alice is sober and then her children have to be able to forgive Alice for treating them poorly when she was drinking.The movie also shows the time factor as we see Alice interacting with her family after her crisis as she continues to go to AA. Alice does return to normal daily functioning and is invested in staying sober by attending AA meetings and working on her personal relationships with her husband and children. Alice did experience growth post crisis and took owne rship of her actions when addicted and even speaking at AA meetings. Some personal issues I might have when dealing with Alice while in crisis are that she is first a mother and she is neglecting to care for her children and even physically hit Jess across the face.I would help Alice see that she needs to get sober for herself and her children and not be judgmental to her. While working with Alice I would do self-care by continuing to exercise regularly and spend time caring for my children. Resources Mandoki, L. (Director). (1994). When a Man Loves a Woman [DVD]. United States: Touchstone Home Entertainment Myer, R. A. , & Moore, H. B. (2006). Crisis in Context Theory: An Ecological Model. Journal Of Counseling & Development, 84(2), 139-147.

Effectiveness of Software Quality Assurance in Offshore Development Enterprises in Sri Lanka

EFFECTIVENESS OF SOFTWARE QUALITY ASSURANCE IN OFFSHORE DEVELOPMENT ENTERPRISES IN SRI LANKA Malinda Sirisena, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, University of Moratuwa. ABSTRACT The aim of the research described in this thesis is to evaluate the effectiveness of software quality assurance approaches of Sri Lankan offshore software development organizations, and to propose a framework which could be used across all offshore software development organizations. An empirical study was conducted using derived framework from popular software quality evaluation models.The research instrument employed was a questionnaire survey among thirty seven Sri Lankan registered offshore software development organizations. The findings demonstrate a positive view of Effectiveness of Software Quality Assurance – the stronger predictors of Stability, Installability, Correctness, Testability and Changeability. The present study’s recommendations indicate a need for much emphasis on software quality assurance for the Sri Lankan offshore software development organizations. Keywords: Software Quality Assurance (SQA), Offshore Software Development, Quality Assurance Evaluation Models, Effectiveness of Quality Assurance. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Software Quality Assurance (QA) plays a major role in successful implementation and maintenance of a software project. In many organizations, QA has been simply traded-off to project cost [1]. The motivation of this research is to highlight the value of Software Quality Assurance against the economic cost. The IEEE standard ANSI/IEEE 730-2002 defines software quality assurance as â€Å"a planned and systematic pattern of all actions necessary to provide adequate confidence that the software conforms to established technical requirements†[2].QA is not only holding a direct relationship of meeting customer satisfaction, but it has a very high impact on project schedules and cost. Failing to pay attention is often resu lted in budget overruns and schedule delays [3]. Software Quality Assurance has paid back in many industries such as telecommunication, health, travel, law, hospital, government and schools in many American organizations. †¢ A system of teaching hospitals conservatively estimates $17. 8 million saved on an investment of $2. 5 million in quality management over a five-year time period. The University of Pennsylvania saved more than $60,000 a year from one project focused on reducing mailing cost. †¢ The U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reduced the time needed to produce the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI), compiled by 650 people in five departments, by 33 percent with no loss in accuracy. [4] Even in Sri Lankan software engineering companies, have been recognized QA as an important element. In 2005, Affno (www. affno. lk) has won the National Best Quality Software Gold Award for their product – eTender, which developed for Sri Lanka Telecom to automate their tende ring process [5]. 2 THEORETICAL BASE OF THE STUDY 2. WHAT IS SOFTWARE QUALITY The IEEE standard ANSI/IEEE 730-2002 defines software quality assurance as â€Å"a planned and systematic pattern of all actions necessary to provide adequate confidence that the software conforms to established technical requirements†[2]. By going down the path of IEEE definition, there are two major camps when defining software quality[6]: 1. Conformance to specification: quality defines in terms of the level which the product or service meets its’ written specifications. 2. Meeting customer needs: meeting customer’s explicit or implicit needs, irrespective of any measurable product or service characteristics.Currently software quality assurance is measured in two ways: from technical perspective and from user perspective[7]. In the technical perspective of measuring software quality is based on specifications. Developers measure quality and ensure specifications in terms of errors i n code through testing process and through other mechanisms such as formal specifications, structured programming[8]. End-user perspective of software quality is measured through user experience to denote how well software meets user expectations. User dissatisfactions do not necessarily be resulting from failure to meet specifications or coding errors. . 