Role of Johnathan Edwards on First Great Awakening Essay

Role of Johnathan Edwards on First Great Awakening - Essay Example During his final years he was in charge of a boarding school where he preached the Indian boys. He died from smallpox in 1758, five weeks after he was inaugurated as the President of the College of New Jersey (â€Å"Jonathan Edwards†). The First Great Awakening Religious renewal The First Great Awakening was a movement that revitalized Christianity in the American colonies during the third and fourth decades of the eighteenth century. The impact was particularly felt in New England. The movement was caused by certain Christians who began to protest against the traditional mode of worship. It was generated by intense preaching from theologians like Jonathan Edwards which encouraged the avid listeners to disassociate from established rituals. They could feel a new sense of spiritual sincerity and their prayers were intensified by deep emotions (â€Å"Basic Concepts of the First Great Awakening†). Cause of the movement The glorious revolution of 1688 brought an end to the fights between different religious and political groups in England. The Church of England became the most important church of the country. People began to practice only one religion as the other religions like Catholicism, Judaism, and Puritanism were suppressed. Although this created religious stability but there was lack of fervor among the worshippers. Religion became a set of rituals to be followed without deep faith in the heart and soul. This state of complacency continued for several decades in England and American colonies before the First Great Awakening brought a religious renewal in the second quarter of the eighteenth century (â€Å"Basic Concepts of the First Great Awakening†). First Revivals in 1733-35 The roots of the First Great Awakening grew when a terrible earthquake struck on October 29, 1927 in New England. This led to wide-spread spiritual awakenings among the general people which paved the way for future revivals. The massive impact of the event and thi rty sermons regarding the earthquake that were published shook the spiritual complacency among the believers. As an immediate effect of the earthquake people began to crowd in churches to seek for salvation through Christ. The pastors began to preach the benefits of revival. Haverhill’s church became the largest center for revival after the earthquake where many fervent meetings were held with the churches of Bradford and Massachusetts. Pastor John Brown wrote in a letter that 154 people most of whom were youths came to him for â€Å"full membership, baptism, or renewal of their baptismal covenant† (Kidd, 10). Many people who had committed grave sins came to the church with deep faith to seek salvation. Brown however did not believe that the earthquake was the only cause of the start of revival, as he saw new interests for religion in his congregation in the spring of the same year. The next revival came in a â€Å"Time of great Security† with no external provoc ations like natural disasters. This was the revival generated by Jonathan Edwards in Northampton in 1734-35. Although George Whitefield was the most important preacher of that era, Edwards was the â€Å"greatest American articulator of the evangelical view of God, man and revival† (Kidd, 10-13). In April of 1734, a young man died within two days of being attacked by Pleurisy. Soon after that a young married woman died who seemed to have been blessed with God’

