A Change in My Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Change in My Life - Essay Example Because of my hard work and the effort that I put in my educational endeavors, I got very good grades in my final primary school exams and qualified to enter high school. I was so happy with my achievement that I was determined to ensure that my performance would always remain high in my new educational level. With this in mind, and considering the great promise that I had in academics, I was admitted into high school. High school turned out to be quite different from primary school and this was mainly because there were more freedoms and new people who I had to study with. Most of my old friends from primary school went on to a different school and at first; life in the new environment was quite lonely. However, after a few weeks, I was befriended by some of the most popular students in the school and this, I felt, was a great privilege. In primary school, I had never really been popular, with the little popularity that I had having been based on my academic performance. Whereas other students had concentrated on fun and what I thought were good things in life, I had concentrated on my studies and that was the reason why I was among the best. However, in high school, all this changed because, for the first time in my life, I was among the popular kids. Most of the other students looked up to me and it felt wonderful and in my mind, nothing could be better. From that time, I put my academics in the background and I instead concentrated on spending time with my new friends and having fun because that is what I thought high school was all about. As a result of my new lifestyle, my academics began to take a beating but while this was happening, my new friends convinced me that because I was a clever guy, I could always catch up whenever I wanted.  Ã‚  

Electronic positioning system (marine navigational radar) Essay

Electronic positioning system (marine navigational radar) - Essay Example This effect can be observed when a person shouts in a valley. The sound waves travel to the nearby mountains and get reflected. The person thus hears back his own voice. The time taken by the sound waves to return back depends upon the distance between the persons and the mountains. The similar concept is applied in RADAR. Here radio waves are emitted by the RADAR which travel in all directions. If an object comes in the way of these waves they get reflected back with the speed of light and detected by the RADAR. By knowing the time elapsed between sending and receiving back the waves, the position of the object can be determined by calculating the distance the wave has travelled. Now in order to calculate the speed of an object the concept of Doppler shift plays its role. When a wave is reflected by a moving object its nature depends upon the movement of that object. If the object is moving towards the source of the wave, then the pitch of the wave will be higher than if it is moving away from it. This can be observed in case of a car blowing its horn. When a moving car approaches a person the horn seems to be louder and when it moves away it become s somewhat fainter. Knowing the pitch of the sound wave the speed of the car can be detected. This principle is applied in case of RADAR where a radio wave is used instead of a sound wave. The pitch of the reflected radio wave determines the speed and the direction of motion of the object. Combining the Echo and Doppler Shift, we can exactly determine the position, speed and direction of motion of an object in the sea with the help of a Navigational RADAR. Components of Marine Navigational RADAR There are five main components of a Marine Navigational RADAR. Transmitter Modulator Antenna Receiver Indicator 1. Transmitter A transmitter is a device which transmits radio waves into the air. These waves are generated inside the RADAR. 2. Modulator It allows waves to be omitted as pulses (Integrated Publishing, n.d.). 3. Antenna An antenna is used to give direction to the radio waves being transmitted. These waves are sent as 'beams'. The antenna is always in rotating condition so that the whole of the area is covered. 4. Receiver It receives back the reflected waves from the objects and converts the information into usable data (Integrated Publishing, n.d.). 5. Indicator It is a device on which the received information is plotted. It shows the position of the object in the form of a mark on a screen. The standard indicator that is used mainly is known as Plan Position Indicator (PPI). It

Radiation Induced Symptoms in Gynaecological Malignancies

Radiation Induced Symptoms in Gynaecological Malignancies CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Cancer is a condition where a specific part of the body cells grow and reproduce uncontrollably .The Cancerous cells invade and destroy the surrounding healthy tissues , including organs .( National Health Service, 2005). Gynaecologic Cancers are the uncontrolled growth of cell and spread abnormally in the female reproductive organs, including the cervix , ovaries ,uterus , fallopian tubes, vagina and vulva .