International Business Essay

In present time and age globalisation has gained much more importance then what it had about thirty years ago. No doubt globalisation started ever since human being existed on this planet, but it is observed that in this era geographical boundaries has a very little part to play, when it comes to trade, culture, travelling and communication. Effects of this integration of different economies will have its outcomes and many of them can be seen already. In most countries however due to Globalization one can see the growing concern regarding employment and income distribution (Lee & Vivarelli 2006, p. 168). Based on qualative and quantative analysis this paper would come with the conclusion to suggest wether globalisation is beneficial for everybody or the complete opposite. Globalisation means increasing flows of trade, finance and factors of production across the border, with the help of faster transportation and effective communications set up. It is globalisation which is compeletly responsible for making this world a global village. With globalisation, international bonds develop not just amongst specific groups of countries but across a wide global network in which factors of production or finished goods can move freely. The second era of globalisation that we are now living has come as a outcome of a numerous factors, not only because of of internet (which has allowed the speedy flows of massive volumes of information) but also because of intense changes in institutional environments. The economic ideas of the 1970s promoted moves towards financial liberalisation and deregulation within a large number of OECD countries during the 1980s and 1990s, the policy approaches of the Bretton Woods institutions were also modified with the Washington Consensus being built upon the promotion of economic severity, privatisation and liberalisation Stiglitz and Gualerzi (cited in Baddeley 2006, p 392). Furthermore, Baddeley claims that this deregulation has made the movement of capital and factors of production across national boundaries, contributing to the globalisation process In most countries, however, the current wave of â€Å"globalization† has been accompanied by increasing concern about its impact in terms of employment and income distribution (Lee & Vivarelli 2006). Evidence has been provided from group studies to explain that globalisation does promotes growth by Dreher (cited in Baddeley 2006, p 393). However, it has been argued that the benefits do not essentially help to alleviate poverty. Krugman and Venables( cited in (cited in Baddeley 2006, p 393) emphasize that globalisation has the potential to benefit less-developed nations but at the start globalisation will worsen world inequality but then it will reduce it down. For example—as transport costs fall below a threshold, developing nations suffer real income declines. Falling transport costs allow core nations to exploit greater economies of scale in manufacturing to the loss of manufacturing sectors in developing economies. Labour demand will fall in peripheral nations and rise in core nations as a consequence. Milanovic (cited in Baddeley 2006, p. 394) completely discards the view of globalisation as something that would benefit any economy, he also provides evidence that, since 1870, globalisation has worsen international inequality with particularly prominent increases in inequality during the 1978–1998 globalisation era. He argues that the blow on less developed countries have been severe which means per capita GDP has not increased in Africa and a number of less developed countries are in a financial crisis and many transition economies are facing extraordinary levels of debt. The point worth mentioning here is that globalisation has increased the level of business activity all around the world but to be honest for many developing countries this is of very little use rather it is to the their detriment. Now when the host country provides its labour and resources, it is just like other economies eating away host countries resources. Plus all the profits are gone somewhere else. And the story does not end here, on the other side developing countries have always been forcing all the countries to reduce the amount of tariff and import duties and talking about how good free trade is. Now the rich countries enjoy economies of scale therefore the imported goods in some poor countries are cheaper than their own home base industry products. This discourages the economy of developing countries and does not allow it to become self sufficient. (Kaplinsky 2001, p. 60) When we look at the labour market outcomes, (Wood 1998, p. 1463) explains that there have been gaps between skilled and unskilled labour both in terms of wages and in terms of unemployment rates and claims that globalisation is the most likely cause for this rising inequality. Feenstra 1998, p. 37) adds outsourcing into the reasearch to prove that the outcomes of globalisation on employment and wages will be comparable to the outcomes of skills-biased technological innovation. Which means demand for skilled labour in less developed countries will rise but the demand for unskilled labour will fall contributing to wage inequality. Even though globalisation has encouraged factor price equalisation, it has been at the expense of lower incomes for low-skilled workers. (Williamson 1997, p. 5) explains that factor-price convergence in the earlier stages of globalisation improved conditions for unskilled workers in Europe but made the situation worse for poor unskilled workers in the new global village. As per the concept of comparative advantage, trade and FDI both should take advantage of the cheap and readily available amount of labour in developing countries and so generate a movement of specialization in domestic labour intensive Activities and, ultimately, an expansion in local employment (Lee & Vivarelli 2006, p. 170) On the contrary Heckscher-Ohlin recent research leads to the conclusion that the employment impact of increasing trade is not necessarily positive for a developing country. In a developing country, the final employment impact of increasing trade depends on the interaction between productivity growth and output growth both in traded-goods sectors and in non-traded sectors. The final outcome cannot be assessed for different reasons. On the one hand, export may involve demand-led economic and employment growth, but – on the other hand – imports may displace previously protected domestic firms, inducing labour redundancy. Moreover, in the presence of supply constraints (lack of infrastructure, scarcity of skilled labour, under-investment, labour market inefficiencies), productivity growth may exceed output growth even in the exporting sectors, to the detriment of job creation Fosu and Reddy (Lee & Vivarelli 2006, p. 171). Finally, lucky sectors of the domestic economy e. g. agriculture, public administration, construction, non-traded services may act as labour sinks, often implying hidden unemployment and underemployment in the informal labour market . Shifting the center of attention from trade to FDI inflows, when a developing country opens its borders to foreign capital, FDIs generate positive employment effects directly and indirectly through job creation by suppliers and retailers. They also produce a tertiary employment effect by generating extra incomes and in that way increasing total demand (Sanjaya 2004, p. 91). By comparing the labour intensities of exported, imported and non-traded goods, it is sorted out that in 21 out of 39 sampled developing country which is an increase in the level of trade resulted in an increase in employment. In the remaining group of 18 countries, however, increased integration in the global economy produced a reduction in employment which is the opposite of (Heckscher-Ohlin theorem). In reality inequality comes from a bunch of other sources: corruption, the overextended power of states, technological change, demographic change and diseases, the spread of AIDS in Africa etc. Globalisation, engagement with the wider changes in the world, is as crucial for the less developed countries as it is for the more developed ones. No country which has cut itself off from the wider world has prospered. Take a look at North Korea or Burma to see what happens to a country which tries to simply isolate itself from the world economy. Future is not in regionalism or dull protectionism. That does not mean you should simply accept free trade. Industries should only be opened up to markets when certain favourable conditions prevail. Nonetheless, you do need to tackle with the wider global economy. â€Å"The main challenge for poorer countries is to find what circumstances of that engagement are† (Giddens 2000) People on both sides of this debate have been very swift to draw conclusions about the Impacts of â€Å"globalization† from their measured poverty numbers. The title of a book published recently by the International Forum of Globalization asks: â€Å"Does globalization help the poor? † and the book confidently answers the question with a big â€Å"no. † The back cover of Bhalla (2002) asks: â€Å"Who has gained from globalization? † and answers with equal confidence: the poor. However, readers of neither book will become any wiser about the answer to these questions than when they started. Actually neither book contains the sort of analysis that would be needed to convincingly allow acknowledgment of the claimed changes in poverty and inequality to â€Å"globalization. † I am not given any evidence that would allow me to identify the role played by greater openness to external trade in the distributional changes observed, against other factors such as rising agricultural productivity, demographic factors, changes in the distribution and returns to education and internal policy reforms (Ravallion, p. 15). Globalisation is like a fire, a form of force which is bad if not controlled but useful if channelled responsibly.

Dell Computers: a Case Study in Low Inventory

When managers discuss low inventory levels, Dell is invariably discussed. Hell, even I've mentioned Dell on this site. So why all the commotion? Has their low inventory Really  helped out that much? In short, yes. This article is primarily going to discuss how much it helped. This article will not discuss how they achieved such high inventory turns using a state of the art just in time inventory system. Reasoning behind need for lower inventory The first thing that needs to be discussed is why low inventory has such a great effect on Dell's overall performance. The reason is quite simple: computers depreciate at a very high rate. Sitting in inventory, a computer loses a ton of value. As Dell's CEO, Kevin Rollins, put it in an interview with Fast Company: â€Å"The longer you keep it the faster it deteriorates — you can literally see the stuff rot,† he says. â€Å"Because of their short product lifecycles, computer components depreciate anywhere from a half to a full point a week. Cutting inventory is not just a nice thing to do. It's a financial imperative. † We're going to assume that the depreciation is a full point per week (1%/week) and use that to determine how much money high inventory turns can save Dell. This means that for every 7 days a computer sits in Dell's warehouses, the computer loses 1% of its value. Ok, now that we know how much Dell loses for each day, let's take a look at some of Dell's data over the past 10 years that I pulled from www. hemanufacturer. com What I got from this was the inventory turns. An inventory turn, as this website successfully describes it, is â€Å"cost of goods sold from the income statement divided by value of inventory from the balance sheet†. Typically, this is turned into a value showing how many days worth of inventory a firm has by dividing inventory turnover by 365. I divided the inventory turnover by 52 in order to show how many weeks worth of inventory Dell holds. Key point to notice here is that Dell was carrying over 10 weeks worth of inventory in 1993. By 2001, Dell was carrying less than 1 week's worth of inventory. This essentially means that inventory used to sit around for 11 weeks and now it sits around for less than 1 week. So what does this mean for Dell? Remember, computers lose 1 percent of their value per week. This isn't like the canned food industry where managers can let their supplies sit around for months before anyone bats an eye. Computers aren’t canned goods, and as Kevin Rollins of Dell put it, computers â€Å"rot†. The longer a computer sits around, the less it is worth. That said, due to depreciation alone, in 1993 Dell was losing roughly 10% per computer just by allowing computers to sit around before they were sold. In 2001, Dell was losing less than a percent. Based on holding costs alone, Dell reduced costs by nearly 9%. Since 2001, Dell has continueed to lower inventory. Looking at their latest annual reports, day's inventory has dropped by approximately a day. Hopefully this article provided you with a practical example that demonstrates the positive effects lower inventory can have on a firm's overall costs. For more information regarding lawyers in the Texas area, check out Dallas Fort Worth trucking accident attorney. For more basic information regarding holding costs, please read A Simplified Look at the Pros and Cons of Inventory.

