Effect of luxury cars on the uk market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Effect of luxury cars on the uk market - Essay Example In other markets, especially those in the South Eastern Asia region make significant sales of other types of luxury cars too (TATT, 2010). However, these markets are always limited to the sum total volume of sales by the overall size either of the industry or by the local conditions of the market and other preferences (Shende, 2014). Consequently, the market for luxury cars generally is presently undertaking some sort of social change with some of the luxury car brands seeming to be less remote. The brands are also seen to be less varied and at the same time less exclusive with the quality, that they have in improving lives (TATT, 2010). As a result, the increment in the competition between different car makes has intensified the relevance of brand identity (Shende, 2014). As the standards of the product continue to go up, the customer’s perceived image of the car brand plays a major role in making the buying decision. Some of the luxury cars such as the BMW, Lexus and the Mercedes- Benz are bound to develop some values and characteristics that are seen to reflect the ever-changing social values (TATT, 2010). The values then influence the buyer’s emotions, so that the brands maintain their positions in various world regions of the global market (Shende, 2014). In the past several years, the research into the customers’ perception and their behaviors in the luxury car industry has been driven by a couple of researchers all over the world (Shende, 2014). There is very little literature both in writing and in softcopy means that document any research done concerning customer perception of luxury cars. Most of the work is focused on the loyalty of the consumers and that of brand switching (ANURIT, NEWMAN & CHANSARKAR, n.d.). The key research that has been made has focused on the low priced segment ranges of cars rather than the luxury car segment in which any choices between the choice of individual potential buyers and brand image concept play a big

Outcome Analysis of Burns Patients in BICU

Outcome Analysis of Burns Patients in BICU Outcome analysis of burns patients after admission to burns intensive care unit in a tertiary regional referral centre Goh SY, Thong SY, Win MTM, Ng SY ABSTRACT Background: The clinical course of severely burned patients may be stormy and the prognosis tends to be poor in patients with multiple comorbidities and those with inhalational injury. The aim of this study is to develop an objective and reliable predictive model for mortality in patients with major burns. This will help us identify the important factors influencing outcomes and allows more evidence-based prognostication. Methods: Adult patients admitted to the burns intensive care unit (BICU) in a major tertiary referral center from 2008-2011 are selected. Demographic factors, types, severity and complications of burn injury as well as outcomes are reviewed. Results:In the 4-year period, 181 patients were admitted to BICU. Mean age (SD) was 41 (16) years old. Mean (SD) total body surface area burn was 37.2 (30.2%). Mortality was 39.5%. Mean (SD) length of stay in the BICU and hospital for patients who eventually survived were 8.4 (13.4) and 28.5 (37.9) days respectively. Lower airway burns has a significant relationship with the development of renal failure after multivariate analysis (Odds ratio 5.1, Confidence interval 1.1- 24.0). Greater total body surface burns, development of acute respiratory distress syndrome and older patients with more extensive burns predispose to mortality as shown in table 2. In our cohort of patients, the probability of death may be estimated by this equation: Probability of death= (1+ey)-1 y= -7.008+0.04(TBSA) +1.791(ARDS)*+0.054(Age+TBSA) *= ARDS (0=no, 1=yes) Conclusion: We have developed a predictive model for mortality in major burn patients. This may be useful in prognosis during early stages of care. Introduction Survival after burns injury has improved tremendously over the last few decadeswith the refinement of fluid resuscitation, better intensive care and early surgical excision1as some of the strategies that have significantly influenced patient outcomes. These advancements have contributed to lowering mortality rates in burns patients in Singapore to 4.5% between 2003-20052. Despite these advancements, however, overall mortality rates of patients with major burns remain high. Numerous factors such as age, percentage body surface area burns and inhalational injuries3 have been found to influence the prognosis and outcomes in this group of patients. The combination of these predictive factors into scoring systems that would yield an expected mortality rate for each given patient has been the subject of many studies4-6.However, most of these studies have not been performed or validated in our local population. A robust predictive model would be useful for clinicians as a more evidence-based approach for counselling and prognostication at an early stage of treatment. We can even plan further treatment and intervention based on prognosis and other clinical factors. A standardized model will also provide an opportunity for audit and a basis against which new treatment modalities may be compared. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify the prognostic variables influencing outcome in patients admitted to our burns intensive care unit and to develop a predictive model for mortality in patients with major burns. Methods Clinical care The burns centre at the Singapore General Hospital is a major tertiary referral centre for burns injury in Singapore as well as the Southeast Asia region. Burn patients presenting at the Accident and Emergency department are assessed by the plastic surgerical team, who decide if the patient requires admission to the specialised burns unit or the burns intensive care unit. The extent and depth of burns were assessed and documented.All patients requiring intensive care, such as those with major burns, are haemodynamically unstable, or have sustained inhalational injury requiring mechanical ventilation, are managed by a team consisting of at least a plastic surgical specialist and an anaesthetist. These patients received fluid resuscitation according to the Parkland’s formula. Adequacy of fluid therapy was assessed by endpoints such as hourly urine output, arterial blood pressure and central venous pressure. Early enteral nutrition, mechanical ventilation and vasoactive support were initiated as required. Early surgery for escharotomy, burns excision and grafting were carried out as early as possible. Patients This study was approved by our centre’s institutional review board. The medical records of all burns patients admitted to the burns intensive care unit at the Singapore General Hospital over a 4-year period between January 2008 and December 2011 were reviewed retrospectively. Information including demographics, comorbidities, mechanism of injury, total body surface area (TBSA) burned, incidence of inhalation injury, complications such as organ failure, length of hospital stay and mortality were recorded and entered into a database. Statistical Analysis Statistical analyses were conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 17, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). Data are presented as mean and standard deviationfor continuous variables and proportions for categorical variables. Univariate comparisons of proportions and means were respectively done using Chi Square test, Fisher exact test and t test. Logistic regression and linear regression analysis was applied to study the relationship between the variables and mortality and length of stay, respectively. Variables with a plausible relationship with mortality or p0.05. Results Patient profile During