(American Cancer Society, 2004). Gynaecological cancer is the fourth most common type of cancer among women and annually it affects approximately 1 in 20 women. It is a frequent group of malignancies in women, which accounts approximately 18% of all female cancers Worldwide. The most common gynaecological cancers in women are cervical, endometrial and ovarian cancer, vaginal and vulvar cancers are rare. (Goker et al, 2004) Cervix, which is the lowest part of the uterus there the cervical cancer is starting. Where in Uterine or endometrial cancer it starts from the uterus. The uterus is a pear shaped organ in a women’s pelvis where the baby grows when a women becomes pregnant. Ovarian cancer begins in the Ovaries. Ovaries are located on each side of the uterus. Vaginal cancer starts in the vagina, which is a hollow organ, outside of the body and called birth canal and vulva is the outer part of the female genital organs that includes the inner and outer lips of the vagina, the clitoris, and the opening of the vagina and its glands where it starts cancer namely vulval cancer. (Kearney, 2006) Women are at risk for Gynecological Cancer, the risk factors include increasing age, strong family history, problems with gene mutation , multiple sex partners, exposure to hormones such estrogen pills ,exposure to diethylstilbestrol in the womb, viral infection such as human papilloma virus, life style factors such as smoking and overweight . (Gynecological Cancer foundation Women’s centre, 2002). National Health Service (2004) , reported that the symptoms of Gynecological Cancer depends on where the tumor is situated, the size of the tumor and how quickly it is growing. The symptoms include abnormal or persist vaginal bleeding, bleeding after menopause and bleeding after sex, unusual vaginal discharges, pelvic pain , pressure or discomfort in the abdomen, swelling of the abdomen, change in bowel or bladder habits, pain during sex, itching, burning or soreness ,lumps or warts like growth in the vulval area . Gynaecological cancer can be treated depending on the stage, type of the disease, the severity of symptoms and the women’s general health. Treatment mostly involves surgery to remove tumor by determining its stage. Radiotherapy, chemotherapy and hormonal therapy, may also be used to treat the Gynaecological cancers. (National Health Service, 2004). Cervical cancer accounted new cases for 493,000 and 273,000 will be dying, in which uterine cancer 199,000 new cases and death was 50,000. Considering the ovarian cancer 204,000 new cases and 125,000 deaths. Regarding vagina, valvul and choriocarcinoma together constituted 45,900 cases. Cervical cancer occurred 60% in the developing countries whereas in developed countries two thirds of is uterine cancer. (Sankarnarayanan and ferlay, 2006). Cervical cancer is the third most common gynaecological cancer in the USA and second most common cancer among women in worldwide. In Indian scenario annually, 132,000 new cases are diagnosed, and 74,000 deaths occur. The incidence rise during 30-34 years of age and peaks at 55-65 years with a median age of 38 years. It is mainly caused by HPV, multiple sex partners, use of contraceptive pills. The common signs are bleeding from the vagina before or after intercourse, pelvic pain during sex and Pap smear test used to diagnosis. The treatment options are surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. (Karthikeyan, 2012). Endometrial cancer is the sixth most common malignancies among females in the worldwide and fourth most common cancer in developed countries with an estimated incidence of 288,000 new cases in the year of 2008. It occurs in the age group of 50 years with a median age group of 63 years. The risk factors are Obesity BMI (>30), long Lasting endogenous or exogenous, hyperestrogenism (polycystic ovary, tamoxifen therapy, an ovulation, null parity), hypertension. Hysterectomy surgery, radiation therapy both external and internal combined with chemotherapy are management for treating the endometrial cancer. (Colombo et al, 2006) Radiotherapy plays a key role in the treatment of patients with cancer in European countries. It is used for treating the palliative symptoms. Sometimes it may be combined with chemotherapy, surgery and hormone therapy for effective outcome. (Richardson, 2006). In the last century, radiation has been successfully used as primary and adjuvant treatment in the management of gynaecological malignancies .It is anticipated that the radiation therapy will continues as an integral component in the treatment of cervical, endometrial , vulvar, and vaginal carcinoma. (Bradley, 2006) Radiation therapy to any site in the pelvis can cause damage to many adjacent structures. The problems when treating pelvic areas include urinary problems such as pain or burning on mituration, increased frequency, and urgency of passing urine, incontinence or leakage and nocturia 23 % to 80%. Gastrointestinal effects such as nausea and vomiting, diarrhea and proctitis can occur as a result of the radiation therapy.86% of the women receiving pelvic radiation therapy have these symptoms. Sexuality and fertility problems frequently affect men and women following pelvic radiotherapy (Kearney, 2006). Advances in the treatment of gynecological cancer had extended the duration of survival of many patients. However ,these patients frequently experience a variety of treatment and disease related side effects that diminish their quality of life during and after treatment ; because of pain ,nausea and vomiting, anemia ,fatigue ,peripheral neuropathy ,emotional distress , and sexual dysfunction . Therefore, it is important to monitor the Quality of Life during the course of the disease and its treatment. (Wenzel, 2002). Gynaecological malignancies receiving radiation therapy, experience more symptoms like fatigue, nausea and vomiting, constipation, radiation cystitis and stomach upset. Therefore, it needs prompt identification and management. (Cancer.net.com, 2012). Barbara, (2004) reported more than 60% of all clients with cancer receive radiation therapy at some point during the course of disease. It can be used as a primary , adjuvant ,or palliative treatment modality . the radiation therapy is the only