Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Analysis Of The Book Huckleberry Finn - 1319 Words

The Adventures Huckleberry Finn is an American literature classic that tells a marvellous tale. With thrilling twists, character development, and usage of language, it is easy to understand why it is considered an American classic. The interpretation of that story is up to the reader. The similarities, or perhaps the difference of the characters in the book help make it all much more believable. The ranging personalities create imagery of real life. Yet, some of the personalities and their goal are rather similar. Huck Finn is a young boy with a troubled past to say the least. At young age Huck began to deal with the wrath of his alcoholic father. He never had much money and he never knew a civilized lifestyle. When he ends up in the†¦show more content†¦Even with the amazing character development shown by Jim, Twain was unable to stray away from late-19th century racist stereotypes. Even with these stereotypes installed into Jim’s character, similarities between Huck and Jim are still present. One of the first similarities that caught my eye, is the biblical education shown by both Huck and Jim. â€Å"A wise man ‘ud take en buil’ a biler-factry; en den he could shet down de biler-factry when he want to res’.† (Twain 14) This quote shows that Jim has a coy sense of knowledge when it comes to women and understanding them. It also shows that Jim was given a form of biblical education. â€Å"But by and by she let it out that Moses had been dead a considerable long time; so then I didn t care anymore about him.† (Twain 1, 4) This quote, said by Huck Finn, also shows that Huck as well had a biblical education. The education tries into the next similarity between the two as well. Both Huck and Jim are well educated in types of superstition. â€Å"Afterwards Jim said the witches bewitched him and put him in a trance, and rode him all over the State.† (Twain 2, 7) This quote shows Jim s firm belief that the supe rnatural exists. Several times throughout the book, Jim s belief in the supernatural is brought up again. One of those times is when Jim puts a quarter under the â€Å"magic† hairball. The magic hairball being a

Monday, December 16, 2019

Research Methods in Health and Social Care Free Essays

Research Methods in Health and Social Care Critical review of quantitative research Majid,S. Foo,S. Luyt,B. We will write a custom essay sample on Research Methods in Health and Social Care or any similar topic only for you Order Now Ahang,X. Theng,YL. Chang,YK. Mokhtar,IA. (2011) Adopting and evidence-based practice in clinical decision making: nurses’ perceptions, knowledge , and barriers. Journal of the Medical Library Association 99(3) PP229-236. This essay will be a critical review on the study conducted by Majid et al (2011). The article which is titled ‘Adopting evidence-based practice in clinical decision making: Nurses’ perceptions, knowledge, and barriers’. Investigates the attitudes of Singaporean nurses regarding; evidence based practise. The researchers wanted to identify how the nurses informed were about evidence base practice. They also wanted to identify how the nurses researched literature. Evidence based practise is about good practice and improving the quality of care, this is achieved through a combination of evidence and professional expertise, integrated into clinical practice (Baker, 2012). The study reveals that the majority of nurses working in public hospitals in Singapore have positive attitudes towards evidence based practice. Literature review A literature review is a complete study and understanding of research literature that researchers examine prior or during their research study (Aveyard, 2010). Majid, et al. (2011) looked at a wide range of literature within their research, it is imperative for researchers to look at numerous research related to their research topic to gain an insight on how they conducted their study and the conclusion that was identified from the study (Aveyard, 2010). Literature reviews should have a sufficient amount of studies considered. Majid, et al. (2011) looked at a total of twenty two studies, by reading a sufficient amount of studies this ensures that the researcher does not get a misleading picture of the topic (Aveyard,2012). The sources used within the literature were relatively old; these old sources may not be relevant to current times. Literature reviewed should not be more than five years old as attitudes and beliefs change frequently meaning the studies could not be relevant to current attitudes and beliefs (Godshall, 2010). Majid, et al. 2011) found from their literature search that the general view on evidence based practice was positive. This could question whether Majid, et al. (2011) conducted a systematic review of the literature as there was no mention of any research which found that nurses found a negative view on evidence based practice (Houser,2008). The studies mentioned in the literature at were not conducted within the southeast of Asia therefore Majid, et al. (2011) wanted to investigate attitudes towards evidence based practice from the southeast of