Managing a diverse workforce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Managing a diverse workforce - Essay Example MNCs are operating internationally at present and it is impossible for them to appoint only domestic workforce even for the international assignment. International business or cross cultural business is growing day by day as a result of the increasing acceptance of globalization, liberalization and privatization at many parts of the world. For example Apple Inc. and Microsoft like American companies are currently operating in overseas destinations such as China, India etc. It is difficult for these Americana companies to complete all their business functions in China or India with the help of American workforce alone. It should be noted that only the locals have better knowledge about the Chinese or Indian market than the Americans. Under such circumstances, it is inevitable for such international companies to keep a diverse workforce to execute their missions in overseas countries. Apple is one of the most valued technological companies in the world at present. They are the second l argest in the world terms of market capitalization. They have business units in most parts of the world at present. As a result of that they forced to keep a diverse workforce in workplaces, not only in overseas countries but also in America. ... This is because of the fact that the needs of the diverse workforce often contradict each other. Imagine a situation in which a Pakistani worker working in Apple Inc. While other workers ask for weekly offs on Sundays, this Pakistani worker would ask for weekly offs on Fridays. Clashes of such contrasting interests often take place in the workplace. The success and failure of such a company rests on the ability of the HR in effectively managing a diverse workforce. This paper analyses the diversity management in Apple Inc. Diversity mission statement and strategic goals of Apple Inc. Apple Inc.’s vision statement says that "Man is the creator of change in this world. As such he should be above systems and structures, and not subordinate to them"(Khan, N.d., p.35). Apple believes that its employees understand the vision of the company very well and work in accordance with it. Apple always warns its employees that the company is more interested in employability rather than emplo yment security. In other words, the company is interested in growth and development rather than ensuring the employees about the security of their jobs. The company believes that efficient workers need not worry much about the security of their jobs and only the less efficient workers always worry about the security of their jobs. â€Å"It has put objectives in place to continuously move forward; implemented strategies to fulfill these objectives; and ensured that the right marketing, financial and operational structures are in place to apply the strategies† (Khan, N.d., p.35) â€Å"We‘ve got an environment where you can make things happen. Fast. There‘s plenty of  open space and open minds, collaboration and of course, innovation. We also

Will Bruder, At least two works Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Will Bruder, At least two works - Essay Example Aesthetics, pragmatism and innovation in a very modern setting are the predominant aspects of Will Bruder’s works. All of these aspects can be seen in two of his works, namely the Phoenix Central Library and the Byrne Residence. The aesthetics of the Phoenix Central Library solely focused on earthly beauty of steel architecture which took advantage of the sunlight through optical designs of the entire structure. The optical illusion created by the light which is ever predominant throughout the structure illuminates the modern design of the library. Even in the simplest shade sails of the northern windows are patterned after the seafarers of Maine. Even the Crystal Canyon, the library’s five-storey atrium, possesses nine skylights to track the sunlight’s movement. These skylights, covered by clear lenses, are suspended upon the ceiling which is 32 feet in the air. Such was designed by Bruder to create an illusion of flames at noon during the summer solstice (Seal, 1996). By the small details and the unique characteristics of the building’s interior and exterior portions, it can be clearly seen that the entirety of the Phoenix Central Library is inspired by a distinct theme which utilized a dark tone of steel to recreate the concept of earth. With the help of the architect’s play of mirrors and window panes, the concept of a fresh sunlight is recreated within the structure. The earthly theme in the aesthetic factor of Will Bruder’s works is also present in his work in the Byrne Residence. It is obvious in the external characteristics of the residence was comparably the same as that of the Phoenix Central Library. Simple shades of brown and gray fill the atmosphere of the walls. Also, the use of extensive glass panes was present in order to accommodate the sunlight. The Byrne Residence is located in the North Scottsdale desert area which makes the external

DECISION MAKING AND INFORMATION POLITICS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

DECISION MAKING AND INFORMATION POLITICS - Essay Example This discussion includes the exploration of the strengths and weaknesses of my organization’s circumstances and one improvement that I would make to either its structure or process. The IT governance structure and decision-making process in my organization will be a shared one. This structure entails the assigning IT governance duties to five decision-making structures. First, a Technology Architecture Committee would fall under this IT governance structure and be inherent in every operating team (Haes & Van Grembergen, 2014). Each of these teams would be in charge of convening the exclusive requirements of the divisions of the organization. Second, an Enterprise Architect Unit would entail a group of business division IT officials. These officials would take the responsibility of establishing organization-wide criteria for leading the advancements contributions of all functional units (Brisebois, Boyd, and Shadid, n.d.). Third, an IT Council comprised of chief technology officers and chief information officers of every operating team would be part of this governance structure. These representatives would convene monthly to discuss new inventions and methods that the organization can control (Haes & Van Grembergen, 2014). Fourth, a Shared Services Board would comprise of chief information officers and chief financial officers. These officials would convene to pinpoint opportunities to deliver shared IT and fiscal services to the organization. Lastly, an Investment Committee would comprise of a subsection of the executive board that offers ultimate ruling on all of the organization’s big investment plans (Hughes, 2003). Governance structures and decision-making processes echo responsibility for both decisions and contributions made exclusively to those decisions (Haes & Van Grembergen, 2014). This principle applies to my organization’s IT governance structure as well. Five decision-making structures should offer vision as to

Organizational Change Model Assignment Term Paper

Organizational Change Model Assignment - Term Paper Example While reductionist and normative approaches have their uses in managing projects, it is vital for managers in charge of implementing any type of change to learn of more responsive processes such as those involved in action research to improve their efficiency as project managers (Gustavsen, 2003). Understanding action science also helps in developing interpersonal within the organization. In larger contexts, such as that of XYZ Inc.’s expansion into Shanghai, China, action research is more political as well as complex, and tends to be coordinated across several change processes. In such a context, action research also includes a variety of stakeholders who have are invested in the organization. Kurt Lewin is believed by many to be the man who came up with the first form of an action research model (Gustavsen, 2003). The action research model is mostly used to implement organizational change in multifaceted social situations where the workers and customers whose lives or circum stances will be affected ought to participate in creating and implementing the change that will affect their lives. The action research also is being increasingly used for expansion objectives in international settings. In this case, XYZ Inc. is creating a branch in a developing nation with a thriving economy. The changes involved do not just mean relocating operations to a different geographical location, but also include taking into account new customer demographics, and cultural work values of workers from a different nation. In addition, the action research model is rooted in American notions of what change entails. For instance, the action research model actually perceives change in a different way from Eastern cultures such as that of China. Implementing this model of change will thus mean that a more deep-seated foundation is laid when the Shanghai branch is being created, as the action research model will even have to have its basic doctrines revised to fit in more with its society. In order to achieve success in such settings, the action research model is created to address different cultural assumptions when necessary. This model can also be applied to promote innovation and social change, as is evidenced by successful global social change projects. Its suggestions are also meant to rectify imbalances in resource allocations and power structures across different groups. This will be vital in traditionally bureaucratic societies such as the Chinese society as it will deal with any feelings of disgruntlement among workers. In recent times, the action research model has made adaptations such as the involvement of workers in any organization’s change process. This is referred to as ‘participatory action research’ in corporate circles. This is a big contrast from traditional approaches towards change where change practices are created and then implemented by hired consultants (Gustavsen, 2003). While XYZ Inc. is not headquartered in a nation that has bureaucratic leanings, it still has to change its structure so that it changes from being too management oriented to being more of a customer-centric institution. This can be made possible through the action research model. In addition, action research, as a method of organizational change, is likely to be accepted in the Chinese society which has a systemic understanding of the world. Nations with a large majority of Buddhist adherents, such as China, tend to be

Research paper Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Research paper - Literature review Example 2)Preschool children refer to children that are on their early childhood education. It usually occurs to children before they are at a position of joining primary school. Though the ages may slightly vary, most of the preschool children are usually between the age of three and six years. This research examines pupils in this level of education for the prevalence of dental carries. 3)Early childhood carries refers to a kind of tooth decay that occurs to children that are in their first five years of growth after birth. Children can develop this condition in their infancy, either as toddlers or as preschoolers (Kail 2011, p.2). 4)Primary maxillary anterior teeth refer to the deciduous teeth that develop during infancy of which it comprises of the canines as well as the central and lateral incisors. These teeth are found on the front side. 5)Dentition refers to the teeth development from infancy to adulthood and the subsequent arrangement of the teeth in the mouth of an individual. It traverses from the arrangement of the teeth in the mouth, the kind, and the number of each type present in the mouth. 7)Cavitation refers to the presence of a cavity in a given tissue or an organ (Merriam-Webster 2014, p.1). In our context of research, it entails the formation of tooth cavities specifically touching on children teeth. 11)Sample frame refers to all the components present in a sampling area from where the sample will be obtained from. The sample frame can be made up of a variety of components, all of which helps in getting the data required by a researcher. 12)Dental examination deals with an analysis of the situation of the teeth in order to identify any potential anomalies that may require to be corrected. It is one of the requirements for good oral health. The research paper by Rahul, June, and Alan, Socio-Behavioral

Fredric Jones' Positive Discipline Model Research Paper

Fredric Jones' Positive Discipline Model - Research Paper Example Fredric Jones assessed the classroom environment of those he considered as natural teachers. On the basis of his research and observation, Jones created the Positive Discipline Model for the management and success of the classroom. The purpose of this paper is to consider Jones’ Positive Discipline Model, discussing its inherent features and applicability. Jones’ model concludes that discipline must always take precedence over instruction. Consequently, Jones suggests that teachers should take time to explain, re-teach and reexamine procedures inherent in the classroom throughout the academic year. According to Jones, a classroom routine is a critical teacher’s labor-saving device. Notably, it is not sufficient to merely define discipline standards required for the classroom, but rather take the time to teach these standards and procedures as though they are part of other lessons taught in the classroom. According to Tauber (2007), all discipline-based procedures must be taught the same as other lessons within the curriculum, complete with stage setting, molding, clarification, and application until students get these procedures right. Therefore, when discipline is required, instruction should be terminated in order to provide an opportunity for the engraining of discipline in the students’ classroom mannerisms. For Jones, the maxim of prevention is better than cure holds true. At the heart of his model is the need to establish proactive and deterrent discipline measures in all teachers’ strategies such as motivation, discipline and instruction. Therefore,

