Recent innovation

Recent innovation in terms of technology has initiated the rise of the information component of goods. Apparently, the value of hardware persists on falling, while the price of software has intensified or has remained constant. This inclination will continue because manufacturing costs, a significant part of hardware costs, will continue to fall, while human brainpower costs, and consequently software costs, will keep rising.

Corporate scuffles in the software and integrated circuit milieu is high-priced and experts distinguish no speedy solution to the controversy. An apprehension is the amount of capital companies are spending on legal actions that could be put into research and development. Legal fees, even for small software companies, can run into six figures. And in this context, the developers of software placed in the middle of it. Although there is malpractice could not be pursued among the engineers, an apparent legal liability of a professional software engineer is the breach of intellectual property rights clause.

An engineer must be able to discern what technologies already exist and what among these are patented. Software is usually protected by copyrights, which protect expressions of ideas, while patents normally cover inventions. Copyrights are designed to protect the software code itself and the screens the user sees. Patents protect the underlying functionality. Patents are the strongest form of protection, providing several years of monopoly on an idea. Some companies have been successful using trade secrets to protect their ideas. While trade secrets provide less legal protection than patents and copyrights, the secrets are never published. Patents are published at the end of the protection period.

Software engineers are thus required to have a knowledge of the current technologies and those which is still developing to become safe from any unintentional replication of data. It is these patents and copyrights that protects and at the same time provides danger for software engineers among themselves.

 

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Being an engineer

Being an engineer is the profession in which knowledge of the mathematics and natural sciences gained by study, experience and practice is applied with judgment to develop ways to utilize, economically, the materials and forces of nature for the benefit of mankind. (Kenyon, 1993) Engineering technology is that part of the technological field which requires the application of scientific and engineering knowledge and methods combined with technical skills in support of engineering activities; it lies in the occupational spectrum between the craftsman and the engineer at the end of the spectrum closest to the engineer. Engineering services exhibit great variety. Engineering firms may design ships, boats, machines of any kind including machine tools used in factories to produce other products; advanced weapons, public works such as bridges or public utilities, petroleum extraction systems, airplanes, or any of the components of such products. (SIC, 1987) The engineering industry derives income, employment, and growth from a broad range of services for a broad range of clients.

As more and more sophisticated hardware and software ease the requirements for labor in other industries, computers are developing impressive capabilities for use in both engineering and software development itself. This is where software engineers come in. Nonetheless, the practitioners of the branch of engineering concerning the development of software are in a conundrum whether to professionalize their discipline through licensing. In my own point of view, there would be advantages and disadvantages for taking such action.

To illustrate, an attempt to professionalize software engineers would comply with how Winter's description of a profession stating that it is an occupation with certain characteristics" (1988, p. 21). As of the moment, software engineering merely provides occupation for its practitioners. If analyzed closely, licensing software engineers would provide a standard level of competence among the engineers. Moreover, one could ensure that every licensed software engineer would be able to comply with the quality of products that they will consequently develop. However, software development closely complies with the current trend of the advancement of technology. At this point, one would ask how difficult (if not impossible) a task is of establishing a set of standards that would gauge a discipline with this kind of dynamism. One could also deduce with the fact that licensing these engineers would, in a way, limit the potential of software developers considering the restrictions that will eventually exist since having a license means they are as well answerable to the government. In this light, licensing a dynamic industry such as the software engineering would only stunt its growth, particularly in innovating existing programs. Although the professionalization of its practitioners would be beneficial for the government since it could regulate the proliferation of perverted software and protect intellectual property rights of the individual engineers, one could not discount the fact that software development is a technology that needs constant innovation and improvement of existing programs in order to provide an output that is considerably superior than what has been already applied in the market.

 

Reference:

Kenyon, R. (1993) The Coming Revolution in Engineering and Engineering Technology Education: A New Paradigm for the 21st Century. Education Vol. 113 Issue 3

Standard Industry Classification Manual (Washington, DC, Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, 1987), p. 401.

Winter, D. (1988) The power motive in women and men. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Vol. 54, p. 510-519.

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AMELIA MANANTAN PAPER ON ADVANCE NURSING PRACTICE

Increased emphasis on primary health care, new models of collaborative practice, the shift from institutional to community care, new developments in technology, and the supply and demand for various health providers with particular skills. These are the new trends in the delivery of health care that give opportunities for the expansion and creation of new roles for nurses. To better meet the changing needs of health care of patients in our modern times, the practice of nursing must continue to develop. One possible career path nurses may opt to trail is the advance nursing practice, or ANP, where nurses [registered nurses] learn additional competencies integrated in their practice as they move along the move along the field of experience and education This enables nurses to contribute to the health care system in new ways. (Canadian Nurses Association, 2002, p. 2)

What is Advance Nursing Practice (ANP) and its characteristics?