Employee Empowerment Case Study: TGI Fridays

Employee Empowerment Case Study: TGI Fridays Major shifts in business activities in the recent years due to globalizations have taken Large (LEs) and Small Medium Scale Organizations (SMEs) either National or Multinational towards an intense competitive environment. To respond to these global challenges organizations are now working differently as compared to past and last but not the least the competitive advantage that a company obtains is through its customer service activities. As The cost of attracting a new customer is five times bigger compared to the cost of retaining a current customer (Hart et al, 1990). When an organization is not able to provide the desired satisfaction to customers, the customer becomes aggressive and besides leaving the organization service becomes a tool to disengage customers in his domain. When a company fails to provide a service, the dissatisfied customer may provide negative word-of-mouth. (Chakrapani, 1998) claims that 100 dissatisfied customers cost a company 1600 to 2500 potential customers. To retain the customers it is of paramount importance that the employees of an organization are in line with the organizations objective with regards to the successful operation and in this regard todays managers make sure to convince employees that their personal interests are in agreement with the goals of the organization. (Hellriegel et al, 2005) explained that in todays battle for excellent employees, management has to offer more than high pay to win employees trust and motivate employees. As very aptly discussed by (Latham and Gary, 2004) that the most difficult aspect of being a work team leader is motivation of team members. Work teams may be more successful in achieving organizational goals if their members are empowerment to do their jobs. 2. SIGNIFICANCE: For achieving organizational success employee empowerment and performance are at the core with regards to these concepts. Job satisfaction amongst employees talked about in relation to employee empowerment and contextual performance. Ugboro and Obeng, found that in an organization empowered employees demonstrate job satisfaction at higher levels in contrast in organizations where employees are not empowered. (Ugboro and Obeng, 2000) When the team leader demonstrates the appropriate disciplines Employee motivation can be an easy task the simple disciplines encourage employee motivation to happen naturally. Motivation, whether it is self motivation or employee motivation, is the trigger to act. The competitive business market nowadays stresses on swift solutions as there a shortage of time in making decisions. To succeed, todays complex organizations require the collaboration of multiple followers (Yukl, 2008) managers at all levels who may assume a leadership role contingent on situational demands. As a result, empowerment has become a big slogan in numerous organizations world over. By setting the shared vision and common goal creates an environment in which other employees can control themselves i.e. empowered whether they acting for the objectives of the organization or not. As Kotter said that the vision makes the work more important to employees that envisioned by the common vision, which at the same time stresses their own values (Kotter, 1990). In order to get people move in the same direction that leader chooses, he/she needs to align them rather than organize them (Kotter, 1990). Empowered employees are more willing to serve the customers; his in turn quickens customer needÂÂ ´s responses which in turn result in customer satisfaction (Bowen et al, 1992). Empowered employees self-efficacy levels increase as they are in a position to evaluate the best approach to perform tasks. (Gist et al, 1992) In a Service organization the employees are of primary significance in view of the fact that they are the ones who are the face of the organization and the way they react and interact with the consumers is an indicator to the customers about the organization. The better the service and quality interaction the customer will have the more positive image will be portrayed also since service organizations are empowered as they have to make on the spot decisions this may prompt a negative image also as its a 2 way process. 3. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: 3.1 AIMS: The idea of the study is to streamline the corporate objective through better quality management by having empowered employees. Whether it is fashion, hospitality, airline or the food industry, consumers first and foremost demand is quality. And this is not area specific. At the end of the day, companies are attracting consumers. However, the underlying challenges facing companies are the maintenance of quality to enhance consumer base. 3.2 RESEARCH QUESTION: For this study the company chosen is TGI Fridays restaurant. The purpose of this research is to ascertain the extent to which TGI Fridays restaurant practices employee empowerment in their organization, and how it impacts on service quality and customer satisfaction. The nature of the food service industry touches directly on the satisfaction and experience of the consumers. This uniqueness may account for the closer scrutiny and monitoring to ensure that certain standards with regard to employee empowerment that would otherwise have been voluntary in other sectors are observed. In this paper, we will delve into the details of employee empowerment in the restaurant business. The core study will revolve around TGI FRIDAYS Quality Management through employee involvement that will ultimately help the brand reach greater heights. According to (Strauss et al, 1998), the research question is a statement that identifies the phenomenon to be studied. It tells the readers what the researcher exclusively wants to know about this subject. How does TGI Fridays empowering of employees impacts on the quality of service and customer satisfaction in their restaurant? 4. Literature Review: 4.1 Total Quality Management: With the advancement in communication technology, transportation and other technologies the world has shrunk into a global village. Products and services developed in a country are now widely accepted in other regions of the globe as well. Many companies like TGI Friday have been developing marketing strategies to fulfill the need, in an increasingly globalized market, for several years. TGI Friday is one of the companies that are being recognized by and whose brand names are familiar to most of the people in every region of the world (Austins Radisson Hotel, 2006) Quality has different connotation to different people. Employees tend to think like their peers and think differently like those at other levels. This suggests that to infuse quality in the organization will be much easier if it is embedded across the board. Many Japanese companies have demonstrated a high perfection of product quality, reliability and customer service through TQM (Garvin, 1988). Such goals require continuous improvement procedures to be established within the company. The relationship between market share, profitability and quality has always been studied. According to Buzzell and Gale (1987) one factor above all others-superior quality drives market share and profit is virtually guaranteed. Companies that are committed to Total Quality Management, apply it in all areas of the organization, because customers are both external and internal functions to the business. Quality can not only reduce cost, it also helps in getting the differential advantage. As we can see in the following illustration, there are two types of quality: quality driven at customer and conformance to organizational quality standards. The Quality Circle is as follows: Price Advantage Customer-Driven Quality Market Share Profitability and Growth Customer Value Customer Attributes and Design Specs Specification Quality Productivity Lower Cost Lower Cost of Quality Investment in Improved Quality Figure 3.1 Quality Circle, Source: Joel E. Ross, (1996). Total Quality Management; Text, Cases and Readings. Second Edition. Total Quality circle implies that the customer is the top priority for all business decisions. It takes into consideration the satisfaction of customer as a key determinant of success in the long run. Sometimes business decisions lead to the demise of an entire enterprise when quality is shown the door, while compromising on customer requirements. According to TQM theory the best way to improve organizational output is to continually improve performance (Dale, 1996). The phenomenon of Total Quality Management is no more another statement for organizations. It has become a reality. In the cut-throat corporate world, companies find themselves in hot water if they compromise on quality, consideration the fact the consumers now have more alternatives at their disposal. 4.1.2 Buzz Word Quality: Every organization has a set of standards and beliefs that they adhere to. Quality is the buzz word in the modern day marketplace. Every organization claim to infuse the best quality in its products and services. In our daily lives, we distinguish different products and services as excellent, average or mediocre. The precise definition of a quality product or service is that it provides customer more than what they were actually looking for at a prescribed price. According to Crosby, quality is the outcome of a carefully constructed culture. This has to be the fabric of the organization. (Crosby, 1988) Organizations operating in modern markets call for an exceptional quality in their products and services. In the case of restaurants, the initiative is that products and services must be readily available to customers. Essentially, organizations focus on the concerns of customer needs, through a well developed mechanism (Kotler, 1991). A good management at a restaurant will instill value that will lead to the creation of admirable products and commendable service, which in turn fulfills customer expectations and satisfies them. Quality is really an attitude built on a perception. Its not the product or company itself. The product is sold by the company. (Aaker, 1991), asserts that the brand of that product is bought by the consumer, predicated upon the consumers perception that the brand he or she buys of a product differs sufficiently from another brand of the same product to warrant choosing one particular brand over another. And, by the way, warrants paying the price for it. Customers look beyond the functional benefits of a restaurant to the overall experience it offers. Johnson stated that people stay in relationships for two major reasons: because they want to and because they have to. (Johnson, 1982) This recommends that service loyalty is influenced by satisfaction and interpersonal bonds. The interplay of these two sets of influences impacts on operational, marketing and human resource management strategies, including the nature and form of empowerment best matched to the service offer. (Cowell, 1984) claims that different organization provide different service features, which in the long-term impacts the operational management, marketing offer to customers and the way that front line employees are managed. 4.1.3 Consumers Charge Quality: Consumers tend to associate quality with price. But a new Cornell study found out that higher price tag may create a more positive view of products, but consumers may not necessarily purchase them. (Lowery, 2009) Some studies support the idea that higher price leads to a more superior quality some case examples are studies by, (Dodds, et al 1991; Gabor, 1988 etc). On the other hand, other studies have found that a high price may not always be related to the perceived superior quality. (Peterson 1970; Peterson and Jolibert, 1976). Such inconsistent findings have prompted the conclusion that a general price perceived quality relationship does not exist (Zeithaml et al, 1988). It is very much clear that quality cannot alone be associated with the price tag. It all depends on the users preference, the availability of different alternatives and the situation that compels the consumer to use the product/service. Many customers seek their prescribed branded services when it comes to restaurants. The branded organization meets customers security needs by making the service offer precise and by delivering a standardized service constant with customer expectations. At the same time many customers are looking for some confirmation of their individuality. (Holpp, 1990) asserts that the problem with the delivery of services is that it is delivered at the customers interface. If a problem exists, it is already too late. The subtle aspects to service and the heterogeneity of services pose difficulty for both customers and organizations supplying services to them. TGI Fridays provides a service which creates a sense of social connection to others. The brand also offers its customers a prospect to deal with the ambiguity felt by many service consumers. Thus, the customer can personalize the experience and knows what to expect. The following extract from an article reinforces the aforementioned argument. Lori Voth asserted that the biggest problem with most of restaurants is that the food looks awesome in the menu, or on TV, billboard, but once it gets delivered to your table, your impression fades away. However TGI Fridays manages to do it perfectly every time. Not only do the photos and descriptions make your mouth water but the actual meal always lives up to its promise. This is one restaurant where you can judge something by its cover, or picture. 4.1.4 Quality Infuse Loyalty: It has been observed that some restaurants have a more loyal following? Why is that people are more attracted to it? Because, the experience is worth remembering. From the very first interaction with the staff, an impression is made. This feeling creates an impression in the mind of the customer. Many restaurants and TGI Fridays in particular identify the value of customer service. Loyalty is an essential part of doing any business. No business can survive without establishing a dedicated client base. Studies have shown that companies that are rated high by their customer can charge close to ten percent more, than those rated poorly (Sonnenberg, 1989). For managers, motivating a group of employees is not a straightforward task. Each employee is a different and unique individual with dissimilar personalities and attitudes. Surprisingly enough, in spite of its evident importance to all businesses, relatively little is known about it. Experts have struggled to define exactly what being a loyal customer means, and too little has been made in determining what factors lead to customer loyalty. So, although customer loyalty is considered the back-bone of business, it still remains a mystery. To be truly effective and be able to repeat business, a brand must fabricate an emotional connection with its customers. And this is what the managers strive to achieve. Emotional branding is connected with the wisdom of brands and leads to an excursion filled with precious hints, ideas, and lessons from the customers. How to infuse brand loyalty in customers and address the trenchant constituents of branding as a product of perceptive thinking is another challenge for the managers. Haddadj (2003) believes that to create an effective workplace in order to motivate employees to perform well is very much in the interest of organization. Managers pivotal role in initiating transformation in a restaurant is to succeed in improving organizational performance. 4.2 What is Employee Empowerment? A pleasant and professional environment helps in the development of the capabilities of employees. On the other hand meager staff quality can be very expensive for any business. Empowerment is defined as the capability of employees to exercise judgment and discretion in their work and to contribute more fully in decisions affecting their work (Potterfield, 1999). Change, regardless of its magnitude is a challenging exercise. In case of employee empowerment, the challenge becomes even bigger as a high level of unpredictability is involved. In any organization, employees are the assets. Human Resource is vital to a corporations growth and prosperity is gaining and retaining competitive advantage. Therefore a motivated and contented workforce is more likely to achieve on many fronts. Loyalty and commitment from the staff cannot be controlled. In Harvester Restaurants, employees work in autonomous work groups without the direction of an immediate supervisor (Ashness et al, 1995). Organizations tie staff loyalty and commitment to its policies and actions. Therefore the management should deal with this issue prudently. (Fedor et al, 1989) concede that the employees who find the work more creative will react less to criticism. Total quality management and the strive for zero defects places issues of quality at the center of every managements reflection. Employees who are empowered are in greater control (Conger et al, 1988). Employee empowerment has its fair share of criticism too. (Purser et al, 1998) in particular are wary of practices, calling it pseudo-empowerment (p. 132). They assert that it is simply putting a new face on an old scheme. Many authors believe it is more self-directed. (Hitchcock et al, 1995) note that the practiced empowerment is a status rather than a process of actively participation. However, those who promote this concept are of the view that it works and is related to the organizations performance. (Piore et al, 1983) believe the organizations will gain superior competitive advantage by focusing on employees as assets and by removing unnecessary levels of management. There are four different, but overlapping managerial motives for introducing empowerment (Lashley, 1995). These are empowerment through participation, through involvement, through commitment, and empowerment through delivering. Each of the aforementioned forms is applied differently with the nature of empowered given to the employee. Organizational theories also attest to the fact that the fit involving business strategies and organizational characteristics is a key determinant of organizational performance (Lorsch et al, 1973). Many authors like (Barry, 1993) say that empowerment is a universally defined term. The idea of empowerment is to engage the employee in different aspects of the service operation. The empowerment model of (Lashley, 1997) is as follows: Source: (Lashley, 1997) 4.2.1 Empowerment Self-Actualization: Abraham Maslow has hinted out at the five levels of human needs. The need of self actualization is on top of the pyramid. The Maslows Hierarchy Model is as follows: http://dinamehta.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/800px-maslows_hierarchy_of_needssvg.png Source:NetMBA.com Empowerment is in fact fulfilling ones need of self actualization. It is difficult to develop an environment that allows team players to find opportunities for self-actualization, and to be respected and feel empowered. But in the hospitality industry it is deemed important to allow employees to take responsibility of their actions. (Barbie et al, 1991) believed that a feeling of personal efficacy and self determination in nurtured among employees. They are supposed to feel that they have power and can make a difference. They have choices and can exercise it. (Johnson, 1993) 4.2.2 Employee empowerment in the hospitality industry: Employee empowerment is particularly relevant in the hospitality industry because employees have the maximum amount of direct customer contact. Levels of customer satisfaction can be improved by empowering employees to handle guest requests or problems immediately, rather than having to report to their managers .Managers fundamental task in a restaurant is to improve performance (Haddadj, 2003). Organizations operating in different industries have different set of management rules. The risk is high where the service act is directed at the minds of the people. Caring attitudes by managers succeed in bringing forth employee dedication and approval. (Black et al, 1996) 4.2.3 TGI Fridays Restaurant: The organization structure at TGI restaurants is somewhat traditional and typical for the hospitality business. At Fridays a standardized layout and decor is balanced by an extensive menu which allows the customer to decide on what they should consume within the range. In many ways the offer is comparable to mass customization in manufactured products. The customer knows what to expect, and can personalize the experience through the extensive menu. 4.2.4 TGI Fridays Operations: The Restaurant Manager is responsible for the handling of affairs of the unit. The Front of house operations is managed by the senior service manager. The quality manager is in charge of the operations in kitchen and stores. People are trained for specific jobs that include jobs at bar, in the restaurant and the kitchen. Some employees play a supervisory role as shift leader. Trained hosts receive guests and the expediter is responsible for ensuring the speedy production of meals from the kitchen. To ensure quality and consistency in the service offering is a lot harder to accomplish than in other sectors. This category of service firms is unique since the organization is not isolated from the customer the latter must physically be present throughout the service act, unlike other sectors such as manufacturing (Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons, 2004). These are recognized as the critical success factors. (Boynton et al, 1984) define critical success factors as those things that must go well to ensure success for a manager. They imply that these administrative areas must be given individual attention to bring about higher performance. The thorough interaction between the service organization and the customer in person has profound quality implications for the organization. In the case of TGI Fridays where employees are delivering a mass customized service, they need to exercise consultancy skills in their interpretation of customer service needs. This helps in increased motivation in the workforce. This in turn will able the employee to reach future performance standards (Nemoroff et al, 1979). 4.2.5 Employee Empowerment at TGI Fridays: TGI Fridays foster an environment of employee empowerment. They have created an environment where employees are nurtured to take responsibility for their actions. So, performance at TGI Fridays requires more than merely taking order and delivering to the customer (Ritzer, 1993). This is very important to managerial aspirations for their approach. Employees need to be able to interpret, and then deliver, the customer service required. At Fridays employees are managed through a cluster of approaches to enhance perfection in work. When it comes to special events, it really shows that everyone in the staff is an important player. For instance during the week People arrive for their shift, do their shift, and go home. But at special occasions like Christmas, Dub-Dubs, door hosts, bartenders and managers alike stay behind after working. Everyone make sure that customers when they check in feel comfortable about the place. The slogan is to be trusted and respected. This is the managers duty to be an effective communicator and devote time to everyone equally. The natural skills and talents of employees will be realized and utilized to the organizations effectiveness (Ripley and Ripley, 1993). TGI FRIDAYS support the staff to be hands on with customers, but at the same time assesses the character and mood of the guests in order to achieve appropriate level of interaction. They have designed a book they call as the WOW Book. 4.2.6 The WOW Book: TGI FRIDAYS has a book known as WOW (WALK ON WATER). This book for staff lists the extra stuff the employees can offer to the customer. One such example that comes into our mind is lighting a cigarette for the customer. Before the start of each shift, employees are involved in a board game through roley. This role play is based on service encounters. The is based on the culture and philosophy of the organization. The objective of this is to inculcate each employee with the values of the organization. Unlike bureaucracies, empowering organizational structures are collaborative team based organizations (Beyerlein et al, 2003). 4.2.7 TGI Fridays Passport: The management at TGI Fridays have created a flexible employee rotation program once the training is completed. This program is known as the TGI Passport. This system enables employees to work in other branches, states or countries when there is a vacancy. This is an excellent example of empowering employees through flexibility, thus ensuring loyalty. This scheme not only retains staff but also reduces training costs. 4.2.8 The Five Star Values at TGI Fridays: TGI Fridays has identified five star values to symbolize its philosophy and culture. Each value is presented as a triangle and each side of the triangle must be balanced in order to deliver the service the Fridays way. In addition to these stars values, the three rings of the perceived guests are also taught to the staff. These rings represent the core offerings of the brand along with the consistent standards of service. They also entail an environment in which individual employee is encouraged to work to their maximum potential. An engaged employee has a natural drive for innovation, efficiency and a talent for building encouraging relationships (Ganguly, 2003). The five star values empower employees; they own their job and want to achieve better because they feel rewarding for doing so. 4.2.9 The Service Encounter: TGI Fridays calls its service encounter as an unusual experience. Employees are encouraged to think that TGI Fridays gives its customers a value for their money. For TGI Fridays incorporate elements of standard procedure manuals laid down production and presentation specifications. Test on product knowledge is used to ensure that front line employees had the requisite knowledge to be able to advise customers. Dub-Dubs are allowed to offer advice to customers as to how to structure their meal. Furthermore, they also have to identify the customers service requirements and deliver what is needed. (Lashley, 2000) notes that normative control in TGI Fridays is one of the tools to retain employees and encourage them to take ownership of the service encounter. Service target times at TGI Fridays call for the starters to be served within seven minutes of receipt of the order. Main course items must be served within twelve minutes. A computer programme helps managers to check the timing of these service times. Dub-Dubs are trained to work in routines. They check with the customer regularly after three minutes of delivering the meal. The front-line staff is encouraged to develop a sense of ownership of the service encounter. (Spinalli et al, 2000) establish that empowerment leads to both employee and customer satisfaction. Managers are keen to make sure that the employee is able to meet up customer service requirements, answer queries, offer advice, and present the appropriate performance, and maintain company sales targets. The nature of the work requires a particular type of individual, someone who relates well with customers. 4.2.10 Empowerment and Employees Performance: Employee performance requires, more than the traditional acts of greeting, seating and serving (Hochschild, 1983). Customer satisfaction, attitude towards the customer and meeting the order in a specified time tops the list at Fridays. The bar staff at TGI Fridays provides both the showmanship needed to command a premium price. Work teams and information sharing are the building blocks of employee empowerment. Empowered employees own their jobs; can assess their personal and corporate success. The purpose of empowerment is often to cultivate confidence between employers and employees with the end goal of continuous improvement (Khan, 1997; Lawson, 2000). Workplace know-how is a combination of the foundation skills and the workplace competencies. The competencies cannot be achieved without a strong base; but the two can-and should-be learned simultaneously. Employees are expected to control themselves internally by being nice, cheerful, smiling and courteous to customers even when the customer is rude and offensive (Royle, 2000). The performance of the unit is measured by a system known as a WinCard. 4.2.11 The WIN Card: TGI Fridays used wincard which stands for Whitbread in Numbers scorecard. This is a communication tool that helps in bolster the performance. It uses the scorecard approach. Wincard measures a common set of scores across each unit, brand and at a group level. This enables employees to know better what they are doing and ensure that all employees are working towards the same company goal. It provides a reliable, tangible way of both motivating them individually and as a unit and identifying key areas for improvement. This tracks performance on a monthly basis against the agreed target and an in-store wall chart which display to employees the year- to- date results and monthly results via a color coding system. A traffic light system measures these scores. Green measures a result if the performance is better than the anticipated performance. Amber measures a performance that is better than last year but worse than the anticipated financial plan. Red signifies a performance that is just getting worse. 4.2.12 Guest Feedback: Guest Feedback is an important component of TQM. Hospitality businesses do conduct these surveys to get hands on information about the customers experience. The questions asked are about the customer sense of well-being and the experience as an individual. These questions measure the emotional attachment of the guest with the brand. Companies like TGI Fridays gain the feedback and ideas of their associate through these surveys. They empower their employees and they in turn try to score highly in guest and employee satisfaction surveys. It is a win-win situation. The recognition identifies the optimistic approach of the company. At Fridays, recognition comes in different varieties ranging from the award of eye-catching pin badges to trips abroad for high performing management teams. 4.3 Customer Relation Management: In todays increasingly competitive market, it has become increasingly difficult for businesses to remain competitive. With an increase in competition, organizations are focusing more and more on increasing customer satisfaction, as it is the key to remain competitive in the market. In restaurant operations, such as TGI Fridays, it is projected that new customers cost 11 times more to generate than repeat customers (Sellers, 1990). These economic points of views for empowerment further reinforce claims that employee turnover and bureaucratic control systems will decrease operating costs. Quality is a strategic issue and many aspects of quality management entail strategic thinking within the organization about their customers and their requirements. The value of long term relationships in services marketing has only recently been known. External environments can alter rapidly and companies may not be able to change accordingly (Zacharakis et al, 1999). Employees at TG

