SQL data dictionary

SQL data dictionary refers to the Structured Query Language which is a computer programming language as defined by Daintith and Wright (2008), where the computer system is set to repository information on data which retrieves the information already stored as records. And therefore evaluates calculations before any of the expected results availed for interpretation by the data system management. On this data dictionary, the data definition and the corresponding descriptions are usually included in the tables to enable easier interpretation of the data table (Earp & Bagui, 2003). Prior to data consistency, Patrick (2009) added in his book ‘SQL Fundamentals’ that primary and foreign keys should also be included in building the database, which adds the quality of the database when being created as well as making its maintenance easier.

SQL tables are easily made from the traditional data dictionaries, which provide the basic functions and structure to the database system as suggested in ‘Oracle data dictionary pocket reference’ by Kreines (2013). Since SQL commands can be used interactively with database systems, Thro (1990) suggested that the SQL commands can be applied in the programming language to interface the database, which can advance the programming extensions in SQL to function as the standard database management systems (DBMSs). SQL is appropriate in analyzing multiple data entry even though when DBMSs is applied, it makes the SQL look less appropriate when transferring multiple data and application from one SQL database to another leading to modifications for suitability (Earp & Bagui, 2003). SQL development is currently being addressed to compute its operation language for management and definition which can address the current data management with respect to the advancing technology (Rischert, 2010).

References

Daintith, J. & Wright, E. (2008). A dictionary of computing (6^th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Earp, R. W. & Bagui, S. S. (2003). Learning SQL: A step by step guide using Oracle. Boston: Addison-Wesley.

Kreines, D. C. (2003). Oracle data dictionary pocket reference. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly.

Patrick, J. J. (2009). SQL fundamentals (3^rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Rischert, A. (2010). Oracle SQL by example. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Thro, E. (1990). The database dictionary: d BASE, R BASE, ORACLE, INGRES, DB2, FOXBASE, CLIPPER, SQL. San Marcos, CA: Microtrend Books.

Statistics

Visual learning is a teaching/learning technique where information related to data, concepts and ideas among others are associated with techniques and images. Visual learning techniques impact retention, reading comprehension, student achievement, critical thinking and learning skills. Statistics on visual learners indicated that more than sixty five percent of the population are visual learners; with the human brain processing visual information more than any other information. Estimates show that approximately ninety percent of the information in the human mind originates from the visual input. Forty percent of the nerve fibers in the brain are connected to the retina. Visual literacy facilitates better encoding and decoding of information. Visual aids facilitate better learning skills by four hundred percent and that students portraying better learning skills engage visual learners.

Common sampling techniques are: Simple random sampling technique best in small samples. Systematic sampling technique is influential in sampling databases with reference to K= sample size / population size. Stratified sampling technique works with strata focusing on subgroups. Probability-proportional to size sampling technique is common with size measure and auxiliary variables in relation to the variable of interest. Cluster sampling technique is best in gathering data with variation in the time-period and geography. Quota sampling technique is common in sampling subgroups that are mutually exclusive (Hektner et al., 2006). Accidental sampling technique is also known as opportunity sampling and performed for convenience or grabs. Line intercept sampling technique works along intersects or transects of elements. Panel sampling technique is part of random sampling. The participants are asked the same information repeatedly in deriving conclusions (Mehl & Conner, 2013).

Random sampling offers simplicity basing on the procedures and systems engaged in the random selection of the elements. The sample selected through random sampling is equally tested hence representing the image of the entire population.

References

Hektner, J. et al. (2006). Experience Sampling Method: Measuring the Quality of Everyday Life. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Mehl, M. & Conner, T. (2013). Handbook of Research Methods for Studying Daily Life. New York: The Guilford Press.

 

 

 

Intertestamental Period Paper

Introduction

According to the information about the Jews history the second temple period falls within 535BC and 70CE.[1] Specifically, the period is known as the second temple period because the second temple of Jerusalem was also constructed during this time during this time. This period started when the Jews who were deported went back to Jerusalem during the tenure of the Cyrus the Great. Eventually, the period came to an end in 70CE when the temple was demolished. At this time, the Jews encountered numerous changes in their religious and cultural activities. It is also important to point out that there were different empires and leaders that emerged during this period. This paper will critically focus on the different eras that were there in the second temple period. This will include the tenure of Herod and how it led to the formation of different spiritual and political groupings that existed during the era of Jesus Christ.

Construction of the Second Temple

The construction of the second temple was administered by prophets Malachi, Haggai, and Zechariah while the funding was done by the Persians.[2] In essence, this construction was among the various projects that were undertaken by the Jews after they had returned from deportation. fter many years of conflicts, the land that belonged to the Jews had been completely destroyed but they were quite determined to restore their spiritual beliefs. As such, the construction of the second temple was part of the Jewish strategy of recovering their religious foundation.[3] Ideally, the temple was being made in a way that it could resemble the initial temple that had been destroyed. For instance, they constructed a God’s alter in the same location it was situated inside the first temple. After putting a lot of effort towards this project, the temple was completed in 516 BCE. Thereafter, the prophets declared that the second temple was to bring more happiness and blessings than it was experienced during the period of the first temple.

Hellenistic Period

This period also existed during the same duration the second temple period. Mainly, during this era there were efforts to pursue the formation of the Hebrew-Jew tradition. Furthermore, Alexander the Great also made efforts to make sure that the culture of the Greek was introduced and extended among the Jews. Eventually, the Persians who had dominated their presence in Jerusalem were also defeated. There were numerous changes that were experienced during Alexander’s reign.[4] At the initial stages, the Persians had allowed the Jews to have religious freedom in order to promote their culture and religious ideologies. However, under the reign of Alexander the Great, the nation became vulnerable to the Western influence. The freedom that enjoyed by the Jews was because they were permitted to conduct their affairs without any form of disturbance from the local leaders. At the end, when Alexander died, his empire suffered numerous divisions. These divisions were caused by the fact that Alexander lacked and he had not named any successor by the time he died.

The Hasmonean Era

Another era that was established during the second period was the Hasmonean era. Indeed, this was the era that faced conflicts and troubled relations between Jews who adhered to the principles of the Hellenistic era and those who were religious.  This conflict resulted in the abolition of some of the rituals and practices practiced by the Jews. As the conflict increased, the Hasmonean dynasty was established but was eventually collapsed due to the rivalry for power that existed amongst all the three sons. In a different perspective, the Hasmonean ear led to increasing development and success among the people. There was also some evidence of religious disagreements as the Jews tried to clean the temple that was affected by pagan influences. Likewise, the Hasmonean rule gave rise to the religious conflicts that existed between the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

According to the social classifications, the Sadducees belonged to the upper social elites in Jerusalem while the Pharisees belonged to the middle and low class people in the society. The Pharisees showed concern for the weak and the disadvantaged people in the society while the Sadducees welcomed and accepted the Greek culture. Indeed, this was a great difference from the initial Hasmonean group who had totally rejected all the aspects of the Hellenistic cultures. In addition, they also disliked the inappropriate religious practices and cultural practices that were being carried out in the temple.[5] Conversely, the Pharisees were not interested on the issues to do with the temple. Instead, their interest was in the training and knowledge from the Torah and finding out how practical they were in their daily endeavors. In this regard, the Pharisee viewed the temple and the Ten Commandments as separate entities. The implication of the acceptance of the Hellenistic culture was an indication that it was becoming popular. After some time, the Hasmonean adopted the Hellenistic culture including their way of dressing. Moreover, the second age group of the Hasmonean even made use of some Greek names.