2 SOFTWARE QUALITY MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHIES This section of the literature presents different philosophies of quality from view points of quality management gurus. These quality management philosophies could be a good alternative to formalized quality models which the research is going to based on. Quality management requires customer satisfaction, prefers prevention to inspection, and recognizes management responsibility for quality[9]. 2. 2. 1 DEMING AND FOURTEEN POINTS FOR MANAGEMENT Walter Edward Deming defines quality in terms of customer satisfaction[10].Customer satisfaction is beyond conformance to specifications. According to Deming, the judge of quality should be the end user or the customer. Deming argues that management system should implement in a way that everyone in the organization to be responsible for quality of their output to the internal stakeholders. He introduced fourteen points for management for people to understand and implement necessary quality transformation[10]: 1. Create constancy of purpose for improvement of product and service: Stay in business and provide jobs through innovation, research, constant improvement and maintenance. 2.Adopt the new philosophy: For the new economic age, management needs to take leadership for change into a learning organization. 3. Cease dependence on mass inspection: Eliminate the need for mass inspection by building quality into the product. 4. End awarding business on price: Aim at minimum total cost and move towards single suppliers. 5. Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service: Improvement is not a one-time effort. Man agement is obligated to continually look for ways to reduce waste and improve quality. 6. Institute training: Workers should be trained properly on their jobs. . Institute leadership: Leading shall consist of helping people to do a better job and to learn by objective methods. 8. Drive out fear: To assure better quality and productivity, people feel secure. 9. Break down barriers between departments: Team work culture across departments. 10. Eliminate slogans, exhortations and numerical targets: Let workers formulate their own slogans. Then they will be committed to the contents. 11. Eliminate numerical quotas or work standards: Quotas take into account only numbers, not quality or methods. They are usually a guarantee of inefficiency and high cost.A person, in order to hold a job, will try to meet a quota at any cost, including doing damage to the company. 12. Remove barriers to taking pride in workmanship: People are eager to do a good job and distressed when they cannot. 13. Inst itute a vigorous programme of education: Both management and the work force will have to be educated in the new knowledge and understanding, including teamwork and statistical techniques. 14. Take action to accomplish the transformation: It will require a special top management team with a plan of action to carry out the quality mission.A critical mass of people in the company must understand the 14 points. 2. 2. 2 JURAN AND THE IMPORTANCE OF TOP MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT TO QUALITY Joseph M Juran proposes two meanings to quality[11]: 1. Quality consists of those product features which meet the need of customers and thereby provide product satisfaction. 2. Quality consists of freedom from deficiencies. In the handbook Juran propose quality as â€Å"fitness for use† rather than â€Å"meeting customer needs† he argues that it is not a feasible task to meet customer need. His view is much closer to the thought – â€Å"conformance to specifications†.Juran propose s three fundamental managerial processes for the task of managing quality. The three elements of the Juran Trilogy are[11]: 1. Quality planning: A process that identifies the customers, their requirements, the product and service features that customers expect, and the processes that will deliver those products and services with the correct attributes and then facilitates the transfer of this knowledge to the producing arm of the organization. 2. Quality control: A process in which the product is examined and evaluated against the original requirements expressed by the customer. Problems detected are then corrected. . Quality improvement: A process in which the sustaining mechanisms are put in place so that quality can be achieved on a continuous basis. This includes allocating resources, assigning people to pursue quality projects, training those involved in pursuing projects, and in general establishing a permanent structure to pursue quality and maintain the gains secured. 2. 2. 