Stop Torture Essay Example for Free

Stop Torture Essay Would you authorize torturing an individual in order to save the lives of hundreds? A majority of the population would agree that sometimes torture becomes necessary. Employed during war, many civilians believe torture is justified as a method to retrieve information to save lives and many military personnel would argue that the same methods would be used against their comrades. Contrary to the majority, the use of torture is unnecessary because it harms innocent individuals, provides inaccurate information, and contradicts America’s efforts in making the world a better place. People have mixed feelings regarding the use of torture to capture terrorist or prevent terrorist attacks. Some can argue that torture is an effective method that can be used to get suspects to speak so that authorities can respond quickly. The use of torture can help soldiers retrieve valuable information from captured terrorist to prevent damage from other terrorist. Secondly, if terrorist are not limited to physical violence and acts of immortality, why should soldiers who protect innocent people be limited to nonviolent interrogation. Many will argue that terrorist are not afraid to use violence, hence, we should not be afraid either. Last but not least, why should one have empathy towards people who are intentionally causing mayhem and chaos? While these are seem as reasonable arguments to allow the use of torture, there are many consequences and drawbacks that are associated with the use of torture. There have been many instances reported where American soldiers treated other innocent Iraqi civilians in custody with inhumanity and ruthlessness, such as the infamous stories of â€Å"Abu Ghraib. Abu Ghraib has been in news articles for quite some time, and reporters have provided insight on how innocent civilians were thrown in prisons and treated with inhumanity and cruelty. The documentary Taxi to the Dark Side, written and directed by Alex Gibney, is about a taxi driver who was taken into custody at an U. S. military base in Abu Ghraib. He was stripped naked on arrival, chained to the ceiling, and beaten several times a day. After enduring five days of excruciating pain and torture, he died. One must stop and wonder why the American government at Abu Ghraib sanctioned such inhumane methods? They did not. These techniques of chaining prisoners to the ceilings, using physical violence, and waterboarding were only sanctioned in Guantanamo Bay. However, these practices migrated to Abu Ghraib without any official orders. The guards at Abu Ghraib must have reasoned that if torture was allowed in a military base, why limit these cruel methods to just one base? This misguided reasoning spreads chaos and along with it derives horrifying incidents like Abu Ghraib. American soldiers who were the guards at Abu Ghraib wanted to contribute and help their mission become succeed. For them, torture was about obtaining information from prisoners by any means necessary to help war efforts. However, the feeling of being superior to Iraqi prisoners led them to treat these innocent men like â€Å"dogs† (Gibney). In the article, â€Å"The Abolition of Torture,† author Andrew Sullivan argues that torture is not only ineffective but also morally wrong. Andrew Sullivan writes this article in response to Charles Krauthammer’s belief in the need for torture and Krauthammer defines a terrorist â€Å"an unlawful combatant. He lives outside of laws of war because he does not wear a uniform, he hides among civilians, and he deliberately targets innocents† (Sullivan). Knowing that there are many instances where innocent individuals are thrown into prisons as terrorist by government officials. What difference is there between the American government officials and terrorist if both harm innocent individuals? In order for us to sustain faith in humanity, we must treat everyone with humanity in mind; terrorist or not. The use of torture spreads like a forest fire and brings down innocent individuals with it. Another reason torture is unnecessary because it generates inaccurate information. When facing torture, prisoners will say almost anything to make the pain go away. This often leads to false information and wastes valuable time. The American government approved â€Å"waterboarding† as a method of obtaining information from prisoners immediately after September 11, 2001. In an article written by Senator John McCain, who was tortured for years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War, he provides an insight on the truth behind the use of torture. Senator McCain recounts conversation with CIA director Leon Panetta, Panetta stated, â€Å"None of the three detainees who were waterboarded provided Abu Ahmed’s real name, his whereabouts or an accurate description of his role in al-Qaeda† (McCain). Khalid Sheik Mohammed was waterboard 183 times, yet he did not provide any vital information that led to capturing Osama Bin Laden. This clearly demonstrates that torture is not an effective method because the results can be inaccurate and often misleading. Finally, yet most importantly, the use of torture reverses America’s efforts of making the world a better place. For a country to become an example of justice or humanity, its actions must represent its ideals. When the world hears about America’s policy on torture, it contradicts their efforts of going to third world countries to fight off terror and establish democracy. In his article â€Å"U. S. Went to the ‘Dark Side’ on Torture,† Charles C. Krulak observes that America’s policy on torture â€Å"alienated would-be allies and fueled Al Qaeda’s recruiting efforts. † Many religionist extremist and terrorist recruiters use incidents like Abu Ghraib to influence individuals to take part in terrorist activities. Children growing up in third world countries who witness instances like Abu Ghraib can easily be misguided and join terrorist camps. America’s policy on torture causes more chaos and takes away from what it means to be an American. America was founded as country for the free, brave, and ones who believe in democracy. We classify ourselves as the world police and protectors of humanity. However, our government justifies taking Iraqi civilians treating them with inhumanity and putting them through cruel and unusual punishments. Aren’t these actions forbidden by the American constitution? The American constitution is the building block for American civilization. The constitution along with the Bill of Rights not only protects the freedom of citizens of the world but also guarantees them the right to a trail. What has happened to the beliefs that founding fathers laid out for our country to follow? IF we are to set an example for justice and democracy, we must stop the use of torture. The goal of democracy is that every man should be treated equally. On the other hand, torture is an act of inflicting permanent pain and grief. Democracy and torture can never go hand in hand. Torture should never be a way to gain advantage over an individual, whether it is mental or physical. Torture is merciless, unkind, and brutal, which can also define the character of the user and becomes a part of his/her human nature to feel a sense of empowerment toward another human being, in other words â€Å"the enemy†. As a result, torture influences both sides to ongoing revenge, anger and violence. Torture served no purpose to initiate anything positive for our world today or tomorrow. Mahatma Gandhi once stated, â€Å"An eye for an eye leaves the world blind. † If the world leaders continue to exercise methods of torture, then there will be no room for the advancement of humanity. America should not use torture to fight against terrorism. As the use of torture is terminated, the world will have a chance to come together and end terrorism because the main root of terrorism is being inhumane and we should not fall in that category by using torture as our way to fight against it.

