Reading, Writing, And Walking With God Essays - Fear And Trembling

Reading, Writing, And Walking With God I love God. With my entire heart I burn for him. As a freshman in high school He called me, not with words or anything audible, but by his mere presence; a holy desire within my spirit that wants to love his people, and bring them into a romantic love-relationship with Him. The calling was as a whisper at first, just a small urge, almost a whim, but now it has grown into a war cry that rages in my soul. Im not sure exactly how literature has affected that, well secular literature; the main influence on my faith has definitely been the Bible. When I was fourteen my pastor said on a Sunday morning, Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12) Dont believe it because I say it, your parents say it, or your friends say it, GET INTO THE WORD AND WORK IT OUT! So I did. I read the whole thing, all of it, in a year and a half. I learned a lot during that time, and my faith was greatly influenced and my convictions were shaped. I know I subconsciously and even consciously picked out in my mind the things I personally found important to hold on to. Nevertheless I developed a great respect for the Bible and everything it says, and I agree with Gallagher and Lundin that the Bible should be viewed as literature to be best understood. Robert Altar and Frank Kermode offer a new view of the Bible as a work of great literary force and authority. They even claim that litera ry analysis must come first before all other uses of the Bible. Without prior literary analysis, the other ways of using the Bible will be hopelessly misguided, for unless we have a sound understanding of how the text fits together as a literary work, it will not be of much value in other respects (Gallagher and Lundin, 66) I have always enjoyed reading because I am an imaginative person. I will refuse to watch a movie if I have already read the book because I like the way I have it imagined, and I feel the same way about our textbook. I prefer not to read Bedfords comments after the stories in the text, because I would rather not listen when someone else is telling me what I should think as opposed to my own imagination. Although I Keeter 2 do enjoy reading; I must confess that it is not a hobby of mine. As a matter of fact, I dont read much at all, other than for classes. Perhaps that is because I am too busy or just distracted. Ive never considered the idea of literature in relation to my faith until I began this class, but I believe it is important, no, vital in helping us to love God with entirety. I believe that to love God with all my heart, soul, and mind, means that my mind should be open to all knowledge, giving me more to offer to Him, and more for Him to use in doing His work. However, not all literature is useful for all purposes. We can use many works of literature for multiple purposes; others may serve only one. Some texts teach, others amuse, others give us joy in the gifts of God. All provide various ways to participate in Gods world. (Gallagher and Lundin, xxvi / introduction) When anything is written, the author puts part of himself/herself into it. Literature is therefore a reflection of life, illustrating some aspect of it. And whether or not the story is true, we may still learn valuable lessons from it. Reading literature allows us take in an extra bit of life, and will help us to live our lives to the fullest. So when I read, it does affect my walk with God. What I read may not impact my beliefs, faith or convictions, but it will give me understanding, appreciation, and knowledge. This knowledge will make me into a better, more well rounded person, and it will equip me with even more to give to my Father in heaven. One question that drives me into

Essay about social media

Essay about social media Essay about social media Who Gains the Most According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), â€Å"one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) and approximately 17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2- 19 years are obese.† Life could not get easier for the human race with remote controls, cellphones, and fast food only a call away. We wonder why the population is growing, to the sides. We are living in a world where social media is everything. You get home from a long day of work, turn on the television and commercial after commercial we see fast food, candy, junk food and alcoholic beverages. When we drive we see food billboards, we see food ads on our electronic devices. We are surrounded by ads of food and everything seems too come to easy. People to walk to work anymore, families eat out and dine in less often and no one seems to have time to be physically activities. We are surrounded by a busy world, with work, kids, or school most of us fail to see the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. Social media tries to imply that thinness is beauty, that one must be beautiful. We get so caught up in trying the quickest fad diet and the latest Dr. Oz product that we do not concentrate on what is truly good for our bodies. For fifteen seasons the show, The Biggest Loser, has been aired on NBC to try and promote healthy lifestyles. The