Impact of Art on Fashion

Impact of Art on Fashion Fashion and art are two disciplines that revolve around the same sphere, which is creativity. The two worlds share a bridge that links the two together. Art in its own aspect has followed humanity through its times and the world of fashion has also been synonymous to it. The two mediums share a close relationship. Fashion has its deep roots set in self expressionism, a means to show the world our personality by way of body adornment and clothing. Art as well tends to articulate the thoughts of the artist across to the spectator, by the colours that have been used to the mood that the artwork brings about. These elements could say a lot about the artist and his personality, just as much as a dark makeup and ripped jeans could say in context to self expressionism in fashion. The dissertation is a study on the influence on art on fashion and how fashion impacts art. It generates from the Period of Rococo, all the way into the modern world, and showcases the significance of art and fashion in the development and harmonious existence of the two subjects. Research Approach Research is defined by Saunders as: the systematic collection and interpretation of information with a clear purpose, to find things out. (Saunders, Lewis, Thornhill, 2003). It is with this theory in mind that I approach my study. Research Methodology In order to tackle the objective I have of how art influences fashion, I will use both Primary and secondary data. Primary Data Is the data which is collected by the researcher himself, by means of observations, interviews and surveys. It is data which has not been published. I will formulate the primary data by way of interviews conducted with artists and fashion designers as well as current fashion design students. Secondary Data Is data that has already been published and already exists in literary sources. They can be in the form of Books, Journals, Public Records, documentaries etc. Secondary data will be gathered by means of books written on fashion and art and design. News paper archives, scholarly journals and magazines will also be sourced. Web pages and blogs discussing art and fashion will also be consulted. Literature Review Art and its influence on fashion, has a very broad spectrum. Art in its own aspect can vary from fine arts to performing arts, from paintings and sculptures to Broadway musicals. When you consider fashion it can deal with an innumerable amount of things, varying from clothing to footwear and jewellery to beauty, hair and makeup. In order to make this study more feasible I limited my scope to Paintings and Womens clothing. I will survey the most relevant and significant literature in relation to my topic. When conducting my literature review I considered literary sources pertaining to the fundamentals of art and fashion. I looked into the history of the two subjects by way of published books and museum explorations. I also looked into books published on how art influences fashion and fashions impact on art. My literary investigation also explores the online world. I used search engines with terms such as Art and fashion and art movements for instance Op-Art and Art deco to generate articles written on the subjects. I went through online archives of news papers and online journals to find any articles written on either fashion or art. Fashion depicted in Paintings The links between art and fashion go back at least to the Renaissance (Boucher, 1988, p. 191). Italian artists during the renaissance period were highly influenced by fashion. Artists of the stature of Jacopo Bellini, Antonio del Pollaiuolo and above all Antonio Pisanello, were not only depicting fashions in their paintings, but also creating costume models and designing textile patterns and embroidery. (Mackrell, Art and Fashion, 2005, p. 5) The 16th Century brought about a new era in world of fashion and art, Alice Macrell states in her book that: The 16th century was the great age of travel and exploration, with a quest for knowledge that included the costume and customs of other nations. This had tremendous results for fashion, as the first printed costume books appeared in the second half of the century, heralding a new visual source (Mackrell, 1997, pp. 14-17) Fashion and art continued in unity from the 16th century to the 17th Century. The interaction of art and fashion continued apace in the 17th century. In France the artists more closely associated with fashion engraving during the reign o King Louis XIII (1610-43) were Jacques Callot, Jean de Saint-Igny and Abraham Bosse. Callots most illuminating, illustrations of fashion were his twelve etchings in the series La Noblesse de Lorraine (1624) in which he observed most perceptively the fashionable dress of dames and seigneurs of his native region. (Gaudriault, 1988, p. 8 and 29) Artists in Europe during the 17th century were finding inspiration in clothing. The Flemish Baroque artist known as Rubens was producing costume studies for his subject paintings and portraits. He then compiled a vast compilation of drawings known as the Costume Book. Anthony van Dyke was Rubens assistant. He was the son of a cloth and silk merchant and was known for his sumptuous costume Van Dyke must have acutely been aware o the power of dress. (Gordenker, 2001, p. 3) The bohemian artist Wenceslaus Hollar worked in England as an Etcher, engraver and illustrator. He engaged in costume studies specializing in womens Fashions. His best known series of womens costumes is the four seasons. The British Museum which holds one of the four etchings of the Seasons says; Hollars virtuosity as an etcher is apparent from the variety of fabric and furs, he captures in the womans garments. (Winter an Etching, www.britishmuseum.org). Figures 1 2 below show the full length etching of summer and winter sketched by Wenceslaus Hollar. Alice Mackrell in her book Art and Fashion (2005) gives her view on Paintings held at Museums. Figure 3 below shows the Painting of Madame de Pompadour by Franà §oise-Hubert Drouais. Descending the long staircase in the Sainsbury wing of the National Gallery, London, into the lower galleries that housed the exhibition Madame de Pompadour: Images of a Mistress, ones attention showed straight ahead her ravishing portrait painted by Franà §oise-Hubert Drouais [Refer Figure 3 for the painting] Madame de Pompadour seated in her boudoir at her tambour frame, engaged in embroidery work yet surrounded by her books and a portfolio of engravings reminding the viewer of her intellectual and artistic achievements, wears a gown of naturalistic light green leaves and salmon pink flowers, trimmed at the elbows with three rows of large four striking bows of matching striped silk at her elbows with three rows of large engagà ©antes (cuffs with two or three ruffles) made of fine French needle lace. This garment epitomizes the Rococo taste serpentine curves, three-dimensional ornamentation and clear, delicate colours. (Mackrell, Art and Fashion, 2005) Franà §oise-Hubert Drouais, Madame de Pompadour at her Tambour Frame The colours on her dress characterize the Rococo taste Another one of the great artists who represented womens fashions in his paintings is Thomas Gainsborough, Mackrell yet again states: The English artist whose work most conjures up fashionable ladies in their silks and gauzes indeed whose portraiture not only captured a living likeness, but also epitomized the English elegance of Rococo fashion, is Thomas Gainsborough. He was very much aware of Rococo art and fashion. (ibid, p.8). The Rococo movement was followed by the Neo-Classical movement. Neo-Classicism was all that the Rococo period was not about. Artist Joseph Marie Vien belonged to this era. Contemporaries looked to Vien to Inspire women to abandon their Rococo capriciousness for classical simplicity. Neo classicism became the dominant movement in the fine and decorative arts, architecture and fashion in Europe from the late 18th century, as knowledge grew ever more widespread about the archaeological discoveries extending from southern Italy to Egypt and the Near East. (ibid. pp. 33 and 35) The literary movement of Romanticism followed Neo-Classicism. Romanticism was the cult of personality. The celebration of individual character and social status took on a fresh aspect in the form of a new kind of fashionable society portraiture. The Romantic sense of mission had a powerful influence on artists in exploring the self. (Mackrell, Art and Fashion, 2005, p. 46) Romanticism was a new movement, but it did not completely break away from the trends that were evident during the Neo-Classical era. Romantics frequently sought to make classicism a living experience rather than a dead ideal, and aspects of Neo-classicism a living experience rather than a dead ideal, and aspects of Neo-classicismhave been seen as a hybrid version of Romantic classicism. (Baudelaire, 1992, p. 53) Aestheticism then followed the Period of Romanticism. An artist during this period of time who incorporated fashion in his art was an American painter by the name of James Abbott McNeill Whistler. The book Art and Fashion (2005) asserts: Whistler was someone who assimilated the fashions of his time as an integral component of his art, such as the craze for everything Japanese that was sweeping Paris and LondonHe appreciated beauty and styling women, and concentrated on them in his portraiture, painting images of beauty that could be appreciated on their aesthetic merit alone. (Mackrell, 2005, pp. 84 and 85) The beauty