Strategic Management: Many Schools of Thought :: managers, management, business,

Management plays a significant role in how business operates. Strategic management has improved tremendously the last forty years. The diversity of approaches to the theoretical and practical background of management has come up with versions of what is meant by such key words as management and organization. The academia views expressed in relation to management theories take a different role than that prescribed to managers. Though there are several schools of thought ten dictate the current thinking on strategy. It ranges from the early stage of design and planning schools to the current cultural, learning and environmental Schools. The design school turns to examine Strategy formation as achieving and creating a match between the internal strength, weakness and the external threats and opportunities of the firm. It was based on the formulation of strategy from a deliberate process that was not formal nor informal, analytical nor intuitive. Within an era of dynamic change, it was unable to keep up to the pace and eventually further research started in trying to address its shortcomings The planning school Alongside the design school, the planning school grew in the strategic field. It is quite similar to the design school but argued that the formulation process of strategy was formal. It was grounded on the systems theory of the social sciences The positioning school In Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, meaning is given to strategy from a military point of view. It’s the representation of his work that is applied in firms in industries and in the evolution of the value chain analysis and the game theories. Drawing on military history and industrial organisational economies, its main theme was to analyse. Basically, it’s all about the facts and nothing but the fact. However, critics of this school contend that strategy is just positions through a formal way in which something is placed in relation to its surrounding The entrepreneurial school Not actually based on any discipline, some of its writings were borrowed from economics. Its strategic ideas was deeply rooted in intuition, moving strategy to an entirely new field of not clearly expressed vision though the concept of a leader with a vision was making grounds at that time. The cognitive School This school of thought saw strategic development as a mental process. It seeks to find out what occurs in the mind of strategists from a psychological point of view. If the strategy models developed in the minds of people, can we get to know how these minds function.

Should Nurses Disclose Hiv Status Health And Social Care Essay

Globally human life is exposed to a premier threat of deathly HIV virus which has halted 35 million people to decease and 34 million were populating with HIV boulder clay 2011. In the recent epoch, augmented figure of I.V drug users, insecure blood transfusion and multiple sex spouses are considered high hazards for HIV transmittal, on the contrary fright of stigmatisation, deficiency of credence in the community and effects on sexual relationship are some critical factors which hinder revelation of HIV position and advancing rapid spread of HIV among vulnerable people. Continuing the secretiveness of HIV position means endangering others life. Should the septic one hazard the life of others? I assert that unwraping HIV position to sexual spouses and household will diminish hazard of HIV transmittal, better entree to medical intervention and increased chances to societal and moral support for the patient. Advocates argue that the foremost of import benefit of unwraping HIV position to sexual spouse and household is to cut down the hazard of transmittal. Although to make up one's mind when and how to portion the dismaying HIV positive position is hard but after the revelation, sexual spouses and household members become watchful to cognize their ain HIV position. To command HIV epidemics, Voluntary HIV proving and unwraping can efficaciously cut down hazard behaviours among vulnerable persons ( WHO, 2004 ) . Besides that, the most dynamic effect of Sharing HIV position with sexual spouse is involvement in preventative sexual behaviour. Sexual spouse become interested to cognize the different path of HIV transmittal to follow preventative schemes. We know that despite of the singular promotion in the field of medicine no vaccinums are available for HIV. However, the merely defensive tool is to affect the vulnerable population in precautional behaviours. Research based literatures have c oncluded that after unwraping HIV position the most frequent preventative behaviour followed by testing is addition in the usage of rubbers ( Lauretta et al, 2010 ) . Furthermore, in the survey of Niccolai, Dorst, Myer & A ; Kissinger ( 1999, as cited in Lauretta et al. , 2010 ) it was concluded that the usage of rubber among those who havenaa‚Â ¬a„?t unwrap their HIV position to sexual spouse was about 23 % comparison to 73 % among those who have disclosed. The advocates besides claim that unwraping HIV increase the inclination towards better intervention chances. Normally in our ain cultural context after sharing any alarming diagnosing, non merely patient but customarily his close relations remain in battle to place such intervention centre which is easy accessible and cost effectual. Besides, those who have already suffered from the same disease shared their experiences and battles for intervention which become helpful in designation of different agencies to acquire rid of the disease. During my clinical in civil infirmary Karachi, I have encountered two HIV positive immature patients. The parents of both patients knew the diagnosing and the male parent of one patient despite of limited income shifted his boy to Aga khan university infirmary for quality intervention. Certain intervention like HAART therapy if received in initial phase can cut down the lay waste toing consequence of HIV virus. HAART therapy decreases the patterned adv ance of HIV to AIDS by 86 % ( Sterne et al. , 2005 ) . Early designation, revelation and entree to intervention are good for the better forecast of any disease. Instrumental, informational, emotional and fiscal advantages can be achieved to better entree to medicine through unwraping HIV position to supportive web ( Waddell & A ; Messeri, 2006 ) . In the survey of Waddell & A ; Messeri ( 2006 ) it was concluded that those who did non concealed their HIV positive position from any family member the average odds of intervention was 0.64 with a high support while those who did non unwrap their Status the average odds of intervention was 0.21. In add-on, different researches have proved the relationship between the effectivity of antiretroviral therapies and HIV forecast. About 80 % of patients are now alive 10 old ages after sero-conversion due to ART ( Oppenheim, 2009 ) . HIV marks CD4 immune cells of the organic structure finally decreases the opposition power of the organic structur e and the rate of timeserving infections like Tuberculosis ( TB ) addition. Preventing the patient signifier these timeserving infections can better life quality of HIV persons. In 2010 among 34 million instances of HIV worldwide, 1.1 million instances in sub-Saharan Africa were estimated holding HIV related TB ( Suthar et al. , 2010 ) . To command the overpowering effects of HIV /AIDS revelation facilitate entree to the support commissions. There are different organisations in different states working for bettering the life criterion of HIV patients, for illustration Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association ( 2008 ) supply aid to 300 HIV single yearly in the signifier of money, medicine, occupations, lodging, and instruction in Alaska ( USA ) . Unwraping HIV position seems helpful to acquire societal and emotional support from household. Not unwraping oneaa‚Â ¬a„?s HIV position is striping patient from psychological support which is possible to be achieved through revelation. Family members, friends and equal group become more sort and credence is increased. While believing about and protecting self from the negative reaction ( e.g. favoritism, rejection, and stigmatisation ) from the community, HIV patient attempt to maintain their position secrete with a fright that if my household come to cognize about the diagnosings what will be the effects? It becomes the cause of societal isolation and produces bad impacts like emphasis, depression and low self-pride. But revelation increases societal support, household credence and beef up relationships between patients and household ( WHO, 2004 ) . These positive attacks from the household non merely cut down stress degree but besides the instrumental, moral and fiscal support from household increases the degree of self-esteem. The important others of the HIV positive patient facilitate induction and attachment to HIV intervention. Harmonizing to Norman, Chopra & A ; Kadiyala ( 2006 ) revelation of HIV position can enable the activation of household or community support web and cut down morbidity through better psychological direction. Oppositions argue that HIV position of patient should non be disclosed because unwraping the diagnosing consequences in stigmatisation and patients feel fright of rejection in household and community. Furthermore, oppositions besides claim that HIV positive patients are discriminated in the society, their rights of confidentiality are violated and revelation to sexual spouse affects sexual relationship. Due to the mentioned grounds oppositions support to maintain the diagnosing in secretiveness. Protecting others from catching disease is ethical and moral duty of every person. To diminish the opposition and increase credence of HIV positive patient, cumulative attempt are needed to convey a drastic alteration in people perception through verbally pass oning guidance and through engagement of media. As a nurse it is our premier duty to aware the people about HIV and alter the perceptual experience of people about HIV persons. Oppositions besides argue that revelation consequence sexual relationship but one time the position is shared with the sexual spouse does non intend that sexual activities can non be continued any longer. There are alternate preventative steps like usage of rubbers and serosorting to forestall the hazard of transmittal. In peculiar survey HIV positive drug users after sharing their position with their sexual spouses they were experiencing more comfy and relax with a lower anxiousness degree about HIV transmittal ( Julianne, Daniel, Sarah & A ; Tinal, 200 5 ) . Evidences exist that reding can assist to increase the frequence of revelation to sexual spouse. The effects of guidance was evaluated by a cohort surveies with the result of 56-65 % revelation rate among those who attended six reding session comparison to those who attended three Sessionss and did non unwrap their position ( Scaly et al. , 2012 ) . To reason, being the member of a wellness attention squad we can play a function of pedagogue, counsellor, and advocate. We can cut down the incidence of HIV transmittal by bettering the degree of instruction to allow the people know the path of its transmittal and bar. Today as a nurse we can play function to urge such policies which could cut down the stigma and demand to ease HIV persons morally, emotionally, and socially to guarantee more revelation of HIV position.

Opportunities Challenges Associated Ehealth Australia Health And Social Care Essay

