Succubus Shadows Chapter 17

My initial time with the Oneroi had been a mix of true and false dreams. As time went on – and I really had no way of saying how much of it did go on – the majority of them seemed to be true ones. They were either visitations of awful memories or more glimpses into my current life, meant to demoralize me and make me homesick. I was still torn apart, still feeling more animal than human or succubus or†¦whatever. Yet, the fleeting pieces of rationality within me wondered at the sudden lack of handcrafted visions. One might argue the Oneroi were being lazy. They were just giving me recycled material, and whenever I did see my friends in the world, I got the impression that it was less a dream and more like the Oneroi flipping me onto a TV channel to make sure I stayed distracted and gave them something to feed off of. It almost felt like they were trying to keep me busy because†¦well, they were busy. But why? What had happened? What had Dante been about to tell Roman and the others? Was it enough to make the Oneroi pull some of their attention from me? Or were these simply more mind games meant to leave me in turmoil? I kept hoping I'd see a follow-up to what had happened with Dante, but the Oneroi had other parts of the life I'd left behind to show me. Or, well, parts I hadn't left behind. Simone was still impersonating me, and the Oneroi wanted me to know. Adding insult to injury, she was helping Maddie and Seth with the wedding. The three of them were out cake shopping, and honestly, I was almost more surprised to find Seth there than I was Simone in her disguise. He'd pretty much kept away from the wedding planning as much as possible, using the pretense that he was no good at decisions and was happy to let Maddie run things the way she wanted. I didn't doubt the first part of what he said but wondered about the second. In my heart of hearts, the one that believed he was still in love with me, I secretly hoped he was passing it to Maddie just because he was indifferent to it all. I wanted to believe that he really didn't care about the planning because he didn't care about the wedding. It was clear, however, that I cared. Or rather – Simone cared. Considering my reluctance at dress shopping, you would have thought Maddie might notice the sudden increase in zeal. Nope. Maddie was too caught up in her own bubble of happiness and welcomed â€Å"my† assistance. So, the three of them set off on a cake adventure, visiting all the bakeries Maddie had compiled and ranked on a list pulled from hours of Internet research. â€Å"You want it creamy,† said Simone, licking icing off her fingers at a bakery in Belltown. Actually, it was more like sucking. â€Å"This is a little too sugary.† The threesome sat at a table where they had been provided with a plate of samples. â€Å"That's the point,† said Maddie. She was eating a bite-size piece of chocolate cake in a much less pornographic way. â€Å"Mega sugar rush.† â€Å"Yeah, but if you get too much sugar, it just tastes grainy. You want it to slide right over your lips.† She turned to Seth. â€Å"Don't you think so?† Seth had taken a bite out of a piece of marble cake. â€Å"It is kind of grainy.† Simone gave him a knowing smile, one that seemed to say, See? I know you better than anyone else in the world. Seth held her eyes for a moment, but his expression was unreadable. He turned toward Maddie. â€Å"But we can do whatever you want.† â€Å"No, no,† she said, not sounding too disappointed. â€Å"This is for both of us. I want it to be something you like too.† Seth gave her a mischievous smile. â€Å"Does it matter? It all gets shoved in the face anyway.† Maddie's eyes went wide. â€Å"No, it doesn't! Don't even think about doing that.† â€Å"Guess you won't know until the time comes, huh?† His smile had grown. Seeing him play with her made me (figuratively) squirm, but I took comfort in seeing a flash of annoyance in Simone's eyes. Maddie was succeeding where Simone couldn't. That was how it should be†¦or was it? Maddie's unwitting triumph over Simone meant she had†¦well, triumphed over me. Or had she? Simone looked like me but wasn't truly me. Damn. This was all so confusing. â€Å"Seth wouldn't do that,† said Simone, resting her hand on his shoulder in what was supposed to be a friendly way. Maddie couldn't see it from her vantage, but Simone's fingers lightly brushed the back of his neck. â€Å"Not if he wants a good honeymoon.† She spoke lightly, but there was a sly undertone there. Having her sex life brought up in public made Maddie blush. Seth had shifted uncomfortably, but the reason was unclear. Simone's fingers? The mention of sex? Maybe both. Simone removed her hand, seeming innocent to all the world, except Seth and me. Maddie seemed eager to change the subject from the romantic goings-on of a honeymoon. â€Å"I think you should at least pick the cake flavor,† she said. â€Å"I'm choosing so much else.† â€Å"I don't know,† said Seth. He still seemed uncomfortable. â€Å"I don't care if you do it.† â€Å"Yeah, but she wants you to,† said Simone. â€Å"Come on, make one firm decision here. You can't go wrong. Maddie'll eat anything you pick.† Loaded statement. Neither Seth nor Maddie acted as though they read anything into it, but I had a feeling Simone had intended it as a reference to Maddie's very buxom figure. â€Å"Exactly,† said Maddie. â€Å"What's your favorite flavor?† â€Å"I bet I can guess,† said Simone. â€Å"Chocolate.† â€Å"Strawberry,† said Maddie. Losers. It was vanilla. â€Å"Vanilla,† said Seth. Maddie groaned. â€Å"Naturally. Well, there's one decision made.† She rose from the table. â€Å"Let's try a few other places and get the rest of this taken care of. Not much left after this.† They reached the door, and Maddie stopped to glance at Simone. â€Å"Oh, hey. Will you do me a favor? Will you take Seth tux shopping?† â€Å"What?† asked Seth. No neutral face now. He was shocked. Maddie grinned. â€Å"If you don't have a keeper, you'll show up at the church in a Billy Idol T-shirt. And it's bad luck if I go with you.† â€Å"I thought that was just for the bride,† said Seth. â€Å"I want to be surprised,† Maddie countered. â€Å"Of course I'll go,† said Simone, putting her arm around Seth again in that â€Å"friendly† way. Maddie beamed, and the bakery faded away†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦transforming into Erik's store. Erik sat at a small table with Jerome and Roman, and – so help me – they were drinking tea. Even Jerome. Roman was visible, which made me think Jerome must have decided they no longer needed to fear the eyes of higher powers who might wonder why my â€Å"human† roommate kept tagging along with Seattle's archdemon. Erik was tapping his tea cup thoughtfully. â€Å"If your theory is right, it would explain a lot.† These words were directed at Roman. â€Å"The dream quality of the visions. Mr. Jerome's complete inability to find her.† Jerome's slightly arched eyebrow was the only indication of his displeasure over the word â€Å"inability.† Erik continued, eyes on his cup as he pondered it all. â€Å"And you're right†¦of all the creatures you suggested, Oneroi or Morphean demons make the most sense.† Oh! I thought in triumph to the Oneroi. How do you like that, bitches? My friends are on to you. No response came. No dissolving of the dream, as I would have expected. â€Å"But why her?† asked Roman irritably. I had a feeling he'd taken credit for the dream idea, shielding Dante from Jerome's wrath. â€Å"Why a succubus? Don't they only care about human dreams?† â€Å"They're tied to Nyx,† pointed out Erik. Oh, yes. My friends were smart. Smarter than Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys put together. Maybe even Matlock too. â€Å"The ‘why' is irrelevant,† said Jerome, speaking at last. â€Å"Whether it's Oneroi or Morpheans is also irrelevant. If something's taken her to the world of dreams, she's completely inaccessible.† Roman frowned. â€Å"Why? Can't you just go in there and pull her out now that you know?† Jerome gave his son a smile that almost, almost seemed genuinely amused. â€Å"You're half-human, and it shows. Greater immortals can't go there. We don't dream. Only humans do. The way is barred to us.† â€Å"Because you have no hopes or imaginings of what might be,† said Erik. His manner and tone clearly indicated he believed such a thing to be a failing for angels and demons. â€Å"You need a soul to dream.† â€Å"Well, if I'm half-human, then I'll go there,† said Roman obstinately, cutting off any retort Jerome might have given. â€Å"I dream. So I can enter, right? And I can take on whatever's there.† There was so much determination in his voice that I half believed he could take on an army of Oneroi right now. â€Å"You have no idea what you're talking about,† said Jerome. â€Å"Clearly. Do you have any idea what the dream world is like?† â€Å"Do you?† asked Roman dryly. â€Å"I thought you couldn't go there.† â€Å"Dreams are what fuel human existence. Dreams of power, love, revenge, redemption†¦the dreams of mankind are vast, uncountable. Humans dream both waking and asleep. Those hopes and fears are what put them at risk – they gamble their lives and souls on dreams. You go into the world of dreams, and it's like stepping into a blizzard. Every snowflake is some human imagining flitting by so quickly, you can't even see it. All you see is a blur, a tangle of longings and chaos. If Georgina is there, she is one of those snowflakes. You would never find her soul.† Heavy silence fell. Finally, Roman said, â€Å"That was like poetry, Dad.† â€Å"But he's correct,† Erik told Roman. More silence. Roman glanced between the two of them incredulously. â€Å"So that's it? It's hopeless? You're giving up without even trying to find her?† â€Å"Trying is hopeless,† said Jerome. Demons might not dream the way humans did, but I suspected even he could picture what his superiors would do when they found out he'd lost a succubus. â€Å"Human magic could access the world of dreams, but it'd do no good.† He glanced at Erik, who nodded. â€Å"Someone lost among all that couldn't be called back. Not even the strongest ritual could do it. Her soul would never hear anything we could muster.† Roman's face was a mixture of emotions. Anger. Disbelief. And†¦resignation. That didn't surprise me. Jerome's face did, however. He had stiffened at Erik's words, a spark of insight flashing in those cold, dark eyes. â€Å"But you could do the ritual, correct?† he asked Erik. â€Å"You're human. You're strong enough to open the way.† Erik eyed him warily. â€Å"Yes†¦but by your own admission, it would achieve nothing. The connection you had to her was theoretically strong enough to possibly summon her back, but you can't enter. All we'd have is a useless doorway.† Jerome stood up abruptly. He glanced at Roman. â€Å"Find your own way home.† The demon vanished with a showy poof of smoke. And I vanished back into the Oneroi's prison. They stood there in the dark, glowing from what they'd taken from me. In dreams, though I suffered, I never felt the horrific effects they caused until I returned from them. That was when the agony, energy loss, and confusion hit me. Yet, this time, I wasn't completely lost to despair. â€Å"You were wrong,† I said. I tried to put some smugness in my voice, but it came out hoarse from my exhaustion. Good God. I was so, so tired. I guess dreaming didn't necessarily mean sleeping. â€Å"My friends have figured it out. They know where I am.† As always, One and Two were nearly impossible to read. â€Å"What makes you think that was a true dream?† Excellent question. â€Å"Gut instinct,† I said. â€Å"You believe you can trust it?† asked One. â€Å"After all this time? After so many dreams? How can you tell what's real and unreal?† I couldn't. I knew when the memories were true – for now – but the â€Å"real world† scenes were harder. Maybe it wasn't my gut so much as my blind optimism that believed what I'd just seen was real. Two guessed my thoughts. â€Å"You hope. And we've fed that hope, making you think you have a chance. So you will wait. And wait. And wait.† â€Å"It was real,† I said firmly, as though that would make it so. â€Å"Even if it was,† said One, â€Å"it meant nothing. You saw for yourself. There is no way to bring you back.† â€Å"Maybe that was the lie,† I said. â€Å"Maybe the rest was true. You mixed it. They figured out where I was, but you didn't show me the part where they learned how to rescue me. They're going to do that ritual.† â€Å"They will fail. Nothing can pull your soul from here.† â€Å"You're wrong.† I didn't even really know what I was saying. My essence felt like it was tearing apart, and really, the only thing I knew to do was to keep contradicting them. â€Å"And you are naive. You always have been. Lesser immortals carry that weakness over from their human days, and you're one of the worst. Our mother nearly used your weakness to free herself from the angels. Now it will be your downfall.† â€Å"What do you mean Nyx almost used it?† The Oneroi exchanged glances – very, very pleased ones. â€Å"Your dream. Your fantasy,† explained Two. â€Å"The one she promised to show you if you freed her. You wanted so badly to believe it was possible, that you nearly gave in.† For a moment, I didn't see them or that perpetual blackness. I was in a dream of my own creation, not theirs. The dream Nyx had sent to me over and over had been one of my future, with a home and a child – and a man. A man I loved whose identity remained a mystery. Nyx had never shown me the ending. Never shown me the man in the dream. â€Å"You are so full of shit,† I said. â€Å"You claim Nyx shows the truth – the future. But how could that vision have been true if I'm also supposed to be locked here for all eternity? They can't both be true.† â€Å"The future is always changing,† said One. â€Å"That was true when she showed it to you. Your path shifted.† â€Å"Oh, come on! What's the point of having a vision of the future if it can change at any moment? That's not a truth or a lie. That's a guess. And I never believed her anyway. What she showed me was impossible – even if I wasn't here with you two assholes.† â€Å"You will never know if it was,† said Two. Then, he reconsidered. â€Å"Actually it was possible, but you will live with the knowledge that it's a future that's been taken from you.† â€Å"You can't take what I never had,† I growled. â€Å"Succubi can't have children. I could never have that kind of life.† What I didn't add was that one startling thing had come from the dream. In it, I'd had two cats. At the time, I'd only had one – Aubrey. Not long after, I'd found Godiva, who was the other cat in the dream. Coincidence? Or had I truly been on the path to that future, only to have it ripped from me now? As always, the Oneroi could see into my heart and knew what I was thinking. â€Å"Do you want to see?† asked One. â€Å"See what?† â€Å"The man,† said Two. â€Å"The man in the dream.†

The Impact of Social Media Marketing in Marketing Communication Opportunities: in Context of Dell

Table of Content No. | Content| Page Number| 1. | Table of Content| 1| 2. | Abstract| 2| 3. | Introduction| 3| 4. | Literature Review | 4| 5. | Dell Business Model| 7| 6| Impact of Social Media Marketing in Dell Current Communication Process| 8| 7. | Challenges of Social Media Marketing in the Marketing Environment | 11| 8. | Benefits of Social Media Marketing in the Marketing Environment| 13| 9. | Conclusion| 15| 10. | References| 16| 2. Abstract Social media marketing is no longer a foreign to business marketer nowadays. This paper will examine the impact of social media marketing on the marketing communication opportunities in context of Dell in the United States. Basically, this assignment will be begun with the introduction which generally explains about the emergence of social media. Next, several literature reviews will be provided to explain on the marketing communication process and how social media marketing impacted on the Dell current communication process. Then, several challenges and benefits of social media marketing will be illustrated at the end of this paper. Keywords: [social media marketing, marketing communication process, media vehicle, consumers, message] 3. Introduction Undeniably, revolution of socio-technological has significantly changed the ways and means of media consumption. From super-fast digitally empower laptops to mobile eBook readers. All of these aspects have affected how business (brands) and consumers communicate and thus influence the way of marketing communications will be functioning. One of the most significant evolutions when people talk about marketing tools or strategies is the emergence of social media marketing. Fundamentally, social media marketing is a way of connecting with consumers by means of the current technology (i. e. The Internet). As of now, there are more than 800 million active users in Facebook, over 3 billion videos are viewed per day and 100 million people use Twitter every single day. Having all social media channel available for consumers, this provides consumers with plenty of choices in products and services in the market. Alongside, social media marketing has impacted on businesses marketing communication opportunities. 4. Literature Review The emergence of new communication channels via the Internet has tremendously affect businesses way of marketing strategies (Owen and Humphrey, 2009). One of the most significant developments to the marketers is the effects from the Internet evolution from the generation of Web 2. 0 or social media as a media vehicle to deliver the message to the target market (Constantinides et al. 2008). Social media marketing in this context is the opportunities provided for business to communicate with the society, with the help of the organizations’ brand, thus resulting in building a positive connection and develop brand influence through the Internet as the medium of communication (Pandey, 2010). Murphy (2010) mentioned that a good marketing strategy occurs when organization or marketer using the right communication channels or media to send the right message and reac hing the right market. Therefore, it is vital for marketer to understand the communication process when using social media as the media vehicle in the marketing communication. Kotler (n. d. , p. 546) mentioned that there are several elements that involved in the communication process in order to determine effective communication. The major two parties in the communication are the sender (marketer) and receiver (market). Another major communication tool is the media vehicle or media channel which carries the message to the receiver. Alongside the communication parties and media vehicle, there are four major communication functions; encoding, decoding, response and feedback. Finally, the element of noise also interferes in the communication process. Dargiewicz (2010) suggested that in order to communicate in an effective way, the sender must have an understanding of the point of the message, who are the target audience to be reached and how the audience will interpret and respond to the message. Schramm’s model of communication points out that the sender’s ncoding process must be coherent with the target audiences’ decoding process, whereby, the more marketer field of experience overlaps with the target markets’ field of experience, the higher is the effectiveness of process of communication (Dargiewicz, 2010; Holm, 2006). The matches of both parties’ experiences are called the Shared Frame of Reference. Figure 1: Willbur Schramm model Source: Dargiewicsz, K. (2010) Monologue vs Dialogue: How Innovative Social Media Technology Developing Effective Marketing Communication Strategies [online]. Available at http://www. slideshare. et/guywithideas/social-media-dissertation [Accessed 15th December 2011] The high level of trust associated with social media as the media vehicle makes social media is highly acceptable among the target audiences compared to traditional media vehicle such as televisions, newspapers, billboard and etc. (Inklingmedia, n. d. ). Mohr and Nevin (1990), bring up that, the absent of trust may distort the message that is being sent. According to DesignDamage (n. d. ), social media fosters a highly transactional model of communication which it allows two-way communication through the feedback mechanism that traditional media not able to offer. Traditional media vehicles were also argued to be a merely one-way process communication, whereby, the message is not clearly communicated or received by the target audience in most of the time (Dargiewicz, 2010). The Shared Frame of Reference suggested by Willbur Schramm model is integrated with social media because it offers consumers to share their experience in the communication process. Calder and Malthouse (2005) supports that everything that influence the customer’s experience is a potential marketing vehicle. Therefore, in order to illustrate the theory of social media marketing in context of organization, this paper will look at the impact of social media marketing in Dell Corporation in the United States. 5. Dell Business Model The founder of Dell Computer Incorporation is Michael Dell in 1984. Dell’s primary products are personal and office computers and business of Dell also engages in other products such as printers and software. A feature that determines PC companies such as Dell to manage their products is through standardization of PCs. The main benefit of standardization is that it helps Dell to reduce the cost of productions. However, when Dell adopted standardization strategy, it made Dell more generic with other PCs companies such as IBM, Compact and Hewlett-Packard since most of PCs companies had access to the same suppliers such as Intel and Microsoft. Therefore, Dell started a new direct business model based on customization approach that enables computers or laptops to be produced according to customers’ requirements in order to be more competitive. However, standardization approached has still remained in Dell’s business model. The customization approach varies its products from customer to another customer without changing the brand name. Having customization strategy in Dell business model, Dell has to eliminate third party as the middle-man and sell its products directly to the final customer, whether the commercial customers or private users. Such business model allows Dell to reach more clients and business units and cut cost with simplify supply chain. Unfortunately, Dell is facing even a bigger issue to balance out the standardization and customization approach as there is no one perfect method. According to The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (n. d. ), customer is the key economic driver to what Dell is doing. Therefore, Dell extended its approach to engage with their customers through the social media marketing to market their brand and communicate with their customers. 6. Impact of Social Media Marketing on Current Dell Communication Process Many companies including Dell, have realized that social media is a new platform for communication. Dell’s key policy is always being a direct and effective in terms of its communications. Dell and digital communication through the internet was never separated since it started to conduct e-commerce business which selling its customized products directly to the customer. Since Dell engaging the blogosphere in 2006, social media marketing has always been its core communication and marketing strategies. According to Dave (2011), social media efforts at Dell helps to sustain the business objectives such as aim to reduce cost, increase revenue and enhance customers’ satisfaction. According to Blythe (2000), the first key of effective communication is to identify the target audience. Social media marketing provide opportunities for dell to separate their target audiences according to social media channel. For example, Dell Community has a mixture of blogs that reflects several key channels. This includes discussion on education to business consultation. Different range of blogs that provided by Dell ensures that information and discussion would be used to cater several specification of audiences. In a same way, Dell has different kinds of Twitter channels to reflect different purposes. Correspond to Dell Cares, it provides assistance to the customer on any matter related to the Dell’s products. This portrays how Dell has separated its branding strategy and how various Twitter accounts perceived differently by the audiences. Therefore, Dell will be able to encode the right message such marketing campaign, to the specific target audience through the right social media channel. There are many other brands out there in the market today compared to in the past. Dargiewicz (2010) points out that all are trying to communicate a large number of messages to their target audience daily, which interfering the target audience to get the right message across. Thus, social media has changed the communication landscape in providing opportunities for Dell to have a two-way communication with its customers. A good communication is the role of the encoders’ and decoder’s skill and its portrayed by the medium which the encoded message is delivered. Realized the effectiveness of social media as the medium of communication, Direct2Dell was launched by Dell, its very own corporate blog through Twitter. Its social media efforts have provided a two-way asymmetric communications, whereby, target audiences able to provide feedback content such as ratings and reviews with regards to the issues of Dell’s products. Moreover, the feedback provided by the customer is in real-time, whereby, the feedback is come directly from customers and Dell able to value their products. For instance, product that has five-stars rating should stay and two-star ratings should be removed. According to Pickton and Broderick (2001, p. 182), feedback will improve the accuracy of the communication to ensure that message has been correctly received and understood, which is one of the reasons why social media is a powerful communication vehicle in Dell communication process. Plus, the CEO of Dell Computer, emphasized that company must be able to listen and connect with its customers and emergence of social media has provided Dell the opportunity to engage with its customers (Farrelly, 2009). Given the feedback mechanism that social media can offer, Dell’s has taken a major step to establish a â€Å"Social Media Listening Command Center† in order to stay connected with its customers. Channey (2009) points out that listening are no longer an option but rather a new marketing. Listening is crucial in the communication process because it allows Dell to understand what customers want and how customers perceive the brand. Not only did social media marketing allow Dell to understand their customers, , Dell are able to discover about a massive amount of issues that consumers were having with their products through their blog monitoring platform. The system could track each of these and would instantly recognize trends between products, geographic areas, or specific communications with Dell. For instance, Dell proactively approach consumers in the blogosphere and in online community about battery recall, thus allow better response and rectify customer’s problem as quickly as possible. Plus, customers were also able to check whether their battery part of the recall. Furthermore, social media marketing has fostered high Shared Frame of Reference between the sender (marketer) and the receiver (audience) that influence effective communication. Dell has created online designed studio that gives the ability for its customers to change the design of their laptops by choosing a custom switchable lid themselves. Online designed studio has given Dell’s customers the opportunities to virtually experience the outcome of their customization laptop, thus, encourage Shared Frame of Reference between Dell and its customers. In addition, not only did social media marketing fostered high Shared Frame of Reference between the marketer and the audience but also among Dell customers. Dell has launched online community for its existing and potential customers to communicate and exchange information. According to Bazaarvoice (n. d. ), 90 percent of consumers online belief the recommendations from people they know and 70 percent belief the opinions of unknown users because people tend to trust and often seek the advice from another person or group of people over brands. This characteristic enables consumer to gather as much information about Dell’s related products and services before making purchase decision. Shaw et al. (2000, p. 152) added that a positive feedback can turn into a good promotion the brand of the product. This is why social media perceived to have a higher level of trust and it is more acceptable compared to other media. 7. Challenges of Social Media Marketing in the Marketing Environment Social media marketing has certainly influence the communication process of Dell with its consumer. However, there are several challenges that social media is facing in the marketing environment. Social media allows thousands of conversation streams to be addressed per day. Merely representing a team of marketers will not be able to handle such a great amount of conversation. Definitely, the number of marketers is not sufficient and it is more likely that these marketers are not equipped with comprehensively subject matter expertise that required them to communicate and respond at the proper level of reliable conversation. The consequence of ignoring this can be overwhelming. The risks of involving untrained employees to represents on behalf of Dell could jeopardize Dell reputation. Once Dell encouraged its employees to be active on blogs, Dell is exposed to the risk of staff members writing negatively and revealing confidential information about the organization. For example, in 2007, a former employee of Dell had posted a list of tips in a blog for customers who are searching for Dell products (Farrelly, 2009). The employee had no issues with Dell and just wanted to share information for customers such as the best time to purchase and how to get the greatest deal. Therefore, it is essential for Dell to have proper employees that have the ability to monitor and respond to its consumers’ thought. Additionally, due to high transparency in social media, competitors may know the strategies of Dell and consumers are more well-informed about Dell products and pricing strategy. Essentially, the engaging process with customers has always been in charged by the Dell marketing department. However, the trend has changed since the emergence of social media. The consumers are now communicating about the organization’s product with other online users who are not the employees. In fact, 66 percent of brand opinions are generated by customers and 34 percent are by blogger (Dave, 2011). The growing popularity of online communities has allow consumers to exchange information and able to compare with competitors’ prices without any barriers. This means Dell have lost their ability to control over on how and where their products and services are being presented to existing and potential customers. Moreover, any disappointed Dell customer able to share their negative judgment on particular products. The bad feedback posted on Twitter or Facebook can easily go viral as good news. For instance, in 2005, Jeff Jarvis, blogger and famous journalist and professor created a personal blog known as Dell Hell. Jeff had a problem with his Dell computer and frustrated with Dell customer service. Therefore, he expressed his frustration with Dell’s products and customer support on the blog. Dell Hell served as a place for other consumers to express their frustration on Dell. As for Dell, the situation has attracted the attention of other media from The New York Times, Business Week, The Houston Chronicle and many others, thus, reputation of Dell as the well-known brand for PCs was at disaster. Moreover, the social media habit or consumption of the young audience may differ compared to the previous generation. It has been a challenge for the marketers to develop marketing communication strategies in order to sync with this modern language to make sure that the transmitted brand messages are received and properly encoded across different age group. The young audiences who are called â€Å"digital natives† were raised up in the modern technological era. They have been adapted to the development and respond to information in a different way with their predecessors. Different to the young audience, the previous generations are known as â€Å"digital immigrants† because they are exposed with modern technologies only in the later stage compared to the young audience. They have different ways of understanding the language of social media. Therefore, this will be probably a challenge for businesses including Dell to strategize how to get the message across different age group through social media marketing. 8. Benefits of Social Media Marketing Although social media marketing have its disadvantages, it has also brought several values in the marketing environment. Firstly, due to the fact that social media has no barrier for communication; it has encouraged companies like Dell to allow customer participation in their marketing strategies. For example, Dell has created Dell’s IdeaStorm, one of the online Community blogs to encourage conversation with its existing and potential consumers. The benefit that the IdeaStorm is able to give is it allows crowdsourcing from the consumers. This is an effective way for Dell to obtain ideas for their company and more importantly, it provides a sense of belonging from onsumers because their opinion influences the internal decision making, thus increase their loyalty, brand awareness and reaffirm their positioning. Plus, not only social media provide suggestion to Dell, it also help other fellow customers to fix their problem. The process are similar to other social media, whereby, people join the community, recommend their opinions or ideas and then, Dell will respond to the most popular ideas accord ing to the number of votes. In addition, it also provides a free market research for Dell. This is a benefit for Dell because most of surveys conducted are deemed to be ineffective because it only focus on certain groups and also incur higher cost. Finally, social media marketing has also assist Dell in their pricing strategy. Since the consumers are more active in social media, Dell able to get their opinion and forecast the demand and price of their products. Plus, Dell product customization business model through the social media marketing can reduce their sales cycle. Different from short sales cycle, long sales cycles requires people at several stages of the buying process. Ironically, when salespeople are spending their time engaging new businesses and relationship to ensure that customers receive satisfactory answers, he or she is rather unproductive because company only creates money if customers are actually buying the products. This leading up to opportunity cost because the salesperson is not making any deals. Therefore, Dell able to reduce the marketing cost through social media marketing. 9. Conclusion In conclusion, Dell has continuously evaluated its business model to search for rooms of improvement and ways to enhance their customer service. Social media marketing has certainly influenced Dell in their marketing communication process and widened their reach to its existing and potential customers. In the early years of Dell in the blogosphere, Dell has effectively incorporated social media into its marketing and communications strategy and had been awarded for its efforts. Despite of the effort to integrate social media marketing into the business, social media marketing has its drawbacks. Dell cannot afford to put their brand reputation at risk and thus, must find ways to overcome the challenges. Today, Dell US is one f the top companies that is being respected and known as the citizen of the social media. Hence, Dell had applied this new establish knowledge to really change the culture and advance the marketing strategy while constantly being focus and direct with its customers. (3078 words) References 1. Bazaarvoice (n. d. ) Social Commerce Statistics [online]. Available at http://www. bazaarvoice. com/resources/stats [Accessed 16th December 2011] 2. Blythe, J. (2000) The Communication mix. In: Marketing Communications. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited 3. Calder, B. J. and Edward C. M. 2005) Managing Media and Advertising Change with Integrated Marketing, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol 45(4), pp. 356-361 [online]. Available at http://web. ebscohost. com/ehost/detail? sid=fe58d1b1-1a35-4d30-a99d-d1943e084662%40sessionmgr111&vid=1&hid=111&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=buh&AN=20486625 [Accessed at 12th December 2011] 4. Channey, P. (2009) Social Media: Listening is the New Marketing [online]. Available at http://www. practicalecommerce. com/articles/976-Social-Media-Listening-is-the-New-Marketing [Accessed 15th December 2011] 5. Constantinides, E. et al. 2008) Social Media: A New Frontier for Retailer?. European Retail Research, Vol 22, pp. 1-28 [online]. Available at http://www. utwente. nl/mb/nikos/publications/ecpapers/constantinidessocialmedia. pdf [Accessed 14th December 2011] 6 . Dargiewicsz, K. (2010) Monologue vs Dialogue: How Innovative Social Media Technology Developing Effective Marketing Communication Strategies [online]. Available at http://www. slideshare. net/guywithideas/social-media-dissertation [Accessed 15th December 2011] 7. Dave, R. (2011) How to Engage in Social Media: A Dell Perspective [online]. Available at http://i. dell. om/sites/content/business/solutions/power/en/Documents/ps1q11-20110266-socialmedia. pdf [Accessed at 15th December 2011] 8. DesignDamage (n. d. ) The Secret to Social Media Communication [Online]. Available at http://www. designdamage. com/the-secret-to-social-media-communication-success/ [Accessed 12th December 2011] 9. Farelly, J. M. (2009) Digital Communication at Dell. Dartmouth College [Online]. Available at http://www. tuck. dartmouth. edu/cds-uploads/case-studies/pdf/6-0032. pdf [Accessed 10th December 2011] 10. Holm, O. (2006) Communication Processes in Critical Systems: Dialogue Concerning Communications. Journal of Marketing Practices: Applied Marketing Science, Vol 24(5), pp. 493-504 [online]. Available at http://www. emeraldinsight. com/journals. htm? articleid=1567118&show=abstract [Accessed 16th December 2011] 11. InklingMedia (n. d. ) Social Media vs Traditional Media [Online]. Available at http://inklingmedia. net/social-media/social-media-vs-traditional-media/ [Accessed 13th December 2011] 12. Kotler, P. (n. d. ) Integrated Marketing Communication Strategy , pp. 536-572 [Online]. Available at http://www. pearsoned. ca/highered/divisions/virtual_tours/kotler/kotler_ch13. pdf [Accessed 13th December 2011] 3. Mohr, J and Nevin, J. R. (1990) Communication Strategies in Marketing Channels: Theoretical Perspective. The Journal of Marketing, Vol. 54 (4), pp. 36-51 [online]. Available at http://www. jstor. org/stable/1251758? seq=1 [Accessed 15th December 2011] 14. Murphy, D. (2010) Traditional vs. New Media Channels [Online]. Available at http://masterful-marketing. com/marketing-cha nnel-strategy/ [ Accessed 12th December 2011] 15. Owen, R. and Humphrey, P. (2009) The Structure of Online Marketing Communication Channels. Journal of Management and Marketing Research, Vol 2, pp. 1-10 [online]. Available at http://www. abri. com/manuscripts/09135. pdf [ Accessed 13th December 2011] 16. Pandey, S. (n. d. ) Social Media Marketing and New Age Communication [Online]. Available at http://www. slideshare. net/sycamore/cfakepathsocial-mediacommimi [ Accessed 12th December 2011] 17. Pickton, D. and Broderick, A. (2001) Integrated Marketing Communications. Prentice Hall: Pearson Education. 18. Shaw, M. et al. (2000) Handbook on Electronic Commerce. Germany: Springer 19. The Institute of Planning and Management (n. d. ) Dell [online]. Available at http://www. docstoc. com/docs/6458876/Dell-Distribution-Mgmt [Accessed 11th December 2011]

Developing New Perspectives by Comparing and Contrasting: Tell Tale Heart Versus The Landlady

â€Å" Just a Journey leads to a new vista, a short story leads to new understanding† In your own opinion how well do â€Å" Tell Tale Heart â€Å" and â€Å" The Landlady â€Å" justify the above quotation Reading a story, we can learn the cruel reality of the real world. Since this is a fallen world, it is not realistic to live inside our own shell. It is important for us to be aware of the fact and take precautions even though some stories are fictions and seem to be exaggerated. However, from the fact that writers can create those stories suggests the possibilities of those crimes to be committed. Just a Journey leads to a new vista, a short story leads to new understanding† Through â€Å" The Tell-Tale Heart â€Å" and â€Å" The Land lady ,â€Å" we as readers have the privileges to explore the minds of these two great writers and have new understandings in the fields we were not familiar with. The authors of both stories had done a great job terrifying rea ders by the tension and suspense they built. The genre of these two stories is horror and mystery which contains the element of murder. â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† was written in first person narrative which makes the story more vivid and readers are more involved in the process.Poe used the form of confession to explain details so that readers would feel as if they were at the crime scene. The narrator claimed that he was just nervous but not mad. He told the story in a way which he thought could defend his sanity yet he confessed to killing the old man. The advantage of telling a story from the first person point of view is that readers can know author’s thoughts and feelings explicitly. However, this also means reader are left with limited imagination for the story. In the aspect of writing style, the author likes to use short sentences, such as â€Å"They heard! they suspected! † to make the story fast paced and build suspense. The short sentences also make t he main character seem irrational. The Land Lady was written from a third person view which is different from Poe’s. The story started with Weaver trying to find a place to stay overnight. Attracted by an incredibly cheap price, he walked into a â€Å"Bed and Breakfast. † To me, this is such an ironic coincidence that the ending might be Weaver becoming the landlady’s breakfast in a place which is called â€Å" Bed and Breakfast. Both Poe and Dahl used darkness to create suspense for murder, however, the darkness in The Landlady is in a cosy, warm place. Dahl set up the mood using similes. â€Å"But the air was deadly cold and the wind was like a flat blade of ice on his cheeks†. Those bolded words suggest a murder. As for narrative form, readers learn Billy Weaver through his thoughts and questions. Moreover, his questions and observations are also the clues for speculating what would happen next and the possible murder. As readers, we are given informa tion Weaver does not know in the story to foresee the upcoming danger.The Landlady was written in plain words and longer sentences rather than complicated words and shorter sentences. In the beginning, the plot seems to be as normal as ordinary stories. As the story develops, readers are brought into the atmosphere of darkness and horror. Since this story was told from third person point of view, readers are left with more room to imagine their own ending. In conclusion,† Tell Tale Heart â€Å" and â€Å" The Landlady â€Å" justify the quotation â€Å" Just a Journey leads to a new vista, a short story leads to new understanding. It is human nature for us to plan tomorrows as if we were in charge of our own lives. However, from these two stories, the beginnings of the stories are very different from the endings. The narrator in â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† claimed he was sane but it turned out that he revealed the murder he committed by losing control. In the â€Å" Landlady,† the plot led us to an unexpected potential murder which no hints were given in the beginning. Life is full of surprises. We should always be open-minded for changes.

Strategic Partner Discussion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Strategic Partner Discussion - Assignment Example Consequently, there is no need for HR professionals in table Second, the HR professionals do not have the feel or business acumen to contribute to increasing company profits. HR professionals often do not have the accounting, economics knowledge. The same professionals are not adept at business management theories. Similarly, the HR professionals may not have the capacity to assume and manage business risks (Wallace, 1982). Implementation of policies. HR professionals can help employees implement company policy, without wasteful overstaffing. The HR professional can recommend more effective interviewing, hiring, training, promotion, and termination, matching skills to fill vacancies, retention and pay issues. The HR professional contributes to the improvement of the employees’ current job outputs and consistency with internal environment factors. For example, the office clerk who is slow typist can improve work output with the HR professional’s help. The HR professional will engage the employee in timing speed seminars and other trainings. The employees will enthusiastically enroll in the HR professionals’ program to increase their data encoding or typing speed (French, 1982). Change leaders. The HR professionals help employees embrace company changes. It is normal for company to institute changes in company policies and procedures. Changes include product and services changes. Customers often change product and service choices. The company must supply the new products and services. For example, the demand for the old fashioned typewriter was replaced with the later demand for computers (French, 1982). The HR professionals will contribute to reduce resistance to change. The HR professionals will use seminars to equip the employees with the necessary capabilities for successful change. HR professionals will

Knowledge Management ACADEMIC REPORT Coursework

Knowledge Management ACADEMIC REPORT - Coursework Example The following report is a critical analysis of the A&E knowledge management (KM) strategies. The report also reveals how different organizational factors in the department affect the hospitals strategies of managing knowledge. St Mary Hospital aims to provide specialized patient-centered care to all its clients. The hospital personnel strives to optimize the experience of the patient by facilitating the provision of innovative health care. The staffs of the hospital takes part in training and research and use the evidence they gather to offer quality care. Every other day, experts in the medical field, discover new methods of managing patients. Researchers need to disseminate the knowledge to the people on the ground to increase its usefulness. In St Mary Hospital, the management of the hospital provides enough resources for training and updating the A&E nurses. However, there are no changes in patient outcomes, and mortality rates are still high. One of the objectives of the organization is to improve clinical outcomes of patients. Hence, a critical appraisal of the organizational factors breaking the chain of KM is necessary for the survival of the hospital. In today’s world, ineffective use of knowledge in an organization could be detrimental to its performance. Knowledge is crucial to the survival and success of every hospital, firm, company, and project (Hislop, 2013). There are new health care providers, enterprises, hospitals, entrepreneurs and service providers flooding the market every minute of every day. Therefore, every firm desires to gain competitive advantage over the others to secure and a place in the global market. The purpose of managing knowledge in the company is to maximize its learning related effectiveness (Greiner, et al., 2007). Likewise, in medical centres, knowledge is of utmost importance. Today’s disease patterns are unique and becoming

Developmental Psychology Unit 6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Developmental Psychology Unit 6 - Essay Example ocial temperament can make an individual abusive without his even being aware of it, because he is not in touch with what is considered socially acceptable behaviour. There are also factors that influence partners of abusers to remain in the abusive relationship. They may have psychological issues, such as an extreme need for love and affection and low self-esteem. An important factor is cultural orientation. South American, Asian and Arab nationals would tend to be more positively regarded if they remained with their abusive husbands, admired as being more patient and forbearing. On the other hand, European nationals would leave immediately. The most important step society should take is to increase awareness of the problem through education and information dissemination. For those already in abusive relationships, shelters and support services should be provided, because there may be psychological or physical barriers to her leaving her partner. Free legal help must also be provided such women. Generally, the subject had a happy childhood with family, friends and peers. There were some times, however, when he felt depressed because he perceived his parents favored his younger siblings over him. He was an only child until about four years old, and though he welcomed the arrival of a brother and sister, when he was about 8 years old he felt that his parents made him do more of the house chores than his siblings. Of course, his brother and sister was only about four or five then, but that did not occur to him at the time, and he disliked having to be made to baby sit them because he could not go out to play. But he felt he should not disappoint his parents, so he just felt oppressed. However, when his parents did give him attention and conversed with him about the world of work and how responsibility and rights go together, the oppressive feeling would go away and eventually, he was able to adjust to the greater responsibilities of a big brother. Of the

Are reason and emotion equally necessary in justifying moral decisions Essay

Are reason and emotion equally necessary in justifying moral decisions Theory of Knowledge - Essay Example 2006). The fact about reason and emotion being the same, there have been various questions involving the nature of the two concepts, one pertinent being "are reason and emotion equally necessary in justifying moral decisions" Only a meticulously analyzed study and discussion of the question may find an exact answer to this. Therefore, the most focal thrust of this discussion has been the question in the backdrop of the issues of abortion and ethnic cleansing. Abortion which is "the removal of a fetus from the body of its host (a pregnant woman) which typically results in the death of the fetus" (What is abortion 2004) and ethnic cleansing, "the attempt to create ethnically homogeneous geographic areas through the deportation or forcible displacement of persons belonging to particular ethnic groups," (Ethnic Cleansing. 2008) are the most obvious present issues which magnetize our rational and emotional deliberation of the issues in arriving at moral decisions. Consequently, in this discussion, we try to find out the magnitude of both the philosophical concepts in our moral decisions. "Everything human is part emotion and part reason All domains of knowledge lie somewhere between these two end points; with music being the end of the line at emotion and mathematics being at the end of the line at reason" (Human Essence is Pattern! 2006). A comprehensive analysis of the issues of abortion and ethnic cleansing clarifies why emotion gives you musical effect and reason mathematical. On the one hand, these issues are to be looked at and comprehended on the basis of emotion so as to side with the suffering, the affected, and the neglected. It is necessary to see things in this direction so that the moral considerations are given due attention. When we discuss the consequences of abortion and ethnic cleansing, we need to identify the moral factors that make the people miserable and victimized. In this sense, emotion has a wider relevance and scope in moral issues concerning humanity. As the Bhagavad Gita establishes, it "has the advantage of being open to all, the weak and the lowly, the illiterate and the scholar. It is seen to be as efficacious as any other method and is sometimes said to be stronger than the others, since it is its own fruition, while other methods are means to some other ends" (Diploma Program, Theory of knowledge Guide. 2008). However, on the other hand, moral decisions cannot always be arrived at by considering emotion alone as it would be a thoughtful activity. The basic characteristic of human beings, as may be by far identified, is that they are rational beings and therefore we need to use our reason as well as emotion in taking moral conclusions. "David Hume wrote that reason is a "slave to the emotions." But new research suggests that in our moral decision-making, reason and emotion duke it out within the mind" (Shea 2006). For a better understanding of the concepts, let us consider the issues of abortion and ethnic clearance and analyze the role of emotion and reason in arriving at the right moral conclusions. First we will examine the role of emotion and reason in making a moral decision on the significant and often discussed issue of abortion. Abortion is a topic of common discussions and most

Chinas Speedy Development in the Past Three Decades Essay

Chinas Speedy Development in the Past Three Decades - Essay Example Domestic policies have seen China’s economic development rise and continue to grow, even as other large world economies experience negative or stagnant growth. These policies opened up China to foreign trade and investment leading to a fast-growing economy in the recent decades; moreover, the domestic policies supported industrialization and structural change stimulates growth. They aim at developing strong and sustained investments that are driven at the very low levels, thus empowering the poor and uplifting their financial status (United Nations, 2012 p. 39). Effective management and proper implementation of the laid down policy frameworks have lead achievement of substantial strides in the developing China’s economy. The formulation of domestic policies established reforms in various sectors of the economy such as agriculture, industry, trade and foreign investment, which has also seen economic growth and human development. Reforms in the agricultural sector alleviated extreme poverty and food shortages; food prices also fell as the agricultural income was on the rise. In the industrial sector, there was large-scale privatization of enterprises owned previously owned by the local government. This encouraged growth of the private sector, and increased their output and increased the revenue to the economy. Initially, China’s economy centrally controlled, vastly inefficient and isolated from the global economy but with reforms to policies on trade and foreign investments, the economy improved to achieve a steady growth rate each year (Sahoo et al, 2010 p. 3).

Buddhism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Buddhism - Research Paper Example This essay explores the Buddhism. The highlighting point was not to pray but to have control on one's mind. In this regard, it was more regarded as world philosophy rather than as religion. But with passing time, it obtained the character of a religion inclusive of rituals and dogmas. (Keown, p. 23 ) The life history of Gautama Buddha was full of events. The most effective institution that Lord Buddha recognized during his life span was the monastic order called Sangha into which all men were permitted to go in irrespective of their social order. The members of this monastic order, Sangha, were called as Bhikkus which meant beggars, who had to have a very tough life, without having any kind of desires. The daily needs of the Bhikkus were very limited, they get only that much which is necessary for one to survive physically. Their only belongings were an entreating bowl, loin cloth of yellow color, one walking stick, when and wherever if necessary and one pair of beach sandals for the ones who need the most. They had to maintain themselves by the alms they received but were prohibited from explicitly pleading for alms. If the alms were given willingly then they need to get accepted and if not given willingly the Bhikkus need to shift their focus onto the next address. Thus it turn ed out to be a little clergy, but which was nothing like its Hindu matching part which was not based upon social group and was tilted towards the activities of the missionary rather than focusing on the presentation and maintenance of rituals. (Smith and Novak, pp. 40-45; Keown, pp. 23 ) During the lifetime of Lord Buddha, the beginning of Buddhism from other types of devotion which made up Hinduism was more or less complete. This took the outline of non-acknowledgment of any embodied Gods or Goddesses, spirits or evil spirits and the near lack of rites and rituals, denial of the class system and the powerful disciple act of monks which consisted representation of societal service with the aim of mitigation of human pain. Another noteworthy feature was that in initial stages, all supporters of Lord Buddha were enrolled as the members of Sangha and therefore it was entirely a religion of the disciples. (Smith and Novak, pp. 40-45; Keown, pp. 25-30 ) From its beginning, Buddhism has a cknowledged royal benefaction. In the entire lifetime of Lord Buddha, Ajatashatru was the ruler of one of the most powerful kingdom of North India called Magadha where Buddhism was patronized and after few years where Lord Buddha attained Nirvana (the Salvation), the foremost religious committee of Buddhists was being held at Rajagriha, which was, at that point, the capital of Magadha, ruled by Ajatashatru. Such councils were the point to formulate and revise Buddhist religious policy which was

On the Meaning of Life - John Cottingham Essay Example for Free

On the Meaning of Life John Cottingham Essay What is our relationship with the universe – who are we and how did we come to be seems to be the ultimate question of the meaning of life. This question has always sparked powerful debates between the views of the religious and modern science. Many believe this topic is a one-sided issue where these views cannot co-exist with one another, either one’s a theist, believing in God as the soul creator and ruler of the universe or an atheist, disbelieving of a supreme being or beings. But in actuality, modern science does not count against the nature of a divine creator behind the universe. So as modern science offers an account of how things happened, religious beliefs account for a certain aspect of â€Å"why,† aiming towards finding significance and value. In On The Meaning of Life, John Cottingham argues in order to have meaning, you must not eliminate one theory from the other; modern science and religion must co-exist together. First, what’s the meaning of modern science, and why does it contribute to the meaning of life? Philosopher Rene Descartes believed in mechanism, a theory holding that organisms are machines in the sense that they are material systems, therefore explains biological processes, within the framework of science. In order to discover a fundamental set of principles that is â€Å"based ultimately on the universal laws of mathematical physics that governed the behavior of all natural phenomena, celestial and terrestrial alike,† (6) Descartes banish teleology (any system attempting to explain a series of events in terms of ends, goals, or purposes) from science. He believed in order to conceive this unified theory there was no room for purposiveness, and since this universal law was made of mathematical physics, â€Å"there was no attainable answer to the question why† (6). But Cottingham thinks if we were to achieve and complete a [super-theory linking gravity and quantum physics] together to answer the ultimate question, we still would [fall short of explaining why there should be a universe at all]. Cottingham’s belief is acceptable because if this super-theory was completed, that included all observable phenomena in the universe, this theory still would not answer the question to â€Å"why is it so. † This is where science has reached its limits. Religion takes off of where science can no longer be held accountable to the meaning of life. Why should there be a universe there to explain? Unlike the language of science, religious language â€Å"grapples with the task of addressing what cannot be fully captured by even the most complete scientific account of the phenomenal world† (8). Instead of finding significance in terms of physical quantities and mechanical interactions, religious language reflects on the universes power, beauty, rhythm, and harmony. Therefore, religious discourse pushes the limits of the observable, towards uncovering something beyond the phenomenal world, in hopes of giving meaning to the universe and to our human lives. Cottingham believes religion â€Å"adds a framework within which that nature is revealed as more than just a set of characteristics†¦ encourages us with the hope that the pursuit of virtue†¦ contributes to the establishment of moral order that the cosmos was created to realize† (72). In other words, the religious perspective offers a possibility for human purposeness by providing a powerful focus on moral goodness. Religious discourse is important because since science accounts for how the universe and humans were made. We feel that we are thrown into this world where nothing ultimately matters, but religion offers hope, value and significance towards life. After examining the different aspects modern science and religion brings to the ultimate question, Cottingham urges to combine the language of science and religion together in order to have meaning. Cottingham states â€Å"in strict logic there is nothing to prevent such a purely mechanical system (of efficient causality) coexisting with a purposive system (of final causality)† (48). Therefore we must not eliminate the possibility of the two systems (modern science and religion) existing together. Philosopher Leibniz’s envisioned a world of spiritual purposes functioning in harmony with the world of physical mechanisms. This is also known as blind mechanical systems, â€Å"whose outputs, at the same time, constitute the purpose planning and doings of conscious agents† (48). Believing mechanisms and purposes could together provide an instance in support of the ultimate question of the universe. In addition, Spinoza had a parallel vision to Leibniz. He believed the universe of physical mechanisms (under the attribute of extension) exactly corresponds to spiritual ideas linking meaning and purpose to a willed creator (under the attribute of thought). Thus, we are dealing with [one and the same thing but expressed in two ways]. This showed Cottingham that since there has been no evidence to favor modern science of being the explanation of a divine nature, it does not logically eliminate the possibility of a divine creator of its meaning. So where science accounts for our human nature and origin, saying we have no ultimate significance, spirituality offers human life a sense of value. Darwin’s theory of natural selection opposes the possibility of linking modern science and religion together in one system. In order to get a sense of what threatens the framework of religion, this is the standard account of our human nature and origin: About fourteen billion years ago, the cosmos†¦including matter, radiation, space and time somehow began, exploding from a tiny concentration of matter-space energy†¦gravitational effects caused matter to clump into hydrogen masses†¦fusing into helium. Explosions caused new heavier elements, which formed into plants. On at least one planet, a self-replicating molecule arose†¦evolved into living organisms, which diversified into all kinds of plants, animals, microbes etc. , all solely as a result of natural selection. After millions of years one such species became intelligent. Man is a product of these blind forces. The main conclusion from this theory is that the universe and everything in it is a result of natural selection, including humans therefore Nottingham presumes â€Å"there is no ultimate significance to the universe or to human life,† (42) throwing out the idea of any religious significance. Darwin believed that human origin came from a purely accidental chain of blind natural forces. His view gave no choice or purposiveness in the divine nature, because everything was an entirely impersonal process. But Cottingham argues although this discovery has been scientifically accounted for, it is based on interwoven interpretation, an â€Å"interpretation that goes far beyond the truths and hypotheses that pertain strictly to the natural science† (43). And that viewing religious thought as something able to be replaced by modern science is strictly a metathesis â€Å"-a claim that operates at one remove from the claims of science itself† (43). As a result, Darwin’s theory cannot be taken very seriously because the standard account of human nature and origin is dependent on interwoven interpretation that has exceeded far from the fundamental principles of science. In essence, in order to account for the meaning of life, one must not choose modern science over religion or religion over modern science. Having one theory over the other does not manifest to the ultimate question of the meaning of life. Instead, we must link the two frameworks, divine nature and creator into a unified system. In Cottinghams words, we â€Å"must leave the door open for the theist as indeed it does for the atheist. † For where modern science can be longer contribute its findings to the meaning of life, religious language ascends from it bringing significance and value to human life. Beckie Chung Dreaming of the Earth 4 November, 2007 Cottingham, John. On The Meaning of Life. New Fetter Lane: Routledge, 2003.

Natural Church Development

Natural Church Development ESSAY TOPIC: AN AUDIT OF THE OF A CONGREGATION DESIGN TO DISCERN ITS STRENGTH, WEAKNESS, OPPORTUNITIES AND THREAT. STRATEGY FOR ITS FURTHER DEVELOPMENT BUILDING ON YOUR AUDIT INTRODUCTION In recent years, it has become very difficult to get people to church. Many would rather go to football field or a cinema than to church. Some complained that church is boring and out of date while others believe it is meant for the elderly and the children. Whichever way, there is a drift away in thinking. Burke echo the above observation said, The reality is, postmodernism is a fad, it is not a new trend we can ride out and ignore. Whether or not you realise it, you live in a postmodern world . There is no point in pretending that you are not or wishing that things would go back to the way they were thirty years.[1] Wishing things in church go back decades back is not good for people and civilization nevertheless it is unrealistic. However, Synder noted that, the church of God is Gods kingdom or institution on earth and for that reason, the theological or organisation structure should not be questioned knowing well that from insertion of the church to now, the church is still unfol ding Gods purpose for humanity.[2] The church has a role of unfolding Gods plan to the world yet faced with these challenges, what are the solutions to overcoming them. It is also worth noting that each church has her peculiarity. This essay will be focusing on using the Natural Church Development module to take a look at the health of a church I once worked with discern the strength and weakness and strategizing a solution. This essay measures the churchs health rather than the typical growth by using the Schwarzs eight quality of characteristics of church health. THE CHURCH HISTORY AND HEALTH Coming from an African church setting, I felt compelled to pick on one of the African church setting I have been involved for years for this essay due to my insight of the congregation and the history. I felt assured to proceed using the church because the pastors and the governing boards were willing to assist in the research that might be involved. Furthermore, the governing board and the pastors were open to the administration of the Natural Church Development using the eight quality characteristics to access the church health. The NCD experimental mode was used throughout the collation and administration of the project. The main instrument of the NCD used was the questionnaire, due to short time in getting data needed to write this essay. The questionnaire used for this essay was limited to only very few members of the congregation of twenty who were pick randomly in order to have a balance information. The expectation is that at the end of the project, the church would have been healthier and experience growth. Also, putting to mind the stresses this change might bring to the congregation, the governing board and pastors are helping the congregation negotiate the change while the project last. This estimated time of completion is one year. The church setting has her origin from Nigeria, West Africa with over 65 years of existence. The central core message of the church as well as the organisational principle is based on the book of Hebrew 13:8 with Berner noting that, has almost gone full circle through the vicissitudes of days of small things to periods of intense evangelistic fervour and search for doctrinal anchor and purity, to the present explosion into socio-political power, economic privilege and spiritual aristocracy.'[3] Nigeria in West Africa has diverse religion and beliefs with three main religion mainly the African Traditional Religion, Christianity and Islam. This diversity brings with along hunger for the truth. Moreover, the quest to fight poverty also aided the growth for search for divine intervention which many found in the churches. This is possible because of the reliance on Holy Spirit among the Pentecostal churches. Furthermore, the young and educated wanted something different from the traditio nal religion or the orthodox churches settled for this new moment. The growth of Pentecostalism began to make most churches to focus on the leading of the Holy Spirit and the power of Pentecost so much that church leadership and organisation in most of these churches have to be by the leading of the Holy Spirit. The selected church organisation of this essay was one of the early church of this moment. The growth of the church movement led to the expansion of the church beyond the border of Africa to other countries including United Kingdom where the parish of the church for this essay is located. The location of this parish was strategic because it is in an area of London that was seriously in need of a change and a living church. As most churches in that area then were either empty and the buildings were converted to hall for general social activities or you see only elderly weekly. This calls for the need of a church for the people not only to worship God but also socialise together creating a community in a community. As noted by Avis, Mission is not a discrete activity of the church, but the cutting edge of the churchs life. It includes the vital areas of social engagement, compassionate care, prophetic critique, Christian education and intellectual dialogue and apologetic.[4] The challenge I discovered was that the church was not reaching the people of the community and the few people coming were people of the same culture. Research carried out in the community during my earlier years in the church shows that there were people searching for a church nearby but were not feeling welcomed to be a part of the church due to approach, cultural design or the mode of service and people management. The pastors and governing board noticed these challenges but were limited with lasting solution to these challenges. Moreover, they are of the opinion that it is God that gives the increase 1 Cor 3:6. Secondly, there were sense of satisfaction and success because there were flints of cars always packing for church services. It is sad because though there were flints of cars in major services, the people coming were from other communities, the church was unable to reach her immediate community. Furthermore, some the members who were from Africa now residing in this area were not getting the spiritual satisfaction there were hoping for because of their experiences from the African setting of the church. The theological implication of the struggle was that many who were very spiritually thorough back in Africa were now struggling with their faith either due to cultural, economic or social differences that need to be attended to in other to create a balance among the congregation. Many not only left the church to seek for spiritual satisfaction while some left Christianity completely due to disappointment in the leadership style or approach. Looking this, Snyder stated that, the church is the agent of the Kingdom of God first of all through what it. It best serves the kingdoms interests as the messianic community of Gods people rather than as an ecclesiastical institution.[5] For clarity of purpose I concentrated my project on the principle of the church, that states but God that gave the increase[6] Though, there are numerous books, theories and modules on the concept of church health today. For me to remain focus on my objective, and fundamental principle of the parish, I restricted myself to the Natural Church Development by Christian A. Schwarz. In this essay, the concept given by Christian A. Schwarz and the eight quality characteristics will be used to analyse the church health and how to experience growth. NATURAL CHURCH DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT The leadership of the church believes that it is only God who gives the increase in ministry or church. This ideology echoes Schwarzs NCD. However, NCD gives a more details and analytical ways of getting result. Schwarz believes that church is like a plant and should experience natural growth progressions.[7] Which is based on biblical principles growth citing Mark 4:26-29.[8] He sees the church as a biotic plant that has the potential of reproducing itself if there is the right condition for growth which include reducing the environmental resistance[9] to the minimum.[10] As noted by the leadership of the church that it is God that gives the increase, Schwarz believes that Church growth can happen all-by-itself[11] In as much as God is the one that causes the growth Schwarz pointed out that there must be self-organisation for proper growth to occur.[12] Since plant grows by itself once the conditions of growth are met, then the church can also naturally grow as God is the one that g ives the conditions of growth in the first place.[13] He noted that for biotic potential to be released for self-organisation of a church there must be quality characteristic, minimum strategy, biotic principles and paradigm shift.[14] Hence, he Defines Natural church development as Releasing the growth automatisms, by which God himself grows his church.[15] While mentioning the sources of his discoveries which include research, observation of nature and biblical studies of natural growing processes of plants Schwarz made it clear that observation of the natural study of plant or church should not be the standard of accessing the growth but the scripture and what is theological acceptable.[16] He distinguished NCD from other concepts of church growth development because it is principle-oriented[17], quality services[18] and the release of natural growth focus[19] with which the church is built by God.[20] Schwarz gave his qualities of characteristics for effective self-organisation as follows: Empowering Leadership which involves teaching and making leader from the lay members of the church Gift-oriented lay ministry. By this, members are helped to discover and identify Gods gift and are developed. Passionate Spirituality which include the role of spiritual exercises in church Functional structures like heads of department and unit leaders. Inspiring worship service. Holistic small groups Need-oriented evangelism Loving relationship. Selection Christian Schwarzs NCD to access my church health because of his discovery which agrees with the teaching and the ideology of the leadership of the church, one cannot overlook some of the lingering questions in the approach applied by Schwarz. He carried out researches all over the world collating data to prove the viability of NCD but there were little said on the word of God regarding the concept except for the initially scripture. For any concept on Gods church to be effective, attention must be given to the word of God above technology and research. Though technology and research enhances good result.[21] Similarly, he seems to distant himself from size and numbers and make quality of service seems to be all that is need even if there is not numerically growth.[22] APPLICATION OF THE CONCEPT God plan of reconciliation of man through Jesus Christ using the church is important Col. 1:17-20 and the mission of the church is to demonstrate this headship[23] but if the church is not measuring up then the devil and the world have the upper hand as seen today. Schwarz stated that for any church to experience good health growth, the characteristics must interplay and a weakness in one of the characteristics and can limit the effectiveness of the others.[24] Analysis and review of questionnaires were carried out with the pastors and the governing board of the church. During the review, it was discovered that though the church was not lacking in all the quality characteristics but as mentioned above lacking in one can limit the others. There were area that needed to be strengthen. Schwarz pointed out that the level of contentment in a congregation can be traced to the level of involvement people have in the congregation. People who are involved in their churches using the gifts and depending on the Holy Spirit, have a higher contentment than those who do not.[25] The church empowerment of leadership was good as there were structures to teach members on getting involved. Members are trained in-house and are made to serve in any department of the choosing. Furthermore, during this training gift are discovered, identified and are used for the church, this promotes confidence, peace and desire to want to serve God with the gift.[26] Holistic small group called house cell where members are divided according to the location and a central place is pick for the meeting of the group. This foster good relationship among the members. Schwarz said that, seek to apply the Bible in a relevant way characterise healthy church.[27]However, there were situation where members are too familiar that relocating them for other assignment became an issue. One of the strategy to solving that was rotational of the leadership of the small group. Passionate spirituality was one of the major problem because of the doctrinal beliefs of the church (Africa origin of the church). Some of the members were unhappy with too strict laws on dressing, where you cannot put on a particular kind of dressing once you are a member of the working unit in the church. Looking at the questionnaire, the issue of dressing stood out for attention. The pastors and the governing board had to biblically look for a balance that will be attracted to encourage people been free. Some were not in agreement with the leadership as this was changing the doctrine of the church. However, the understanding of the people as regard passionate spirituality were difference from what Schwarzs. Schwarz believe that Passionately spiritual Christians are enthusiastic about their faith. Passionately spiritual people are growing in their faith and holiness regardless of dressing or any doctrine that might be in place.[28] Schwarzs thought was carefully planned to one of t he services and there were significant progress. Healthy churches are not overworked by activities that take it turns on both the members and the leadership instead it allows for room it allows for programs that help the leaders to reproduce themselves.[29] For a church that believes in making members active by putting up many church activities, helping the leadership understood the negative impact was very important and how to shift away from such practices to a practice of reproducing quality believers. Inspiring Worship services involves giving God honour, recognising his sovereignty through the sacraments, the Word of God, preaching, testimony and fellowship through the power of the Holy Spirit.[30] Worship is a priority and it is to be taken so. Therefore, for a healthy church, quality time must be spent in prayers and planning of any services or programme to bring people to the presence of God. Need-oriented evangelism is needed for the church as evangelism is the duty of all believers. While Jesus was ascending to the sky is said Go ye to all the nations Matt 28:19. New strategy of evangelism was introduced to encourage members to meet the need of both Christian and non-Christian. One of such was the introduction of a food bank to assist as many in the community in need of food and though this many came to the saving knowledge of the Lord. John the Apostle wrote, Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God 1 John 4:7. Snyder writes, Christians are kingdom people when, having found peace with God through Jesus, they build a peaceful community and become agents of Gods peace in the world[31] The people were encouraged not to show love to other believers only but to the unbelievers alike so that by our love, they can come to the knowledge of Gods grace and measure. The pastors and the governing board realise areas of improvement, took it on board and began to implement the change in order to have a healthier church that can serve the community and shows Gods kingdom on earth. CONCLUSION Schwarz believe that, healthy or whole churches are those that are strong in all eight specified areas[32] and one quality cannot lead to growth in churches but rather involving the interplay of all eight characters. His words, the key is found in the harmonious interplay of all eight elements.[33] Therefore, it is important to improve the services giving in the church to same standard or more compare to what is offered in the world by so doing making the Church become more attractive to the world. BIBLIOGRAPHY Avis Paul, A Church Drawing Near: Spirituality and Mission in a Post-Christian Culture (London, Great Britain: The Cromwell Press 2003) Schwarz Christian A. Natural Church Development: A Practical Guide to a New Approach (Barcelona, Spain: M.C.E. HOREB 1996) Snyder Howard A., Signs of the Spirit: How God reshapes the church (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House 1989) Snyder Howard A., The Community of the King (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Versity Press 1977) Snyder Howard A., A Kingdom Manifesto (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Versity Press 1977) Spencer Burke, Colleen Pepper, Making Sense of Church: Eavesdropping on Emerging Conversations about God, Community, and Culture (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House 2003) King James Version Bible Ulrich Berner, The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Nigeria. Local Identities and Global Processes in African Pentecostalism (published Doctoral Dissertation, Owerri, Imo State, 2003), p.1 [Accessed 17 Jan 2017] [1] Burke Spencer, Pepper Colleen, Making Sense of Church: Eavesdropping on Emerging Conversations about God, Community, and Culture (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House 2003), p. 26. [2] Howard A. Snyder, Signs of the Spirit: How God reshapes the church (Grand Rapids: Michigan, Zondervan Publishing House 1989), p. 270. [3] Berner Ulrich, The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Nigeria. Local Identities and Global Processes in African Pentecostalism (published Doctoral Dissertation, Owerri, Imo State, 2003), p.1 [Accessed 17 Jan 2017] [4] Paul Avis, A Church Drawing Near: Spirituality and Mission in a Post-Christian Culture (London, Great Britain: The Cromwell Press 2003), p.13 [5] Howard A. Snyder, The Community of the King (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Versity Press 1977), p.73. [6] 1 Cor 3:6 Kjv Bible [7] Christian A. Schwarz, Natural Church Development: A Practical Guide to a New Approach (Barcelona, Spain: M.C.E. HOREB 1996), P.9 [8] Christian A. Schwarz, P.8 [9] Christian A. Schwarz, Natural Church Development: A Practical Guide to a New Approach (Barcelona, Spain: M.C.E. HOREB 1996), P.10 [10] Christian A. Schwarz, P.10 [11] Christian A. Schwarz, P.10 [12] Christian A. Schwarz, P.10 [13] Christian A. Schwarz, P.11 [14] Christian A. Schwarz, P.11 [15] Christian A. Schwarz, P.13 [16] Christian A. Schwarz, P.13 [17] Christian A. Schwarz, P.14 [18] Christian A. Schwarz, P.14 [19] Christian A. Schwarz, P.14 [20] Christian A. Schwarz, P.14 [21] Christian A. Schwarz, P.19 [22] Christian A. Schwarz, P.45 [23] Howard A. Snyder, The Community of the King (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Versity Press 1977), p.117 [24] Christian A. Schwarz, P.50 [25] Christian A. Schwarz, P.24 [26] Christian A. Schwarz, P.24 [27] Christian A. Schwarz, P.32 [28] Christian A. Schwarz, P.27 [29] Christian A. Schwarz, P.28 [30] Christian A. Schwarz, P.31 [31] Howard A. Snyder, A Kingdom Manifesto (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Versity Press 1977), p.22. [32] Christian A. Schwarz, P.38 [33] Christian A. Schwarz, P.39

Fighting Corruption through Making Music :: Essays on Corruption

Fighting Corruption through Music Singing about corruption is not a new thing and can be described as a disease one can compare with HIV/Aids as been the second most popular in Africa. Thus many see it as the most main cause of many African states slowness in terms of stable economic growth .It is therefore no secret to many ordinary citizens you who keep wondering or face with the dilemma as to how really their governments are operating .As such life in relation to economic growth during and after post colonial rule as always been a litmus test. Sierra Leone The name meaning (Lion mountain) from a Portuguese sailor ?Pedro da sentra also this beautiful diamond shaped country was used by then British colonial masters to settle free slaves thus the capital city was named Freetown .With so many minerals and other resources combined with already many IMF loans been given many see it as been far enough to have change the deplorable living standard of many of its citizens forty years after independence. It is therefore no surprise to many n view of the present governing authorities lack of transparency and willingness to prosecute or crack down hard on those they found in corrupt practice , the faith of many citizens on the Anti-corruption commission been set up is nothing to go by. State of the music industry The music Industry has dramatically grown in the last couple of years despite harsh conditions faced by musicians and composers alike. For many music is sacred , thus it can calm the troubled mind and bind the wandering sense. As such , Sierra Leone during the past years has produced some distinct traditional musicians such as: John Gbala ,Amy Kallon. , Salia,, Rogers(Rogie),Ebenezer Calender and many more.As old musicians continue to rebirth themselves and young musicians continue to see the music industry gaining its reputation , there is now arrays of musicians in categories such as : R&B, POP, traditional , Reggae and religious music. Level of Censorship The level of censorship on music is always a big question whenever musicians produced songs about sensitive issues such as ?

AD Replaces SAM Essay -- essays research papers

Windows 2000 Active Directory replaced Windows NT 4.0 Security Account Manager Database, providing not only increased functionality and scalability, but also enhanced security through more-granular levels of permissions, sophisticated encryption, and two-way, resilient authentication protocol (with Kerberos). With the Windows 2003 platform, Microsoft takes full advantage of these features by allowing more flexibility in the way Active Directory information is partitioned and replicated. Starting with Windows 2000, Active Directory has been divided into three "logical" partitions (physically residing in the NTDS.DIT file on each domain controller) -- domain, configuration, and schema. The domain partitions store information specific to each domain (accessible primarily via Active Directory users and computers) and shared among all domain controllers in the same domain (partially replicated to all Global Catalogs in the forest). The configuration partition contains forest-wide information (accessible primarily via Active Directory sites and services) and is shared among all domain controllers in the forest. The schema partition consists of definitions of all objects and their properties that can exist in the other two partitions; it is also shared forest-wide. This mechanism for partitioning Active Directory data has been extended in Windows 2003 domains by the introduction of the application partition. Several features differentiate it from its three older cou... AD Replaces SAM Essay -- essays research papers Windows 2000 Active Directory replaced Windows NT 4.0 Security Account Manager Database, providing not only increased functionality and scalability, but also enhanced security through more-granular levels of permissions, sophisticated encryption, and two-way, resilient authentication protocol (with Kerberos). With the Windows 2003 platform, Microsoft takes full advantage of these features by allowing more flexibility in the way Active Directory information is partitioned and replicated. Starting with Windows 2000, Active Directory has been divided into three "logical" partitions (physically residing in the NTDS.DIT file on each domain controller) -- domain, configuration, and schema. The domain partitions store information specific to each domain (accessible primarily via Active Directory users and computers) and shared among all domain controllers in the same domain (partially replicated to all Global Catalogs in the forest). The configuration partition contains forest-wide information (accessible primarily via Active Directory sites and services) and is shared among all domain controllers in the forest. The schema partition consists of definitions of all objects and their properties that can exist in the other two partitions; it is also shared forest-wide. This mechanism for partitioning Active Directory data has been extended in Windows 2003 domains by the introduction of the application partition. Several features differentiate it from its three older cou...

Political Correctness: :: essays research papers fc

The University of Southern California: The Teddy Bear MassacreLike so many other traditions, the burning of the bruin was put on the chopping block recently. The long running University of Southern California spirit activity consisted of throwing a large stuffed bear in a bon fire the night before the football game against their rival, the University of California at Los Angeles. The Black Student Union and other student organizations recently questioned the event. Their concern was that the event too closely resembled past lynching of African Americans in the American south.This raises the question of whether it is appropriate to censor ideas that are not created to offend certain groups. Political correctness, the underlying ideal, is the "particular set of attitudes about the world that its proponents maintain should be actively promoted." [Clark 369] Proponents of political correctness, or PC, had good intentions in devising the idea, but it has serious flaws. Although political correctness was founded with good intent, it does more harm than good.The most noticeable example of harm is how PC proponents try to please everyone at the same time. The burning of the bruin was just one of many activities held during the week before the big UCLA game. The idea being that everyone could find something that they could identify with and rally around their school. If the burning was intentionally created to represent or oppress the offended students, the event would have been banned long ago. However, as Matt Hutaff stated in his editorial in the Daily Trojan:"It's about school pride. It's love for the things that brought the university to where it is today. It is traditions that define a school; it's student body and its heritage. Strip the school of its traditions and all you have is a school that isn't worth rallying behind." [5]In appeasing one group, it seems the university neglected another group. It seems that the lesson that one cannot please everyone all the time still needs to be learned.Another lesson that needs to be learned is to meet offensive language head on instead of hiding from it. This cannot happen, however, if the college is sheltering us from it. It is the duty of the university to teach us how to live in the real world. How are they going to protect us from what we do not want to hear out there? The answer is they cannot, and the sheltered individuals are left unprepared to confront real world situations that will offend them.

History and Physical Examination Essay

Admitting Diagnosis: Stomatitis possibly methotrexate related. Chief Complaint: Swelling of lips causing difficulty swallowing. HISTORY OF PRESENT ILLNESS: This patient is a 57-year-old Cuban woman with a long history of rheumatoid arthritis. She has received methotrexate on a weekly basis as an outpatient for many years. Approximately two weeks ago she developed a respiratory infection for which she received antibiotics and completed that course of antibiotics. She developed some ulcerations of her mouth and was instructed to discontinue the methotrexate approximately 10 days ago. She showed some initial improvement but over the last 3 to 5 days has had malaise, a low grade fever and severe oral ulcerations with difficulty in swallowing. Although she can drink liquids with less difficulty. Patient denies any other problems at this point except for a flare of arthritis since discontinuing the methotrexate. She has rather diffuse pain involving both small and large joints. This has caused her some anxiety. MEDICATIONS: 1. Prednisone 7.5 mg p.o. daily. 2. Estradiol 0.5 mg p.o. q.a.m. 3. Mobic 7.5 mg p.o. daily, recently discontinued because of questionable allergic reaction. 4. HCTZ 35 mg p.o. every other day and oral calcium supplements. 5. In the past she has been on penicillamine, azathioprine, and hydroxychloroquine but she has not had Azulfidine, cyclophosphamide or chlorambucil. ALLERGIES: None by history. FAMILY/SOCIAL HISTORY: None contributory. PHYSICAL EXAMINATION: This is a chronically ill appearing female alert oriented and cooperative. She moved with great difficulty because of fatigue and malaise. VITAL SIGNS: Blood pressure 107/80. Heart rate 100 and regular. Respirations 22. HEENT: Normocephalic, no scalp lesions, dry eyes with conjunctival injection, mild exophthalmos, dry nasal mucosa, marked  cracking and bleeding of her lips with erosions of the mucosa. She has a large ulceration of the mucosa at the bite margin on the left. She has some scattered ulcerations on her hard and soft palate. She has difficulty opening her mouth because of pain. Tonsils not enlarged. No visible exudate. SKIN: She has some mild ecchymosis on her skin and some erythema. She has patches but no obvious skin breakdown. She has some fissuring in thebuttocks crease. PULMONARY: Clear to percussion and auscultation bilaterally. CARDIOVASCULAR: No murmurs or gallops noted. ABDOMIN: Soft, non-tender, protuberant, no organomegaly and positive bowel sounds. NEUROLOGIC: Cranial nerves 2 through 12 are grossly intact. Diffuse hyporeflexia. MUSCULOSKELETAL: Corrosive destructive changes in the elbows, wrists and hands consistent with rheumatoid arthritis. Has bilateral total knee replacements with stove pipe legs and perimalleolar pitting edema 1+. I feel no pulses distally in either leg. PHYCIATRIC: Patient is a little anxious about these new symptoms and theyre significance. We discussed her situation and I offered her psychological services. She refused for now. PROBLEMS: 1. Swelling of lips and dysphasia with questionable early Stevens-Johnson syndrome. 2. Rheumatoid arthritis class 3, stage 4. 3. Flare of arthritis after discontinuing methotrexate. 4. Osteoporosis with compression fracture. 5. Mild dehydration. 6. Nephrolithiasis 7. Anxiety PLAN: 1. Admit patient for IV hydration and treatment of oral ulcerations. 2. Obtain a dermatology consult.  3. IV leucovorin will be started and the patient will be put on high dose corticosteroids. 4. Considering patients anxiety perhaps obtain services of Stella Rose Dickinson PHD phycology at a later date.

Evidence-based practice Essay

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a system of incorporating research findings into nursing practice so as to improve the therapeutic outcomes. (Polit, F. D & Beck, T. C, 2010). â€Å"The evidence based practice places particular emphasis on the use of evidence, in particular research findings, in clinical decision making†. (Parahoo, K, 2006). During past clinical exposures, the issues regarding post natal depression were found as a less explored one because of the complex involvement of both mental health nursing and maternal and child health nursing. â€Å"Postpartum psychosis is a manifestation of a life time vulnerability to affective disorders with child birth as the precipitating factor† (Spinelli, M. G, 2009).The focused clinical question discussed here, which is an important element in an evidence based practice is as follows; How effective is the education of nurses about postpartum depression in helping to identify and reduce postpartum depression among new moth ers in a maternal ward or community?. According to the PICOT strategy for formulating EBP questions, here, the population is ‘new mothers’, the intervention is education of nurses about postpartum depression and outcome is ‘identify and reduce postpartum depression’. The clinical settings chosen for this focused clinical question is maternal ward in a hospital as well as community settings. It is based on the general assumption that initial care will be given in a Hospital maternal ward followed by contact care given in community settings. Having a baby is a joyous moment, but for some women it also brings worries as well as stress. Many recent study reports highlight alarming rates of occurrence of post natal depression. About 10% of new mothers suffer from the most severe form of post natal depression.(Science Daily, 2010). It is evident that, being the closest aid of a post natal delivered woman, maternal and child health nurse can do a lot in identifying and reducing post natal depression. Here, an attempt is made to explore and analyse the educational aspect of nurses in alleviating the said problem. The online databases chosen for this assignment is CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature) . A systematic search stra tegy has been carried out using key words such as postnatal depression, postnatal emotional disturbance, puerperal depression, perinatal depression, psychosis, nursing care, nurse knowledge, nursing care, and education. More than 700 results were yielded initially when postnatal depression used as the key words. The  results were narrowed by choosing the publication dates between January 2000 and December 2010. Results were further sorted by re arranging them in a date descending order and a suitable article titled ‘Detection, treatment and referral of perinatal depression and anxiety by obstetrical providers’(Goodman ,J,H, Tyer-Viola, L, 2010) obtained. Key words were combined by using Boolean operator ‘AND’. The combination of key words postnatal depression and nursing interventions generated 4 results, and among them, two results with titles, ‘Improving the postnatal outcomes of new mothers’ (Morse C, Durkin S, Buist A, and Milgrom J, 2004) and Comparison of effects of nursing care to problem solving training on levels of depressive symptoms in post partum women’ (Tezel, A and Gozum, S, 2006) were found relevant for the focused clinical question.