of aestheticism was followed by Realism. Artists tried to depict a sense of reality through their paintings. Charles Pierre Baudelaire was a French critic during this period. He identified the concepts of realism as: Romantic individualism, with an art that reflected its own epoch and, in its demands or a modern style Realism continued the aims of the Romantics (Rubin, 1980, p. 49) Édouard Manet, was a friend of Baudelaire and a painter. For Manet dress represented the outward aspect of modern life, that transient envelope that both veils and reveals its unchanging essence. (Mauner, 2000). According to The French taste for Spanish painting: Manet admired and sought to emulate, in order to better depict the realities of life, including fashion. (Tinterow Lacambre, 2003, p. 51) Impressionism was then followed after Realism, Following the lead of Manet, they shared a commitment of vision, in which their depiction of dress was a salient sign of their determination to be modern. (Mackrell, Art and Fashion, 2005) Impressionists linked contemporary life with fashion in their works of art. According to R L Herbert: Fashion and art shared certain featuresand for the Impressionists there was an underlying association of contemporary life with fashion. (Herbert, 1988, p. 198) At the end of the 19th Century, new appeared to be the high thrill word. Articles in newspapers and magazines referred to the new woman, the new fiction the new journalism and the new art, the key date for the new art was 1884, this was founded in Belgium and the term Art Nouveau was coined by supporters of this avant-garde group. (Mackrell, Art and Fashion, 2005) According to the Victoria and Albert Museum: Art Nouveau was the first concerted attempt to create a modern international style based on decoration. (Greenhalg, 2000) On the chapter of Art Nouveau and Art Deco Mackrell affirms the meaning of Art Nouveau: Art Nouveau was an essentially urban creation of sophisticated artists and designers, and reflected a diversity of trends. The natural world was the single most important source. Nature was widely used to achieve a modern look, so much so, that in Art Nouveau circles, nature and modernity cam to mean almost the same thing. (Mackrell, Art and Fashion, 2005, p. 112) Paul Poiret was a couturier who emerged during the early years of the 20th century, Poiret marked the beginning of a new era, not only in fashion but in illustration too, heralding the birth of the style which is known today as Art Deco. (Robinson, 1976, p. 38) Poiret was also known for his knack of linking the fashion world with art. Having an affinity with painters he [Poiret] was the first couturier to relate fashion successfully to the arts. (ibid. p. 116) Sonia Delaunay was a painter designer and printmaker during the 1920s. She was an advocate of Orphism. Sonia Delaunay made a significant impact on how art and fashion could overlap and influence each other. (ibid. p. 130) The early 1920s brought about the Surrealist movement. The term surrealism was coined in 1917 by the French prose writer, poet and art critic Guillaume Apollinaire. Surrealists gave positive expression to their views. They reacted with a review of values at every level of society, inspired by psychoanalytical theories of Sigmund Freud. (ibid. p. 135) Surrealism touched fashion in a way that no previous art movements had. Fashion and its instruments were at the heart of the Surrealist metaphor, touching on the imagery of woman and the correlation between the world of real objects and the life of objects in mind. (Martin, 1990) Two Fashion designers who were greatly influenced by surrealism arts was Elsa Schiaparelli and Coco Chanel. They found a new and exciting canvas on which to articulate their ideas, by translating Surrealist art into clothing. Surrealism was the leading and most controversial movement in literature and the arts between the two World Wars. (Mackrell, Art and Fashion, 2005, p. 135) Salvador Dali was known as the father of Surrealism. He and Elsa Schiaparelli forged together to make a new avenue in fashion. Dali and Schiaparelli also collaborated on two of the most iconic dresses of the 1930s, the organza dress with painted lobster was one of them (ibid. p.144) Figure 4 5. The literature review I conducted shows that there is an existance between fashion and art. It concludes that artists and painters alike have been influenced by the fashion world. Fashion designers have also been inspired by the works of artists and their paintings. The literature review is only subjected to paintings and womens wear clothing. It does not explore other works of art like sculptures. When it comes to the world of fashion, the review only deals with aspects of clothing and has not explored the influece that art might have on different articles of fashion, such as foowear and jewellery. The Influence of Art on Fashion The two worlds of art and fashion go a long way into history, almost as far as the Renaissance. Art in its own aspect has followed humanity through its times. The world of fashion has also been synonymous to it. A web article on the rise of Social conscience in art inspired fashion acknowledges that Art can be a means of reconstructing experiences, communicating emotions or echoing sentiments of individuals or the masses. (The Rise of Social Conscience in Art Inspired Fashion) Fashion too shares a place in evoking emotions and making statements. In these aspects it is obvious that Art and Fashion share many common links. The article also states that The desire to express the need for a higher social conscience is driving the union between revolutionary art and clothing. (ibid) Since it is now clear that there are links between Art and Fashion, I would like to first look at these two subjects individually. Art Art plays a major role in peoples lives. It helps us be creative and gives us a platform to express ourselves. It is a big part of our lives that sometimes we stop to acknowledge the part it plays. Just think about the house you live in the jewellery you adorn, the cover of a novel, these are all a part of art. Two currents of thought run through our ideas about art. In one, first considered by Aristotle (384 BC.), Art is concerned as mimesis (imitation), the representation of appearances, and gives us pleasure through the accuracy and skill with which it represents the real world. The other view derived from the Greek philosopher Plato (427 BC.), holds that the artist is inspired by the Muses, or by God or the inner impulses, or by the collective unconscious)to express that which is beyond appearances, inner feelings, eternal truths or the essence of the age. (Definition of Art, Hutchinson Encyclopedia) The two philosophers Aristotle and Plato have defined art as Representational and Non Representational art. Non Representational art is more commonly referred to as Abstract art. Representational art is a style of realistic painting which depicts recognisable objects or figures. Whereas abstract art has no clear images and dont form a clear identity, and must be interpreted by the observer of the artwork. Examples of representational art include still life, portraits and landscapes to name a few. Non representational art came about during the modern world at the beginning of the 20th Century. The Abstract movement was formed and Piet Mondrian and Mark Rothkos were works of art which to the beholder had no objective meaning, unless scrutinized. Like most subjects art too has fundamentals that it uses. Such as line, shape, form, space, texture and colour. Artists manipulate these elements, mix them in with principles of design and compose a piece of art. (Mitler Ragans, 1992). The elements of art serve as a base, on which the artist can build their forte on. An artist cannot create art without making the use of at least one or more of these elements. Art is also governed by its own principles. These principles help govern how artists organise the visual elements by giving them guide lines. The principles of art include balance, variety, harmony, emphasis, proportion, movement and rhythm. (Mitler Ragans, 1992) There are many products that we can classify as art. It solely depends on the individual. What I call art may not fall into the context of art for you. It is subjective, and is open to many interpretations. There is no definite limit to what can or cannot be called art; in the end it is up to the audience. Art communicates with people across different cultures. It ranges from sculpture to painting to Shakespeare novels and Mozarts Classic compositions to Todays graphically improvised Anime cartoons and play station games. These are all the work of master craftsmen in their own accord. In other words they would simply be called Artists and what they create would be classified as works of art. The musician Frank Zappa believed that Anything can be music but it doesnt become music until someone wills it to be music, and the audience listening to it decides to perceive it as music. Most people cant deal with that abstraction, or dont want to (Definition Of Art, 2005) I want to go into the depths of Paintings and how it influences us and Fashion. My main focus will be on Paintings from the New Modern Age. Paintings have been in existence since the pre historic times. It is a continuous form of creativity which flows throughout history and culture and into todays world. Paintings in history have had its influence mainly on the existing culture of its time. Like African, Indian, Japanese and Islamic art all have a strong