The intent of this paper is to measure and pull out the chances and challenges associated with the use of e-health in Australia. The important alterations in people ‘s life style in recent old ages have raised legion desires to accomplish and limited clip to carry through them in a twenty-four hours. Today from directing mail to telling nutrient, all is done through electronic media sitting at place. Similarly, the wellness concerns are besides solved by the usage of E-health which is electronic wellness system. However, there are different challenges like, fiscal, societal, proficient and legal which are hinderance in the growing and acceptance of E-health system in Australia. The literature indicates the important countries in which the people of Australia are bringing the benefits of the E-health. However, the most of import concern for hereafter of E-health is fiscal support by the authorities which will speed up acceptance of the engineering. Recent old ages have seen a important alteration in people ‘s life style and in order to pull off the basic comfortss one has to work twenty-four hours and dark. In such competitory and scheduled scenario where every minute utilized is counted, people are happening speedy methods to pull off life. Today from directing mail to telling nutrient, all is done through electronic media sitting at place or office. The 24 hours of the twenty-four hours seems to be deficient for completing the work and the inauspicious effects of this busy life consequences in terrible wellness jobs. However, it can be observed that the people sing the infirmary, medical clinic and pathology for assignments to run into the physicians has significantly decreased. The ground for this drastic alteration is the engineering, which has brought a revolution in the wellness sector.Moreover, with the debut of cyberspace the universe seems to be captured in one thaumaturgy box and the words like mail, commerciali sm, wellness are now known as e-mail, e-commerce and e-health. Harmonizing to Maeder ( 2008 ) , e-Health is defined as the technological system with scope of information with systematic communicating for people and tools deployed in health care applications, including package systems for wellness informations direction and processing, computing machine assisted clinical procedure and determination support systems, and systems interoperability constituents. Furthermore, with the rise in the cyberspace users it is noticed that clients now straight entree health care related information over the web as a consequence of which the issues and solutions related with medical specialty, medical informations are available on finger tips. Furthermore, in Australia the National E-Health Transition Authority ( NEHTA ) promises to develop criterions and substructure for interrelated wellness sector, clinical informations criterions for the exchange of clinical information, national criterions to uniquely identify patients, suppliers, merchandises and services and unafraid electronic transportation of information across the wellness sector ( Robinson et al. 2005 ) . This revolution in the wellness sector due to electronic media will supply possible chances and benefits to many people. However, the benefits are hindered by several challenges that include privateness and security of information, technological inefficiency and fiscal scarceness. The intent of this paper is to measure and pull out the chances and challenges associated with use of e-health in Australia. This preliminary reappraisal will research the possible benefits for patients, wellness experts and wellness organisations every bit good as the possible barriers and issues related to e-health use in Australia. 2. Australia: background and context Australia is the universe ‘s largest island and smallest continent. It is besides the driest inhabited continent, and features a broad scope of climatic zones. Today, Australia is place to an estimated 20.3 million people. Australia is a comfortable state with an established capitalist economic system and the overall Australian population is one of the healthiest when compared internationally ( Glover, Hetzel & A ; Tennant 2008 ) . Furthermore, Australia is a developed state equipped with advanced engineering and important research in medical specialty which marks a planetary impact about its wellness sector. 2.1. Health sector in Australia The wellness sector in Australia is governed by public and private organisations. The public organisations are supported by the Government. Harmonizing to Li et Al. ( 2008 ) Australia has a complex wellness system, with patients treated in both the populace and private sectors and in urban, regional, rural and distant countries. Furthermore, wellness service suppliers include general and specialist medical and nursing practicians, other wellness professionals, hospital staff, community wellness workers, druggists. In add-on, the Australian authorities provides chronic and complex conditions, electronic wellness records, and improved safety and quality of infirmary attention ; and better national wellness information ( Glover, Hetzel & A ; Tennant 2008 ) .Furthermore, the new engineerings and research in the medical field has raised important chances related to the use of e-health. 3. Potential chances associated with use of E-health in Australia To speed up the acceptance of an electronic wellness information system across Australia and to develop user specifications, criterions and substructure necessary for an interrelated wellness sector, National e-health Transition Authority ( NeHTA ) has taken major stairss in forming the medical system accurately. Furthermore, Australian Governments approved $ 130 million to present a alone wellness attention designation figure for all persons, a alone designation figure for every wellness attention professional, and a common linguistic communication for wellness communications and to computerise the general pattern for the success of communicating web across the wellness attention system ( Robinson et al. 2005 ) .Furthermore, it is to be noticed that Australian wellness sector is a wide endeavor and is turning with the support from the authorities, as a consequence of this the possible benefits to people, wellness experts and wellness organisations will significantly alter the mental ity of the hereafter wellness attention system. 3.1. Benefits to patient The engineering has flourished the present wellness sector in Australia and the patients are blessed with benefits like easy entree to the studies, medical specialties etc. Maeder ( 2008 ) draws the attending towards the elaborate information system which will supply the patients with prescribed intervention, inauspicious reactions to drugs or therapies, understanding activities of day-to-day life and modifying bad wonts besides it will move as personal monitoring device. Furthermore, Ray ( 2006 ) stresses that the electronic wellness records ( EHR ) will assist patients routinely sing multiple health care suppliers. Similarly, EHR will besides assist each health care supplier to hold an integrated position of the patient ‘s health care position based on an collection of all the patient records. Therefore, these records will give a proper overview of the patient ‘s wellness and will cut down the load of interchanging the information from different health care supplier. Fu rthermore, e-health has driven people towards healthier life with information about yoga, dieting and workout tips that are easy available on web sites. In add-on, medical insurances are besides purchased and renewed utilizing web sites like Medibank, Medicare in Australia. However, the wellness experts like physicians, general practicians are happening this engineering really utile with regard to managing information about the patients. 3.2. Prospects for wellness experts The general practician in Australia seems excessively positive with the usage of computing machine for keeping the patient ‘s information. The history of the disease that a patient is enduring and the medicine that is advised can be fetched from the system which reduces the load of paper work. On the other manus patients excessively have less tenseness of maintaining all the records and they visit the physicians with positive head. Furthermore, Maeder ( 2008 ) emphasizes that E-health tools are progressing human apprehension and interaction every bit good as it supports collaborative activities like statistical sum-ups and graphical show for studies, multiparty conferencing bundles, and tele wellness patient scrutiny applications. Ray ( 2006 ) draws that wellness experts can overview the sum-up of interventions received, consequences from blood trials or X raies and discharge referrals in the Health Link system. Similarly, the benefits of electronic wellness record over the pap er record is its usage enables improved information flow, improved communicating between wellness practicians across different wellness attention scenes, easier entree to medical files, improved issue of prescriptions, and determination support therefore the Australian Government has recognized these advantages, and, through the Department of Health and Ageing, provides financess to the General Practice Computing Group ( Robinson et al. 2005 ) .However, Henderson, Britt & A ; Miller ( 2006 ) argues that medical record used lacks the specificity to find the sum or type of patient information being stored in the computing machine and each physician has a duty to protect his patient ‘s involvement in footings of the privateness of their EHR. 3.3. Aid to infirmaries and wellness organisations The infirmaries and wellness organisations in Australia are divided in public and private sectors with the duty to keep healthy environment in the state. The authorities supports this sector and warrants proper wellness attention to the people.The E-health system has united these organisations to work consistently and co-ordinate with each other which has resulted in clip and cost nest eggs. The engineering has proved easy for infirmaries to reassign and keep patient ‘s information. The infirmaries know the sort of experts present in the other wellness attention organisations and advice the patients to see that topographic point from the system which connect to cardinal database. The squad meetings utilizing video-conferencing engineering are assisting the experts and organisations to work out the critical instances from one topographic point diminishing the long distance travel ( Ray 2006 ) . The wellness direction package ‘s have helped the infirmaries to keep the subst ructure and paysheet. The wellness attention devices like X-ray, CT scan, computing machine aided imaging, endoscopy are supplying speedy methods for analysis of single wellness and the information files are saved in the database for future mention. 4. Challenges associated with use of E-health in Australia The information system has given human society handiness and easiness to manage multiple things at one clip.However, the duty to procure the critical statistics has increased to heighten the quality of wellness informations.The hinderance to E-health systems are substructure, fiscal support to keep the systems, deficiency of proficient experts, societal acceptableness etc. The support from Australian authorities to wellness organisations is still deficient to function the mass. Maeder ( 2008 ) draws the important challenges like cost and demands of chronic diseases like malignant neoplastic disease, diabetes with worsening size and capableness of the professional work force in the wellness attention sector. 4.1. Fiscal Issues The Australian work force mostly depends on the skilled immigrants from other states. The cost for the intervention of diseases like malignant neoplastic disease, cardiovascular etc are really high and the equipments for supervising them is an extra load to the organisations. Second a major issue is the demand for systemic battle with quality and safety betterments which requires excess fiscal support ( Ray 2006 ) .Moreover, Robinson et Al. ( 2005 ) draws that accidental or unwilled revelation of patient ‘s information constitute breach of privateness, loss of wellness insurance and fiscal harm. Harmonizing to Anderson ( 2007 ) a major barrier to execution of EMRs and other clinical IT applications is the primary costs which are really high and the care of the system in add-on which consequences diffident final payments to doctors. 4.2. Technical hurdlings The down clip and clangs are the footings which are common with computing machine engineering and the dependability on systems for storage and endorse up of the information is ever on high precedence therefore the wellness experts have less faith on the engineering and they keep records in paper excessively ( Henderson, Britt & A ; Miller 2006 ) . Li et Al. ( 2008 ) draws that the engineering back uping distributed medical squad depends on apprehension of the human computing machine interaction involved in the engineering. Furthermore, the deficiency of assurance in general practicians towards computing machine systems because of inability to type rapidly, less cognition about package are issues in acceptance of engineering in the wellness sector ( Henderson, Britt & A ; Miller 2006 ) .The immense volume of informations generated by multichannel supervising device provides many proficient challenges like informations transportation, storage and entree. In add-on, it requires appropri ate package to supply analysis, comparing and reading of the informations ( Maeder 2008 ) .The security of the information is besides a country of concern for the proficient experts while implementing the package and proper preparation to be provided to the user. However, Ray ( 2006 ) draws that in Australia the criterions like HL7 seek to procure the transmittal of the informations and supply terminal to stop security demands. 4.3. Cultural and Social Confront The development of engineering has brought assorted positive facets like comfort, clip nest eggs etc but on the other side it has raised the menace to the single privateness. The common people are cognizant of the benefits of the terminal devices and least bothered about the security. The breach of information by authorised users of electronic wellness records is an ethical affair which sends a incorrect moving ridge among people about the new systems ( Robinson et al. 2005 ) . Furthermore, the privateness related to the patient ‘s record is addressed and signed before utilizing it for other instance surveies in Australia ( Li et al. 2008 ) .However ; in Australia the Government enterprises to propagate the cognition refering the security and privateness of informations are a positive measure in the way for acceptance of E-health ( Ray 2006 ) . 4.4. Law and policy obstructions The security and privateness in E-health systems are non as per the statute laws criterions of Australia which is a menace to hereafter of wellness sector ( Robinson et al. 2005 ) . The E-health system has many benefits for the patients and society nevertheless ; the privateness concerns are going legal issues with the wellness attention organisations ( Ray 2006 ) . Harmonizing to the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 ( NSW ) , wellness information must non be disclosed to anyone other than the patient and physician. However, the wellness attention suppliers must take the permission from the patient for revelation of the confidential information for the intent of survey or work outing same instance. In failure of such conditions will ensue in menace to the involvement of people for illustration, describing catching diseases to the appropriate wellness organisation ( Robinson et al. 2005 ) . Legal barriers to E-health acceptance exist in Australia, Torahs sing fraud and maltreatment, antimonopoly rational belongings and province licensing has developed a cloud of uncertainness for wellness attention suppliers to implement the engineering ( Anderson 2007 ) . 5. Decisions Finally, this study has explored current thoughts in the field of E-health acceptance in Australia concentrating in chances and challenges. The wellness sector in Australia is supported by the Government and is booming with the technological development. The different subdivisions in Australia like patients, wellness experts and wellness attention organisations are deriving the benefits from the new system. Additionally, the improved methods have given physicians a tool to manage critical wellness issues and diseases in more structured manner. Equally far as challenges are concerned, there are issues related to societal and fiscal sectors. The major hurdle is with proficient cognition which is an indispensable factor to drive the electronic wellness strategy. However, the current wellness direction has its legal barriers which are to be implemented with the engineering for societal security and privateness. The literature indicates the important countries in which the people of Australia are bringing the benefits of the E-health. However, the most of import concern for hereafter of E-health is fiscal support by the authorities which will speed up acceptance of the engineering. Furthermore, the extra barriers will merely be removed with the inclusion of greater security of medical informations to convert practicians and patients.