the 4-year study period, a total of 182 patients were admitted to the burns intensive care unit (BICU).These patient characteristics are presented in table 1. The mean age of these patients was 40.5 +/- 16 years old, with males comprising a larger percentage of the cohort (79.1%). Mean total body surface area (TBSA) burned was 37.2 +/- 30.2%. Most of the patients were healthy prior to their burns, with only a small minority having any significant medical issues. A high proportion of the patients suffered inhalational burns (83%). However, only 26 out of the 182 patients (14.3%) fulfilled the criteria for ARDS. Other significant patient characteristics and details of their burns injuries are listed in Table 1. Flame burn was the commonest injury etiology in our patient population (88.4%). Table 2 shows the mechanism of burn injuries suffered by our group of patients. Length of stay The mean length of stay was 20.9 days. The survivors spent a mean of 8.4 days in ICU, as opposed to 6.9 days for the non-survivors. The majority of patients who survived to discharge were discharged home (table 3). TBSA, albumin level and sepsis were found to be significant predictors of LOS, yielding a final predictive model of: LOS = 41.608 – 0.234(TBSA) – 0.919 (albumin) + 16.14 (sepsis*) Where *=presence of sepsis (yes=1, no=0) Mortality Out of the 182 patients, a total of 65 patients or 35.9 % did not survive the hospital stay. The mean age of these patients was 42.1 years. Mean TBSA involved was 66.8% (compared with a mean of 20.6% in the survivor group). In our analysis, we found that the non-survivor group had significantly larger TBSA burns (p To develop the predictive model, we analysed the variables in univariate analysis. Variables with a plausible relationship with mortality or p A predictive model for mortality was thus developed as follows: Probability of death = (1+ey)-1 Where y = -7.008 + 0.04 (TBSA) + 1.791 (ARDS)* + 0.054( Age+TBSA) * = ARDS (no=0, yes =1) Discussion In this study, we elucidated the risk factors that contribute to mortality in patients admitted to the BICU, and developed a predictive model for mortality incorporating these factors. Previous mortality studies have sought to establish prognostic variables associated with burn mortality. In 1961 Baux described in a French thesis a simple empiric formula, stating that mortality rate was the sum of age and percentage area burned7. Inhalational injury was then found to be an important predictive factor and this was included in a mortality probability equation reported by Clark et al in 19868. The abbreviated burn severity index (ABSI), which is in widespread use, assigns numerical values according to the severity of 5 prognostic variables (age, gender, inhalational injury, %TBSA and presence of full thickness burns). The sum of these variables yields a predicted mortality rate9. Similar predictive factors have been found to be relevant in several other studies3,10,11. However, these st udies generated highly variable predictive models, highlighting the need for individualised models for different patient groups. Our study is unique as it is one of only a handful of studies based on an Asian population2,12-14 , with even fewer attempting to develop predictive mortality models5. In addition, we only included burns intensive care unit patients in our study, as opposed to the entire burn population. Advancements in medical care and aggressive early excision and grafting of burns have led to a global reduction in burn mortality in recent times. In Singapore, the overall mortality for burns victims was found to be 4.5% between 2003 and 200512. This improvement has also been evident in severe burns victims, with mortality falling annually from 60% in 2000 to 30% in 20032. However, death rate remains high in this group of patients, and it is our aim to look at the outcomes and predictive factors determining mortality in this susceptible group, and to develop a clinically relevant predictive model targeted at them. Our study found that TBSA, age+TBSA and ARDS were significant predictive factors affecting mortality in our ICU patients. Inhalational injury, generally accepted as a prognostic factor8,9, was not found to be significantly associated with death in our patient group. There could be several explanations for this finding. In our series, 151 or 83% of our patients were diagnosed with inhalational burns. This is a very high percentage compared to most of the other studies, though it is not entirely surprising. Our patient cohort consisted entirely of ICU patients. This unique group of patients have either sustained major burns or inhalational burns that have required ventilatory support. . The remaining 17% of patients that might have been in ICU due to reasons other than inhalational injuries may not have been sufficient in number to demonstrate a survival advantage, if any. Secondly the lack of universally accepted diagnostic criteria means that the diagnosis of inhalational injury can vary widely between different institutions and intensivists, using either clinical examination or fibreoptic bronchoscopy, or a combination of both. Hence it has been suggested that, the need for invasive ventilation, the determination of which is far less complicated than the diagnosis of inhalational injury, may be a better marker for mortality risk6. In our study, we found that the presence of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a common complication associated with major burns or severe inhalational injury, was directly associated with death. This could be an indication that the severity of inhalational injury, rather than the presence of it, may be a more suitable prognostic indicator for death, particularly in the group of patients requiring intensive care management. Since this is a retrospective study, we were not only able to collect data relating to the patient’s characteristics at presentation, but also susbequent clinical data as treatment progressed, such as development of ARDS, sepsis and renal failure. Clearly these factors are important as response to therapy is a vital determinant to patient outcomes. However, inclusion of these variables may not be possible at patient presentation, the point at which prediction of mortality is sometimes vital for determining the direction and aggressiveness of therapy. Perhaps future prospective trials can look at determining predictive factors that influence mortality at various stages of treatment, creating a superior prognostic tool with which we may advise patients and families, guide therapy and perform internal audit and research. Clinicians utilising any kind of predictive model to estimate mortality probability in the clinical setting should always proceed with caution. These may be used as a tool to aid clinical decisions regarding treatment but should not replace sound clinical judgment. Neither should the outcomes be judged solely upon whether the patient lives or dies, without scant consideration for the quality of life after the hospital stay. These endpoints are a lot more difficult to assess, and in the absence of a standardized tool the incorporation of quality of life indicators into prognostic scoring systems may still be a long way away. Conclusion In our study, we have developed a predictive model for mortality in our cohort of burn patients admitted to the burns intensive care unit. The next step would be to validate the model in future prospective studies. A validated model can potentially help teams involved in tough clinical decisions to prognosticate and formulate treatment plans for severely burned patients. It also serves to show that further studies need to be done to validate and come up with a more robust model. We did not find a significant relationship between inhalational injury and mortality in our study, a finding consistent with several other studies.