The Roman Conquest

After the Hasmonean dynasty disintegrated, the Roman conquest took over. By this time, the Greek were no longer willing to have a king as a ruler. It was for these reasons that they turned to the Roman authorities who led them in conquering and possessing the area that was known as the Roman province.[6] This province also incorporated other regions such as Judea, Galilee, Samaria, and the Herodians. As usual, the Jews expressed dissatisfaction with the latest system and resisted by use of revolt and conflicts. In 36BC the Romans appointed Herod to be the Kind of Judea.

The Rule of Herod

There were numerous challenges that were experienced in Jerusalem under Herod’s leadership. Although Herod lived in a lavish lifestyle, most of the people he was leading lived in deteriorating conditions where poverty was rampant. In addition, religion was being neglected and the city was becoming a pagan state. This was ironical considering that Jerusalem city had the biggest and the most attractive temples in that area and had the biggest population of pagans. However, the Herodian rule was economically stable compared to the other dynasties that were there in the past. Herod was also considered to be a strategic leader as observed from the close relationship that he had with Rome while still remaining committed to serving the Jews.

The Jews were not contented with having Herod as their leader as they considered him to be an outsider due to his close ties with the Roman Empire. Despite working hard to earn respect from the Jews, he did not manage. In an effort to gain their favor, Herod married a Hasmonean princess but the marriage failed after a short while. Just like Alexander the Great, Herod also made Jerusalem to be a Hellenistic city. This was done through the introduction of entertainment places, sports such as wresting, and allowing Gentiles to migrate to Jerusalem. Through the permission granted by the Roman Empire who had also allowed him to have power over Jerusalem, Herod expanded his territory to incorporate the Palestine.

The relationship between the New and the Old Testament started with the selection of Augustus as a leader. Augustus ordered for the Jews census to be carried out and hence prompting Mary and Joseph to move from the town of Nazareth to Bethlehem as they tried to hide baby Jesus from being killed. When Herod died, his three sons namely Philip, Herod Antipas, and Archelau inherited his throne.[7] As a result, the kingdom was also dived among the three and hence leading to social and political unrest that was common after Herod had passed on. Jews were also unhappy under the Roman Empire and propagated many wars and revolts in Jerusalem. Some of the wars were due to the discontent of Roman rule while others were due to corruption allegations. Another way that the Herod era can be related to the occurrences in the New Testament as well as the problems faced by Jesus is that Herod Antipas ordered the arrest and the beheading of then John the Baptist. Clearly, Herod Antipas was in a position of leadership when Jesus was being brought up.

Herod’s Rule and how it Contributed to Conflicts Encountered by Jesus

Herod’s Palestinian rule played a role in the various conflicts that Jesus encountered in his lifetime.  He is among the most talked about people in both the New and the Old Testaments. Herod’s rule started when Antipar was in power. During the same period, Antipar was given the Roman citizenship and rewarded for helping Caesar fight Pompey. Thereafter, Antipar passed his to his two sons, Herod and Phasael who happened to be leaders of Jerusalem and Galilee respectively. As Herod acquired more power, he was also envious of anybody who was deemed to intimidate his leadership. This is what led to the Herod’s attempt to kill baby Jesus who was prophesied to be the future king.[8] To ensure that baby Jesus was killed, Herod ordered the elimination of all the male sons that were sired by Jews in Bethlehem. In general, Jesus was received with a lot of hatred because the Herodians fully supported the Sadducees.

All the Sadducees had a lot of wealth and were authoritative in the society where they mixed religious matters with politics and also welcomed the Romans by encouraging them to take up leadership positions in the society. Additionally, Sadducees received the Greek culture more positively. This caused a conflict because the Greeks were worshiping gods and performed ceremonies that did not agree the Jesus Christ teachings. As a result, when Jesus initiated his Christian organization he experienced a problem because people adored idols and showed concern to the earthly belongs at the expense of the Lord’s teachings.

A conflict was also evident when Jesus entered a synagogue for a prayer session and found that people had turned it into a market place where they were selling various commodities. He was not pleased by this act whipped those who were conducting business in God’s holy ground. Due top the anger, Jesus also destroyed all the property and goods that were in the synagogue. Similarly, the society had adopted the Greeks’ culture that had some Western characteristics and engaged in sinful activities. When Jesus came, He realized that the society was not following the God’s teachings or the Torah and the teachings that came from it.

Jesus also came across the Zealots, a group of revolutionalists who opposed the Roman occupation and culture. Moreover, at the birth of Jesus there were some religious groups that also preached about repentance and the coming of Jesus as the Messiah. Some of these groups included the followers of John the Baptist. This preaching angered Herod because he did not anybody who would have more powers than him.[9] During His time, Jesus also interacted with the Pharisees who taught that it was mistake to do anything on a Sabbath day. In response to these teachings, Jesus challenged them on how sometimes it was impractical not to do anything on a Sabbath day. When John the Baptist died, a few his disciples embraced Christianity while others did not believe that Jesus the real Messiah.

Conclusion

In summary, during the intertestamental period there were numerous changes in religion and politics that were experienced in both Jerusalem and Israel. It was also in this time that the construction of second temple of Jerusalem was accomplished. This happened after the period when the Jews were released from deportation and made to return to their motherland through the orders of King Cyrus. Most of the dynasties that existed during the second temple period had in one way or another led to disagreements and other tribulations encountered by Jesus during His ministry. Some of the religious groups that Jesus found include the Sadducees and the Pharisees, all which conflicted with the actual teachings of Jesus. Other political groupings like the Herodians also existed during the tenure Jesus and were against Him because He was referred to as the Messiah. According to them, they had expected the messiah to come with horses and chariots and not a humble man as Jesus appeared. In the long-run, Jesus was arrested and executed during the Herodian rule. Furthermore, the adoption of other cultures was also common during the second period. Some cultures such as the Greek introduced to the Jews some forms of entertainment such as fighting with wild animals and dressing. Regardless of the fact that most of the Jews adopted these cultures, there were others who did not practice them.

Bibliography

 

Flusser, Dickson. Judaism of the Second Temple Period, Boston: Eerdmans Publishing, 2007.

Foster, Paul, “Messianism in the Second Temple Period: Andrew Chester,” The Expository Times, 119, no. 12 (2008): 610.

Gillingham, S, “The History of the Second Temple Period,” Vetus Testamentum, 53, no. 1 (2003): 137.

Kautsky, Ken. and Packer, David.  Foundations of Christianity, New York: IMG Publications, 2007.

Sacchi, Pam. The History of the Second Temple Period. New York: Routldege, 2004.

[1] Sacchi, Pam. The History of the Second Temple Period. New York: Routldege, 2004.