primary modality of treatment used to achieve local cure of the cancer .As the adjuvant radiation therapy can be used either pre -operative or post operative to aid in the destruction of cancer cells. Chemotherapy also can be combined with radiation therapy and is administered before the Radiation therapy close in order to potentiate the effects of radiation therapy and as a palliative treatment modality to relieve pain caused by obstruction , pathologic fractures, spinal cord compression and metastasis Rebecca (2011) reported that during 20th century nearly 60% of cancer patients received radiation therapy aimed at the specific area where the tumor was located. Radiation usually given daily 5 days per week for 5 to 8 weeks. Daily treatment lasts about 15 to 30 minutes. It may be delivered externally or internally. Those with cervical or endometrial cancer, receive both external and internal radiation therapy. Henry.et al (2008) carried out the study, which examine the prevalence side effects and related treatment burden among cancer patients receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The study design was cross sectional survey, 63,949 cancer patients were included. Data were collected regarding type of cancer, time since diagnosis, side effects of treatment, visits, caregiver burden, missed workdays and socio demographic characteristics. The result of the study showed that the patient experienced side effects were fatigue (80%), pain (48%), and nausea and vomiting (48%).They concluded symptomatic experienced, reported by a patients is considerable time burden during treatment. It is important to consider supportive care strategies that may effectively reduce side effects and their associated treatment burden. NEED FOR THE STUDY Cancer is a group of disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth and spread of abnormal cell. The uncontrolled growth damages or mutations occur in the DNA. In our world, more than 100 types of cancer are existing. It is classified according to the type of cell that is initially affected in the body such as squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and transitional cell carcinoma etc., (Yarbo.et al, 2005). Gynaecological cancers estimated surveillance in 2013 in which, those 91,730 women will be diagnosed and in which, 28,080 will die from her disease. About cervical cancer, 12,340 were new cases and 4,030 were estimated deaths. In uterine cancer, estimated new cases 49,560 and 8,190 deaths, regarding ovarian cancer 22,240 were new cases and 14,030 deaths occur and in Vaginal and Vulvar cancer 2, 890 found new cases and 840 deaths occur. (American cancer society, 2013). In India about more than 10 lakhs people are affected by cancer among them one third is dying every year. The incidence of cancer will be increased by five times in the year of 2025. In the year of 2012, more than 5.55 lakhs people have died due to cancer in India. (Indian council for Medical Research, 2012). Gynaecological Cancer is the cancer of the female reproductive system, which includes cervical cancer, endometrial or uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, vaginal cancer, vulvar cancer, other types include fallopian tube cancer and placenta cancer, primary peritoneal cancer. (Gynecological Cancer foundation Women’s centre, 2002). Cancer has become an important public health problem with over 800, 000 new cases occur every year in India. It is the one of the ten leading cause of death. The incidence estimated to be around 70-90 /100,000 population .Cancer registries have also highlighted that more than 80% of cancer in females occur in the age group of 35- 64. Nearly 1,500,000 people require facilities, treatment and follow up at given time. About 50 -60% of all cancers among women in India are related mainly to the four organs; namely, cervix, uteri (endometrial), corpus uteri and ovaries. (Uma Devi, 2009). Radiation therapy is an important therapeutic management for treating the Gynaecological malignancies. The evidence based treatment guidelines, epidemiologic analysis suggests that radiation therapy is indicated 60% for cervical cancer patients, 45%for endometrial cancer patients, 35% of vulvar cancer patients, 100% to the vaginal cancer patients, 5% of patients with ovarian cancer. (American cancer society, 2013) Radiotherapy is the one of the main treatment options for patients with cancer. One-half of all patients with cancer receive radiation therapy during the course of the disease. It can be administered from a variety of sources. It can be divided into those outside the body called external beam radiation or teletherapy and, those inside the body or close to the surface of the body is known as internal radiation or intra cavity radiation or brachytherapy . These patients have their special needs and using inclusive of the concept of holistic care. (Ramsharan Mehta, 2007). Women with gynecological malignancies undergoing radiation therapy on the pelvic area may affect more in physical and sexual wellbeing. Radiation side effects such as nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, fatigue, urinary problems and sexually depression. We nurses are the person in a position do the necessary assessment, identify the problems, and provide quality of care in order to relief from the symptoms. (Ram sharan Mehta, 2007) Dunberger Bergmark (2012) stated that majority of cancer patients treated for gynecological, rectal and anal cancer suffer from physical symptoms such as bowel problems, the urinary bladder and the genitals. They supported the nurses are important role in managing these side effects with rehabilitation programme. I have seen in my clinical posting