Record Management

Running head: Records Management Name Instructor Date of submission Executive Summary An effective records management program is an integral part of an organization’s effective business operations. Organizations must consider records management requirements when implementing the system management strategies or whenever they design and augment an electronic information system. Organizations are required by law to â€Å"make and preserve records containing adequate and proper documentation of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, and essential transactions of the organization. This legal requirement applies to electronic records kept by the organizations as well. Organizations that do not consistently adhere to standard records management practices run the risk of not having records that can be depended upon in the course of subsequent business transactions or activities. This paper focuses on the various methodologies that organizations can implement in order to develop ECM/ERM strategies that are backed with electronic signature systems. It also gives an insight into the various ways through which organizations can implement good IT practices to complement or parallel existing records management practices. In systems implemented in line with ECM/ERM guidelines, developing the most efficient systems will form the core of organizational success. This will be achieved by making electronically signed records the core of organizational IT systems. The organizational IT professionals will come to terms with the fact that signatures are an integral part of the records they keep. If the records need to be preserved, whether for a short duration of time or permanently, then the organization is required to promote integrity of its records by electronically signing them in scheduled series. Additionally, this paper discusses the general principles that govern application of electronic signature technology in organizations. Organizations can accomplish electronic signatures through the use of different technologies such as Personal Identification Number (PIN), smart cards and biometrics. However, some organizations can decide to apply additional technology specific-record management systems. Introduction Records Life Cycle vs. System Development Life Cycle According to Adam (2008), the terms â€Å"records life cycle† and â€Å"system development life cycle† are significant concepts that are often confused in information technology and records management discussions. Records life cycle: The records life cycle refers to the life span of a record from the time it is created or received to its eventual disposition. The process is usually carried out in three main stages: creation, maintenance and use, and eventual disposition (Sampson, 2002). Majorly, this paper focuses on information creation stage since the electronic signature record is created at the initial stage of the records life cycle. The second stage, maintenance and use, is the part in the records life cycle in which the record is maintained at the organizational level while in active use, or is maintained when not in frequent use. The final stage of the records life cycle is disposition, which marks the ultimate fate finish to the record. Most organizational records are categorized as having either a â€Å"temporary† or â€Å"permanent† disposition status (Addey, 2002). Temporary records are held by organizations for stated periods before they are destroyed or deleted. On the other hand, permanent records are initially held by organizations before they are eventually transferred to state and other involved agencies. The eventual disposition of the electronically-signed records is subject to debate between the involved agency and the statutory bodies, in which some organizations may be authorized to dispose some of the records. System development life cycle: The â€Å"system development life cycle† gives a description of the developmental phases that an electronic information system entails. These phases typically include initiation, definition, design, development, deployment, operation, maintenance, enhancement, and retirement. The most important steps in all this are the definition, development, and refinement of the data model, which mostly involves treatment of the records being created or managed (Stephens, 2007). Information systems are developed according to system development methodologies, including those that organizations use to implement the electronic signature as required by the statutory bodies; which govern production and augmentation of existing records. The records life cycle usually exceeds the system development life cycle. When it does the organization involved needs to retain the particular record for a period of time longer than the life of the electronic information system that generated the electronic signature. However, this presents special challenges, such as maintaining the integrity of record in case of system migration. Background Characteristics of Trustworthy Organizational Records Reliability, authenticity, integrity, and usability are the features used to describe trustworthy records from a records management perspective. An organization needs to consider these features when laying implementation plans for ERM programs; such that it can meet its internal business and legal needs, as well as external regulations (Boiko, 2002). The degree of effort that an organization puts into ensuring that these characteristics are attained depends on the organizational business strategies and the structure of the market environment. Transactions that are of great importance to the organization require greater assurance level than those usable with transactions of less criticality to the organization Reliability: A reliable record is one that carries contents that can be trusted as a whole and actual representation of the transactions, activities, or facts to which it refers and can be relied upon in the subsequent transactions Authenticity: An authentic record is one that is proven to be what it purports to be and to have been created or sent by the person who purports to have created and sent it. A record should be created at the point in time of the transaction or incident to which it relates, or soon afterwards, by individuals who have direct knowledge of the facts or by instruments routinely used within the business to conduct the transaction (Wiggins, 2007). To demonstrate the authenticity of records, organizations should implement and document policies and procedures which control the creation, transmission, receipt, and maintenance of records to ensure that records designers are authorized and identified and that records are protected against unauthorized addition, deletion, and alteration. Integrity: The integrity of a record refers to the state of being complete and unchanged. It is essential that a record be protected against changes without signed permission. Records management policies and procedures should specify what, if any, additions or annotations may be made to a record after it is created, under what circumstances additions or annotations may be authorized, and the people authorized to make the changes. Any authorized annotation or addition to a record made after it is complete should be explicitly indicated as annotations or additions. Another aspect of integrity is the structural integrity of organizational records. The structure of a record refers to its physical and logical format; as well as the relationship between the data elements contained in the record. Failure to maintain the structural integrity of organizational records can easily impair reliability and authenticity of the record Usability: These are records that can be located, retrieved, presented, and interpreted. In any subsequent retrieval and use, the record needs to be directly connected to the business activity or transaction which produced it. It should be possible to identify a record within the context of broader business activities and functions. The connection between records which document a sequence of activities should be maintained. These contextual linkages of records should carry the information needed for an understanding of the transaction that created and used them. Preserving Trustworthy Records For a record to remain reliable, authentic, with its integrity maintained, and useable for as long as the record is needed, it is necessary that it’s content, context and sometimes structure is maintained. A trustworthy record preserves the actual content of the record itself and information about the record that draws relation to the context in which it was first designed and used. Specific contextual information will vary depending upon the business, legal, and regulatory requirements of the business activity (e. g. , issuing land use permits on Federal lands). It is also necessary to preserve the structure of the record, as well as the content arrangement. Failure to preserve the content structure of the record will affect its structural integrity. That, in turn, undermines the record’s reliability and authenticity; which is of great essence. There are special considerations when dealing with the preservation of the content, context, and structure of records that are made possible by Electronic Record Management through electronic signatures: †¢ Content: The electronic signature or signatures in a record are part of the content. They give a clear indication on who signed a record and whether that person gave approval for the record content. In organizations, multiple signatures are an indication of initial approval and subsequent approvals. It should be understood that in ERM, signatures should accompanied by dates and other identifiers such as organizational titles. All of these peripherals are part of the content of the record and needs to be kept well. Lack of this information seriously impairs the reliability and authenticity of a record †¢ Context: Some electronic signature technologies are centered on individual identifiers which are not embedded in the record content, trust paths, and other means used to create and verify the validity of an electronic signature. This information is not inclusive of the record content but is nevertheless significant. It provides contextual support to the record since it provides evidence that can be used to support the authenticity and reliability of the record. Lack of these contextual records seriously impairs subsequent attempts to verify validity of the organizational records. †¢ Structure: Preserving the structure of a record means that the physical and logical formats of a record are well drawn. In doing this, organizations must ensure that the physical and logical formats of the record elements remain intact physically and logically. An organization may find it necessary to maintain the record structural form through the use of an electronic signature. In that case, the organization is required to preserve both the hardware and software that created the electronic signature, which can either be encryption algorithms or chips. This ensures that the electronic record can be revalidated at a later time when required Advantages and disadvantages of using ECM/ERM systems in organizations The main advantage of organizations using ECM/ERM approaches in organizations is the fact that it offers the platform to verify the validity of records. There are various approaches that organizations can use to achieve trustworthiness of electronically-signed records within their systems over time. This requires that organizations choose an approach that is applicable, fit for their particular line of business; as well as risk assessment The first approach may involve an organization deciding to maintain adequate documentation of its records’ validity. This involves maintaining of adequate documentation of the records such as, trust verification of records gathered at or near the time of record signing. This record keeping approach enables organizations to retain contextual information through an adequate document processes carried out at the time the record was electronically-signed, along with the electronically-signed record itself. The additional contextual information is then retained for as long as the electronically-signed record is retained. Thus the agency preserves the signature’s validity and meets the adequacy of documentation requirements by retaining the contextual information that documented the validity of the electronic signature at the time the record was signed. Maintaining adequate documentation of validity gathered at or near the time of record signing may be preferable for records that have permanent or long-term retentions since it is less dependent on technology and much more easily maintained as technology evolves over time (Rockley, 2003). However, using this approach, the signature name may not remain readable over time because of bit-wise deterioration in the record or as a result of technological obsolescence. Agencies must ensure that for permanent records the printed name of the signer and the date when the signature was executed be included as part of any human readable form (such as electronic display or printout) of the electronic record. Similarly, an organization may opt to maintain the capacity to re-validate digital signatures. The re-validation approach demands that an organization retains the ability to revalidate the digital signature, together with the electronically-signed record itself. The information necessary for revalidation (i. e. , the public key used to validate the signature, the certificate related to that key, and the certificate revocation list from the certificate authority that corresponds to the time of signing) must be retained for as long as the digitally-signed record is retained. Both contextual and structural information of the record must be retained. This is of benefit to the organization since it can review it records over time effectively (Jenkins, 2005). However, this approach of record keeping is potentially burdensome, particularly for records that are digitally signed records with long retention requirements. Conclusions Record keeping is consistently becoming a priority for many organizations with advancement in technology. The challenging part is keeping up with the drastic options that are being launched within short periods. As discussed in this paper, the most efficient method of managing organizational records is through the adoption of Electronic Content Management or Electronic Record Management systems (Halvorson, 2009). This is mostly achieved by electronically signing records depending on their importance and usage in the organization. In doing this, organizations are able protect the reliability, authenticity, integrity, and usability, as well as the confidentiality, and legitimacy of their records. When implementing electronic signature technology, organizations are expected to accord special consideration to the use of electronic signatures in electronic records that preserve organizational legal rights. This is based on the fact that long-term temporary and permanent electronically signed records have greater longevity than typical software obsolescence cycles, it is certain that organizations will be required to migrate those records to updated versions of software to maintain access to the records (Hackos, 2002). The software migration (as opposed to media migration) process may invalidate the digital signature embedded in the record. This may adversely affect an agency’s ability to recognize or enforce the legal rights documented in those records. References Adam, A. (2008). Implementing electronic document and record management systems. Boca Raton: Auerbach Publications. Addey, D. (2002). Content management systems. Birmingham: Glasshaus, cop. Boiko, B. (2005) Content Management Bible. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Hackos, T. (2002). Content management for dynamic web delivery. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Halvorson, K. (2009). Content strategy for the web. Indianapolis: New Riders. Jenkins, T. (2005). Enterprise content management: what you need to know; [turning content into competitive advantage]. Waterloo: Open Text Corp. Rockley, A. (2003). Managing enterprise content: a unified content strategy. Indianapolis: New Riders. Sampson, K. (2002). Value-added records management: protecting corporate assets, reducing business risks. West port: Quorum Books. Stephens, D. (2007). Records management: making the transition from paper to electronic. Alexa: ARMA. Wiggins, B. (2000). Effective document management: unlocking corporate knowledge. Aldershot: Gower.