show debuted on NBC October 19, 2004 with TV ratings of 10.3 million. The Biggest Loser is committed to fighting this epidemic of overweight America. This show had online sources of support; the show features ideas on losing weight and most of all staying healthy. The Biggest Loser is a source of inspiration to live a healthy lifestyle, featured are overweight and obese contestants who change their lifestyles and work hard to lose weight. The Biggest Essay about Social Media Essay about Social Media In my opinion, I feel that parents should be able to access their teenagers Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. I don’t feel that it’s an invasion of their privacy, it’s is just to keep parents informed about activity that includes their child, behavior, and also to understand their feelings. At first, you may feel that allowing you teen to have a profile on a social network is ok, which it may, but it’s the activity they are uploading and posting onto their pages. You have to think, if you asked your teen/teens right now if you could view their profiles, would they say Yes or No? If yes, you most likely won’t have any problems, because your teen trusts you enough to let you view their profile. If they say no, because it’s† none of your business† you should have questions in your head such as, â€Å"What are you hiding†, â€Å"What business involving you that I don’t need to know about†, etc. You should know what ’s going on in your teen’s life. Teens are being influenced into doing drugs and more. Cyber-bullying, physical bullying and also verbal bullying may exist in their life. If you teen was being bullied and only expressed their feelings through that a social network would you even know about before it’s too late? For example, It has been about 5 years and your teen has been speaking his/her mind though a social network all this time and he/she is sick of expressing their feeling though that webpage because no action is being done and no matter how many friends have been unfriended, followers have been blocked or reported they still somehow have to face that person. Either on the internet or real life. They just want it to end. You on the other hand, is not even aware of all this, he/she may wear a smile and you think it’s all cool, but is that really what they’re feeling†¦ When they finally end it doesn’t be the one with the questions be the one with the answers. Bullying is not only the common situation teens run into. Some teens associate themselves with gang activity. Your child’s life is on the line at all times. Which means your child could lose their life at anytime. Parents be observant. Furthermore, you may not know that you teen is showing behavior through the internet that you don’t approve of. Such as, indecent exposure, throwing gang sign, and attempting improper acts. Your children may be taking inappropriate pictures and posting it onto their web pages. Is your child really safe? Did you know, strangers can disguise themselves to make it seem like they are your son/daughters friend or people that they associate with, so your teen can allow them to have the ability to see their profiles. Now that they can see their profile, they are just waiting for your child to post the right information they need (if they haven’t already) to proceed. Many teens face popularity decline, teen post these pictures to â€Å"fit in† when really it’s putting their life on the line. Once

Self Portrait Journal of Rembrandt Research Paper

Self Portrait Journal of Rembrandt - Research Paper Example In 1659, I painted my self-portrait, following the struggles of the financial crisis, after years of success as an artist. The main reasons for the self-portrait and the choice of the art type had a lot to show about my experiences, and pointed to a change of subject, from those reflected in previous works. In order to understand the reasons for painting the self-portrait, it is important to note the events of my life that had come before the painting of the work. After years of success as a writer, I suffered a financial crisis and failure, and the painting was the reassurance that I needed for myself, and also one that would keep the faith of my audiences high. After losing a house and other valuable properties through an auction, I painted a self-portrait looking into the eyes of the viewer, as an expression of dignity and strength, despite the loss. Further, as a person, I felt that I needed to reassure myself through the painting that I still had the strength and the dignity that I needed to remain relevant in the area of art. In the self-portrait, the illumination of the head and the shoulder was intentional. It was meant to show a posture of confidence and power, in the eyes of all viewers and among my peers in the field of art. The appearance of clasped hands was another indicator of the poise that I still commanded in the field of art and in other circles as well. Further, the self-portrait drew a lot from the inspiration of a portrait done earlier in Balthasar Castiglione, which was also an expression of a highly experienced painter. Through the quality and the poise of the figure in the painting, I wanted to project the aptitude of a highly experienced and learned painter.