Creating and Sustaining an Organisational Learning Culture Essay

Creating and Sustaining an Organisational Learning Culture - Essay Example One such company is the centre of this paper. Look Ahead Housing and Care is a charitable housing association that offers specialist housing, care and support. It was first established in 1973 by Mary Jones and a group of concerned individuals. Jones was a retired senior civil servant from the Department of Health and Social Services. Jones and the group envisioned a company that would provide good quality and cheap accommodations for the needy and most vulnerable in the society. From a humble beginning of its first property acquisition in 1974, Look Ahead is now able to support 5000 people across more than 60 projects. The company owns a several properties that provide different types of accommodations. These include hostels for single homeless people, registered care homes, flats and studio-type accommodations for families with support needs. Customers receive support though guidance regarding benefits, budgeting, training, employment, education and general life skills to equip them live their lives fully and become independent contributors to the society. The annual income of the company is in excess of 29.5 million. Currently, Look Ahead employs around 600 staff providing service and care. In 2008, the company was recognised in the prestigious Sunday Times as part of the "100 Best Companies to Work For." It has made the company proud as an employer of choice. It is an achievement that acknowledges the passion and commitment of the company in delivering first-rate service to the society and to employees. Through the dedication, commitment and hard work of management and staff, Look Ahead Housing and Care has developed to become a leading housing and social care provider to vulnerable people in London and the South East. Strategic Objectives Look Ahead's mission is to enable those with particular needs to live ordinary lives within the community. They aim to become enablers of vulnerable people through positive transformation of their lives, and empowerment of individuals in order for them to become active participants in the community. In order to achieve the organisation's goals, Look Ahead has established several strategic objectives in the whole organisation. As a member of the charity-service sector, their first objective is to promote customer involvement, choice and citizenship. This can be achieved through supporting and enabling customers to participate in a wide range of involvement activities; using feedback mechanisms from customer survey to improve services; and implementation of a social inclusion strategy. As part of the community, their second objective is to build and maintain strong partnership. This can be attained by raising and strengthening the company's relationship with purchasers, funders and the local community. Mapping the stakeholders' relationships with the company across all services is made possible by means of local business plans, specialist forum and borough liaison meetings. As an organisation, their third objective is to achieve growth through excellence. The company aims to meet or exceed targets for new business growth and design innovative services. The company also prioritise seeking opportunities for service expansion while delivering efficiency gains. They also commit to deliver ongoing improvements in service quality and performance. As an employer, the fourth objective of Look Ahead is to enable staff to excel in their roles. The

First Year of Being a Mother Essay Example for Free

First Year of Being a Mother Essay Seeing my son for the first time after delivery, â€Å"It was love at first sight.† It was in the evening on a cold day, a cold front had just come in. We were in the hospital while family waited for the arrival of my new born child. You think you know the extent of love until you have had a child and see him or her for the very first time. Having a child is learning patience, teaching your child new things, and watching them grow. The first year I thought was going to be tough, being that I knew I had little patience. When you have a child however you learn quickly they run on their time and not yours. He would cry when he was hungry every four hours regardless of how much I wanted to sleep or if I had just dozed off. After a couple of nights I learned he was not going to go to sleep no matter how bad I wanted him to and when he did finally fall asleep I no longer wanted to because all I wanted to do was hold him and admire his peacefulness. He would sometimes wake up and cry only because he wanted to be held often many nights I would be in a good sleep. Every month was a new journey a new adventure with the things he would learn from his father and me teaching him or by him growing and developing. It amazed me how fast he would pick new things up after showing him a couple of times. Even though you don’t realize or notice it children learn every day. He learned by grabbing new objects he had never seen or by watching us do the same things over and over again. He would eventually pick it up and months later would surprise us by doing the same exact things he had seen us do. The new faces he would learn how to make were priceless often making us erupt in laughter. I have watched my son grow from small enough to fit in my arms measuring a little over one foot with room to spare to over three feet long and still growing. He has gone from subtle movements to turning over, sitting up and crawling. I know his learning and growth has just begun. His legs, hand and eye coordination has improved significantly as he has grown older, enabling him to realize who I was and eventually able to stand on his own. I anticipate he will be walking soon. Witnessing him slowly gain more confidence as he learns to let go of the table and stand at first for seconds at a time and now able to stand for minutes at a time has been a proud moment for me. Watching him grow as his mother has given me such joy and amazement on how fast he has grown before my eyes. It feels as if he was still born only yesterday. Alexander turned one in November and this first year was one I will always cherish. The day we brought him home until now has been an experience for each of us. He has taught me I have more patience than I originally thought and I know there are still many years that I will continue to learn as he tests my patience. There will be many days in the future where I will teach him new things, like riding a bike or how to build a tower out of Lego’s, and he will continue to develop and learn. To watch him grow will be my joy in life.