Java-Whitepaper Essay Example for Free

Java-Whitepaper Essay This white paper compares C++/Qt with Java/AWT/Swing for developing large-scale, real-world software with graphical user interfaces. References are made to independent reports that examine various aspects of the two toolsets. 1 A Comparison of Qt and Java 1. What Do We Compare? When selecting an environment for a large software development project, there are many aspects that must be considered. The programming language is one of the most significant aspects, since its choice has considerable impact on what other options are available. For example, in a GUI development project, developers will need a GUI library that provides ready-made user interface components, for example, buttons and menus. Since the selection of the GUI library itself has a large impact on the development of a project, it is not uncommon for the GUI library to be chosen first, with the programming language being determined by the languages for which the library is available. Usually, there is only one language per library. Other software components like database access libraries or communication libraries must also be taken into consideration, but they rarely have such a strong impact on the overall design as the GUI libraries. In this white paper, the objective is to compare the C++/Qt environment with the Java/AWT/Swing environment. In order to do this in the most useful way, we will begin by comparing the programming languages involved, i. e. C++ and Java, and then compare the two GUI libraries, Qt for C++ and AWT/Swing for Java. 2. Comparing C++ and Java When discussing the various benefits and drawbacks of particular programming languages, the debate often degenerates into arguments that are based on personal experience and preference rather than any objective criteria. Personal preferences and experience should be taken into account when selecting a programming language for a project, but because it is subjective, it cannot be considered here. Instead we will look at issues such as programmer-efficiency, runtime-efficiency and memory-efficiency since these can be quantified and have been examined in scientifically conducted research, although we will also incorporate information based on the practical exerience of projects that have been implemented in our own company. 2. 1. Programmer-efficiency Programmer-efficiency describes how efficiently (i. e. how quickly and accurately) a programmer with a given degree of experience and knowledge can implement a certain set of requirements in a particular programming language, including debugging and project setup time. Since developer salaries are one of the primary cost factors for any programming project, programmer-efficiency greatly affects the 2 A Comparison of Qt and Java cost-efficiency of the project. To some extent, programmer-efficiency is also determined by the tools available. The main design goal of Java is increased programmer-efficiency compared to other general-purpose programming languages, rather than increased memory- or runtime-efficiency. Java has several features designed to make it more programmer-efficient. For example, unlike C++ (or C), the programmer does not have to explicitly free (give back) allocated memory resources to the operating system. Freeing unused memory (garbage collection) is handled automatically by the Java runtime system, at the expense of memory- and runtime-efficiency (see below). This liberates the programmer from the burden of keeping track of allocated memory, a tedious task that is a major cause of bugs. This feature alone should significantly increase the programmer-efficiency of Java programmers, compared to C++ (or C) programmers. Research shows that in practice, garbage collection and other Java features, do not have a major influence on the programmer-efficiency. One of the classic software estimation models, Barry Boehm’s CoCoMo1 predicts the cost and schedule of a software project using cost drivers which take into account variables like the general experience of a programmers, the experience with the programming language in question, the targeted reliability of the program, etc. Boehm writes that the amount of effort per source statement was highly independent of the language level. Other research, for example, A method of programming measurement and estimation by C. E. Walston and C. P. Felix of IBM2, points in the same direction. Both the reports cited here pre-date the advent of Java by many years, although they seem to reveal a general principle that the sophistication of a general-purpose programming language has, compared with other aspects, like the experience of the developers, no significant influence on the overall project costs. There is more recent research that explicitly includes Java and which supports this hypothesis. In An empirical comparison of C, C++, Java, Perl, Python, Rexx, and Tcl3, Lutz Prechelt of the University of Karlsruhe, describes an experiment he conducted in which computer science students were assigned a particular design and development task and asked to implement the specification provided in any of the languages C, C++, or Java which they could freely choose according to their personal preferences (the other languages were examined in a different part of the research project). The data gathered shows almost the same results for C++ and Java (with C running third in most aspects). This is also backed up by our own experience: if programmers can choose their favorite programming language (which is usually the one they have most experience of), programmers with the same level of experience (measured for example, in years of programming experience in general) achieve about the same programmer-efficiency. Another interesting aspect that we noted (but which is not yet supported by any formal 3 A Comparison of Qt and Java research) is that less experienced developers seem to achieve somewhat better results with Java, medium-experienced developers achieve about the same results with both programming languages, nd experienced developers achieve better results with C++. These findings could be due to better tools being available for C++; nevertheless this is an aspect that must be taken into account. An interesting way to quantify programmer-efficiency is the Function Point method developed by Capers Jones. Function points are a software metric that only depend on the functionality, not on the implementation. Working from the function points, it is possible to compute the lines of code needed per function point as well as the language level which describes how many function points can be implemented in a certain amount of time. Intriguingly, both the values for the lines of code per function point and the language level are identical for C++ and Java (6 for the language level, compared with C’s 3. 5 and Tcl’s 5, and 53 for the lines of code per function point, compared with C’s 91 and Tcl’s 64). In conclusion: both research and practice contradict the claim that Java programmers achieve a higher programmer-efficiency than C++ programmers. 2. 