Asia. This gives justification for the study as there have only been studies conducted in North America, Europe and other developed western countries. Majid, et al. (2011) wanted to compare the result from their study with the previous studies. Majid, et al. (2011) also discovered that most of the literature that was reviewed shared the same findings on barriers to evidence based practice. The healthcare professionals claimed that lack of time was the barrier to acception, adoption and implementation of evidence based practice. Majid, et al. 2011) in addition recognised that only a few studies that they researched had explored the literature searching skills of nurses Literature reviews should be systematically y reviewed to ensure that the research reviews are reliable (Graziano and Raulin, 2007). Majid, et al. (2011) did not state whether the studies that were looked at were systematically or peer reviewed. Approach and Methodology The study was a primary study however did look at survey instrument used by other previous evidence based practise studies. Majid, et al. (2011) used a quantitative method of research. Quantitative research methods require finding a variable for concepts, operationalising them in the study and measuring them (Grix, 2010). Majid, et al. (2011) study did this by using a survey questionnaire as a means of collecting data. The questions were compiled by a team comprising information studies faculty at the Nanyang Technological University and nursing representatives from the National University hospital. Making the questionnaire unbiased towards the researchers. Marczyk, et al. (2005) states that it is important for all research to not be biased towards the researchers. Quantitative research methods are objective as it uses measurements and analysis of statistical data to answer the study question. The researchers’ opinions do not affect the outcome of the study, ensuring that the study is unbiased. Another advantage is quantitative research uses numbers and statistics which is understood universally (Houser,2008). The researchers have clearly described how they implemented their research in the methods section; the study is easily replicable as it uses a survey questionnaire to collect data. However the research study would have been better if they used qualitative methods to find out the nurse’s perceptions, knowledge and barriers towards evidence based practice in clinical decision making. Majid, et al. (2011) could have interviewed some of the participants to get detailed descriptions of how they feel about evidence based practice in clinical decision making. This would allow the researches to get an in-depth understanding making the study more valid (Saris and Gallhofer, 2007). Quantitative research is best used for quantifying relationships between variables (Hopkins, 2008). The objective of the study was not to identify relationships between variables instead was to explore the attitudes, awareness and knowledge towards evidence based practice. Some could argue that making this study more suitable for a qualitative study. Quantitative research study should have a hypothesis (Maryann, 2010). Majid, et al. (2011), did not state a hypothesis for their study neither did they define a prediction of what they think was going to be the outcome of the research. Sample The samples used for the research conducted by Majid, et al. (2011) were registered nurses in 2 public hospitals in Singapore. The researchers made 2,100 copies of the questionnaires to be completed, however 1,486 were completed. The response rate was 70% ,for quantitative research a large sample size is essential to ensure that the study is statistically accurate (Houser, 2008). The fact that not all of the questionnaires were completed means that the study cannot be fully generalised as some people did not respond. Also some staff was on annual, medical or maternity leave therefore could not participate again making the study not generalised and potentially biased. Majid, et al. (2011) used two different hospital sites to collect data from; this is a good approach as the views on Evidence based practice may be different in the two hospitals, therefore allowing for a comparison of the hospital views. However this could be a negative as only two public hospitals in Singapore were used, therefore making the study hard to generalise to other hospitals in Southeast Asia. All research must follow ethical guidelines. Researchers must ensure that their research ensures confidentiality, anonymity, legality and professionalism (Grix, 2011). Majid, et al. (2011) had ethical approval from the Domain Specific Review Board, appointed by the National Healthcare Group. The researchers did not have consent forms for the participants; however the participants were made aware that by completing the questionnaire they were giving their consent. The nursing managers were briefed and asked to hand the questionnaires out. There is no evidence that the participants were given a briefing from the nursing managers maybe it could have been more ethical if Majid, et al. (2011) briefed the nurses themselves before asking them to complete the questionnaire. As the questionnaire