Leadership And Motivation Of Organizational Members Commerce Essay

Leadership And Motivation Of Organizational Members Commerce Essay Leadership, the process of inspiring others to work hard to accomplish important tasks, comes from Steve Jobs and the other managers. Leading is a large part of the management process in Apple, as it builds the commitments and enthusiasm for people to apply their talents to help accomplish plans. Jobs is a visionary leader because he has a clear understanding for the future as well as an understanding of the actions needed to get there successfully. He is able to communicate his vision to all necessary employees, getting them motivated and inspired to pursue his vision in their daily work. In the organization, management uses power to influence their staff. Reward power and legitimate power are used within Apple, and some employees have stated that coercive power has also occurred. Based on research of the leadership within Apple, I believe the organization has a democratic style. They are committed to task and people, getting things done while sharing information, encouraging employ ees to participate in all aspects, and helping others develop their skills and capabilities. The contingency leadership approach Apple Inc. appears to follow is Houses Path-Goal Leadership Theory, which is where the leader clarifies paths through which followers can achieve both task-related and personal goals. Steve Jobs motivates employees to move along these paths, removing barriers along the way and providing appropriate rewards for task accomplishments. The four leadership styles of the path-goal theory stated in the text book that Jobs and other management possess are: Directive leadership- letting subordinates know what is expected; giving directions on what to do and how. Supportive leadership- doing things to make work more pleasant. Achievement-oriented leadership- setting challenging goals; expecting the highest levels of performance. Participative leadership- involving subordinates in decision making. Jobs and other managers use whatever leadership style is necessary for the current situation. Value is added through this leadership approach by contributing things that are missing from the situation or that need strengthening. Motivation is the forces within the individual that accounts for the level, direction, and persistence of effort expended at work. Apple Inc. produces highly motivated individuals who work hard at their job. Managers within the organization, including Steve Jobs, lead through motivation to create conditions where employees constantly feel inspired to work hard. Apples highly motivated workforce is one of the major reasons for their high-performance results. The company is rich in both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards for people whose performance helps accomplish the organizations objectives. Extrinsic rewards are provided by someone else, usually a supervisor or higher-level manager. At Apple, extrinsic rewards have included: additional vacation time, all employees receiving an iPod Shuffle, and in 2007, all full-time employees (21 600 of them) received a complimentary iPhone. Jobs is great at celebrating his teams accomplishments which includes: opening champagne to mark milestones, and educational trips to museums or exhibits. He has taken employees on retreats to expensive resorts and thrown parties at popular locations in the cities Apple operates in. The rewards vary in size from large pay bonuses to verbal praise, and recognition. In contrast, intrinsic rewards occur naturally as a person performs their job. The sources of intrinsic rewards such as feelings of competency, personal development, and self-control are all experienced by the staff at Apple. Employees have described how they enjoy and are motivated by the high calibre of people they work with, and being able to work on the cutting edge of technology. Due to stock option grants, employees who have worked at the company for many years have large amounts of money tied up with Apple. For majority of the staff, this is a key motivator to protect the companys interests. In regards to motivational theories, it does not appear Apple Inc. focuses as much on individual needs as do the content theories of motivation, but more on pursuing task goals as does one of the process theories of motivation and the external environment consequences regarding the reinforcement theory of motivation. The goal-setting theory, which is one of the process theories that applies to the organization, focuses on the motivational properties of task goals. Employees within the organization are highly motivated to accomplish task goals, which give direction to people in their work. The proper setting and management of goals within Apple helps clarify performance expectations in the organization. They provide a foundation for behavioural self-management, which helps motivate employees work performance and job satisfaction. Apple applies to the reinforcement theory of motivation because it focuses on the external environment and the consequences it holds for the individual. The organization mostly applies to the positive reinforcement strategy which strengthens or increases the frequency of desirable behaviour by making a pleasant consequence contingent on it occurrence. Examples of positive reinforcement at Apple include the rewards given by Jobs as mentioned above (opening champagne, vacations, company parties). All employees are motivated to do their best work to accomplish goals because of the rewards they can receive. Apple has also been known to use incentive compensation systems to motivate employees. This includes bonus pay, which provides one-time payments to employees based on the accomplishment of specific performance targets. They also have an employee stock ownership plan as mentioned earlier. An ownership share in ones place of employment links directly with a performance incentive. Employees holding stock options are motivated to work hard to raise the price of the firms stock. Many of Apples employees have to deal with stress on a daily basis, which is the state of tension experienced by individuals facing extraordinary demands, constraints or opportunities. Much of their stress comes from working factors which includes, long working hours, too many demands, the rush of developing the next big product, and the fear of losing their job for those who cannot meet objectives. Stress can also come from personal factors which includes the Type A personality and from non-work factors which include: family events, economics, and personal affairs. Jobs believes in putting a lot of stress on his workers as it acts in a positive way to increase effort, stimulate creativity, and encourage great work; known as constructive stress. The stress employees face can also have negative effects, known as destructive stress, which impairs the performance of an individual. A great example of this was recently, in July of 2009, a man who worked at an iPhone plant in China committed suicide. This was after the worker lost a fourth-generation iPhone prototype that he was responsible for. Employees who deal with Apples new products face great pressure in maintaining a high-level of secrecy over their products. Many of the organizations employees are constantly dealing with the stress of their job and non-work factors; therefore Apple has come up with a few strategies in dealing with stress. The organizations strict role clarification helps reduce job uncertainties, conflicts, and work overloads. Employees assistance programs are offered, which include: financial education seminars, tuition assistance, personal and family counselling, wellness programs, an onsite fitness center, and commuter programs. Areas Where Improvement Could Be Made: At Apple, areas of improvement could be made by eliminating the use of coercive power within the organization. Coercive power is influencing an individual through punishment. Employees have reported that they have coerced to do something through verbal reprimands. This only hurts the organization by making employees not want to work for management out of liking for their job, but out of fear they are going to be punished in some way (pay penalties, termination). In regards to leadership and power, I believe Apple can improve in empowering other people. Empowerment is the process through which managers enable and help other individuals to gain power and have more influence within the company. This would improve the organization by not making it a one genius that leads the company model. It would help relieve Steve Jobss work and when people are empowered to act, they are generally more committed to their task and producing high-quality work. It would show the confidence management has in their employees, and their respect for the talents and creativity they possess. Apple Inc. can improve its motivation of employees by not only following process theories and reinforcement theories of motivation, but also content theories of motivation. Content theories explain the behaviours and attitudes of people at work based on individual needs- the unfulfilled physiological or psychological desires. Having managers and leaders that establish conditions where it is possible for people to satisfy important needs through their work is important, as needs cause tensions that influence attitudes and behaviour. Eliminating obstacles that interfere with the satisfaction of important needs help in improving motivation at Apple. I believe Apple could improve stress management by not putting as many demands on employees, decreasing the amount of work hours a week and not putting stress on workers to increase effort and encourage great work. As it is hard for an organization to limit personal and non-work factors of stress, Apple can improve in reducing the amount of work factors of stress. The organization needs to focus on maintaining constructive stress, but eliminating destructive stress. Detailed Plan of Improvement Content Theories of Motivation Hierarchy of Needs Theory As mentioned in Part D- Leadership and Motivation of the Members of the Organization, Apple Inc. does not focus as much on the individual needs of their employees, which relates to the content theories of motivation, but more on the accomplishment of task goals and the external environment consequences, which relate to the process and reinforcement theories of motivation. This leads to room for improvement in following the content theories of motivation, which explain the behaviours and attitudes of people at work based on individual needs. This would improve the organization because needs are the unfulfilled physiological or psychological desires of an individual, which cause tensions that influence attitudes and behaviour. This is why it is important for managers and leaders to establish conditions where it is possible for employees to satisfy important needs through their work and to also eliminate obstacles that have the potential to interfere with the satisfaction of important n eeds. Fulfilling these individual needs will further help in improving the motivation at Apple. One of the content theories of motivation, the Hierarchy of Needs Theory developed by Abraham Maslow, is a great theory to implement into the organization to improve motivation. This theory states that there are two categories of needs: Lower-order needs- include physiological, safety, and social concerns, and higher-order needs- include esteem and self-actualization concerns. The fulfilment of lower-order needs, which desire social and physical well-being, and higher-orders needs, which desire psychological development and growth, leads to great behaviour and attitudes of people at work. Maslows theory describes two principles explaining the affects of needs on human behaviour. The first is the deficit principle, which states that a satisfied need is not a motivator of behaviour. The second is the progression principle, which states that a need at one level does not become activated until the next lower-level need is already satisfied. The goal of Apple in implementing this theory would be to allow all employees to advance through the hierarchy until they reach the level of self-actualization. At this level, employees begin to be motivated by opportunities of self-fulfillment. If managers within Apple followed this theory, employees would not have deprived needs which result in negative attitudes and behaviours, which in turn affect the organization in many different aspects. There are many different ways managers can use Maslows ideas to better meet the needs of their staff. A detailed plan to implement this theory would first begin by looking at the order of the needs in the hierarchy. The hierarchy of human needs is, from first to last: physiological, safety, social, esteem and lastly self-actualization needs. Below is an example on how Apple can fulfill each of these individual needs. Physiological needs: Providing reasonable work hours, rest and refreshment breaks, and physical comfort when working. Safety needs: Apple already does a good job in providing for some of these needs, such as safe working conditions, base compensation, and benefits. It could still improve in job security, which is eliminating the threat many employees feel of losing their jobs because of their performance. Social needs: Improving the group atmosphere between managers and workers, by having friendly co-workers and pleasant supervisors. Allowing all individuals to feel a sense of belonging is important. This need is important to fulfill within the Apple organization as it has many team-based projects. More social events could help improve the fulfillment of this need. Esteem needs: Apple can fulfill employees esteem needs by giving them more responsibility for important jobs, allowing the opportunity for promotion to a higher job status, and more praise and recognition from Steve Jobs and other managers. Ensuring workers know their contribution helps in reaching the organizations goals and making certain they receive recognition for what they have done results in good self-esteem, leading them to be more productive and effective. Self-actualization needs: As Apple already provides creative and challenging work through the products they develop, and participation in decision making, they could further help in fulfilling this need by allowing more job flexibility and autonomy. Apple should allow employees to feel that they have reached the place they want and by fulfilling the self-actualization need more and more, the individual is suppose to grow stronger. With Apple Inc. being one of the top companies in the world, it is hard to say what they should improve on because of their success, the great individuals they have working for them and their size. This plan to implement the Hierarchy of Needs Theory may benefit the organization but because of the organizations size and the expertise of the individuals that run the company, including Steve Jobs, I am sure they have looked to all aspects of the organization for ways to improve.

The end of The Age of Reason :: essays research papers

The end of â€Å"The Age of Reason†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the late 18th century, America was coming to a standstill in religious belief, by the 1790’s an estimated 10% of the non-Indian population of America were members of a formal church. Before and after the American Revolution, works of literature like Thomas Paine’s â€Å"Common Sense†, and Benjamin Franklin’s â€Å"The Way to Wealth† began to form a national train of thought among the early Americans. These views were somewhat opposite of those which were introduced through Puritanism and The Enlightenment during the seventeenth century. However, in the end traditional religion overcame the pressure that was applied by the new schools of thought that floated around in the late 18th century.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Thomas Paine’s â€Å"Common Sense† was more than just a piece of literature than planted the seed for deism, it also helped inspire a nation to revolt against England, and claim independence from a government which was deemed unfair and unfit to control the colonies. In â€Å"Common Sense† Paine led the people to believe that the Americans could not reconcile with England. He aim was to turn the American anger away from the small parliamentary issues they were resisting against, and onto what he considered the main problem, which was the English Constitution itself. Paine argued that it was simple ‘common sense’ for Americans to break completely with a government that could produce such a corrupt a ruler as George III. In closing his writing Paine argues â€Å"And as a man, who is attached to a prostitute, is unfitted to choose or judge of a wife, so any prepossession in favor of a rotten constitution of government will disable us from discerning a good one.† With Paine making this remark, I translate Paine to mean that the island kingdom of England was no more fit to rule the American Continent, than a satellite was fit to rule the sun.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This pamphlet was released in January 1776, at that point in time the colonies were nothing more than miniature countries existing next to each other. As the news of the pamphlet spread during that year, a strong sense of national unity and the need for independence from the English began to form in the people’s minds. Later that same year, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, with help from Benjamin Franklin and John Adams. Jefferson used ideas borrowed from theories by John Locke; for example, governments are created to protect the rights of life, liberty, and property.

Historical Perspective in the Essays of Susan Griffin, Richard Rodrigue

Historical Perspective in the Essays of Susan Griffin, Richard Rodriguez, and Ralph Ellison (Our Secret, Extravagance of Laughter, The Achievement of Desire) Susan Griffin’s â€Å"Our Secret† is an essay in which she carefully constructs and describes history, particularly World War II, through the lives of several different people. Taken from her book A Chorus of Stones, her concepts may at first be difficult to grasp; however David Bartholomae and Anthony Petrosky say that, â€Å"Griffin writes about the past - how we can know it, what its relation to the present, why we should care. In the way she writes, she is also making an argument about how we can know and understand the past†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Griffin strikes all of these aspects in her essay. What is most compelling about the essay, however, is the way Griffin incorporated personal, family, and world history into a chilling story of narrative and autobiography, without ever losing the factual evidence the story provided. The chapter reads like an entire novel, which helps the audience to understand the concepts with a clear and complete view of her history, not needing to read any other part of the book. Two other authors, Richard Rodriguez, and Ralph Ellison, who write about their experiences in life can possibly be better understood as historical texts when viewed through the eyes of Griffin. Rodriguez explores his own educational history in his essay â€Å"The Achievement of Desire† and Ralph Ellison depicts his own journeys and personal growth in his essay, â€Å"An Extravagance of Laughter†. Both essays, which when seen through Susan Griffin’s perspective, can be reopened and examined from a different historical view, perhaps allowing them to be understood with a more lucid view of history and what it is really about. What is history? Many believe that history is what is read in textbooks, or what is seen on the news. If Susan Griffin were asked that question, she would probably argue that history is much more than that. It is about the minds and souls of the people who went through the historical event, not simply what happened. In her essay, Griffin incorporates stories of people from totally different backgrounds, and upbringings, including herself, all to describe their account of one time period. Each person’s history is somehow connected with the next person’s, and each story contr... ...a play and Griffin after learning about her family.. All three authors of these essays are in a sense, historians. They wrote about events that are in history, which makes the essays about history. However, these are all great works, and are being used to help explore the ways of writing history. Thus, in the context of which they are being used, they are all history. Themes about finding the truth within the self are current throughout works, and different types of histories are explored; making these text much more than just about history; they have become history. Ralph Ellison once said, â€Å"The way [one] expresses both the agony of life and the possibility of conquering it through is the sheer toughness of the spirit. They fall short of tragedy only in that they provide no solution, offer no scapegoat but the self†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Each author demonstrates the toughness of the spirit, and provide no solution, as history never does. It is up to the individual to decide whether history will repeat itself, or whether or not a scapegoat will be found. However, Griffin, Rodriguez, and Ellison all did their part in providing possible solutions.†¦for history.