Hostage Negotiation Essay -- essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hostage and barricade incidents are amongst the most difficult, emotional, and sometimes potentially lethal situations that a negotiator can be involved in. Often, the hostage taker shows signs of mental illness, drug or alcohol intoxication, or personal disputes accompanied by a high level of emotion. (Feldmann) These contributing factors lead to impulsive and often unpredictable behavior on the part of the hostage taker. It is sometimes impossible for negotiators to anticipate possible outcomes and complications that could arise from these incidents. Negotiators use a wide variety of tools, information, and strategies to try and resolve whatever grievances and demands the perpetrator is exhibiting. The main focus on the part of the negotiator is to keep the hostage alive, then try to negotiate a surrender. There is a considerable risk to both the victims and law enforcement when dealing with a hostage situation. (Feldmann) This paper will ide ntify and distinguish several high risk factors that negotiators and law enforcement use to extinguish potentially lethal situations. The presence or absence of these factors can influence the outcome of a situation for the better or for the worst. Second, this paper will identify several motivations for hostage taking. Why and what would prompt an individual to take hostages? Several influential and background reasons will be examined. Finally, some successful and also failed negotiations will be explored, with possible reasons and explanations to what factors made them either a success or a failure.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hostage negotiation is as much of an art as it is a science. The negotiator not only holds the lives of the victims in his hands, but the lives of law enforcement and the hostage taker as well. His persuasiveness and communication abilities have the power to protect and save lives. The Hostage Taker   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the most common reasons for a hostage taking situation is desperation. The hostage taker feels desperate because of either what he has done or what he is doing. (DeFao) Taking a hostage is a split second decision usually made out of desperation. (DeFao) A person who is in the process of committing a crime, for instance a bank robber who has been surrounded or confron... ...he presence of high-risk factors, consider all other intelligence available, and combine this information with the assessments made by both the negotiation and tactical teams. This combined information will assist in differentiating between a genuine hostage situation, and a pseudo-hostage situation. The success or failure of the situation ultimately lies in the persuasive and communication abilities of the negotiator. Bibliography 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Feldmann, Theodore : Hostage Negotiation Research. Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences: University of Louisvillle school of Medicine: Jan.15, 2001 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  WWW. hostagenegotiationtraining.com 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  American Journal of Forensic Psychiatry: Psychiatric consultation to police hostage negotiation teams: Volume 19, 1998, p.27-44 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  VanZandt, Clinton : Hostage/Barricade Situations: Special operations Unit Training Manual: FBI Academy 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  DeFao, Janine: Hostage crisis calls for an artists touch: Sacramento Bee: Sunday, March 5, 1995: 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  WWW. rcmp-learning.org/docs/ecdd1216.htm

Discipline and the Effects on the Unit

Discipline and the effects on the unit Accountabilities is one of the fundamental of the military. It only brings personal responsibility but it also shows organization of a unit. There are many reasons why being on time is important. The US Army depends solely on its soldiers, enlisted. Warrant officers, and commissioned officers alike. The military would not be anything without the soldiers. When soldiers aren’t there to perform there duties or they are late then the unit looses efficiency. Time management is a very large part of success, military or civilian. Many people could improve there lives drasticly if they knew how to manage the time properly. Setting priorities is a very important step in time management. If your priorities aren’t set in order then you won’t get the important things done in a timely manner. People often go over there time limits because they are optimistic. Discipline we are taught early in our military careers that shaving is an important part of our daily routine. The routine itself promotes a sense of regularity and discipline. By being assigned a task that we are to perform daily, we assume a pattern of living comparable with many other (and often larger) tasks given to us. When a part of our job considered to be mandatory becomes a task performed out of second nature, we begin to perform all duties in a similar fashion. If you can shave every morning without having to be reminded or told, you may find that it comes just as naturally to take out the trash, write a monthly counseling statement, or maintain your weapon. Discipline and respect are important in life as well as in the army. Respect is one of the army’s seven values. The seven army values are loyalty, respect, duty, honor, selfless service, integrity, and personal courage. While respect is one of the army values, discipline is needed for all of them. You must have discipline in yourself in order to have selfless service, to do your duty, to have personal courage, as well as loyalty, and honor. And it takes a discipline to respect. The definition of discipline is 1. training to act in accordance with rules; drill: military discipline. 2. activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill; training: A daily stint at the typewriter is excellent discipline for a writer. . punishment inflicted by way of correction and training. 4. the rigor or training effect of experience, adversity, etc. : the harsh discipline of poverty. 5. behavior in accord with rules of conduct; behavior and order maintained by training and control: good discipline in an army. 6. a set or system of rules and regulations. 7. Ecclesiastical . the system of governme nt regulating the practice of a church as distinguished from its doctrine. 8. an instrument of punishment, esp. a whip or scourge, used in the practice of self-mortification or as an instrument of chastisement in certain religious communities. . a branch of instruction or learning: the disciplines of history and economics. Basically discipline is what is needed in order for order and control to be maintained. The definition of respect is 1. A feeling of appreciative, often deferential regard; esteem. See synonyms at regard. 2. The state of being regarded with honor or esteem. 3. Willingness to show consideration or appreciation. 4. respects Polite expressions of consideration or deference: pay one's respects. 5. A particular aspect, feature, or detail. A lot of people who enlist in the Army do not understand the importance of the step they make. They do not understand that civilian life with its rules, the life they used to live is left behind. Beginning basic training they learn the new discipline, the Army discipline, and not everybody is able to comprehend its importance. Discipline in the Army is important because of the stakes involved. In civilian world a lack of discipline may case some discomfort or may be some problems with the law.. In the Army poor discipline could result in the unnecessary loss of soldiers’ lives – a cost too you much to pay. As a discipline soldier you place the unit’s mission above your personal welfare. It simply means the understanding your task and obeying orders promptly because your fellow soldiers and leaders depend on you to do so. The purpose of discipline is to make soldiers to be well trained so that they carry out orders quickly and intelligently under the most difficult conditions. Insistence of performing tasks properly enhance military discipline. For example, ensuring soldiers wear their uniforms properly, following orders, march well or repeat tasks until they do them correctly are part of military discipline. This no harassment or punishment. Proper