3 CROSBY AND STRIVING FOR ZERO DEFECTS Philip B Crosby is a â€Å"conformance to specification† adherer. Crosby summarizes his perspective on quality in fourteen steps that is built around four fundamental â€Å"absolutes† of quality management[12]: 1.Quality is defined as conformance to requirements, not as â€Å"goodness† or â€Å"elegance† 2. The system for causing quality is prevention, not appraisal. That is, the quality system for suppliers attempting to meet customers' requirements is to do it right the first time. Crosby is a strong advocate of prevention, not inspection. In a Crosby oriented quality organization everyone has the responsibility for his or her own work. There is no one else to catch errors. 3. The performance standard must be Zero Defects, not â€Å"that's close enough†. Crosby has advocated the notion that zero errors can and should be a target. . The measurement of quality is the cost of quality. Costs of imperfection, if corrected, have an immediate beneficial effect on bottom-line performance as well as on customer relations. 2. 2. 4 ISHIKAWA AND FISHBONE DIAGRAM Kaoru Ishikawa defines quality as â€Å"meeting customer needs†[13]. He further argues that no specific quality standard could ever define and following them does not meet the expected quality levels. According to Ishikawa, quality is a very broad concept which goes beyond product, service, process, information quality, etc.He introduced quality circles through Fishbone diagrams. 2. 2. 5 FEIGENBAUM AND TOTAL QUALITY CONTROL Armand Vallin Feigenbaum built his thought around â€Å"total quality control†[14]. Feigenbaum states that quality is a dynamic factor which must be defined in terms of customer experiences. He further states that quality should satisfy customers’ explicit and implicit needs[14]. 2. 3 SOFTWARE QUALITY MODELS Previous section focus on different view points of quality management gurus. These points wi ll be helpful in solving common quality management problems in Sri Lankan, offshore enterprises.Quality management philosophies presented in the previous section represent flexible and qualitative view of quality; this section will present a rigid and quantitative[15] quality structure, which will be a roadmap of identifying independent variables for current study. 2. 3. 1 MCCALL’S QUALITY MODEL Jim McCall’s quality model is primarily aimed towards the system developers and development process, however he has tried to bridge the gap between users and developers by focusing on number of quality factors, considering both user’s and developer’s priorities[16, 17].The quality model is organized around three quality characteristics[16]: Figure 1: McCall’s quality model organized around three types of quality characteristics McCall’s model furthermore elaborated with a hierarchy of factors, criteria and metrics around the three types of major pers pectives. Figure 2: McCall’s quality model Eleven factors on the left-hand side of the model represent the external view of quality as viewed by end users. These eleven factors attribute to twenty three quality criteria, which describe the internal view of software. The evaluation is done by answering each quality criteria with â€Å"yes† and â€Å"no†.Finally the quality level is derived as a percentage based on the responses received as â€Å"yes†. 2. 3. 2 BOEHM’S QUALITY MODEL Barry W Boehm’s model has similarities to McCall’s model. His qualitative approach of defining quality stems from three levels in the hierarchy, which ends with primitive characteristics[18]. These primitive characteristics individually contribute to the overall quality level. Figure 3: Boehm's software quality characteristics tree[19]. Quality measurement is carried out through extent or degree to which the product or service achieves each characteristic[19] . 2. 3. 3 ISO 9126Among the ISO 9000 series of quality standards, ISO has released the ISO 9126: Software Product Evaluation[20]. Figure 4: The ISO 9126 quality model [20]. ISO further proposes quality characteristics/guidelines to evaluate the above six areas of importance. Figure 5: ISO 9126 quality attributes Each quality factor/ six areas of importance is represented by sub-factors as depicted in the above diagram. Details of each selected attribute will be discussed in the next chapter. 3 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK This chapter elaborates how the conceptual framework for the study has been derived through the existing work identified in the literature review. . 1 EXISTING WORK Since the study is on evaluating software quality from software developing organization’s view, it is necessary to filter down the quality attributes discovered in the literature, only to represent developer view of software quality. Therefore it has been decided to take the union of developer related qu ality attributes from all three popular models referred in the previous chapter. It is not an easy task to differentiate developer oriented quality attributes from user oriented attributes as quality classifications are different from each model and some attributes are subjective to their multiple definitions.For a consistent interpretation of the quality attributes, the definitions of attributes have been used according to Software Engineering Institute’s (SEI) Software Technology Roadmap glossary[23] and ISO 9126[24] definitions. 3. 1. 