Information Privacy and Governance :: Personal Information, Privacy Law

A number of high profile organisations have been subjected to great reputational damage resulting from a proliferation of personal information breaches (Protecting Personal Information, 2010). Organisations have made substantial use of their customer's personal information without doing much to protect the information. Organisation's collecting personal information have had little impetus to consider the best privacy protection solutions and people have not done anything drastic to initiate such action (Loss of privacy is price one pays to live in online world, 2011). It may take strong government regulation to propel organisations in this direction (Loss of privacy is price one pays to live in online world, 2011) leading to the pending implementation of the Protection of Personal Information Bill (POPI) (POPI: Threat or opportunity, 2010:22) in South Africa. The POPI Bill will address the right to privacy enforcing stringent measures on all public and private entities in South Africa to ensure that the personal information of individuals is protected. The Law Commission’s findings revealed that privacy laws are lacking in South Africa, despite the fact that the right to privacy is enshrined in the Constitution (Theophanides, 2010). POPI will pave the way for the constitutional right to privacy and will regulate the manner whereby personal information is processed providing individuals with the authority to protect their personal information (Theophanides, 2010). To prepare for POPI compliance, organisations will have to initiate an organisation-wide privacy protection programme. A very interesting market development has been the rise of a privacy GRC (Governance, Risk and Compliance) market niche (Kim, 2010). The three keywords, Governance, Risk and Compliance that emanate from this current context are commensurate with GRC, one of the latest acronyms to embrace the financial world (Conte, 2007:62). This acronym GRC has infiltrated the business community over the last years (Racz et al., 2010a:106) and is an executive-level concern of many enterprises today (Krey et al., 2011:350). GRC is an integrated approach overseeing people, processes and technology in order to deliver stakeholder value while managing risk and complying with regulations and laws (Anand, 2010:57). Many organizations get their first experience of a GRC program when they begin to implement a privacy program because privacy is an enterprise issue that spans legal, IT, compliance and business operations (Privacy and GRC: What the New Ponemon Study and the GAPP is Telling us, 2011). The POPI Bill is not exclusively an IT or legal or a process or security issue but a combination of all of these (POPI: Threat or opportunity, 2010:22). Information Privacy and Governance :: Personal Information, Privacy Law A number of high profile organisations have been subjected to great reputational damage resulting from a proliferation of personal information breaches (Protecting Personal Information, 2010). Organisations have made substantial use of their customer's personal information without doing much to protect the information. Organisation's collecting personal information have had little impetus to consider the best privacy protection solutions and people have not done anything drastic to initiate such action (Loss of privacy is price one pays to live in online world, 2011). It may take strong government regulation to propel organisations in this direction (Loss of privacy is price one pays to live in online world, 2011) leading to the pending implementation of the Protection of Personal Information Bill (POPI) (POPI: Threat or opportunity, 2010:22) in South Africa. The POPI Bill will address the right to privacy enforcing stringent measures on all public and private entities in South Africa to ensure that the personal information of individuals is protected. The Law Commission’s findings revealed that privacy laws are lacking in South Africa, despite the fact that the right to privacy is enshrined in the Constitution (Theophanides, 2010). POPI will pave the way for the constitutional right to privacy and will regulate the manner whereby personal information is processed providing individuals with the authority to protect their personal information (Theophanides, 2010). To prepare for POPI compliance, organisations will have to initiate an organisation-wide privacy protection programme. A very interesting market development has been the rise of a privacy GRC (Governance, Risk and Compliance) market niche (Kim, 2010). The three keywords, Governance, Risk and Compliance that emanate from this current context are commensurate with GRC, one of the latest acronyms to embrace the financial world (Conte, 2007:62). This acronym GRC has infiltrated the business community over the last years (Racz et al., 2010a:106) and is an executive-level concern of many enterprises today (Krey et al., 2011:350). GRC is an integrated approach overseeing people, processes and technology in order to deliver stakeholder value while managing risk and complying with regulations and laws (Anand, 2010:57). Many organizations get their first experience of a GRC program when they begin to implement a privacy program because privacy is an enterprise issue that spans legal, IT, compliance and business operations (Privacy and GRC: What the New Ponemon Study and the GAPP is Telling us, 2011). The POPI Bill is not exclusively an IT or legal or a process or security issue but a combination of all of these (POPI: Threat or opportunity, 2010:22).