and prompt execution of orders will save lives in combat. This is no way means you should not exercise initiative to solve a problem or to ensure the job gets done. American soldiers have a long tradition of displaying initiative and discipline soldiers focus their efforts toward the success of the team. Discipline in routine things like saluting , police calls and physical training leads to discipline in the difficult things like advancing under fire, disposing of unexploded ordnance, and safeguarding enemy prisoners of war. That is why the Army insists on training to standards. It starts with self-discipline but grows with pride in the unit. In the film saving private ryan a soldier lost his discipline for the mission at hand at the sight of a frightened child and the result for his loss of discipline caused him to also lose focus on his surroundings and was shot by a nazi sniper hiding out in a tower just down the street, also in the same film a young corpral was takin out of his comfort zone as a writer to perform the mission of retrieving private ryan. During the mission they came across an open area guarded by to machine guns and in the success of bringing bringing down the gunman was torn in a moral delima to let the German soldier live and later on it came back around on him as that same German soldier led a squad to the same location that they traveled to and killed many of the men in the operation two of which were in a building laying down suppressive fire while the corpral was bringing them ammo because of the corpral lack of discipline he coward down and hid while the German soldier killed the two men in the building. Another military film that shows lack of discipline is Jarhead in this film the one scene that stands out the most in my mind is where the main character talks another fellow soldier into taking his guard shift so he could drink with his buddys that night and the result from the carless actions was a trailor caught fire and a bunch of fireworks and flares were set off and possibly gave away there position, the sitiuation could have been a lot worse then what it was. With the examples used from those two films it shows that with the lack of discipline the effect on the unit can be dangerous and life threatning, just like a chain it only works properlly if every link does its job, if one gets in trouble we all get in trouble, one broken link and the whole chain is no good Do to my irresponsibility and lack of discipline to wake up and be at the gym at 0530 like normal I decided to sleep in and then was late to the 0630 PT formation which caused PFC Bucini to run around through out the entire hanger and out to the barracks in order to locate me and also me being late not just looks bad on me but it also looks bad on the platoon and the company. I made it look bad on my Platoon Seargeat ( SFC Duffy) in front of the other platoons of not knowing where his soldiers are and to the First Seargeant. To understand how standards and discipline are related, you have to start with the basic premise of how we grow sergeants in the army. This is a three step p rocess. Step one; establish a standard. Army regulation 670-1, wear of the uniform, is a stadard that tells us how to wear the uniform, items on the uniform and all the accessories. It guides our unifor in the field. The items we wear on the uniform or carry with us is a standard usually IAW a unit SOP. The PMCS we perform on our hummv in the motor pool is done to outlined in the operators manual. A patrol of soldiers coming off mission in Baghdad, Iraq clear their weapons upon entering their base camp IAW the standard published in the weapons handling procedures developed by the safety center. Now with an understanding of standards, step two is put someone in charge of enforcing the standards. This is where the sergeant is now responsible for his or her piece of the army, those three or four soldiers. It is the sergeant who conducts daily inspections of soldiers uniforms. It is the sergeant who conducts pre-conduct checks (pcc) of his or her soldiers arms and equipment before going out on patrol. It is the sergeant who supervises the PMCS of the HUMMV during maintenance periods, and it is the sergent who over-watches the soldiers coming off patrol to ensure all have cleared their weapons to standard. Step three in growing our leaders is to hold the sergeant accountable. This is where the more senior leaders above the sergeant have their resopnsibility. To see what is being done to standard, senior leaders have to inspect. A soldier on patrol missing a piece of equipment means it was missed during PCCs by the sergeant and obviously missed by a more senior leader during the pre-combat inspection (PCI). This same analogy extends to every standard we set for our units and our sergeants to enforce. So for the more senior leaders above the sergeant you must always remember your role in growing sergeants. Lead by example by demonstrating the standard in all that you do. This leading by example empowers the sergeant to enforce standards on their small piece of the army. We have always said when a more senior leader demonstrates a lesser standard; this demonstration now becomes the new standard. The demonstration of a lesser standard goes far deeper than just setting a new standard, it circumvents the authority of the sergeant. I have learned that the two basic building blocks for a sergeant to establish his or her authority and establish discipline in the organization begin with basic uniform and saluting standards. Enforcing basic standards and holding sergeants accountable for their soldiers is critical to developing these young leaders. In every case where a soldier has died because of an accident and the cause of death was negligence by sergeants to enforce standards and how these were enforced and the discipline within the organization. In every case where the sergeant stops enforcing fundamental standards and senior leaders do not hold him accountable, the enforcement of standards in other areas begins to slip. Short cuts in performing PMCS begin to become routine, soldiers stop wearing seatbelts, PCCs are not performed in detail, complacency begins to set in and sergeants stop making on the spot corrections. The importance of the squad and platoon leadership in establishing standards and holding sergeants accountable is critical to the performance of the organization when you walk into an organization as an outsider and you see everyone in the same uniform, vehicle load plans are organized, basic fundamental drills are performed aas routine, you learn a lot about the units discipline. You know as an outsider that standards are established, everyone knows the standard, and there is a leader in charge. The bottom line , be the standard, know the standard, and enforce the standard. The army is an old institution. In this country it dates back to the washingtons time in 1775-76 when the Revolutionary war took place to proclaim our freedom from the British. One particular thing which washingtons army had in common with our modern army today is discipline. This is very important in order to keep ou forces organized. A well disciplined army will always come out the victor in battle. Take a look at musolini’s army in italy in the last war. When the going got tough, their troops got disorganized, failed to obey orders, and finally decided it was time to surrender. And so it happened with Hitler’s Third Reich. His troops got disorganized from the lack of proper discipline and as the proverb goes, â€Å"united we stand, divided we fall†. The Third Reich fell. Our american army is a well organized fighting force and always will be, with the proper kind of discipline which we have now. The officers in charge of each army, corps, division, regiment, down to the platoon and squad are all experienced , level headed men and women, whose job it is to keep the men and women under them disciplined as well as informed as to what is goin on and thereby gaining the men’s and womens cooperation. From the five star general down to the lowly private, it is his duty to see that whatever his job is, it will be done properly. With such a fighting force, how can we lose? Remember â€Å"united we stand, devided we fall†. We shall not fall. With so many distractions around you, what does it take to stay focused on your goal and keep going until you succeed? The answer is, self discipline. Self discipline, absolutely must be developed in order to succeed. Self discipline is the ability to force yourself to do something you know you should do, whether you feel like it or not. Whilst you may not have a global corporation or a country to run (and so can probably get away with a few extra hours in bed! ) the point is, successful people dislike the same things you dislike but discipline themselves to do it anyway. Why do we do things we dislike? Because we know that is the price to pay for success. This is why self discipline is so important in achieving success. Self discipline means overcoming your natural urge to do what is fun, easy and quick. Self discipline takes time to develop, but just like any other skill the more you practice using self discipline the stronger it will become. Every act of self discipline you practice will strengthen your level of self discipline. Over time it will also strengthen your character, confidence and self esteem. If you can force yourself to do what you should do, whether you feel like it or not, your success is virtually guaranteed. Now that you are aware of what it takes to be successful, is success what you truly want? Or are you happier living the lif you currently live? Because if you want success, you can have it, anyone can. Just like in a shop you must first decide what you want, pay the price and it will be yours. â€Å"discipline is the soul of the army, it makes small numbers formidable procures success to the weak, and esteem to all† –George Washington. Among the many issues facing us, discipline proved critical in understanding what went wrong in Somalia. Much of the problem of the CAR as a unit, most of the incidents that occurred during the preparation stage in Canada, and the many troubling incidents involving Canadian soldiers in Somalia all have a common origin – a lack of discipline. For the ordinary citizen who has little exposure to the military, discipline is understood to be the cornerstone of armies, the characteristic that one would have expected to be much in evidence in an armed force as renowned for its professionalism as the Canadian forces. It was the difference between this public expectation and the actual events of the Somalia mission that captured the attention of Canadians and contributed to the call for this inquiry. For example, there were 20 incidents of accidental or negligent discharge of a personal weapon and two incidents of accidental or negligent discharge of crew served weapons in theatre. One caused an injury and another killed a Canadian forces soldier. The board of inquiry into the leadership, discipline, operations, actions, and procedures of the Canadian airborne regiment battle group remarked that these accidental discharges occurred â€Å"to an unacceptable degree†. These incidents call into question the standard of self discipline in the Canadian contingent. Few professions are as dependent on discipline as the military. An army is best seen as a collection of individuals who must set aside their personal interests, concerns, and fears to pursue the purpose of the group collectively. The marshalling of individual wills and talents into a single entity enables an army to face daunting challenges and great adversity and therefore to achieve objectives unattainable except through concerted effort. The instrument by which this is accomplished is discipline. The chief purpose of military discipline is the harnessing of the capacity of the individual to the needs of the group. The sense of cohesion that comes from combining the individual wills of the group members provides unity of purpose. The group that achieves such cohesiveness is truly a unit. Effective discipline is a critical factor at all levels of the military, and nowhere more so than at the unit level. However discipline plays a vital role at all levels within the military. Too frequently armies treat discipline as a concern regarding the lower levels: a matter to be attended to primarily by non commissioned officers at the unit level and below. But discipline is important for the proper functioning of the chain of command throughout the military. Undisciplined staff officers of commanders who hold themselves above the rigours of discipline can do far more harm to the collective effort of the military than any soldier in the rankes. We have determined that the CAR displayed definite signs of poor discipline in the early 1990s in spite of the remedies recommended in the 1985 Hewson report examining disciplinary infractions and anti social behavior. A number of factors contributed to the disciplinary problems in the CAR, specifically in two commando, prior to deployment, including periodic lack of commitment on the part of the CAR’s parent regiments to ensure that their best members ere sent to the CAR; the inferior quality of some junior officers and NCOs; doubtful practices in two commando in the recruitment of NCOs; the ambiguous relationship between master corporals and soldiers; the high turnover rate within the CA R and the sub units; mutual distrust and dislike among a significant number of the CARs officers and NCOs; questionable suitability of individual officers for the CAR and the ranks they occupied; a tendency to downplay the significance of disciplinary infractions or to cover them up entirely; and the continuing ability of CAR members to evade responsibility for disciplinary infractions. The CAR was simply unfit to undertake a mission in the autumn of 1992, let alone a deployment to Somalia. The three incidents of October 2 and 3, 1992, indicated a significant breakdown of discipline in 2 commando during the critical period of training and preparation for operations in Somalia. Military pyrotechnics were discharged illegally at a party in alognquin park. The illegal possession of these pyrotechnics was the result of theft from DND and the making of false statements. A search conducted on the soldiers’ premises uncovered ammunition stolen from DND, as well as 34 Confederate flags. These incidents were so serious that LCOL morneault proposed to leave 2 Commando in Canada unless the perpetrators came forward. BGEN Beno, after consulting MGEN MacKenzie, opposed this plan. Almost everyone suspected of participating in the October incidents was permitted to deploy. Several of these individuals created difficulties in Somalia. In spite of established doctrine, practice, and procedures, there were problems at the senior levels of the chain of command in providing adequate supervision, resulting in poor discipline, fualty passage of information, untimely reaction through advice or intervention, and ineffective remedial action. Such problems appear to have been so frequent as to indicate a significant systemic failure in the exercise of command. In short, the attitude of all ranks toward the importance of good discipline, from junior soldiers to the most senior commanders in the Canadian forces, was decidedly weak. When there is insufficient respect for and attention to the need for discipline as a first principle, military operations can be expected to fail. And in respect of discipline, the mission to Somalia was undoubtedly a failure. The fact is that , at the time of the Somalia mission, discipline was simply taken for granted. It seems to have been assumed that trained soldiers in a professional military would naturally be well disciplined. The matter was tracked and reported on indifferently and inconsistently, with no central co-ordination or sharp focus at the highest levels. Above all, discipline was the subject of inadequate attention, supervision, guidance, enforcement, or remedy by the senior levels of the chain of command; it was, shockingly, simply ignored or downplayed. In facing the future, the first requirement is to take steps to recognize the importance of discipline and the role it must play as a matter of fundamental policy. Discipline requires not only policy definition and emphasis in doctrine, training and education, but also a prominent and visible focus in the interests and concerns of the most senior leadership. Under the UCMJ, the noncommissioned officer (NCO) does not have the same authority as the commissioned officer. Principally, NCOs do not have authority to punish personnel under their supervision. Punishment is administered only through the use of article 15 or courts-martial. Since NCOs punitive authority, what actions can they take to ensure discipline among their people? These questions will be answered as we consider the need for discipline in the military. I will focus on the NCOs role in dealing with discipline problems. If preventive techniques fail, NCOs should be aware of methods available to them for correcting subordinates when their behavior impairs mission accomplishment. Indeed the NCO plays an important role in influencing punishment when it is necessary in achieving mission readiness. Discipline can best be defined as â€Å"a state of training, resulting in orderly conduct. † This state of training must be achieved and maintained during peacetime so that our forces will be prepared for war time contingencies. It is too late to prepare for war once war has started, which is sometimes a difficult concept for lesser experienced NCOs to accept. often the feeling is, we are a technical force; technicians do not need to same state of disciplined readiness as combat soldiers. This feeling perhaps fosters a false assumption that air force members will not be expected to fight during wartime; instead, we will maintain a support role (i. e. , aircraft maintenance, supply, personnel, etc). the questions then become â€Å"is it necessary for air force people to maintain a high state of readiness? Is it really necessary to be disciplined for war? These questions must be answered by all NCOs who are ultimately responsible for achieving success in peacetime readiness as well as in actual warfare. History shows us that we cannot leave this state of readiness to pure chance; we must prepare for any emergency. Discipline, of course, is vital. Rudyard kipling recognized this need for discipline when he had one of his tommy atkinses explain: We was rotten ‘for we started- we was never disciplined; we made it out a favor- if an order was obeyed. Yes every little drummer ad is rights and wrongs to mind, so we had to par for teaching- and we paid! General George patton, a strong disciplinarian who was equally as adamant about preparedness, told his commanders if they did not enforce and maintain perfect discipline, they were potential murders. He went on to say â€Å"that is a blunt way of putting it, but war is blunt, and war is what we must all prepare for. † General Robert E. Lee, one of the greatest military leaders of all time, was equally firm when it came to discipline. He wanted his soldiers to understand that, in addition to efficiency, discipline guaranteed a soldiers safety; that if his forces did not prepare themselves for war when they had a chance they would pay dearly. The Air Force, recognizing the need for discipline, published AFR 30-1 air force standards, in which four types of discipline are identified: task, group, imposed, and self. Task discipline is defined as how well we meet the challenges of the job. First, we must recognize that the job is important, and how well we perform will influence the effectiveness of our work section and our unit. Task discipline requires a strong sense of responsibility in performing our jobs to the best of our abilities, volunteering for the tough jobs, and working overtime, if necessary, to accomplish our mission as it relates to the air force mission. Group discipline means teamwork. Since most air force jobs require that several people work effectively as a team, group discipline is very important. Just as we must have a sense of responsibility to our job, we should also have a sense of group responsibility and effective team membership. We must pull our own weight and at times we may have to deny some personal preferences for the good of our work section, unit, or group. Imposed discipline is known as enforced obedience to legal orders and regulations. It is absolutely essential in combat or in emergencies when there is no time to explain or discuss an order. Most air force training teaches us to carry out orders quickly and efficiently. During peacetime, a continuation of this type of discipline provides the structure and good order necessary throughout the organization to accomplish the mission or task, regardless of the situation. Self discipline is a willing and instinctive sense of responsibility that leads us to do whatever needs to be done. Getting to work on time, knowing all aspects of the job, setting priorities, and denying some personal preferences for more important values or duties are all measures of self discipline. Far above our acceptance of imposed discipline, self discipline reflects our personal commitment and sense of duty. Often we emphasize one type of discipline at the expense of another. For instance, we allow ourselves to become so task disciplined that we fail to recognize the necessity for discipline of other types. The ultimate solution for the NCO is to create an environment where the necessity for imposed discipline is minimized or eliminated, but this is not always possible. Therefore, we must understand how to impose discipline when it is clearly indicated. Three general approaches can be taken in dealing with discipline: the preventive approach, the corrective approach, and the punitive approach. Initial consideration should be given to the preventive approach because it is logically first and is positive and constructive in its development. The preventive approach includes understanding human behavior, using good management and leadership techniques, setting the examples, and enforcing the standards. These are not all inclusive; however, they represent the majority of preventive techniques to discipline problems. There are numerous lessons in dealing with preventive techniques, and most of our NCOs fully understand these techniques for preventing discipline problems. Organizations usually have a few people who do not respond well to preventive techniques, which leads us to the next approach in dealing with discipline problems: correcting the individual who has not responded to preventive techniques. The NCO supervisor is limited in his use of preventive and corrective approaches, since only officer commanders can use the punitive approach. This fact alone creates the undeniable necessity for NCOs to understand and employ fully the corrective actions available to them. The first action available to NCOs for correcting individuals who have not responded to preventive techniques is the verbal reprimand. Verbal reprimands should be given only for performance or conduct and should never leave an individual feeling personally attacked. In other words, individuals should be reprimanded for unacceptable behavior not personality. A memorandum for record should be kept to be used for later action, if necessary. The second corrective action is the documented counseling. The documented counseling does not have to follow any prescribed format; in fact, most major air commands have their own forms. Individuals reviewing subsequent case files will have a better understanding of the situation if they include the following items: a statement of the problem, a discussion of the problem, and personal observations. This documented counseling should be filed in a general correspondence folder, marked specifically with the action included in the folder (i. e. , disciplinary action). The third corrective action NCOs can take is the letter of admonishment/reprimand. Administrative reprimands and admonitions are management tools available to commanders, supervisors, and other superiors to instruct and reprove subordinates for departing from acceptable norms of performance, conduct, or bearing. There is no prescribed format for writing this letter. A reprimand is more severe than an admonition and carries a strong implication of official censure. The letter of admonition should be written when no unfavorable information file is necessary, although either the letter of admonition or reprimand can be placed in the individuals uif. The letter of admonition may also be filed in the same manner as the documented counseling. However, since the letter of reprimand is more severe than a letter of admonition, it should be forwarded through the individuals uif. Supervisors can write a letter of reprimand, but only commanders can forward it to the cbpo for placement in the uif. The last and final action is administrative discharge action under the provisions of AFR 39-10 or AFM 39-12. These procedures are too complex to address in this article. However, it should be pointed out that if all the preceding preventive, corrective, and punitive actions have not disciplined the individual, then discharge is the next step.