According to the Canadian Nurses Association [CNA] (2002), advance nursing practice (ANP) is an umbrella term that describes an advanced level of nursing practice that maximizes the use of in-depth nursing knowledge and skill in meeting the health needs of clients (individuals, families, groups, populations, or entire communities). In this way, ANP extends the boundaries of nursing's scope of practice and contributes to nursing knowledge and the development and advancement of the profession. (p. 4)

            CNA further explains: ANP is an expert and specialized practice grounded in knowledge that comes from nursing theory and other theoretical foundations, experience and research. It involves the deliberate, purposeful and integrated use of in-depth nursing knowledge, research and clinical expertise. It also involves integration of knowledge from other disciplines into the practice of nursing. ANP requires a depth and breadth of knowledge that enables the nurse to provide an ever-increasing range of strategies to meet the complex needs of clients. Also, ANP may, but does not necessarily, include activities that have been traditionally considered outside the scope of nursing practice. (CNA, 2002, p. 4-5)

 

Who are the Advance Practice Nurses (APNs)?

            Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) is an umbrella term that is given to a registered nurse (RN) who has met advanced educational and clinical practice requirements beyond the 2 4 years of basic nursing education required of all RNs. There are four principal types of APNs: the Nurse Practitioner (NP), Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM), Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), and Certified Registered Nurses Anesthetist (CRNA). (American Nurses Association, 1997)

ISSUES ON APN:

            Harris (1998) made a research on the role of APNs in meeting the health care needs of the 21^st century patients. The research basically discussed the issue of APNs acceptance as a viable health care provider. Harris found out that that there are certain factors that favor for the broadening of APNs scope of responsibility for primary care, which include: the pressing need to contain US' continuing increase in health care costs, the window of opportunity for advanced nursing practice (or the transformation of health care in the US), and the need to use fewer resources more effectively. Harris discussed: "Because ours is a market-driven health care system with a growing surplus of physicians, NPs increasingly find themselves in direct competition with physicians for the same primary care jobs. Hence, market-driven (rather than identical) pricing of services is necessary if NPs are to compete successfully with medically trained providers of primary care." (Harris, 1998)

            Therefore, APNs need to widen their scope of practice to better meet the needs of their possible clients. As the Pew Health Professions Commission (1995), suggested: "Advanced preparation...will permit the nursing professional to develop the information background and experience base to operate more independently, work in community settings, more effectively manage the health of patients and make an even more profound contribution to health care.... In many ways nurses are the best prepared professionals to respond to the changing system. Their training focuses on the delivery of cost effective care;...they combine clinical and managerial skills; they focus on the behavioral aspect of health more than physicians; and they are effective team workers and leaders." (p. 49)

(Note: Advanced Nursing Practice (ANP) and Advanced Practice Nursing (APN) are used interchangeably in this paper.)

 

 

 

References:

 

American Nurses Association. (1997). Advanced Practice Nursing: A New Age in     Health             Care. In Nursing World. Available at:      [www.nursingworld.org/readroom/fsadvprc.htm]

 

Canadian Nurses Association. (2002). Advanced Nursing Practice: A National   Framework.    Ottawa: Author

 

Harris, Ruth M. (1998). Advanced Nursing Practice in the 21^st Century: Do We           Want to Be             Right, or Do We Want To Win?. In Online Journal Issues of Nursing. Available at: [www.nursingworld.org/ojin/tpc6/tpc6_2.htm ]

Pew Health Professions Commission.(1995). Critical challenges: Revitalizing the                     healthcare professions for the twenty-first century. San Francisco, CA:    University     of California, San Francisco Center for the Health Professions.

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THE ROLE OF STRESS IN DISEASE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE ROLE OF STRESS IN DISEASE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amy C. Wynn

Professor

HEA 110 02

January 19, 2004

 

 

 

 

Table of Contents

 

Title Page                  ……………………………………………………….           1

 

Table of Contents      ……………………………………………………….           2

 

Cover Letter               ……………………………………………………….           3

 

Prospectus                ……………………………………………………….           4

 

Bibliography              ……………………………………………………….           8

 

(Street Address)

(City)(State)(Zip Code)

(Date)

 

Dear Sir/Madame:

 

This serves as a cover letter for my proposal for this subject entitled "The Role of Stress in Disease." Attached with this letter is the rough draft of my proposal containing the possible contents of my thesis. I humbly implore you to look into the document and feel free to make suggestions and recommendations for the improvement of the paper.