Methodology on Renewable Energy in Powys Wales

This chapter identifies the justifications for, and cogency of, the methods and procedures used during the research. As briefly outlined in the debut, this research undertaking will sketch the bing and possible usage of renewable energy through the planning system in Powys, Mid Wales. Presently there are a figure of major undertakings, preponderantly wind farms already present in Powys nevertheless there is range for more every bit good as other renewable beginnings such as Anaerobic Digestion and Micro Hydro Power. The undermentioned subdivisions will aˆÂ ¦ ( do sure you signpost )What is Research?Harmonizing to the Encarta World English Dictionary ( day of the month? Page? ) , Research can be defined as â€Å" Organized survey: methodical probe into a topic in order to detect facts, to set up or revise a theory, or to develop a program of action based on the facts discovered † you need to include page Numberss for direct citations In feeble adult male ‘layman ‘s ‘ footings, this fundamentally refers to the manner in which one undertakes a procedure of achieving information that is required for a peculiar ground. There are changing grades of research methods and besides to changing grades. This could run from a individual â€Å" researching † into a vacation all the manner to a PhD pupil roll uping information for their concluding thesis. This research undertaking is for a Masters degree therefore considerable research is required ref to back up? . Clough and Nutbrown ( 2002 ) who published â€Å" A Students usher to Methodology † suggest that the research at Masters Level is non so much to turn out things but more to look into inquiries and research issues. Clough and Nutbrown both define Research by the moral act within which the research worker holds duty for guaranting that attendant alteration is for the better. It is the purpose of the author to set about this procedure in order to understand the renewable facet through the planning system and to seek to determine the short-falls, if any and how to turn to them. Necessitate to utilize a assortment of refs throughout. Try and avoid the one ref per paragraph manner.Research moralssâ€Å" Research that involves human topics or participants raises alone and complex ethical, legal, societal and political issues † ( Nancy Walton, day of the month? Page? ) . Research moralss concentrates on the analysis of ethical issues that are raised when people are involved as participants in research. Consequently, there are three chief aims in research moralss, the first and broadest is to protection over the human participants. The 2nd aim is to guarantee that any research is conducted in a manner that serves involvements of the persons or groups as a whole. Ref? The 3rd aim is to research the specific research activities and undertakings for their ethical soundness such as analysis of the direction hazards, protection of confidentiality and the procedure of informed consent. Ref? Ethical protection for research participants can be described in a figure of ways which will be explained below. These descriptions have been compiled by the â€Å" research constitution † ref? Need to draw above together into one paragraph Try and avoid utilizing mini paragraphs – it can do the treatment disjointed Voluntary Engagement Voluntary Participation by and large refers to when the populace are non obliged to take part in research. For illustration, this could be when a research worker relies upon a big figure of people where no antecedently audience has taken topographic point, such as pupils at a university or the crowd at a clean event. This would, in the sentiment of the research worker addition more information than any other type. Need to back up these thoughts with refs Informed Consent Closely related to Voluntary Participation, is the demand of Informed Consent which means that research workers must advise any possible participants to derive blessing about the research, including inside informations such as what their purposes are and the relevant processs and hazards involved. ref? Hazard of Harm Parallel with the engagement process, the research worker has a responsibility of attention for their participant to guarantee they are non subjected to any Hazard of Harm. This can be both physical and/or psychological and in order to seek to forestall either, two criterions can be applied in order to keep the privateness of the participant. Unless it is a self apparent fact e.g. the Earth is round, you need to back up points with mentions. Particularly of import as you are seeking to convert the reader that you are utilizing a valid and appropriate method. Consequently, the bulk of research guarantees the participants confidentiality. This means that the participant ‘s individuality would non be made available to anyone who is non involved with the research. The other chief to keep the privateness of the person is to do the participant anon. , therefore non even the research worker being cognizant of the individuality of the topic. Subsequently in the Findings chapter, it will be apparent that in order to determine public perceptual experience of the Case Study ( Wind Farm Application ) , a assortment of voluntary participants will be asked a few basic inquiries after the planning commission for the finding of the application for the aforesaid air current farm. The individuality of the participants will besides stay anon. nevertheless the assortment of participants will be varied such as the general populace, commission members and local authorization officers. Harmonizing to Social Research Methods ( website day of the month? ) , it claims that research workers are obliged to cover with the ethical issues of participants â€Å" right to service and good research pattern † which often uses a control group named a No-treatment control group. This group is devised of individuals who neither include the participants who receive intervention nor the plan that is being researched. However, if there are good consequences from the plans, the persons assigned to the no-treatment control group may non believe they have been allowed equal entree to the services. If there is clear grounds that these ethical criterions and rules exist, the research worker may frequently set about probes that contradict the rights of the participant, nevertheless in this undertaking, there is no ground for this to go on. Obviously, it is highly hard to expect every ethical circumstance nevertheless at that place needs to be some generic processs which have been outlined earlier in this chapter to guarantee research workers to see all relevant ethical issues whilst showing research proposals.Establishing the Research MethodIn order to set up the research methods, it must be noted that the purposes and aims are to be realistic and accomplishable. Upon consideration of both, the purposes and aims are accomplishable and hence the appropriate research techniques must be applied. As with any research, it is non possible to cover every facet of the subject and hence the research inquiries rose in this thesis in bend influenced the pick of methodological analysis. ( A Students usher to Methodology ( Clough and Nutbrown 2002 ) demand to incorporate mentions carefully – where does the above ref belong? Clough and Nutbrown ( 2002 ) have devised three classs that can be assessed against the author of their research and these are as follows: Specifying Limits Clarification of research survey Empirical Issues must be identified In order to specify one ‘s bounds, the author must be cognizant of their restrictions and guarantee that the chosen subject is of a suited volume to successfully roll up a undertaking on. Once the author has identified the bounds, lucidity of the research survey must be recognised. This can be achieved by garnering a broad scope of information and literature in order to measure a assortment of statements and statistics ref? . Finally, to place the Empirical Issues, these must be once more located through a assortment of literature both historical and present informations. Harmonizing to Dirks ( 2005 ) , â€Å" much research is reported informally and seldom qualified by its beginnings † ( p? ) . attempt and avoid tonss of mini paragraphs – can do confused treatment Dirks ( 2005 ) goes on to province that through a sequence of clip, and with polish of what has been named the scientific method, these methods of research have been analysed to guarantee that the consequences are recognised throughout as valid. Furthermore, Dirks ( 2005 ) claims that these methods can be altered to the traditional constructions of deductive and inductive logic. Anyone agree with Dirks? Sprinkle in more refs where you can It is obvious to detect such a procedure in certain probes such as a scientific experiment, in which 1 could try to deduce a truth in a deductive mode. Further observation of this can be seen in societal scientific discipline research where a study may necessarily take to a factual determination of kinds. The model for this undertaking is in conformity with the observations of Cook & A ; Campbell ( 1979, cited in Rudestam & A ; Newton, 2001 ) who identified that the research method pick for societal scientific discipline surveies is of a ‘quasiexperimental ‘ design. This design comprises of some of the cogency of the controlled experiment but maintains the statement and logic of experimental research. In the tabular array 1 below, Chappell ( 2004, cited Robson, 2002 ) identifies the chief constituents of a research design: Table 1: rubric Aim What is the survey seeking to accomplish and what specific facet or procedure within the construct is being investigated? Theory What conceptual model is the construct embedded in? Research Questions What information needs to be acquired to fulfill the intent of the survey? Methods What specific methods will be used to roll up informations? Sampling Scheme From whom will the informations be sought? Beginning: Robson ( 2002, cited in Chappell, 2004, p55 ) . The primary constituents that are contained within this research model have led to the production of believable and robust research.Different types of ResearchIn order to accomplish a believable research method, one must take from a huge array of research types to garner information. This survey is to concentrate chiefly on the planning procedures and counsel and hence chiefly classified as qualitative and non quantitative which would hold concentrated on mensurable issues. The difficultly of using qualitative research methods, are considered, more flexible than those of quantitative methods, is to utilize them to do robust analysis of modern-day issues which can be complex and unconstrained ( Robson, 2002 ) . Table 2 identifies the informations aggregation methods which were engaged throughout the researching process. Need to be consistent in table rubrics Beginning Type Method Information location Primary Interviews Work/Telephone Questionnaires Work Secondary Books Libraries/Shops Diaries Libraries Governmental Guidance Libraries/Internet/Work Other Internet/Work Table 2: Methods of Data Collection Within this undertaking, it is the author ‘s purpose to use the above research methods in order to accomplish the best, most accurate information for the ulterior chapters to analyze.Case Study ResearchHarmonizing to Cassell and Symon ( 2004 ) , â€Å" a instance survey consists of a elaborate probe with informations collected over a period of clip, of phenomena, within its specific context. † Need to associate this is The author ‘s purpose is to supply an analysis of the context and procedures which elucidate the theoretical subjects being studied in this thesis. The chosen subject in this case, Wind Farms is non isolated from its context, i.e. in a research lab, but is of importance due to the purpose to understand how procedures are understood and influenced by, in an influence context. Necessitate to fall in these subdivisions together and make a streamlined treatment A instance survey is peculiarly appropriate for research inquiries which require a elaborate apprehension of societal or organizing procedures because of the rich informations collected in context. Ref? In visible radiation of the above account, it is considered appropriate in this thesis is to integrate a instance survey as it illustrates how the author can place with existent life illustrations without achieving primary informations which would turn out hard due to the limited timescale. There are assorted thoughts of the importance of instance surveies ( Yin, Campbell 1994 ) and harmonizing to Clough and Nutbrown ( 2002 ) , â€Å" They are frequently seen as premier illustrations of quantitative research which can follow an interpretative attack to informations, surveies things within their context and considers the subjective significances that people bring to their state of affairs. † P? Harmonizing to Yin ( 2003 ) , instance surveies, in this case are referred to as an â€Å" explanatory † instance survey, and are the preferable research scheme. This is due to the fact that they are able to get by with operational links which need to be identified over a period of clip alternatively of simply set uping