Diagnosis of the Patient

Diagnosis of the Patient The diagnosis of the patient in the case scenario is done based on the five different dimensions of the DSM-IV-TR (fourth edition, text revision).Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Diagnosis of the Patient specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Available literature demonstrates that the five-part ‘axis’ system of the DSM-IV-TR is the mostly used criteria for diagnosing mental illnesses in the United States as it provides a more comprehensive assessment of a client’s level of functioning, based on the premise that mental illnesses often affect many different life areas (Warelow Holmes, 2011). The diagnosis of the patient is made as follows: Axis 1 This axis illustrates clinical syndromes that cause considerable impairment to the patient (Warelow Holmes, 2011). One of the most prevalent clinical syndromes demonstrated by the patient is 296.4 Bipolar 1 Disorder. The justification for diagnosing the pa tient as having this syndrome is based on the fact that the primary symptom presentation of Bipolar 1 Disorder is manic, characterized by a distinct period of an elevated mood, which often assumes the form of euphoria (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). It is indeed true that the patient meets the full criteria for a manic episode not only due to her abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, and irritable mood (extremely angry at her sons and the psychiatrist), but also due to the fact that she demonstrates these symptoms: Inflated self-esteem and grandiosity (asked the psychiatrist if she was attractive enough to capture a 25-year old man), Decreased need for sleep (patient felt refreshed after only 3 hours of sleep, More talkative than usual (patient was over talkative and repeatedly refused the psychiatrist to disrupt her with questions), and Excessive involvement in pleasurable activities that have a high potential for painful ramifications (patient engaged in spen ding sprees, sexual indiscretions with a 25-year old man) (American Psychiatric Association, 2000; Gray, 2011; Yatham et al., 2009). It is important to note that the manic-like episode demonstrated by the patient is evidently not triggered by somatic antidepressant drugs or therapies since the patient was not on any medication. Additionally, the patient does not have a history of drug or alcohol abuse (Gray, 2011). Consequently, the manic-like episode demonstrated by the patient counts toward a valid diagnosis of Bipolar 1 Disorder. Axis 2 Available literature demonstrates that this axis assesses permanent problems that are often overlooked in the presence of Axis I disorders, such as mental retardation and personality disorders (Warelow Holmes, 2011). The patient cannot be diagnosed with mental retardation as she does not exhibit any cognitive impairment, not mentioning that she does not show marked deficits in other critical spheres of life, such as self-care and interpersonal s kills (Yatham et al, 2009). However, the patient can be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder, characterized by the presence of irritability and impulsivity. Indeed, it can be argued that her frequent mood disturbance is considerably severe to trigger a marked impairment in her social functioning, particularly in terms of her social relationships with others (American Psychiatric Association, 2000).Advertising Looking for assessment on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Axis 3 This extensive axis includes physical and medical conditions (e.g., diabetes, hypertension, HIV/AIDS, physical injury and brain damage) that may manipulate or aggravate Axis 1 and Axis II disorders noted in the patient (Warelow Holmes, 2011). The patient has no physical or medical conditions that can be reported under Axis 3 criteria since she appears correctly oriented in all areas. Axis 4 Available literature demonstrates t hat any non-clinical, albeit medically significant, stressors that have the capacity to impact Axis 1 or Axis II disorders are included and evaluated in this axis (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). The fact that the patient lost her husband six months ago is a psychosocial problem that could have triggered the frequent mood disturbance exhibited by the patient, leading to the clinical syndrome of Bipolar 1 Disorder. Axis 5 This axis, which is commonly referred to as the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) in DSM-IV-TR, basically serves as an indication of the evaluating psychiatrist’s opinion of the patient’s capability to function in daily life. Extant literature demonstrates that the GAF is calibrated on a 100 point scale, which evaluates the functioning of the patient on three important spheres of life – psychological, social and occupational (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). The patient’s GAF is at 49 â€Å"current†, implying that the demonstrated symptoms lead to antisocial behavior and social dysfunction (Warelow Holmes, 2011). The allocated GAF score is reached at based on the following justifications. The patient is still functional occupationally as can be seen by her volunteer work in the local hospital. However, her normal psychological functioning is hampered by her inflated self-esteem, irritable mood, grandiosity, and anger. Her social functioning is also hampered by the presence of antisocial personality disorder as well as excessive involvement in pleasurable activities that have a high probability for inflicting painful consequences (Yatham et al., 2009). These observations, in my view, demonstrate marked culpability in antisocial behavior and social dysfunction, necessitating a GAF score of 49 â€Å"current†. A GAF score of between 41 and 60 demonstrates that the relational unit has occasional times of satisfying and competent functioning together, but obviously the relationship is dysfunctional and the unproductive social, psychological or occupational relationships appear to prevail (American Psychiatric Association, 2000)Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Diagnosis of the Patient specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Possible uses and Misuses of Diagnosis One of the most important uses of the diagnostic manual is that it leads to proper treatment. The symptoms presented by the patient can lead to a misdiagnosis if proper care is not taken to classify them and note their variations. Owing to the classification done in Axis 1, it is clear that the patient suffers from Bipolar I disorder due to the manic episodes. Such a diagnosis will ensure that the patient is given the correct treatment for the variant of Bipolar Disorder she is suffering from instead of generalizing the symptoms (Gray, 2011). The second use of the diagnostic manual in this case scenario is that it helps clinicians and psychi atrists define societal limits for acceptable behavior. The elevated behaviors exhibited by the patient, particularly the sexual indiscretions with a 25-year old man and unchecked spending habits, have been clearly labeled as socially unacceptable and valid symptoms of a clinical disorder (Yatham et al., 2009). Third, it can be argued that the diagnostic manual assists clinicians and psychiatrists to advance research, particularly in the broad area of mental illnesses and their comorbid conditions (Gray, 2011). For instance, the axial categorization done on the case scenario has demonstrated that there is a possibility for antisocial personality disorder occurring together with the primary condition of Bipolar I disorder. Extant literature demonstrates that such knowledge will lead to better treatment outcomes for patients suffering from psychiatric and mental disorders (Gray, 2011). Furthermore, it can be argued that the use of the diagnostic manual helps clinicians and psychiatris ts to communicate with each other and achieve validity in their diagnosis. For instance, it is possible for another psychiatrist evaluating the patient using the DSM-IV-TR to come up with the same diagnosis due to standardization of routines and processes. This is a plus for the medical profession as it does not only create standardized procedures and processes for handling medical problems, but also provides the capacity for the development of common language that can be used by professionals to discuss diagnoses (Gray, 2011).Advertising Looking for assessment on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In disadvantages, it is evident that the bias of the assessing psychiatrist or clinician can lead to wrong diagnosis. There always exist the twin challenges of possible stigmatization and stereotyping of individuals with mental or psychiatric conditions. For instance, the society can view the patient in the case negatively for engaging in sexual activities with people young enough to be her children. Cultural beliefs and taboos also trigger the stigmatization and stereotyping of people with mental/psychiatric conditions (Gray, 2011). Lastly, the diagnostic manual has been criticized for lack of reliability, particularly in situations where symptoms for various medical conditions overlap (Gray, 2011). Treatment Option Most patients suffering from Bipolar 1 Disorder with demonstrated manic episodes are exposed to ‘mood stabilizers’, especially lithium and sodium valproate, to prevent relapses of further episodes. The anticonvulsants sodium valproate and valproate semisodi um are more effective than lithium and have marketing authorization in most Western countries for the treatment of manic episodes in the context of Bipolar I Disorder. The major ingredient which makes the anticonvulsants effective in the treatment of manic episodes is the valproate ion, but studies demonstrate that the element is associated with an enhanced risk of neural tube defects and fetus developmental problems during pregnancy (The British Psychological Society, 2006). However, it can be administered safely to the patient since she is in her post-menopausal age. Other interventions, including social support, family interventions, psychoeducation and cognitive behavior therapy, should also be used. References American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fourth edition: DSM-IV-TR. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association. Gray, S.W. (2011). Competency-based assessments in mental health practice: Cases and practical app lications. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. The British Psychological Society. (2006). Bipolar disorder: The management of bipolar disorder in adults, children and adolescents, in primary and secondary care. London: Alden Press. Retrieved from https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/CG38 Warelow, P., Holmes, C.A. (2011). Deconstructing the DSM-IV-TR: A critical perspective. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 20(6), 383-391. Yatham, L.N., Kauer-Sant’Anna, M., Bond, D.J., Lam., R.W., Torres, I. (2009). Course and outcome after the first manic episode in patients with Bipolar Disorder: Prospective 12-month data from the systematic treatment optimization program for early mania project. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 54(2), 105-112.

The Progression of Film Essays

The Progression of Film Essays The Progression of Film Essay The Progression of Film Essay and always in the positive tense. What makes subliminal messaging so effective to the mind is that because they directly target the subconscious, they experience no resistance from the conscious mind (eruptingmind). In the 1950s the first accuring subliminal messages were delicious buttery popcorn and cold refreshments that appeared just quick enough that it could reach your subsconcious mind. What a coincedence that these specific images were shown, with a conviently placed reshreshment stand near by. For reasons unknown, the Disney movies have created virtually unoticable inuendos promoting sexual subjects. Many question why these crude things are scattered through the media directed towards youthful audiences. This sparks worry that maybe modern motion pictures have taken a turn for the worse. Why would advertisement take advantage of the population? Possibly to make a profit. So if the production campanies are primarily interested in the net profit, and now advertisement has stepped in attepting to capatilize off the viewers as well, has film truly changed for the better or worse? Did this simple idea of entertainment snow ball into a money hungered multi-billion dollar industry? Some would admit theyve lost hope and no-longer see the positives of motion pictures anymore. Yet others are hopeful, and excited to see whats next in the world of film. One can only hope another cinematic revolution changes things for the better.