Eight Important Duties of an Agent Towards the Principal Essay

1. Duty to follow principal’s directions or customs (Sec. 211): The first duty of every agent is to act within the scope of the authority conferred upon him and perform the agency work according to the directions given by the principal. When the agent acts otherwise, if any loss be sustained, he must make it good to the principal, and if any profit accrues, he must account for it.   Illustrations: (a) Where the principal instructed the agent to warehouse the goods at a particular place and the agent warehoused them at a different warehouse which was equally safe, and the goods were destroyed by fire without negligence, it was held that the agent was liable for the loss because any departure from the instructions makes the agent absolutely liable (Lilley vs Doubleday). (b) An agent being instructed to insure goods neglects to do so. He is liable to compensate the principal in the event of these being lost (Pannalal Jankidas vs Mohanlal). If the principal has not given any express or implied directions, then it is the duty of the agent to follow the custom prevailing in the same kind of business at the place where the agent conducts business. If the agent makes any departure, he does so at his own risk. He must make good any loss so sustained by the principal. Illustrations (Appended To Sec. 211): (a) A, an agent, engaged in carrying on for B a business, in which it is the custom to invest from time to time at interest, the moneys which may be in hand, omits to make such investments. A must make good to B the interest usually obtained by such investments. (b) B, a broker, in whose business it is not the custom to sell on credit, sells goods of A on credit to C, whose credit at the time was very high. C, before payment, becomes insolvent. B must make good the loss to A, irrespective of his good intentions. 2. Duty to carry out the work with reasonable skill and diligence (Sec. 212): The agent must conduct the business is generally possessed by persons engaged in similar business, unless the principal has notice of his want of skill. Further, the agent must act with reasonable diligence and to the best of his skill.   If the agent does not work with reasonable care, skill (unless the principal has notice of his want of skill) and diligence, he must make compensation to his principal in respect of ‘direct consequences’ of his own neglect, want of skill or misconduct. But he is not so liable for indirect or remote losses. Illustrations (Appended To Sec. 212): (a) A, a merchant in Kolkata, has an agent B, in London, to whom a sum of money is paid on A’s account, with orders to remit. B retains the money for a considerable time. A, in consequence of not receiving the money, becomes insolvent. B is liable for the money and interest from the day on which it ought to have been paid, according to the usual rate, and for any further direct loss such as loss by variation of rate of exchange, but nothing further. (b) A, an agent for the sale of goods, having authority to sell goods on credit, sells to B on credit, without making the proper and usual enquiries as to the solvency of B. B, at the time of such sale, is insolvent. A must make compensation to his principal in respect of any loss thereby sustained. 3. Duty to Render Accounts (Sec. 213): It is the duty of an agent to keep proper accounts of his principal’s money or property and render them to him on demand, or periodically if so provided in the agreement. 4. Duty to communicate (Sec. 214): It is the duty of an agent, in cases of difficulty, to use all reasonable diligence in communicating with his principal, and in seeking to obtain his instructions, before taking any steps in facing the difficulty or emergency. 5. Duty not to deal on his own account (Sees. 215 and 216): An agent must not deal on his own   account in the business of agency; i.e., he must not himself buy from or sell to his principal goods he is askedto sell or buy on behalf of his principal; without obtaining the consent of his principal after disclosing all material facts to him. If the agent violates this rule, the principal may repudiate the transaction where it can be shown that any material fact has been knowingly concealed by the agent, or that the dealings of the agent have been disadvantageous to the principal. The principal is also entitled to claim from the agent any benefit which may have resulted to him from the transaction. Illustrations: (a) A, directs B to sell A’s estate. B buys the estate for himself in the name of   . A, on discovering that B has bought the estate for himself may repudiate the sale, if he can show that B has dishonestly concealed any material fact or that the sale has been disavantageous to him. [Illustration (a) Appended to Section 215 ( b)A directs, B, his agent, to buy a certain house for him. B tells A that it cannot be bought and buys the house for himself. A may, on discovering that B has bought the house, compel him to sell it to A at the price he gave for it. [Illustration appended to Section 216] 6. Duty not to make any profit out of his agency except his remuneration (Sees. 217 and 218): An agent stands in a fiduciary relation to his principal and therefore he must not make any profit (secret profit) out of his agency. He must pay to his principal all moneys (including illegal gratification, if any) received by him on principal’s account. He can, however, deduct all moneys due to himself in respect of his remuneration or/and expenses properly incurred. If his acts are not bonafide, he will lose his remuneration and will have to account for the secret profit to his principal. 7. Duty on termination of agency by principal’s death or insanity (Sec. 209): When an agency is terminated by the principal dying or becoming of unsound mind, the agent must take, on behalf of the representatives of his late principal, all reasonable steps for the protection and preservation of the interests entrusted to him. 8. Duty not to delegate authority (Sec. 190): Subject to six exceptions stated earlier (under the heading Delegation of Authority), an agent must not further delegate his authority to another person, but perform the work of agency himself.

Management of Human Resource individual Work wk1 Essay

Management of Human Resource individual Work wk1 - Essay Example Regard to the significance of employing the employees on as broad a geographical ground as feasible (Storey, 1999). Moreover, and to the equal partaking of males and females in the duties if the firms. The superseding apprehension of human resources managers in the organizations is to connect human resources management with managerial aims, to put into consideration the outside and inside forces applicable to human resources management. The Framework includes a meaning of organizational plan and its influence on the human resources management atmosphere. It identifies the dissimilar yet interconnected elements that constitute human resources management in the organization. Google is one of the organizations that give great concern to the framework. Mainly, Google motivates its employees. Being a decentralized company having more than forty head offices, it uses the motivational structure. It does it by allowing its employees to use the innovation time off policy. The employees are free to utilize twenty percent of their time in fields of their interest. Through the policy, very many new services have come into existence. Such services include Gmail. Moreover, it has six most essentials, some of which contains other sub-components. Definition, Recognition of central part/non-central elements, fundamental values and the connections between elements and sub-elements. The Framework gives the organizations with a holistic conceptual ground from which to make use of one or more fields of human resources management modification. Therefore, organizations can use it to speculate future work, policies, and measures. In addition to that, other activities are essential elements that mainly motivate the staff. These activities will boost the morale of staff members. An increase in morale among staff increases their output in general. Furthermore, use of human triad is a performance measuring

Threat Management Of Terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Threat Management Of Terrorism - Essay Example Most of the terror outfits in recent times have an ulterior political motive, and comprises of a very large and complex social network. One of the key measures of counter-terrorism strategies is to disrupt these terror networks by gaining corroborative evidence against its operations and pressing for military and/ or criminal proceedings against the culprits by way of seeking intervention of international bodies such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); International Police for Cooperation against Terrorism (Interpol); and the United Nations counter terrorism activities (Fraser, 2003; Deflem, 2004). This paper on ‘Threat management of terrorism’ discusses the various ways in the issue of global terrorism can be addressed and approached. Risk Calculation It is extremely crucial for decision makers to take calculated risks while undertaking counter-terrorism measures. This is because most of the time, the information collected regarding the terrorist activitie s, may result in poor judgments and hence poor decisions. Although the fact that no amount of planning and preparation on the part of counter-terrorism agencies can foretell or foresee all the terror attacks on a nation, a deterrence strategy based on defensive principles will, nonetheless, contribute significantly in restricting the extent of damage or at the most, prevent the dissipating of scarce national resources (Lebovic, 2007). Risk calculation might not help in completely averting the attack but it does play a key role in quantifying the extent of damage to human life and property and take pre-emptive measures to support and / or contain the aftermath. Today, due to the increasing use of technological aids and computer simulation it has become easier to calculate with accuracy, the degree and extent of damage likely to be caused by a certain act of terror. One of the most critical aspects / aftermath of such attacks is the number of casualties and economic loss. The risk cal culation strategies prove to be highly useful in mitigating the damage through development of counter-terrorism methods, evaluating the risk implications, and implementing crisis management strategies, in the most cost-effective manner possible (Larche, 2008; Dixon, 2007). Furthermore, strategies such as red-teaming and blue-teaming exercises which refer to the process of defining the weaknesses of a system and developing methods to mitigate the resulting vulnerabilities, can be implemented as an effective countermeasure (Carter, 2002). Reducing risk: Reducing the risks associated with terrorist attacks is perhaps one of the most crucial aspects of threat management. Thanks to the ever increasing technological developments, reducing such risks has become easier and cost-effective, over time. One of the key strategies to ensure reducing the terrorism risks is to enhance the level of security. Care must be taken to install effective special protection technology which helps in avertin g and detecting potential risks, particularly at places which are highly vulnerable to terror strikes and prone to such attacks. Some of the most commonly used technological vigilance aids include installing of CCTV cameras in places of high risk, deploying of security guards and metal detectors; using intensive