frequences of happening. Yin ( 2003 ) besides argues that when the concluding research inquiries and hypothesis have been established, the concluding survey may non automatically be a instance survey but assume an alternate signifier of research therefore underscoring the flexible nature of instance survey research. Case survey research is hence flexible in that it is capable of accommodating to and examine into countries of planned but besides emergent theory ( Cassell and Symon day of the month? ) Due to a figure of obvious restraints such as clip and location, the clip allocated for field work and desk surveies were slightly restricted. The country chosen is northern Powys ( Montgomeryshire ) as it was the natural pick being an employee for the council, and being based in the Montgomeryshire office in Welshpool. Need to warrant your instance survey choice carefully – usage refs to back up the standards used ( i.e. location, contacts, entree to info ) The instance survey chosen will be a current, undetermined planning application for a Wind Farm in the locality. This specific application was chosen due to the significant changes due to landscape and other environmental restraints that have been considered since entry in 2007. This application was chosen with the counsel of a work co-worker who has been and still is covering with the g application. The procedure that has taken topographic point in the 2.5 twelvemonth period will be interesting to measure and measure in an environmental context and will be to the full explained in the Findingss and Discussions Chapters.Primary Research DataInterviews One of the aims within this undertaking is to seek to set up academic work that small work had been done antecedently utilizing secondary informations. However, in order to accomplish this, it was considered appropriate and good to set about at least one interview. This determination was taken as this signifier of primary research appears to hold a figure of benefits in comparing with other methods such as questionnaire including the following taken from sociologiy.org.uk web site: day of the month? â€Å" Positive resonance between interviewer and interviewee. Very simple, efficient and practical manner of acquiring informations about things that ca n't be easy observed ( feelings and emotions, for illustration ) . High Validity. Peoples are able to speak about something in item and deepness. The significances behind an action may be revealed as the interviewee is able to talk for themselves with small way from interviewer. Complex inquiries and issues can be discussed / clarified. The interviewer can examine countries suggested by the respondent ‘s replies, picking-up information that had either non occurred to the interviewer or of which the interviewer had no anterior cognition. Pre-Judgement: Problem of research worker predetermining what will or will non be discussed in the interview is resolved. With few â€Å" pre-set inquiries † involved, the interviewer is non â€Å" pre-judging † what is and is non of import information. Easy to enter interview ( video / sound tapes ) . † Freedom to research general positions or sentiments in more item that a questionnaire. The interviewer can re-word a inquiry should the topic be unable to understand. There is more to derive information face-to-face than in authorship. Upon reception of an reply, an chance to lucubrate upon such is readily available. Above top 6 points taken from ( www.socialogy.org.uk ) is this a dependable beginning? Blumer ( 1969 ) suggest that the research worker â€Å" seek participants in the domain of life who are who are acute perceivers and who are good informed † ( p? ) need more than one ref from 1969 to back up pick of interviewees In visible radiation of this, the determination of whom to take to interview was highly easy to make up one's mind as there is merely one specialist officer for the full county who dealt with the applications used as the instance surveies. This surely alleviated the force per unit area of agreements although said officer is located in a different office about 40 stat mis off in Llandrindod Wells. For the research to be as nonsubjective and robust as possible, it was indispensable to guarantee a just representation. Is one expert interview sufficient? Argue your instance It is besides proposed to set about a figure of little graduated table structured interviews with the general populace, council members and hopefully planning advisers. This will be undertaken following the planning commission for the finding of the instance survey application. Why the combined attack – explain with refs Due to limited clip available, resources were restricted and therefore it is of import for the author to maximize the end product from the research methods by integrating interviews alternatively of questionnaires, as the information gathered is normally more elaborate and precise to the present twenty-four hours. As already outlined a semi-structured interview will be undertaken with the specializer be aftering officer. This method is frequently used to roll up qualitative informations by set uping an interview which allows the interviewee clip to react with their positions. The agreement for the interview has already been assigned a day of the month and therefore has been notified good in progress should the topic require to research any inside informations relevant to the interview. Contained within the Sociology cardinal web site ( www.socialogy, org.uk ) , it discusses the semi-structured interview and states that its aim is to â€Å" understand the respondent ‘s point of position instead than do generalizations † . This construction uses unfastened ended inquiries which frequently requested by the interviewer and others of course originate during the interview. As listed above, it can be good to derive a resonance with the topic which may enable more information to be discussed as the ambiance of the interview should be slightly relaxed. The inquiries will be prepared nevertheless, as the topic is cognizant of the subject, they will non hold sight of the inquiries. Try and infix other back uping refs instead than over trusting on one beginning Due to the volume of informations being discussed, it is decided that a Dictaphone be used to guarantee all information relayed is recorded every bit good as written and the topic was besides cognizant and agreeable of this determination. If the topic declined a recorded interview, handwritten notes would be the lone method available to retain the information. After an analysis of the gathered recordings, inclusive of the notes, the cardinal issues of the findings will be fed into the treatment for analysis. Detailss of the interview, including the transcript will be included in the ulterior treatment chapter of the thesis. Questionnaires Within this thesis, there was no purpose to include a questionnaire as the pick to use the interview technique on the chosen topic is the preferable option lucidity? . If nevertheless, a big figure of individuals were being used to garner informations, the determination to take a questionnaire would be considered more favorable. Support determination with mentions Harmonizing to Sociological Central ( SC day of the month? ) , a questionnaire comprises of a list of written inquiries that can be completed by one or two ways. Postal Questionnaire – the respondents could finish the questionnaire without the research worker being present. This type refers to any questionnaire that a respondent completes without necessitating any aid. An interview – this has been discussed antecedently nevertheless ; in short, it allows the respondent an chance to reply the questionnaire verbally in the presence of the research worker. The SC recognises, as does the author, that both types are similar whereby the same inquiries can presented in either a postal questionnaire or during an interview format. Basically, there are two chief types of inquiries: Closed-ended ( or â€Å" closed inquiry † ) – this type of inquiry allows the research to bring forth a battalion of responses the respondent can take e.g. Yes/No. ( Quantitative Data ) Open-ended ( or â€Å" unfastened inquiry † ) – this type inquiry does non let the research worker to include any specific reply therefore allows the respondent to utilize their ain words. ( Qualitative Data ) There are strengths and failing to both types and below some are listed: Postal method can let the research worker to entree a big figure of possible respondents Potentially abashing subjects can be easy addressed via the postal system which may besides include namelessness. Questionnaires are by and large easy to compose and reply, particularly should â€Å" closed-ended † inquiries are used. Questionnaires are easy to standardize which allows the research worker to derive huge sums of information on the same subjects. Conversely, the failings are as follows: The simpleness of questionnaire format can turn out hard for research workers to analyze complex issues and sentiments even if open-ended inquiries are used. The research worker will ne'er cognize who completed the postal questionnaire even though it was sent to the intended receiver. The research worker ‘s reading of the inquiries may non fit that of the respondent ‘s – this can frequently be addressed via the usage of Pilot Studies prior to the study. Response rates to postal questionnaire are general rather low ( & lt ; 20 % ) therefore the research worker must direct out the big Numberss of participants to guarantee sufficient responses As mentioned above, it is non my purpose to transport out any questionnaires nevertheless should the chosen capable be unable to go to the interview, a â€Å" back up † questionnaire using a big figure of the interview inquiries will be devised.How relevant is the above subdivision if you clearly province more than one time that you will non be utilizing this method? Possibly paraphrase some of it to propose that you considered it and may utilize it as a supporting technique if required ( update when you have completed the research )Secondary Research DataHarmonizing to Patzer ( 1995 ) , selling research routinely utilizes many types of informations and information. This widespread type is informations and other pieces of information that were originally collected for another intent. When such informations is used in a peculiar mode for market research, this is considered the 2nd usage and the informations becomes classed as Secondary Data. There are two chief types of secondary informations harmonizing to Patzer ( 1995 ) , which are internal and external secondary informations. Within each of these classifications there are several considerations which range from making internal secondary informations to accessing external informations. Need to associate little paragraphs together See presentation – spacing, headers, subheadings, font size etc During this research, a figure of books, diaries, authorities counsel, the cyberspace and university counsel were the chief beginning of informations for this undertaking. The purpose was to utilize the most up-to-date information and to besides guarantee that the beginnings are believable than secondary informations as by and large there are written for academic intents. The usage of the cyberspace in research is considered rather extended due to the ever-growing and updated nature of the world-wide-web. Haddon ( 1997 ) , who has undertaken considerable research in this field, makes suggestions about the type of research that is required to understand people outlooks whilst allowing the Internet ( Haddon and Hartman, 1997 ) . These include what the phenomenon symbolises to people such as how they foremost encountered the Internet, what support they have and any jobs they face, how it is perceived and possibly used in relation to other engineerings and media ; and where it can perchance suit into the clip constructions of families and persons. ( Haddon and Hartman, 1997 ) . It is acknowledged that Haddon and Hartman suggested these points about 13 old ages ago when, the cyberspace could be argued, was still in its comparative babyhood. It is noted that the cyberspace these yearss is considerable more user-friendly than in 1997 hence entree to the cyberspace is virtually in every family and available to everyone. Try and add in another ref above to back up this thought Out of Date Research Some of the literature noted in this undertaking could be considered instead dated nevertheless, it would ne'er be considered â€Å" outdated † due to the information being used and recognised to this current day of the month. Are you placing a job to the reader? Is it necessary? Possibly merely reference that attention has been taken to obtain a scope of stuff, although some of it by its nature is older. In add-on, due to the shear extent of information available on the cyberspace, it is of import to guarantee that the information used is reliable and accurate. This was done by utilizing authorities web site or reliable web site accredited by recognized administrations. Need reasoning drumhead subdivision of chapter Necessitate sentence or so to associate into following chapter e.g. the undermentioned chapter moves on to see aˆÂ ¦