many of the patients receiving radiation therapy for cancer treatment. In which, Woman who are undergoing radiation therapy for gynecological malignancy in that majority of them diagnosed as cervical and endometrial cancer. They have undergone both external and internal radiation therapy. However, during the course of the treatment they apparently faced many side effects from the radiation source in which it affect the overall quality of life and disrupt the daily activities. Most of the woman told mainly they have physical symptoms such as fatigue, nausea and vomiting, insomnia, anorexia, bowel incontinence, urinary problems, vaginal problems, and emotional upset. Therefore, they need to be addressed and provide the quality nursing care to reduce the symptoms experience. Nursing strategies implemented during the radiation therapy treatment help them to get rid of radiation-induced symptoms. Nurses are the experts in identifying the symptoms and pro viding best quality of care to relieve the symptom experienced by the patients. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: A study to assess the Radiation Induced Symptoms and execution of Nursing Strategies among patients with Gynaecological Malignancies at KMCH, Coimbatore. OBJECTIVES: The objectives were to, assess the Radiation Induced Symptoms of patients with Gynaecological Malignancies. determine the effectiveness of Nursing Strategies on Radiation Induced Symptoms among patients with Gynaecological Malignancies. OPERATIONAL DEFINITION: Radiation Induced Symptoms: It refers to the symptoms, which include pain, fatigue, nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, insomnia, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, urinary incontinence, urgency, and vaginal problems that will be assessed by radiation induced symptoms assessment questionnaire. Nursing Intervention: Independent and collaborative nursing measures will be taken and direct to manage the Radiation Induced Symptoms such as pain, fatigue, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, urinary incontinence, urgency, vaginal problems and psychosexual problems. Radiation Therapy: Radiation therapy is the one of the cancer treatment strategies by using external and internal radiation therapy to kill the cancer producing cells in the body. Patients: Patients with gynaecological malignancies such as cervical cancer, uterine cancer (endometrial), who are undergoing radiation therapy. HYPOTHESIS: H1: There is a significant difference between radiation-induced symptoms before and after execution of nursing strategies. ASSUMPTIONS: Patients who receiving radiation therapy for gynaecological malignancies are developing radiation induced physical symptoms. Nursing strategies reduce the symptoms experience. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK Conceptual framework act as a building block for the research study. The overall purpose is to make research finding meaningful and generalisable. It deals with abstractions that are assembled by virtue of their relevance to a common theme (Polit and Hungler). Conceptualizations are a process of forming ideals, which are utilized for the development of research design. It helps the researcher to know what data is to be collected and gives direction to an entire research process. It provides certain framework of reference for clinical practice and research. Nursing is complex field of study with a need for practical and hands- on training as well as knowledge of the theoretical and the historical basis. Conceptual framework for this study was developed based on Ernestine Wiedenbach’s clinical nursing practice. She proposed her theory in 1970. This theory helps the nurse to guide practice and identify activities to help the patient the situation. Elements of Nursing According to Wiedenbach, there are four essential components to the field of nursing: 1. Philosophy of nursing Philosophy of nursing includes the attitudes and beliefs about life, the nurse maintains and how these beliefs affect the reality. Philosophy leads the nurse to act in a certain way to improve the patient outcome. 2. Nursing purpose The purpose of nursing includes what a particular nurse wishes to accomplish through the profession and the activities that are directed to the overall good of the Patient. 3. Nursing Practice The practice of nursing involves identifying and administering the required needs of a patients and determining whether the actions were helpful to the patient. 4. Art of Nursing Wiedenbach encouraged nurses to see nursing as an art, which includes understanding whether those actions are helpful to the patient. Wiedenbach’s view of nursing as an art based on goal directed care. Wiedenbach’s vision of nursing closely parallels the assessment, implementation and evaluation of the nursing practice. According to wiedenbach, nursing practice consists of identifying a patient’s need for help, ministering the needed help and validating that the need for help was met. According to her factual and speculative knowledge, judgment and skills are necessary for effective nursing practice. `This theory consists of three factors: central purpose, prescription and realities. A nurse develops a prescription based on a central purpose and implements it according to the realities of the situation. According to wiedenbach’s central purpose is the overall goal towards which a nurse strives. Prescription refers to the plans of care for a patient. Realities refer to the physical, physiological, emotional and spiritual factors that come into play in a situation involving nursing actions. The attributes adopted in this study are, Central purpose: The central purpose of this