2. Runtime-efficiency We have seen that Java’s programmer-efficiency appears to be illusory. We will now examine its runtime efficiency. Again, Prechelt provides useful data. The amount of data he provides is huge, but he arrives at the conclusion that a Java program must be expected to run at least 1. 22 times as long as a C/C++ program. Note that he says at least; the average runtime of Java programs is even longer. Our own experience shows that Java programs tend to run about 2-3 times as long than their equivalent C/C++ programs for the same task. Not surprisingly, Java loses even more ground when the tasks are CPU-bound. When it comes to programs with a graphical user interface, the increased latency of Java programs is worse than the runtime performance hit. Usability studies show that users do not care about whether a long running task takes, say, two or three minutes, but they do care when a program does not show an immediate reaction to their interaction, for example when they press a button. These studies show that the limit of what a user accepts before they consider a program to be unresponsive can be as little as 0. 7 seconds. Well return to this issue when we compare graphical user interfaces in Java and C++ programs. An explanation about why Java programs are slower than C++ is in order. C++ programs are compiled by the C++ compiler into a binary format that can be executed directly by the CPU; the whole program execution thus takes place in 4 A Comparison of Qt and Java hardware. (This is an oversimplification since most modern CPUs execute microcode, but this does not affect the issues discussed here. ) On the other hand, the Java compiler compiles the source code into bytecode which is not executed directly by the CPU, but rather by another piece of software, the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). The JVM in turn, runs on the CPU. The execution of the bytecode of a Java program does not take place in (fast) hardware, but instead in (much slower) software emulation. Work has been undertaken to develop Just in Time (JIT) compilers to address Java’s runtime efficiency problem, but no universal solution has yet emerged. It is the semi-interpreted nature of Java programs that makes the compile once, run anywhere approach of Java possible in the first place. Once a Java program is compiled into bytecode, it can be executed on any platform which has a JVM. In practice, this is not always the case, because of implementation differences in different JVMs, and because of the necessity to sometimes use native, non-Java code, usually written in C or C++, together with Java programs. But is the use of platform-independent bytecode the right approach for crossplatform applications? With a good cross-platform toolkit like Qt and good compilers on the various platforms, programmers can achieve almost the same by compiling their source code once for each platform: write once, compile everywhere. It can be argued that for this to work, developers need access to all the platforms they want to support, while with Java, in theory at least, developers only need access to one platform running the Java development tools and a JVM. In practice, no responsible software manufacturer will ever certify their software for a platform the software hasnt been tested on, so they would still need access to all the relevant platforms. The question arises why it should be necessary to run the Java Virtual Machine in software; if a program can be implemented in software, it should also be possible to have hardware implement the same unctionality. This is what the Java designers had in mind when they developed the language; they assumed that the performance penalty would disappear as soon as Java CPUs that implement the JVM in hardware would become available. But after five years, such Java CPUs have not become generally available. Java automatically de-allocates (frees) unused memory. The programmer allocates memory, and the JVM keeps track of all the allocated memory blocks and the references to them. As soon as a memory block is no longer referenced, it can be reclaimed. This is done in a process called garbage collection in which the JVM periodically checks all the allocated memory blocks, and removes any which are no longer referred to. Garbage collection is very convenient, but the trade offs are greater memory consumption and slower runtime speed.. With C++, the programmer can (and should) delete blocks of memory as soon as they are no longer required. With Java, blocks are not deleted until the next garbage collection run, and this depends on the implementation on the JVM being used. Prechtelt provides figures which state that on average ( ) and with a confidence of 80%, the Java programs consume at least 32 MB (or 297%) more memory than the C/C++ programs ( ). In addition to the higher memory requirements, the garbage collection process itself requires processing power which is consequently not available to the actual application functionality, leading to slower overall runtimes. Since the garbage collector runs periodically, it can occasionally lead to Java programs freezing for a few seconds. The best JVM implementations keep the occurrence of such freezes to a minimum, but the freezes have not been eliminated entirely. When dealing with external programs and devices, for example, during I/O or when interacting with a database, it is usually desirable to close the file or database connection as soon as it is no longer required. Using C++’s destructors, this happens as soon as the programmer calls delete. In Java, closing may not occur until the next garbage collecting sweep, which at best may tie up resources unnecessarily, and at worst risks the open resources ending up in an inconsistent state. The fact that Java programs keep memory blocks around longer than is strictly necessary is especially problematic for embedded devices where memory is often at a premium. It is no coincidence that there is (at the time of writing) no complete implementation of the Java platform for embedded devices, only partial implementations that implement a subset. The main reason why garbage collection is more expensive than explicit memory management by the programmer is that with the Java scheme, information is lost. In a C++ program, the programmer knows both where their memory blocks are (by storing pointers to them) and knows when they are not needed any longer. In a Java 6 A Comparison of Qt and Java program, the latter information is not available to the JVM (even though it is known to the programmer), and thus the JVM has to manually find unreferenced blocks. A Java programmer can make use of their knowledge of when a memory block is not needed any longer by deleting all references that are still around and triggering garbage collection manually, but this requires as much effort on the part of the programmer as with the explicit memory management in C++, and still the JVM has to look at each block during garbage collection to determine which ones are no longer used. Technically, there is nothing that prevents the implementation and use of garbage collection in C++ programs, and there are commercial programs and libraries available that offer this. But because of the disadvantages mentioned above, few C++ programmers make use of this. The Qt toolkit takes a more efficient approach to easing the memory