1 DEVELOPER ORIENTED ATTRIBUTES FROM MCCALL’S MODEL McCall’s model mainly goes hand in hand with external quality factors. Following are the quality attributes extracted from McCall model, which are related to developer related quality based on SEI definitions. Selected Attribute Maintainability SEI Definition[23] â€Å"The ease with which a software system or component can be odified to correct faults, improve performance, or other attributes, or adapt to a changed environment. † â€Å"The degree to which a system or component facilitates the establishment of test criteria and the performance of tests to determine whether those criteria have been met. † â€Å"The ease with which a system or component can be modified for use in applications or environments other than those for which it was specifically designed. † â€Å"The ease with which a system or component can be transferred from one hardware or software environment to another. â€Å"The degree to which a software module or other work product can be used in more than one computing program or software system. † â€Å"The ability of two or more systems or components to exchange information and to use the information that has been exchanged. † Testability Flexibility Portability Reusability Interoperability Table 1: Developer related quality attributes from McCall’s model 3. 1. 2 ADDITIONAL ATTRIBUTES FROM BOEHM ’S MODEL Boehm’s model, which has put the utility perspective in terms of quality, is much similar to McCall’s model.After evaluating definitions, following two attributes were added to the list. Selected Attribute Understandability Modifiability SEI Definition[23] â€Å"The degree to which the purpose of the system or component is clear to the evaluator. † â€Å"The degree to which a system or component facilitates the incorporation of changes, once the nature of the desired change has been determined. † Table 2: Additional developer related quality attributes from Boehm’s model 3. 1. 3 ADDITIONAL ATTRIBUTES FROM ISO 9126 Following are sub-attributes taken from the ISO 9126 definitions.Selected Attribute Analyzability ISO Definition[24] â€Å"The capability of the software product to be diagnosed for deficiencies or causes of failures in the software, or for the parts to be modified to be identified. † â€Å"The capability of the so ftware product to enable a specified modification to be implemented. † â€Å"The capability of the software product to avoid unexpected effects from modifications of the software. † â€Å"The capability of the software product to be adapted for different specified environments without applying actions or means other than those provided for this purpose for the software considered. â€Å"The capability of the software product to be installed in a specified environment. † â€Å"The capability of the software product to co-exist with other independent software in a common environment sharing common resources. † Changeability Stability Adaptability Installability Co-existence Replaceability â€Å"The capability of the software product to be used in place of another specified software product for the same purpose in the same environment. † Table 3: Additional developer related quality attributes from ISO 9126 model 3. 1. 4 FINAL ATTRIBUTE LISTAfter anal yzing the above mentioned attribute lists and completing the preliminary studies, the list could filter down to the following for the current study. 1. Correctness 2. Testability 3. Changeability 4. Stability 5. Installability In the following sections, each of above attribute will be discussed in terms of their quality characteristics. 3. 1. 4. 1 CORRECTNESS SEI defines correctness as â€Å"The degree to which a system or component is free from faults in its specification, design, and implementation†[23]. McCall attributes correctness through[16]: †¢ †¢ †¢ Traceability Completeness ConsistencyThrough traceability, it makes possible to know the relationships of each module or component and thereby higher confidence states correctness. Completeness assures that there are no parts left in terms in executing a function of a system or a procedure; thereby 100% completeness ratio guarantees correctness. Inconsistent systems or functions will lead to higher error pro bability; therefore it is a part of correctness. Through the initial discussions with some key personnel, it was revealed that these characteristics are equally hard to reach to achieve Correctness. . 1. 4. 2 TESTABILITY SEI defines testability as â€Å"The degree to which a system or component facilitates the establishment of test criteria and the performance of tests to determine whether those criteria have been met†[23]. Both McCall and Boehm have attributed testability to quality assurance on following characteristics[16, 18]: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Simplicity Instrumentation Self-descriptiveness Modularity and structuredness Accountability Accessibility Communicativeness. Simplicity of applications will make easier in testing comparatively to complex applications.Instrumentation makes possible to put probes in the system in order to deduce test data. Self-descriptive systems have inbuilt help or system documentation which will be sufficie nt to understand the system by going through. Modularity helps in isolating system tests which structuredness denotes consistent organization of the system. Accountability on system for which it is possible to measure the usage of the code[19]. Such measurements are typically covered by debugging tools, which exist specifically for programming languages. Accessibility of a system allows usage of its parts in a selective manner[19].This allows in creating flexible test scenarios. Through communicativeness, systems make easier to understand inputs and output, which makes easier to compose test cases. 