study is to assess the radiation induced symptoms and execution of nursing strategies among patient with Gynaecological Malignancies. Prescription: The investigator plans the prescription that will fulfill the central purpose by identifying various needs to achieve the goal. Thus, the investigator prepared nursing strategies for symptoms such as pain, fatigue, nausea and vomiting, appetite loss, bowel problems, urinary problems and vaginal problems. Realities: The five realities identified by Wiedenbach are agent, recipient, goal, means and framework. Agent Investigator. Recipient Gynaecological patients receiving radiation therapy. Goal Reduces the symptom experience level and feel comfortable. Means Nursing strategies. Framework Radiation oncology department in KMCH. Identification: `This includes identification of radiation-induced symptoms, the need for nursing strategies and its effectiveness on the symptom experience among Gynaecological Malignancies patients. Ministration: Ministration refers to the administration of nursing strategies for reduce the radiation induced symptoms such as pain, fatigue, nausea and vomiting, nutritional imbalances, bowel problems, urinary problems and vaginal problems among patients with gynaecological malignancies. Validation: It concerns the evaluation of the effectiveness of nursing strategies on radiation-induced symptoms among patients with gynaecological malignancies. A positive outcome represents patients had markedly decreased symptoms experience.

Extrinsic vs Intrinsic Motivation :: Teaching Education

Extrinsic vs Intrinsic Motivation What is the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation? What would you do as a future teacher to enhance intrinsic motivation in your students? The main difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is the goals of the students. With intrinsic motivation, the student studies subject material for the sake of learning. These students find studying enjoyable and learning new ideas as a reward itself. Extrinsically motivated students study for the sake of outside influences such as getting teacher and peer praise, acquiring a good grade or some other type of reinforcement that a teacher or peer might offer. Another difference that is worth mentioning is that research shows that intrinsically motivated learns more than extrinsically motivated students. This could be due to the fact that intrinsically motivated students are also extrinsically motivated. But on the other note, extrinsically motivated students are seldom found to be intrinsically motivated. Motivating students to become intrinsically motivated is no easy task for teachers. To some students, they enjoy learning. But for the others, this is where is the challenge really comes in. To facilitate material to students "dry" would totally be out of my agenda. I would try to teach to my students to the point where the material becomes alive within them. I to make their minds grow in curiosity of the subject so continual learning can take place. I would do this by means of relating material to what interests the students. I would also put as much energy into my teaching whether it be in my tone of voice, body language, appearance, or all of the above.

American involvement In N. Africa during world war II (Revised)

The second world II was a world wide conflict which started in 1939 and ended in 1945. The war was fought in different places in the world. One was fought in Asia at around 1937, the other in Europe in 1939 with the invasion of Poland by Germany. Another one was also fought in African continent. It led the world nations to split into two that is. Allies (Britain and America) and the axis (Germany and Italy) The Second World War started when Hitler invaded Poland on September first in 1939.About million Australians fought in the Second World War in campaigns against Germany and Italy in Europe, North Africa, Mediterranean and against Japan in South East Asia as well as in other parts of the Pacific. The main focus in this paper will be to discuss on the US military involvement in North Africa during the Second World War. In 1942, November, United Kingdom military forces in conjunction with US military forces staged war against the French North Africa. It was the result of the long con tentious argument between American planners of war and those of Britain.The turbulence of this argument was calmed by the American president’s Franklin D Roosevelt intervention. American dream about the Second World War in 1942 was to attack and defeat Germany before proceeding to Asia to see the harm the Japanese were causing to Pacific territories. In the same year, the Soviet Army was far much pressed by the Germany-panzers division who were leveling attacks on Russia. Some American planners thought it was not necessary to attack North Western Europe.They planned that come 1943, the American army would be well prepared, trained and equipped to meet the Germany’s aggressive troops. The American planners believed that its army’s knowledge and resources could help them to accomplish their mission of bringing Germany troops down. The British military leaders under the field marshal Alan Brooke (Dennis P. 2002; 78) adopted a different approach. They never thought it wise to start launching their attacks in 1942. The main reason why they were opposed to this idea was because taking such a move would force United Kingdom to bear much of the military burden.At this time, they could not have afforded to have a division in the army because they were experiencing a fierce fight against Germany which had already inflicted a lot of harm to their army. Most of their military had met stiff resistance of