Felony Criminal Charge Procedure Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Felony Criminal Charge Procedure - Term Paper Example This essay will be focussed on the criminal procedures stages that are common among the two level of government in bringing felony suspects to justice. It will make an in-depth discussion of the process right from the initial stage of the investigation until sentence of the case is determined (Moak & Carlson, 2012). A criminal case is essentially one that an individual is accused of causing harm or destruction to the general society through one or more of his actions. They usually take two forms either misdemeanour or felony charges (McCord, McCord, & Bailey, 2012). A misdemeanour is a less serious case and thus magistrate judges handle it. Often it is punishable by a fine of less than one year imprisonment in jail. On the other hand, felonies are perceived to be more grievous cases that require more attention. They are usually handled by district judges in district courts. These crimes are punishable of incarceration in state correction centres (Champion, 1988). A felony charge is committed when an individual acts in a manner that contravenes the state or federal laws thus causing harm or destruction to the general public. A suspect of a felony charge may be arrested depending on the scenario (Moak & Carlson, 2012). First an individual can be arrested by police responding to a reported crime if he/she around the crime scene where the incidence has been reported, alternatively after a crime has been reported police will commence investigations to determine the perpetrators. In the process of piecing together the available evidence an individual may be implicated by either the fingerprints, which were found at the scene of the crime, DNA samples found at the crime scene or CCTV footage of the premise where the crime occurred. In the first scenario the suspect is arrested, the police officer responsible for the arrest signs a sworn affidavit and complaint sheet that

Preventing Harm From Deterioration In Patients Nursing Essay

Preventing Harm From Deterioration In Patients Nursing Essay This study will discuss what a nurse needs to know in relation to identifying and preventing harm from deterioration in patients in a hospital ward setting. A review of current literature will be carried out in order to find the best available evidence on the subject. The key issues arising from the literature will be critically analysed to provide a balanced and objective consideration of the strengths and limitations of current practice in relation to the recognition and communication of patient deterioration. Finally the study will use the evidence to attempt to make recommendations for practice in this area and discuss the nurses role in the development of the new practices which could enhance the management of patient deterioration and ultimately ensure safer care for patients. Rationale for Subject Choice As a student nurse about to become a registered and accountable practitioner, one of my main concerns is that I have the knowledge and skills to recognise deterioration in the condition of my patients and the ability to communicate my concerns effectively to ensure they are seen promptly by a more senior clinician and any further decline is prevented. Therefore my rationale for choosing to study this topic was to try to find evidence which would support me in contributing to safer care of acutely ill patients. Background The increasing complexity of healthcare, an ageing population and shorter length of stay, means that hospital patients today need a higher level of care than ever before. Therefore, it is essential that hospital staff are equipped to recognise and manage deterioration (Department of Health 2009). Many patients who experience cardiopulmonary arrest show signs of deterioration for more than 24 hours before arrest, and it has been estimated that approximately 23,000 in-hospital cardiac arrests in the United Kingdom (UK) could be avoided each year with better care (Smith et al 2006). Furthermore, evidence has shown that delays in recognising deterioration or inappropriate management can result in late treatment, avoidable admissions to intensive care and in some cases, unnecessary deaths National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) (2005) National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) (2007) (2007a). These studies highlighted the magnitude of the problem in the UK, they s howed that hospital staff do not understand the disturbances in physiology affecting the sick patient, they frequently ignore signs of clinical deterioration and lack skills in the implementation of oxygen therapy, assessment of respiration and management of fluid balance NPSA (2007) (2007a). NCEPOD (2005) reported that approximately 50% of ward based patients receive substandard care prior to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission, and 21-41% of ICU admissions are potentially avoidable. Analysis of 425 deaths that occurred in general acute hospitals in England showed that 64 deaths occurred as a result of patient deterioration not being recognised due to observations not being undertaken for a prolonged period leading to changes in vital signs not being detected, and delay in patients receiving medical attention even when deterioration was detected (NPSA 2007). Despite considerable economic investment there is continued evidence of suboptimal care and the Department of Health (DoH) (2 009) have acknowledged that the recognition and management of acutely ill patients need attention. They say there are many factors influencing a patients ability to receive appropriate and timely care including the failure to seek advice, poor communication between professional groups, and a lack of clinical supervision for staff in training (DoH 2009). The following literature review will attempt to find evidence of the factors which contribute to sub optimal treatment of deterioration. Literature Review A literature search was undertaken using the electronic databases CINAHL, ESCBO host, Internurse, Medline, Science Direct and Swetswise through the Liverpool John