[2] Foster, Paul, “Messianism in the Second Temple Period: Andrew Chester,” The Expository Times, 119, no. 12 (2008): 610.

[3] Sacchi, Pam. The History of the Second Temple Period. New York: Routldege, 2004.

[4] Foster, Paul, “Messianism in the Second Temple Period: Andrew Chester,” The Expository Times, 119, no. 12 (2008): 610.

 

 

[5] Gillingham, S, “The History of the Second Temple Period,” Vetus Testamentum, 53, no. 1 (2003): 137.

 

[6] Kautsky, Ken and Packer, David.  Foundations of Christianity, New York: IMG Publications, 2007.

[7] Flusser, Dickson. Judaism of the Second Temple Period, Boston: Eerdmans Publishing, 2007.

 

[8] Kautsky, Ken and Packer, David.  Foundations of Christianity, New York: IMG Publications, 2007.

[9] Foster, Paul, “Messianism in the Second Temple Period: Andrew Chester,” The Expository Times, 119, no. 12 (2008): 610.

 

Maximizing Profit in a Hotel

In the daily operations of a hotel, there are various costs that are involved. These costs can be direct or indirect expenses. All the direct costs in a hotel vary depending with the level of production. For instance, in the Food and Beverage, the costs associated with the food sales are considered to be direct costs. In relation to this, if the hotel sells more dishes, the hotel will have to incur most costs. However, the hotel incurs fewer costs for the foods if the number of the servings sold in a day is less (Ojugo, 2009).  This implies that the chef has to make requisitions for the foods that are needed in the kitchen on daily bases. In addition to buying the foods, other costs involved in food preparation, include water, fuel, utensils, and paying the kitchen staff.

In the housekeeping and the front office departments, direct costs are also incurred when the guests or the hotel employees make telephone calls since such calls have to be paid by the clients or by the hotel (O’Fallon & Rutherford, 2010).  Other expenses that might be incurred in housekeeping include contract cleaning expenses, laundry and dry cleaning, guest transportation, purchase of linen, guest supplies, cleaning supplies, printing, and stationary.

Indirect costs in a hotel are the costs that do not vary with the level of production. These may include fixed charges or costs that are incurred for the benefit of the whole hotel without being associated to specific departments. For instance, if the hotel had taken some insurance cover, and then some equipment is lost through burglary, the replacement done by the insurance company is a form of a fixed cost (O’Fallon & Rutherford, 2010). In addition, the hotel may also pay some undistributed expenses such as electricity, water, and rent.

The difference between a hotel and the manufacturing industry is that hotel provides services to the guests while manufacturing industry is involved in making products (Dittmer & Keefe, 2008). As such, the costs incurred in making the products are recovered after selling the products to the consumers. Conversely, the cost incurred in providing service to the guests or customers in a hotel are covered when the bills are cleared by the clients (Hansen & Mowen, 2014). In relation to the economies of scale, in the manufacturing industry, the average cost curve declines as the production increases. In this regard, a manufacturing company saves money when higher quantities of goods are produced. The economies of scale may not apply in the hotel industry because variable costs such as purchase of ingredients are more valuable than the fixed costs such as rent. For example, people visiting a restaurant will pay more for the service provided and not for the quality of the equipment used. As a result, prices in a hotel do not need to be low to attract customers since it may also imply low quality in service. Furthermore, in manufacturing industry some additional costs might be incurred in storing the finished products until they are delivered to the clients. However, such costs are not incurred in hotels because the service is given to the guests when they require it.

For a hotel to operate appropriately, there are various resources that must be hired. For instance, in the Food and Beverage department service staff and the kitchen staff have to be hired while in the other departments there are resources such as room stewards, receptionists, accountants, security officers, and cleaners. According to economic principles, a hotel should hire more resources if the marginal benefits of doing so exceed the marginal costs associated with hiring. Therefore, the quantity of the resources required in the hotel depends on the amount of work to be done (Waljer, 2006).  For instance, the number of service staff will vary depending on the size of the hotel and the number of guests that it receives in a day. For this reason, more resources may be required during the peak season than in the low season. In the hotel industry, expenses have to be controlled in order to maximize profits. In essence, the cost of production of a service or a product should cater for the 40% of the selling price (Sheela, 2009). By doing so, at least a profit margin of 60% will be realized after every sale.

As an economist, the overwork of the employees has to be considered to ensure that they are compensated accordingly. In fact, the overwork of the employees should be avoided by hiring enough workers and letting them only work within the recommended hours of operation (Sheela, 2009).  In this case, the employees should work in shifts to avoid overworking but when they work for more hours they should be compensated for the overtime. However, overtime in the hotel industry should only be encouraged if the marginal benefits of employee overwork exceed the marginal costs incurred in paying for the overtime.

References

Dittmer, P. & Keefe, J. (2008). Principles of Food, Beverage, and Labor Cost Controls. New        York: Routledge.

Hansen, D. & Mowen, M. (2014). Cornerstones of Cost Management. Michigan: Cengage             Learning.

O’Fallon, M. & Rutherford, D. (2010). Hotel Management and Operations. New York: John        Wiley & Sons.

Ojugo, C. (2009). Practical Food and Beverage Cost Control. New York: Cengage Learning.

Sheela, A. (2009). Economics of Hotel Management. Michigan: New Age International.

Waljer, J. (2006). Fundamentals of Management Accounting. Boston: Elsevier.

Religion and Theology: Structural Variations between the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old

Introduction

            The teachings of the Old Testament in the Christian bible are fundamentally similar to those of the Hebrew bible. This is because both books have drawn from the same set of authors and in the same historical period and in desire to communicate the same message. These similarities can be easily explained by the history of the Christian religion from where Judaism stemmed. The teachings of early prophets and other texts that communicated the basic theology of traditional Christian societies can be found in these books. However, there are differences that are to be found between the two books. The Hebrew bible has a different method of clustering individual texts different from the Christian book by at least a third. The differences are in the way that both sets of books considered the texts along their perceived importance. The Hebrew bible perhaps used this method of classification better than its Christian equivalent since the latter considered other factors including the chronology of events. The structural differences of both books and including the New Testament are outlined in the discussion below.

Discussion

Biblical hermeneutics refers to the interpretation of the bible. The bible is a text that elicits much debate in the society and whose interpretation has been a topic of discussion since the days of the Hebrew bible, to the old and the new testaments. The major hermeneutical and exegetical issues are based on the convictions of the interpreters and can either be based on rationale or the divinity of the bible texts. One school of though argues that the bible is a compilation of books that were written by authors in different historical periods under the divine guidance of the Holy Spirit (Osborne 2006). This school posits that a great injustice is done to the bible if its texts are literally interpreted. It considers the bible as having a fuller meaning and can thus not be taken at face value. The other school of thought argues that the bible is a compilation of books that were written by authors with different artistic inspirations largely guided by their own intelligence and their social environment. These broad hermeneutical and exegetical issues can be further broken down into cultural, historical, literal or legal issues (Tate 1997). The bible can be understood if it is contextualized according to other corresponding events during its compilation. For example, understanding the Palestinian government at the time of Jesus can help one understand the actions of the rulers at the time and therefore assist in the overall interpretation of texts written at that time. Additionally, considering the culture of a people like the Israelites and comparing it to that of Egyptians can help one better understand the Exodus. Another example is the use of the Jewish laws as a basis for understanding the meaning that Israelites placed on circumcision.