3. 1. 4. 3 CHANGEABILITY ISO defines changeability as â€Å"The capability of the software product to enable a specified modification to be implemented†[24]. Changeability is an attribute defined in ISO 9126 and lacks supporting characteristic definitions. However changeability could be achieved through: †¢ Aiming simple solution rather than complicated systems as by nature si mple applications are easier to change. Low coupling of individual modules of a system as lower interactions make easier to change individual components. †¢ Designing the systems change in mind from the beginning while keeping application evolution. 3. 1. 4. 4 STABILITY ISO defines stability as â€Å"The capability of the software product to avoid unexpected effects from modifications of the software†[24]. Therefore stability in this context does not denote the ability of the system to show stable behavior when used. However, if modification often results in unexpected behavior, there will be a high impact on stability.Stability is directly influenced by Changeability. Low changeability is likely to show low stability. This will depict the fact that, trying to change a low changeable system will lead to a greater risk of instability. 3. 1. 4. 5 INSTALLABILITY ISO defines Installability as â€Å"The capability of the software product to be installed in a specified enviro nment†[24]. Installability requirements are generally specified in the form of an installation process. The target environment in this case will have to be known at the development time.Installability is measured as a percentage exercised of the total specified Installability requirements. In the Sri Lankan context, Installability is commonly referred as Deployability. 3. 1. 5 RELATIONSHIPS OF VARIABLES Having identified the variables and attributes, it had been decided to limit the study to following variables, after interviewing key quality assurance personnel in target organizations. Based on their arguments, on applicability to offshore organizations, the best suited variables have been selected for the study. Dependent Variable: Effectiveness of Software Quality Assurance Independent Variables: . Correctness a. Completeness b. Consistency 2. Testability a. Simplicity b. Modularity c. Structuredness 3. Changeability a. Simplicity b. Coupling 4. Stability a. Changeability 5 . Installability Having identified the variables, following relationships have been derived based on the reviewed literature in the previous section. Correctness Testability Effectiveness of Software Quality Assurance Changeability Stability Installability Independent Variables Figure 6: Schematic diagram for conceptual framework Dependent Variable 3. 2 HYPOTHESES FORMULATEDIn order to statistically test the derived conceptual framework, following hypotheses have been formulated. Since the study is targeted to test each independent variable separately, hypotheses also have been formulated independently to each independent variable. H01: there is no relationship between the Correctness of software developed and released to QA team), on the effectiveness of software quality assurance approach. HA1: the greater the Correctness of software developed and delivered to QA team, the higher the effectiveness of software quality assurance approach.H02: there is no relationship between the Tes tability of software developed and released to QA team, on the effectiveness of software quality assurance approach. HA2: the greater the Testability of software developed and delivered to QA team, the higher the effectiveness of software quality assurance approach. H03: there is no relationship between the Changeability of software developed and released to QA team, on the effectiveness of software quality assurance approach. HA3: the greater the Changeability of software developed and delivered to QA team, the higher the effectiveness of software quality assurance approach.H04: there is no relationship between the Stability of software developed and released to QA team, on the effectiveness of software quality assurance approach. HA4: the greater the Stability of software developed and delivered to QA team, the higher the effectiveness of software quality assurance approach. H05: there is no relationship between the Installability of software developed and released to QA team, on the effectiveness of software quality assurance approach. HA5: the greater the Installability of software developed and delivered to QA team, the higher the effectiveness of software quality assurance approach. RESEARCH DESIGN Research design will outline the roadmap of achieving the research objectives thorough the identified variables and theoretical framework. Details of study Purpose of the study Type of investigation Extent of researcher interface Minimal: studying events as they normally occur and defining a framework Study setting Measurement Measurement and measures Effectiveness of Software Quality Assurance in Emerging Offshore Development Enterprises in Sri Lanka Descriptive: quality evaluation framework Hypothesis testing: to validate the evaluation frameworkCorrelation: study of correlations to effectiveness against evaluation factors Noncontrived: study in real business environment Quality factors and their applicability through quality matrices and Likert scales Data analysis 1. Classification of data 2. Goodness of data Unit of analysis Sampling design Time horizon Data collection method 3. Hypotheses testing Individuals based on job categories in Offshoring organizations Judgmental sampling of individual in the entire population of offshore enterprises Crosssectional Interviews, Questionnaires, Observations Figure 7: The research design 4. 