Moores University search engine, and also the British Nursing Index via Ovid using the Royal College of Nursing search engine. The keywords used were: deterioration, hospital deterioration, communication of deterioration and early warning systems. A total of thirteen articles were found to be of use, two of these were published outside the UK (Australia and Italy) however after reading them it was decided that the evidence was relevant and they were deemed appropriate for use. As the study developed a further search was performed using the terms deterioration tools, communication tools, SBAR and RSVP communication tool two articles from this subsequent search were used in this study. Additionally and as mentioned above useful references were also sought from the Department of Health, the National Patient Safety Agency, the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcomes and Death, and the National Institute of Clinical Excellence. The search revealed the topic had been fairly well researched, especially in recent years and the articles seemed to have stemmed from the reports by NPSA (2007) (2007a) and NICE (2007). Smith (2010) recently proposed a Chain of Prevention to assist hospitals in structuring their care processes to prevent and detect patient deterioration and cardiac arrest. The five rings of the chain represent staff education, monitoring, recognition, the call for help and the response and it was found that the themes of education, and recognition were well documented in the literature. Nurse Education Preston and Flynn (2010) say in order to avoid unrecognised patient deterioration and therefore enhance patient safety nurses must review their knowledge and skills in measuring the physiological parameters of temperature, blood pressure, blood glucose levels, oxygen saturation levels, and neurological function, and in particular identified the respiratory rate as a particularly sensitive indicator of clinical decline. In addition nurses also need to recognise the significance of physiological compensatory mechanisms that are activated in clinical deterioration, so they can report their findings accurately and with confidence to doctors and senior staff. Steen (2010) agrees that nurses require the knowledge and skills to be able to provide critical care in the general ward setting, as accurate assessment using a systematic approach can aid timely detection and intervention and can help to stabilise the individuals condition preventing organ dysfunction, multi organ failure and furthe r deterioration, thus reducing morbidity and mortality rates and admission to ICU. However, Odell, Victor and Oliver (2009) feel that recognising deterioration of a ward patient and referring to critical care teams is a highly complex process, requiring skill, experience, and confidence. Preston and Flynn (2010) suggest that nurses can be helped to develop these skills by attending the Advanced Life Threatening Events Recognition and Treatment (ALERT) course, they considered the possibility of nurses undertaking the ALERT course whilst a student, they say this will help newly qualified nurses to promote their skills, abilities and rationale for recognizing and responding to patient deterioration. They also recommend the further development of acute illness simulation programmes in both pre and post registration courses to help nurses to become more confident and expert in responding and reporting acute illness to medical and more senior staff. They say what is needed is a closer col laboration between education and health service partners to deliver these programmes and competent clinical teaching staff to facilitate these simulated exercises in a safe environment that utilises accurate patient scenarios, equipment and charts that are currently used in practice (Preston and Flynn 2009). Monitoring Accurate monitoring of patient condition featured highly in the literature. The NPSA (2007) revealed that in 14 of the 64 incident reports they studied, no observations had been made for a prolonged period before the patient died therefore vital signs such as blood pressure, pulse and respirations were not detected. But the literature revealed the crucial importance of regular observations in the recognition of deteriorating patients. Preston and Flynn (2010) said doing the observations is crucial for detecting early signs of deterioration in acute care as closely monitoring changes in physiological observations can identify abnormalities before a serious adverse event occurs. Early identification is important to reduce mortality, morbidity, length of stay in hospital and associated healthcare costs (NICE 2007). Preston and Flynn (2010) also stipulated that close supervision of unqualified nursing staff doing the observations in acute care should be a high priority and should follow both the NICE (2007) guidelines and recommendations from the NSPA (2007) (2007a). However following an observation of care by Morris (2010) an issue was identified where observations were incomplete, with recording of respiratory rate and oxygen saturations omitted and although an early warning score chart had been used, a score had not been recorded (Morris 2010). Recognition The importance of nurses utilising an early warning system was highlighted. Cei, Bartolomei and Mumoli (2009) say using the Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS) when recording patient observations is a simple but highly useful tool to predict a worse in-hospital outcome and aid identification of patients at risk of clinical adverse events such as cardiac arrest, sepsis and raised intracranial pressure. Nonetheless a study by Donohue and Endacott (2010) revealed that participants did not look for trends in the MEWS data and few used MEWS data in the manner it was intended i.e. it was used to confirm whether the patient met the trigger criteria, rather than as a routine component of assessment, the study found that MEWS was used infrequently, used too late and not employed to communicate patient deterioration. Mohammed, Hayton, Clements, Smith, and Prytherch (2009) felt the significant advantage of an early warning or track and trigger system like