How to Write Perfect ApplyTexas Essays

How to Write Perfect ApplyTexas Essays SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The ApplyTexas college application contains many essay prompts, and each of the most popular colleges in Texas has different requirements for which essays they expect applicants to answer. So how do you get advice on writing your best ApplyTexas essays, no matter which school you're applying to? Look no further than this article, which completely unpacks all possible ApplyTexas essay prompts. We'll explain what each prompt is looking for and what admissions officers are hoping to learn about you. In addition, we'll give you our top strategies for ensuring that your essay meets all these expectations, and help you come up with your best essay topics. To help you navigate this long guide, here is an overview of what we'll be talking about: What Are the ApplyTexas Essays? Comparing ApplyTexas Essay Prompts A, B, and C Dissecting ApplyTexas Essay Topic A Dissecting ApplyTexas Essay Topic B Dissecting ApplyTexas Essay Topic C Dissecting ApplyTexas Essay Topic D Dissecting the UT and Texas AM Short Answer Prompts Briefly: ApplyTexas Essay Topic E (Transfer Students) What Are the ApplyTexas Essays? The ApplyTexas application is basically the Texas version of the Common Application, which many US colleges use. It's a unified college application process that's accepted by all Texas public universities and many private ones. (Note that some schools that accept ApplyTexas also accept the Common App.) The ApplyTexas website is a good source for figuring out whether your target college accepts the ApplyTexas application. That said, the best way to confirm exactly what your school expects is to go to its admissions website. Why Do Colleges Want You to Write Essays? Admissions officers are trying to put together classes full of interesting, vibrant students who have different backgrounds, strengths, weaknesses, goals, and dreams. One tool colleges use to identify a diverse set of perspectives is the college essay. These essays are a chance for you to show admissions officers those sides of yourself that aren’t reflected in the rest of your application. This is where you describe where you've come from, what you believe in, what you value, and what has shaped you. This is also where you make yourself sound mature and insightful- two key qualities that colleges are looking for in applicants. These are important because colleges want to find young people who will ultimately thrive when faced with the independence of college life. Filling a freshman class is like dealing with those Every-Flavor jelly beans from Harry Potter : admissions just wants to make sure to avoid the ones that taste like earwax. ApplyTexas Essay Requirements There are four essay prompts on the ApplyTexas application for freshman admission (Topics A, B, C, and D). There are also several short answer prompts for UT Austin and Texas AM, as well as an additional Topic E for transfer students. While there are no strict word limits, colleges usually suggest keeping the essays somewhere between one and one and a half pages long. All Texas colleges and universities have different application requirements, including the essays. Some schools require essays, some list them as optional, and others use a combination of required and optional essays. Several schools use the essays to determine scholarship awards, honors program eligibility, or admission to specific majors. Here are some essay submission requirement examples from a range of Texas schools: UT Austin You are required to write an essay on Topic A You also have to answer three short answer prompts If you're applying for an art/art history, architecture, nursing, or social work major, you'll have to write a short answer specific to your major UT Austin also accepts the Coalition App Texas AM You are required to write an essay on Topic A If you're an engineering major, you'll have to write a short answer Texas AM also accepts the Coalition App Southern Methodist University You must write an essay on Topic A You may (but do not have to) write an essay on Topic B SMU also accepts the Common App and Coalition App and has its own online application, so you have the option to pick and choose the application you want to fill out Texas Christian University You have to write one essay, but it can be on any of the topics (A, B, or C) TCU also accepts the Common App and has its own online application, so it's another school for which you can choose the application you want to use Dazzled by her options, she was overcome with hopeful optimism. And cuteness. Want to write the perfect college application essay? Get professional help from PrepScholar. Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We'll learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the end, you'll have a unique essay that you'll proudly submit to your top choice colleges. Don't leave your college application to chance. Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now: Comparing ApplyTexas Essay Prompts A, B, and C There are three ApplyTexas essay topics that try to get to the heart of what makes you the person you are in three different ways. But since Topics A, B, and C all focus on things that are essential to you as a person, it can be difficult to come up with a totally unique idea for each- especially since on a first read-through, these prompts can sound really similar. Before I dissect all of the ApplyTexas essay prompts, let’s see how A, B, and C differ from one another. You can then keep these differences in mind as you try to think of topics to write about. ApplyTexas Prompts Here are the most recent prompts for Topics A, B, and C on the ApplyTexas application. Topic A Tell us your story. What unique opportunities or challenges have you experienced throughout your high school career that have shaped who you are today? Topic B Most students have an identity, an interest, or a talent that defines them in an essential way. Tell us about yourself. Topic C You've got a ticket in your hand- where will you go? What will you do? What will happen when you get there? How to Tell Topics A, B, and C Apart One helpful way to keep these topics separate in your mind is to create a big-picture category for each one: Topic A is outside, Topic B is inside, and Topic C is the future. In other words, Topic A is asking about the impact of challenges or opportunities on you, and how you handled that impact. On the other hand, Topic B is asking about your inner passions and how these define you. Finally, Topic C wants to know where you're going from here. These very broad categories will help as you brainstorm ideas and life experiences you can use for your essay. Although many of the stories you think of can be shaped to fit each of these prompts, think about what the experience most reveals about you. If it’s about how your external community shaped you, that'd probably be a good fit for Topic A. If it’s a story about your passions, save it for Topic B. If it’s primarily about an event that you think predicts your future, it'll likely work well for Topic C. That time a spilled crate of stuffed frogs made you want to learn everything there is to know about French cooking? Probably Topic C. Dissecting ApplyTexas Essay Topic A Now, I will do a thorough deconstruction of everything you need to know about Topic A, the first ApplyTexas essay prompt. The Prompt Tell us your story. What unique opportunities or challenges have you experienced throughout your high school career that have shaped who you are today? What’s the Prompt Asking and How Should You Answer It? This prompt wants to see how your external environment as a high school student has shaped you. You can tell from the fact that the prompt uses the phrase "your story" that it wants to know what you believe has had the biggest impact on you. Step 1: Describe Your Environment The first part of the prompt is about identifying and describing specific experiences you've had as a high school student. You don't want your essay coming across too vague, so make sure you're focusing on one or two specific experiences. The prompt suggests zeroing in on something "unique," or something that has impacted you in a way it hasn't impacted anyone else. You'll want to choose some aspect of your environment that you can describe vividly and that's really important to you. It doesn't necessarily have to be important in a positive way, but it does need to have had a significant impact on your personal development. It should also be some aspect of your environment that has been part of your life for a while. You're describing something that's affected you "throughout your high school career," after all. Step 2: Explain How This Environment Shaped You You shouldn't just describe your environment- you also need to discuss how that environment impacted you as a person. How did this particular aspect of your environment turn you into the person you are today? It's best if you can think of one or two concrete anecdotes or stories about how your environment as a high school student has shaped you. For example, don't just say that your family made you a hard-working person- describe in detail how watching your mother come home from a full day of work just to get ready to go to nighttime classes showed you that working toward your goals is worthwhile, even when it's hard. Being a tomato in a peapod was hard on Frank, who could never really quite understand the peas' obsession with photosynthesis. What Are Readers Hoping to Learn About You? Readers are looking for two main things. First, they want to see that you can be mature and thoughtful about your surroundings. Are you curious about the world around you? If you've really observed and engaged with your surroundings, you'll be able to describe the people and places that have impacted you as a high school student in a nuanced, insightful way. Second, they want to see how you stand out from your environment. This can be accomplished in one of two ways: (1) you can emphasize how you are somehow different from your environment and how that impacted you, or (2) you can emphasize how you learned positive qualities from the environment around you. Basically, how did your environment turn you into a special, interesting person? How Can Your Essay Give Them What They Want? How can you make sure your essay is really answering the prompt? Here are some key strategies. #1: Pick a Specific Aspect of Your Environment You'll need to select something particular in your overall surroundings to zero in on. You can take ideas such as your family, home, neighborhood, or community in several directions. For example, your family could describe your immediate family, your extended family, or a found family. Your home could be the specific house or houses you grew up in, but it could also be your hometown, block, apartment building, or even country. Your neighborhood could be your street, subdivision, cul-de-sac; it could be an urban area or the rural countryside. Your community could be any community you've been part of, from your school community to your church community to your city. When you consider what aspect of your environment to choose, think about significant things that happened to you in connection with your environment. Remember, you'll need to get beyond just describing how the setting is important to you to show how it makes you important. #2: How Did This Environment Make You Special? You then need to consider what about your environment turned you into a person who stands out. Again, this can be about how you overcame some aspect of your environment or how your environment positively fostered qualities or traits in you. You want to make sure you have a clear message that links your environment to one, two, or three special traits you have. Try to think of specific stories and anecdotes related to your interactions with your environment, and then thoughtfully analyze these to reveal what they show about you. Important adults in your life can help you brainstorm potential ideas. #3: Think of the Essay Like a Movie Like a good movie script, a college essay needs characters, some action, and a poignant but ultimately happy ending. When you’re planning out your personal statement, try to think of the story you’re telling in movie terms. This way you can ensure your essay has the following features: Setting: Since you're describing your environment, taking some time to vividly give a sense of place is key. You can accomplish this by describing the actual physical surroundings, the main "characters" in your community, or a combination of both. Stakes: Movies propel the action forward by giving characters high stakes. You know- win or lose, life or death. Even if you are describing your environment in positive terms, there needs to be a sense of conflict or dynamic change. In the anecdote(s) you've selected to write about, what did you stand to gain or lose? External conflict resolution: If there's an external conflict of some kind (with a neighbor, a family member, a friend, a city council, etc.), you need to show some level of resolution. Internal conflict resolution: Inner conflict is essentially about how you changed in response to the event or experience. You'll need to clearly lay out what happened within you and how those changes have carried you forward as a person. Did you feel ALL the feelings? Can you even name all of these feelings? Oh, yeah? Then what's the one in the bottom-right called? #4: Add Details, Description, and Examples Your essay will really stand out if you add effective examples and description. For example, imagine Karima decides to describe how learning to navigate public transit as a high school freshman made her resourceful and helped her explore the city she grew up in. She also discusses how exploring the city ultimately impacted her. How should she frame her experience? Here are some options: Version 1 I was nervous about taking the El by myself for the first time. At the station, there were lots of commuters and adults who seemed impatient but confident. At first, I was very afraid of getting lost, but over time I became as confident as those commuters. Version 2 I felt a mixture of nerves and excitement walking up the Howard red line turnstile for the first time. What if I got lost on my way to the museum? I was worried that I would just seem like a nuisance to all of the frowning commuters who crowded the platform. If I needed help, would they help me? Was I even brave enough to ask? When the metal doors opened, I pressed my nails into my palms and rushed in after a woman with a red briefcase. Success! At least for the first step. I found a sideways-facing seat and clutched my macrame bag with my notebook and sketching supplies. A map hung above my seat. Pressing my finger to the colorful grid, I found my stop and counted how many I still had to go. I spent the entire train ride staring at that map, straining my ears for everything the conductor said. Now, when I think about the first time I rode the El by myself, I smile. What seemed so scary at the time is just an everyday way to get around now. But I always look around on the platform to see if any nervous kids linger at the edges of the commuter crowds and offer them a smile. Both versions set up the same story, plot-wise, but the second makes the train ride (and because of this, the author) come alive through the addition of specific, individualizing details, such as the following: Visual cues: The reader "sees" what the author sees through descriptions such as "frowning commuters who crowded the platform," "woman with a red briefcase," and "colorful grid." Emotional responses: We experience the author’s feelings: she "felt a mixture of nerves and excitement." She wonders if she's brave enough to ask for help. The train ride was "so scary at the time" but feels "everyday" now. Differentiation: Even though the commuters are mostly a monolithic group, we get to see some individuals, such as the woman with a red briefcase. ApplyTexas Topic A Essay Ideas There's no one best topic for this essay prompt (or any other), but I've included some potential ideas below to help you get started with your own brainstorming: Describing a time you organized the people around you around a common local cause Honing in on a close relationship with one or more family members Identifying a particularly significant place in your neighborhood (such as a certain park or tree) and why it has been so important in your life, especially in these past few years Being a minority in your school or neighborhood Going through a cultural or religious rite of passage as a high school student Moving from one place to somewhere totally different and handling your culture shock And that's when I realized that I, too, had become an ostrich, accepted by and adapted into their culture of pecking and running. Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. Dissecting ApplyTexas Essay Topic B Next up, let's go through the same process for ApplyTexas Topic B, taking it apart brick by brick and putting it back together again. The Prompt Most students have an identity, an interest, or a talent that defines them in an essential way. Tell us about yourself. What’s the Prompt Asking? At first glance, this prompt seems pretty vague. "Tell us about yourself" is not exactly the most detailed set of instructions. But if we dig a little deeper, we can see that there are actually two pretty specific things this question is asking. #1: What Defines You? This prompts posits that "most students"- which likely includes you!