Grapes Of Wrath By Steinbeck Essays (974 words) - U.S. Route 66

Grapes Of Wrath By Steinbeck John Steinbeck shows the readers many themes in "The Grapes of Wrath". One of the most apparent is as Steinbeck stated, "The Joads passage through a process of education for the heart." Many characters in "The Grapes or Wrath" exhibit this theme, but it is valiantly apparent in the actions of the Joads as a family, Tom, Casy, and Rose of Sharon. Although each person in the Joad family is a separate individual, the family often acts as thought it were one person. As one might expect the experiences they incur change the family personality. At the end of the book the Joads have lost their family identity, but they've replaced it with something equally worthy: they've found kinship with other migrant families. The Joads merge with the Wainwrights and the Wilsons, because each family needed the other and the fragmented family becomes whole again. The members don't share last names, but they give support to each other in the form of food, blankets, a kind word, medicine, advice, and even love. As Casy says, "nobody has an individual soul, but everybody's just got a piece of a great big soul." By opening their hearts the Joads transformed into members of the universal family. Rose of Sharon, the eighteen year old daughter goes through a miraculous transformation of the heart as the journey progresses. When the Joads first begin their torrid journey Connie, Roses husband, and Rose set themselves apart from the mundane matters that occupy the rest of the family. They focus solely on the baby and dwell in the future instead of the present. They dream of the house they'll buy for the baby in California, about the car they'll drive, and about Connie's schooling and job. When the going gets tough, Connie abandons his young wife, which may have been the turning point in Roses life. As time the birth approaches, Rose of Sharon does a surprising thing for someone in her delicate state, as she insists on picking cotton with the rest of her family. After a few days the baby is born dead and she seems relieved to know that she won't have to raise a child in awesome poverty. Suffering through childbirth has perhaps opened her eyes. Throughout the book we have seen her concerned almost exclusively with herself and her problems. Now she looks out at the world and turns completely about. In an act of extreme charity, she suckles a dying man with the milk of human kindness. Rose of Sharon discovers that everybody must be treated as family if they are to endure. It's a message of love, which Rose of Sharon powerfully dramatizes for us in a barn. Jim Casy, one of the three most important characters in the Grapes of Wrath only appears in about one third of the book, yet we rarely forget him. Although Casy was never a Joad, even Tom had stated he's close enough to be a Joad. Casy, a former preacher, retreats from organized religion because hypocrisy and a weakness for women have forced him to reexamine his beliefs. He no longer believes in the individual, but strongly believes that "all men got one big soul everybody's a part of." In Hooverville, Casy at last gets his chance to practice what he has started to preach. Tom trips the deputy sheriff who wants to arrest Floyd, an innocent man. Casy joins the fray and knocks the man out with a kick to the neck. When the sheriff returns to haul Tom to jail, Casy volunteers to go in Tom's place: "Somebody got to take the blame... an' I ain't doin' nothin' but set aroun'." Months later we run into Casy again. Out of jail, he has begun to organize the workers, and in fact, he leads the strike at Hooper Ranch. He has translated his love for people into an effort to show them that their strength lies in collective action. Casy devotes his life to the union movement, and later gives it. In effect, Casy sacrifices himself so that others may be better off. Tom Joad, the most important character in the "Grapes of Wrath", is an individual who realizes the importance of having a heart. Tom has a quick temper, he killed a man in a drunken brawl, speaks harshly to the truck driver who gives him a lift; scolds the one-eyed man for feeling self-pity; and tells off the fat man who runs the filling station. Tom doesn't despise each man, but

Pill Bug Lab Essays

Pill Bug Lab Essays Pill Bug Lab Paper Pill Bug Lab Paper ABSTRACT Pill bugs live in an outside environment where they are able to get the necessary amount of energy from organic matter. This environment is where water and organic matter is plentiful. In there natural habitat, pill bugs are found in dark, damp places. Living in moist places is important for pill bugs so they can take in enough water, and if water is not available, they group together to prevent water loss. Pill bugs most often live in dark places because they have a negative photo taxis. Darker places also tend to be cooler and damper. Each experiment connected to how the pill bugs would behave in a certain environment. We were able to test these experiments in a laboratory way to see if the natural environments were also true. If pill bugs are given a light and dark environment, then they will prefer the dark environment. If pill bugs were put in a warm or cold environment, they will prefer the cooler temperature. If pill bugs were in a dry or moist are, they would flock to the moist are. In the last experiment we tested to see if they preferred shelter or unsheltered environments, for which they choose unsheltered. After doing all four experiments, it was clear that pill bugs have a concise behavioral pattern in each environment. This lab’s purpose is to help differentiate kinesis and taxis movements. These movements are seen throughout all animals and they help us learn how animals react to a stimulus. In order to see how animals react to certain environments, we set up four tests and used pillbugs as our specimen. Through these four experiments, we were able to conclude that the pillbugs liked dark, damp, sheltered and hot spaces as oppose to light, dry, open and cold areas. This was concluded because, as shown in Tables/Figures 1, 2, 3, 4; the bugs seemed to congregate in the dark, damp, sheltered and hot chambers mostly. However, for a few minutes in each of the experiment, the bugs did not respond in the way we had hypothesized. This could be due to the fact that these animals have been used for prior experiments for weeks and weeks. These animals are obviously aggravated from these experiences; therefore they might not have wanted to go through it all again and did not want to cooperate with us as a whole. My hypothesis is that these animals will prefer the cold, sheltered, dark and damp habitats as opposed to hot, open, light and dry environments. INTRODUCTION There are many different ways to classify animal behavior and behavioral types. Behavior in terms of an animal’s response is a result of sensory input and falls within the categories of innate (inherited) and learned behaviors. When an animal is in a favorable environment it is called orientation behavior (Laboratory Manual 137). When an animal moves either toward or away from heat, light, or moisture, it’s called taxis. When an animal’s movement is completely random, it is called kinesis. The way an organism moves can be either taxis or kinesis. Another kind of behavior is how organisms behave when mating. Part of the mating ritual involves agnostic behavior where animals respond to each other with aggressive or submissive behaviors. Behavior with other organisms includes appearances, movements, and interactions with each other. Terrestrial isopods are land dwelling crustaceans, commonly known as sowbugs or pill bugs (or roly-pollies). While they look similar, sow bugs are different from pill bugs. An Animal’s behavior is often erratic and hard to study. However, in a controlled environment, it is easily done. We used Pillbugs in this