Exemplification - Stereotyping Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Exemplification - Stereotyping - Essay Example This essay assesses the cognitive approach that classification is an important cognitive process that unavoidably leads to stereotyping in the media and gender. Adverts are created with a specific audience in mind. In spite of being designed to appeal the bigger majority in the target audience, there is no finance, resource or capability to market each unique person. Advertisers mostly exploit stereotypical types of genders with the aim of producing advertisements that have the biggest appeal. For instance, in the vast part of the United States, it is believed that men are more aggressive than women. With that mentality, men are mostly used in adverts with the intention of such adverts appealing to a bigger audience (Hawkins-Dady, 2012). It is therefore, important to distinguish between gender, sex and stereotype for research purposes. As a matter of fact, sex is the biological difference between males and females. For gender, it is the social, psychological and cultural characteristics of being a male or a female. In such a case, stereotype comes as a standardized image or conception of specific group of individuals or objects. For example, Bond and Desoto adverts show some exaggerated masculine. The men in the advert seem to be strong, tough and free. The coca cola adverts portray women as caring mothers, socially refined and serving housewives. Additionally, the Levi advert portray women as being sexually promiscuous. Also, the Hitachi telephone portray women as secretaries (Faust, 2013). Coming to the United States made me realize that women are today portrayed as being confident, independent and successful. Most adverts in the papers in United States portray the mentioned qualities, but beauty in women is still linked to being successful. Although, there is a move from this notion as noticed in one Dove advert. This advert seems to go against the norm which portrays women as thin model. The advert uses a fat woman in advertising the

Strategic Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Strategic Plan - Essay Example Another main risk of Hawaiian Airlines includes causing distress to passengers in cases where the authorities find that their luggage’s â€Å"size, weight, or character renders it unsuitable for transportation on the particular aircraft which is to transport it, or which cannot be accommodated without harming or annoying passengers† (Contract of Carriage, 2013).Hawaiian Airlines is forbidden from allowing any passengers to carry an item that is prohibited in their regulations or laws. Risk Management: Another thing is that Hawaiian Airlines does not allow any object or device, which can get in the way with its usual processes, on board the aircraft. â€Å"Risk management is a systematic way of identifying potential risks within a project, gauging or estimating the probabilities of these risks occurring, to then develop strategies to manage these risks† (Bliss, 2005). Risk assessment: Identifying risks: Hawaiian Airlines explores various options available in order to reduce costs. But this is a very difficult task as present day competition between different airlines is very stiff. Some risks faces by the airlines arise because of the complex structure of its industry. These risks have to be identified and managed for the airlines to maintain its business and progress to higher levels. One of the major issues faced by the airlines is that it can sometimes alienate its loyal customers. This happens at times when the Aloha flights of Inter-Island are skimped in order to upscale or refurbish Hawaiian Pacific Airlines in order to increase client service. Risk Analysis: Risk assessment is not just related with identifying risks, but also making the stakeholders and project team aware of them. It also includes assessing the possible severity of these risks, thus, recognizing where most attention is to be given in order to transform risks into the advantage of the organization. In the case of aggressive growth, Hawaiian Airlines faces medium risk a s mentioned before. It is a fact that they do not provide services of flight to countries such Singapore and India, which are common tourism destinations. Singapore being an extremely popular tourist centre and the third richest nation in the globe, should be included by the Hawaiian Airlines in the list of countries they provide services to. Market Share in Inter-Island Services in Hawaiian Airlines shows low risks comparatively. To remove the competition in Inter-Island facilities area, the industry needs to develop some strategies to attract further customers and, therefore, increase their market share. Announcing particular offers, introducing special services, offering additional discounts to common fliers etc can be a few among the strategies. Brand Image in Hawaiian Airlines is an element that poses high risks. Corporate reputation is influenced to some extent by the value of the pilots in the airlines. It is the most crucial part in strategic airline management and, therefor e, Hawaiian Airlines have to maintain as well as find ways to improve their brand image. Calculating Severity The scales for calculating the probability as well as influence of risks may be qualitative, in some cases where there are comparative definitions available. Hawaiian Airlines suggests the following: Scale impact 1 Very aggressive growth Low 33 2 Interisland Competition risk

Organic Revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Organic Revolution - Essay Example Here is the concept of organic food, a new revolutionary wave that characterizes modern farming and ranching. Inasmuch as the climate change campaigners, policy advisors and politicians continue to drag their feet on such a fundamental issue, it is imperative to acknowledge the bare fact that business is not as usual at all. Not at a time when organic revolution continues to spread its tentacles and roots into the tissues that define our posterity. Across the world, thousands of organic farmers and conservationists are on a constant plea to inform the world that we can indeed create a very safe and healthy alternative to the conventional industrial agriculture (Ableman 89). The whole trouble however lies in convincing the masses and the skeptics out there that this is a very real and feasible process devoid of any harm hitherto known. Well, the cynics will normally have their way and their say but the fundamental realization to acknowledge is that as the world’s population sur ges amid diminishing resources, it is imperative that radical measures be put in place to ensure that this generation and the posterity will have food to eat and resources to use. That, in essence, is the fundamental issue that has to be addressed. It is in light of such emerging realities that the concept of organic revolution continues to take shape and be accepted as a solution to the food crisis in the world (Avery 78). However, this should never be accepted with doubts and skepticism. It should be after an understanding of the facts, realities and the imperatives of such a revolution. On the positive aspect, the goal in the organic revolution process is not only limited to feeding the world’s population. It is also about reversing the effects of global warming which is indeed a nightmare in the world. Organic farming helps in capturing millions of the greenhouse gasses that destabilize the ecosystem (Gettelman 45-8). This is enhanced through a combination of activities s uch as reforestation, composting, photosynthesis and the preservation of wetlands all which contribute positively toward reversing the effects of global warming. Indeed, climate change in a global concern that continues to elicit hot debates both on its causes and effects amid the thoughts that certain countries should be more responsible for addressing its consequences given that they contribute more toward the challenge. On that account, any positive process that can effectively curb the effects of global warming should be a welcome story by all and sundry. At least for those concerned with environmental issues. The conventional farming methods practiced across the world are basically energy intensive and involves the application of a lot of chemicals in the farmlands (Guthman 109). The deliberating effects of such industrial agriculture include a release of millions of tons of carbon dioxide gas into the environment. All this becomes a foregone story with the adoption of organic farming. In this case, healthy soils can be nurtured, while plants and trees that are resistant to drought and pests can flourish effectively. Indeed, nothing is better than that. Not at a time when hunger and famines continue to consume millions across the world. Moreover, organic farming produces food that is basically more nutritious with more vitamins and minerals to address the malnutrition that is also a concern in most parts of the

Snake Venom Protein Paralyzes Cancer Cells Research Paper

Snake Venom Protein Paralyzes Cancer Cells - Research Paper Example Present ways of treatment are awfully expensive and have a lot of side effects to patients; mentally, economically as well as physically (Finn, 2001). A number of the elements of snake venom lead to cancerous cell growth retardation. Snake venom, on the other hand, might be a fundamental nominee for the cure in the future for a lot of diseases and body disorders because of its remedial potency and activity together with its availability. Observing and studying with the revolutionary prospectus in pharmaceutical perspectives, snake venom could pay the way for the fresh age of medicines, as well as the research for treatment of cancer among other illnesses (Alama et al., 2011). Snake venoms are often studied by scientists and researchers for its therapeutically/remedial application (Finn, 2001). Numerous outstanding publications distinguished the use of venoms for the healing of a range of therapeutic conditions as inflammation and cancer (Finn, 2001). This article will review recent l iterature regarding a therapeutic potential of snake venom in an endeavor to develop a scientific basis for use of snake venom for treatment of cancer. Venoms of snakes are multifaceted mixtures; largely it has proteins that have enzymatic actions. Peptides and proteins formulate 90 to 95% of the dry weight of venom. Besides that, venoms have inorganic cations such as calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium as well as small amounts of nickel, zinc, cobalt, iron and manganese (Alama et al., 2011). Zinc is vital for anticholinesterase action; calcium is needed for activation of enzymes such as phospholipase.

