Joseph Conrad was ‘a bloody racist Essay

This is the quote – ‘The conquest of the earth, which mostly means taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much’ This, I believe effectively tars conlonialism and conquest with the same brush as he is describing colonialism while saying conquest. I feel he is saying that the two are indestinguishable and that anybody who can define them is stuck on ‘the idea’ he goes on to mention – ‘†¦ belief in the idea – something you can set up, and bow down before’ I think he is saying that as long as people can hide behind the idea of colonialism and tell it apart from conquest they are happy but in essence the two are the same. Conrad might be saying that although we live in a civil age we are no different to the Roman conquerors. I believe this shows that Conrad is not racist as he is saying that ‘taking away’ the earth ‘from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves’ is wrong. This is a very anti-racist statement and Conrad would have been saying something way ahead of his time. Marlow is a mouthpiece for Conrad in the sense that they have experienced the same things to the extent where even the characters names are the same – When in the Congo, Conrad took over a steam boat formerly captained by a man called Frieslieben (Fresleven in the book), and he had to go and retrieve a man called Kurtz (same name, also in the book). – In another book when asked of the likenesses between him and Marlow he said. ‘It is experience pushed a little (and only very little) beyond the actual case for the perfectly legitamate†¦ ‘ I think that any reader thinking that Marlow and Conrad are one and the same would be virtually correct. This means in my view that any likenesses and quotes that Marlow does or says can be directly linked to what Conrad believes in, therefore it is not a factor of how similar the two are as I see them as one entity. When Heart of darkness first come out in 1899 (serialised in Blackwood’s magazine) it was in an age where the western world was scrambling to colonise many African countries, where England was fighting a second Boer war and were supreme in North Africa, and it was a time when Joseph Conrad was putting his reputation and respect as an author on the table. His contemporaries could easily have dismissed his book as modernistic drivel and slated him for his uncontemporary views. In this light we see that Conrad’s book was way ahead of its time, exploring racism and both physical and mental journeys – into the congo and into one’s self. I believe it could be said that Conrad was not racist even if there is an inkling of racist assertions in Heart of darkness because this racist view was accepted at the time, this can be said of his usage of the word ‘nigger’ in his novel (one of his earlier novels even had the word â€Å"nigger† in its title – â€Å"the nigger and the narcissus† 1897) but as this was regularly used at the time it can be wavered as it didn’t have the effect it does in today’s society when spoken. Apart from this I think it is clear that Joseph Conrad did not conform in a racist society and had seen the horror and pure incorrectness of colonialism first hand. I have shown that Conrad and Marlow are one and the same and have been led to the conclusion through close reading of the opening of heart of darkness that Conrad is not, as Chinua Achebe states, ‘a bloody racist’. In fact I believe the opposite statemen could be made – â€Å"Conrad was a minority voice speaking out against racism through his character Marlow in a time where racism was rife†. I believe I am right because the evidence against Conrad is scarce and what little textual evidence there is can mostly be put down to ignorance which in my opinion can be let go, due to the fact that his overall message is an anti-racist one. I feel people who think that Joseph Conrad is racist based on Heart of darkness is wrong because of the reasons stated. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Joseph Conrad section.