MEWS was that they use a visual scale t hat gives a score if a physiological recording enters a colour zone. But they found that there are disadvantages to using these systems in practice if nurses add up the scores incorrectly. In their study (Mohammed at al 2009) found that calculating scores could be improved by using a handheld computer and this approach was more accurate, efficient and acceptable to nurses than using the traditional pen and paper methods in acute care. The Department of Health (2009) say early warning systems play a key role in the detection of deteriorating patients; however, clinicians need to be aware that in some clinical situations these systems will not reflect clinical urgency (Department of Health 2009) and effective assessment skills must be employed. Call for Help and Response The NPSA (2007) report revealed that in 30 of the 64 incident reports they audited, despite recording vital signs, the importance of the clinical deterioration had not been recognised and/or no action had been taken other than the recording of observations (NPSA 2007). This could be due to ineffective communication of the deterioration. The literature review showed that communication of deterioration was a more recently well documented subject. Steen (2010) Tait (2010) feel that a vital component of the management of the acutely ill patient is the ability to communicate clearly and precisely with all members of the multidisciplinary team to aid timely and appropriate help and intervention for the patient. Still there is much evidence of communication breakdown between disciplines, Beaumont (2008) states communication between medical and nursing staff can be problematic, nurses may not communicate clearly enough and struggle to convey information in a manner that would convince doctor s of the urgency of the situation, sometimes there is failure by doctors to perceive, understand or accept the source of nurses clinical and professional judgement, less experienced nursing staff might not feel comfortable or confident to call more senior staff because they fear doing the wrong thing or crossing occupational and hierarchical boundaries. These problems can result in conflict between professional groups as they attempt to work towards positive outcomes and may prevent patients from receiving assistance and support when required (Beaumont 2008). Endacott, Kidd, Chaboyer and Edington (2007) agree that formal divisions of labour and professional boundaries can cause gaps or discontinuities in patient care and feel communication between clinicians must improve. Donahue and Endacott (2010) say the failure of nurses to recruit senior support to deal with acutely ill patients is a contributing factor to the sub-optimal care of critically ill patient, it may be due to a lack of experience or knowledge on the part of the doctor but may equally be due to the nurses inability to articulate the seriousness of the situation. Their data identified that nurses have an awareness of the need for a succinct story but they continue to make calls for assistance with little relevant information (Donohue and Endacott 2010). As stated above suboptimal communication between health professionals has been recognised as a significant causative factor in incidents compromising patient safety and the use of a structured method of communication has been suggested to improve the quality of information exchange (Marshall, Harrison and Flanagan 2009). A number of communication tools are available; some hospitals use the SBAR (situation, background, assessment, recommendation) tool to structure conversations between members of the multidisciplinary team, which uses standardised questions to prompt the conveyor of information to share the necessary details (Steen 2010). In a simulated clinical scenario Marshall et al (2009) described the positive effect of this method on students ability to communicate clear telephone referrals. However, Featherstone, Chalmers and Smith (2008) feel that SBAR is not a memorable acronym and they prefer the use of the RSVP (Reason, Story, Vital Signs, Plan) system used in the ALERT cou rse as framework for the communication of deterioration, the authors say SBAR does not easily slip off the tongue, and RSVP is much easier to remember in an emergency. They say the reason for the call can be explained in clear simple language, and the story gives a time line of important events, they feel nurses will be familiar with a narrative style of communication and are used to giving a brief summary as part of the handover process. The vital signs must be given in figures, and can include the early warning score, or summarized in words that convey the deterioration effectively and the plan for the patient should be outlined by the caller or expected from the receiver (Featherstone et al 2008). Smith (2010) says the use of standardised method of communication, such as the RSVP system will improve communication about patient decline. Recommendations for Practice Constant change within the National Health Service is essential to advance care quality and ensure the provision patient focused care that is evidenced based. Ensuring the latest and best available evidence is put into practice is a is a crucial way of ensuring that people get the treatments and services that are the most effective and will have the best health outcomes, it ensures that the public funding that supports the NHS is used wisely and that the treatments and services offered are cost effective, and both of these factors lead to the provision of clinically effective care. Everyone involved in healthcare provision must ensure quality is enhanced and must be willing to change current practices for the benefit of patients. Nurses have a professional responsibility to keep up to date with changes and developments within their field and to deliver care based on the best available evidence or best practice (Nursing and Midwifery Council 2008). Larrabees (2009) Model for Evidence Based Practice Change suggests that there are six steps towards implementing change in practice, firstly practitioners should assess need for change in practice, and this study has found