link to its culture. Since the religion of Islam prohibits the remaking of any form of a living creature, Islamic art does not possess any form of Human life in it. Its main art form is Arabesque, the use of calligraphic motifs and Mosaic art Paintings have a history of their own. From the cave paintings of the Stone Age to the art of the Renaissance period and into Modern art. As William Dobell says A sincere artist is not one who makes faithful attempts to put on to canvas what is in front of him, but one who tries to create something which is, in it-self a living thing. (Dobell, 2009) I will give a brief synopsis on the Artistic movements through history to Today, starting from the period of the Renaissance. The Renaissance Artists during this period wanted art that showed joy in human beauty and lifes pleasures. The paintings were more lifelike and brought in a sense of realism. They studied the art of perception, the artists painted in a way that showed differences from points of focus, resulting in painting with depth. The two famous painters from this time were Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo. A famous quote by Michelangelo was that The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection this is because he was a devout Christian and the church was his greatest patron. Rococo Period of Art (1700 1750) Rococo art is known for its light, ornamental and elaborate style of art. The main focus on paintings was of surface decoration and consisted mainly of light delicate colours. Portrait paintings was famous during this period, and one of the women painted often during this period was Madame de Pompadour. Neoclassicism (1750 1830) Then came about the 1800s this was thought to be an age of change. It was also during this time that the french reveloution took place. No single art style was in place Fashion Fashion is a specialized form of body adornment. It has been around ever since man was put down on earth. It has its own history and evolution through times. Explorers and travellers were among the first to document and comment on the body adornment and dress styles that they encountered around the world. Some returned from their travels with drawings and examples of clothing, sparking off a desire not only for the artefacts themselves but also for an understanding of them. Eventually the study of clothing came to be an accepted part of anthropology The study of human beings. (Jones, 2002) Fashion relates not only to clothing but also its accessories like jewellery, hairstyle, footwear and even body art. I intend on looking into the aspect of fashion in relation to clothing. To find out what fashion is and who make fashion be called fashion. For as long as time, individuals have used clothing as a means of non verbal communication. It is known to be a form of free speech. It is a language of signs and symbols and iconography. (Jones, 2002) It helps individuals to make a statement through what they wear and express individual identity, and since it is visual it is very easy for the onlooker to comprehend the image we are portraying through what we adorn. Cultural theorists and clothing analysts have focused on four practical functions of dress: utility, modesty, immodesty and adornment. (Jones, 2002) George Sproles suggested four additional elements which are: symbolic differentiation, social affiliation, psychological self enhancement and modernism. (George, 1979) Brief outlines of these elements are given below. Utility Clothing to be functional has to be practical. It is used to give us protectiveness in the environment that we are in. The human body temperature needs to be kept at a mean temperature to make sure of blood circulation and comfort. Dress reformers have put utility above other aesthetic considerations. The American Publisher Amelia Jenks Bloomer was worried about the impracticality of the crinoline that women used. She then brought about the concept of wearing trousers called bloomers, which eradicated the impracticality of the crinoline. (Jones, 2002) With the story of the bloomers in mind, people today choose clothes with comfort and durability in mind. Modesty Clothing acts as an aid to our nakedness. They help cover our body and can act as a guard to our modesty. We are often self conscious about our image, when it comes to revealing more of our body. When we grow older we try to hide our flaws, and seek clothing as our cover. Our culture plays a big role in modesty; it varies through individuals and societies over time. Immodesty Women have often been symbolized as passive sexual objects. Clothing can be used to enhance this attractiveness according to the wearer. A psychoanalytic approach, based on the writings of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung have been used by fashion theorists to explain the unconscious process underlying changes in fashion. (Jones, 2002) Adornment Young women in particular, often attempt to measure up to the ideals of beauty. In relation they use adornment to enrich their physical appearance, and bring out their individuality. The use of adornments could be as excessive as the user wants it to be. Such as how high can your shoe heels be, and how much make up could we layer on our face. These are all choices made on an individual level, in order to fit into a group or to make a statement. Symbolic Differentiation We as human beings often feel the need to identify who we are to society. Be it a doctor, lawyer, nun or pop artist. We use clothing to help satisfy this need. Clothing helps differentiate and help recognize who we are. It distinguishes the levels of social standing and helps in recognizing religious associations and professions. Social affiliation As opposed to differentiation, when it comes to social affiliation, we tend to dress to fit into a particular group or part of society. Clothing can sometimes be used as a revolt against fashion and its current trends as well. Like the punks who can be noted by their torn clothes, coloured hair and the dramatic use of safety pins. The Goths, who also dress in a similar fashion, have led to a more feminised version in Japan called the Gothic Lolita. These groups in time tend to form their own fashions and people treat them as modern trends. And try to adopt these elements into their wardrobe as well. Psychological self enhancement We as individuals try to stand out on our own and show our personality. For this reason you will hardly find two people dressed alike from head to toe. Because as individuals we have our own tastes and styles of putting things together. So we adorn ourselves in different manners even if we shop at the same store, and buy the same clothes the way we look once we have accessorised ourselves would differ, just like no two people are alike. It is now evident that fashion indeed, does affect our life greatly. According to Linda Watson, dressing is our forth bodily function. Dressing is the fourth bodily function after breathing, eating and sleeping and excluding a couple of delicious optional extras one of the fundamental pleasures of the human body is to clothe it. Which makes fashion its closest relation pretty important. (Watson, 1999) Fashion is a form of art which will forever be changing throughout the decades, and the change is brought about by trends which are signalled out through Fashion design and its designers. Fashion Design Fashion design is a form of art. It falls into the category of applied arts. Applied arts unlike fine arts is the application of design together with aesthetics to produce objects of use. it is ruled by the principle that form follows function. Fashion designing is the creativity of deigning clothing. Like many forms of design and art fashion design too has its elements. The main elements are silhouette, line, and texture. The uses of these elements are called principle; they are repetition, rhythm, graduation, radiation, contrast, harmony, balance and proportion (Jones, 2002) Fashion is divided into two seasons, Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter. Designers design accordingly to the two seasons. The clothing they produce for each season is called a collection. Fashion collections always have certain similarities, an invisible thread which ties up all the pieces of the collection together. A look into the above mentioned elements and principles will help us to understand how fashion design works. Silhouette In simple terms Silhouette is basically the outline of a form. Fashion Silhouette is the overall outline a garment produces. As garments are three dimentional the Silhouette changes when it is moving. So designers have to keep this in mind when they design the clothing. The Silhouette of a garment is what first catches the eye. Because of distance it is what is first noticed before the detailing of the clothing comes to view. For this reason Silhouette is one of the most important elements in design. When designers produce a collection they keep in mind that it cannot have too many different Silhouettes. Too many variations will weaken the impact and the overall message that the designers are creating will be lost. Silhouettes have changed throughout times and have gone to extremes of being bulky and voluminous to flat and skinny. I will look at this later during the historical analysis if fashion. Line The most common use of line in fashion is in the seaming of the pattern pieces and in fastenings. Vertical seam lines create an effect of length and elegance because they lead the eye up and down the