was self administered the respondents may not have got the reassurance or debriefing needed ( Nosek, et al. 2002). Data collection Data collection must be appropriate, reliable and valid (Houser, 2008). Majit, et al. (2011) used a survey questionnaire. A 5-point liket scale was used in the questionnaires for collecting the nurse’s perceptions on evidence based practice. The advantages of using a likert scale are that the questions are easy to construct, furthermore the likert scale allows for easy comparison of the participants responses. The disadvantage of using a likert scale is the total score of an individual’s response does not have a clear meaning as a total score can be fixed by a variety of answer patterns (Kothari, 2004). Survey questionnaires require the participants to answer questions presented to them. The questionnaire was self administered, which allows for anonymity and less control from the researcher (Mitchell and Jolley, 2012). The first set of questions were demographic questions which as education, job title and length of experience. Majid, et al. (2011) used the results from the demographic information collected to identify a relationship between the demographic information and the ability to undertake evidence based practice activities and other related activities. Another advantage of the survey questionnaires are that a large sample group was targeted within a small space of time. The surveys were collected within a2-week period. Maybe if they waited 3-weeks they might have had a greater response rate. Lastly survey questionnaires are easily replicable as the questions are standardised therefore making them a good method of research (Mitchell and Jolley, 2012). The disadvantages of using survey questionnaires for data collection includes respondents of are usually unreliable as the participants may not have time to complete the survey. Majid, et al. (2011) had a response rate of 70%. In addition research is also prone to the Hawthorne effect as the participants know that they are being tested, they may not answer the questions on the questionnaire truthfully (Waltz et al, 2010). This may mean the study To assess the nurses’ ability to search databases a hypothetical top was presented to the nurses, with 5 possible search statements and were asked to choose the most appropriate search statement. The validity of this method of measuring their ability to search a database could be questioned. Results The results are presented in table form making the data easy to analyse Majid, et al. (2011) seemed to make assumptions about the beliefs and attitudes towards evidence based practice. The result percentages are too close together. The results from the questions asked about beliefs and attitudes towards evidence based practice showed that 64. 3% of the nurses either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement that they preferred using traditional methods than new patient care approaches. Majid, et al. (2011) failed to account for the 35. 7% of respondents who didn’t disagree or strongly disagree. Majid, et al. (2011) found that 52. 8% of the nurses disagreed with the statement that they do not like people questioning their clinical practices that are based on established methods. From this Majid et al concluded that the nurses were open to adopt new health care approaches. Majid, et al. (2011) again did not take into account the 47. 9% of respondents who did not disagree. Majid, et al. (2011) used a statistical test to investigate possible relationships between the ability to undertake evidence based practice activities and other related variables. Their findings were a weak relationship was found between the ability of nurses to implement evidence based practice and their length of experience. Nurses who had higher qualifications were likely to have better abilities to undertake different evidence based practice tasks. Lastly nurses who attended evidence based practice training were likely to feel more competent in their abilities to implement evidence based practice. Majid, et al. (2011) was able to determine these results using data collected from the questionnaires. . This supports the finding s of the other literature which was mentioned in the literature reviews. Reliability and validity All research studies should have a high reliability and validity. Reliability is the ability to consistently measure what is being measured. Godshall (2010, p. 36) writes that ‘Validity is the ability to measure what is supposed to or is intended to be measured’. To ensure that the content of the questionnaire was valid Majid, et al. (2011) had the questionnaire reviewed by a team of experts. Majid, et al. (2011) used a large sample size of 1,486 making the study reliable as a large number size is important in ensuring that the research is reliable. However the responses from the questionnaire could not be truthful therefore making the study results unreliable. The results showed that 64% of the nurses expressed a positive attitude towards evidence based practice. 