the Wehrmatch in France during the disastrous 1940 campaign. At this time their forces under field marshal Erwin Rommel, they had done practically nothing to end or reduce the German military process in North Africa and in Libya. After the war, Brooke found the strategy of the Marshal very incompatible and that he did not appreciate what the operations in France would mean.He could not figure out how the Germans could reinforce their attacks about three to four times faster than theirs and he could not understand how they could suffer from the shortage of sea transport if the Mediterranean was not opened. The British opposed this idea though America promised to provide the invading forces. They wanted the Americans to clear the axis force in the Mediterranean shores of North America and open up that great inland sea for the allied convoys to move in.This culminated into a deadlock that made Brooke to consider switching the America army’s emphasis from European theatre of operations to the pacific, but Roosevelt the then president of America could not accept such an idea that was central to their war strategy. This emphasy from Britain never worked to the Americans instead it led Roosevelt to do something that Winston Churchill would never dream of doing. In fact he intervened and overruled his advisers who used to advise him on war matters. This was in the summer of 1942.He ordered his generals to direct their forces to the French North Africa to support the British proposal for landing along the coast of North Africa. He did this so that he could divide the attention Germans were giving to European war. He wanted to divide the concentration of German because he thought that if he did not do that, then he would come to face German some where in Europe. He knew that his move would be embraced by Britain though it was only done due to political necessity and national interests. At this time the British soldiers had no choice but to gang with USA in attacking Morocco and Algeria.From this time the attention that German had on war in Europe, half of it shifted to the battle in the Mediterranean. The plan was well strategized. About 65,000 men under lieutenant General Durlght D. Eisenhower were to be transported by the allies to invade Casablanca, Roan and Algers. These were the possessions of the French North Africa. Everything went according the plan and they had a lot of quick success that was attributed to the fact that the Axis attention was focused elsewhere. This time the Germans were trying to sub jugate Stalingrad and the Caucasus.In Egypt at the same period, the Rummel’s African Korps renewed their offensive attacks on the British area of interests. The British forces under Lieutenant General Bernard Montgomery organized his army to liaise the move of the Rummel’s the Montgomery’s force entered into a fierce battle with the axis forces. The axis powers had no hope of winning this war and by early November Rummel’s armies yielded back to Libya. The move they took was against the wishes of Hitler who had ordered them to keep soldering on. Hitler never at any time contemplated of defeat. He would rather die that witness such humiliations (Ambrose S.2001; 58) At the onset of November 1942, the allied forces had started to build up their ships at Gibraltar. The German spies were aware but they down played the idea as simply as another large supply convoy for reinforcing Malta. The Germany’s companion had a different view; Italy was not so sure of this though Germany never thought about this seriously but had been ignoring Italy’s decision. In November eighth 1942 the foreign German foreign minister Ulrich Joachim who was also known as Von Ribbentrop was so sure about the American troops who had landed in Algerian as well as in Moroccan ports.These allied forces leveled attacks that had positive results as it was expected, the allied forces thought that the dissident French military officers who had supported them would turn against them however, this did not happen but to their surprise the Vichy French government just as it happened in Dakar and in Syria in the following year, they fought against the Allied forces though they did not manage to keep off the invading Germans in France and in Tunisia in the same year, that is 1942. The Vichy French military men couldn’t have resisted the German who were very adamant and determined to crash the French’s down.The Vichy’s weapons were not up to the standard when compared with those of the Germans. They used tanks while he German possessed combat aircrafts though they were not enough. The Germans never trusted the French Vichy government and that was why they could never let them to modify their war technology. They thought that French’s would rise up against them if let to acquire modern weapons. Due to lack of proper weapons the Vichy French’s were unable to keep sustained resistance against the Allied forces who comprised of British soldiers and America soldiers(Atkinson R 2003;152)In the initial stage of the war, America thought the French North Africa would not attack the Americans though this is not what happened. Though they tried to resist they could not resist the American’s advancements. They had no effective troops that would manage to keep Americans at bay. Though the American’s landings defeated the Frenchs, not all of them were successful. In fact a landing at Fedela costed the transpor t Leonard wood its 21 landing crafts and many lives perished. Also in another landing, the transport Thomas Jefferson 16 crafts was destroyed completely beyond revival.The most affected landing was of the transport canal which lost 18 out of its 25 crafts and in the second wave; five of