management task for its programmers: when an object is deleted, all dependant objects are automatically deleted too. Qt’s approach does not interfere with the programmer’s freedom to delete manually when they wish to. Because manual memory management burdens programmers, C and C++ have been accused of being prone to generate unstable, bug-ridden software. Although the danger of producing memory corruption (which typically leads to program crashes) is certainly higher with C and C++, good education, tools and experience can greatly reduce the risks. Memory management can be learned like anything else, and there are a large number of tools available, both commercial and open source, that help programmers ensure that there are no memory errors in the program; for example, Insure++ by Parasoft, Purify by Rational and the open source Electric Fence. C++s flexible memory management system also makes it possible to write custom memory profilers that are adapted to whichever type of application a programmer writes. To sum up this discussion, we have found C++ to provide much better runtime- and memory-efficiency than Java, while having comparable programmer-efficiency. 2. 4. Available libraries and tools The Java platform includes an impressive number of packages that provide hundreds of classes for all kinds of purposes, including graphical user interfaces, security, networking and other tasks. This is certainly an advantage of the Java platform. For each package available on the Java platform, there is at least one corresponding library for C++, although it can be difficult to assemble the various libraries that would be needed for a C++ project and make them all work together correctly. However, this strength of Java is also one of its weaknesses. It becomes increasingly difficult for the individual programmer to find their way through the huge APIs. For any given task, you can be almost certain that somewhere, there is 7 A Comparison of Qt and Java functionality that would accomplish the task or at least help with its implementation. But it can be very difficult to find the right package and the right class. Also, with an increasing number of packages, the size of the Java platform has increased considerably. This has led to subsets e. g. , for embedded systems, but with a subset, the advantage of having everything readily available disappears. As an aside, the size of the Java platform makes it almost impossible for smaller manufacturers to ship a Java system independent from Sun Microsystems, Java’s inventor, and this reduces competition. If Java has an advantage on the side of available libraries, C++ clearly has an advantage when it comes to available tools. Because of the considerable maturity of the C and C++ family of languages, many tools for all aspects of application development have been developed, including: design, debugging, and profiling tools. While there are Java tools appearing all the time, they seldom measure up to their C++ counterparts. This is often even the case with tools with the same functionality coming from the same manufacturer; compare, for example, Rational’s Quantify, a profiler for Java and for C/C++. The most important tool any developer of a compiled language uses, is still the compiler. C++ has the advantage of having compilers that are clearly superior in execution speed. In order to be able to ship their compilers (and other tools) on various platforms, vendors tend to implement their Java tools in Java itself, with all the aforementioned memory and efficiency problems. There are a few Java compilers written in a native language like C (for example, IBM’s Jikes), but these are the exception, and seldom used. 3. Comparing AWT/Swing and Qt So far, we have compared the programming language Java and the programming language C++. But as we discussed at the beginning of this article, the programming language is only one of the aspects to consider in GUI development. We will now compare the packages for GUI development that are shipped with Java, i. e. AWT and Swing, with the cross-platform GUI toolkit, Qt, from the Norwegian supplier, Trolltech. We have confined the comparision on the C++ side to the Qt GUI toolkit, since unlike MFC (Microsoft Foundation Classes) and similar toolkits, This seems to contradict Java’s cross-platform philosophy and may be due to the the initial AWT version being reputedly developed in under fourteen days. Because of these and a number of other problems with the AWT, it has since been augmented by the Swing toolkit. Swing relies on the AWT (and consequently on the native libraries) only for very basic things like creating rectangular windows, handling events and executing primitive drawing operations. Everything else is handled within Swing, including all the drawing of the GUI components. This does away with the problem of applications looking and behaving differently on different platforms. Unfortunately, because Swing is mostly implemented in Java itself, it lacks efficiency. As a result, Swing programs are not only slow when performing computations, but also when drawing and handling the user interface, leading to poor responsiveness. As mentioned earlier, poor responsiveness is one of the things that users are least willing to tolerate in a GUI application. On today’s standard commodity hardware, it is not unusual to be able to watch how a Swing button is redrawn when the mouse is pressed over it. While this situation will surely improve with faster hardware, this does not address the fundamental problem that complex user interfaces developed with Swing are inherently slow. The Qt toolkit follows a similar approach; like Swing, it only relies on the native libraries only for very basic things and handles the drawing of GUI components itself. This brings Qt the same advantages as Swing (for example, applications look and behave the same on different platforms), but since Qt is entirely implemented in C++ and thus compiled to native code; it does not have Swing’s efficiency problems. User interfaces written with Qt are typically very fast; because of Qts smart use of caching techniques, they are sometimes even faster than comparable programs written using only the native libraries. Theoretically, an optimal native program should always be at least as fast as an equivalent optimal Qt program; however, making a native program optimal is much more difficult and requires more programming skills than making a Qt program optimal. Both Qt and Swing employ a styling technique that lets programs display in any one of a number of styles, independent of the platform they are running on. This is possible because both Qt and Swing handle the drawing themselves and can draw GUI elements in whichever style is desired. Qt even ships with a style that emulates the default look-and-feel in Swing programs, along with styles that emulate the 9 A Comparison of Qt and Java Win32 look-and-feel, the Motif look-and-feel, and—in the Macintosh version— the MacOS X Aqua style. 3. 2. Programming Paradigms In Qt and Swing While programming APIs to some extent are a matter of the programmers personal taste, there are some APIs that lend themselves to simple, short, and elegant application code far more readily than others.