64% is not a large enough percentage to conclude the study.. Majid, et al. (2011) assessed the reliability and content validity of their questions using Cronbach alpha. Questionnaires in general have a low validity as the questions do not explore the topic in depth or detail. Majid et al, 2011 conducted a pilot study to test the survey questions. The feedback received showed that the participants wanted the language and the format of the questions changed. By conducting a pilot study this ensures that the study is reliable and valid. Conclusion and clinical implications The conclusions made from Majid et al, (2011) study were that nurses had a positive attitude towards evidence based practice. However they found adopting evidence based practice difficult due to barriers which effect adaptation of evidence based practice. Majid, et al . (2011) suggest that hospital management arrange evidence based practice training and providing time off from work to learn and put into practice new techniques. To summarise the study was a conducted well, the study is easily replicable, although to further the study Majid, et al. (2011) should have considered using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods. Majid,et al. (2011) could have interviewed the nurses to get a further insight into the nurses attitudes and beliefs. Reference List Aveyard. H, 2010, Doing a Literature review in health and social care. A practical guide. 2nd ed, New York: Open university press. Baker. J, 2012, Evidence-Based practice for nurses, London: Sage Publications. Bowling. A and Ebrahim. S, 2005, Handbook of health research methods, Berkshire: Open University Press. Godshall. M. 2012, Fast facts for Evidence Based Practice, Newyork: Springer publishing company. Graziano. M. A and Raulin. L. M, 2007, Research methods a process of inquiry, 6th ed, Boston: Pearson Education. Grix. J, 2010, The Foundations of Research, 2nd Ed, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan Hopkins. G. W, 2008, Quantitative Research Design, Sports Science, [online] Available at http://libweb. anglia. ac. uk/referencing/harvard. htm [accessed 16th May 2012]. Houser. J, 2008, Nursing Research: Reading, Using, and Creating Evidence, London:Jones and Bartlett. Kothari. R. C, 2004, Research Methodology: Methods and Technique, 2nd ed, New Delhi: New age international. Marczyk. R. G, DeMatteo. D and Festinger. D, 2005, Essentials of Research Design and Methodology, New Jersey: John Wiley Sons Mitchell. L. M and Jolley. M. J, 2012, Research design explained,8th ed, Wandsworth: Cengage Learning. Saris. E. W and Gallhofer. N. I, 2007, Design,Evaluation and analysis of questionnaires for survey research,Wiley-Interscience Waltz. F. C, Strickland. L. O and Lenz. R. E, 2010, Measurement in Nursing and Health Research, New York:Springer Publishing Company. How to cite Research Methods in Health and Social Care, Essays

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Marketing Management Evolution and Development

Question: Discuss about the Marketing Management for Evolution and Development. Answer: Introduction The concept of marketing is changing with the passing phase of time. The change is occurring in the accelerating rate. In the similar circumstance, Baum et al. (2008) specified that the global competitive forces are affecting both the business and the professional aspects of the Australian market. The entrepreneurs are suggested to plan out the marketing attributes that meets both the human and the social needs. The previous studies forecast that the domestic enterprises get stuck in formulating its market ideas, which leads the organisations to lose its potential segment (Cooper et al. 2006). Therefore, the entrepreneurs have highly required plan out the marketing criteria with several cost effective methods. STP (Segmentation Targeting and Positioning) is the effective framework that often guides entrepreneurs with corrective marketing measures to present the products before the potential segments (Cohen, 2012). The current study attempts to scrutinise on the importance of STP on m arketing management concept. The concept has been applied on the Australian farm house and Australian Beverages, the health drink brand in the Australian market. STP of Mustela Segmentation It is essential for the marketing managers to segment its marketing concepts by employing different techniques. In this present context Beverland et al. (2010) stated that the segmentation is helpful to recognise the prospective clients for sharing the equivalent levels of the products and the parallel services. It has been observed that the demographic segmentation prospects of farm house are the business class. The segmentation concepts of the firm are also preceded through the criteria like age, gender, income status and the relationship. In this present scenario, Corrigan et al. (2014) added that the firm has to keep a focus on the selling of farm house products to satisfy the requirement of the business class and the chosen clients. As the business class has a unique boldness while purchasing the properties, so that the farm house agents in the Australian market require to put a substantial prominence while selling the properties to the clients. According to the opinion of Willi ams (2012), the management of the firm is enough