1 TYPE AND NATURE OF THE STUDYThe study was an empirical study through analysis of responses to the questionnaires which was formulated through the conceptual framework. 4. 2 DATA COLLECTION METHODS Since the study is on offshore software development organizations, it has been decided to collect data from all registered companies in Software Exporters Association Sri Lanka and seven other offshore software development organizations in Sri Lanka. There were forty seven registered members as of first August, 2007. Questionnaires were distributed to the key quality assurance person or to the most senior quality assurance person in each organization. . 2. 1 QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN A structured questionnaire was used to gather responses apart from the preliminary interviews. The questionnaire is divided in to four main sections. Section one has eleven questions, capturing organizational demographics of the responder. Section two has six questions, to capture responder’s personal demographics. Section three is the main section of the questionnaire which captures organizations’ software quality assurance, project specific demographics and responses to test the conceptual framework. Section four is targeted to capture additional information for the conceptual framework. RESULTS OF DATA ANALYSIS Responses received had been categorized to qualitative data and quantitative data. Qualitative data had been used to understand the responder’s and company background. Quantitative responses, where the scale data is measured have been assigned scores as per following table for statisti cal analysis. Response Selected Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree Score Assigned 1 2 3 4 5 Table 5: Rates given for questionnaire responses Each response was individually assessed to ensure data validity and integrity.Incomplete responses have been followed up with the responder with available contact information and have been able to complete in many instances. For the blank responses, score three was assigned in case the question is not applicable to the responder’s organization. Following summary shows the statistics of the questionnaire distribution and responses received. Number of Organizations that Questionnaire had been sent 47 SEA registered companies + 7 other offshore companies Total Responses Received 39 Invalid / Unusable 2 Number of Valid Responses 37Table 6: Statistics of questionnaire distribution responses received 5. 1 PILOT STUDY To test the primary data a pilot study was run among fourteen Quality Assurance Engineers at an offshore so ftware development organization, using a draft questionnaire. On the scale of reliability in order to treat results with credibility[25] and the internal consistency of the draft questionnaire, was checked by using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. The alpha coefficient should be above . 7 for the scale to be reliable[26]. The overall Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was . 81, thus the questionnaire was considered to have a good internal consistency and suitable for collecting the data for the main study. Details of Cronbach’s alpha are discussed under Analysis of Reliability Section, below. 5. 2 PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS All thirty seven organizations selected as valid responses are exporting software. 89. 19% of the selected organizations are locally owned while 10. 81% of organizations which are in Sri Lankan operation are owned by foreign parties. 64. 86% of the target organizations are project based companies while 21. 2% of the organizations focus only on their own pro ducts. However 13. 51% of the organizations undertake client projects while they market their own products. 10 8 No. of Organizations 6 4 2 0 1. 00 2. 00 3. 00 4. 00 5. 00 6. 00 7. 00 8. 00 12. 00 14. 00 No. of years in Sri Lankan Operation Figure 8: Analysis of organizations against number of years in operation According to the above graph, most of the Sri Lankan offshore organizations under the current study have started their operation two years before. 75. 68% of the responders were males and the balance 24. 32% were females.The average age of responders was 30. 11 years. On an average, they posses one year of experience in their current position in the respective organizations. The following chart represents the education level of responders. 