Health Care Associated Infections Essay

Did you know that healthcare associated infections are in the top ten leading causes of death in the United States? According to Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2010), â€Å"Healthcare-associated infections, also known as HAI’s are the most common complication of hospital care, resulting in 1.7 million infections and ninety-nine thousand deaths each year.† It is unfortunate that so many people suffer each year from infections that could be easily prevented. Slide2 Today my goal is to share some information with you about Healthcare associated infections and hopefully together we can all make a difference by reducing these alarming statistics. To start off I’m going to explain what Healthcare Associated Infections are and then I will go over the different types. Next I am going to go over a couple of the more common pathogens in healthcare associated infections. Following that I would like to talk about the preventive measure that all health care workers should be following to prevent future Healthcare associated infections. (Slide 3) According to Wilkinson and Treas (2011), A Healthcare Associated Infection is an infection related to healthcare given in any setting such as a hospital, during home-care, long-term care, and ambulatory settings. Infections may be spread from one patient to another simply because the healthcare provider failed to wash their hands or wear the proper personal protective equipment. Infections are also commonly spread by devises used during a medical procedure and anything else the patient may come in contact with that has not been properly cleaned such as a call bell or side rail. For instance say you have a patient with MRSA and one of their family members leave the room failing to wash their hands, goes to the front desk to ask for a glass of water for the patient in the mean time she placed her contaminated hands on the desk. Following that a nurse stops by the front desk also placing her hands on the desk then goes in to see a patient and fails to wash her hands prior to patient contact. Now we have just spread the infection and sadly another patient has acquired a healthcare associated infections. Patients whom acquire healthcare associated infections typically have longer duration of recovery time and medical cost are increased drastically. There are many different types of Healthcare Associated Infections, there is Surgical Site Infection (SSI), Central Line Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSI), catheter associated infection (UTI), and ventilator associated phenomena (VAP). (Slide 4) Surgical Site Infection A surgical site infection, also known as SSI, is an infection that occurs after surgery in whatever part of a person’s body that the surgery took place. There are three main types of SSI’s. There is superficial incision SSI, which transpires between the integument and subcutaneous tissue. Next is deep incision SSI, taking place at deep tissues such as muscles. The third type is called organ/space SSI, which occurs inside the body at an organ or the open space inside the body around the surgical site. All Surgical infections typically occur within thirty days of the surgical procedure expect in cases of implants, which then surgical site infections can take place with in one year. According to the Center of Disease Control (2012), infections develop in about 1 to 3 out of every 100 patients who have surgery. These infections are not only lengthening hospital stays, but adding unnecessary medical expenses, and are also responsible for unnecessary deaths and long-term disa bilities. (Slide 5) CLABSI Another type of Healthcare associated infection occurs at a central line also known as a catheter line, which is a tube used to draw blood, give medication or fluids through a large vein such as the jugular vein or subcalavian vein. A central line associated blood stream infection is caused when bacteria, or any type of germ enters the blood from the central line, which then causes an infection in the blood stream. –Slide 6- According to The American Surgeon (2011) Nosocomial blood stream infections are one of the leading causes of death in United States hospitals. As stated in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2012), In 2011 there were thirty-seven central line associated blood stream infections reported at Halifax Health Medical Center. (Slide 7) CA-UTI A different type of Healthcare related infection is a catheter associated urinary track infection. This type of infection occurs when the patient has a urinary catheter in place and bacteria or fungus travel up the tubing. The infection can take place any where in the urinary system from the urethra to the kidneys. The longer the patient has the catheter in place the more they are at risk for getting a UTI. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that one in ever two thousand patients who were cared for at Bert Fish Memorial in New Smyrna Beach acquired a catheter associated infection. (Slide 8) VAP Then there are the ventilator-associated phenomena’s, which is an infection that occurs in the lungs due to contaminated ventilation equipment. Patients who are on ventilators are already weakened due to another form of illness and their immune systems are typically compromised making it difficult for their bodies to cope with trying to fight yet another issue. According to Wilkinson and Treas (2011), ventilator associated infection are associated with high mortality rate. Last year alone there were approximately thirty-six thousand reported cases of ventilator-associated infections. (Slide 9) Pathogens Two of the more common types of pathogens in nosocomial infections are Coagulase-negative staphylococci also known as CoNS and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus also known at MRSA. CoNS typically causes catheter related ifections since catheters are not easly removed and cleaned it often makes it complicated to treat. CoNS are also known to be resistant to most forms of antibiotics. According to the European Journal Of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (2011), CoNS infection prolongs treatment with antibiotics and hospital stay by approximately twelve days or up to two and a half weeks. MRSA is a staph germ that is difficult to cure. If MRSA enters the blood stream it can spread any where through out the body, including bones, and organs. According to Clinical Infectious Disease (2012) MRSA infections kill nineteen thousand hospitalized American patients annually. Out of all the MRSA cases, 86% of them are healthcare aquired. (Slide 10) Preventive measures All of these infections could be prevented if we take initiative to follow the proper protocol. One the simplest and most important preventive measures is washing your hands before and after entering a client’s room. Sadly many health providers fail to do this. These infections could be prevented as long as the healthcare team uses proper aseptic techniques. In 2010 Florida’s Department of Health started up a program called the HAI prevention program. One of their main goals is to prevent and decrease the healthcare related infection rates in Florida’s hospitals and long-term care facilities. With in a five-year period the US Department of Health and Human Services plans on reducing Blood stream infections in Florida by 50-70%. That’s a good start, but I believe we should all strive to eliminate all healthcare related infections. A few preventive measures are, if a medical supply accidentally becomes contaminated through it out and start fresh, as soon as our patients are well enough to have catheters removed notify the doctor so that they can be removed promptly, and always wash your hands before and after patient contact and remind others to wash their hands as well. (Slide 11) Conclusion In closing I am sad to say it, but many healthcare providers are in violation of the first rule of health care, Do No Harm. Our patients are coming to us to be relieved of their illnesses not to acquire new ones. So if we could all just follow the simple preventive measures such as washing our hands before and after assisting our patients we all can make a difference. Just think that fifteen seconds it took you to wash your hands may have just saved a life. References Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2010) Ending healthcare-associated infections. Retrieved from http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/haicusp.htm Boucher, H. & Corey, R. (2008). Epidemiology of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Oxford Journals. 46(5), 344-349. Retrieved from http://cid.oxfordjournals.org Florida state plan to address healthcare-associated infections. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/pdfs/stateplans/fl.pdf Kordek, A. (2011). Concentrations of procalcitonin and C-reactive protein, white blood cell count, and the immature-to-total neutrophil ratio in the blood of neonates with nosocomial infections: Gram-negative bacilli vs coagulase-negative staphylococci. European Journal Of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases: Official Publication Of The European Society Of Clinical Microbiology, 30(3), 455-457. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/ Smith, J., Egger, M., Franklin, G., Harbrecht, B., & Richardson, J. (2011). Central line- associated blood stream infection in the critically ill trauma patient. The American Surgeon, 77(8), 1038-1042. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost Wilkinson. & Treas. (2011). Fundamentals Of Nursing. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.