matured to set the price range depending on the income group status of the customers. Hence, every level of customers can enjoy the products for the properties offered by the leading brand. As target customers like to purchase the best products to withstand the comfort aspects, the company provides an optimal opportunity to all the levels of customers by reducing the price discrimination factor. Therefore, it can be inferred that the property agencies in the Australian market kept the price range in an equal margin to preserve the standards of the products. Targeting As per the company statistics, farm house based brokers target the business class between the age group of 28-46 years for satisfying the requirements regarding the property procurement. The firm has taken a major initiative to communicate directly with the clients and the expected prospects so that the company could develop the product segment robustly and efficiently. Considering the words of Beverland et al. (2010), the majority of the celebrities are driven by the good will of the properties of the penthouses and the recent products offered by the real estate enterprises. In this current situation, it is hard for the brokers to convince the prospects in terms of changing the brand name while purchasing the properties (broom02.revolvy.com, 2016). Thus, the management of the brand has organised a commercial presentation, especially, for drawing the attention of the expected target clients. Therefore, it could be depicted that the firm has contributed for the long-term planning to a ttain the future benefits (Williams, 2012). Furthermore, the disinclined behaviour of the celebrities and the entrepreneurs is the other option for the management of to determine a set of a strategic initiative for the betterment of the products. Hence, investing in innovative and diversified service lines for the professional clients with a commercial declaration would help the farmhouse brokers to attract the clients towards the product segment. Positioning The marketing division of the company has to follow a standardised positioning criteria for the rival groups. In the opinion of Corrigan et al. (2014), the Australian farmhouse sector is one of the leading international division and having a sustainable market position in the market of Australia. The research and the development (RD) section of the organisation is highly competent to identify the financial strategies of the competitors. Thus, this is one of the prime advantageous segment of the company to establish a stable market position in the international market area. It has been speculated that the segment has customised the product price in an affordable range, which helps to eliminate both the quality and the economic expectations of the sector (Clark, 2010). On the other hand, the digital execution of the products is one of the smart policies of the chosen company to improve the brand positioning factor (Abelson et al. 2013). The brand could offer both the optical and the pe rceptible services to satisfy the target customers for improving the purchasing behaviour. STP of Australian Beverages Segmentation In the current framework of segmentation, Australian Beverages offers different types of energy drinks, supplementary juices and juice drinks, sports drinks, bottled and packaged water, ice teas and ready to drink coffees. The current market scenario of Australian Beverages indicates that the company is mainly targeted the sports segment for the energy drinks and other protein supplements. In the words of Cohen (2012), the teenage group section is particularly attracted towards the fitness activity and the frequent consumption of the sports drinks. Besides, Baum et al. (2008) stated that the extra juices are consumed by the student group and the teenagers. These supplements contained no added sugar and comprised wholly of fruit contents. The labelling of the nutrition value is kept equal to the offered fruit content. The customer consumption report also indicates that teenage and womens group prefers to drink carbohydrate products to fuel the muscles and brains. VorÄ ek et al. (2016) also added that the athlete group also requires special glasses to aid in the rehydration. Considering the fact, the current organisation has introduced different sports and electrolytic drinks for the age group of 15-34 years. As the female segment is highly concerned regarding the health, safety and losing weight rapidly, all standard food codes have been mentioned in the labelling of the supplementary drinks. However, Cooper et al. (2006) also stated that male groups prefer to put on the weight in an efficient manner. Therefore, the extra juices are offered primarily to the men, which include different mass gaining components (australianbeverages.org, 2016). The potential combination of the healthy food ingredients has helped the brand managing its brand competitiveness in the Australian market. Targeting The energy drinks are highly preferred amongst the young generation and the business class. According to Beverland et al. (2010), the age group between 21-32 years are highly inclined towards the energy drinks. The drinks are the formulated