lab, and placed them in various conditions. We tested to see if they would prefer a damp over dry environment, a hot over cold, a dark versus light and an open environment over a sheltered one. A natural defense mechanism for the Pillbugs is to curl themselves up into a tight ball and basically, play dead. When set in various conditions they can perform orientation behaviors. These behaviors include taxis and kinesis. Taxis occur when the animal moves towards or away from a certain stimulus. Kinesis occurs when the animal moves in a random motion in response to the stimulus. Throughout this lab, we put the pillbugs through four different tests. These experiments are to test to see if these animals will prefer a certain habitat rather than another and how they show this is through either kinesis movement or taxis movement. MATERIALS AND METHODS In all labs, a lab book and a pen or pencil are essential to record the number of pillbugs. The times come up fast so you have to make sure you are watching the clock or stop watch. Obviously, do not poke the pillbugs or try and force them into a certain chamber aggressively, this will aggravate them and cause unreliable results. When you are trying to get your pillbugs, use a paintbrush to sweep them onto your brush and then carefully lace them into the choice chamber dish that is provided for you. Make sure to get 10 pillbugs so you can have five in each chamber. If they look dead, they are most likely just curled up. During the various tests, make sure to take notes on the appearance, the types of movements (kinesis or taxis) and the interactions between the animals. The first experiment is to find out if the pillbugs prefer dark or light environments. The choice chambers have a little passageway between the chambers. Make sure to gently place five pillbugs on each side and then block off that doorway with a cardboard barrier of some sorts. Pick one of the chambers and then cover that chamber with something that will make the chamber be a dark environment. Leave the other chamber completely untouched, this will be the control group for the experiment. Obtain a stop watch and remove the barrier. Then record the amount of pillbugs on the light and dark chambers after every 30 seconds. We recorded our results every 30 seconds for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes are over, take the cover off the dark chamber and make sure you have all 10 pillbugs still and then place the clear chamber covers to ensure that the bugs won’t escape whilst you get the second experiment ready. Remember to document in your lab book which is the independent and dependent variable for each of your experiments, this will make it easier to graph them later on. The next test is to see if the animals find a damp environment more appealing than a dry one. This is done by damping a white circular disk of paper with water and placing it in one of the chambers. When doing this, make sure that all 10 pillbugs are on one side so you will not be placing the damp paper on top of a pillbug. Just like the previous experiment, place five pillbugs on each side of the chamber and block the doorway. When the timer is ready, open up the entry way and time for 10 minutes, recording the number of pillbugs on each side every 30 seconds. When the 10 minutes has elapsed, carefully rally the pillbugs to the dry chamber and remove the damp paper and cover the chambers with the clear cover again. For the third experiment we tested if the pillbugs would prefer a sheltered environment as oppose to an open one. This is done by placing a cardboard shelter in one of the chambers. The shelter should fit in the chamber and should not cover the whole chamber (if it did, then the experiment would be like the first test conducted). This time, when recording the number of bugs, you will have to count the number of bugs out in the open (even if they are in the chamber with the shelter, if they are not under the shelter than they are in the open). Again, you will keep time for 10 minutes, recording your data every 30 seconds. After the 10 minutes is up, remove the shelter and make sure that all 10 pillbugs are still in the chambers. The final experiment is testing the temperature preference of the pillbugs. First, obtain two Petri dishes; fill up one of the Petri dishes with ice from the freezer and the other with hot water from the hot water bath. Then place the chambers on top of the Petri dishes, making sure that the hot water was underneath one chamber and the ice was underneath the other. Remove the barrier between the chambers and record your results every 30 seconds for 10 minutes. After the ten minutes are over, throw out the hot water and ice and place your Petri dishes back. Return the 10 pillbugs to their makeshift habitats carefully and then clean up your area and materials. RESULTS For the first experiment, we tested to see if the Pillbugs preferred darker condition to lighter ones. The animals would swarm to each other initially, but after a few seconds they began to spread out. As seen in Table 1 and Figure 1, the animals preferred the dark side. When a Pillbug would come out from the dark chamber, it quickly went back, usually taking another Pillbug with it. There were a few who hung out in the doorway between the two chambers; we counted that as being on the dark side because it was slightly covered. The second experiment was to test the Pillbug’s response to damp versus dry conditions. After setting up the test we learned that most of the Pillbugs enjoyed being on the damper chamber as oppose to the dry chamber. As you can see by the observations on Table 2 and Figure 2, one particular Pillbug enjoyed the damp area so much that it sprinted to that side and ran in circles. The next experiment we did was to test the pillbug’s response to a shelter. The shelter is different than the dark and light test because only a part of the chamber is covered, not the whole thing. As seen by Table 3 and Figure 3, the Pillbugs liked the shelter more so than being out in the open. For the majority of the time, the number of Pillbugs was even on each side but there were more bugs underneath the shelter than out in the open. DISCUSSION When the group was gathering our Pillbugs from their makeshift habitat, I noticed that the majority of them were attached to the underneath of a piece of paper towel. I speculated that they preferred darker scenarios and my results seemed to support this speculation. From this information I also suspected that the animals would prefer the shelter rather than an open area. Especially since they had a defense mechanism of curling into a ball, I figured that the Pillbugs did not like to be open and vulnerable to predators. Also, they are usually found in dirt environments, which means that they would prefer moist areas as oppose to dry ones. Some of the experiments were inconsistent with the movement of the Pillbugs. In the beginning of each experiment, the pillbugs seemed to show taxis movement, as in they were moving away from the stimulus that displeased them and moved towards the one that they preferred. However, as the test went on, especially in the fourth test (as seen in Table 4 and Figure 4), the pillbugs performed movements closer to the kinesis definition. This was totally unexpected, especially since the bugs were supporting out hypothesis in the beginning. This change in attitude could be because of numerous things. The experiment was not conducted properly, the hot water was not hot enough, the cover did not cover the whole chamber, or these pillbugs have been poked and prodded for a long time now. Therefore, they might have been exhausted and fed up and did not want to cooperate with us. LITERATURE CITED Wagner, David, Theodore Taigen, Thomas Terry, and Karen Lombard. Biology 102: Foundations of Biology. Fall 2006 Stamford Edition. 129-137. Unknown: University of Connecticut, 2007.