body. Horizontal lines tend to be shorter in span and therefore draw attention to the width of the body. Lines across the body can make the figure appear shorter and wider. (Jones, 2002) Lines in a garment give us different views of perception. Lines can be used effectively to enhance or hide features of the body. It helps give the garment direction and flow. Texture Texture in fashion design relates to the surface feel of the fabric. The way a fabric behaves is very important in design. As it will set the overall look of the garment and how the garment will sit on the body and move with flexibility. Colour is also important when it comes to creating a good impression with the garment. Fashion design gives us a unique sense of luxury. As it offers to us not just forms of adornment by way of clothing, but it also gives us a feeling of belonging and self enhancement. As the clothing we wear and who they are made by speak tremendously about our personality. The inspirational source behind the clothing we choose does impact us to a certain degree. In the next chapter I will give an in-depth analysis on how Fashion design has been influenced by artistic movements and paintings. Gianni Versace was a designer who was obsessed with the past. He was frequent in visiting museums and obsessed with their artworks. He studied the Byzantine art at the Metropolitan Museum of arts and was inspired by the metal found in byzantine art. Which he then put to use, by creating a metal neck cocktail top. Yves St. Laurent, from 1965-1966, made dresses which bore the artistic works of Abstract Painter Piet Mondrian. The welding of art and fashion, however found its most vivid expression in the Mondrian Dresses of Yves St. Laurent. His dresses came to be known as the Mondrian Dress and was called the Dress of Tomorrow (Mackrell, Art and Fashion, 2005, p. 147) Figure 7. The romance between fashion and the Surrealist movement began in the early 20s when the movement broke away from the written word to embrace objects. The appeal of Surrealism to the fashion industry is instantly obvious in their use of ordinary everyday objects and weird landscapes that transferred easily to fabric printing, jewellery, hats, couture etc, allowing designers the freedom to create art pieces, and this fascination worked both ways as what covered the body had always been important to the Surrealist philosophy, in the way that it allowed the imagination to wonder what lay underneath, and this translated easily into wearable garments. (Martin, 1990)

Association of IL-12β rs3212227 and Psoriasis

Association of IL-12ÃŽ ² rs3212227 and Psoriasis Title: Associations between IL-12ÃŽ ² rs3212227 polymorphism and susceptibility to psoriasis: a meta-analysis Running title: Association of IL-12ÃŽ ² rs3212227 and psoriasis Highlights: We performed a Meta-analysis to assess the association ofIL-12ÃŽ ² rs3212227 and psoriasis. Association between IL-12ÃŽ ² rs3212227 and psoriasis was proved. IL-12ÃŽ ² rs3212227 is the susceptibility gene of psoriasis in Asian and European. Abstract Purpose The aim of this meta-analysis was to explore whether IL-12ÃŽ ² rs3212227 polymorphism confer susceptibility to psoriasis. Methods We performed a computerized literature search before December 2013. Review Manger 5.2 was used to perform meta-analysis. The meta-analysis was conducted on the associations between IL-12ÃŽ ² rs3212227 polymorphism and the risk of psoriasis. Results Nine studies involving 17,620 subjects were included in this meta-analysis. Significant association was found between psoriasis and IL-12ÃŽ ² rs3212227 allele in all study subjects (C vs. A: OR=0.68, 95%CI =0.64-0.72, P Conclusions This meta-analysis demonstrated that the IL-12ÃŽ ² rs3212227 polymorphism is associated with the risk of psoriasis. Keywords IL-12ÃŽ ², polymorphism, psoriasis, Meta-analysis, susceptibility gene Introduction Psoriasis is an immune-mediated chronic inflammatory skin disease, characterized by epidermal hyperplasia and infiltration of leukocytes into the dermis and epidermis [1]. An recent systematic review [2] reported that the prevalence in children ranged from 0% (Taiwan) to 2.1% (Italy), and in adults it varied from 0.91%(United States) to 8.5% (Norway). In children, the incidence estimate reported (United States) was 40.8/100,000person-years. In adults, it varied from 78.9/100,000 person-years (United States) to 230/100,000 person-years (Italy). It reported that psoriasis occurred by the interaction between genetic and environmental factors [3] and the immune mechanism plays an essential role in the chronic development and progression of psoriasis [4]. However, until now the exact etiology and pathogenesis of psoriasis remain unclear [5]. Currently, the study of psoriasis susceptibility genes is a hot research direction. IL-12 is a kind of key cytokines involved in T cell immune [6]. It confirmed thatIL -12 is closely related to the pathogenesis of psoriasis . rs3212227 is a SNP in 3’ untranslated region [7]. Tsunemi et al. [8] reported the association of rs3212227 with risk of psoriasis. Capon et al. reported that there was significant association between rs3212227 and psoriasis. It indicated that IL-12ÃŽ ² rs3212227 may be one of the psoriasis susceptibility genes. The aim of this meta-analysis was to determine whether IL-12ÃŽ ² rs3212227 polymorphisms confer susceptibility to psoriasis. Methods Literature search A literature search was conducted using PubMed, Medline and Embase up to December 2013. We screened all fields by combining the term â€Å"psoriasis† or â€Å"psoriatic†, â€Å"interleukin-12ÃŽ ²Ã¢â‚¬  or â€Å"IL-12ÃŽ ²Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"genetic polymorphism† or â€Å"genetic variant†. Selection criteria Literatures were included in this meta-analysis if they met each of the following criteria: (1) case-control studies between patients with psoriasis (experimental group) and hospital-based or population-based individuals (control group), (2) published English literatures involving studies of association between IL-12ÃŽ ² genetic polymorphism and psoriasis, and (3) having the data of genotype and frequency of allele in the experimental and control group or obtaining by computing. Studies were excluded when genotype distribution in the control group did not meet the test of hardy-weinberg equilibrium. Data extraction and quality assessment Data extraction was conducted by two reviewers independently. Disagreements between reviewers were resolved by discussion with a third investigator. From the included studies, the following data were abstracted: the first author name, year of publication, country or race, genotype distribution inthe experimental and control group, gender ratio and mean age of the subjects in the experimental and control group. In this meta-analysis, we applied the criteria based on Clark et al [9] to assess the quality of included studies. On the basis of their scores, the included studies were classified into three levels: low quality (0-4), moderate quality (5-7)and high quality (8-10). Statistical analysis Test of hardy-weinberg equilibrium [10] was conducted to ensure the quality of the included literatures before running meta-analysis. Review Manger 5.2 was used to perform meta-analysis. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated under five genetic models: the allele model (C vs. A), the dominant model (CC+AC vs. AA), the recessive model (CC vs. AA+AC), the homozygous/additive model (CC vs. AA) and the heterozygous model (CC vs. AC). Heterogeneity was evaluated using by the chi-square-based Q statistic test [11] and I2 test with ÃŽ ±12]. Subgroup analysis was performed by the difference of ethnicity. The sensitivity analysis was conducted to see the stability of pooled results by sequential omission of individual studies [13]. Funnel plots were used to assess the possibility of publication bias. Results Literature search In total, 114 potentially relevant studies were identified and screened after an initial search. Among them, 98 articles were excluded after screening based on abstracts or titles. Five out of these 16 remaining literatures were excluded because of duplicate publication. Then 2 studies were removing because there was no available data. As a result, 9 literatures were included in this meta-analysis. A flow diagram of the search process is shown in Fig.1. Characteristics of included studies The characteristics of 9 included studies [8, 14-21] were summarized in Table 1. The publication years of these studies ranged from year 2002 to 2013. A total of 17,620 subjects were involved in this meta-analysis, including 6,520 psoriasis patients and 11,150 healthy controls. The race of these subjects was Caucasian or Asian except one study in which mix racial subjects were studied. None of the SNPs had genotype frequencies that deviated significantly from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium in these included studies. All quality scores of included studies were from 5 to 8. It showed that the included studies were moderate–high quality literatures in this meta-analysis. Meta-analysis of the association between IL-12ÃŽ ² rs3212227 polymorphism and psoriasis Summary results of this meta-analysis for the association between IL-12ÃŽ ² rs3212227 polymorphism and psoriasis were shown in Table 2. For the genotype model of CC+AC vs. A, no heterogeneity (I2=57%, P=0.02) existed in the included literatures, so the random effects model was used. For the other genotype model, fixed effects model was used because of significant