30 25 20 Count 15 10 5 0 Non IT Graduate IT/Comp. Science Post Graduate Graduate Deploma MSc/MBA/Post Graduate Degree Other Education Level Figure 9: Education level of responders Majority of quality assurance heads in the target organizat ions posses Information Technology or a Computer Science degree. 3. 03% Little Early 9. 09% On Time 24. 24% Too Delayed 3. 64% Little Delayed Figure 10: Project completion against estimates Responders were asked to select a completed project/product when they responded to part 3 of the questionnaire. The above pie chart highlights the project/product completion time against the estimates of the selected projects by the responders. From the selected projects/products, majority have been completed with a little delay from the estimates. Mean and the variance are calculated for each question under each independent variable and the dependent variable through the assigned scores as per Table 5.Question No. Question Mean Variance Effectiveness of Software Quality Assurance 18 19 20 21 22 23 Software QA is a very important discipline in our organization Without QA our products/services will not meet current level of customer satisfaction Our Software QA approach/practice helps us in winnin g new businesses Our organization has adequate number of QA Human Resources Our organization has invested enough in Software QA tools Our Software Development or any other Process has considered QA as a major practice 3. 622 4. 081 3. 811 3. 919 3. 514 3. 865 0. 686 0. 99 0. 658 0. 465 0. 812 0. 842 Correctness 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 â€Å"If the systems or components we deliver meet specifications to 100%†, we can say that it’s a high quality factor Systems or components we deliver, always met specifications Uniformity of functionality/operations/navigation of the designed system always contributed to high quality System maintained Uniformity of functionality/operations/navigation across individual functions If a function of a system, completes its execution without in between failures, we can say it is a high quality factor.Our systems do not fail in executing a function or procedure to its completion Our QA team measures our systems, whether they meet specifications o r not 3. 703 3. 568 3. 703 3. 324 3. 243 3. 243 4. 108 0. 604 1. 141 0. 715 1. 003 0. 745 0. 634 0. 544Testability 37 If all functionality/operations/navigation of systems could be tested enough, then we can say it denotes high quality All the functionality/operations/navigation of our systems are properly being tested by our QA team Even the complex operations of our systems are represented by simple user interactions in order to make applications simple and user friendly Our applications are decomposed in to manageable modules in implementation in a practical manner Consistent organization of modules/code are evident in our applications Our QA team measures or put emphasis on testability (Simplicity, Modularity, structuredness) of applications during the QA cycle 4. 595 0. 303 38 4. 514 0. 312 39 4. 297 0. 270 40 3. 946 0. 330 41 3. 838 0. 417 42 4. 432 0. 308 Changeability 43 If a product allows a specified modification to be implemented without much difficulty, then we can say i t denotes a high quality factor Our systems do not need much effort to accommodate minor specification changes (i. e.Adding a new field to a form) at implementation or quality assurance stage Our systems maintain low interactions between individual modules, therefore it is easier to change individual components without affecting others Our QA team measures put much emphasis to test changeability and stability of systems during the QA cycle 4. 000 0. 111 45 3. 946 0. 164 46 3. 838 0. 251 48 3. 919 0. 299 Stability 44 If the systems avoid unexpected effects after modifications, it denotes a high quality or it’s a high quality factor After the design changes done to one module, our systems have very few side effects to other modules Our QA team measures put much emphasis to test changeability and stability of systems during the QA cycle 3. 595 . 359 47 3. 703 0. 437 48 3. 919 0. 299 Installability 49 If the system could be installed in a specified environment without challenges, it denotes high quality or it can be considered as a high quality factor Our systems do not get challenged during the installation in the agreed/specified environment Our QA team measures Installability of systems they test 3. 568 0. 863 50 3. 162 3. 541 0. 862 1. 311 51 Table 7: Means and variances of questions Frequency distributions of responses to each of above questions have been presented in Appendix 2. 5. 3 SECONDARY RESULTS ANALYSIS Primary data is further analyzed to derive more meaningful results.For statistical analysis, the ratings gathered through individual questions were summed up to derive scores for individual independent variables. Variable = sum of marks for relevant questions I. e. Correctness = Q30 + Q31 + Q32 + Q33 + Q34 + Q35 + Q36 Sample Mean, where, n = sample size, and = scores Sample Variance, Standard Deviation, Following table illustrates the statistics of independent variables, which denotes the effectiveness of quality assurance. Standard Deviation 0. 569 0. 552 0. 422 0. 327 0. 445 0. 752 Variable Effectiveness of QA Correctness Testability Changeability Stability Installability Mean 3. 