Pulse Oximetry For Anaesthesia In Veterinary Practices Biology Essay

Pulse Oximetry For Anaesthesia In Veterinary Practices Biology Essay Pulse oximetry is one of the most commonly used pieces of monitoring equipment for anaesthesia in veterinary clinics today. Using a pulse oximeter allows us to monitor the percentage of haemoglobin (Hb) which is saturated with oxygen in a non-invasive way, allowing us to detect hypoxia before the patient is visibly cyanotic. The pulse oximeter consists of a probe attached to the patient (usually tongue, ear, or prepuce/vulva) which is linked to a computerised unit. The unit displays the percentage of Hb saturated with oxygen and a calculated heart rate, often with an audible signal for each pulse beat. Some units also have a graphical display of the blood flow past the probe called a plethysmograph. The pulse oximeter is able to determine the percentage of haemoglobin saturated with oxygen, commonly referred to as SpO2, by emitting red and infrared light from the light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on one side of the probe, which travels through the tissue (or reflects off depending on the probe type) to the photodiode on the other side of the probe. The machine analyses the light that reaches the photodiode and is able to detect subtle differences in the absorption of light by oxyhaemoglobin and deoxyhaemoglobin. As these differ in absorption levels, the amount of red and infrared light absorbed by blood is related to haemoglobin oxygen saturation. The pulse oximeter can calculate the heart rate as it detects the pulsations as the volume of arterial blood in the tissue changes during the pulsative cycle, affecting light absorption. Adequate oxygenation is essential at all times for the body to perform its metabolic processes. The heart and brain are the bodys biggest consumers of oxygen, and if oxygenation levels decrease to critical levels, tissue damage occurs extremely quickly. Oxygen travels in the blood in two forms as unbound oxygen dissolved in plasma and as oxygen that is bound to the haemoglobin. In healthy patients breathing room air (which contains approximately 21% oxygen), oxygen dissolved in plasma equates to a very small percentage of the total oxygen in the blood (most texts list this as less than 1.5%), and the majority of blood oxygen is bound to haemoglobin (the remaining 98.5%). Measuring and monitoring oxygenation via pulse oximetry is very useful as it is monitoring the oxygen that is bound to haemoglobin, which is what is utilised by the body for normal cell function. Monitoring SpO2 however does not give you a good indication of how well the patient is ventilating (or breathing) for itself, especially during anaesthesia. A common mistake veterinary nurses make is to presume that if a patient has a SpO2 of 95% or higher under anaesthesia, then it is breathing adequately. We can get lulled into a false sense of security by having a good saturation figure when the patients respiration is completely inadequate. There are two main functions of respiration, one is getting oxygen out of the air and into the body, and the other is getting carbon dioxide out of the body and into the air. It possible for the patient to be getting enough oxygen into their body but not being able to get rid of enough carbon dioxide, so the SpO2 will show a good reading, but the patient may be hypercapnic (elevated levels of carbon dioxide). A capnograph should be used to measure end tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO2) levels and assess patient respiration. Partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood (PaO2) is a measurement of the levels of unbound oxygen in the plasma, and as discussed above, makes up a small percentage of the total oxygen in the blood. However PaO2 is important as it influences the saturation of haemoglobin because there must be an adequate level of dissolved oxygen in the blood to be available to bind to the haemoglobin. It is also important to understand that oxygen saturation and PaO2 are linked (when one goes up the other goes up and vice versa), however it does not have a direct linear correlation. As PaO2 decreases, the saturation level decreases slowly at first, but then decreases rapidly (see table **). In a patient which is breathing room air, the PaO2 is about 100mmHg, whereas for a patient breathing 100% oxygen (as for anaesthesia), their Pa02 is around 500mmHg and SpO2 is 100%. If this patient has a PaO2 drop to 100mmHg (a drop of 400mmHg) their SpO2 will drop to around 98%. If a further drop to 80mmHg occurs, their SpO2 will drop to around 95%. After this point, the SpO2 will start a more dramatic drop; if PaO2 drops to 60mmHg (another 20mmHg drop) will mean their SpO2 will be about 90%. A further drop of 20mmHg to a PaO2 of 40mmHg, the saturation will go from 90% to 75%. In practical application, when monitoring SpO2 in a normal healthy dog or cat, it should be 95-100%. Levels between 90-95% must be investigated, and critical values for oxygen saturation are below 90%.Simply, this means that the total oxygen available to the body decreases very little when partial pressures are above 80mmHg (Spo2 of 95%), however they decrease rapidly below this level, such as patients with lung disease, lack of oxygen, inadequate ventilation etc. Practically put, if you