- have some kind of defining trait. This could be "an identity, an interest, or a talent," so you need to express what that defining trait is for you specifically. For instance, are you an amazing knitter? Do you spend your free time researching cephalopods? Are you a connoisseur of indie movies or mystery novels? Or maybe you have a religious, cultural, ethnic, or LGBTQ+ identity that's very important to you. Any of these things could plausibly be the main, framing theme of your essay. #2: How Does That Defining Trait Fit Into "You" Overall? Even though you have some kind of defining trait, that's not the entirety of you. Essentially, you need to contextualize your defining trait within your broader personality and identity. This is where the "tell us about yourself" part comes in. What does your defining trait say about you as a person? And how does it fit into your overall personality, values, and dreams? Only deep in the woods could she explore her one true passion: moss. What Are Readers Hoping to Learn About You? They are hoping to learn two main things: #1: What You're Passionate About It's essential that this essay communicate genuine passion for whatever you write about. College is a lot of work, and passion is an important driving force when things get busy. Thus, readers are looking for students who are really engaged in the world around them and excited about things! #2: How You View Yourself (and How Successfully You Can Communicate That) A strong, well-developed sense of self goes a long way toward helping you weather all the changes you're going to experience when you attend college. Even though you'll change and grow a lot as a person during your college years, having a sense of your own core traits and values will help those changes be exciting as opposed to scary. Colleges are looking for a developed sense of self. Additionally, they are looking for students who can communicate messages about themselves in a clear, confident, and cohesive way. How Can Your Essay Give Them What They Want? The challenge with this prompt is giving a complete picture of you as a person while still staying on message about your defining trait. You need to be focused yet comprehensive. Let's explore the best ways to show off your passion and frame your identity. #1: Define the Core Message First, you need to select that defining trait. This could be pretty much anything, just as long as you're genuinely invested in this trait and feel that it represents some core aspect of you. It should also be something you can describe through stories and anecdotes. Just saying, "I'm a redhead and that defines me" makes for a pretty boring essay! On the other hand, a story about how you started a photography project that consists of portraits of redheads like you and what you learned about yourself from this experience is much more interesting. Be careful to select something that presents you in a broadly positive light. If you select a trait that doesn't seem very serious, such as your enduring and eternal love of onion rings, you risk seeming at best immature and at worst outright disrespectful. You also want to pick something realistic- don't claim you're the greatest mathematician who ever lived unless you are, in fact, the greatest mathematician who ever lived (and you probably aren't). Otherwise, you'll seem out of touch. #2: Fit Your Message Into the Larger Picture Next, consider how you can use this trait to paint a more complete picture of you as a person. It's great that you're passionate about skiing and are a member of a ski team, but what else does this say about you? Are you an adventurous daredevil who loves to take (reasonable) risks? Are you a nature lover with a taste for exploration? Do you love being part of a team? Select at least two or three positive messages you want to communicate about yourself in your essay about your key trait. Brody added his special brand of XYZ to everything he ever made for that bro-tisanal touch. #3: Show, Don't Tell It's much more interesting to read about things you do that demonstrate your key traits than it is to hear you list them. Don't just say, "Everyone asks me for advice because I'm level-headed and reasonable." Actually describe situations that show people asking you for advice and you offering that level-headed, reasonable advice. #4: Watch Your Tone It's important to watch your tone as you write an essay that's (pretty overtly) about how great you are. You want to show your own special qualities without seeming glib, staid, self-aggrandizing, or narcissistic. Let’s say Andrew wants to write about figuring out how to grow a garden, despite his yard being in full shade, and how this desire turned into a passion for horticulture. He could launch into a rant about the garden store employees not knowing which plants are right for which light, the previous house owner’s terrible habit of using the yard as a pet bathroom, or the achy knee that prevented him from proper weeding posture. Alternatively, he could describe doing research on the complex gardens of royal palaces, planning his garden based on plant color and height, using the process of trial and error to see which plants would flourish, and getting so involved with this work that he often lost track of time. One of these approaches makes him sound whiny and self-centered, while the other makes him sound like someone who can take charge of a difficult situation. ApplyTexas Topic B Essay Ideas Again, there's no single best approach here, but I've outlined some potential topics below: Are you known for being really good at something or an expert on a particular topic? How does this impact your identity? Discuss how you got involved in a certain extracurricular activity and what it means to you. What have you learned from participating in it? Describe something you've done lots of research on in your free time. How did you discover that interest? What have you learned as a result? What's your most evident personality trait? How has that trait impacted your life? (You can ask friends and relatives for help with this one.) Relate the importance of your LGBTQ+ identity Discuss your religious or cultural background and how this defines you Describe your experience as a member of a minority community Are you a diamond in a world of hearts? Dissecting ApplyTexas Essay Topic C Now, we can take apart Topic C to get a good handle on how to tackle this future-facing essay. The Prompt You've got a ticket in your hand- where will you go? What will you do? What will happen when you get there? What’s the Prompt Asking and How Should You Answer It? If ApplyTexas Topic A and Topic B were all about your past experiences, Topic C wants you to give readers a glimpse of your imagined possibilities. There are basically two potential approaches to this question. We'll break them down here. Option 1: Describe Your Long-Term Goals One approach to this prompt is to use your essay as a chance to describe your long-term goals for your career and life. For some students, this will be a straightforward endeavor. For example, say you’ve always wanted to be a doctor. You spend your time volunteering at hospitals, helping out at your mom’s practice, and studying biology. You could easily frame your "ticket" as a ticket to medical school. Just pick a few of the most gripping moments from these past experiences and discuss the overall trajectory of your interests and your essay would likely be a winner! But what if you’re not sure about your long-term goals yet? Or what if you feel like you really don't know where you're going next week, let alone next year or 10 years from now? Read on for Option 2! Option 2: Demonstrate Thoughtful Imagination While you can certainly interpret this as a straightforward question about your future, you can also use it as a chance to be more imaginative. Note that this entire question rests on the metaphor of the ticket. The ticket can be to anywhere; you decide. It could be to a real place, such as your grandmother's house or the Scottish highlands or the Metropolitan Museum. Or it could be somewhere fantastical, such as a time machine to the Paleolithic. The important point is that you use the destination you select- and what you plan to do there- to prove you're a thoughtful person who is excited about and actively engaged with the world around you. Renata doesn't want a train ticket; she just wants a boat. What Are Readers Hoping to Learn About You? If you're on a direct path to a specific field of study or career, admissions officers definitely want to know this. Having driven, goal-oriented, and passionate students is a huge plus for any college. If this sounds like you, be sure your essay conveys not just your interest but also your deep love of the subject, as well as any related clubs, activities, and/or hobbies you’ve done during high school. If you take the more creative approach to this prompt, however, realize that in this essay (as in all the other ApplyTexas essays) the how matters much more than the what. Don't worry that you don't have a specific goal in mind yet. No matter where your eventual academic, career, or other pursuits might lie, every activity you've done up to now has taught you something, whether that be work ethic, mastering a skill, learning from a mentor, interacting with peers, dealing with setbacks, understanding your own learning style, or perseverance. Your essay is a chance to show off that knowledge and maturity. So no matter what destination you choose for your ticket (the what), you want to communicate that you can think about future (and imagined!) possibilities in a compelling way based on your past experiences (the how). Whether you take the ideas of "where you are going" and "what you are doing" in a more literal or more abstract direction, the admissions committee wants to make sure that no matter what you study, you'll be able to get something meaningful out of it. They want to see that you’re not simply floating through life on the surface but are actively absorbing the qualities, skills, and know-how you'll need to succeed in the world. How Can Your Essay Give Them What They Want? Here are some ideas for how to show that you have thoughtful and compelling visions of possible futures. #1: Pick Where You're Going Is this going to be a more direct interpretation of your goals (my ticket is to the judge's bench) or a more creative one (my ticket is to Narnia)? Whichever one you choose, make sure that you choose a destination that is genuinely compelling to you. The last thing you want is to come off sounding bored or disingenuous. #2: Don’t Overreach or Underreach Another key point is to avoid overreaching or underreaching. For instance, it’s fine to say that you’d like to get involved in politics, but it’s a little too self-aggrandizing to say that you’re definitely going to be president of the United States. Be sure that whatever destination you select for your ticket, it doesn’t come off as unnecessary bragging rather than simple aspiration. At the same time, make sure the destination you've chosen is one that makes sense in the context of a college essay. Maybe what you really want is a ticket to the potato chip factory; however, this essay might not be the best place to elaborate on this imagined possibility. While you can of course choose a whimsical location, you need to be able to ground it in a real vision of the kind of person you want to become. Don't forget who your audience is! College admissions officers want to find students who are eager to learn. They also want to be exposed to new thoughts and ideas (and not just new potato chips). #3: Flesh It Out Once you've picked a destination, it's time to consider the other components of the question: what are you going to do once you reach your destination? What will happen there? Try to think of some key messages that relate back to you, your talents, and your goals. #4: Ground Your "Journey" in Specific Anecdotes and Examples The way this question is framed is very abstract, so it's important you ground your thoughts about your destination (whether it's more straightforward or more creative) in concrete anecdotes and examples that show you're thoughtful, engaged, passionate, and driven. This is even more important if you go the creative route and are writing about an unusual location. If you don't keep things somewhat grounded in reality, your essay could come across as frivolous. Make sure you make the most of this chance to share real-life examples of your desirable qualities. Imagine Eleanor’s essay is about how she wants a ticket to Starfleet Academy (for the uninitiated, this is the fictional school in the Star Trek universe where people train to be Starfleet officers). Which essay below conveys more about her potential as a student? Version 1 My ticket is to Starfleet Academy. There, I would train to become part of the Command division so I could command a starship. Once I was captain of my own starship, I would explore the deepest reaches of space to interact with alien life and learn more about the universe. Version 2 I've loved Star Trek since my dad started playing VHS copies of old episodes for me in our ancient VCR. So if I could have a ticket to anywhere, it would be to Starfleet Academy to train in the command division. I know I would make a superb command officer. My ten years of experience in hapkido have taught me discipline and how to think on my feet. Working as a hapkido instructor in my dojo the past two years has honed my leadership and teaching qualities, which are essential for any starship commander. Additionally, I have the curiosity and sense of adventure necessary for a long career in the unknown reaches of space. Right now, I exercise my thirst for exploration through my photography blog. Using my DSLR camera, I track down and photograph obscure and hidden places I find in my town, on family trips, and even on day trips to nearby cities. I carefully catalogue the locations so other people can follow in my footsteps. Documentation, after all, is another important part of explor ing space in a starship. Both versions communicate the same things about the imagined destination, but the second essay does a much better job showing who Eleanor is as a person. All we really learn from the first excerpt is that Eleanor must like Star Trek. We can also infer that she probably likes leadership, exploration, and adventure, since she wants to captain a starship. But we don't really know that for sure. Admissions officers shouldn't have to infer who you are from your essay- your essay should lay it out for them. In the second essay, on the other hand, Eleanor clearly lays out the qualities that would make her a great Command officer, and provides examples of how she exemplifies these qualities. She ties the abstract destination to concrete things from her life such as hapkido and photography. This provides a much more well-rounded picture of what Eleanor could bring to the student body and the school at large. Eleanor just wants to explore the final frontier. ApplyTexas Topic C Essay Ideas I've come up with some sample essay ideas for the two different approaches to this prompt. Possibility 1: Your Concrete Goals Describe your goal to pursue a particular academic field or career and discuss how specific classes and/or extracurricular activities ignited that passion Discuss how your plans to pursue politics, project management, or another leadership role were fostered by an experience of leadership (this could be a straightforward leadership position in a club or job, or a more indirect or unplanned leadership experience, such as suddenly having to take charge of a group) Discuss how your desire to teach or train in the future was sparked by an experience of teaching someone to do something (e.g., by being a tutor or by helping a sibling deal with a particularly challenging class or learning issue) Describe your goal to perform on stage in the future and discuss how your past experiences of public creativity (e.g., being in a play, staging an art show, performing an orchestra, being involved in dance, etc.) led you to this goal Possibility 2: Creative/Abstract Destination What would you do if you could visit the world of a favorite childhood book or television series? What qualities does that show about you? Is there a relative or friend you would like to visit with your ticket? Is there a particular historical period you would like to time-travel to? Is there a destination you've always wanted to go to? Remember to tie your imaginative destination to concrete details about your special qualities! A future as a driving coach for motorcoach drivers was a no-brainer for the founding member of the homonym club. Dissecting ApplyTexas Essay Topic D If you're applying to one of several fine arts fields, you might have to write this essay. The Prompt Personal interaction with objects, images and spaces can be so powerful as to change the way one thinks about particular issues or topics. For your intended area of study (architecture, art history, design, studio art, visual art studies/art education), describe an experience where instruction in that area or your personal interaction with an object, image or space effected this type of change in your thinking. What did you do to act upon your new thinking and what have you done to prepare yourself for further study in this area? What’s the Prompt Asking? If you’re applying to study architecture, art, or art history, one of the essays you will likely have to write is this one. This essay topic is trying to ask as broadly as possible about an experience with art that has moved you in some way. This means that your options for answering the question are quite varied. So what are the two different parts of this prompt? Let's take a look. Part 1: Observation and Reaction Think of a time you experienced that blown-away feeling when looking at something man-made. This is the reaction and situation the first part of the essay wants you to recreate. The prompt is primarily interested in your ability to describe and pinpoint exactly what quality made you stop in your tracks. The huge set of inspiring object options the prompt offers tells us that your taste level won't be judged here. You can focus on a learning experience, which includes both classes and extracurricular activities, or you can focus on a direct experience in which you encountered an object or space without the mediation of a class or teacher. The only limit to your focus object is that it is something made by someone other than you. Your reaction should be in conversation with the original artist- not a form of navel-gazing. The key for this part of the essay is that your description needs to segue into a story of change and transformation. What the essay topic is asking you to show isn’t just that you were struck by something you saw or learned about, but that you also absorbed something from this experience that impacted your own art going forward. When you see the Angkor Wat Temple, you can't help but be psyched that at least humans haven't wasted all their time on earth. Part 2: Absorption This brings us to the second part of the essay prompt: this is where you need to move from the past into the present, and then at least gesture meaningfully toward the future. It’s one thing to look at a piece of art, such as a sculpture or a form of architecture, and feel moved by its grace, boldness, or vision. But it’s a sign of a mature, creative mind to be able to take to heart what is meaningful to you about this work and then transmute this experience into your own art. This essay wants to see that developing maturity in you; therefore, you should explain exactly how your own creative vision has changed after this meaningful encounter you've described. What qualities, philosophy, or themes do you now try to infuse into what you create? More