them were ruined leaving only two boats that could carry troops and other supplies. There was serious landing opposition at Mehdia by the French forces. The landing was not safe and was very dangerous. By November 10th, the Americans under major general Lucian Truscott were able to capture the airfield from the hands of French military men. This was as a result of a very heavy naval gun fire between French’s and Americans but later after the negotiations between French leader and the allies in Algeria, fighting stopped.On 8th November 1992, the infantry division had already actualized its dreams in almost all areas apart from St. Cloud where they met a very strong French force. During this tim e the combat was spearheaded by Roosevelt who was by then who was brigadier general. However, the landings begun to be interfered with by the rising surfs on 8th of November, the landing activities were to be suspended. In the following day the Vichy government tried to counter attack but they met a lot of resistance from Allied force who had support from air bases and naval baseOran was secured from the hands by the American though the French looked like they would never go but an armistice was signed when the confronting parties came together. The most operation assignment that the allied forces faced was at the port of Algiers. The French had enough ground force plus 52 fighter aircrafts. They also had 39 bombers. The port was heavily guarded so there was no way the British’s and Americans could have an easy access to the port. The American troops of the 168th regimental combat landed on the West while the 39th combat team went to the East of the port and they raided the p ort.They used two British destroyers which carried the royal navy personnel and the American troops. Before they could succeed, one of the destroyers was destroyed and it had to go back immediately while the other one succeeded and crossed the barriers. These forces that succeeded captured the power station and petroleum tank firm and the Frenchs responded to this attack immediately. After some time when the 168th combat group failed to turn up, the American commander was forced to surrender his troops. The North Africa mission was called â€Å"operation torch† and the city that was their target was Casablanca and was under the command of Eisenhower.These nations (Sam M. 2006; 102) were fighting for the control of the Suez Canal that linked Africa with the Middle East. Suez Canal was the inlet of oil from the Middle East and other raw materials from Asia. Due to the mechanization of their armies, oil was a very crucial commodity and because Britain which had already a mechani zed army it totally relied on oil from the Middle East. Britain used Suez Canal as a link to her overseas dominions. This was all made possible by the Mediterranean Sea hence, the struggle. This struggle started at around 1935 when Ethiopia was invaded by Italy which by then had made Somali land its colony.The move frightened Egypt which was not yet a British colony. They started getting worried of its imperialistic aspirations thus in order to protect its interest and country, it allowed Britain to station its army in its territory so as to keep off any advances from Italy. Thereafter, Britain and France took upon themselves the responsibility of maintaining naval control over the Mediterranean with the main British’s base at Alexandria, Egypt. The British and American troops met little resistance at Algiers, Oran and Casablanca on 8th of November 1942. The war took place in the North African desert.By the time the war took place the Italian dictator Mussolini had a better e quipped army than that of the Britain and America. He had about a million soldiers who were based in Libya while Britain had only 3600 soldiers who were based in Egypt. They were supposed to protect the Suez Canal and the oil fields in Arabia. At this time the Italians were a threat to Britain. They had already started showing interest in the red sea and Suez Canal supply routes. The North Africa campaign in the beginning was hampered by lack of enough supplies on both sides but later they got equipped.Tough battles took place which either rendered one group to advance against each other along the supply routes. Many of these fights took place in the Far East region out of the Mediterranean where they enjoyed free transport (Breuer W. 1985; 26) In April 1941, the allied forces were under the leadership of General Bernard Montgomery. While the British troops worked to keep Germans forces at bay to the West, the US forces were supposed to confront the Frenchs in North Africa underâ₠¬  Operation Touch† The main reason for this reason for this operation was to take over Morocco which was already a French colony, to take Algeria and Tunisia.They wanted to offer support to their colleague in the Libyan Desert. They also wanted to make Mediterranean shipping route free to their ships and for other major operations in North Africa. They hoped that they would force the axis of out of the region. They also wanted the axis to reduce their concentration on the Russian forces or in other words, they wanted the Axis forces to divide their war attention between North Africa and Russia. The attack took Germans by surprise because they did not expect it to happen. Later, the French stopped being hostile to the allied forces and allowed them to nave access to Tunisia.Rommel led his armies to various defensive operations. One of the most key operations was of the Kasserine pass where American defenses were crashed by Germans modern tanks. This operation saw 1000 allied troops dead and hundred of them were held prisoners by Germans. They also lost