Team Building without Time Wasting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Team Building without Time Wasting - Essay Example Arising from a variety of reasons, team members are not able to travel expeditiously to distant locations for organizational meetings or participate in distant projects. The reasons of hurdles generated in the process pertaining to inaccessibility to crucial and critical information sources, emotional and financial costs associated traveling to remote locations for business purposes, time lost during traveling or recovering from traveling. This is the reason why organizations working in partnerships are increasingly resorting to the development of virtual teams to work collectively across borders of nations without having to travel. In this way, much of the time and money lost due to traveling can be saved and work can be proceeded with at a fast pace because of online ease of communication. Organizational culture refers to the norms and regulations regarding information flow shared leadership and cross-border collaboration between organizations. Organizational norms and values which emphasize on collaboration, respect and encourage people working across cultures are seen to demonstrate successful teamwork and team building. Such organizations keep information sharing and criticisms constructive (Davidson, et al., 2002, p.102). The organizational culture sets the basic standards with regards to how it must operate and sets certain standards with regards to the ways in which team members can behave while working together. This can be particularly true for the technologically advanced, non-hierarchical and adaptive organizations which can be very effective in nurturing a team building and team working culture in the organization. The success of the virtual teams in organizations depends largely on the way organizations impede or fosters trust between itself and the partner organization. It is crucial to treat the partner organization as equal and eligible to have access to all its information.