heterogeneity among studies. The meta-analysis results showed the highly significant association of these alleles with psoriasis (C vs. A: OR=0.68, 95%CI =0.64-0.72, PC vs. A: OR= 0.66, 95%CI =0.61-0.70, P Sensitivity analysis and publication bias Sensitivity analysis by dropping one study at a time did not indicate the dominant influence of any single study. The funnel plot showed that there was no obvious publication bias was shown in the result. Discussion In this meta-analysis, we combined data from published studies to evaluate genetic associations between polymorphisms of IL-12ÃŽ ² rs3212227 and psoriasis. Our meta-analysis of IL-12ÃŽ ² rs3212227 showed significant association of the IL-12ÃŽ ² rs3212227 polymorphisms with the risk of psoriasis. Another meta-analysis [22] reported the association of IL-12ÃŽ ² rs3212227 and psoriasis. Compared with that one, there were three the advantages of this meta-analysis. The first one was that this meta-analysis had been more recently (2013) conducted to synthesize evidence concerning the association of IL-12ÃŽ ² rs3212227 and psoriasis. Second, furthermore subgroup analysis by ethnicity was performed and showed that the results did not varies with the difference of ethnicity. Third, the publication meta-analysis reported no heterogeneity among the included studies. Nevertheless, in this meta-analysis, heterogeneity was found among the included studies in the genotype model of CC+AC vs. AA. Ex ploring the sources of heterogeneity was useful to study the association of IL-12ÃŽ ² rs3212227 and psoriasis. Thus, further well-designed studies need to focus on exploring the sources of heterogeneity. In the publication studies, it demonstrated that IL-12 was closely related to the pathogenesis of psoriasis. It reported that the mRNA [23]and protein expression [24] of IL-12 p40 was increased in the psoriatic skin. Efficacy was obtained by the drug therapy on immunization targets [25]. The SNP, rs3212227, is located in IL-12ÃŽ ² gene [26]. The expression of IL-12 p40 was changed after import homozygous gene fragment into cell [27]. It indicated that the change of allele might cause change in the expression of IL-12p40 and affect the function of IL-12p40. Then a series of immune responses were triggered. Finally, these events would lead to the onset of psoriasis. These findings prove that IL-12ÃŽ ² rs3212227 may be the susceptibility gene of psoriasis. The result of this meta-analysis provided further evidence of the association betweenthe polymorphisms of IL-12ÃŽ ² rs3212227 and psoriasis. It reported that the occurrence of psoriasis varied according to geographic region [2]. And the family genes are difference in each region. In this meta-analysis, subgroup analysis was performed by the difference of ethnicity. However, the subjects did not contain all the population. Thus, it proved that rs3212227 is the susceptibility gene of psoriasis in Asian and European. Further studies need to be done to study the influence of ethnicity. Present study has some limitations that require specific consideration. The first one is that there is no enough data of age and sex to concern the influence of these confounding factors for the result of this meta-analysis. Second limitation is that the type of psoriasis cannot be analyzed because of the limited information. Furthermore, there are many other possible susceptibility genes, but only one of them was selected to do this meta-analysis. Conclusions In conclusion, we determined that there was significant association between the polymorphisms of IL-12ÃŽ ² rs3212227 and psoriasis. IL-12ÃŽ ² rs3212227 has a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. For researching the pathogenesis of psoriasis, all the susceptibility genes as well as the interaction among them need to be studied in the future. References 1. Bromley SK, Larson RP, Ziegler SF, Luster AD: IL-23 Induces Atopic Dermatitis-Like Inflammation Instead of Psoriasis-Like Inflammation in CCR2-Deficient Mice. PloS one 2013, 8(3):e58196. 2. Parisi R, Symmons DP, Griffiths CE, Ashcroft DM: Global epidemiology of psoriasis: a systematic review of incidence and prevalence. Journal of Investigative Dermatology 2012. 3. Naldi L: Risk Factors for Psoriasis. Current Dermatology Reports 2013, 2(1):58-65. 4. Gudjonsson J, Johnston A, Sigmundsdottir H, Valdimarsson H: Immunopathogenic mechanisms in psoriasis. Clinical Experimental Immunology 2004, 135(1):1-8. 5. Baweja P, Agarwal B, Sharma V, Alex A: Oxidant and antioxidant status in patients with Psoriasis. Indian J Applied Pure Bio Vol 2013, 28(2):143-148. 6. Lamont AG, Adorini L: IL-12: a key cytokine in immune regulation. Immunology today 1996, 17(5):214-217. 7. Hong K, Chu A, Là ºdvà ­ksson BR, Berg EL, Ehrhardt RO: IL-12, independently of IFN-ÃŽ ³, plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of a murine psoriasis-like skin disorder. The Journal of Immunology 1999, 162(12):7480-7491. 8. Tsunemi Y, Saeki H, Nakamura K, Sekiya T, Hirai K, Fujita H, Asano N, Kishimoto M, Tanida Y, Kakinuma T: Interleukin-12 p40 gene (IL12B) 3†²-untranslated region polymorphism is associated with susceptibility to atopic dermatitis and psoriasis vulgaris. Journal of dermatological science 2002, 30(2):161-166. 9. Clark MF, Baudouin SV: A systematic review of the quality of genetic association studies in human sepsis. Intensive care medicine 2006, 32(11):1706-1712. 10. Ledwina T, Gnot S: Testing for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Biometrics 1980:161-165. 11. Lau J, Ioannidis JP, Schmid CH: Quantitative synthesis in systematic reviews. Annals of internal medicine 1997, 127(9):820-826. 12. Feng R-N, Zhao C, Sun C-H, Li Y: Meta-analysis of TNF 308 G/A polymorphism and type 2 diabetes mellitus. PloS one 2011, 6(4):e18480. 13. Liu ZH DY, Xiu LC, Pan HY, Liang Y, Zhong SQ, Liu WW, Rao SQ, Kong DL: A meta-analysis of the association between TNF-alpha -308G>A polymorphism and type 2 diabetes mellitus in Han Chinese population. PloS one 2013, 8(3):e59421. 14. Capon F, Di Meglio P, Szaub J, Prescott NJ, Dunster C, Baumber L, Timms K, Gutin A, Abkevic V, Burden AD et al: Sequence variants in the genes for the interleukin-23 receptor (IL23R) and its ligand (IL12B) confer protection against psoriasis. Hum Genet 2007, 122(2):201-206. 15. Cargill M, Schrodi SJ, Chang M, Garcia VE, Brandon R, Callis KP, Matsunami N, Ardlie KG, Civello D, Catanese JJ et al: A large-scale genetic association study confirms IL12B and leads to the identification of IL23R as psoriasis-risk genes. American journal of human genetics 2007, 80(2):273-290. 16. Eiris N, Santos-Juanes J, Coto-Segura P, Gomez J, Alvarez V, Morales B, Queiro R, Diaz M, Corao AI, Lopez-Corte K et al: Resequencing of the IL12B gene in psoriasis patients with the rs6887695/rs3212227 risk genotypes. Cytokine 2012, 60(1):27-29. 17. Huffmeier U, Lascorz J, Bohm B, Lohmann J, Wendler J, Mossner R, Reich K, Traupe H, Kurrat W, Burkhardt H et al: Genetic variants of the IL-23R pathway: association with psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis vulgaris, but no specific risk factor for arthritis. The Journal of investigative dermatology 2009, 129(2):355-358. 18. Nair RP, Ruether A, Stuart PE, Jenisch S, Tejasvi T, Hiremagalore R, Schreiber S, Kabelitz D, Lim HW, Voorhees JJ et al: Polymorphisms of the IL12B and IL23R genes are associated with psoriasis. The Journal of investigative dermatology 2008, 128(7):1653-1661. 19. Nair RP, Stuart PE, Kullavanijaya P, Kullavanijaya P, Tejasvi T, Voorhees JJ, Elder JT: Genetic evidence for involvement of the IL23 pathway in Thai psoriatics. Archives of dermatological research 2010, 302(2):139-143. 20. Oka A, Mabuchi T, Ikeda S, Terui T, Haida Y, Ozawa A, Yatsu K, Kulski JK, Inoko H: IL12B and IL23R gene SNPs in Japanese psoriasis. Immunogenetics 2013, 65(11):823-828. 21. Smith RL, Warren RB, Eyre S, Ho P, Ke X, Young HS, Griffiths CEM, Worthington J: Polymorphisms in the IL-12ÃŽ ² and IL-23R Genes Are Associated with Psoriasis of Early Onset in a UK Cohort. Journal of Investigative Dermatology 2007, 128(5):1325-1327. 22. Zhu KJ, Zhu CY, Shi G, Fan YM: Meta-analysis of IL12B polymorphisms (rs3212227, rs6887695) with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Rheumatology international 2013, 33(7):1785-1790. 23. Jiqun C, Yating T, Jiawen L, Changzheng H, Zhixiang L, Daofan L: A study on the expression of interleukin (IL)-10 and IL-12 P35, P40 mRNA in the psoriatic lesions. Journal of Tongji Medical University 2001, 21(1):86-88. 24. Yawalkar N, Karlen S, Hunger R, Brand CU, Braathen LR: Expression of interleukin-12 is increased in psoriatic skin. Journal of investigative dermatology 1998, 111(6):1053-1057. 25. O’Neill JL, Kalb RE: Ustekinumab in the therapy of chronic plaque psoriasis. Biologics: targets therapy 2009, 3:159. 26. Smith RL, Warren RB, Eyre S, Ho P, Ke X, Young HS, Griffiths CE, Worthington J: Polymorphisms in the IL-12ÃŽ ² and IL-23R genes are associated with psoriasis of early onset in a UK cohort. Journal of Investigative Dermatology 2007, 128(5):1325-1327. 