The Old Testament theology is basically what God wants to reveal about Himself. There are many truths that the texts reveal about God and they are organized in a manner that allows us greater understanding through a step by step process. In the beginning, genesis, God reveals that there was nothing but a great void and that is filled by the goodness of God by His design. The bible states that in the beginning there was the word and the word was God and the word was with God. The New Testament on the other hand builds on what the Old Testament reveals and describes Jesus, an embodiment of God, as the truth and the life through which humans access God. The Old Testament is a chronological account of how God associated with the chosen human race of the time, the Jews through various individuals. It is a detailed account of various contracts, referred to as covenants, which God entered with some of the most prominent prophets and other individuals at the time. The first account of this is given in the beginning texts of genesis where God enters into a contract with Adam that ends up with him and Eve being kicked out of the Garden of Eden. Other covenants in the texts are with Noah, Abraham, David, and Jeremiah among others. In the New Testament, God also enters into different relationships; the most prominent being with every believer who goes to him and repents. Prophets like Jeremiah had prophesied what was to come and the New Covenant was fulfilled by Jesus Christ.

Towards the beginning of the first century AD, the Jewish people were under the rule of Alexander. This was the period when they were introduced to the Greek language and culture. During the intertestament period, Hellenism was prominent and some of the texts that were written in this period were by Hellenized Jews (Grayzel 1947). The Greek culture was so strong to the point that it persisted even after the Roman conquest. This period spans from the time of the last prophet, Malachi and the appearance of John the Baptist. It spanned 400 years and reflects a crossover from the Old Testament texts to the New Testament. The Hebrew bible does not have a reflection of the intertestamnet period but rather refers to it as the Second Temple Period. During the lead up to the first century AD, there were 400 years where there were no new instructions or communications from God. Some researchers refer to these years as the silent years. However, most deuterocanonical and apocryphal books that are widely used by the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches were written in this period. This period was also characterized by a growth in the Jewish diaspora

The bible was written by various authors during different periods in history. Scholars had to critically assess these texts in order to make informed judgments on the intended meanings of the texts and their historical accounts. The most widely used method of reconstructing the historical and literary texts was by putting the existing texts under intense interrogation in order to determine their accuracy. The first step towards achieving this was assuming that these texts were products of human intelligence rather than supernatural powers, which would have suggested that they were perfect and beyond reproach. Therefore, the origin of texts, the mode of production, the history of the author, the intended audience, the message therein, and the resources used for their production are areas where scholars focused their efforts in making sense of the texts. Since languages are constantly evolving, scholars had to interpret the texts in line with traditional languages so as not lose meaning of words. The exercise was not simple as it involved different disciplines including anthropology, archaeology, folklore, linguistics and the study of old traditions (Barton 1984). Some of the specific methods include textual, canonical, rhetorical, form, socio-scientific, redaction, psychological, narrative, rhetoric, redaction and source critisms that analyzed all the aspects of these texts in detail in order to draw relevant conclusions and relay intended messages.

Conclusion

The Hebrew bible is firmly rooted in Jewish law. While it is fundamentally similar to that of the Old Testament, there exist some structural differences. The Tanakh has 24 major books which is a variation of the 39 in the Christian Old Testament but has some of the books clustered into what some scholars referred to as a force-fit in order to arrive at the Books of the Jewish Canon. Although the two books have two thirds of their texts following the same order the Christian Old Testament is regarded as having the most logical order under hermeneutics since it has all the texts in a chronological order with Chronicles coming before Ezra in a logical manner. The reason that scholars posit for the differences in the books is that the Tanakh has its texts arranged in the order of their canonical importance and the texts that appear last were compiled in the latter stages. The old Christian testament is thought to be a more balanced and sequential account of God’s word.

There are fundamental similarities between the theologies of both the Old Testament Christian texts and the Hebrew bible compared to that of the New Testament. The basic teachings are that there exists a God who created man in His image and manifests Himself through them (McGrath 1998). In the Hebrew bible and the Old Testament, God revealed Himself to people through a number of ways, most of them dramatic. He appeared to Moses as a burning bush, converted Lot’s wife into salt, saved Noah using an ark, availed a lamb as a sacrifice for Abraham as he was about to sacrifice his son and many others. These manifestations of God were through the Jewish people that were considered a chosen race. The texts refer to the children of Israel as God’s preferred people. On the other hand, the New Testament, although also written in the Hebrew context, appeals to all races and groups of people. In addition, God is no longer manifested in dramatic fashion as he was in the traditional texts. In analyzing the theologies in all the three bibles, one realizes that the New Testament was a necessary sequel to the Old Testament as it served as a platform for the fulfillment of the prophesies that had been made by prophets like Jeremiah. While the Hebrew bible would continue to be relevant to the Jewish people at present without the New Testament, it would strike no relation with non-Jews. Therefore, the New Testament theologies were important as a development of traditional notions of God and also as a way of including all other races in the world.

The period preceding the first century AD is regarded as having been one of the quietest as there were no dramatic communications or manifestations of God as had been in earlier centuries. However, invasion by the Greeks served to enrich the culture of the Jews and inspire some of the deuterocanonical and apocryphal texts still in use by the church today. This period was characterized by Hellenism and preceded the intertestament period (Hegel 1974). The Hebrew bible does not have a sequel and therefore disagrees with the term intertestamental period otherwise referring to it as the Second Temple Period (Baron 1952). This is when some of the books were included in the bible together with the last prophet’s work, Malachi. The history of Judea’s conquest during this period has the Persians as the masters of the Jews, then the Greeks, followed by the Syrians then the Hasmoneans and eventually the Romans. During this period, Judaism was a cult but developed into a major religion under the Pharisee rulers who became the rabbis and compiled the Hebrew bible.

The texts that were used to eventually compile all the various bibles were written in different historical periods. Therefore, the texts could not be directly adopted without scholars having to analyze their authenticity and accuracy (Soulen 1981). This entailed several academic disciplines in order to translate and adopt the texts with as close to the message as originally intended by the authors. It has been claimed that the rabbis had very ingenious ways of translating the texts so that they fit their intended messages to the public. In particular, it is documented that the topic of circumcision was very popular and that any text could be twisted until it conveyed that message. Therefore, scholars had to critically assess the texts so that there original messages could be established. It is therefore apparent that although it is claimed that the bible is a compilation of books from authors under the guidance of the holy spirit, there were gross misrepresentations in the texts that warranted scholars to reanalyze them for accuracy and relevance.

 

References

Baron, S.W., 1952, A Social and Religious History of the Jews, Vol 1, Ancient Times. Jewish Publication Society

Barton, J., 1984, Reading the Old Testament: Method in Biblical Study. Philadelphia: Westminster

Grayzel, S., 1947, A History of the Jews. Jewish Publication Society

Hegel, M., 1974, Judaism and Hellenism. Fortress Press

McGrath, A., 1998, Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.