Getting to know pepsi Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Getting to know pepsi - Term Paper Example To enhance the quality of its products and quality of its financial reports, the company relies on the services of KPMG as their main external auditors. All financial reports released by the company have an approval and recommendation of their external auditor. The company releases its annual report at the end of each fiscal year, which ends at the last Saturday of every December. The company’s financial records and leadership is available from the following website http://www.pepsico.com/annual11/#//. The company produces a variety of product for its domestic and global markets. The main products that are produced by the company include Dew, 7-Up, Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Quaker Oats, and Tropicana. Pepsi use the indirect method to report its cash flow activity. Indirect cash flow system of reporting uses applications that convert accrual net income or loss into cash flows through a series of additions and deductions. Pepsi is a market leader in the production and distribution of soft drinks. The company recorded net revenue of $65,881 million, $65,881 million in the fiscal year ending 2011 and 2010 respectively as its net revenue. In the close of the financial year that ended at December 2011, the company was worth $72,882 million (PepsiCo web). This was a significant increase in its total holdings comparing to its closing balance of $68,153 million at the end of 2010 financial year (PepsiCo web). At the close of the trading period ending December 2011, the company recorded a net income of $6,443 million. The company’s stocks were valued at $66.35 at the end of the fourth quarter of the last trading period (PepsiCo web). This stock value attracted a $0.515 as a dividend or return on every share unit (PepsiCo web). According to the value of Pepsi’s closing stock and share equity, Pepsi can be classified as a large company. This is in relation to its annual income and dividend report released by the company. The company’s

Wireless security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Wireless security - Essay Example The activities performed by user on the internet can be both casual and confidential in nature. None the less for any of the activities performed over the internet every user wants privacy and security. Security of the connection ensures the integrity and originality of the data and assures the user that his information is safe. Wireless connection employ the use of radiowaves for communication and flow of data between the devices. These radiowaves can easily be tapped, intercepted and the information can be read or stolen and even in some case altered and manipulated hence raising the concern of data integrity and originality. Facing the threats that came with the increasing and rapid growth in the number of users of wireless technology the requirements for development of measures for security and integrity of data and network also arose. Although number of people were lazy and most of them were unaware of the security threats they faced using wireless form of connections, such people were only concerned about the availability of the internet and were satisfied as long as they were able to operate the internet. Now to ensure security while using wireless connections various forms of security were developed which included WEP,WAP and WAP2 etc. WEP - Wired Equivalent Privacy (or Wireless Encryption Protocol), was introduced as the first line of security to tackle the threats that were occurring. It was a weak option for security as it only had encryption to a basic level. After the passage of time a lot of weaknesses were found in it and did not remain as secure as it was thought earlier. It did not provide end to end protection as it only used at the two lowest layers of OSI. Later on it was found out that it didn’t protect packets from being intercepted and any hacker could get enough stream of packets which would be enough for him to extract the encryption scheme. After significant flaws were found in WEP another technology WPA