Negro Art

The year 1919 witnessed the start of a very important movement in the creativity in arts by the black Americans. This movement is known as the Harlem Renaissance – the flourishing of African American cultural and intellectual life. It featured the creativity of the â€Å"Negroes† in the field of arts, catering to their every need, like literature, drama, music, visual art, and dance. It encouraged the artist in every black American to stand up and be recognized. New York City’s Harlem would be the center stage for painters, sculptors, musicians, and writers to produce works of art. During this time art was given a huge responsibility; it would become the main medium through which the African American race would strive for equality.Black Writers and the â€Å"Negro† ArtMany black writers, such as Alain Locke, W.E.B. DuBois, and Langston Hughes wrote specifically about the importance of art and its ability to promote equality. Although many black writers agr eed with this idea, other more conservative writers did not; such is the case with George S. Schuyler. In his work â€Å"The Negro-Art Hokum† Schuyler states that race and art are separate, and there is no â€Å"Negro Art† but only American art. While his integrated and collective view of art may have a positive outlook in our time, it was less than encouraging for those living during the Harlem Renaissance. Looking at both sides would mean exploring the depths of how these writers understood â€Å"Negro Art† and â€Å"American Art†.Alain Locke and â€Å"The New Negro†The importance of art was first exposed by Alain Locke in his famous essay â€Å"The New Negro†. This essay is often seen as the catalyst for the emergence of a new movement within the African American society. Written in 1925, Locke aims to tell the nation that African Americans are changing and adapting under the social prejudices that have previously been forced upon them. T he mind of the ‘New Negro’ is moving away from social discourse, and it is â€Å"shaking off the psychology of imitation and implied inferiority† (Locke pg).  A new group of people are being formed; he calls them the ‘New Negro’. Locke calls for artistic contributions by the black race. He believes that with art, the race will gain cultural recognition; he looks at the role of art as â€Å"a bridge between individuals and cultures† (Gates 984). This is a transformation of some sort; something which doesn’t rely on how things are usually done: something that embraces a new psychology and possesses a new spirit.Alain Locke’s â€Å"The New Negro† aims to define the new black American; lifting him from the images of slave trades and plantation workers. He explains how the old concept of â€Å"Negro† is more of a mythical figure, something which the society has dictated it to be. This is usually a view of the oppressed poor, being stepped on while some people are holding them back. These characteristics however, were more of a â€Å"conceived† trait rather than a â€Å"perceived† trait.The society thinks that up until that time, the Negroes were low lives who are incapable of artistic appreciation and production. They have their eyes closed about the Negro’s achievements, including literature, music and visual arts. Alain Locke’s â€Å"The New Negro† is not necessarily introducing a new breed of black Americans. It is more of an eye-opener of what these people have created and what they’re capable of doing in the context of art.W. E. B. Du Bois and his â€Å"Criteria of Negro Art†The following year W. E. B. Du Bois contributed similar views of art and race with his speech â€Å"Criteria of Negro Art†, in which he specifically defines art as the key to equality among the races. He states that art is propaganda and that it should always be pro paganda. DuBois feels that art is a way of proving ones humanity. â€Å"Just as soon as the black artist appears, someone touches the race on the shoulder and says. ‘He did that because he was an American, not because he was a Negro; he was born here; he was trained here; he is not a Negro—what is a Negro anyhow?He is just human; it is the kind of thing you ought to expect† (Du Bois pg). This portrait of racial equality through art is an inspiring call for the emergence of black artists. According to Du Bois, black American art should utilize truth as a tool. Since art is propaganda, it should aim to seek the truth and show the truth. Artists will fully understand art if they are truthful with what they create, with what they write; artists should be truthful with the way they handle their art.â€Å"The Negro-Art Hokum† vs. â€Å"The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain†In 1926, the June issue of The Nation featured â€Å"The Negro-Art Hokum† by George S. Schuyler as well as Hughes’s response piece â€Å"The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain†. The magazine had angered Schuyler by appointing Hughes as a critic before the article had even appeared (Kuenz 174). Ultimately, the pairing of these two essays lends many to play favorites among the two rather than assess each piece as its own subject. As one would expect, Schuyler often receives negative opinions.George S. Schuyler viewed art as something that should not be divided by any race; instead, it should just be recognized through a certain nationality, and in the case of the â€Å"Negro† art, it should just be classified as an American art. Schuyler may have a point, but he was not able to properly explain and defend it. It could mean that he was more concerned in further marginalizing the situation of the black Americans, that’s why he opted for a more general classification which is considering Negro art as American art.â€Å"Aside fro m his color, which ranges from very dark brown to pink, your American Negro is just plain American†¦ Negroes and whites from the same localities in this country talk, think, and act about the same† (Schuyler). He made a mistake however, when he somewhat talked down on the black Americans because it seems that he has no regard for the black culture, saying that it is just a matter of color. He may have generalized on the artistic aspect of black Americans, but they also posses a culture which has essentially contributed in the formation of the country.Schuyler didn’t recognize the existence of the black American culture: â€Å"This, of course, is easily understood if one stops to realize that the Aframerican is merely a lampblacked Anglo-Saxon† (Schuyler). This statement made by Schuyler somewhat looks down on the African American culture, assuming that they have just black counterparts of the white residents of the country.Black Americans have a rich culture , including a wide influence in art. This doesn’t give any person the right to assume that they are just colored counterparts of the majority.One argument that Schuyler raised was that black Americans are living the same lives as white Americans, that’s why there shouldn’t be any difference even in their perception and appreciation of art.