 

Sincerely,

Amy C. Wynn

 

Stress is within the individual and occurs when factors outside the individual demand a response. Stress is equated with an inability to concentrate, feelings of tension and anxiety, and other emotional and physical indicators. Others may take a situational-based view seeing stress as an innate characteristic of a particular event or situation, producing a strain within the individual. Deadlines, irate customers, and uncooperative coworkers are just a few stressors which may produce a strain because of their nature. Or some of us may integrate the response-based and situational-based views into a transactional view and believe that stress occurs when an individual perceives that external demands are greater than the individual's ability to meet them. In this case, stress is a "perceptional phenomenon resulting from a comparison between the demand on a person and his ability to cope. An imbalance in this mechanism, when coping is important, gives rise to the experience of stress, and to the stress response" (Cox, 25).

Stress can result in physical, psychological, and behavioral responses. Stress has been implicated as contributing to a variety of physical disorders that include heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, migraine headaches, cancer, gastrointestinal disorders. (Murray & Schoenborn, 90) along with asthma, diabetes, and multiple sclerosis (Fleming & Baum, 120). One study reported that a company spent $3,400 annually for one employee with anxiety headaches, which included the loss of productivity, doctor visits, and negative effects on coworkers (Manning & Curtis, 20). Psychological disorders are not always readily identifiable, but symptoms include anxiety, depression, job dissatisfaction, maladaptive behavioral patterns, chemical dependencies, and alcohol abuse (Sauter, Murphy, & Hurrell, 1150).

The research on stress is somewhat ill-defined and amorphous, with various literatures, perspectives, and terminologies offered by those who study job stress, coping behaviors, health and well-being, stressful life events, and other topics. This state of affairs can be daunting even to the most well-intentioned reader and suggests the value of delimiting briefly what it means to examine stress and performance. According to Salas, Driskell, and Hughes (21), stress is defined as a process by which certain environmental demands evoke an appraisal process in which perceived demand exceeds resources and that result in undesirable physiological, psychological, behavioral, or social outcomes. Salas et al. offered an input-process-output model of stress in which input refers to environmental stressors such as noise, time pressure, task load, threat, and other stressors; the appraisal process refers to the evaluation of the extent of demand and available resources; and the outputs include physiological, emotional, cognitive, social, and behavioral effects.

A greater understanding of the role of stress in diseases is a fundamental thrust of this study. For this study, primary research and secondary research will be used. Primary research will be conducted using anonymous questionnaires that will be sent to employees of the respondent organizations. The questionnaires will be used to collect quantitative data and the interviews will be used to provide qualitative insights into the data collected.

The data will be analyzed and compiled for the correlation of the hypothesis. The data will then be presented by means of graphical representations and illustration and the difference would be highlighted. Through the use of different statistics, the researcher will determine the role of stress in diseases.

The dissertation shall be divided into five chapters in order to provide clarity and coherence on the discussion of the relationship of stress and diseases. The first part of the dissertation will be discussing the problem uncovered by the researcher and provide ample background on the topic. The chapter shall constitute an introduction to the whole dissertation, the hypothesis, and the statement of the problem in order to present the basis of the study. Moreover, the chapter shall also have a discussion on the scope of its study as well as the significance of the study to society in general and specific effects on individuals.

The second chapter shall be discussing the relevance of the study in the existing literature. It shall provide studies on stress, psychology, and other medical findings regarding stress. After the presentation of the existing related literature, the researcher shall provide a synthesis of the whole chapter in relation to the study.

The third part of the study shall be discussing the methods and procedures used in the study. The chapter shall comprise of the presentation of the utilized techniques for data collection and research methodology. Similarly, it shall also contain a discussion on the used techniques in data analysis as well as the tools used to acquire the said data.

The fourth chapter shall be an analysis on the tabulated data. After the said tabulation, the data are statistically treated in order to uncover the relationship of the variable involved in the study. With the said data, the chapter seeks to address the statement of the problem noted in the first chapter.

The last chapter shall comprise of three sections, the summary of the findings, the conclusions of the study, and the recommendations. With the three portions, the chapter shall be able to address the verification of the hypothesis stated in the initial chapters of the study.

Bibliography

Fleming, I. & Baum, A. "Psychobiological assessment." Journal of Organizational Behavior, 8.2, (1986) 117-135.

Manning, G. & Curtis, K. Stress without distress - Rx for burnout. Cincinnati, OH: South-Western Publishing Co. (1988)

Sauter, S. L., Murphy, L. R., Hurrell, J. J. Jr. "Prevention of work-related psychological disorders." American Psychologist, 45.10, (1990) 1146-1158.

Salas, E., Driskell, J. E., & Hughes, S. "Introduction: The study of stress and human performance." In J. E. Driskell & E. Salas (Eds.), Stress and human performance (pp. 1-45). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. (1996)

Murray, L. & Schoenborn, T. (1987). U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Publication No. 87-111.

 

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