patient has a Sp02 of 90-95% this can indicate hypoxaemia and must be investigated as your patients haemoglobin is not fully saturated. If your patient has a Sp02 of less than 90%, then immediate therapy must be initiated oxygen if not receiving already, ventilation assistance etc. Sp02 of 85% or below for more than 30 seconds is considered an emergency. Placing the SpO2 Probe There are two main types of probes available on the market transmission or reflective. Transmission probes are the most common, and are usually mounted in a clip. These are generally used on the tongue, pinna, toe webbing, vulva or prepuce, or any other area that is thin and relatively hairless. Reflective probes have the light source and sensor side by side and are often taped to the base of the tail after it has been clipped, or covered and inserted into the oesophagus or rectum. When placing rectally, it is important to ensure that there are no faeces between the sensor and the rectum wall. Tongue, Cheeks, Prepuce, Vulva With tongues, start at the tip and work your way toward the base. Always direct the light downward, toward the floor; regardless of the animals position to reduce the effects of ambient light (ambient light will affect accuracy). For patient comfort, keep the tongue moist during longer procedures by applying a dampened gauze swab between the tongue and the probe. Do not have the gauze too thick as it can alter the reading by impeding the light transmission. To get a better reading on smaller tongues, bring the sides of the tongue up and pass the light through both layers. Do not fold the tip of the tongue, as you will restrict blood flow to the tongue. The same principals apply to placing the probe on the cheek, prepuce or vulva. Hock Moisten the hock area with isopropyl alcohol and/or water, and clip hair if needed. Pinna (Ear) The probe can be placed on the ear using the same technique as the tongue. Long haired animals may need a patch shaved first for the sensor to work correctly. Toes Probes can be placed on the metatarsals or metacarpals or in the webbing between them. Tail Place the reflective probe on the ventral base of the tail. The LEDs should be positioned dorsally. You may need to clip a small patch of hair, only large enough for the LEDs to lay on the skin. Be sure the skin is clean. Hold the sensor snugly against the tail and wrap with non-adhesive wrap. Poor SpO2 Readings When you detect a poor or low saturation reading, it is vital that you check the patient before you check the machine. Make sure your patient is stable by assessing all vital signs. Pulse oximeters need a strong regular pulse where the probe is located. If there is only a weak pulse, the pulse oximeter may display a reading but it might not be accurate. Most pulse oximeters have a pulse strength indicator as a bar graph and this should be used to ascertain whether you have correct placement. If the clip of the probe is too strong, this can also affect your reading by constricting the blood flow in front of the sensor. If this is the case, swapping the clip for a more gentler one is the best option, otherwise reposition the sensor to somewhere that can take the pressure (this will usually be thicker). An irregular signal caused by an irregular heartbeat or by the patient moving, shivering or fitting can cause problems for a pulse oximeter. If a patient moves too much, try relocating the probe to another location. Ambient light may be too bright for the sensor to operate correctly. Theatre lights can especially cause issues. Any sensor that is located in bright light should have a drape placed over it to reduce light contamination for more accurate readings. Do not place the sensor is on the same limb as a blood pressure cuff, the blood flow restriction from the cuff during measurement will interfere with the pulse oximeter sensor operating correctly. Other factors that can affect SpO2 readings include pigmented skin either normal pigment or jaundiced patients; peripheral vasoconstriction eg hypothermia, shock, drug-induced; or excess hair can cause interference and should be clipped away to allow the probe to sit directly against the skin. Wetting down with alcohol can also help with excess hair when you are not allowed to clip. Pulse Oximeter Maintenance Read your manufacturers instructions regarding the care of your pulse oximeter and probe. For infection control, you should always wipe the probe sensor and clip between patients. Most sensors can be surface-cleaned by wiping with 70% isopropyl alcohol. Do not immerse the sensor in liquid unless the manufacturer instructions state immersion is possible. After each cleaning and prior to each use, inspect the sensor and cable for fraying, cracking, breakage, or other damage. Inspect the clip for cracking or breakage, or loss of spring tension that would allow slippage or movement of the sensor from its proper position. If defects are noted, do not use the sensor or clip as it may provide an inaccurate reading. When used properly, pulse oximeters are an easy to use and readily available piece of monitoring equipment especially for anaesthesia, however it is important to note that they do not replace hands-on monitoring, and are not a valid method of assessing whether a patients respiration is adequate, as they provide a late indication of respiratory issues.