Gender Stereotypical Attitudes Past Essay Example for Free

Gender Stereotypical Attitudes Past Essay It has been generally observed that workplace attitudes on gender have continued to influence decisions and direct actions in organizations. These attitudes have tended to be directed more at women than men. The result has been a hindrance in the effective participation of women in decision-making at the workplace. Most men, and sadly women, have had the opinion that women lack the ability to function in management positions that require strategic decision making within the organization. They are said to lack the ability to decide on their feet, as somebody would put it. Research findings unfortunately seem to point at the existence of this sad scenario in most organizations. A research carried out by Wood (2008) provides a lot of insightful information on the effect of gender stereotyping of women at the work place. Out of a total of 30 respondents selected for this study, there were 19 men and 11 women, who happened to be in various management positions in their organizations. It is interesting to note the gender stereotyping began right from the sampling. One wonders why the researchers decided to use 19 male and 11 female managers and not 15 male and 15 female managers. A good number of the female managers in the US felt it would take over 10 years for women to achieve equal representation with men in terms of job placement. A number of male respondents from the US shared a similar view and supported his position by submitting that in the organisation where he works, there are very few women, and even then most of them take long durations in lower positions. Some female respondents were of the opinion that it would take more than a decade for women to realize 50% representation in senior management positions. A female respondent was of the opinion that 50% representation might not be realized. She however opined that this was not because women lacked the ability to perform in these high positions, but because they were not simply interested in taking up such positions. This position is tandem with the respondents who were asked if they aspired to be promoted. Whereas 68% of the men said they aspired for promotion, only 55% of the women were willing to be promoted. It is however unclear whether their lack of aspiration is due to lack of skills, knowledge and abilities. Whereas 58% of the men said that they had successfully achieved promotion, only 27% of the women shared this position. It is however debatable whether their failure to secure promotion was based on their lack of interest, lack of ability or because of their smaller number in organizations. It would appear that children hinder women from aspiring for management positions because one respondent said that women who wish to get these positions put off bearing children. Some respondents said that senior management positions are not open to everybody, but to a small clique of old boys who operate like a closed shop. Breaking into this network requires people with unique abilities, and not many women have the stamina to push through. The few who have been able constitute the small percentage. Some managers were of the view that achieving 40/60 percent representation for women and men respectively in more than 10 years could be more realistic than 50/50 percent representation. They argue that it takes time to develop somebody to management level, which not many women are willing to wait for patiently. Even when they reach the top, some of them opt out and might not be replaced by other women, but by men. It was also felt by some respondents that management positions require performers, which not many women might be. They feel that 50% representation at any time might be quite ambitious, but 10% would be realistic. Cumulatively, out of the female respondents, 1 felt that it would take 5 – 10 years to have 50% female representation, 2 said it would take more than 10 years while 4 said it would take 10 years or more. Only one female respondent said women will never achieve 50% representation. 1 said it would take another 5-10 years, while two said it would take more than 10 years from that time. 1 out of the 19 male respondents said it would take between 5-10 years to achieve 5% female representation, while 1 said it would take more than 10 years. 6 said it would take another 10 years or more. 5 male respondents said women will never achieve 50% representation, while one said it would take them more than ten years to achieve a paltry 10% representation. The results from this research could have major implications in the actual working environment as far as female aspirations for higher managerial positions are concerned. The first implication which is more theoretical in nature is that women are being negatively influenced as far as their career advancement is concerned. When the results make it abundantly clear that chances of achieving a 50% female representation on the workplace are slim, most of the female employees will get demotivated and will find no reason to aspire for high managerial positions. Such a decision is likely to keep them at the lower level of then organization hence inhibiting their career advancement. Making top management positions appear like a private members’ club which requires connections before joining could easily scare away women from venturing. Not many women are able to weave their way through male dominated networks. The few who are able are possibly the ones who share such positions with men. Some women would like to be mothers as well as career women. Making it appear as if advancing in one’s career can only take place at the expense of family life is enough deterrent to a woman’s career advancement. The practical implication of the research findings is that organizations might fail to sufficiently utilize the skills, knowledge and talents possessed by women. It is known that women have some unique abilities which could be harnessed and utilized in the organization. Scaring them away from management positions where important decision making is done denies the organization opportunity to benefit from their input. Apart from being scared by the attitude of men, fellow women also play a role. References Wood, Glence. 2008. Gender Stereotypical Attitudes Past, Present and Future Influences on Women’s Career Advancement. Equal Opportunities International, Vol. 27 No. 7, pp. 613-628

Ted Huges Hawk Roosting Essay Example for Free

Ted Huges Hawk Roosting Essay Hughes uses animals in order to explore the nature of man. Discuss with reference to a poem from the anthology. Throughout the poems of Ted Hughes the theme of animals comes about. No more so in the poem hawk roosting. This poem explores the key aspects of human nature, both positive and negative. The theme is arrogance and the nasty side of nature. This is unlike his other poems such as work and play, which seems to show nature is better than human life. For example in the line â€Å"but the holiday people are laid out like wounded† of work and play. Hawk roosting has a negative perspective on nature because it uses such words as â€Å"death† and â€Å"kills and eat†. The poem is from the hawks perspective which allows the reader to empathises and relate to the hawk, for example it says â€Å"I sit top of the wood†. The use of the 1st person gives the reader the impression that the hawk may be arrogant, and in many ways possess the same qualities as a dictator e.g. â€Å"Earth’s face upward for my inspection† The use of the word my means he thinks he is above the world, in both ways. The hawk seems omnipotent and it shows arrogance. The hawk was a sign of Nazi Germany and with Ted Hughes born during world war 2, may be the reason he wants the hawk to be a item of arrogance and have the same traits as a dictator. The idea that if the reader were to replace the hawk, with a person, it would make little difference to the theme of the poem This shows that Ted is trying to say as in so many of his poems â€Å"harvest moon† â€Å"work and play† That both man and natures are closely inter-wound, and that animals and man alike can show the same mental and physical traits. The language used in the poem seems to show a lot of arrogance from bird to the rest of nature. It is set in the 1st person to show that the bird seems to be the only important thing in the woods, and everything else, including the world is benith him for example the line â€Å"

Design of Interventional Biomedical Devices

Design of Interventional Biomedical Devices 1. Neurovascular Catheters and Engineering Design 1. Case Study 1. The following catheter found in the cathlabdigest written by Gill Laroya discusses the advancement of the design of interventional biomedical devices from an engineering perspective and how engineers enhance the design of catheters to prevent problems such as kink. The article discusses areas such as the history of biomedical devices, the materials involved, design challenges and the interface. It discusses a specific example in terms of catheters and their use. If a catheter must travel a long distance within the neurovascular anatomy, the engineer designing the product might decide to incorporate a shaft support component, such as a stainless steel braid in order to enhance the micro catheters kink resistance. The down side of incorporating the stainless steel braid is its ability to travel within tight sections and irregular shaped bends within the neurovascular system. In order to solve this problem a stainless steel coil support is added to the distal end of the catheter, the ad dition of the coil support enhances lateral flexibility and adding hoop strength to even better the kink resistance of the micro catheter. Also, the engineer can add a lubricous hydrophilic coating to the catheter to improve axial and rotational handling of the device and reduce trauma on the walls of the veins and arteries. The study shows us how we can design micro catheters to prevent problems such as kink occurring. Cathlabdigest.com. (2016). The Design of Interventional Devices: An Engineers Perspective | Cath Lab Digest. 2. Neurovascular Catheter Design The following article was posted in Medical Tubing Types by Shana Leonard on December 12, 2014. Form the article it is predicted that by 2020 the neurovascular market will reach $600 million, according to iData Research. A key factor contributing to the growth of this sector is down to the various advancements of the biomedical device. The design goal for minimally invasive surgical devices is to strive towards engineering the smallest possible outside diameter for a micro catheter device without compromising any of the performance characteristics. Designing neurovascular catheters to meet these constraints must take into account the intricate neurovascular anatomy. Mddionline.com. (2016). Key Considerations for Designing Neurovascular Microcatheters | MDDI Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry News Products and Suppliers. According to Steven W. Berhow, president of Rogers, MN-based Biomerics Advanced Catheter, he believes that upon designing neurovascular catheters they must contain the following traits; Good torque within the shaft from the proximal to distal end. Flexibility in the distal portion of the catheter. Kink Resistance. Visibility under fluoroscopy. Low Stretch. High Pressure. Good guidewire movement. These 7 traits stand as basic constraints when it comes to designing intricate, complicated neurovascular minimally invasive devices. Figure 2. Neurovascular Catheter Design.   Mddionline.com. (2016). Key Considerations for Designing Neurovascular Microcatheters | MDDI Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry News Products and Suppliers. 3. Advanced Catheters The first thing you need to know is what an advanced catheter is. So according to Bill Alexander, Director of Business Development at Biomerics Advanced Catheter, an advanced catheter is a minimally invasive medical device that typically consists of a thin walled, braid reinforced tube or shaft with multiple durometers. An advanced catheter has the ability to navigate through the neurovascular anatomy and deliver implants and devices such as coils, heart stents etc. The difference between advanced catheters and traditional catheters can be mainly seen when it comes to manufacturing the product. A little error in the materials used in an advanced catheter can lead to larger errors as the specific wall thickness requirement of an advance catheter are very strict to ensure optimal performance. Characteristics such as pushability, trackability, torqueability and kink resistance are crucial for the advanced catheter design. Traditional catheters and advanced catheters are not mutually exclusive and can be used to benefit each other and improve patient surgical results. (2016). Advanced catheters What you need to know about this growing medical device market. Figure 3 Advanced Catheters and Traditional Catheters.   (2016). Advanced catheters What you need to know about this growing medical device market. Advanced catheters have the ability to incorporate new technologies and have a more complex design than traditional catheters. 2. Human Neurovascular and Cardiovascular Anatomy 1. Cardiovascular System The cardiovascular system consists of the heart and blood vessels along with blood itself. It transports oxygen, nutrients, hormones and more and is powered by the heart. The heart consists of 2 circulatory loops, the pulmonary circulation loop and the systematic circulation loop. The pulmonary circulation transports deoxygenated blood from the right atrium and ventricle to the lungs. The systematic circulation carries oxygenated blood from the left atrium and left ventricle to all around the body. The cardiovascular system consists of blood vessels, coronary circulation (hearts own set of blood vessels), hepatic portal circulation (veins of stomach and intestines) and the blood itself (red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma). An understanding of the complex network and its physical structures are important when designing non-invasive medical devices. System, C. (2016). Cardiovascular System. InnerBody.   Figure 4 Cardiovascular System. Slideshare.net. (2016). Circulatory system PowerPoint Blood vessels are the road network by which blood transports around the body and returns back to the heart again. This intricate tiny transportation system of blood vessels has a major part to play when engineering advanced catheters and ensuring problems such as kinking dont occur. 2. Structure and Functions of Blood Vessels Blood vessels consist of arteries and veins. Arteries bring blood away from the heart. As the arteries are brought away from the heart they eventually become smaller and are broken down to the smallest arteries called arterioles which further branch into capillaries where gases and nutrients are excreted or exchanged. Veins have a larger structure and bring blood back to the heart again. As can be seen below in figure 4, the cardiovascular circuit can be seen where two main circulatory systems occur. The pulmonary circulatory system and systematic circulatory system. Each providing their own different structural differences that engineers must take into account when designing minimally invasive medical devices. Philschatz.com. (2016). Structure and Function of Blood Vessels  · Anatomy and Physiology. Figure 5 Structure of Blood Vessels. ] Philschatz.com. (2016). The structure of blood vessels can be seen below. The artery and the veins vary in thickness as can be seen from the micrograph in figure 6. From figure 5, it can be seen that Arteries have a thicker Tunica media than Veins but veins have a larger tunica externa than arteries. Figure 6 Arteries vs Veins Structural differences. Philschatz.com. (2016).  Ã‚   Figure 7 Micrograph showing the relevant difference in thickness. Philschatz.com. (2016). As can be seen in figure 6 and 5, vein walls are considerably thinner than Artery walls meaning veins withstand a much lower pressure of blood passing through them. Table 1 Appearance of Arteries and Veins. Philschatz.com. (2016). Arteries Veins General Appearance Thick walls, small lumen Rounded appearance Thin walls, large lumen Flattened appearance Conor Patrick Goold, DME4. 7 3. Shapes of Catheters in the Neurovascular Anatomy 1. Guide Catheters and shapes in the Neurovascular system. The following is an example of a Stryker neurovascular catheter called the DAC catheter. From figure 8, it can be seen that the DAC catheter accesses the distal neurovasculature. It achieves this by providing enhanced stability through a braided shaft and this in turn also provides resistance to ovulation. Preventing shapes such as snaking and reducing friction against the blood vessel walls. Stryker.com. (2016). Neurovascular Intervention DACâ„ ¢ Catheter: Stryker. Figure 8 Catheters, Shapes and Uses. Stryker.com. (2016). Neurovascular Intervention DACâ„ ¢ Catheter: Stryker. 2. Neurovascular Catheters in the Brain. The following images are obtained through a technique that requires the use of a minimally invasive advanced neurovascular catheter. What these images do is they give a visual understanding of the intricate nature in which the catheters must travel within the cardio vascular system. To do this the catheter is guided under x-ray guidance through neurovascular and cardiovascular system. The catheter for this procedure is usually brought to a blood vessel located in the neck and a non-ionic x-ray contrast agent is injected into the blood vessels which then in turn travels through to the brain. Prior to this procedure the catheter is then removed through the groin and the bleeding is stopped through direct manual compression or by using a vascular closure device. Neuroangio.org. (2016). Introductory Brain Angiography | neuroangio.org. Figure 9 ICA Internal Carotid Artery. Neuroangio.org. (2016). Introductory Brain Angiography | neuroangio.org. In order to reach such distances in the neurovascular system, many advanced catheters are used to travel so far. The deployment of a large support catheter through the groin goes first and then a variation of other smaller catheters are deployed through the larger catheter in order to reach the required location and deploy medical devices such as coils and stents. Figure 10. CT scan of Brain. Neuroangio.org. (2016). Introductory Brain Angiography | neuroangio.org. 3. Neurovascular Catheters in the heart. Figure 11 shows the placement of a pacemaker into the heart by the deployment from a minimally invasive advanced catheter. The catheter enters the body through the collar bone on the left hand side of the heart and enters through the veins to place an electronic or mechanical pacemaker into the heart to overcome heart problems such as tachyarrhythmias, which occurs when your heart beats too fast or bradyarrhythmias, which occurs when your heart beats too slow. System, C. (2016). Cardiovascular System. Figure 11 Advanced Catheters in the Heart. System, C. (2016). Cardiovascular System. From figure 11, the C shaped position of the catheter can be seen. A number of issues can occur from an engineering perspective when a catheter must bend into the shape of a C. Kinking can occur at the maximum area of stress and strain. Engineers must design their advanced catheters in order to prevent kink from occurring and so a reinforcement braid is usually added to increase the hoop stresses of the catheter and the addition of this braid also provides better torqueability and pushability of the medical delivery device to allow it to bend to the required positions to deploy a pacemaker in the heart. 4. Research into Existing Test Methods 1. Simple existing Test methods The following is the most basic of test methods implemented by physicians when no Standard test method is available and time is of the essence. This method was applied when surgeons were experiences kinking in catheters when deployed into patients. In order to predetermine kink from happening the physicians used a simple bending technique to test for the kinking limit of catheters. If the catheter kinked, the unit was rendered useless, if not it was determined safe to use. This method is clearly not an optimal solution so further investigation into the kinking limit of catheters had to be researched and developed. Beamer, J. and French, G. (2016). A simple method for testing for the kinking epidural catheter. Figure 12 Simple Test Method No kink LHS and Kinked RHS. Beamer, J. and French, G. (2016). A simple method for testing for the kinking epidural catheter. 1.1 Simple existing test methods The catheter bends around the pin, having a predetermined diameter, D. The diameter can range from a number of different values, 5mm 50mm. The catheter is bent around the template and contacts the template at 2 tangential locations, to generate a curve and predetermine L = D. Figure 13 Kink resistance Test Method. Anon, (2016). 2. Guidance for Industry and FDA Staff Non-Clinical Engineering Tests and Recommended Labelling for Intravascular Stents and Associated Delivery Systems The following FDA guidelines outline the standards to abide by when dealing with stents and associated delivery systems. It details how the content and format of test data should be summarised in a report as well as detailing the test reports and test protocol procedures to carry out. For this test method, a review of the non-clinical engineering section was undertaken focusing on the section B (Stent Dimensions and Functional attributes) of the non-clinical engineering test, part 16. Part 16 gave FDA guidelines in kink resistance. The significance of outlining FDA guidelines for stents which are delivered by advanced catheters, it to prevent kink occurring when the normal body is in motion such as an elbow joint flexing and to ensure that no deformation to the stent occurs. This also applied to the stent delivery system when the physician deploying the stent into the human anatomy as the advanced catheter must be engineered to prevent kink from occurring upon deployment. The recommended outcome to prevent kink from happening, according to the FDA guidance document, is to determine the smallest radius of curvature that the stent can withstand and recover to its original shape and size. The test carried out to determine the smallest radius of curvature must replicate the area to which the stent will be deployed i.e. the femoral arteries. This recommended advice for implementing stents to the human body can be tailored towards the stent delivery systems also i.e. the advanced catheters. Therefore these guidelines will be taken into account when developing a test method to determine the kinking limit of catheters. See appendices for further detail regarding the FDA guidance documents discussed. Fda.gov. (2016). Guidance for Industry and FDA Staff Non-Clinical Engineering Tests and Recommended Labeling for Intravascular Stents and Associated Delivery Systems. 3. Standards and guidelines ProtomedLabs provide a list of standards and regulations that relate to flexibility and kink resistance test methods. Information on the state of the art available testing equipment is provided such as the interventional device testing equipment (IDTE) from MSI which will be discussed further in part 4 of this section (MSI Catheter testing equipment). The ProtomedLabs provide information on flexibility kink resistance regarding applicable standards, related tests and test method descriptions. Applicable standards such as the FDA guidelines discussed in heading 2 above as well as ASTM standard guide for three point bending of balloon expandable vascular stents and stent systems which will be further discussed in section 5 of the literature review. Protomedlabs.com. (2016). Flexibility Kink Resistance Protomed Labs. 4. MSI Catheter testing equipment State of the art interventional device testing equipment (IDTE), compares tests and analyses performance catheters, quantifying the data of each catheter being tested. The PC allows for simple and repeatable tests with instantaneous feedback on design changes of the catheter. The IDTE was designed taking into account several different standards and test regulations such as ISO standard 25539-1 which covers cardiovascular implants endovascular devices and ISO 15539 Cardiovascular implants Endovascular Prostheses. The product is the most state of the art catheter testing equipment available right now and differentiates itself from the rest of the market by having the ability to test catheters in extremely realistic and challenging conditions. MSI. (2016). Catheter Testing MSI. Figure 14. IDTE Test Equipment. MSI. (2016). Catheter Testing MSI. The IDTE has a high temperature range with ambient temperatures of 50oC, a water bath with a temperature accuracy of +/- 2oC. It has auxiliary load cells of 100g and distal load cells of 1kg. It has the ability to test track force which is the force needed to advance a catheter, push efficiency which measures the amount of force being measured from the proximal end to the distal end, flexibility, torqueability a measure of the rotational response, retractability a measure of the amount of force required to withdraw a catheter and the crossability which measures the ability of a catheter to cross the abnormal narrowing of a passage in the body. The machine itself weighs 250kg with a height of 1372mm, width of 1194mm and a depth of 940mm. the output data of each tested is outputted onto a computer where numerical or graphical results can be formulated. MSI. (2016). Catheter Testing MSI. 5. Current Test Methods available to determine Kinking Point 1. ASTM F2606 Standard guide for three-point bending of balloon expandable vascular stents and stent systems The three point bending of stent system guidelines provide a test method that can be used to compare the flexibility of different advanced catheters by comparing load deflection curves and by comparison of calculated slopes of the curves. The test method uses a simple 3 point bending test. The upper single load applier and the two static load supporters as seen below in figure 14 must have a radius of 6.35mm. Another requirement of this test is that both the upper load applier and the two bottom static load supporters must be made of a material with a low friction coefficient so that they do contribute to the results outputted from carrying out this experiment. This test method can also be carried out in a bath of 37oC, which replicates the ambient body temperature and realistic conditions, if this application is necessary, the fixtures can be made from stainless steel or other materials that will not rust. Figure 15 Example of a three point bending test. YouTube. (2017). Catheter Bend Test at Anecto. This test has many benefits as it can many advanced catheters can be used with this method and it is applicable to many different products. It does not cause damage to the product prior to testing and can test the kinking limit along different material junctions. The test method ASTM F2606 uses a tensile tester to output its results to a computer in numerical or graphical form. Instron.us. (2017). ASTM F2606 Three-Point Bending Balloon Expandable Vascular Stents and Stent Systems Instron. 3. BS EN 13868 Catheters test methods for kinking of single lumen catheters and medical tubing This standard test method looks at the kinking of catheters being used for short term or long term uses. The short term use determines the kinking limit of a catheter being used less in than an hour and the long term is above an hour. The tube is defined as being kinked when the flow meter (Labelled 4 in figure 15 below) is outputting a reading 50% lower than the original reading. The original reading is read when the kink tools (Labelled 7) are either 50mm, 100mm or 200mm apart, depending on the users required starting distance. When the kinking tools are being compressed by the tensile tester (Labelled 7) the mass flow rate of the water flowing from the beakers (Labelled 2) will begin to reduce. Once the mass flow rate reduces to 50% of its original the catheter is said to be kinked and the test is complete. The results are outputted to a computer which gives numerical and graphical results. This test method is very beneficial as it is convenient, safe and fit for purpose. Difficulties may arise when using this test method when it comes to the fittings of the flow meter with the different sized catheters. As all catheters vary in sizes, the universal fitting of the flow meter may be difficult to mate with the distal/proximal ends of the various advanced catheters. See Appendices for more detail regarding BS EN 13868 kinking of single lumen catheters. European Standard, (2002). Catheters Test methods for kinking of single lumen catheters and medical tubing. BS EN 13868:2002. Figure 16 Short Term (LHS) and Long Term (RHS) Test methods for kinking single lumen catheters and medical tubings European Standard, (2002). Catheters Test methods for kinking of single lumen catheters and medical tubing. BS EN 13868:2002. 6. Proposed Mathematical Methods for Determining Optimal Test Method significant factors. 1. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Testing. The analysis of variance method determines if groups (related or unrelated) are statistically significant to each other. In order to carry out an ANOVA test, a hypothesis must first be determined. A hypothesis is a standard procedure about testing a claim about a property of a population. First a null hypothesis is formed. The Null hypothesis will test the significance of the hypothesis by either rejecting or failing to reject the claim of the null hypothesis. The Null hypothesis will claim that no difference exist between the population and the alternative hypothesis will claim that a difference exists between the populations. The alternative hypothesis will state that one or more of the parameters involved in a population will differ from the null hypothesis. The next step in an ANOVA test is to determine if the null hypothesis should be rejected or is it better to fail to reject the null hypothesis. In order to do so, an understanding of a type 1 and type 2 error is needed. A type 1 error is when the null hypothesis is rejected when in fact it should be accepted. The symbol ÃŽ ± is used to represent a type 1 error. A type 2 error is the mistake of failing to reject the null hypothesis when in fact it is false. The symbol to represent a type 2 error is ÃŽ ². In order to determine when the results are statistically significand and when the null hypothesis should be rejected, then p < ÃŽ ±, therefore the result is statistically significant and the null hypothesis should be rejected. If p > ÃŽ ±, then the null hypothesis should fail to be rejected and the results are statistically insignificant. Lacey, S. (2017). Mathematics for Engineers 402. 2. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Examples. To show how the ANOVA method can be applied to the parameters involved in determining the kinking limit of catheters and which factors attribute to the kinking limit the most i.e. which are statistically significant or insignificant, an example where an experiment was undertaken to test the effect of temperature and bar size on the UTS of a weld. The results from the experiment are show below in figure 16 and analysis of variance was carried out in order to determine the level of significance each parameter had on the strength of a weld. Lacey, S. (2017). Mathematics for Engineers 402. Figure 17 Analysis of Variance Example Dr. Sean Lacey, 2016, Mathematics for Engineers 402. Figure 18 Analysis of Variance Example Dr. Sean Lacey, 2016, Mathematics for Engineers 402. Figure 19 Analysis of Variance Example Dr. Sean Lacey, 2016, Mathematics for Engineers 402. Figure 20 Analysis of Variance Example Dr. Sean Lacey, 2016, Mathematics for Engineers 402. 7. Material Properties of Neurovascular Catheters Advanced catheters are engineered to perform an increasing number of minimally invasive surgeries. They must be able to guide their way through the intricate pathways of the neurovascular, cardiovascular and other anatomies. In order to achieve these demands, using ultra small catheters of 0.5 mm, the design must be near perfect and material selection for this design is key. Catheters consists mainly of 3 layers, the liner, the braiding and the outer sheath. They can be made up to lengths ranging from 900mm 1200 mm. the best material for use in catheters are fluoropolymers such as PTFE and FEP due to their biocompatibility and lubricous properties. PTFE is the most lubricous polymer on the market today followed by FEP. The materials can undergo secondary processing steps such as etching and cutting, along with post extrusion expansion such as heat-shrinking. The liner layer mainly is made from PTFE for it lubricity, ability to maintain a thin wall and have a small diameter. The braid reinforcement layer is mainly made from Type 304 or 306 stainless steel. This layer increase is strength and rigidity without kinking the catheter. It increases the rigidity at the proximal end with a smaller pitch between winds and decrease rigidity at the distal end with a larger pitch between winds. This is done to provide greater torque transition from the proximal to distal tip of the catheter. The coil provides a greater kink resistance to the catheter along with reinforcing the catheters liner against ovalization by maximising the hoop stress. The outer sheath is made up of high performance materials such as Pebax, FEP, PTFE, ETFE, polyurethane, polyethylene and nylon. Mddionline.com. (2016). Think Extrusion and Beyond for Optimal Catheter Design | MDDI Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry News Products and Suppliers. Figure 21 Material layers of a Neurovascular Catheter. Mddionline.com. (2016). Think Extrusion and Beyond for Optimal Catheter Design | MDDI Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry News Products and Suppliers.

Deforestation Essay -- Environment Pollution

Deforestation in China Deforestation has been a big problem in China to this day. Throughout its long history, China has gone through several cycles, from mild recovery to severe deforestation. When the Communists took over China in 1949, they introduced many new policies and programs to bring about economic and political changes; however, shifts in policies have led to program shifts in every field of China’s economy, including deforestation. Deforestation exercises a significant influence on the ecosystem, stimulating natural disasters, introducing negative environmental and climatic changes, and threatening biodiversity. Floods are among the most common consequences of deforestation. During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), deforestation caused floods to occur every decade, and once every six years between 1921 and 1949, but once every two years in the 1980s. The situation has dramatically worsened since 1994, with the Yangtze flooding every year. Growing silting of rivers and lakes from the def orested lands in the Yangtze basin and encroachment on river beds by Chinese farmers resulted in record levels of floods in the summer of 1998. The building of The Three Gorges Dam is said to stop flooding greatly. As early as the 1950s deforestation in China attracted attention, but it was not until the 1960s that it assumed alarming proportions. The Land Reform of 1950 authorized state ownership of large forests and other types of land. The Cultural Revolution, which turned China upside down, also unfavorably affected its forests. The Ministry of Forestry, like most Chinese institutions and organizations almost ceased to exist during the Cultural Revolution. Decades of neglect resulted in excessive deforestation, impacti... ...is decreasing. In Tibet is has fallen from 9-5 percent, between the years 1950-1985; Yunnan 55-30 percent, 1950-1975; and in Sichuan, 30-65 percent, 1950-1998. Despite all the afforestation measures, heavy deforestation continues to plague China due to mismanagement, unclear policies, bureaucratic corruption, and ineffectiveness. Although recently, China has afforested a total area of 1.4 million hectares over the past two years, with another 13 million hectares of land reclaimed from desertification. The achievements come from a large afforestation project covering northern, northeastern and northwestern China. The project aims to form a shelter forest covering ten provinces, municipalities and self-governing regions. Finally, China plans to invest another 400 million Yuan, or more than 48 million US dollars in afforestation in these areas this year.

Mobile Advertising : A New Communication Media :: Mobile Phones Cell Phones Technology

Mobile Advertising : A New Communication Media Mobile marketing is becoming the most productive and cost effective medium for reaching a highly desirable demographic. It purposes are numerous : canvassing, building up customer loyalty and of course selling. The mobile phone is a good tool to exchange information with customers with several medium : Small Message Service (SMS), Mini Message Service (MMS), video MMS or internet. Today, it is also possible to pay with your mobile phone and some people think that mobile-phones will replace credit-cards or loyalty-cards in a next future. The mobile marketing is born thanks to a huge development of high-technologies, which allow to have high-performances cell-phones. It is particularly targeted on young people, who use cell phones of the new generation. The market on mobile marketing should reach 150 millions of dollars in 2006 (three times more comparing to 2005). The market will grow very quickly to reach 1 billion of dollars in 2009. Companies such as AvantGO were born, just in order to provide services in terms of Mobile Marketing Advertising and Campaigns. Services provided include a huge database and mobile research surveys. Some major companies trust in AvantGo to build their mobile website : American Airlines or Rolling Stone for instance. Building up customers loyalty : it is common acknowledged that it costs about five times less to build up loyalty with a customer than to find another one. That is why companies have to focus on existing customers. And because they often have a databases with a lot of information about their customers (including mobile phone numbers), sending SMS or MMS is an easy way to reach customers. And when effective, this type of campaign can contribute to significant brand awareness and loyalty, especially for a young demographic. Today most ambitious marketers try to associate a specialist ringtone or wallpaper with their brand. They are convinced that it could spread awareness of their own brand. Canvassing : the method to canvass people with mobile marketing is not difficult. Companies have to buy a cell-phone database or to constitute it by their own, corresponding to their respective targets and then to send a message and/or pictures. They can ad an internet website, a call-centre number. Selling: in Japan and South-Korea it is already possible to pay small bills like restaurants, cinema seats or public transports with mobile phones. The concept is being tested in the USA now.

History of Golf Essay

The word ‘golf’ has originated from Dutch word ‘colf’. It is translated as ‘club’ in English. Golf was often referred to as ‘spel metten colve’ meaning a ‘game with clubs’ in the medieval ages. On Dec. 26, 1297, in Northern Holland, the commoners played the game of colf to celebrate the Kronenburg Castle. ‘Colfers’ or golfers can also be seen in the Dutch artwork of that time period. According to legend, golf started when shepherds near St. Andrews started hitting round stones into the rabbit holes using their wooden crooks. Another group presents the theory that Scottish fisherman amused themselves with this game when they returned from their boats. Roman emperors in the days of Caesar played a golf like game called ‘Paganica’ which involved hitting a feather filled ball and a stick. A similar game was played by the Celtics called the ‘Shinty’ and the people from Laos played ‘Khi’. The origins of the game are still debated by many countries but it is generally assumed that the Scots in the Middle Ages were the first addicts of golf. Scots have made the biggest contribution because they refined the game completely. However, all countries have contributed to making the game what it is today. China, England, Rome, Belgium, Laos all had a game or two in history which used sticks and balls. In 1338, territories were marked in Germany by hitting pebbles with crooks. The greater the distance covered by the pebble the larger the territory owned by the Shepherd. According to the Dutch historian, Steven J. H. van Hengel, Golf originated from the games of ‘Chole’ and ‘Jeu de mail’. The game of golf has existed for more than 500 years. It can be traced back to the times of James II of Scotland. He banned golf on March 6, 1457 because it interfered with archery practice which was badly needed in times of war. In the year 1603 the golf enthusiast and Scottish Baron James VI introduced the game to the English. For countless years the game was played on uneven, rough land with no lush greenery and simple holes were dug in the ground. King Charles I endorsed this game and popularized it in the 16th century. While studying in France, Mary Queen of Scots also introduced Golf to the French people. The term caddie is French for the word ‘cadets’. It was intended for the queen’s helpers or the French Military. The period between 1750 and 1850 has been very important in the history of Golf. During this era, many young golfers were discovered and clubs were formed. Allan Robertson, the first popular golf star was discovered during this time. In 1843, a very important contest took place between the best players which included Willie Dunn and Allan Robertson. Golf grew further during the 1848-1852 period because of many significant events that took place turning the game from local to global. The Gutty Ball introduced in this era drastically changed how golf was played. Tom Morris, the greatest exponent of Gold was also born during this time. The oldest golf course recorded in history is The Old Links at Musselburgh Racecourse. Mary, Queen of Scots played on this course in 1567. No golf society or club was formed before 1744. Some golfers from Edinburgh joined together finally in 1744 to form the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. Many years later ‘St. Andrews Golfers’ was formed and the name was changed in 1834 to ‘Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews’. In 1888, Golf became increasingly popular in United Stated. A Scottish man named John Reid constructed a three hole course near his home in New York. The same year he constructed a golf course on a 30 acre site and formed the St. Andrews Club of Yonkers. The game took off from these humble beginnings and soon became a national sport. The next century saw the arrival of more than thousands of golf courses and clubs all around the United States. Through the years better equipment has helped to change how the game is played. Since the 19th century, we have seen technologically advanced mowers and the introduction of newer golf ball designs and metal shafts. Wooden shafts have been completely replaced today. The golf ball has also evolved through the years. Golf was first played with a feather filled leather ball. These balls were relatively expensive which is why it was commonly played by the Royals. In 1848, Rev. Dr. Robert Adams Paterson made a ball using packing material of Gutta Percha. This ball enhanced the pleasure of playing golf. However, many golfers realized that nicked balls had better flight as opposed to smooth gutta balls. Hence the balls became uneven textured. Today, Golf has broken all boundaries and is played by almost every nation. Talent is emerging from Sweden, Taiwan, Japan etc. Perspectives regarding Golf have also evolved thanks to young golf stars such as Tiger Woods. It is no longer considered a boring game or played only by the elite older generation. Golf is loved and adored by millions around the world.

Information Systems Essay

This facility is one of the most leading and innovative healthcare organizations. It provides a full spectrum of healthcare and wellness programs throughout North and South Carolina. Our diverse network of more than 650 care locations includes academic medical centers, hospitals, healthcare pavilions, physician practices, destination centers, surgical and rehabilitation centers, home health agencies, nursing homes, and hospice and palliative care. Carolinas HealthCare System works to improve and enhance the overall health and wellbeing of its communities through high quality patient care, education and research programs, and a variety of collaborative partnerships and initiatives. Carolinas HealthCare System is an outgrowth of a community hospital originally founded in 1940. Since that time Carolinas HealthCare System has grown into one of the nation’s largest and most comprehensive systems, with more than 48,000 employees, more than 6,200 licensed beds (acute care and post-acute care), and an annual budget exceeding $6. billion (comparable to many Fortune 500 companies). Premier facilities include Levine Cancer Institute, Levine Children’s Hospital, Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute, CMC Neurology and The Transplant Center. Other specialties include maternity (regular and high risk), assisted reproduction, interventional oncology, radiation therapy, minimally invasive surgery, and many others. Through careful integration of services, Carolinas HealthCare System has built some of the nation’s largest accredited multi-hospital networks for treatment of stroke and heart attack. Ultimately, our success is determined not by the buildings we construct, but by the investment we make in the people and programs that bring each new facility to life. We are providing a broad framework of support that enables extraordinary professionals to bring caring, commitment, integrity and teamwork to a vitally important healing mission. The motivating force behind all of this activity is fulfilling our duty to meet community needs. Each of our hospitals is locally managed by a hospital administrator who makes ecisions that affect each hospital. Carolinas HealthCare System (CHS) is governed by a group of people who are dedicated to serving our community by providing the healthcare resources needed for our growing region. The Board of Commissioners and Advisors meets on a regular basis to review policies and procedures, as well as current and changing healthcare rules and regulations for our state and nation that impact how we provide these services. Below are the members of these committees. CHS uses electronic records which is called Canopy. Canopy is Carolinas HealthCare System’s electronic medical record program, formerly called (EPACT). It is one of our most critical strategic initiatives and a significant leap forward to bolster our ability to improve clinical outcomes, ensure patient safety, and enhance our delivery of quality care through technology. All physicians and mid-level providers will use the electronic system for tasks such as CPOE, Medication Management and Structured Electronic Documentation. Transcription services will not change. The information that is dictated now may be dictated on and after conversion to CPOE. The expectation is that dictation will not increase, but will decrease over time. The physicians and nurses all play a big part in the facility. They use the information systems to document the health concerns of the patients, and to also transmit the information to documents that can be easily read and understood. Many employees use the system to add, obtain, and program the patient records and personal information. Carolinas Healthcare System provides convenient outpatient programs in physical, occupational and speech therapies throughout Mecklenburg and surrounding counties. We are also leaders in the field of workers’ compensation and vocational rehabilitation, aiding patients at their workplaces and helping them regain work skills if an injury or illness interferes with employment. Functional Capacity Evaluations are used to ascertain if a patient may return to work successfully. Designed to accelerate each patient’s recovery efforts, our outpatient facilities are staffed by accredited specialists utilizing the most advanced equipment and techniques available. With an extensive network of outpatient centers throughout the region, we are always within reach of individuals seeking therapy, and skilled at providing the care, support and confidence vital to successful rehabilitation. The facility is very discrete with the way they access their records. Everyone has a to login to a secure network to bring up the sites for the employees to use. With more than 30 hospitals and more than 600 other care locations, CHS is strongly committed to robust electronic medical record (EMR) solutions. The goal is to guarantee that a patient’s most recent information is quickly and securely available to all the medical providers who need it. This enables everyone on the care team to better coordinate and personalize treatments. Every patient encounter is electronically documented. For that reason, physicians at any point of contact can quickly research and gauge possible drug interactions, avoid or treat allergic reactions, or judge the possible impact of previous injuries or surgeries. Having all of this information immediately accessible not only saves time, it helps a patient’s record speak for them if necessary. Carolinas HealthCare’s Information Services Department worked with emergency-department physicians and Cerner Corp. (NASDAQ:CERN), its electronic-health-record vendor, to design the single-order entry computer application. The streamlined order-entry process was piloted in 2011 at CMC-Northeast, a Concord hospital that has one of the busiest emergency departments in North Carolina. It was launched simultaneously with the rollout of the health-care system’s electronic-health-record initiative which features computerized physician-order entry. During the pilot, order entries were reduced by nearly 2. 5 minutes per patient. That will save more than 2,600 physician hours per year. This facility has many positives about the employees and the site. I would like to be a part of this facility so I could put my skills to work and help the community have healthier people. Some of the strengths about the system are that it is very secure. There is a login for every employee to access in order to get in. Some of the downsides are that many others may try to hack the system and breach every ones privacy. It is important to have a secure system to protect the patients’ rights and information. It is possible to obtain policies, procedures, brochures, and training at this facility. They even provide different schools to educate their employees, and the new individuals that want to pursue a career with them. This would be a great company for interested people to work at. It is very important that they show that their interests are in the wellbeing of their employees and newcomers.