importantly, this essay prompt asserts that being affected by something once isn’t enough. That’s why in this second part of the topic you also need to explain what you’ve been doing to keep having similarly moving encounters with other creative works. You have some choice, too, when it comes to answering, "What have you done to prepare yourself for further study in this area?" For example, you could describe how you’ve sought out other works by the same artist who moved you the first time. Or you could describe investigating new media or techniques to emulate something you saw. Or you could discuss learning about the period, genre, school, or philosophical theory that the original piece of art comes from in order to give yourself a more contextualized understanding. What Are Readers Hoping to Learn About You? If you’re planning an academic career in the visual arts or architecture, then you’re entering a long conversation started by our cave-painting ancestors and continuing through every human culture and society since. This essay wants to make sure that you aren’t creating art in a vacuum and that you have had enough education and awareness to be inspired by others. By demonstrating how you react to works that move you- not with jealousy or dismissal but with appreciation and recognition of another’s talent and ability- you're proving that you're ready to participate in this ongoing conversation. At the same time, this essay is asking you to show your own creative readiness. Describe not only the work you have produced but also your ability to introduce new elements into that work- in this case, inspired by the piece you described. This way, you can demonstrate that you aren’t a one-note artist but are mature enough to alter and develop what you make. Inspired by Michaelangelo's supposed advice to just "chip away the marble that isn't the sculpture," I will now write my essay by just not using the words that aren't supposed to be on the page. How Can Your Essay Give Them What They Want? What are some best practices for teasing out the complexities of art in written form? Here are some helpful tips as you brainstorm and write your essay. #1: Pick One Piece of Art or Learning Experience Once you’ve chosen between these two contexts, narrow down your selection even further. If you're writing about an educational encounter, don’t forget that it can come from an informal situation as well. For example, you could write about something you learned on your own from a documentary, museum visit, or art book. If you're writing about a direct experience with art, don't necessarily fixate on a classical piece. Alternatively, you could discuss a little-known public sculpture, a particularly striking building or bridge you saw while traveling, or a gallery exhibition. Whatever you end up writing about, make sure you know some of the identifying details. You don’t need to know the answers to all the following questions, but do your best to research so you can answer at least two or three of them: Who is the artist? Where is the piece on display? What kind of work is it? With what materials was it made? When was it made? #2: Figure Out Why You Were Struck by This Particular Work The make-it-or-break-it moment in this essay will be your ability to explain what affected you in the object you're writing about. Why is it different from other works you’ve seen? Do you think it (or you) was in the right place at the right time to be moved by it, or would it have affected you the same way no matter where or when you saw it? Did it speak to you because it shares some of your ideals/philosophies/tastes, or because it was so different from them? Be careful with your explanation since it can easily get so vague as to be meaningless or so obscure and "deep" that you lose your reader. Before you start trying to put it down on paper, try to talk out what you plan to say either with a friend, parent, or teacher. Do they understand what you’re saying, and do they believe you? #3: Make a Timeline of Your Own Creative Works When you think about what you've been making or thinking about making during your high school career, what is the trajectory of your ideas? How has your understanding of the materials you want to work with changed? What about the message you want your works to convey? Or the way you want your works to be seen by others? What is the reason you feel compelled to be creative? Now that you’ve come up with this timeline, see whether your changes in thought overlap with the art experience you're planning on describing. Is there a way you can combine what was so exciting to you about this work with the way you’ve seen your own ideas about art have evolved? #4: Use a Mix of Concreteness and Comparisons in Your Description Just as nothing ruins a joke as explaining it does, nothing ruins the wordless experience of looking at art as talking it to death does. Still, you need to find a way to use words to give the reader a sense of what the piece that moved you actually looks like- particularly if the reader isn't familiar with the work or the artist that created it. Here is my suggested trick for writing well about art. First, be specific about the object. Discuss its colors, size, what it appears to be made of, what your eye goes to first (bright colors vs darker, more muted ones, for example), what it is representative of (if it’s figurative), where it is in relation to the viewer, whether or not you can see marks of the tools used (such as brush strokes, scrapes from sculpting tools, etc.). Second, step away from the concrete and get creative with language by using techniques such as comparative description. Use your imagination to create emotionally resonant similes. Is there a form of movement (e.g., flying, crawling, tumbling) that this piece feels like? Does it remind you of something from the natural world (e.g., a falling leaf, a forest canopy being moved by wind, waves, sand dunes shifting)? If the work is figurative, imagine what has been happening just before the moment in time it captures. What happened just after this point? Using these kinds of non-literal descriptors will let your reader understand both the actual physical object and its aesthetic appeal. The Stormtrooper's hypnotic performance was like plunging into a diamond-studded Sarlacc pit to be slowly digested over a thousand years by disco music. Want to write the perfect college application essay? Get professional help from PrepScholar. Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We'll learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the end, you'll have a unique essay that you'll proudly submit to your top choice colleges. Don't leave your college application to chance. Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now: Dissecting the UT and Texas AM Short Answer Prompts Both UT Austin and Texas AM require short answers as part of the freshman application. For UT, some are required by all applicants, while others are required by those applying to certain majors or departments. For AM, engineering applicants must submit an additional short answer. We'll go over the UT Austin prompts followed by the Texas AM prompt. UT Austin Short Answer Prompts UT Austin requires three short answers from all freshman applicants and also offers an optional prompt. Each short answer should be no more than 250-300 words, or one paragraph. Short Answer 1: Why are you interested in the major you indicated as your first-choice major? Short Answer 2: Leadership can be demonstrated in many ways. Please share how you have demonstrated leadership in either your school, job, community, and/or within your family responsibilities. Short Answer 3: Please share how you believe your experiences, perspectives, and/or talents have shaped your ability to contribute to and enrich the learning environment at UT Austin, both in and out of the classroom. Optional Short Answer: Please share background on events or special circumstances that may have impacted your high school academic performance. If you're applying to art and art history, architecture, nursing, or social work, you'll need to submit the following in addition to your short answers above: Art and Art History In 500 words or less, please tell us about a meaningful way in which an artwork, or artist, has changed your life. How has this prompted your ambitions for a life in the arts? Architecture What role has creativity played in your education? What are the ways you explore and express your creativity? Nursing If applying first-choice, submit responses to the following short answer prompts: Discuss the factors that have influenced your desire to pursue a career in Nursing. How have your academic and extracurricular activities prepared you to pursue a degree in Nursing? Social Work Discuss the reasons you chose Social Work as your first-choice major and how a Social Work degree from UT will prepare you for the future. What Are These UT Austin Short Answer Prompts Asking? Obviously, these short answer prompts are all asking very different things, but they do have some similarities in terms of their overall goals. The first set of prompts basically want to know what you can offer UT Austin and why you'd be a great fit as a student here. They also want to know why you chose UT Austin and your specific major. In other words, all these prompts essentially work together as a "Why This College?" essay. For the major-specific prompts, you're being asked two basic things: How have your relevant experiences up to this point led you to want to study this particular field (i.e., art/art history, architecture, nursing, or social work)? What do you plan on doing with your degree from UT Austin? How Can You Give UT Austin What They Want? Admissions officers will be looking for evidence that you're genuinely interested in the school, the major you've chosen, and the career you want to pursue. Make sure to identify features of the program that appeal to you. In other words, why UT Austin? What makes you a good fit here? Be as specific as possible in your responses. Since you won't have much room to write a lot, try to focus on a particular anecdote, skill, or goal you have. Admissions officers also want to see that you have an aptitude for your chosen career path, so if you have any relevant work, research, or volunteer experience, they definitely want to know this! It's OK to take a broad view of what's relevant here. Finally, they're looking for individuals who have clear goals as well as a general idea of what they want to do with their degree. Are you interested in working with a specific population or specialty? Why? What led you to this conclusion? Or maybe instead of writing short answers, you could just send them this selfie. Texas AM Short Answer Prompt All engineering applicants to Texas AM must submit a short answer to the following prompt: Describe your academic and career goals in the broad field of engineering (including computer science, industrial distribution, and engineering technology). What and/or who has influenced you either inside or outside the classroom that contributed to these goals? What's This Texas AM Short Answer Prompt Asking? This prompt wants to know two essential things: What are your future goals for your specific field of interest (i.e., the kind of engineering field you want to go into or are considering going into)? What environmental or external factors (such as a person/mentor, a volunteer experience, a paper or book you read, etc.) contributed to your development of these goals? How Can You Give Texas AM What They Want? What admissions officers want to know here is simply what your biggest engineering ambition is and how you came to have this goal. Since you don't have a ton of room to write your short answer, you'll want to be as specific as possible. Admissions officers want to see that you have a clear future in mind for what you want to do with your engineering degree. For example, do you plan to go on to a PhD program? Why? Do you have a particular career in mind? In addition, make sure to specify the main inspiration for or motivation behind this goal. For instance, did you have a high school teacher encourage you to study engineering? Or perhaps you decided on a whim to take a computer science class, which you ended up loving. Remember that the inspiration for your engineering goals doesn't have to be limited to something school-related. If you get stuck, think broadly about what initially got you interested in the field. Finally, tell a story with this short answer. Admissions officers want to see the clear connection between what inspired you and why you've decided to pursue engineering as a major and career. Don't just state that something made you interested in engineering and that's it. What specifically motivated you to pursue this field and career path? Don't be afraid to get personal, as this will show the admissions committee that you're truly passionate about the major. The thinking doesn't end here for transfer students. Briefly: ApplyTexas Essay Topic E (Transfer Students) US transfer students and international transfer students must typically submit an additional essay on the following prompt (or must submit an essay on either Prompt C, D, or E). The Prompt Choose an issue of importance to you- the issue could be personal, school related, local, political, or international in scope⠁  - and write an essay in which you explain the significance of that issue to yourself, your family, your community, or your generation. What's the Prompt Asking? This prompt, which targets transfer students, essentially wants to know what hardship, challenge, or social issue has affected you on a personal level (or a larger group you're part of) and why you think this particular thing is so important to you. For example, maybe you identify as LGBTQIA+ and have personally experienced discrimination in your local community due to your sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Or perhaps you grew up in a wealthy family but have begun to see recently how widespread the issue of homelessness really is and now are making a more conscious effort to find ways to remedy this problem in your own community. The issue you choose doesn't have to relate to a wider social issue; it could be a learning disability you have, for instance, or the fact that you no longer share the same religious beliefs as does your family. The most important part of this question is the connection between the issue and yourself. In other words, why is this issue so important to you? How has it affected your life, your goals, your experiences, etc.? How Can Your Essay Give Them What They Want? This essay is a way for admissions officers to get to know you and what matters to you personally on a much deeper level than what some of the other essay topics allow, so don't be afraid to dive into topics that are very emotional, personal, or special to you. Furthermore, be sure to clearly explain why this particular issue- especially if it's a broader social issue that affects many people- is meaningful to you. Admissions officers want to know about any challenges you've faced and how these have positively contributed to your own growth as a person. The Bottom Line: Tips for Writing ApplyTexas Essays The ApplyTexas application contains four essay prompts (Topics A, B, C, and D), with different schools requiring different combinations of mandatory and optional essays. There are also short answer prompts for UT Austin and Texas AM, as well as a Topic E for transfer students. One way to keep these three similar-sounding essay topics (A, B, and C) separate in your mind is to create a big-picture category for each one: Topic A is about your outside Topic B is your inside Topic C is about your future Now, let's briefly summarize each essay topic: Essay Topic A Overview: Wants you to describe any unique experiences you've had as a high school student and how these have shaped who you are as a person Tips: Pick a specific aspect of your environment Describe how it made you special Describe the setting, stakes, and conflict resolution Add details, description, and examples Essay Topic B Overview: Offers a chance to describe a defining trait and how it fits into the larger vision of you Tips: Define the core message. Fit that core message of your into the larger picture. Show things about yourself, don’t tell. Watch your tone to make sure you show your great qualities without seeming narcissistic, boring, glib, or self-aggrandizing. Essay Topic C Overview: Asks you to describe "where you are going," in either a literal, goal-oriented sense or a more imaginative sense. Tips: Pick where you’re going, but don’t over- or under-reach Flesh out your destination. How does it relate back to you? Ground your â€Å"journey† in specific anecdotes and examples Essay Topic D Overview: Wants you to describe being affected by a work of art or an artistic experience to make sure that you are ready to enter a fine arts field Tips: Pick one piece of art or one specific experience of learning about art Figure out exactly why this work or event struck you Examine your own work to see how this artwork has affected your creativity Use a mix of concrete descriptions and comparisons when writing about the piece of art Short Answer Prompts Overview: Specific to UT Austin applicants; art/art history/architecture/nursing/social work applicants to UT Austin; and engineering applicants to Texas AM Tips: Describe your relevant experiences and interests up to this point Describe what about the program appeals to you and how you will use your degree (i.e., your future goals) Treat the required UT Austin prompts as parts of a "Why This College?" essay Essay Topic E (Transfer Students) Overview: Specific to US and international transfer applicants Tips: Pick an issue that means a lot to you and has had a clear effect on how you see yourself Emphasize how this issue or how you've treated this issue has ultimately had a positive impact on your personal growth What's Next? Curious about the other college essay choices out there? If your target college also accepts the Common Application, check out our guide to the Common App essay prompts to see whether they would be a better fit for you. Interested to see how other people tackled this part of the application? We have a roundup of 100+ accepted essays from tons of colleges. Stuck on what to write about? Read our suggestions for how to come up with great essay ideas. Working on the rest of your college applications? We have great advice on how to find the right college for you, how to write about your extracurricular activities, and how to ask teachers for letters of recommendation. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: