International Entrepreneurship Competing models of Nationalism

A Ryan Air Report Tourism Essays

A Ryan Air Report Tourism Essays A Ryan Air Report Tourism Essay A Ryan Air Report Tourism Essay Introduction Ryan Air is a British based low-priced air hose that operates in the leisure travel industry, which makes up for 40 % of its operations. ( Beginning: Michael OLeary, Ryan Air Chairman ) . Ryan Air as an air hose operator has a huge where bulk of its usage in the leisure touristry industry. This study will concentrate on Ryan Air s strengths and capablenesss every bit good as its failing and possible menaces to its concern. A general analysis will be carried out on the air hose to place what cardinal issues faced by air hose besides an rating of the air travel industry will be looked at. The rating will look at possible menaces within the industry and what effects it might hold on Ryan Air in footings of profitableness. The study will besides look into what the industrial environment has to offer and that which Ryan Air as a concern can capitalize and utilize to its advantage. Finally the study will place selling schemes of how best to implement its operations in order to raise its game and enable the concern to be more competitory. 2.0 Strategic Environment Political issues EU statute law Governments Labor markets Social Changing consumer attitudes towards work and leisure Lifestyle alterations Economic Competition Technological Online system ( s ) Legal Regulation The environment in which Ryan Air operates in has become so greatly influenced by the PESTEL model. It is of import from a company position to look at this model and be able to analyze state of affairs in which it may happen itself both in its micro and macro environments. 2.1 Political Ryan Air and its concern has been greatly affected by political state of affairs in its industry late, the most powerful force that has affected the air hose is that of EU statute law. The air hose industry has been greatly affected by statute law late so much so that in Ryan Air instance it has decided to end one of its paths ( Brussels Charleroi to London ) because of the EU ruled that the air hose had been having illegal inducements to wing the path. This is a negative matter fore the air hose, which ruled the determination as a disaster . The ordinance is a cardinal issue for the company in that call offing the path which antecedently has flown daily means a 10 % bead in flights from Charleroi. This is a definite menace to the air hose because as Mr. OLeary puts it these capacity decreases are bad intelligence for clients at Brussels Charleroi ( Beginning: www.news.bbc.co.uk ) However the biggest concern for the air hose will be the estimated 4million Euros the company has bee n ordered to payback as a consequence of the opinion. What seems even more distressing for the air hose is the sentiment from certain members of the imperativeness seem to believe that the air hose was let off rather lightly. A subdivision of the European imperativeness reappraisal commented the air hose comes out rather good and matters could hold been worse . ( Beginning: Swiss Le Temps ) The opinion seems to come at a bad clip for consumers in that it threatens to set monetary values up. A rise in monetary values may reflect to a menace to Ryan Air in that consumers may exchange to other inexpensive alternate methods of travel for the path. Ryan Air has pushed the issue of constructing a new airdrome terminus in Dublin, the air hose has urged Aer Rianta ( Irish Airports Authority ) to halt haltering the state s recovery through what it calls a monopoly on landing charges and paths. This is a cardinal issue for Ryan Air in that it is an chance for the air hose to work and with its success can maximize profitableness and enable cost efficiency. In February, the authorities approved the building of the new edifice nevertheless the recommends the terminus to be run by Aer Rianta much to the disillusion of the Airline who have declared an involvement in building and running the terminus. Ryan Air sees the chance of a new terminus as a opportunity for cheaper landing charges and faster turnaround times . The air hose sees what it calls a monopoly as inefficient , high-cost ; it believes the civil servant-run airdrome shackles Ireland opportunities of hiking its touristry industry. ( Beginning: www.news.bbc.co.uk ) Furthe r possible chances have been handed to Ryan Air in July Ireland Minster for Sports, Education and Tourism allocated the amount of 3m euros to hike Irish touristry to the abroad market. This is an chance for the air hose because with proper usage of the allocated financess its success will pull more touristry to the part and therefore more possible clients for Ryan Air. 2.2 Social Mintel Analysts have carried out studies and it seems that Britishers have more clip to save . Analysts carried out studies in 2004 37 % of Britons want more vacations and 45 % said they would wish to pass more clip with their households. It might be safe to state that this reflects alterations in attitudes of possible consumers. This is an chance for Ryan Air and so a cardinal issue because it can heighten the air hoses profitableness. Appoint which was further emphasised by the fact that outgo in abroad vacations has more than doubled between 1993 and 2003 from ?9bn to ?20bn. ( Beginning: Mintel ) 2.3 Economic Ryan Air has faced addition competition because of the EU opinion against them sing the Brussels Charleroi issue. The air hose finally decided to axe the path get downing on the 29 April 2004, the consequence of Ryan Air drawing out of the path has opened doors for two new rivals who have decide to get down winging from that path. Axis Airways ( a Gallic house ) and Air Polonia ( Polish Airliner ) regional beginnings said that the EU opinion has helped the sign languages. This is an obvious menace to Ryan Air because of the obvious loss of concern of one of its most flown paths due to the fact that it has the lowest menu. Monsieur Serge Kubla, the economic Minister thinks the airdrome had been seeking to diversify the airdromes activities by pulling air hoses other than Ryan Air. There has yet been more bad intelligence for the air hose with its chief challenger ( in footings of options ) for the path has seen a significant addition in riders PRNewswire studies that Eurostar saw a record one-fourth of rider Numberss as travelers continued to exchange from air hoses. The study besides states that in February 2004 the Eurostar had seen an addition on the London Paris path market portion of 66 % from 58 % of the same period the old twelvemonth and even more so for the London Brussels route 52 % compared to the old twelvemonth s 38 % . The study states that air hoses such as Ryan Air, EasyJet and BA have experienced a loss of about 11 % . The study states that this is a consequence of air hoses cut downing the figure of flights operated between London and Brussels. ( www.independent.co.uk ) Economic downswing is speed uping the reorganization of most markets Indeed, it is merely with the recent coming together of the engineering revolution, the economic squeezing and the deregulating of markets that the existent impact is being felt. From air hoses to mortgages, from energy to frost pick, many industries are being shaken inverted by the new market kineticss. Whilst British Airways struggles to happen infinite to last, Ryan Air and Go are reshaping the economic sciences and outlooks of air hoses 2.4 Technology A cardinal issue for Ryan Air is the consequence of engineering on its operations ; the air hose uses the Internet for most of its engagements. Ryan Air would be badly affected were it system to crash or a virus. Ryan Air gain the importance of puting in engineering, Ryan Air s MIS director Martin Nygard, states Our IT systems are critical to the success of our concern . With Ryan Air.com one of the most visited web sites in Europe the air hose have chosen Systemhouse Technology Group to procure its computing machine systems all around Europe from Viruses. Nygard states If something were to impact our booking systems or our Call Centres, our clients could nt purchase their tickets If cardinal sections such as flight operations and technology ca nt entree their computing machine systems 247 so our aircraft would remain on the land. 3.0 Constraints and Capabilities 3.1 Competitive competition Ryan Air competes in the low-priced sector of the air hose industry, which is rather competitory. Ryan Air faces competition from air hoses such as EasyJet, Go and Buzz every bit good as other low-priced budget air hoses. Potential entrants into the low cost sector at the minute seem to be Virgin, proprietor Sir Richard Branson plans to drift Virgin Blue ( Virgin Low cost option ) and plans to establish its low-priced air hose venture in mid 2004. With the industry expected to turn new entrants are likely and competition will go rather ferocious. With all these factors, it is just to state that competitory competition in this sector is rather high. 3.2 Menace of entrants With the expected explosive growing of the market it likely to state the menace of entrants is rather likely, this has been farther enabled with EU deregulating. However any entrants into the market have to be major participants with fiscal backup to be able to vie with established names like Ryan Air and EasyJet. Although new entrants coming into the market is likely the menace it poses to Ryan Air is rather moderate due to the demand for significant fiscal backup 3.3 Menace of replacements In footings of replacements Ryan Air s chief competition will come from Rail links like the Eurostar and the fast rail nexus between Madrid and Seville. The other alternate agencies of travel, which can present a menace to Ryan Air, is travel by ferry. The turning country of concern for the air hose might be the fact Eurostar is basking an increased period of growing in footings of rider Numberss, which will ache the Paris, Brussels, and Charleroi paths. The menace of permutation might be further increased with the fact that British consumers have to an extent become in favor of vacationing within the state. In recent old ages the British have tended to see topographic points like Butlins, Blackpool and a host of other holiday locations within the UK. Ryan Air s response is its program to increase siting capacity in order to cut down costs and increase rider Numberss. Seemly it can be said that even though rail travel has experienced an addition it can be said that the menace of repl acements will be rather low due to the trouble of rail monetary values viing with low cost air hose monetary values. 3.4 Buyer power In the industry purchaser power seems to be high, because of the huge figure of purchasers within the sector. There seems to be an addition in rider Numberss in the low-priced air hose sector. With Ryan Air ruling the European selling low cost travel and seemly decreasing cost borders. It offers a certain chance for the air hose for farther enlargement and so market growing. There are besides rather a few operators in the industry such as EasyJet, Go and Buzz. This makes the market topographic point more competitory for monetary value as purchasers tend to look around for the best monetary value. 3.5 Supplier Power Ryan Air relies on Boeing to provide the aeroplanes and Rolls Royce for the engine parts. However Ryan Air are able to set up a clear advantage of challengers because it owns it planes alternatively of renting them. By having their aircraft Ryan Air is able to capitalize on care costs whereas renting would coerce the company into seting money aside which would blow up their care histories. The air hose has had increased orders from Boeing through which it has gained economic systems of graduated table. However Boeing is able to set up great supplier power due to the fact that most low cost air hoses favour the 737 scopes of aircraft. Ryan Air additions cost advantage because it burns less fuel capacity in comparing to hanker draw flights nevertheless this means that they are besides less capable of go throughing on cost ( of fuel monetary value addition ) to their monetary value witting section. In footings of provider power it can be said that Ryan Air have a reasonably low to medi um supplier power. 4.0 Key competences Ryan Air operations and concern endurance are based around one simple factor diminish cost borders . Bing able to remain in front of the game means being able to set up cardinal competences or competitory advantage ( s ) that can non be duplicated ( and if so ) with great trouble by challengers. Mr. OLeary believes the air hose s chief advantage on its challengers remains the ability to accomplish 25-minute turnarounds . ( Beginning: Financial times ) He suggests Ryan Air is able to run to two more flight runs that its challenger BA, he believe it is the air hose s most of import cost advantage . This is surely a cardinal competency for the air hose and one, which BA has non been able to double. In footings of other challengers such as EasyJet or Go, they excessively have schemes based on cost borders but have non been able to double them every bit good as Ryan Air have. The ultimate ground why Ryan Air still maintains its place as Europe s elite low cost air hose. Bing able to se t up a nucleus competency in within the market place depends on the ability to be able to set up Critical Success Factors ( CSFs ) . In Ryan Air s instance their CSFs are as follows Operational Excellence. Delivering quality service rapidly and for a sensible monetary value Operational excellence involves supplying the lowest-cost goods and services while at the same time understating jobs for the client. Ryan Air has continued to successfully decrease costs though different stairss and class of action. They decided to exchange 70 % of its Birmingham Airport Traffic to Nottingham East Airport as a cost step to counter what has been described as a 100 % addition in track charges. ( www.bbc.co.uk ) Management of efficient minutess. For greater efficiency and velocity, processes between providers and the administration are frequently integrated. Management of efficient minutess this relates to Ryan Air s ability O negotiate favorable rates with airdromes the air hose has been able to negociate. This might be the ground why Ryan Air s challengers welcomed the intelligence of the Brussels s determination. ABN Amro air power analyst said he expected to the opinion to do a fall in Ryan Air s net incomes . The statute law has put Ryan Air s capableness to negociate favorable trades in the hereafter. Analysts say that the opinion could gyrate and impact on other trades across Europe. Dedication to measurement systems. Ryan Air seems dedicated to operational excellence proctor and step all procedures, continually seeking for ways to cut down cost and better both service and quality. Ryan Air stays in front of the game by being able to double what it does best and that is by cut downing costs. It continually finds ways to cut down costs even though it has been criticised for some of its policies. As portion of its policy of continual cost decrease Ryan Air antecedently charged riders for utilizing a wheelchair a policy which was challenged in tribunal which led to Ryan Air adding a surcharge of 50p for each ticket to pay for the tribunal opinion which order the air hose to offer a free wheelchair service. Part of the air hose s continual policy has been to size up different airdromes in order to go on to cut down costs. The company in the last twelvemonth have discontinue traffic to specific airdromes every bit good as move to different airdromes in hunt of better economic systems. 5.0 Ryan Air primary and secondary activities Ryan Air has the ability to associate its primary activity of winging planes at a low cost to both its concern and its clients with well-balanced support activities that help understate cost to operations. Ryan Air s capablenesss are based on good direction and efficient cost operations. 5.1 Ryan Air Primary Activities Inbound logistics Supplier dialogues Ryan Air has been able to drive down provider costs by assuring big and continually turning projected rider Numberss. It is stated that Ryan Air continued effectivity is down to the negotiated contracts between the air hose and its providers. Part of the ground why Ryan Air has continued with its vigorous enlargement ( to heighten rider growing ) is down to the fact that it negotiated in order to procure lower monetary values from its providers. Operationss Flying to secondary airdromes The air hoses policy of winging to secondary and therefore less busy airdromes is a policy adopted by most low cost air hoses. However Ryan Air has managed to negociate favorable conditions in most of the airdromes it operates from. It has managed to renegociate airdrome care and managing contracts with its providers in return for presenting increased growing. Ryan Air besides has a limited fleet and its pilots fly more air stat mis compared to other challengers. This establishes a competitory advantage over most challengers because the fleet get paid based on public presentation and how many sectors ( within ordinance ) they fly daily ; this helps to understate costs and maximize efficiency. Outbound logistics It has set-up client links with its operations through the utilizations on technological promotion. Ryan Air s purpose has been to convey their services at the client s fingertips. This is besides one of the grounds it continues to bask its topographic point as the figure one in the no-frills sector. Selling and gross revenues Online engagements, limited usage of travel bureau services and monetary value publicities 90 % of Ryan Air s selling and gross revenues is done online this is why the air hose has invested to a great extent in anti-virus systems. The air hose has been able to derive a competitory advantage is because the online engagement system brings the air hose closer to the client . Knowing clients closely and working closely with spouses gives Ryan Air a clear advantage. Servicess low in-flight service Like all low cost air hoses Ryan Air provides a low in flight service, nevertheless the air hose sheds its costs by undertaking out services such as aircraft handling, fining and luggage handling. The air hose is able to command quality and safety at a minimal cost by undertaking out engine and heavy care work under its supervising. 5.2 Ryan Air support services Firm Infrastructure Ryan Air chief central office is based in Dublin, Ireland where rents are comparatively low compared to topographic points like Central London. It has other little regional offices ( bases ) around Britain and programs to open some abroad in topographic points like Sweden and Germany. Its concern operations are chiefly on the Internet, which reduces operations cost. The air hoses ability to understate its costs of operation frees up needed financess to drive its selling run, this puts it in a good place to work the market. Ryan Air operates 125 paths and has 9 bases ( 7 of which are non-home state ) . ( Beginning: www.Ryan Air.com ) Human resource direction The air hose recruits staff online and it is the lone manner the return on new staff, it has been known to bear down appliers recruitment fees . Its fleet operates a public presentation wage construction ; its fleet is rather limited because the air hose chooses to contract out services as a manner of deriving a competitory cost advantage over its challengers. Technology development The air hose has based a significant bulk of its engagements online every bit good as puting in anti-virus systems to protect its computing machine web booking system. It has besides taken steps such as puting up a call line known as Ryan Air Direct where clients use a telephone line to do engagements. The usage of technological promotions has allowed Ryan Air go direct to the client. Another selling tool the air hose hour angle implemented is besides a set-up a little dependence on travel agents to counter engineering failure and hazards with opening unfamiliar markets. The technological promotions have been cardinal to Ryan Air operations Procurement The air hose has been able to derive a competitory advantage through the dialogue of favorable trades. E.g. the air hose has been able to negociate the a trade which Boeing partially financess for retraining of pilots from the Boeing 737-200 to the 737-800 ( which it late acquired 50 ) . ( Beginning: Davy Stockbrokers ) 5.3 Importance of benchmarking activities Vs. Environment Market schemes are about choosing and suppressing the emerging landscapes. Implementing these schemes can be important to an administration. Selling schemes are about alining administrations to accomplish this, competitively and commercially. This requires strict analysis coupled with originative thought: to look beyond today s boundaries, to map out the best future beginnings of hard currency, to hold the assurance to travel where cipher else has gone, to do the instance for it in commercial linguistic communication, and to show the impact on long-run stockholder value. In for Ryan Air to accomplish this mammoth undertaking it has to benchmark its strength and failings to that of its environment. It has to analyze these environmental factors in order to be able to analyze its place within the industry and therefore put it in an advantageous place. Once Ryan Air has identified its place so it can continue in implementing selling schemes that can vouch its concern success and therefore maximize its potency. 6.0 Use of strength and weaknesses Vs. Environment Environment developments Strengths and failings EU ordinance Potential industry growing Increased consumer demand Changing environment ( Work vs. leisure ) Strengths The air hose has had to cover with EU ordinance every bit good as deregulating in recent old ages. It has managed to utilize its capablenesss through efficient operations direction to cover with job The budget industry is experience a period of possible growing. With that growing lies a great trade of chances for Ryan Air which it actively seems to be working with its ain rapid growing and with its place as market leader the air hose is absolutely positioned Increased demand in budget air hoses has lead to rapid enlargement by Ryan Air. Ryan Air continues to use cost control measures ( farther low frills ) in favor of more seats on planes. The rich person besides order a new scope of fleet all which are steps to get by with increased demand Analyst studies show an addition in leisure clip spent. This presents the air hose with an chance for more air travel. Ryan Air has punctually responded by taking a figure of market based determinations in order to consolidate its place in the industry Failings Ryan Air s policy of cost control has finally put the air hose at hazard. EU ordinance ruled subordinates it negotiated in Brussels as improper. The companies. Being excessively cost witting has finally put Ryan Air in a place of menace from challengers. Ryan Air announced it is to retreat free ice with paid for drinks farther addition no frills. This is an obvious menace for the air hose with challengers adding fringe benefits and major air hoses dismissing. Increased consumer demand has forced addition traffic, with Ryan Air pilots forced to wing more hours compared to rival pilots. An issue that continues to exasperate trade brotherhoods ( which Ryan Air employees do non belong ) further making labour market jobs for the air hose. 7.0 Selling schemes Cardinal selling schemes for Ryan Air is imperative in its chase to keep its position as the taking no-frills air hose. They involve choosing mark client groups and stipulating how to present value to these groups. Segmentation, Targeting, Differentiation and Positioning are all cardinal to effectual digital selling. Ryan Air has base most of its selling schemes by utilizing what is referred to as E-marketing , the air hose has identified its mark as tourists and concern people who are less concerned with the luxuries of travel and are more concerned with get to their finishs every bit speedy as possible as their chief precedence. The chief push of e-marketing scheme is taking determinations on the selective targeting of client groups and different signifiers of value bringing for online channels. Using methods such as Online gross revenues objective scheme Online CRM scheme Online value proposition scheme Online targeted range scheme. Ryan Air can aim clients with the exclusive aim of luring them to purchase online as the breaker the web site. 7.1 Online gross revenues objective Aim: to change over on-line visitants to purchase Focus: Achieving gross revenues online ( May be new or bing clients ) By utilizing this scheme, Ryan Air will promote site visitants to buy-online through selling, publicities, etc. As portion of this scheme, options to change over visitants to action are explored, i.e. first-time purchaser publicities, site design betterments, place page and landing page optimization. Event-triggered, automated electronic mails besides be used to change over possible gross revenues to sale. 7.2 Online CRM scheme Through the usage of this scheme Ryan Air can specifically concentrate on different facets of the client lifecycle for online clients in footings of: Acquisition by planing schemes to derive new clients to the air hose AND migrate bing clients across to online channels. Retention Using on-line channels ( web based ads popups, linkages from web page and web site ) to increase keeping and value of client to company. Reactivation Encouraging continued usage of the air hoses web site ( possibly through rank enrollment ) this might promote clients to maintain revisiting the web site and maintain up to day of the month with information such as publicities taking to subsequent monetary value alterations and/or new flight information. Customer cognition ( familiarity ) larning more about the client through profiling and monitoring of behavior. This once more can be done through client records, which can be easy stored with, and on-line rank nevertheless data protection issues come into drama and Ryan Air must therefore stay by this. 7.3 Online targeted range scheme Aim: To pass on with relevant audiences online to accomplish Ryan Air s communications aims. These aims normally include: Building more trade name consciousness or favourability, driving on-line purchase, list-building or migrating bing clients to online channels. Focus: New client acquisition. This scheme purpose to pass on with selected client sections online identified by the air hose through media bargains, PR, electronic mail, viral runs and sponsorship or partnership agreements. Driven by aims of online audience portion and figure of site visitants in different sections. Philip Kotler supports this scheme of selling, suggesting that marketing s focal point should travel from pulling and retaining clients, to placing and working chances, conveying together markets and thoughts, introducing in the new marketspaces and taking the company with them, instead than gratifying to the bequest demands of worsening spheres.

Project report about the proposed design of an environmentally Term Paper

Project report about the proposed design of an environmentally friendly HYBRID car that works by Fuel and Battery nd nicknamed ( - Term Paper Example Properties of option 1 and 2†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.17 Figures: Figure 1: BMW Turbo Charged Engine†¦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‚¬ ¦9 Figure 2: Naturally Aspirated Engine†¦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‚¬ ¦10 Figure 3: Hybrid Car Engine†¦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‚¬ ¦.11 Figure 4: Hi-Eco Car Engine Storage System†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.12 Figure 5: Power Control Unit†¦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‚¬ ¦13 Figure 6: Inductor Motor†¦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¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...14 ... These include long range, high power output and minimized battery charging hours. It also uses solar panel to charge the lithium-ion batteries. Its power efficiency is about 90%, meaning most of its energy will perform useful work of rotating the motor. The design follows six steps approach which begins from problem definition to selection of the best solution. The engine contains three main component; power control unit, energy storage system and inductor motor. This engine has a better score; 493 points against 385 points for hybrid engine which is also considered eco-friendly. These score provided the basis for selection of Hi-Eco car engine as the best solution. 5 INTODUCTION Automobiles consumes huge amount of global energy resources. Most of this energy is non renewable meaning they cannot be replaced through natural or any artificial process. Consequently, the over reliance on hydrocarbon as the main source of fuel for automobiles is unsustainable. This situation is worsened b y the prediction that hydrocarbon reserves will diminish in about 100 years to come. However, sustainability is just but one of big issues the world is grappling with about is fuel as the main source of energy in transportation sector. The cost of petroleum products is still beyond the rich of many people in the world. Countries spend billions of dollars exporting importing fuel at the expense of other social program. This situation is not changing any soon because the global consumption of fuel products is on a steep rise. Apart from cost and sustainability issues, pollution remains one of the greatest problems associated with fuel energy. Pollution is directly linked to green house effect which is responsible for climate change. Fuel powered

Ethics of Gene Therapy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ethics of Gene Therapy - Case Study Example The term cloning encompasses three different procedures leading to different results. These are embryo cloning (artificial twinning), adult DNA cloning (reproductive cloning) and therapeutic cloning (bio medical cloning). Of these three, therapeutic cloning seems to hold the maximum potential to breed humans (read human cloning). Human cloning is most aptly described as breeding humans for the purpose of harnessing tissues and organs from their bodies. Therapeutic cloning begins with the insertion on a human DNA into an ovum. A pre embryo is formed by giving electric shocks to the resultant ovum. The stem cells from the developed pre embryo are then extracted and subsequently provided an suitable environment where they develop into the required tissue or organ. These experiments are yet to produce any significant results. Once accomplished, the aim of developing organs or tissues which perfectly match with the recipient will be realized eliminating the fatal risk of rejection because the organ will be based on the recipient's genetic material. Human cloning is also expected to make new breakthroughs in rejuvenation, heart attack reversals, diabetics, leukemia, genetic disorders and even cancer. Despite the broad spectrum of benefits that human cloning offers, according to a poll, "63% believed that human cloning is against God's will and 90% considered it to be a bad idea" (Times, 2001). A Morgan poll conducted during November 2001 found that 70 percent of Australians aged 14 and over approved of extracting stem cells from human embryos to treat disease and injury. Seventy percent also believed that couples with excess embryos after infertility treatment should be able to donate them to research rather than discard them. However, when it came to using a patient's own genetic material to create a cloned embryo to be used as a source of stem cells (i.e. therapeutic cloning), just over half (55 percent) of the respondents approved, with 32 percent disapproving and 13 percent undecided (Morgan Poll, 2001).Animal cloning application as a regular process should be prevented and breeding of humans should also be strongly opposed to maintain the natural uniqueness of each individua l (Church of Scotland, 1997). These objections are not absolutely without any reasons. They do have apt explanations and sufficient grounds. Human cloning would produce a gamut of clones with reduced mental abilities and enhanced physical strengths which would make then highly susceptible to exploitation. Producing designer babies with enhanced skills would also lead to an excess of skilled persons thus decreasing the importance of talent and skill. Human cloning may also lead to emotional difficulties in the clone human's life. A child born from his father's DNA would in effect be a twin of his own father. This can also lead to a high degree of conundrum. There is no guarantee that human clones would be normal and they might even be suffering with life long disabilities. Any minor flaws while incorporating certain characteristics could as well create fictional monsters. Tampering with nature to an

Crystals Research Paper Essay Example for Free

Crystals Research Paper Essay Crystals form in the depths of the Earth to the extension of the clouds in sky. Some think that crystals elude the sight of people’s eyes everyday in life, but they are everywhere including ingredients for food, construction materials, and even in ice-cold weather. The crystals in this experiment are ammonia-generated crystals that can be created right in a home. The experiment will be testing the different effects and products on crystals in different temperatures and forms of light. Different measurements will be recorded throughout the experiment such as mass and length. But first the crystals must grow. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is called crystallography. All over the world, though the different ages of man, crystals have been found to take their place throughout different cultures, countries, and religions. Not only were crystals used for a part in the currency of some ancient economies, but also they date back as far as 1500 BC as a source of healing and medicinal uses. â€Å"The ancient Egyptians strongly believed in the healing and protective power of crystals. Many pharaohs wore crystals on their headdresses and many crystal amulets have been found in their tombs.† Pharaohs of ancient Egypt often believed that the use of crystals in the masks and jewelry gave them the effect of bettering their rule. Amazonite and Lapis were reoccurring crystals found in the tombs found in Egypt, particularly King Tut where Lapis was actually apiece in the famous mask he wore. Cleopatra’s favorite jewelry was supposed to be a ring made of the crystal am ethyst. The ancient Chinese are also found to be users of the healing purposes of crystals. In two hundred different occasions, crystals are referred to in the bible. New Jerusalem, God’s heavenly city, was said to be built on top of crystals. â€Å"And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. Tibetan monks also viewed quartz crystal spheres as holy objects and worshiped them. The monks often referred to quartz as the â€Å"crystal of enlightenment†. Alexander The Great included a large emerald crystal encrusted in his battle helmet to insure a victory in the battle. The Shah Jahan, monks who built the Taj Mahal, wore talismans similar to Alexander The Great. Overall, There is a reoccurrence of crystals used for different purposes such as healing, sacred items, and fine jewelry. There are many different structures of crystals based on the formation of them. The different forms are Cubic, Isometric, Tetragonal, Orthorhombic, Hexagonal, Trigonal, Triclinic, and Monoclinic. Cubic and Isometric are similar but don’t always have to be cubes. They can be found in forms of octahedrons and dodecahedrons as well as cubes. Tetragonal form double prisms and double pyramids due to one axis being longer than the other. Orthorhombic form dipyramids and rhombic prisms. Hexagonal are six-sided prisms and when viewed from a certain angle, the cross section is a hexagon. Trigonal, instead of having a 6-fold axis like the hexagonal, it has a 3-fold, thus making it trigonal. Triclinic has no set shape so these kinds of crystals can come in any shape and strange ones as well. Monoclinic are very similar to tetragonal crystals except they are skewed a bit so they don’t form good angles. These formations of the atoms and molecules in a crystal are all part of what is called the crystal lattice. The crystal lattice is the repetition of a pattern in three dimensions. The atoms and molecules of crystals form in such a way that in all three dimensions, they are repeating a certain pattern. The shapes of the microscopic atoms can determine the shape of the macroscopic crystal. So, Cubic, Isometric, Tetragonal, Orthorhombic, Hexagonal, Trigonal, Triclinic, and Monoclinic atom formations repeat in different crystals to make them the shape they are. Crystals can also be grouped by their properties. The property arrangements include covalent, metallic, ionic, and molecular crystals. Covalent crystals have many true covalent bonds connecting all the atoms in the crystal. Covalent crystals tend to have very high melting points. Some covalent crystals include zinc sulfide and diamonds. Metallic crystal’s atoms sit on a lattice, therefore the outer electrons of the atoms in the crystal are free to move around and float whichever way they want. Metallic crystals have a high melting point like covalent crystals but just not as high. Ionic crystals are bonded together by ionic bonds just as covalent crystals are held together by covalent bonds. Ionic crystals have high melting points like the other crystals and are usually very hard. An example of an ionic crystal is salt (NaCl). Molecular crystals are very recognizable in terms of their molecular structure. They are bonding by hydrogen bonds or non-covalent bonding. Molecular crystals are usually soft and have lower melting points compared to the other crystals. Relating the properties of crystals to the atom structure (crystal lattice) will allow one to realize how the structure correlates to the property. They’re ere 2 different types of structure in the crystal lattice, crystalline and non-crystalline. Crystalline structures are the atom structures that contain the repeating patterns. While non-crystalline structures contain miniscule faults in the patterns and are not perfect. Ionic crystals contain a crystalline structure and therefore are very hard and dense. The more crystalline the structure, the more compact the atoms are arranged. And the more the compact the atoms are, the more dense and hard the crystal becomes. Molecular crystals tend to have a weak, non-crystalline structure of the atoms. This results in the Molecular crystals being weak with low boiling points. The atoms in Molecular crystal tend to be spread out over farther distances in contrast to ionic crystal’s structure. Different wavelengths and colors of light can affect the color of the crystal itself and the wavelength output of the crystal. Different crystals are different colors due to the different chemicals in each one and how each one absorbs light. Many crystals reflect a certain color of light depending on the chemicals. So, crystals absorb one color of light or wavelength of light, and reflect a different color of light. So the idea of complimentary colors comes into play. Complimentary colors are the colors that the crystals absorb to then reflect a different color of light. There are many examples such as if a crystal is yellow, it is reflecting yellow light but the light it absorbs is blue. Also, if a crystal is red, it is reflecting red light but it is absorbing green light. Normally, crystals will grow much faster in the light, but these crystals will be much weaker than crystals grown in the dark. This is due to the time it takes for each to grow. In dark rooms crystals grow at a much slower rate but are significantly stronger than crystals grown in light. Crystals are found all over and all inside the Earth. In some rock cavities, whether it is close to the surface or deep and closer to the core of the Earth, mineral-rich solutions contain the essential elements to grow crystals. Thus, in these rock cavities, many different crystals can be found, and some are very old. Crystals can also be found around volcanoes and past eruption areas because after a volcano erupts, the cooled magma forms crystals. In many caves, rock walls contain similar solutions as rock cavities and form similar crystals. Crystals can also be found where there are mineral-rich vapors present, such as deep caves and rock formations. Many different crystals can form in various environments. Such as the location of turbulent water such as pipes and quick paced streams. Also, crystals can be found in the presence of evaporating salt water, where salt crystals will form. Crystals are also formed in the process of condensation, or in clouds for that matter. Every time it snows, the water has frozen into microscopic ice crystals that are the snowflakes. Also, Crystals can form under water and many on the Earth have not been seen because of this. Crystals grow and form in different and various ways. Crystals begin growing in a process called nucleation, which contains 2 different types, unassisted and assisted. Unassisted nucleation occurs when a â€Å"proto-crystal† forms in the solution that has been added to a solute. The solute is the solid and the solution is the liquid surrounding the solute. When molecules in the solution begin to attract to one another they combine and sometimes are separated by intermolecular forces but sometimes they stay together. When these molecules stay together they begin to attract different molecules of the solution to join and this is the â€Å"proto-crystal†. The â€Å"proto-crystal† then attaches itself to a couple other molecules or other â€Å"proto-crystals† in the solution and the actual crystal begins to form. In assisted nucleation, the solution is provided with a solute that the molecules of the solution can attach or adsorb to. When this occurs it attracts molecules just as in unassisted nucleation and the crystals begin to form. Because of the ability for crystals to grow from the build up of the solute molecules in the solution, crystals are able to grow at their highest when the solution being used is saturated with the solute being use. The more material to build up, the more the crystals are going to be able to grow and grow to full extent. Crystal formation is very slow, so it must be given a long geological process to form. Depending on the kind of crystal, the times of formation vary, so some form faster than others. This is where super saturation comes into play. Super saturation is the presence of more dissolved material in the solvent that could be dissolved in normal conditions. When a solution is supersaturated, it contains many particles and molecules of material to begin the nucleation process. When the supersaturated solution is under the correct conditions, crystallization begins to occur more rapidly. But this is not the case for all liquids or solutions. Some solutions may be saturated at one temperature but supersaturated at another so temperature is able to affect this as well. Temperature plays a huge part in the growth and the rate in which crystals grow. The growth rate of crystals changes depending on the temperature they are in. But some crystals grow faster in warm temperatures than in cold temperatures. This is because of the process of evaporation. When a saturated solution is in a warm environment it begins to evaporate. When the liquid begins to evaporate, overtime the material that was once dissolved in the solution will begin to bunch up and crystallize the more the liquid evaporates. But this process is a lot quicker than in cold environments so this leads to less stability and weaker crystal strength. In colder environments, the opposite process is used to begin the crystallization process. The process of precipitation is used. This process takes a much longer time than the evaporation process. Since this process takes a much longer time, it has the ability to create well formed and high quality crystals that are much stronger than crystals formed in hotter temperatures. Mainly crystals grown in the dark take much longer to grow. Because of the absence of light, there is not as much heat than crystals in light. Crystals in light receive much more heat. But this is not the case for all types of crystals; in some cases the rules for temperature are switched. For example Borax, these are crystals that usually generate faster in colder temperatures. If the Borax solution is saturated at room temperature or at any temperature higher than room temperature, the crystals grow faster in colder temperatures. This is due to the molecular structure of the Borax solution and the movement of the molecules causes the saturated solution at room temperature to become a supersaturated solution at colder temperatures. And the super saturation leads to faster crystal growth. So growth rates vary depending on temperature, kind of crystal, and kind of solution being used in the experiment. Bibliography 1.Crystal. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Dec. 2012. Web. 15 Dec. 2012. 2.History of Crystals. History of Crystals. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2012. 3. A Brief History of Crystals and Healing. History of Crystals and Healing. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2012. 4.Basic History of Crystals. Holistic Apothecary. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2012. 5.Types Of Crystals. About.com Chemistry. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2012. 6.The Structure of Crystals. The Structure of Crystals. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2012. 7.ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2012. 8.Temperature and Crystal Growth. Temperature and Crystal Growth. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2012. 9.UCSB Science Line Sqtest. UCSB Science Line Sqtest. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2012.

An Application of Relational Dialectics Essay -- When Harry Met Sally

An Application of Relational Dialectics Leslie Baxter and Barbara Montgomery are interested in the communication that occurs in close relationships. I am going to focus on the three relational dialects which consist of connectedness-separateness, certainty-uncertainty, and openness-closedness. These three dialects are central to Baxter's and Montgomery's theory but they want to go more indepth than previous theorists have on these specific dialects. I will discuss this theory in the context of "When Harry Met Sally." Connectedness-Separateness: Billy Crystal plays "Harry," a man who believes that women and men can not be friends. Men always have sex on their minds so it interferes with the chance to be plutonic friends with women. He shows a separateness from women because he doesn't want to get to close to Meg Ryan who plays "Sally," a woman who believes the exact opposite. Their relationship starts out with contraditions and continues throughout the movie. As years pass, they meet up with one another again and continue their argument over the relationship between men ...

A Critical Evaluation of the Engagement and Psychosocial Asessment of a Client Living with Psychosis in the Health and Social Care Practitioners Work Setting.

INTRODUCTION This assignment is a critical evaluation of the engagement and psychosocial assessment of a client living with psychosis in the community. It provides a critical and analytical account which encapsulates assessments, psycho education, problem solving, implementation and evaluation of strategies used. I will also use Gibbs (1988) model of reflection to reflect on my assessment process and how learning can be taken forward in terms of my own practice development and that of the service setting. My client l shall call Emily a pseudo name used to maintain confidentiality in accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) 2002 Code of Professional Conduct that outlines guidelines of confidentiality. Emily was initially on the acute ward where l started the process of engagement with her before she was discharged under our team in the community to facilitate early discharge. Emily was suitable for psychosocial based interventions (PSI) and this was identified as part of her care plan in order to provide support in adapting to the demands of community living and managing her illness. PSI should be an indispensable part of treatment and options of treatment should be made available for clients and their families in an effort to promote recovery. Those with the best evidence of effectiveness are Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and family intervention. They should be used to prevent relapse, to reduce symptoms, increase insight and promote adherence to medication, (NICE 2005). Emily is 33 year old woman with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. She was referred to my team to facilitate early discharge from the ward as part of her discharge. She lives in supported housing and had had several hospital admissions and some under the mental health act. Emily was being maintained in the community on medication but it was felt that there was still an amount of distress in her life and that her social functioning was suffering as a result. Emily presented with both delusional and hallucinatory symptoms and as part of her treatment cognitive approaches were considered to help alleviate the distress and modify the symptoms. Emily was brought up in a highly dysfunctional family. Both her parents had problems with drugs and the law. Emily had been introduced to drugs at an early age but due to her illness she had stopped using them at the age of 30 when she went into supported accommodation. There was family history of schizophrenia as her grandfather had it and he had killed himself. Emily identified that her problems started in 2007 when her grandfather passed away as she was close to him and had lived most of her life with her grandparents. I completed a time line to look back at while she talked about her life history (see Appendix 1). It is vital that the client is allowed to tell their story with the minimum intervention from the practitioner and the timeline can be used to examine if there are any links to their relapses and psychotic episodes (Grant et al 2004). In the community setting we have a variety of patients with different diagnosis of mental health problems. The rationale for choosing this patient is that she had had various interventions such as medication changes and a lot of experience with the mental health professionals including compulsory treatment under the mental health act (1983). All these factors are likely to have an impact on the individual’s degree of willingness to engage in psychological interventions (Nathan et al, 2003). Hence initially it was a challenge to engage Emily and establish a relationship and build rapport. (Nelson 1997) states rapport is built by showing interest and concern and be particularly careful not to express any doubts about what the patient tells you. The development of a therapeutic relationship is critically important in work with persons with schizophrenia, which maybe difficult with patients struggling with mistrust, suspicion and denial (Mhyr, 2004). Rapport took some time to develop and was established by core conditions of genuineness, respect and accurate empathy (Bradshaw 1995). I met with Emily to set the agenda and explained to her that she was free to terminate the session anytime should she feel it necessary. It was also vital to ensure that the sessions were neither confrontational and totally compliant with Emily’s view of the world ( Kingdom & Turkington, 1995) I encouraged Emily to describe her current problems and to give a detailed description of the problems and concentrate on a more recent problem. l was directive, active, riendly and used constructive feedback, containment of feelings to develop the relationship(Tarrier et al,1998). l used her interest in Christianity to engage her and because l showed an interest this became a regular point of conversation and strengthened the connection. I also demonstrated some flexibility in response to Emily’s needs and requirements at different stages of the t reatment and intervention. It is not possible to maintain a sound collaborative therapeutic relationship without constant attention to the changing situation and requirements of a patient (Gamble and Brennan, 2006). Since the development of antipsychotic medication and dominance of biomedical models during the 1950`s mental health care has changed and evolved. The dependency on the sole use of medication was found to have left patients with residual symptoms and social disability, including difficulty with interpersonal skills and limitation with coping (Sanford&Gournay, 1986). This prompted the return of PSI to be used in conjunction with medication management. The aim was to reduce residual disability and to include in the treatment process social skills and training rehabilitation (Wykes et al, 1998). As part of my assessment process l carried out a comprehensive assessment using CPA 1, 2, and 4 in conjunction with the Trust Policy. This was to establish what her problems were and formulate a clear plan. A process of structured, comprehensive assessment can be very useful in developing an in-depth understanding of issues surrounding resistance to services (Grant et al 2004). I carried out a Case Formulation (CS) using the 5W`s What? , Where? , When? , With Whom and Why, and Frequency, Intensity, Duration and Onset ( FIDO) model to explore and get a detailed explanation of the problem and explore the `Five aspects of your life experiences` (Greenberger and Padesky 1995) (see Appendix 3). CS maps out the relationship on how the environment impacts on your thoughts, emotion, behaviour, physical reactions (Greenberger and Padesky,1995). While the assessment helped to form a picture of Emily’s suitability for PSI it also provided a scope for further work on her coping skills. Given the assumption that a person may feel reluctant to give a particular way of coping as this maybe the only means of control (Gamble & Brennan, 2006), the exploration was collaborative. From the assessment and case formulation Emily’s goal was to go out more and reduce the frequency and intensity of her voices or even have them disappear. l explained to Emily that we had to be realistic about her set goals and having voices disappear was unlikely. Kingdom (2002) states that though patients desire to make voices disappear are unlikely since voices are, as far as reasonably established, attributions of thoughts as if they were external perceptions. Goals are positive, based in the future and specific (Morrison et al 2004) and the golden rule in goal setting is to be SMART, Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Limited. Emily then rephrased her goal statement to that she wanted to reduce the intensity of her voices in the next few weeks by using distraction techniques that she had not tried before. I used the KGVM Symptom Scale version 7. 0 (Krawieka, Goldberg and Vaughn,1977) to assess Emily’s symptoms which focuses on six areas including anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts and behaviour, elevated mood, hallucinations and delusions. A KGV assessment provides a global measure of common psychiatric symptoms (feelings and thoughts) experienced with psychosis. The framework ensures that important questions are asked and a consistent measure of symptoms is provided. The KGV is a valid tool with a considered level of high reliability (Gamble and Brennan, 2006). Assessment is a process that elicits the presence of disease or vulnerability and a level of severity in symptoms (Birchwood & Tarrier, 1996). This gathering of information provides the bases to develop a plan of suitability of treatment, identifies problems and strengths and agree upon priorities and goals (Gamble & Brennan,2006). l also used the Social Functioning Scale (SFS appendix 6) (Birchwood et al,1990) which examined Emily’s social capability and highlighted any areas of concern. Emily was a loner and though living in supported accommodation she was hardly involved with the other residents or joined in with community activities. She expressed that she was afraid people could hear her voices and were judging her at all times and used avoidance as a coping strategy. On using the KGV assessment and from the results (see Appendix 2) Emily scored highly in four sections hallucinations, delusions, depression and anxiety. It appeared during assessment that her affective symptoms were econdary to her delusions and hallucinations, which were initiated and exacerbated by mostly stressful events in her life. Her hallucinations were noted to be evident at certain times and were followed by sleep deprivation. Emily expressed fleeting suicidal thoughts but denied having any plans or intentions. She also experienced sporadic moments of elation which appeared to be linked to stress. It was important for Emily to understand how life events had an impact on her difficulties an d the use of the Stress Vulnerability Model SVM (Zubin and Spring 1977) demonstrated this (see Appendix 4). Practical measures arising from an assessment of stress and vulnerability factors seek to reduce individual vulnerability, decrease unnecessary life stressors and increase personal resistance to the effects of stress. One of Emily’s highlighted problems was a lack of sleep and this could be linked to the stress vulnerability and her psychotic symptoms. Normalisation was used to illustrate this to Emily. Her increase in psychotic symptoms could then be normalised through discussing about the effects of sleep deprivation on her mental state and reduction of the associated anxiety. Emily was able to recognise how stress impacted on her psychosis. Emily identified the voices as a problem from the initial assessment. She was keen to talk about them but listened to suggestions l made to tackle the voices. The assumption of continuity between normality and psychosis has important clinical implications. It opens the way for a group of therapeutic techniques that focus on reducing the stigma and anxiety often associated with the experience of psychotic symptoms and with diagnostic labelling. Kingdom and Turkington(2002) have described such approaches as normalising strategies, which involve explaining and demystifying the psychotic experience. They may involve suggesting to patients that their experiences are not strange and no one can understand, but are common to many people and even found amongst people who are relatively normal and healthy. Normalising strategies can help instil hope and decrease the stigma and anxiety which can be associated with the experience of psychotic symptoms. This rationale emphasises the biological vulnerability to stress of individuals with schizophrenia and the importance of identifying stresses and improving methods of coping with stress in order to minimise disabilities associated with schizophrenia (Yusupuff & Tarrier, 1996). (Grant et al 2004). The problem l encountered when applying and using this model with Emily was that she realised and understood that she was not the only one experiencing voices but she wanted to find out why she experienced the voices. I used the belief about voices questionnaire (BAVQ-R appendix 5) which assesses malevolent and