Solar Panel Battery Charger 6-12V Research Paper

Solar Panel Battery Charger 6-12V - Research Paper Example The comparator compares the voltage from the battery and acts as a switch for the voltage regulator circuit. Finally, the battery voltage checker checks the voltage of the battery (as it received from the panel) to determine if the battery needs to charge more. The circuit is designed to be simple, efficient and reliable by using easily available field replaceable parts. It uses a 12V, 5W solar panel rated from 100 milliamps to 1A and a lead acid or other rechargeable battery that is rated from 500 milliamp hours to 40 amp hours of capacity. This circuit regulates the voltage flow from the photovoltaic panel to the lead acid battery. It can produce currents up to 150mA. When external pass transistors are added to this circuit, output currents can reach up to 10A. The maximum input voltage to this circuit is 40V (LM723, 2004) with an output voltage adjustable between 2V and 37V. This circuit consists of a series regulator, LM723. ... Figure 11 and Figure 12 are the connection diagram and the datasheet circuit (Voltage regulator, 2012) as below: Figure 11: Connection Diagram Figure 12: Datasheet Circuit The basic building blocks of LM723 are: 1 The Reference Voltage Amplifier 2 The Error Amplifier 3 The Series Pass Transistor. The equivalent circuit of LM723 (LM723/LM723C Voltage Regulator, 1994) is shown in Figure 13 as below: Figure 13: Equivalent circuit of LM723. The main components used in the voltage regulator circuit are (Table 1): Table 1: Main components of the voltage regulator circuit Quantity Component Value 1 LM723 - 1 R1 4.87k ? 1 R2 7.15k ? 2 Transistor 2N3055 1 Diode 1N4007 1 VR 10k ? 1 C1 0.1?F 1 C2 500PF Calculations: Following are the calculations for design and operation of the circuit: Output voltage- Vout = Vref x ((R1+R2)/R2) Where R1= 4.87K, R2= 7.15K and Vref= 7.35V from the datasheet. Vout= 7.35 x ((4.87 + 7.15)/7.15) = 12.36V. Figure 14: Output voltage. Current- The current is establishe d from the Darlington transistor pair in the regulator circuit (Q1 and Q2 in Figure 10). Q1 and Q2 (2N3055) are silicon, Epitaxial-Base Planar NPN transistor mounted in a Jedec TO-3 metal case (Charger Circuit for 6V or 12V Car Battery, 2012) and are recommended for use in power switching circuits, series and shunt regulators, output stages and high fidelity amplifiers. Figure 15 shows the Darlington transistor pair: Figure 15: Darlington transistor pair used in voltage regulator circuit. In this circuit, a voltage of 0.7V is applied to the base (B) of the first transistor (TR1) to switch it on. A current of 300 milliamps passes through the first transistor from the collector (C) to the Emitter (E). The emitter of TR1 is connected to the second

Contribution of Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture towards Food Security Essay

Contribution of Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture towards Food Security in India - Essay Example In regards to urbanization process, peri-urban and urban agriculture emerged from a simple and traditional activity into a professional and commercial initiative. In this case, it has turned out to be the major component in food security strategies. By definition, peri-urban and urban agriculture is a sector within or on the fringe of a city, a metropolis or town, which raises and grows processes as well as distributing agriculture products through the use of water and land resources, services and products around the urban area (Ruel et al., 1998). Poverty can exist at individual level that includes limited basic needs, low purchasing power, social exclusion and psychological distress (Nunan Fiona, 1999). While at community level it includes limited employment opportunities as well as scarcity of products and services. Integrated agricultural systems can be used to enhance the household food security of the poor in urban areas. This study explores different aspects related to how urban and peri-urban agriculture contributes to the household food security in India (Nunan Fiona, 1999). A thorough literature review was carried to compile some of the important research findings. The chapters of this report are organized as follows; the proceeding section describes the background information on urban and peri-urban agriculture in South Asia. The second chapter that includes literature review compiles some important concepts and research findings that are relevant to the topic. The third chapter that includes results and findings describes the costs and benefits as well as threats to urban and peri-urban agriculture in the world. The final chapter that includes conclusions lists important policy recommendations to address the probable problems in the sector. Urbanization or shifting of people from rural to the urban areas is known to

Healthcare and Public Health Critical Infrastructure Sector

Healthcare and Public Health Critical Infrastructure Sector In order to optimize the security and resilience of the countries critical infrastructure, it is essential for a concerted approach that integrates all relevant partners and stakeholders. The healthcare and public health sector are crucial partners towards this end. The continuity of healthcare operations in times of emergency is quintessential. They role is disaster response and response makes them an asset and elevates their importance to national security beyond mere stakeholder status. The necessity for a sector-specific plan that optimizes the relationship between the players in the healthcare and public health industry and liaising with the department of homeland security has become vital. In the contemporary society, threats to the countries critical infrastructure have evolved diversifying into digital and biological platforms. The Healthcare and Public Health (HPH) Sector-Specific Plan (SSP) is created to champion cross-sector effort sector and collaboration towards enhancin g security and resilience of the industries critical infrastructure covering all hazards. The guidance of the SSP is meant to customize the guidance to be relevant to the applicable industry players. This entails ensuring the strategic guidance is compatible with the risk landscape and unique operating landscape of the healthcare and public health sector. The above prevents the sector layers from expending energy on extraneous factors. The National Infrastructure Protection Plan 2013 has been instrumental towards that end. The sector has formulated an integrated approach to managing the risks to industrys critical infrastructure and corresponding workforce. The approach involves identification and preparation for the potential threats as well as hazards. Preparedness assumes that the all hazard risks are always imminent. In order to consider all dimensions of attack, the cross-sector councils are allowed to leverage simulation technology to visualize the full range of consequences in the instance of a biological attack (Almklov Antonsen, 2014). The SSP has proved innovative in its approach even utilizing potential risk scenarios inspired by films. The above is important given the last terrorist attack was attributed to a lapse in the imagination. Another strategy employed towards anticipating the above eventuality is mitigating weaknesses identified in the HPH critical infrastructure, its networks, and systems. Once the vulnerabilities are highlighted, ad hoc strategic plans to fix