802 3. 556 4. 270 3. 926 3. 739 3. 423 Variance 0. 324 0. 305 0. 178 0. 107 0. 198 0. 566Table 8: Basic statistics of independent variables and the dependent variable Following is the graphical illustration of above statistics. 4. 500 4. 000 3. 500 3. 000 2. 500 2. 000 1. 500 1. 000 0. 500 0. 000 Mean Variance Std. Div. Figure 11: Basic statistics of independent variables According to the above illustration, Testability contributes to QA effectiveness most while Changeability remains at the second position. Installability was rated as of least significant to the QA Effectiveness in the subject domain. 5. 3. 1 ANALYSIS OF RELIABILITY OF DATA Cronbach’s alpha measure is used to determine how well the target independent variables measure single, unidimensional QA Effectiveness latent construct.Cronbach's alpha can be written as a function of the number of test items AND the average inter-correlation among the items. N where, N = number of items and = inter-item correlation among items. Cronbach's Alpha Based on Cronbach's Standardized Alpha ( Items . 912 . 918 Table 9: Reliability statistics N of Items 28 Cronbach’s alpha for all twenty eight questions is 0. 912, which denotes that the collected data is acceptable for the research. 5. 4 HYPOTHESES TESTING Analysis had been done to test each set of hypothesis to find out whether there are relationships defined through the hypotheses exist among independent variables and the dependent variable.The correlations between the factors hypothesized to effectiveness of quality assurance shown in the following table: Set of Hypothesis/Independent Variable H1:Correctness H2:Testability H3:Changeability H4:Stability H5:Installability ** Correlation is significant at the 0. 01 level (2-tailed). Pearson Correlation/ Effectiveness of QA . 678** . 589** . 559** . 728** . 613** Sig. (2-tailed) . 000 . 000 . 000 . 000 . 000 Table 11: Correlations between hypotheses for quality assurance Hypothesis H1: According to Hypothesis H01, Correctness which is influenced by Consistency and Completeness has a positive relationship to effectiveness of software quality assurance approach. Since this hypothesis is supported by the data analysis (Sig. value was . 000, p

Lifestyle Diseases Essay

In 1900, the top three causes of death, worldwide were Influenza/pneumonia, Tuberculosis, and Diarrhea/enteritis. These accounted for about 60 percent of all deaths. Communicable diseases such as Malaria, Measles, Pertussis (whooping cough), Syphilis and Hepatitis B were also noted as significant causes. In 1900, Heart disease was ranked number four and Cancer number eight as far as being the cause of death. Since the 1940s, the majority of deaths have resulted from Heart disease, Cancer, and other lifestyle diseases. By the late 1990s, lifestyle diseases(degenerative), such as Heart disease, Type 2 Diabetes and the different forms of Cancer, accounted for more than 70 percent of all deaths. It was first argued that lifestyle diseases have their onset later in an individual’s life and need a longer lifespan in order to become the cause of death. In 1900, the average life expectancy of a person was 49.24 years. This was too short for many of the lifestyle diseases to occur. In 2004, the average life expectancy was estimated at 77.8 years. However, what was regarded as age related diseases in the early 20th century, such as Type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure, Heart disease and Obesity, is no longer the case. These diseases are now recognized as lifestyle diseases, and are now affecting younger members of the population in the western world. Some of the people are as young as 9 years of age. What are Lifestyle Diseases? What are Lifestyle Diseases? Can you prevent lifestyle diseases from developing? Can you reverse lifestyle diseases, once you have been diagnosed with one? I will provide you with the information you need, to protect you and your family and friends from developing one or more lifestyle diseases. Lifestyle diseases (also sometimes interchangeably called diseases of longevity or diseases of civilization) are diseases that appear to increase in frequency, as countries become more industrialized and people live longer. These now include Type 2 Diabetes, Obesity, Nephritis or Chronic Renal failure, Heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Atherosclerosis, Asthma, Cancer, Chronic liver disease or cirrhosis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Crohn’s disease, Osteoporosis, Stroke, Depression and Drug  addiction, such as recreational as well as prescription drugs and/or alcohol. Some commentators maintain a distinction between diseases of longevity, and diseases of civilization. Certain diseases, such as Diabetes Type 2, Heart disease or Asthma appear to b e more prevalent in populations living a â€Å"western lifestyle.† These are the diseases that can be greatly avoided with lifestyle modifications. In most cases it is just a matter of modifying your diet and exercise regime. Diet and lifestyle are major factors thought to influence susceptibility to many diseases. Drug abuse, tobacco smoking, and excessive alcohol drinking, as well as a lack of exercise may also increase the risk of developing certain diseases, especially in later life.