27. Morahan G, Huang D, Ymer SI, Cancilla MR, Stephen K, Dabadghao P, Werther G, Tait BD, Harrison LC, Colman PG: Linkage disequilibrium of a type 1 diabetes susceptibility locus with a regulatory IL12B allele. Nature genetics 2001, 27(2):218-221. Table 1 Characteristics of included studies. Authors Year Country population Experimental group/control group score PHWE mareà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‹â€ %à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ° age (years) n Capon F1 2007 UK European 65.4/50 52.1/- 318/288 8 >0.05 Capon F2 2007 UK European 42.4/50 44.1/49 519/528 8 >0.05 Cargill M1 2007 USA European 45.5 28 467/500 7 0.5876 Cargill M2 2007 USA European 45.5 29 498/498 7 0.9129 Eiris N 2012 Spain European 54/55 47/47 304/422 6 0.1045 Hà ¼ffmeier U 2009 Germany European 62/58 48.2/31.6 1114/937 6 >0.05 Nair RP1 2008 Germany European 360/1097 7 >0.05 Nair RP2 2008 USA European 1450/1425 7 >0.05 Nair RP3 2010 Thailand Asian 58/42 34/45 206/114 7 0.8488 Oka A 2013 Japanese Asian 560/560 8 Smith RL 2008 UK Mixed 581/4681 6 0.5815 Tsunemi Y 2002 Japanese Asian 143/100 5 0.3177 PHWEà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’the result of the test of hardy-weinberg equilibrium Table 2 Meta-analysis of the associations between IL-12ÃŽ ² rs3212227 polymorphisms and psoriasis Polymorphism population Test of association Test of heterogeneity OR (95%CI) p P I2 C vs. A Overall 0.68 (0.64, 0.72) 0.18 27% European 0.66 (0.61, 0.70) Asian 0.71 (0.62, 0.82) CC+AC vs. AA Overall 0.61 (0.53, 0.71) 0.02 57% European 0.62 (0.52, 0.73) Asian 0.45 (0.25, 0.82) CC vs. AC+AA Overall 0.53 (0.43, 0.66) 0.85 0% European 0.48 (0.36, 0.64) Asian 0.56 (0.36, 0.85) CC vs. AA Overall 0.46 (0.36, 0.57) 0.78 0% European 0.42 (0.31, 0.56) Asian 0.43 (0.26, 0.70) AC vs. AA Overall 0.65 (0.59, 0.71) 0.16 33% European 0.62(0.56, 0.69) Asian 0.66 (0.44, 0.98) Figure legends Fig.1 Selection of relevant publications, reasons for exclusion. Fig.2 Forest plot displaying the results of the meta-analysis on the genotype of C vs. A Fig.3 Funnel plot analysis of publication bias. ________________________________________________________________________

war and suffering :: essays research papers

You have discovered one of the most comprehensive on-line collections of speech texts of contemporary American History. Here you can read the speeches and backgrounds of many of the most influential and poignant speakers of the recorded age. To help put each speaker in historical context, we have also provided a brief timeline of historical events. To learn about the speaker and what he or she was talking about, click on the background link. To skip the background and read the text of the speech only, click on the speech link. To listen to an audio sample, click on the audio link, and to watch a short video excerpt, click on the video link. Additional background stories and audio and video links will be added as each episode of Great American Speeches airs on PBS over the next five weeks. Speeches are arranged sequentially by era. To find a particular speech, scroll down through the page, or you can jump to a specific decade by using the 10-year timebar below. 1900 | 1910 | 1920 | 1930 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 - pre 1900 - Former slave Booker T. Washington founds Tuskeegee Institute to educate black Americans, 1881. Supreme Court overturns Civil Rights Act of 1875 which had guaranteed black Americans equal access to public facilities, 1883. Statue of Liberty is dedicated, Oct. 28, 1886. Workers strike at Carnegie steel mills in Homestead, PA; 18 people killed on July 6, 1892. Financial panic leads to bank foreclosures and four-year national economic depression, 1893. Booker T. Washington speaks at The Cotton State Exposition, Atlanta, GA, Sep. 18, 1895. Speech Supreme Court, in Plessy vs. Ferguson, upholds "separate-but-equal" racial segregation policies, 1896. William Jennings Bryan delivers his "Cross of Gold" at the Democratic National Convention, Chicago, Il, Jul. 9, 1896. Background - Speech - Audio - Audio Bourke Cockran, Democratic Congressman, delivers pro-Gold rebuttal, New York, NY, Aug. 18, 1896. Speech Spanish-American War begins, April 22. With victory, U.S. wins control of Puerto Rico, the Phillippines, Guam, and Cuba, Dec. 10, 1898. Three year Philippine insurrection against American rule begins, 1889. - 1900s - Albert J. Beveridge, Indiana Senator, speaks on "The Philippine Question," before Congress, Jan. 9, 1900. Speech William Jennings Bryan accepts Democratic nomination for President and condemns U.S. policy in the Philippines, Indianapolis, IN, Aug. 8, 1900. Speech Mark Twain speaks on the "Defense of General Funston," Princeton, NJ, Feb. war and suffering :: essays research papers You have discovered one of the most comprehensive on-line collections of speech texts of contemporary American History. Here you can read the speeches and backgrounds of many of the most influential and poignant speakers of the recorded age. To help put each speaker in historical context, we have also provided a brief timeline of historical events. To learn about the speaker and what he or she was talking about, click on the background link. To skip the background and read the text of the speech only, click on the speech link. To listen to an audio sample, click on the audio link, and to watch a short video excerpt, click on the video link. Additional background stories and audio and video links will be added as each episode of Great American Speeches airs on PBS over the next five weeks. Speeches are arranged sequentially by era. To find a particular speech, scroll down through the page, or you can jump to a specific decade by using the 10-year timebar below. 1900 | 1910 | 1920 | 1930 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 - pre 1900 - Former slave Booker T. Washington founds Tuskeegee Institute to educate black Americans, 1881. Supreme Court overturns Civil Rights Act of 1875 which had guaranteed black Americans equal access to public facilities, 1883. Statue of Liberty is dedicated, Oct. 28, 1886. Workers strike at Carnegie steel mills in Homestead, PA; 18 people killed on July 6, 1892. Financial panic leads to bank foreclosures and four-year national economic depression, 1893. Booker T. Washington speaks at The Cotton State Exposition, Atlanta, GA, Sep. 18, 1895. Speech Supreme Court, in Plessy vs. Ferguson, upholds "separate-but-equal" racial segregation policies, 1896. William Jennings Bryan delivers his "Cross of Gold" at the Democratic National Convention, Chicago, Il, Jul. 9, 1896. Background - Speech - Audio - Audio Bourke Cockran, Democratic Congressman, delivers pro-Gold rebuttal, New York, NY, Aug. 18, 1896. Speech Spanish-American War begins, April 22. With victory, U.S. wins control of Puerto Rico, the Phillippines, Guam, and Cuba, Dec. 10, 1898. Three year Philippine insurrection against American rule begins, 1889. - 1900s - Albert J. Beveridge, Indiana Senator, speaks on "The Philippine Question," before Congress, Jan. 9, 1900. Speech William Jennings Bryan accepts Democratic nomination for President and condemns U.S. policy in the Philippines, Indianapolis, IN, Aug. 8, 1900. Speech Mark Twain speaks on the "Defense of General Funston," Princeton, NJ, Feb.

Oral Care in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Essay -- Preventing Ventila

In clinical experience, it is seen that many patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) are on mechanical ventilation. These patients range from having head trauma, heart surgery and respiratory problems yet there is no clear, concise systematic standard oral care procedures noted on the different floors in the hospital. Oral care is a basic nursing care activity that can provide relief, comfort and prevention of microbial growth yet is given low priority when compared to other critical practices in critically ill patients. The Center for Disease Control reveals that Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (VAP) is the second most common nosocomial infection that affects approximately 27% of critically ill patients (Koeman, Van der Ven & Hak, 2006). The purpose of this paper is to explore Lewin’s change theory in the clinical setting by implementing standard oral care on preventing VAP thereby improving patient care. According to the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, Ventilator-associated Pneumonia results in high mortality rates, increases the number of mechanical ventilation days, increases the number of additional days in the hospital and critical care by 4-9days and costs approximately $40,000 per VAP case (Ames, Sulima, Yates, McCullagh, Gollins, Soeken, Wallen, 2011). Munro, Grap, Jones and McClish & Sessler conducted a study in 2009 which collected data on oral interventions reported by nurses, the frequency and the documentation and found that despite the evidence that sponge toothettes are ineffective in plaque removal it remained the primary tool for oral care in intubated patients whereas the use of toothbrushes were used more in non-intubated patients. It was also found that nurses reported frequent oral care, y... ...J., McCurren, C., Carrico, R. (2004) Factors Affecting Quality of Oral Care in Intensive Care Units. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 48(5), 454-462. Institure for Healthcare Improvement (2011). Implement the IHI Ventilator Bundle. Retrieved from http://www.ihi.org/knowledge/pages/changes/implementtheventilatorbundle.aspx. Koeman, M., Van der Ven, A., Hak, E. (2006). Oral Decontamination with Chlorhexidine Reduces the Incidence of Ventilator-associated Pneumonia. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 173, 1348-1355. Munro, C.L., Grap, M.J., Jones, D.J., McClish, D.K, Sessler, C.N. (2009). Chlorhexidine, toothbrushing and preventing Ventilator Associated Pneumonia in Critically Ill Patients. American Journal of Critical Care, 18(5), 428-437. Yoder-Wise, P. S. (2010). Leading and managing in nursing. Philadelphia, PA: Mosby, Inc.