them are recommended lest they expand. The critical infrastructure within the purview of the healthcare and public health extends beyond the internal assets (Wulff, Donato Lurie, 2015). Even out of a sector, dependencies such as are with within their logistic and supply chain that can be exploited and other interdependencies are areas of interest. In order to optimize continuity, the approach posits adapting to the dynamic industry externalities to increase resilience faster disruptions owing to emergencies regardless their cause. The approach strives to reduce the potential impact of these eventualities and timely restoration of the critical infrastructure to optimal functioning. To ensure the efficiency of the approach optimization of public-private partnership and collaborative risk management becomes necessary. The goals and objectives of the stakeholders of the industry should be aligned from the onset and a free flow of information towards that end should be facilitated. The HPH Sector objectives from its vision, mission, and goals are validated in policy. It follows that policy impediments in the national arena and within the sector should be addressed promptly (Homeland Security, 2016). Apart from the policy, the guiding principles of the sector are formulated after consideration of multiple factors ranging from the current progress in risk mitigation, the available resources, identified capability gaps, emerging risks and the prevalent risk management priorities. These objectives are utilized to coordinate the collective operations within the sector. They reflect considerations of not only the HPH sub-sector but also the regional, local public and private partners. Efforts to mobilize public-private partnership support needs of HPH critical infrastructure are underway. The local, territorial, tribal, and federal government partners are not only involved in the conversation but their input is solicited during decision-making to increase their stake s in the outcome of the approach. The Sector Partnership Mission towards increasing the health sectors resilience aims to sustain the vital functions of the United States healthcare and public health delivery system. Similarly, it endeavors to espouse effective emergency preparedness and subsequent response to nationwide major hazards. Public and private sector partners are instrumental in evaluating risks; lobbying fro policy changes, coordinate plans, and provision of guidance towards preventing, protecting, mitigating, responding to, and recovering from all hazards threatening the HPH critical infrastructure.   The key sector-specific goals strive to manage the identified risks the vulnerabilities and potential consequences of disruptions. The risk management is the second step of the approach by translating the analyses of the sector into implementable recommendations for local and state public health departments as well as private sector facilities (Katina, Pinto, Bradley, Hester, 2014). The recommendations should be actionable and customized to the issues facing the respective institutions. The risk analyses should be translated into response and recovery efforts. To facilitate information sharing new mechanism as well as existing ones should be harness ensure the free flow of information. The flow implies it is bidirectional; each partner and stakeholders should give and receive information. Similarly, the government and the private sector should emulate best practices from each other. The sector goals should strive to develop and implement partnership engagement strategies to strengthen coordination. This will increase facilitate outreach efforts by reducing relationship constraints (May Koski, 2013). The operators and owners of the critical infrastructure should be acquainted with the behavioral patterns of their counterparts. The strengthening the relationships expedites the speed of information sharing and subsequent response time. The partnerships should be convenient by concentrating on the regional, local networks towards a national preparedness (Moteff, 2010). The purview of the sector specific plan involves also the cyber security attacks. The above would cripple technologically dependent networks like transport and even directly affect the health data framework. During response and recovery, the sector should be able to learn from past attacks and enact effective corrective measures (Perakslis, 2014). While seeking innovating strategies of increasing response speeds after disasters, it is equally essential to leverage past mishaps. The U.S. De partment of Health and Human Services (HHS) working in tandem with other industry players be required to evaluate their sectors milestones towards implementing recommendations.   An aggressive awareness campaign among the industry stakeholders to reiterate the essence of their input is required. The entire critical infrastructure community regardless their size their counsel should be considered (Solanas et al., 2014). The new approach as recognized that the vulnerabilities arise from the assets that are underestimated as insignificant, the specific sector focus is hinged on attention to detail. Beyond the traditional partners federal departments international partners and private sector owners even the perspective of an actual health practitioner has been given premium. The critical infrastructure workforce is strategic in identifying industry and system dysfunctionalities than an outsider (Therrien, Normandin Denis, 2017). The nonprofit sector has been instrumental in the post consequence period adding in the expediting resilience. The NGO has a close and sustainable relationship with the healthcare and public health industry as often their relief services compliment the sectors goals. The specific sector plan acts as a store for information and a centralized location where all the relevant stakeholders can access the data they require optimizing resilience and straightening their collaborative efforts (Torchia, Calabrà ² Morner, 2015). The interdependence of sectors in contemporary society implies that a catastrophe affecting the health sector will cripple the other accompanying infrastructure like transport. For instance, an airborne disease outbreak will inhibit mobility in public transport platforms. It follows that the public becomes a crucial stakeholder thus the need to facilitate access to non-critical information of resilience programs through the specific sector plan. The HPH Sectors critical infrastructure and its corresponding factors operate in a dynamic and increasingly complex setting. The shifting goal posts due to technological innovations and political changes may lead to confusion in managing the professional workforce, the systems, and assets, systems, and professional workforce operates in a highly complex and dynamic risk environment. For instance, the political changes have repealed the patient protection act causes the entire industry to adjust to new realities. Similarly, the changes in the climate have increased the frequency of naturally occurring threats though one can argue they there are artificially induced. The size of the sector and the interconnections of its networks further aggravate the situation. The open access to a majority of health facilities, physical facilities, operations, and system interconnections make the sector innately vulnerable. Towards strengthening preventative measure in the risk-prone environment, col laboration