Osborne, G.R., 2006, The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical Interpretation. Second edition. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press

Soulen, R.N., 1981, Handbook of Biblical Criticism, 2nd ed. Atlanta, Ga: John Knox

Tate, W.R., 1997, Biblical Interpretation: An Integrated Approach. Rev. ed. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publications

 

 

 

 

Integrated Marketing Communication Plan for Ford Motors

Executive summary

            An integrated marketing communication plan is a comprehensive plan to let customers know about a specific product. Today’s market is very competitive meaning that a producer must work hand in hand with the best marketers to ensure that products receive the best attention in the market and eventually increase sales.

This paper will analyze the Ford Motor Company, one of the largest global manufacturers of motor vehicles. The company is facing an increasingly difficult market place with a well knowledgeable and choosy customer base. In this paper, the company targets sale of motor vehicle to college students and recent graduates. This target market has been chosen as it does not have campaigns directed at its specific needs by any other car manufacturer. The paper will detail both above-the-line and below-the-line communication networks in order to best capitalize this market.

Background and target audiences

Ford Motors is the second largest motor vehicle manufacturer in the US which is a very strong position considering that the US currently is currently the second largest vehicle market in the world (Dassbach, 1988). The major advantage is that the company is already established with worldwide acceptability among numerous customer segments (Ford Investor Relations 2013). Furthermore, the company has embraced some green concepts especially with the ECOnetic that focuses on the production of highly fuel efficient motor vehicle engines which is a departure from the current trend in production of hybrid engines. The overall effect of these initiatives has been the reestablishment of Ford as a global car manufacturer of reckon with innovation being its key driver (The Motley Fool 2013). It has been found that the Ford Fiesta and the Ford Focus have better overall fuel consumption ratings than the Toyota Prius which is a highly acclaimed vehicle brand (Hardigree 2007).

This integrated marketing communication plan is aimed at promoting Ford among college graduates. It will outline the objectives of the company and its strategies and tactics in accessing the selected target market.

Objective

The ultimate objective of the company is to create an appeal within college students and fresh graduates as this target market has net been adequately catered for. Ultimately, the company targets to sell over 500,000 vehicles to this cluster within a two-year period.

The target market identified will primarily be reached by use of brand ambassadors, magazines and television. This will be an endeavor to utilize the media that are currently favored by this group. One fact that is undeniable is that members of this group always have a smart phone or a tablet with them and are constantly accessing the web, mostly to communicate with their peers on the numerous social media. A marketing campaign that is personalized in order to appeal to this target will achieve two major goals (Crosby, Evans & Cowles 2011). First, it will create awareness among the group and second, it will allow for a dialogue between the company’s marketing personnel and the group; and amongst the group members themselves (Kotler 2009). The social media platform will be controlled where information on all the tenets of the brand are communicated including accessibility, finance options, performance, innovativeness, and future plans (Fowler 2010). Thus, the overall aim of the marketer will be to create a family out of the target audience where they will be able to identify with the brand, ultimately attracting others and increasing sales.

Ford aggressively took to Twitter in 2011 to appeal to the youth in an attempt to spark a conversation on their trends and preferences in the automotive sector (Mays 2014). The company has been using the buzz generated on the social media to position itself as the brand of choice for the youth and to reach a larger audience. This medium has created awareness of the company brands but did little in terms of branding.

IMC plan

Marketing objectives

1. Ford aims at increasing its overall market share in the US by 20%;
2. By the end of the first year of marketing activity the company should have achieved 30% awareness in the target audience;

• Additionally, Ford desires to increase traffic through its website by about 40% as a direct result of an aggressive campaign targeting the youth.

1. By the end of the second year, the number of Ford accounts created to patronize specific payment modes should have risen by 30%.
2. Finally, the number of people visiting Ford dealerships should increase by 20% within the first year.

Integrated marketing communication is a concept that allows the marketer to aggregate the different messages aimed at a specific group of customers in a comprehensive manner that achieves desired results (Duncan & Mulhern 2004). It is theorized that due to the nature of communication – above or below the line – customers receive numerous bits of information pertaining a product and it therefore becomes incumbent upon them to aggregate them in a mode that best makes sense to them. In this regard therefore, IMC is important to manage perceptions as the sense made by customers from the numerous messages received may not be positive for the product (Ambler et al 2002).

Branding

The Ford Fiesta will be the major brand marketed to this group (Interbrand 2013). This is because the car has been found to have stricken a cord with this audience according to recent sales figures. However, it is widely known that college students and fresh graduates are some of the hardest customers to pin down to a single brand. In order to convince them that Ford is the best model for their current situation, there will be need for an innovative and creative approach. The Ford Fiesta and the Ford Focus are currently the most fuel efficient vehicles in the market (Kiley 2010). Since this target market does not have high disposable incomes due to the fact that they are still in school and loans to repay, these vehicles offer the best value for money as they have low maintenance requirements.

Communication strategy

The first tenet of an IMC is that it must be consumer oriented (Cornelissen & Lock 2000).  This means that one must redefine the 4Ps of marketing as they are traditionally understood (Kliatchko 2008). Schultz asserts that a marketer should completely disregard the product as a first step towards success in marketing (1996). All the attention should be on the products that the customers are willing to buy and not what the manufacturer is able to make (McArthur & Griffin 1997). The second tenet is understanding what the customer perceives as the value of the products (Schultz, Cole & Bailey 2004). Professionals caution that the satisfaction of customers is never absolutely measured in dollars worth (Schultz & Kitchen 2000). This means that the products must satisfy a more inherent need. Ford should not produce vehicles for the simple convenience of the target audience but should avail products that are interactive with them. The third consideration is the convenience of the customers (Schultz, Patti & Kitchen 2011). In the present day and age, people do not have to physically present themselves to dealerships in order to pick their orders. This stage has been replaced by the internet where the customer interacts directly with the seller in purchasing and delivery of the items that best fit their needs. Finally, the promotion strategy chosen must reflect the trends of the target market. Experts posit that while traditional promotional activities cautioned the buyer to beware (caveat emptor), present endeavors entail beware of the buyer (cave emptorum) (Schultz & Schultz 2003).

Competition in the car market is very high meaning that the media selected must be more effective than that of the competition (Spear 2009). The major avenue for reaching the target market will be by use of the social media. However, as a preliminary promotional tool, the company will use brand ambassadors who will help create the initial buzz. This activity will consume nearly half of the total budget and will increase the overall awareness of the brand in a range of universities chosen. The advantage of this mode is that it allows for experiential marketing which will ultimately lead to an emotional experience between college students and the brand (Duncan, 2002). The choice of universities to have initial promotional activities will be as per geographic location. Brand ambassadors will begin by promoting the Ford Fiesta as the major brand in 20 universities across the nation which will spread into all others. These universities will be also selected as per their involvement in activities that draw large audiences like sports and also on the population of the student fraternity including those living around and in campus. The program will entail hiring 4 interns from these universities who will be paid a stipend of $800 in two semesters, which amounts to one year, and a further $200 for those that exceed the benchmarks of: collecting over 200 contacts that will form Ford’s mailing list for electronic or direct contact, participating in at least two charity events that will involve a majority of those students that are in their final year, organizing and hosting 4 promotional events for Ford and participating in chosen experiential marketing activities like sports.