Technology Has Changed the Live of Teen Agers

DOI: 10. 1111/j. 1464-5491. 2006. 01868. x Glycaemic control Review Article 23 0742-3071Publishing, alcohol Diabetic Medicine and2006 consumption D. Ismail et al. DME UK Oxford, article Blackwell Publishing Ltd Social consumption of alcohol in adolescents with Type 1 diabetes is associated with increased glucose lability, but not hypoglycaemia D. Ismail, R. Gebert, P. J. Vuillermin, L. Fraser*, C. M. McDonnell, S. M. Donath†  and F. J. Cameron AbstractDepartment of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, *Wimmera Base Hospital*, Horsham and † Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia Accepted 10 June 2005 Aims To determine the effects of social consumption of alcohol by diabetic adolescents on glycaemic control. Methods Fourteen (five male) patients aged > 16 years were recruited from the diabetes clinic at the Royal Children’s Hospital. The continuous glucose monitoring syste m (CGMS) was attached at a weekend when alcohol consumption was planned for one night only.For each patient, the 12-h period from 18. 00 h to 06. 00 h for the night with alcohol consumption (study period) was compared with the same period with non-alcohol consumption (control period) either 24 h before or after the alcohol study night. Thus, each subject was his /her own control. Glycaemic outcomes calculated from continuous glucose monitoring included mean blood glucose (MBG), percentage of time spent at low glucose levels (CGMS < 4. 0 mmol/l), normal glucose levels (CGMS 4. 0–10. 0 mmol/ l) and high glucose levels (> 10. mmol/ l) and continuous overall net glycaemic action (CONGA). Results The mean number of standard alcohol drinks consumed during the study period was 9. 0 for males and 6. 3 for females. There was no difference in percentage of time at high and normal glucose levels in the study and control periods. During the control period, there was a higher percentage o f time with low glucose levels compared with the study period (P < 0. 05). There was an increased level of glycaemic variation during the study time when compared with the control period.Conclusions In an uncontrolled, social context, moderately heavy alcohol consumption by adolescents with Type 1 diabetes appears to be associated with increased glycaemic variation, but not with low glucose levels. Diabet. Med. 23, 830–833 (2006) Keywords adolescence, alcohol, glycaemic control Abbreviations CGMS, continuous glucose monitoring system; CONGA, continuous overall net glycaemic action; MBG, mean blood glucose; RCH, Royal Children’s Hospital Introduction Adolescents with Type 1 diabetes frequently engage in risk-taking activities [1].Amongst these activities is the social Correspondence to: Dr Fergus Cameron, Deputy Director, Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Royal Children’s Hospital, Flemington Road, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia. E-mail: fergus. [ema il  protected] org. au consumption of alcohol, frequently as underage drinkers [2]. Whilst the effects of alcohol consumption upon glycaemia have been well described in a controlled setting [3– 6], little is known about the impact on glucose levels of alcohol consumption by adolescents within an ambulant, social context.The purpose of this project was to utilize continuous glucose monitoring to study the impact of social alcohol consumption on glycaemic control in a group of alcohol-using adolescents.  © 2006 The Authors. 830 Journal compilation  © 2006 Diabetes UK. Diabetic Medicine, 23, 830–833 Review article 831 Patients and methods This study was approved by the Human Ethics Research Committee of the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH). That approval was contingent upon the fact that the investigators should not be seen to encourage underage drinking in adolescents.Consequently, we only approached adolescents who we knew were drinking socially and, despite our previous counselling, elected to continue to drink alcohol on a semi-regular basis. We recruited 22 adolescents with Type 1 diabetes from the RCH diabetes clinic. The adolescents were considered eligible only if > 16 years old and parental/patient consent was obtained. HbA 1c (Bayer DCA 2000 immunoagglutination method, Calabria, Barcelona, Spain) was measured, and diabetes duration and insulin doses were recorded. The MiniMed continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS) was attached to the study patients over a weekend period.Patients were required to have an alcohol-free period for at least 24 continuous hours during the weekend trace period. A diary was kept of activities during the trace period (insulin injections, meal, snacks, dancing, alcohol consumption, sport). There was no change in insulin doses between study and control periods. In the evening when alcohol was consumed, patients were asked to recall how many and what type of drinks were consumed and how inebriated the y became. Patients recall of alcohol consumption was converted to ‘standard drinks’ (one standard drink contains the equivalent of 12. ml 100% alcohol) using The Australian Alcohol Guidelines [7]. CGMS data was recorded between 18. 00 and 06. 00 h on the evening when alcohol was consumed (the study period) and between 18. 00 and 06. 00 h on the evening when no alcohol was consumed (the control period). CGMS data were only analysed if there had been regular calibrations with intermittent capillary blood glucose readings at a maximum of 8-h intervals. Each CGMS trace was qualitatively and quantitatively analysed using mean glucose values, per cent time in glycaemic ranges and ontinuous overlapping net glycaemic action (CONGA) [8]. CONGA values were calculated to assess glycaemic variation over 1-, 2- and 4-h intervals. Low glucose values were defined as CGMS values < 4 mmol/ l, normal glucose values when CGMS values were 4– 10 mmo/ l and high glucose values when CG MS values were > 10 mmol/ l. Each patient acted as their own control with study periods and control periods being compared. Inter-individual values were grouped for comparison. Differences between study and control periods were analysed using paired t-tests. Analyses were done in Stata [9]. ales and nine females. The mean age was 18. 5 years (range: 17. 4 – 19. 5). The mean duration of diabetes was 9. 4 years (range: 3 – 16. 3). Six of our subjects took four insulin injections per day and eight took two injections daily. The mean insulin dose was 1. 1 units /kg/day (range: 0. 7 –1. 8), and the mean HbA1c was 9. 6% (range: 8. 2 – 10. 8). Activities during the study period Thirteen subjects had dinner before drinking and only one subject did not consume any food before going out. Three subjects ‘danced a lot’ and six subjects went dancing but did not dance a lot.Ten subjects had something to eat after drinking. Alcohol consumption during the st udy period The mean number of alcohol drinks consumed on the study night was 9. 0 (range 3–16) for males and 6. 3 (range 3–14) for females. All the females consumed pre-mixed sweetened alcohol drinks (5% alcohol), with only one consuming beer and one consuming wine. Four of the males consumed mixed spirits, one mixed spirits and beer and one beer only. Forty per cent of the males had more than seven standard drinks during the study and 67% of the females had more than five drinks.In total, 80% of the subjects had pre-mixed sweetened alcohol drinks at some point during the study period. Forty-three per cent of the subjects reported that they became inebriated and 14. 3% consumed alcohol to the point where they became physically sick. None of the subjects lost consciousness or took recreational drugs during the study period. Comparative CGMS data between study and control periods Results Patients There was no significant difference between the overall mean glucose levels of patients when comparing study and control periods (Table 1; P = 0. 43).Similarly, there were no significant differences in the amount of time spent with either normal or high glucose values between study and control periods (Table 1). A larger proportion of time was spent with low glucose values during the control period when compared with the study period (1. 9 vs. 16. 8%, P = 0. 03). A significantly larger degree of glycaemic variation was seen in the CONGA values in the study period when compared with the control period (Table 1). The difference in CONGA values were consistent and independent of whether glycaemic variation was assessed over 1-, 2- or 4-h intervals.Of the 22 subjects recruited, eight were excluded because their CGMS traces did not have sufficiently frequent calibration points with intermittent capillary measures of blood glucose. Of the 14 subjects remaining, we were able to obtain study period data on 14 patients and matched control period data on only 12 pat ients. The study period occurred on the night prior to the control period in nine subjects. There were five Discussion It has long been recognized that a prohibitionist approach is usually ineffective when counselling adolescents who engage in risk-taking behaviours [10].Many centres today, ourselves included, have instead adopted a harm minimization approach in dealing with such behaviours. An important component  © 2006 The Authors. Journal compilation  © 2006 Diabetes UK. Diabetic Medicine, 23, 830–833 832 Glycaemic control and alcohol consumption †¢ D. Ismail et al. Outcome measure Mean difference between Study period Control period study period and mean value mean value control period (95%CI) P-value 10. 6 16. 8 58. 6 24. 6 2. 1 3. 2 3. 7 1. 2 (? 2. 1, 4. 4) ? 14. 9 (? 28. 1, ? 1. 8) ? 0. 8 (? 27. 3, 25. 8) 15. 7 (? 4. 5, 35. 8) 0. 6 (0. 2, 1. 0) 1. 1 (0. , 1. 9) 1. 8 (0. 4, 3. 1) 0. 43 0. 03 0. 95 0. 12 0. 006 0. 01 0. 01 Table 1 CGMS outcomes, study and contro l periods Blood glucose levels (mmol/l) 11. 8 Per cent time low glucose 1. 9 Per cent time high glucose 57. 8 Per cent time normal glucose 40. 3 CONGA1* 2. 7 CONGA2* 4. 3 CONGA4* 5. 5 *CONGA calculated at 1-, 2- and 4-h intervals. CONGAn is the standard deviation of different glucose measures n hours apart for the duration of the CGMS trace. of counselling using a harm minimization approach is that the information provided be credible and reflective of ‘real’ or ‘lived’ circumstances.Continuous glucose monitoring provides a technique whereby the glycaemic consequences of various behaviours can be documented in an ambulant or non-artificial setting. Adolescents with Type 1 diabetes frequently consume alcohol in a social context [11]. Alcohol is known to inhibit the gluconeogenic pathway, to inhibit lipolysis, impair glucose counter-regulation and blunt hypoglycaemia awareness [3,4]. Previous studies in young adults with Type 1 diabetes have shown that modera te consumption of alcohol in the evenings without concomitant food intake may cause hypoglycaemia the following morning [5].Consumption of alcohol after a meal, however, has shown no similar adverse effects on glucose [6]. It is reasonable to assume, therefore, that alcohol consumption may be a significant risk factor for hypoglycaemia in adolescents with Type 1 diabetes [5]. Studies of the glycaemic effects of alcohol consumption in an ambulant adolescent/young adult population can be difficult. This is because such behaviours are uncontrolled, often spontaneous and usually in the context of other social activities (parties, dancing, etc. ).In order to ensure that we only reported accurate CGMS data during these activities, capillary blood glucose calibration was considered vital and those patients who failed in this regard were excluded from analysis. Just over 60% of the patients recruited were able to successfully wear and calibrate a CGMS unit during these activities. Given tha t patients who experience hypoglycaemic symptoms are more likely to perform capillary self measures of blood glucose, we feel that it is unlikely that those patients excluded from the analysis had a greater frequency of hypoglycaemia than those patients reported.We were unable to record our subjects’ alcohol consumption in a contemporaneous fashion and hence were reliant upon their recall. It is possible that their remembered patterns of consumption were not entirely accurate. This potential inaccuracy should not be seen as a weakness of this study, as we only set out to determine patterns of glycaemia in adolescents engaging in spontaneous and uncontrolled alcohol consumption. We neither specified the type nor the amount of alcohol to be consumed (our ethical approval was contingent on this not occurring).The data as to amount of alcohol consumed have been included for descriptive purposes only. The results of this study show that alcohol consumption by adolescents in a soci al context is associated with a greater degree of glycaemic variation and less time spent with low glucose values than evenings where no alcohol is consumed. Whilst the second of these findings appears counter-intuitive, there may be several possible explanations. Firstly, the vast majority of our study group ate a meal prior to going out and ate upon their return before going to bed.These are practices that we have instilled as harm minimization strategies to avoid alcohol-induced hypoglycaemia in our clinic. Secondly, most of the alcohol consumed was as pre-mixed spirit and sweetened, carbonated beverages. Finally, alcohol consumption was only associated with vigorous exercise (dancing) in a minority of our study group. All of these factors could have combined to negate the hypoglycaemic effects of alcohol. In a previous study of glycaemia during alcohol consumption in adult men [5], hypoglycaemia occurred most often 10–12 h after wine consumption when the evening before en ded at 23. 0 h. We analysed our data to see if a similar phenomenon occurred in this study and found that the per cent of time spent with CGMS readings < 4 mmol/l between 06. 00 and 12. 00 h on the morning after the study period (i. e. the morning after the drinking night) was only 1. 1%. Notwithstanding the fact that our cohort frequently consumed alcohol later than 23. 00 h, the factors that impacted upon glycaemic control during the study night appear to have carried over to the ‘morning after’. The findings in this study highlight the importance of ambulant testing.It is important to note that the findings of the group studied here may not be seen in adolescents who drink non-sweetened alcoholic drinks or in those adolescents with better underlying metabolic control. Whilst alcohol consumption in isolation may reasonably be thought to cause hypoglycaemia, alcohol consumption by adolescents in the context of meals, sweetened mixers and little activity did not result in more hypoglycaemia than an alcohol-free evening. Whether the increase in glycaemic variation seen on an evening  © 2006 The Authors. Journal compilation  © 2006 Diabetes UK.Diabetic Medicine, 23, 830–833 Review article 833 of alcohol consumption has negative clinical outcomes remains an area for further investigation. Competing interests CMM was a Novo Nordisk research fellow. FJC received fees for speaking at conferences and funds for research from Novo Nordisk. References 1 Cameron F, Werther G. Adolescents with diabetes mellitus. In: Menon, RK, Sperling, MA, eds. Pediatric Diabetes. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003: 319–335. 2 Frey MA, Guthrie B, Lovelandcherry C, Park PS, Foster CM. Risky behaviours and risk in adolescents with IDDM.J Adol Health 1997; 20: 38–45. 3 Avogaro A, Beltramello P, Gnudi L, Maran A, Valerio A, Miola M et al. Alcohol intake impairs glucose counterregulation during acute insulin-induced hypoglycaemia in IDDM patients. D iabetes 1993; 42: 1626–1634. 4 Kerr D, Macdonald IA, Heller SR, Tattersal RB. Alcohol causes hypoglycaemic unawareness in healthy volunteers and patients with type 1 diabetes. Diabetologia 1990; 33: 216–221. 5 Turner BC, Jenkins E, Kerr D, Sherwin RS, Cavan DA. The effect of evening alcohol consumption on next morning glucose control in type 1 diabetes.Diabetes Care 2001; 24: 1888–1893. 6 Koivisto VA, Tulokas S, Toivonen M, Haapa E, Pelkonen R. Alcohol with a meal has no adverse effects on postprandial glucose homeostasis in diabetic patients. Diabetes Care 1993; 16: 1612–1614. 7 National Health and Medical Research Council. Australian Alcohol Guidelines: Health Risks and Benefits. DS9. Available from: http://www7. health. gov. au/nhmrc/publications/synopses/ds9syn. htm. 8 McDonnell CM, Donath SM, Vidmar SI, Werther GA, Cameron FJ. A novel approach to continuous glucose analysis utilising glycaemic variation.Diab Tech Therap 2005; 7: 253–263. 9 Sta taCorp. Stata statistical software. Release 8. 0. College Station, TX: Stata Corporation, 2003. 10 Kyngas H, Hentinen M, Barlow JH. Adolescents perceptions of physicians, nurses, parents and friends: help or hindrance in compliance with diabetes self-care? J Adv Nurs 1998; 27: 760–769. 11 Patterson JM, Garwick AW. Coping with chronic illness. In: Werther, GA, Court, JM, eds. Diabetes and the Adolescent. Melbourne: Miranova Publishers 1998, 3–34.  © 2006 The Authors. Journal compilation  © 2006 Diabetes UK. Diabetic Medicine, 23, 830–833