evidence which clearly points to the need for changes in practice in order to reduce avoidable harm to patients. The next steps of Larabees Model (2009) are to locate the best evidence, and critically analyse the evidence, and from the evidence found in this study it is evident there are several recommendations for changes in practice which would help nurses in acute care to develop their skills in recognising and reporting deterioration. To keep the Chain of Prevention suggested by Smith (2010) strong he suggests that staff education, monitoring, recognition, the call for help and the response must all be robust in order to prevent harm from unrecognised and unassisted illness. Recommendations to enhance these areas would be to ensure that the recognition of life threatening illness is taught from an early stage in a nurses career by attending the ALERT course earlier in their training and by the teaching of patient scenarios in the clinical area and facilitated by staff who are trained in critical care. With regards to the call for help and the response rings of the Chain of Prevention (Smith 2010), it has been shown that the use of communication tools help nurses to get an earlier response when calling for assistance, so it seems sensible to implement the standard use of a communication tool in acute care when communicating deterioration. The next step in Larabees Model for Change (2009) is to design the practice change, and it is recommended that use of the RSVP communication tool (see appendix) should become hospital protocol when calling for assistance; this is because it is easy to remember and it is used as part of the ALERT course which many acute care nurses have attended. Nurses should receive training on the use of this tool and it should be displayed near the tele phone in every acute area. In order to implement and evaluate this change, which are the next steps in the Model (Lara bee 2009) a nurse should firstly let people know about it, this can be done by using various means of communication i.e. trust intranet, ward meetings, discussion with senior nursing staff and managers. They must then get people to take on the change by involving enthusiastic team members and organising a pilot test of the use of the RSVP tool. Crucially the rate in which more senior practitioners respond must be audited find out if the tool is working in practice and if not why not, is more information or training required is the tool not displayed clearly enough. The final step of the Model for Change (Larabee 2009) is to integrate and maintain the change in practice, to do this a nurse must ensure all new staff are trained to use the system and continuously evaluate its use to ensure it is working in practice. Conclusion This study has highlighted the evidence base and resources available to support nurses in contributing to safer care of acutely ill patients it has found that in order to facilitate accurate detection of changes in condition, nurses working in acute care must acknowledge the importance of observations and early warning systems in the identification of patients at risk of adverse events and ensure patients are assessed using a sound knowledge of physiological compensatory mechanisms, to enhance this knowledge they should attend an ALERT course, the evidence pointed to nurses attending these courses early in their career and that clinical scenarios could also help increase their knowledge of acute illness. It was found that communication tools help nurses when calling for senior assistance and the implementation of a standard tool within acute hospital settings could help to prevent harm from deterioration.

Courbet Stonebreakers

Courbet’s Stonebreakers Courbet’s stonebreakers is a painting drawn by Gustave Courbet and have been seen by two different art historians who write about their opinions about Courbet’s meaning behind his painting. Courbet’s painting can either be interpreted as a painting that shows in detail hardship and emotion of manual labor, or a painting that just a â€Å"metaphor as an act of painting†, but the understanding of it as hardship and emotion of manual labor is more sufficient because by the looks of the two men it reminds me of times where back in the day everything was done manually. Linda Nochlin is one of the art historians who argues about how some people don’t really understand the meaning of Courbet’s painting. She tries to explain how in his painting he shows us how manual labor really is. He expressed how real it use to be and how difficult it was for those at the time of 1849. She believes that many people just see his painting as two workers just breaking stones with lack of aerial perspective. Michael Fried another art historian argues that no one will ever know what Courbet was really trying to say. Fried believes that it â€Å"remains an open question†, that the poses, their clothes, how far they stand from each other can mean different things. He chooses to believe that Courbet just painted that because he like the scene of two men working in a environment with a lot of dirt. He thinks that Courbet’s painting can be interpreted as a an act of painting or an image of labor. Each author use the painting as evidence, but Fried seems to use some sort of story that was written about how Courbet was influenced to paint â€Å"The Stonebreakers†. Nochlin’s just gives us her opinion. Which even though their wasn’t a story she had a good point. Even though Fried had facts and showed us that the painting can be seen as in either way I still have to agree with Nochlin’s opinion. I’m sure there are many ways to see the painting but I believe the painting comes more to life when you think of it as Courbet showing us how low class society in the mid 1800’s manual labor use to be. It reminds me how difficult things use to be back then and how now we have it way easier. Nochlin’s just seemed to grab my attention and convinced me more than Frieds point of view. Michelle Cavazos April 19, 2010

Case Analysis: The Annual Report Essay