An Investigation of Wachovia :: essays research papers fc

An Investigation of Wachovia Table of Contents 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Background 1.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Company History†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1 1.2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Driving Force†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..........  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1 1.3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Location†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..........  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1 1.4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Quick Summary of: 1.4.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Employees†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1 1.4.2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Revenues Growth†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2 1.4.3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Income Growth†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2 1.5  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Website†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.2 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Products/Services 2.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Major Categories of Products/Services†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2 2.2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Target Marker†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3 2.3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Important Characteristics of Wachovia†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  4 2.4 Differentiation from Competitors†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  4 2.5 Market Share†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  5 2.6 New & Upcoming Features†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  5 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Market Analysis 3.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Industry Characteristics†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦6 3.2 Current State of Technology†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  6 3.3 Competitive Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  7  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3.4 Social/Legal/Ethical Issues†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  9 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Financial Information 4.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ownership Structure†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  12 4.2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Income Statement & Balance Sheet Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  12 4.3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Trend for: 4.3.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Share Price†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦13 4.3.2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Investment Performance†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  14 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Recommendations 5.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Current Technology & Improvements 5.1.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Strategic Management†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  14 5.1.2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Products & Service Offerings†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  15 5.1.3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Customer Relations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  16 5.1.4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Human Resources†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  17 5.1.5  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Marketing & Sales†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  18 5.1.6  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Accounting and Finance†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  19 5.1.7  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Distribution of Money†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  19 5.1.8  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alliances & Partnerships†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  20 1.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Company History Wachovia was formed in 2001 by the merger of Wachovia Corporation and First Union Corporation. Wachovia National Bank was formed in Winston, North Carolina in 1879. The name Wachovia came from the Latin name for the German word Wachau. In the mid eighteenth century Moravian settlers gave the name Wachau to a tract of land in North Carolina because it resembled a piece of land along the Danube River called Der Wachau. First Union Corporation was formed in the early Twentieth century funded by a $100,000 stock issue. The company’s first headquarters were in a hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company later merged with First National Bank of Ashville to form First Union National Bank of North Carolina. 1.2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Driving Force The current Chief Executive Officer of Wachovia is Ken Thompson. Thompson has been with the company since 1976 and previously held the CEO position at First Union Corporation. Wachovia is the fourth largest holding company in the U.S. and is the third largest full-service brokerage based on assets. 1.3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Location Wachovia headquarters is located in Charlotte, North Carolina, but the company has operations internationally. The company operates 3,900 financial centers and retail brokerage offices in forty-nine states and around the globe. 1.4.1 Employees Wachovia has 95,000 employees world wide. Of those ninety-five thousand, there are ten thousand-five hundred registered financial service representatives. 1.4.2 Revenues Growth In 2003 Wachovia had revenues of 24.4 billion dollars compare to 23.51 billion dollars in 2002. The increase in 2003 was the third consecutive year that Wachovia has seen year-end revenue growth. Currently, Wachovia has experienced fifteen percent revenue growth in the first two quarters of 2004 and an eleven percent decrease in revenues in the third quarter.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1.4.3 Income Growth Wachovia has seen income growth for nine consecutive quarters dating back to the second quarter of 2002 when compared to prior year income. Net Income in 2003 was 4.2 billion dollars compared with 3.6 and 1.6 billion dollars in 2002 and 2001. 1.5 Website The Wachovia corporate website is www.wachovia.com 2.1 Major Categories of Products/Services Wachovia Corporation is one of the nation’s largest providers of financial services to retail, brokerage, and corporate customers.

Homer’s Iliad †Searching for Meaning in Tragedy Essay -- Iliad essays

Homer’s Iliad – Searching for Meaning in Tragedy The past does not inevitably exist in the present. The creative processes of remembering and telling stories allow our histories to remain with us. Memory and story negate the possibility of existing independently of the past by connecting humans across time to the actions and value systems of their predecessors. Humans are forced to live amidst and confront a complex and multi-dimensional reality in which their every action affects people and events outside of their immediate context. By burdening humans with the consequences of their histories, story and memory comprise a foundation of moral responsibility. Since memory and story are subjective, our past, a seemingly immutable reality, is subject to their creative hands. These hands define as malleable entities the past, the future, and that which exists or has its basis outside of the present. The â€Å"real† is only immutable in a present entirely disconnected from all other time. Yet while the profound power of memory and story does deny an objective, singular reality, it simultaneously allows humans the capacity to transform the world to their liking. Even death, the most immutable of realities, can be manipulated through the creative processes of remembering and storytelling. Death, then, is the point from which we will begin to understand Homer’s exploration of memory and story. Death is a great wave whose shadow falls upon the lives of all beings below Olympus. Amidst this shadow and its immediacy in war, humans must struggle to combat and metaphysically transcend their transitory natures. If they fail to forge a sense of meaning for themselves and their people in what often seems an inexorably barren world, they are lef... ...e of our own iniquity or cowardice, drives us to courageous and moral action in the present. Thus, story and memory remove humans from the horrible brevity of mortal life by bringing existence into a realm outside of time. Humans die, but through story their fellow humans can make them immortal. Even amidst life’s tragedies, stories allow us to transform what seems an unbearable reality into something deeply beautiful. And yet their power is not merely retrospective since stories impose moral responsibility on our every action. Forgetting, therefore, is among the worst evils; not only because of the â€Å"moral perversity† it permits, but also because of the meaning it denies. NOTES 1 Homer, Iliad, trans. Richmond Lattimore (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1951). 2 Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being (New York: Harper Perennial, 1984). Homer’s Iliad – Searching for Meaning in Tragedy Essay -- Iliad essays Homer’s Iliad – Searching for Meaning in Tragedy The past does not inevitably exist in the present. The creative processes of remembering and telling stories allow our histories to remain with us. Memory and story negate the possibility of existing independently of the past by connecting humans across time to the actions and value systems of their predecessors. Humans are forced to live amidst and confront a complex and multi-dimensional reality in which their every action affects people and events outside of their immediate context. By burdening humans with the consequences of their histories, story and memory comprise a foundation of moral responsibility. Since memory and story are subjective, our past, a seemingly immutable reality, is subject to their creative hands. These hands define as malleable entities the past, the future, and that which exists or has its basis outside of the present. The â€Å"real† is only immutable in a present entirely disconnected from all other time. Yet while the profound power of memory and story does deny an objective, singular reality, it simultaneously allows humans the capacity to transform the world to their liking. Even death, the most immutable of realities, can be manipulated through the creative processes of remembering and storytelling. Death, then, is the point from which we will begin to understand Homer’s exploration of memory and story. Death is a great wave whose shadow falls upon the lives of all beings below Olympus. Amidst this shadow and its immediacy in war, humans must struggle to combat and metaphysically transcend their transitory natures. If they fail to forge a sense of meaning for themselves and their people in what often seems an inexorably barren world, they are lef... ...e of our own iniquity or cowardice, drives us to courageous and moral action in the present. Thus, story and memory remove humans from the horrible brevity of mortal life by bringing existence into a realm outside of time. Humans die, but through story their fellow humans can make them immortal. Even amidst life’s tragedies, stories allow us to transform what seems an unbearable reality into something deeply beautiful. And yet their power is not merely retrospective since stories impose moral responsibility on our every action. Forgetting, therefore, is among the worst evils; not only because of the â€Å"moral perversity† it permits, but also because of the meaning it denies. NOTES 1 Homer, Iliad, trans. Richmond Lattimore (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1951). 2 Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being (New York: Harper Perennial, 1984).