between government and the HHP sector becomes crucial. The sector has to capitalize on the vast resources at its disposal ranging from digital capabilities, consultancy resources, and other diverse authorities. The success of a program is attached to the proponents capabilities to harness wide spectrum of resources. Information sharing is not an option but the premise of the program. As the treats as constantly evolving, the sector should be equally flexible accommodating updates, and reprioritization of risk managements strategies towards optimizing security. The sector leadership should periodically evaluate the progress in implementing the recommendations in order to identify their shortcomings. References Almklov, P. G., Antonsen, S. (2014). Making work invisible: new public management and operational work in critical infrastructure sectors. Public Administration, 92(2), 477-492. Homeland Security, (2016). Healthcare and Public Health Sector-Specific Plan. Washington, D.C: Department of Homeland Security. Katina, P. F., Pinto, C. A., Bradley, J. M., Hester, P. T. (2014). Interdependency-induced risk with applications to healthcare. International Journal of Critical Infrastructure Protection, 7(1), 12-26. May, P. J., Koski, C. (2013). Addressing public risks: Extreme events and critical infrastructures. Review of Policy Research, 30(2), 139-159. Moteff, J. D. (2010). Critical infrastructures: Background, policy, and implementation. DIANE Publishing. Perakslis, E. D. (2014). Cybersecurity in health care. The New England journal of medicine, 371(5), 395. Solanas, A., Patsakis, C., Conti, M., Vlachos, I. S., Ramos, V., Falcone, F. Martinez-Balleste, A. (2014). Smart health: a context-aware health paradigm within smart cities. IEEE Communications Magazine, 52(8), 74-81. Therrien, M. C., Normandin, J. M. Denis, J. L. (2017). Bridging complexity theory and resilience to develop surge capacity in health systems. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 31(1). Torchia, M., Calabrà ², A., Morner, M. (2015). Public-private partnerships in the health care sector: A systematic review of the literature. Public Management Review, 17(2), 236-261. Wulff, K., Donato, D., Lurie, N. (2015). What is health resilience and how can we build it? Annual review of public health, 36, 361-374.

Mentoring and Coaching as a development strategy Essay

Executive Summary There are many benefits in adapting mentoring and coaching programs to an organisation in order to develop human capital. However, there are areas where caution must be exorcized in order to avoid adverse outcomes. This report provides examples from Coca Cola Foods and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Corporation of their mentoring and coaching strategies and how they execute these in line with business goals to best benefit the organisation. Introduction It is imperative that an organisation holds a sustainable competitive advantage in order to be a successful business and maintain a profit. Competitive advantages can be ascertained through the strategic use of human capital to achieve high performing organisations. This can be referred to as a Resource Based View approach to organisational strategy in human resource management terms (Kraaijenbrink, 2011). Mentoring and coaching is low cost  and highly effective way of developing human capital (Veale, 1996). Defining Mentoring and Coaching Though there are overlaps, mentoring and coaching are two separate organisational development techniques, both approaches require different processes and different goals. A coach’s purpose is to enhance an individual’s performance by increasing their competence and the likelihood of success (Raymond & Winkler, 2013). They do this through providing objectives, techniques, practise and feedback. Relationship building is the primary focus when it comes to mentoring, therefore the selection process is critical to the success of this tool (Veale, 1996). A mentor is someone who has much experience and significant knowledge behind how things work in that industry. The relationship is of a formal nature and structured around the developmental needs of the â€Å"mentee†. In contrast to mentoring, coaching is not predominately concerned with the relationship between the parties but rather the agreement that the coaching is of value. Advantages Mentoring has been shown to be particularly useful for woman and minorities is linked to mobility and career advancement (Veale, 1996). It is a low cost, highly effective learning process that can be used a marketing point to attract prospective employees. Major advantages of a successful mentoring program include; increased job satisfaction, performance, commitment and cross-functional knowledge, it is also highly effective in integrating a mentee into an organisations culture (Raymond & Winkler, 2013). Coaching advantages lay within its processes and outcomes. It is way of facilitating continual learning and increasing accountability with a goal of producing highly skilled, more productive employees (Veale, 1996). It is key to producing an atmosphere which enhances persistent and purposeful learning through goal setting and response. Disadvantages Mentoring and coaching provide many potential benefits for an organisation, however it is unwise to assume perfect results every time. In dealing with  human capital, there comes human factor issues resulting from communicational and emotional influences. It is important to map any potential issues that may arise in order to prevent them. Potential concerns in regards to mentoring may include: Mentees may developing unrealistic expectations about their potential. Mentee may not take responsibility for their own development The mentor relationship may fuel work gossip at higher levels. Confidentiality breaches Coaching disadvantages lay in employee preference, some prefer more indirect criticism as to protect their feelings and others consider correction as punishment (Veale, 1996). Also coaching may lose its personal approach when in group environment and therefore produce a negative outcomes, as many people learn in different ways. Lastly, feedback from coaches is purely objective and may be incorrect or biased based on style preference rather than results. Critical Success Factors It is important that coaching is perceived as a positive process, as particular styles and perceptions of coaching may undermine the intention. A Setting must be established of confidence and respect that is problem focused and change orientated. Communication is key when it comes to mentor and coaching programs (Veale, 1996). As the mentor relationship critical to its success, mentor selection process must be strictly adhered to. A good mentor; is a productive worker, successful in their work, appreciates working for the organisation, is comfortable with listening and being asked questions, and providing advice and perspective (Veale, 1996). Additionally, it is important that participation of both parties is voluntary and that a detailed policy and procedure must be drawn up and adhered to. It must include format for contracting, confidentiality requirement, feedback guidelines and a formal time limit for the programme. It is also imperative that both parties are from different departments to avoid ‘direct reporting’ or conflicts of interest. Mentoring and Coaching Methods Examples The following provides example of how specific organisations get the most from mentor and coaching strategies. Coca Cola Foods: Coca cola foods have advanced their human resource strategy by investing resources in to formal programs that promote mentoring relationships (Veale, 1996). In application of Resource Based View, their aim is to strengthen the link between developmental focus and business strategy and to better match personal and organizational needs using a variety of development tools. They use a combination of both Mentor and coaching systems within the organisation to achieve this goal. The following Formal Mentoring Process is followed by many organisations, particularly Coca Cola Foods. 1. Mentee identified Eligible applicants are sort in multiple ways, depending on job level, department and individual’s characteristics. Once target group is defined, mentees can be identified by volunteering, being nominated or competing through testing and application. 2. Developmental needs identified Individual development plan is prepared though defining individual’s developmental needs. The mentee and their boss can disclose areas they feel need work and skill deficiencies can be revealed through assessment. 3. Potential mentors identified A pool of potential mentors is generated through assessed general ability and willingness to handle the role. Mentors may enter this process by volunteering, recruited by senior managers or chosen by mentee. 4. Mentor is matched to mentee The mentees developmental needs are matched against a mentor that holds the ability to provide training or guidance in those areas. 5. Orientation for mentors and mentees This orientation occurs before the initial relationship commences and covers types of activities, time obligations, time and budget support, reporting requirements, and the responsibility of the mentee for their development. 6.  Contracting An agreement is drawn up that includes a development plan, confidentiality condition, consultation frequency, length of relationship, mentoring activities and role of mentor 7. Periodic meetings To execute the plan through coaching and feedback sessions. 8. Periodic reports To evaluate the success of the mentoring programme. Periodic status reports should completed by both mentor and mentee. This step may be skipped depending on the level of formality in the programme. 9. Conclusion Completion of a mentoring relationship is contingent on accomplishing the goals set out in the initial agreement. 10. Evaluation and follow-up At this stage both parties are interviewed in regards to the value of the process, timing and other related concerns that could affect the process. Coca Cola Foods also uses mentoring techniques which they define very broadly in to 5 different styles. This gives coaches flexibility to adapt to different situations and needs. Many of these styles overlap but ‘the objective is not theoretical precision, but usefulness’. 1. Modelling i.e. ‘do as I do’ Often people need to see a thing done in order to understand and do it themselves. A coach should enact the skills and values they are trying to instil to aid learning process. 2. Instructing i.e. ‘do as I tell you’ This particular style of coaching requires the coach to teach the coachee a skill. This mirrors the â€Å"directing† coaching type in Hersey-Blanchard model as it does not require particular input or reflection from the coachee (Mind Tools, 2014). Coca cola recommend a five step process to instructing. 1. Plan; Provide a vision of what is expected and an over view of the goal and process to reach that outcome. 2. Tell; verbally highlight specific tasks to be completed. 3. Show; Provide example i.e. modelling. 4. Do; encourage the coachee try the tasks at hand. 5. Correct; Provide feedback on their actions and adjust if necessary. 3. Enhancing performance i.e. ‘do this better’ It is assumed when using this model that the person has prior understanding of what is required of them but needs improvement. This style resembles coaching identified in the Situational Leadership Model. Steps include: 1. Explain the performance and why it is important. This provides justification for enhanced effort. 2. Ask for input. Taking in to account the coachee’s ideas on barriers or possible improvement strategies, provides opportunity for the coachee to feel in control of their learning process and help the coach discover misunderstandings along the way. 3. Provide feedback and improvement ideas. Coach knows best. 4. Summarise with a plan. This builds a sense of team effort. 5. Offer support. Interest and involvement of coach helps coachee feel their contributions count. 4. Problem solving i.e. ‘figure it out this way’ The coach helps the coachee learn and use a method of problem solving by providing a format as well as leading the process. Steps: 1. Involve participants; coach asks participants for specific description of problem including all stakeholders influence, then summarises 2. Funnel problem; Coach looks at a variety of causes, what factors lead to this and the meaning behind it. A force field analysis is a good way of coming to a decision on funnelling the issue. Force field analysis involves analysing forces for and against a particular change and defines reasoning behind the outcome (Mind Tools, 2014). 3. Build plan; suggest strategies, people, action steps and schedule dates. 5. Inspiration i.e. ‘ you can do it’ Coach inspires mentee using personal connection. A sports coach cheering from the sideline or Nike’s slogan â€Å"just do it† would be good modern day examples of this. Another fine example would be Barrack Obama’s 2008 victory speech, â€Å"yes we can† inspiring hope and resilience in American citizens, following decades of a country divided by war and race, quoting Abraham Lincoln â€Å"We are not enemies but friends† Coffee Bean and Tea leaf: Coffee and Tea Leaf provide good example of the effectivity of coaching as a development technique. In 2004 this company had seen rapid growth; planning to introduce 100 new stores to their chain, they were placed in the position requiring over 100 new general managers (Blanchard & Dressler, 2006). Their aim was to invest in training in order to retain and grow effective management and develop new ones. The decision was made to participate in Blanchard’s Situational Leadership IIR course. Training began with an impact map that clarified a line of site between situational leadership, course learning and individual coaching, critical leader tasks and outcomes. These impact maps were revisited throughout the training to ensure application of training and help provide links between learning, personal accountability and company goals. Knowledge content was then provided electronically to the staff over a 2 week period, after which participants gathered for knowledge application. This step required ten telephone facilitated, hour-long coaching sessions over the period of 20 weeks focussing on application in relation to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf business goals. The course then went through an evaluation process to determine whether the training was effective. It was found that the initiative had a very positive business impact with less than 3% disagreeing with the proposition that they found the training valuable. 67% believed the this training would develop someone for a more responsible, challenging leadership position and 64% believed the course would help a marginal performing team member become a high performing team member. Recommendations In comparing Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf’s mentor and coaching strategy with that of Coca Cola Foods, I believe that Coca Cola foods strategy provides more advantages. Coca Cola food’s adapts both mentoring and coaching strategies in a variety of ways to adapt to each individuals learning preference, whereas Coffee Bean does not. A main criticism of Coffee Beans’ strategy is that coaching seasons were not required to be face to face. It is important that a face to face bond is formed between the coach and coachee in order to avoid miss communication often associated with body language. This technique could be considered quite impersonal and lead to adverse effects. It was found that around 35% disagreed that the course would help a marginal performing team member become a high performing team member or develop someone for a more responsible, challenging leadership position, which I believe is a significant amount (Blanchard & Dressler, 2006). This number could be improved by requiring face to face communication with the coach during the 20 week application period. Conclusion Generally, coaching is an informal relationship between a boss and their employee with the mutual objective of increased performance. Mentoring is a formal relationship, separate from the organisation with a broader scoped objective dependant on the mentee’s needs. Mentors may also use coaching types to help mentee achieve their goal. Both processes are key to building high performance organisations through human capital and therefore establishing competitive advantage within a market. Examples from Coca Cola Foods and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf provide insight into coaching and mentoring development strategies at play, specifically describing the connections between employee developments and achieving business goals. Bibliography: Blanchard, S., & Dressler, D. (2006). Coaching and Traing at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. In R. Brinkerhoff, Telling Training’s Story (pp. 199-217). San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler. Kraaijenbrink, J. (2011). The Oxford Handbook of Human Capital. In A. Burton-Jones, & J. C. Spender, Human Capital in the Resource-Based View. Mind Tools. (2014). Force Field Analysis. Retrieved from Mond Tools: Essential Skills for an excellent career: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_06.htm Mind Tools. (2014). The Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory. Retrieved from Mind Tools: Essential skills for an excelent career: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_44.htm Raymond, N. A., & Winkler, C. (2013). In Training & Development: Learning for Sustainable Management 2e. Australia: Mc Graw Hill Education. Veale, D. J. (1996). Mentoring and coaching as part of a human reasource development strategy: an example at coca-cola Foods. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 16-20.

Dystopian Society Essay

Compare the dystopian societies, and the methods used to create them, in ‘The Handmaids Tale’ by Margaret Atwood, and ‘1984’ by George Orwell (paying particular attention to the representation of gender). The futuristic and oppressive themes that define a dystopian society are in ‘1984’ by George Orwell and ‘The Handmaids Tale’ (THT) by Margaret Atwood. These forms of society feature contrasting types of repressive social control and these stories often explore the concept of humans abusing technology or the rights of people. Dystopian societies are often imagined as police states, with unlimited power over the citizens. Although many elements of a dystopian society can be seen in ‘The Handmaids Tale’ and ‘1984’, the authors, the two novels explore the extreme negative effects of social control through their dissimilar opinions of a dystopian society. Through the choice of the narrator’s gender, the authors explore issues of this, which can be seen as a clear feature that emphasises the amount of oppression that both protagonists may experience; even though there is more prominence given to a woman facing male domination. Evidence from the1960’s shows that there was controversy to whether women are equal to men in terms of jobs, the vote, education and their position within the family. In modern society women are more equal to men; however, during the period that Atwood wrote ‘THT’, the Woman’s Liberation Movement was occurring which was a political movement born in the 1960’s from the second-feminism wave. All pride and dignity is taken from the women in Gilead, which is a clear form of oppression towards women. One example would include the isolation from their families and they are used as ‘wombs’ that have no other use. Not only is she tortured by the thoughts of what could have happened to her child and husband but in her new role, she is raped repeatedly by the Commander which proves that the female gender is less dominant compared to the men. Contrastingly, within ‘1984’ Winston has a negative attitude towards the dictatorship of Big Brother which suggests that men are more likely to rebel than women. Therefore, your gender may affect the amount of anger you have towards a person/society. Winston and Julia; lovers and rebels, are trying to become members of anti-Party Brotherhood. Therefore, the fact that Winston and Offred are of contrasting genders, emphasizes the amount of  rebellion that they feel towards their dictatorships. Orwell’s narrator, Winston, narrates in third person whereas, Atwood’s narrator, Offred, narrates in first person. ‘1984’ is clearly a novel warning people that politics could eventually control everything the people do. ‘THT’ is clearly a personal warning proposed by Atwood, as the authorities do not control everyone and what they believe in; they only need the ‘womb’ of the women which is the useful part of a women – illustrating the view that the ‘political’ cannot be separated from the ‘personal’. Winston is giving the reader a more unbiased view because he is not as involved within the events as the reader may think. Winston comments on events that he is not involved in which gives the reader the view that Winston is an unbiased narrator. Contrastingly, Atwood clearly allowed Offred to become a first person narrator so that Atwood could become more involved in the events that happen in Gilead and to have a more intimate relationship with the reader as she can voice her own opinion which questions her reliability as a narrator. Within the first chapter, Offred clearly uses the word â€Å"we†, which shows the reader that she, is restricted within the Red Centre and lacks identity. The structures of both novels reflect a dystopian society in terms of the hierarchy of the places. Perhaps both authors have a different opinion of how societies will be structured in the future. Evidence for this is that ‘THT’ is split into fifteen parts; nearly all of them are named ‘night’. Contrastingly, in ‘1984’ the chapters are represented as numbers and not as names which could portray Orwell’s vision of life within Oceania. It can be argued that Winston is not living his own life as men do in the 21st century this is because he is under Big Brother rule and will not be able to escape as Big Brother controls everything he is thinking and doing, even though the reader gets an idea that Winston doesn’t agree with this. The lack of detail and minimal description from Winston about the society could suggest that there is no significance in life and Winston has no importance within Oceania, which is explained through the structu re of the society. However, the fact that in ‘THT’ the majority of the chapters are named ‘night’ could give the reader an insight to how restricted women are in this society. The  fact that night can generate fear to some people really shows that women were fearful of their future and they obviously do not only want to be seen as a ‘womb’ to continue the next generation. On the other hand, it can be seen that Offred is more comfortable during the night as she has a sense of freedom as she can think and imagine in her head. An example would include when Offred goes to see Nick, they speak awkwardly at first, but gradually become more comfortable with one another. Therefore, the structures of both novels that both authors have clearly thought about represent the hierarchy of the societies. ‘THT’ uses hierarchy of oppression such as the Guardians, and Aunts to maintain social control. The role of the aunt is to essentially ‘police’ the Handmaids so that they will become adapted to their new society, and the blame of many incidents is purely put on women. For example, â€Å"The spectacles women used to make of themselves†¦ bare backs and shoulders in public†¦ no wonder those things used to happen.† This suggests that Aunt Lydia believes that whatever it was that women suffered in the former society, it due to their own behaviour. This way of controlling minds in ‘THT’ is a more understated way compared to the means the Party uses in ‘1984’, in which the surveillance and control is displayed more apparent. Wilson is obviously aware of the government surveillance that he is exposed to; the Telescreens are noticeable and their purposes are evident. This guarantees that people will abide by the governments’ rules, being aware that there will be a consequence if they don’t obey; they fear the potential punishment which scares them into submission. Therefore, the methods of control that Atwood uses are perhaps more subtle; contrastingly the surveillance is more obvious within ‘1984.’ The ‘Aunts’ arguably are a more subconscious method of maintaining power. By limiting the essentials to the women in the Gilead society, women of the future are warned of the oppression they may face and ultimately need to avoid. A completely differing method used by the totalitarian government in ‘1984’ is surveillance used by the party maintaining the oppression over Oceania by using Telescreens. The party use this constant surveillance to maintain social control and ensure that the party can control and eliminate any form of uprising. â€Å"BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU† is a constant reminder to the society that every action taken  is watched and that Oceania has no form of discretion. As a result, the lack of privacy in ‘1984’ allows the party to maintain control over the people’s actions and thoughts which increases the extent of power. The dictatorships in both ‘THT’ and ‘1984’ restrict the protagonist’s memory so that what they learn whilst being overpowered is what they believe to be right. Winston’s memories are less frequent compared to Offred’s, and they are also more direct. Offred’s memories of the past are staggered but she has irregular flash backs of her daughter and her former partner, Luke. She has flash backs of fleeing across the border into Canada, but they were caught and separated from one another, and Offred has seen neither her husband nor her daughter since. However, Winston’s memories are unclear as they were destroyed due to the revolution. The dystopian government and oppressive society created a void in his mind. Perhaps the authors put the impact of the memories into the novels so that the reader gets an impression that memory in a dystopian society reflects freedom. The more Offred and Winston imagine their past, the more they are able to think about the previous amount of freedom which would lead them to rebel. Both societies restrict individuality which leads to both protagonists rebelling; this is because of the impact of being under oppression. In ‘THT’ the totalitarian state is portrayed as negative by the reader because Offred is isolated from society and left powerless. This leads to Offred having rebellious outbursts even though she is denied freedom of speech. During testifying all of the Handmaid’s shout at Janine â€Å"her fault, her fault, her fault† and â€Å"she did, she did, she did†. The importance of all of the Handmaids shouting in monotonous tone represents the lack of individuality. Furthermore, the repetition represents the whining auto-response expected by the women in the Gilead society. Contrastingly, Winston shows aggressive hatred towards Goldstein and everyone present in the room. He and other people have â€Å"a hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness and a desire to kill†. This expresses the importance of Big Brother and shows how he has turned all of the characters into inhumane people. The language that Orwell uses is vicious but creates an animal-like view of Winston which tells the reader that he will always be under Big Brother control, expressing a  warning of the future. Unlike remorse felt by Offred, Winston feeds off hatred which distinguishes the two protagonists and the severity of the state control in both novels. The exploitation of language and use of propaganda features prominently in both novels. The establishments use language to endure control over the inhabitants to change people’s thought process. Within ‘THT’, the authorities use one-sided Bible quote to condition the handmaids to conforming and to ensure there is no form of rebellion. Offreds analytical nature is represented as she knows that these Bible quotes are distorted. â€Å"It’s from the Bible, or so they said†. Offred also acknowledges these are forms of propaganda to ensure that the dystopian society is fully in play. The use of propaganda in Nazi Germany (1933-45) had a dramatic affect in changing the public’s opinion in favour of Nazi policies, including ‘total war’. This is similar to Offred as she knows that the Bible quotes are publicized to ensure the women understand their only purpose, to reproduce, however, she still prays even though she doesn’t agree with it. However, in ‘1984’ the system of ‘Newspeak’ is used to shorten the way of speech and it is the specific language used in their newspapers. This suited the totalitarian regime of the Party, whose aim was to make subversive â€Å"thought crime† and speech impossible. Thus Newspeak is possibly an attempt by Orwell to describe a deliberate intent to exploit this decadence with the aim of oppressing its speakers. To conclude, the ways in which ‘THT’ and ‘1984’ reflect a dystopian society are through the structures of the novels and the language the author uses to represent the characters personalities. Atwood mainly focuses on the structure of her novel which emphasises the unstructured dystopian society, by sectioning the chapters into significant parts; whereas, most novels simply have chapters. George Orwell aims to show the reader the structure of a dystopian society by using simple sentences and placing more power on Big Brother the reader gets an insight into how powerful a policing system can be in a dystopian society and ultimately warns them of the future. Bibliography: AQA English Literature B A2 – Nelson Thrones ‘1984’ – George Orwell ‘The Handmaids Tale’ – Margaret Atwood