Salary Negotiation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Salary Negotiation - Essay Example The service of professionals has a market value that is measured based on the median pay of professionals with similar educational and professional background which is a baseline that helps a person determining how much labor of a person is worth. This essay discusses various strategies a professional can utilize in the middle of a salary negotiation and analysis the scenario of the person with a salary demand with counter move of the firm mentioning a specific budget for the position which is lower than the professional’s minimum salary demand. The salary negotiation scenario has many alternative solutions the person can choose to gain an upper hand and maximize the salary offer from the employer. The first argument that must be brought to the negotiating table is the employer’s improper conduct of setting up an interview with full knowledge of the minimum salary requirements to then bring a wild card of an alleged company budget for the position. The time of a person is worth money, the interviewee’s time is subject to the economic law of opportunity cost which stipulates that the value of a person’s time can be measured by comparing what the person could be earning if he were doing something else (Varian, 2003). There are online sources that allow a person to determine their market value based on multiple variables such as experience, education and geography. The website Salary.com provides in depth free reports about thousands of job profiles. For example an accountant with cero to two years of experience is categorized an Accountant I; this category for professionals living in the state of Florida has an average salary of approximately $37,000 per year (Salary.com, 2008). In the salary negotiation scenario the person with the salary demand should have based his initial minimum requirements on the median salary for his profession based on a verifiable source. When the company came with the salary

Discussion About The Sex Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Discussion About The Sex Industry - Essay Example Criminalization of prostitution renders the women and girls who engage in the practice vulnerable. Legalizing prostitution would make it easier for prostitutes to report criminal acts against them- especially being sexually assaulted. Prostitutes seek assistance from pimps to make up for contractual and legal help, which is denied them; pimps protect them from their customers and police. Majority of prostitutes are constantly faced with the high threat of rape and violence. One research findings indicate that on average, a prostitute is raped an average of 31 times annually. Since prostitution is a criminal offense subject to arrest and prosecution, hardly any prostitute reports such violations perpetrated to them, and even when they do the authorities fail to take them seriously or to follow up and act on the case urgently and professionally as they would with other women not engaged in prostitution. For instance, reports indicate that only four percent of women prostitutes who are violated or assaulted ever report the crime. Legalization of prostitution would get rid of the pimps and others, such as clients and purveyors, who exploit and violate those in the prostitution enterprise.Legalization of prostitution would conversely mean government regulation, taxation and a number of laws to regulate the profession. Many prostitutes would not be supportive of this. Without the government control, most prostitutes enjoy a great deal of independence; a prospect that would be taken away by the legalization of prostitution.... Legalizing prostitution would make it easier for prostitutes to report criminal acts against them- especially being sexually assaulted. Prostitutes seek assistance from pimps to make up for contractual and legal help, which are denied them; pimps protect them from their customers and police. Majority of prostitutes are constantly faced with high threat of rape and violence. For instance, one research findings indicate that on average, a prostitute is raped an average of 31 times annually (Spector 17). Since prostitution is a criminal offence subject to arrest and prosecution, hardly any prostitute reports such violations perpetrated to them, and even when they do the authorities fail to take the seriously or to follow up and act on the case urgently and professionally as they would with other women not engaged in prostitution. For instance, reports indicate that only four percent of women prostitutes who are violated or assaulted ever report the crime (Spector 21). Legalization of pr ostitution would get rid of the pimps and others, such as clients and purveyors, who exploit and violate those in the prostitutionenterprise. Legalization of prostitution would conversely mean government regulation, taxation and a number of laws to regulate the profession. Many prostitutes would not be supportive of this. Without the government control, most prostitutes enjoy a great deal of independence; a prospect that would be taken away by legalization of prostitution.Legalization would mean fixed working areas- the so-called red-light districts, registration as prostitutes, taxes and other levies charged by the government or various authorities such as local municipalities. The registration could expose the woman and