Acceptable Use Policy

Acceptable Use Policy Artiesha Artis CIS 462 Security Strategies and Policy Professor Darrell Nerove October 20, 2012 Working in many different arenas while pursuing my degree in Computer Security has opened my eyes to many things, one thing that I have noticed is that some companies felt that they were immune to data breaches. I have worked in smaller organizations that just didn’t have the knowledge to protect their network against security breaches.One inexpensive and very productive way to counteract lack of resources or know how is with an Acceptable use police. An acceptable use policy is not put in place to snoop on individuals rather than to protect the businesses assets. The AUP (acceptable use policy) that I want to focus on is one that governs internet usage. Acceptable use policy regarding internet usage normally includes information about websites that are off limits as well as defining a scope for what sites are allowed to be accessed for personal surfing.Most AU P’s are put in place to protect the company’s employees, partners and the company itself from any illegal or damaging actions by individuals knowingly or unknowingly. Confidentiality, integrity and availability are the founding stables of insuring that information is secure. An acceptable use policy enforces confidentiality, integrity and availability by limiting access and disclosure to authorized users — â€Å"the right people† — and preventing access or disclosure to unauthorized ones — â€Å"the wrong people. , as well as requiring employees to authenticate themselves in order to control access to data system resources and in turn hold employees responsible if violations occur under their user id. The company that I presently work for has an acceptable use policy it purposes is to highlight an outline the acceptable use of the computer equipment and systems that we are granted access to. It is always stated throughout all the acceptable use policies I have seen that users must be aware that data created on corporate systems are property of the company.Employees are to exercise sound judgment regarding personal usage of computer systems. To be quite honest the AUP at my current organization is very straight forward and what I consider to be week. It is literally a blurb in the handbook that states that the internet systems are for business purposes only, and that the company observes the right to monitor the usage of the software. I can only think of a few reasons why the AUP at my organization is so brief.I work in the healthcare industry and because we deal with a lot of member information we are more concerned with HIPPA violations. In conjunction with HIPPA we also focus on making sure we remain in compliance with the HITECH act. Since there are other rules that we become preoccupied with the focus is no longer place on the AUP at my job. You will notice although there is no strict regards to an AUP at my place of employment there are filters and blocks in place so that certain websites are not able to be accessed.I have a few ideas on how I would implement a better AUP at my place of employment. I would first conduct a current policy review. By performing an audit of my current internet usage policy I would compare it with what I want my new policy to be. Taking into careful consideration the degree of policy enforcement required. Next I would want to gain visibility of your network traffic. Using a Web traffic assessment tool, such as a proxy appliance, to identify and monitor Internet traffic and to identify specific areas or groups that are engaging in inappropriate or excessive Web use.This would allow me to analyze how much time users and user groups spend on the Internet during an â€Å"average† workday and what policies may need to be implemented. I would then concentrate on working collaboratively with all departments to enforce my end goal concentrating on the departments that have a bearing on the companywide Internet use policy, especially human resources and IT ensuring that there are no mismatches between the policies established and the ability of the network infrastructure to support them.After all this is completely then we would need to test my new policy by conducting an exercise with key users when the policy is at a draft stage. This will ensure that the policy is both practical in terms of achieving its objectives and sufficiently flexible to accommodate change or emergency situations. Then I would create a plan for announcing the new Internet usage policy throughout the organization to ensure that employee communication is well managed, the policy is understood and the restrictions imposed are fully justified.This would include denying access to Internet resources until users agree to accept the new policy. I would then ensure monitoring employee use is automated through Web monitoring software. I feel it would be a waste of human resou rces to assign a person or team to monitor the Internet activities of all company employees as a supervisor I know that there is just no time for looking over someone’s shoulder. Web monitoring software would provide efficient and comprehensive reports and data can be accessed within minutes.Stricter automation would allow management to set boundaries for site browsing, prevent downloading and installing of software and has multiple scanning engines to ensure that allowed downloads are free of viruses and other malware. By controlling downloads and browsing in real-time, the network is protected from malware. There is also the prevention of data leakage through socially-engineered websites and it also helps reduce cyber-slacking, thus boosting employee and business productivity.In order to increase awareness of the importance of AUP and the need for them I would hold formal companywide training. I would also have quarterly reviews on what to do if. I have always believed that the only way for end users to truly embrace and understand the importance of any new policy or procedure implemented is to make them part of it, so during training I would ask for suggestions on how the employees feel they could make things smoother or easier and I would advise them to keep an eye out for violations.Having individuals keep an eye out on violations is the more challenging part of it all because no one wants to be a snitch but in order for any policy or procedure to work well to its fullest all wheels have to turn in the same direction. Of course the responsibility of reporting violations won’t be solely on staff because I would want monitoring in place to assist with that.AUPs are put in place to protect a company's data assets and confidential information while also safeguarding employees and maintaining standards concerning the use of the Internet during working hours. Implementing Web monitoring software is an investment in security and could prevent emplo yees from cyber-slacking or abusing the company's trust with work-related information. By implementing and enforcing a solid AUP and providing ongoing, end-user education and training, a company can minimize risk, allowing them to focus on growing their business ather than the need to repair it. ? References Gaskin, J. E. (1998). Internet acceptable usage policies. Information Systems Management, 15(2), 20 Johnson , R. , Merkow, M. (2011). Security Policies and Implementation Issues. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett. Palgi, R. D. (1996). Rules of the Road: Why You Need an Acceptable Use Policy. School Library Journal, 42(8), 32-33. Siau, K. , Nah, F. , & Teng, L. (2002). ACCEPTABLE INTERNET USE POLICY. Communications of the ACM, 45(1), 75-79.

Compare and Contrast of the The Shang-Zhou River Valley and Egypt

Egypt and the Shang-Zhou Dynasty were both powerful and influential civilization who faced similar ideas in their government, and defense strategies, but differed when it came to cultural rituals, and the use of natural resources.A solid form of government is essential to any civilization, and although Egypt and Shang-Zhou were both successful, they both used different and similar methods to conform to their religious and social standards.Egypt used a Pharaoh as their king, which they claim the pharaoh was sent from a god in order to maintain ma’at, the distinctive order of the universe. On the contrary, the Shang- Zhou Dynasty followed their own theory of the Mandate of Heaven. The Mandate of Heaven served as a foundation for the Chinese government for three thousand years, and was used when a ruler had neglected his duties such as dishonoring gods, expressing tyranny, or ignoring warning signs of disasters; heaven could remover this â€Å"mandate† and put it in the po ssession of a more worthy ruler or family.After a ruler has fulfilled their duties and depart the physical world, both Egypt and the Shang-Zhou dynasty honor them in every way possible, however both have separate rituals and beliefs in how they should be honored. In Egypt, the Pharaoh is built a remarkable pyramid in which their body is mummified, and buried deep down in the structure. During the Shang-Zhou Dynasty, the royal family and the elite families were not buried in a pyramid, but rather in tombs with many of possessions they might need in the afterlife.To run a successful government, there has to be order and record keeping to keep from conflict and having all property, belongings, etc. needs to be officially stated. The Egyptians developed their own writing, known as hieroglyphics, on papyrus to records all their statements. Instead of hieroglyphics and papyrus, the Shang-Zhou also developed their own writing of symbols which they wrote on oracle bones to keep order in the ir society. A significant connection between the two is that both civilizations were a theocracy because they both believed that their leader was divine and the closest to God. Both Egypt and the Shang-Zhou Dynasty shared the idea of charging taxes in exchange for landowning and service in the military.Charging taxes influenced many civilizations because in order to be a resident, some sort of service or duty had to be given in exchange. In retrospect, Egypt and the Shang-Zhou dynasty both shared similarities in their government which helped them grow as a large, powerful society, but also varied in some methods mostly because of religion beliefs.Environment plays an intense role in any region of the world because it determines the lifestyle for how that civilization will prosper over time. Being located in Africa, near the equator, Egypt has the consistent face of a hot, dry, and sunny climate. The Shang-Zhou dynasty territory is located  east of Africa and slightly towards the n orth. Therefore, Southern China gets heavy rainfall due to the monsoons in India and surrounding areas, and the northern part of China gets rainfall as well, but is inconsistent. Being that China gets a fair amount of rain, most of their agriculture is dependent on that rainfall. Instead of depending on rainfall, Egypt is primarily dependent on the Nile River which is the longest river and provides the best source of irrigation.A benefit to both the Shang-Zhou Dynasty and Egypt is that they both are in some way surrounded by natural barriers which serve as a mechanism for defense. Egypt has the Nile River which makes it difficult for invaders to get across to attack. The Shang-Zhou area has the Himalaya mountain range to the southwest, the Pamir and Tian Mountains and the Takla Makan Desert to the west, as well as the major rivers, the Yellow and the Yangtze, to also help to protect their society. Natural barriers are a huge advantage and blessing because they can distinctively mark territories as well as serve each civilization in a way as to help them advanced and develop while lowering the likelihood of getting attacked and weakening a civilization.The natural elements are what make a society capable of flourishing and both Egypt and the Shang-Zhou Dynasty used all of their resources to their advantage to prosgress into a sophisticated and highly respected culture and society.