â€Å"When the jangling of his Connecticut alarm clock gets him out of hisGrand Rapids bed to a breakfast similar to that eaten by his white brother across the street; when he toils at the same or similar work in mills, mines, factories, and commerce alongside the descendants of Spartacus, Robin Hood, and Eric the Red; when he wears similar clothing and speaks the same language with the same degree of perfection; when he reads the same Bible and belongs to the Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal, or Catholic church.When his fraternal affiliations also include the Elks, Masons, and Knights of Pythias; when he gets the same or similar schooling, lives in the same kind of houses, owns the same makes of cars (or rides in them), and nightly sees the same Hollywood version of life on the screen; when he smokes the same brands of tobacco, and avidly peruses the same puerile periodicals; in short, when he responds to the same political, social, moral, and economic stimuli in precisely the same manner as his white neighbor, it is sheer nonsense to talk about â€Å"racial differences† as between the American black man and the American white man† (Schuyler). This lengthy but meaningful passage by Schuyler could be considered as his basis for the argument that whites and blacks are just superficial concepts.However, he didn’t consider one thing: culture goes beyond what you eat, what you do for a living; it is deeply rooted in the people’s emotions, a basis for their character formation. Once it is imprinted in their personality, these black Americans would surely recognize what is black and wha t is white when it comes to art.â€Å"The Negro-Art Hokum† can be seen in a number of different ways and can easily be misconstrued. It has caused some to view Schuyler as a traitor to his race (Gates 1220).Hughes attacks this presumption in â€Å"The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain†. He argues that African Americans should be proud of their heritage and culture.Langston Hughes’ â€Å"The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain,† he points out that despite living in a country filled with white people, African Americans should never look away from where they truly came from. They should stand up for their heritage and culture, which could be manifested in different forms of art. According to Hughes, the Negro artist is full of potential, because he has a very rich culture backing him up. â€Å"Without going outside his race, and even among the better classes with their â€Å"white† culture and conscious American manners, but still Negro enough to be different, there is sufficient material to furnish a black artist with a lifetime of creative work† (Hughes).This statement means that the Negro could truly afford to be different because they are characterized with a rich culture, as well as great talents that would supply a lifetime of creative works in the form of literature, visual arts, and more. People possessing these skills and talents should not be ashamed of his roots. Instead of succumbing to the white â€Å"Americanization† of these artistic skills, African Americans should focus on how they would be able to make their culture stand out. They should love their own, especially their artists who posses the talent that could match and even surpass any artist from other races.The African American people should learn to appreciate their own creations, and address these as the output of a black American, and not of a commoner. Many blacks wanted to be assimilated by the whites and their culture, but to Hughes, he suggested that it is better to accept what you really are: â€Å"Why should I want to be white? I am a Negro–and beautiful! (Hughes)†The racial mountain is the obstacle which the black Americans should be able to conquer. They may be living in a country full of white people telling them what to do, what to think, and what to follow. The black Americans have to overcome this push-shove treatment being given to them, and that could be realized by strengthening their own culture. They have a lot of potential, added the fact that they posses talented young minds. All they have to do is to stand up to the challenge and prove that they can truly be considered a unique, independent culture.Look at: Race in art†¦ Locke says it’s important, Dubois says it’s important, Hughes says it’s important. Schuyler says there is no race in art- only art. He has a good point- but it seems that he was overlooking the importance it can have for a culture. He see ms to overlook the fact that equality had not yet been achieved and that his fellow artists wanted to gain that equality through art. Its interesting that Schuyler was denying that very vehicle that would hopefully gain the equality he presumed to be already in effect.Schuyler seems ahead of his times. He writes â€Å"The Negro-Art Hokum† in 1926 and argues that there is no Negro-Art; there is simply American Art, and no distinction between the two. Although he makes an understandable argument it seems that he denies the main problem. We can see how one may agree with Schuyler in that both African Americans and white Americans have had an affect on one another. But when we look at what Hughes says about racial pride, it’s hard to agree with Schuyler.Works Cited:DuBois, W.E.B. â€Å"Criteria of Negro Art†.   1926.   The Crisis. November 7 2007. .Gates, Henry Louis, and Gene Andrew Jarrett. â€Å"Introduction to the New Negro.†Ã‚   The New Negro: Readin gs on Race, Representation, and African American Culture, 1892-1938. Ed. Alain Locke. New York: Atheneum, 1968. 3-16.Hughes, Langston. â€Å"The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain†.   1926.   The Nation. November 7 2007. .Locke, Alain. â€Å"Introduction to the New Negro.† New York: Atheneum, 1968. 3-16.Schuyler, George S. â€Å"The Negro-Art Hokum.† Nation 122 (1926).