West Side Story Analysis Essay -- essays research papers

Characters/Roles. 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Riff- He is the leader of the Jets. Founded it with Tony. A wild man that acts like a punk and dies in a fight. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bernado- Leader of the sharks, the Puerto Ricans, he is a young immigrant to America. He dies in a fight with Riff, but Tony kills him. He is integral in helping to spur the gang rivalry between the Sharks and the Jets. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Maria- She falls in love with Tony, a rival jet. They become lovers and due to her Tony dies, and the gang wars end. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Officer Grubky- A policeman, he hates both gangs, but favors the Jets. He helps to split the fights up. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tony- He helped to found the jets with Riff. Decided to go strait, but gets pulled back in. Dies due to his love with Maria. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Baby John- The youngest of the Jets, he is the â€Å"baby† of the gang, and tends to be the voice of reason because he is not totally emotionless. Plot Two gangs, the Sharks and the Jets, are in the middle of a turf war. However, two people, one from each side, fall in love. In a plot that is as Shakespearian as it gets, many of the characters die over pointless ends, all the time the love of Maria and Tony blossoms, but even Tony can’t escape the cruel fate, and is killed. Songs out of place I believe that all of the songs fit in the play. They are all able to capture the emotions that are expressed durin...

Workers Trapped After Chilean Copper Mine Collapse” Article Found in the Electronic Reserve Readings

The use of the Career Interest Profiler displayed that I was Teamwork centered portraying a work culture towards: working in a close knit team, working closely with customers and suppliers, lots of interdependence, friendly and supportive colleagues, cooperative and sharing atmosphere. The next trait of the Career Interest Profiler displayed that I was an Expert portraying a work culture towards: varied and ground breaking work, high emphasis on specialist expertise and lots of specialist roles, high engagement-people encouraged to express opinion, innovation, creative atmosphere, control your own work schedule and organization, dynamic an changing environment. The last trait of the Career interest Profiler displayed that I was Supportive portraying a work culture towards: secure, stable environment, clearly defined jobs, goals and expectation, no conflicting demands, considerate management, focus on employee welfare, lots of personal development and feedback, lots of recognition and celebration of success, and fun place to work. The Career interest Profiler reviled that I am a leader whom can work under pressure and also create an employee friendly working environment. A person who put people first and would treat employees the way I want to be treated. As a Navy Officer, Basketball player and today in my career field I’m often counted on to lead people. My approach when working with people has always been to be honest, fair and treat a person with respect and acknowledge the positive in a person because everyone will tell you when you’re doing something wrong. My Strengths in Competencies displayed I was very strong in Innovating, Coping with Pressure, and Adapting to Change. These Competencies top my measuring scale with four bars out of possible five. The Applying Expertise and Adhering to Values on the measuring scale showed two out of five possible bars and the last Competency Strength displayed Strategizing which displayed one out of five possible bars. After reviewing my Strengths in Competencies, it demonstrated to me that I can work under pressure, meet deadlines, and confirmed that I can accept change. This is true because working in my profession the Laws are always changing and the technology is always changing as well. The Work Culture Preferences displayed that I was Artistic, Conventional and Enterprising. It also showed my Career matches being Business and financial Operations, Management, Sales and Related, Legal, Community and Social Service, Personal Care and Service. This is very unique because I gave 6 years to the Military as public service, worked as a Youth Detention Officer, Youth Worker and now for the Department of Veterans Affairs as an Advocate for Veterans. The possible employers that would fit with my provided competencies would be a College, University, High school, Government, City of State Office, Police Department, Prison, Department Store, and Owner of Private business. The possible jobs that would align with my work culture preferences would be a Head basketball Coach, Detective, Police Captain, EEO Officer, and Human Resources Specialist, or Management staff. The ways in which understanding my personal competencies will help me improve my critical thinking skills is to evaluate all information I receive before making a decision on any level. This is best described for me, as receiving all the needed facts before I make any critical decision. My competencies strengths also are utilized in all efforts to help me evaluate an argument. The best example of me using my competencies strengths during an argument is when I’m engaged with a veteran who is irate, and also talking very loudly during an interview for VA benefits at my place of work. I always take control of the situation, by speaking in a much lower tone and always letting the veteran finish his statement. Most often by acknowledging the veteran and having the facts when the veteran is presenting sometimes calms them down.