caffeinated beverages that contain the energy boosting substances. The young generation is highly distinctive regarding the ingredients that are used in the energy drinks. Therefore, Australian Beverages uses 145 mg/L - 320 mg/L of caffeine in the drinks to keep the body hydrated. In the similar circumstance, Corrigan et al. (2014) asserted the brand had maintained a distinctive approach in its product labelling approach. Through the lucrative packaging method, the brand has created a relative distinction with its heath drinks and target segments. The products that exclusively target the youth segments are not confused with the teenage segments (www.aabri.com, 2016). The sports drinks are specially introduced for the age group of 12 19 years. Bas ically, the target group have the tendency of participating in the sports events of schools and colleges. Hence, the electrolyte drinks have been introduced with 10% of sugar contents to convince both the target group and the parents for the procurement approach (australianbeverages.org, 2016). The particular product is promoted with the message that specified that the drink contains the carbohydrates that fuel up the muscular structures and boost up the capacity of human brains (www.theaustralian.com.au, 2016). The cordial are the concentrated fruit-based syrup that is introduced by targeting the women segment between 15 26 years. Positioning The electrolyte drinks are positioned with the message to contain a minimum sodium content, which enhances the absorption of both carbohydrate and water. Thus, despite of high sweat, the body remains hydrated. According to Williams et al. (2012), the electrolyte drinks are sold out at a greater margin in the Australian market. Moreover, the Cordials are introduced specifically for the female segment. Thus, the product is introduced with varied flavours like orange, lemon, blackcurrant and lime. Baum et al. (2008) determined that the energy drinks are promoted Food Standards Code to gain the commitment and the confidence of the potential customers. The above considerations enacted to be the advantageous prospect for the brand to position its products with the marketing accuracy to convince the target segments and attaining a competency in the Australian market. Conclusion The above study states that segmentation, targeting and positioning strategy offers a strategic advantage over the competitor of an organisation. The overall health drink market can be divided into homogeneous or heterogeneous groups. Thus, it is the responsibility of the marketers to satisfy and target those groups by offering a unique set of products. In this context, the current essay reflects on the health drink products company Australian Beverages and the farm house segment, in the Australian market. These two marketers potentially maintain the demand and the need for the targeted consumer pool. The employment of potential STP modules has enabled the current marketers targeting and positioning correctly in the Australian market. Eventually, the brand interaction has been increased, and the same has reflected on the current brand sustainability index. References: Abelson, P., Joyeux, R. and Mahuteau, S. (2013) Modelling house prices across Sydney,Australian Economic Review, 46(3), pp. 269285. Baum, J. R., Locke, E. A., and Smith, K. G. (2008) A multi-dimensional model of venture growth, Academy of Management Journal, 44, pp. 292303 Beverland, M.B., Napoli, J. and Farrelly, F. (2010) Can all brands innovate in the same way? A typology of brand position and innovation Effort, Journal of Product Innovation Management, 27(1), pp. 3348. Clark, J. (2010) Editorial: A serious house on serious earth: Religion and buildings,Australian Religion Studies Review, 23(1), pp. 2426. Cohen, D. (2012) The truth about sports drinks, BMJ, 345(8/3), pp. e4737e4737 Cooper, L.G., Baron, P., Levy, W., Swisher, M., and Gogos, P. (2006) PromoCast: A New Forecasting Method for Promotion Planning. Marketing Science, 18(3), pp. 301316 Corrigan, H.B., Craciun, G. and Powell, A.M. (2014) How does target know so much about its customers? Utilizing customer Analytics to make marketing decisions, Marketing Education Review, 24(2), pp. 159166. Homepage (2012) Available at: https://australianbeverages.org/ (Accessed: 23 August 2016). Mustela worldwide (no date) Available at: https://www.mustela.com/language-selector/ (Accessed: 23 August 2016). Subscribe to the Australian(no date) Available at: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/the-times/probiotic-drinks-branded-a-waste-of-money-for-healthy-people/news-story/e842df0166f30bd1349bf7701ba509e2 (Accessed: 22 August 2016). VorÄ ek, J., ÄŒslavov, E. and ma, J. (2016) Segmentation in sport services: A typology of fitness customers, AUC KINANTHROPOLOGICA, 51(2), pp. 3247. Williams, K.C. and Page, R.A. (no date)Marketing to the generations. Available at: https://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/10575.pdf (Accessed: 22 August 2016). Williams, T., Blachuta, B., Hegna, T.A. and Nagy, L.M. (2012) Decoupling elongation and segmentation: Notch involvement in anostracan crustacean segmentation, Evolution Development, 14(4), pp. 372382.