benevolent beliefs about voices, and emotional and behavioural responses to voices such as engagement and resistance (Morrison et al 2004). We identified the common triggers of her voices such as anxiety, depression and social isolation. During my engagement with Emily l emphasized enhancing existing coping strategies (Birchwood& Tarrier, 1994); (Romme &Escher 2000). The idea was to build on Emily’s existing coping methods and introduce an alternative. We agreed upon distraction as a coping strategy. The plan was for Emily to listen to music or carryout breathing exercises when the disturbing voices appear and to start interacting with them by telling them to go away rather than shout at them. Emily used this plan with good effect at most times as it appeared to reduce the psychological arousal and helped her gain maximum usage of these strategies in controlling the symptom (Tarrier et al, 1990). To tackle Emily’s social functioning we identified activities that she enjoyed doing and she enjoyed going to church but had stopped due to her fears that people could hear her thoughts and found her weird. I suggested that she could start with small exposure, like sitting in the lounge with her fellow residence and going on group outings in the home as these were people she felt comfortable with as she knew them. This would then hopefully lead to Emily increasing her social functioning and enable her to attend church. Emily expressed that she felt more in control of her voices REFLECTION My work with Emily was made easy as she agreed to work with me although l did face some reluctance initially. As my intervention and engagement with Emily started while she was on the ward this made it easier for me to engage her in the community. We developed good rapport and she felt she could trust me, which made the process of engagement easier. Through my engagement and assessment process l improved on my questioning and listening skills. Emily was clearly delusional at times and working with the voices present proved a challenge at times, but l realised that l had to work collaboratively with her and gain her trust and not question her beliefs. At times though l felt l was interrogating her and did not follow a format and also because of the constraints on time l did not allow much time to recap and reflect and could never properly agree the time of next meeting. I also worked at her existing strengths and coping strategies that she had adapted throughout her life and this empowered her and made her feel like she was contributing. At times though l felt we deviated from the set goals and l lost control of sessions. On reflection this is an area that l will need to develop and improve on and be able to deviate but bring back the focus to the agreed plan. My interventions were aimed at Emily’s voices and increasing her social functioning. This l discovered was my target areas and not necessarily Emily’s. n future l will aim at concentrating more on what the client perceives as their major problem as this will show client involvement in their care. This will also help me have a clear and rational judgement and appreciate every improvement the client makes no matter how small. I did not focus much on Emily’s family which l realised was a topic that she wanted to explore but l felt l was not equipped in exploring this part of her life in relation to her illness. The other difficulties l faced was because of my working pattern l had to cancel some of our meeting appointments. As part of the set agenda l had to reintroduce myself and the plan and goals that we had set out in the initial stages and this always proved to bridge the gap. It was also difficult for continuity in the team that l work in as one did not carry a personal caseload so delivering interventions was not always easy and there was not always continuity as some of my colleagues were not familiar with some applications of PSI. This highlighted as a service that there was a need for us as nurses in the team to have PSI training in order to continue with the work if the main practitioner was away and also as a team we hardly ever sed assessment tools and were therefore not confident and competent in their use. l also had difficulties in completing assessment in time due to constricted time frames. l could not always spend as much time with Emily because l had other clients to see in a space of time. In future l will have to negotiate my time and improve on my time management. In this assignme nt l had to carry out a critical evaluation of the engagement and psychosocial assessment of a client living with psychosis and carry out a critical self reflection on the assessment process and how this could be improved on. From my case study l deduced that use of some applications of PSI remains highly experimental and requires considerable research and more theoretical models. Furthermore discussion is also lacking on the details as to ways in which symptoms improved or social functioning enhanced in behavioural terms in relation to social context. However the interventions used in this case study highlighted considerable strength in supporting claims that PSI can work and does help reduce symptoms of psychosis. REFERENCES Birchwood M and Tarrier N (eds) (1996) Psychological Management of Pschizophrenia. Wiley Publishers Bradshaw T (1995) Psychological interventions with psychotic symptoms; a review. Mental Health Nursing. 15(4) Birchwood, M, Smith, J, Cochrane, R, Wetton, S, Capestake, S (1990) The social functioning scale: development and validation of a scale of social adjustment for use in family interventions programmes with schizophrenia patients, British Journal of Psychiatry,157, 853-859 Chadwick, P, Birchwood, M, Trower ,P (1996) Cognitive Therapy for Delusions, voices and paranoia, Wiley & Sons. Gamble,C, Brennan,G (2000) Working with serious mental illness:a manual for clinical practice. Grant, C, Mills, J, Mulhern, R, Short, N (2004) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in Mental Health Care, Sage pub. Greenberger,D, Padesky,C A(1995) Mind over mood: A Cognitive Therapy Treatment Manual for clients. Guilford Press. Krawieka, M, Goldberg,D, Vughn,M (1977) A Standardised Psychiatric Assessment scale for rating chronic psychotic patients. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 1977;55: 299-308. Kingdom , D and Turkington,D (1994) Cognitive Behaviour Therapy of Schizophrenia. Hove Lawrence Erlbaum. Kingdom, D and Turkington (2002) The Case Study Guide to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy of Psychosis. Wiley. Mhyr, G(2004) Reasoning with Psychosis patients; Why should a general psychiatrist care about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Schizophrenia. Morrison,AP, Renton, JC, Dunn, H, Williams, S, Bentall, RP (2004) Cognitive Therapy for Psychosis, Brunner- Routledge. Nathan, P, Smith, L, Juniper, U, Kingsep, P, Lim, L (2003) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Psychotic Symptoms, A Therapist Manual, Centre for Clinical Interventions. Nelson H (1997) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with Schizophrenia. A Practice Manual. Stanley Thornes. National Institute for Clinical Excellence (2003) Schizophrenia: core interventions in the treatment and management of schizophrenia in primary and secondary care, NICE publications. Nursing & Midwifery Council, Code of Professional Conduct (2002). Romme M and Escher A Eds (1993) Accepting Voices. MIND Publications Sanford T and Gournay K (1996) Perspectives in Mental Health Nursing. Bailliere Tindall. Tarrier, N, Yusupoff, L, Kinney C, McCarthy E, Gledhill A, Haddock G and Morris J (1998) Randomised controlled trial of intensive cognitive behaviour therapy for patients with chronic schizophrenia. British Medical Journal 317,303-307. Zubin, J, & Spring, B (1997) Vulnerability: A new view on schizophrenia. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 86, Topic: Students will carry out a critical evaluation of the engagement and psychosocial assessment of a client living with psychosis in the health and social care practitioner`s work setting. Word Count: 2826