Role of Business Ethics in Staff Motivation and Productivity Essay

Role of Business Ethics in Staff Motivation and Productivity - Essay Example It is of pragmatic that literature on business ethics provide adequate and specific information on the needs of leaders and managers as they are mainly responsible for ethics management in the work environment (Schwartz and Weber 2006). Ethics programs in organisations generally aim to integrate ethical guidelines into processes and procedures and establish the necessary values and behaviours for operations within the organisation. Business ethics in the workplace establishes and fosters a moral course particularly during unstable times (Kapstein 2004). Paying attention to ethics when an organisation is faced with changes allows managers and employees to have a moral guide for them to realise what is good or bad. This becomes specially critical in coping with conflicts, facing risks, and responding to ambiguous circumstances (Schwartz 2001). Continual support for ethics in the workplace enables leaders and members to become sensitive to how they ought to think and behave. Due to the emphasis on ethical principles in the conduct of activities and procedures, business ethics has been shown to produce favourable outcomes for the organisation. These include increased level of employee commitment, motivation, productivity, and performance (Ferrell 2004). Hence, the current study aims to examine the impact of business ethics in UK organisations especially on employees’ sense of productivity and motivation. 1.2 Background of the Organisation Wolseley UK, also formerly known as Wolseley Centers, is widely known as one of United Kingdom’s largest suppliers of building materials, with plumbing and building firms as their common trade customers, accounting for the largest share of their sales. It has been reported to distribute a substantial amount of materials to the international market and has continued to expand to 25 countries (Wolseley Annual Report 2009). Wolseley UK has set a number of policies with which the company aims to further enhance each of t heir business aspects. Quality policy remains to be an important objective through a reliable quality environment for both suppliers and customers, particularly by successfully meeting all contractual requirements. Health and safety concerns regarding their employees, customers, and the larger community have also become a top priority for Wolseley UK as the company intends to foster a healthy workplace wherein their employees’ attain a sense of well-being and comfort while their customers are assured of accident-free operations. Moreover, the company’s policies also highlight the importance of environmental care. Regarding their human resources, Wolseley UK aims to make the best use of every employee’s potential regardless of demographics, cultural, social, or economic differences, and attempts to provide opportunities for training and development. Finally, the company relies on a code of ethics that emphasizes the significance of fair competition, risk manageme nt, environmental protection, and interpersonal relationships with employees and customers (Wolseley 2010). 1.3 Research Aims and Objectives Owing to previous studies that have pointed out the favourable impact of business ethics on organisations, the current stud

Professionalism in Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Professionalism in Business - Essay Example licly declared their intention to enter into an occupation that saves life or soul, usually referring to the work of priests, physicians and lawyers (Abeloff & Reynolds, 1994). For example, the declaration of the Hippocratic Oath is a public commitment to a set of values. Teaching has long been recognized as a profession along with religion, medicine and law. When the phrase "professional" appeared in the nineteenth century it was used as an adjective to describe a calling or profession, executed by a professor. "Professor" was used interchangeably with "professional man." Professors of religion and professors of law were included with professors of education. It is interesting to note that while early male teachers were addressed as "Professor", female teachers were still called "Miss." Between the Civil War and World War II, educators became more concerned with career commitment to their profession. The term "Professor" is commonly applied to teachers in colleges and universities today. (Kimball, 1992). Professionalism is a social paradigm that has evolved over time from affiliation with a craft guild as the primary characteristic of a specialist or an expert to association with a university as the principal means of determining when a person became an expert. A professional is universally distinguished from an amateur because they are involved in a full-time paid occupation. They make their living from working as a professional in their field. Many times members of an occupation proudly refer to themselves as professionals, such as professional secretaries or professional auto mechanics or professional brick layers. They believe because they have standards for their performance and are employed full-time in their occupation that they are professionals. Social... As the paper declares the word profession originates from the Latin profiteri, meaning to profess, to declare aloud, to make a public vow. The expression was first used in the English language in the 13th   century, to represent a person who makes a public oath to enter the religious service. In the 16th century, the meaning of the term was expanded to signify that someone had publicly declared their intention to enter into an occupation that saves life or soul, usually referring to the work of priests, physicians and lawyers.This discussion stresses that  professionalism is a social paradigm that has evolved over time from affiliation with a craft guild as the primary characteristic of a specialist or an expert to association with a university as the principal means of determining when a person became an expert. A professional is universally distinguished from an amateur because they are involved in a full-time paid occupation. They make their living from working as a profession al in their field. Many times members of an occupation proudly refer to themselves as professionals, such as professional secretaries or professional auto mechanics or professional brick layers. They believe because they have standards for their performance and are employed full-time in their occupation that they are professionals. Social scientists have separated professions from other occupations by the degree of expertise and complexity involved in the work itself.