snow faliing on cedars racism Essay -- essays research papers

In a community of â€Å"five thousand damp souls† (Guterson 5) as described by David Guterson in his novel, Snow Falling on Cedars. A community that concentrated a variety of ethnicity, among them was both Whites and Japanese. As a result of the racial differences, racism has came into existences and have impacted the life of both children and adult in that isolated island called San Piedro. It is responsible for the internment of Kabuo, Hatsue, and their families, the breakup of Hatsue and Ishmael, Kabuo's loss of his land, and perhaps for his indictment for murder. Before the war years, Kabuo's father, Zenhichi made an illegal agreement with the victim's father, Carl Heine senior. It was an agreement to an eight-year â€Å"lease-to-own† contract. Money changed hands, land was promised and terms were set. Unfortunately, the war came and the Japanese Americans were sent away to internment camp. Nothing was quite the same at wars end. When the Miyamoto has returned to claim their land, they had found out that the victim’s mother, Etta, cheated them. She sold their seven acres of strawberry land to another farmer, because of lack of the last payment during their removal. This disreputable action she took, was caused by her racist thoughts that she had toward Japanese. This has been demonstrated out in her conversation with her husband, she said, â€Å"We’re not such paupers as to sell to Japs, are we? For new clothes? For a pouch of fancy pipe tobacco?† (Guterson 119). Because of her being racist, it had cost the land of the Miyamoto and raised tension between the two families and created a motive for Kabuo to commit murder to Etta’s son as for revenge and to release his anger. Snow Falling on Cedars opens up in the middle of Kabuo Miyamoto’s trail. A trail that deals with a first degree murder case, that Kabuo was being accused of murder of a white fellow fisherman by the name of Carl Heine. In this murder case, racism has played a very important role in affecting the judgement and outcome of the trail. As being Japanese, Kabuo has been placed under a very unpleasant circumstance. The evidences founded had lead the investigator, Sheriff Art Moran to believe that Kabuo was somehow suspicious. Together with the judgement made by the coroner of the wound on the victim’s head, which was predominantly affected by his racist thought toward Japanese.... ...their son and daughter to date or have interracial marriage. Despite the racial differences and their parents' disapproval, they still carry on their relationship in behind their parents’ back. But as time goes, their relationship could no longer be sustained. The exposure of the secret letter that Ishmael wrote to Hatsue had led to the end of their relationship. When Fujiko, Hatsue's mother discovered the letter, she told herself, "She would put an end to this business." (Guterson 227). As a matter of fact, racism has played a big role in the novel. It has affected the life of Hatsue, Ishmael, Kabuo and their families, and it is responsible for the loss of Kabuo’s seven acres of strawberry land, and made Kabuo being accused of the murder of Carl Heine. If the people were not racist, things would not have happened as the way it has been. The murder trail of Kabuo would have never taken place. Hatsue and Ishmael would have been a happy couple together. As for Kabuo himself, he would have inherited the strawberry field and continue on to be a farmer like his father. But this is how things are in this world. Nothing is perfect. There is always a negative side to everything.

Globalization Interconnectedness Past and Present Essay

We can go even a further back and argue that globalization, in the logic of a growth in interconnectedness between members of different states, is itself only a special case of something more universal. In medieval Europe most people for most-of the time stayed close to where they were born. They inspired mainly local goods and, primarily, produced either for themselves or for a very local market (Schlossberg H. 1992). Economies were mainly local. Trade over considerable distances took place on water either by sea or river, which accounts for the inconsistent number of towns and villages which were either by the sea or on rivers. Human beings seem to have had a steady urge to detach themselves from the area as much as the technology of the day permitted (J Gray 1992). Certainly there have always been big movements, sometimes of populations looking for better circumstances and of conquerors building empires. Under the Roman Empire, large parts of Europe were ‘globalizing’ in this sense and the degree of globalization declined with the Empire’s retreat. The medieval Church could be seen as several form of globalizing force but the degrees of interaction and interdependence were much reduced in the so-called Dark Ages (Thurow L 1996). Communications are also of significance in considering the ‘nationalization’ of different states. As communications enhanced (which before electronic communication meant, in fact, how fast people could travel), states had much more practical unity. This was mostly true of large states such as Canada and the United States where the railroad meant that people could travel between the major population centers, and numerous of the minor population centers, within two or three days as opposed to weeks. Markets then became national as an instant precursor to becoming international. These changes can all be measured parts of the same process (Herman E and McChesney R 1997). On this view, globalization is a trend which has been going on for centuries, which is undeniably continuing and might be accelerating. In this sense, the present period is not in itself novel. However, Scholte (1997) argues that there is more to globalization than this. For him globalization is not just communication on a global scale but deterritorialisation or superterritorialisation of numerous activities which formerly were tied to some terrain, not as a matter of an accident but as a matter of necessity. Thus, there is efficiently a global stock market. There are twenty-four hours trading in the world as a complete and traders in, say; the Tokyo markets keep a close eye on the London market on a real-time basis. There are differences. Tokyo is not just a postal (or e-mail) address of any implication but these differences are minor compared with the similarities or with the distinctions that existed even thirty years ago. It would most probably be possible to place all the worlds’ stock markets in a single place say on a South Sea island and it would make very little difference. It would perhaps make even less difference if this were to be done in twenty years’ time. (It might be a development. The traders might be so tempted by the sun and the good life that they would spend less time trading. Thus, trade less anxiously, and calm the often totally needless fluctuations in the various financial markets. ) On the other hand, certainly, all the traders could work from home. This is the point. The actual geographical location is trivial (Weiner E. 1992). Basically, Globalization is typically held to be inner to globalizing processes usually with the economic put up as the motor of globalization. This heaves questions not simply about the capability of the nation state to govern and the standing of national companies and economic interests but as well concerning what and who comprises civil society. As suggested by Robertson, the coexistence of nation state and civil society is busted by globalization. This offers the origin for an increase in the power of the market, but as well opens up diverse possibilities for globalize forms of sociality and practices, for what some term globalization from below (Robertson, R. 1992). Here, the connection between state and citizenship might be loosened with people playing a vigorous role in more global networks to address issues of communal concern. National governments become simply a partial focus is still influential for definite forms of popular involvement, as established by such groups as Greenpeace and definite humanitarian groups. Globalization consequently offers possibilities as well as intimidation to the extend of capitalist relations. On the one hand, for example, there is the feminization of labor where: †¦global assembly lines are ‘manned’ by women workers in free trade zones; subcontracted industrial home working is performed at kitchen tables by women who ‘have time on their hands’; home-based teleworking is carried out by women who can’t afford day-care costs and are grateful to have paid work (Manicom and Walters 1997:72). However, practices as well expand that convey together groups pretentious by economic reformation in new ways, such as trade unions support labor and community projects exterior their own national base. Likewise, information and communication technologies (ICTs) can be utilized by contradictory groupings. Affinity groups of ‘senior’ or retired citizens, feminist scholars, individuals who share knowledge on health afflictions, hobbyists, professionals, political organizations and many others are†¦using the Internet to educate, proselytise and organize, cutting across national boundaries with apparent ease. (Goodenow 1996:200) As notions of globalization both from below as well as from above help to reframe some of the varied potential within globalization, they as well present a explicit spatial association that seems to be set within specific binaries of above-below, power-resistance and domination liberation. In other words, this is an idea of globalization already included within specific politics, rather than, a reframing of the political and definitely a resistance to it. Conclusion Thus, to compete effectively, business organizations should develop a technology strategy. Moreover, as the concept of the globalization significantly extends this concept to government; not least by giving it an influential institutional framework, but does not significantly alter its function. The global economy does, though, stand in a different relation to the government since it is no longer neutral. It is still presented as apolitical, and is consequently still understood to be ‘economic’, but it has also become a normative and, certainly, normalizing, reality. The global economy functions in a different way with regard to the government; whilst movements in the world economy have long inclined economic policy within the government, the global economy presented as some new realism forces changes in national policy as a complete. This has the further significance, of forcing the government to distinguish between its proper function with regard to the global future and its function with regard to a sub-national, local past. Through the formation of the competition government, the homogeneity of the national economy though assumed in theory is cooperating in practice. The national private economy ceases to be believable as a homogenous unity and becomes a single but distinguished space. This has, certainly, always been the case, but the mobility of capital and the disintegration of the labor-intensive fordist production systems in the North has grinded the differences between regions of the similar government.