Since IMC plans entail coordinated activities, the various media used will have to compliment each other (Caywood 2012). After the first year of having brand ambassadors combined with the use of social media, the ambassadors will be discontinued from actively seeking contacts. These activities will be done together with having creative television adverts in popular television channels like sports and in popular magazines like university publications and entertainment magazines. Another important avenue for the creation of awareness will be use of internet ads in popular sites like Google and Facebook. All these activities will be coordinated by an established marketing center solely focused on the promotional activities targeted at the identified audience.

The information gathered by the sales ambassadors will be used for below-the-line (BTL) communications (Akhil 2002). The advantage of BTL initiatives is that they are cost effective and do not require as hefty a budget as the ATL ones. Ford’s BTL communications will entail direct mailing to client lists or through emails. These initiatives are important since they give the consumer direct information regarding the products on offer rather than them relying on information in other forms of media. Product features can be directly communicated to potential clients ensuring that they easily recall the products once they decide to make a purchase (Swain 2004). The advantage of using promotional events unlike other media is that marketers gauge reactions of consumers (Ranjana 2007). BTL promotions are important in the communications mix as they are customer-oriented with the intention of communicating the genuine attributes of the products directly to the customers (Akhil 2001). Most marketers advocate the use of young women in the BTL initiatives (Christensen & Cornelissen 2011). Ford will focus on contracting young people who have basic sales training to ensure that the products reach their desired targeted audience

Schedule        

Vehicle

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

Jun.

Jul.

Aug.

Sep.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Ambassadors

Experiential marketing

University Magazines

Other magazines

Internet ads

Television

Website

The table above represents a schedule of the media activity for the first year. The experiential marketing during the first year of the media campaign will be done during the months that universities are on holiday. From the month of January through April, students are usually in their first semester of university while the second semester runs from September through to December. Another variation in promotional activity is that university magazine ads will alternate with other magazine ads and together will alternate with internet ads creating a promotional network that will run all year round. Finally, television ads and the company website ads will run throughout the year. This schedule is designed to give maximum exposure of the company products to the target market all year round (Littlejohn 1999).

Budget

The largest proportion of the budget will be towards the university promotional activities that will comprise 50%. The utilization of 80 interns at $1000 each will amount to $80,000 on ambassadors alone in the first year. The other promotional activities will cost an estimated $120,000 to achieve the required outcomes. Television advertisement will take the next largest percentage of the budget with around 25%. Print advertising which includes both university magazines and popular entertainment magazines will account for 15% of the budget whereas the remainder will be utilized in internet advertising. The table below summarizes the tentative budget for Ford’s promotional activities in targeting university students and fresh graduates.

Media	Amount
Promotion	$200,000
Television	$100,000
Magazines	$60,000
Internet ads	$40,000
Total	$400,000

 

Measuring effectiveness

IMCs success in theory is almost guaranteed (Kitchen 2010). Therefore, there must be benchmarks in order to measure it after implementation. The best measure for ensuring that the plan is working is analyzing the effectiveness of the ambassadors in meeting the set targets. Meeting the marketing objectives will be the overall measure of the IMC but preliminary indications will be the response that is gotten from customers through the BTL initiatives.

 

References

Akhil, G. 2002, Importance of Competition in Telecommunication, Nasscom Telecom Conference. New Delhi, The Hindustan Times and Stanford University

Akhil, G. 2001, Telecom – Is the Future Finally Near? New Delhi, Asian venture forum

Ambler, T. et al 2002, ‘Relating Brand and Customer Perspectives on Marketing Management, Journal of Service Research, vol. 5, no 1, pp. 13-25.

Caywood, C. 2012, The Handbook of Strategic Public Relations and Integrated Marketing Communications. Chicago, McGraw-Hill

Christensen, L.T & Cornelissen, J.P. 2011, ‘Bridging Corporate and Organizational Communication: Review, Development and a Look to the Future’, Management Communication Quarterly, vol. 25, no 3, pp. 383-414.

Cornelissen, J.P. & Lock, A.R. 2000, ‘Theoretical Concept or Management Fashion? Examining the Significance of IMC’, Journal of Advertising Research,  vol. 40, no. 5,  7-15.

Crosby, L.A., Evans, K.R. & Cowles, D. 2011, ‘Relationship quality in services selling: an interpersonal influence perspective’, Journal of Marketing, Vol.54, pp.68-81.

Dassbach, C.H. 1988, Global enterprises and the world economy: Ford, General Motors and IBM, the emergence of the transnational enterprise. Ph.D. dissertation, State University of New York at Binghamton, United States — New York

Duncan, T. R. 2002, IMC: Using Advertising and Promotion to Build Brands. Boston, McGraw-Hill

Duncan, T. & Mulhern, F. 2004, A White paper on the status, scope and future of IMC. New York,  McGraw Hill

Ford Investor Relations 2013, Ford China Sales Up 46% for the Year, February Sales up 7%. Accessed 26Feb, 2014 from: http://corporate.Ford.com/our-company/investors/investor-news-detail/pr-Ford-china-sales-up-4625-for-the-37786

Fowler, L. 2010, Integrated Marketing Communications Plan for General Motors GM&U College Discount Program. University of Kentucky, Gatton Student Research Publication 2(1)

Hardigree, M. 2007, Ford Wins Clean Vehicle Award For hybrids [Industry News]. Gawke, Jalopnik

Interbrand 2013, Best Global Brands 2012. Accessed 26 Feb, 2014 from: http://www.interbrand.com/en/best-global-brands/2012/Best-Global-Brands-2012.aspx

Kiley, D. 2010, Youth Cars are everywhere but where are the Buyers? AOL Autos, Accessed 26 Feb. 2014 from http://autos.aol.com/article/youth-car-low-sales/

Kitchen, P.J. 2010, Integrated Brand Marketing and Measuring Returns. Basingstoke, Palgrave-Macmillan

Kliatchko, J. 2008, ‘Revisiting the IMC construct: A revised definition and four pillars’, International Journal of Advertising, vol. 27, no 1, pp. 113-160.

Kotler, P. 2009, Marketing Management, 10^th Edn. New Delhi, Prentice Hall India Private Limited

Littlejohn, S. 1999, Theories of human communication 6th edn. Belmont, CA, Wadsworth

Mays, K. 2014, Toyota, Ford Top Consumer Reports’ Brand-Perception Survey. Cars.com Accessed on 26 Feb. 2014 from http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2014/02/toyota-ford-top-consumer-reports-brand-perception-survey.html

McArthur, D.N. & Griffin, T. 1997, ‘A Marketing Management View of Integrated Marketing Communications’, Journal of Advertising Research, vol. 37, no. 5, 19.

Ranjana, K. 2007, ‘Sharing the Spoils’, Outlook Business, Aug. 5

Schultz, D.E. 1996, ‘The inevitability of Integrated Communications’, Journal of Business Research, vol. 37, pp. 139-146.

Schultz, D.E., Cole, B. & Bailey, S. 2004, ‘Implementing the ‘Connect the Dots’ Approach to Marketing Communication’, International Journal of Advertising, vol. 23, no 4, pp. 455-477.