1. The basic factors of communication that must be considered in the presentation of the Annual Report are compliance with accounting principles and regulations, accuracy of the information presented, and how much information you are going to disclose. The management has a lot of control over what and how much information it wants to disclose to the users of their financial report. Users can be shareholders, investors, customers, or if you want it or not, competitors. Therefore management doesn’t want to disclose too much strategic details about their future plans. However, it also has to attract prospective investors and therefore needs to give them enough information about the companies’ health. 2. One part of the Annual Report that is very interesting for investors is the Management’s Discussion and Analysis section. It gives the user of the financial report more specific details about how the company has done that year and contains information that cannot be found in the financial data. This section can include coverage over any favorable or unfavorable trends and any significant events or uncertainties in the areas of liquidity, capital resources, and results of operations (Ormiston, 2013). Another section of the Annual Report is the Proxy Statement. It is required by the SEC and solicits shareholder votes as many shareholders don’t attend shareholder meetings. This section also contains voting procedures, background information about nominated directors, executive compensation, etc. This information helps investors and creditors by providing information about the longevity and compensation of the companies’ top management as well as corporate governance (Ormiston, 2013). 3. One advantage of stating well-defined corporate strategies in the Annual Report is to attract investors. Prospective investors in your company want to see that your company is healthy and that you are generating cash flows from operations. They want to know if you are going to be able to pay out dividends. Therefore stating a well-defined strategy for the future can possible attract more investors. Another advantage of stating your strategy is that current investors remain investing in your company when they see that your company has a bright future. Investors like to plan ahead and therefore want to know your corporate strategy in advance. A disadvantage of stating well-defined strategies in the Annual Report is that you also disclose  critical information to your competitors. By doing so, your competitors know what your plans are and can try to position them better to compete with you. Another disadvantage of stating your corporate strategy in the Annual Report is that your customers might not like a change in your strategy and switch to your competitors. An example for this might be deciding to outsource all manufacturing to China. This corporate strategy might outrage your customers and lead them away from your company. 4. The effectiveness of annual reports in fulfilling the information needs for current and potential shareholders is usually good because management tailors the Annual Report as much as possible to the needs of investors in order to attract more investment into its company. Items like the MD&A or Pandora, which includes additional material to attract current and prospective investors, are specifica lly designed to attract more investment while giving the shareholder enough useful information to make a decision. Creditors of the company find the cash flow from operations statement useful because it provides them with information about how much money the company is making to determine their ability to pay their debt back to you. For most employees of the company the Annual Report is probably hard to read and understand because of the complexity and volume of information that it contains. They would most likely suffer from information overload and therefore the Annual Report is in my opinion not very effective in fulfilling their information needs. Most customers of a company are not going to be much interested in reading the financial statements of the company where they buy products. However, if important information about the company’s practices leaks to the public, the customers may switch to a competitor if they strongly disagree with said practice or strategy. Financial Analysts are probably going to find the information disclosed in the Annual Report very effective because they are used to reading these reports and know where to find useful information. However, because management has some control over what information to disclose or not to disclose, there is also some hard-to-find or missing information for Financial Analysts. This information can be employer relations with management, morale and efficiency of employees, or the firm’s prestige in the community. 5. Management knows when creating the Annual Report that competitors are going to analyze their strategy as well as shareholders and other users. Therefore it needs to be careful about  what information they want to disclose. The dilemma here is that you want to disclose enough information in order to attract investments, but cannot disclose too much information because otherwise your competitors are going to position themselves against you. This dilemma affects the decision about what information managers provide in their annual reports. 6. The sustainability report gives information about the environmental, social, and governance performance of a company and is a non-financial report. Many companies utilize this report to create a better image of their company in the public. This report is intended to show the companies’ performance and compliance with environmental standards and ratings. Sustainability reporting started in the 1980s by companies in the chemical industry who had image problems because of their negative impact on the environment. Nowadays, many companies use sustainability reports to improve internal processes, persuade investors, and improve their image in the public. This information can be helpful to investors because it portrays transparency and accountability and assures the investor of a good public image of the company. References Ormiston, A., & Fraser, L. M. (2013). Financial Statements. Understanding financial statements (10th ed., p. 12). New York, NY: Pearson Education.