most of their fighting equipments. Though the axis powers thought they were winners, to the allied forces was an awakening call. They went back to their drawing board, assessed their weaknesses and came up with the way forward (Funk A. L. 1974; 86)Americans never gave up; they sent Rommel back to conquer the Kasserine pass so that they could get the Merith line. This time, the axis forces gained advanced and suppressed the resistance that until they let 275000 prisoners free. The axis forces in Africa surrendered on may 2nd 1943 after about 350,000 soldiers were captured by the allied forces and 70,000 were casualties. After they quit from the war, the stage was left open for Italian campaign. The axis surrendered because of ruthlessness of ‘the operation retribution’ which was designed to evacuate German and Italian forces from Tunisia.About 897 were held captives, 653 escaped and were assum ed to have might drowned. In conclusion, we have seen how the North African war costed many lives. Many people perished and others were injured. Though the war was took place in Africa, it was not as fierce that one in Europe. These wars were fought by these nations to protect their national interests. No country wanted their competitors to have an access or even go near its spheres of influence. Another reason for the fight was to gain supremacy.The Allied Forces were determined to silence Germany and its colleagues which were proving to be a big threat in Europe. Their plan worked as it was expected that is, they engaged Germany to another front so as to divide its concentration on war in Europe. So, it was not war for the sake of war but war for different reasons. In this war America in conjunction with Britain were the main aggressors. They left North African countries highly damaged. A lot of people perished while others were injured. The harm this American led war did was more than what one could have expected.Reference: Dennis P. The oxford Companion to Australian Military History. Melbourne. Oxford University press. 2002; 78 Breuer W. Operation Torch: The Allied Gamble to Invade North. St. Martins Press. 1985; 26 Funk A. L. The Politics of Torch, University press. 1974; 86 Sam M. At all costs: How crippled and two American Merchant mariners Turned the Tide of world WarII. Random House. 2006; 102 Ambrose S. The good Fight: How World War II Was Won. Atheneum. New York. 2001; 58 Atkinson R. An army at Dawn The war in North Africa 1942-1943. Newyork: Henry Holt. 2003; 152

Growth Rate Flattens Essay

The reality of software development in a huge company like Microsoft – it employs more than 48,000 people – in that a substantial portion of your work involves days of boredom punctuated by hours of tedium. You basically spend your time in an isolated office, writing code and sitting in meetings during which you participated in looking for and evaluating hundreds of bugs and potential bugs. Yet Microsoft has no problem in finding and retaining software programmers. Their programmers work horrendously long hours and obsess on the goal of shipping product. From the day new employees begin work at Microsoft; they know they’re special and that their employer is special. New hires all have one thing in common- they’re smart. The company prides itself on putting all recruits through a grueling â€Å"interview loop,† during which they confront a barrage of brain-teasers by future colleagues to see how well they think. Only the best and the brightest surviv e to become employees. The company does this because Microsofties truly believe that their company is special. For instance, it has a high tolerance for nonconformity. Would you believe that one software tester comes to work every day dressed in extravagant Victorian outfits? But the underlying theme that unites Microsofties is the belief that the firm has a manifest destiny to change the world. The least consequential decision by a programmer can have an outsized importance when it can affect a new release that might be used by 50 million people. Microsoft employees are famous for putting in long hours. One program manager said, â€Å"In my first five years, I was the Microsoft stereotype. I lived on caffeine and vending machine hamburger and 20 hour workdays. †¦. I had no life. I considered everything outside the building as a necessary evil.† More recently, things have changed. There are still a number of people, who put in 80 hours weeks, but 60 and 70 hours weeks are more typical and some even are doing their jobs in only 40 hours. No discussion of employee life at Microsoft would be complete without mentioning the company’s lucrative stock option program. Microsoft created more millionaire employees, faster, than any company in American history- more than 10,000 by the late 1990s. While the company is certainly more than a place to get rich, executives still realize that money matters. One former manager claims that the human resources’ department actually kept a running chart of employee satisfaction versus the company’s stocks prices. â€Å"When the stock was up, human resources could turn off the ventilation and everybody would say they were happy. When the stock was down, we could give people massages and they would tell us that the massages were too hard.† In the go-go 1990s, when Microsoft stock was doubling every few months and yearly stock splits were predictable, employees not only got to participate in Microsoft’s manifest destiny, they could get rich in the process. By the spring of 2002, with the world in a recession, stock prices down and the growth for Microsoft products slowing, it wasn’t so clear what was driving its employees to continue the company’s dominance of software industry.