Parle Products History Essay Example for Free

Parle Products History Essay The original Parle Company was split into three separate companies, owned by the different factions of the original Chauhan family. †¢Parle Products, led by Vijay, Sharad and Anup Chauhan (owner of the brands Parle-G, Melody, Mango Bite, Poppins, Monaco and KrackJack) †¢Parle Agro, led by Prakash Chauhan and his daughters Schauna, Alisha and Nadia (owner of the brands such as Frooti and Appy) †¢Parle Bisleri, led by Ramesh Chauhan In 1929 a small company by the name of Parle products emerged in british dominated India at Parle, world’s largest selling biscuits started in vile parle. It was owned by the Chauhan family of Vile Parle, Mumbai. The intent was to spread joy and cheer to children and adults alike, all over the country with its sweets and candies. The company knew that it wouldn’t be an easy task, but they decided to take the brave step . a small factory was set up in the suburbs of Mumbai, to manufacture biscuits as well. since then, the parle name has grown in all directions, won international fame and has been sweetening peoples lives all over India and abroad. A part from the factories in Mumbai and Bangalore Parle also has factories in Bahadurgarh in Haryana and Neemrana in Rajasthan, which are the largest biscuit and confectionery plants in the country. Additionally, Parle products also have 7 manufacturing units and 51 manufacturing units on contract. AWARDS Since the first entry at the monde selection in 1971,parle products have been shinning in golds and silver consistently Monde selection is an international institute for assessing the quality of foods Currently, it is the oldent and the most respected organization in the field of selecting quality foods worldwide ABOUT THE COMPANY Initially a small factory was set up in the suburbs of Mumbai city, to manufacture sweets and toffees. The year was 1929 and the market was dominated by famous international brands that were imported freely. Despite the odds and unequal competition, this company called Parle Products, survived and succeeded, by adhering to high quality and improvising from time to time . A decade later, in 1939, Parle Products began manufacturing biscuits, in addition to sweets and toffees. Having already established a reputation for quality, the Parle brand name grew in strength with this diversification. Parle Glucose and Parle Monaco were the first brands of biscuits to be introduced, which later went on to become leading names for great taste and quality. For around 75 years, Parle have been manufacturing quality biscuits and confectionery products. Over the years Parle has grown to become a multimillion-dollar company with many of the products as market leaders in their category. The recent introduction of Hide Seek chocolate chip biscuits is a product of innovation and caters to a new taste, being India’s first ever chocolate-chip biscuits. All Parle products are manufactured under most hygienic conditions. Great care is exercised in the selection and quality control of raw material and standards ensured at every stage of the manufacturing process. Parle Products has 4 manufacturing units for biscuits and confectionaries at Mumbai, Haryana, Rajasthan and Karnataka. It also has 14 manufacturing units for biscuits 5 manufacturing units for confectioneries, on contract. All these factories are located at strategic locations, so as to ensure a constant output easy distribution. Today, Parle enjoys a 40% share of the total biscuit market and a 15%share of the total confectionary market, in India. The marketing mix of Parle for this project has been studied from the point of view of Parle biscuits; mainly Parle-G and Parle hide seek. Biscuit goodies: Parle G, Krackjack, Krackjack Crispy Creams, Monaco, Kreams, Hide andSeek, Hide Seek Milano, Digestive Marie, Parle Marie, Milk Shakti, Parle20-20 Cookies, Nimkin Sweets: Melody, Mango Bite, Kaccha Mango Bite, Poppins, Kismi Toffee, KismiGold, Orange Candy, XHale Munch on snacks! Musst Bites, Monaco Bites Cheeslings, Sixer, Musst Stix Musst Chips

Media Streaming Techniques

Media Streaming Techniques Chapter 7 : Media Streaming and Storage In this chapter, we learn about media streaming techniques and typical devices used within streaming. Streaming is the process of media delivery via computer networks, most notably the internet. Learning Outcomes To explain streaming and how media is transmitted via computer networks To give an outline of the encoding and storage of video material. Media Streaming is the process of transmitting audio and video signals via computer networks, most notably the internet. It requires three parts, a source (to encode the stream), a server (to host the streaming service), and a browser or player (to view the stream). Streaming is an increasingly important technology to learn about as content continues to be delivered to a variety of internet connected devices. Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) is effectively streaming programmes (both TV and radio) and movies over the internet instead of terrestrial broadcast. The media streamed may be live (e.g. news) or on-demand (e.g. movies, programmes etc.). IPTV is usually over a ‘closed’ or ‘subscriber’ network e.g. VirginTV (UK) with a specified minimum Quality of Service. This should not be confused with Internet TV (a.k.a. Web TV) which is transmitted using the same protocols but primarily consumed via a web-browser on the ‘open’ internet (eg. BBC iPlayer). 7.1 Stream Creation 7.1.1 Capture The media stream can be pre-recorded or a live feed that is ‘captured’ and run through an encoder. An audio live feed can be used for internet radio; it requires a sound card to capture the audio input. Sound capture devices can be internal (eg sound cards or integral computer motherboard device) or external devices (e.g. audio interface) though it would be wise to review the earlier chapter on professional versus domestic signal levels before assuming that a built-in motherboard can handle your incoming audio signal. Similarly, live video is via a camera (webcam – poor quality, or video camera – higher quality) but the capture device is typically by video capture cards, IEEE 1394 connection (aka Firewire) or for domestic quality, a USB device. Some USB plug-in devices carry both audio and video signals; it is the software in the encoder that is set to look for where the feeds are attached to the computer. Current tablet and smart-phones can be used as internet streaming devices. These, along with some cameras, are already ‘cloud connected’ for storage and sharing while IP-Cameras (viewable and controllable on streaming sites) can be used for home security etc. It is possible that these will become more ubiquitous and have greater streaming functionality in the future. 7.1.2 Encoding Encoding is performed by an encoding software package such as Adobe Flash Live Media Encoder. A ‘live’ feed or pre-recorded media must be compressed and fed into the stream at a suitable bit rate and in a format with which the media server can cope for the purposes of ingest and re-direction. It is necessary for any audio video compression process to have the right decompressor at the play-out destination. Compression (bit-rate reduction) at the transmission end can be in either one or two pass encoding and at a constant bit rate (CBR) or variable bit rate (VBR). Live encoding must be done in real-time ‘on-the-fly’ so it is a one pass encoding i.e. the image data is analysed and compressed once. Pre-recorded data can be a multi-pass (usually two-pass) process so the quality of the encoding is higher, but is not used in live stream encoding. Constant bit rate (CBR) is used for media streaming as the encoding quality and feed to the server remains at the same bit rate, so can be at the maximum level the process will allow. Variable bit rate (VBR) is controlled by the bit rate range (Minimum – Maximum) or the average bit rate (each pass is averaged, and then several averages are re-averaged) to achieve a close to uniform bit rate for the stream. Variable bit rate is used for a multi-pass encoding process. 7.2 Network Connectivity 7.2.1 IP address (Internet Protocol Address) Every computer device that can be connected to the internet requires a unique address so that it can be found, rather like a telephone number. So to host a media stream that can be found on the internet, the media server requires a static IP address. Like telephone numbers in a directory, IP addresses are convertible to meaningful names by a Domain Name Server (DNS) process running on a web-hosting server. Consequently media servers and web-servers are closely coupled, and media is capable of being found using a web-based URL (Uniform Resource Locator) such as www.youtube.com. The source device (the computer or IP enabled camera etc.) needs to be found by the media server. This means the device has to ‘join’ the media server’s network (a more permanent connection) or pass on its IP address for the session (a temporary connection lasting until the session ends). Network Router The link between the source device and the media server may not be a direct connection, but may run through other connecting devices (network servers and routers). A router is a device that redirects data to another connected device either on its own or another network. This is basically how the interconnectivity of the internet works, routing between the server acting as the source device’s internet service provider to other networks and finally being re-directed to the destination. Multiplexer (MUX) Obviously it would be inefficient if the stream of data being passed to a media server is solely dedicated to one source device. This is a poor use of bandwidth, (bandwidth being the range of frequencies available in the data stream), so multiple devices are streamed simultaneously. A multiplexer (MUX) is a device that is used to combine input streams into a single output stream which is then split back into individual streams using a de-multiplexer (DEMUX). Figure 7-1 : Multiplexer to Demultiplexer 7.2.2 Web-Host Servers For a stream to be found it must be made available to web-browsers or stand-alone players (e.g. Windows Media Centre). The web-host server handles the web-site connectivity but need not be the same computer as the media server but both need a connection between them that isn’t prone to interruption. This web site often has a web page (HTML –HyperText Markup Language) with a plug-in media player connected to the media stream being managed by the media server, and contains the web-site in which the page resides. Consequently it must link to the internet and Domain Name Server process to resolve the IP Address from the web-site name, so the routing can direct the end user’s browser to the host. Figure 7-2 : Connection diagram The browser only needs to connect to the internet via its Internet Service provider to link to the media stream’s web-host server (see figure 7-2 Connection diagram). Hence any internet device with media playing capability could view the stream including smart-phones, tablets and PCs providing it has the right decompressing codec and can manage the bit rate of the stream from the media server. This is why it is important to offer various streams of differing quality, bit rate and formats (e.g. a Windows Media Video .WMV format file may not play on an iPad without a conversion app). A further file often created at the time of the stream hosting web page is an announcement file. These are particularly important to make potential viewers aware of the content and set links to the media stream. Podcast and Vodcast Podcasts are audio files that are available for download from a web hosting service (vodcasts are video inclusive podcasts) and differ from media steaming in so much as the content is downloaded then played on the user’s device. Streamed media is viewable but not downloaded to the device. They are often announced by RSS feeds (a short web content file) to which your device has been connected. 7.3 Media Streaming Servers A Media server is additional software that runs on a typical web server (or file server with web-host server connection). It requires a static IP – so its address does not alter on each session). The media server software needs to add additional protocols to those found on a simple web-server. In addition to Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) which is inbuilt with the web server, these additional protocols differ for proprietary server software. Real Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) is for Adobe Flash systems along with HTTP Dynamic Streaming (HDS). Microsoft Media Services (MMS) is no longer supported for windows streaming and now uses HTTP and Real time Steaming Protocol (RTSP), and finally there is an HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol which is for Apple iOS based systems. Adaptive streaming (HDS, HLS and Microsoft Smooth Streaming) requires the stream to be fragmented (which is how HTTP delivers content) and may utilise the MPEG-DASH codec. Adaptive streaming is where the content is streamed as fragments in a variety of bit rates with the computer automatically selecting the next most appropriate sized fragment based on its current playback state to minimise buffering. This differs from the older method of providing different dedicated streams at constant bit rates and the client selecting one most appropriate to their computers (or routers) connection capability. 7.3.1Content Delivery Unicast In a Unicast scenario the client connects to the server on a one-to-one basis. The number of clients is limited by bandwidth considerations. Multicast In a multicast scenario the server streams to a multicast IP address (this is a special address on the client’s network). This is a one-to-many basis and is an effective means of reaching many clients with less bandwidth overhead. UDP v TCP All content (including streams) is delivered across a network in packets. In User Datagram Protocol(UDP) the stream is sent without checking the connection and no acknowledgement of receipt is made. UDP is seen as unreliable but it is simpler and quicker. Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is bi-directional so will check for receipt and retransmit missing packets. TCP is seen as reliable but slower. A good discussion on this is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_Datagram_Protocol#Comparison_of_UDP_and_TCP 7.3.2Live Streaming A live stream needs to be seen at the time of broadcast. A live stream needs connection to a publishing point on the media server which connects to an encoding device. This may be another computer or a camera with IP addressable capability. The publishing point provides the connection between the content (live stream or pre-recorded) and the client’s computer which links to it via a web-host request from the internet. 7.3.3 Video on Demand (VoD) If the stream is recorded then it is treatable in the same way as any pre-recorded media file. Note:, it is not advisable to record an encoded stream and then re-encode it as this would severely compromise its quality. Streams and Playlists Media streaming servers can have many pre-recorded files ready for streaming, often collected into separate playlists (one media file plays immediately after another). These playlist or file streams can be on a continuous loop, or awaiting selection by a viewer through the browser. This latter selection method is called video–on-demand, although it equally applies to audio files as well. Bandwidth considerations A media server can manage several streams and be linked to several web-hosts at the same time. This requires careful planning of the number of streams the media server can handle which is a function of its bandwidth connection. The more simultaneous streams being handled then the less the size of the bit rate is available for each of those streams. If a media server has a 1Gbit/second connection then it could only handle 1000 x 1Mbit/second streams. However, full utilization of the bandwidth like this is not normally done; there are recommended bit rates for video streams based on destination image size and aspect ratio, e.g. a 1280* 720 HD video with stereo audio will require around a 2.5 Mbit/sec rate. A good source for this is: http://www.adobe.com/devnet/adobe-media-server/articles/dynstream_live/popup.html Push Pull The relationship between the encoding source device and the media server is based on which device initiates the stream. i.e. it is PULLED from the source device by the media server (needed for video-on-demand), or it is PUSHED to the server by the source device to start the service (a broadcast need). The media server needs to know how the stream is to be initiated for it to start the service. 7.4 Storage 7.4.1 Read Write speed All devices that are used to store data (including audio and video) need to be able to write to the storage device faster than the transmitted data is fed to it, otherwise it must buffer (temporary memory store on a faster device) and then read from the buffer to maintain the data transmission sequence. Consequently if a device is used that cannot cope with the data transmission rate than it will fail or lose data e.g. using a low class SD card in a camcorder. Data is written to storage devices and stored in a binary format but unlike data transmission the Kilo/Mega/Giga/Terra sizes are based on multiples of 1024 (210) not 1000. The speed of data being read from a storage device may be slower than required to play in real-time which would result in its being prone to stutter and freeze. 7.4.2 Simple Storage Devices Considerations Tapes – early tapes (DVCAM, DV) required striping. This was to put a continuous time code on the tape before recording – however later tape devices (including mini-DV camcorders) made this unnecessary, though any discontinuities or repetitions in the timecode could cause problems when ingesting material to an editing workstation. Cards – cards such as SDHC have a class rating which will denote the read/write speed of the card in Megabits per second, and storage size in Gigabytes. Always check to ensure the card will work with the device and check to see if there is a device firmware update, particularly if the device is more than a year old. USB sticks as with cards their read write speeds differ wildly – check using an on-line speed testing application, it is usually better to transfer video files to a hard disk before using the file for playback or editing. CD and DVD disks have a read/write speed depending on the quality of the disk (recording speed), but another consideration is the data rate used in the writing process from such software as the video non-linear editor (NLE). An ‘average’ bit rate (based on Peak and minimum Variable bit rate (VBR)) or ‘constant’ bit rate (CBR) needs to be selected, that will not only write to the disk but allow the disk to be played on the output device. Computers can write to disks comfortably at 9 – 11 Megabits per sec. But this needs to be slower (around 5 Mb per sec) if writing to a DVD that is to be played on an older standard-definition DVD player. You should consider the bit rate as part of your consideration of overall file size and the storage capacity on the disk. A good explanation of data rate calculation is given in:-https://helpx.adobe.com/encore/using/project-planning.html#bit_budgeting Hard Disks – Many older hard disks (often found in laptops) spin at 5400 rpm, this is too slow for video playback and a minimum 7200 rpm disk is needed. Hard disk read write at around 50-150 Mbytes per sec. SSD Solid State Disks are now finding favour due to faster read/write speeds than traditional hard disk technology. SSD read write speed is between 200-500 Megabytes per sec. 7.4.3 Network Storage Connection speed Any network storage has to pass data via the network card (NIC network Interface Controller), this needs to be as fast as possible (preferably a fibre connection of 1Gbits per sec but a minimum of 10 Mbs for Ethernet). Unlike other storage considerations network traffic can be bandwidth throttled (i.e. the bit rate is reduced) and will affect speed. If the NIC card is under your administration always set it on maximum performance. NAS, SAN, Cloud NAS (Network Attached Storage) is what most people think of as network storage- an array of hard disks that allows for file storage remotely from your computer directly accessible via the network. SAN (Storage Area Networks) are a separate network but pretty much do the same job as NAS differing in access protocol. The Cloud is just another remote storage area (uses SAN technology) but accessed via the internet (typified by a URL connection – Uniform Resource Locator) not a local area network LAN connection (typified by a UNC connection – Universal Naming Convention). 7.4.4 Raid RAID (Redundant Array of Independent (or inexpensive) Disks) allows the disk storage to have a measure of redundancy and/or striping to create a secure method of retrieving data should there be a disk failure. For media technology only a few RAID levels (configurations) are used (i.e. Levels 0 and 5 – see figure 7-3 Raid diagram). Level 0 – usually this requires at least two disks and the data is striped across them. (Note: It can be put on one physical disk using two logical drives – but with little advantage). That essentially means data is split into blocks and distributed across the disks. Typically used in video storage applications as it is fast, there is no redundancy (no duplication) so recovery from a disk crash is almost impossible. Consequently if a disk fails then the file may not be fully recoverable. If you have RAID 0 on your disks, always be sure to keep an external copy of your original audio or video files. Level 1 – disk mirroring, requires at least 2 disks but is slow as it writes the same data twice (once to each disk). Data is easy to recover as the system has full redundancy (disk duplicated). This level is good for general data and possibly audio only files. Many video editors feel this level is too slow for working with video files. Level 5 – block striping and parity. This requires 3 disks minimum, data is striped across all the disks (except one) and the block parity is put on the excepted disk. This is done repeatedly using a different disk for parity on each block. One disk can fail and be rebuilt from the others by using the parity blocks on remaining disks. Raid 5 is also popular with video editors as long as the raid controller is fast enough. It is slower than level 0 but faster than Level 1 and has enough redundancy for disk recovery.

Therapeutic Placebo Effect:A Mind/Body Connection :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Therapeutic Placebo Effect:A Mind/Body Connection Imagine you go to your doctor for chronic back pain and she tells you that she's going to give you a drug, yet she's not sure of its effectiveness because only approximately 40% of her patients have found it to be beneficial. How sure will you be that the outcome of this treatment will be positive? However, what if your doctor tells you she is giving you the newest, most beneficial drug treatment on the market and that she is very sure of how helpful it will be? Imagine the difference just a simple positive statement from your doctor will make when you take the pill every day. Not only will you be trusting of your treatment, but that trust will lead you to be confident (Endnote 1) that you will feel better - and in most cases, you will. This is an example of the placebo effect - a self-made natural healing response of the body. No matter the fact that in both instances your doctor is giving you the same medication, her belief and yours in the treatment will most likely result in more positive effects. Many people argue that alternative methods of healing (such as hypnosis, therapeutic touch, homeopathic remedies, etc) are basically a placebo effect taking place. Yet, doesn't this fact prove the power of our minds both in health and in issues of pain management? Most modern scientists tend to separate the mind from the body, at least implicitly, suggesting the "mind" is simply a construct with little meaning. The one-cause, one- cure philosophy of science today often disregards the role of the mind in health and healing. Yet many of us even daily acknowledge the power of the mind when we say "oh, you're not sick- it's all in your mind". The placebo effect is not totally understood, yet this fact should not lead anyon e to believe that its effects should be discounted. The placebo effect has been documented to be very powerful. A placebo is a medicine or other kind of treatment that seems therapeutic, but in reality is inert and pharmacological inactive (2). The placebo effect is "a change in a patient's illness attributable to the symbolic import of a treatment rather than a specific pharmacologic or physiologic property" (3). Note that a placebo is not even necessary to result in a placebo effect.

The Nature of Love Explored in A Midsummer Nights Dream Essay

â€Å"The course of true love never did run smooth,† comments Lysander of love’s complications in an exchange with Hermia (Shakespeare I.i.136). Although the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream certainly deals with the difficulty of romance, it is not considered a true love story like Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare, as he unfolds the story, intentionally distances the audience from the emotions of the characters so he can caricature the anguish and burdens endured by the lovers. Through his masterful use of figurative language, Shakespeare examines the theme of the capricious and irrational nature of love. As the play opens, Theseus, Duke of Athens, and Hippolyta, his fiancà ©e discuss their upcoming wedding. With the introduction of Theseus and Hippolyta, Shakespeare presents the backdrop for the multi-faceted love relationships which take place in the play. In an effort to celebrate the occasion with â€Å"pomp, triumph and reveling†, (Shakespeare I.i.20) Theseus instructs Philostrate, Master of the Revels, to â€Å"stir up the Athenian youth to merriments† (Shakespeare I.i.13) as well as to provide entertaining distractions for him and Hippolyta until their wedding. These simple, innocent instructions for merriment and entertainment set the stage for Shakespeare to intricately weave the young lovers, the fairies and the rustics into the story. Introducing the main conflict, Egeus, an Athenian citizen seeking the wise counsel of Theseus, arrives. Egeus’ complaint is against his daughter, who refuses to wed Demetrius, the suitor he has chosen. Although Demetrius loves Hermia, she has given her heart to Lysander and therefore refuses to obey her father and Athenian law. Interestingly, Demetrius not too long ago professed his love for Helena,... ...ss of love. The audience must wonder if Demetrius will have another change of heart or if he has truly matured. Thomas Marc Parrott asserts of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, â€Å"It is his use of language, as in so much else in this play, that Shakespeare shows himself the master† (Kehler 22). Through Shakespeare’s intricate weaving of figurative language throughout the play, he leads the audience on an imaginative, melodramatic, and enchanting parody of exploration into the complexities of love. As Parrott contends, Shakespeare’s true expertise lies in his artful handling of the complexities and subtleties of both the written and spoken word. Work Cited Shakespeare, William. â€Å"A Midsummer Night’s Dream.† The Norton Shakespeare: Based on the Oxford Edition, 2nd ed. Eds. Greenblatt, Stephen et al. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2009. Print.

End of Life Care

Nurses’ Perceptions of End-of-Life Care After Multiple Interventions for Improvement Lissi Hansen, Teresa T. Goodell, Josi DeHaven and MaryDenise Smith Am J Crit Care. 2009;18: 263-271 doi: 10. 4037/ajcc2009727  © 2009 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses Published online http://www. ajcconline. org Personal use only. For copyright permission information: http://ajcc. aacnjournals. org/cgi/external_ref? link_type=PERMISSIONDIRECT Subscription information http://ajcc. aacnjournals. org/subscriptions Information for authors http://ajcc. acnjournals. org/misc/ifora. shtml Submit a manuscript http://www. editorialmanager. com/ajcc Email alerts http://ajcc. aacnjournals. org/subscriptions/etoc. shtml AJCC, the American Journal of Critical Care, is the official peer-reviewed research journal of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), published bimonthly by The InnoVision Group, 101 Columbia, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656. Telephone: (800) 899-1712, (949) 362-2050, ext. 532. Fax: (949) 362-2049. Copyright  © 2009 by AACN. All rights reserved. Downloaded from ajcc. aacnjournals. org by on February 11, 2010 Nursing Education in Critical Care PERCEPTIONS OF END-OF-LIFE CARE AFTER MULTIPLE INTERVENTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT By Lissi Hansen, RN, PhD, Teresa T. Goodell, RN, PhD, CNS, CCRN, ACNS-BC, Josi DeHaven, RN, MPH, CCRN, and MaryDenise Smith, RN, CNS, ACHPN Background Nurses working in intensive care units may lack knowledge and skills in end-of-life care, find caring for dying patients and the patients’ families stressful, and lack support to provide this care. Objectives To describe nurses’ perceptions of (1) knowledge and ability, (2) work environment, (3) support for staff, (4) support for patients and patients’ families, and (5) stress related to specific work situations in the context of end-of-life care before (phase 1) and after (phase 2) implementation of approaches to improve end-of-life care. The approaches were a nurse-developed bereavement program for patients’ families, use of a palliative medicine and comfort care team, preprinted orders for the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, hiring of a mental health clinical nurse specialist, and staff education in end-of-life care. Methods Nurses in 4 intensive care units at a university medical center reported their perceptions of end-of-life care by using a 5-subscale tool consisting of 30 items scored on a 4-point Likert scale. The tool was completed by 91 nurses in phase 1 and 127 in phase 2. Results Improvements in overall mean scores on the 5 subscales indicated that the approaches succeeded in improving nurses’ perceptions. In phase 2, most of the subscale overall mean scores were higher than a desired criterion (