Schultz, D.E. & Kitchen, P.J. 2000, Communicating Globally. An Integrated Marketing Approach. Lincolnwood, IL, NTC Business Books, pp. 35-67.

Schultz, D.E., Patti, C. & Kitchen, P.J. 2011, Integrated Marketing Communications in the 21st Century. London, Routledge

Schultz, D.E. & Schultz, H.F. 2003, IMC The next generation. Five Steps for delivering value and measuring Financial Returns Using Marketing Communications. New York, McGraw Hill, pp. 1-97.

Spear, S. 2009, Chasing the Rabbit: How Market Leaders Outdistance the Competition and  How Great Companies Can Catch Up and Win. New York, McGraw-Hill

Swain, W.N. 2004, ‘Perceptions of IMC after a Decade of Development: Who’s at the Wheel, and How Can We Measure Success?’ Journal of Advertising Research, vol. 44, no. 1, 46.

The Motley Fool 2013, Despite Strong Earnings, Europe Weighs on Ford Motor Company. Accessed 26 Feb, 2014 from: http://www.insidermonkey.com/blr g/despite-strong-earnings-europe-weighs-on-Ford-motor-company-f-48589/

 

 

Appendix

Proposal

An integrated marketing communication plan is a comprehensive plan that lets customers know about a specific product. It is particularly important as the market is very competitive in this day. This paper will analyze the Ford Motor Company, one of the largest global manufacturers of motor vehicles. The company is facing an increasingly difficult market place with a well knowledgeable and choosy customer base. In this paper, the company targets sale of motor vehicles to college students and recent graduates. This target market has been chosen as it does not have campaigns directed at its specific needs by any other car manufacturer.

The paper will detail both above-the-line and below-the-line communication networks in order to best capitalize this market. Specifically, the paper will detail the use of brand ambassadors to promote sales in various events around chosen campuses as well as gather data for below-the-line marketing. The use of ambassadors will be used by advertisements through magazines, televisions and the internet. These media will be comprehensively coordinated in an effective marketing communication mix that will eventually lead to increased sales of Ford motor vehicles.

 

Military History-Vietnam War

It was increasingly difficult for the US to defeat the enemy at the Vietnam War for various reasons. The US military was somehow handicapped by the war planners and the US media. In order to execute the bomb attacks effectively, the US military had to contact a war planner from the United States to get permission. This process took time and made the enemies strategize how to retaliate. Besides, the US military was not allowed bomb civilian area regardless of how strategic such a bombing was. The main idea behind this was to avoid causing injuries to the North Vietnamese civilians (Lawrence, 2010). On the contrary, the North Vietnamese were not concerned about hurting anyone and attacked even the civilians. This put them at some advantage since they were at liberty to direct their attack in the area of their choice. To the Northern Vietnamese, there was no value for human life at all. With their determination and lack of respect for human life, the Northern Vietnamese could fight until their last man was dead.

The US media were the biggest traitors to the US military operations. It was somehow strange that whenever the US military announced to the media their intention to bomb a certain location, they always found the enemies had left (Lawrence, 2010). This was an indication that the enemies were getting the information from the media. Furthermore, the US media was involved in promoting anti-war campaigns back in the United States and hence acting like they were supporting the US enemy in the war.

The tactics used by the Viet Congo (VC) were quite advanced since they understood the terrain at the Northern Vietnam better that the US soldiers. Viet Congo was a political movement of the Vietnamese people. This organization had submerged itself into village life and had VC guerillas that were drawn from the villages. Additionally, the member of the VC helped the peasants in the villages to grow food and also provided medical services. Most of the peasants directly benefited from VC policies where taxes were also set at affordable rates (Lawrence, 2010). This made the VC to be quite popular, a situation that enabled it to mobilize many guerillas against the US. The large number of VC guerillas made it challenging for the US military to defeat them.  It was also difficult to defeat the Vietcong because they had the ability to rebuild their units quite fast, conducted night attacks, had extensive tunnel networks, and was experienced in jungle ambushes. This made it extremely difficult for the American military to defeat them.

The resolution of the Vietnam War started in October 1972, when Nixon’s National Security Advisor. Henry Kissinger made a secret peace agreement with North Vietnam’s Le Duc Tho. Once the agreement document was reviewed, President Thieu demanded some changes to the document but the negotiations were stuck when the North Vietnamese published the details of the document. This made Nixon to order the bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong in December 1972. On January 15, 1973, Nixon announced the end of the nasty military operations against North Vietnam (Lawrence, 2010). Thereafter, the Paris Peace Accords that ended the Vietnam War were signed in January 27, 1973. This was immediately followed by the withdrawal of the American troops from Vietnam. According to this peace accord, the ceasefire in South Vietnam was to end, the North Vietnamese forces were to be allowed to keep the territory they had captured, the US prisoners of war were to be released, and both sides were to agree on a political solution to the conflict.

 

Reference

Lawrence, M. (2010). The Vietnam War: A Concise International History. New York: Oxford       University Press.

 

 

Korean War and the Removal of MacArthur

General Douglas MacArthur was a highly decorated soldier that embodied the true American spirit and served his country loyally. He was the commander of all the UN forces in Korea. President Truman had been categorical in his foreign policy, vehemently opposing communism. This was reflected by the speed with which he galvanized support for European countries like Britain, Turkey and Greece after the Second World War to prevent them from being overrun by the communist regime in the USSR. The Truman doctrine was largely anti-communistic and was opposed to the spread of communism around the world (Merrill, 2006). However, the president seemed to have a much softer stand on the communist regime in China and treated it far more cordially than he did that of the USSR.

While the president advocated for peaceful negotiations in both China and Korea, General MacArthur seemed to favor war. He was vindicated in a statement he gave where he issued a veiled threat to expand the war into China if the communist regime did not come to laid out terms. He communicated directly with like-minded congressmen in advocating for rearming UN forces so that they could be embroiled in an all out war to achieve local success and test the effectiveness of the newly developed weapons. On the contrary, the president was of the opinion that American global strategy should not have been sacrificed at the altar of local engagement. Where General MacArthur felt there was need to hasten American engagement, the president felt there was more than enough time for a comprehensive solution to the Korean War and the achievement of a far greater victory in presenting America as a true superpower to the world at large.

General Macarthur therefore differed in principle with both the president and the members of the Joint Committee on Armed Services and Foreign Relations of the United States Senate who were consulted by the president and advocated for the general’s removal. Since the American foreign policy was not in favor of war with China, the Secretaries of State and Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff and president Truman felt that General MacArthur was out of line with the foreign policy and thereby relieved him of his command on April 11, 1951 (Merrill, 2006). The ensuing debate was whether the president was justified in terminating the services of such a decorated general with different factions supporting both sides of the discussion. Those that felt the president was not justified sighted inadequate grounds and a hurting national pride whereas others felt that the president was justified as he was ultimately the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and on whose back the responsibility for war and policy squarely lay.