Performance Management Essay

Activity 1: The business life today becomes more challenging for the companies and employees, where the organizations want to attract employees with high qualifications and professional experience with lower salary. On the other side the employees looking for jobs develop their qualifications with high (or reasonable) salary. And here is the challenge. This challenge could be managed by something called performance management, where it will give the balance to the relationship between the two sides. Performance management is process used to recognize, encourage, determine, evaluate, develop and reward the employee performance. And this will grease the circle and shrink the gap and toward achieving the organization objectives. Any effective performance management system must include these components: 1. Performance Planning: Performance planning is the first crucial component of any performance management process which forms the basis of performance appraisals. Performance planning is jointly done by the appraise and also the reviewer in the beginning of a performance session. During this period, the employees decide upon the targets and the key performance areas which can be performed over a year within the performance budget. This is finalized after a mutual agreement between the reporting officer and the employee. 2. Performance Appraisal and Reviewing: The appraisals are normally performed twice in a year in an organization in the form of mid reviews and annual reviews which is held in the end of the financial year. In this process, the appraisee first offers the self filled up ratings in the self appraisal form and also describes his/her achievements over a period of time in quantifiable terms. After the self appraisal, the final ratings are provided by the appraiser for the quantifiable and measurable achievements of the employee being appraised. The entire process of review seeks an active participation of both the employee and the appraiser for analyzing the causes of loopholes in the performance and how it can be overcome. This has been discussed in the performance feedback section. 3. Feedback on the Performance followed by personal counseling and performance facilitation: Feedback and counseling is given a lot of importance in the performance management process. This is the stage in which the employee acquires awareness from the appraiser about the areas of improvements and also information on whether the employee is contributing the expected levels of performance or not. The employee receives an open and a very transparent feedback and along with this the training and development needs of the employee is also identified. The appraiser adopts all the possible steps to ensure that the employee meets the expected outcomes for an organization through effective personal counseling and guidance, mentoring and representing the employee in training programmes which develop the competencies and improve the overall productivity. 4. Rewarding good performance: This is a very vital component as it will determine the work motivation of an employee. During this stage, an employee is publicly recognized for good performance and is rewarded. This stage is very sensitive for an employee as this may have a direct influence on the self esteem and achievement orientation. Any contributions duly recognized by an organization helps an employee in coping up with the failures successfully and satisfies the need for affection. 5. Performance Improvement Plans: In this stage, fresh set of goals are established for an employee and new deadline is provided for accomplishing those objectives. The employee is clearly communicated about the areas in which the employee is expected to improve and a stipulated deadline is also assigned within which the employee must show this improvement. This plan is jointly developed by the appraisee and the appraiser and is mutually approved. 6. Potential Appraisal: Potential appraisal forms a basis for both lateral and vertical movement of employees. By implementing competency mapping and various assessment techniques, potential appraisal is performed. Potential appraisal provides crucial inputs for succession planning and job rotation. Good performance management will result to good motivation for the employees. Such thing will take us to discusses theory x and theory y. If we assumes the employee is lazy and doesn’t like to work, where he will avoid taking responsibili ties and duties, and he works for getting the salary only. Then the attitude toward the employee will be similar to mind image, So, there is a hidden guidance line will prove that imagination in the real life. And the opposite thing is right. Where if we considered the employee is responsibility seeker and challengeable and like the work. We will consider him as creative, where we will motivate him and develop his career and knowledge to be innovative in the work. In the performance management system the organizations relies on the appraisal system to build the appropriate reward theme for employees who are under evaluation. Where the reward is the result of the employee performance and it will represent the pleasure of that performance by the organization or in other words it is the return on investment of the employee’s skills, time and efforts. The fair and reasonable reward will lead the employee to be in motivation situation, and on top of that it will give the feeling of loyalty in the organization, also the fair reward system w ill increase the satisfaction level and will make innovative culture in the organization. The reward that is given to the employee could be financially and could be non-financially. For example the financial rewards could be cash compensation, commission or bonuses which are considered as direct compensations, on the other hand there are non-financial rewards one example of them is the life insurance for the employee himself only or his family as well. We know that the performance management is a process not an event. Performance management is not another term for personal appraisal. It is a process that brings together and manages all the factors that affect performance, treating the individual as a vital component but not the only component in a multifaceted aspect of management Well, in the performance management, the key elements to be considered while managing the poor or good performance are: * The level of performance to be achieved. * the competences needed to achieve this level of performance * the activities and resources needed to motivate and empower people * the monitoring and review mechanisms that measure performance and compare results with targets * the measures taken to improve performance and attain best practice * the measures taken to ensure the planned targets and competences are the right ones for the organization and its stakeholders Performance Review & Development Plan is an evaluative tool to be used for all administrative staff and managers. It allows on an annual basis for each supervisor and employee to: Clarify and define areas of responsibility; jointly set performance objectives for the next review period; set measurable standards for performance; review objectives and performance; and identify and address developmental needs. In terms of potential outcomes of a performance review, high ratings (significantly exceeds expectations) will result in the recognition of extremely strong performance and lead to the identification of performance objectives or other assignments which may provide additional opportunities to obtain further skills and experience, as well as the establishment of development goals to continue the employee’s professional/personal development and growth. With moderate ratings (fully meets expectations), the supervisor and employee identify upcoming performance objectives and outline the ways in which job expectations and standards could be exceeded in future. Development goals that will support the employee to reach greater achievements should be established. In the event of low ratings (needs improvement), the supervisor and employee should clearly identify areas where performance can be improved, review what support and assistance may be required in order to realize such improvements, and establish development goals stemming from that discussion. During the course of the following review period, particular attention should be placed on areas needing improvement, with ongoing communication between the supervisor and employee regarding progress made. Frequency and Timing Performance reviews are conducted on an annual basis and should be completed by the immediate supervisor and submitted to Human Resources no later than August 1 of each year. All new employees undergo a performance review by the conclusion of their probationary term, and on an annual basis by August 1 thereafter. The supervisor may waive an annual performance review if it falls within three months of the probationary review Process 1. Setting Performance Objectives and Development Goals for the Review Period At the beginning of the cycle, the supervisor and employee meet to review the employee’s position and key responsibilities and establish performance objectives and development goals for the review period. Performance Objectives: * should establish between 3 and 5 objectives for a given year; * should be specific, measurable, and attainable within the time frame identified (multi-year objectives should be broken down into smaller components); * should be reflective of the employee’s role level; * should not be above and beyond the employee’s current duties, but reflective of his/her responsibilities within the context of the department’s goals and priorities for the upcoming year. Development Goals: In establishing new development goals, the supervisor and employee should consider: * areas of performance requiring improvement; particularly those with ratings of needs improvement; * training needs arising from the performance objectives set for the following review period, including situations where there are anticipated changes to responsibilities or technologies and where an employee may be assisted to gain the necessary skills and/or knowledge; and * Areas of personal interest for professional development and growth, as they relate to future potential opportunities at the university. The development plan should identify specific and measurable goals with a recommended course of action. Such goals may include: providing additional or more focused direction and guidance to enhance current performance; providing specific training opportunities related to job responsibilities; supporting enrolment in formal educational programs related to job responsibilities; encouraging the reading of publications related to work performed; supporting participation in professional organizations related to areas of responsibility; and/or delegating assignments to provide opportunities to acquire new skills. Throughout the year, employees should be provided with the necessary supervisory guidance, direction and feedback. Performance objectives should be periodically reviewed to ensure they remain valid and realistic and, if required, modified or removed. 2. Preparing for the Performance Interview: In late May or early June the immediate supervisor should: a. provide a copy of the Performance Review & Development Plan Guide and Form to the employee; b. schedule a review meeting with the employee with a minimum of two weeks’ notice; and c. prepare for the interview. 3. Conducting the Performance Interview The purpose of the interview is to promote increased communication and understanding between immediate supervisors and employees through discussion of the following: the accomplishment of performance objectives identified in the previous review, and any factors affecting their attainment; the degree to which development goals were met; strengths and weaknesses related to the performance factors; the development of performance objectives for the next review period; and the establishment of new development goals for the next review period. 4. Completing and Filing the Documentation – Comments and Signature by Immediate Supervisor and Employee – Approval stage. Activity 2: The discussed issue was the reduction in sales level from the side of excellent employee in the organization, where the employee has some strength such as he is well organized, answering too many queries and continues following up with the customers issues. On the other side he faced a problem where he was alone for last six months in the call center, where his colleague left the job. So, the overload was handled by only one employee, where it was terrible thing. But the weakness in the whole story was the bad communication from the employee to the management, where he kept quiet and didn’t report the problem to the management. After the discussion we agreed to give him promotion because of his great performance regardless the reduction in the sale, and he will follow a development program in communication skills. As well as that, I agreed with the management to hire another two employees with him to hold some duties with him. Here we can say that the problem solved and we guaranteed to do not repeat again, and established a development program to the employee to improve his skills. Reference: 1) C.LEATHERBARROW, J.FLETCHER and D.CURRIE (2010), Introduction to Human Recourse Management, a guide to human recourse practice. Second Edition. London, Chartered Institute of Professional Development.