This paper supports the president’s decision as MacArthur rather crudely and deliberately sought to sabotage the president’s effort for peace by issuing contradictory statements. Proponents of this stance argue that no sane person, devoid of a hero-worship complex, can fail to grasp the consequences of going against the policy of a commander in any scenario where war is a possibility. The only negative from the Truman decision was that it lacked tact in presentation to the public. The president could have used a little political education in broaching news of removal of a people’s hero for what seemed to many as trivial reasons.

 

 

References

Merrill, D. (2006). The Truman Doctrine: Containing Communism and Modernity. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 36(1), pp. 27–37

 

Effective infection control

In effective infection control policy, several considerations are usually made mandatory in ensuring that the correct measures are followed for perfect healthcare perfection. These considerations as suggested by Kang & Mark (2012) include the basic infection control, environmental hygiene, surveillance and education, commitment of the senior health care management and the perfection of the local operating systems in the health care among the reporting of any new or advanced infection control implementation available to the health care center. The basic infection control involves addressing risks in health care, where bacteria and viruses which survive many hours are analyzed in specified conditions to ensure perfect environment for the patients in hospitals.

While addressing risk management in hospitals, Hellinger et al (2007) gave an example of bacteria which survive in dry conditions like staphylococcus aureus, which is capable of surviving in dry cotton for more than three months. In addition, Tilmouth (2009) addressed methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), which survives for over four months and therefore recommending equipments which are capable of contaminating the bacteria to be isolated from other ward environment like curtains and beddings. On maintaining environmental cleanliness, Higson (1998) suggested that a better environment can be maintained by doubling the cleaning hours since most bacteria and viruses which survive for longer hours prefer dusty environment, a condition which should be avoided in hospitals.

In discussing whether the current method of cleansing and sterilization should be favored over the use of disposable instruments, Kang and Mark (2012) emphasized on some key considerations which included the risk associated with the environment and equipments, the standards at which disinfection, sterilization or even cleaning are to be carried out, in addition to the standards of monitoring whether the correct standards have been achieved. On cleaning levels, there is the general cleaning which involves the physical removing of contamination. Disinfection is the other level which reduces the number of micro-organisms but does not necessarily kill all viruses or bacteria (Mehtar, 1992). Sterilization is therefore the perfect method of killing the invisible micro-organisms where the equipments are made perfect for reuse under no risk of contamination.

Since sterilization requires perfection of the process, more preference has been made on the single use equipments under several reasons as suggested by Mehtar (1992). The cost of sterilizing equipments is considered to be high since perfect sterilization has to follow all steps in the process. The time taken in sterilizing equipments is too much considering that hospitals require adequate time for address of emergencies. In addition, Hellinger et al (2007) considered the trust of the staff involved the sterilizing process as being the only way of believing that the correct steps in the sterilizing process were followed. These led to doubts as suggested by Kang and Mark (2012) that the sterilization process can only be considered as perfect only under very keen supervision.

In conclusion, use of disposable instruments is more trusted with high percentage trust of the contamination free environment since the instruments disposal are done under the national standards for environmental care. As Hellinger et al (2007) adds while addressing the recommended methods of cleansing and sterilization, only perfect following of the recommended steps makes the process perfect otherwise, the sterilization process can be considered as invalid. The cost and perfection reduces the trust of cleaning and sterilization process, making the disposable instruments favored for use in hospitals and healthcares.

References

Hellinger, W,C., Bacalis, L,P., Edelhouser, H,F., Mamalis, N., Milstein, B., & Masket, S. (2007). Recommended practices for cleaning and sterilizing intraocular surgical instruments. J Cataract Refract Surg, 33(6): 1095-1100.

Higson, N. (1996). Risk management: health and safety in primary care. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Kang, J., & Mark, B. A. (2012). Prevention of Healthcare-Associated Infections in U.S. Hospital Settings. Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Mehtar, S. (1992). Hospital infection control: Setting up with minimal resources. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Tilmouth, T. (2009). Safe and clean care: infection prevention and control for health and social care students. Exeter, Devon: Reflect Press.

 

Inequality in U.S Higher education System

Introduction

Inequality in education comes when there are differences in the experience of some students in their educational endeavors when compared to others. There are several parameters used in measuring achievements in education. Such parameters include grades, scores, drop out levels, and the rates of college completion among others. Most studies conducted so far links the disparities in higher education in the US to racial, social, and economic factors. Moreover, the racial lines play a greater role in worsening the inequality, since skin color determines socioeconomic status, and residential location (Yossi & Richard, 2010). Admittedly, educational disparities exist between the white and the minority students. This paper focuses on the causes of inequality in higher education in US.

Causes of Educational Inequality

Several factors contribute to the increasing inequality in the manner in which white and minority students’ access higher education. Issues such as history, family background, and resources broadly represent the major categories that are relevant.

The history of US paints a negative picture about the relationship between the white and ethnic minorities. Firstly, some elements of stigma remain long after the abolishment of slavery. The freedmen schools did not receive proper recognition that could guarantee access to better colleges. Schools do not receive similar funds for their daily operations (Yossi & Richard, 2010). Secondly, the Latinos and American Indians also experience educational inequality. These minority groups do not access better educational opportunities. The American institutions of higher education fall into various classes. Most exclusive institutions have as low as 3% of their student population coming from low income and minority ethnic groups. According to Ann (2011), most students from Connecticut go Southern Connecticut State University since it is inexpensive, and offers a variety of programs. These students majorly come from poor families where parents work in factories. However, this scenario is quite different from the state of Yale University, which is a short distance from the Southern Connecticut.

According to Annette (2011), family background plays a vital role in determining the access to higher education opportunities. There is a correlation between the success of parents and that of their children. Recognizing the value of resources, white students have better educated parents than the minority students. Parents who are more educated tend to offer more support to the education of their children than the less educated ones. Educated parents offer varieties of books, take children to libraries, and offer a generally academic friendly environment. Such students aim for higher education. On the other hand, poor students from the minority groups have poor memory, vocabulary, and arithmetical skills. These characteristics lead to the classification of such students as low achievers with different classes. This separation further worsens the inequality gap as most of them drop out of school. The existence of language barrier also creates a gap between the white Native American students and the Latino immigrants. The immigrant students take long struggling with Basic English as a language as opposed to major subject areas (Annette, 2011). More research also reveals that 27% of Latinos, 54% of African American students come from single parent families when compared to 15% of White, and 10% of Asian students. Single parenthood, poverty, and less attention from the parents contribute greatly to the performance of these students and thus less access to the prestigious institutions of higher learning.

Lastly, resources also play an important role in the access to higher educational facilities in US. Most children from affluent families have access to better nutrition and health care services. A combination of these factors enhances cognitive development (Annette, 2011). Apart from the resources from the families, most schools discriminate minority students in resource allocation. The low-income students receive fewer funds compared to students from more affluent and white families. Moreover, teachers in low income schools are less qualified, which further reduces the performance of the students, and consequently, limiting their access to institutions of higher learning.

References

Ann, L. (2011). Degrees of Inequality: Culture, Class, and Gender in American Higher Education. Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Annette, L. (2011).Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life. London: University of California Press.

Yossi, S. & Richard, A. (2010).Stratification in Higher Education: A Comparative Study (Studies in Social Inequality). California: Stanford University Press.